Hey guys! It was on this day 4 months ago, that I first published this fanfic. Today, is the day it ends. Thank you to everyone that's supported me and has reviewed since the beginning. I give every reviewer a virtual hug! Thank you to the reviewers from last chapter: HermioneGranger, Guest, cookiesryummy, LexisNO, Guest, Sophia, Kelly Herondale, WhyNot41, and Katharina1999! Special thanks to 4everallways, Lilietje99, and SHADOWHUNTERSLIFE who have helped me a lot along the way! Okay, enough of my thank-you's. Let's get to the epilogue:
"And then your mother stabbed him with the blade, Glorious," Jem concluded.
"Really?", tiny Isabelle Herondale asked. She looked up at him with green eyes that were so identical to Clary's.
"Really," he replied.
"Did it hurt him?", Alexander asked.
"Well, of course it did. I got stabbed," Jace said, coming up behind Jem and ruffling his son's golden blond hair in the process. "Blame your mother," he whispered into Alexander's ear.
"Hey! I heard that!", Clary shouted when she came into the room.
"What on earth are you telling them?", Tessa asked, coming behind Clary. Jem watched as she sat down on the arm rest of the recliner he sat in, dropping a kiss on his cheek in the process. "Don't tell me you were telling them about Will and his fondness for making up songs for demon pox."
"Actually, I was talking to them about the time Clary stabbed Jace with a sword to get him unbound from Sebastian," Jem answered.
"Oh," Tessa replied.
"Can we hear the story about the demon pox, though?", Isabelle asked, smiling her little gap toothed grin.
"Some other time. Preferably when Tessa and your mother aren't around," Jem replied, whispering the last part into her ear.
"Wait a minute, my great grandfather made up songs about demon pox?", Jace asked.
Jem nodded. "You should have heard him the night Benedict Lightwood turned into a demonic worm."
"A demonic worm?", Clary asked.
"Demon pox will do that to you," Tessa answered.
"Are we talking about your old parabatai, Dad?", Adelina Carstairs asked, entering the room. She took a seat on the carpet next to the coffee table, her dark hair falling into her gray eyes.
"Indeed we are, Adelina.
"Great! I love hearing those stories! Could you tell one, mom?"
Tessa hesitated a moment before answering, "I'll tell you one when a little girl and boy aren't around."
"Hey! I'm a big girl!", Isabelle protested, furrowing her eyebrows. She gave Tessa a little glare and crossed her arms.
Jace sighed. "You are just like your mother, you know. Short, redhead, and a very bad temper."
"Maybe, but that's why you love me," Clary replied.
"Indeed it is." Jace leaned in and kissed Clary, only to quickly part away from her when Alexander began pretending to gag in the background.
"Eww!" he shouted.
Clary looked at her son. By the Angel, he looked a lot like Jace. "You won't think it's gross in the future. Just wait."
Clary watched as Jace and Jem trained Isabelle, Adelina, and Alexander. She and Tessa stood at the doorway. Tessa would've been helping, but she was giving Clary company. After all, it wasn't like she could help considering that she was pregnant.
"What are you going to name it?" Tessa asked.
"I don't know. Jace and I have a deal; if it's a boy, he gets to name it. If it's a girl, I do," Clary explained.
Tessa smiled. "What if it is a girl? What are you going to name it?"
"Hmm. I always liked the name Charlotte."
Tessa smiled; but on the inside, she was screaming in pure joy. "Charlotte. I like it."
Christmas Eve
Tessa watched as Clary opened up the gift Jace had given her. He had gotten her a sterling silver charm bracelet and some new oil pastels. Two children and fourteen years later and she still loved art. The bracelet though was beautiful. Jace had explained that there would be a letter on every charm, each one representing the name of someone Clary cared about. She kissed him on the cheek before handing over a tightly wrapped box to Tessa. She took it and carefully opened the package. Inside it was a dark blue box. She had no idea what it was. She opened up the box and found something that reminded her of her past. Something that was once extremely dear to her. Something that had once always worn with the jade necklace Jem had given her.
Her clockwork angel.
The last time she had seen it, it was fairly rusted, was losing its gold colouring, one of the wings was chipped and it no longer ticked as it once had. But it wasn't like that anymore. The gold was brighter than ever, the wing was fixed, and she felt it ticking in her hand. Tessa gasped with wonder.
"By the Angel," she finally managed to say. "How...where..."
