After Gareth made sure that his wife was safely tucked into bed and breathing, he walked to their bathroom and glanced at his reflection in their water stained mirror.
The grief and sadness he had been holding in from the moment he realized his daughter was gone, finally bubbled up to the surface, and the elven king cried bitterly.
He had failed, not only as a king, but as a husband and a father. He had failed to see that an enemy had infiltrated his palace, he had failed to protect his only child, and he had failed his wife by allowing someone to take away the child she suffered so much to give life to.
Gareth slammed his fist on the edge of the water basin, almost cracking it in the process. What kind of pathetic man was he? He didn't deserve to be called a king, later on a husband or father. If he couldn't protect his own family, how in the world was he going to protect an entire kingdom?