"It is never too late to be what you might have been." – George Eliot


Chapter 28

"I want to Ascend," Simon said firmly.

"I want to see more of you," Magnus told Alec, running a hand through his hair.

"Then come with us, we'll make your case to Dad and the Clave," Izzy replied, her eyes alight.

"I want to see more of you too," Alec said slowly, causing Magnus to waggle his eyebrows suggestively.

Izzy and Clary were hanging out with Simon after his band had finished practice, while Jace and Jon were sparring in the street, Glamored. Alec had declined to join them in going to Simon's and had headed off to see Magnus.

"Izzy, I don't think we should just bring him with us, that didn't go so well last time, and we need things to go well this time," Clary countered. "You understand, don't you Simon? We'd love you to come back with us tomorrow, but it will be better if we get the ball rolling without breaking more rules by bringing mundanes into Idris without permission."

"No, sure, that makes sense. Maybe you guys can leave me with some stuff to read. Do they have pamphlets for mundanes who want to Ascend? 'The Top Five Things To Remember For Ascension' or something like that," Simon said with a grin.

"We can probably grab you some books from the Institute Library," Isabelle said with a grin.

"And it will give me time to think about what to tell my mom," Simon added quietly.

Clary caught a look of uncertainty in his eyes and said, "You don't have to go through with this, not if it's only because you think we want you to."

"No, I want this, I really do. And I'll still see my family. I just know if I don't do this I'll always wish I had and I'll be miserable," Simon said firmly.

The three of the shared a smile, then Clary glanced out into the street at her brother and boyfriend, admiring their swift, clean movements, Jace clearly out-classing Jon, and he was holding back too.

"Stop drooling," Isabelle said with a roll of her eyes. "Let's go break the good news to them!"

Over at Magnus' Brooklyn loft he and Alec were still sitting close together, Magnus temporarily lost in Alec's blue eyes.

"I have a friend with a house just on the outskirts of Alicante, you might have heard me mention that before. Ragnor Fell, my charming green warlock friend who attended the battle against the Fair Folk. I could find some reason to stay with him for a time. He would hate it, as would I, he's a terrible bore, but I could stand it, for you," Magnus said, flashing him a smile. "Maybe he'll be travelling and I can get the house to myself!"

"I'd like that," Alec said with a tentative smile. "When will you come?"

"I have a few clients to meet with, so some time next week?" Magnus said, thinking quickly.

"Well, I'm sure you'll find things in an uproar. Clary and Isabelle will have, in all likelihood, asked permission for Simon to Ascend and there will be all sorts of Clave meetings and arguments. It will be just loads of fun," Alec said grimly.

"Maybe I can make your troubles go away?" Magnus said hopefully.

"Maybe you can," Alec replied softly, and perhaps just a little hopefully too.

Magnus suppressed a frown and settled for pressing a kiss to Alec's lips.

Alec returned to the Institute later and was able to appear without being questioned, due to the animated discussion going on between Jace, Jon, Clary and Isabelle. Alec settled into an armchair in the library to listen.

"I never thought he'd actually say yes," Jon said. "I thought the further you got into this thing you'd realise its ridiculous."

"Afraid of a little competition?" Isabelle needled. "What if a mundane became a better Shadowhunter than you?"

Jon looked like he'd been slapped and Clary and Jace looked uncomfortable. Alec briefly considered interceding, but decided to let the conversation continue.

"From here it's up to the Clave to decide if Simon gets to Ascend. We know that, and we know there's a chance they won't, but there's a chance they will and that could be a good thing, for more than just us," Clary said rationally. "Our numbers are smaller than they used to be and revisiting this method of rejuvenating our reserves is something the Clave should consider."

"Fine," Jon said shortly.

"What does 'fine' mean exactly, Jonathan?" Clary asked sternly, eyes flashing. "Does that mean you'll stop opposing us? Does it mean you'll support us? Or does it mean you'll just be silent in your disapproval."

"I don't know yet," Jon replied sullenly. "I need time."

"Fine," Clary replied, the corners of her mouth twitching at the irony of her word choice.

