A/N

I know this isn't the most popular story, but reviews and ideas are still loved! Also thanks to percyisawesomerthanjason who is my lone follower. I'm glad to know that my story is at least somewhat entertaining.

Jack's POV

"Jack." The word somehow made its way through his dreams and into his conscious. He was awake and out of bed in almost an instant. Jack looked around, expecting trouble, but seeing only Fitch. He relaxed slightly, his body still coursing with adrenaline. "Come on dude," said Fitch, sounding impatient, "we're gonna be late." Jack couldn't believe that he slept in-he never slept in-but he glanced at the clock, and sure enough, it was already 12:50.

"Darn it," he said aloud, pulling on a sweatshirt. The fight was supposed to start in ten minutes, and unless they ran the entire way, they were going to be late. "Come on Fitch," Jack called, already halfway down the stairs.

By some miracle they managed make it back on time, arriving just as Hastings finished disabling the wards around the makeshift arena. "There you are," called Becka, from her seat on a large rock, "did you sleep in or what?"

Jack grinned, "yeah, something like that," he said taking his seat between Ellen and Madison. "What'd I miss?"

"Not much," Madison replied, "there'll be four rounds, and Leesha's the ref, the first to get immobilized loses."

"Got it," said Jack, "thanks."

"Shhh, they're starting," said Ellen, totally entranced. Of course she is, thought Jack, but as he looked around he realized everyone else was too, even Aunt Linda looked excited.

Boom! Jack looked up, startled, realizing he'd missed the beginning of the fight. The two wizards were in the center of the field, both constantly moving, each surrounded by their own personal swirl of light and flame. Wizard fire danced around them, as dangerous and deadly as it was beautiful. The stunning light show went on for at least ten minutes before Hastings slowly started to back Seph up against a stone wall, obviously intending to corner him. Seph however ducked under Hastings blast of wizard fire, teasing huge stone chunks out of the wall. Hastings was forced to dive aside to avoid getting flattened, giving Seph the opportunity to nail him with an immobilization charm.

Everyone in the audience clapped and cheered, as Seph disabled the charm and helped his dad up. Though no one had said it, almost everyone had expected Hastings to win. Jack found himself clapping along, enjoying himself more than he thought he would. It finally hit him, the war was over, and they were all safe, he didn't have anything to worry about any more, he could just relax.

Leesha had apparently found a whistle somewhere, and was blowing it fiercely, it's shrill cry echoing throughout the snow covered Ghyll. "Round two!" she cried. Hastings quickly won the next two rounds, and Seph won the last, bringing the final score to a tie. The father and son really were evenly matched.

The next few days were a blur to Jack, everyone was in a good mood, and the days passed in a strange mix of training, relaxation and practical jokes. He wasn't sure why they still trained, the war was over, but it felt strange not to.

That afternoon, right after dinner, he decided to go practice with Shadowslayer. Maybe he'd summon a ghost warrior to spar with, seeing as Ellen was still unable to. He grabbed his sword from under his bed, sticking his dagger in the waistband of his jeans at the last minute. Jack hiked out about a mile from the castle, stopping at last in a small snow covered valley between two hills. He played against two ghost warriors, winning both rounds easily. He sighed, there really was no substitute for Ellen. He gave up on sparring, deciding to work more on his swordplay. Jack flowed quickly from stance to stance, shooting flames off of his blade, straight into the imaginary enemy. He flawlessly completed drill after drill, ending the last one by throwing his dagger at a tree on the top of the hill. It missed the trunk by an inch, sailing down the hill and out of sight. Jack groaned as he went to retrieve it; he really needed to improve his aim.

He saw the figures the moment he reached the crest of the hill. Jack counted nine of them in all, including three lying unconscious on the ground. With a start he realized he knew one of them. Seph stood in the center of the group, hands chained together behind his back, each arm gripped tightly by his assailants.

"Stop struggling boy," hissed the man holding his left arm. Seph obeyed, and stood still, concentrating hard. The man quickly drew back his hand, almost as if he had been scalded. "No persuasion either!" The man pulled out a knife, slashing Seph four times in the face, before Jack could even blink. That was his fatal mistake. Jack ran forward scooping up his dagger, knowing this time he wouldn't miss. The blade hit the man in the center of his chest, killing him before he could strike a fifth blow.

All attention turned to Jack, as he made his way down the icy slope. He ran as fast as he could without falling, but he was still helpless to watch as the other man holding Seph pulled out his own knife. Everything seemed to happen in slow motion, Jack desperately rolled flames off his sword, but it was no use, he was still too far away. The knife hit his cousin square in the chest. Seph let out a short, agonized scream, doubling over with pain.

The man still wasn't done; the assassin grabbed Seph's arm again, shoving him into one of the half-frozen ponds that dotted the Ghyll. Jack sped up, running down the hill at a breakneck pace, In less than thirty seconds he was upon them. They never stood a chance, especially after they attacked his cousin. Jack easily beat them, knocking them unconscious with the flat of his blade. The assassins were armed only with knifes; whoever had sent them obviously hadn't been expecting much of a fight.

Jack ran over to the pond, and dived in without hesitation. How long had Seph been underwater now, thirty seconds, a minute? The water was ice cold, every time Jack moved he felt needles in his arms. After what felt like forever he reached the bottom; the pond was deeper than he'd anticipated. He felt a flutter of panic, where was Seph? He reached out to his left, startled when his hand brushed something soft, a sweatshirt.

Black spots danced in front of Jack's eyes as he grabbed Seph's arm. He pushed up off the bottom of the pond as hard as he could, but the surface still seemed miles away. By the time he reached the top his limbs were completely numb from the cold. Jack broke the surface gasping for breath, greedily inhaling the brisk winter air. He swam over to the snow-covered bank and shoved Seph out of the water, hauling himself up after him.

Jack lay in the snow, breathing hard. He was vaguely aware of Seph coughing next to him. Jack sat up and grabbed Shadowslayer, which lay in the snow bank next to him. He walked over to Seph, and cut the chains that bound his hands and feet. "Can you stand?" he asked, already knowing the answer. To his surprise, Seph nodded, and Jack reached out a hand to help him up. Seph took it gladly, groaning with pain, as Jack pulled him to his feet.

The walk back to the castle seemed to last twice as long as it actually was. The day was bitterly cold, and Jack was acutely aware of his once soaking wet shirt stiffing with frost.

They were literally yards from the castle doors when their luck ran out; Seph completely collapsed. Jack wasn't sure exactly why he passed out-blood loss maybe-but he knew that whatever the reason, it couldn't be good. They needed to get back to the castle. He picked Seph up, but carrying him through the snow while soaking wet and freezing cold was proving to be too much for Jack. By the time he made it to the castle, he too felt like he was about to pass out. Jack barely managed to open the front door, before his legs collapsed from under him, and everything went black.