** Hey guys so somehow all the italics in this one got erased as I was transferring it to FF. It's too long to go back and put them in (and I can't remember where they are anyways) so I'm sorry you won't have those :(

But on the other hand this is one of my favorite chapters and I really enjoyed writing it! Updates coming soon! **

As it turned out, the extra time Valentine was referring to was spent grabbing more food from the cafeteria, as both of them had skipped lunch. The only thing Jocelyn could think about as they piled up with apples, bowls of pasta and bread rolls was how many people seemed to know Valentine. Students would wave as he passed by, friends (who seemed to be nearly everybody) would hold their hand out for a high five or a fist bump, and even teachers would make a witty quip as he walked by. Jocelyn trailed some ways behind him, observing. She wasn't drawing the attention that Valentine was, but she did notice that there were a few heads following her as she walked.

She guessed they had a right to be curious. This was the first time she had been in the cafeteria in nearly three weeks, at least when everyone else was in it, and she was tailing an upperclassmen. There was more than one thing odd about that.

After finally escaping the mass of students, Valentine lead her down the hall to the auditorium she had first turned in her sheet for a mentor.

"Just sign your name on the sheet," Valentine said, as they entered. "It's so we get credit for being in class."

"Where is this class anyways?" Jocelyn asked, scribbling her name down while trying not to drop anything.

"In here usually. Useless though, you can't train in here."

"Train?"

"What, you thought I would be mentoring you on how to make friends and be respectful? All that stuff isn't important, it's just mindless fluff they feed to the freshmen sheep. I'm going to teach you the things they don't trust you with until you've gone up a few steps on the food chain - the dangerous stuff - the stuff that Tokin already knows."

Jocelyn's excitement at getting some extra time to spar with a competent partner was cut off by the insult she finally caught.

"I'm a freshmen," Jocelyn said dryly. "That makes me one of those sheep."

Valentine smirked and held the door open so they could exit the auditorium.

"Not for long."

They entered a small classroom on the other side of the building that was at least two minutes away from any other person. Valentine dropped the food on the desk closest to the door.

"Clear all the desks out to the side," he said. "I'll be right back."

Jocelyn didn't appreciate being told what to do but she supposed that in this situation Valentine was a superior, not an equal, so she did as he said and had just finished pushing the last desk into a corner when Valentine returned carrying what looked like the entire armory. Some of the weapons she recognized; knives, swords, maces, sabers, crossbows, daggers, arrows, whips, shurikens, clubs and even what looked like a mundane gun, and then there were some she didn't. Valentine laid the weapons out on the table.

"All these are sharp or loaded," He said, "because they are loaded in real life. Which one is your preference?"

Jocelyn shrugged. "We've worked with knives and short swords before and we've talked about the crossbow but other than that I've never really done more than hold some of these."

"Like I said: sheep. They won't even show you some of these until you're at least a sophomore. If you're going to want maximum proficiency you should start with something you're already familiar with."

Jocelyn thought about the knife still pressed against her stomach and she drew it out. It was a good knife. Solid, and familiar to her hand. She had practiced more with the basic knife than any other weapon. This one was a bit longer than the ones they used in class, about the length from fingertip to elbow, but she didn't she how that would alter her style much.

"Fair enough," Valentine said, and he reached for the other knife on the table. "Let's see what you can do."

There was a time when Jocelyn would have for clarification as to what that last sentence exactly meant. Three weeks in Trueblood's classes and other weaponry duels had changed that. She struck without warning as soon as the words had left his mouth. Valentine was ready though. He countered the strike twice as fast as she had struck, and set into a series of blurring sweeps and jabs that threw Jocelyn from the offense immediately into the defense. There was no chance for her to get a strike in on her own; all of her ability was being spent keeping his knife away from her neck. Jocelyn grabbed his arm as it swept by and tried to push it away while bringing her knife up to the ribs but the extra three centimeters on her knife caused her to miss judge. The blade snagged on her own armor and she was disarmed instantly at the mistake.

"Is that the knife you usually use?"

"No, I just got it."

