Julia had no idea why she was sitting here. She should be gone, running far away and throwing herself into hiding. But here she was, sitting in a chair in the kitchen at the New York Institute with four curious Shadowhunters sitting across from her. Somehow Cyrus Machion had convinced her to return to the Institute with him. There was something about him that made her trust him right from the beginning. Well, she was convinced by his steady reasoning and Roy's reassurances. They managed to assure her that they were on her side, even though they didn't know her story. Roy and Emmett told her about how their parents had realized that the stories the Clave were sending out were not adding up. So here she was, sitting in the Institute, probably the most unsafe spot for her right now, knowing they could turn on her at any moment. She really did not want to trust anyone, but what choice did she have at this point?
Every time one of them moved, she flinched in fear. Slowly, she recounted her parent's story again, and then told them what happened. Unlike Roy, his parents made the connection about Jake being the Consul's father and they questioned her about it for a while. She felt her face flush and eventually admitted that they dated. After that she refused to look at Roy. She did not know what she was feeling for him, and every time she thought about him she got a little spark, immediately followed by guilt as her mind turned to Jake. Luckily, the questioning soon turned into other matters, and she was able to focus on something else. They accepted her story with a bit of shock, but overall seemed to believe her without question.
After she told them her story, they told her everything they knew about what had happened in the Shadowhunter world for the past couple of months, including what they believed was false, and what they had learned through close friends that the Clave was trying to keep hidden. Not much of it pertained to her. Mostly it was information about missing Shadowhunters, most of whom she believed were probably either working with Sebastian or against him. They also assured her that they had heard nothing about Magnus or Simon.
"Julia," Mrs. Machion said, "this is a lot for you to handle at your age. I really hope you believe us when we say that we are with you. We want to help you." Mrs. Machion had green eyes and dark brown hair. The boys had clearly inherited their looks from their father. Her steady green eyes looked at Julia with motherly concern.
"Thank you, Mrs. Machion," Julia said quietly.
"Please, call me Stella," she said. Julia looked up at them all, their faces kind and trusting. She knew her dad would be mad at her, telling her she was crazy for trusting anyone, but she really did not want to do this alone anymore.
"Thanks," she said, this time almost a whisper.
"Julia, why don't you go and take a rest. Emmett can show you to one of the rooms. You've had a lot to take in, and I'm sure you have a lot to think about. I can assure you that we won't turn you in to the Clave."
"I don't know…" Julia trailed off. She really was exhausted. She had to decide whether she was going to trust them. She had to decide now. If she accepted what they were saying, and trusted they would not turn her in, there was no going back.
"With your situation, there is nothing we could say that would change your mind about us," Cyrus Machion said, "but we hope that you do. Several of our friends were taken as well, and if Jonathan really is back, we want to bring him down. For good."
Julia didn't mention that by saying 'for good,' he was sentencing her father do death. If they killed Jonathan, her father would die as well. But she knew what he meant. She could tell just by his expression that he was not thinking of what she had told them when he said it. He said it because he wants to bring down Jonathan, just like she does.
"I guess a nap would do me some good," she relented, deciding to trust them. She got up slowly, and Emmett immediately rushed toward her.
"I'll show you to your room," he said. She nodded slowly.
"Thanks again," she said to Cyrus and Stella. They both nodded enthusiastically, assuring her that she could come to them if she needed anything. Julia finally looked at Roy. His expression was unreadable but he seemed slightly tense. She felt guilty without really knowing why.
The next day, Emmett accompanied Julia to the room she had been staying in to help her retrieve the last of her possessions. They hopped a train to get there, and for a long time Julia stared out the window, looking at the passing scenery of New York City. Part of her regretted that she had not done much sight-seeing. One of the reasons she had come here was because she wanted to see it; to explore and experience the city that her parents had known so well. She had instead spent all of her time in underground meetings and sketchy Downworlder hideouts. She tried so hard to find her parents that she didn't take any time for herself. The nap she had taken yesterday turned quickly into sleep and she had not woken up for almost fifteen hours. It had left her refreshed and slightly happy. As she stared at the scenes rushing beside her, she vowed she would take a day to herself and explore the city.
"My brother likes you," Emmett said suddenly, snapping her out of her thought process.
"What?" she asked. She had heard him clearly, but asked the question because she was not quite sure what else to say.
"My brother likes you," Emmett repeated.
"I…um…oh," Julia responded. She had no idea what to say. She had not had time to sort through her thoughts yet, let alone figure out how she felt about Roy.
"I just thought I'd let you know," Emmett said.
"I don't think I'm ready for anything," she responded. She had not really talked to Emmett yet, other than the short walk to her room the day before, but she already felt comfortable with. She was beginning to wonder if it was a family trait that they were just trustworthy people.
"Do you like him?" Emmett asked.
