Bunnylass – Thanks for the review, I actually really enjoyed writing the guild competition parts and there's some more in this chapter. It's good to know the events they're involved in mostly reflect their characters. John and Elizabeth are always too cute not to love lol. I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Dr Rosemary Weir – I'm going for a slow burn with John and Elizabeth but it's time for the big build up now. I'm glad you're enjoying the competition and thanks for the review.

Belanna30 – Teyla and Ronon are kind of cute aren't they? Lol. Thanks for your patience with Sparky but I promise you're going to be seeing a lot more of it in the chapters to come. There's more guild competition in this chapter so I hope you enjoy it, thanks for the review.

Steph – Thanks for the review, I'm glad you liked the sparky moment and I hope you enjoy this chapter.

Saphire – I'm trying to keep some mystery about Elizabeth's past and her family so I won't be revealing what was in the letter, not yet anyway. I'm glad you're enjoying the guild competition and thanks for the review. I hope you like this chapter.

Chapter 25

Sam stood in front of the board several feet away waiting for the signal. The supervisor nodded at her telling her she could proceed when she was ready. She looked at the board focusing on the light bulbs and how much power it was going to take to light them all up. One of the Tralis members had blown up half the bulbs on the last board when he put too much power into his spell. Satisfied that she'd judged it right she took her stance holding her hands out in front of her.

"Luminos," she said focusing on the spell, on what she wanted to do. Light came from her hands shooting across to the board and lighting up a significant amount of it. The supervisor came forward and assessed the board announcing her 93 percent success.

She breathed a sigh of relief; this round of spell casting was going really well. It helped that almost all of the team hadn't been involved in any other areas of the competition yesterday. There had only been a wrestling match in the afternoon and only Angelo had been involved in that. The chance to rest seemed to have done everyone some good. She walked over to sit on the bench with the rest of her team while the board was reset for the next person. The main hall was packed full of students who had come to watch. She could see most of her friends there except for Marcus, Janet and Laura who had been forced to go to their potions lesson. Trel had threatened everyone with detention if they were caught skipping his lessons so that they could watch the competition. The only ones who had been excused were those actually taking part in whatever event was going on at the time.

Elizabeth was up now, Sam and Teyla wished her luck as she stepped up to the board. She waited to get the go ahead before she cast the spell, an orb of light hitting the board and lighting up the bulbs. The supervisor announced her 92 percent success as she rejoined her team and one of the Tralis players took their turn.

"We're in the lead," Teyla stated as she looked over to the score board and did the math. Tralis closed the gap in the scores quite significantly but still remained behind Atala. One of the year three Atala's took their turn and the light bulb section was closed.

They moved onto the maze then, the goal was to move the wooden bock through the maze without touching it. The quicker you got through the more points you got and if the blocked stopped moving for more than five seconds you were disqualified from that section of the round. Tralis was up first several of their team taking their turn, one was disqualified and the others all made it through. The first Atala up was also disqualified and then it was Teyla's turn. She stood beside the maze and cast the spell to move the block. She guided it around several corners finding a dead end and quickly going back the other way. She made it through the maze with the fastest time yet and then rejoined the team. Everyone else took their turns, both Sam and Elizabeth made it through the maze but a few others were disqualified. The end of the match was called and Atala had just managed to keep their lead winning the round.

There was cheering and congratulations; this meant that Atala would be in the finals either against Corlith or Tamsa depending on the result of Tamsa's last game. If Tamsa won they'd be in the finals but if they lost Corlith would make it through instead.

"Guess that means we're in the finals on Friday," Teyla stated.

"Great, the same day as the debate finals," Elizabeth said sarcastically.

"Don't forget we have a Sociology test that day too, professor says if we miss is we get detention," Teyla reminded her and Elizabeth sighed.

"One day I might actually get my life back."

Jack managed to run around one man keeping the ball close to his feet but the next two guys were going to be a problem. He glanced to his left; Lorne was running along beside him not too far away but far enough that a quick pass would allow him to get around the two players currently blocking the way. He made the pass, the ball rolling along the ground to Lorne who had no problem taking over. He darted passed the two men and manoeuvred around a third before passing the ball off to another team mate who was able to score. Cheers erupted around the pitch from both Atala Players and supporters. There was the occasional 'boo' from some of the Corlith supporters but the players at least had the grace to be quiet as the glared.

