Becoming a Herondale (Unwillingly)

by AgentLadd

The Circle is an elite group of Nephilim charged with keeping their kin in check. Valentine Morgenstern, the leader, is in desperate need of secured grandchildren to keep the group going. And how does he do that? He marries his children off.

6. Chapter 6: She is a Direct Descendant

Hey guys,

I just wanted to clarify for this upcoming chapter that this story is based on the books, not the TV show. I've also crafted something that may be a bit incorrect according to A History of Noble Shadowhunters and Denizens of the Downworld. Please excuse my overactive imagination, for it has gotten me in trouble on so many different occasions.

Chapter 6: Clary

Simon is coming back today and I'm pumped. I really wanted to go with him to his father's funeral but my dad had insisted that I stay back because of "important Circle business". Though, as much as I love the Circle, I could've missed the last big meeting we had.

I'm leaning against the stone of the foyer when he comes in. The door opens and the tall and slightly broad figure blocks the doorway. I bounce off and throw myself on him.

"Simon!" I squeal.

He laughs, surprising for someone who just came from a funeral. "Hey, Clare."

I pull back, anxiously scanning his face. He looks ok but that isn't enough for me. I need answers. "How are you?"

Simon shrugs. "It's part of our everyday life. My family just happened to fall victim this one time." He sounds nonchalant but there's a secret undertone of deep sadness that only I can hear. It breaks my heart to see him like this, see him in a way that I alone can see. "Was George there?"

George Lovelace is his cousin/second best friend. The three of us used to train a lot when we were younger and I have to say, I liked him. He was funny and easy to talk to. And not to mention, he was very cute.

Simon nods. "Yeah. He helped but I wish you were there. I needed you, Clary."

I pull him back into another hug. "I wish I was there too. I was so worried."

The sound of my mother's footsteps echoes through the entry hall. The two of us separate as Mom approaches. Her arms are open and she looks so apologetic. I'm happy she understands.

"Simon!" My mom throws her arms around my parabatai, who gratefully melts into her embrace. I've always loved their relationship. He's as close to Mom as I am to her and we're pretty close. There's also been a couple of slip-ups where he's called her "Mom" too. Those times are hilarious.

"Hey, Mrs. Morgenstern."

Mom steps back with a playfully stern expression. "How many times have I told you to call me 'Jocelyn'?"

"Lots."

"And how do you say it correctly?"

"Hey, Jocelyn."

They have this conversation EVERY. SINGLE. TIME.

My mom laughs. "There you go." Finally, after a thousand years of waiting, I'm included back into the chat. "How about you two go up to Clary's studio? Catch up a bit?"

I raise an eyebrow. Recently, my brothers, the two Lightwoods, Jace, and Aline have been visiting my studio unannounced. I actually don't care as long as they don't break anything but I know that Simon needs to talk alone right now.

"Where are the others?"

Simon turns confused. "'The others'?" he echoes.

I wave him off. "I'll explain later."

"The boys are in the weapons room and the girls are in the library. I don't know where Zara is, though I hope your father is talking with her. I told him that he needs to call the engagement off. She's not right for a spot as high up as that marriage would give her."

I nod vigorously. "Finally, someone understands!"

At some point in our little exchange, Simon stopped trying to understand. I notice him fiddling with his bracelets and hurry to depart. Mom leaves before Si and I lug his bags up to his room. It's right next to mine and if anything, more decorated. After all, he does kind of live here.

"To the studio!" I pump my fist in the air and march out dramatically. Si chuckles before following behind me.

We both visibly relax when we're in the greenhouse-like space. It was a greenhouse before Dad allowed me to transform it. I had never been more thankful than that moment in my life. This room is my favorite.

"Tell me everything I've missed," Si orders as soon as the doors are locked.

"You don't miss a beat, do you?" I joke. But he gives me a look and I sigh. "Fine, fine. So, this whole 'important Circle business' was a huge shithole. My dad needs grandchildren, right? He wants to make sure that the Circle doesn't fall into the wrong hands." Si nods and I proceed, "So he married a ton of us off. Me, Jon, Seb, Isabelle and Alec Lightwood, Aline Penhallow, even Jace Herondale."