Valentine nodded but didn't say anything else.

"Again." He said, handing the knife back.

Jocelyn changed her strategy this time. Instead of blindly throwing the first strike, she looked for an opening cautiously. Then when she executed, she managed to get another strike in before she was overcome by speed and skill and disarmed again, this time being slammed onto her back onto the hard wooden floor.

"Better," Valentine said. "But still not what I'm looking for. There are two kinds of attackers: those who will strike quickly and without warning, and those who will search for weaknesses before striking. Both can be effective in different situations and some teachers teach one of the other. I don't recommend either, at least not by themselves." He held a hand out and pulled Jocelyn up, handing her back her knife. "The trick is to be somewhere in between. Strike as quickly as possible but not without aim. Find a weakness, find a flaw, and find it quick, then exploit it. You'll never lose."

Jocelyn was starting to get angry, not at Valentine, but that she was performing so poorly. She spun the knife back into a comfortable position and scanned Valentine. She had used no more than two seconds when she found a vulnerability - he was leaning his weight on one side - an injury? - didn't matter it would take him longer to respond - not a solid weakness but one she could use and fast. She struck. Valentine responded just as quickly. Her knife was batted out of her hands.

"Again."

And she tried again. And again. And again. Before long sweat was dripping down her eyes from the effort. No matter her speed, skill or luck, she couldn't touch Valentine to save her life.

Now she knew how Luke felt.

Finally, after several hours including a break for snacks, well after the mentoring class had ended, Valentine called it quits.

"That's good for today," he said. He hardly seemed to be breathing hard. "We can leave the weapons here, they're all mine."

She should have known. She was packing up what little things she had brought, still furious with herself that she had been unable to even leave a scratch when even she had several shallow cuts across her forearms and stomach, when Valentine spoke.

"Jocelyn, listen." Jocelyn started. Turned around. It was the first time he had called her by her first name. "I know you're angry at Tokin, but don't go doing stupid things. I'm all for revenge, I'll help you get it… but not yet."

Jocelyn looked down at the floor. Could she leave Tokin alone? Would she?

"Jocelyn?"

"Alright." Jocelyn said. "I'll wait."

And wait she did. It was just like before. She would wake at 6 sharp every morning, eat a quick breakfast and head off to first period. Now that she was carrying her knife around and she was on good terms with Luke, she was no longer suffering through the day. She would then attend lunch where she either sat with Luke or with another girl who had just arrived name Madeline. Apparently she had been sick for the first quarter and was only just getting started on all the missed class work. As it turned out, she had the majority of her classes with Madeline, so when Luke and Jocelyn split for after lunch classes, Madeline tailed after her. She would then throw herself into her studies. It didn't matter what the subject was. On tuesday's and thursday's she would meet with Valentine in the abandoned classroom. They would spar with knives or swords for several hours. Jocelyn didn't feel as though she was making much progress: she never seemed to be able to touch Valentinel.

"Jeezus Luke," Jocelyn said, as her mace was knocked down to the ground by Luke's. "What are you on?"

Luke smiled. Jocelyn noticed he wasn't wearing his glasses anymore. Maybe he had gotten contacts? Maybe a seeing rune?

"Not on anything," he said. "Have you thought about the ceremony yet?"

"What ceremony?"

Luke gave her an incredulous look. "The pairing ceremony. Parabati. Remember? It's next month!"

Jocelyn, who had picked up her mace with some effort, nearly dropped it again. Next month!? She knew that it was custom for freshmen to pick a good friend or teammate to pairbond with. It was tradition, and while it wasn't necessary, only good things came from having a parabati. Increased strength, perception and someone to watch your back regardless of the situation...

"Oh, well. It doesn't matter I guess. When are we going?"

Luke gave her a strange look. His mace was slowly dropping towards the ground.

"Well… we…"

Jocelyn stared at him. "You've already decided?" She demanded. "Who is it?"

"Well… Valentine."

This time Jocelyn really did drop her mace. She didn't want to believe it - no - she couldn't believe it.

