"Prince Grey! Please hurry!" A maid shouted from outside a room.

"Alright!" Grey replied.

Grey was getting ready for dinner with a special guest and his parents. He looked through his wardrobe. Grey preferred to change by himself, though his father told him it was perfectly normal for princes to have maids and butlers help them change and all that like.

Grey was 17, almost 18, the coming of age where he would become old enough to have a higher position in the Idela kingdom and be able to rule. He had out a blue tuxedo jacket with a white shirt and a silver bow tie to complement his striking grey eyes. He laid it all out on his large mattress. His mother named him after seeing a grey plover migrating midwinter.

His mother told him the plover was a beautiful black-bellied bird with a white coat on it's back. It was speckled with black dots reaching all the way to its forehead. She told him that she was on a trip to visit a foreign kingdom when she spotted a bird. It started to lightly sprinkle rain. The clouds were darkening and the blue skies were fading away. The guards told her it was a grey plover supposedly migrating for the winter, but it had to stop for the weather would get worse. They explained it would need to find shelter and food fast. The queen was pregnant at that time and remembered the name of the bird for the next 4 months.

When the queen was in labour and gave birth to the prince, she wasn't sure of what to name him. The king wasn't present during her labour for diplomatic reasons and couldn't help. The midwife gave suggestions, but the queen did not think her son would suit those names. She thought back to her journey where she had seen the grey plover. The queen decided to name him Grey. When she saw Grey open his eyes for the first time, she knew the name was a good choice. His eyes were a good fit for his name. The king didn't mind, but he said he would've liked to name the infant something noble like Henry or William.

Grey took off his current shirt and looked at himself in his bedroom mirror. He wasn't muscular or anything, but was fairly fit and athletic when it came to fencing. He was a bit skinny, yet tall and had a slightly pale complexion despite doing outdoor activities often. Grey had slightly dark blonde hair that was growing a bit too long. He thought about having it trimmed soon by a maid. His father decided to have it trimmed often to keep that "princely" look. Grey did think that his hair made him look more cordial.

Grey put his arms through the sleeves of his white shirt and buttoned it up hastily. He then put on the light blue tuxedo and wrapped the silver bow around his neck and tied it up. He reached into his bottom right drawer and grabbed a pair of black pants and a brown leather belt lying on top of the dresser. He changed pants and buckled the belt. All that was left were his shoes. Grey laced up his black leather shoes and tied them while singing a nursery rhyme about tying shoes. He chuckled at his immaturity and felt nostalgia.

He quickly yet neatly combed his hair in the back and his bangs to his right. Grey burst through the doors of his bedroom and ran past several maids and butlers through the hall.

"Thanks, Marian!" Grey bellowed to his ageing maid.

Grey reached the west wing of the castle and neared the dining tables. He quickly caught his breath before entering the dining hall, considering not to appear rude to the new guest. He opened the door after passing servants holding platters of food and empty dishes.

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"Sorry, I'm late. Mother, father." Grey addressed them.

"It's fine, please have a seat and greet our guest." the queen motioned toward the stranger.

Grey looked over at the odd man. He tried to be polite and bowed with his right arm in front and his left arm behind his back.

"Excuse me for the delay, sir. Pleased to meet you. My name is Grey Harrington. And your name, sir?" Grey inquired.

The man stood up and spoke. Grey thought it was rude of him to not bow back.

"You may call me J. I am a beast tamer from a small village. I came here to discuss matters with the king and queen, but I guess we can eat and drink first."

Grey thought that a single letter of the alphabet was a weird name to go by, but he supposed everyone had their own reasons.

"I suppose," Grey replied.

Grey sat down at the far end away from J. The king and queen were spaced a bit far from each other, while J was closest to the king. After Grey settled, the king gave a toast.

"Please help yourself to the food presented. Our kingdom welcomes our special guests with hospitality. Cheers." his father said as he raised his red wine glass.

The queen, J, and Grey did the same.

"Drink up."

Grey drank from his glass of apple cider. As old as he was, the prince thought that it would be better to have a clear mind to make rational decisions. Grey thought it was a bit inappropriate for people under a certain age to drink alcohol. The servants carried in the food, which was pheasant with a side of mashed potatoes and gravy. After several minutes of eating his portion, Grey sat back sighing satisfyingly after a hearty meal.

Grey wondered why J had come to the kingdom. He looked at J. J was scarfing down his food in a rather crude way. He had curly shoulder length hair that was combed, but you could tell he had not bathed for a few days. He was neither handsome nor ugly, just average like a face you would see on the streets. Aside from his face, he was very bulky and large. Perhaps a bit well fed but also strong. He was also a bit shorter than the average person.

Normally you wouldn't be able to suspect that J was a beast tamer under most circumstances, but he wore a something like a lion's hide jacket that was very thick with light brown pants. He also wore brown leather gloves. Grey saw earlier that J had a whip and a dagger at his waist when he was standing. Grey speculated he most likely had more weapons in his arsenal for hunting and taming animals.

A few moments later the queen and king had also finished eating. It was a matter of time before J decided he was full. Grey wondered how J ate so much. He could hardly eat that much without getting sick. The servants came in and carried the dishes and leftover portions away. The room was empty again. Everyone sat there sipping their wine. A conversation was started.

"So J, I would like to question on what you're keen on discussing with us. After all, it's not every day that a famous beast tamer comes to Idela's kingdom."the king asked.

"Well, I guess it's now or never," J spoke in a rather dramatic manner. "I want this kingdom as my own."