Melissa Herondale sat on the plush seat on the second floor of the library, her large dark emerald eyes behind a large frame of glasses, the book on her knees close to her face. She quickly tucked one of the curls that refused to go up into her bun behind her ear, and reached for her black tea in the progress. She took a sip of the hot liquid and placed the cup back onto the fancy painted saucer. She had been in this exact spot for hours. She hadn't moved once from her spot, for she was so deeply interested in the history of Shadowhunters themselves. But she was constantly finding herself reading something about Jonathan Shadowhunter. It was strange, so she decided to start taking notes on everything she read.
She picked up the pen hooked onto the wire of her spiral bounded journal and scribbled down a few words in her thick calligraphy. She put the end of her pen between her lips and chewed thoughtfully on the end as she continued to read. Her small area was surrounded by stacks and stacks of finish and unfinished books she had yet to conquer. There was a light noise, and she looked up to see Church and May-May with their new litter of three kits scramble towards her. It had been a shock when the two older cats were able to breed, but now it was normal. Melissa smiled and bent down as she picked up her favorite of the litter; the kit was a tom with albino white fur and blue eyes. She named it Wonder. The other tom was black with gold eyes, named Never, and the last was a she with white and black fur named Infinity.
Wonder curled up in her lap, and she smiled as the others all found a comfortable stack of books to lay out on. She went back to her book and hadn't even noticed as the hours flew by. The alarm on her phone went off, and she silence the noise with a quick swipe. As much as she loved to read, she still had to make time for training. It was essential that she practice her battle skills; all Shadowhunters had to. She jumped up from her seat, making Wonder jump and Church hiss in annoyance. She rolled her eyes at the felines and ran out of the library. She came to the doors of the training room in no time, but a familiar figure was there already. She gasped at the sight of Ame Whitescar, one of the new Shadowhunters that had taken refuge in the Institute.
Ame was the finest Shadowhunter Melissa had ever seen before. He was tall and lean with slightly broad shoulders, solid white curls that always hung in his face, and frightening pale golden eyes. Even though he was normally quiet, when he spoke his words were always so calculated and careful. She was always blown away when he spoke. It sucked that she didn't have the courage to dare start a conversation. She blushed deeply at the sight of him shirtless with pants made up of gear material, a clean mini-sized towel around his neck. She hesitated, unsure of what she could possibly say to him. She backed away shyly and felt her cheeks burn up hot with embarrassment. Ame didn't say a word or make a sound when he easily glided away from her, and down the hallway. Just before she stepped into the large room, she paused and glanced over her shoulder to see him smiling her direction.
She nearly jumped out of her skin with joy. She hurried into the room and closed the door with shaking hands. She couldn't help but to let out a dreamy sigh. Melissa forced herself to focus as she walked over to the tall wall decorated entirely with weapons of all sorts. She studied the wall for a moment before choosing to practice her skills with chakrams. The weapons were small, yes, but they were deadly to the indestructible when in the correct hands. She stood in front of an old dummy she practiced with all the time, and she started to twirl the first circular blade around her finger. The metal started to sing sharply in her ear. She released the weapon and listened as it screamed through the air, cutting clean through the head.
She copied her moves with the opposite hand, and she was thrilled to see the thing whirl past the dummy before striking it deep in the back. She unlatched all of the weapons, hung them back up, and replaced the things for a pair of daggers the length of her arms. She stood in front of the manikin and stood in the correct position. She held up the weapons and counted in her head quietly. Her counting reached eight, and she lunged at the thing even though it wasn't moving. She threw down both her daggers, the blades cutting down two large strips in the thickly stitched cloth. She moved back and practiced that same move over and over again countless times. As she was about to do the same attack move one more time, a light sound from behind her made her body tense up tight. She turned her head and scanned the shadows carefully for a minute.
She narrowed her gaze skeptically before moving to turn back to her training. Finally, a battle cry came from the shadows. By complete instinct, Melissa immediately went into her defensive mode. She flipped forward, holding both the blade hilts in her hands, and she landed just behind the tattered dummy. She used her most powerful foot to kick the thing forward, whacking her surprise attacker hard in the head. She gasped to see her oldest brother, Gabriel, groaning under the thing. She gasped, almost dropping the blades, and she stuck both of them hard into the spine of the dummy. She stood over him and scowled, both her arms crossed tightly over her chest.
