He fell asleep against me, after crying for what seemed like hours. I had retrieved some pillows and the blanket from the bed and arranged them on the floor, not really minding how cold it was because he was very warm. I had fallen asleep watching his pale face, which looked so young and relaxed in his sleep.
We were woken by Sophie's shriek of astonishment the next morning. I glanced over at a groggy Will, who was blinking stupidly and clutching me. He must have grabbed me while we were sleeping, but his hold was not romantic in any way. It was more like a child would grasp their mother after having a nightmare. I looked back to Sophie, who was staring in horror.
"Sophie, this isn't what it looks like," I started, then I folded the blanket off of Will to reveal him to be fully dressed. Her eyes narrowed, and then Will turned to look at her. His eyes were still red and puffy from crying, and Sophie saw that. She gasped, and Will leapt up.
"You can't tell anyone," he implored, grabbing her shoulders forcefully, eyes blazing. She pushed him away with anger.
"You cannot order me to do such a thing," she snapped back. I stood up, forgetting I was still only clad in a bra and underwear.
"Sophie, please?" I asked softly, trying to communicate all that I could with my eyes. Her anger softened and her expression turned compassionate. She nodded.
"Thank you," I said. She rolled her eyes.
"But Master Will should hurry to his room, without drawing attention to himself," she replied, opening the door and peeking out. She gestured for Will to leave.
After he was gone, she turned back to me, eyes bright with exasperation.
"Aren't you just the example of impropriety!" she exclaimed. I felt myself blush profusely as she began to giggle. Which naturally drew a smile to my face. I looked to my bare feet.
"Well, Miss Katsa, we best be getting you dressed. We wouldn't want anyone wondering what could be keeping us," the girl said, a smile in her tone. I looked up and gave her a grin. Here one day and already making friends.
"Oh, Charlotte, I meant to ask, how did the meeting with Lady Belcourt go last night?" I asked later that day in the drawing room. She glanced up in surprise, but with a shrug she dismissed it.
"It went quite well. We already knew much of what she had to tell us, due to your information. But we didn't know that there would be a party so soon. And we had never thought of disguising Tessa as Camille in order to get inside," she told me. I nodded, smirking inwardly. I couldn't give away everything up front.
"Perhaps I could be of some assistance. For example, I could intercept de Quincey should he try to escape," I offered. I didn't trust my own eyes, so I reached for a piece of paper that had obviously fallen prey to Henry's scribbles. I smiled at it. I didn't understand a single thing, but I knew I was looking at genius.
"Do you really think he would have time?" she asked. I shrugged.
"Better safe then sorry," I muttered, focusing in on an equation that looked a bit like geometry. But I'd always hated that class, so it still made no sense.
"I'm sorry?" Charlotte implored. I shook myself.
"There's always a chance. Vampires are clever," I restated. She pondered this for a moment before nodding in agreement. There was a knock at the door and then Will peeked his head in.
"Oh, there you are, Katsa. We're going to start helping Tessa become a believable Camille. Would you like to help?" he asked. I nodded and stood. I was heading for the door when Charlotte stopped me.
"Katsa, I'm not sure who you had in mind, but Magnus Bane will be helping us on Saturday, and he's also agreed to help train you if that's alright with you," she said. I felt my face light up.
"No, that's exactly who I wanted!" I exclaimed. Again, she looked surprised.
"Oh! Well, in that case, I will send a letter to him now informing him that you are more than happy to learn from him," she said. I smiled and followed Will out the door.
"Magnus? That's who you had in mind?" Will asked with a grin.
"What? The man's fabulous!" I replied, smiling just as big.
But when we got to the library, the smile fell from his face, replaced by a carefree, yet cold, smirk. I sighed and entered the library, where Jem and Tessa were waiting. I clapped my hands excitedly.
"Let's get started, shall we?"
But turning Tessa into a credible Camille proved to be more difficult than we had predicted. It was two days later, and she was still so awkward and uncomfortable as the vampire woman that it was almost painful to watch. I groaned from the armchair I was lounging in, near the desk where Jem and Will presided, and fixed Tessa with an irritated look.
