Camelot

~ A legend is sung of where England was young ~

~ And knights were brave and bold, the good king had died ~

~ And no one could decide who was the rightful heir to the throne ~

~ It seemed that the land would be torn by war or saved by a miracle alone ~

~ and that miracle appeared in London Town. The Sword in the Stone… ~

"Blasted Dark Ages." The old man's hands pulled tightly down on the chair, desperately trying to hoist the bucket full of water out of the stone well. His cascading white beard occasionally gets caught into the links of the chain, earning a disgruntled moan out of the elderly man.

His blue vestment and matching pointed hat ruffled and wrinkled from his irritated body tremors and annoyed gestures. It was the second time when his beard got caught in the chain that he let out a sharp gasp of frustration and anger.

Merlin, the wizard, a soothsayer, and a prognosticator. A powerful practitioner of the magical arts. A man who had seen the past and all its humble beginnings, experienced the future and all its advances, and grew hampered by the present and its limitations. Particularly, the lack of a water filtration system and the convenience of having a working sink.

"Age of inconvenience should be more appropriate for this era. No plumbing, no electricity, no nothing!" Merlin's lament echoed in the closed woodlands, finally getting a full enough bucket of water to be satisfied on the fifteenth pull out of the well.

He carried it off back towards his lonely cottage, hidden deep in the forest outside of medieval London. His flowing white beard soaking up the sloshing spill of the well water every couple of steps or so, the heels of his flats avoiding every divot and mole hole on the path way home.

When he reached his stone cottage, he kicked the door open with the flat bottom of his shoe. Elbows bent and hands losing grip of the handle as he moves to throw the wooden bucket up onto the table top.

The home was full of various books, bottles of potions and ethers, scales and rulers and glasses of every kind. His counters are loaded with half full and empty vials and open scrolls. All of them are written in various languages. Some of them old, some new, some in dead tongues and others in languages who haven't touched a single tongue yet.

His bow legged stance found the open spots on the floor, fitting directly into the shoe shaped spaces between book spines and edges. He reached the table, seeing the space he needed currently occupied. He whistled to gather their attention.

As he did so, the cutlery and books that were spread about and covered the surface of the table were cast aside, as though a sudden wind had blown across the table and shoved them out of the way of the bucket's landing.

"Why, thank you." Merlin had told his utensils and his leather bound tomes, scooping a teapot full of water and walking it over to his fireplace. With a quick snap of his fingers, the logs burst into a small controlled fire, heating up the teapot and warming up to the cottage. Merlin ran a hand over his aching bones, his spindly fingers working down his hips and legs. "Archimedes! Archimedes! Wake up, you cantankerous raptor, we are expecting guests and I request you out your best foot-er, talon forward. Yes, talon. Of course."

The owl had peeked its brown feathered head out of its bird house, his beady eyes turning towards the elderly man as the small bird's talons clawed and curled around the small wooden dowel. Puffing up his feathers in an aggravated manner.

"Hoo-Hoo-Who are you talking to me as such?" His tone was sharp and irritated, feathers flicking about every so often as he glanced over at the mess of a cottage. Merlin was many things, tidy wasn't one of them. The cups of half drunk, long since been warm cups of tea littering the counters. Books stacked so high and so snug against the ceiling that many would assume they were load bearing book piles. Scrolls half rolled up or rolled out, depending on what angle the reader is sitting at. "And why would we host guests? We don't have guests. We don't associate with the bungling blockheads of the outside world."

"Archimedes, now don't fret all that. We aren't hosting any of those oafs in their castles and their lack of proper insulation and air conditioning and central heating devices. No, no. Our guests are going to be arriving soon, of a peculiar sort. The important sort." Merlin said he moved one of his spare upholstered chairs around the dining room table to its necessary spot for one of his expected visitors. Slightly to the left, his thumb checking the trajectory of what he would be assuming to the proper landing zone, and then to the left a little bit more. Giving the chair a proper tap when positioned in just the right way. "Now, we have a guest coming through the roof, just about here. And the other will be coming through the woods, I should say sooner rather than later. So, I'll prepare the tea and the conversation and you-you just try not to put them off with your improper manners."

"I hear a lot of yapping about guests and-and-and tea and - how dare you say I have improper manners." Archimedes huffed and shook out his feathers as they flared out in irritation. Fuming and angry at the wizard for such an insult. "These guests who you don't know or care to tell me about are coming to my home. They are guests in my house!"