"I don't know," she said. "I do," she admitted, "but just, in the middle of all this, I don't want to get involved in anything. It's just so much."
"I get it," he said sympathetically. "I just wanted to let you know."
"Thanks," Julia responded. "I just don't think it's a good time for me to get into any kind of a relationship."
"My brother's a good guy. He won't hurt you," Emmett said.
"I'm not worried about him hurting me," she responded softly.
He nodded, not pressing the issue anymore.
They spent the rest of the train ride and the walk to the building in idle chatter. Emmett was easy to talk to. He described to her some of his favorite places in the city and told her a couple of funny stories involving people she didn't know.
She had been staying in a small building used for storage. A simple minded warlock named Johan had taken pity on her and let her stay in the tiny room for free. As they approached the building Emmett ceased his chatter and pulled out a sensor. "Just in case," he said. The sensor showed that there were no demonic levels at all, so they proceeded inside without worry.
"This is where you were sleeping?" he asked, staring in shock at the tiny room.
"It's better than being homeless," she replied. "It was cozy," she added staring at it fondly. It was nothing much at all, but it had been better than the first several nights she had spent in the city sleeping on a park bench or under a bridge. She grabbed her bag and opened the drawers of the dresser. Emmett raised his eyebrows at the number of weapons. "It's all I've got," she said in defense. After throwing the weapons in on top of her few clothes, she dumped the books on top and zipped up the bag throwing a strap over her shoulder. Lastly she grabbed the picture of her and her parents from under her pillow and slipped it into a pocket. "I think that's it," she said.
"You think?" Emmett asked, "I don't know where you would keep anything else." Julia laughed but stopped suddenly when she heard a noise from down the hall. She zipped open her bag quickly and grabbed a knife.
"It was probably just the pipes," Emmett said reasonably when they heard nothing else for a minute. "Let's just go." Julia nodded and Emmett stepped out into the hallway.
Julia had just stepped out behind him and was closing the door to the room when they both heard a noise coming from around the corner.
Julia stepped next to Emmett gripping the knife tightly but keeping it slightly behind her in case the noise they heard was just a maintenance person or someone. She didn't want to scare anyone. A person appeared around the corner. It was Johan. His dark black hair was falling into his eyes as he looked up and saw them.
"Julia," he said, not with shock at seeing her, but almost as if pleading with her.
"Johan," she responded stepping toward him. "I'm sorry," she said," I appreciate you letting me stay here but I'm leaving. Thank you for everything you've done. I can't thank you enough."
Johan waved his hand at her. Something was wrong. She stopped halfway down the hall, afraid to go any further. "Julia," Johan said again, "I'm sorry." With those last words he fell to the ground and she saw a knife protruding from his back.
"What?" she started to say and then two men came around the corner. Emmett was next to her. She glanced at him quickly and noticed he was holding a bolas in his hand. She wondered at this, briefly in the back of her mind. It wasn't a weapon she would have thought he would use, let alone pull out for a fight. A bolas was a throwing weapon. On the end of long thin cords were weights. It was usually used to wrap around people or animals or demons legs in order to make them fall. Many Shadowhunters used it in conjunction with their choice weapons, but very, very few used it as a weapon of choice.
The two men came closer, both with malicious grins on their faces. They were both beefy, buff males who looked to be in their 30's. Julia noticed with dismay that they were Shadowhunters.
"What do you want?" she asked, warily taking a step back. She was about to take another step back when she remembered that the hallway was a dead end. She quickly assessed the situation, debating going back to her room, breaking the window and leaping out. They were on the third floor, and she knew she could make the jump. She quickly dismissed the thought because she knew Emmett would never be able to make it. She tried to remember the side of the building and whether there was anything he could hold on to, but nothing came to mind. She could not remember any pipes or anything on the walls. It was looking like their only option was to fight. Emmett seemed prepared for this. His eyes were lit up with glee and he had a half smile on his face in anticipation of the fight that was about to break out.
She turned back to face the men, her whole body tensing slightly in anticipation. The men continued to grin their evil, confident grins as they came closer.
"Now now, Julia," one of them said. "We don't want a fight. Just come with us peacefully."
"Tell Sebastian to leave me alone," she said. "It's already proven lot more trouble than it's worth to get me."
"We don't know a Sebastian," the one said.
"Jonathan then," she spat out.
"You have no idea what you're worth to Jonathan," the other man said.
