Disclaimer: All characters belong to Cassandra Clare as do any quotes I use from her books.

Author note: I have done some research on things that happened in Jace's past and these are my attempts at creating them. Each chapter will be different. They will be at different times in Jace's life and won't necessarily be in chronological order. Without further ado, here is chapter 1.

Chapter 1: My Beloved Falcon

Father has been gone for the past week. He said he was going on another one of his business trips, but he never tells me what he does on those business trips. It's been lonely here in the house by myself. I've had to make food for myself, which isn't something new for me, and I haven't only gotten to speak with father's servants in his absence.

Over the past couple days I've done my language lessons and shadow hunter history lessons by myself. I like to sit in the window of Wayland Manor so I can watch the sky as I read my Latin lessons. Today I've completed my rune lesson and am waiting by the stairs for father to return back home. I remember when he left last week he mentioned something about bringing me a present. The door nob turns and my eyes widen as I try to find the present from my father.

"Dad!" I run over to him with my hands stretched as wide as my 6 year old body will let them and jump into my father's arms.

"Jonothan," he said, pushing me out of the hug, "what have I told you about emotions?" I look down at my feet remembering the long lecture I'd gotten last week.

"I'm supposed to be tough at all times, never showing any weaknesses through emotions." I hope father doesn't hit me this time.

Father smiled down at me. "That's my boy. Now come here and give me a hug."

I grin my hugest grin and jump back into daddy's arms. He swings me around the way I like him to before setting me back down. "Son, I brought you a gift." He reaches behind him and grabs a cage that I hadn't noticed before. It had a bird in it. "This is a falcon, they are raptors, killing birds. They are merciless, the best for fighting and are the shadowhunters of the sky. I want you to train this bird to be a killer, and to do anything at your command. Do you understand?"

I nod wildly, reaching out for the cage. Father got me a falcon and he trusts me to raise it right! This is the best day ever. I can't wait to get started with my new friend.

Three weeks later.

Over the past few weeks I had attempted to train the bird, but had no progress. He made me uneasy, and seemed like he was always watching me with his black pits of eyes. Anytime I tried to reach for the bird he would slash his talons or his beak at my skin and I would bleed. I sat with him through the night, keeping him awake, hoping he would tire of being horrible to me. Father always said that tired birds were easier to tame.

Since I haven't had much progress with the bird, I've spent more of my time learning how to use all of his equipment. It was boring, but at least I was doing something other than adding to my growing hatred for the bird. I had first thought we would be friends, but I'm not so sure now.

As I stare at my falcon, locked safely away in his cage, tears cascade down my cheeks and onto my wounded hands. I don't know what I'm doing wrong. There are various cuts all over my body from the birds sharp talons, but the worst are my hands. They are covered in cuts and dried blood, too painful to clean out right now. I look at my falcon and grow angry, hate filling my heart. Why would my bird, my new friend, hurt me when all I'm doing is trying to teach him?

I had taken him to the training room and tried to command him to do things for me. I even had treats prepared for when he did good, but the only thing he seemed to do was hurt me. I was supposed to keep the bird blind while training him, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I wanted him to know who I was, to see that I am his trainer. Thinking back to my father, I remember him saying not to show my weaknesses. Maybe I should take a different approach with the bird.

And so, I wiped my face clean of all my tears, staring the bird in the eyes, and began to pet him through the holes in the cage. At first he clawed at me, like he'd done before, but I didn't move this time. As painful as it was, I just knew if I kept showing him I was a friend, not foe, that he would calm down. I put some of his food in my palm and stretched it out into his cage, hoping he would eat from my hand, but he only stared at it like it was poison. I had tried this every night for the past three weeks, and tonight was the first night he didn't try to cut my wrists completely.

"Little birdy don't be scared. I'm going to take care of you." Dropping the food in his cage, I began to pet him for what seemed like hours before he tired of clawing and sat down, looking at me with curious eyes. "You can trust me birdie. I won't hurt you." Silence surrounds us, no more frantic cawing coming from my falcon and no more crying from me. This was new for us.

