The Magicians

Chapter 44- The Good Kind Of Healing

***Jackson's Point of View(still)***

I took a twenty minute shower. It took me just that long to get the grime out of my hair and the dirt and blood off my skin.

Once I was done, I searched through my trunk for clothes. I settled on a pair of jeans and my camp shirt. I brushed my teeth and my hair in the silence of my empty cabin.

I have two roommates, Tyson and Michael, but they were at trainings and meetings all the time now, so I barley got to see them. I had had three roommates, but James, my other old friend, had gotten killed while he was out getting a group of new recruits.

That was two years ago. He had never had a life outside of camp. He was one of the very few who had been born at camp. His parents had met here, and stayed here their whole life. They're dead too.

When twenty-seven minutes had passed, I figured it would be good for me to leave. I walked steadily across the field, I ignoring the pain in my back.

When I got to the foot of the hill, I stopped. Would I be able to walk up the hill? Had Rose forgotten I was still considered seriously injured?

My problems were soon solved. Rose came trotting down the hill, frowning. She almost ran me over, but regained her balance and smiled. "I forgot you can't make it up the hill. I'm sorry. Is there somewhere else we can go?" She asked, a troubled look on her face.

I looked at the hill for a minute. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. "No, it's fine. I can make it up the hill." I said.

"No, Jackson, are you sure-" Rose started, but I cut her off with a nod and a smile. "I'll be fine, just, stay close and don't let me fall down the hill." I said. Rose smiled and helped me up the hill.

In a few minutes I was out if breath and gasping, but I was at the top of the hill. I plopped down next to the picnic basket and smiled at Rose. "Told you." I mumbled.

Rose poured me a cup of water and let me drink it before she started talking. "The meeting didn't go well, yesterday. Mr. Blackwood is having a hard time keeping the campers from doing stupid things. Some campers have left camp already. It's getting bad, Jackson."

I sighed. "I know. This is just what happened last time. With your dad and Castor fighting. It's not good." Rose frowned. "When I was at Castor's hideout, he asked me a question. He asked me if I thought my dad was a traitor."

I nodded. "What did you say?" I asked, though I had a feeling a knew the answer already. "I told him no. Then he went crazy, saying my dad was a traitor, and he was working with our government to do something drastic. Do you know what that was?"

I looked at the grass. I knew. I was afraid to tell Rose. I wanted her to think highly of her father, and all that he'd done. I wasn't sure she would, after I told her.

"Your dad wanted to reveal the secret of magicians to the mortals. The government agreed to it after a while, and most magicians did too. We were tired of hiding, I guess. Some magicians didn't agree though, and Castor was one of them. He gathered up a lot of magicians that didn't want The Reveal to happen, and just about started a war."

Rose just stared at me. "Wait, why would Castor want to keep the secret of magicians a secret, if part of the problem was that his family was revealing magic to mortals in the first place?" She asked.

"That's the big question, isn't it? Our theory is that the way the Castor's use magic on mortals is in a way of manipulation. If we revealed the secret of magicians, he wouldn't be able to do that anymore." I said grimly.

Rose stared at the sky line. "Are you okay?" I asked her. I knew she had enough to deal with already. She nodded. I leaned over to her and hugged her firmly. She needed someone to care for her. It be her back-bone.

Lucky for her, she has an injured back-bone.

"The bad thing is, I think I agree with Castor." She said. A tear rolled down her cheek. "Rose, listen to me, Castor wants to destroy mortals. He manipulates them, make them do work for him, drives them insane." I continued to hug Rose. She needed it.

"You don't agree with Castor, you just don't agree with your dad either. You know what Castor is doing is wrong. That's what you're fighting for. That's our battle. You don't have to fight for what your dad did." I coaxed.

It probably wasn't the best motivational speech, but it was all I had. "Thank you. I am so lucky to have a boyfriends like you." Rose said, more to my shoulder than my face. "So I am your boyfriend?" I joked.

"Don't push it." She said, pushing away from me playfully. Then I kissed her. She was ridged at first, I hoped because she was surprised, and when I was about to stop, she loosened up, leaned into me, and kissed me back.

She smelled like, well, she smelled like roses. I doubt she even tried it. "I love you." I mumbled to her mouth. "I love you too." She said, kissing me harder. I'm going to loose my self control any minute. I thought.

She rolled on top of me, probably by accident, and pain shot through my stomach. "Rose..." I mumbled through her kisses. "What? Oh... sorry." She rolled off me, laughing.

She sat up a minute later and opened the picnic basket. "You in the mood for poorly made, cold BLTs?" She asked pulling out to sandwiches in plastic bags. I laughed and nodded.

Rose also pulled out Doritos and more water. She refilled my cup and filled another for herself. She lifted her cup and I lifted mine. "What should we toast to?" She asked. "Us." I said.

Rose smiled and said, "To us!" And we tapped our plastic cups. "To us." I repeated. I hoped us would last through this war, and whatever else came our way.