"Just stop. You're walking like a duck," I snapped, pinching the bridge of my nose. I knew this was going to happen, and yet it still made my head ache. I missed Will's look of disbelief, probably due to the fact that I had used the exact reference he had been planning on using, but could picture it nonetheless.
"I am not!" Tessa exclaimed in response. I huffed and stood up, walking closer to her. Without asking for permission, I knelt and positioned her feet and legs into a conceivable position, proceeding to repeat the action with her arms, shoulders, and neck, attempting to reconstruct her into an attainable version of Lady Belcourt.
"Your steps are too heavy, and your feet point out too much. You need to step lightly, like a faun taking its first steps. Camille is delicate, so you need to be," I instructed, trying not to sound too irritated. She sighed heavily and moved to take a step. Already, she made a mistake.
"Stop," I ordered, holding a hand up.
"You cannot be serious!" Tessa snapped, looking furious. Behind me, Will chuckled, taking a bite of the apple he had brought to the library with him. I turned my head to look at him, seeing his face alight playfulness. It was one of those rare moments he didn't look ready for a challenge.
"Perhaps her impatience is proof that Camille's vampire nature is finally revealing itself," he offered, his mouth full of the fruit. Jem gave him a look of distaste, which the blue eyed boy promptly ignored. I heard a noise of surprised pain from Tessa, whirling back around to see that she had accidentally bitten herself with Camille's vampire teeth. She touched the broken skin, seemingly surprised when her fingers came back red.
"Just leave it," I sighed. I watched her trace her tongue along the now back to normal incisor, looking confused.
"I don't understand what makes them come out like that!" she exclaimed.
"Hunger," Jem said plainly. "We're you thinking about blood?"
"No." Will perked up.
"Were you thinking about eating me?" he asked brightly, making me roll my eyes.
"Of course not!"
"Not that anyone would blame you," I muttered darkly, receiving a bemused expression from Jem. I tuned out of the conversation, just counting down the seconds until the library doors swung open.
"The Enclave," I heard Will whisper, and I moved as he gestured for us to hide behind a bookcase. From the hiding spot we could easily watch the room fill with Shadowhunters, among them a younger boy with light brown hair and brilliant green eyes. I grinned despite myself. Here was someone I could really have fun with. Beside me, Will hissed.
"Gabriel Lightwood," Jem said quietly to Will. "What's he doing here? I thought he was at school in Idris." I glanced at Will to gauge his reaction, only to see he looked as excited as I felt about confronting the boy.
"Just don't get into a fight with him, Will," Jem urged, seeming to forget about me and Tessa. "Not here. That's all I ask."
"Rather a lot to ask, don't you think?" Will replied, leaning farther around the bookcase to get a better look. I tried to pull him back, but he simply bat me away like an irritating fly. Well, I tried. We watched and listened as Charlotte tried to begin.
"And where is Henry?" an older man asked, interrupting her. "Your husband? As one of the heads of the Institute, he really ought to be here" I could only imagine Charlotte's blush of embarrassment.
"He's on his way, Mr. Lightwood," she replied hastily, and I knew she was lying through her teeth. I fought back a snarl of disgust, realizing that's who the man was. Jem gave me a confused look, which I disregarded. That man was a disgrace to the name of Shadowhunter, whether or not everyone else knew it yet.
"He'd better be," said man murmured, glancing about the library. In vain I tried to pull Will back behind the case. "An Enclave meeting without the head of the Institute present - most irregular." His eyes landed on Will, who hastily tried slip out of sight, but it was too late. "And who's back there, then? Come out and show yourself!" I shoved Will forward with a growl, and he gave me a sheepish grin.
"Oops?" he offered. I shook my head and stalked after him, followed by Jem and Tessa, who had promptly stripped herself of Camille's likeness and now looked exactly herself. Charlotte looked livid.
"Will, I told you there was going to be an Enclave meeting at four," she hissed. He raised his eyebrows curiously.
"Did you?" he asked in a bored voice. I rolled my eyes and kicked the back of his leg, making sure no one else saw. Then I stepped forward.
"My apologies, Charlotte. I completely forgot you mentioning that to me after breakfast when I had suggested we use the library for, er, our specific purposes today," I said quickly, ignoring the looks of surprise from the members of the Enclave. Charlotte blinked at me with shock before nodding. I threw a glance over my shoulder to find Will grinning at Gabriel.
