Hi guys! I hope you like this story. The first few chapters is set before the events of City of Heavenly Fire. This is my first time writing a fanfiction so I hope you enjoy it!
Chapter 1
"Yeah!" I yelled as I paddled towards the large wave forming in front of me. I felt the wave pick me up from underneath me and I slowly got up, balancing myself as the wave got larger and larger. "This is awesome!" James, my parabatai yelled from beside me as he edged closer to me. "Watch this!" I yelled and I stood on my surfboard and, after a moment I leaped in the air, doing a back flip into the wave behind me. "What the..." James yelled just as the wave crashed and he tumbled off his surfboard into the water. I swam back to the surface, breaking the waters surface with a gasp to see James spluttering on his surfboard, laughing giddily. "That was nuts, Charlotte!" he said and I splashed water onto him. Laughing, we headed back to shore and we collapsed on the golden sand, our bodies shaking with laughter. "Dad won't be too pleased that we sneaked out to surf again," James said as he toweled himself dry with a towel. His parabatai rune gleamed on his chest, just below his collarbone. I glanced down at the twin of the rune on my own chest.
We had been parabatai for nearly four years now. We took the oath when we were thirteen and we had never been so much closer in our lives. James parents run the Institute here in Melbourne and I lived with my parents nearby in a small cottage until they were killed in a raid when I was twelve. Since then, James's family had taken me under their wing and cared for me like their own, since they and my parents were good friends when they were at school, even after they moved here to run the Institute. I had gone over many times to play with James since we were babies, having practically living in the same cot since we were born. We had been best friends ever since, training together and learning about the ways of the Shadowhunters.
When my parents died, James had been around me everyday, making sure I was alright and begging his parents not to sen me away to Idris or some far distant relatives I didn't even know existed. Finally, they had given in and I had lived there ever since. Having grown so close, I asked him to be my parabatai and he gladly accepted. Now we were partners in combat and battle, closer then ever. Sometimes, I thought that maybe I could have pursued a romantic relationship with him but now it wasn't possible since the parabatai ritual forbids it. "Hey, what are you dreaming about, again?" James asked, wearing his clothes and picking up his surfboard. "Nothing," I sighed and I changed out of my swimsuit back into my civilian clothes. We picked up our stuff and headed back to the Institute.
The Institute loomed ahead, its old Gothic structure slightly out of place. We entered from one of the back entrances and sneaked into the hallway, careful not to attract so much attention. But with our surfboards and wet bags, we didn't go unnoticed for long. "James and Charlotte!" a voice called and we slowly turned around to face James mother. She was a kind woman but she didn't really agreed on us taking pleasure in mundane sports and rather had us locked away in the Institute studying or training. It wasn't that bad but we do need to get some fresh air sometime or rather. "Hey mum! How's it going?" James asked and I giggled a little. She sighed and walked towards us. Even though she was only forty, she had quite a bit of gray hair peeking from around her blonde hair. "Since this is your last day at the Institute, I will let you go. Anyway, have you two even finished packing yet?" she demanded and we shook our heads.
She shooed us up the stairs and we quickly went to our respective rooms. I stood under the shower, letting the cool water run all over my head and dripped onto my toes. The weather was nice but sometimes the heat was killer. I threw on shorts and a tee before heading to James room. I opened the door without knocking and I threw myself onto the bed, waiting for him to come out. He emerged in a cloud of steam, rubbing his head with a towel. He was clad in only a towel which was wrapped around the waist. My heart skipped a beat when I saw his bare torso. I had seen him like this hundreds of times but for the past year or so I had this slightly embarrassed feeling of seeing him half naked.
"You could have knocked," he muttered as he turned to pull out a pair of jeans and a shirt before pulling them on. "Have you packed yet?" he asked as he opened his half filled suitcase and started throwing clothes into them. "Well, there is nothing much to pack,isn't it? We're just going to go to the New York Institute to train for around three months and come back right?' I grinned as he stuffed some thermals and jeans into the suitcase. "For goodness sake, there is laundry over there. Why do you look like you're preparing to move out?' I groaned as he tried to slam the suitcase shut. "Come on. Three months is a long time. And besides, she is over there," he said, a loop-sided smile on his face. I knew off his secret crush on Isabelle Lightwood but aren't all guys smitten over her. "I thought she was already has a Daylighter boyfriend?" I asked as he finally managed to slam the suitcase shut. "Oh, quit it. It was a long time ago. Besides, I already have you," he said and my heart gave a little jolt.
