A/N. First thing I want to say here, back in the era in which Anna lived, there were no gender-neutral terms/pronouns. I will be using she/her pronouns because of that, and also because that is the only way I've seen the character described. Even though Anna is more likely a 'they' in this time, back then, Anna was only a 'she'. I know, I'm going on a long spiel about pronouns, and some people may not understand why. But to those who do, I just wanted to clarify why I was using the ones I'll be using.

This will just be a short story, approximately 7 chapters. I may decide to extend it, depending on how well it does in the eyes of all you readers.

Also, fair warning, some characters will be OOC, and the story may seem a bit off from how one would expect. But, trust me, it will all make sense as the story progresses.

Her name is Anna Lightwood. The daughter of Cecily and Gabriel Lightwood. But, she never felt like she was always their daughter. She never felt the way most girls do. She felt odd, she felt confused. Her identity seemed forced on her.

Ever since she was young, she was dressed in little dresses, colours like pink, lilac, and all other colours that were highly associated with female. She did like some of the colours, it is true; but, something always felt strange. She felt out of place some days when her mother would bring her home a new dress. She had gravitated to her father's and brother's clothing sometimes. She would take her father's waistcoats, steal his hats, and wear trousers as opposed to the skirts and dresses. She felt right wearing them.

However, there would come days that she enjoyed the dresses. It was confusing to herself as well as her family as to why she kept this up for so long. Her parents had always said that she would grow out of it, that it was only a phase that would soon enough pass.

Anna had convinced herself that they were right at the time. She had told herself on the nights she felt lost and confused it would all pass and she would grow up to be the woman she was supposed to be all along.

As the years went by, nothing changed. She still would dress in her father's clothing, still wear the occasional dress. Anna did seem to gravitate slightly more to wearing blazers and trousers, despite herself. She felt different. She liked it. In spite of all that Anna was, her parents didn't seem to understand her as much as she would have liked. Her mother would look at her sometimes with an expression that Anna couldn't quite describe to its full extent. It was a mix of wistfulness and confusion, almost with a sense of longing.

When Anna was fifteen, her parents were unsure of how to deal with her odd behaviour. Anna found herself gravitating to the intimate company of women as opposed to men. Anna herself wasn't sure why she did, but she knew she liked it. She loved a great many girls, and it was beginning to concern her mother more and more. Anna would often go out on her own, wearing suits, and sometimes, not return for hours.

One day, Cecily had had enough. She was no longer willing to give Anna all the freedom she had. Cecily debated about sending Anna off to the academy along with Christopher, but soon decided against it, for she thought Anna would make a fool of herself. No more mockery would be brought to the Lightwood name.

When the time came for Christopher to go to the academy, Cecily knew that Will would also be around, dropping off James. She had sent a message, inviting him to come over. She needed help with what was going on. She saw how well he and Tessa handled James's… differences, and hoped that, in some way, he could help her figure out Anna.

Cecily was waiting for her brother, watching out the window. She heard footsteps behind her. She turned to see Anna.

"Mama, what are you doing?" Anna asked as she came to stand beside her mother.

"I'm just waiting for someone," she said, her voice quiet.

"Is someone coming over? Who is it?" Anna asked, growing excited.

Cecily turned fully towards Anna and took in her look. Her hair was all tucked away in a small bun at the nape of her neck, she was in a suit jacket and trousers, her chest had clearly been bound by something, as it was not as noticeable as it usually would be. A slight frown appeared on both of their faces, both with two completely different reasons.

"Mama, why do you always look at me like that?" Anna asked, feeling a sense of sadness wash over her.

Cecily acted oblivious, "like what, Anna?" she asked, putting her hand on her daughter's cheek.

Anna pulled back. "You always look at me like I've disappointing you in some way. Like I failed you."

Cecily remained silent. She didn't know how to respond.

Luckily for her, a knock at the door saved her from having to make sense of her silence. Cecily went over and opened the door, revealing Will. She gladly smiled at his arrival. It couldn't have been timed any better. Will gave his sister a hug, "it's been awhile, Cecy," he said with a smile.

"Uncle Will!" Anna exclaimed, running over to him, wrapping her arms around him.

