Author's Note: Hi there. I was admittingly a little stuck as to what to write for life. I had so many ideas for it but none seemed fit. Death was easier to write, oddly enough. So I combine 4 and 5 themes together and got this little one-shot. I rather like it, it's different from the others I have written while still being similar. I hope you like it too.
P.S. I realised only this morning that I kinda spelt 'Incantus' wrong, so I apologize that.

4 & 5

Life and Death

"Maxim, HELP!"

He can't move. He can barely breathe. What was happening? Everything had been fine just a few a moments ago, so why was he now filled with such terror and growing dread and guilt.

"Maxim." His ears can hear her cries but they barely register in his brain.

What had he done?

His brother?

His true brother, not one of those useless, arrogant men and boys who were related to him by blood and name, where was his true brother?

At the bottom of the lake, dead, because you dared him to be better than you! A nasty voice at the back on his head whispered, sounding almost gleeful.

"Maxim, please! We have to get him out before he drowns. He's probably unconscious because of his wave crashing down on top of him." She was pulling at his arm, trying to get him to move, to follow her to the lake's edge. To help her find Balthazar!

She cares more about him than she does about you. The voice teases. He breaks out of his terrified trace but not because of the words that the voice has spoke, even though they do bother him, but because he feels Veronica's little hand letting go of his wrist and is now waist deep in water, moving frantically further into the lake's cold watery grip.

"Veronica!" he yelled as he charged in after her. He can't lose her too!

"We have to save Balthazar." She screamed back to him before she dives in under the lake's surface. Once he reaches the spot where she dived under, he dives under the surface too.

They both find Balthazar at the bottom of the lake, not moving, eyes closed.

He's dead! He's dead and it is all my fault. Maxim cried in his mind as he grabbed Balthazar's right arm as Veronica grabbed his left and they pulled him to the surface.

"We have to get him to land." Veronica gasped. She is remarkably calm now, which he is grateful for because he is far from it.

Why bother? He already dead! He can't help but think, but still, he helps her pull Balthazar to shore.

"He's dead." His voice is a void of emotions as he watches her blankly check Balthazar over for any signs of life.

He's dead and it is all my fault, he thought miserably. If I hadn't teased him about not being very good at controlling water, he would never have come here and try to create and control waves.

"Veronica, stop! You can't help him, he's gone." But the girl continues to ignore him as she tips Balthazar head on to its side, opening his mouth, allowing trapped water to flow out on to the sand beside him.

"Veronica…" he trials off as he continued to watch her. She was now kneeling beside Balthazar dead body, her hands pressed over his heart and was pushing down upon it several times before moving to pinch his nose and sealing her mouth over his, blowing hard into his.

"What are you…" once again he allows his words to trail off as she continued to repeat these actions.

She is so persisted and here I am just standing here, like before when my brother was drowning, being absolutely useless. But he doesn't move forward. Veronica seems to know exactly what she is doing and he knows better then to try and interrupted her.

She presses down on Balthazar chest for, he doesn't know how many times now, he had lost count after twelve, when a spluttering cough comes from the boy.

Maxim feels his mouth drop in disbelief as he watches his brother rolling onto his side; coughing and spluttering up water, weed and heavens only knows what else came up too.

"You're alive?" Maxim gapped.

"I hurt too much not to be." Balthazar replied groaning as he tries to sit up only to be pushed back down again by Veronica.

"Fool." She muttered angrily under her breath. "You complete and utter fool! Why did you do that? You know that Master doesn't want us to try and control the Elements when he is not around. So why pull such a stunt?"

"Ah, well, um…" Balthazar stuttered as Veronica glares down at him from where she is kneeling beside him.

"Because I dared him to do it." Maxim sighed. "He wouldn't have done it if I hadn't pushed him, but I did, so this is basically all my fault." Both youngsters stared up at him startled, both noting the redness of his cheeks and the odd streams of wetness running down them.

"Did you seriously think I was dead?" Balthazar asked them both teasingly, trying to lighten the dark mood that had befallen them.

"You were dead. I had to give you the Kiss of Life to bring you back from Death's doorway." Veronica growled at him. Balthazar cheeks blazed with heat at her words.

"You what?" he gapped.

"She forced you heart to start beating again while pushing air into you lungs." Maxim explained, shrugging.

"Ah, how?"

"Well, I just…"

"Veronica, he's been through enough today and I think if you tell him exactly how you brought him back to life he might just end up dying on us again from a heart attack."

"I won't." Balthazar started to protest as his cheeks turned even redder at Maxim words.

"Don't you dare!" Veronica growled, "That was my first time giving the Kiss of Life to someone and I'm in no hurry to give it again."

Balthazar fell silent, his head hanging low, his cheeks appearing to be on fire.

"I'm sorry." He mumbled softly.

"Yeah, we know. I am too." Maxim sighed as he flopped down on to sand beside him and after a moments hesitation, he wrapped his arm around the younger boy, his brother.

"I'm sorry too." Veronica whispered as she curled up on Balthazar's other side, her head resting on his lap.

"What in the world are you sorry for?" Maxim asked her, as Balthazar gently stroked her wet hair from her face.

"For not stopping you both, like I usually do."

"Oh yes, you do have something to be sorry about, don't you?" Maxim sighed, "Not stopping us." He shook his head. "You are five and a half years younger than me, three years younger than him and yet you are the one taking care of us. Unbelievable." He sighed.

"I don't mind." She mumbled softly.

"We know." Balthazar replied, taking a deep breath of cool air into his still air starved lungs.

"I'm glad you're not dead." Veronica mumbled after a time. She had one arm wrapped around Balthazar waist while the other stretch across his lap and was holding Maxim hand.

"Me too."

"Same here. It would be such a pain to try and find another sparring partner out here, in the middle of nowhere, that would be somewhat good at it." Maxim added.

"Are you saying I'm getting good at it?" Balthazar asked, sounding hopeful.

"No. I was saying that I don't want to have to teach the basics all over again to someone new. Not that it would make much difference since I'm still teaching you the basics and we've been at it for years!"

"Hey!"

"Hay is what horses eat."

Veronica smiled softly at their easy-going banter. Today had scared them, deeply. They had almost lost one of their trio, and for them there was no worse thing than that.

She clutch more tightly on to her two most beloved people in the world, suddenly afraid that if she should let her fingers slip, for even a moment, they would both disappear and leave her in a very dark place, were no light could reach her. She never wanted that to happen.

She was selfish but she wanted these two to be by her side forever.

She can't survive without them, nor can they survive without her or survive without each other.

That was why she had worked so hard to get Balthazar's heart going again, because she knew that if he did die that he wouldn't be the only one who did.

Maybe they wouldn't die completely like he would have but a large part of them; a large part of their souls would have died along with him. She was selfish, but she couldn't let him die and leave her and Maxim alone in this cruel world. He had to stay and be with them, to live with them and for them, like they did for him.

They couldn't die! She wouldn't let them! She would fight with every last breath in her body to keep them both safe from harm. She would do anything to protect these two beloved people. Even if it killed her… or worse.

These two were her life and she had the oddest feeling that they would also be her death, but she didn't mind because for now at least, they are both save and they are all together and that's all that matters.

Author's Note: 6. Unicorn is up next
Update 4/10/10: I have hopefully fixed up the errors that were in this. Thank you sankage for letting me know about them.