WHAT A WELCOME

This time, Clary was sure it was sunlight bursting through her eyelids as she sat up in a rush. She'd had a nightmare, the classic "everyone hates you", but in Clary's case, the nightmare was undeniably real.

She felt around the covers of the luxurious bed she was sleeping in. The room in the French Institute was a stark contrast to those in New York. First of all, many of them were occupied. As it turned out, France was a major demon destination. Second of all, they at least seemed to care more about appearances. Not only was every piece of furniture angelic (no pun intended), they were gorgeous.

Third of all, no one here hated her as far as she knew. At least, not yet.

The night before, Casry and Eryss had shown her around. Clary found this odd in the harsh blackness of night, yet it helped her now as she made her way down to the kitchen for breakfast.

The second Clary walked into the dining room, she froze. There were fourteen pairs of eyes on her. Thirteen of them were seated at the table, hushed to silence and staring at her arrival. She hovered, and noticed that some had forgotten to continue chewing. The fourteenth pair of eyes was the cat; whose name was Shelby. She had the sudden urge to grab the cat and run, but she stood her ground.

Somebody mumbled something in French and suddenly everyone snapped their heads down to their plants. Unbelievably awkward, Clary made her way to en empty seat and sat down.

"Clary," it was Casry. She looked up expectantly. "Would like to meet everyone?" Clary didn't get a chance to answer, as he had already launched into an explanation.

"You know Eryss and I." That's two. "From youngest to oldest, the order is…"

He rocketed into a list of people, each one signaling with their hand or giving a steady nod to acknowledge that the called name was theirs. "Ebbie, Maz, Agatha, Becca, Henry, Lori, Jess, Beck, Telli, Jordie, and Maurie."

Clary was shocked that she even kept up, she was so overwhelmed. Ebbie was only six, and hadn't even started training. She had blazing red hair just like Clary's. Maz was seven (and-a-half, he had added) and also had not started training. He was Ebbie's older brother, but his hair was a much calmer dusty blond. Agatha was nine, as was Becca. They weren't related, simply the best of friends. Agatha was dark-skinned with matching dark hair. Becca was pale with a full head of platinum hair. Both had striking green eyes. Henry was ten, and looking forward to his first rune ceremony. Nothing about his appearance caught Clary's eye, which was exactly what made him stand out. Lori was eleven, nearly twelve, and an excellent archer. Her tangled brown hair fell down to her knees. Jess was thirteen, and he was very quiet. Apparently he had a talent for runes. His hair was the same dark black as Agatha's. Beck was fifteen, and he looked nearly the exact same as Simon. Thinking of him sent a stab of pain through Clary's body, but Beck was nothing like him. Beck was athletic. Telli was Clary's age of sixteen, and her blue eyes pierced straight through Clary. Finally, Jordie and Maurie were twins, both boys of eighteen who would be moving out in a matter of weeks.

Casry took a deep breath and Clary stared. She stayed silent, along with everyone else, as she tried to give everyone a personal file in her brain storage. When she left, she was near the last one, and Casry ended up joining her as she walked.

"How did you know who I was?" Clary asked.

His question seemed to startle him. His cheeks reddened and he looked as though he were frantically searching for an acceptable answer. "You created that pairing rune in Alicante, everyone knows that," he finally settled on.

Clary was quite sure this wasn't how he knew her, but she decided not to pry for now. "I'm not used to so many people," she admitted as they strolled down an unfamiliar hallway.

"You get used to it," he answered, relieved for her to have changed the topic so fast.

"Okay," was all Clary said.

"Are you okay?" Clary was so put off by his question that her step faltered for a moment, but she quickly recovered.

"Absolutely."

"You don't look it. Boy trouble?"

This time Clary stopped walking. "What?" she demanded.

"I don't mean to offend you," he amended. "Just thought you might like to talk about it."

Clary sighed. "I thought that my friends liked me, then I accidentally walked in on my own public bashing," she admitted. And that was all he was getting. No one was allowed to have another part of her right now.

"Friends?" Casry questioned.

"Yes…" Clary said speculatively, slowly lifting her mental guard.

"What happened to that…" he fumbled for words. "Jace…kid?" He must've seen something in Clary's expression change, because suddenly he was hugging her. Clary pushed away awkwardly.

"Umm, no. That wasn't…a thing. I just needed to get away. But I probably won't be staying long," Clary started walking again, silently prompting Casry to follow her.

"Whatever you say," Casry said. "So where will you go next?"

Clary breathed in hard. "I've got no clue.