"Calm down, Archimedes, you don't want to malt before our guests arrive. And for your information, I do know them!" Merlin murmured, taking out his small pipe and packing it with tobacco. Making sure it is packed tightly, giving it a few taps to ensure sponginess of the tobacco to make sure it wasn't dried out. And then, it was time for a spark. Snapping his fingers once more, the tip of his thumb a blaze with a small flame, he lights the pipe with it and takes a few quick puffs. "I just need to remember their faces. Now, now, let me see here…"

Merlin's smoke came out in puffs of white, rising to the ceiling in clouds. Archimedes watching the smoke gather above Merlin as a cloud hovers above earth.

"The first. The first... He'll be, uh…a boy. Small boy. Eleven, twelve years old. And a scrawny little fellow." The clouds came to shape and measure out a vision. The boy is of a thin figure cast along the face of the cloud, with blonde locks of hair that hangs down over his ears and down his neck. Walking along the outside of the forest, in a clearing just before the edge of the woods. "He's about a mile out outside the forest, and will be here just shy of half an hour."

In the boy's hands a length of stick that he swings back and forth as one would swing a sword. Although, without proper technique or form, waving it absentmindedly. Beside him is an older, broader man with a quiver and bow in his hand. Leading the boy on a hunt.

The vision morphs and clears to a sight of the densely packed woods that Merlin claimed as his own. Just to the west of their current position, a figure clad in a red jacket and harboring a dark creature on his shoulder walking through the dense brush and overgrown grass.

"And this is the other guest of ours? Another scrawny boy?" Archimedes huffs, squaring out their chest in a display of annoyance. "Just who else are we supposed to be hosting?"

"The other is of the older sort, I sense. He's broader in the shoulders, eyes of a blazing orange. He'll come from the dark… of the woods and a different sort, it seems. He should be arriving shortly, if he can avoid the gopher holes, that is."

As Merlin's vision draws more clearly and shows the dense woods with a figure walking along towards a collapsed oak tree and -

Kuro hops over the side of a fallen tree, Dusk's claws dug stiffly into the shoulder of his jacket for support as he continues to walk forward through the forest. The dark corridor had ended up dropping him and Dusk in the middle of the woods. Hidden in the dark and the shadows of the looming trees. Pointed in the direction of a wizard. His hands retract to his pockets as he moves along. Shoulders bouncing to the uneasy surface of the forest floors. His eyes squinted to see through the crowded trees, trying to see if he could notice anything in the distance. A town, a fabled tower. Anything. So far, bark and leaves were as far as the eye could see. Maybe what he expected. Not what he liked.

"What does a wizard look like, Dusk?" Kuro asked with a raised brow. Dusk shook their head, glancing over the thickets of leaves above them. The shadows shift over them, bathing them in inconsistent shadows and incandescent sunlight peeking through branches and leaves. "The books look like old men with long beards. But that can't be all wizards, yeah?"

"I've never met a wizard. Unless you could count the Emblem Heartless I once worked alongside of or that black cloaked Keyblade wielder that tried to kill me." Dusk uttered, their body shuddered at the muttering of the fabled weapon. At the same time, Kuro's foot dug against the dirt and slipped, nearly tripping as he loses focus at the mere reference to Xion. A flash of blue and a quick smile had made The toe of his boot find a gopher hole. He stumbles forward, slamming into the side of a lopsided tree that grew incorrectly. He growls in frustration, slamming a palm against bark before straightening his stance and unclenching his jaw. Dusk cringes at the sound and sight, paws rubbing over one another before they let out a short sigh of discontent. "I apologize for distracting you. I shouldn't have mentioned her."

"I don't- I just- What happened to her, Dusk? I just wanted her to be my friend." Kuro grumbled, slowing down to a stop as he glanced out into the distance. Imagining a pair of innocent blue eyes out there in the dark. Her hair resembles that of the shadows left in the trees. He gave a weak smile at the sight. One quickly dashed away as he shifted in his walk and the imaginary eyes hid behind a tree trunk. "I hope she's not hurt and is somewhere safe. I want her to-"

"She had you nearly beat in that skirmish you both shared in the Third District." Dusk recalled, the smell of fire and the sound of thunder a distant memory that worried them still. How close they were to death, to returning to the abyss was a frightening thought. "She could have handled you in a fight on a better day. Especially if she had that Keyblade of hers. So, she must be safe anywhere else at this point, yes?"

