Disclaimer: Cassandra Claire owns all except for the children!

Chapter 10

The Banes:

August 18, 2020

*Clary POV*

"Bye Mom!" Noah called as he jumped out of the car and ran for the school doors, his backpack bouncing against his back. Ethan stared up at me from the back seat of the car, his green eyes glimmering with tears. "Do I really have to go Mama?" Ethan cried as his bottom lip jutted out. He reached forward, grabbing ahold of my shirt as he cried, "I don't want to leave you!" It broke my heart to see him this way, but I knew he had to go. Besides, he would be back by noon since they only went half day for kindergarten. "Oh sweetie," I cooed as I brushed my hair through his curly locks. They dangled just above his eyes before curling behind his ears, while Noah kept his hair cut short, he absolutely hated his curls.

"School will be fun, trust me. You'll make all sorts of new friends," I suggested as I pulled Ethan up to sit on my lap. "But I don't want to make new friends," Ethan countered as her threw his arms around my neck. "Ethan," I said as I pulled him back, "tell you what, when you get home from school we'll go visit Lucille. How's that sound?" Ethan thought this through for a moment before a smile formed on his face. "Its only a few hours right?" He questioned. "Right," I said with a nod of my head. "Okay," Ethan smiled brightly, hugging me tightly before climbing out of the car, "bye Mama, I love you!" Cautiously Ethan made his way to the door, glancing around at the other children around him, before entering the front doors.

I whipped the tears from my eyes as I drove away, it was hard to think of Ethan an Noah growing up this fast. It was a strange feeling of pride and loss as I watched them age before my eyes. Was this how my parents had felt? I drove home in deafening silence, Ethan and Noah were at school and Lillian was my Mother. The two of them had gone to tea party with a group of other little girls. The plan had been to give me some alone time so that I could finish my latest pieces before the deadline. It had been a good idea, but now that it was happening I regretted it.

When I got home I changed into a paint smock, turned on some music, and started working on a piece. This one was a family portrait of a couple in their late twenties and their son and daughter. I felt a heaviness in my heart with each brush stroke. I was already 23 and Jace 24. Where had all the time gone and where was it going to go in the future. It seems like it was just yesterday when I first found Jace in that abandoned house, and now we had three children, a home of our own, jobs, and I think I'm going to start getting grey hair soon.

For the longest time I hadn't worried about my age, hadn't even given it a second thought, but now I do. There was this sinking feeling I had in the pit of my stomach that something was going to happen. That something was going to happen to me, that I was going to be ripped from my life and family. That I was going to run out of time. I have had dreams of this for the past month now, and it scares me. It scares me so much sometimes that I wake up in a cold sweat with tears streaming down my face.

*Jace POV*

"Again!" Valentine shouted. I brushed my hair out of my face before returning back to my starting point. I reached to the sling around my waist, pulling out a long sword, before racing forward. The targets started jumping out all around me, another jumping out after I had cut down the first. As I neared the end of the makeshift obstacle course I heard the pounding of feet and ducked in time to hear the swooshing of a blade just above my head. I rolled out of the way when another assailant slammed down an ax.

I turned around, kicking up at the man with the ax, knocking his weapon to the ground. With a swift punch to his gut and a spin kick to his face he was down for the count. The man with the straight sword yelled before charging at me. I ducked just before he could hit me and swiped my foot at his legs, knocking him to the ground before jumping atop him and pressing my sword against his neck. He smiled as his chest rose and fell rapidly, "Well done Jace,"he said before tapping the sword away from his neck. "Thanks," I replied between breathes as I heaved him up from the ground.

I glanced over at Gabriel, the man with the ax, who lay unconscious on the ground. Normally I would feel bad, but not with him, he had started dating Cecily about two weeks ago and needed to be warned. I couldn't have him thinking that dating Cecy would be easy. I think he's starting to catch on. "You don't have to be so hard on him," Alec, the man with the sword, said. Alec and his wife Lucille had traveled here from the Clave the same time as Clary's parents. Lucille had made it easier with Clary, she was a blessing really. She was an amazing distraction, what with her being pregnant, it certainly kept Clary busy and unsuspecting of my time.

