Chapter 8
I awoke to the sound of the birds singing outside. I shifted in my nest o blankets, giving out a big yawn and stretched myself against the couch. "Oh, Charlotte. You're awake," Clary said as she handed me a mug of what looked like hot chocolate. Did they actually have hot chocolate here in Alicante? I took a sip and a pleasant warmth spread throughout my body. As I sipped the hot chocolate, I saw a familiar figure sitting on a chair. "Morning," Gabriel said and I nearly dropped my mug with surprise. "Hey, you're kind of early," I started to say but when I turned to look at the clock, I saw that it read almost a quarter past nine. "Damn it. I'm so sorry," I apologized to Gabriel as I sat up and rummaged through my clothes. I grabbed my gear which was the only reasonable thing to wear for riding and I dashed upstairs before they could saw anything. "He is cute," Clary said, dropping me a wink as I ran upstairs and locked myself in the shower. I took what was most probably the fastest shower I had ever taken and yanked on my gear.
I ran back downstairs again to see Gabriel and Clary chatting casually in the kitchen. Clary giggled at what he said and I felt a sort of jealousy blooming inside my chest. "Get a grip, Charlotte!" I screamed in my head. "You're ready?' Gabriel asked and I nodded, buckling my weapons belt around my waist. We walked out of the door, the morning air outside cool but when the wind came, the cold pierced through my skin like daggers. I hugged by jacket close to my body as we walked down the street to where it leads to the outskirts of the city. As we walked, the houses seemed to get lesser and lesser until finally we reached a vast plain. Nearby was a longest row of buildings which I recognized as stables.
Gabriel walked to the stables and unlocked one of the stalls, going inside. I waited outside until he emerged with a beautiful black stallion, its mane and tail gleaming a glossy black. "Nice horse," I commented as he saddled it up. "Name's Midnight," Gabriel said, stroking Midnight who whinnied a little. "Come on. Let's get you your horse," he said and he led me further down the stables. "I didn't know my family had a horse," I said as we passed by many beautiful horses, each stall with the family emblem stamped on it. "Almost all the Shadowhunter families here have one. As you see, we have no cars. Ah, here we are," he said and I peered into the stall. A white mare was prancing inside, its mane and tail a beautiful black.
"Hey girl," I coaxed it. My family emblem gleamed on the door of the stall as I opened it and lead the horse out. Even though I had never seen it before, it lowered its head and let me stroke it. "Her name in Snowflake. Here's her gear," Gabriel said and he placed the saddle onto her back. He helped me strap it on and he even offered to help me climb on it. It had been a while since I last rode a horse but as we walked away from Alicante, memories of my father teaching me how to ride a horse came back swiftly. Gabriel turned out to be a pretty good rider and soon we were galloping far away from the city. I laughed as we raced each other, the wind whipping my hair back. I had made a good choice in wearing gear, the tough material protecting me from any bruises as we rode. After what seemed like an hour, we slowed down to a trot and we went down a path. After a while, I saw a few manor houses popping out from the clearing.
"Those are the country homes of some of the richer Shadowhunter families," Gabriel explained as we passed by some of them. "That's the Cartwright manor," he said, pointing to the first one. Smoke was coming out of its chimney. He pointed the manors as he had remembered them all by heart and soon we came to a beautiful manor made of red bricks, it roof a nice gold. A nice line of trees shaded the lawn and honeysuckle crept up the wall of the house. For all I know, the manor was uninhabited. "This is the Midwinter manor," Gabriel announced, getting down from Midnight and leading it to a tree. I slowly got down from Snowflake and proceeded to tie her around a tree. I gave her an apple to much on and I walked up to my family manor.
I had never been inside a manor before, let alone knew my family owned one. "Do you have any family in Idris?" Gabriel asked as I walked down the lawn. "I have an Uncle in California but we don't really talk much," I said. Even though the house was empty, it looked like someone actually kept it in good shape. The bushes were trimmed nicely and bees were actually buzzing over them. As I peeped into the windows, I saw what must have been the library. "Do you think..." I started to say, pressing my hand on the door. The door swung open and I nearly tripped with surprise. "Only a member of the family can open the door. You definitely fit the description," he said as we entered the manor. It was a little eerie inside, drafty even. The place was covered with dust and I placed a hand over my nose. The library was vast, shelves of books lining the walls. I would have gone nuts here.
