Hi all! So I got a comment that I can't answer directly because the person is a guest, so I thought I would answer it here, as it could be confusing to others as well! The comment had to do with me having so many characters and not being able to figure out what's going on with which character at what particular time. As of right now, it's safe to assume that every chapter happens one right after another, unless otherwise specified. If I don't mention a particular character in that chapter, then it's also safe to assume that what they're doing at that point in time isn't going to affect the overall plotline. They're either training or reading or taking a lazy day for themselves or just generally being the kids of our beloved TMI characters. If you really, really want to know what a particular character was doing, come ask me, and I'm sure I can come up with something if I haven't already specifically thought about it.
The reason I have so many characters is for a few reasons. I really couldn't envision any of the TMI characters having small families, meaning any less than two kids. I'm not really sure why that is, but I just couldn't. I also really wanted to be able to work with the family dynamics, and doing so with a big family is much easier to me. I'm writing from different points of view each time because I would like to get to know each of my characters as much as I would like for you all to get to know them. I could have James tell you everything there is to know about Maddie, but until we all take a look inside Maddie's head, we won't really know her. That being said, I do plan on writing A LOT about these kids, and I also plan on going back and filling in different bits and pieces along the way. So if you like one of them more than the others, just be patient with me, and I promise I will write more about them than I may have at this point. Thanks for bearing with me, and don't hesitate to come talk to me about my babies! I could go on and on about them all day! But I won't because we'd better just get back to the story!
Maddie hadn't realized she'd even fallen asleep until she felt Max's gentle hands trying to wake her from her nightmare. She was infinitely glad to see Max's face upon waking up, knowing that her brother was the best person to actually help her handle the nightmare, not to mention the day's events. She'd stayed behind at the Institute while everyone else went to the Clave meeting mostly because she absolutely hated Clave meetings. The few times Maddie had tried to make it through Clave meetings, she'd found it completely unbearable. So with the understanding of her dads, she'd studiously avoided Clave meetings, even when it was a meeting as important as today's had been.
It was because of the fact that today's meeting would have such an impact on their family that Maddie had set her alarm for the middle of the night and had been trying to stay up until she could find out what the outcome had been. But the time difference between Idris and New York had proven too much for her to handle, as she'd apparently fallen back to sleep while reading. As Maddie sat up and gave Max the room to slide into bed beside of her, she didn't have to pose the question that was on her mind to know the answer to it. Her brother's eyes were filled with tears that she knew had been threatening to fall since he'd been in Idris, tears that began streaming down his face almost as soon as he'd sat down.
"I don't understand," Max said, his voice raw with emotion that he was unable to hide. Maddie knew that Max was generally too gentle and loving to hide his emotions, his heart too big for him to keep anything inside for long. "How can the Clave tell them no? How can the Clave even begin to justify taking away anyone's rights like this?" Maddie placed her hand on Max's, knowing that her brother had had a blind faith in the Clave, had imagined that after today their dads would be married and that they would finally be happy once again. "How can Grandfather justify anything he said?" Max's voice broke under the weight of his words, and Maddie finally understood what had actually caused Max to break down. Max might have a terribly gentle soul, but he had always been stronger than imaginable, and it took a lot to break him in this way.
Maddie listened as Max recounted the night's events, telling her of how their grandfather had stood against their parents in the meeting, working to keep the Law the way it currently was. Max had always been closest to their grandfather, so she knew that he was hurting more over what had happened with Robert than he was over the Clave's decision. Max's voice broke when he told her his suspicions that Rafael knew more about why their grandfather had reacted this wy than he was letting on at the moment. Maddie was about to respond to Max when she involuntarily tightened her hand around Max's. Maddie's room was not very far from the library, which was apparently where their dads had gone once they'd gotten back as far as Maddie could tell from the sudden onslaught of yelling.
It was very clear, however, that their dads weren't angry with one another. From what Maddie could gather, it was clear that Robert had decided to come back with them. It was strange, however, to hear that her papa seemed to be trying to calm her dad down. It was almost as though he was trying to protect Robert, and in a weird way, it made Maddie as angry as it seemed to be making her dad. Maddie audibly sighed in relief when Max waved his hand and the noise was gone. "Thank you," she all but sighed, her voice much quieter than she would have expected. Max knew just how much yelling and fighting bothered her, especially when she could hear her dad's pain in his voice.
