Becoming a Shadowhunter
Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters or places but the plot is mine.
Chapter 1: Fallen
She looked around the vast training room all about her, taking in the wooden world that surrounded her. She never thought that it would be so… big. It was very sparsely furnished; there was only: a wall of weapons, a box of spare gear and some broken bungee ropes that littered the floor. Also, it featured a beam installed into the roof with ropes dangling into the open space. The pools of blood that adorned the floor unnerved her, but Jace assured her they were only to do just that. Scare people.
"So Clary, today we'll be covering the basics." He said as she marvelled at her surroundings. "Wow. I never thought that the training room could be more interesting than me." Clary looked up at Jace. His blonde hair reflected the light of the room, making him look like an angel.
"Sorry. I was just thinking" She said innocently.
"About what?" His golden eyes held many emotions and thoughts: he was such a complex person.
"Just this place. It makes me feel weird."
"And why would it make you feel weird? It's just the training room." Clary thought about this. Why should it make her feel weird?
"I don't know," she replied. "It's just that I've never known about shadowhunters and stuff until now"
"I suppose it must be strange just finding out now that a whole world existed next to the one you knew." He sighed, "I'll probably never understand considering I've grown up knowing about it." They stood in silence for a moment. "Well, first lesson: Balance."
Damn. Clary thought. She did not want to get up on that chunk of wood. Jace strode over to one of the hanging bungees and beckoned her over. She stopped and thought. I can't die there's a bungee to stop me from falling. So why was she so scared? Trembling, she tip-toed over to where Jace was stood and stopped in front of him.
"Let's get you strapped in."
Clary fastened the rope around her waist, hoping that it wouldn't come undone. She walked shakily over to the ladder and began to climb. The rungs of the ladder seemed to wobble beneath her even though she knew they weren't. The top platform was terrible, she was so afraid that she almost fainted. Jace was shouting instructions from what felt like a million miles away but she couldn't hear him because she was so concerned with not falling and dying. Not that she could die. But it felt like the rope around her waist was made of a strand of hair and would break if she did as much as move.
"Walk Clary, walk!" He shouted but all she wanted to do was run. Promptly, she positioned herself just before the beam ready to take that all important first step. Cautiously, Clary put one unsteady foot on the beam in front of her. And then another. And then another. Suddenly, she wasn't scared any more. She moved more swiftly across the beam. Clary stopped shaking and stood still and tall. She span on one foot and turned to face Jace.
"Well done! Keep walking!" He shouted at her. She was halfway there now. Sidestepping across the beam, Clary eyed up her target. She'd seen Jace and Alec do it so many times. Why couldn't she? Of course there was the small matter of the fact that this was her first training session ever. But up there on that beam she felt as though she could do anything. Jace's golden eyes were fixed on her. He was beautiful she realised from this height when she could see him in all of his gold glory, without having to look up just to see his face.
That was the problem with being just over five foot. She had to look up at everyone to talk to them. People mistake her for being in 7th Grade which she finds so annoying considering she's sixteen.
Readying herself, she stared at him. He cast a worried glance over her. Before she could think, she threw her arms above her head and lifted her right knee.
"Clary, no!" His face dropped in horror. Jace ran under the beam. He couldn't believe what she was about to do. She stepped off the beam and flipped her legs over her head. Falling felt amazing. The adrenaline pumped through her body and she suddenly realised what was happening. She was falling. Towards the floor. Then, when she thought she was going to hit the floor, two arms encircled her body.
Jace. He pulled her towards him and she settled in his arms. Clary felt the rope being released from around her waist. She looked up and saw two gold eyes staring down at her. He tried to look mad. But it was hard.
"What did you think you were doing?"
"I…I…don't know." She sighed. "I've seen you and Alec and Izzy do it so I thought it would be easy."
"Well, to be honest you didn't do too badly. It wasn't perfect but it was good. I have one question though."
"Go on…"
"You were shaking a lot when you were walking up that ladder. So how did you flip off the beam?" He casually inquired.
"Well I just did it. I overcame my fears and did it."
"If you can overcome your fears suppose I should overcome mine." He looked deep into her eyes. Clary looked back into his. There seems to be an invisible force drawing them closer to each other. His strong arms sat her in a more comfortable position and he bent his forehead to touch hers. Their noses touched tip to tip and his lips brushed hers. Jace felt himself compelled to tell the truth. "You're beautiful," he whispered into her mouth. She thought about what she was doing for a moment and realised it was stupid because she could predict what was about to happen. Clary had not known Jace for that long but, in more ways than one, she had already fallen.
Please review! I would love to hear what you all think.
