"Family not only need to consist of merely those whom we share blood, but also for those whom we'd give blood." - Charles Dickens
Chapter 9
It was late morning on Wednesday, and Clary, Jonathan and Simon were sitting in the kitchen of the Fairchild Manor, eating food. They weren't exactly sure what meal it was, so there was a bit of everything out. They had been up all night and had only just returned from Alicante. Jocelyn and Luke were still there, as there was an informal meeting of the Council to discuss what was to be done regarding Simon.
When they had arrived through the Portal several hours earlier they had been met by Robert Lightwood, who was expecting them, thanks to a fire message from Amatis. He was not however expecting the additions of a warlock and a mundane. At first Robert had been furious with Magnus, blaming him for what had happened, but Magnus and Alec had both explained, from their ends, what had happened.
While the initial explanations were being made Jocelyn and Luke had been summoned via fire message, and preparations were quickly underway to sort out what to do with Simon. Magnus was slightly less of a concern, as he was known well known to the Clave, particularly as he held a place on the Council, representing Lilith's Children.
Robert and Jia Penhallow, the Consul, had been leaning towards locking Simon up until they had decided what course of action to take, but Clary had objected strenuously.
"You can't put him in prison!" she had exclaimed hotly. "None of this is his fault. He's just a mundane boy who got dragged into this."
"Well, what do you suggest, Clary?" Jia had asked tiredly.
"He can stay at our house," Clary had announced decidedly. "He'll be safe there, and it's not like any of us have comitted any crimes. He should at least feel safe while you decide where to go from here."
Jocelyn and Luke had arrived at that point, and Clary told them her plan. They were a little bewildered at first, trying to understand what was going on, but once they'd made sense of things, they had supported their daughter's plan. They spoke with the Consul, and Robert Lightwood, and Simon was temporarily released into their care, and required to stay at Fairchild Manor, until they decreed otherwise.
So Aura and Poseidon had been fetched from the stables and hitched to a spare carriage, and Jonathan, Clary and Simon were sent back to the Fairchild Manor, where they were still, eating food. The Lightwood siblings had been required to stay longer to speak with their father, Jia Penhallow, and the members of the Council who were gathering at the Accords Hall. Council meetings were usually held in the Accords Hall, as since Downworlder representatives had been added it had been necessary for the meetings to be held outside of the Council Hall which was located in the Gard, where Downworlders were not allowed. Amatis was expected from New York before too long as well, to give all the information she had. She was also to bring whatever had been left at the Institute by her visitors.
As Simon ate he began to regain some colour, and began to start asking questions.
"So, what are you people?" he asked curiously.
"Shadowhunters," Clary replied. "We're part human, part angel. We fight demons, and protect the world from Downworlders, like those vampires who took you."
"That girl who danced with me at the club, she's a Shadowhunter too?" Simon asked.
"Yes, that's Isabelle," Clary answered. "She's sorry that you ended up in this mess, by the way."
"And you're sure I'm not just having a vivid dream set in one of my video games?" Simon asked.
Jonathan chuckled at this, and then looked contrite as Clary glared at him.
"This is all real, I'm afraid, but we're going to look after you," Clary promised. "You can take a shower when you want, and Jon will get you some of his old things to wear."
"This is all very strange," Simon said, sounding dazed. "Cool, but strange."
"I'll explain whatever you want to know," Clary promised. "But after I've had some sleep. You probably want to get some sleep too."
Clary showed Simon where he could shower, then got him some clothes. She waited until he had showered to show him a spare room he could sleep in, and then feel exhaustedly into her own bed.
Clary awoke some time later and took a quick shower and dressed in her own clothes, thankful to be clean and out of the ridiculous outfit from the evening before. She briefly wondered what her mother had thought of her appearance when she'd arrived at the Gard that morning. Jocelyn hadn't said anything at the time, but Clary knew she'd be hearing about it as soon as Jocelyn got a chance.
Dressed and clean, Clary headed for the spare room where she'd left Simon and knocked on the door.
"Come in," Simon called quickly.
Clary opened the door and walked in, leaving the door open behind her.
"Did you have a good sleep?" she asked. "Have you been awake long?"
"Not too long," he answered. "I wasn't sure how to make it back to the kitchen from here, and hoped you'd come looking for me before too long."
Clary flashed him a grin and sat down on the bed next to him.
"So, I promised to tell you whatever you wanted to know," she said. "How about you ask me whatever you want, and tell me a bit about yourself too?"
"Okay," Simon agreed slowly. "So, you said you guys fight demons. Aren't you a little young for that? You don't look any older than me."
"I'm almost sixteen, so I probably am no older than you. Demon hunting, it's what we do, we're trained to do it from a young age," Clary answered.
