Chapter 18: …and Lovelace Letters
November, 2031:
A few days after the wedding, the Lovelace family and Will were still in Idris. Clary and Jace had to head back to New York to fulfil their duties as the Institute heads, but had agreed to let Will stay with the Lovelaces for the remainder of their visit to the Shadowhunter homeland. Charlie and Ros had also departed on their world tour/honeymoon. One particular day, near the end of the visit, Cecily and Will were walking through the streets of Alicante, hand in hand. Cecily stopped and Will turned to her.
"What is it, Cec?" Will asked.
"I want to get married, Will." Cecily stated, causing Will to look at her, speechless. "I know we wanted to wait until we were older. But, after seeing the love Ros and Charlie had for each other, I realised that I don't want to wait too long. We could get married today, and die tomorrow, but I'll die happy. I just need to be with you as more than just a boyfriend and girlfriend, or even fiancés."
"Uh, well, we have a lot of planning, and we would have to tell our parents." Will responded, his voice returning and sounding flustered.
"I know that it's a lot to take in." Cecily remarked. "I completely agree with you, that we have a lot of planning and that our parents need to be told."
"Cecily, I would love to marry you." Will assured his fiancé, taking her free hand in his free hand. "I'm just afraid that, if we rush to get married, the day won't be perfect for you."
This made Cecily smile appreciatively.
"As long as you're there, and so are our families, anything will be perfect." Cecily remarked. Will was left speechless again, but leant forwards and kissed Cecily softly on the lips. Cecily gladly reciprocated the kiss.
"We should get back." Cecily stated after the kiss finished. "My mum and dad probably want us home soon."
Will nodded in agreement. The pair quickly headed back to the house where the Lovelaces and Will were lodging. When they got into the house, Simon and Izzy were sitting in the lounge.
"Ah, we were wondering when you guys would get back." Simon stated.
"What is it?" Cecily asked her parents, noticing both seemed worried about something.
"Oh, well, we decided that it was time." Simon answered.
"Time for what?" Both young adults asked. Simon and Izzy looked at each other and remembered something that happened a few days before the Shadowhunters came to Idris for the wedding.
3 weeks earlier:
Simon and Isabelle sat together in one of the many corridors of the Institute. They were facing Jordan's bedroom, the door still sealed since Jordan's funeral.
"We're going to have to do this at some point." Isabelle commented. "We need to put the past behind us."
The two stood, and taking a deep breath, Simon opened the door to what used to be Jordan's bedroom. When they stepped inside, both were hit by a wave of memories from throughout Jordan's life. They looked around the room and picked up a few of Jordan's old belongings. Simon was running his hand along a shelf full of books when he accidentally knocked a book onto the floor. As the book fell a trio of other objects fell from the shelf as well. When they saw what the objects were, both Simon and Isabelle gasped.
3 weeks later:
From a back pocket, Isabelle took two white envelopes and handed them to Cecily and Will. The enveloped were addressed to the individual young adults, in a handwriting that both Cecily and Will recognised after a few moments.
"We found these letters in Jordan's room." Simon explained. "There was one addressed to your mum and I, then there were these two."
Cecily and Will looked at the Lovelace parents then each other, both wearing an expression of pure shock.
"It's up to you when you read it." Isabelle assured the pair. "We were just hesitating about giving them to you, because we were worried…"
"Worried about what?" Cecily queried, confused.
"You two were so distraught after Jordan passed away," Simon responded. "And we didn't want to throw you right back into that grief."
Will and Cecily understood the parents' reasoning behind their apprehension, remembering what both had been like after Jordan's death.
Later, Will and Cecily were sitting in the house's sitting room. Simon and Isabelle had headed over to Robert's house so that Isabelle could catch up with her father. The pair were sitting in silence, thinking over the previous few weeks, as well as the fact they'd be returning to America the following day. Will took Jordan's letter to him from his jacket pocket. Cecily noticed this.
"Will, are you sure about that?" Cecily asked her boyfriend. "Do you think you're ready to deal with whatever that letter contains?"
"I don't think I ever will, but that's the point." Will commented. "If I leave it and not read it until later, the effects will be worse."
Cecily smiled and nodded understandingly. She put her hands on Will's.
"I'll be here for you, no matter what." Cecily assured Will. Will smiled back before turning to the letter. He carefully opened the envelope. He unfolded the letter and began to read. The letter read:
'Dear Will,
If you're reading this, then I'm gone. Inevitably, it will have been in battle, and inevitably, you're going to be blaming yourself for my death. If you won't listen to your parents, or Charlie, or Cecily, or anyone else for that matter, then listen to me: my death, however it happened, isn't your fault. You need to live on, and if you blame yourself for my death, then that won't be the case. Perhaps, if this is a few weeks after what happened, you won't be blaming yourself as much, but I know you, and I know that, at least in the back of your mind, you're going to be blaming yourself, and I don't know how many times I will have to say this: it isn't your fault. One last request, Will from your parabatai, live on for me. Care for my sister, and your family. Enjoy every day as much as when I was alive. 'Stabit, et pugnare, my parabatai.