"Him!? Why him? You don't even know him!"

But Luke never got the chance to answer, because Trueblood, attracted by the talking, had ambled over and their discussion went unfinished.

Later that day, Jocelyn walked in fuming to Stealth Tatics. Madeline noticed immediately.

"Whoa," she said. "What happened to you?"

"He happened," Jocelyn hissed.

"Luke?"

"No, Valentine. He and Luke are gonna be parabati."

"But Luke barely knows him!"

This is why Jocelyn liked Madeline. She always seemed to know what to say. Whether it was homework or boys or something else, they could talk about it. That and Madeline was an exceptional Shadowhunter. Probably one of the best in the class after Jocelyn herself.

"You do know that Luke hangs out with Valentine and his little circle all the time though," Madeline added, after Jocelyn had calmed down somewhat. She did know that. She just wished she knew what they were doing.

"I feel like I'm missing something," Jocelyn said.

They both added their homework to the pile as another student walked by collecting it.

"Well, then, find out." Madeline said.

"How?"

Madeline leaned in close, glanced around and then pointed towards the shelf in the back of the room where the classes books were held.

"That's how." Madeline added.

"I don't get it."

"Well, you said you wanted to find out what they were up to, right?" Jocelyn thought about it. No, she couldn't actually remember saying that, but now that Madeline mentioned it, Jocelyn realized she was right. She motioned for her to go on.

"Well…" Madeline drawled. "You find out. Using that." She was pointing at the smallest book in the back, a light grey one, with golden runes on the binding that Jocelyn couldn't read sideways.

"That's a book of the white," she said.

"It's grey."

Madeline ignored her. "It's like a dictionary for Shadowhunters," she continued. "If you want to find a rune, that's where it would be."

Jocelyn finally caught on to what she was saying.

"So say I wanted to find a glamour rune…"

Madeline nodded. "It would be in that book."

Jocelyn glanced back at the front of the room. Their teacher was lecturing on a potion with herbs that could make the user naturally breathe quieter. Jocelyn could smell the sample tube from back there, like horseradish. They were forbidden from working with actual runes yet, instead they had been focusing on potions and technique. Despite this, Jocelyn thought she could copy the rune down for later. After all, she had recognized the runes on Valentine's arms, how hard could it be?

"Can you give me cover?"

"Just say the word."

Jocelyn glanced up again. The teacher was inviting students up now to taste the potion. Now would be her best chance.

"Now." Jocelyn said.

Madeline lept up immediately, butting her way to front of the line to try the potion.

"Lemme try some of that!" She said, snatching the bottle away from another girl. She took a large gulp. As Jocelyn had suspected - it was very foul tasting. Madeline barely forced it down. Then her hands began shaking.

"Mr. Pontmercy, I think I'm having an allergic reaction!"

Jocelyn stopped watching. While the rest of the class was stooped over Madeline's now twitching body, Jocelyn crept to the back of the room and gently eased the Book of the White off the shelf. Now that she was closer she could see that it was bound in white, not grey leather, and that it was merely very old. She crouched down behind the nearest chair and began flipping through the book.

Strength. Hearing. Window. Memory. Blue. Wings.

The runes came automatically, but she didn't find what she was looking for.

Dark. Stay. Shield. Hinge. Stem. Unmoving. Soft. Willpower.

Her eyes were beginning to blur and a headache was developing. Still she pressed on.

Increase. Unbreaking. Bitter. Water. Light. Unseeing. Stone…

Wait! There it was. Jocelyn flipped back to the page. It was neither a complicated nor a simple rune, and memorized as quickly as she could. Just in time to, as Madeline was beginning to miraculously heal and she was running out of time. Jocelyn replaced the book on the shelf and slid back in her seat just as the teacher was settling the class back into control.

"Did you get it?" Madeline asked.

"Got it."

"Excellent," Madeline grinned. "Well we'll see what they're up to soon enough. Tonight?"

Jocelyn had a test tomorrow and a practical exam, but the desire to figure out what they were up to was too strong. She smiled.

"Yeah," she said. "Tonight."

