Disclaimer: I don't own either the mortal instruments or the infernal devices- Cassandra Clare does. And I'm not her, so I can't possibly.
Chapter One
Clarissa Morgenstern let out a high pitched shriek as the plane leapt forward out of nowhere, sending her flying into the seat in front of her, as commotion and screaming surrounded her senses.
The plane was hurtling downwards at an appalling speed, and people falling down all around her. With a panicked yelp, she glanced out of the cracking window beside her.
They were going to crash all right; and right into a huge mountain at that.
Clary screamed as she was once slammed into the seat before her again, and she heard a crack, at the moment a horrible pain encased her wrist.
"Mum? Dad?" she called as loud as she could. Nothing. Nothing but screaming and crying.
Her wrist hit the wall again, and the pain intensified as there was another crack
"Jon!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, cradling her wrist as she curled up into a ball, doing her best to not get hit by anything. In the distance, she heard her brother's faint reply, as she slowly faded out of consciousness.
...
Jonathan banged on the airplane door, one arm wrapped around his little sister's limp form, until it opened. For a second he glanced over his shoulder to see the other passengers. All of them were dead, he'd checked, before he found that his sister still had a faint pulse.
With a jolt of the plane, the two fell out the door, falling six or so metres down onto the solid, hard ground of the mountain.
Cursing wildly as he hit the ground, his muscles protesting, he rolled out from underneath Clary and propped her up against a rock.
"Clary? Are you okay? Clary, you there?" he said, shaking her shoulders. Her eyelids fluttered, and a shaking hand reached out to find his face.
"Jon? What, where… what happened?" she asked dazedly. "Good, you are alive. I wasn't sure" Jonathan said, all honestly. Clary snapped back into full consciousness and raised an eyebrow.
"Was that a joke?" she asked incredulously.
Jonathan shook his head. "No, I was actually worried. The plane crashed Clary. Mum and dad were in that plane. As well as a hundred other people. You were unconscious. I didn't know what to think" he said soulfully.
Clary winced. "Okay, okay. Stop making me feel guilty" she said, leaning her head into her palm.
When she looked up again she looked dismayed. "Mum and dad… are they… y'know?" she asked quietly, biting her lip.
Jonathan didn't answer. "Fuck" Clary said, eyes watering as she hid her head in her hands.
"Fuck" she hissed again, holding her wrist in her other, as she remembered the countless hits it had taken in the aeroplane.
Jonathan wrapped an arm around her, and felt around in his jeans pocket for his phone. Surprisingly, it was still there. The glass was smashed, and the camera had no hope in working, but it was still reasonably intact.
He fumbled around on it, trying not to cut his fingers with the glass, and called the ambulance.
Three Weeks later
"Miss Morgenstern?" Nurse Cadgefeld said quietly, poking her greying blonde head through the doorway. Clary jolted up, and gestured for her to continue.
"Your wrist has healed for the most part, as for your brother's rib" the elderly woman started curtly, sitting in the chair next to the springy hospital bed, glancing at her clipboard.
"Yes" Clary said, unsure of how this conversation was going to go.
"Well ideally, you would be sent home. But with your parents… condition, the agency we got to decide what would happen to you, has arranged for you and your brother to be sent to an orphanage, until both of you become of age. Or, as your brother is older than you, once he has turned eighteen, should he want to, he could move out on his own accord" she finished.
Clary leant back on the bed, thinking. Orphanages were always made out to be horrible places in books and movies and all of that, but she had never thought of how living in one would actually be like. Of course, she never had had any reason to.
"Do I have a choice in any of this?" Clary asked. Nurse Cadgefeld smiled sadly.
"If I could keep you here or anywhere else, I would dear. I have become rather fond of you and your brother during your stay here. But as you have no living relatives, this is the best thing that we could do. I'm sorry, dear" she replied.
Clary sighed. "When do I leave then?" she asked. "Tomorrow. We have organised for a taxi to pick you up. But it will come at nine o'clock, so be ready by then" Nurse Cadgefeld said, standing up.
"Now, get some rest. You have a long day in front of you" she said, before exiting the room.
Clary stared up at the ceiling. What would living in an orphanage be like?
...
"Good luck" Nurse Cadgefeld said, patting Clary and Jonathan on the shoulders. "Yeah" Clary said, sliding into the cab. Jonathan sat down next to her. They drove away from the hospital and into the drab, cloudy city of London.
The drive was silent, and before long, they had pulled up at a church-like building. Jonathan raised an eyebrow. "This is it?" he asked scornfully.
The driver nodded.
