Febuary 1994.
He jump off the woman arms and he couldn't help but made a little noise with his throat. He didn't want her hug. He only wanted his mother's hug.
Jonathan Morgenstern, was only 5 years old, but he already had a strong character. After escaping his aunt's arms, he climb his mother's lap and looked at the room. His aunt had organized a little party with other children, but he was almost the oldest. Only Alec was older than him and he was showing it. Standing in front of the playing carpet, he was looking at the other childrien, his hands on his hips. Jonathan sighed and looked at his little sister, crawling towards an other little girl.
"- Well, Celine. Does Jace want a little brother ? Or maybe a little sister ?"
The woman called out, a blonde with blue eyes, blushed.
"- We asked him but I don't think he care."
She laughed a little bit, followed by the other.
"- It's crazy, how it's different from a child to another ! I mean, one of Jonathan's first word was "Baby." while he was touching my belly !
- Well, Alec's first word was 'no'."
Jocelyne, Maryse, Celine and Cordelia bursted out laughing, and Jonathan frowned. He had saw the little blond boy, looking up, as if he has been calld out when his mother had said his name. He grabbed his mother tee-shirt et got up, whispering in her hear.
"- What's his name ?
- Who are you talking about ?
- Aunt Celine's baby.
- You already know it, honey, you're asking me everytime we saw them. Your dad saved Celine's life when she was pregnant, and to honour them, they named their son like ours. He's called Jonathan Christopher Herondale."
Jonathan frowned again.
"- But why does everybody call him Jace ?
- To distinguish you and him. Does it matter, to you ?"
The little blond with green eyes cogitated and shrugged.
"- I don't care."
Jocelyne smiled and kissed his forehead. She winked at Celine who, like the other women, had attented the conversation.
Today was the third birthday of Isabelle, Maryse and Robert Lightwood's daughter. They had invited their closest friends and their family: The Herondale, the Morgenstern and the Wayland. Men, were in the garden, talking about demons, weapons and women, while the women in question were talking about demons, weapons and babies.
Suddenly, tears were heard.
"- Clarissa ! What's that behaviour ?! What did you do ?!"
Jonathan looked at the other Jonathan, who was crying, his hand placed on his ear.
Clary, his little sister who was almost three years old, was looking at her mother, tears in the eyes because she had been caught in the act.
"- Jace, what does Clarissa did to you ?"
He removed his hand and Jocelyne blurted out an exclamation. Two little marks of bite can be shown on his hear, little drop of blood and drool.
"- Clarissa, what did Mommy told you ? You don't bite people.
- Except if they are evil.
- No, Alec honey, even if they are evil, you don't bite people."
Jace had took refuge on his mother's lap, who was kissing his head and his heard, while he was whining.
Jonathan thought he was ridiculous. He looked at his little sister, who was crawling toward Jace. She didn't talked often to anyone who was not her brother and prefered grab his leg. He get off his mother's lap and looked at her.
"- Did you come to say sorry ?"
She nodded, inhale as if she was about to talk but she suddenly rushed toward him and kissed his cheek. Jace blushed and he can't help but smiled. He give her the kiss back and climb up again on his mother's lap, hiding his face in her throat.
Jocelyne kissed her daughter's forehead.
"- I'm prouf of you, little angel, but you have to stop biting other children, okay ?"
She nodded and ran untill Isabelle, Alexander's little sister. Rosalina and Alec were drawing on the table and Jonahan was boring.
"- Mom, I want to go to Daddy.
- Go for it, honey, but be careful, okay ?
- Can I come with you... ?"
He turned to the other Jonathan and nodded, with a smile. The two boys, who were named the same and had almost the same hair color, went in the garden.
"- Do you..."
They had talked together, kept quiet together. Jonathan smiled at the other child.
"- You go first.
- I wanted to know if you wanted to be my friend..."
He blushed, more than when Clary had kissed his cheek. Jonathan smiled and violently nodded.
