Chapter 3: Golden Eyes!

"And this is our daughter, Clary," my mother introduced me, after yanking off the hoodie.

It made me feel naked in front of all these strangers, as if my protective shield had been taken from me. All I wanted was to have my shield returned to me, and vanish.

I was tempted to hide behind my mother. Luckily, I only settled for blushing darkly and looking to my feet, as if I was some little child.

It made my nervousness turn to anger, and I wanted to hit myself for being so silly. I felt as if I was still a baby, running to her parents with tears in her eyes from nightmares.

What are you doing, Clary? Grow-up, for heaven's sake! I snapped at myself. You're a Shadowhunter! Act like one!

I took a deep breath, before raising my chin up high and standing as tall as possible. Which was sadly only a little over five-feet, and almost shorter than all of the strangers before me.

I noted, as I glanced over each Shadowhunter, that they didn't seem scary or mean. They looked quite nice.

The Lightwood parents were holding hands. The man had brown hair, which made him look younger than my father, the most beautiful pair of blue eyes and a nice set of muscles. He wore what looked to be a tailored suit. The woman had long waves of black hair, eyes so dark that they looked more black than brown, and was quite tall and solid for a woman. She wore a gown of purple.

The Herondale parent's, who happened to be friends of my father, were standing side by side and smiling. The man had hair that was a mix of bronze and gold, eyes that resembled the ocean and the same figure as my father. He wore a nice outfit, with even a tie. The woman had hair the colour of dark chocolate, eyes as golden as the sun, and a body that was somehow both tough and elegant. She wore a dress as red as my hair.

The old man, Hodge something-weather, was leaning on an elegant cane off to the side. The man had salt and pepper hair, showing of his older age, eyes as grey as his hair, a body full of scars and a figure of someone who was worn out from decades of a Shadowhunter life. His formal outfit seemed to suit him more than anyone else, as if he always wore something so classy, and he also held a hanky in his left hand.

The Lightwood children were standing around on the top step, and they looked more like siblings than Jon and I did. The oldest had black hair and the same stunning pair of eyes as his father. The sister had black hair and eyes like her mother, yet she was almost taller than her older brother and her beauty out-weighed mine by a million. The third sibling had brown hair like his father and a pair of glasses over his chocolate eyes similar to his mother, his head reaching his siblings elbows. The two boys had matching suits, and the girl wore the sexiest dress I had ever seen.

The last person was standing between the Lightwood children as if he was a fourth sibling, when I knew he was truly the Herondale's son. He had bronze and blonde hair like Stephan, golden eyes just like his mother, and a figure that matched his father. He also wore a less classy outfit, as if he wasn't willing to. He had a blue suit, with black pants and black sneakers.

"Why don't we get everyone settled in, before dinner?" Maryse Lightwood suggested, and I knew she was the one to run the Institute. Only because Dad had mentioned it a millions times.

"That would be lovely," my mother agreed.

Maryse turned to the four young Shadowhunters on the top steps. Three were roughly my age, while the fourth was a few years younger. There was also only one girl. Therefore, only two out of the four could possibly be my future husband.

"Why don't the children show Clary and Jon to their rooms? It might give them a chance to get to know each other…" the woman let the sentence trail off.

I rolled my eyes. Very subtle, lady.

"Jace and Alec, show Clary to her room. Izzy, show Jon to his room," Mr Herondale instructed, before waving us away as if we were already forgotten.

"What about me?" The little boy cried. "I want to show Clary her room, too."

"You can come along," the blonde guy replied, giving the boy a gentle ruffle of the hair and then smirking cheekily like the teenager he was. "I need someone to talk me up, since Alec will only huff and roll his eyes at me… Some friend he is…"

I found myself staring at him.

He was golden, from his hair, to his eyes, to his skin. He was beyond gorgeous, and he made me think of some kind of golden god. His hair was long, stylishly messy and blonde. His eyes were amber and incredibly bright. His skin was sun-kissed and bronze.

