The two warriors faced each other, ready for a face-off. The one clad in blue armour moved forwards, swinging a shining katana, attacking the other warrior, who was dressed in cheap red armour with missing sleeves, who didn't budge even as the weapon clanged against his armour. After the second attack only did he started moving, blocking the katana with a scimitar he wielded, the sound of metal against metal resonating.

The red knight attempted to slash the blue knight with the scimitar, only to have it parried by the katana, which slashed his arm, and sent the weapon out of his hand. Another swing and the red knight's helmet was off. Just as the red knight was about to attempt to defend itself before lunging for his weapon, the blue knight brought the katana down with a deadly blow upon the red knight's exposed head.

#

GAME OVER.

"No!" Jamie exclaimed, half-whining and half-laughing, as the words flashed across the screen, followed by a series of numbers; his score. "That was so close!"

Monty punched the air with his fist. "Yeah! You can't beat my score, Jamie! Even if you've been trying for like, 27 times?"

"29," Sophie said, from the floor, where she was busy sketching.

Jamie shot them both a dirty look. "Well, that's because I haven't gotten enough points to purchase good armour and boosts, okay? Monty's knight got this super cool power-up that enables him to regenerate every time his health decreases..."

Before Jamie could finish, his mother's voice could be heard calling for them up the stairs. "Jamie! Sophie! There's something for you!"

The Bennett siblings exchanged looks before they thundered down the stairs, leaving Monty, who ran after them, and stopped short upon seeing the pile of letters on the table, along with a parcel. Mrs. Bennett was going through her letters, grimacing at a couple of bills and admiring postcards from Mrs. Warren, as she always did whenever there was mail. However, it was rare Jamie ever received mail, what with modern technology.

"It's addressed to you," Mrs. Bennett said, noticing her son's presence at that moment. She then gave him a curious look. "Jamie, what have you been up to?"

Jamie put on an innocent look. "What do you mean, mom?" He picked up the parcel and could almost feel what was inside. His heart thumped with excitement and exhilaration. "Now, I seriously have to go." With that, he scuttled up the stairs and dashed across the landing to his bedroom, where he dropped the parcel onto his bed. Sophie and Monty entered at that moment.

"What is it?" she asked.

With trembling fingers, Jamie unwrapped the parcel. As its contents were revealed, he whooped and let out an euphoric "I did it!" while dancing around his room like he was in the seventh heaven of delight, which could probably be the case.

"What is it?" Monty echoed Sophie, peering over the latter's shoulder as she abandoned her sketchbook and picked up the item that had been bound in the parcel. A book bound with a hard cover, an illustration of hers gracing front. The 14- year old felt a sense of exhilaration. She held it like it was a dangerously fragile object and flicked through it. She seemed almost close to tears, but in a good way. She began to pore over it, completely ignoring the fact that both Jamie and Monty wanted to have a look at it as well.

"Wow, it's out? You mean, you weren't trying to fool us when you tried to promote your book to us earlier this year?" exclaimed Monty. "Let me see it!"

Jamie was about to tug it out of his sister's grip when he was distracted by the sound of crunching gravel. He crossed over to the window and looked out, noticing instantly a black car pulling to a halt outside the house.

Who's that?" he said, aloud.

"Hm?" responded Sophie, not really listening.

Jamie turned back to look out, Monty hurrying over and joining him, and witnessed a burly man step out of the black car, and entered through the front gate. He headed for the front door and soon disappeared from view. Jamie waited, expecting the doorbell to ring, but it didn't. He turned to Sophie once more. "Hey, Soph, I think there's someone here," he said.

"Probably one of mom's friends," Sophie replied. "She's been having them over a lot recently."

"Really?" Jamie was surprised. Of late, ever since he turned 18, he had not been spending much time at home, but rather, with his friends. Mrs. Bennett didn't seem to mind, as long as he came home before midnight. But Jamie knew she didn't care about that, either, since he had deliberately returned home at one in the morning one day, and she was fast asleep. She didn't even question him the next morning. She probably didn't feel the need to worry much about him anymore, as he had 'come of age', as some would say.

Jamie dismissed the thought of eavesdropping and turned his attention back to the book. He longed for Jack at that moment, but he hadn't seen the winter spirit for about a week, mainly because he was rarely home and there had been reports of blizzards in other countries. He wrestled Sophie for the book, winning, and began flipping through it, reading a few lines every few pages, noticing that not much had been edited. A sense of pride welled up in him, as he danced around the room, out of the reach of Sophie and Monty's grabby hands.

There was the sound of footsteps on the stairs and a moment later, Mrs. Bennett peered in, stunned by the sight of the three kids wrestling each other for what seemed to be a book. They fell apart as they saw her, brushing themselves off. Jamie held on to the book.

"Oh, hi, mom," Sophie spoke. "Glad to see you remembered we existed."

Mrs. Bennett ignored her daughter and turned to the two 19- year olds. "What's going on?" she asked. "I heard a lot of shouts and screams and stomping..."

"Oh, that was dancing," Sophie intervened. "You see, the only dance Jamie knows is an elephant's waltz, which involves a lot of stomping..."

Once again, Sophie was ignored. Jamie explained to his mother what had happened. While he explained, there was a call up the stairs for their mother, from a male voice. Jamie stopped short in his explanation, surprised, while Mrs. Bennett turned and called back. She turned back to the kids, with a small smile.

"Whatever it is, I'll hear it out later," she said to Jamie. "But can you please take your stomping somewhere else or stop it entirely?" With that, she turned and left, shutting the door behind her.

The three of them exchanged looks. The only one who didn't seem surprised was Sophie. Jamie dropped the book onto his bed, leaving it to be picked up by Sophie, as he ran out onto the landing, quietly, to the top of the stairs, where he could catch snatches of a conversation between his mother and that male the voice had belonged to. He couldn't discern the words exchanged. He didn't want to risk going down the stairs, should one of them come by and see him there. His mother didn't quite approve of eavesdroppers and he didn't look forward to being grounded when he had been enjoying his freedom so much lately.

"... and Jamie..."

Jamie's ears pricked up at the sound of his name. He went down one step, straining to listen. He could hear his mother's voice, speaking in an undertone.

"... good boy... get to know him... fantasises a lot, however..."

Jamie's brows furrowed. Was his mother discussing him with someone? If so, who? That burly guy? Who was he?

"I think he's having too much freedom," the male voice spoke, the owner clearly not bothering to keep it low. "I've not met him once. And when I hear he's home, I hear a commotion going on above. Is he upstairs right now?"

"Yes, but, he was just fooling around with a friend of his," Mrs. Bennett said.

"I'll talk to him," the male voice responded, and Jamie's heart quickened as he heard footsteps nearing the bottom stair. He scrambled to his feet, and dashed for his room door, opening it as quietly as possible and entering. Sophie and Monty looked up, surprised. Jamie flopped down on his bed, trying to act normal, but Sophie and Monty were giving him those strange looks. Footsteps could be heard again on the stairs, heavier this time, and several moments later, they heard the door of Sophie's bedroom being opened, and then closed, before there was a knock on Jamie's bedroom door.

Exams are finally over!