- Chapter 20 -

"There was never virgin got till virginity was first lost."
~ William Shakespeare

King Arthur happily danced with his new bride, Queen Guinevere right in the middle of the ballroom. After two years of waiting, two years of giving her enough time to be certain if she felt the same for him, he finally married her, and she accepted with a sweet 'yes' and a smile. And as they danced, adoringly looking at each other, Merlin's three apprentices watched from above, where they have a view of everyone dancing below.

Veronica had her eyes fixated on the royal couple, smiling as she did so, leaning over.

"They look so happy in love with each other," she said almost to herself, but she knew that her colleagues heard him, as she was aware that they turned their heads to look at her. "I wonder what it feels like to be so in love with someone."

"If you truly want to know," said Maxim all of a sudden, causing Veronica to look up to the eldest apprentice, with the sudden realization that she shouldn't have said such a thing in his presence. "Being in love with someone is the best...and the worst feeling you could ever experience."

Two years since that sad experience that Maxim went through, and ever since that day, he always seemed so bitter with talks of love. But also, he had since courted a lot of girls his age, sometimes two years younger than him, but never into a serious relationship with any one of them. He just went from one girl to the other, and sometimes two at once. On one occasion, he got slapped right across the face by a brunette, by which surprisingly, he just chuckled away.

What both Balthazar and Veronica also noticed so much was the sad expression on the eldest apprentice's face once in a while when he'd be too deep in thought. They would have to call to him more than twice to catch his attention when he'd be at that state. And his dark, hypnotic eyes had went from unreadable, to simply nothingness. It was more impossible to read his thoughts when he was like that.

"Horvath?"

Veronica had been calling her colleague's name for the third time, yet still, said colleague hadn't replied yet.

"Horvath," tried the thirteen-year-old girl once again.

It was finally after then that Balthazar made his move, as he reached over, stepping aside over Veronica and carefully placing a hand on his best friend's shoulder.

"Maxim," the blond mentioned the eldest apprentice's name so softly as he could. This time, Maxim looked up, a bit startled.

"You're doing it again," said Balthazar, meeting those dark eyes with his own unblinking blue ones.

Looking away after having been shaken, Maxim suddenly smiled subtly as though in an attempt to reassure his colleagues.

"I'm fine," was the only thing he said.

He then caught sight of a lovely maiden below who's dark hair was carefully brushed up in a very elegant way, causing his smile to broaden.

"I'm going down for a dance," he said, turning his back to his colleagues without looking. "You two should join me down there if you feel like it."

They watched without a word as Maxim left, as they followed him with their eyes below, asking for the hand of the same dark-haired girl he spotted just of moments ago, whom obliged with a blush. Balthazar watched with a heavy sigh and a shook of his head.

"He's at it again," said the blond, as Veronica joined him by his side, looking down as well. "What is it with him? What can he get from playing around with girls, flirting with them all he wants then getting slapped across the face and walking off as though nothing happened?"

"I suppose it's," Veronica started, "his way of growing up. Horvath is on his way to manhood."

"And on his way in finishing his apprenticeship," added Balthazar. "Two years more, and he'll be more busy with errands on his on, without me, and he'd have to spend most of his time outside the castle."

Smiling at the thought that she was quite certain what was bothering Balthazar, Veronica slightly elbowed the blond on the ribs.

"You're missing him already, don't you?" she said to him; it wasn't entirely a question.

At that, Balthazar simply sighed, not even the slightly surprised that Veronica understood immediately. "He's still my best friend, but he's been a different person at the same time."

"Well, I may not know him the way you do," replied the girl, once again casting her gaze to Maxim still dancing below, "but spending some time with him, I may have seen the Maxim Horvath you have known."

Once again, Balthazar shook his head, but was smiling this time. "He's still that Maxim Horvath...He just grew up."

After regarding the blond beside her, Veronica took him by the arm and was leading him downstairs.

"Come on, let's dance," she simply said.

Meanwhile, Maxim danced on with the dark haired maiden...

"You're a surprisingly good dancer, mi-lord," said the girl.

"Please, just call me Maxim," was his reply.

The girl quirked up a brow. "So I do know you."

Grinning rather charmingly as best he could, Maxim simply replied with, "Oh? You've heard of me?"

