The sound of a bell tolling wakes Clary with a jolt. She groans as she sits up still with her eyes closed. The groan is cut short when she hears birds tweeting. Her eyes open in slits and she peers around at her surroundings. Blue... green... gray. Sky... grass... church. WAIT WHAT?
Clary's head twists in all directions as she realizes that she's outside in her nightgown. Not only is she outside, she has no idea where she is. The surroundings are unfamiliar and, although it has the same briskness, the air is not the same London air that Clary is used to. It's different, foreign. She stands and backs into the rough wall of the church that woke her. What happened? Where is she? The last thing she remembers is going to sleep in her bed.
As a small group of people passes by down the street, Clary drops to stay hidden in the bushes. Her mouth gapes when she catches sight of the girls that walk by. Pants! They're all wearing pants! Not even pants actually because these pieces of fabric hardly came halfway down their thighs. It seems so heinous and yet, there's something so natural about it. Still, Clary furrows her eyebrows at their outfits before her eyes drop down to her own clothing. First, she wasn't suitably dressed to be outside anyway. Second, she was smart enough to know that she needed something to fit in until she could find out what was going on.
Clary waited for the coast to be clear before standing up again and walking down the street. She grimaces at her nightgown but pushes through looking for something to tell her where she is and what day it is. She turns a corner to see a strange contraption coming down the street. It looks like it's made of red metal and there are four wheels spinning underneath it propelling it forward. Her eyes go wide at the sight of the thing, but it's soon gone around the corner of the street. She takes a deep shuttering breath as her mind whirls.
"Hey," the voice calls out from behind Clary. At first, she doesn't think it's directed at her, but when she hears footsteps nearing she turns around. A gorgeous raven-haired girl with dark brown eyes approaches with a raised eyebrow. "Sorry to bother you, it's just that you look a little lost." She eyes Clary's clothing just as Clary eyes her clothing. She wears a dark blue top that stops at her navel and tight denim pants with a pair of heeled leather boots.
"I am," Clary admits warily. Maybe she can get help from this girl.
The girl stares at Clary for a moment longer before clasping her hand on her elbow and leading her down a different street. "Here, come with me. I'm going to get you a new set of clothes and then you can tell me who you are."
Clary hesitates as she's pulled along. "First, could you tell me who you are?"
"Sure," the girl nods still walking. "My name is Isabelle and I am the girl that is going to save your ass." With no further explanation, she continues on until they stop at a mansion of a house and enter. Isabelle leads Clary down the halls with her heels echoing the entire way.
Eventually, the two make it to what appears to be a spare bedroom. Isabelle tells Clary that she can shower in the bathroom and she'll return with some fresh clothes in a few minutes. The moment the strange girl is gone, Clary strips free of her nightgown and enters the bathroom. It takes her several minutes, but she eventually figures out how to work the shower. She stays in it for only ten minutes before getting out and finding clothing laid out on the bed. Clary inspects what she's given with confusion and distaste. She reluctantly puts on the cutoff denim and the purple shirt. She exits the room and wanders the halls until she comes across what appears to be a large kitchen. Isabelle is in it looking through the pantry.
Clary clears her throat and the girl nearly hits her head when she jumps. She whirls around and gives Clary a big smile. She gestures to stools that surround an island and sits on one herself.
"So," Clary starts looking around. "Where am I, exactly?"
Isabelle raises an eyebrow but answers without question. "Brooklyn, New York." When Clary's mouth falls open, Isabelle narrows her eyes. "Where did you think you were?"
Clary looks around again with disbelief. "This is a joke, right?" Her gaze returns to Isabelle who looks just as confused as Clary feels. "Will paid a bunch of people to make me think I'm suddenly somehow in New York, right?" When Isabelle gives no reaction, Clary's whimpers. "Right?"
Isabelle pauses before standing up and walking over to a cupboard. From it, she produces two glasses and fills them with water. When she returns to the island, she pushes a glass towards Clary. "What's your name?"
"Clarissa," Clary answers and stops before saying her last name. She didn't yet know how well she could trust this girl. "You can call me Clary."
"Well, Clary," Isabelle says. "I don't know who Will is and I don't know where you thought you were before this, but you're in New York. I'm not lying and nobody paid me to say anything. This is really Brooklyn, New York."
Clary bites her lip and lets her fingers rap on the island top with nervousness. "What day is it?"
"September fourth."
"What..." Clary trails off unsure of how to ask the next question. "What year is it?"
Isabelle pauses but then slowly answers. "It's 2018."
"Oh lord." Clary nearly falls out of her chair. There is no possible way in hell that Isabelle is telling the truth. It was December first, 1878. Right?...
"Clary?" Isabelle asked noticing the girl's distant gaze. She felt like throwing up. "Clary, are you okay?" She stands up and walks over to the redhead.