"Are you kidding me?" she demanded sharply.
"Hey," Gabriel pushed the thing off of him and scrambled to his feet. "you attacked me with the damn thing!"
"And who's fault is it for sneaking up on me?" she shook her head and pointed at the area where he had shot out from. "'Cause I know it's not mine!"
"Oh, please, I do it to everyone," his own green eyes went around his eyes in a single roll. "I was just waiting for you to come in here so I could get you."
"Last I checked," she turned away from him and pulled the daggers out of the dummy sharply. "I wasn't the one pinned under a bag of cotton and wood."
Gabriel made a sound and started to mutter under his breath in words mixed between English and Latin. She scoffed and rolled her eyes as she kicked the dummy away. She started to twirl both the blades, thinking about a way to attack him. There was a silent pause, and she finally whirled around. He gasped as she used the heel of her hand to push him away, right beside the wall of weapons. He smirked at her and picked up a spear that had fallen beside him. He hurled it at her, and she flipped backwards, avoiding the long pole. She turned back around to see him holding a long sword in his hands. She smirked and cartwheeled in the direction opposite of him as he swung in various angles and ways.
She finally got back onto her feet and stroked the metal of one of her blades against the metal of his own weapon. Sparks showered everywhere in an umbrella like way. She smirked at him and they went back and forth, sparing at each other. She noticed that he was light on his toes, focusing less weight on his legs. She held up one dagger, his sword striking the blade, and she used the other to support herself as she waited a second. She suddenly dropped, used her shoulder blades to support herself and take the fall, and she tipped her balanced weight to where she went around on the ground in a spiral. Her hands slapped onto the ground, her left leg tucking under her right, and her right foot knocking both his boots off the floor. He went down with a cry. She flipped back up and landed in a position where her arms were bent, daggers angled as to block a blow, and her knees weren't exactly straight nor bent.
Gabriel, breathless on the floor, started to chuckle. She smiled to him and held out one hand to him. He grasped her offer and pulled himself up easily. She smiled and nodded to him, glad she was able to beat her brother that was two years older than she. The doors suddenly opened, and their father walked into the room. The man was maybe thirty four now, his golden eyes still glowing but more wise now, his blonde roots starting to fade gray, and creases at the corners of his eyes. But no matter what, their father would always be lean and tall and ready to kick some ass. The thought made Melissa smirk. Her eyes suddenly met her father's, and the frown left her face as pictures started to flash in her mind's eye.
She saw the images of her, Gabriel, Jonathan, Ally, and even the youngest addition to their family: Kristen. She saw happy faces and heard giggling voices, but they changed quickly. She felt heat singe her skin, sweat breakout on her spine, and she heard the creaking and crackling of a scorching flame. The red and orange blinded her for a moment, until an unfamiliar figure came out of the fires. It was a tall male with a lean body but broad shoulders, pale curls that were pushed back, a cut on his cheekbone, and dual colored eyes that captured the flames. She gasped out of her vision to see Jace still walking towards them, her on her knees now, and Gabriel putting the sword back onto the wall. She touched her wrist to her forehead before walking over to Gabriel. She hung up her daggers, then nearly ran out of the area with her name called three times by Jace and Gabriel both.
She ran all the way up the first two sets of stairs, down the pathway to her room, and almost cracked the door when she slammed it shut. She locked the knob and other locks, her breaths short and noisy. She slid to the floor and saw that Wonder and Never were already laying down on her bed. She sat on her carpeted floor for a little while longer, her knees arched, her hands gripping at her hairline. She wheezed a few more calming breaths before managing to will herself to gather up her thoughts. She closed her eyes tightly, finally calming down enough to think straight, and she opened her eyes back up as she struggled to her feet. She stumbled over to her bed and laid out beside the two tiny kits.
They crawled up to her and covered her hands in licks. She smiled and petted their heads, moving to where she was laying down on her back. She stared up at her ceiling to see all the pictures she had drawn when she'd have visions in her own room. She closed her eyes and let out a sharp breath that sounded more like a sob rather than a stressed breath. She honestly wanted nothing more than to end her own life, just so she could be finally at peace without any vision ever again. She brought her hands back up to her hairline and gripped onto the curls. She laced her fingers together and suddenly felt disgusting. Like she had been touched by something in a way no one should ever touch a fifteen year old girl. She shuddered in distaste.