The girl giggled, as she looked up again and said, "Who wouldn't hear about you? You're one of the apprentices to Lord Merlin."

"I was the first one, m'lady."

Just as the girl giggled once again, Maxim suddenly looked up, over her shoulders, and saw a rather familiar, lovely face. Though he had to squint his eyes a little before he could make out who it was. In the end, he figured he wasn't wrong about thinking who exactly it was in the first place.

The very moment he heard the music stopped, he excused himself from the dark haired girl and headed towards the blond, who's hair was also brushed up in as elegant as the dark haired one, but more lovelier, at least in his eyes. That particular thing in him hadn't changed at all even in the last two years that passed. He still found her lovely, in a good way, even after she had broken his heart...

"Excuse me," he said to her in a gentle voice the moment he came up behind her. He was already wearing a smile on his face when she turned around to face him. "I believe you're someone I know, and I was hoping I was right."

He watched as her gray eyes widened in silent and slow realization.

"Maxim?" she said tentatively, taking in the new things about him. "Is that you?"

"Hello, Fauna."

Her eyes drank all that she found that was new about him.

He was much taller than before, and there was a hint of facial hair under his chin. He didn't wear white shirt anymore, instead he favored black, and he was wearing a cape too in addition, a clothing he did not usually had on before. His eyes were different too in a way she couldn't rightly explain. It was as if she simply couldn't find anything in those eyes anymore, as though he was wearing a mask outside.

"Perhaps I should have realized that you would be here too," she said after snapping out of her thoughts.

"And I take that you're not alone here?" he simply asked, his smile growing more charming by the minute, one that which Fauna wasn't quite used to because he doesn't do that when they were still...um...when there was still 'them'.

"No. I'm with Horace, of course," she managed to reply.

Just as she finished, Horace did came, calling to her.

"Fauna, dear? Oh, her you are. I apologize if I took too long. I ran into a friend of my father's back there."

Apparently, Horace was oblivious to the dark gaze fixated on him, but Fauna was quite aware of it, so she made her move for introductions.

"Um, yes. Uh, Horace, this is Maxim Horvath," Fauna tried to say, gesturing a hand towards Maxim, who's dark expressions quickly changed into a more lighter one. "Maxim, my husband, Horace."

The two locked eyes for a moment, then Horace broke the silence.

"Oh yes, Fauna talked of you a long time ago, if memory serves. She still does on occasion," he said as he then thrust out a hand. "A pleasure to finally meet you." Then waited for the young sorcerer to take his hand.

"No, no, please. Pleasure's all mine," replied Maxim, his smile slightly turning into some smirk, but Horace didn't notice it.

As soon as the two retracted their hands, music once again filled the room, and one by one, dancers once again stepped in the middle. Maxim got his chance to take Fauna away from her husband for a while and to have a little talk.

"Would you mind if I steal your wife?" the young sorcerer asked, causing Horace to quirk up a brow.

"I beg your pardon?" was the husband's response.

"For a dance," Maxim immediately replied.

Blinking and taking in a moment to gather himself, Horace cleared his throat and gestured to his wife. "Of course. I wouldn't mind at all. Go on then, dear. Have a dance if you like."

Though Fauna hesitantly took Maxim's held out hand in front of her, she would be lying to herself if she said she didn't want to dance with the young sorcerer. Come to think of it, they had never got the chance to dance at all before, so why pass on the opportunity? It is just a dance..is it?

Maxim led her further into the crowd of other couples dancing, but in a spot just right for Horace to still have a view of them.

When they finally felt their feet moved to the music, their hands together, with her free hand on his shoulder, and his own free hand was on her waist, they kept their gazes off each other. While Maxim looked over beyond Fauna's blond head, Fauna was looking over Maxim's shoulders.

"I'm still waiting for an explanation as to why you asked me to dance," she said to him, feeling uncomfortable more by the minute.

Maxim smiled over her head. "Just wanted to catch up on all those times we haven't seen or even talked to each other. And speaking of which, I heard you have a son now. Is that true?"

"Yes," she said, still not looking up to him. "He just had his first birthday yesterday."

"What's the boy's name?"

"..Harold.."

There was a moments silence between them before Maxim spoke again.

"In just two years time, a lot has changed between us, huh?"