Before Max could say anything else, Maddie had reached up to wipe his tears away, hoping that she could do something productive in order to decrease her own anxiety. Max gave her the weakest of smiles. Maddie continued speaking, this time changing the subject instead of commenting on what was currently at hand. "How were your lessons with Uncle Luke?" she asked, earning an even wider smile from her brother. Max had gotten the chance to stay with their uncle Luke for a couple days, learning more about Downworlder affairs than he likely cared to know. Maddie hadn't gotten the chance to talk to him since he'd gotten back, not with everything that had gone on with their family.
"They were alright," Max said, his voice tense and tight. "Don't get me wrong, I love spending time with Uncle Luke, and I love everything he has to teach me," he continued, his voice becoming softer with each word. "It was just really hard to stay focused with all that's going on here. With dads fighting the way they were, and now this." Max's voice trailed off as his mind once again directed him toward the Clave meeting. This time, Maddie remained silent, knowing that speaking about it would only make things worse. Max needed the time to process what had happened,
"We should train together tomorrow," Max suddenly said, his voice distant this time, as though his mind was once again on their parents and the night's events. Maddie knew that Max was requesting this because he was aware of the fact that his sister was the only person he could train with and use his magic as his weapon. With the others, he was forced to train with swords and daggers, but with Maddie, he could fight the way their papa had been teaching him for years, like a warlock. All Maddie could do at this point was nod, feeling herself slipping back into sleep as Max got up and made his way to the door.
The next morning, Maddie surprisingly found herself trying her hardest to hold back laughter. "You didn't tell me she was blind," Max was saying to James, their lowered voices still carrying across the almost silent training room. Max had just accidentally run into Rose to which he'd asked her if she'd even seen him there. Rose had obviously immediately replied that she actually had not seen him there, that she hadn't seen anything, and Max had stammered the most awkwardly heartfelt apology that Maddie had ever heard him make. "Why didn't you inform me of that? Don't you think that's pretty important, James?" Max asked, his voice raised a few octaves from his embarrassment.
"I may be blind," Rose said, her voice dripping with amusement as she turned back toward James and Max, throwing a smile to Maddie and Anna who were standing together trying to hide their laughter. "But my hearing is absolutely astounding, and much better than yours, I might add." Maddie turned around when she heard her papa laughing as he walked in, clearly not caring who heard him laugh about it.
Everyone turned to him then, and Maddie could clearly tell that Max was incredibly thankful for the interruption. At least he was until their papa spoke up. "And I have no doubt that her fighting will give yours a run for its money, son," their papa said, his voice clearly bearing the teasing and loving tone that it had been missing for several weeks, and Maddie was terribly relieved to hear it. But what relieved her the most was the sight of both of her fathers together, her dad walking in with a smile on his face. Maddie knew that this was likely the first time he had smiled in weeks.
"Stop patronizing them, Magnus," he said, his voice relaxed and clear, the complete opposite of what it had been the night before. "As you've all been here for just over a week," he continued, this time addressing the trainees. "We're going to take today to test you all and assess your skill level. After today, we will begin training you with personalized programs. We will also be meeting with each one of you individually, so as to gather information about how you wish to proceed with your training and what you wish to learn from your time here." At that, Marlies and Evan both chuckled, as though they felt they had nothing to gain from the next few months of training.
Maddie was not at all surprised when her father picked up on this, and she tried to hide her smile as he turned to them. "You believe there is nothing you can learn while here?" he asked, his voice hinting at his amusement. "If that's the case, then I'm sure you won't mind going first for this part of the test." He motioned toward the targets they had set up for an archery test. As Evan and Marlies confidently strode to pick out their bows, Alec spoke yet again, trying and failing to hide his eagerness. "Max, Jamie, why don't you join them as a comparison?" He asked, earning the most lovingly of amused smiles from Magnus.
