Lucien's madness had stolen the very life from him. Everything he had was taken by an angry old man, trying to force to world to bend its knee.

His sister was dead, his dog was dead, his wife and their four children were dead. He watched Hammer mourn her adoptive father, had seen men forget their very lives, merely for disobeying...and he had lived the torment gone through by the guards and slaves within the Spire. Thousands of people died, all because one man, one lunatic, thought the world could be changed for the better.

He was a good man, though. Sparrow, the man with the name of a bird, a child's name, was a good, loving man. And so, when given the chance, he chose the happiness of others over himself. Because, even though he missed his family, and his best friend, he was a Hero. He could overcome the pain. These common folk, though...he did not know if they could, and he did not want to force them to deal with it longer than they already had.

Hammer was proud of him. Garth kept his silence. Reaver scoffed.

But Sparrow did not care. He left the Spire, his friends gone, his family dead, and the people of Albion grateful to him.

Through the portal in Oakfield, the bodies of his children lay scattered in the grass beside the stream. The youngest was only a babe...barely a year old. The sight made him convulse, and he bent in half to vomit. If Lucien could kill a babe, he was terrified what he could have possibly done to his wife. And when he found her, in the kitchen, dress torn and covered in blood, he held her body and wept. She had fought against the murderer of her babies, the man that dared attack her home and her security.

"I promised you I would never let you fall into harm's way. I promised you that we would grow old, and watch our children age and have families of their own. I promised you everything you had ever wanted...and I failed you."

He buried their bodies next to the windmill, and begged the demon door to close again, to never open for anyone.

"Keep my family safe."

And the demon door did.

Sparrow spent five long years uniting Albion under one ruler, one crown, and another ten years making it a pleasant, safe place to live. He opened schools, forced technology to advance, repaired roads, expanded towns...spent half a treasury of gold on training guards to protect his citizens.

He was forty-seven, now. He had a new wife; a Queen, to sit on the throne beside his own. A Queen, to bear his heirs, to provide companionship. She was small, quiet, and pretty, with dark hair and dark eyes.

She had been a Dweller, and only eight when he went to the Dweller camp to gain the support of their king. She was the niece of Sabine, and Sparrow promised the man that he would take good care of her, once she came of age, would take her from the cold, harsh mountains, and make her a queen, safe and secure. And Sabine agreed.

The day of her eighteenth birthday was set as their wedding day. A young woman, only eighteen, and married to a man more than twice her age. But she was a queen, and he was kind to her. By the end of their first year of marriage, she actually loved him...but she was not ready to be a mother, and the bodies of his children still haunted him, even after sixteen years. So they waited.

Seven years later, when his Dweller Queen was twenty-six, and Sparrow fifty-five, their first child was born. A son, Logan; a handsome babe, with dark hair and dark eyes, like his mother. When the announcement was made around Albion, that a son had been born to the royal couple, the people made a toast to their little prince's health, and muttered about how it was 'about bloody time the King had a child!'

When Logan was nine, another son was born to the King and Queen. He was a tiny baby, with blond hair, like his father's, and a curious glint in his big blue eyes (also from his father). And this time, Albion toasted to their King's patience, joking about how 'the old man has two rowdy boys to look after now; hope his missus is up to the task!'

A rather lame joke, if Sparrow said so himself.

When the Queen was forty, and her children fourteen and five, she fell ill and died, leaving Sparrow to mourn yet another wife. He was sixty-nine, now, a widower king with two children and a kingdom to take care of. In the former department, his abilities began to fail him, and he spent more and more time in the throne room or his study, running a prosperous Albion. Logan and the boy, Miles, became the proteges of Sir Walter Beck, and Jasper, Sparrow's personal servant, took up charge of the boys' wellbeing. Logan was almost a man, already, and his education was nearly over, so the greater attention was placed on Miles, who was still only a small child.

Even aging and bitter, Sparrow still found time to love his sons. Logan received praises from his father on his combat and the good marks from his tutors; Miles got toys and kisses. And, at night, when Sparrow lounged in his study, next to the fire, little Miles would run up, climb onto his father's knee, and listen with hungry ears as the elderly Hero told stories of battles fought, of winning the love of a fair maiden, of life for a young, happy Hero...sometimes Logan would listen to the stories as well, but he understood that the pained look in Sparrow's eyes meant that sad memories were being revisited, so he would pick little Miles up, and carry him off to bed.

The Hero King Sparrow had been tired, so he took a nap right there, in the throne, after sitting through a rather lengthy speech about the need of the crown to donate money to industries. He had sent the man away, and fallen asleep shortly after, much to the shock of Walter.

But no one could wake him.

After his coffin was carried into the crypt, to rest next to his Dweller Queen's, young Logan was taken out in front of a mourning crowd, and crowned the new King of Albion.

And Sparrow was finally able to rest.

Author's Note: This story will have only two chapters: this one chronicling the Hero King's life after Lucien's death, and the next one, which will follow little Prince Miles (the next one will be longer, of course, as it will be a summary of what happens in the third game, and what happens after the Crawler is defeated).

This one is rather short, I know. And, for those who want more, I apologize; I wanted it to be short, and pretty much just set the stage for the next chapter, and the story that will come after this one is over. Also, I wanted to showcase a Sparrow that, while mentally and emotionally wounded, allowed his old life to lay silent in the ground, until he was ready to join those he lost in whatever afterlife is believed in within the Fable universe (I'll admit, I'm not entirely sure...is anyone? Lemme know.).

So, I'm going to start the next chapter while it's still fresh in my mind.

Hope you enjoy this one.