Chapter 3-Herondales Sure Know How to Party

"Mom, seriously. Why don't you come? I might be able to tolerate this whole shindig if you are there." Alex begged her mother the next afternoon. Alex was about to head to the Herondale manor to begin preparing for the party that her grandmother was hosting that night.

"I'm going stay here Alex. You know I don't like things like that."

"Neither do I, but I'm being forced to go against my will."

"Don't be dramatic, Alexandra." Amatis replied shaking her head

"I'm a teenager. Drama is in my job description."

"Well my drama queen, if you don't leave soon you will not have enough time to get ready and your grandmother will not be very happy with you."

"She is never happy with me, but I guess you're right." Alex sighed, slinging her bag across her back. . "I'm taking Lightening. I'll be back tomorrow." She kissed her mother goodbye and left the house. She walked to the stables and saddled Lightening. She took her time riding to manor. Once she arrived, she put Lightening in the stables behind the house and made her way through the back door.

"Grandmother! I have arrived!" Alex called .

"Ah Alexandra! Just in time!" Imogen responded from her nearby study.

"Just in time for what, my impending doom?" Alex laughed walking to her Grandmother.

"Always with the sarcasm." Imogen scolded. Her face was stern, but Alex could see a smile playing on her lips.

"I guess you know that I am truly a Herondale." Alex replied plopping down in an armchair across from her grandmother's desk.

"I'm afraid there is no denying that you are a Herondale. Guest will be arriving shortly, so you should shower and begin getting ready. I want you dressed and downstairs in two hours. Please do not be late."

"Yes ma'am." Alex replied, saluting her grandmother, as a solider would their general. She took her bag and ventured upstairs. She found a vacant bedroom and claimed it as her own. She showered and settled at a vanity. She put on her make-up, then started on her hair. She etched a warming rune on her neck to dry her hair and began to pinned up her curls one by one. She pinned a strain of pearls on top like a headband. She clasped her pearl earrings in. She pulled on the dress acknowledging that the dress was perfectly positioned to show off her scars.

"I knew that this was her plan all along." She whispered to herself with a slight frown. She took one last look in the mirror before she slipped on her heels and walked downstairs to the ballroom. Some of the guest had already arrived all dressed in their finery. Alex took a glass of wine off a tray that a boy around her age was holding.

"Ah Alexandra, come here. This is Jia Penhallow. Her daughter Aline is a few years younger than you."

"It is a pleasure to meet you, Jia." Alex replied taking a sip of her wine.

"Alexandra lives at the New Orleans Institute. She has really come into her own. Just a few days ago she and her friends put down multiple demons that a mundane tried to summon." Imogen bragged. Alex took a peek around the room and saw Gerald.

"Excuse me ladies." Alex said turning around.

"And look at the scars on her back. They were outnumbered and a Ravener demon got a hold of her. We weren't certain she was going to make it through the night. At least it was sustained in the line of duty. It would have been an honorable death." Alex overheard Imogen tell Jia. Alex tilted her glass of wine back and drained the cup.

"Woah now Herondale. It's a little early in the night to be draining glasses of wine." Gerald smiled.

"It's the first of many I'm afraid." Alex replied setting down the empty glass and picking up another one.

"You really hate this sort of thing, don't you?" Gerald asked.

"What clued you in?" Alex asked sarcastically as she took a sip of wine. She noticed the sincerity in Gerald's voice, so opted to continue. "No, I don't like being paraded around by my grandmother like a show pony saying 'Hey look at my granddaughter. She's not as much of a fuck up as her father.' She is pointing out my scars to anyone who will listen. 'She got those fighting a demon! She such a good little dutiful, law abiding Shadowhunter.' She doesn't know anything about me." Alex finished taking another large gulp of wine. "She would die of shock if she knew what I got up to in my free time."

"And what do you get up to in your free time?" Gerald asked with a leering glance.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Alex smirked. Gerald chuckled.

"Oh look at that. Imogen said that was from fighting demons. I guess she doesn't take after her father after all." Alex heard a woman say from behind her.