It was hard to not notice the look on James's face when he heard his uncle call him by the nickname he'd had since he was little. Maddie knew that her dad was the only person he still allowed to call him by that name, seeing as they had always been the closest, but he clearly hadn't expected to hear it in this sort of setting. But both Max and James moved to pick up bows of their own, neither making a comment on the situation. Everyone in the room knew what Alec was doing by asking them to compare their skills to Marlies and Evan's. James wasn't exactly known for his skills in fighting, and Max was a warlock, so people always assumed that he couldn't fight like a Shadowhunter.
But Maddie also knew that her brother and cousin had much better aim than her father wanted Marlies and Evan to know at the moment. She wanted nothing more than to watch the two new arrivals quickly discover that their arrogance was far from warranted, but she got distracted when her uncle Jace came in and motioned for her papa. Though they were halfway across the training room, Maddie could still hear them if she focused wholly on what they were saying, her werewolf senses giving her the extra boost she needed. "What kind of killing, Jace?" Magnus was saying, his voice tense yet controlled.
It took a moment for Maddie to understand what her uncle was trying to convey, her concentration broken ever so slightly by Max and James's laughter. "The murder of an entire werewolf family, Magnus. Seems demonic in origin from what Luke told me. But he wants you to see it with your own eyes due to some 'odd circumstances,' as he called them. Plus, the family's daughter survived," Jace finished, his eyes flickering toward Maddie for just a moment. Up until that point, Maddie had forced herself to pretend as though she wasn't listening to their conversation, but as soon as her uncle said this, she moved to walk toward them as quickly as possible, ignoring Anna's questioning gaze.
"I want to go with you," she said as soon as her papa realized she was there. Maddie knew that he would want to talk her out of it, so she decided to make sure that wasn't an option for him. "I won't interfere with the investigation, I just want to help the girl," she added, willing her papa to give in despite his general overprotectiveness of her. After several agonizing moments that her papa was likely dragging out to be dramatic, he finally nodded and sighed, apparently sensing that she wouldn't give up on the matter.
"I'm going, too," Rafael said, coming up behind Maddie and placing a gentle hand on her shoulder. "Uncle Luke's orders," he added, handing his phone to their papa. Maddie couldn't help but laugh at her papa's exasperated sigh as he shoved Rafael's phone back into his hands. Maddie's smile only widened as she followed her papa out of the training room as he waved off her dad's questioning gaze, mumbling something about mischievous Lightwood children.
Maddie was no stranger to blood and death, so it wasn't the inherent violence of the crime scene that bothered her to the point of nausea. What truly caught her attention and made Maddie feel sick was the fact that her first glimpse of the scene told her just how little respect the murderer had for the lives they had taken. Not to mention that the little girl huddled in the corner reminded her eerily of herself. It was very clear from the way the girl had her arms wrapped around herself, her eyes darting from one person to another that she was utterly and completely terrified. "As I said, she only speaks Spanish," Luke said, bringing Maddie out of her thoughts and memories. "And we all know that my Spanish is barely competent, so I need you to talk to her and calm her down while I have your papa help me with the investigation."
Uncle Luke's words had been directed at Rafael, but Maddie was the first to make a move, going to sit down in front of the little girl without a second thought, blocking her from the scene that still remained in front of her. Her Spanish wasn't the best in the world, much worse than Max's considering that they'd both picked it up at a young age, so Maddie simply waited a few moments for Rafael to come sit beside of her. "Hola," he said, his voice almost unbearably soft. "Me llamo Rafael." The girl, who Maddie decided couldn't be more than ten years old, very quietly told Rafael that her name was Gabriella. Maddie smiled as her brother continued, telling Gabriella how beautiful he thought her name was.
People often thought that Max was the gentlest and kindest of them all, but as Maddie sat listening to her eldest brother converse with Gabriella, she realized that Rafael was just as kind as their dad or Max. As he explained to the little girl before him that she was completely safe and that they were only there to help her, Maddie began to understand Rafael seemed to feel as though the little girl before him was his own little sister, as though he was helping Maddie in his own strange way. "Maddie?" he said suddenly, his voice tearing Maddie away from her thoughts. "She wants to know how you got your scars and I-" Rafael's voice trailed off as though he simply didn't want to continue, not that he didn't know how.