Corlith had the ball once they were going again. Kolya beat several Atala players to score putting Corlith one point behind Atala. Another Corlith player scored after that making the score even with less than ten minutes left of the game. This was the final; whoever scored next would most likely win the inter-guild competition.

Corlith was able to get possession of the ball and looked like they were about to score but the keeper was able to save it, barely. Atala had the ball then and with only a few minutes left they had to score quickly, both teams were tired and extra time could honestly go either way. One player made an amazing run down the field before passing the ball to John. He manoeuvred around one player before coming face to face with another. He made like he was about to go right and then changed to left so quickly the other player had no chance of following the movement in time to do anything about it. John flew passed him and kicked the ball toward the goal, for a moment it looked like the keeper was going to save it but it skimmed passed his finger tips and hit the back of the net.

There was cheering once again as the game played out the last couple of minutes. The whistle sounded to signal the end of the game and Atala was announced the winners. The announcement was met by more cheering as well as complaints from the Corlith supporters and a few of the players. Most of the Corlith team were graceful losers congratulating the Atala players on a good game. Some of them, Kolya included, complained to the referee or left the pitch without a word.

The Atala players were all celebrating, jumping up and down, hugging and a few shirts had been lost. The supporters were making their way onto the pitch to join the celebration. Most of the Atala guild had been present for the finals and they were as excited by the win as the team was.

"Congratulations," Sam said as she hugged Jack.

"That was a good game," Laura stated. "I can't stop long though, Vala and I have to go and get ready for our netball game."

"We'll be there as soon as we've cleaned up and changed," Lorne told her. He, Jack, Ronon and John were covered in dirt and grass stains as well as a layer of sweat.

"So that's second place in Junior wrestling and first place in junior boy's football, we're not doing too badly," Cameron stated. Ronon and Teal'c started sulking at the reminder of their loss yesterday until John clapped Teal'c on the back.

"Don't worry, second is a good place, besides you only lost on points neither of you were actually pinned," he reminded them. The wrestling finals had gone on forever until the judges had called an end to both Ronon's and Teal'c matches, at the rate they were going someone was going to get killed, or possibly fall asleep.

"And there's always next year," Vala called back as she and Laura left the group.

"We'd better go and get cleaned up," Jack said and his three team mates nodded, the four of them heading toward the changing rooms with the rest of the team.

The gym was completely packed, five guilds had qualified for the gymnastics finals and supporters from all five had come to give their support. Once it was decided the room had been sufficiently over filled the seniors who had volunteered to help out with the competition had to start turning students away. Thankfully the centre of the room had been kept clear of spectators, only the junior teams and the volunteers were allowed there; even the judges had been restricted to their table.

Teyla stood with the rest of the Atala Junior team, she was the only first year in the bunch but she felt sure enough of herself. She stretched out her muscles, she'd been worried when she'd done the vault that she might have pulled something, fortunately she hadn't but she wasn't going to risk it again so she stretched herself out more. The beam was up next and she'd be lying if she said she wasn't nervous but she'd done well in the qualifying rounds and that boosted her confidence. Tralis was currently taking their turn and Atala would be up next starting with her. She could see her friends amongst the crowds; they'd arrived early to be sure they got seats and had ended up almost at the front. Ronon gave her a small wave from where he was sitting and she smiled as she returned the gesture. His soft side was something he only ever seemed to show to her.

The last junior Tralis gymnast took her turn and the judges announced the scores. Atala was called up and Teyla's name sounded throughout the gym. It was quiet as she approached the beam and climbed up on to it; she stood for a moment to ensure she had her balance and took a deep breath to calm her nerves. She moved then doing a hand stand slowly and landing on her feet before doing another one. She flipped backwards only just regain her footing and then doing what looked like cart wheels but with just one hand. After several more flips and twists she did three consecutive back flips off the beam. She landed on her feet taking a second to regain her balance before she stood up straight. She rejoined her team as the judges announced her score, not her best but still good. The next Atala girl was called up and Teyla relaxed, the next event was the bars and that was her strong suit. The rest of the Atala team did pretty well and Maive was up next, by the end of the beam event Atala was in second place behind Lytrus.

