Everything around Arthur is quiet.
Silent.
Something he has not truly experienced in a very long time. He smiles. He can finally feel it. Content. Peaceful. At rest.
He opens his eyes and finds Arthur II looking back at him, eyes full of tears.
Arthur smiles gently. "Why are you crying? I thought you wanted me to be peaceful. Now that I finally am, you're the one crying."
Arthur II sniffles. "How do you know these aren't happy tears?"
They both laugh. Easy and unhurried, without a care in the world.
"Are you really happy?" Arthur II asks.
Arthur nods slowly. "Yes. I am."
"Really?"
"Yes, really." Arthur laughs again.
He sighs, the sound of someone finally putting something heavy down.
"I thought I was supposed to be the one who protects everyone. The one who carries the weight of the world. I took everyone's burdens and treated them as my own. Wore them like they belonged to me."
"I know now that was wrong. But I don't regret it."
