Nate flung open the doors to the throne room and watched the guards take Cristina away, now going a little more willingly, now that she had said her piece. She was still trying to explain, but in vain. Nate held tight to the banister.

The girl he had fallen in love with was a criminal, an accomplice in murder, a traitor.... he pounded the railing with his fist and squeezed his eyes shut to prevent the tears. 

Why did she, a horrible criminal, have to be the most honest and real person he had ever met? When she sang, she was honest. No hiding. And now, he realized that no matter what disguise he used, he could never see what a person was really like. He went to such great lengths to get an honest reaction out of her, and in the end, it didn't matter. Because he couldn't see it anyway.

Because the girl he loved was a liar. A criminal. Was ANYONE ever honest around him? That's why he liked Josh; he was honest, unafraid to tell him what's what. But more than anything, he just wanted honest love. Real, honest love. And just when he thought he found it, he was wrong. 

He couldn't see her lying. He thought she was real, and he fell for it. And even worse, somehow, he still believed it. He still believed the lies. Pointless wishing for a reality that he was fooled into believing. He still loved her. And that was his own, hidden honesty. He had faith in her, faith that he knew he couldn't have. 

Why did he have to be so stupid? So blind? So in love? So hopelessly in love, desperate for an honest love, that he bought into her lies. He couldn't see. Part of him thought he could never find the honesty he desired. Was it so hard to ask for? According to this, yes. 

His hand slid off the railing as he fell to his hands and knees, sobbing. 

Meanwhile, Cristina was allowed to change into her own clothes, found upstairs, and then put into a cell. She was one of the only ones down there, so she was guarded by one man. She sat on the bench, hugging her knees in the cold cell, accompanied by only the sounds of the rats. 

Despite everything, her best friend being dead, another one being accused of murder and treason, the only thing she could think of was Nate. She broke his heart. She thought she would be alone forever. But she found Stephanie. She found Matthew. She made friends. And then... she found Nate. 

And honestly, despite her shame, her fear... she loved him. She knew that there was no way he loved her anymore, but she loved him. Because for one fleeting, single instant, he loved her for her. Even if he didn't know her name, or her identity, he knew her feelings, at least when she sang. And when she sang, she was honest. And he loved that; the tiny sliver of honesty she showed him. Had she have been given she chance, she would have cracked that sliver of honesty wide open and let him see. She would have been honest, and she would have accepted it when he turned her down for what she really was. A pauper. 

But now she would never know. 

So instead of focusing on him, she ran through her mind again, mumbling Matt's lessons aloud. She was quiet, but speeding through them. "Do a plie and never fall, soup spoon, don't eat parsley..." Trying to figure out what she did wrong. She sounded like a woman gone mad. And in a way, she was. A woman focusing so desperately on where she went wrong. Desperate to erase Nate's love from her heart.