"And what about you Jace?" Isabelle asked.

"Oh, I'll support you. Like you said, it's up to the Clave to decide what happens from here, and I have to say, if they approve your request, I'm kind of looking forward to seeing how Simon copes with the rigors of the Academy," Jace said with an angelic expression on his angelic face.

"Right, this has been very interesting," Alec said coolly. "In fact, I'd say it's probably a fairly accurate representation of how the Clave meetings will go, which is amusing. Anyhow, we're due back in Alicante in a couple of hours, so let's go pack and get something to eat before we debrief with Amatis."

Jon rose quickly and stalked out of the Library head of the others. He walked into his room and closed the door with a bang, just as the others entered the corridor where all their rooms were.

Isabelle glanced at his door, her expression a mixture of anger and guilt. Clary saw her face and said quietly, "I'll talk to him. I know you didn't mean what you said exactly. We're all frustrated."

Isabelle gave her a grateful smile, and then they all parted ways, to pack, as instructed by Alec. All but Clary that is, she slipped into Jonathan's room.

"What?" he asked tersely, as his sister's small figure silently shut the door. "I would think you of all people should know to just let me be alone."

"That's why I won't. You're my brother. I don't like seeing you like this. In fact, I don't know if I've ever seen you like this. You're usually so easy going. Is this about Isabelle?" Clary asked gently.

"No!" Jonathan exclaimed immediately. "Yes. Maybe. It's more than that."

"Well, what is it?" Clary pressed softly.

"It hardly makes sense to me. I'll just sound like an idiot," Jonathan said gruffly.

"Well, I already think you're an idiot, if that helps," Clary teased lightly. "But seriously, how about you try and explain it. I'll do my best to listen and understand. I'll even Mark the door with a rune so no one can hear us."

"Okay," Jonathan allowed with the smallest of smiles as Clary did as she'd promised. "It's just, I feel so left out. Like a fifth wheel or something. You've got Jace, Isabelle clearly has feelings for Simon, and then you're also friends with Simon, and even Alec hasn't been around to keep me company. He's so busy being a grown up or something."

"Or something," Clary thought musingly. She'd really need to keep and eye on Alec and follow up and see if her instincts were right about him.

"So, are you more upset about being left out, or about Isabelle preferring Simon over you?" Clary asked forthrightly.

"A, with a little bit of b," Jonathan admitted, almost sheepishly. "She is beautiful, and talented, but at the end of the day, I can accept her not choosing me. I just wish I had someone."

"You'll find someone," Clary said encouragingly.

"Who? There are only so many Shadowhunters our age living in Idris," Jon pointed out.

"Aline?" Clary suggested.

"No, I don't know, we just don't click," Jon said with a shrug.

"Well, you're 18 soon, you'll travel from Institute to Institute for a time. Maybe you'll find someone then," Clary suggested. "There's going to be someone out there for you."

"Yes, but to them I'll probably just be Valentine's son," Jon said with a frown.

"Yes, we Morgensterns are highly sought after," Clary said cheekily. "But yes, people will want to meet you because you're Valentine's son. Just use it to your advantage. At least it will be easier to meet people that way. From there it's up to you on what happens."

"You're right," Jon replied.

"Music to my ears," Clary said with a grin. "Now, can you cheer up, return to being your normal, easy going self, and pack your bags? We're going home!"

Several hours later they arrived in Alicante through the Portal in the Gard where they were met by Luke and the Inquisitor, Robert.

"Nice to see you all back in one piece," Luke said, a little too seriously.

"Don't you trust us?" Jace asked with angelic innocence, which of course fooled nobody.

"They're probably going to wish we'd stayed away in a few days," Alec muttered, in reference to the impending matter of Ascension.

"Come on, go get your horses saddled and head for home. You should be there in time for breakfast. The Graymark's carriage man is here with their carriage and he'll take all of the luggage," Robert announced.

With the time difference between North America and Europe, the young Shadowhunters had left New York on Thursday evening and ended up arriving home on Friday morning.