I quickly looked away when the guy glanced up from the young boy. I couldn't stop myself from blushing, though, and I didn't like that fact at all.

Since no one was moving, my mother gave both Jon and I a hard shove towards the top steps. I yelped and Jon grunted, before lifting up his duffle-bag and rolling his eyes at Mum.

I turned around to my mother, putting a hand on my hip and raising an eyebrow. I looked her dead in the eye, and sighed very deeply.

"Can you lot be any more obvious?" I demanded, before I could think over my words and stop myself. "I mean! COME ON! You might as well throw us at each other!"

"That was the whole point of the shove, little sis," Jon responded with a smirk. "Anyway, they probably plan to stick you in a shoe-box, since you're only three-feet-tall."

"Jonathan," my father warned. "What have I told you about teasing your sister?"

"Dad, don't!" I whined. "I can handle Jon and his pea of a brain."

"Why can Clary insult me, and I can't do the same to her?" Jon questioned, upset that Dad didn't come to his rescue and tell me off for calling him stupid.

"Because she's younger-"

"And shorter," my brother interrupted Dad, with a goofy grin.

"AND SMARTER!" I snapped, before jogging up the steps to the Shadowhunters roughly my age. "For your information, I am five-foot-two, and I'm still waiting for my next growth spurt!"

"That's sad, little sis," Jon muttered, as we all went through the front door and left the adults on their own.

"I'm waiting for my growth spurt, too," the little boy helpfully confessed, suddenly by my side with the cat still in his arms and he looked at me as if I was an angel.

"That's nice," I replied. "Hopefully you won't be waiting long."

"Anyhow, this is the front area," the blonde announced, suddenly taking the lead, and beaming brightly at Jon and I. He seemed to have done so purposely, as if to gain attention to himself. "All hallways and stairs lead to here."

The beautiful girl, Izzy, turned down a hallway, as the blonde, Jace, went up a pair of stairs. It made me halt for minute, as Max and his brother followed the blonde, and my brother followed Izzy. I wanted to stay with my brother, since this place and these people were unknown to me.

Jon turned, seeing that I had stopped. He went to say something, when suddenly someone grabbed hold of my hand and I turned to see a pair of brown eyes behind glasses looking up at me.

"Your room's near mine," Max announced excitedly, before he dragged me after the other two boys. I noted that a pair of golden eyes were watching.

I travelled up the stairs, noticing that Max wouldn't release my hand and had even put down the cat. The two boys kept glancing over their shoulders to make sure I was still following, the blonde was smug and the other seemed friendly. They were both incredibly handsome, though.

"Why's Jon going a different way?" I asked the three.

"Because, this place can hold more than two hundred people, and so there are plenty of beds," the dark haired boy began. "We have our bedrooms apart from each other, and practically have a floor each."

"That's why Izzy's downstairs and we're upstairs," the blonde added, drawing my attention to him and continuing to grin. "But Alec's bedroom is in the left tower. While the adults wanted to be close to one another, so they have the top floor to themselves."

"Including my parents?" I questioned, and the three nodded.

"The adults decided where you and your brother would be suited best. What floor, and near who's bedroom, and such," Alec said. "They decided it might be better to separate you two from each other and your parents-"

"Where there's more of a chance for love," I grumbled, and rolled my eyes once more. "You've got to be joking…"

"I know. They're subtle, aren't they?" The blonde agreed, after a good laugh, and then he beamed at me.

"Don't worry, Clary. Your room's near mine," Max's repeated, sweetly. "And you can read my comic-books anytime. I've got tones and tones of them."

I chuckled at that.

"I've never had the chance for comics. My father likes us to do stuff that's useful, not fun," I answered. "But I like to read, so I might just take you up on that offer… If you don't tell my Dad."

"I promise, I won't ever!" He swore, with the biggest smile I had ever seen. "I've got X-Men, Spider-man, Batman, Superman, Thor-"

"Max, don't smother her," the blonde told him, with a very amused and arrogant smirk. "I'm sure Clary has more important things at the moment, than talking about different comic-books."