Jordan'
Reading the letter caused Will to tear up slightly. 'Stabit, et pugnare' was a Latin phrase that Will and Jordan used as a sort of motto between them. It roughly translated to 'Stand Up and Fight'. He put the letter down, and Cecily pulled her boyfriend into a comforting hug. Will hugged her back, though the tears cleared quickly. The letter did feel like closure. Despite the previous events which could have given him closure, the letter was what finally helped Will with the fact that Jordan was gone. This was probably because it was Jordan's words, and Will's parabatai had always had a way of communicating with the elder Herondale that nobody else had seemed to have cracked (much like his father was, according to Clary, Simon, and Isabelle). Will and Cecily separated, and looked at each other, trying to gauge the other's feelings.
"Are you alright?" Both asked simultaneously. They both smiled at the synchronicity.
"Seriously though, are you OK, Will?" Cecily asked again. Will wiped the last few tears from his eyes as he nodded.
"Yes, I am, actually. For the first time in a while, I think I can say that honestly." Will replied. He leaned forward and kissed Cecily. When they split, the Lovelace was dazed for a moment.
"What was that for?" Cecily asked.
"You being you." Will responded. "And reminding me who I can be, and who I should be."
This made Cecily smile and blush.
"I didn't do anything, though." Cecily commented.
"You didn't have too." Will replied. "I love you, Cecily, more than I could ever say."
Cecily leaned forwards and kissed Will. For both of the young adults, time seemed to slow down to nearly a standstill. All that mattered to both Cecily and Will was the love that they felt for each other. When they separated for breath, both young adults cheeks were flushed.
"I love you as well, Will." Cecily responded. "Some days, you're my only light in a world of shadow."
Will reddened even more.
"Are you going to read your letter?" Will asked Cecily.
"I put it in my suitcase." Cecily confessed. "I was going to leave it until we got back to New York. At the moment, I just want to stay with you."
Will nodded understandingly.
"I promise to be there for you when you read it." Will assured Cecily.
"I wouldn't expect it any other way." The Lovelace replied.
The two sat for a while longer, enjoying the peaceful silence. The Lovelace parents returned a while later, and found Will and Cecily cuddled up on the sofa. Both had fallen asleep and looked incredibly peaceful.
"I think our daughter has found the one for her." Isabelle commented quietly, as she looked at her daughter.
"I think you might be right. Lord knows both Will and Cecily deserve love, after everything they've been through." Simon whispered as a response. Both Lovelace parents then turned and exited the room, leaving their daughter and adoptive nephew to their rest.
A few days later, The Lovelaces and Will returned to the New York Institute. When they arrived, they were greeted with open arms by the Herondale parents. They were happy to see their son home. The families quickly returned to their usual lives in New York.
January, 2032
Cecily and Will were out waiting with Amatis for take away coffee from Java Jones, when there was a tap on Cecily's shoulder. The Lovelace turned to see Charlie standing there, smiling brightly. The younger Herondale was immediately pulled into a hug by her parabatai, then by her brother.
"When did you get back?" Cecily asked Charlie, completely ecstatic to see her parabatai.
"It was barely an hour ago." Charlie answered. "Ros and I are just passing through for a few days."
Cecily nodded. After they had got their coffee, the young adults wandered back to the Institute. Charlie told a few stories of her and Ros' honeymoon: from sailing through Venice, to their weekend in the Caribbean. All of the other young adults were happy for Ros' and Charlie's happiness.
"So, how were the last few months?" Charlie asked. Cecily and Will smiled at each other, and linked hands. On Cecily's finger was a new ring, alongside the promise ring.
"So, have you made any decisions about where you'll be staying after your honeymoon?" Will asked his sister.
"Well, I was eventually able to persuade Ros that we should live in New York, but she made a compromise." Charlie explained. "Half the year, we'll live in New York, and half the year, we'll live in Paris."
The young adults continued to chat as they walked back to the Institute, where they were met by Ros and the parents. Amatis said goodbye to the Shadowhunters before returning to Jocelyn's and Luke's house. Later, Charlie, Will, and Cecily sat on the front steps of the Institute, watching the bustle of the city they had called home for their entire lives.
"It's weird to think how much happened over the last two years." Cecily commented, getting the Herondale siblings to look at her.
"What do you mean?" Charlie asked.
"It was a year and a half ago that we first encountered Mortmain." Cecily explained. "This year has been incredibly hectic. We started as children, well, teenagers..."
Cecily trailed off slightly.
"And now we're adults." Will finished his fiancé's comment. "In a manner of speaking."
Cecily nodded. All three were reminiscent of the past year or so, starting from when Will and Jordan trying to get a trebuchet into the weapon's room, all the way to that moment when they sat watching the world go by, sitting together, despite the gap in their ranks, as the family and old friends they had always been, and always would be.
A/N: I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Please remember to review. Now, this marks the end of the potentially first bit of this story. As I've mentioned before, there is a poll on my profile so that you can give your opinion whether you want this story to continue. So, this might not be the last time, but all the same, thank you so much for your support throughout this story. It's been quite a ride, and I've enjoyed writing every bit of it (well, not every bit (I hate killing characters)). And (Possibly for the last time in this story), as always,
Keep on Reading
-ToAC
