The Lockhart Family

Charles hurried all the way home, which was quite far from the Royal Academy. The city of Skyhart was divided into three portions, the Outer Layer, Middle Layer, and the Inner Layer.

The Outer Layer is where the official city of Skyhart began. It was segregated from the rest of the outer lands by a massive thirty meter tall wall that was regularly patrolled by some guards that were recruited from the farmers and villagers that populated most of the Outer Layer. The Outer Layer was mostly full of farmlands and small forests where essential things were produced, and livestock was bred.

The Middle Layer was where the 'actual' city of Skyhart began. This area was where the middle class folk, merchants, and traders lived, did business, and established their brands. While it was not too much of a hassle for someone from the Outer Layer to find a place to stay, it was just that they would not have enough space and liberty to continue breeding their livestock and tending to farms in the Middle Layer, as almost every bit of space was taken up by a building or stall.

As for the Inner Layer, this was where the castle of the king or queen was located. This space was meant for nobility and those people who played highly important roles in the day to day affairs of the city. This was also where the prison of Skyhart was located, as security around the Inner Layer was the tightest among all three layers.

Charles and his family lived in the Outer Layer. Charles' father was a rather successful farmer, while his mother was a small time merchant that traded their wares and products in the Middle Layer's markets. With their jobs, they were able to provide for their small family.

Only recently, his older brother took up a job as a local soldier that patrolled parts of the Outer Layer during the night, so he was around most of the day. He also had two younger siblings, a pair of twins, a boy and a girl, who were just six years old at the moment.

"Hey Charles! Back from school already?" A farmer called out to Charles from his field as the boy walked by. The man was just walking through the field, with his dog. The two were going about to check up on the crops that had been planted some time ago. Most farmers were already growing crops that they could sell by the time winter was over.

"Hey, mister Boyd!" Charles waved back with a broad smile on his face. "Hey Bravo!" He also greeted the dog that barked at him, before continuing on his way. A few other greetings were exchanged between himself and some of the villagers in the area before he finally reached his home.

"Charles!" Two squeals immediately rang in the medium sized home as Charles pushed open the door. Angus and Angel, the twins, had already memorized the exact time that Charles got home from school, and had been waiting by the door to jump on him the moment he arrived.

"Gus, Angie!" Charles groaned as the combined weight and force of the two kids pushed him down, and back out into the snow.

"You're late!" Angel screeched.

"We were waiting for you to get back for so looooong!" Gus concurred.

"I'm sorry, I had some stuff to do that kept me back a bit at school. But don't worry, I'll be here for a long time now." Charles grinned as he managed to sit up and properly hug the two children.

"Get out of the snow and come in before you catch a cold, kids." Charles' mother, Anne, called from the kitchen. She peeked out of the kitchen, holding a wooden spoon as she eyed her three children who were sprawled out in the cold snow.

"You guys can shut up while you're at it." Charles' older brother, Darwin, joined in on the conversation while trudging out of his shared room with Charles in nothing but a pair of shorts.

"You can go back in your room and put on a shirt, young man." Anne scowled at her oldest child.

"Fine." Darwin rolled his eyes and went back into the room under the amused gazes of his family members.

"Afternoon, mum." Charles greeted when he finally stepped into the house properly, pulled into the kitchen by his two younger siblings. He beamed at him mother who was hovering over a pot of food.

"Welcome home, Charlie." Anne smiled back warmly at Charles and gave him a hug and a peck on the cheek.

"Where's dad?" Charles asked when his mother freed him from the hug.

"He's out back tending to the crops. Take off your uniform and go check on him, will you? Darwin just woke up after a particularly long night shift, so I don't want to bother him too much yet." She patted him on the head and shoed him out of the kitchen and off to his room.

"Sure, thanks." Charles nodded before leading the twins out of the kitchen. "You two go play around for now. I'll check up on dad and come back to play with you, okay?" He led the kids to the living room.

"Alright!" The two of them nodded enthusiastically before rushing to get their toys.

Charles laughed a bit before heading to his own room. On the way, he passed by his brother who was finally wearing a shirt.

"How was school, kid? Hope those brats don't bother you anymore?" Darwin stopped Charles in the middle of the corridor and asked in a low voice.

"School was fine, and don't worry about Mark and his goons. They won't be bothering for a good while now." Charles answered with a small smile before entering the room and leaving Darwin to help their mom.

Darwin knew that Charles wasn't being straight with him, but he figured he would talk about it some more with Charles later.