Esme could sense Robin tense slightly at the mention of Cyrus's name; she had told Robin a little bit about him but not an awful lot and that was no other reason other than the fact that there simply wasn't much to tell. Esme was raised in the female side of the island, and they rarely every merged the two sides unless they went to war with a rival island, or to repopulate. Unfortunately, Cyrus seemed to know a lot more about Esme than she knew about him. As fas as she knew, he was a fair ruler, like his father, who spent most of his time protecting the island from the neglect Zoe inflicted; but that offered no explanation as to why she felt so uneasy. As usual, she was used as the whim of everyone else, and was completely unaware of why she was here so she had a million questions racing through her brain - how did she get here, why was she here, was Robin safe, ws Regina even here . This being said, she didn't have time to truly consider any of them, or even form a coherent train of thought, for within seconds of Esme getting to her feet Cyrus was descending the sandstone stairs and walking towards her. His purple sash billowed in the slight breeze that carried the sweet scent of lilies both the Dean siblings adored through the air, and although Esme found the smell sickening, Robin didn't even seem to notice. He got to his feet, stood in front of Esme and put his arm around her body protectively the second that he saw Cyrus begin to move towards them. Esme was glad of the gesture, but instead of being intimidated, Cyrus seemed to find the action amusing.

"Now, now Robin. There is no need for that. I can assure you that I wish your daughter no harm," Cyrus said with a slight chuckle. Esme assumed that he probably intended for that to be soothing, however the overly confident way in which he was walking towards them and the sly smile that had spread across his face was anything but that. Esme wasn't sure if it was being called by his actual name or if it was because Cyrus continued to walk towards them but Robin shoved Esme fully behind him and eyed Cyrus defiantly.

"I certainly hope not," Robin stated. Cyrus, however, had lost his sense of humour and just as quickly as he had smiled before, he sneered at Robin. As he flicked his wrist, Esme was forced to watch as Robin was flung into one of the epic sandstone columns erected in Cyrus' honour. She looked at Cyrus in disbelief and immediately went to run to him but she couldn't move. She tried, but couldn't. Both of her feet were planted firmly on the ground, her arms felt like they were cemented to her side and the only thing she could do was turn her head to watch as Robin was carried away out of sight, kicking and screaming Esme's name, by two of Cyrus's guards.

"No! No! Robin!" Esme said, trying to use every ounce of strength to break free but she couldn't. She tried to kick but she couldn't even move a finger.

"Bring him back! Bring him back now!" Esme screamed at Cyrus, who was utterly undeterred by Esme's destress. He simply stared at Esme in a way that made her not only uncomfortable but terrified; he was looking at her as if she was a was a possession.

"Oh, do forgive me. The magic is simply… a precaution, if you will. I can assure you, your parents are quite alright," he said, and with one flick of his wrist, Esme could move again, in theory. In reality however, Esme was too terrified to move a muscle. Cyrus seemed to pick up on her fear, yet instead of making some sort of calming gesture, he simply took her arm in his and began to lead her towards the castle. Esme tried to stop but he gripped her arm so hard that it hurt and she was forced to continue.

"Now now Esmerelda, you must meet the people that helped get you here. It has taken a lot of effort and i'm sure you don't want to be rude," he said. Esme was still tentative, but he wasn't asking her; he was telling. People? How long had he been planning all of this? Esme tried to stop but, yet again, Cyrus prevented her from doing so

"We wouldn't want your parents to be hurt by it now would we," he said. When Esme whipped her head around to stare at him in horror, unsure as to whether or not Cyrus meant the threat the way it sounded, he simply continued to walk, looking forwards with the same icey expression that he had started with. Whether he did or didn't, Esme certainly wasn't going to risk her parents safety so she continued to walk with him through the open hallways and he led her through a giant set of ancient wooden doors, that creaked and groaned when he opened them. When they opened, Cyrus continued to lead Esme, arm in arm, into a room with one circular table and six people seated, all of whom stood as she entered. Esme stopped as she stepped through the door, unsure about what she was walking into and took a moment to get her bearings. The room was relatively dark; despite the beautiful day it was outside, there were no windows in this little room, only lamps. The ancient table coupled with the medieval, black lamps that hung from the walls made the room feel like a dungeon.