"Institute Orphanage, run by Mr and Mrs Branwell. One of London's finest yet discreet orphanages for parent-less children. Want me to go on?" the driver asked gruffly.
"Please don't strain yourself. Clary, come on" Jonathan said, pulling his sister out of the taxi. Neither two had any possessions- their luggage had been destroyed in the plane, and the rest had been left in New York.
They walked up to the front steps as the taxi sped down the street. Jonathan knocked on the door, and it was opened by a tiny woman who looked to be in her early twenties with brown eyes and hair, with a wide smile on her face.
"Hello! You must be Clarissa and Jonathan Morgenstern. I'm Charlotte Branwell. Welcome to the institute" she said politely.
Clary nodded awkwardly. "Henry!" Charlotte yelled over her shoulder. After a moment of awkward silence, and 'Henry' had not shown up, Charlotte huffed and stalked down the corridor. Not knowing what to do, Clary and Jonathan hesitantly followed.
They entered a lounge room of sorts, with an array of armchairs and couches, where a redheaded man sat hunched over a bunch of silvery metal objects on the glass coffee table.
"Someone's in trouble" sung voice in the corner. Clary glanced up. In the door way to what seemed to be a kitchen, stood a tall, handsome blond boy with strange gold eyes and a smirk plastered on his face. The redheaded man jumped up, looking around the room wildly.
"Charlotte dear? Who are they?" he asked, noticing Clary and Jonathan standing behind Charlotte awkwardly. "Yes, who are they Charlotte? Inspectors, come to check if you're doing your job properly?" the blonde boy said casually, flinging himself onto an armchair.
"Oh hush Jace. Their parents were victims to a plane crash, so they will be staying here until they are both of age" Charlotte said. "Well that's a relief. You would have lost your jobs if you had" Jace said cheerfully.
Charlotte sighed. "Jace" she said, irritated.
"You're right, Charlotte. The redheaded one's too little to be that high up in the government" Jace said, eying Clary with scrutiny.
She flushed, and her mouth fell open in ignition.
"Jace, stop being vexing. Henry, please show Jonathan to his room. Please" Charlotte said, rubbing her temples. Henry scratched his head. "Of course Charlotte. But err… where would that be again?" he asked timidly.
Charlotte through her hands in the air. "Why do I even bother? Come on you two" she snapped, gesturing for Jonathan and Clary to follow her.
She led them down the corridor. "Jonathan, here is your room. You will be sharing with Sebastian, but he is out right now, so just make yourself at home. Clarissa, follow me" Charlotte said, stopping at one of the doors.
Jonathan shrugged at Clary, before entering his room. "Clarissa, your room is here, in the girl section. There are clothes in the wardrobe for you. You are with Tessa" She said, before disappearing back down the hallway.
After staring at the door for a good five minutes, Clary hesitantly opened it. It was quite large honestly, with two wardrobes pushed to the wall, a long wooden desk in the corner and two beds.
Sitting on one of the beds was a couple, who were unashamedly making out. Clary froze. Upon hearing the door open, the girl shrieked and pushed the guy away.
"Um, I'm sorry. Are you Tessa?" Clary asked awkwardly. The girl flushed. "Yeah. Well this is embarrassing. You must be my new roommate" she said tone mirroring Clary's.
The boy sighed. "I suppose that I have to leave now" he said, dismayed. He was tall, with messy black hair, pale skin and dark blue, captivating eyes. He was rather handsome, but something about him reminded Clary of the gold boy from before, Jace.
"Yes. Go" Tessa hissed, pushing the boy out the room.
"Bye Tess. I'll be thinking of you!" He called as she shoved him into the hallway. "Oh shut up Will" she called back at him. Clary heard his laughter down the corridor.
"Anyway, I'm Tessa. Sorry we had to meet like that. So why are you here" she said, falling onto one of the beds. "Um…" Clary said. Tessa's hands flew to her mouth. "Oh, I'm so sorry. I shouldn't have said that" she said.
Clary shook her head. "Don't be. My parents died in a plane crash. Me and my brother just got out in time" she said sadly, sitting on the end of the other bed.
"Well, we all have pretty fucked up life stories. My parents were killed in a car crash, so we went to live with my aunt, but then she died. The second we were told that we had to go to an orphanage, my brother fled. They didn't stop him though, because he was already eighteen. So I was sent here alone" Tessa replied, voice distant.
"I'm sorry" Clary offered. "It's fine; I'm over it. It was a year ago. Anyway, do you want me to give you a tour of the place? So you can meet everyone?" the other girl asked.
"Sure" Clary replied, and followed the brunette girl out of the room.