Arthur walked by Merlin's side down the street of the town. Archimedes flew above their head following them as they went.
"So what are we learning to today?" Arthur asked
"Well let's see" Merlin said as he walked "There's always the basics math science and the like, but there's also.." he paused " also…" Arthur leaned in to listen while Archimedes landed on his shoulder and did the same. "Well uh" Merlin scratched his head with his cane "It's..em..uh" he let out puzzled as he came to the door "AH HAH!" he shouted out "Now I remember" he said turning to them with his hand on the knob "Etiquette"
"Etiquette?"
"Well yes boy after all, all rulers need etiquette, which is why I've brought some here"
"Brought some?" Arthur asked. Merlin opened to the door to reveal six beautiful women in extravagant gowns. "Ladies" Merlin bowed and took of his hat "I appreciate you all coming here today. I hope It's not troublesome for you"
"Not troublesome at all" Ariel said "We're glad to help" she said as they all smiled
"It is much appreciated "Merlin thanked them again. He then turned around to wave wart forward but the boy tripped and landed on the floor on his way in.
He looked up to see the six women chuckling at him "So this must be the future king Arthur" Cinderella said as she knelt down and offered to hand to him. Looking at her he then took it
"Thank you ma'am"
"No need to thank me" she said kindly "Or any of us for that matter, where glad to help" They all then smiled at each other.
"Shouldn't we get started?" Snow White spoke up. The six princesses walked over to the table and Arthur soon followed them.
They all sat around the table together and then Aurora spoke up. "Now it's always best to express yourself in a calm respectable manner. Remember your ruling a kingdom so people will be looking for you for guidance" Arthur nodded his head "But at the same time you won't be taking care of the problems all on your own. There will always be someone there to help you whether it's three good fairies"
"A fairy godmother" Cinderella said
"Seven little men" Snow white said
"Mice and birds" Cinderella said
"Fish in the sea" Ariel said
"Or even your own prince" Jasmine said and they princesses looked up dreamily. They all then snapped out of their daydreams and looked back at him "But that's a discussion for another time"
"I have Sir Edgar and Kay to help me" Arthur said
"I think you have more than that" Ariel said as they all turned back to Merlin.
"Well uh yes that's true" Merlin said walking up to him as he sat down "But they'll help you for today. I have business to attend to around town" Merlin said.
"When will I brake for training?" Arthur asked
"No need to worry" Merlin said "Leon's off to other world's doing other things so he can't train you for today. So just listen to what these lovely ladies have to say and take something away from their lessons and that will be enough"
Olympus coliseum
Leon walked through the gate and into the coliseum. In the stadium he saw Hercules with his back to him lifting huge weights over his head and doing squats. Leon approached him from behind as he continued his workout.
"Hey" he said "Hercules"
Herc turned around and looked to see Leon "AW hey Great to see ya!" he said cheerfully "Are you here to sign up for another game?" Herc asked as he continued doing squats.
"No it's just that I… I.." Leon paused as he struggled to find words as Herc looked at him confused as he still did squats "Do you really have to do that?"
"Sorry" Herc apologized "But if Phil sees me slacking off he'll just intensify my training and today's supposed to be a light day"
"Light?" Leon said as he gazed at the large inhuman weights Hercules was using.
"Yep. So what do you wanna talk about" Herc said before looking around to see if Phil was around and then put the weights down.
"Well I have this problem or rather….. predicament….situation with training"
"Ah came to learn from the best huh? Come on put your arms up" Herc said as he did quick fake jabs at Leon who remained unfazed
"Not me" Leon said
"Oh" Herc said putting his arms down "Then who?"
"Well Merlin brought this kid over and he wants me to train him"
"Oh well that shouldn't be too hard. I don't know much about training someone else so you should really go talk to Phil; he's probably more qualified than me"
"HERC!" a sharp voice shouted out.
"Uh oh" Herc flinched. They both then turned to see the small goat man running up to them.
"Whadda think you're doing kid? Your still training, remember?"
"Yeah I know but-"
"NO buts!" Phil snapped "Clearly lightweight training isn't enough for you. You think it's just a game. Well I'm gonna fix that now! 500 laps around the coliseum for a warm up now!" Phil said holding up four fingers.
"But Phil I-"
"NOW!" he shouted and Herc ran off. Phil then turned to Leon. "And what are you doing here? Putting a bad influence on my star pupil?"
