[A bit of self-consciousness enters his expression.]

Others have asked you to do this, haven't they? It's an easy thing to ask, but much harder to do. We always expect more of ourselves than we do others.

[Regis lets his fingers gently rub over the backs of those trembling hands. It is all he can do to try and bring peace to a pain that has existed for so long.]

You are correct in that. There is a phrase I try to live by back home: "One cannot lead by standing still. A king pushes onward always, accepting the consequences and never looking back."

This is something I think applies not just to kings, but to everyone. Some feel it is a way of ignoring the past and not thinking about the error of ones ways, but I believe it to be the opposite. It is a person learning from their mistakes and not allowing themselves to be mired down by them. Sometimes it feels impossible to continue on, but doing so is the only way to grow beyond those mistakes. One cannot grow and make up for their mistakes if they don't allow themselves to continue living.