Waking up in the morning is always more difficult after a tough day but this morning's wake up call was rather abrupt compared to every other day Douxie had been with Merlin. It was the first day that Merlin came into the room and woke him up. Well he barged in the little back room and tore the blanket off Douxie while calling out his name, but it was still more pleasant than many wake up calls on the streets. The change in routine was so startling that Douxie just stared at Merlin groggily, wondering if he was dreaming. Merlin looked back at Douxie waiting for a response while Archie stretched and moved to a more comfortable location. Namely out the window to find a better place to sleep.
The change was concerning and after the staring contest was over, Douxie asked "Why are you waking me up this morning, Master?" Merlin just looked at Douxie with an irritated look on his face. As if having to explain his actions was redundant. Instead of answering the question, Merlin turned toward the door stating matter of fact "Well training starts today, so hurry up and get ready". All thoughts of uncertainty from the previous night had gone out the window with the news of actual training today. Douxie excitably started getting dressed for the day.
Now Merlin had only ever had one other apprentice and she was almost completely grown by the time he began teaching her. Morgana was a genius in her own right while studying magic. Douxie had a few cleaver tricks, such as the smoke bomb he initially used on the guards, but other than that had no grasp on even the basic concept of Magic. He had some vague memories of softer hands than his own guiding him through the runes but nothing else. Merlin had never used runes, he never had a particular talent for them. They could not be too difficult to figure out if a boy was using them.
As Douxie was preparing for the day. Merlin began setting out a book and some basic herbs. After some thought, he realized what Archie and Douxie were poorly attempting to do the day before. As Douxie exited the room, Merlin saw fit to explain. "Since you made a mess of my tower yesterday the first thing we will learn about today is some basic magical herbs and how to dry them." Douxie eyes lit up at the thought of learning with the great Merlin, even ignoring the insult in Merlin's words. The apprentice was beginning to understand that Merlin did not always mean to insult others, but his words were direct and honest to a fault.
All the excitement about learning soon turned to dread when an hour in the lesson, Merlin was raising his voice at the confused boy. He could not understand why the child could not understand the simple lesson "No No No not that way. You must harvest the plant like this, otherwise it's properties will be weaker. No try again boy." Douxie was beginnning to get frustrated at his own lack of progress as well. The sound of Merlin's voice eventually attracted Archie back into the room. The familiar was now sitting on the window sill from yesterday soaking in the prime morning sun and watching the teacher and student. After a few more minutes of yelling, Merlin realized the teaching was not sinking in.
"No worries" Merlin sighed "You can just read about the best way to prepare the plants from practice and reading this book. Merlin grabbed the book he had gotten from Arthur's vault the prior evening. Douxie just looked nervously at the book and back up at Merlin. "Well I promise that book does not bite. Pick it up and begin reading while I clean up this mess." Douxie pulled the book closer but still did not open it and looked at the floor. Merlin was beginning to realized the nervous tick and could guess there was a problem.
With how excited the boy was for the lesson, he figured it was not hip to have to read, so he thought to make it easier on him. "The first three chapter today should be enough to get started". After the continued silence and even more staring, Merlin gave up on his apprentice telling him what was wrong without prompting. "Well what seems to be the problem, get to it". Finally another stuttered answer, "W-Well Sir, I can't...I mean I never... I-I just..." "what is it Hisirdoux," Merlin prompted. After a couple of steadying breathes, the boy gave a straight answer. Although he thought his master would be displeased he stated "I can't read, Sir. The book would be wasted in my hands". A frown did cross Merlin's face but not for the reason the boy thought.
Where douxie saw displeasure at his ignorance, Merlin saw a problem to be explored and solved. ,Merlin began questioning the boy and received a few stuttered and whispered answers. He discovered the boy could not read and only had a basic concept of money. He knew some numbers but only basic addition and subtraction. If the numbers began to increase too much, Douxie would just give up or guess the answers. He had no concept of how to work them out. He could not tell Merlin what the runes he used for his magic stood for. In Douxie's mind, they were just what they meant. How could Merlin teach a child that could not write his name how to do magic.
During the awkward silence after the questioning, Merlin contemplated how to solve the delima. He could not ask Arthur or Morgana for help because they had some obvious prejudices against the child from the start. The more Merlin thought, the more fidgety Douxie became until Archie jumped into his arms and began purring. Just then Merlin had an epiphany. "Wait in this room and clean up this mess Hisirdoux. I need to go meet someone". Without any other explanation, Merlin left the room, along with the familiar and trainee alone in the room. After cleaning for a while, Hisirdoux grew bored. He knew he was not suppose to leave but he could think of nothing else he could do there. So after a quick lunch, he began heading to the door. No doubt in his mind about exploring more of the castle.
Just when he reached the handle, the door exploded inward from Merlin's loud entrance. "Now where were you about to run off too" he questioned more amused than angry. "Nowhere sir" was the sheepish reply. "Well that's good to hear, I have come up with something new for training" Merlin exclaimed happily. Finally certain about how to continue with teaching. First they were to go down to a very dark and dry location. At first, Douxie thought Merlin was tired of him and leading him to the dungeon.
Turns out there is a place people store books and nothing else. Introductions were made to a book keeper and Douxie was instructed that he would wake up and do his routine chores after breakfast, including any extra instructions from Merlin. After lunch, he would report to this keeper of books to learn to read and write. He even had a basic concept of runes! If Douxie performed adequately, then he could have the time after supper off to do whatever he wished. What started out as a horrible day the day before turned out to be nothing compared to the feeling Douxie was having now. Now he would learn to be a proper wizard, no matter how long it took.