"I don't know, she is a Herondale. You never know what they are going to do. So unpredictable that family is, always has been." Her friend replied. Alex sighed and drained her second glass of wine. She placed it down on the tray and went for a third, but the server moved the tray out of her reach.

"Um, Excuse me!" Alex snapped.

"I'm sorry Miss Herondale, but the Inquisitor said specifically only to allow you two glasses of wine tonight." The server replied clearly afraid for his life.

"Of course she did." Alex said with a shake of her head. "Excuse me." She said to Gerald. She walked out of the Ballroom and into the kitchen. She went through the door that led to the wine cellar. She pulled out her stele, and carved an open rune into the door. The lock clicked. Alex pulled the first bottle of wine off the shelf and opened the bottle with the corkscrew lying on a nearby table. She took a big gulp, before leaving the cellar and the manor completely. She couldn't stand to be in the house a second longer. She made the long walk to the graveyard wobbling on her heels, while taking swigs of wine periodically. The bottle was halfway gone by the time she arrived. She took another large gulp when she arrive at her father's memorial.

"Hey Dad. Guess What! Grandmother deems me acceptable. I guess all it takes is almost dying on the job to do that. She thinks I am the ideal shadowhunter." Alex began, almost calm. "She doesn't know SHIT about me! No here knows shit about me. Everyone here is just waiting for me to fuck up, because I am a Herondale, I'm unpredictable. By the Angel, I hate it here. Everyone looks at me with suspicion just because they know I am the daughter of Stephen Herondale, the notorious Circle Member, Valentine's right hand. I just want to go home to New Orleans, where there are people who know me, who understand me and don't wait with bated breath for me to follow in your footsteps." Alex said sinking to the ground. Tears were streaming down her face. She picked up the wine bottle and took another gulp.

"Alexandra Herondale, what are you doing crying in a graveyard?" A voice said invading her head. Alex saw a figure in parchment colored robes out the corner of her eye. Alex knew it could only be one Silent Brother.

"Brother Zachariah, what brings you here in the middle of the night?" Alex replied, without turning to face him

"I could ask you the same question, Alex."

"I couldn't stand to be near my grandmother anymore." Alex said taking another sip of wine.

"And why is that?" Brother Zachariah asked taking a seat next to Alex and eyeing the bottle wine.

"She keeps showing me off, like I'm not even human. She keeps pointing out my scars to people I don't even know, as if they prove that my father was just a bad apple, an anomaly."

"Are you ashamed of your scars little one?"

"No, I'm not. I wear them with pride. But they are my scars to show off and be proud of, not hers. Especially when she is trying to use them as proof that I am a good law abiding shadowhunter."

"Are you not?" Brother Zachariah asked clearly amused.

"I'm a Herondale, obviously not. Honestly Brother Zachariah, you should know better." Alex said smiling through her last remaining tears.

"I should by now yes. All you Herondales are the same. Alexandra, don't let what people say about you and your family effect you. Only you know who you truly are. As for your grandmother, she is a heart broken woman. She is just doing what she thinks is right. I am not saying that she is, but she lost your father and your grandfather at the same time, she had no idea where you were, and the family name was disgraced. You are her shining beacon of hope. Even if you are not entirely law abiding, you are still a good person."

"And my father wasn't?"

"You father was a troubled man. No he was not a bad person, he just made poor decisions and for that he paid the ultimate price. You have a chance to redeem his name and I think that is why your grandmother acts the way that she does."

"I suppose you are right." Alex sighed, picking up the bottle of wine and finishing it.

"You know Alexandra, you might be the most troubled Herondale yet." Brother Zachariah commented.

"I think we get more troubled with each generation."

"Well come along, I'll see to it that you get home safe. You are in no fit state to be walking home by yourself."

"Don't bring me back to the manor please!" Alex begged.

