A/n: So I'm kind of taking a bit of a break from writing some of the original stuff I'm doing at the moment. Thought I'd poke a bit of fanfiction and as I'd just watched the Sorcerer's Apprentice recently this popped into my head. Please review if you've got the time!

Albert Spencer's residence was across the city. During the journey there Balthazar felt his anticipation building. His mind was churning over at a million miles an hour. The fact there had been barely a hint of the Prime Merlinian over the last century surely meant that if something, someone, turned up now they must be close to the right combination of factors. The calibre of sorcerers had waned over the years, and whether that was due to the changing state of man's opinion of magic Balthazar couldn't be sure, but a potential existing in this time surely had a greater chance than ever before of being the Prime Merlinian.

In reality, it was useless going over these things in his mind. He'd done so before, but the only thing that could truly tell whether he'd found the one was Merlin's ring. At least this was a fairly easy test to administer.

Balthazar caught Maggie giving him a look like she could sense his agitation, and drew in a breath to calm himself. Fidgety was not an image he cared to promote, even in front of Maggie. He still had some pride. Instead, he turned his thoughts to Veronica. It was not something he did often, and he'd tried to keep those thoughts to a minimum over the past hundred years. It distracted. And if he thought of her when he didn't have any leads, it depressed him. But thinking of her now he could not help but smile faintly. If they found the Prime Merlinian he would be that much closer to releasing her. The Grimhold was no place for such a beautiful strong woman, the woman he loved. He would have locked himself in there in an instant instead, but he knew there was no way he could have pulled off that fusion spell at the time. Veronica was more skilled than he was. It would have been better if she were out here, searching for the Prime Merlinian. But then, of course, she'd have to contend with the thousand year wait. Briefly, Balthazar wondered if a prison frozen in time was the better option. Perhaps he had experienced the greater pain. It had broken his heart to lock her in there, but there had been no other option. But his reunion with her was being brought ever closer, even as the cab they were in neared their destination. Balthazar let himself think of her finally in his arms again, a rare indulgence, he hadn't dared to allow himself for, literally, ages.

"You're a strange man, Balthazar."

"What?"

"You're smiling to yourself again," Maggie shook her head.

He hadn't told Maggie about Veronica. Only the Prime Merlinian and Morgana. Sharing about Veronica was an even rarer occurrence than allowing himself to think of her. If they found the Prime Merlinian today, perhaps he would consider telling her. "You know how important this is. I'm glad we're finally getting somewhere."

The cab pulled up outside Spencer's apartment and Balthazar fished in his coat pockets for cash to pay the driver. Using magic to pull some out of nowhere would have been a snap but it wasn't something Balthazar liked doing, especially with the economy what it was at the moment. A few dollars wouldn't have much effect but if you started cutting corners on the small things there was nowhere to go but downhill. That task done, he helped Maggie out of the cab and up the few stairs to the front door.

Before they could knock a red headed man of about forty opened up. His appearance surprised neither of the two sorcerers; it was a common thing for their kind to have an alarm spell set up to alert them of visitors and unwanted guests. Maggie catching Balthazar off guard earlier was the exception, not the norm.

"Maggie, so nice to see you again," the man said as he clasped the hand of the older woman warmly. He gave Balthazar a curt nod. "Blake."

"Spencer," Balthazar said. He returned the greeting in the same curt manner. A part of him wondered briefly why he let this kid rile him so much. But then, he was having a bad century.

"Maggie tells me you're still on that Prime Merlinian thing?"

"The 'thing' is still a priority, yes," Balthazar said as he supressed a sigh. At least he was in a better mood than before. If at the end of this he knew who the Prime Merlinian was, he could put up with this man for now.

Spencer nodded and then stepped aside from the door frame. "Well, come in then. I'll see whether we can accommodate your little test…"

"Albert," Maggie gave the man a chiding glare. "I thought we agreed on this already."

"I just want to have a conversation first, that's all," Spencer shot her a smile as he led her by the hand through the door. "After all, you both know my thoughts on this thing. I have to ensure Blake here isn't going to put any strange ideas into my niece's head. She's still just a child."

Balthazar had been hanging his coat on a peg in the entrance hall, seeing as Spencer hadn't bothered to take it as he was spending all his attention on Maggie, and he started at the man's words. "Wait, I thought you said she was his apprentice?" he said to Maggie.

"She is," said Spencer cautiously.

