My bedroom was filled with comfortable silence and gentle warmth as I slumbered soundly on the soft mattress of my bed, that is until a faint creak from the door broke the silence and small footsteps followed along.

My dreams faded and my eyes refused to open as I felt a presence climb onto my bed and proceed to jump on it.  

"Wakey wakey! Come on daddy! Wake up wake up the sun is up!"

"Samuel... " I moaned.

"Come on come on! It's time for the story!"

I buried myself under the blanket. "Give daddy 10 minutes to sleep... No, 15 minutes... " 

"Aw come on I want to hear the story! Y-You said you'll tell me tomorrow a-and today is tomorrow!"    

I felt Samuel's small body swimming under the covers and tugging strands of my hair, begging me to wake from bed. 

"Come on daddy... Please? Please please please?"

I give up.

"Alright... You win... " I finally forced my eyes to open as I yawned.

"Yay! You're up!" Samuel burst out of the sheets and jumped multiple times. Repeating his 'yays'.

A chuckle slipped out of my lips. "You're really excited for the story, huh?"

"I am! Can you tell me now? Please please?" 

"Easy there Samuel, I haven't washed my face yet nor had breakfast... Did you wash your face?"

Samuel avoided my question by looking around. 

"Samuel... "

"Sorry... But I can't wait longer."

"Alright, how about you wash and tidy yourself for breakfast? Maybe I'll tell you the story there." I smiled and his eyes lit brighter. 