It was a long day waiting for classes to get out. Jocelyn spent most of her time drawing the rune over and over again on spare sheets of paper so as not to forget it. By the time the final bell rang she was beginning to see it in her head. She stopped only to drop of her bag in her dorm before meeting up with Madeline in the cafeteria. They wouldn't be able to use the rune until they actually saw Luke and Valentine. Neither of them were sure how long the rune would last, and they didn't want to be discovered before they had completed their adjective.

"Where the hell are they?" Madeline asked, after having no luck for half an hour.

"I don't know," Jocelyn replied, "lemme ask them."

She walked across the lunchroom and slid into a seat right a Valentine's usual table with all of his followers. Conversation stopped. Jocelyn smirked.

"Have you seen Valentine?" She asked. No answer. They all looked too surprised that she was there, at the popular table, without asking.

"Well? Have you?"

Still no answer.

"Great," Jocelyn said, "thanks for nothing."

It was only after she got up that someone spoke.

"He's out on the North commons," one of the followers said. Jocelyn couldn't remember his name. Bryce? Brad? Ah, who cared.

"Thanks," she said. She walked back over to Madeline with everyone's stares following her.

"North Commons," she said.

"North Commons? What is he doing there?"

Jocelyn shrugged. "Isn't that what we're going to find out?"

Madeline grinned evilly. "Yes it is."

They arrived at the North commons only a few minutes later, but stopped before they turned the corner.

"We shouldn't go into the commons," Jocelyn said. "It's grass. They'll see our footprints."

"Good idea. Rune me."

"You brought the stele?"

Madeline tossed her the stele.

"Stole it out of an advanced runes class, remind me to put it back later."

Jocelyn took the stele. It was warm in her hand, and felt comfortable. Now this was something she understood.

"I'll go first," Jocelyn said, "just in case it doesn't work."

Madeline nodded. Jocelyn took a deep breath. You practiced this a thousand times, she thought. You can do this. Then she brought the stele down on her left bicep. She began into the pattern, slowly but confidently. As she pressed, her skin burned, but it was bearable, and she finished the rune without pausing. She waited a few beats. Nothing, she thought sadly. I must have gotten it wrong.

But then she heard Madeline's whoop. "Jocelyn it worked, you're gone!"

She was? She could still see herself though.

"Do me," Madeline said, rolling up her sleeving.

Jocelyn took the stele and completed the rune, this time faster. She didn't notice a difference when she finished.

"Hey," Madeline said, "I can see you again."

"You didn't change at all."

"I think it's a glamour thing: we can see each other but no one else can see us."

Jocelyn hoped so. As far as she could tell they were still both plainly visible. But they would have to risk it. The two split up then, Madeline heading towards the far side of the commons, and Jocelyn to the windows that lined the passageway out. The door was open, and she slipped out quietly. Just as she had expected, the grass bent beneath her feet, clearly giving away her position. She could see Luke and Valentine on the far side of the commons. They looked like they were talking.

"Dammit," she cursed. There was no way to cross the grassy area to get close enough without giving herself away. Jocelyn looked around. The walls around here were brick and lines with grooves and niches, she might be able to climb around if she were lucky. Jocelyn pulled herself up and began shimmying around the right side. Halfway to Luke and Valentine's position, her arms were shaking with the exertion of the climb. She couldn't fall off, not only would it make a huge thump but it would also leave her body print in the grass. Unable to make it all the back, Jocelyn began climbing up instead. She pulled herself onto the roof, which was two stories up, gasping for air. Now she run around though: the entire commons was enclosed within the building and open to the elements.