"True, but where's the fun in that?" I laughed as Alec and I made our way over to Valentine. For almost two months I have been training in the Circle, Valentine's rebellion, along with Alec. On the first day of training we were all grouped with a partner, and I just got lucky to have Alec as mine. We may not have been close when we lived in the Clave, but now I can't even imagine my life without him, he's practically family. The Banes all seemed connected to my family in some way, shape, or form. Magnus bane, Alec's father had been a big help to Clary and me during our escape and even before.

Lucille had been a friend of Clary's before she was a Bane, and still continues to do so. Its strange for me to look at the two of them together and imagine what life was like with them apart. They're practically joined at the hip. Hadley Bane, Alec and Lucille's daughter is the same age as Noah and Ethan and is best friends with Ethan. Where you find Ethan you almost always find Hadley, and where you find Hadley you almost always find Ethan. Its a great thing for Ethan, what with him being so shy and timid, she always brings out the best in him and when she is around he always has a smile on his face. I can't imagine what my family would be like without the Banes.

"Its looking better each time you do it Jace!" Valentine laughed as he clapped me on my back, "Now let's move on to target practice." I glanced at Alec and saw a small smile glaze his face, target practice was his favorite, as it should be for Alec was the best archer in the Circle. Alec walked over to the bow rack in long and confident strides as I trailed after him.

Complete silence filled the room as all eyes fell on Alec, the only sound in the room was the tack of his shoes on the concrete floor. He took his position, notching an arrow into the bow before pulling it back as far as he could. He unleashed four arrows before the center of the target was full and then moved onto the moving targets, which he finished in under a minute. With a bow in his hand he was unstoppable, there was certainly no denying it.

"That's it for today!" Valentine bellowed as he walked to the center of the room, "everyone did great today, now let's do better tomorrow. You're all dismissed." Sound immediately filled the room as the hundreds of Circle rebels exited the room, Alec and I stayed behind, as always. "Jace, Alec," Valentine said as he joined us by the bows. Alec spun around, "Has there been any news from my Father?" Alec questioned with wide eyes. After Magnus had helped Clary and me get out, a certain someone wouldn't let it rest and dug up information on Magnus. This person accused Magnus of having connections with outside sources in hopes of over throwing the Clave. This, of course, didn't settle well with them so the arrested Magnus Bane and have been trying to 'get' information from him. The Clave sent pictures and recordings of their time with Magnus to the Idris Council, which Valentine just so happens to be apart of.

There wasn't a single shred of doubt in me that Sebastian Verlac wasn't behind this. The bastard just couldn't let anything go and no doubt went after Magnus for revenge. I should have killed the twerp when I had the chance. The Angle knows I'd be doing this whole world a favor. "What he means to say is has there been anymore news on the inside?" I interjected as I nudged my elbow into Alec's side. No matter how easy-going Valentine may seem, his rule on the Circle was tight and he did absolutely no favors for us other than train us. His only goals out of all of this is to take down the Clave, and getting his son back. Anyone who wants to go against this he'll drop, no questions asked.

"Unfortunately no, we just have to wait until they slip up. I've warned all inside forces about the Bane incident, and they know to be more careful. It seems you can't trust anyone nowadays. Well, I've got to get going now. I promised Jocelyn that I would be home before dinner, seems Lillian I staying with us for the night," Valentine's face lit up at the end. For all his faults, the man is an amazing family man. He would do anything for Clary, Jocelyn, Ethan, Noah, and Lil. And to be honest that's what he is doing with this whole rebellion. He's just a man wanting to bring his family together. The Angel knows I'd do anything to keep my family safe, that's the whole reason I'm doing this anyway.

Authors Note:

I'm so glad to Jace gotten to this point! I hope you guys aren't upset with the shift in the topic of this story, but this was the plan all along. Oh I wsas just thinking of writing from a POV from the inside the Clave, would you like that or would it be too much. It wouldn't be just a random person, but someone with power. Anyway, this is it for now so I love you all and thank you for reading!

-Haybell