Samuel didn't say a word but jumped from the bed and ran straight to the door with sheer excitement, all I did was laugh as I followed my own morning routine. 

~~~

The guards pushed the door open as I walked into the dining room with Samuel in my arms, and one of The Helpiurs approached me.

"Your majesty, the men you asked to escort are waiting outside." He bowed, arms usually hidden within his sleeves.

"Perfect timing, let them in." I nodded and went to the table. 

I put Samuel next to my seat, and the moment I sat, the doors were opened and the men walked inside with a bow. 

"Good morning gentlemen, I hope you had a good night's sleep," I spoke.

"Yes--" Darvin was interrupted by Fearian.

 "Actually, we had a great night now that our father is with us," Fearian spoke gladly.

"That is great to hear, what about the others?" I looked at Kyvan, Shaun and Red.

"It was a fine night, your majesty," Kyvan answered on behalf of Shaun. 

Red remained silent while his brows hung heavy over his neutral eyes, arms tangled in front of his chest. "Last night wasn't good nor bad."

"I see, and it seems like you brought a guest with you, care to introduce us to him? Red?" I said.

The group looked at the hunter in confusion and Red did the same to them. "What are you looking at?"

"What guest?" Fearian narrowed his brows.

Red let out a heavy sigh as he stepped aside to reveal a young Sea Meanian, with dark spots taking over his skin and eyes that resembled the sunrise and sunset. Despite the boy being the shortest of them all, I was the one who noticed him.

"You're the polite boy from the Navy Hills Forest," Darvin said, surprised.

"And you're the brave men who fought the beast!" The Sea boy cried back in excitement.

Red gently pulled the boy away from the Grevalons. "This... Is my brother, and he was supposed to be in Iyrona Town but the caretakers are busy, so I had to bring him with me."

"I didn't know you have a brother, Red," I said and added. "please, take a seat." I gestured at the chairs around me.

The men hesitated, except for Fearian who strode to the nearest seat meanwhile the rest stared in confusion and disbelief. 

"I understand that you're not used to this, but please, take a seat as this table was prepared for you to feast." 

After a few short moments, the men finally accepted the gesture and everyone took a seat, except for Red, who sat on the ground due to his large size. I snapped my fingers and the servants brought the food to the table; each plate steaming with the scent of spice. 

Without anything said, I gestured again to begin the feast. And Fearian was the first to bite.

"Fearian!" Darvin whispered loudly to his brother. "Calm down and show some manners!"

"What? I'm starving!" Fearian spoke mouth full of food. "Besides, I didn't eat aggressively!"  

"You look aggressive!"

The Grevalons continued to argue quietly while I turned to the Minsans. Red tried his best to not bend the cutlery with his strong fingers as the Sea Meanian boy stared at the food in awe, eyes sparkling in wonder and amazement. Too amazed to realise that the tabletop only reached his neck from his short height.

"What's your name?" I asked gently, and the boy finally turned his head to me.

"Me? Oh uh... " He stuttered for a bit. "My name is Soarin... Soarin Carvar Minsan," Soarin answered. 

"Soarin, that's a nice name for a curious boy like you. Here, let me help you." I snapped my fingers again and a servant came at once. 

"Yes your majesty?" 

"Could you bring a few books and a cushion for the boy?" I kindly asked, the servant nodded and walked away.

"N-No need for that your majesty, I'm fine," Soarin spoke as his cheeks turned pink.

"It's alright, I had to so you can reach your plate." I chuckled. 

Red gently poked the boy's shoulder with his elbow, Soarin was confused at first until he realised something from Red's action. "Oh! Uh, thank you, your majesty!" Soarin nodded his head, blushing even more. 

"So, I don't want to sound rude your majesty, but I want to ask why you invited us to breakfast?" Red asked, still focusing on his plate.

Fearian was about to speak in disbelief at Red's speech, but I raised my hand. 

"My act of kindness isn't random, and I brought you all here for a few reasons, these reasons are important as well," I said then added. "now I don't want to remind you of the awful side of your accomplishment, but I brought you here to reward you with a humble feast as a thank you, for your help in ending that incident."

Everyone stopped consuming and darted their heads at me after mentioning what happened. But I continued anyway.

"We might have gone through bitter and dark moments in the process, but in the end, we put a stop to the chaos thanks to your efforts. Whether it was participating in a battle or just providing information, you all did really well. And I truly appreciate it." 

The men exchanged looks in concern before they faded into relief. 

"The other reason would be that, I brought you here because I know for certain that some of you are not only curious about what is truly going on, but you seemed to be secretly demanding the truth while all I did was change the subject or refused to speak with an answer. Or there were times when I didn't provide clear answers." I looked at Samuel beside me, who smiled widely at me.

"So, Samuel over here gave me a great idea, that is to tell you my story in detail so you can have the knowledge of what happened, and what is happening." I rubbed Samuel's head.

"Samuel?" Fearian tilted his head. 

"My adopted son who I never told you about until now." I lifted Samuel to my lap so the men could see him. And they got surprised. 

"Woah, I didn't see him sitting there, he's so small!" Shaun pushed his spectacles up.

"He's adorable!" Darvin cupped his cheeks as he drew a big smile. "How old is he?!" 

"If I'm not mistaken, he's about six and a half," I assumed.

"He's so young!" Darvin almost squealed in joy. "He reminds me of my adopted sons when they were little!"

"Alright Darvin, we get it, you admire kids, so don't get started on how you raised your own human sons." Fearian grabbed one of Darvin's hands and lowered it. Eyes rolling. 

"Why a human son though? If you don't mind me asking, your majesty," Kyvan asked. 

I hesitated for a moment. 

"Samuel was found on Marketa Shore two years ago, and I decided to take care of him." I then sent a mind message for the men to read about what happened, so Samuel wouldn't hear about it and somehow trigger his past. 

When I first saw Samuel, I sent a group to search for his parents and learn his whereabouts, and it turned out that he fled from his village that was under attack by beasts and warlocks. As for his parents, they didn't survive the invasion. And I had to find a lie to convince a crying child.

The men understood the mind message and sympathised with his condition. 

"But I have a question in mind, are you going to let this boy be your successor? And what about your real son? We haven't seen him since you took the throne." Red squinted his eyes at me. 

"Hunter Minsan! Can you be polite for once? You're speaking to the King!" Fearian cried.

"I'm asking realistic questions here, Grevalon, why would the king let a human be the heir instead of his Meanian son that we haven't met at all? Does that make sense to you?" Red crossed his arms again. 

I raised my hand to stop an upcoming argument, and the men fell silent instantly. 

"I have my reason, and that doesn't mean I have to declare it to my people, however, one day my truth will come to you even if I haven't spoken a word." I said calmly, despite Red's cold manners.

"Now, this isn't about Samuel, this is about my past." I eyed Red as he looked in the other direction.

"And once you learn about my story, you will have a new perspective on the events that I went through and what you're going to face in the future. And you're going to realise that this is bigger than you thought it was." And my tale began; the men listened.