"I'm almost sixteen too," Simon replied. "I'm Jewish, vegetarian, my dad is dead, I live with my mom and I have an older sister, Becky, who doesn't live at home. I have a cat called Yossarian, I play bass in a band, and we're constantly changing the name of the band."
"That's like your mini autobiography," Clary teased. "I'm sorry about your dad. My dad is dead too."
"How did your dad die?" Simon asked. "Mine died from a heart attack, he was pretty young, it was unexpected."
"My dad died when I was a baby. He died protecting one of our sacred artifacts. One of our own turned evil, a guy named Hodge Starkweather, and my dad stopped him, but was killed in the process," Clary explained. "He's kind of a hero now, and everyone knows our family, which I'm pretty much sure is why they're letting you stay here."
"Wow," Simon said, blinking.
"Yeah," Clary agreed, drawing the word out painfully.
"So I guess you're super popular," Simon voiced. "We're pretty much complete opposites. You're some warrior princess. I'm a geeky band guy. You're popular, I'm no one."
"Well, I'm not actually popular, I'm not a big people person," Clary said with a smile. "I'm a bit of a loner, I like my lessons, I like reading and drawing. Yeah, I can fight, but it's just what we do. We're not that different. Well, maybe we are, but it's just because we live in different worlds."
"Very different worlds," Simon agreed heartily. "Especially because in your world there are demons, and vampires, and warlocks. Are there dragons too?"
"No dragons, although there are a few remaining Dragonaide demons. There are also werewolves and faeries," Clary said with a grin.
"Oh, right then," Simon said, processing the information. "Well, I guess I should thank you for coming after me and saving me, especially when you didn't know me."
"Well, it is what I'm supposed to do, as a Shadowhunter, and I thought you looked nice, and I was sorry Isabelle toyed with you," Clary explained.
"Yes, she is something else," Simon said in a dazed voice, as if remembering the incident vividly. "Clary, do you know what they're going to do with me? Or what they're going to tell my mom? She'll be starting to freak out by now."
"I would guess they'll get a warlock to alter your mom's memory, so she'd not worried about you," Clary mused. "It won't hurt her, don't worry about that. They'll probably fix her memory so she thinks you're visiting a distant relative or the like."
"And how long do you think this will all take?" Simon asked. "My life isn't much, compared to all this, but it is still my life, and I should probably get back to living it sooner rather than later."
"It could take days, depending on how long the Council, they're kind of like our law enforcers, take to figure how how to proceed," Clary explained. "I would guess they'll probably fix your memories too. It could just take a while to get to that point while they talk over everything that led to you being here. They'll probably want to talk to you before too long as well."
"I'm sure that will be fun," Simon said sarcastically. "So, I notice you don't have cars, or cell phones or any modern technology like that here. So do you not approve of them? What do you do to keep from getting bored?"
"Well, cars don't work in Alicante, neither do cell phones, the protective wards stop them from functioning, so there's little point in having them for use outside of the bounds of Alicante," Clary explained. "So we ride horses, or use carriages, like you saw today. I like to read, draw, do achery, and ride. Of course, training, and being a Shadowhunter takes up a lot of time. We also have parties, that I don't usually go to, and there are a few regular balls a year. Our world is an interesting blend of modern and older eras."
"I did achery at summer camp a few times," Simon said surprisingly.
"Can you ride?" Clary asked in interest.
"No," Simon said frankly. "I live in Brooklyn, there is kind of a lack of rolling fields and stables for that."
"Do you want to learn?" Clary asked, regardless of the fact that in a few days Simon would probably remember nothing of their time together.
"Sure. What the hell?" Simon said quickly.
Clary took Simon out to the stables, by passing Jonathan in the open living area, where he was apparently writing something, and barely acknowledged them.
At the stables Clary saddled an older, reliable steed for Simon, and began teaching him the basics of riding.
As they were doing so the family carriage pulled up, with Jocelyn, Luke and Valentina inside, and Bill driving.
"Clarissa, finish up there and meet us inside please," Jocelyn said coldly. "Quickly."
Luke looked just as stern, and Clary cringed.
"You're about to get yelled at, big time, aren't you?" Simon guessed.
"Yep," Clary confirmed, looking resigned. "Brace yourself, my mom has a temper to match her hair, when she gets going."
Clary steeled herself and headed inside, Simon following her.
"You might want to head back to the room you were in before," Clary said quietly. "You'll be able to hear from there in all likelihood, but you'll be out of the line of fire."
Clary walked into the kitchen, where Jocelyn was apparently starting dinner.
"Hi Mom," Clary said confidently. "How did today go?"
"How did today go? Well, let's see, Clarissa," Jocelyn began, in what was already a dangerous tone. She was still somewhat calm, but Clary knew it was the calm before the story. "Early this morning we received word that our son and daughter had returned early, and that there was some sort of emergency. We raced into Alicante, our two year old in tow, and found you dressed in a completely inappropriate black dress for starters! Clarissa, what were you thinking, wearing something like that? And Jonathan, you let her!"