Within minutes she was above Luke and Valentines position. But she found again, that she was unable to hear. She cursed again. This had been a waste of time. She was just about to give up when she remembered something. Hadn't she seen a hearing rune when she was looking for the unseeing one? Jocelyn strained her brain, forcing it to remember. She had! If she could replicate it maybe should would be able to catch their conversation. Biting her lip and trying to push all the horrible images of paintings she had seen where people had messed up runes and in doing so messed up themselves, she began to draw the hearing rune, this time on the other arm. The instant she completed it, she became aware of a strange thumping sound. It sounded like a drum, and it was beating fast. What was it. She leaned over the side of the roof on her stomach to see if Luke and Valentine were making the noise. The leather of her jacket made a deafening scrape as she moved and Jocelyn winced. The thumping sound sped up. Suddenly, Jocelyn figured it out, the thumping sound was her heartbeat! She could hear her own heartbeat! And almost as soon as she came to this conclusion, a louder sound drowned it out. Words. She could hear their conversation now.

"Make sure you keep a flexible stance, or your opponent will just knock you over."

It was Valentine, and Luke's response followed.

"Got it."

"Ready to try again?"

She peeked over the edge of the building, forgetting that she was invisible.

Luke nodded. The two boys were set in combat stances about five yards about. So Valentine was tutoring both of them, Jocelyn realized. No wonder Luke had improved so much.

However, she gained no more useful information in the fight that followed. Valentine was clearly the superior fighter, Jocelyn could have told that without even seeing them fight, but as when she and he sparred, he played a mostly defensive role. She watched for an entire hour. It was dull and the sound of the blades clashing together covered up most of what they were saying. But she did notice some flaws in Valentine's stance that she never would have noticed on the ground; she would be able to exploit those the next time they fought. Finally, just as dusk was falling and Jocelyn was sure her runes were wearing off, Valentine and Luke stopped sparring and began to pack up.

"Thanks again for the help," Luke said.

Valentine shrugged. Like it was no big deal.

"I needed it," Luke added. This time Valentine shook his head.

"Jocelyn can protect herself," he said. "She doesn't need someone to do it for her."

Jocelyn froze. She felt two emotions roaring up and battling inside of her. Gratitude that Luke would work extra just to try and protect her… and anger. Had she not made it clear to the entire school that she didn't need other people's help? She was not some weak mundane, she was a ShadowHunter - and a damn good one!

"I know," Luke said. "But still."

"Do you still want to practice every night?"

"Nah, I'll let you get a break, fighting against me ain't easy," Luke joked. "Every other night?"

Valentine smirked. Jocelyn rolled her eyes. She peeked her head over farther, looking for Luke's bag. If he was carrying a knife too she would… wait! Her shadow! Jocelyn jerked her head back over just in time.

"What was that?"

"No idea. A bird?"

"Nah, it was too big. It looked like a person."

"On the roof?"

Jocelyn took that as her cue. Across the commons, she could see Madeline duck behind a wall. They were both visible. Jocelyn waved her arms. Madeline got the signal. They both split up in opposite directions and Jocelyn quickly found a hatch that lead inside and slid through it. Her feet pounded down the steps, sounding like thunder in her ears. Her super hearing was apparently still in effect.

She could hear Luke, Valentine and Madeline, but couldn't tell how far away they were; everything sounded like it was coming over a loudspeaker all at once and it was beginning to give her a headache.

It was getting dark. Jocelyn finally found her way back to the freshmen dorms and flew into her room, shutting the door. It sounded like Luke was just behind her.

Her heartbeat eventually slowed, but her hearing didn't diminish. She could hear her neighbors next door, working on homework, talking with friends or snoring. The wind was like a hurricane outside. Every step caused the floor to scream in protest. It was getting worse. Jocelyn clasped her hands over her ears but this ended up being a mistake, as it ended up sounding more like a thunderclap and Jocelyn fell to the ground, her head splitting. She was seeing white stars. Was she seeing stars? Or was that sound?

She wasn't able to think coherently, so she laid on the floor for several hours, until most of classmates had gone to sleep and the roar had diminished somewhat. It was, however, far too noisy to sleep. She spent the entire night in discomfort.

At least, she thought, she had discovered why Luke was taking lessons from Valentine. To protect her. She couldn't decide how she felt about it.

Then she remembered Luke's joke about being a tough fighter. No, yeah, she was definitely mad.