As my falcon relaxed, and the wild fierceness left his eyes, I began to notice his beauty. His feathers were black as night and laid out on his body in a way that was almost elegant. I gave my falcon a treat for calming down and left him to sleep, proud of the day's progress. I fell asleep that night, on the floor next to my falcon's cage, thinking of all the stuff I was going to do with my birdie once he was fully trained. When I'm old enough we can go hunting demons together. He'll be like my sidekick, my eyes in the sky. I'm so happy. Daddy gave me the best gift possible.

After a good nights rest, I went into the day and completed all of my lessons father had planned for the day. My mind was occupied the entire time with thoughts of my bird, and when my lessons were finally finished, I quickly made my way to my falcon. I hadn't been this eager to train him until today. I had a good feeling about today.

When I finally reached him he was sleeping in his cage, but when I got close enough to him his eyes shot open. He was scared at first, but as I started talking to him, he calmed down. It was like he recognized my voice, like the sound made him feel safe.

I filled my hand with his food once again, hoping he would trust me enough to eat. To my surprise, he moved over towards my hand slowly and studied it before eating from my palm. It was slow in the beginning, but he soon began to eat like his life depended on him. I felt his beak dig into my skin once or twice, and knew that I was bleeding, but I couldn't have cared less. My birdie finally trusted me enough to eat from my hand. He seemed much less wild today, so I decided to take him out of the cage, giving him another small piece of my trust.

One week later.

The past week was filled with more progress then all three weeks before combined. My falcon consistently trusted me enough to eat out of my palm and the wild look in his eyes was almost completely gone. I had started him on flying in the training room. He was to fly to certain spots at my command and come back to land on my arm. I remember watching him fly around and looking in wonder at his wings.

They were slim, yet beautiful, and flapped at a speed that was hard to see. He was fast and powerful, absolutely magnificent. All of my hateful thoughts from before vanished and were replaced with my wonder at his beauty. It took several days of commanding him to fly around and land on my wrist until he finally did. I think back on that day when we finally succeeded.

"Good, now come back to me," I yelled as I lifted my wrist toward him. On previous days he would just stare at me like I was dumb, or he would come towards me only to strike at my face. "Right here buddy." I pointed towards my outstretched wrist and stared in awe as he slowly lowered until his talons and wrapped themselves around my wrist. My smile was bigger than my face could contain and I had to hold myself back from screaming out in joy. Instead I pet my falcon and hugged him close so that he knew that he'd done a good job today. I felt his head rub over mine as he put his beak in my hair, and knew that he had started to love me.

I shook back from the memory and stared at my falcon in his cage. I pet him until he sat down at my command, rewarding him with a treat every time he minded. Everything had gotten so much easier with him, like it just flowed. As I opened the cage he backed up, not in fear but out of habit, so I decided to sing him a song to calm him down.

Black for hunting through the night,

For death and mourning the colors white,

Gold for a bride in her wedding gown,

And red to call the enchantment down,

White silk when our bodies burn,

Blue banners when the lost return,

Flame for the birth of a Nephilim,

And to wash away our sins,

Gray for knowledge rest untold,

Bone for those who don't grow old,

Saffron lights the victory match,

Green will mend our broken hearts,

Silver for the demon towers,

Bronze to summon wicked powers.

He relaxed soon after the song was finished, so I decided to give him a treat. I want him to know that he's going to be okay. It must be scary being so small, yet surrounded by bigger creatures who make no sense. I thought of my daddy when he was mad at me. He would tower over me with anger clear in his eyes, and all I could do was look up at him in fear. The last thing I want is for my falcon to see me towering over him in anger. I'm his trainer, not someone to fear.