"It's probably best not to mix family and apprenticeships…"

"Oh, is this one of those outdated ideas of yours? For God's sakes man, it's the twentieth century!" He glanced briefly at Maggie. "Sorry."

"It's just not necessarily a very good idea…" Balthazar muttered.

"Well, I'll tell you what," said Spencer with a mirthless smile, "if that ring works you can be my niece's master and then there won't be any problem."

So Spencer was convinced the test would fail. Well, apart from the end of his millennium long search, Balthazar could look forward to seeing that smile wiped off the man's face.

They sat down in the living room. Maggie and Balthazar took the three seater sofa and Spencer flopped into the single seat across from them. "So," the man began, crossing one leg over the other and leaning back in his favourite chair, "just to get this straight… you've got this ring. All you want to do is put it on her, and that will tell you if she's this Prime Merlinian?"

"I've explained the prophecy to you before, Spencer," Balthazar growled.

"I know. I just want to make sure how much of that you're going to tell Sophie."

"I don't have to tell her much, just get her to try the ring…"

"She'll ask questions," Spencer said with a genuine smile. "She's a smart kid."

Balthazar let out a sigh, not bothering to try and conceal his frustration. He knew Spencer was just stringing him along. Why a couple extra minutes was causing him so much annoyance he didn't know. He'd been at this for so long; it shouldn't upset him so much. The last century must have gotten to him more than he realised. "Okay," he drew in a deep breath. "You've already started some training with her, yes?"

Spencer nodded.

"And she's already got her own ring?"

Spencer nodded again. "And showing potential."

"So I'll just tell her this is a special ring and it'll let us know if she's just as special."

Spencer chewed his lip for a moment, and then shrugged. "Okay, sounds fair. Just leave out all the garbage about prophecy for now; all you've got to do is get her to put it on. No funny stuff!"

Balthazar nodded. "Deal. Where is she?"

Spencer looked over his shoulder and shouted out. "Sophie! I left her practicing with the cat…"

Balthazar raised an eyebrow, but this time was able to stop himself making comment on the wisdom of practice with the family pet. There was a crash and a ball of orange fur shot past, quickly followed by a small girl of about six or seven. "Timmy!" Sophie called after the escaping feline.

"Sophie," said Spencer, quickly arresting the girl's attention. "I think Timmy has had enough practice for today. We've got guests."

Sophie smiled sheepishly and made her way into the living room. Frizzy orange hair framed her freckled face. She was a little shy, not yet quite making eye contact, but didn't attempt to hide or hang back. "Hi, Maggie…" she grinned when she saw the woman.

"Hello, Sophie. Have you been practising the spells I showed you?"

"Yes, when I can get Timmy to cooperate that is…" She directed her attention to Balthazar.

"And this is the infamous Balthazar Blake," Spencer said. "He's a friend of Maggie's."

Sophie eyed him a little suspiciously. "Hi, Mr Balthazar…"

If there was anything that could dissipate Balthazar's growing agitation this little girl was it. Not only because she had the potential to end his search in no longer than a few short minutes. "Balthazar will be just fine, sweetheart," he said, unable to hide a smile.

He glanced across at Spencer. The man was leaning ever so slightly forward, hand on his chin, and watching his niece intently. He caught Balthazar's gaze, and gave the slightest nod. He seemed happy for Balthazar to do his thing, provided he didn't mention the 'p' word. Suddenly Balthazar doubted the man's intent in letting him come today was purely to ridicule him; some small part of him wanted to see the outcome of this test too. It was interesting to note, especially considering his derision of the concept when they'd first met.

"I actually came to meet you, Sophie. I've got something I want to show you."

Sophie's sheepish smile brightened ever so slightly. "Yeah?"

Balthazar dug around in his pants pockets. "Now where did I put it?" He made a show of searching, much to Sophie's amusement. "Ah…" Balthazar reached out his right hand, palm up, then closed his hand into a fist. When he opened it again Merlin's dragon ring sat dormant in his hand. "There it is."

Sophie smirked and raised an eyebrow. She was unimpressed. "I've got one of those too, you know."

"Yeah?"

Sophie held up her right hand fingers spread, and passed her other hand around it with a flourish. A ring appeared on her right index finger. "Mine kind of looks like a pretty star though, not a lizard."

"Ah, but it's not a lizard," Balthazar said. "It's a dragon ring. It's kind of like yours, but it's a special ring. I want you to try it on. It'll tell me whether you're special too."