Tralis took their turn on the bars before Teyla was called up she powdered her hands and moved to stand in front of the bars. When she was ready she jumped for the lower bar and got her body enough momentum to spin around it completely a few times. She let go of the bar and turned her body to grab the higher one. After several more spins around the bar she let go with one hand to turn herself around doing it again on her next spin. She gathered up some speed then before she let go completely and twisted her body around in the air before gripping the bar again before she could fall. When she was finally finished with all of her tricks she did several more twists in the air before landing more or less steadily on the mat.

When all of the guilds had taken their turn on the bars Atala had taken first place with only one more event to go. As fun and exciting as the guild competition had been Teyla was glad it was almost over. This was her last match, the spell casting finals had been yesterday and Atala had come third. Once this gymnastics final was over she was done and she could concentrate on the end of year exams which were just over a month away now.

"Alright, hand it over," Elizabeth ordered holding her hands out to John who kept the book out of her reach as he flicked through the pages.

"I just want to see what you're reading," John replied as he moved to keep the book away when she tried to lunge for it. "History of the Ancients," John read the title of the book still keeping it from her. "Wow, this is really boring," he continued as he read a random page. "How can you read this stuff?"

"It's interesting," she told him and made another grab for the book.

"You and I have very different definitions of interesting," John stated.

"Why are you always stealing my books?" she questioned as John finally relented and gave it back to her. Across the table Teyla was laughing at her and Ronon was just ignoring the pair in favour of the thumb war he was having with Teal'c. John took a moment to raise his eyebrow at them when Ronon attempted to cheat and Teal'c ended up beating him. Ronon demanded a rematch and Teal'c seemed only too happy to comply.

"Because it's the only way anyone gets to see your face," John returned and Elizabeth rolled her eyes at him as she slid the book into her bag. John feigned a look of shock and she swatted his arm, ignoring his fake cry of pain.

"You're pathetic," she told him.

"Yeah but you wouldn't want me any other way," he replied and she smiled and shook her head.

"Probably not," she answered which seemed to surprise Teyla as well as him. "I should probably head to the library, there's a bunch of text books I want to get my hands on before they're all gone. You can guarantee that once the competition is over everyone will be turning their attention to studying for the exams."

"Hold on, I'll come with you," John said as she stood up and followed after her.

"It's funny, I'll bet you never voluntarily set foot in a library before you came here," Elizabeth stated and John laughed.

"What can I say, you're a bad influence on me," he replied as he held the cafeteria door open for her and then followed her through.

"And you're a bad influence on me, I never would have cut classes before I met you, I think it might be best if we stop spending time together," Elizabeth joked and John once again feigned hurt though he had to admit, he really didn't like the notion.

"But Elizabeth, what would I do with myself if I didn't have you around?" he questioned humorously. "Who else would I drive crazy?"

"Jack?" she offered and John shrugged.

"That's a possibility but he's not nearly as pretty as you," John stated and once again enjoyed the slight blush that he'd learned always crept up her neck when someone complemented her. He did it on purpose now because it was just too damn adorable to resist.

The buzzer sounded and everyone put their pens down. One of the members of the Tralis team tried to continue writing but a stern look from the supervisor had her complying quickly. Each team's papers were collected and taken to the judges for marking. There were whispered conversations around the room as everyone waited for the judges to announce the results of the written portion of the Potions final.

"I think that went well," Radek said quietly.

"That depends on whether my answer to question four was right or Sam's, if it was mine then it didn't go as well as you think," Rodney stated bitterly. They'd bickered for almost five minutes over the question but Sam had known she was right and Rodney had been forced to back down or lose more time.