"Today, Mr. Birdie, I'm going to teach you how to strike." Father had set up a dummy human for me to train my bird on. I showed him how to strike and where to aim, preferably the eyes, and so we spent the whole day trying to get it right. After many failures, my falcon finally got it right and I was so happy. I hugged him and felt his beak in my hair, like he was hugging me back. He finally trusts me, I just know he does. Father was going to be so proud at our progress.

I decided that today was the day to show all that I'd done with my falcon to my father. He is perfectly tamed now. He can kill and trusts me enough to do anything at my command. I can't wait to fight with my birdie when I get older. Daddy's going to be so happy with how good I did.

I walked out of the training room and through the long, winding hallways of Wayland Estate. I'd lived here my whole life, so walking around here felt as natural as the air I breathed. I'm so confident and comfortable in my home that I could probably walk the whole thing blind and never get lost.

As I headed up the stairs, I held my falcon close and looked into his loving eyes. I really did good with him, I thought as I reached the second floor and walked in the direction of father's office. When I finally reached the door, I knocked and waited.

After a short silence, I heard daddy's voice, "Come in, son."

I walked into the room to find father seated at his desk, like usual, with his journals open and a pen in his hand. He never let me read those journals, and made it clear that they were off limits to me by keeping them stored on the highest shelf in our library. He looked me up and down, closing his journal and leaning forward with his elbows on the desk.

"What can I do for you, boy?" His gaze was clear and hard, something that would leave a stranger uneasy or fearful, but not me. I could see past the coldness in his expression to the love that hid deep inside him. He may be harsh with me, but I know that he does it out of love.

"My falcon is ready, daddy." The falcon was sitting upright on my wrist, staring at my father.

"Is that so?" He asked. His voice was filled with disbelief as he studied us. He stood and walked closer to us, power in the way he glided over the floor. "Let me see the falcon." He reached his hand out, and I gave him my creation, proud as can be.

He looked at the falcon, raising the wings to examine him and then staring into his eyes some more. After a good minute or two, father raised his hand to pet the bird, or I had assumed he was going to pet the bird. But oh, was I wrong. He wrapped his hand around the bird's neck, resting there for a second, now staring at me. A loud crunch filled the air as my father snapped my falcon's neck.

"I told you to make it obedient," father said, his words were stern. I watched as he let my falcon's lifeless body fall to the ground, hitting with a loud thud. "Instead, you taught it to love you. Falcons are not meant to be loving pets. They are fierce and wild, savage and cruel. This bird was not tamed; it was broken."

Thoughts swarmed in my mind as my father left the room. I fell to my knees, as my eyes filled with tears and the sobs began to rack throughout my body. He had trusted me. I pulled the birds body into my shaking hands. He was my friend, we had plans. I loved him and he loved me. How could my father just kill him like he was nothing.

My heart throbbed as I mourned the death of my bird and a servant entered the room. She looked at me, pity in her eyes, before picking up the limp body of my bird and leaving me to cry alone. My father had always been harsh with me. He's hit me before and I'd always thought he did it out of love, so that I would learn. But now I'm not so sure whether it was out of love or only partially out of love.

Everything around me looked blurry from all the tears, and my breathing was labored. I know that daddy does what he does because he wants me to grow up to be strong, so some of it must stem from love. There is always a motive behind my father's actions. He would only have killed my bird if there was a good reason. I think as hard as I can on why my daddy would do this, and I can only come up with one conclusion.

It all makes sense now. I wipe the tears from my face, breathing out all of the grief left in my body and shaking the sorrow off of me. Tears are for the weak, I thought, and I'm no longer going to be weak. Not after this. I'll never forget what this lesson has taught me. To love is to destroy, and to be loved is to be the one destroyed.

So there was chapter 1! I tried to stick with how Jace told the story in City of Bones, but added some filler stuff in there. Please leave a review and tell me what you guys think. I'd also love any suggestions on Jace stories you guys would want me to write. I have 10 already planned for The Jace Chronicles, but any requests are gladly appreciated.

Thanks for reading and hope to see you guys in Chapter 2, which will be about Jace's relationship with Kaelie.