Chapter 10: Peace and Quiet… Possibly
Grace was enjoying her time with her Uncle Jace, it was rare they spent any time together just playing and fooling around.
They had found their way to the weapon's room and Jace was testing his niece on the various equipment.
"What's this?" Jace asked Grace, picking up a chakram. Grace deliberated over the weapon for a minute, trying to think of its name.
"A chakram?" she answered, pretty sure that was the name of it. Jace just chuckled and nodded his head, this girl's knowledge was literally incredible!
"How are you so clever?" Jace asked the dark haired girl, her blue eyes sparkling up at her uncle.
"Magic," she giggled back, poking Jace in his hip with her tongue stuck out cheekily. Jace picked her up and threw her over his shoulder, tickling into her sides, the four year old squealing loudly.
"Hey Jace can I-" Clary started as she entered the weapon's room, she immediately saw Jace with a young girl on his shoulder, and he was actually laughing with her. "Sorry, I'll come back later," she said, backing away through the door.
"No it's okay. You can come in," Jace announced, placing Grace back on her feet. Grace took one look at Clary and went off around the room to find something interesting.
"I didn't know you were related," Clary said, smiling after the little girl.
"She's my niece," he replied, watching Grace out of the corner of his eye. He knew she wouldn't touch anything dangerous but he just had to be sure.
"She's Alec's daughter right?" the red-head asked. They heard a "yep" from the background, Grace had answered for herself from the shelf of seraph blades. Jace just chuckled and proceeded to help Clary with what she needed.
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Magnus and Alec were just wandering around the Institute, Alec checking up on everybody and Magnus just enjoying the peace and quiet of having no children for a couple of hours. He was just observing his husband and just really taking in the days' events. It wasn't every day you summoned a Greater Demon.
The pair walked past the weapon's room and saw Jace and Clary sparring with Grace just sat on a chair at the side watching. It appeared as if she was shouting corrections to Clary.
Alec cracked open the door and sneaked in to watch what was going on, dragging Magnus with him.
"Straighten your back leg! Move through the strike, not into it!" she was shouting at the red-head. He could hear his parabatai laughing at his niece and Clary actually seemed to be applying the corrections.
"You bossing people around young lady?" Magnus asked, taking a seat next to his daughter. Grace just grinned at her Daddy and nodded.
"She's right though, you'd be a great teacher Gracie," Alec pointed out, kissing his daughter on the head. He wandered off to the bow section, they had received some new shipments the other day and had been wanting to try them out.
"No! Clary! You jab, you don't slice!" Grace yelled at the girl. Magnus just chuckled at his daughter's antics and went to find his husband.
"Hey, you're missing all the fun," Magnus said to Alec as he found his shooting some arrows at a target.
"Don't worry, I can hear her," the Nephilim chortled, placing the bow he had in his hands down and trying a new one.
"You will have to teach me sometime," Magnus added, regarding his husband's shooting.
"When we have the day off from kids, and there's nobody to interrupt, I will," Alec grinned with a wink, shooting an arrow at the target so hard it went all the way through. Magnus' mouth just stood agape at his husband's ferocity when shooting. He felt sorry for any demon that stood in Alec's way.
"Uncle Jace, bend your knee, otherwise you're dead!" they heard Grace shout, apparently now correcting her uncle as well. This time they heard Clary laugh and a grunt came from Jace, knowing she was probably right.
Magnus and Alec made their way back to where Jace and Clary were sparring. Grace had now taken up to poking the two with a small feather staff when they were doing it wrong, making the two burst into laughter whenever she shouted at the other. For a four year old, she was extremely assertive.
The husbands had taken up two seats and just enjoyed watching their eldest daughter making Jace and Clary squirm under her commands, it was such a hilarious sight that Alec was recording it on his phone.
"Clary, when Uncle Jace swipes across, you duck so you don't get hit in the face like you have the past three times!" the young Lightwood-Bane shouted.
"It's harder than it looks you now!" Clary called back to the little girl.
"It's really not," Grace laughed, leaning on her staff. Clary and Jace stopped sparring and Clary just smiled at the girl.
"Come on, you try it then," Clary smirked, making the little girl laugh.
"Lady, I'm four, even my Papa can't beat Uncle Jace and he's awesome," Grace argued, pointing at Alec. "Daddy possibly could though," she added, giving the scenario some thought. She heard Magnus and Alec dissolve into laughter on the sidelines.
"Why don't you spar with Grace?" Magnus chuckled, snapping his fingers and shrinking a seraph blade to fit his daughter's hands. Alec actually encouraged this, his daughter was only four, but she was on her way to being the best Shadowhunter of her generation.
"Sure why not?" Alec agreed, he knew that Clary was nowhere near trained enough to actually harm Grace, plus he was supervising so hopefully nothing would happen.
Alec and Jace began to circle the two girls, Grace testing out the weight of the seraph blade in her hands, and Clary just running over some moves in her head.