She hopped up off of her bed and hurried into her bathroom. She flicked on the lights and stared at herself in the mirror. She stopped moving altogether. She studied herself from the top of her wild bun all the way to her hips that were cut off by the marble top counter. Her hair was a light tangle of dirty blonde curls, with the few hints of purple that she had added herself, her fair skin with faded freckles on her nose and cheeks, her large green eyes still reflected behind her nerd framed glasses she really didn't need to have anymore, her thin lips, the flush on her angled cheeks, to the hollows of her collarbones. Her body was shaped like a bottle, like her mother's, but she was a slight bit more slender from her age. Her chest was flatter, her ribcage visible even with a sweater on, her tinny tiny waist, and her hips that were wider than her chest.
She stripped off her clothes, threw the used material into the wastebasket, and turned on the showerhead. While the water heated up, she looked into the mirror again. All of her bones were visible in her torso, her hips strange for they were technically round, but there was a small area where they were flat. She saw her hip bones, ribs, and she could even point out a couple scars from past demon battles. None of them were extreme, but she couldn't lie when she said she was a bit naughty and didn't always follow the rules. She had gone to wolf pack areas, fae homes, warlock hideouts, and once she went to the hotel that held the New York vampire clan. That was her worst mistake.
She remembered being held there for days, tortured countless times, and bitten as if she was a piece of meat. She had a lot of scars because of them, but when she escaped was when she got the majority of them. A Hydra demon had been planted in front of the main exit, and she nearly died from the bite. She shook away the memories and finally stepped into the streams of scorching water. She closed the door to her stand up shower and sat down in the corner of the small formation. She wasn't worried about her bathroom door being open; after all, no one had managed to get into her room yet. She sat there for a while in the quiet, until both the kits started to mew and yowl and hiss.
Melissa snapped to her feet and turned off the water to hear the creaking of her door opening up. She gasped, pulled the towel hanging on her door sharply, and stepped out with water dripping off of her whole body. She came into her bedroom to see Ame closing the door behind him. She sucked in a sharp breath of surprise, catching his attention. He was staring just at her eyes carefully but as if they were also the only thing left in the room. She held on tightly to her towel, careful to make sure nothing showed that he didn't have business seeing. He stood up tall and strode over to her, stopping when he was just a foot away from her. She stared up at him in surprise, her cheeks no doubt burning a dark pink blush. She saw his own cheeks fade out of color.
There was a tense silence between them. She wondered what he was doing in her room, or how he got into her room in the first place. As if hearing her thoughts, he glanced down at his feet before taking her completely by surprise. He stepped forward, wrapped his arms around her, closed his eyes, and pressed his lips to hers. She tensed up, almost dropping her towel, and hesitated for a split second. She melted against him, pressing back, her own eyes shutting, one hand holding her towel while the other went to his cheek. She had never been kissed before, so she was jumping around on the inside and her heart was thumping painfully against her ribcage. They stood like for a moment; Ame moved away, and she found herself a little stung that he didn't stay a second longer.
She opened her eyes to see his face discolored, pupils blown, and the sliver of his iris fever bright. "I've wanted to do that since I walked through that door and laid my eyes upon you," he said in a shaky voice.
At his words, she found her heart sold to him almost immediately.
"I-I didn't think you felt the same," she admitted, watching as his pupils slowly dilated back to their original size.
A small smile flicked the right side of his mouth upwards, and he gently placed his hand on her cheek. His thumb stroked the damp skin, and she knew that she was shaking from head to toe with a face blazing up pink. He bent down again and pecked her quickly, smiling the entire time. She couldn't help but smile back. Dad is going to kill us! She cursed her mind for ruining her moment of peace. She supposed she could mention it before he left. She really wished he'd never leave. He pulled her close to him and buried his face in her neck curve even though he had to bend down far. His cool breath chilled her collarbones and chest, making her shiver with delighted coldness.
"If my dad finds out about this," she finally whispered, already wishing she would have just shut up. "he's going to kill us."
"As long as I get to see your beautiful face, I don't care," he tightened his grip around her waist and sighed, moving back up slowly.