As the night dragged on, Jocelyn's hearing slowly began to fade. She could still hear neighbors getting ready for classes the next morning, but it was fainter, more of a whisper than a roar. Her headache was still agonizing by first period, but at least she could think. First period was close combat with Trueblood. She had a mid term.

"Jocelyn!"

She flipped around. It was Madeline, heading off to first period in a separate wing.

"During lunch!" Jocelyn yelled back. She wasn't sure whether or not Madeline heard her.

"What's during lunch?" It was Luke.

"Nothing," Jocelyn said quickly. "We were talking about stealth and tactics homework."

Luke let the topic go, thankfully, but he continued to talk as first period assembled. Jocelyn tried to think of an excuse to get him to shut up, it wasn't helping her headache, but she couldn't think of anything so she just stood there and listened to him ramble on. Trueblood finally came to the rescue.

"Quite down Greymark." He clapped his hands together. "Alright freshmen, today is your very first midterm before Chistmas break - "

Jocelyn gave a start. It was already almost Christmas break? Seriously? How had it gone so fast?

" - and I expect all of you to pass. I've got some older students here to help evaluate you, see how you do against someone you've never fought. I will not be grading you on whether or not you win." He looked around at all of them. "I don't expect any of you to. But I do expect that you give me your best effort and show me what you can do. You can use any of the weapons we've covered this term, but I'll be choosing your opponents, so pick something because you're good at it, not because you think you opponent is not!"

Jocelyn scanned the older group of students. Of course, she saw, right in the front, Valentine. With her luck Trueblood would -

"Fairchild you're with Morgenstern!"

Of course. She glared at Trueblood. He pretended not to notice. Once the rest of the students were paired and they had chosen their weapons, Trueblood picked a pair at random. It took everything Jocelyn was made of to not wince once they began to spar. The noise was incredibly loud and piercing at this range.

"Are you okay, Fairchild?" Valentine asked.

"Yes," Jocelyn forced out. Her jaw was clenched so tightly with the effort of not crying out that she could hear it creaking.

"You look like you're in pain."

"Strange."

Trueblood would make sure they were last. Everyone went before them including Luke, who put up a valiant effort but was defeated just as everyone before him had been defeated. Then it was her turn. She took one look into Valentine's eyes and knew he wouldn't go easy on her - in fact he would probably go much harder than he did during their practice sessions.

"Begin!" Trueblood called.

Jocelyn dropped the practice knife to the ground, vaguely aware of gasps from their audience and pulled her own from within her jacket like lightning, just in time to block Valentine's attempt to take advantage of the action. The clash of the two blades was nearly unbearable. It was so loud it caused her vision to flash white for a tenth of a second, but Jocelyn ignored it.

She fell back as he began a dizzying set of slash and jabs. She escaped all his strikes, but barely. She was in such pain that she couldn't focus on initiating an attack of her own. She tried to remember the flaws she had seen last night. He kept his back foot turned too far out - it made him less steady on his right side. A push from the right angle could put him on the ground.

Get them on the ground.

Her father was never wrong. The next opportunity she saw, she took. His arm extended a fraction of an inch too far - she grabbed his arm just above the elbow - dropped her knife in the process - wouldn't need it now - pushed back and up - felt his weight give and his foot slip on the grass - and she threw him onto the ground, disarming him and flinging her arm in for the finish. Despite the fact that Valentine was on the ground and disarmed, he was still one of the best fighters in the school. He twisted her attack away and threw her to the side. Both managed to roll to their feet at the exact same time - except they were holding each other's weapons. His knife was heavier and stouter than hers, good for jabbing, not slashing, the opposite of her preferred style. But he was in the same boat.

They began again. Jocelyn clenched her jaw at each clash. This time though, she was able to match him - as both were fighting on new ground. What seemed like ages passed. Jocelyn was beginning to tire and Valentine noticed it. He had more endurance than her, she would have to make an attempt to end it, and now, before she completely lost her advantage. What had Valentine said? Think fast and clever?