"Maybe before I go to sleep tonight," I quickly offered, not wanting Max to have his feelings hurt. "I like to read before bed, and I'd love to hear about your comics."

"You might want to know, that if you're truly upset about where your bedroom is, you can ask for your room to be moved," Alec informed me, being very responsible and serious. Something my brother never was. "If you're not comfortable, that is."

"That's good to know," I murmured, shaking my head and smiling politely. "But I'm fine…"

At least for the moment.

"You won't regret it, Clary" Jace told me, before smirking in my direction. "Your room's across from mine…" He let that trail off, leaving me to fill in the blank.

I both frowned and blushed, because I honestly didn't know whether Jace was attempting to seduce me or was messing with me. I had never had anyone to be seduced by or to seduce, because I had only ever been with my family. I couldn't tell seduction from a unicycle.

"And my room is next to yours," Max cut in.

I took advantage of Max and turned away from Jace, who was watching me with his golden eyes and continuing to smirk at me. I didn't know what else to do, so I only pretended that I didn't notice.

"If you ever get lonely, you can come into my room," Max offered. "We could spend some time together-"

"Max, stop flirting with Clary," Jace said with another winning smile in my direction. "She's too old for you-"

"I wasn't flirting with Clary!" Max squealed, turning red in the face. "You're flirting with Clary!"

I blushed darkly and hurriedly looked away, my eyes darting about the stairs.

I noticed that Alec was frowning at the two boys, mainly Jace in particular. I also noticed that Jace had his back to me, hiding his face and walking more quickly, and that Max's face was turning back to a normal shade.

We stopped on the third floor of the Institute, stepping off the flight of stairs, and then travelled down the hallway. The entire hallway was full of huge closed doors, and I wondered just how many were actually bedrooms.

"This is your room," the blonde said, as he threw open the door to my bedroom and stepped aside, recovering his grin.

"My room's there!" Max pointed to the door with the Avenger's stickers, which was next to my bedroom, and he then released my hand and raced into my room as if it was his own. "Jace's room is directly across from mine, with the runes carved all over the doors."

I looked over to the door, seeing each and every rune. At least I knew where I could turned to if I got lost, since I was sure Jace and Alec would help. But I still wasn't sure whether Jace had been joking or seducing.

Nevertheless, I liked the idea of Max being next to my room.

I wandered into my room, looking around at my new surroundings, and I truly liked it, since it was beautiful. Although, it seemed plain and unfamiliar, because I had never been away from home.

"You can decorate your room however you want… to make it more comfortable," Alec said. "We've all done the same."

"However?" I turned to the boys and frowned.

The blonde stepped into the room, prowling like some kind of wild cat and with an air of confidence. He seemed to glow, beside Alec and his dark hair. His grin stood out like the sun.

"You can hang pictures, paint the walls, put up shelves, place stickers…" The blonde shrugged. "Whatever will make it seem like home to you."

"But what happens if I'm moving to another Institute?" I asked.

"That's alright," Jace mumbled, biting his lip and his smile falling. "We've got more rooms than we can count, and I doubt you're going to knock down any walls."

I suddenly smiled.

"I like the sound of that. I don't even get to do that at home," I murmured, glancing around at the walls. "I'm going to paint a moral all over the room," I decided.

"You paint?" Alec enquired, and I turned to the three.

"I do, often... But my mother's better at painting than I am," I responded honestly, before looking back to the wall. "I still enjoy it, along with sketching and such."

"We better hurry up to dinner," Max told me, and I nodded.

I tossed my duffle-bag onto the bed with a soft thump, and went to leave before remembering my weapons. I decided I didn't need my sword or the blades for dinner inside an Institute with over a dozen Shadowhunters.

I quickly took off the sling that held my personal sword, gently laying it out on the bed. When the sword was on top of the sheet I let my eyes dart up to the boys, and I saw that they were looking at the hilt of my sword.

