Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Infernal Devices character, settings, or ideas. Cassandra Clare does. I do not make any profits from this work.
Prologue:
Cecily clutched the reigns of Xanthus, her grip growing stronger by the moment. The winds whipped her face as she rode Xanthus, on the Welsh hillside. Battering rains poured on her as she desperately wrapped her traveling cloak around herself, a failed attempt to keep warm. Bring him home. She flicked the crop over Xanthus' back, urging the horse to run faster. She felt blood run down her face as the raging wind sliced her cheek. Don't let the cunning of the shadowhunters deceive you. They stripped the marks off your father's back. Xanthus was now racing through the rain, his flanks heaving.
Realizing the overworked state of the palomino, she dismounted and allowed him to lap up the mud of the surrounding fen. As long as Cecily could remember, she had enjoyed equestrian sports like polo. William had claimed Balius as his own horse, so she got Xanthus. The memory of Will stung more than her cheek. His betrayal of their father had come as the most shock to Cecily. Their mother, Linette had known for some time that Will had become intimate with the shadowhunters. Edmund, the man of the house, had tried to stop any relationships from happening, but was too late.
Though the Herondale family was one of the Noble Families, they considered themselves mundane. Cecily had been curious since the beginning of time about the Nephilim, but had been forbidden to make contact with them until recently. Over the years, she had learned of their treachery. It had been their mercilessness that caused them to strip Edmund's marks simply because of his love with Linette, a mundane with the Sight.
The Law is harsh, but it is the Law. That was what Inquisitor Whitelaw had told Edmund moments before he set fire to the runes. Just the thought caused Cecily to recoil in disgust. It was repulsive that she had to live among their kind until she could persuade stubborn Will to return home. Cecily knew that convincing her elder brother to go against anything he set his mind to was near impossible. Naturally, she hadn't told her parents this.
It would be easier for them to accept the truth over time than for her to shove it in their faces. Her mother had always been sensitive to the matter of Will and broke down every time his name was mentioned in the house. Eventually, Cecily and her father just stopped any speaking of him at all. Will Herondale had become a ghost boy.
A few hours later, Cecily noticed that she was nearing Bridgeport, a small town close to Alicante. Just to delay her arrival at the Academy, she made the unnecessary stop. A minor inn provided her with a hot meal of onion soup and a steamy bath. Xanthus was sheltered in the inn's stable while Cecily enjoyed the amenities. Edmund had given her plenty of spending money. He had cautioned her to use it sparingly, but she wasn't planning on aiding the shadowhunter economy in any way. It wasn't as if any shop in Alicante had anything she wanted. The Herondales were relatively wealthy, although Edmund had always been a frugal man.
The soup seemed to warm her spirits as well as her body. Bridgeport's local nurse had also stitched up her cheek. An iratze would have done the trick much faster, but Cecily preferred to keep as far apart from Nephilim customs as possible. Enduring pain was only a side effect of this resolve.
It had been barely twilight when Edmund had insisted on sending Cecily on her way. Though it was only a day's journey, Edmund had wanted to make sure that Cecily would have enough time to create a plan along the way. Cecily had no intention of doing so. Her timepiece read 7:42, which left enough time for her to take a nap, restock supplies, and graze her horse. Will would be delayed as long as she felt was necessary.
Through the window, Cecily saw that the rains had subsided to a mild drizzle. She left the inn, treading over the dirt path leading from Bridgeport. Xanthus snorted in protest once they had reached to fields and instead nudged Cecily's pack full of fruit. It had become a problem over the years that the headstrong colt was used to receiving everything he wanted. Edmund had warned his daughter not to spoil him, but as usual, she hadn't listened.
Xanthus pawed the unsatisfactory grass and tilted his chin. Sighing, Cecily handed her horse a sugar cube and an apple. Apparently immortal horses had higher eating standards than normal ones. Even Balius, who had been raised by strict Will, had turned out picky in the end. Their separation had devastated Xanthus, who had thought his brother had died. Balius, on the other hand, was probably sleeping in a stable in Alicante and getting fat. The indignity of it all was enough for Cecily to scuff her boot against the fencepost.
Will had always gotten the better toys. The stonger, faster horse. The larger portion of Herondale acreage and Ravenscar Manor. The great inheritance of millions of credits, almost rivaling that of the Lightwoods'. His thanks when he was twelve years old? Going to join the Nephilim. After all those possessions had been signed in his name.
With another mighty kick, the whole fence toppled. Cecily surveyed her surroundings, to check for any prying eyes. When she saw that there were none, she flicked her wrist. The fenceposts immediately righted themselves. As much she loathed the shadowhunters themselves, Cecily did not object to using her Angelic blood to her own convenience. She didn't have a mandate to fulfill. When one was free of the weight of responsibility, they could do whatever they chose with the gifts they were born with.
Though her father would rather die than admit it, the one thing Cecily knew he respected about them was their overwhelming sense of duty. Nephilim law had a dark history, but no matter what the case, it was abided. It was honored.
No mundane society had achieved such a feat. Those coming close ruled over the people using oppression rather than motivation. For mundanes, strife was enjoyment caused on purpose. Mundanes discriminated against one another by meaningless factors such as skin and place of origin. To Cecily, it was laughable that they had created their own undoing. It was the duty of the Nephilim to protect those idiots.
