RAGNAR COULD HAVE BEEN A BETTER KING!

King Duse made his way to the towers only to be met with a pacing Queen Astrid at the entrance. She was moving up and down, rubbing her hands and muttering something to herself which Kung Duse would guess to be prayers and chants.

King Duse alighted from the means of transportation and walked up to her. She was outside of the major door that led to the interior of the tower. When Queen Astrid saw King Duse approaching her, her eyes lifted up in anxiousness and expectations.

Her mumbling of words increased. She stopped pacing but continued rubbing her hands.

"And?" She asked once the King got close to her with her eyes staring into his searching for the unknown.

"Nothing. They are all gone. Every single last one of them." King Duse said to her as he lowered his gaze with his facial expression giving it away that he was ashamed.

Queen Astrid stood for a minute without rubbing her hands, completely paled and mortified. It was as if the last drop of blood in her had left. She stood unable to utter a single word with mouth agape. What she was thinking was unknown to the King but with the way she was, worry filled the King.

"So, he took them all?" Queen Astrid asked horrified, staring into the open distance.

"He, she, it, we don't know what it is but it took them all!" King Duse answered.

"All of them?" Queen Astrid asked again.

"All of them." King Duse answered.

"What was it like?" Queen Astrid asked, staring directly into the King's eyes.

"It was petrifying and mortifying. It was a ground of dead bodies laying around into the heart of Purple Hearts Valley. Limbs severed and faces disfigured, hearts pulled out with their weaponry laying around, useless. It was such a bloody scene that not even the strongest could look at without feeling shivers down their spine." King Duse answered.

"Oh" Queen Astrid said in more of a hitched breath as the little glow of light left in her emerald green eyes went out.

"Queen Astrid?.... Can we go in? I hate being outside like this with all the guards eavesdropping on our conversation." King Duse said as he looked at the guards positioned with heads leaning forward towards the King and Queen trying to hear what was being said.

"Certainly, My King." Queen Astrid complied as they made their way to the interior of the towers, heading for the King's chambers.

Once in, with Queen Astrid behind, closing the door, King Duse with his back facing her asked;

"Queen Astrid, am I a failure?"

Queen Astrid once she heard the question, headed towards the King and faced him to see tears rolling down from his eyes.

She knew that it was time to drop her title of being a Queen and be the beloved wife that he knew her to be. She knew that it was time to comfort and motivate him because the King had lost all hope for him to tear up. She knew that it was time to help him find solace and will to go on.

King Duse had ever shed a tear. Not even when his father died or when the Luna Goddess became unresponsive to him. Not even when he lost the whole army to the first attacks of the God of Death. King Duse was like that. A man with emotions but he never showed it too much ever since he took upon the Crown. He couldn't not be seen weak or fibble. Even when he was worried and scared about the current situation, he could never show it out and only did so in secret when he spent time with the Queen.

She was the only one that was able to see beyond the facade that the King had put up and know what was really going on with him. King Nexus Duse came from a generation of soft hearted people. Even his ancestral fathers were just like him. They were known to be kind and caring and were easily affected by news and would display their feelings out loud without regards to the people present.

But when it came to King Duse's turn and with the rise of the elders and the God of Death, he knew there was no room to be soft so he took it upon himself to be a strong King.

Queen Astrid faced him, cupped his face, cleaned his tears and caressed his cheeks before looking into his eyes with love and telling him;

"You are not a failure! You are never a failure! You are the strongest person ever! You are King Nexus Duse, ruler of Silvercrest kingdom, father and protector to all Crestians! You are great!" Queen Astrid praised him.

"Do not ever think of yourself any less!" The Queen added as she pulled him into an embrace.

King Duse couldn't hold back all of his feelings and let them all out. The burdens, pain and sorrows that he had kept were all coming out. This was the first time that he was being real and free. He was acknowledging the pain and all it had caused him.

As he wept sorrowfully and heavily, Queen Astrid also couldn't hold back her tears. She let them flow freely. This was a moment of bonding for the two of them.

"I am the worst King ever! My reign is a disaster! Everyone is just dying and I can't do anything to save them! I shouldn't be King! I should never have been made King!" King Duse said in between the hug and in tears.

"No! No! Don't ever say that! You deserve to be King! Your reign is not over yet and your best moment is yet to come! It is going to get better!" Queen Astrid comforted.

"When?! How?! Is it when everything is gone?! Maybe Ragnar Nova would have been a better King than me! Maybe I should have made him King! He would have been able to save us from all of this doom!" King Duse said as he sobbed hard.

"I hate it when you doubt yourself and second guess everything!" Queen Astrid said as she pulled him away from the hug and faced him directly.

"You are the most caring, protective and astonishing King ever! Ragnar Nova can never be you or do the things that you do! He could never be able to protect the people just like you have been doing!" Queen Astrid motivated him.

She knew that his morale had been lost and was gone. He is second guessing everything and is in a state of self hate and self doubt. The Queen knew that she had to do everything to make him feel normal and whole again. She had to make him feel strong and be the King that he was known to be.

"You are just saying that because you are my wife! Trying to make me feel better! But it is the truth, Ragnar Nova could have been a better King!" King Duse said.

"Yes, I am saying that to make you feel better but also because it is the truth! You are the best King ever and the people can attest to that! Nothing like this has ever happened during any King's reign except yours and the fact that you are able to handle it and keep it under control shows that you are a wise and brave King!" Queen Astrid soothed him.

"I couldn't even look at their loved ones when passing them today. They were all gathered outside of the Purple Hearts Valley and I could even spare a glance at any one of them because I was filled with shame! They were all screaming for their loved ones, saying that I am a traitor and a murderer King!" King Duse disclosed it to her.

"Are you a traitor and a murderer King?" The Queen asked.

"Maybe I am!" King Duse replied.

"Beautiful things can happen when the heart stays open. There are times where every shred of hope is gone but you are not only because I'll always be there. I'll always be there guiding you, supporting you and loving you. You are not a murderer or a traitor! You are the best thing that has ever happened to the kingdom of Silvercrest and you just have to believe it and make the people see it! You are King!" Queen Astrid said to him.

"I…am King." King Duse muttered slowly.

"Yes! Yes! That is it! You are King! Be the King!" Queen Astrid cheered him.

"I am King!" King Duse uttered feeling motivated.

"You are King!" Queen Astrid cheered on.

"I am the King of Silvercrest kingdom!" King Duse said feeling motivated.

"Now, show them!" Queen Astrid voiced.

"I will!" The King said.

King Duse was feeling alright again and has finally come to the realization that all hope was not lost. They could try again!

"Thank you, Astrid" he said to her.

"You are welcome." She returned the gesture with a hug.

King Duse pulled away from the hug and rendered a soft kiss on her lips which she reciprocated back before he whispered into her ears;

"You are everything I ever wanted!"

They both engaged in another hug before their moment was ruined by a series of knocks on the door.

"King Duse…" the person and voice of Ragnar called.

He paused and took a minute before he continued with the hope that the King was inside.

"The elders have all gathered in the meeting chamber awaiting your presence. The mission you gave to me has been carried out and we are waiting for your next course of action. The elders are calling for you to deliberate on the issue of the mass burial!" Ragnar revealed.

"Mass burial?" Queen Astrid asked after they both pulled away from the hug.

"For the Vallians." the King answered.

"Okay." Queen Astrid said.

"I shall take my leave now, Astrid." King Duse said to her.

"Very well then." Queen Astrid said and stepped outside as the King made his way to the door.

He got outside and met Ragnar still standing there and said to him;

"Lead the way."

Ragnar led the way and he followed.

The elders! Time to face the most cunning set of Crestians!