"I am bringing you back to your mother's in the city." Brother Zachariah assured her. Alex nodded and allowed him to help her to her feet, clutching onto his arm for support. It was such an odd feeling being so close to a Silent Brother, but Alex knew, all well as every other Herondale since the 19th century that Brother Zachariah was no ordinary Silent Brother. There was a reason every major event in Alex's life was attended or performed by Brother Zachariah. There was a reason Brother Zachariah was there every time Alex got into a scrape. Every time Alex asked him why he was so involved, he would tell her the same thing, that he had a particular interest in keeping the last true born Herondale alive. But she knew better. She knew, as all Herondales before her, who he really was.

"How many drunken Herondales have you escorted home in your time?" Alex asked attempting to make small talk on the long walk back to the city.

"Including your great-great-great grandfather Will, every Herondale since." Brother Zachariah replied.

"I guess we are a pretty screwed up bunch."

"Your family is just passionate about the things in your life. The Herondale family is a great one, even if its younger members are unsettled."

"I guess unsettled is one way of putting it." Alex smiled. They didn't talk much for the rest of the way to the house. When they did reach the house, Brother Zachariah knocked on the door. Amatis answered it frantically.

"Oh Alex thank goodness you are alright. I was so worried." She exclaimed as she caught Alex in her arms and hugged her tightly. "Thank you Brother Zachariah for seeing her home safely. I was so worried. Imogen sent a fire message to me when Alex disappeared."

"Ensuring the safety of wayward Herondales has been my duty for many years, now." Brother Zachariah replied.

"Still thank you."

"Yes, thank you Brother Zach!" Alex said. When she spoke, Amatis smelled the wine on her breath. Brother Zachariah took leave and Amatis led Alex to the sofa.

"Alex what happened?"

"Imogen pissed me off so I took a bottle of wine from her cellar and left the manor. Brother Zachariah found me in the graveyard."

"What were you doing in the graveyard? Actually, you know what; I don't even want to know. But Alex, why did you leave your grandmother's house?"

"She was pointing out my scars to anyone who would listen. I didn't like it. She was using me to prove that I'm not dad. She was showing me off, so that everyone could see that I am a good lawful shadowhunter. Too bad I'm not" Alex laughed darkly.

"You're not? Honestly Alexandra, what laws have you broken." Amatis asked clearly worried. She was secretly praying that Alex was not following in her father's footsteps.

"The world is different outside the comforts of Alicante. The Clave laws of consorting with Downworlders are outdated and ridiculous. I can't do my job without the help of Downworlders ninety percent of the time. My best friend is a warlock. Hell I would be dead if it wasn't for Nina, and she wouldn't have come if it wasn't for our extremely close relationship." Alex began.

"A friendship with a warlock is not against the law. It might be frowned upon but it doesn't make you a law breaker."

"A friendship with Downworlders might not be, but what about a relationship with one, a romantic relationship." Alex confessed.

"You are dating a Downworlder?" Amatis asked in shock.

"I wouldn't exactly say dating, but I am certainly sleeping with Falcony Fife, and he is not the only one. I've been around the block a time or two with various different Downworlders. Falcony is just the one I keep coming back to. How's that for breaking the law?"

"Well it is not exactly a mark stripping infraction but it is an infraction it could be worse, and exceptions have been made before. I knew I should have brought you home after your father died." Amatis said woefully.

"Well it is too late for that isn't it, Mom. I'm going to bed before this wine completely wears off and my sour mood comes back." Alex got up and stalked upstairs. She stripped off her gown and tossed off her shoes. She crawled into bed and fell into a fitful sleep.

Alex woke up the next morning with a pounding headache, and once she willed herself out of bed, she showered and dressed in a modest green maxi skirt, a gray t-shirt, and a gold scarf, throwing on her leather jacket to complete the outfit She walked out into the Garden where her mother was tending to her flowers.

"Good morning Alexandra." Amatis said coldly.

