Chapter Eleven: Old Friends, New Friends
We eventually have to say our goodbyes to Alec and Magnus. The days spent visiting with them have been fun and flown by all too quickly, of course. So when it's time, we send them on their way by portal and give them our letters to deliver to everyone back in New York for us. It's sad because we probably won't see them again until closer to the time of our wedding. Alec has always been close with Izzy and I, being near to us in age, so in some ways it's even harder than when we had to say goodbye to our parents and to Max. Plus Alec and Magnus being here visiting us has helped us to retain a piece of New York for a while and, now that's gone.
So after we mope around the house a bit, feeling blue and homesick for a couple of days (and having lots of sex to try and make up for it) we decide it might be a good idea to get out and about and meet some of our new neighbors. The houses out here in the country are set at quite a distance from one another and for some foolish reason we didn't think ahead to purchase horses for the estate, so we decide to make a day of it and tour around the countryside on foot. We pack a picnic lunch and set out, thankfully equipped with a map of the area so we theoretically won't get too lost.
Since we don't know who lives in most of the houses, we start out by looking up some relatives of ours. We go first to Morgenstern Manor, which is currently occupied by some of our distant cousins. Their names are Chelsea and Fredrick and they're a brother and sister, close to us in age and so, of course, they're weirded out when we tell them that we're all together, the four of us.
"Wow, you New Yorkers are positively unhinged aren't you?" Chelsea asks us. "We'd heard the new family moving into Herondale Manor was from New York and that you lot were our age and somewhat unconventional but no one said anything about something like this! And I'd say it's a bit more than unconventional to have four people shagging and whatnot and you're all related to boot! I mean really, are you people from the moon or something?" She shakes her head at us, trying to puzzle it out. Fredrick is obviously the one with all of the tact and diplomacy in the family.
"What my dearest sister is trying to say is 'Welcome to Idris'! You'll have to excuse her; mum dropped her on her noggin as a baby and she's been a bit out of sorts ever since, haven't you, Chelsea? And she often forgets her manners. In actuality, we're awfully glad to be getting some neighbors our own age. It's mostly older folk around here, so it's nice to see more young people coming into the area. Not to mention you're Morgensterns, so we're family! Anything you need, anything at all. Don't hesitate to ask us, right? So what do you think of the place?" He asked, in his chipper British accent.
So we were launched, (as far as Fredrick was concerned at least). It was as if we'd been friends since the cradle. He told us who lived in which houses, who might have horses to sell us, what crops would grow best in our soil, the best shortcuts to Alicante, both on foot and by trail, which stores in town to buy from and which ones to boycott, etc. He was a veritable encyclopedia of information and unlike Chelsea, he seemed to appreciate our eccentricities.
She took a lot longer to warm to us than her brother, however. And it wasn't until our third visit about a week later that she actually said anything to us which wasn't disparaging. "So have you met any of the young people living in town? We know most of them and I can tell you who to talk to and who to avoid if you'd like?" Chelsea smiled. And that was it.
Apparently, when we told her about our lifestyle, it really freaked her out and she didn't know what to make of us. Now that we've been to visit them a few times, she can see that we're not total weirdos who would just randomly start having sex in their living room or hitting on her and her brother. I guess she just needed to see for herself that in a lot of ways, we're just ordinary teenagers, who happen to be in a loving, committed, (albeit unusual) relationship.
Now, we're all thick as thieves. After that, she introduced Izzy and I to her two best friends; Keiko Makepeace and Luella Pontmercy, and we've been hanging out with their group ever since. Fredrick's being keeping our boys busy introducing them to all of his friends (and he has a lot because he's clearly the social type, more so than Chelsea). This weekend, there's going to be a huge party out at Pangborn Manor. Beatrice Pangborn is throwing it and she even stopped by our place to hand deliver us our invitation.
She said that her first cousins once removed were friends of our father from his old Circle days and that she has 'heard so many good things about him from them', that's she's 'dying to get a chance to entertain his children and get to know us better', so she'll be 'just thrilled' if we can come. She's pretty much at the top of Chelsea's 'do not trust' list, so I'm not too sure if we should go, but it seems everyone is planning to, (including Chelsea) so we accept her invitation.
We're getting ready to leave for the party and Izzy asks me to zip up her dress. "Please, Clary baby, it's just so tight that I can't quite reach it." She pouts, turning up the sultriness of her sexiest voice. I swear, it's her favorite activity to make me salivate over her while we're getting ready to go anywhere.
"Isabelle Lightwood. Watch yourself, or I'll be ripping this dress off of you instead." I say, reaching for the zipper.
"It's alright if you do, I have others." She says, spinning around in my arms. "And we have time." She looks up at me through her eyelashes, batting her beautiful shining eyes at me.
"Oh fuck!" I groan, giving up on resisting. I lift her up on the desk beside us and start tearing her dress off. In the meantime, Jonathan has come in to get us to help him with his tie because Jace is in the shower. He stands in the doorway, silently watching as I begin kissing Isabelle's breasts, which I have now freed from her dress and bra.
"Raziel's sake, Clary! That feels so good! She exclaims as my mouth finds its way to her hard nipple. "Don't stop!" She practically yells. I know we have about 2.5 minutes until the sight of this overwhelms Jonathan and he can't help joining in, so I use that time to pick Izzy up and haul her over to the super king sized, family room bed. I figure the desk would have gotten uncomfortable real fast once there were three of us involved.