Clary realised Jonathan had joined them, probably for support, or to take his share of the lecture.
"Isabelle picked it, I needed something to wear to a club we were sent out to, to go demon hunting," Clary explained. "It's not like it was my idea to wear it, and I didn't really enjoy it."
"It wasn't Clary's fault, and I did try to stop her, but it was the hand we were dealt," Jonathan added.
"That's not important," Jocelyn snapped. "So, for the remainder of the day, as I heard about what you had been up to, I had that image of you stuck in my mind, it really did not help things. I sat there in shocked silence as I listened to my sister-in-law explain that you ran into Hellhounds and were almost killed! You both know better, you are both better fighters than that! What happened?"
Clary opened her mouth to defend herself, but Jocelyn was on a roll.
"And then, the pièce de résistance, I find out that somehow, the lot of you managed to get a mundane boy kidnapped by vampires, and that you ran of with essentially no plan or back up to get him back. Clarissa, you ran off without your brother, and no other support than Jace Herondale. The two of you acted rashly and foolishly. You were alone in New York and you didn't know what you were running into, other than there was at least one vampire, and probably a rogue one. You're just lucky that Alec was mature enough to phone Amatis, which is what you should have done as soon as that werewolf girl told you about the boy being taken."
"I'm sorry Mom, that wasn't the best choice," Clary admitted. "I just wanted to have the best chance of rescuing Simon, and I just thought that the sooner we started after him the more likely that we'd have a chance of saving him. I was safe with Jace, and we're all okay now."
"Yes, except you brought a mundane with you to Alicante, which has made all sorts of problems," Jocelyn chastised. "You're just lucky that the Council holds your father in such a high opinion, or they'd be nowhere near as lenient about the whole situation. You've also put Luke into a difficult position due to his role in the Council."
"I am sorry, Mom," Clary repeated, meaning it. Her mother was an expert at scoldings, especially at making Clary realise exactly where she'd gone wrong, even when she didn't realise it at the time.
"I know you are, Clary," Jocelyn said, suddenly calm. "I just worry about you."
"I know," Clary said penitently. "At least I got into trouble with people who are my friends now, that's something."
"Yes, that's something," Jocelyn allowed with a smile. "But I'm still not wild about Isabelle's choice of dress for you, or Jace deciding to run off with you after the boy."
"Simon," Clary corrected. "He's upstairs in one of the guest bedrooms, Mom."
"That's good, I'm glad you took care of that," Jocelyn said sincerely.
"Are you going to yell at me, Mom?" Jonathan asked, a cheeky grin on his face.
"Would you like me to?" Jocelyn asked, a playfully dangerous look in her eyes.
"Not really," Jonathan said with a grin. "If you don't mind, I'm going to find Luke and speak with him, I've got some notes I put together from our trip, in case he needs them."
So Jonathan left, and Clary stayed to help Jocelyn with dinner.
"I think you'll like Simon, Mom, he's really nice," Clary told Jocelyn. "It was really interesting hearing about his life, and I gave him a riding lesson. I kind of wish he could stay, you know."
"You know he can't," Jocelyn said seriously. "The Council want to speak with him tomorrow, and he'll probably be sent back to New York, with all his memories of this gone. Luke and I are required to attend, and will take him in the morning, and probably take Jonathan with us, to look after Valentina. The Council has specifically asked you not to attend, in fact, that you don't come into Alicante. They're afraid you might have another outburst, and would like to avoid any complications in dealing with this matter."
"Fine," Clary agreed reluctantly. "But be nice to Simon. He's taking this all rather well, I think he thinks he's in some kind of fairytale, or something, to some degree, but he's still scared."
"Of course, I'll take care of him," Jocelyn promised. "I'm glad you've connected with him, and I'm sorry that you're going to have to let go of him soon."
"I know," Clary said sadly. "If only there was a way."
"Well, let's not waste time wishing for what we know cannot happen," Jocelyn said sensibly. "How about you go and rescue Simon from his room and bring him down here so I can get to know him? I'd like to meet the boy that you actually almost instantly wanted to be friends with."
Clary gave Jocelyn a warm smile and retrieved Simon, and they spent quite a pleasant evening together, eating dinner, and sitting around talking, and getting to know one another.
AN: Thanks for reading! Thanks to everyone who has reviewed, favourited and followed so far :)
I know this chapter didn't have much action in it, but it was important for Clary and Simon to get to know one another. Plus, Jocelyn did give a rather impressive lecture. For those waiting for some more Clace, the next chapter is going to be filled with it!
Please review, as usual, you get a 500 word preview of the next chapter by PM if you do :)
Hope you've all had a great weekend!