Before she could help herself, she was doubling with laughter over the fence. Dirt was marking her previously flawless dress, but she hardly noticed. It had felt like ages since she had laughed to the point of losing control. She pictured mundanes battling each other for useless means and held her torso, hoping in vain to prevent herself from further laughter. A few mundanes that had opened street vendors stared at Cecily. The oddball wealthy woman laughing over a fence feeding an unnaturally palomino colt. Probably something the townsfolk wouldn't encounter often.
By the time her fit had died down, Cecily sat by the hearth, pen in hand. She was already planning to write her letter explaining to her parents that Will did not feel obligated to come home. It was always a possibility to stay at this inn over the next few months instead of enrolling in the Academy. She would most likely run out of pocket money by February, which would be a reasonable amount of time for her parents to accept Will's absence. The thought of disobeying her parents caused Cecily to cringe inside. It wasn't as if she had never defied them before. It was the fact that Cecily had always been curious of the shadowhunters despite her upbringing. She was fascinated to learn of how the demon towers of the glass city held up the wards. Cecily longed to feel the burn of a stele against her skin and feel the effects of the numerous runes. Since a very young age, Cecily had been one of the sharpest tools in the shed. Tutors appreciated her open attitude towards learning anything from marine biology to the history of literature. This scholarly desire was what drove her to want to attend the Academy. She knew that she would never truly fulfill the expectations of her blood, but she could at least learn more of her heritage.
There was a reason why the Academy's acceptance letter had arrived at Ravenscar Manor. The Academy was in need of gifted students such as herself. Even though Edmund had specifically told Headmistress Penhallow not to send anything to his daughter, she had done it anyway. In the end, Cecily's parents regarded the letter as an opportunity to bring Will home and reluctantly agreed. Attending was viewed as a great honor. Honor was something Cecily had never known and craved, even if the source was from her family's enemies.
The pen in the inkjar and roll of paper were left in their place. Cecily wasn't in the mood to think of her brother when she could look forward to a few months of unique education.
After paying the innkeeper, she set out on the road to Alicante again. This time, the rains only kept her cool and the breezes were a relief to her hot skin. Xanthus practically flew across the valleys and through the towns, filled with renewed energy. For a few hours, both horse and partner rode the wind until Cecily spotted Great Hill. She unburdened Xanthus and removed her telescope from her satchel. From Great Hill, Cecily took in the most breathtaking spectrum she had ever seen. Seven glass towers illuminated the skyline, which was filled with the crimson of the wards. Beyond the wards, Cecily could see only vast forest. Warlocks had enchanted the wards to show illusions to any possible trespassers or mundanes. If Cecily weren't of shadowhunter origin, she wouldn't even be able to see the tower and the wards.
Cecily mounted her horse and began to ride towards the wards, mesmerized by their beauty. When she came close to the red barrier, it crackled and sparked, sensing the nearby shadowhunter. Intuitions kicked in as she placed her hand against the ward, watching as the crimson particles parted to reveal the city. Wide cobblestone streets appeared before her. The streets were dimly lighted by oil lamps held up by posts. No one was out, seeing as it was midnight. Victorian-style buildings seemed to veer out from the many streets. A voice inside Cecily's head told her what to do.
She walked across the street and made a left turn, arriving at the Gard. Another turn and a climb up a hill later, she stood in Angel Square. The famous plaza in the centre of Alicante was nothing as she had imagined it. A massive stone scultpure positioned in the middle of the square depicted the Angel Raziel rising from the waters of Lake Lyn, clutching the mortal cup and sword. Water was pouring into a fountain at the base of the sculpture, so it appeared as if he was literally rising from water.
Before coming to her decision, Cecily had read the acceptance letter several times. To get to the Academy, travel to Alicante and enter the wards. Follow you instincts and you will arrive at your desired destination. At the time, it had made little sense to her, but now she understood it with crystal clarity.
Now, she didn't need the voice in her head, for the Academy was the tallest and grandest building in all of Alicante. It dwarfed even Consul Wayland's castle and every surrounding structure for miles. The Academy was a giant palace with stained glass windows and tall turrets. The building itself made Cecily feel puny and she felt that this was most likely the intended feeling the architects that build the castle wanted for the citizens of Alicante. A set of double oak doors loomed over her, with polished knobs and a brass knocker in the shape of a Fortitude rune. Cecily removed her acceptance letter, braced herself, and knocked.
Note: For those of you who have read my last story, you know that it was basically a disaster, so this is my second fanfic. I have rewrote the story and posted this in hopes that it will come the way I had originally wanted it to. Throughout TIF, Tessa, Will, and Jem have been outlined, leaving out Cecily. I wanted to emphasize her perspective in this story as well as Gabriel. Since Gabrily fanfics are so rare, I wanted to depict them without Mortmain coming in and ruining the story. The antagonists will be Benedict and the inner demons of Cecily and Gabriel. If you like it so far, please follow the story. Write your opinions in a review since my last story didn't get that many reviews and I would really appreciate it if I received more feedback. I also promise that next time the chapter will not be so short. Thanks!
Lily30323