Author's Note: This story takes place when Clary and Jace are investigating Wayland Manor, and also spans through Clockwork Angel and Clockwork Prince (Spoiler Warning, for The Infernal Devices) the first paragraph is taken from page 191-192 of City of Glass by Cassandra. I do not own the Mortal Instruments, The Infernal Devices or any of their characters.

Clary glanced around. "So this is where you grew up? It's like something out of a fairy tale." "I was thinking a horror movie," Jace said. "God, it's been years since I've seen this place. It didn't used to be so-" "So cold?" Clary shivered a little. She buttoned her coat, but the cold in the manor was more than physical cold: The place felt cold, as if there had never been warmth or light or laughter inside it.

"No," said Jace. "It was always cold. I was going to say dusty." He took a witchlight stone out of his pocket, and it flared to life between his fingers. Its white glow lit his face from beneath, picking out the shadows under his cheekbones, the hollows at his temples. "This is the study. The library is the second door on the left, down the hallway. I'll look in here, and meet you there when I'm finished." said Jace to Clary. "Okay, see you soon." replied Clary as she turned and walked towards the library.

Jace ducked into the study. It looked just like he remembered. The huge oak desk which sat with its back to the large window that looked over rolling Idris fields. The bookcase containing some of his father's books. And a large commode which he was never allowed looking in as a child.

He walked over to the desk first, rifled through its drawers, not finding much. Papers for the Circle's various plans, a picture with all the members of the Circle. He spotted Robert and Maryssa Lightwood, his adoptive parents; he also saw his and Alec's and Isabelle's tutor, Hodge, in the back of the picture. In the middle, he recognized Valentine-his father- looking only slightly younger than he did last time he had seen him. Next to him stood a young woman with long, red hair. With a start, Jace realized that the woman, who looked very much like Clary, must be Jocelyn, her mother. My mother, thought Jace reluctantly. He didn't like thinking that he and Clary were related. What he felt for her, it wasn't how siblings were supposed to feel for each other. Pushing the picture- and the thought- aside, he opened another drawer. In it was a picture of Jace, underneath it, a sort of leash that looked to be for some sort of bird. Jace remembered the falcon his father had given him for his 10th birthday. How he had trained and come to love the bird. Then, when Jace had presented the bird proudly to his father, Valentine had killed the falcon. From then on, Jace had always kept his family at arms length, because, he always remembered to love is to destroy. When he had told the story to Clary, he'd seen pity in her eyes, but the truth was that he didn't feel anything about the falcon anymore. Shutting the drawer, he moved towards the bookcase.

In the shelves weren't many things of interest. Books his father read. He found spell books, with binding spells, summoning spells and the like. There was also a copy of the Gray Book, and other volumes in languages Jace had yet to master. And also a peculiar book entitled Demon Pox if Jace were at another place at another time, he would have been compelled to examine it, but he was on a mission, no time to fool around.

He moved on to the commode. He didn't know why, but Valentine had strictly forbidden Jace to look in the huge carved oak wardrobe. He felt weird looking into it now, but he needed to do it. Calmly and slowly, he cracked open one of the doors. Then the other. A little disappointed, Jace was staring into a practically empty wardrobe, aside from a box, barely the size of a shoebox. Upon closer inspection, the box had a name on it. Herondale was written in delicate handwriting on one side. "Herondale?" said Jace, to himself, remembering Inquisitor Herondale, who had been mean and cruel to him when it was thought that Jace was a spy for Valentine, but then unexpectedly gave her life for his in the battle on Valentine's ship. "Why would the Inquisitor's name be written on something in my father's study?" Carefully, he removed the lid and set it down on the floor beside him. In it were letters. Opening one, Jace saw that they were address to someone named Nate and signed by a certain Tessa and a year, 1878. Looking quickly at the other letters, he found they were the same. Besides the letters, there was also a small pocketbook. Flipping it open, Jace saw that the handwriting was different. Signed by a Will Herondale. "The Inquisitor's ancestor?" Jace said aloud. He decided to read the first entry.

May 18th, 1878

Today was… different. I had a promising lead on where to find the Dark Sisters.

The Dark Sisters, Jace recalled where a pair of Warlocks who practiced in dark magic and had belonged to a club called "Pandemonium."