"Who are you engaged to?" His voice is hesitant yet comforting, exactly what I need.

"Take a guess."

He cringes. "Jace Herondale?"

"The one and only golden-haired pain in the ass." I sigh. "Please help me."

"I would if I could but there's no way in hell that I'm standing up to your dad. No way in hell."

Someone bangs on the door quite forcefully, interrupting our little talk. "Clary, open up!" It's Izzy.

"Sorry, Si. If I don't answer Isabelle then I have a death sentence."

"And we all know that I would not be happy with that."

I open the door and Izzy storms in. She looks incredibly pissed. Aline is on her tail, looking equally as angry.

"That bitch!" Izzy screeches. Si, who was inspecting some sketches on a table he had been previously leaning on, glances up. He freezes, just staring at Izzy as she paces back and forth like she's the first woman to ever enter his life.

I mentally make a note to interrogate Si about that. Then I look at Aline for answers. The Consul's daughter walks over, making sure to skirt Izzy very carefully.

"What's her deal? What happened?" I demand.

Aline bites her lip. "We're going out on missions tomorrow with some Circle officers and she's going with Zara, Seb, and Jon."

I inhale sharply. "That's gotta suck."

"And she got even angrier when she found out that the other group was you, me, Alec, Jace, and your parabatai." She casts a look in Si's direction. "Izzy got intensely jealous."

"Can't blame her. Zara's probably going to try and save the day while getting herself killed." I shrug. "But that isn't my problem."

"Something else happened too, though."

I quirk an eyebrow. "And?"

"Do you know Alec's homosexual?" Aline looks extremely uncomfortable with this subject and that sparks something in my brain.

I nod. "We all know."

"Zara made a very…derogatory comment on it and that caused Alec to bolt."

"Where's that bitch?" I snarl. I don't know Alec very well but he takes everything life gives to him with some sort of grace. No one like him deserves to have their bravery handed back to them in the face of an insult.

"Left like it was nobody's business. Probably up in her room, writing letters to her lover." Aline returns to watching Izzy. "Jace ran out after Alec and your brothers went to storm your General Morgenstern's study."

"Sounds like them." We continue to observe Izzy. After about 15 minutes, she slows down. Izzy looks around, tensing slightly when she notices Simon.

"Who are you?" she spits though I can tell she's just like that from the heat of the moment.

My parabatai takes it with grace. He nods to her. "Simon Lovelace, Clary's parabatai. Nice to meet you."

She relaxes slightly. "I'm Isabelle Lightwood. You as well."

Simon leans off the table and stretches, pulling his shirt up. Izzy looks down and I see a faint blush crawl up her neck. Someone's gotta crush! I mentally sing.

"I'm heading to the kitchen," he announces. "Anyone want anything?"

When we all shake our heads, he leaves. The door shuts softly behind him.

Izzy whirls on me. "Why didn't you tell me that your parabatai is hot?"

I laugh. "Because that's irrelevant. Plus, I don't think of Simon that way."

Aline giggles along with me. "I know a crush when I see one."

Izzy groans. "But I can't explore it because of this stupid marriage. I really wish this wasn't happening."

"There are so many ways this whole arrangement went wrong," I admit. "No one's enjoying this."

The door to the art room opens to reveal my mother. She smiles softly. "Come on, girls. We have an errand to run."

"Where are we going?" Aline asks as we follow her. I make sure to lock the door behind me.

"The Adamant Citadel. The manor needs to be restocked and we have some custom items waiting for pickup." My mother whirls through the hallways. "Get into patrol gear. I'll be waiting at the door."

When I arrive, it's just my mother. She smiles at me. "Can you draw up a Portal outside, please?"

"Of course." I walk outside and cherish the crisp autumn air. Idris is special on so many levels, it's seasons being one of them. A huge oak, standing about 50 feet from the front door of the Morgenstern manor, is where I set up shop. Within seconds, a whirling Portal is in front of me.