"Hi Mom." She paused, clearing her throat before continuing. "Look about last night, I'm sorry. I don't know how to handle my problems and I'm screwed up Mom. Last year's near death experience really fucked me up. It made me realize that my life is too dangerous to waste anytime you know. On top of that, I have this weird conflicting philosophy that I have to prove I'm not like dad and I am a good shadowhunter. At the same time, I think that the Clave needs reform, in a vastly different way than Valentine and Dad thought it needed to reform, but still. I can't help but this that this thinking will one day put me on the wrong side of the law, just like Dad." Alex confessed before she could stop herself. Amatis looked up in surprise and then shockingly smiled. She wrapped her arms tightly around Alex.

"It's okay sweetheart. You are young and you will learn from your father's mistakes. You are an excellent Shadowhunter. Your father would be proud of you." Amatis sighed, giving her daughter a sympathic look as she continued. "However, you should head to the Gard. Your grandmother has already sent a message, asking where you were this morning. I didn't have the heart to wake you."

"I guess I should go I owe her an apology as well." Alex sighed.

"If anything, she owes you one. She should know better than to parade you around like a prize winning show horse."

"I think you are right, but I'm still going to apologize for my behavior. Maybe she will surprise me and apologize in return."

"I wouldn't count on it." Amatis laughed. Alex smiled and headed up to the Gard. She made her way up to her grandmother's office and knocked firmly on the door.

"Enter." Imogen called from inside. When Alex stepped inside, Imogen gave her a stern once over before saying, "Ah Alexandra. You finally decided to make an appearance."

"I partied a little too hard last night"

"Did you? I only recall you disappearing half way through the gathering." Imogen retorted coldly.

"I commandeered a bottle of wine and had my own party down at the graveyard." Alex replied matching her grandmother's tone.

"Why the graveyard?" Imogen asked with what seemed to be genuine curiosity

"That doesn't matter, but I do want to apologize. My behavior was appalling last night. I shouldn't have left without telling someone where I was going. I shouldn't have busted into the wine cellar and taken a bottle of wine. I didn't mean to embarrass you. I'm just a very confused and disturbed girl. I'm working on it."

"Well apology accepted, Alexandra. You are a Herondale after all, I should already know that you will act out when you don't get your way."

"Yea, we do tend to act out don't we?" Alex replied slightly disappointed that her grandmother didn't have an apology for her in return. But she quickly brushed aside her feelings. "Well grandma, what did you have planned for this job shadowing day?"

"Follow me." Imogen said standing up.

After a full day of following her grandmother around the Gard, Alex took in the sunset by the canal, while she absentmindedly whittling something out of a stick she found.

"What are you making there, Herondale?" Gerald asked taking a seat next to her.

"Are you stalking me now, Goldtower?"

"I just happen to keep running into you that's all." He replied with a sly smirk. "So where did you run off to last night?"

"Yea, sorry about that, I just had to get out of there." Alex replied. Her tone made it clear that she did not want to talk about it further, and Gereld thankfully took the hint.

"I understand that, and I won't pry any more. But you are certainly an enigma Alexandra… Herondale."

"Lucie." Alex replied without looking up

"What?"

"You sounded like you wanted to say my middle name, and that's it. My middle name is Lucie."

"Lucie, that's a nice name." Gerald mused. "Where did your parents come up with that one?"

"It is a family name. I am the first girl to be born into the Herondale family since Lucie Herondale. She was the daughter of William Herondale. You may have heard of him."

"Yea, he is the one who wrote all the shadowhunter histories and married a Warlock, well the closest thing to one."

"Yep that's the one. My father thought it was a fitting name for me." Alex replied.

"When do you head back to New Orleans?" Gerald asked, changing the subject when he noticed Alex's swift mood change at the thought of her father.

"Saturday afternoon."

"Are you ready to go back?"

"Yes, at least there, people aren't constantly staring at me wondering what my next move will be or when they are going to hear that I've joined the next group hell bent on disrupting the natural order of things. In New Orleans, I can make my own rules, I am not hidden in my father's shadow. Things are different and no one really judges me. Here it is just the opposite."

