In the past…into the past

“…Life is overwhelming; heavy is the head that wears the crown.”
Limp Bizkit, “Re-arranged.”

His father, whose high position and esteem allowed him the disciplined restraint to cloak his disappointment, instructed them, once again, to retrieve his son from whatever mire mired him at the moment. And they did, pulling him out of stables and taverns and ditches, wallowing in filth, or from the arms of his many lovers, and from fights. They would clean him up and sober him up or put him to bed and force him to eat. Then everything was better, again, for the meantime.

The cycle would continue then, again, and the father became increasingly depressed, consumed by the notion that he was the cause of his beloved son’s sadness…his ways. And he wondered what he did or said that generated such pain. But in reality, this was not at all the case. The son in fact, agonized over the disappointment and difficulty he caused his father, adding more to his burden. His problems he carried squarely on his shoulders as he sank deeper and more firmly into his own design.

In time, there was nothing to do. All the man’s power, his influence, was not enough to save his most loved son. He had loved his father so very much. But he was scared to be the king.