"Yeah," Clary finally says as Isabelle reaches her. Her voice comes out uneven and she clears her throat. "Perfectly fine."
"Well, do you need a place to stay?" Isabelle asks not leaving Clary's side. "My parents are out of town for a couple weeks so it's just me and my brothers right now and I'd be more than happy to let you stay."
"Yeah," Clary nodded slowly figuring that she had no better option. She needed to figure out why this girl was lying and where she really was. "That'd be great, thanks."
"No problem," Isabelle starts to walk back around the island when something seems to occur to her. "School starts in two days, how old are you?"
"I'm sixteen," Clary answers and Isabelle smiles.
"Wonderful. Don't worry, I'll take care of you." She takes a sip of her water no longer seeming to notice the look of absolute terror on Clary's face.
A few hours later, Clary lays in the room that Isabelle had shown her to before. She stares up at the ceiling and her mind wanders. Will would surely not take a prank this far, even he would stop once Clary started to really freak out. Still, these things on her legs and this strange shirt on her torso make her feel sick with confusion.
The insanity of the mere idea that she had somehow traveled to not only a different country but also a different century, made Clary sure that something was off, though. She knew that there was no such thing as this terrible black magic and yet her heart leaped a little at the thought that Isabelle had been telling even a bit of the truth. What if she was a hundred and forty years in the future? What if she really was no longer in London?
Clary was torn from her thoughts when she heard voices down the hall. One was Isabelle, the other was distinctly male... and mad. As the voices neared, Clary sat up in her bed trying to listen to the actual words being said.
"She was like a lost puppy, what was I supposed to do, Alec?" Isabelle yells. "I couldn't just leave her there and then after I let her in there was no way I was kicking her out again."
"This is not up for discussion," the male voice, likely Alec, says. "You let a stranger into our home without consulting me at all. The least you could've done was text or call me asking if it was okay." Text? Clary thought. Every word she heard from these people made her more confused.
"Alec-" Isabelle starts to argue again, but the door to Clary's room is thrown open. A tall man with black hair and vivid blue eyes enters. Isabelle right behind him. Clary stands immediately and the boy eyes Clary up and down. She does the same to him and can't help but think of how much he reminds her of the Herondales. Yes, the hair and eyes make her think of Will but this boy looks more like Will's younger sister than anything. Cecily was beautiful and Alec is certainly good looking.
"Hi," Clary says after the awkward silence goes on for another few moments. Alec raises an eyebrow and crosses his arms over his chest.
"I heard that my idiotic sister offered to let you stay here," Alec states. All Clary can do is nod. "Who is your family? Where do you live?"
"I-" Clary closes her mouth wondering just how crazy they'll think she is if she says that she lives in London, England. She thinks for so long that Alec becomes annoyed and continues anyway.
"Listen, being the eldest I am in charge while our parents are away, and I'm sorry to tell you that you can't stay here. We can't just let a strange person in." Alec looks almost remorse as he says the words. His eyes are hard, though, as he stares at Clary.
"I understand," Clary nods. "But I really don't have anywhere else to go. I honestly don't know how I wound up in New York. Let alone America..." Clary says the last part under her breath before continuing. "I'd be forever in your debt if you could just let me stay for a few days. I promise that I won't be any trouble at all."
"She's like five feet tall and barely a hundred pounds!" Isabelle exclaims. "How much room can she take up?"
Alec looks back and forth between the girls before giving in. "Fine, but she's your guest Iz and I expect you to take care of her. That means clothes, entertainment, food-" Alec cuts himself off. "Nevermind, I'll take care of her food."
Isabelle rolls her eyes but grins widely. "Thank you, Alec! You're the best."
"I know," Alec says straight faces. He gives Clary one more look before marching out of the room.
"Well, he's rather spritely," Clary says turning to Isabelle.
The girl waves a dismissive hand and sits down on the edge of Clary's bed. "You get used to him. He's nice after you've gotten to know him." Clary lowers herself beside Isabelle as the girl continues. "Tomorrow, you and I can go out shopping. I'm a bit bigger than you so you can't exactly continue to borrow my clothes. Then, we'll spend some time getting to know each other."
"Sounds great," Clary nods but she keeps on thinking about Tessa. The girl didn't like to shop much and that made the two just about best friends. Clary had a hunch that it wasn't going to be the same with Isabelle.
"While we're out, we can get you some other stuff so you don't die of boredom. What do you like to do?"
"Draw," Clary answers without thinking at all. "I love to draw."
Isabelle smiles warmly. "Then we'll get you some pencil and paper. The best."
"Sounds great," Clary laughs. The weight in her chest doesn't lift a bit.
Hey y'all! So this is sort of the chapter where the story begins to kind of start. Thank y'all for the reviews and favorites and follows. Please tell me what you think, I love hearing your thoughts on my story! Till next time!