The king awoke to a beautiful morning. The sun was shining through the window and birds were singing. He got up and looked out upon his kingdom. A large town, surrounded by magnificent walls in a beautiful grassy field. He smiled, thinking of the many farmers already dedicating hours to their work. “It’s so nice” the king thought, “That even in times of war, such peace can exist.” He then noticed something strange. The queen crying. The king tried to console her, but she wouldn’t address him. Wondering what was wrong, he left his bedroom to get breakfast. He called for a servant, but nobody came. "Perhaps it’s a prank" he thought. 

“Well,” he decided, “I’m not that hungry”. He then chose to go for a walk. To enjoy the beautiful day they had. As he walked, he noticed it again. Nobody was paying him any mind. Just what was happening. Had he become invisible? It seemed silly but it was the only thought he had. He decided that he would make them see. He grabbed at basket of apples from a passerby and tried to throw it, but only managed to tug on the basket, knocking one apple free.

Defeated, he picked up the apple and continued. He noticed a pain in his chest, when he heard crying. Looking around, he found a young boy that was shouting for his mother. “Perfect” he thought. “No way he can keep up the charade”. He approached the boy, gently asking if he needed help, but the boy didn't respond. The king grew angry. “We are at war and my kingdom won’t even pay attention to me.” The pain in his chest grew. He left the boy and began to run through the streets. Attempting to bump or shake passerby. Screaming in rage, hoping for someone to notice him. The pain in his chest grew. He ran and ran, but nobody would notice him.

Finally, he found himself back in front of his castle. He was exhausted. The pain in his chest grew. Unable to bear what was happening, the king collapsed. The queen left her bedroom, sobbing. She called for a messenger. Through sobs, she told him to spread word. The messenger ran out and began yelling for everyone to hear, “The king has died.”

The king awoke for the second time that day. Rather groggy, he rose, hearing yelling. Pursuing the sound, he found a messenger. Yelling about the king’s death. The king was shocked. He once again tried to get someone’s attention. Accepting his fate, his mind immediately went to thoughts of war. “Will they fight if there is no king to fight for” he said to himself. He shook his head. “Of course, they would. They loved me”.

He followed the messenger, to see everyone’s reaction to the news. He was happy that most mourned his death. But there were some who didn’t. The king took great interest in those who didn’t. Always straying just a bit from the messenger to hear why. He heard plans to steal his crown and take the kingdom. Some seemed only to question who would be elected the new king. The king took on a sorrow look. He knew that he had no children, but to think someone unrelated would take the throne.

It was then the king lost the messenger. He had been too deep in thought. Finding satisfaction in most reactions, he headed for the castle. There he found his wife sobbing once again. He wished he could console her. Apologize for leaving her without family. For being absent for most of this war. But of course, his words were all for naught. There he remained, simply to be in her presence, until her crying stopped.

She had passed out. The grief became too much for her to bear. The king, apologizing for the last time, found his eyes glued to the floor. Until he was addressed by an unknown voice.

“First you sacrifice half your army. Now she must deal with your mistakes?” The king found before him, one of the generals who had passed during the war.

“To think you would just abandon this war. A cause you sacrificed a quarter of your kingdom to” the general snarled.

“I gave up nothing! It is not my fault that I died last night” the king snapped.

“But it is” the general said. “You gave up. The war tired you out and you wanted to surrender. You abandoned your ambition, so your body gave up too” the general explained.

“I did not want to lose any more of my people. Is that not a just reason to abandon a war” the king replied.

“Obviously you didn’t believe so” the general retorted.

The king, knowing the truth behind the general’s words, tried to think of some way to convey his apology. For days he tried to move things, write letters, even speak to people. The day of his funeral came. But since there was nobody to pass the crown onto, it was placed on a pedestal in the throne room. The king, dissatisfied with his previous rule, moved his arm to knock the crown down, expecting nothing to come from it.

To his surprise, the crown clattered against the ground. The people in the throne room were shook. Nobody was near it, it seemed it had chosen to fall. Once it was placed back on the pedestal, the gathering made sure to pay careful attention to it. Surely enough, it fell again. “The king is trying to say something” someone shouted.

Everyone wanted to know what the king was saying. Rumors of the fall of the kingdom spread. People looked towards the gates, terrified that an attack was coming. Guards and servants believed it was the king saying he would accept no new ruler. That the queen would rule alone. But the queen understood what he was saying. She looked towards the crown, and simply said, “I forgive you.”