A/N: Thanks for all the support, everyone! You guys are amazing. :)

Chapter 4

(Evangeline POV)

As I peered into my room, my blue eyes widened considerably. It was so… small. Small and plain. I walked in as if in a daze to the room that was probably at least half the size of what I was used to. And it had none of the elegance, the opulence, the drama. It was just a bedroom, with no furnishings or furniture except a bed against the wall with white sheets, a dresser, a petite bedside table, and a very basic armchair near its only window. I also saw a door, partly open to reveal a sterile-looking bathroom. At least the wood of the furniture matched, being a dark chestnut color. But the walls were as white as the bed-sheets and the floor was simple hardwood.

I was absolutely certain that I would die if they forced me to live there for any extended amount of time.

"I know that it's not much to look at," Isabelle said from the doorway, shrugging. "It was a guest room, so we've never really had to update it from the basics."

"I see," I said evenly, trying to be diplomatic. That still didn't help the problem of my sparse new bedroom. I really missed my home in France…

My cousin smiled, seeming to understand the pattern of my thoughts. "But you and I are going shopping tomorrow, and we're going to get some new decorations. And clothes. Lots of clothes."

"But… Aren't my servants going to bring my clothing through the Portal?"

"Well, yeah, but you need a new wardrobe. One that's fit for New York," she explained, fully walking in and sitting in the armchair. "So, you're from France?"

I nodded, going over to my bed and sitting down. It was springy, and I heard a strange metallic sound when I adjusted my weight. "Yes. My mama and I had a mansion in the countryside."

"Sounds nice," she said, looking impressed. "What about your father?"

"I've never known him. It was the only thing that Mama ever kept from me."

"That's alright. My Mom and Dad divorced recently. Then Dad moved back to Idris. Have you ever been to Idris?"

I smiled a little from all the stories Mama had told me about her home country—the resplendent Lake Lyn, the picturesque mountains in the distance, the glass towers of Alicante, all of the interesting people… "No, but I've heard it's really great."

"It is," Isabelle gushed. "It's so beautiful there. At least, it used to be…" Her expression suddenly turned sad. "My brother Max died in Idris."

"I'm very sorry about that." I of all people knew what it was like to lose loved ones, so I understood where she was coming from. "How old was he?"

"Nine."

My mouth dropped open in shock. "That's terrible!"

"Yeah, you're telling me." She shook her head, obviously sad even now. "He was murdered. By Clary's brother."

Murdered. I couldn't imagine what that would be like. Mama had died from an illness, but if a person cruelly ripped her from me before her time, I wouldn't have been able to handle it. "Clary has a brother?" I wondered after a long pause.

"Had a brother," she corrected smoothly. "He's dead now, too, but no one was really upset about that. It's kind of complicated."

"I have time." I wanted to know more about my cousin's life. I had never had friends or family before, and I could tell that Isabelle could plausibly count as both, possibly in the near future.

"Alright, but I'm going to warn you. It's extremely complicated and borderline gross at times."

Did I actually want to hear what she had to say? I deliberated for a moment, before deciding that I definitely did. "Go ahead. I think I can handle it."

"Good." Isabelle opened her mouth and then launched into a complex story that told me everything I needed to know about the past year in everyone's lives. I was kind of disgusted when she told me that Jace and Clary thought they were brother and sister, and equally shocked when it turned out that Sebastian really was instead, even though he had tried being romantic with her. Overall, it was a very interesting tale.

"Wow," I said when she was finished, very impressed. "You all must have interesting lives."

Isabelle grinned, probably tired from her long story. "You don't even know the half of it."

"My life is really boring in comparison," I said honestly.

"Really? Tell me about it."

So I did. I explained my privileged upbringing and everything else up until Mama's recent death. "And then I came here," I finished.

My cousin was quiet for a little while. She said finally, "That wasn't boring. It sounds like your mom was really nice."

"Mama was wonderful. She raised me to be everything I am today."

"My mom is really nice, too. She might not seem like it at first, but she is."

"She seemed perfectly nice to me," I said, surprised that anyone would get a different impression.

"That's because you're family," Isabelle grinned. "She wasn't very kind to Clary at first, because she was really upset about Jace maybe being the son of Valentine. I guess she took it out on Clary."

"So, are Jace and Clary… happy?" I asked. Their relationship appeared to have a lot of problems, after all.

"I don't know. I mean, they're always having sex and being lovey-dovey and stuff, but I think that something's wrong. You see, Jace has always had problems with… committing. It looked like he was going to be with Clary forever with no problems, but I can tell that he still wants to be with other girls, too. I mean, I don't really know if he's cheating or whatever, but I can see that he wants to. And I think Clary knows."

"Huh," was all I could think to say. I had never been in any kind of romantic relationship or even desired anyone that way, which made my life much less complicated. "Do you think he's going to?"

"I can never tell what Jace is going to do."

"What about Clary? She wouldn't be okay with that if he did, would she?"

"I doubt that any girl would be okay if their boyfriend cheated. Like me, for instance."

I was shocked. "You were cheated on?"

"Yeah, just a couple months ago. It turned out that my old boyfriend was also seeing a few other girls here and there. So I dumped his sorry ass as soon as I found out. He's still a nice guy, of course, but I can see why he cheated. We just weren't compatible. If he hadn't, I probably would have eventually."

"Were you in love with him?" I inquired.

"Evangeline, as soon as I find out what love is, I'll tell you. I don't think I've ever been in love. Maybe I just keep choosing the wrong types of guys." She shrugged, old pain coming into her eyes. "I used to think that my last boyfriend was different, but look what happened. Since then, I've been dating around like I used to. Monogamy isn't all it's cracked up to be, anyway."

"What was your last boyfriend's name?"

"Simon. Simon Lewis." She stood up. "Well, it was nice talking to you, Evangeline. See you later at dinner."

A/N: Sorry that I had to throw Simon under the bus like that! :3 I promise that it'll make sense later in the story. xoxo