"I still wonder how you do it so quickly." Aline's voice pops up behind me. A finger jabs my side and I turn my head to find the black-haired girl holding Heosphoros out to me, hilt first. "Your mom says you're going to be the one cutting your palm."

I take it and sigh. "I have the best Latin. That's her excuse. Truth is, she just really hates lava."

"That makes absolutely no sense," Izzy says. "Her hair - and yours - is the color of lava. Well, almost."

I laugh. "That's what I keep telling her!"

Mom comes up with Dad right behind her. He hands her a list and she kisses him on the cheek.

"Good luck, ladies." Dad nods his head in our direction. "I hear the Adamant Citadel is worse than the Silent City."

I shudder. "It's so creepy."

"And odd," Aline adds.

Izzy shrugs. "Never been there."

"You aren't missing anything," Mom, Aline, and I say at the same time.

"This Portal is going to stay open for long." I jump in first, landing with a little stumble on the floor of the Gard. Since I'm part of the Circle, we don't need authorization to Portal into Alicante. Boy, do I love my father.

The others land right after me. I shut the Portal and Mom starts leading us toward the Armory. Luckily, the walk is short.

She opens the gates to the Armory and walks straight in. The guards immediately look our way but go back to their patrols when they recognize us. We enter the Armory itself and Mom sighs.

"Down the stairs, we go." She leads the three of us to the stairwell, clearly not excited for this journey. The entrance to the Citadel is at one of the lowest levels of the structure, and let me tell you, this place is tall. Boys have it lucky in this case.

When we finally reach the bottom, bags and crates are lying all over the floor with Iron Sisters tending to them. Not one spares us a single glance.

I give my mother a weird look. "Why do we need to go the Citadel itself? Couldn't we just have picked it up here?"

Mom doesn't meet my eyes. "This is something that can't leave the Citadel unless placed in the hands of one that truly deserves it."

I have always been one to connect the dots at an alarmingly fast pace and now is no different. To collect the sort of package that my mother spoke of, you need blood to show. My mom doesn't want me to cut my palm and say the words because I have the best Latin - the object is meant to test me.

The entrance sparkles ahead, a beacon in the dim light of the basement. I pull my patrol jacket a bit tighter since the surrounding landscape is oddly chilly. Which I find confusing since it literally is placed on a volcano. Well, sort of.

Izzy sucked in a breath she stepped through. The terrain that the Citadel is quite odd, with lush green fields bordering an ashy gray sky. Izzy stares at the ground, shocked to find that the "grass" is actually moss covering what once were lava beds.

"Weird, isn't it?" Aline asks as my mother leads us toward the Citadel, which is currently nowhere to be seen. But once you've been here, you always have a sense of direction as to where it is. It feels like a rope tugging on you in the correct direction. A hill looms up in front of us and the path's angle increases dramatically. My legs are slightly burning when we reach the top.

For the second time in five minutes, Izzy gasps. The Adamant Citadel is glistening before us, a structure made purely of blood and sweat looking like a jewel in a plain of burning, sweltering liquids. The adamas of the building looked like quartz, the electrum-topped towers reminding me of the demon towers of Alicante.

"Wow," Izzy comments.

"That's exactly what I said the first time I came," Aline replies. The four of us trudge down the ridge, Mom slightly ahead. We duck under the Scissors (my nickname for the gates) and Izzy shoots a terrified look in their direction. Can't blame her, though.

I have to grab Izzy's hand to prevent her from walking straight into the chasm of lava. Aline pulls her other hand back and I replace my mom as the head.

I remove Heosphoros from its hilt and slice my right-hand open. "Ignis aurum probat," I repeat. The blood sparks a blue light at the bottom and the drawbridge begins its descent. Returning the blade to its place on my weapons belt, I stalk toward the drawbridge, tracing a rune for dexterity onto my arm. The others replicate me and I start the dangerous trek toward the doorway. Izzy is getting increasingly amazed yet scared by this place and honestly, that's exactly how I felt the first time I came.

My breath catches - as it always does - when I enter the Citadel. Like the Mortal Sword, it holds a lethal beauty, as if willing anyone to dare challenge it.

