Author's Note: Hehehe, another fic created when I should have been studying, lol. Oh well, I couldn't study any with this thing stuck in my head. Once again this is fic about the three apprentices' and their time with Merlin. I find this time, even though we don't see much of it, to be extremly interesting.
Anyway, I hope you enjoy and please review.
Disclaimer: No, I do not own Sorcerer's Apprentice, or the characters or any of the themes that are present in this fic.
A Beautiful Spring Day
It was on days like this that Veronica truly wonder how there could possibly be any Evil in the world. The Sun was shinning, the birds were singing, a gentle spring breeze was gently blowing her long dark hair around her small form. Everything just felt right with the World, even with the clunking of wood against wood and the occasional "ouch" and swearing that was making up a great deal of the background noise of this beautiful spring day, but Veronica was choosing to ignore that part of it, even though she was having to keep an eye on it from where she sat, leaning against a tree in the pretty clearing that they were currently in. On her lap was a large book that she was idly flicking through.
She wince a little as she heard a loud yelp as the sandy brown haired boy was knocked almost casually to the ground, having had his wooden sword knocked from his hand by the dark haired older boy, who was grinning triumphantly above him.
"You cheated!"
"I most certainly did not!" the sandy brown haired boy summoned his wooden sword and they were at it again.
Honestly, those two! They were ruining a perfectly good day with their silly contest of seeing who was the better swordsman's. It was already obvious who was, but he liked to brag about it which only made the other try harder to beat him!
If Merlin were present, the two of them would not be so loud nor would they be so determined to beat the other into a pulp just to prove a point. But, sadly, Merlin wasn't present. He had wandered off somewhere earlier that morning. He did this quite often now a days, now that they were bigger and he was sure that if anything should happen to them (though that was unlikely. Barely anything out of the ordinary ever happened to them, and when it did, it was usually because of him trying to prove some point or other), they should be able to take care of themselves.
None of them knew when the old Sorcerer would return from wherever he had disappeared off too. He could turn up that night or next week, they didn't know, so the boys, with that knowledge in hand, decided that with whatever time they did have, they were going to use it to practise the art of the sword… or in other words, Maxim beating Balthazar to a pulp with a sword instead of his fist.
But at least they are only using wooden training swords, Veronica thought dully as she watched Balthazar once again went down because of some tricky but clever move Maxim had pulled. If this were a real duel, with Maxim actually using his sword, it'd be over before it had even begun. Poor Balthazar wouldn't stand a chance against him.
She dreaded the day they decided to really go at it with real swords. It could only end in disaster.
Balthazar, while having some talent with a blade, Maxim was the true Swordsman of the two. He just had a natural grace with them. A sword, after he had picked it up, would just become a part of him, an extension of his arm, doing anything and everything that he bid it to do.
It was the same with Balthazar and his beloved Plasma balls. Balthazar's Plasma balls could even give their Master a hard time at deflecting with their accuracy and precision.
It's a pity really, that the same can't be said about his sword work. At least, not when he is up against Maxim, Veronica thought as she watch Maxim once again knock Balthazar wooden sword from his hand and knocking Balthazar himself to the ground all with a few quick and clever manoeuvres.
"I concede! I concede!" Balthazar yelled, torn between laughing and gasping for air. Maxim grinned down at him, before holding out his hand to help him up.
"You had me working there hard this time Balthazar. Dare I say it, but I think you might actually be improving!" Maxim teased, thumping the younger male apprentice across the shoulders fondly.
"Wish I could say the same about your Plasma balls. They just seem to be getting worse!" Balthazar replied cheekily. Maxim smacked him over the back of his wavy sandy brown head.
"Well, you both need work on your Transformation spells." Veronica called to them, just for good measures and to knock them down a few notches before their heads got too swollen.
Both boys just rolled their eyes at her but came over to sit with her under her tree, one of either side of her, looking at her expectantly.
She shook her head in silent disbelief, muttering "Boys!" softly under her breath as she pulled a rather large saddlebag to her, opening it and handed each boy a loaf of bread, some cheese and a slice of ham, which they happily start to wolf down.
"Do you two ever stop eating? Or feeling hungry?" she asking, looking on in slight awe as the food that she had so carefully pack quickly started to disappear into their mouths.
"No." they both replied between mouthfuls.
"It is amazing that Master hasn't already turned the pair of you into pigs with the way you two eat! Honestly and… Hey! Leave some for me!"
Balthazar looked a little guilty at this and handed her some cheese, ham and two apples. One of the apples had been originally his but he surrendered it gladly over to her, knowing full well how much she loved her apples.
She beamed happily at him and in return he felt his cheeks and ears grow hot and red. He coughed uncomfortably and went quickly back to his food.
Maxim ignored all this, as he had learnt to do quite a bit as of late. He didn't understand why, but for some reason whenever he saw Veronica smiling so sweetly at Balthazar, it made his blood boil and left him in a venomous mood for the rest of the day, a mood that he usually took out on Balthazar, much to the younger boy's confusion.
They ate the rest of their lunch, with the occasional comment or tease, in silence, simply enjoying the beautiful spring day that was all theirs to laugh in, play in and just be free in.
From behind a tree, an old Sorcerer watched the three youngest running around the clearing, laughing and yelling as they chased one another and felt his own heart grow warm at the joy and happiness that was evident on each one of his apprentices' faces.
If only they could stay like this forever, he thought sadly, but forced the sadness away. This was not the time for sadness but for joy.
He smiled fondly at them.
Let them play for a little longer, he decided, they have been working hard and deserve some time to just enjoy their lives.
So he stepped back and fell back into the darkness of the trees, the warmth that their laughter gave him still bloomed in his heart.
Spring was such a wonderful time of year; he had always thought that and still did.