"This place is amazing," I said, pulling a book from the shelf and flung myself into a dusty armchair. A cloud of dust came from beneath me. "How to care for your pet imp," I read aloud. "Seriously?" I asked Gabriel, who snickered a little. He had pulled down a copy of the Codex and was reading it. I put the book back in its place and walked out of the library into the hall. Lining the hall were many rooms and portraits of past Midwinter family members. As I walked into the hall, I saw a portrait that made my heart jump. It was a portrait of me and my parents, when I was a child. My father was looking at my mother, his face full of love and she was smiling back at him. I was just a small bundle of blankets in her arms. As I looked at my parents, I remembered how people used to comment on how I looked like my parents. I had my father's height and body build. On the other hand I had inherited my mother's looks and hair. I looked like a bigger taller version of her.
I felt tears come into my eyes. I remembered my parents bringing me over to the Institute to play with James when we were little. My father would drive and I would be squealing the whole way. We would go to the beach and build sandcastles. He taught me how to wield a dagger, thus making it my weapon of choice. I remembered my mother teaching me Shadowhunter children songs and poems, singing them to me before I went to sleep. They were present when I was first Marked. I had stood there in a little red dress as they watched me with pride. I remembered the day they died and James father had been the one who had told me and comforted me. The day of their funeral. I had watched the smoke fill the air of the Silent City. My little self determined to avenge their deaths.
"Are you okay?" Gabriel voice called as he jogged into the hall. He screeched to a halt as he saw me looking at my family portrait. "This is your family?" he asked slowly and I blinked the tears away furiously. "My parents are dead," I said and I spun my heel, walking out of the hall and past the library. I slammed the door open and threw myself on the steps, sinking into a crouching position. After a while, Gabriel came out and gently close the door behind him and sat beside me. He put an arm around my shoulder and I felt myself lean into him, sobbing in to his shoulder. "I'm a Shadowhunter. I shouldn't be this emotional," I said, rubbing the tears away. "We may be half angel but we're still human. And humans have emotions," he said as he rubbed the tears from my eyes. His touch was soothing and I felt myself become better. "Why are you doing this?" I asked him. His eyelashes fluttered over his eyes.
"You're different from the rest. You're compassionate and fierce, yet you have such deep emotion for others. That's what makes you so special," he said as he leaned closer. I moved back a bit, knowing what was coming next. "Don't do this," I said as he moved closer. "Why not?" he whispered as he leaned closer, his eyes nearly shut. "Because I already have a lover," I said and he jerked back. "I didn't know," he said as he stood up and turned to walk away. He was already starting to move when suddenly I sprang to my feet and I collided with him, hugging him hard but not kissing him. "Thanks for everything," I whispered and he smiled his slow but nice smile. "We should get going," he said and we untied the horses and galloped off. After visiting the Lightwood manor, which was as nice as any of the others, we rode back to Alicante.
As we neared the city, I realized we had been out for hours. I had never spent so much time with a person I hardly even know before in my whole life. I unsaddled Snowflake and lead her back to her stall as Gabriel came towards me. "I never had so much fun riding before," he said, smiling. "Me too," I said and I latched the door. We slowly made our way back into the city just as the sky exploded in spangles of red and gold. "Are those fireworks?" I asked but Gabriel had a look in his eyes when a Shadowhunter is about to go to battle. "The battle lights," he said and he started to run towards the Gard. I ran after him, catching a glimpse of the demon towers as we ran. They were burning red and gold like torches in the sky. The sign of battle. As we neared the main street, people were running past us towards the Gard.
We joined the throng of people running and as we ran, we passed by a man who was strapping a broadsword on his back. "Whats going on?" Gabriel asked him. "There's another attack!" the man said. "Another Institute?" I called after him as we ran uphill. Luckily Shadowhunting gave you perks when it came to physical strength. The man turned around and started jogging uphill backwards. "Don't know. The attack's ongoing," he said before turning to face the right direction again. As we neared the Gard, I felt my heart beat faster. The gates ad been thrown open and beyond that was a Portal. "The battle has begun," Gabriel said as the demon towers lit the sky with a bright gold and yellow color.