"Not intentionally"
"Sure sure" Phil mused "So what can I do for ya?"
"Well I need help with training. Not me but someone else"
"Well dontcha worry you came to the right guy" Phil said stroking his beard "For a warm up go catch up ta Herc"
"The training isn't for me" Leon reaffirmed
"You can never train someone else unless you've done it yourself. Then you know it's possible. Not to brag but I could do Herc's workout pretty easily myself" Phil said confidently as he flexed.
Leon just stared at him blandly "Well whadda ya waiting for?" Phil shouted at him "Get to running!" Leon then walked up to catch up to Hercules.
Back at Merlin's house Arthur sat at the table with the princesses with a mock crown on his head and a mock scepter in his hand. He sat next to Aurora, each of them with a cup of tea in their hand.
"Pick up the cup" Aurora said as Arthur followed her lead "Extend the pinky and take a slow sip" she said before doing so and letting out a pleasing 'ahh' "This is good tea" she said turning to the sugar pot who tipped his hat at her confidently. She then turned to Arthur "go ahead try it" she encouraged.
Arthur nodded and then loudly slurped up the tea and then lowered the cup from his mouth "How was that?" he asked to the cringing princesses.
"Better than last time" Aurora said.
"I think now we should move on to ethics" Belle said
"What about ethics?" Arthur asked
"It's all a part of ruling your kingdom" Jasmine said
"You can't judge someone by what they look like on the outside" Belle said
"Or their size" Cinderella said as Arthur turned to listen
"Or shape" Snow White added as Arthur nodded again but the crown just slumped over his head causing the princesses to giggle at him.
He then pulled the crown off of his head.
"Make sure it aligns perfectly on your head" Snow white said as she shifted it into position "There you go"
"Alright, now address us as your royal subjects" Cinderella said.
"When" Belle said to the sugar cup as he stopped putting sugar into her cup, then he waddled over to Ariel and the process repeated.
Arthur stared blankly at them "What should I say"
"It's always good to say good morning" Jasmine said
"Bonjour" Belle said
"You could always sing it!" Ariel said enthusiastically "When" she said to the sugar cup who then waddled over to Arthur's cup.
"G-good morning"
"With confidence" Belle said "Everyone respects someone with confidence". Arthur nodded and continued to find the right words to say but he continued stuttering and as he didn't notice it the sugar jar continued to put sugar into his cup. "Good m-morning er.. we have very important things to.. to discuss" Arthur continued to stutter under his mock trial
"Um Arthur" Cinderella pointed to his cup of which the sugar had reached the lid
"It's a.. wonderful afternoon.. uh.. hello" he continued on
"Arthur" Ariel said as Belle motioned to his cup which was now overflowing with sugar.
"I'm glad you could all make it today.. to this meeting"
"Arthur!" all the princesses shouted out catching his attention
"What?!" he flinched "Did I do something wrong?" they all then pointed to his cup "Oh.. uh WHEN!" he let out and the sugar jar flinched and scurried off across the table behind the much larger tea pot.
"OH what a mess" Cinderella said picking up his cup.
"Ha a mess indeed" Archimedes said as he descended from above "Another thing boy, you must be aware of your surroundings and everything that goes on not at this table and the room but you're whole kingdom" the educated owl pointed out.
"Oh but that's so much to look after" Arthur said wiping his hand across his forehead.
"Don't worry" Ariel said taking ahold of his hand "Everything will be alright" she smiled.
The door then opened and they turned to see who walked in "Merlin?" Arthur asked. It was not Merlin in fact it was a young man with black hair.
"Eric!" Ariel said as she sprang up from her chair and to him and he picked her up off the ground.
"Ariel" he said as he took her in his arms. He then turned to the other princesses "Everyone's waiting outside, come on" he said nodding his head towards the door.
"Bye bye Arthur, good luck!" Ariel waved to him as she walked out the door with Eric. All the other princesses got up from their chairs and began to walk outside but not before saying goodbye to Arthur.
"Good luck" Cinderella hugged him
"Have us back anytime" Aurora said
"Don't be afraid to ask for help" Belle said. Snow white knelt his head down and kissed him on the forehead.
"Don't worry, you'll do fine" Jasmine encouraged him. After saying their goodbyes they walked outside and Arthur followed them with Archimedes on his shoulder. He saw them all meet up with men in elegant suites. They all met up and held each other close and there was quite a commotion from each of them.
