Each passing day Clarissa looked more like Jocelyn. Each passing day Valentines anger for Jocelyn's betrayal grew and the easier it was to take out on the little girl that looked just like her. Even though she had never been anything but faithful to him she was on the receiving end of his anger.

Afterward Valentine always felt bad, at least a sliver of him did. But he just busied himself with his work, trying to ignore his reasonable side.

Even though Jonathan wouldn't admit it to Valentine, he was kind of excited to see Clarissa in the winter time. Valentine's company was dreadful and scary. So when the first frost spread from the ground Jonathan couldn't pack his bags fast enough. It was only his second time seeing Clarissa. It had been one year since he had last seen her flaming hair. On his way over he could only dream of all the pranks he planned to pull on Clarissa this winter.

As he walked through the door, he didn't know if he expected Clarissa's small figure to just run at him and welcome him. But if he said he wasn't disappointed, he'd be lying.

Valentine after escorting Jonathan here just grunted and left the boy to his own stuff.

After setting his stuff in the room he stayed in last year, Jonathan set out to find Clarissa. "Clarissa?" He called out to the big house. Silence greeted him.

After searching Clarissa's room, the library, the front room and an assortment of other rooms he was about to give up.

He reviewed all the rooms in his mind. He had checked everyone, but then he remembered the training room. A small door in the kitchen that led to the room down stairs for training. He had only briefly glanced into last year. But since Jonathans training had started about six, maybe Clarissa was down there.

"Clarissa?" He called out. No response came. He jumped down the stairs anyway. All the lights were on in the large room. He looked around, and at first glance he didn't see anything. But then he heard the sniffling in the corner. "Clarissa?" He said more hesitant.

Jonathan barely ever saw girls, he didn't know what to do with them. Let alone a crying one. But he continued forward anyway. As he came closer he could see clearer. Clarissa sat bruised and sickly looking. But he could tell that was not the reason for her sobs.

A dove lay dead and broken in front of her. He opened his mouth to ask, but then he remembered, Valentine had done the same thing with him.

Valentine brought him a bird and told him to make it obedient by blinding it. He had done what Valentine had asked and he was praised for it. But the bird had ended up dying anyway. It didn't see when a cat approached and his bird was eaten. Though obedient, the bird was weak. Jonathan had not thought about it much. It had just been a silly old bird. There were millions of birds just flying around.

Clarissa then looked up. A weak smile formed on her face, "Johnny, I forgot you were coming today." She didn't make an attempt to stand up though. She just sat there. Looking broken on the floor.

"What happened?" He asked, even though he had a guess.

She looked up at him, her green eyes teary, her red curls falling into her face. "Sky is dead."

"Who's Sky?"

Clarissa looked sadly back down at the bird, he could tell she was trying her best to not cry.

"Sky is the bird?" He asked unbelieving.

She nodded slowly, she swallowed back another sob. She was so choked up about a bird?

"Dad said to make the bird obedient by blinding Sky." She took in a shaky breathe, "But his small eyes just kept staring at me. So I petted him, he had such soft feathers," Clarissa trailed off again looking mournfully at the dead bird. "I had made the bird obedient. But dad said I had broken it. I had taught it to love."

Jonathan stared down at the bird trying to see what Clarissa had seen in the bird. It was just a plain dove. But suddenly, for no reason, he was mad.

"Dad killed him?" He asked.

Clarissa just nodded. His anger flared. Clarissa was too fragile to begin this training. She may be the about the same age as he was when he began training but she was so little. How could his dad do this to her?

He looked up at her again and his anger steamed even hotter if that was possible. "What happened." He said looking at her bruises.

Clarissa looked at him confused. She had just explained but then she saw him looking at her arms. "Oh," she sighed. "Dad made me practice without the mat, he said it would make me focus more."

Jonathan could tell there was more to the story then just that. So he just looked at her, waiting for her to continue."

Seeing that just that explanation wouldn't settle with Jonathan she reluctantly continued. "Then when I fell he hit me for falling."

Jonathan was absolutely raving now. "He hits you?" he asked through clenched teeth.

"Only when I deserve it." Clarissa said looking down at the dead bird at her feet again.

"Nobody deserves that." Jonathan said, recalling his own whippings.

Clarissa placed her hand on his knee, "Its okay Jonathan."

He looked at her big green eyes, still a little red from crying, full of concern. He couldn't help but smile. Somehow she ended up being the one comforting him.

Clarissa smiled out of relief, for a second there she had seen a side she had never seen of Jonathan. To tell the truth it kind of scared her.

The two children sat in silence of the training room for a bit. Finally Jonathan scooped up the dead bird. "I think Sky deserves a funeral."

Clarissa just smiled a Jonathan, sometimes, even though his black eyes, Jonathan could be super sweet.

oOo

"We are gathered here today," Jonathan started.

Clarissa broke in, "Isn't that how they start marriages?"

Jonathan sent Clarissa a look, "They use it for both, now we have to hurry or else dad will catch us and we will both be in trouble." Clarissa mumbled her apologies and Jonathan continued, "To celebrate the life of this poor, err… Bird."