Julia didn't respond. The men were in front of her now. She was just waiting for the attack. Each man was holding a long sword in their right hands. Julia held her knife in front of her, dropping her duffle bag to the ground. After a moment of glaring, one of the men finally lunged at her. Emmett drew back in order to better use the bolas. While the man on the left lunged at Julia, Emmett placed a blow to the man on the right. His next throw wrapped the bolas around the man's long sword, making it difficult for him to use it. Julia smiled grimly, thanking the Angel that Emmett was a good fighter. She turned her attention to the man in front of her. She had his sword blocked with her knife and reached out with her left arm to jab him in the ribs. He blocked her shot. She drew back, sliding her knife along the edge of the sword so he couldn't cut her with it. Their weapons came apart with a metallic clang. She knew she needed to make this a quick fight. If she let it draw it out, he would be able to use the length of the sword to his advantage. She waited until he made the first move again, using her knife to block his sword she moved underneath his arm with incredible speed, drawing her knife back with her. Before he could react to what was happening, she stabbed him in the back, driving the blade right through his heart. His entire body went rigid and then he fell forward, the knife sticking out of his back.
Julia pulled the knife out, and turned to face Emmett and his attacker. Emmett had one weight wrapped around the man's neck and another around his stomach, but he was having difficulty pulling them tight because the man had his arms in a tight grip. The man did not appear to notice anything else around him so she slipped up behind him, slicing at his arm. He yelped in pain and loosened his grip on Emmett who twisted around, finally able to pull tight on the cord wrapped around the man's neck. The man clawed at the cord, trying to break it. Julia, already caught up in the fight, drove her knife into the man's stomach. Blood immediately began to pour from the wound and she pulled out the knife, driving it back in, another inch above the other wound. The man dropped to the floor. Emmett released his grip on him. Julia stared down at the lifeless body. Emmett untangled his bolas and pulled out Julia's knife, handing it out to her. She took it numbly, still staring down at the body.
Julia was in complete shock. She sat on the train, just staring straight in front of her. Her and Emmett were somehow alone in their compartment on the train.
"Are you okay?" he asked.
"I killed two men," she whispered. She felt him put a comforting hand on her back.
"You've killed before," he said.
"I've killed countless demons," she responded. "But never a person.
"They would've killed us," he said.
She leaned back against the seat and he put his arm around her. He did not do it to try and hit on her or make a move. He was just being a comforting friend. She leaned her head on his shoulder and just relaxed for the rest of the ride.
Julia was curled up in a ball, light streaming through the giant window to the side. She had a book in her hand and didn't even seem to notice he had entered the room. The sunlight was reflecting off her golden hair, creating almost a halo effect around her head. She looked like an angel. He suddenly realized that she was looking at him. He opened his mouth but no words came out.
"Hi Roy," she said.
"Hey," he responded.
"What're you reading?" he asked.
She held up the book. "Pride and Prejudice," she said.
He looked at the book. It didn't look like it said Pride and Prejudice on it. It said; Orgueil et prejudges. "That's not English," he said.
"French," she responded.
"You speak French?" he asked. She nodded, putting a bookmark in the book and setting it aside.
"Yeah," she responded. Instead of looking up at him, she looked down at her hands which she had clasped together.
"I heard you guys had a tough fight when you went to get your stuff," Roy said.
"Yeah," Julia said.
"Emmett said you were having a tough time um, dealing with it," he said.
"I'll get over it," she responded.
"It's not just gonna go away," he said.
"I did what I had to," she said bitterly.
"That doesn't make it easier," he added.
She just nodded.
"You didn't tell me you had a boyfriend," he said, just deciding to get it out and say it.
She looked up at him. "I didn't realize I had to tell you my entire life story," she said, her voice sounding angry.
"You, you don't…" he hesitated. "I just, thought we had something between us. I thought maybe, maybe you would've said something."
She looked at him, her gaze softening. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "I just, I don't know. There's just so much happening," she admitted.
Roy was very uncertain. He had never seen Julia as vulnerable as she was at that moment. He didn't want to say something wrong.
"Do you wanna sit?" she asked, scooting to the side of the couch.
He sat down next to her, aware that there were only a few inches between them.
"I didn't mean to be insensitive," he said slowly.
"I should have told you," she responded. "I felt something with you from the beginning, but we…well Jake and I never actually broke up and I dunno… I don't know what to do."
"What happened?" Roy asked.
"He wouldn't come with me when I left. He stayed behind."
"Sounds over to me," Roy said. Julia looked so beautiful to him. Her face was right in front of his, only inches away. Her face moved an inch closer to his.
"You're a good guy Roy," she said.
He leaned in closer and kissed her, softly at first and then a little harder when she didn't pull away. He let his hand wrap around her neck, pulling her closer to him. The kiss was soft and sweet and everything he imagined it would be. After several minutes she pulled away.
"We need to take this slowly," she said.
"Of course," he responded.
They made out for a while more and then she said she was going to take a nap. Roy went back to his room, his heart beating rapidly. He felt light and airy as if all of his dreams had come true. Being with Julia would be difficult. She had a rough life, and he was about to get in the middle of it. But he was happier than he had been in a long time. He decided to take a nap too, drifting off with an image of Julia imprinted in his mind.