Tessa stood in front of her armoire, looking for something to wear. Most of her clothes had begun to tear after attempting to train in them or falling on the same uneven cobblestones on the street in front of the institute. She settled on a pink silk dress with lace on the collar and cuffs. It was simple and relatively rip-free. She slipped it over her head. Lately she was trying to do more things on her own to give Sophie as much time on her own as possible. They had become quite close friends in recent times. Tessa worked away at the buttons, using the mirror as her guide. She got to the last button and could not get it to work. She felt a little sad that it was the last button, but she knew it wasn't a big deal.
"Sophie, could you please help me with this last button?" Tessa called into the hallway as Sophie passed by.
Sophie came in silently and buttoned the dress up. Tessa noticed that she was much quieter than usual as she put on a new pair of gloves.
"What is going on? Is something troubling you?" She asked.
"It's nothing Miss Tessa. Well... not really much..." Sophie replied. She averted Tessa's eyes, which could see through her. "Alright. It's Gideon. He's speaking so seriously of our relationship. At first I was excited, but then he began speaking of the idea of me Ascending. I know I can't ask him to give up being a Shadowhunter, yet I can't imagine becoming one myself. I do not understand why the Clave in interested in keeping marriage between Shadowhunters."
Tessa understood her completely. She loved Jem, but being under review by the council was hard on her. Their relationship was under great scrutiny by the Clave. Tessa and Sophie chatted for a moment before Charlotte called Sophie to help her with something. As Sophie slipped out, Jem slipped in. His silvery hair shimmered in the light streaming between the curtains. He looked so healthy.
"Good morning Tessa. How did you sleep?" Jem asked. He was dressed and it was obvious that he had plans to go somewhere.
"I slept well. And you?" Tessa asked.
"I dreamt of you. So I slept very, very well." He said. He pulled her into a soft kiss. His lips were warm and soft. His hands pressed into her back, his fingers moved in soft circles. She wanted to just kiss him forever, but reluctantly they pulled apart.
Tessa blushed. Despite the fact that they were engaged, she still flushed every time they did things like that. He reached for her hand and took it in his. Even his smallest touch still made her shiver, just accentuating the fact that she fell more in love with him each day. Jem lead her out the door to her room and kept going until they reached the front door.
"I know the review by the Clave has been stressful for you. So I've organized us an outing, with the assistance of Sophie. It comes complete with a chaperone." Jem smiled.
He led her up to the waiting carriage and helped her in. He followed her up and sat next to her. Across from them sat Henry, who was holding some sort of gadget. Tessa was surprised to see Henry away from Charlotte's side.
"Charlotte begged me to get him out of the house. He's driving her insane with all his fussing about the pregnancy. She had to bribe him with the promise that she would not interrupt his work or complain about it at all for 2 days." Jem whispered in Tessa's ear.
They rode on for a few miles, Jem telling interesting stories about many locations they passed. Tessa just listened and smiled. He rubbed her gloved hand softly. This was a perfect moment in her mind. The carriage came to a steady stop and they hopped out. They had arrive at a beautiful park, covered in roses and wildflowers. The two of them walked slowly. Henry walked behind, occasionally stopping to make a note in a tiny pad that he held.
"Look Jem. It's beautiful." Tessa said, pointing to a bush of fluorescent blue roses.
They steered towards the bush. Jem guiding her by the arm. They looked like any other couple there was.
"These are fairies' roses. They can be used as a poison. A pretty poison though, isn't it?" Jem told her. Tessa nodded. She couldn't help but think of the silver powder that Jem had to take to survive. Tessa looked away and tried not to think about it. He didn't look like a person who'd been sick a day in his life.
The couple wandered and chatted, pretending to be normal people. Not an ill Shadowhunter and a who-knows-what. After an hour, they ate a picnic lunch. Just as Tessa was about to take a bite of a roll, a tall man walked up. He had large runes all over his dark body and black hair with grey streaks.
"Oh, you must be James Carstairs and Tessa Grey. Congratulations on being allowed to marry. The Clave just made their decision this morning, didn't they?" He said.
He was obviously a Shadowhunter, but neither of the two knew him.
"What, Sir?" Jem asked.
"Had you not heard? They passed their decision to let the two of you be wed. I apologize if I ruined the surprise." He trailed off.
They said their good-byes and ran back to the Institute as quickly as they could, not bothering to pack up the rest of their food. When they arrived, Charlotte was already waiting outside.
"Have you two heard the news?" she asked.
"We just did." Jem said, holding Tessa's hand.
"I'm thinking June." Will said, coming around the corner. There was a terribly fake smile pasted on his face. "What about you two?"