City of Stories

by Allibella731

100 insights into the lives of various characters. Drabble-style stories inspired by music and the Mortal Instruments. Walk with Simon, Clary, Magnus, Alec, Isabelle, the Lightwoods Jace, Sebastian, Jocelyn, countless Downworlders, and many others through the streets of the City of Stories. See snapshots of different characters' lives throughout the story. All canon.

36. Only the Good Die Young

"You know that Only the Good Die Young…"

-Billy Joel, Only the Good Die Young

Robert Lightwood, Pre-City of Bones

Celine Herondale was gone—her unborn baby, too. Stephen Herondale was gone. Luke Garroway was gone. George Penhallow's little brother Damian was gone. Some days, it seemed like everyone would die. Some days, the good fight didn't seem good enough to make up for the losses. Some days, Robert wanted to take Maryse and turn her towards the Idris cemetery, where the Herondales were buried, and demand to know whether it was worth it, worth the scars that no iratze could heal and the bright tears and dark shadows in and behind everyone's eyes, whether the marble mausoleums holding family and friends were really worth the political purity Valentine championed.

But Maryse would only look at him with that determined, angry spark and say that giving up now would be spitting on their sacrifice, and that the best things never came free in life, that change always demanded a sacrifice. Maybe it did. Maybe she was right. It was so easy to believe that, when Valentine was on his feet, pacing the parlours of Old Shadowhunter mansions, and his conviction was contagious and his words were blazing. Valentine, who had brought them all into a place where they could not only find friends, but also work for a cause. Valentine, who had taught Robert himself how to bear the Marks without fearing them, who had been there for the outcasts, who had seen the strength in every member of the Circle, no matter how weak they had seemed to the rest of the world.

So why was it, wondered Robert, that the Shadowhunters only in their twenties, sometimes only teenagers, were ripped from life, yet the Clave, old and weak and stubbornly resistant to reform, somehow survived? How was it fair, he thought, that only the good died young?

A/N: Meh. Really short, and somewhat disjointed. But I was trying to capture the doubt along with the conviction that it was still "good", and I figured Robert was in the best position for that. I also just wanted to get something out and updated for you guys. Thanks to those of you who stuck with me and reviewed: Mads-hatter-15, SCAwesome98, and Antha32. Reiews are so welcome, no matter what they say (Antha I'm looking at you)..

Reviews are updates that come within a few weeks of each other!