"We found it in the Library a couple of weeks ago, took it to the jeweller's and got it fixed," Jace explained.
"Th...thank you."
The present exchanging was about to continue when the door opened and Magnus walked in. He was no longer the Magnus Jace remembered. The Magnus he used to know wore eyeliner, colourful clothes, glitter and had black hair. This one though, looked like a regular everyday person with the exception of cat eyes. Thirteen years ago, Magnus had given up his immortality so that he could live a life that Alec had never gotten a chance to begin. Jace remembered the day Magnus got rid of his immortality as if it were yesterday...
"Are you sure that you want this, Magnus Bane?", the new Seelie Queen asked. She replaced the old Seelie Queen shortly after she was killed. Her name was Hyacinth.
"Yes," Magnus responded. "Take it away."
"Very well."
The next few minutes seemed utterly painful for Magnus. He had crouched down on the ground and had cried out in pain. It hadn't lasted that long though.
"How do you feel?" Tessa had asked.
Magnus looked at her. "It feels as if a giant weight has been lifted off my shoulders. I feel...lighter. Mortal."
"For that is what you are," Hyacinth explained.
Jace remembered how Tessa had looked away then and how she was sad later that evening. Jem had later explained that since he and Magnus were no longer immortal, Tessa had just lost the only two people that she had left.
"But why won't she just get rid of her immortality?" Jace asked.
"When Will died, he had left her a letter. A letter that specifically told her to live. She wanted to give it up after he passed away, but she didn't because of the letter," Jem answered.
That made sense. He watched as Magnus walked into the den and as Jace's son and daughter jumped up and ran towards Magnus. They chanted "Uncle Magnus! Uncle Magnus!" over and over again until he finally scooped them both up into his arms and carried them on his shoulders.
"I've got more presents!" he announced. He set Alexander and Isabelle down and grabbed two large bags behind him. Tessa got up and offered Magnus her seat on the sofa.
"Oh no, Tessa. You sit down," said Magnus.
"It's alright. I'm going to go outside for a bit." She grabbed her wrap and wrapped it around her. Just as she was about to leave, Jem touched her wrist. She turned to face him.
"Don't stay out too long. It's cold outside," Jem warned. She smiled and nodded before heading outside.
Tessa stepped out of the Institute, immediately feeling a blast of cold air hit her body. She wasn't very bundled up either; all she had on over her royal blue dress was her thin, white wrap. Her hair was in curly updo, leaving her neck bare and vulnerable to the cold. The chill in the air made the chain of her jade pendant and clockwork angel icy cold against her neck. She suddenly felt very reminiscent of a night in London 130 years ago.
The night Will had proposed to her.
Normally, she tried to shake the memory away, but this wasn't like any other time. This time, she dove into the memory; feeling like she was there again. She sensed everything again, all the joy and all the happiness that had been inside her as Will told her he loved her. She remembered his heartbeat against her hands, the snowflakes that got caught in their hair, his blue eyes gazing into hers, the feeling of his body against hers, the only thing that had warmed her in the icy cold weather. She even remembered the way he had smelled of pine and London and purely Will. He had been so happy that she said yes. She felt his hands winding into her hair, pulling out the berries that had been carefully placed there, she felt his arms around her, sturdy and strong, and soon enough, she felt the kiss he had given her. Or rather, kisses. She lifted a hand up to her lips, smiling at the memory.
Merry Christmas, Tess, she heard in her mind. She looked up at the night sky then, thinking that it was about the same shade of blue as Will's eyes had been.
"Merry Christmas," she whispered to the glistening stars above. She wasn't just saying it to Will though; she was also saying it to the wonderful Shadowhunters she had met fourteen years ago. She was saying it to Crystal, Alec, and Isabelle. She felt her eyes begin to well up in tears. But they weren't tears of sadness, but tears of joy. They were happy now. They were living in peace. She smiled up at the sky, remembering when Jem had first told her about them. Even though she lost some of them, she didn't regret coming to New York. It was one of the best decisions she had ever made.
"Thank you," she whispered to the sky once again. "Thank you for teaching me to love again."
She kept that thought in her mind as fresh, purely white snow began to slowly fall.
The End
That's the end! I hope you guys liked this story! Thank you to everyone that's read this fanfic all the way to the end and for sticking around even when things got weird or confusing. Thanks to all of you and I wish you all good luck for City of Heavenly Fire in May!