"Everyone, meet Esmerelda. Our seer" Cyrus said as he grandly extended his arms in a bid to emphasise Esme, even though she was the only person standing at the door. The way Cyrus showed her off like a prized pig made her nervous, but the way the six people around the table stared at her made her was terrifying. Each and every one of them stood and came to inspect her, circling her like vultures as if she was something that they wanted to buy but had to make sure was in good condition first. As they talked amongst themselves and pretended that Esme couldn't hear them, Esme's fears began to reach fever pitch.

"Wh- where are Regina and Robin," Esme asked as the men lost interest in her and returned to their table.

"I can assure you they are quite alright," Cyrus said in a tone that reminded Esme of how a snake would talk; slimy and false.

"Where are they?" Esme repeated but Cyrus ignored her question, smiled, pulled out a chair at the huge circular table and looked at her expectantly.

"Please i just need to know where they are," Esme pleaded, ensuring she stood exactly where she was until she got an answer. Cyrus, however, had other ideas.

"Do you know why you are here, Esmerelda?" Cyrus asked her, as he left Esme's chair out and went to sit on the largest chair at the central seat of the table with his arms outstretched; a perfect concoction of both overly-comfortable and intimidating.

"No."

This entire situation was surreal for Esmerelda. Regina and Robin where somewhere in this castle, she just knew it, and it was all her fault. This was the exact reason Esme didn't want to stay away; they were in danger because of her. She had allowed herself to grow close to them, to trust them, and now they were being hunted just like her. Cyrus was dangerous, perhaps more dangerous than Zoe, and there was no way Esme could allow them to stay here. She knew that Cyrus somehow had powers, for she had seen him use them on Robin, but Esme's powers had grown since she was last here; she was not the same terrified young woman she was but she wasn't sure she wanted them to know that. Not quite yet. But she wouldn't let them intimidate her. With this in mind, Esme pushed her chin up a little higher, stood up a little taller and walked as confidently as she could towards the seat Cyrus had extended for her. She watched as the men began to mumble to themselves and the surprise that spread across their faces caused a hint of a smile to spread across hers.

"I assume you heard talks about an uprising prior to you fleeing," Cyrus said, unmoved by her bold symbol of confidence. In contrast to the surprised expressions on the six mens faces, Cyrus now clasped his hands together and leant towards her, with his elbows and forearms on the table. Esme wasn't quite sure how to answer; was it a trick question? Had something happened that Cyrus thought she had caused?

"Umm.. yes. Yes i had. But i left before anything actually happened," Esme said, placing her hands on her lap and looking Cyrus directly in his piercing blue eyes as he addressed her.

"I'm sure. Well we are nearing the end. My sister is weak and i am strong," he said with a smirk. "We have achieved great success however we must overcome one hurdle and that is her magical… troops."

"Troops?"

"Oh yes. I'm afraid my sister has gained quite the following," Cyrus said as he lay back in his seat, lounging and smirking at Esme; as if she was simply there for his entertainment.

"I guess fear makes obtaining power a hell of a lot easier," Esme said. The filter that prevented her from saying everything she as thinking was under immense pressure in this room, and so it slipped out, Esme didn't necessarily regret it. She had spent years trying to please Zoe, trying to appease her (without actually doing everything Zoe asked of her) in the hope that she would somehow get out and that didn't work. Maybe a little bit of courage was what she needed now. Esme was not sure how Cyrus took her little outburst, as he maintained a constant, steely expression, but the smile that spread across his face was much more menacing than she had hoped to see.

"Quite," was all Cyrus said, albeit in a sort of purr that shook Esme to her core, and Esme could sense everyone around the table begin to get nervous, as if they wanted the ground to swallow them whole. Cyrus was sitting directly opposite Esme and although Esme began to look around the table at the other men, none of whom made eye contact with her, she could feel his cold, serpent like eyes following her every movement.

"You will help us defeat her," Cyrus said, in a matter of fact tone and an emphatic 'will'. Esme continued to look around the room, but something inside her flicked when she heard what Cyrus said; this wasn't some ridiculous situation anymore, this was very, very dangerous. She had always heard that Cyrus was a good, fair ruler but who was to say that was true? She had never met him until now, and right now, he was a truly terrifying man.

