Laurent, after so long estranged from most of his family, peers into the crackling hearth before him, after receiving the news of Helena's death. He thinks back to his first meeting with his sister, her warm welcome despite his sudden arrival into she and his other siblings' lives. She had never turned her back on him, even when he had grown so distant and detached.
Proud of his sister's achievements, fond of her memory, wishing distantly that he had seen her one last time... Laurent laments, just as when he had knelt with Helena at the grave of his twin Octavia, that he could manage weep for her. Alas, the tears never form, no matter how long he stares, no matter how long he regrets.