The next time their blades clashed Jocelyn kicked out, expecting Valentine to try and grab her extended leg. He did, and instead of pulling back, as most warriors tried to do, she jumped forward, pushing back. He wasn't expecting a returning force, and his grip loosened as he fell back. She rolled off him as he hit the ground and sprung up. Then she turned. Somehow, Valentine was already climbing back to his feet, but Jocelyn was ready for this and she did what Luke had done on the very first day: she threw her knife. Valentine had had the same idea. The knives spun threw the air, as if in slow motion, each one glinting with the light of the sun and splitting though the air, weapons of precision that attracted all the attention in the room without trying, each with a purpose and an ability. Jocelyn realized with a sinking feeling that she was off - un-accustomed to the weight of his knife, she hadn't applied enough force to the hilt and she watched it hiss by his ear at the same time his struck home - right in her shoulder, the same shoulder Luke had slashed months ago.

It was like ice.

Time stopped. Suddenly Jocelyn couldn't hear a thing, couldn't move. She drew in a slow breath. Ice. Did it hurt? She wasn't sure. She wasn't sure of anything. She couldn't move, couldn't think. It was all ice.

It was like a sheet of ice was holding back the ocean, and suddenly, that sheet melted. Warmth, sound, color… they all came back at once, but in a world outside of Jocelyn. She was far away, somewhere else, far outside of her body that was slowly falling backwards with the force of the hit.

No… Jocelyn thought. You are stronger than this. Come back. Come back.

She brought herself back into her body. Outside, only a second had passed. Inside, it had been like an eternity.

"Jocelyn!"

Arms caught her before she could fall. Jocelyn tried to steady herself. I'm fine, she tried to say. But the words wouldn't come. The bell rang.

It was excruciating. The pain of it was enough to bring her back completely. The ice was still burning inside her shoulder, but she was back.

"You can all go!" The person holding her called. "You too Morgenstern."

Jocelyn managed to find her balance. Every second that passed brought more sense into her. She now recognized that it was Trueblood dragging her along somewhere.

"Where are we going?" Jocelyn croaked.

"Infirmary." Trueblood grunted.

Jocelyn was glad he didn't try to carry her; she wouldn't have to refuse now. As they walked, Jocelyn glanced down. There it was. Jocelyn wasn't usually bothered by blood, but the sight of her own knife's handle protruding from her flesh caused the world to spin. Without thinking, she reached up and pulled it out.

"Fairchild, you shouldn't have done that. It'll bleed more now."

She didn't really hear him. She was intrigued by the knife instead. The blood was so red. It was as red as the apples that they ate during lunch. It was hers, she realized. All the blood was hers. Trueblood took the knife from her as they reached the infirmary. Now that Jocelyn had calmed down somewhat and come back to reality, the pain was beginning to double and then triple. She groaned. Trueblood began cutting her jacket, one of her most prized possessions, off.

"Stop," Jocelyn said, dazed.

"We have to get the rune as close to the wound as possible," Trueblood answered. "Don't worry, you can get another one."

Jocelyn forced herself to look as soon as the jacket was off. It was a pretty clean wound thankfully; it had gone in straight and true, minimizing damage to the tendons around it. But it was also deep. Very deep. She couldn't tell whether the wound went all the way out the back, but she suspected it had. The blade had been in nearly up to the hilt. Trueblood took out his stele and began carving a healing rune into her arm. And then another. And another. He completed five of the star like runes around the wound before moving to the back of her shoulder and repeating the process. The runes faded instantly, their power being consumed almost as soon as they were finished. Then the wound began to itch in addition to hurting, and she clenched her fists to the table to stop from touching it.

"Well you'll be hurting for a few days Fairchild, but no permanent damage."

The pain began to fade enough that Jocelyn could talk again.

"Did I pass?"

Trueblood shook his head, amazed. "That's all you can ask me after getting stabbed with a knife? Whether or not you passed?"

Jocelyn didn't say anything, she was waiting for an answer.

"Yes, you passed."

Jocelyn sighed with relief.

"Actually you get the highest score I've ever given to a freshman. You not only fought an older student, and nearly won, but you fought Valentine Morgenstern, one of the best students this school has ever seen. I want you to move up to my advanced class next semester; you've far outstripped Intro to Close Combat."