"Can I see?" Jace asked, pointing towards the sword and I nodded. He pulled out the blade with expert hands and admired it as if it was some kind of living creature. "This was made for you, wasn't it?"

"Yeah. It was a gift from my father for my tenth birthday," I replied, glancing at my sword and seeing the familiar shine of the blade.

I had only sharpened it that morning, and I often tended to the sword as if it was my own child. My father had told me that a good blade needs great care, and that it was the most important thing I owned because it would protect my life if I took proper care of it.

The hilt was made of black leather, and I had wrapped a sapphire ribbon around it for some colour. The blade was made of a mixture of silver and Shadow-glass. The blade was curved slightly for a better blow, and it was shorter than most other swords due to my height. It even had a few runes carved into the metal.

I knew that sword from the tip to the hilt. I knew the weight and the feel. I knew the damage it could cause and the danger it was. I even knew exactly where the metal changed to glass. The sword was part of my arm.

"It's interesting," Jace said seriously. "Half silver and half Shadow-glass. Curved blade. Small point. A little shorter than most. Very light… quite thin… very sharp… Beautiful really…"

"Thank you," I responded, feeling proud, as he gently put the sword back in the sling and placed it on the bed.

I lifted up the back of my jacket, pulling out each knife and tossing them onto the bed next to my duffle-bag. Each one at a time, before fixing the hem of my jeans.

I looked up when I was done, to see the three staring at me funny. I frowned at them and shrugged.

"What?"

"Were you ready for battle?" Jace asked, with a grin, and he ran his eyes over me.

"I didn't know what to expect. I've never been anywhere other than Idris, and I heard that there are demons everywhere in New York," I confessed, with a small blush and another shrug. "I wanted to be prepared for anything."

"There's more Downworlders than demons," Alec told me, as we all began to leave my bedroom.

"That's good to hear," I mumbled, before closing the door to my room and following the three down the hallway.

"Have you ever seen a Downworlder?" Max asked innocently.

"It's rare to see Downworlders in Idris, and you only ever see them in the city," I told them, as if they didn't know. "But I did see a few warlocks once. They were talking with the Clave."

"I heard that you live in a large house far from the city," Max murmured, and I nodded in returned. "Which means you've never fought demons before-"

"Max, that's a bit harsh," Alec cut in.

"It's alright," I said with a blush. "It's true. I've never had the chance to fight demons, and I've never even laid eyes on one. It's one of the reasons I wanted to leave Idris for an Institute."

"Jace has killed hundreds of demons. He's the best Shadowhunter I know," Max told me, looking to the blonde as if he truly was a god.

"I wouldn't say hundreds," Alec grumbled.

"Yes. I would say thousands," Jace replied smugly, and a large smirk appeared on his face. "And I noticed that you didn't correct your brother on me being the best Shadowhunter to ever live."

"He didn't say that-"

"Even if Max didn't. It's entirely true," the blonde interrupted Alec, as if he had done so many times before, and his smirk grew.

"Humble, aren't you, Herondale?" I muttered.

"No," Jace disagreed, with a cheeky glint to his eyes. "Realistic."

I laughed and rolled my eyes at that. It didn't annoy me though, because Jace was acting just like my brother and my brother was never being honest about such things, just sarcastic and mocking. My brother was a clown.

"Don't worry, Clary. I've never seen demons, either," Max confessed. "I'm too young to go on patrols, and I've only really started my training a few months ago."

"Max is striving to be like me," Jace said, as Alec rolled his eyes. "Many are, since I'm so stunningly awesome and incredibly attractive."

"Yeah. But I don't think I'll ever kill as many demons as Jace," Max admitted, drawing my attention back to him.

"I think you'll be the best Shadowhunter to ever live in no time. I think you might even kill all the demons," I answered, with a soft smile, as he absolutely beamed at me.

"Thanks, Clary."

We travelled the rest of the way in silence, and it wasn't awkward. In fact, Jace and Max were as happy as can be, Alec only rolled his eyes at the two and I was quite delighted by Max. We were just all hungry and tired, knowing that there would be more time for conversations later.

