Hey, guys! I am so so so sorry for taking so long to upload (again! -_-) It seems this has become a pattern now: I am ready to upload, then something happens to all of my files and I have to completely re-type the whole thing from scratch. :p My computer is jinxed or something… Anyway, I hope that you all have been living good lives since the last time I posted! I will try to get the next chapter up soon, but meanwhile, I hope you enjoy this! Please R&R! Love you all! :)

Will's POV

The lamps mounted along the wall flicker gently, sending Will's shadow dancing across the walls and floor as he storms down the corridor. He and Jem must have been searching for at least thirty minutes, and they still haven't found Tessa. Will has always hated Consul Wayland, but whatever he did to make her so upset… Well, it made him loathe him even more. She wouldn't stop running even when they called her.

"Jem! Any sign of her yet?" He shouts. Jem rounds the corner ahead and shakes his head drearily.

"No, nothing. I don't know where on earth she could have disappeared to. Charlotte and I have already searched the library five times. Sometimes I hate the size of this place…" An expression of bewilderment and worry crosses his features as he meets Wills eyes before ducking into the next room. Will takes a deep breath and exhales slowly. He walks over to the opposite door and looks in, only to see a completely empty guest room. He moves on and enters the next one, squinting through the darkness. Dammit, why didn't I think to bring my Witchlight?

He starts to leave, but then he notices the small figure huddled in the corner. His stomach drops as he strides across the small room. He can see that it is indeed Tessa, but cannot tell if she is hurt- or worse. He kneels beside her and frantically checks for breathing. To his relief, her breathing is normal, and he lets out breath that he didn't realize he was holding, recognizing that she is only asleep. He stands and goes out into the hall.

"Jem, I found her! She is alight." Jem emerges from a room farther down the corridor and joins Will, relief etched all over his pale face as he sees her.

"Are… Are you sure, Will? She doesn't have any injuries or anything? She looks…" He glances over at Will skeptically, not needing to finish his sentence.

"Yes, she is only asleep. I checked." Jem nods his head and reluctantly leaves to find Charlotte, after looking at her for a moment. Will feels a pang of jealousy as he sees how he looks at her, but he fights it down, along with some guilt. No… She… She chose me. He shakes his head and rushes over to her, kneeling down. He shakes her shoulder gently, waking her.

"Tessa," He whispers, "Tess, are you alright?" She stirs and looks up at him blearily. Her eyes are red and puffy and he can see that she has been crying.

"W-Will?" Her breath hitches and her voice trembles slightly. "Is it you?"

"Yes, it's me, I'm here… It's alright." He pulls her into a tight embrace and she bursts into tears, sobbing into his shoulder. Tessa rests her hands against his chest trying to stop shaking, and they stay like this for a few moments, Will stroking her hair soothingly. After a couple of minutes she pulls away slowly, and wipes her eyes on her sleeve.

"Oh, I'm sorry Will, I-I've ruined your nice shirt…" she looks down at the floor as if the world had just ended, and Will chuckles softly, taking her hands reassuringly. He helps her stand and leads her over to the chair in the corner, kneeling in front of her.

"Tess, it's just a shirt, and they are just tears. Not ruined at all." He meets her eyes and leans in to plant a small kiss on her forehead.

"Are you alright? Did he try to… Do anything?" He inquires anxiously. She shakes her head.

"No, he just… He did nothing. I over-reacted to his questions; that is all." She sighs, and looks down again, neither of them saying anything for a few seconds.

"Will… I am sorry for acting so childish, I… I should have just stayed and put up with him, but now I look like a silly weakling who can't handle anything. They are sure to throw me out, now that it looks like you all are babysitting a feeble fool of a girl who can't defend herself-"

"Tessa-"

"- And it's just-It is not like me at all to break down and run away from my problems instead of facing them- It's alright if you think I'm pathetic and can't handle my emotions; maybe I can't. I won't complain if you want to leave me- Not that we were ever officially together, knowing that it only started last night-"

"Tess-"

"-But maybe I should just leave before they do anything, now that I've made an utter fool of myself in front of the consul."

Her voice gets higher as she speaks, and he can tell that she is only becoming more upset. She has definitely had enough for one day. He leans forward and kisses her lightly, breaking off her torrent of words. When he pulls back, he draws her into another tight embrace, taking a deep breath.

"Tessa, I would never give you up. To hell with the consul; He doesn't know half of what you've been through. You are not a fool at all. You are allowed to have your moments- as is everyone, and you have handled things better than most people could. You are a strong, amazing person. Never let anyone tell you otherwise." She nods her head slowly, blinking back tears; evidently not able to speak.