Jocelyn nodded, exhausted.

Trueblood handed her a large cloth to press against what was left of the wound. As Jocelyn took it, Trueblood stopped her.

"What's on your shoulder, Fairchild?"

He had noticed the faded runes. The unseeing rune was entirely faded, only a white scar remained, while the hearing rune was nearly gone, only a hint of black remaining.

"An unseeing rune?" Trueblood asked, amazed? "And a hearing rune? Who were you following? How did you fight with a hearing rune on?"

Jocelyn shook her head, she couldn't answer.

"Did you apply these yourself?"

Before she could do more than open her mouth, a knock sounded on the door.

Trueblood got up to get the door while Jocelyn pressed the cloth on her shoulder, making sure it was covering what was left of her runes, she already knew who was at the door.

"You should be in class," Trueblood said, as he opened the door to Valentine's blank face.

"I have this period off."

"No you don't."

But Valentine walked in as though Trueblood's response had been an invitation. Trueblood just rolled his eyes.

"Jocelyn," Valentine said, coming to stand before her, "I'm sorry."

That was the last thing she wanted to hear. She didn't want Valentine to feel sorry for her, he was better than her and he won, that was how it worked. It had been a good fight, exhilarating, and Jocelyn would do it again given the chance. She didn't want him to think she would be angry at him for this. She wasn't. It was a good fight.

"No," she said. "Don't be sorry."

He nodded, as though he was expecting this.

"It was good fight."

"It was."

There was a long pause. "Alright, Morgernstern - out." Trueblood commanded. He nodded again and left. Trueblood kept her in there all next period. He didn't ask about the runes again, but Jocelyn could tell that he wouldn't forget. She got out as soon as lunch was starting. She couldn't even go to lunch, instead she had go to the History of SH and take her next midterm. Jocelyn was pretty sure she failed that one walking out of class – her shoulder was aching and stiff, she still had a headache and she was distracted by all the ambient things she heard. Thankfully, the hearing rune was truly wearing off by now. It would be gone by the end of the day.

Jocelyn didn't go to mentoring. She didn't want to have to see Valentine, and she was certainly in no shape to fight. Instead she went to find Madeline.

Madeline was in Demonology but as soon as she saw Jocelyn outside the door, she asked to go to the bathroom and joined Jocelyn in the hall.

"Hey," she said. "Luke told me what happened. How're you doing?"

"Okay actually. Little stiff but nothing too bad."

"Just tell me where the prick is, I'll kick his ass."

The absurdity of this statement was so extreme that Jocelyn burst out laughing. She spent the next half hour explaining the day's past events.

"So you've got two guys, one of which almost killed you and the other is trying to protect you even though you almost tried to kill him?"

"On accident," Jocelyn confirmed.

"Right, on accident." Madeline shook her head. "You've got a crazy life Joce, I don't know how you do it."

"Did it with your help. Would never have thought to look in the White Book like that."

"We make a good team."

Jocelyn nodded. Suddenly, it struck her. They did make a good team. Actually they made a great team. And with Luke already paired with Valentine for parabati…

"Hey!" Jocelyn said. "Let's be parabati!"

She looked towards Madeline who grinned.

"We'll be unstoppable."

"Unbeatable."

"Invincible."

They high-fived. Now that Jocelyn thought about it, they would make a better team than she and Luke ever would. Luke was like her brother, a brother she sometimes fought and argued with. But she and Madeline were friends, and a team. Things were coming together in her life. She was excelling at classes, she had her old friends back and had made new friends, Luke was talking to her again, Valentine was… well she wasn't really sure but he was at least teaching her to fight.

There was just one more thing that was bothering her, one thing that bugged her every night she went to sleep and every time something reminded her of it.

That thing was Tokin. She was going to have her revenge.

And she was going to have it before Christmas Break.

** As always, make sure to favorite, follow and review! Your guy's comments and critics inspire me to write more and become a better writer. Stay tuned! **