"I know. I know. It is just… She said, 'same time tomorrow.' That tells me she was planning on returning." Kuro said as he resumed to walk on ahead, his eyes glancing along the forest floor and avoiding any holes in the dirt. Careful not to roll an ankle or fall into another hole. He thought of her and her sweet smile she gave him just before she left, and her laughter she shared alongside him as they ate together. He asked her to be his friend, and she said yes. Would she raise his spirit to just smash him down into the dirt? He couldn't see it. Not her.

He moves to a tree and rests his palm against the bark. His fingertips tracing over the wood. "So, something must have happened to keep her from coming back."

"Maybe she was told not to come back. The Organization and DiZ are in some sort of conflict, or else he wouldn't be so adamant about their existence. Maybe they didn't want her to be in danger and more than DiZ wanted you out of harm's way. Then there is the fact that she is vital to them. They won't let anything happen to her. Only one other person can release the Heartless' hearts, they'll want to keep her and the one other member safe from harm. I don't believe you need to worry yourself sick." Dusk offered as a suggestion, their eyes glancing around and seeing the rising black smoke peeking out of the breaks in the branches and leaves a short distance away. Their small paw tapped the top of Kuro's head, knocking him out of his thoughts and refocusing. "There's smoke ahead, off to the right and forward from there."

"Bear right? Alright. Well, smoke means fire. Fire means people, sometimes. People could mean there's a wizard." Kuro said with a hopeful grin, walking on ahead following Dusk's pointed claw. Kuro moved around the base of a tree, and after about ten minutes of walking, he then found the source of the smoke. A lonely cottage out in the middle of the woods.

With layers of grass and tree branches for the roofing, stone blocks for the walls, and a simple plank door, it was a picturesque home of a fairy tale woodland domicile that Kuro had read about.

Kuro walked along towards the entrance, the door partially open with a roaring flame seen in the open crevice. Kuro placed a hand on the door, glancing over at Dusk with a questioning stare. Wondering if it would be proper to just barge in. Considering the fact that whoever was out there planned on being alone and had done so-

"It's warmer inside! Come in, come in!" A voice from inside hollered, interrupting Kuro's thoughts and making him jump and Dusk nearly hop out of their skin. The pair readied a battle stance, with Kuro flexing his hands and Dusk readying their claws. Kuro, hesitantly, pushed open the doors with a closed fist and shuffled inside. The mountains of books and displaced papers immediately reminded him of the cottage he resided in back in Traverse Town. As well as the vials and the bottles that littered the floors, counters and windowsills. Which made him cringe if Barret or, spare his life, Jessie were to walk into the cottage and see what kind of life he made for himself over a month. Shaved hair littering the floor, cans of eaten food, and the awful smell. Sitting in the center of the room was the owner of the voice, pipe in his hand and a cloud of smoke densely formed around him. He was an old bearded man, with blue clothing and a point cap, puffed out a breath of smoke as he waved for Kuro to approach. The cloud, as well, formed into the shape of a human hand and curled their fingers for Kuro as well. "Why, hello! Dear boy, how are you?"

"Fine." Kuro muttered. Glancing around and looking for a quick exit should he need it. The books painted an accurate image of a sorcerer. The man looked like a wizard enough, just needing an orb to ponder. "I'm looking for-"

"A wizard. And dare I say, you have found him. Merlin's the name!" The elderly man shouted, a warm smile bending under his beard and flexing the bony freehand for him to approach. Kuro did so, moving to sit in the seat across from him, only to hear an immediate sound of disapproval. A few clicks of the tongue against the back of Merlin's teeth had him stop mid-sit. "Don't sit there, boy. Or else, you'll be in for a cramped visit from my other expected guest in the next short while."

Kuro listened to the elder man, stepping away from the seat and turning toward him with a pensive stare. Arms crossing one over the other as he stood at attention. Merlin flashed him a warm grin, tobacco pipe hanging off of his lips as he stared up at Kuro. The dark wood pipe clashing harshly against the bright white beard.

"So, you're the wizard?" Kuro asked, looking over Merlin with an inquisitive look. Merlin nodded, leaning back in his high back chair with a squint and a smug smile hidden under his beard. "I'm looking for you. That's how you knew I was outside, yeah? Magic?"