He'd aroused her interest again. She eyed the ring in his open hand suspiciously. "What kind of special?"

"It…" a brief glance at Spencer caught him still intent on his niece. Balthazar continued. "It lets people know you're going to be a really good sorcerer one day. Other sorcerers will respect you more. Timmy might be more inclined to help you out with your practicing too."

Sophie chewed her lip briefly, as if this was some kind of monumental decision. She had no idea how much it was. "Okay…" she said eventually and slipped off her own ring. She held out her hand expectantly.

Balthazar tipped the ring into her hand. It tumbled into her palm, rocking slightly from the momentum and then came to rest. It stayed dormant. Nothing.

It had happened any number of times before. Balthazar always took a deep breath, centred himself, moved on. Only this time he just found himself staring at the ring in the little girl's hand, willing it to move.

Spencer let out a huff, moving his hand from his chin up to cover his eyes and shook his head.

"Is it supposed to do something?" Sophie asked.

Balthazar's throat was dry. "Try… try putting it on."

She did so, holding her palm up to the light and studying the silent dragon. "Does it suit me, Uncle Albert?" Sophie turned so that she could display it to him.

Spencer frowned. "Hmm, not sure honey. Looks a little masculine to me."

Sophie nodded her agreement. "I think I like mine better." She turned back to Balthazar. "You can keep the dragon, Balthazar. I don't think it suits me." She placed it back in his upturned palm, oblivious to the man's vacant stare and frozen limbs.

"Well," Spencer leaned back into his chair. "That's that then. Sophie, go and play with Timmy. I need to talk to Maggie and Balthazar a little more."

The little girl stomped across the room in the way that only children could, and disappeared into the back of the house shouting: "Timmy!"

Balthazar had sometimes spent years trying to find one particular potential, only to find out they were not the one. Yet this failure, the potential whom he'd only found out about hours ago, had stalled his sharp mind. Of course, that wasn't counting the almost century he'd waited for something solid. Somehow he'd let himself hope too much after so long.

"Balthazar," Maggie's voice finally cut into his thoughts; she'd called his name more than once. "Are you okay?"

He became aware, suddenly, of the woman's hand resting on his sleeve. The touch startled him and he jerked away. "I thought you said you were sure?"

"I said it was a lead; I was as sure as I could be. And there's no harm done letting her try on that ring."

"No harm?" Spencer snorted. "Not for Sophie, no. But how much time have you wasted trying to find this Prime Merlinian? Not all of us are immortal, Blake!"

Balthazar felt the tension he'd been fighting off begin to build yet again, his hands shook and he balled them into fists. "Have I cut into your schedule, Spencer? You've got some place to be?"

"I haven't talked to him yet, Albert," said Maggie. "Just let off a bit, okay?"

Spencer shook his head. "No. Don't act like this is some big disappointment, Blake, I don't see how you could expect anything less. I can't believe I let myself get dragged into this."

"There is a prophecy and it is going to be fulfilled, I just have to be there to make sure… it happens…" The shake had started to invade his voice. Balthazar bit down on his words, dropping his head as he tried to regain some composure.

"You know I get the whole probability thing? But I'm not a gambling man, Blake. There might be some small chance every tiny little factor is going to line up and you're going to get your Prime Merlinian. But you know what? If you keep Morgana in that prison she's not going to destroy the world. So keep her there! The Prime Merlinian is a lame horse and I'm not betting on it!"

"Are you done now, Albert?" Maggie growled.

"I don't see why you're wasting your energy on him. Are you scared of him? Tell him what he's costing…"

If it wasn't hard enough to understand the inexplicable breakdown of every technique he'd ever learned to control himself, the drone of Spencer's voice was somehow an even greater annoyance. "Shut. Up." Balthazar threw his hand up with barely a thought. Spencer's prattle was immediately, and mercifully, cut short.

There was any number of ways a sorcerer could choose to silence an opponent. The more inane included temporarily paralysing the vocal chords, or simply deadening the sound waves the moment they left the source. Instead, Balthazar realised as Maggie let out a gasp, he'd chosen to cut off the man's air supply entirely.

Spencer blinked in shock, one hand going to his throat as his mouth moved open and shut like a fish out of water. His distress was short-lived, as Maggie hastily waved her hand and undid the spell. Spencer drew in a gasp.

"Balthazar! You need to calm down!" Maggie snapped.