After a while they hear footsteps approaching and Will sighs, pulling away gently.

"That must be Jem and Charlotte." He stands and seats himself on the edge of the bed, and sure enough, they both enter, Charlotte looking extremely anxious.

"Tessa, you are alright!" Charlotte sighs, "I was so worried; we were searching and couldn't find you anywhere!" She rushes over and gives Tessa a light hug. "You looked so upset. I made the Consul leave after the interview, although he wasn't happy about it…" She steps back and looks at Tessa sympathetically.

"Did he harm you in any way?" Jem asks keenly, moving to kneel next to her, his expression full of concern. Tessa shakes her head again.

"I… well no, he…He didn't." she wrings her hands in her lap nervously, and Will can tell that she doesn't want to talk about it right now. As if reading his mind, Charlotte takes Tessa's arm and helps her stand.

"Well, this has certainly been quite an eventful day, and I think we can all agree that we should take a couple of hours rest. Would one of you boys mind escorting Tessa to her room? I'll go and have Bridget make us some cake for tea time." She smiles and leaves the room, and they all stand in silence for a few moments.

"I can take Tessa up." Will mutters quietly. Jem looks at him oddly, meeting his eyes.

"Will… I'm not sure that's a good idea… Tessa is exhausted, and she doesn't really need…" Jem's voice wavers to silence, and can tell that he has hurt his feelings. He has. Well, I should have expected that… After all, they don't know about… Us… Yet; and I suppose I can be rude sometimes.

"William, I'm sorry," He apologizes quickly, throwing him a glance, "You're just not really the very… Comforting… type of person…" Will waves it away, even though he still feels slightly indignant.

"No, you're right. You can take her up, James." He quickly throws Tessa an 'I'll-meet-you-later' look as Jem takes her arm and steers them out of the room. He seats himself on the bed again and falls back on the pillows, covering his face. How in the name of Raziel am I going to tell them? It… It would break Jem's heart; even though he would just pretend to be happy. I don't want him to be in my position…


Fifteen minutes later, Will knocks on Tessa's brown wooden door. It immediately swings open, revealing Tessa, in a pale yellow dress that brings out her eyes. She grabs his hand and pulls him inside, shutting the door behind them softly.

"Tess, really, are you alright? You seem… Shaken up…" He brushes a strand of her hair out of her eyes, and she nods, drawing a slow breath.

"Yes, I am. I just don't know what came over me. I am so embarrassed Will…" She nuzzles her face into his chest, and he holds her.

"You shouldn't be, Tess. He provoked you intentionally; it is him who should feel ashamed." He strokes her hair, smoothing down some fly away hairs. Tessa smiles up at him, faintly.

"Will, you know, what Jem said down there isn't true… You are terribly comforting, and are exactly what I need. I mean… He is wonderful, and kind and sweet, but he is not you. You, with your love of books, and your witty remarks that I adore." She kisses him lightly on the cheek, but he can't get that nagging, jealous feeling out of his mind.

"Tess…" He pauses, trying to figure out how to word the question without sounding demanding. "Do you... Love Jem?" He regrets asking as soon as the words leave his mouth, and an expression of confusion crosses Tessa's face.

"Well, Yes. I mean, of course I do. Don't you? How can one not love Jem?" She stutters, clearly not understanding the question.

"No, I mean… Well, do you have feelings for him? Do you love him… romantically?" His heart sinks when she pauses before answering.

"No… Well, I did for a while, but I don't anymore. I assure you, we are only friends." She meets his eyes, and squeezes his hands reassuringly, although he doesn't quite believe it.

"Will, I choose you." She whispers, when he doesn't answer, "Even if I did love Jem in the past, I promise you that there is nothing going on between us now. I want to be with you, not Jem. He is loving and kind- But he is more of a brother to me now. Can you please believe me?" She gazes at him pleadingly, and Will sighs, looking away for a few moments before returning her gaze.

"Yes… I can. I just… Never mind, it's nothing." He leads her over to the bed and they sit on the edge as he thinks about her words. I did for a while… More of a brother to me now…

"Will... He said that they think I am a suspect of the murder last night…" She mumbles quietly. Will looks at her oddly before remembering the events of the day.

"Who does?" He asks, taken aback.

"The clave, Consul Wayland. What should I do? You know very well that I was not out murdering innocent children last night…" She shifts nervously, resting her hands on her lap. Will doesn't know what to say. Why on earth would they suspect Tessa? She hasn't done anything that would give them an idea except to be different. Then again, they haven't ever really liked different, have they?