"How?" Esme asked, returning her gaze to Cyrus.

"You're going to help me defeat her magical…. army."

"Army? How many magical people does she have?"

"Our last estimate was around 30," the old man to her left said. Esme looked at him and wondered how he had come into this horrible situation. This little man beside her looked like he could be a great-grandfather and yet he was talking about revolting against an empress who's family had ruled for centuries. His long grey beard aged him, as did the wrinkles that had formed at the side of his eyes and mouth, yet when he talked of the information about the revolt, he looked youthful and Esme couldn't understand it.

"30? How? This island isn't even supposed to have magic. That's why she locked me up."

"Is it? Are you quite sure?" Cyrus laughed, as he crossed his arms and smiled again at Esme, watching her reaction as if she was a dancing monkey.

"I… I always assumed so yeah-" Esme answered however Cyrus heartily laughed at her response and so she was forced to stop.

"I honestly thought you were smarter than that," he said as he threw his arms in the air in an overly dramatic attempt to act as if he was disappointed.

"Oh well, why don't we give you some time to think a little harder. We will start your training at dawn," Cyrus said in a condescending tone that immediately angered Esme but he had left his seat and was now making his way towards her. When he was looming over her, he extended his arm, and Esme was simply too terrified to answer back; she knew he wanted to make her feel as small as possible, and so she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of knowing that he succeeded. She stood up, took his arm and walked with him in absolute silence. They walked down long hallways, went through many doors and turned countless corners until they eventually came to a huge stairwell that was guarded by two guards, fully dressed in armour and armed with swords and knives. Until this point, Cyrus had been muttering on about the gardens and the weather, disgustingly calm about the severity of the situation Esme was in, but once they began to walk up the huge, sandstone staircase, closely followed by the two guards, Esme could sense his mood changing, somehow. The second she got to the top of the stairs, she felt him get more tense; his grip of her arm tightened and his incessant muttering had stopped.

"Regina! Robin!" Esme shouted. She was incredibly happy to see that they were okay but she was much more horrified than happy. They were in a cell. They were cramped into a cage, no larger than a double bed. The floor and ceilings were made of the same sandstone that rest of the castle was built with but there were no windows, just one bench, two blankets and a bucket in the corner; they were caged up like test animals. But before she could run to them, the guards grabbed her, an arm each, and shoved her hard against the wall. There, Cyrus put a cuff on her, much like Zelena's, and chained both her hands and feet together; like a prisoner.

"Get away from her!" She heard Regina or Robin scream but that was of no use, Cyrus looked like a man possessed.

"You will not use magic unless supervised. You will have no contact with anyone outside this castle. You will-"

"I get it. So what's the punishment. You don't let me eat? You don't let me sleep? You don't let me drink? Which one is it because believe me you and your sister are much more alike than you think," Esme practically spat at Cyrus. Although Esme saw a glimpse of surprise, possibly at the words or possibly at the outburst in general considering she was shackled, he quickly returned to the same man he was seconds ago.

"Ahh, but i'm much smarter. You see, you escaped Zoe and ran free from consequence for years. That won't happen when you're here," Cyrus said, his face mere centimetres from Esme's. A sickening grin appeared on Cyrus's face and she knew he was right.

"Because you have my parents," Esme said with a slight laugh. She had to laugh; if she didn't she would cry and she wouldn't give Cyrus the gratification.

"Very good. So if you behave, they eat. You perform your tasks, they drink. You do exactly as i ask, and no harm will come to them. You have my word," Cyrus said, as he emphatically put his hand on his heart.

"Forgive me if i don't take your word as particularly reliable," she said and with that, the confident, mocking look Cyrus had plastered onto his face disappeared and his anger rose to the surface. He menacingly grabbed the chain that linked Esme's cuffed hands and feet and effectively dragged her into the cell beside Robin and Regina.

"I. Have. Had. Enough. Of. You." Cyrus shouted erratically, pulling Esme's cuffs unbearably sharply with every word he spat. Esme gritted her teeth in pain, and Regina and Robin screamed and banged the bars to their cell but it made no difference. Cyrus threw her so forcefully into the cell, Esme fell onto her hands and knees, and when she looked back at him, he smiled a sinister smile and strode out the doors.