"I'm gonna go pack," I muttered as I got up and slam the door behind me. I went back to my room and threw open my suitcase and started pulling out some of the scarce winter clothes I actually had. "He didn't mean anything. He's just a friend. My parabatai. Its impossible to ever get into a relationship with him," I muttered to myself as I threw jeans and sweaters into the suitcase. I saw my miserable stash of clothes and reassured myself that I could always go to New York and shop for clothes. I tried to stuff some shoes into my bag and I went to the wardrobe to get my winter coat. I pulled it out and laid it on the bed in front of me. It was a gift from James last year for Christmas. It was a delicate coat, looking like an old fashion coat that one might wear when they were in Idris. I touched the soft light blue material of the coat and picked a little at the gold buttons on the front. It had a wide hood that had white fur lining the sides of it. "It matches your eyes," James had said shyly as I had tore through the wrapping and pulled it out, squealing as I tried it on.
Now I stood in front of a mirror and wearing it over me, my heart skipped a little. It did bring out the colors of my eyes. My long blonde hair was nestled nicely under the hood and my ice blue eyes did match the color of the coat. I removed it and draped it carefully over the chair. I laid out my jeans and sweater and kicked my boots into the corner before throwing myself on the bed. "I'm going to New York, the city that never sleeps! I'm going to train with James and meet some of the greatest Shadowhunters of my time. And I would see Jace Lightwood!" I screamed in my head. Every girl I knew, including me is head over heels in love with Jace Lightwood. But recent news said that he already had a girlfriend, Clary Fairchild.
"Whatever. I have James as my parabatai and that's all I ever need," I muttered to myself just as a soft knock came from the door and I mumbled, "Enter." James stepped into the room, his hair still wet and his face slightly blushed. "What is it?" I asked as he slid over and sat on my bed near me. My heart started to throb as I looked at him. "Get a grip. He is my parabatai. My brother in arms!" a mental voice screamed at me as he kicked off his shoes to lie next to me. "Nothing," he muttered as he leaned closer. "What the..." I started to say just as he kissed me. It was so shocking until I lost myself for a while. We just lay there kissing, rolling around in my bed as he knocked my suitcase onto the floor. "Oh Charlotte," he whispered as he leaned to kiss me again. "Stop it!" I shouted and I pushed him off me, my face red.
"Whats wrong? Did I hurt you?' he gasped frantically as he straightened his clothes. "You know whats wrong. We're parabatai! We shouldn't even be doing this," I said, both dizzy form happiness and shock. "We don't need to tell them. We can still be together," he said as he came closer. I flinched away from him and he stopped dead in his tracks. "I do love you. But I'm sorry," I said as he looked at me. He looked at me with his sad brown eyes before turning away. He was almost out of the door when I shouted, "James Ravenscar!" He turned around just I leaped off the bed and rushed to him, pressing him against the wall. He cupped my face and we kissed, his body turning to face mine. We retreated to the bed and continued until we heard clock chime. "Crap, dinner time," he muttered as he got of me. I giggled and got up, straightening my clothes and following him out of the door, our hands entertwined. "So its official?" he asked and I smiled at him.
Dinner was not too bad, James parents telling us about what to expect at the New York Institute and also about the current situation with Jonathan Morgenstern, Valentine's son and also Clary's elder brother. "Don't worry. So far there hasn't been any attacks or anything. Besides, the New York Institute is one of the safest Institutes there is," James said as he took a swig of his wine. He was smiling the whole time and his parents looked pleased thinking that their son was actually happy of leaving home for a while. He looked at me and I blushed a little. "You two better get a good night sleep. Portals may have made traveling much easier but its still a tiring thing," James mother said and they stood up, giving each of us a hug.
James gave me a peck on the cheek before going to his room. I shut my room door shut and went over to my drawer. I drew out a slim dagger encrusted with sapphires, snowflakes decorating the hilt. It had been a family heirloom and was my father's. He had given it to me on my twelfth birthday, pressing it into my hands. "This is a Midwinter family heirloom. I trust that you would keep it safe," he smiled as I looked at the dagger with awe. Each family has an heirloom and mine was the dagger. It had been my weapon of choice since, always seen in my hand during training until it felt like an extension of my hand. I cradled it as I looked at it. I looked at the Midwinter family ring on my finger and took it off. Tears spilled as I remembered the day the Clave had told me that my parents had died. During their funeral, James had held my hand while I tried not to cry as their bodies were burned in the Alicante City of Bones.
I carefully placed the dagger on my nightstand and I crawled into bed, my head hitting the pillow with a soft thump. I looked at the picture of me and my parents on the nightstand. It had been taken when I was around ten, when we had been visiting James's family. My father was smiling at the camera, his hand on my shoulder. My mother was looking at her husband, her expression full of love. I remembered my mother telling me about love. "We Shadowhunters love each other in a way much more deeper than a mundane would. Once we find love, we can never find another like it," she said as my father kissed her on the head. At least both of them had died together. I tossed and turned in bed, looking at the ceiling. "So this is how being in love is like," I muttered to myself before falling asleep.