Cynthia grinned triumphantly as she forced Jonathan to the floor, his blade at the other side of the room where she'd knocked it from his hand. "Gotcha" she giggled out, holding out a hand to help him up. Jonathan smirked deviously and Cynthia screamed in surprise as he yanked her down, sitting himself atop her knees with her own blade at her throat.

"Never ever think the battle is over. Especially that easy" he told her and Cynthia rolled her eyes, resting her head back against the wood of the training room. "Fine fine you win" she grumbled and Jonathan chuckled, throwing the blade aside and cocking a brow "No tricks?"

"Nope."

He scowled as she flipped them over, a bright and cheeky smile upon her face as she told him innocently "You need to stop trusting me like that." Cynthia straightened up and picked up the swords that were lying upon the floor, strolling over to their holders and putting them away, sighing gently- it was so much hard work training to be a Shadowhunter. But she was getting there. Her father was certainly pleased with her progress and Cynthia did everything she could to keep him happy. Jonathan thought her insane and wild, but it was like something deep down inside her had finally awakened.

The world was her playground.

"You cut your hand again." Jonathan told her and Cynthia blinked, looking down to her palm where it was sliced cleanly. "Oh." She just said in surprise and he tutted, crossing over to the side where a white towel lay. He picked it up and crossed over to where she stood, tying it around the cut. Cynthia smiled weakly at him, feeling her cheeks go a little red.

Three years had passed since their training had doubled. Cynthia eleven and Jonathan ten. Cynthia enjoyed poking fun at him that she was older. He just retorted that he was the smartest, the better warrior.

The playful squabble went on for hours until their father returned a few days early, blinking at them both as they sat in the garden, cross-legged with books open before them.

Cynthia adored Jonathan, even Valentine knew that. They were best friends, sparring partners and together through everything really. Where one went, the other followed. Jonathan kept his feelings to himself, but the man knew Cynthia was falling for him more and more by the day.

Which was a problem. Because Cynthia was more or less ready.

Gone was the little girl who was shy, replaced with a girl who was eager to please. Where Jonathan failed, she succeeded. The demon blood had finally matured it seemed, and Valentine knew it was time for the primary plan to be put into action.

Cynthia sighed gently, meeting Jonathan's golden eyes "I don't want to train anymore today. My muscles... they ache." She smiled a little and the boy nodded "I have a music lesson later on."

"Are you still being made to play that damn piano? If I had to learn that, I'd slam it down upon my tutors' fingers."

"I'm good at it."

"Now that I don't believe."

Jonathan smirked "Come watch then." He strolled forwards with Cynthia close behind along the paneled wooden corridors to the music room where the solitary black piano stood, majestic next to the wide window, bathing it in golden sunlight.

Cynthia closed the door behind her, listening to the sound of his quiet padding footsteps as he crossed over to the stool and setting up the lid, looking around to her as he patted the spot next to him. She rolled her eyes and stepped over, taking the allocated seat and looking down with bored eyes as he raised those slim hands of his to the ebony and ivory keys and started to play. It was hesitant, halting at first as he got the feel of them, then Cynthia blinked in surprise as he started to play, and rather fluently as well.

They lost track of just how long they sat there, Cynthia listening intently and silently to the sound of music filling the air. She suddenly wished that she'd been allowed to play as well. Jonathan glanced up and saw her crestfallen face, asking "Do you want me to show you?"

A blink later and Cynthia grinned, nodding enthusiastically "Yes please." Jonathan shuffled over and allowed her to sit before the piano where he'd been, showing her where to put her hands. "There and there" he instructed and Cynthia nodded in silence, biting her lip as she accidentally pressed the wrong black key.

Cynthia started giggling quietly as he placed his hands over her own to guide them, telling him with a laugh "I can do it myself."

"No you can't. You're rubbish. You should play the…" Jonathan looked around for the right word, telling her with a laugh of his own "the triangle."

"I'm not useless" Cynthia scowled out and Jonathan sniggered, prodding her in the side "Only in the art of playing the piano."

She slapped his hands with her cheeks burning red- damn him for being so cute. Cynthia bit her bottom lip as he got up, asking before she chickened out "Can you be… I mean… do you want to be my-" the last word stopped dead in her throat, the blush even redder now. Jonathan was staring with a frown upon his face "your what?" he asked and Cynthia mumbled out "my boyfriend." She was shocked at herself, knowing that a little while ago, she never would have been able to ask that.

Jonathan's cheeks went red too, and his eyes widened. "Your… boyfriend?"

"Mmmhmm." Cynthia muttered, looking down and prodding the pedals at the bottom of the piano with her foot. He would say No, she was sure.

"Yes." Jonathan replied with his own cheeks red, taken aback more than anything. Cynthia blinked and looked up at him in surprise "Really?" she asked and he nodded, looking clueless on what to do now. Cynthia beamed and went up on tiptoes, plonking a kiss directly onto his lips, causing him to blink a few times in surprise.