A frown appeared on Fauna's brows. "There was no more 'us' for the last two years Maxim."

At this, Maxim simply found his smile once more.

"Although, there is one thing that hasn't changed at all," he said, as he tilted Fauna's head to look up to him, pinching her chin between his fingers. There was something from the way he looked at her that Fauna recognized to be of something so long ago. "You're still very beautiful."

He leaned in closer to her, but she stopped him mid-way.

"Maxim, don't be foolish," she said to him, but she was wondering why she hadn't looked away.

Not far from where they were, Horace was watching with wide eyes.

'He can't be that foolish, can he?' he thought to himself.

Maxim only grinned at her, and continued to lean in closer. But just as she thought he would kiss her on the lips, he moved his head higher and planted a careful kiss on her forehead, much to her utter surprise, and much to Horace's relief.

When he pulled back, the smile on his face seemed to tell her that he knew something, causing her to blush a bright color of red.

"It's good to see you again," he said, and walked off to find his colleagues, just like that.

As Fauna watched the young sorcerer walked away, she couldn't help but admit to herself that, a small portion of her, deep down inside, wanted for him to kiss her in the lips just as the way he had before. But she knew, just as well as he, that it would never happen again.

Brunette, attractive, twenty-five years of age, and in need of a man's company..so bad. Rosalind was obviously such in a bad mood that night, and just having a drink won't do any good for her, or at least it doesn't for her. She needed a distraction, and the first thing that came into her mind was to find the company of the opposite sex.

Entering the very first tavern that came into sight after she made a turn, she went straight in, being a patron of said tavern, and went to the barman for her usual. After having her first sip of her drink, she glanced around the tavern for anyone suitable enough to seduce into her bed, but what truly caught her eye was the dark haired lad drinking alone at one dark corner of the tavern.

She hesitated but for a moment before finally deciding to leave her drink on the bar and stood up, as she walked over to the lad.

The lad turned out to be Maxim Horvath, who didn't even noticed the approaching brunette until the moment she sat down on the chair beside him.

"You look so lonely in this corner of the house, stranger," started Rosalind, smiling charmingly to the young man.

Maxim risked a brief glance up the older woman. "A lonely stranger, what a thought," he said as he raised his cup to his mouth.

"Has something got you down earlier today?" the brunette spoke again.

"Perhaps, but that falls under the category of 'none of your business', if you don't mind me saying," replied Maxim in an attempt to keep his annoyance in check after swallowing the last drop of wine down his throat.

And yet, Rosalind just pressed on. "Is this about a girl?"

Quirking a dark brown, and once again risking to look up to the brunette, Maxim finally asked, "Why are you here with me?"

Her smile turning into a grin, and leaning in a little closer, Rosalind replied, "Well, you simply caught my attention, boy, since you're the youngest among this lot present here."

"Point well taken," shrugged Maxim.

"Whatever it is that has gotten you down, drinking is only one of the many options," Rosalind suddenly said. "You should listen to me, I know."

"You have a better option to give me?"

Rosalind caught Maxim's arm in mid air just before he was able to have another drink from his cup.

"Why don't you come with me, and I'll show you," she said, as she stood up, holding the young man by the wrist, unable to fight back wherever she was to take him.

Along their way out the tavern, she ordered for one bottle of wine from the barman, on her tab of course, and dragged the confused, young sorcerer with her. The lad was at least good enough for her to talk to, but she wanted to see whether she'd be able to have his acquiescence at her home and have her way with him.

When he heard the door finally opened, Merlin was expecting all three of his apprentices when he looked up, as he greeted Balthazar and Veronica with, "So, there you are." After he Balthazar closed the door, that was only when Merlin noticed that he was one apprentice short.

"And where is Horvath?" the master asked. "I thought all three of you were together."

"He won't be sleeping in the castle tonight, I'm afraid," said Balthazar, meeting his master's gaze with a steady blue one of his own.

Before Merlin was able to ask, Veronica immediately spoke right after the short pause from Balthazar.

"He disappeared right after he danced with Lady Fauna."

Nodding, and not waiting for further more information concerning the matter, Merlin silently mouthed an 'ah'.

"I should have expected Fauna to be present there in the wedding ball," he said almost to himself.