"I would want to get the hell out of this city too if I was living in my parent's shadows." Gerald commented.

"Pray that you never have to live in anyone's shadow. It's not fun." Alex replied.

The rest of Alex's visit went on without a hitch. She did not fight with her mother or with her grandmother. Her grandmother remained displeased with her, which was not a totally unexpected reaction from Imogen. Saturday afternoon, Amatis walked with Alex to the Gard. Her grandmother was waiting in the portal room. Imogen gave Amatis a curt nod.

"Alright Allie, be safe and I will see you again when I visit for your birthday, if not sooner." Amatis said giving Alex a tight hug and kissing her cheek.

"I'll try my best to stay safe, Mom but occasionally trouble finds me." Alex laughed. Amatis smiled and shook her head.

"Keep safe, Alexandra." Imogen said taking her turn to hug Alex.

"Goodbye Grams." Alex replied. She gave her mother one last nod before imagining the hidden chapel in St. Louis Cathedral and stepping through the portal.

"And she sticks the landing! Perfect 10's across the board for Alexandra Herondale!" Kyle said when Alex landed in a perfect crouch in front of he and James.

"Shut up, Kyle." Alex laughed hugging her friend.

"How was Idris, Allie?" James asked hugging Alex before the three of them walked out of the chapel.

"Oh it was horrible! And guess what? I am officially an embarrassment to the family. My life goal has been achieved. But hey, I might have been found drunk in a graveyard by a Silent Brother, but at least I am not a part of a horrific group of genocidal maniacs." Alex replied.

"You got drunk in a graveyard? Why did you do that? Kyle asked with wide eyes.

"That's the part of you cling on to?" Alex teased. "It is a long story but the short version is that my grandmother pissed me off so I jacked a bottle of wine from the cellar and wandered to the graveyard. Brother Zachariah found me completely wasted and brought me home to my mother, where I confessed that I was sleeping with a warlock."

"Wow you really know how to rock those Idrisians' worlds." James laughed.

"You know I am just an institute brat. I don't know a thing about decorum." Alex joked. Her Idrisian accent coming out more than usual.

"Woah reign in that accent, girl. Someone would think that you are a native." Kyle laughed.

"I just spent a week in the homeland. What do you expect, Ashdown ." Alex retorted as they walked up the steps of the Institute. She greeted Katie and Mark with a hug and went to drop her things off in her room. After changing into training her clothes, she joined the boys upstairs. It was nice to be back to work after a week in Idris.

"So besides your drunken graveyard escapade, did you do anything particularly exciting while in Alicante?" James asked as he observed Alex practicing the bow. The bow was his specialty so he typically helped Alex practiced since she struggled with it.

"Some guy asked me on a date so I obliged him. He took me to an underground club outside of the city gates being ran by Ragnor Fell. So that was fun."

"Ooo… some guy. Your Warlock friend might get worried if you're consorting with fellow Shadowhunters." Kyle teased

"Falcony was actually there for a bit, so he was well aware. We have an agreement we aren't exclusive." Alex replied releasing an arrow and failing to hit the target, instead hitting the wall on the side of it. "This is hopeless, James. I am never going to be any good at the bow."

"You have to keep at it." James smiled.

"Yea, yea practice makes perfect, but me and the long bow just don't get along." Alex sighed. She handed James the bow and climbed the rope to the rafters where she began to work on her balance and flips.

Later that night, Alex walked through the still bustling French Quarter up to a house that seemed stuck in 1920's. She knocked twice before the door swung open on its own accord. She walked into the all too familiar living room to see Falcony Fife lounging on the couch flipping through the channels on television.

"Alexandra, I was wondering when you were going to grace me with your presence." Falcony said, amusement coloring his voice. Alex said nothing in reply, but she dropped her bag down and walked over to the couch. She straddled his lap and kissed him passionately. He was a bit taken aback, but quickly recovered. When they finally broke apart, Falcony asked, "What was that?"