"- Of course ! We're gonna be the best mates ever.
- And Alec too ?
- Yes Alec too !
- Not Rose !
- Oh no, not Rose, she's a girl !"
They laughed together and Jonathan squated, hiding in due to look at their fathers, imitated by Jace.
Men were standing in the frozen garden, holding weapons, in front of each other. Rose's father and Alec's one looked as if they were about to fight Jace's and Jonathan's fathers.
"- Do you think they will kill each other ?!" exclaimed the youngest.
"- Of course they wont. You Dad often comes at my home and they do that. They're training, and later, we will train too.
- Why are they training ?
- To kill demons ! Are you stupid ?
- No, you are stupid.
- Shut up ! Otherwise, we will train right now !
- But we don't have sword !"
Jonathan laughed and jumped on him. The two children rolled in the snow, holding each other. Jonathan was pulling Jace's hair while the latest had caught snow and put it on Jonathan's tee shirt.
The eldest suddenly screamed and go away from Jace, running, his hand under his tee shirt, trying to remove the snow.
Michael, Stephen, Robert and Valentine turned toward them, surprised.
"- Jonathan ! What are you doing here ?!" shouted Stephen and Valentine with one voice.
The two little boys looked at eachother, silently, and Jace answered, looking at his shoes:
"- We were training, like you. And it seems that I win."
The door opened violentely and women got out off the house. Jocelyn was holding Clary in her arms, Celine was holding Alec's hand, Isabelle was laying in Maryse's arms and Rosalina was sitting on Cordelia's shoulders.
"- What happened ?! We heard some scream !"
Jace repeated his words while Jonathan was silently walking toward his father, holding snow.
"- Jonathan..." said slowly Jocelyn, with a threatening voice.
Jace looked up, as if Jocelyn was talking to him. Jonathan put the snow in his father's pants and ran away, laughing out loud, while Valentin screamed in his turn.
The three other men bursted out laughing, while Jocelyn sighed with a little smile. Fortunately, they had dressed the children with warm clothes. She dopped Clary off in the snow, on hand and knee. She was so little, that if she had had her brother's and father's thin and silvery blond hair, she would have disappear in the snow. But her thick and red hair, like her mother, helped her to be seen.
Jonathan ran towards her and helped her getting on her feet. She jumped on him and both of them fell on the snow, laughing. Clary kissed his nose before being lift up in the air. She tried to catch the ground but only caught snow.
"- What is it, cutie ? What are you doing ?"
Clary smiled, and suddenly put her hands full of snow on his father's cheek. The little child laughed and hugged her father.
Rosalina smiled, cuddle up to her godfather. Everybody was happy and it made her happy. Something cold and frozen fell on her head and she almost screamed.
"- Alec ! Clear off !"
The blue-eyed boy laughed out loud and ran away, before falling in the snow. Isabelle, his little sister had threw herself on him and they both had fell.
"-You're a pain !"
Isabelle frowned. She was only 3 but already had strong character. She violently pushed him away and started throwing snow at him, almost burrying him.
Jocelyn rushed toward them and lifted up the little girl, scared about her to suffocate her brother, who stood up, his face was all red because of the cold and he was crying.
"- Okay, children, let's stop. I want everybody to go inside, we're gonna eat Isabelle's birthday cake. And Izzy. I want you to apologize."
Every parents had the same authority on the other's children. If Maryse told off Jonathan, or if Michael raised his voice toward Jace, nobody would say nothing, because nobody would doubt about each other's fairness.
Children ran away towards the house, except Clary, who was struggling in the snow. She whined, afraid of being left alone in the snow, and smiled at Celine, who caught her in her arms.
"- Are you cold, young lady ?"
Clary shake her head and kissed her aunt's cheek.
In the hall, each child was almost naked while one of the adult was helping them to get dry and getting them dressed again. The children slept so often, the ones in the others' houses that they had clothes in every houses.
Long minutes later, everyone was sitting around the table, and children were singing, almost shouting.