There was a long pause, with the silence between all three of them almost deafening.

Finally, Merlin clasped his hands together and once again turned to his two apprentices.

"Come, come, he'll be back by morning tomorrow. It's best for us to be asleep by now."

He waited for his apprentices to go first before following suit...

Morning came and slowly opening his eyes was Maxim, blinking a few times, as he realized that he was looking up an unfamiliar ceiling, leaving him to a conclusion that he was not at Merlin's castle. But what baffled him more was the warm feeling at his left side, and that whatever it was, he felt it moved. When he looked to his left, he found an attractive brunette sleeping with one hand on his bare chest.

Bolting out of the bed, Maxim was able to awaken the woman, and before any one of them could speak, Maxim found himself falling over the edge of his side of the bed. He fell on the floor with a thump and after gathering himself, he realized he was naked, wearing completely nothing at all. He then quickly grabbed the pillow that fell along with him and tried to hide the most private part of his anatomy.

"What's wrong?" asked the woman on the bed, clutching the covers over her chest, a worried look on her face.

Swallowing hard, Maxim stuttered and asked, "W-Where...W-W-Why...What happened last night?"

At this, the woman smiled coyly, propped herself on one elbow, and replied as she set a steady gaze on the naked young man on the floor, "You don't remember? I can't blame you, perhaps I've gotten you too drunk last night."

Once again swallowing hard, Maxim almost wanted to stop himself from asking the next question. "Did we...what I think we did?"

The answer he got was a nod.

He let out a breath he didn't know he was holding, and tried to remember the events of last night. The only clear image that came to his head was an older, and attractive, naked woman on top of him.

He shook the image off his head.

"So did I..." He stopped himself, almost mid-way to his sentence, since he wasn't certain whether he could say it at all. "You know...Inside you."

"No," she shook her head, "you didn't. You knew what to do when it came."

At this, Maxim's cheeks went red.

"Well, isn't that a sight," the brunette said, coming to a sitting position on the bed, making the covers over her body fall only to reveal her plumped breasts, causing Maxim to have widened his eyes but then managing to look away. "I've never seen a man blushed before, but then again, you were still just a boy until last night. I think it's rather adorable, though."

"May I ask," said Maxim, still looking away, clutching the pillow between his legs, "as to where my clothes are?"

"Over there, on the chair."

Before Maxim got up, he made a look towards the woman which she eventually understood and once again settled on the bed, covering herself with the covers and rolling over to the side with her back against the young sorcerer.

Maxim quickly walked over to the nearby chair indicated to him by the woman to retrieve his clothes and quickly put them on. As soon as he was fully clothed, he searched for his sword and was relieved to have found it on one corner, safely sheathed into the scabbard, and put the leather baldric over his shoulders after he had inspected the sword carefully.

Slowly turning around to once again face the woman, he asked, "So, may I be informed as to where am I exactly?"

"You're in my house," answered the woman, not moving on the bed.

The young sorcerer simply nodded.

"I have to leave now," he said. "But before I leave I'd like to know, and this is rather awkward but, I didn't got your name."

This time the woman came to sat up on the bed once more and faced Maxim from across the bed. "It's Rosalind."

"I see. And, if you don't mind me asking, how old are you actually?"

"Twenty-five."

No words escaped Maxim's lips as he replied with a nod, still processing in his mind how he ended up in bed with a woman six years his senior.

"You may show yourself outside, I'm still not in the mood to get out of bed," said the woman, breaking the silence.

"Yes, I truly have to go. My master would be expecting me back at the castle by now," he said, slowly making his way to the door.

Before he stepped outside, he turned to the woman and said, "It was a pleasure meeting you, Miss Rosalind."

"No, my boy, the pleasure's all mine."

Maxim tried to ignore the coy smile the older woman gave him as he managed to finally get out of the room. When he made it outside the house he tried to figure where in town he was so he could figure out which way was he to go. And all through out his long walk, his thoughts were of how to face Merlin if ever his master was angry with him, and what was he to say if Balthazar ever ask where he was last night.

He just lost his virginity to a much older woman, and he was drunk all through it. Though how drunk exactly, he didn't know, but he won't be able to get over it for a few days, of that he was certain.

'Wait until Balthazar hears about this,' he thought to himself, groaning inwardly.