Both of the children were dressed in white. The dead bird was wrapped up in a white handkerchief. Even though they were gathered in the backyard for the bird, both could only think of how cold they were.

"… Anything you would like to add Clarissa?" Johnathan finally concluded. Clarissa shook her head no.

They placed the semi-large, flat rock over the two inch deep hole they were able to dig in the ice solid ground. They didn't put anything on the rock to indicate what they had done, just in case Valentine ever came out.

As soon as the rock was on the grave they bolted inside. Inside the living room by the grand fire place. They huddled by the fireplace shivering.

Valentine walked in then. "You looked like someone died." He commented.

Both children shared a terrified look.

"Nope," Jonathan said rushed, "Just," He looked down to explain his white clothes.

"We were imitating a mundane wedding." Clarissa blurted out. Both men of the Morgenstern family looked at Clarissa as if she was crazy.

Jonathan recovered quickly, "Yup, we read about it in one of the books in the library and we just wanted to try it out." Both children laughed nervously.

Valentine looked at them, trying to figure up what they were up to. Both children looked up at him with innocence on their faces.

Finally he just sighed and decided he probably didn't want to know what was going on with them. He walked out of the room with out another word.

Both children looked at each other, for a second it was quiet then they both burst out laughing.

"A mundane wedding? Where ever did you get that?" Jonathan said in between laughs.

Clarissa was laughing too hard to answer.

OoO

Jocelyn watched as Jace burst into the door with Luke behind him.

"Mom! Mom! It was great, I was dribbling down the court and the other team put this huge kid to guard me," Jace flung out his arms to exaggerate his point. Jace continued about his last second layup as he broke free from the giant guarding him.

Jocelyn shared a smiling look with Luke. Jace dropped to the ground letting the basketball roll away. "I was amazing," Jace concluded.

Jocelyn laughed, "I'm sorry I missed it." She tucked the box that had the initials of two children carved into it.

Luke spoke up, "He really is a natural at sports, his poor coach cant make him run any plays without him changing it up."

"I make it better." Jace said from the floor.

Luke laughed, "Well I better be going. Good job Jace," Jace jumped to his feet.

"Bye Luke," Luke rubbed the top of Jace's head affectionately.

Luke turned more seriously to Jocelyn, "Bye Jocyeln." With his eyes he seemed to ask her if she was alright. She nodded and he left.

Jocelyn had spent the hour that Jace was at junior basket ball leauge to cry over her missing children.

She stood up and headed for the kitchen wiping the remaining tears from her eyes. "You hungry? I can make us some PB and J's." Jace was silent. She turned around. "You okay Jace?"

He looked up at her with a expression of sadness. "Jace?" She asked worried. "Did something happen?"

She picked him up and set him next to her on the couch like what she used to do when he was younger. Even though he was barely six he was growing so fast.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

He finally sighed. "Your, your not my real mom. Are you?" Jocelyn looked at him startled.

"What makes you think that?" She stammered.

"You don't look like me," He started.

"Lots of kids look different from their parents."

"You have red hair." He said obviously. "And that picture of my dad doesn't look anything like me either."

"Is that all?" she asked.

"Well there was some other things but," He trailed off. "Are you?"

Jocelyn was silent, finally she sighed, "No, I am not your real mom." Jace looked down sadly. "But," Jocelyn said quickly, "That doesn't make me love you any less." She hugged him, but Jace didn't hug back.

"Who are my real parents?" He said quietly.

"I don't know." Even though from an early stage she could tell he was a shadow hunter. She didn't know where he had come from. "Can't I still just be your mom?"

Jace looked up, too much sadness and wisdom in his young eyes.

"Okay, how about this," Jocelyn said, scrambling to fix this. "I can be your best friend, until you decide what you want me to be. Even if that isn't your mom." Jace smiled up at her.

"You will always be my mom, just not my real one."

Jocleyn let go of a breath she didn't know she was holding. She wrapped him in a tight hug and this time he hugged back. Sometimes she felt like she wasn't there to help Jace, Jace was there to help her. He was clearly the stronger one.

"Now, about those PB and J's," Jace said smiling.

Yes, I am indeed alive. I have an excuse, and a good one at that. Well here it is. My computer broke. That took like a month to fix, then I had to recover the files I had from the broken one because I was half way done with the chapter. Then on the new computer it did't have Microsoft Word and I refuse to write on Notebook. Sooo, it took me a few weeks to get Microsoft Word on the new computer. Then after I finished the chapter I decided to didn't want to skip ahead so I went back and I wrote another chapter. Crazy, but true.

Truth be told, I probably would of given up on the story because it had been such a long time and I was sure I had lost all my followers. But to my utter surprise, you guys just kept following, and reviewing even though it had been months since I last posted. So thank you for all that pushed me to continue.

So on the bright side, the next chapter is ready for you. Just tell me when and I can post it for you. I'm thinking next Friday to post it? Just to give me time to start the next chapter after that.

So yeah, excuse the stupid mistakes and have a nice day.