"Darwin!" Charles yelled as he ran through the house. "Darwin!" He pushed open the door to their room, where his brother was laying on the bed without a top.
"What?" Darwin glared at Charles. He had been enjoying a nice dream that was quickly shattered by Charles' constant yelling.
"Did you hear the news?" Charles was oblivious to his brother's anger, however, and continued to grin like a mad man as he jumped on top of Darwin.
"Ugh! No- Get off me!" Darwin abruptly pushed Charles off the bed and down to the wooden floor below.
"Ow!" Charles frowned as he rubbed his sore back. "Whatever."
"Alright, come on, tell me. You couldn't have woken me up for nothing." Darwin rolled his eyes and sat up.
"Humph!" Charles feigned anger and scoffed.
"Really? I can tell that you're barely holding it in." Darwin smirked.
With an eye roll, Charles sighed before getting up and taking a seat on the edge of his brother's bed.
"Fine. I heard that the Grand Archmage of Skyhart will be going around town today!" Charles began with renewed glee. "We'll finally get to see him!"
"Oh? That's pretty cool." Darwin whistled. He then proceeded to stretch out before swinging his blanket to the side and stood up. He rushed to get some thick clothes out of his box, before Charles led him outside.
"Mom, Dad! Darwin and I are gonna go take a look at the Grand Archmage in the Middle Circle!" Charles yelled to their parents as the two made their way through the house.
"Take Gus and Angie with you. They've been making a fuss about going out all day." Donald told them, and they made a detour to the back of the house to pick up the twins. The four then quickly made their way along the path that led to the gates of the Middle Circle of the city.
"Where are you four off to?" One of the soldiers that worked the day shift asked with a smile as he saw them rushing off. He was aware of who they were, as he was friends with Darwin, but he was just curios.
"Off to see the Grand Archmage during his tour!" Charles grinned brightly.
"Oh? It's been a while since his last tour, I guess. Take care, and have fun, kids." The older man said and waved them away with a wink to Darwin.
"Thanks!"
...
"Merlin, are you ready?" Arthur asked as he pushed open the door to Merlin's bedroom. The difference between the bedroom and his workshop was absolutely minimal, as it was cluttered with just as much junk as the workshop.
"Almost there, boy. Just wait a minute." Merlin replied from where he was laying under his blanket, trying to catch a few more minutes of sleep.
"Merlin! I thought I told you to get ready half an hour ago?!" Arthur cried with frustration, but the old man just grumbled lazily. "Get out of bed, you lazy old fogey!" Arthur marched to the side of Merlin's bed and pulled the blankets off him, forcing the old man to wake up.
"Geez, youth these days are so disrespectful to their elders." Merlin grumbled as he slowly sat up.
"What disrespect?! The King asked me to call you down to the courtyard, and you aren't even dressed!" Arthur held his head in his hands and ruffled his hair in frustration. He didn't understand how such an esteemed figure in any nation was so lazy.
"Calm your horses, Arthur. I can get ready in less than a minute if I want to." Merlin said as he made his way across the room and into the bathroom, while Arthur just collapsed onto the old man's bed.
Thirty seconds later, the door to the bathroom opened up, and Merlin walked out, dressed in his official mage robes, with his gray hair and beard finely groomed. The old man bumbled about for a few more seconds before snapping his fingers in a moment of enlightenment. A large hat with a pointed top and golden stars around its dark purple surface appeared in his hand and he put it on his head.
"Alright, lad. I'm ready, let's be off." The Grand Archmage smiled in the reflection of a conjured mirror before turning and basically bouncing out of the room, with his frustrated Apprentice Alchemist right behind him.
"Did you really have to do that?" Arthur asked with a sigh.
"Of course I did! Every second of sleep counts for these old bones, you know!" Merlin replied enthusiastically. There wasn't even a shred of remorse for the heart attack he had almost given the poor boy.
"You are really a frustrating old man, you know." Arthur sighed again.
"And you really are a naïve little apprentice." Merlin laughed as the two walked down the hall of the Royal Castle. The guards that patrolled the halls of the castle always stopped to bow at Merlin whenever the old man walked past them, and he nodded in return.
Before long, the two had arrived at the front of the castle, where a carriage was waiting to take Merlin on his tour. The coachman enthusiastically held open the door for Merlin and Arthur to get into the carriage, before shutting it and returning to the front of the carriage.
The sound of a whip cracking rang through the chilly air as the coachman flicked the reigns of the horses, urging them to move forward, and into the city.