"Hello there, Gabriel," he said. The boy responded with a glare of thinly veiled disgust.
"William," he said curtly, his eyes landing on Jem. "And James. Aren't you a little young to be lurking around Enclave meetings?" Before Will could reply, I stepped forward cooly.
"And aren't you a little arrogant to be able to string two words together?" I snapped. He looked at me, furious. Behind me I heard Will laugh outrightly, and I noted how even Jem chuckled, though he was polite enough to disguise it as a cough. Mr. Lightwood cleared his throat loudly.
"So you must be one of the warlock girl Charlotte told us about," he said, bringing the attention of off his insulted son. His eyes slid to Tessa. "And you the other one." I saw Tessa straighten automatically, and I fought back a snort. The white haired woman-Lilian-stepped closer.
"They don't look like much," she noted in a neutral tone. Benedict snorted behind her.
"Neither did Magnus Bane the first time I saw him," he said, his gaze shifting to me. "Well go on, show us what you can do." I wrinkled my nose in disgust.
"I am not a show pony, who will simply jump through hoops at your request. And I would kindly thank you to remember that, Mr. Lightwood," I snarled, feeling a sick sort of pleasure seeing the shock and fear flash in his eyes as I said his name. If he was reading my expression correctly, than he had every reason to be afraid.
"Enough," Charlotte interrupted loudly. "Both of these girls have shown me their... abilities, and for now that will have to do. At least, until the Enclave decides to utilize their talents for the investigation-"
"Of course they will," Will said, this time interrupting her. "The plan most certainly won't work without Tessa's-" The sound of a chair being slammed against the stone floor resounded through the library.
"Mrs. Branwell," Gabriel growled furiously, "I do believe that Will is a bit too young to participate in an Enclave meeting." Charlotte took a deep breath.
"Yes, he is. If you would all please wait outside in the corridor," she sighed, looking beaten down. Will looked about to argue, but one look from both me and Jem kept his mouth firmly shut. Gabriel grinned with triumph.
"I will show you out," he said as he leapt to his feet. As he swung into the corridor behind us, his grin turned into a sneer.
"You," he snarled, looking to Will. "You disgrace the name of Shadowhunters everywhere." Again, I stepped in front of Will.
"You have room to speak of disgrace," I spat, shocking the haughty expression from his bright green eyes. "When you're father is one of the filthiest, most vile-" a hand closed around my arm, pulling me back gently. Gabriel looked outraged.
"How dare you speak of my family, you disgusting half-breed," he snapped back, taking a threatening step towards me. Jem stepped calmly in front of him, halting his progress. I fought against Will, who had wrapped his arms around me to keep me from charging the boy.
"Go back to the meeting, Gabriel," Jem said, his voice dangerously quiet. His glare turned into a nasty grin.
"Well, well, look it here. She must be something special, if James Cartsairs is willing to protect her," he jeered. "Why not let her at me James? Why gaurd the abomination?" My vision went red. Not because of what he was calling me-I had called myself mush worse-but because of the effect his words could be having on Tessa. Before I knew what had happened, Gabriel was thrown against the wall of the corridor, looking dazed.
"Katsa!" Tessa cried. I looked at her, confused. Gabriel seemed to recover, and fixed me with a death glare. He stalked towards me.
"What did you do?" he growled, reaching for the collar of my dress. Jem stepped in front of him, keeping him away from me. I looked over Jem's shoulder, utterly bewildered.
"What do you mean? I didn't do anything!" I replied. Will pulled me a few steps back, leaning down to whisper in my ear.
"Katsa, don't play like that. You performed some form of magic that knocked Gabriel against the wall," he said. I looked over my shoulder at him, still confused.
"But- you were restraining me. My hands weren't free... Are you sure?" I whispered back. He nodded.
"It sure looked funny, if that's any consolation," he told me, smiling a little. But I couldn't smile back. Had I really performed such magic without even thinking? All I could remember was white hot anger. And the next thing I knew, Gabriel Lightwood was accusing me of attacking him.
And while I considered this, I didn't even notice how Will's arms stayed locked around my waist.
Authors Note: Sorry it's so short! The next chapter will be much longer, I swear. Tell me what you think!