"That and we could hear your incessant mouth breathing like a moron." A voice popped out, making Kuro's eyes dart around the room following the voice. Leading him to a perched owl in the top corner of the room, looming above Kuro with an irritated glare. The bird's eyes meeting the orange hued stare and huffing in frustration. Kuro reflected the irritated stare and bared his teeth at the owl. "I don't like the look of him, Merlin! He's got one of those devils on his shoulders and he is-"

"Archimedes, there is no need to be rude. Now stop that at once." Merlin chastised, taking a huge inhalation of smoke and blowing out towards the raptor like dragon fire. The pulse of dense clouds soon took shape, morphing into a wave of white arrows streaming through the air, all of which crashed into Archimedes' chest and knocked him off of his perch. The bird falling off the stand splaying out their winds to hover to the next landing, which was the cover of a leather bound book beneath him. "I apologize, my friend. The bird's squawk is worse than his bite. Now, then. Boy, might you share with me your name? And your little friend as well."

"Kuro, and this is my companion, Dusk. We were told that you could teach me how to use magic? I'm in need of assistance." Kuro spoke, Dusk giving Merlin a soft wave of the paw when he did so. Merlin chuckled, shifting in his spot proudly as he turned up his chin with pride.

"Of course, of course. I can teach you magic. After all, I'm the worlds' most powerful wizard!" Merlin boasted, taking his pipe hand and punctuating every other one of his own words with each flick of the wrist. Pointing the mouthpiece to Kuro with every shake. Archimedes snickered at the brag.

"This world maybe, and even then it's not like there's stiff competition." Archimedes huffed with a sigh of irritation and disdain. "Madame Mim-"

"Don't mention her name, for the love of all that is good and well." Merlin said with a roll of the eye and a rub of the forehead. His fingertips displaced the loose skin above his brow. "And this world? I should say, many! Nary a wizard who can claim such a title."

"I can name a few, a few you wouldn't hold a candle to them." Archimedes shouted, displacing his feathers once more. "Madame Eglantine Price! Madame Poppins! The Blue Fairy, even Oz is a better wizard than you, you crack pot-"

"Oz is the crackpot, a liar and a swindler! All sleight of hand and smoke shows! The man's not even a wizard! You show your ignorance in speaking his name!" Merlin shouted, slamming a fist into the arm of his chair. Dusk and Kuro exchanged a side eyed awkward glance as the two began shouting. Merlin grunted out in annoyance, all the while staring daggers at his feathered companion. "The man has as much magic in his whole body as-as you have brains in your head!"

"Then surely he's the greatest wizard in all the realms should that be the case!" Archimedes bit back, Merlin gnashing his teeth as he opened his mouth to speak again. But Archimedes beat him to the shout. A wing pointed towards the wizard in an accusatory manner. "And another thing-"

As the two were amidst their shouting contest, the cries of a young boy were heard from the roof above the dining room table caves in and a figure tumbles through the ceiling.

"Whoa! What…oh!" A blonde boy no older than twelve had shouted as he fell, before he landed in the chair Kuro was just about to sit in a few moments ago. The boy crashed, legs draped over the left arm and his shoulders smashing against the right. Rubbing his sore back as he grumbles to himself. Dusk hopped off of Kuro's shoulder, ducking under the table in fear of the new noise.

"And there we have the rest of the party. Splendid, splendid." Merlin said with a joyous clap of the hands, getting up and moving towards the teapot. He grabs an oven mitt above the mantle and grabs the teapot's handle. He carries it over to the table, whistling for the tea cups to come towards him. Of which, three small cups bounce over to the edge of the table. In a short line, the cups bounce along to receive their pour of tea.

The first one bounces forward, receives their pour and moves to the twelve year old boy. Spilling the contents of their cup all over the table runner as it did so. The boy takes up the cup and sips it. The second hops over half full to Kuro to avoid the same fate. Kuro, with a shrug, takes up the cup placed in front of him with a quick sip.

The taste is bitter and hot, so it's delicious going down his throat. Kuro glanced down at Dusk, who looked up at him with wide golden eyes. Kuro nudged his chin to the side, beckoning them to crawl out from under the table. Dusk did so hesitantly, crawling beside Kuro's pant leg and grabbing hold of it with their claws.