After about fifteen minutes, when things are just starting to really heat up, Jace comes in, naked, fresh from his shower, to start getting dressed. I doubt he was expecting to see something like this right now, so he's instantly sprung. "Wow, apparently it's not wise to go for a shower alone around here because you'll miss out on all the good stuff!" He smirks.
I look up from eating Isabelle long enough to pat the bed beside me and say "We've got room" with a big grin. I feel Jonathan's fingers disappear from playing with me, as he proceeds to pull Jace down into his former place.
"Yeah, and you take over for me while I go get a drink of water." He says and kisses Jace before leaving the room.
"Don't have to tell me twice!" Jace laughs and begins his ministrations where Jonathan left off. When Jon comes back, instead of taking over for Jace, he decides to be in Jace. So while I'm treating Isabelle and Jace is treating me, he's being treated by Jonathan. After forty-five minutes more of this heavenly pleasure, I look at the clock and realize that if we don't get moving, we're going to be late. So we speed things up a bit and we all enjoy one final, collective, climax.
"I seriously hope this party is worth it." Izzy sighs, as we all rush to finish getting ready. "I didn't even have time for my after-peak chocolate!" Ever since Paris, with all its Champagne and fine chocolates, Isabelle insists on having a gourmet, dark chocolate truffle whenever we finish up in the bedroom. She's such a princess and I love her for it.
"I'm sure it'll be a rockin' party, Iz, don't sweat it." Jace says, taking the liberty of zipping up the dress she's changed into, not trusting me to do it or we'll be right back where we started.
"Yeah, and who knows, maybe they'll have chocolates there." Jon says, which is enough to motivate Izzy and we're all able to quickly finish getting ready and out the door to the party.
We were able to acquire a buggy and a team of horses, so we ride out to Pangborn Manor in that. We purchased two Gypsy horses, one with a black mane, one with a white mane and they're quite the team. Very well trained, very good stock, as Shadowhunter horses usually are. The stallion's name is Wild Oats and the Mare is called Trixie Beast. They each have a beautiful, wild, fire in their eyes, as if you could untack them and send them off running and they'd never, ever stop. Yet they're very well behaved. We were fortunate to find such a pair for sale so close to home.
And that's kind of a coincidence as well, since it turns out that the Blackthorn Manor is currently owned by Helen Blackthorn, aka Aline's girlfriend. And they've taken over the horse breeding operation that a Blackthorn relative had started there a few years back, so we bought our team through them and had a good visit with them in the process. They should be at the party tonight as well, along with all of our new friends.
Well Beatrice Pangborn greets us at the door and it quickly becomes evident that she isn't anything like what I thought she'd be. She's even worse! "You must be the Morgensterns! Oh, I must say how pleased I am to meet you both!" She says to Jonathan and I, completely ignoring Izzy and Jace. "Oooh Jonathan, my, my, how much you do look like your father! And you, Clarissa, like a little clone of Jocelyn! Oh, it is uncanny! Like looking at a second generation of the Circle, although I mustn't say that too loudly, you never know who could be listening at these little events of mine. Well come in, come in! I mustn't leave you standing in the cold. Autumn nights are so chill in the country!" She smiles her piranha like smile at us.
"Oh and these must be your companions, oh how fortunate for you to all have each other. And a Lightwood and a Herondale to boot! You know what you're missing? A Pangborn, get it? Oh and I suppose we would need to find a Blackwell and maybe a Starkweather too. But there's a Penhallow here, and a Pontmercy, so that's a start. What do you say? Are you loyal to your father's cause?" She whispers the last part, afraid of being overheard.
"Excuse me but, our father no longer has a cause, at least not a cause which differs from the cause of all Shadowhunters. Our family, as well as the New York Institute from which we hail, have their loyalty with The Clave. Our father never speaks about the days of his rebellion, but I know that he greatly regrets what transpired. All he's ever told us was that after being confronted by his Parabatai, our Uncle Lucian, he realized the error of his ways and put an end to his plans for an uprising. He disbanded the Circle and hardly ever speaks of it since. So, I'm sorry Beatrice, but if you're planning an uprising of your own, you'll have to plan it without us." I say pushing past her as we make our way through the crowd to join the rest of our friends.
"She's a real piece of work, isn't she?" Izzy scoffs. "Do you think we should tell the Clave about her? She could pose a threat." The only way our family has escaped punishment over the years, after word got out about what Valentine had almost done, was by being super sticky about The Clave's rules and doing everything by the book. When Dad and Maryse applied for the New York Institute, it was only by promising in writing, to make it the highest ranking of all the institutes, that they were even granted the position. Of course, with me and my special ability with runes, it became child's play (literally), for them to make good on that promise.
"Not yet, so far, it's just talk. She may be a bitch but she hasn't actually done anything that we know of. I don't think it's enough for them to bother putting her on a watch list at this point. But she's going on my personal watch list. We'll keep an eye on her ourselves and if we see anything suspicious, we can report it okay?" I ask Izzy, searching her face for agreement.
"Sounds good, Babe, thank you." She smiles, as the four of us head into the thick of the party and are soon dancing the night away.