"Pay back. You can't kiss me like you did the other night and just walk away. I haven't been able to think about much else since. I even told my mother that I was seeing you. That is what you do to me." Alex replied with a coy smile.

"Then let me make amends, my little Nephilim." Falcony whispered, picking her up as if she weighed nothing and carring her to the bedroom.

"You told your mother about us?" Falcony asked as he ran his finger through Alex's hair. Her head was lying on his chest, her finger tracing a pattern on the bare skin.

"Yea... but in my defense I was very drunk." Alex admitted, gazing into Falcony's hypnotic orange eyes.

"Alex that was a great risk." He mentioned gravely.

"My mother won't say a word. It would only bring more shame upon her name and that is the last thing that she wants."

"Alex it is against the law, what we are doing. You do understand that, don't you?"

"I mean technically, but when is the last time the Clave actually did anything about a Downworlder/Shadowhunter relationship. They have even begun making exceptions, occasionally allowing marriage. Besides the Clave isn't really going to concern themselves with this. It is not like they are going to strip one of the most promising Shadowhunters of the new generation of her marks over what they would describe as a simple dalliance with a Downworlder. The Clave may be corrupt but they aren't stupid."

"Yes, but wouldn't that be such a victory for the Clave, another disgraced Herondale."

"That is a benefit of having family in high places. My grandmother would die rather than have the family name tainted again. She would shut the rumors down before they could even get off the ground." Alex replied.

"You have so much confidence in your situation." Falcony laughed. He adored her defiance.

"If they did decide to try me, I am entitled to a trial and at that point I would simply point out that nearly every member of the council has had relations with a Downworlder at some point or another or worse, a demon. We Nephilim are incredibly hypocritical."

"You're not. You don't hide. You don't pretend to abhor Downworlders and then enjoy the delights that we can offer. You let it be known that you associate with us. That you are friends, true friends with Downworlders. You are simply a source of hope that our two peoples can get along." Falcony admitted.

"I guess I just see things differently." Alex whispered.

"And that is why I have you in my bed." Falcony smiled, taking Alex's face in his hands and kissing her.

Alex found her way back to the Institute early the next morning. As she walked down the hallway to her own bedroom, she noticed that James's door was ajar, but he was not in it. She simply assumed that Kyle and James had already beat her to the training room. She quickly changed into her training clothes and rushed upstairs. Much to her surprise Kyle was the only one in the room.

"Finally decided to stumble home?" Kyle laughed.

"At least I found my way home, unlike someone else we know."

"Yea, James clearly found a honey that is still occupying his time."

"Clearly." Alex replied, but her sullen tone did not escape Kyle's notice.

"Is that a hint of jealousy I hear in your voice?" Kyle teased.

"What if it is?" Alex snapped back, defensively.

"Then what are you doing? You spent the last week in Idris hanging out with some boy you just met and then you took off the day you got back to spend the night with Falcony, with whom you are in some kind of open relationship. When you are not with him, you are flirting, kissing, or fucking any number of people regardless of gender and species. I'm not judging, Alex, but if you are going to be jealous because James is going out and spending the night with other people then perhaps it's time for you to stop what you are doing, make a move and tell him that you like him."

"Why would I do that? Of course I like him. I have for years, but I'm done waiting for him. He doesn't like me, so why would put myself on the line like that? I am enjoying spending time with people who want to be with me."

"Are you kidding me? He doesn't like you? Alex, are you blind? Why do you think he didn't pick you to be his parabati?"

"I don't know Kyle, but thank you for bringing that up and throwing it in my face"

"Alex, I am not bragging. He likes you and has for some time. He would have picked you to be his parabati if he didn't want you romantically. I mean James and I are close, but nothing compared to the relationship you have with him. Alex, he has spent the last week sulking because you weren't here."

"If that's true then he needs to make a move. I can't just wait around for him, life is too short."

"That seems to be your motto lately. If that's what you think is best, then I'm not going to convince you otherwise, but just remember that is what you decided to do and don't get pissy when he is with other girls." Kyle said. Alex nodded, then turned back to their training.