I went to the address, which turned out to be a mansion in Highgate. I went alone; Jem was feeling too ill to come with me. Of course, he asked me to wait a day or two and then we could go together, as parabatai, but I was eager to go, so I decided on leaving Jem out of this adventure. When I got to the mansion, I searched the rooms, finding nor hide nor hair of anyone or anything. But then, I reached a door which was locked. I used a simple opening rune and went inside when I was unexpectedly hit with a heavy object, which shattered easily when it hit the wall next to me, most probably porcelain. I looked to see who the devil threw a jug at me and saw the most beautiful girl I have ever seen. She had the most beautiful gray eyes and amazing brown hair. "You cut me!" I said to the girl. She then asked me if I was the Magister. I, even though I am one for nicknames, told her that I had never been referred to by that name. She looked at me like I was mad. I asked her what her name was. She said "Miss Tessa Gray." I introduced myself then, and told her that we needed to get out of there as quickly as possible. I was sure the Dark Sisters were in the house, and that it was only a matter of moments before they found us. And, as I knew would happen, the Sisters found us, chased us into a room with no way out, I might add. And right on time, just as the Sisters were barging through the door, Henry and Thomas blew down the wall and swooped in. Just in time at that. We took one of the Sisters out easily, whilst the other one decided to give up this fight. I looked over to where Miss Gray had been standing just moments ago, but she was now unconscious, probably from a shard of glass or such.Jace remembered suddenly the first time he'd seen Clary, one night at Pandemonium Club when she'd barged into that supply closet where he was just about to kill a demon. And the second night, when he'd followed her home when a Ravener attacked her mother. Why did his first meeting with Clary so much like the one with this Herondale boy? He continued the letter: After the account at Highgate, Charlotte had the mansion searched, but didn't find anything, except for some books and a pile of letters, written to Miss Gray's brother, Nathaniel Gray. I don't know why, but Charlotte entrusted me with the letters. Against my better judgment (but do I really have one?) I read the letters. I fell in love with her words. The way she wrote was just beautiful, she wrote with such clarity, and I knew exactly what she'd been thinking and feeling when she wrote the letters. And she loved books! She practically breathed them, she mentioned in one letter that the one thing she missed, being locked in that horrible house-besides her brother- was that she did not have access to many books. The Sisters had given her some-the books that were found in her room- but she said she missed her old friends. Charlotte's told me that Miss Gray has woken up, I shall go speak with her. And hopefully not make a fool of myself Will Herondale

Jace finished the entry. He flipped through the book. The letters recounted many moments that the boy-Will- had shared with Tessa. He didn't read all the entries, simply skimmed through them. He saw Will fall deeper in love with Tessa; saw how reluctant he was to show her how she truly felt-though Jace didn't understand why. As he read on through the entries, he saw why. Will had a curse placed on him by a demon, many years ago, which killed anyone who loved Will. It had happened to the boy's older sister, Ella. Will had fled his family in Wales, and lived at the Institute. There, he kept everyone at arms length, so that nobody would suffer the same fate as his sister. Jace also read of Will's parabatai, Jem, who was gravely ill with some demon disease that was slowly killing him. Will allowed Jem to see his true self. Jem is my great sin he had written. Flipping towards the end of the journal, Jace stopped at one entry.

July 12th 1878,

Tonight, I received great news, and bad news. Magnus and I have been working hard at trying to find the demon that cursed me, and last night, at Benedict Lightwood's party, I found him- the demon Marbas. Magnus raised him, after which I found out that Marbas had not, in fact, cast a curse on me, still being weak from being trapped in a Pyxis all those years. At first I was angry, but the giddy, because it meant I could finally show my true self to the people who have loved me- Charlotte, Henry, Jem, and most specially, Tessa. When I got back to the Institute, I found Tessa in the drawing room, where I (idiotically) confessed my love for her. She told me that Jem had proposed to her, and that she had accepted. I felt my whole world fall apart then. Jem, my Jem, who I could never be angry at, had my Tessa, for whom I could have listened to her talk about books forever, and I could never bore. I was to busy trying to fix my curse- one that had never been there in the first place, that I did not see which was right in front of me. And now, she was gone. I told her to break it off with Jem. But she never would have done that, it would have ruined him. And I knew that I could never be happy if Jem, my best friend, my brother, was destroyed. At that moment I got up and walked out, before I would say anything I knew I'd regret later. It should teach me, I was to busy with me, and I let Tessa slip away. And I should never have let that happen. And now, I've lost her.Will Herondale

Jace slowly put the letters and books back in their place in the commode. He strangely related with Will. He felt the same thing that happened to him happening with he and Clary. And even though Jace knew that he and Clary could never be, he was still unexpectedly drawn to her. Like a moth to a flame. He remembered, seeing her with Simon had practically torn him apart. And he saw the look on her face when she caught him with Aline Penhallow. He loved her, and she loved him. He couldn't let her get away. He didn't want to lose her like Will had Tessa. He loved her, even though it was so wrong. But Jace felt like he was evil inside. So if he was evil, why should he do the right thing? He heard a thumping noise in the background and then "Jace, come here, I found something!" It was Clary, coming from the library. He stood up; put the box where it had been left, forgotten. But Jace knew that he would never forget its words of that past, which so easily fit with his present.