"Stop complaining Rodney, besides we used your answer to question twelve over mine and Radek's," Sam pointed out. In truth she hadn't really been all that certain about the answer so she'd opted to go with Rodney's since he'd been so adamant he was right.

The judges announced the scores and Sam did the math figuring out they'd gotten one question wrong but she wouldn't know which until later. It put them in first place though and Sam felt like they might actually be able to win this thing. The teams moved on to the practical portion, the equipment and material were all laid out for them, each team had their own set along with identical lists of potions. There were no instructions or ingredients just five potion names that they would have twenty minutes to make. The judges would score each time on how many they completed correctly and how well they made them.

They were given instructions and the buzzer sounded again, the signal for them to start and Sam picked up the sheet reading out the name of the first potion. Rodney and Radek started moving ingredients to one side, the ones they knew to be in the potion while Sam's mind started trying to remember the method and order.

"This is first" Rodney said as he picked up a small transparent bottle of purple liquid. "5ml."

Rodney started measuring the purple liquid out and poured it into the beaker while Radek started to work on the next ingredient. "Tam extract," he said to himself. "How much was it?"

"7ml... no it was 8," Sam replied as she switched on the burner ready to heat the potion. Radek added the right amount to the beaker, placed it over the burner and within a minute heat bubbles were beginning to appear. "Alright Illaris powder next."

It was interesting how well they actually worked together when they had to. Normally at this point there'd be bickering, Sam and Rodney would have somehow annoyed each other and poor Radek would be stuck in the middle. They were actually working pretty fluidly though and their first potion was done in less then six minutes. They were able to get all five potions done within the time limit, barely. There was only one other team that managed to finish all potions before the final buzzer sounded and their work was collected for testing.

Everyone sat around waiting, it was a shame the potions competitions were closed to spectators, it would have been nice to talk to their friends while they were waiting. They were in one of the potions labs though and there wasn't a whole lot of room so most of the Atala guild was waiting in the cafeteria to hear the result. It took almost twenty minutes for the judges to finish testing all the potions that had been made and then add up the scores. They announced first place as Atala and then the rest of the scores but Sam was too busy celebrating to take note of how the other guilds had done.

Potions had been the last event, the guild competition was over now and while Sam was sad to see it end she was relieved too. End of year exams were rapidly approaching and she was going to have enough to worry about. On the other hand she'd be doing this all over again next year and she wasn't entirely sure she considered that a good thing.

The inter-guild competition was over, at least until next year. All first, second and third place teams had been given medals to commemorate their wins and add to their resume later in life. Cameron had put his away in a box so they'd be safe, he'd take them home when he left for the summer holidays. In the meantime he needed to concentrate on exams because they were less than a month away now and with his attention having been on the competition he was nowhere near ready.

"So Saturday afternoon we'll head to the cafe in town, we can take our books and study for a few hours," Kate stated and there were nods of agreement all around. Cameron planned to use almost every free minute he had had to study, if he wasn't in lessons, sleeping or eating then he'd have his nose in a book.

"Alright so before we all go study crazy and forget that anything exists beyond books and pens, how about we all go out for dinner tonight?" Vala suggested as she continued to doodle on the paper in front of her.

"We can celebrate doing so well in the competition and the fact that it's over," Laura agreed. "Who knows when we'll all get a chance to go out again?"

"I'm in," Sam stated.

"As am I," Teal'c told them. Everyone agreed to go out but it would only give them half an hour to get ready if they wanted to leave in time to actually have dinner and get back before curfew. The girls all left immediately to get ready and the boys followed their example at a much more leisurely pace.

Cameron couldn't believe how close they were to the end of their first year. Two months from now he'd be packing up most of his belongings and heading home for the summer. It didn't seem like that long ago he'd been arriving for his first day and now he was preparing for the end of year exams. He followed most of the guys to the junior boys dorms, he and Daniel split off from the others to head to their room. He grabbed his leather jacket and waited for Daniel to throw on a clean shirt and grab his own jacket.

"It's nice when getting ready to go out is so simple," Cameron stated as they left the room again.

"Yeah, how long do you reckon the girls are going to take?" Daniel questioned.

"Longer than half an hour."

TBC