There was a party at the Herondale house that evening. All the survivors of the Dark War were in attendance, as well as their children. Everything was very informal and jovial. There was a buffet set out in the kitchen and all the guests helped themselves. After most of them had eaten, they gathered in the sitting room where Jace got up to make a speech.
"Friends, comrades, family," Jace began theatrically. "Thirty years ago, if you asked me to imagine us gathered here, I would have said you were out of your damn mind. We were stuck in the demon realm of Edom on a suicide mission with small hope of returning. Others were facing battle against their fellow Shadowhunters with high certainty of death.
"But, clearly, we all survived and here we are now. Back then, we were all willing to sacrifice everything for one another and we stuck by one another. I look at all of you now and am proud to be able to call each and every one of you 'friend'." He raised his glass of wine. "We've all miraculously managed to lead normal lives in the past 30 years despite all the things we did when we were young and stupid."
"You were young and stupid," Alec Lightwood interrupted. "We were offering good and sensible advice but you were the one who had to take the sensational route. The Angel knows we should have stopped you."
"Ah, but you didn't. You stuck by me. Even when I wanted to take on a horde of demons in their own realm."
"That's cos if we tried anything, you would have burned us with your heavenly fire," Simon Lewis pointed out.
"Even so…" Jace looked like he was going to continue talking or start arguing so Mel slipped out of the sitting room and wandered into the kitchen. There she found the members of her generation huddled around the kitchen counters.
Michael Herondale was engaged in a conversation with Joseph Lewis, son of Simon Lewis and Isabelle Lightwood, and Henry Lightwood, the adopted son of Alec Lightwood and Magnus Bane. Maddy Herondale was with the two Lewis girls, flipping through glossy magazines. Next to them, a few Blackthorns Mel knew from the Los Angeles Institute were attacking a tray of leftover chicken, mashed potatoes and chocolate cookies. Mel grabbed a handful of cookies and went over to join Michael.
He grinned when he noticed her approaching and made space for her. "Had enough of my dad's drivel?" he asked.
"Let the old folks reminisce," Mel answered, handing him a cookie. "They seem happy enough."
"Careful, that's my mom and dad you're talking about," Michael teased.
"Mine too," Mel pointed out.
He leaned forward to whisper in her ear: "You wanna head out?"
"Where to?"
"Somewhere cooler than this," he answered. Mel paused to consider. Before she could answer, he whispered: "Go get your coat and meet me in the foyer."
Mel giggled at his cheekiness but did as he asked. In 10 minutes, she was in the foyer clad in her wine-red velvet coat. She had also changed into warm boots. Michael was waiting for her, similarly dressed for the cold. He took her hand and led her outside and round to the side of the house. It was dark and the only illumination came from the moon and stars.
"Where are we going?" Mel asked.
"I thought you might like a midnight ride," he said.
"It's not midnight. And I thought modern machinery doesn't work around here."
"I didn't say we were taking a car."
Mel's curiosity was stoked and she eagerly followed him. They soon came to a low wooden building. Mel smelt it before she saw. "Horses!" she exclaimed. "You can't be serious." Michael grinned at her. "I don't know how to ride. I'll fall off and break my neck."
"No you won't," he assured her. He pulled open the stable door and took out his witchlight. There were four beautiful horses in individual stalls inside, two brown, one white and one black.
Michael selected the white horse and one of the brown ones. He quickly put their bridles and saddles on and led the white horse over to Mel. "This is Cherie. You can pet her if you want," he said. Mel gingerly extended her hand and touched the horse on the nose. Michael laughed. "Come on, do it like you mean it. She won't bite. She's the gentlest horse I know."
Mel stroked the horse properly this time. "She's a beauty," she said.
"Time for you to get on," Michael announced. "Here, hold this." He thrust the reins into Mel's hands, ignoring her stunned expression. He grabbed a wooden bucket from a corner and turned it upside down. "Ok, now, you step up on here," he instructed. He also cupped his hands. "Hold on to the top of the saddle. Put your left foot in the stirrup and your other foot in here. I'll help you up."
Mel gave a shriek when Michael launched her onto the horse. He grabbed her arm to steady her before she toppled over the other side in surprise. "Careful," he grinned. "We don't want you to fall off even before we start." Seeing that Mel was in no danger of that, he went to the other horse and effortlessly mounted it. "You ok?"
"This is awesome!"
"Grab the reins, but don't pull on them. Dig your heels in firmly to make the horse move. She'll follow me."
Mel did as instructed and was amazed when Cherie started moving. She began to laugh in delight. "Michael, this is amazing!" she cried.
As they went along, Michael slowly picked up the pace. Mel did not mind, though the cold night air stung a little at the speed. The sky was extremely clear and the stars were out in all their glory. Here, where there was no electric lighting, it was perfect to see the stars. They rode quietly for a while before Michael pulled up next to her and pointed out two stars that shone brightly – the constellation Gemini.
"The ancient Celts saw those stars not as twins but as two men, Gwythyr and Gwyn, both knights of the Round Table," he explained. "They battled for the hand of a lovely lady in red. Her name was Creiddylad, the most beautiful girl in the British isles. Gwythyr abducted her from her father's house and Gwyn retaliated by kidnapping her from his rival. King Arthur, of course, intervened and an arrangement was made such that the two suitors would engage in single combat to determine who would keep her."
"Who won?" Mel asked.
"Don't know. The two are still fighting it out," Michael said. "Men would do anything for the love of a woman, even fight until the end of time."
"Silly thing to do, I think," Mel said.
"Wouldn't you want two men fighting over you?"
"It's a romantic notion, but ultimately pointless," Mel retorted. "The two men were friends. Even if their fight ends, one will have to die. How would the surviving one feel? That he was the cause of his friend's death. And what if the lady herself had preferred one over the other? In the end, whoever is still alive would feel guilty forever."
"Maybe. But there's something about the idea of loving so intensely that they would lay down their lives."
"Do you always bring girls out on night rides and tell them stories like this?" Mel teased. Michael smiled shyly.
They had almost reached a small wood by then. Mel looked around at the landscape and caught a glimpse of something darting between the trees. It looked like human shapes but not quite human. The creatures had spindly limbs, high foreheads and eerily long fingers. They were clad in brown leather and carried swords and bows. One figure had wings.
She pointed them out to Michael who tensed and motioned for her to be quiet. He stared intently for a while before grabbing the reins of her horse and leading her away. When they had gone far enough, he let go of the reins. "Mel, I want you to come over to my horse and ride with me. We need to get back as soon as possible. We'll go faster this way."
Mel was confused but assented. He pulled her over and ensured that she was safely seated behind him. "We're going to go fast, so hold on tight," he warned.
It was good that he told her for the horse took off like a shot, galloping faster than Mel thought a horse could go. Beside them, the white horse Cherie kept pace, looking like a ghost in the moonlight. Mel wrapped her arms firmly around Michael's waist and concentrated on not falling off. They returned to the stables and dismounted.
"Michael, what's going on? Tell me," Mel demanded, grabbing his hand.
"I'm sorry, Mel," Michael said. "I should have explained. I just wanted to get you back to safety and report to the Clave. Those figures you saw, they were faeries from the Unseelie Court. They shouldn't be here. But they were, and they were armed for war. Something is up and I don't like it. The Clave must be told."
Hi guys! This is one of my favourite chapters of this story. I hope you enjoyed it too. Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for more. And please review. :)