"Now, then. Re-introductions to be made. I am Merlin, the worlds' most powerful wizard." Merlin introduced himself once again, shooting a glare over at the owl that rolled his eyes at such a boast. His head spinning along the direction of his eyes rolling. Merlin shot a stare over Kuro, then motioned with his pupils towards the boy. Kuro realized what Merlin was requesting, and followed through.

"Oh," Kuro mumbled, turning to the younger boy and offering his hand a shake. "Kuro. Nice to meet you. And my small friend here is Dusk."

"Hello there." Dusk muttered lowly, offering the boy a small wave. Even if the boy couldn't understand Dusk, Dusk at least wanted to put their best foot forward and be polite.

"Wart-er, Arthur." The boy took Kuro's hand, giving it a limp wristed shake before letting go. "Nice to meet you too."

The boy's voice cracked when he got to the 'meet', making the owl squawk with delight in turn. All eyes turned towards the bird that laughed. Merlin sneered at the owl, before turning back to the young men before him.

"Well, young man." Merlin stood up from his seat, flexing his hands and offering Arthur a short bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

"Sure." Arthur mumbled, nodding his head quickly.

"Well, then. Now we are acquainted. You boys, the tireless men of the 'morrow. Have you had any schooling, either of you?" Merlin said with a roll of his wrist, taking a sip of his tea with a crinkle of his nose. Arthur took a drink and returned the tea cup to its small plate, curling his hand into a tight fist before he spoke.

"Yes. I'm training to be a squire. I'm learning the rules of combat, swordsmanship, jousting and horsemanship. It's exciting. " Arthur said, thumbing back a finger for each apprenticeship that he was currently studying, until all that wasn't pulled back was his thumb. He turned to Kuro, who shrugged. His schooling was nonexistent, and the boy beside him was undergoing serious training.

"I read, I suppose? I mean, I read a little. Mostly fairy tales and short stories before bed." Kuro answered, reaching up to scratch under his chin as he glanced over at Arthur. Such a slim and small young man to learn how to fight and to ride a horse? If there was hope for Arthur, there had to be hope for him. Kuro nodded, giving him a half smile as he listened. "How's the training coming along?"

"Good, I mean. Fine. I think eventually I'll be able to actually hold a sword and swing it." Arthur admitted, giving a sheepish grin as he talked about it. Taking a spoonful of sugar and dropping into the tea. The sweetener works wonders as Arthur takes a satisfied sip of it. His eyes went wide in joy. "It's all in due time, you know?"

"I wouldn't mind a bedtime story before bed tonight." Dusk murmured lowly, their eyes glancing around and seeing Kuro smile in response. Kuro nodded off towards Dusk, mentally making a note to read before bed tonight. "Thank you, Kuro."

"Yes, yes. Very good. That…" Merlin's words rolled out faster than he thought, before he realized that of the two boys, Kuro reads a little history before bed and Arthur's greatest goal is to become a squire to a bumbling knight. Not exactly the makings of noble pursuits and skill building, in Merlin's eyes.

"No, no, no! l... I mean a real education. Mathematics, history, biology, natural science, English, Latin, French. Future gentlemen, now, you can't… You can't grow up without a decent education, you know." Merlin said to the two young men, Kuro shrugged, not sure what exactly a decent education would look like for a Heartless. The thought of Heart Anatomy 101 and Devouring Worlds being electives being a fun joke made him smile. Arthur didn't smile, he simply shook his head in agreement with the wizard. Considering the boy was illiterate and didn't know how to spell his own name, it would be a great deal more difficult to imagine himself in a classroom.

"I suppose not, sir... Merlin." Arthur admitted, with a vague shrug. He cleans his throat, before letting out a short breath. "I guess I can't grow up without a formal education."

"So, I am going to be your tutor. In the ways of education, understanding, and logic." Merlin said with a warm chuckle, his fingers folding together into a tent against his chest thighs. He nodded, before glancing over at Kuro as well. Giving the older boy a glance over with a pensive stare. "I shall be your advisor, in the ways of magic and the mystic arts."

"But I've got to get back to the castle." Arthur said with a jab of the thumb towards the front door, sipping his drink one last time before rising out of his seat. Dusk's eyes follow him as he moves over towards the front door. Offering a wave goodbye to Kuro and Merlin as he opened the door. "They'll want me in the kitchen. I have demerits I need to attend to."