"You've all got the day off to adjust back to this time zone," Luke added. "Jon, Clary, I'll see you tonight."

"Same goes for you three," Robert added.

"Everything okay, Dad?" Alec asked. "Do you need me to stay in Alicante for anything? Is there a Clave meeting I should be at?"

"No, everything is fine. We just have a Council meeting to discuss some matters. Nothing to worry about," Luke said calmly and sincerely.

"Yeah, the chaos should hit sometime next week," Jace said roguishly as they left the two men and headed for the stables.

Isabelle and Clary didn't bother to acknowledge him, mainly because they'd pretty much heard it all before, but also because they knew there was probably some truth to it.

They quickly saddled their mounts, and Clary gave Jace a quick kiss goodbye before swinging onto Aura, as Jonathan mounted Poseidon.

They trotted out of Alicante, followed by the other three on Rocky, Cleo and Pickwick, the hooves of the fives horses making quite a clatter in the early morning. Once out of Alicante they hit the open grass of Brocelind Plain and cantered towards home, with the Lightwoods and Jace eventually splitting from them as they headed for the Lightwood Manor and Clary and Jonathan for the Fairchild Manor.

Once home Clary and Jon stabled their horses and then climbed the front steps and entered the manor.

"Jon, Clary, is that you?" Jocelyn's voice called hopefully.

"Nope, just some tramps after some breakfast," Jonathan answered cheerfully. "What do you have on offer?"

"Eggs, bacon and fruit," Jocelyn answered pleasantly as they entered the kitchen. "But I only have enough for my children, I'm expecting them home soon. They've been in New York with their aunt."

"They sound like great kids," Clary said, sitting down at her food. "Where's Val?"

"She'd be eating dirt if I let her," Jocelyn answered with a grim smile. "But I'm sure she's not, as I've locked her away in her playpen with some wooden blocks and some toys that make noises. Quiet noises."

Clary stifled a yawn and shoved some food in her mouth.

"I'm not sure if this is breakfast or dinner," Jon mused.

"Binner? Dreakfast? Dinfast? Breakker?" Clary suggested a little incoherently.

"You can figure it out after you've had a good sleep," Jocelyn said firmly. "I don't care how old you two are, I'm sending you to bed. You look like you've had a very busy few days. The time zone change is rough, especially when the trip is so short."

"And we're up all night practically too," Clary added. "But don't worry Mom, we've got runes to pick us up."

"Yes, but I'd rather you were properly rested. Go off to bed, I'll wake you up some time after lunch," Jocelyn told them. "You can do some light training and play with Val for the afternoon."

They finished their food, put their plates in the sink, and then Jon kissed his mother on the cheek and headed for the stairs. Clary stopped a little longer to give her mother a hug, and then followed Jon upstairs.

Clary pulled off her Gear, they had travelled home in it, found some soft sweats and climbed between her sheets, her head hitting the soft comfort of her pillow with relief. She was exhausted. Between demon fighting, monitoring Underworld political tension and plotting for Simon's Ascension, she felt like she hadn't slept in a week. Not to mention the fatigue of various arguments that had occurred between the members of their quintet over the week. And there was the mysterious matter of Alec.

Clary was sure there was something going on between him and Magnus, she just had to decide how to go about confirming it. She knew it would be no good to confront him about it, past experience had taught her that much. She knew it would probably be best to wait for him to tell them himself, but she didn't know if she could wait that long, for Alec was notoriously private. Curiosity was a difficult thing, and Clary knew she would have to satisfy hers, somehow. Plus she had to try to progress Simon's Ascension, and spend time with Jace, and train at the Academy, and...with that she felt asleep, her mind slipping into blissful quietness.


AN: So, I'm feeling like a totally rotten author. I'm so sorry that's it's been so long since my last update. I am still committed to finishing this story, and I can see the end in sight. (This is a good thing, I promise. I will be resolving everything and including an extensive epilogue.)

Thanks to everyone who's still taking time to follow this story, and welcome to anyone who's discovered it while I've been in some sort of hibernation.

Please review, I like hearing from you all, even if it's been a while since you've heard from me!