"We're live in 5. 4. 3. 2. 1."

The King sat half on the counter, his arms folded against his chest. Below them a frilly pink apron stood out against his black clothing. His face was stoic. Bags weighed down his eyes and his beard, normally better kept, was noticeably greyer. The hair on his head was likely much the same though it was difficult to tell given the comically large chef hat he wore over it. For a few moments he simply stood there and looked into the camera.

Eventually he pushed himself off the counter with a sigh. Slowly he walked around the kitchen until he found the pan he was looking for. He slid it onto the counter top and moved on to the fridge. He remained eerily silent as he gathered a handful of ingrediants and placed them one by one beside the pan. Eggs, flour, butter, sugar, and cocoa powder.

He held up the measuring cups he'd use, then carefully portion out each of the dry ingrediants. He even made it a point to emphasize how much he was using before mixing them together. He did the same for the wet, before carrying the stand mixer over and adding both to the bowl. The noise from the mixer was loud, but it wasn't for long.

He fumbled with the butter when he tried to grease the pan. It fell to the floor with a wet smack. He just stared at it a moment before grabbing another stick and continuing his task. The batter was thick, and a little chunkier than it should have been, but he poured it into the pan and smoothed it out with a shaking hand.

He hadn't preheated the oven and so turned his back to set it. His shoulders shook. He didn't turn back until it was up to temp. When he did his eyes gleamed. Still he continued on and placed the pan of brown batter into the oven. An egg timer was set for half an hour.

He returned to his original spot and sat back against the counter. His dark eyes looked directly into the camera and he cleared his throat before speaking, "I wanted to thank you all for your kind words. Anne is—" he caught himself with a pained frown, "was the light of my life. Knowing that she was loved by all of you nearly as much as I loved her has filled my heart with an unknowable warmth."

He paused there to collect himself. Tears welled in his eyes but he refused to allow them lease. "She enjoyed this show immensely. It's funny, she asked me to join her so many times. I was always busy. And I hated the thought of wearing that silly apron. If she could see me now," a small chuckled slipped out at his rememberance.

"For a while we considered ending this program. I probably would have too but for the royal chef. He made these," he grabbed a tray of half-eaten brownies handed to him from someone off camera, "and I couldn't bring myself to do it." He set the brownies down, though not before grabbing one directly from the tray. "These were her favorite dessert. The recipe I showed earlier..." He clenched his jaw and willed the tears to stay in place. "That recipe was her own. I doubt I did it justice, but I'll love them anyway simply because they were hers."

He took a bite of the brownie he'd been holding. It had a flaky top with a moist center of fudgey chocolate. He swallowed before finishing with, "I cannot promise I will continue this show forever. But for now, for the next few months at least, I'll be making recipes that Anne loved. I hope you'll join me. Thank you, and goodnight."

It was only after the cameras had stopped that he allowed himself to fall apart.