"Well, then, very well. We shall all go to the castle. We'll pack up the house and be on our way. Give me a few moments, if you please." Merlin said as he grabbed his carpet bag and threw it onto the floor. His feet took him up onto the stool beside the bag. His hands rose up above his head. His throat cleared with a few harsh coughs as he glanced all around the room.

~ Higitus figitus zumbabazing ~

~ I want your attention, everything! ~

On cue, every time in the house turned towards the magical maestro atop the stool. Arthur's cup turned towards Merlin, as Kuro's cup flew out of his hands and landed onto the table to pay proper attention. The cups of long since hot tea and coffee as well as other utensils turned with pointed edges and handles at the sorcerer. Tomes' spines and scroll furled faces turned the beard wizard. The vials of the glass and corked potions turned their lips towards the magical practitioner. All eager it seemed to hear what was to come next.

~ We're packing to leave. Come on, let's go. ~

As he spoke, the silverware began to float and bounce off towards the open carpet bag, for Merlin's to shout and wave his hands at the utensils as they did so. They stopped in their tracks, only for Merlin to approach the leading teapot and spoon. Merlin raised a finger and wagged it at them.

"No no, not you! Books are always first, you know." Merlin stated matter of factly, before taking up his hands and resuming his incantation. The books taking the lead of the line and slowly filing into the carpet bag. The volumes decrease in size until they are reduced to the size of atoms and disappear in the bag. There was more that needed to be fit into the container.

~ Hockety pockety wockety wack ~

~ Abracadabra dabra nack ~

~ Shrink in size very small ~

~ We've got to save enough room for all ~

~ Higitus Figitus migitus mum ~

~ Prestidigitonium! ~

Kuro ducked under the incoming volumes of books that flew across the room towards the bag, moving out of the way when a series of carving forks and knives danced across the air towards the wizard. Missing the sharp ends of butcher knives as they shifted past him. One particularly close knife skating across his locks and nipping off a few strands of hair. His hand combing over and seeing the silver weaved through his fingers and cling to his palm.

Arthur found himself lifted up in his seat as it bobbed and moved. Arthur's hands were not finding a proper grip when he began to slip off, his body tumbling off of the cushion and onto the table, crashing atop of it with a hard knock. The cups of tea shift out of the to avoid being crushed or spilt. Arthur watched overhead as the vials and bottles rolled above him and into the carpet bag. Bobbing and bouncing to the cadence of Merlin's voice.

~ Cicero you belong to the C's ~

~ Alphabetical order, please ~

~ Alakafez balakazez ~

~ Malakamez meripides ~

Dusk found themselves taking the wrong stop onto a book that lifted up into the air, the levitating diary carrying the Shadow a short distance before Dusk hopped over to the next floating volume. Their arms hung out to the sides Then another, then another. As one would hop along exposed stones to avoid river currents. Dusk's bouncing around making the books respond with a lowered bounce, still moving towards the bag on the floor.

~ Diminish diminish dictionary ~

~ Those words in your vocabulary ~

~ Hockety pockety wockety wack ~

~ That's the way we've got to pack ~

~ Higitus figitus migitus mum ~

~ Higitus figitus figitus... ~

"Stop, stop, stop! Now see here, sugar bowl! You're getting too rough! Poor old tea set is cracked enough. Well, all right. Uh, Let's start again." Merlin chastised a ceramic sugar bowl, prodding a finger against the surface before clapping his hands together once to begin the incantation once again. Trying to regain his focus.

~ Higitu... ~

Merlins' words came to a halt, eyes wide and his mouth agape. Just as he paused, he rubbed the tips of his fingers against the side of his head, mumbling under his breath for a few short moments as he tried to recall at what point in the spell's casting he had stopped out. Merlin's eyes shot to Arthur, who was mesmerized by the ever decreasing items that found themselves in the bag that seemed to never get full.

"Oh, where was I boy?" Merlin inquired, Arthur's cheeks pale in surprise before he

"Uh…" Arthur mumbled the song to himself, before snapping his fingers and hesitantly speaking out towards the powerful wizard. "hockety pockety?"

"Oh yes, yes, that's right…" Merlin clapped his hands together in celebration, before throwing his hands back up and working them like a maestro once again. Conducting an orchestra of utensils, tomes and vials.