The question came as such a surprise to Maddie that at first, she didn't know how to react. Her first thought was that the little girl before her did not need to be exposed to the horrors of her past, but then Maddie reminded herself that Gabriella had likely just watched as her family had been brutally murdered, and she knew that there was no such thing as protecting Gabriella any longer. So she took a deep breath and nodded to her brother, trying her best to give him a smile. "It's alright to go ahead and tell her," she said, not trusting her own Spanish abilities to convey something so complicated.
There was a moment's pause in which Rafael nervously stirred in a way that he rarely did, his expression far from the stoic air gone from his demeanor. Seeing him this way was uncomfortable to Maddie, as she was usually the one who generally exhibited nervous habits. Both of her brothers were always so genuinely strong and put together that seeing Rafael squirm in the slightest was difficult for her. Very slowly, Rafael responded, as though he felt he was pushing her too far. "The problem, Madison, is that I don't exactly know myself," he replied, his voice much heavier than it had been before. "I know that they came from your parents, but I tried telling her that and she wants to know why. The problem is that that's all I know, Maddie. I know they did horrible things to you, but that's all I know."
Rafael abruptly speaking, his gaze shifting from Maddie to the floor. At first, Maddie was genuinely surprised that her brother didn't know any more than the fact that she had been abused. But then she realized that her fathers weren't the kind of men who went around sharing about other people's personal lives, even when it came to sharing things among family members. "I wasn't born a werewolf," she began, pausing for Rafael to translate for her. "But I was bitten when I was two, so I don't remember life as a mundane." She paused yet again, trying to keep from focusing on the fact that her papa and uncle had stopped talking, clearly listening to what she had to say.
"After I Changed under the full moon for the first time, they absolutely hated me," Maddie continued, trying to put words to something that she couldn't exactly describe. "They locked me in the basement and fed me only when absolutely necessary. But they seemed to find pleasure in discovering new ways to hurt me, to torture what they saw as the monster that lived inside of me. Especially when it came to using silver," she said, motioning toward some of the scars on her arms. It was then she realized that Rafael had stopped translating, that he was looking at his hands and clearly trying to gather himself before speaking once more. So Maddie did the only thing she could think to do at the moment, and she placed a hand on her brother's arm, continuing to speak despite herself.
"But Rafael, make sure she knows that Luke was the one who rescued me and helped me find a loving family," she continued, the hint of a smile springing up in her voice. "Make sure she knows that he is going to help her in the same way he helped me. Make sure she understands just how gentle and kind and noble he is. Because that's the part that matters. What my parents did pales in comparison to the kindness and love that I have been shown since I was rescued." Maddie looked up as Rafael finally continued speaking, the noise of her papa moving away from them distracting her for a moment.
But that moment was long enough for Maddie to finally figure out what was wrong with the scene before them. Until then, she hadn't looked closely enough at the actual murder to understand why Uncle Luke had wanted help. But looking back at her papa from this direction, Maddie saw that it was actually very easy to catch. The murder scene was meticulous, or at least as meticulous as one could be with blood and violence. It was a scene that she had been exposed to in countless lessons before, and one that she knew she was likely to never forget. The blood had been carefully laid out in rune-like symbols. Except these were runes of darkness, and Maddie knew that they had never come from any angel.
The scene before her looked inexplicably like a sort of summoning or seance, and as Maddie moved to help Gabriella gather her things in order to leave with them, she resolved that she would not rest until she figured out exactly why that was. Maddie knew that she shouldn't get involved, but the way the little girl was holding onto her hand as though it was the only thing keep her grounded, the way that her brother was looking at her with a sort of pity that she had never before seen only made her all the more determined. The look in her papa's eyes told her that there was something dark at work here. The look in her brother's eyes told her that she had a lot more opening up and explaining to do once they got home. And she knew that neither of those were things that she could avoid, so she prepared herself to embrace them instead.
Sorry that I couldn't give you all any more Spanish than that! I'm majoring in German, so unfortunately, my Spanish is very limited, as you just saw!
I hope you all enjoyed this, and I'll be trying to get myself together enough to update more often! Until then, don't forget to leave a review and let me know how you're feeling about the story and the kids!