On a nearby roof there was a large crack on the wall. This was one of the jobs the restoration committee had to deal with but when an occupant took a fancy to this cracked wall they paid it no mind. This occupant a wise old owl had taken residence on Radiant Garden for the time being since he could not yet return home. He like most owls enjoyed peace, quiet and rest but with all the commotion he could not get any.
"Oh what now?" Friend owl cringed and stretched before he poked his head out of the wall "Well what's this?" he asked curiously as he say six princesses with six princes "I'll have a closer look" he said before he flapped his wings jumped out from his hole and down to the commotion. "Well this is quite the occasion" he said as he perched himself down in the gutter of Merlin's house "Is it spring already?". Arthur and Archimedes then looked up to him.
"What's the occasion?" Arthur asked him
"Well it isn't every day that six princesses come to town is it? And to visit a young prince at that" he said to them
"Yes, quite right" Archimedes said as he flew up to be perched alongside him. "Well there's no one better to help royalty than royalty itself" Archimedes said to him
"This is true" Friend owl said "Even the young prince from my home has to learn at some point in his life" Friend Owl sighed "Well I'm sure they must be getting on their way. We mustn't disturb them"
"Very well" Archimedes said as he flew back down "Come on boy, let's go back to your studies, we'll leave them be. Merlin can take care of them from here" Archimedes said perching himself on the boy's shoulder.
"Well what's the matter with all of em?"
"Oh they just need to get home, nothing some magic won't fix"
"You want to know what's wrong with them." Friend Owl asked "They're twitter pated"
"Twitter patted?"
"Oh yes it's pretty common, happens all the time" friend Owl explained. Arthur looked back at the princes and princesses' together and scrutinized them. "Oh" he let out and then turned to Friend Owl "They're in love"
Friend Owl chuckled "Well yes young prince that's exactly it and it's a powerful thing.. and a pain in your pinfeather too" he then yawned.
"Well if you please we have academics to attend to. A rather important test is coming up"
"Ah so be it, good luck young prince" Friend Owl waved to them from above as they walked into the house. Yawning Friend Owl then took to the skies and flew over the town and saw many things.
He saw Merlin walk up to the princes and princesses and using his magic he transported each of them home safely. He saw the other restoration committee members doing various odd jobs around the town or talking with some colorful looking characters. He noticed one gummi ship land on the ground.
Out of it stepped Leon who had a list of new training ideas from Phil and Hercules. "I hope the kid can handle it, better go find out" he said as he walked off holding onto the paper as someone walked off the ship from behind him.
Merlin slapped his hands together after through his magic sent all the princes and princesses home.
"Well there we are, now" he said turning to his home "Wart! Wart! Come out here boy!" he called. Hearing himself called Arthur exited the house with Archimedes.
"What is it Merlin"
"Well it's time for the next part of your training"
"But Leon's too busy around town to help me train today"
"Well I know lad, so I have found a proper substitute" he clapped his hands "Come on out now" he turned and waved. Right then on que came the hero Hercules the god of strength and they introduced themselves"
"Hey wart, it's great to meet you. Merlin told me all about you, I'm Hercules" he said shaking the smaller frailer boys hand a little too roughly.
"Pl-pleased to meet you" Arthur shook back and once his hand was released he held onto it "What is it we'll be doing?"
"Why, the next part of your training of course" Hercules said putting his hand son his hips with a smile.
"And what's that going to be like"
"We'll start off slow, but it'll get only get more and more intense!" Hercules said enthusiastically "Or at least until Leon's ready to take over again"
"Well where shall we do it?"
"Ahem" Merlin coughed up "Allow me" then with a wave of his wand they were transported to a stadium with weights set up, all surrounded by a track "Perfect" Merlin said with a smile "I thought it was insufficient for you to be training in the middle of town, so this arena shall suit you better" Merlin then looked them both over "Now here are your swords" he said magically making it appear before Arthur.
"Is this really necessary Merlin?" Arthur asked as he held the sword by its hilt with it dragging on the ground.
"A King must be ready for any problem that may come and he must deal with it personally, physically if needed. Therefore one must only be strong of mind but of body my boy." says Merlin." Therefore I have personally hired the best to test your strength and agility."