She tried to hide the relief in her sigh. She looked into his eyes and felt like as if there wasn't anything left in the world except for her and him in that moment. She silently wondered if this meant they were a couple now or if he had just come in here to taunt her. Should she ask? Did she want to ask? Would he get upset? Would he laugh in her face? Was she going to keep on doubting herself or just get it over with? She bit down on her bottom lip and felt his long fingers slide up to her shoulder blades. Her heart started to beat dangerously while his skin touched hers. He kissed her forehead before pulling away from her. He stood by the door, his hand on the doorknob, his head slowly turning to her. His curly bangs were once again in his eyes, the white glowing around his golden eyes, and he smiled softly to her. She was out of breath.
"I'll see you later," he slipped out without a single sound.
Her heart finally started to beat again, or at least now she felt it, and she almost fell to her knees. She smiled to herself and walked back into her bathroom. She continued to smile as she turned back on the water, jumped into the shower, and washed her hair and body. Everywhere he touched felt like ice under the heat. She shuddered and stepped out of the shower. She walked back into her bedroom and locked the locks again. She finally got dressed into some pajamas that consisted of a black shirt that was long sleeved and reached just under her bellybutton, soft fabric shorts, and her fuzzy flip-flop slippers. She pulled her hair back into a messy bun, sliding on her glasses she had left on the bathroom counter.
She sighed deeply and sat back down on her bed, her eyes carrying to the stacks of books she also had on her nightstand. She plucked up her favorite book, the one that recorded the remembered actions of Jonathan Shadowhunter, and she got busy reading the script. The book was done faster than she thought. She rolled her eyes, annoyed by her obsession to learn more about the past. When she was younger, she had wondered why, and those thoughts started to come back to her not too long ago. it had taken a while, but she realized that she wanted to know what had happened in the past so she could use those tactics and facts to help her prepare for what her visions held in store. It was upsetting to know that they'd never end.
She sighed sadly and pulled the fuzzy blanket she favored onto her shoulders, Wonder and Never both curling up against her, and she found sleep unwilling to save her from reality. She tried to force herself to sleep, for an hour at the least, but those images came back. The boy, the flames, the screams, all of it started to crawl up on her again. She knew that her dreams would only show that in more detail, so she decided to try and think of something else. Ame came to mind. She smiled. She couldn't help it. There was a light tapping at her door, and she slowly sat up. She kicked off her slippers and walked up to the door. She unlocked the latches and cracked it open to see Ame smiling down at her with the smallest, kindest smile she had ever seen before in her life.
She smiled and opened up the door slowly, allowing him to slip inside. When she shut the door again, he slid his arms around her from behind, and nuzzled her neck gently. She gasped and felt like her knees were going to buckle. She felt him start to move the both of them until he was beside her own bed. She turned around finally and glanced up into his golden eyes. He was smiling, his curls damp at the ends, and he looked like he was in a dream like state. She stared at him for a little while longer, unsure of what to say.
"Could I sleep with you?" he asked carefully. "Just for tonight?"
"You don't have to ask," she whispered, her hands creeping up to his shoulders.
They both crawled onto her mattress, and got comfortable quickly. She was laying with her chest to his, his arms wrapped around her, she cuddled against his warm chest, her heart hammering so powerfully she hoped no one could hear it. Her eyes shut, and she eventually found sleep grabbing at her. It swallowed her whole just to torture her with nightmares. None of which she wanted to see or hear. The worst was her standing in a dark room under a spotlight, her family tied to chairs in front of her. One of them was Ame. Each of them looked horribly beaten, bleeding from their noses and mouths and various cuts. Her hands were covered in their blood, their skin under her nails. Her heart was pounding from the fear.
Suddenly, her entire forearm was soaked in warm liquid. She looked up to see the pale face of her father, her arm struck straight through his chest, blood spilling from his mouth and eyes. He slowly went limp, and she pulled her arm out of his chest. She gasped shakily with tears in her eyes falling down her cheeks. She looked up slowly to see that boy again, but he was walking out of smoking shadows instead of fire. He was sneering darkly at her, his eyes black and sterling blue. Slowly he approached her, then wrapped her in his arms. As he touched her, everything seemed to start fading out until all she saw was white nothingness.