"- Happy birthday to you ! Happy birthday to you ! Happy birthday too you Izzy ! Happy birthday to you !"
Isabelle blew out the candle. Everybody applaused while Alec shouted:
"- Erk ! She spat on the cake !"
Everybody laughed out loud while Jocelyne give a little slap on the back of Alec's laugh.
May 1996
"- Mom ! Jonathan is bothering me !
- Jonathan, stop bothering your sister.
- She is lying !
- Clarissa, stop lying."
Clary sighed and put her hands in her pocket. The two children, who were 5 and 8 years old, were walking behind their parents in the street, discreetly giving each other some blows. When Jonathan tripped Clary up, she stumbled, hands on the floor and started to cry, Jocelyn turned towards them.
"- Stop it ! I'm fed up with both of you ! If we took you with us, it's not for you to annoy us ! If you don't stop, we send you back to the Herondale !"
Valentine took his daughter in his arms and Jocelyn took Jonathan's hand. Children and parents were wandering on the stress, the two adults showing them the places of their youth. Clary and Jonatan were looking all around them, their eyes were sparkling.
"- Dad ? Where are we going to sleep ?
- At a mom's friend's house. She's called Amatis Greymark."
He waited patiently and a sparkle of comprehension enlighten her eyes.
"- It's my godfather's name !
- Exactly honey. Amatis is Lucian's sister. She lent us her house but we will have to sleep together in one room, okay ?
- Together ?! In the same bed ?!"
Valentine laughed.
" Of course no ! Me and Mom in on bed and you and Jonathan in one other. Come on. And behave.
- I always behave, lovely Daddy."
They entered Amatis'. Women's reunion was quite long and full of tears.
" You must be Jonathan ? By the Angel, the last time I saw you, you were a tiny little baby !
- And now I'm not a baby anymore. Here's my little sister, Clarissa."
Amatis squatted to face the little girl, smiling.
"- Hello Clarissa. I'm Amatis, Lucian's sister."
She smiled in her turn, kissed slowly her cheek and whispered in her ear.
"- People calls me Clary, it's faster.
- Okay Clary ! Welcome to Alicante."
She smiled from ear to ear and returned to her father's arms.
"- Amatis, I don't want to be unkind but...
- Don't tell me more ! Everybody, go to bed ! I made two big bed up stairs.
- Thank you so much, Amatis ! It's perfect ! Children, say good night.
- Goodnight ma'am Amatis !" they said with one voice before to go upstairs, followed by their parents.
The Morgenstern, changed quicly and put their child into bed, kissing her softly, before to go to bed.
"- Mom ?"
A sigh was heard in the dark.
"- Yes, Clary ?
- When will we come home ?
- In three days, honey.
- Thanks Mom. Good night Mom.
- Good night Clary."
Jocelyn smiled to her husband in the dark. After a few minutes, they finally fell asleep ! She open her mouth to say good night to Valentine when whispers resounded. She coughed, to make them noticed that she had heard them. Whispers stopped a little, and started again, louder.
"- Jonathan, Clary. Stop talking and sleep, now.
- Yes Mom !"
She heard them laughing again and sighed. Generally, Valentine was very strict about their sleep, but he was not saying a word. She pressed his shoulder and he answer with a little grunt and a pleased smile. Even him, was asleep ! She listened carefully, trying to hear her children. She could hear them, their voice were muffled and she guessed that they were hiding under the blanket. She got up, discreet and silent as ever, took her runestone without activate it, took place in front of the children's bed and, suddenly, lift up the blanket, switching on her witchlight.
Clarissa and Jonathan shout for fear before laughing at loud. Looking at them, she laughed in her turn. She giggled, switched off her witchlight and held her children in her arms. She put them softly in her bed, between her and her husband, where she know they will not be able to chat. She stroke her son's hair while Valentine rolled on the back, Clary laying on his chest. They were all already asleep.
"- Have a good night, angels." she whispered before falling asleep.