"Alright." says Hercules to Arthur." We'll start off with some light weight." He reached down and grabbed two weights each reading '50 lbs'. On the side. He handed them off to Wart who took them in his hands, but he hardly had a grip on them for more than a second before he toppled over to the ground." Oh." said Hercules standing over him." This is gonna be harder than I thought."
Merlin let out a chuckle at the sight ""Well just remember to work hard now and if you need me just call" Merlin said before disappearing into a puff of smoke"
"Let's just start off with a nice warm up jog" Herc said picking up his sword "C'mon let's go!" he said cheerfully as they took their place on the track "Ready, set GO!" he said as he sprinted off leaving Arthur in the dust. It wasn't until he completely lapped him that he stopped again "C'mon buddy you gotta start somewhere"
"But you're so fast" Arthur complained
"Don't worry about beating me just yet, just worry about doing your best"
"What if my best isn't good enough?"
"Hey it's just like what my trainer Phil said" Arthur looked up to him "It's a work of heart" Arthur then smiled as Herc poked him in the chest "Now come on! Let's try this one more time! You count this time" he said as they took their mark
"Ready..set…go" Arthur said as he ran around the track with Herc keeping the same pace.
"There you go bud, you're doing it!" He cheered him on. After doing a lap together they went on to sword fighting, fist fighting and doing push-ups and sit ups.
"Come on" Herc said as Arthur jumped onto the pull up bar "It's not that hard" he said crossing his arms "Just lift up your body until your head is over the bar" Arthur tried and struggled to lift himself over the bar.
"I can't-can't do it" he huffed
"Just think about all the people who motivate you" Herc said "Do one for Merlin, Archimedes, Cid, Leon, Yuffie" he counted on his fingers "Do one pull up for everyone who's counting on you" Herc smiled. Struggling but more determined than ever Arthur slowly lifted his body up to and over the bar but then fell right off it after. He looked up to the applause of Hercules "Alright good effort" he cheered
"But I only did one? And there's still so many people counting on me"
"Hey don't sweat it" Herc said putting an arm over his shoulder "Like I said before you gotta start somewhere and I'm sure you'll be able to do a pull up for each of them in no time"
So with encouragement Arthur continued training with Hercules for the rest of the day and when enough time had passed Merlin came to get the boy. He appeared like a puff of smoke as they were about to do squats with heavy (light for Hercules) weights. Arthur looked up to see Merlin just as Herc raised the weights above his head "Merlin!" he said and ran towards the old man as Herc then dropped the weights to where he just stood and looked around nervously.
"Hello my lad, and how did the training go?" Merlin asked as Archimedes perched himself on his shoulder.
"Oh the boys a natural" the educated owl joked "As frail as an old man" he cackled now at Merlin
"Oh why you-" Merlin grumbled
"Nothing a little hard work won't fix" Herc said walking up
"Why yes, yes" Merlin chuckled "Your right. Keep at it my boy and one day you'll be just like him" Merlin pointed at the pinnacle of strength Hercules "But maybe with a little more brain than brawn"
"Hey what's that mean?" Herc complained
"Hopefully he'll use his head more than his fists" Merlin replied
"Hey I use my head plenty of times in fights" Herc crossed his arms
"Oh yes that's exactly what you need" Merlin sighed "But I do appreciate you coming here but Leon's ready to resume teaching the boy"
"OH really?" Arthur complained
"Well yes, sorry lad but Herc has his own things to attend to" Merlin admitted
"That's right, there's another tournament coming up!" Herc said ecstatically "You should enter"
"Me, really?" Arthur questioned
"Yeah, it'll be great to see you in the ring" Herc said as they faked jabs at each other and laughed. Merlin watched the spectacle of the two of them but then sadly had to break it up "Well gentlemen, I believe it's time we go about our business. Leon is waiting for you in the bailey" Herc nodded and then turned back to Arthur.
"See ya around little buddy, come say hi to your favorite substitute sometimes" he said before the two of them hugged and said goodbye. Herc then made his way to the bailey where he saw Leon leaning up against a wall reading the training outline they gave him "You ready to hit the road?" Herc asked as Leon then shifted his eyes to him and stood up straight.
"Yeah" he said blandly.
"Alright! Race ya!" Herc said as he bolted past Leon and towards the gummi ship. Leon just sighed continued looking at the paper and walked on.
Thanks for reading!
Comments/Reviews are appreciated
If you want a request to see specific Disney or Final Fantasy leave a comment and I'll see what I can do
This chapter was a request