DISCLAIMER: I do not own The Infernal Devices or the poem by Lord Alfred Tennyson, but I did create Ade, Es, Niccolo, Elizabeth, Lucas, Cadoc, and Elizabeth.

This is about William Herondale's cousin, Aderyn, whose parents have died and she's forced to live in the Cardiff Institute. She never expects to find a home there, but she does, with Niccolo and Es (her parabatai). Es is modeled after one of my friends, whose username is x-LiveFantasy-x.

I hope you like the story!

Chapter 1

Home they brought her warrior dead:
She nor swooned, nor uttered cry:
All her maidens, watching, said,
'She must weep or she will die.'

-Lord Alfred Tennyson

I was not like most people. I guess that's obvious, though. I mean, on the surface, there was nothing unusual, my chin length blond hair, and my dark blue-violet eyes. The difference was on the inside, and anyone I let get close enough took one look and ran the other way.

The first exception to that rule was Es. Estelle Florence Thrushcross was the only one who stuck around, because she cared about me more than herself. I can still remember her Mediterranian looks, the long curly black hair and the green eyes that shone with a love and light I knew I would never deserve.

My name is Aderyn Herondale, but most people called me Ade. Es was my parabatai, and I loved her more than anyone, even my family. She pulled me through everything, and I know as a matter of fact that I wouldn't still be alive if she hadn't stayed with me that night in December, the first night she met me.

I think the exact date was December 21st, 1877. Es and I were both fifteen. I was staying in the Institute in Cardiff, and so was she. I was pacing inside my room, and I remember the softness of her knock on the door. If I listen close, I can still hear it if I try.

When I stalked over and opened it, that was the first time I saw her face. And it was also the first time I saw Niccolo's face, too, because he was right behind her. I was a newcomer, and they wanted to welcome me. I wanted to spit in their faces for taking me away from my home. Little did I know, that place would become my new home. A home that was better than the one I had before.

Es's voice was light when she introduced herself. "My name is Estelle Thrushcross, and everyone calls me Es, though, and I would prefer if you called me that, too. And this is Niccolo Cartwright. I understand that you are Miss Herondale?"

"Ade," I muttered.

"Excuse me?" Niccolo asked, not understanding.

"My Christian name is Aderyn, but I go by Ade. So, if we are going to be 'family'"—I remember I spit thay word out as if it was poison—"then I would rather you call me that, Mr. Cartwright."

He smiled, and it caught my breath, against my will. He had gorgeous black, curly hair, and eyes as blue as the sky. He shot his grin at Es. "I wonder how long it's going to take to convince Ade that she should just call us by our Christian names, because whether she wants it or not, she's going to be here a while."

I just grumbled when Es smiled slightly. "You'll like it here, I promise. The food's great, and Cadoc and Elizabeth aren't too bad, either. They just like things in order." Cadoc and Elizabeth Aldertree were the head of the Cardiff Institute, and they were also in their early fourties, without any children. When Es and Niccolo had come to my door, we had only met once, and they had been kind if not a bit detacted seeming.

I didn't mind, though. It was better for me.

"Well, Miss Thrushcross and Mr. Cartwright, if you don't mind—" I had started.

Niccolo groaned. "Oh, no. Don't say you'd prefer to be alone. I mean, its bad enough that you insist on calling us Mr. Cartwright and Miss Thrushcross, but now you skip out on the complementary tour of Cardiff? I mean, we do it whenever someone new comes to this Institute."

Es frowned at Niccolo, then. And I remember wanting to laugh because Niccolo looked pretty scared. When Es frowned, it meant the worst was coming. When Es was mad at you, she could really make you pay for it. "If Ade doesn't want to come she's not required to."

I sighed, next, because I knew I was going to give in. "Fine. I'll go." We donned our outerwear, and Niccolo called for a carriage.

The driver's name was Lucas and he seemed very kind. He didn't whip the horses or anything of the like. He was a year or two older than us, and he was handsome. I saw Es blushed when he addressed her, and I hid a smirk. Es had a crush on Lucas.

It seemed that everyone at the Institute called each other by their Christian names. No one, other than my parents and my brother had ever called me by my Christian name.

Speaking of our parents, I wondered why Es and Niccolo were here. They weren't orphans, were they? They didn't seem like orphans.

My father had gone missing when I was six, only a few months after the accident that made me like I was: different. And my mother and brother were murdered last month. I found their bodies, on the floor in the dining room. My brother had been seven years old. I was the only one who knew exactly what killed them. That was why I burned our house down.

So that's why I was at the Institute, because I had nowhere else to go. And it was nobody's fault but mine.