Despite the sluggish pace of his mind, Balthazar could figure this out for himself. He didn't just go around throwing spells that could kill someone if not properly removed. Not usually. He stared at Spencer, searching for words.

Despite his brief choking spell Spencer found some first. "You come into my house, and use magic on me?! Get out of here, Blake!"

It seemed like a good enough option. Balthazar rose to his feet and made for the door, grabbing his coat on the way out. He paused outside the front door, still not quite ready to navigate the few stairs, and let the fresh air help ground him in the now.

"Balthazar…"

Maggie had followed him. She leaned on the railing near him to steady herself. It looked as if she'd pushed herself to catch up to him, but Balthazar was unable to feel any pity for her. He was still too angry at both her and Spencer. "I thought you said you were sure?" he growled. He'd said it before, but at least now he was more certain of keeping the tremor out of his voice.

"I know!" Maggie sighed. "And I'm sorry if I've upset you…"

"I'm not upset."

"… but isn't this something you do all the time? Get children to try on the ring? Any child… it's hardly a waste of time."

"It's hardly that simple…" Balthazar snapped. He ignored the part of his mind that told him that was actually a fairly accurate description of what he had been doing of late.

"I was as sure as I could be," Maggie continued. "It was as good a bet as any…"

She trailed off, and Balthazar said nothing. He was struggling to control his thoughts. Why had he let himself think so long on Veronica earlier?! He'd known it would compromise his objectivity, but he'd been stupid enough to think of her anyway.

"Perhaps I did jump the gun," Maggie continued with a sigh. "But there's something else I wanted to tell you today. I had just hoped it could be done on a happier note, with the discovery of the Prime Merlinian. Perhaps that hope clouded my judgement."

Balthazar barely heard her. Veronica. She had to stay in that Grimhold for who knew how much longer. He didn't know when he would see her again or be able to hold her in his arms. Stop thinking! It had never been this hard.

"But not finding the Prime Merlinian is not the end of the world. The Grimhold will stay locked…"

"Don't you get it!?" Balthazar snapped. "I can't get her out without the Prime Merlinian!" His fist pounded into the railing beside him and sent the metal ringing.

Maggie started at the sudden movement. "But Morgana can't cause any harm in there. Have you considered that Albert may be right? At least consider what he said…"

"You suggest I give up?" Balthazar drew in a breath. He still could not quite grasp why his control was slipping. But he knew he'd had enough and just wanted to accomplish… something. He'd had a chance, but failed. Again. And he still couldn't tell Maggie about Veronica, even if it might help her understand his agitation. If simply thinking of the woman he loved was causing him this much grief, he wasn't sure what might happen if he spoke those thoughts aloud. And he was still too angry with Maggie to allow her this insight.

"No."

"You should have made sure… "

"Damn, it Balthazar!" Maggie snapped. It was enough to drag Balthazar out of thoughts of Veronica, if only momentarily, simply because Maggie never swore. "I didn't have the time!"

"Time's overrated. I wouldn't worry too much about that."

"Balthazar…" Maggie let out a sigh and leaned back against the railing. She put a hand to her head. "I don't have the energy for this."

Evidently, Spencer had been listening in on their conversation, because he opened the front door at that moment. He stepped out and took Maggie's arm. "I really think you should go, Blake."

"Albert…" Maggie growled. "I'm fine. I haven't finished yet."

"No," Balthazar drew himself upright. "But I have. I hope you two have a good laugh when I'm gone." He turned and stomped down the steps.

"Where are you going?" Maggie called after him. "I wanted…"

"I'm going to throw some magic around; maybe it'll make me feel better!" Balthazar shouted back over his shoulder. He didn't care that the whole street could hear; it wasn't like any of them believed in magic anyway.

"Leave him…" was the last thing he heard from Spencer as he trudged down the street.

Balthazar swung his coat around his shoulders. He knew he couldn't really go and 'throw magic around'. He was still thinking straight enough for that at least. What he should have done was go and just sit down and try some of the techniques to calm his mind. But he'd already tried half of these back at Spencer's place. He couldn't be sure any further attempts would be successful. And if he sat still he'd think of Veronica.

Balthazar didn't want to do this the right way; he just wanted to shut down those thoughts completely, even if it was only for a few hours. The easiest way to accomplish this worked just as well to dull the mind of a sorcerer as it did for any ordinary man. Thank God prohibition had been repealed but a few years earlier. With his coat billowing around him Balthazar stomped off in search of a good, stiff drink.