"Oh, Anna, you have grown so much," he observed, pulling back and admiring her new height since the last time he had seen her.

Anna nodded enthusiastically at her uncle, a big smile on her face. "I'm almost as tall as Mother, look!" she went and stood beside Cecily, who was no more than several centimeters taller than Anna.

Cecily didn't look as excited at Anna's height as her brother and daughter. "Gwilym, I need to talk to you." Cecily's voice was serious. "Alone please." she said, shooting a glare at Anna, who backed away.

Will's expression dropped to serious as Cecily pulled him over into the drawing room.

"Cecily," he said, "what's wrong?" he asked, growing concerned.

Cecily went to sit down on a sofa, putting her elbows on her knees, balling he hands together, and resting her chin on them. "It's Anna!" she exclaimed, exasperated, through clenched teeth.

Will looked at his sister, confusion washing over him. "What about her? She seems happy." he remarked.

"But have you seen the way she acts? She wears Gabriel's suits and takes his hats, she spends more time with other girls, but not like in the way other girl would. She's attracted to them in a way I can only describe as how a woman would be attracted to a man! There is so much about her that doesn't seem right." Cecily cried vehemently.

Will was taken aback. "I see," Will said, when he, as a matter of fact, did not quite see. He could see, quite obviously, Cecily seemed very one sided and closed-minded about this topic.

"I don't know what to do, Will," she said, dropping her head into her hands. "She's going—"

"Cecily," Will put his hand on her shoulder, taking a seat next to her. "You have to listen to her. You have to try understanding her."

"She doesn't understand herself!" Cecily exclaimed, her head snapping to face him. "She thinks she's some... she doesn't... her..." she sighed exasperated.

Will patted his sister's back, trying to calm her. He couldn't fully understand what was going through her mind, but he would try his best. He was also surprised by some of the things that she was saying. "Anna understands herself more than you would," he claimed.

"No, she doesn't. Anna is my daughter. I know her. I always have." Cecily shot back, shaking her head at her brother.

"Cecily, you don't." Will tried to convince.

She shook her head at him again. "I want my daughter back. I want her to be who she was when she was little. I don't know what she's trying to be. I don't want her to try being my son. I just want my daughter. That's all I've ever wanted." Cecily said, leaning into her brother.

Will wrapped his arm around her, rubbing her shoulder as she began to cry. Will was reminded of a time, back when they were young children, playing around outside. Cecily had fallen and badly hurt herself. She managed to hold herself together much longer than anyone should be able to with such injuries. She was very strong, and Cecily had never been one to cry much; Will knew, this was really affecting her. He wasn't sure what to do aside from just stay with her as she tried to calm herself. He wanted her to understand her child, to at least try understanding what it's like for Anna, or even to see what it's like for her to see her mother disapprove of her so much.

"I don't know what to do with her. Her behaviour is so odd, she likes women, she acts like a boy some days, or a girl others or sometimes I don't even know what she's trying to be!" Cecily sobbed, looking up at Will through her tear rimmed eyes.

Seeing his sister so vulnerable, so sad, so confused made him just want to take her and hold her forever and keep her safe like how they had when they were younger. He wished he could erase all of her problems. But, she was going to need to face it. That's the only way she can see what she needs.

Will hadn't heard the chocked sob of another person until Cecily had quieted down. He looked over his shoulder, only to see nothing. He'd played it off as something of his imagination, or an echoing sob of his sister.

"I just wanted a daughter," Cecily repeated, her tears drying as her crying ceased.

A/N. Okay, so I really hoped you guys liked the first chapter! I simply adore the character of Anna Lightwood, I feel her, so much. I hope this chapter was well received. I will be updating within the next week or so. And yes, before anyone gets mad with me, I know that it is always said that her family is proud of her for her individuality in the end, but right away -especially in that time era- things like genderqueer people weren't a really recognized thing. It was perceived as odd and unusual. So I hope that clears up anymore confusing things.

[All A/Ns were removed past this chapter in a recent update I made, I apologise. I had information in them that was incorrect and also I am trying to fix my old fics (it is 2019 as I write this note, yes, 3.5 years later and I'm here to update things) I hope y'all can enjoy my story still]