~ Hockety pockety wockety wack ~

~ Odds and ends and bric a brac ~

~ Higitus figitus migitus mum ~

~ Prestidigitonium ~

~ Higitus figitus migitus mum ~

~ Prestidigitonium ~

The hurricane of papers swirled around the room with the force of a great bellowing storm, Kuro's hands moving to cover his eyes from any accidental paper cuts with loose scrolls and leaflets slamming into his arms and legs, fluttering for just a few short moments against him before being whiplashed back out into the wind. Arthur joined Dusk underneath the table, arms folded over his head as he tried to make himself as small as possible to avoid any of the slamming of books and scrolls over his body.

~ Hurry up, there, hurry up, hurry up! ~

~ Oh, this is the best part! ~

~ Higitus figitus migitus mum ~

~ Prestidigitonium ~

~ Higitus figitus migitus mum ~

~ Prestidigitonium! ~

The last items in the bag were the round dining room table and the stool that Merlin stood on. Which revealed Dusk's and Arthur's hiding place and sent Merlin landing onto his bottom. As the spell ended, the room was now a barren empty space. Leaving nothing to the walls, hanging off the ceiling or lingering on the floor. If one were to not be present of the spell and song, they would assume they had found this place completely abandoned.

Kuro tried to whistle at the sight of the now barren cottage, only for a sharp breath to be pushed out of his lips instead the only things left in the cottage that were shoved magically into the bag were the Heartlesses, Arthur, Archimedes and of course Merlin. All circled around the lone carpet bag in the center of the room. Merlin, rubbing his bruised tailbone, walked over to his bag with heavy heels. Closing it up with a quick kick of the handles, then scooping it up into his hands. Tucking it into his elbow and marching towards the front door.

"Well, let's get a move on! Let's get a move on! Time to go to the castle and see what we can do about getting Arthur a formal education." Merlin threw open the doors, turning to Kuro with a wink and an assured nod. "Let this serve as lesson number one for you, Kuro. Lesson one, don't you get any foolish ideas that magic will solve all your problems. Because it won't! Sure, the ability to clean a room is a useful skill, but that is just a tool for making things easier. A good smile and a word of diplomacy will be necessary at times. Even for the more brutish of us but that'll be in all due time."

"Duly noted. Magic can't solve all my problems. Just clean my room and set things on fire." Kuro mumbled, walking over to Dusk to lift them up onto his shoulder with a pair of gentle hands, feeling their claws take hold as he approached the still downed Arthur. Kuro leaned forward, extending a hand to help pull Arthur up onto his feet. "Let's go Arthur, come on."

"Thanks. Thank you!" Arthur responded, taking Kuro's hand and being dragged up onto his feet. Brush off the excessive dust from the floor off of his pants and shirt. A sheepish grin on his face. "I hope I don't get a demerit for being late."

"I think you'll get a demerit for bringing mouths to feed." Kuro jokes, which earned a chuckle out of Arthur as the two trailed behind Merlin and followed him out into the forest. In the direction of civilization. Archimedes follows behind the three, fluttering out of the now empty cottage and taking to the skies. Kuro turned towards Arthur with an inquisitive gaze. "What's a demerit, anyways?"

"So, the boy found himself in our world, eh Morgan? Ain't that something?" The green eyes glanced over to the figure of his sister, whose arms folded ever so at the sight of the two young men walking along through the forest. Following behind the steps of the wizard Merlin. Her eyes particularly focused on the young Arthur, her brown eyes ablaze with fury as she lets out a short groan. He shrugged his shoulders, finishing the bandaging of his wounded right hand with a taut wrap and a tucking of the end of the roll underneath the wrapping of his wrist. "How in the devil's name did he even get there? I thought he was world bound to that dying Town?"

"Well, someone took him in and showed him how to cross through the dark, Mordred. Who in any of the number of hells showed him how to use the corridors is surely powerful. And my understanding of the Heartless does not make sense for him to start working alongside Arthur!" Morgan grumbled into a shout, her long pointed nails tracing over the surface of her orb. Her pointed claws dragged along the face and left deep incisions along the glass. Her sphere glows a light purple as she glances over at her brute of a brother. "The brat is annoying but he's got a good heart. The Heartless should be devouring him as we speak. Something is amiss here."