A hidden door opens and three Iron Sisters enter the dark room. One steps forward, the thing white gown swishing around her feet.

"Speak your names, callers of the Citadel," she orders.

"I am Clarissa Morgenstern. I am accompanied by Jocelyn Morgenstern, Isabelle Lightwood, and Aline Penhallow," I announce.

"Ah," the Sister responds. "I am Sister Aglea, a Maker. What are you here for?"

Mom steps forward. "My daughter is here as heir to Calohaya."

Sister Aglea inspects me. Her gaze feels like ice water, chilling me to the bones. "How do you believe this claim to be true?"

"She is a direct descendant of Matthew Fairchild." My mother shrinks back when Sister Aglea turns to her.

"We shall see, Jocelyn, we shall see. Wait here." Sister Aglea shrinks into the shadows, a sense of unfinished business following her.

We wait in awkward silence. I want to whirl on Mom and lecture her on not giving me a heads up but this is the wrong place to do that.

Sister Aglea returns with quite the amount of Sisters flanking her tail. "Clarissa, state your full name."

"Clarissa Adele Morgenstern."

A circle flares up in the middle of the room. "Step into the circle." I do as I was told and look to her. The shape on the floor lights up, reminding me of the parabatai ceremony in the Silent City. "Hold your hands out." I outstretch my hands. Slowly, a pair of calloused hands place a sword in my hand, resembling a rapier.

"Repeat after me and close your eyes," another Sister says. "This will determine whether the Sword of Light is meant for your hands and whether you are the descendant of who your mother claims." She pauses. "I, Clarissa Adele Morgenstern, claim the Sword of Light as my own."

I close my eyes. "I, Clarissa Adele Morgenstern, claim the Sword of Light as my own."

"By swearing this oath, I vow to carry out the duties of Calohaya…"

"By swearing this oath, I vow to carry out the duties of Calohaya…"

"-of which are endowed as well as being the protector of Dombra…"

"-of which are endowed as well as being the protector of Dombra…"

"-until the completion has found its right."

"-until the completion has found its right."

When I finish the oath, fire bursts from the weapon in my hands, traveling down into my skin and running through my veins. Bright light flashes before the back of my eyelids and I feel my feet lifting off the ground. The sword burns and then suddenly turns cold like someone flicked a switch. I fall and my eyes fly open. The rapier is in my right hand, feeling like it always has been there.

I look around wildly. Mom, Aline, and Izzy are gaping while the Iron Sisters are showing no emotion, as per usual.

Sister Algea approaches me. "Stand up, Clarissa." I scramble to get up. She holds out a sheath with a pattern of fairy wings decorating it. I take it and strap it across my back, fitting it perfectly. Sister Algea looks me in the eye. "Now that you have claimed Calohaya as your own, you shall go by the name of Clarissa Adele Fairchild and when you are married, you are to be named Fairchild-Herondale. As a direct descendant of Matthew Fairchild, you are to put that last name first." I don't even bother to wonder how they know I'm going to be married. These Sisters know everything.

The Sister that repeated the oath speaks next. "Now, we shall behold you with the Sword of Shadows." The Sister walks forward, a darker rapier in her hands. Whereas Calohaya is all gold and silver shades, this new sword is all black and grey. "Dombra and Calohaya are a pair, never to be separated unless with their rightful owners. You are to deliver it to the Silent City, where the chosen owner will prove their right." She extends Dombra, which is already in its sheath. This, too, goes across my back but goes over my left shoulder where Calohaya goes over my right. I slip this on too. Both are incredibly light, to my relief.

"These two swords were crafted for James Herondale and Matthew Fairchild. Dombra for James, Calohaya for Matthew. The Herondale line lives on. You should know who Dombra has chosen."

I nod. "Jonathan Herondale."

"Correct. Now, go. You have a journey to travel." The Sisters retreat, leaving the antechamber empty except for us.

"That was intense," Mom says.

I whirl on her. "Really? Because it was mighty normal for me. After all, getting chosen by a legendary sword made by an angel is an everyday occurrence." I resist the urge to scream. "Mother, don't think that you are out of trouble."

"Run," Izzy jokes.