We soon walked into the dining-room, where the mothers were organising the table and others were sitting down. Everyone was already in the room, sitting themselves, preparing the table and talking to each other.

I noted that there were two long tables, and that the adults were filling one, leaving the children with the other. I knew it was so we could get to know each other. Yet, the tables were practically touching each other and so it wasn't much privacy from the parents.

There were seven chairs on the adult tables and six on the children tables, making it so we couldn't sit away from any of the other teens. It caused me to sigh dramatically.

I grinned at Jon when he looked up and noticed me. He waved me over and patted the seat beside him, since we were used to sitting side by side at dinner.

However, Max grabbed hold of my hand once more and dragged me over to the other side of the table, across from Jon. Max sat in the chair on the very end, and made it very clear that he wanted me beside him.

I didn't have the heart to turn him down.

When I sat down next to Max, my brother snickered and wiggled his eyebrows at me, since he knew I hated it when he did so.

"I see you move quickly, little sis," he remarked. "Not even an hour and you've already found your husband. He's even shorter than you-"

"Oh, shut it," I hissed.

I saw out of the corner of my eye, as Jace went to sit on my other side and was stopped by the beautiful girl. She quickly pushed in front of him and seated herself beside me.

I noted that Jace had a slight scold, as he went to the other side of the table and sat next to my brother, without a word other than a grunt. Alec sat beside Jace, filling the table, and glancing at the blonde with confusion.

We all began to eat what was before us, - a huge plateful of streak, gravy, bread, mashed potatoes and peas, - since everyone was seated both on the children's and the adult's table. The conversations started at the same times as the eating.

"I'm so glad you're here, Clary," Izzy told me, as I turned to her. "It's very frustrating in a household full of teenage boys, and I need some girl influence in my life."

"I thought you liked hanging around me!" Max gasped.

"I do, Max. I really do," Izzy responded kindly. "But sometimes I'd like to spend time with another girl my age."

"Yeah. Well… Don't hog Clary!" He snapped rather hotly, to my and everyone else's surprise. "I want to hang with her, too… and she's my friend. Not yours!"

"Possessive little thing, isn't he?" My brother muttered with his usual cheeky grin. "You pick them well, little sis."

I ignored my brother, as I looked to the little boy who was shockingly quite upset. He was clutching his fork so tightly his knuckles were white, his eyebrows were crossed, his face was a little red and he glared at his sister.

"Don't worry," I told him, liking the fact that for once someone was younger than myself. "I'd like to hear about your comic-books. They seemed interesting, and you promised to let me read them."

Max forgot his anger and beamed once more.

"Clary, you remember why we're here. Right?" My brother raised an eyebrow at me, as I scolded.

"Yes, I do. But I'd prefer not to," I replied, hating to be reminded of the new law. "Anyhow, it doesn't mean I can't make friends."

"Exactly," Izzy agreed, before looking me in the eye and smiling as if we had been the best of friends for years. "I love you already."

I ate a fork full of steak, holding back a groan of delight and wanting to compliment whoever cooked it. I only needed a single bite to realise that the food was divine, and I knew I'd be licking the plate and my fingers clean.

Although, I wasn't used to great food, since my mother wasn't the best cook. She often turned her food unusual colours, such as green or black, and the food was always soggy, burnt or somehow both at the same time.

"Diz muff iz amazin'," my brother said with a mouth full of food and moaning happily like some kind of wild boar. He then quickly threw in another fork full and groaned.

"Lovely manners, Johnny," I muttered, looking at my brother and wondering how we were even related. "You won't be finding a wife anytime soon…"

Just to annoy me, Jon opened his mouth and gave the perfect view of the mush in his mouth. It made my stomach roll, and I purposely gaged in response.

"Jonathon, eat with your mouth closed and stop tormenting your sister," my dad could be heard on the other table.

I smirked at my brother, as he pouted. Noticing once more that there were a certain pair of golden eyes watching me.