The years grew to differentiate them, and the pair of them grew to become mirror opposites of the other. Morgan was fair skinned with an almost ethereal glow to her, Mordred was sunkissed for years of battle whose body was covered in a number of various healed wounds and aged scars. She was lithe, with thin cheeks and a sharp chin. He was broad and built for power, with a square and strong jaw. Her hair was this shining white, almost translucent under certain lights that hung short just around her ears. Mordred's hair was a choppy ocean depths black, and hung along his shoulders when not pulled back into a ponytail.\

Mordred cast his gaze over the orb as well for a moment, before shaking his head at the sight and turning his attention back to his sister. His hands moved to rest on his hips as he glanced away from the sight of Arthur.

"So, who cares if he does attempt to interfere? He knows nothing of us and of the plan. He's simply an ignorant nuisance even if he found himself in the care of that idiot Merlin. And with the Keyblade wielder currently lost to the worlds, what is there to worry about this-This thing out here in our neck of the woods?" Mordred gestures towards Kuro, then huffs sternly as he continues to speak. Eyes growing distant and cruel as he did so. "Our concern should stay with Arthur - Wart. If he were to pursue his destiny, if he gets that sword, that spells the end for us. You foretold it. Your crystal ball showed our own destinies. Our fates are sealed as soon as the sword is pulled from stone. And this was all for naught. I should just go kill the boy right now, be the end of it."

"You will not kill Arthur. I have a plan, dear brother. Arthur will not get the sword, I have a plan." Morgan stated plainly, turning her attention back to Mordred with a nefarious glare. Her eyes grow more wicked as she lifts her chin up towards him. "The Horned King wishes for us to maintain our posts and remain vigilant in our endeavors. Engage the Heartless and to open the world to darkness so that our Dark Lord-"

"And so then tell me dear sister," Mordred slammed his hand to his temple, letting out a short growl as he walked over to the edge of the dungeon. "This Horned King asks us to damn our world. Simple enough, yeah? Open the world to darkness. How can we do that if the boy gets the sword? The sword is tied to the heart of the world, you said so yourself. We don't have a princess of heart here, so our world decided to foster its health into that blasted sword. And I cannot break it! I have tried!"

Mordred gestured to his still healing hand, then moving to unsheathe his sword that was strapped to his hip. Which halfway through it's pull is shown to have broken off into a jagged point, making it the bottom half of a broken sword. A miserable attempt at the sword's destruction had ruined his hand and one of his favorite swords. "It cannot be destroyed by mortal means."

"You simpleton, you idiot, Mordred." Morgan tapped her fingernails against her skull, growling out in frustration as she focused and collected her thoughts. "Did you forget? The Heartless are drawn to the heart of the world. If this thing is as Heartless as Heartless can come, we can only assume that he will have the same draw as they do. We don't need to destroy the sword. This Heartless will look for the heart of the world. His hunger will draw him to the sword, he will find it himself."

"So, what does that mean for us? Mean for me?" Mordred shrugs in annoyance, scratching under his chin as he stares at Morgan with a furrowed brow. "Just wait around until he decides to go on his rampage? Wait until he smells that blood in the air and go for the sword like a ravenous beast?"

"No, we don't just wait, we cannot simply do nothing." Morgan responded, her lips pursed as she approached the orb with a dark shadow looking over the sphere. Her eyes focused on the bouncing form of the one they spoke of. His orange eyes aglow in the purple shaded view. The Heartless she was hoping would follow his more aggressive instincts. "We shall consult the witch of the woods. Let us investigate and see if Madame Mim finally wishes to join the fold."

"She already rejected our offer once before, and then before that she rejected the Mistress of all Evil." Mordred debated, glancing his eyes over to the sphere once again, watching the figures move in the light of the illuminated orb. "What makes you think she will say yes this time, Morgan?"

"Because we are going to offer her something she won't refuse. A good show. This Heartless losing his composition and trying to destroy the sword? Perhaps even going as far as to kill Merlin? Who else would love to see that happen besides the two of us?" Morgan clarified, with her eyes turning towards Mordred before curling his fingers into a waving motion. Her nails scratch the heel of her hand as she giggles into the dark. "We can offer her to join us because if she loves anything, she loves to see Merlin fail. So, we can extend unto her the opportunity to join us in waiting to see what he does when comes into close proximity with the fabled sword. If what we know about the Heartless is correct, then we have ourselves our own destroyer. He just doesn't know it yet. We might not have to do anything at all… He might just kill Arthur for us."