Clary moved first, swiping downwards with the blade. Grace side-stepped her and did a sideways roll. Grace then swiped the blade at Clary's feet and the red-head jumped, which gave Grace the advantage to get up and push her hips downwards so she landed on her ass. Alec gave Grace a pat on the back and Magnus whooped from the sidelines.
Clary growled in frustration and got up quickly, circling the young girl. Alec and Jace were shouting out corrections for both girls, Grace applying them quicker than the older girl. Grace struck forwards, catching Clary's dominant arm and twisted it so the girl dropped the blade. The four year old then wrapped her arm around the older girl's back and elbowed her back as hard as she could so Clary fell forward onto her knees.
"However it seems I can beat you quite easily," Grace giggled, dropping her blade and going to help Clary up from the floor. Alec couldn't help the swell of pride he felt for his daughter; she just beat somebody during sparring and then went and helped them up, even trained Shadowhunters wouldn't do that as their hubris got in the way.
Clary gave the girl a quick hug and they shared a smile, sure she was embarrassed by the fact she got beaten by a four year old, but the girl did best her.
"Papa, was I good?" Grace asked Alec, running up to him proudly. Alec bent down into a crouch and enveloped her in a tight hug.
"You were incredible Gracie, I'm so proud of you," Alec told her, kissing her on the forehead. Grace then ran to Magnus and tackled him on the chair, Alec laughing as she went.
"That girl is brilliant dude," Jace chuckled, patting his parabatai on the back. Alec just grinned and went to Magnus at the side.
"She was brilliant, wasn't she Alexander?" Magnus asked his husband, Alec was gushing with pride, he saw Grace stretching her arms when he froze…
"What's that?" Alec questioned, pulling down his daughter's sleeve so he could see the mark on her shoulder. "Grace, who drew that on you?" he asked his daughter, Alec was running his fingers over the rune on her shoulder. The angelic power rune. Magnus didn't know what he was looking at, when he noticed the stark black rune against her pale skin.
"What Papa?" Grace queried, she got off Magnus' lap and went over to the mirror to see what her dads were fussing about. She saw it for herself what her Papa had pointed out, sure enough on her shoulder was the rune of angelic power, but how did it get there? "I don't know Papa, honest," she told him, double and triple checking that the rune was in fact there.
"Jace? You didn't?" Alec asked, almost regretting questioning his parabatai.
"I wouldn't do that, you know that Alec," Jace confirmed, "it looks new." Alec was so confused, Grace didn't have a stele yet, she wouldn't get one until she was eight.
"Grandma didn't draw it on you did she?" Magnus asked cautiously, making deep eye contact with his husband. As much as Magnus had grown to tolerate Maryse, he wouldn't put it past her to rune his daughter. "Unless.."
"Unless what? Mags?" Alec interrogated, needing some sort of access.
"When she used that magic the other day, perhaps her body is telling her that she is ready for runes? The surge of magic could have triggered it? I'm not sure, I would have to check some books and stuff," the warlock deduced; what he came up with he had never heard of, but he supposed it was entirely plausible in the world they lived in.
"Right… okay then. I will ask Mom just in case, because you never know with her. Mags, I will go and get the twins and we will get home I think. I've seen enough of this Institute for one day," Alec declared, taking Grace by the hand and pulling her towards Isabelle's room.
"Mother," Alec greeted as they entered Izzy's room. Isabelle was sitting on the floor, playing with the twins, whereas Maryse was watching them from the sofa.
"Alec, everything okay?" Maryse asked, looking up to her son. Alec pulled down Grace's sleeve to show his mother the rune on his daughter's shoulder. Maryse's pupil's blew wide, as she took in the rune on her grandaughter's shoulder.
"Do you know anything about this?" Alec asked sternly.
"You think I runed her?" Maryse questioned, looking her eldest son up and down. "Who do you think I am?"
"It was a thought, we don't know how it got there and we had to check all our theories. I'm sorry I even asked," Alec moaned, rubbing the back of his neck with his hand. Izzy thought her mother was going to explode at the accusation, but instead she answered calmly.
"I understand. But I did not do this," Maryse clarified, hugging Grace gently. Alec nodded and went to gather the twins' belongings.
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"Magnus and I are heading home. Thanks for looking after the twins," he thanked, Grace took his siblings' bags and carried them out of the room in pursuit of her Daddy. Alec bid his family goodbye and picked Lily and Nicholas up into his arms.
"Anything?" Magnus asked, taking Nicholas into his grasp.
"Nothing, maybe Catarina might know something?" Alec wondered.
"Possibly. So much for a peaceful and quiet day eh?" the warlock chuckled, with a wave of his hand, Magnus opened a portal before them. Alec couldn't help but laugh as they stepped into the vortex, peace and quiet didn't exist when you were a Lightwood-Bane.
I personally love this chapter, Grace is my OC and I love her, she's so funny and I know it seems a little unrealistic that she is as good as she is, she is a shadowhunter and a warlock, making her awesome and remember who her parent's are :) Lots of love xxxxxxxxxxxxx