50 Bedtime Story (3)

After hearing this story, Daphne was finally able to answer why Korbin smiled so much when he obviously did not feel joy at all. From his childhood, the Northern King had been trained to plaster on a permanent smile, acting for audiences even when they didn't exist. 

She could see him as a child, putting on the brightest smile only to be dismissed over and over again. 

If he had a different history, would things have turned out differently?

Or if only she had met him earlier, could the tragedies have been avoided?

Could she have brightened up his dreary life?

"It's too late to change the beginning of the tale, but there are a thousand versions of the same story." Something willed for Daphne to take his hands, and she gave them a soft squeeze. "Your Majesty, as the teller of the story, it's up to you how exactly it ends." 

Her warmth was like the promise of spring. 

"It's too late to start over, is it, My Princess?"