With another blush, Cynthia cleared her throat and told him "I need to do some reading. See you later." She left and Jonathan was still stood there, feeling startled that Cynthia had kissed him. But he'd liked it and butterflies seemed to flutter inside his stomach.

When Valentine walked in with his music tutor, he noticed the red in his sons cheeks and the smile that instantly vanished as they walked in.

He didn't have to guess. He knew Cynthia had been in here.

It was the last straw.

-LightInYourNightmare-

Cynthia hated fire. Hated it with a passion. It scared her to the point of almost crying, even though she vowed not to. She'd never cry again, it made her seem weak and she wasn't weak. It was the memories of the fire her adoptive father had rescued her from that made the element her primal fear. Valentine had to abandon lessons on working with her concerning fire because she was a screaming, hysterical mess whenever something even as small as a lit match was near her.

Only Jonathan could calm her down when the fire incidents happened.

So when Valentine decided the best way to split her and Jonathan up using a glamour of fire, he did feel the tiniest bit guilty. One, he was going to terrorize her with the image of the mansion on fire like her parents, and two… she was going to think her best friend had perished in it.

If she hadn't been overtly keen on fire before, she was going to be terrified of it now.

Jonathan would hear nothing. His room was sealed with runes of silence and when Cynthia woke up, hearing the roar of flames, she screamed and scrambled to her feet, backing up until her back was pressed to the wall. She couldn't move from fear, it was over powering her and Cynthia panicked to the point of passing out. As the door caught fire, she passed out.

When Cynthia opened her eyes, she felt the swaying and shaking below her, recognizing it as a carriage. She sat up with a gasp, eyes wide and panic in her chest as she looked opposite to stare at her adoptive father.

But where was Jonathan-?

"Fire. There was… fire-" she whimpered, scrambling to her feet but her father just placed his hands upon her shoulders, forcing her to sit down and gaze up into his dark eyes. "Cynthia. Calm down."

"Where's Jonathan?!"

"Cyn-"

"Why is he not here?!" she exploded with and Valentine caught her face in his hands and told her in a strong voice "Calm down. Now."

Cynthia had tears streaming down her face as she gazed into his midnight eyes, asking quietly "Did… Jonathan get out?"

"I'm sorry sweetheart."

She gasped quietly and pulled back, swallowing hard to force the tears back as she asked quietly "What do you mean?"

"You will never see him again, Cynthia. I'm sorry."

Cynthia whimpered gently and slumped backwards in her seat, the grief shooting through her. Shadowhunter's weren't supposed to grieve like this. Be a sobbing mess, but she didn't care.

Valentine allowed the girl to move over to sit next to him, burying her face into his chest and sob.

And he felt regret as he smoothed her honey blonde hair back gently, he truly did.

-LightInYourNightmare-

When the carriage rolled to a stop, Cynthia stared through the window with blank eyes at the cottage before her- why was she here? And why did it seem… familiar?

Valentine strolled up to the door and opened it with a single twist of the handle, stepping aside to let the girl walk in first. She was silent as she did so, then jolted as the man behind her called "Jonathan!"

Was he alive-? How… was he here?

Cynthia's eyes were wide with expectation as a door opened upstairs and footsteps coming down the stairs met her ears. But the boy who was walking down them wasn't blonde, and his eyes weren't golden. He stood tall for his age, white blonde hair almost flopping into his eyes.

She knew who he was almost instantly just from how he looked. Her adoptive father… had another son-?

"But Jonathan-" she started, looking up to the man stood behind her. He sighed and told her "He was like you. Adopted. Jonathan here, however, is my blood son."

Another boy called Jonathan it made Cynthia feel sick. She was going to call another boy that name?

She disliked him almost instantly.

But this boy, the one with the black eyes was staring at her with curiosity. "I know you" he frowned out, then his eyes widened a little in realization "You are Cynthia."

"We have never met before."

"Oh yes we have. Father bought you here first before you went to live with angel boy."

At that, the man behind Cynthia snarled and Jonathan shut up instantly. She was confused- why didn't she remember him?

The boy, Jonathan, was staring at her with a glint in his eyes that she didn't like. "What are you staring at, freak?" she snapped at him. He was genuinely taken aback at that- the last time she'd been here, she was a bubbly cute mess. Disgusting. Not anymore, she was hard under that exterior and he thought it amusing. Gone was that soft girl who ran to her adoptive daddy whenever he did anything at all towards her.

Maybe he'd grow to like this girl now she was more like him.

Jonathan smirked "I'm staring at you. Because you have the face of a sewer demon."

Cynthia scowled at that.

Valentine cleared his throat to break up the situation and Cynthia looked up as he said "Enough with the banter. If you're going to live together, I expect you both to get on to a certain degree."

Cynthia just stared at the boy with disgust in her eyes- fat chance there. He might have the name Jonathan, but he wasn't her Jonathan.

The one that was… dead.

Black-eyed imposter. She hated him already.