"I don't know… I suppose you could just charm them out of their wits... Or I could charm them for you…"

"Will!" He grins at Tessa's exasperated eye-roll. "I'm being serious." He sighs, and takes her hand.

"You're right… We should go down to the library and see if we can figure out anything. In fact…" He pauses to rummage through his vest pocket, and at last pulls out the stone that was thrown through the window. "I still have this. We should try and have Henry look at it more closely for us. See if it's some kind of dangerous contraption in disguise or something." Tessa agrees, and five minutes later, they find themselves at the door to the "Dungeons", as he likes to call them, where Henry works. Will reaches out a hand and knock loudly on the door, just as Charlotte round the corner holding a tray loaded with a plate of salad, a bowl of soup, and some French bread.


"Oh, hello you two. I was just bringing poor Henry some food. Sophie is busy with your room, Will, and is close to tears." She looks at him pointedly, and Will bites his lip, looking down at the floor with guilt. "I told her not to bother with this, so I'm bringing it instead. Did you two need to see Him? Henry, I mean." Tessa nods and holds out the stone.

"Yes, we want to have him examine this- It's the stone that was thrown through the window in the library. It has some initials on it, and we were wondering if he could take a closer look." Charlotte smiles, and nods.

"Yes, that would be fine. He would be delighted to help you. He has been stressing himself all day about his new device he is calling a 'portal', so it will be good for him to have a break from that." Will pulls open the door and holds it for Charlotte and Tessa, then follows them down the flight of old, cracked stone steps.

"Henry, darling, you really must eat something," Charlotte calls down to him, "You need a break. You can't keep going on like this." A series of short, loud bangs make them all jump, and some coughing. As they reach the bottom and round the corner, they see Henry seated at a counter fidgeting with a small object from which smoke is pouring. He looks up and waves them over, a smile spread across his reddened, soot smudged face.

"Charlotte, dear, you will never guess how close I got to programming the portal! If I could just get these small wires to connect without blowing apart the whole basement, then I could perhaps-"

"Henry, love, I brought you some lunch, and you need to eat it. You must take a break from this- You have been at it for nearly nine hours, excluding your short breakfast break. And Will and Tessa have something they want you to examine." Charlotte crosses the room and sets the tray in front of him, kissing his cheek lightly.

"Something for me to examine, you say? Well I should be happy to take a look for you!" He beckons them over and Tessa hands him the small stone.

"This is the stone that was thrown through the library window this morning. We are wondering if it is hiding any kind of contraption, or anything special. Maybe a secret compartment or something?" Tessa rests her hand at her side, brushing it against Will's.

Henry leans back in his work chair and strokes his chin thoughtfully. He slowly turns the stone over in his hand, feeling the cool surface with the tips of his fingers.

"A secret compartment, hmm?" He mutters to himself after a moment, his brow furrowed slightly. "I suppose that is a possibility. I will have to do several different examinations which will take about an hour, maybe two, but it looks like it could potentially be hiding something." He smiles up at them, his eyes crinkling at the corners along his laugh lines.

"Thank you," Will replies, "Will you let us know if you find anything?" He shifts his weigh to his other foot nervously as Henry nods.

"Of course!" He swivels around in his chair and sets the stone next to his food tray. "I will let you know at dinner." Will nods with gratitude, and he and Tessa start back upstairs. Half way up the stars, Charlotte calls after them.

"Oh, Will, can you please keep your room more tidy from now on? Sophie is becoming overwhelmed, and I told her that is there isn't an improvement, she may stop cleaning for you and make you clean it yourself." She folds her arms sternly, looking up at him from the bottom of the stairs, and Will flushes red. Leave it to Charlotte to embarrass me in front of Tessa… He sighs, and nods his head.

"Very well, if I must."

"Thank you. Also, please apologize to Sophie, eventually. Not today though, because it wouldn't surprise me if she saw you and broke into tears." Charlotte sighs. "The poor dear, she has already been so overwhelmed, lately." She disappears back to Henry's side shaking her head, and they continue up the stairs.

"So, your room is that bad?" Tessa teases, as they approach the library a few minutes later. "Do you own a slaughterhouse or something?" She chuckles as Will blushes again.

"Not funny!" He stammers. "You can be cruel sometimes, you know that, Tess?" He takes her hand and leads her over to a couch, where they collapse together.

'Yes, I am well aware, William." She smiles and kisses him lightly, and he forgets all about the stone, the symbol, and his room just for that happy, nearly normal moment.

Yeah… I know that this wasn't really a very long chapter, but I am trying to just move the story forward, so yeah. Next chapter will be longer, and hopefully better! I hope you liked this though, and please review, if you have any suggestions or comments! :)