AN: Wow! I didn't expect such positive response! Thanks to you guys, I'm continuing this old thing. Another one-shot for you! Well, this is more like a series now. I'm planning to finish this arc - probably around five chapters or so. Little secret - this is my first multichaptered story. How is it so far? And, um, I sort of need a beta. My usual beta is officially off FFnet, and she doesn't read TMI and TID anyway.
Anyway, now that the TID characters are main characters, should I move this to crossovers? Or keep it here?
"Who are you?" Charlotte asked, for what felt like the thousandth time. "I'm Clary Fray." Charlotte sighed. She had been getting the same answer repeatedly, with not the slightest variation. "And who are your parents?" she asked. "Jocelyn Fray."
Questioning Jace had resulted in even more bizarre results. "I'm Jace," he answered to Charlotte's questions. When she had asked him who his parents were, Jace had become silent, and Clary had filled it, saying, "It's complicated."
In other words, Charlotte's investigation was getting her nowhere. "Tessa tells me you and Clary are siblings." Charlotte left out the part where Tessa mentioned finding them making out in the kitchen. Both Jace and Clary had looked immensely annoyed at that. "So you would be Jace Fray, am I correct?"
"No!" both of the mysterious people shouted at once. "I'm Clary Fray. He's Jace." Charlotte leaned back in her seat. She didn't even know how that was possible. "No surname?" she asked. "It's complicated," Jace repeated. Charlotte decided to switch tactics.
"Are you sure you're siblings?" If possible, Jace and Clary looked even more uncomfortable. "Um…" Clary's voice trailed off. "Oh, we're siblings alright," Jace muttered darkly, the look in his eyes murderous. Charlotte somehow got the feeling both siblings wished it wasn't true.
"Tell me something about yourselves," Charlotte demanded. If she couldn't figure out who these people were, she could at least get to know them. "We're from New York," Clary pitched in helpfully. "Why are you dressed so odd?" Charlotte asked Clary. Clary and Jace exchanged a look.
"These are normal New York clothes," Clary insisted. Charlotte couldn't help but think Clary was dressed rather like a man, with her stiff dark blue pants and loose black T-shirt. As for Jace - well, he was dressed in typical Shadowhunter gear. "The question would be why you're dressed so odd," Jace put in innocently. Charlotte glared at him.
She glanced at the clock on her desk. The three of them were in Charlotte's office, Charlotte sitting behind her desk and the two mysterious visitors sitting in front of her. It was already six PM. "Do you want to eat?" Charlotte asked. These visitors may be frustrating, but Charlotte didn't exactly want to starve them to death.
"Sure," Jace answered.
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"Who is that girl?" Jessamine demanded as Sophie laced her dress. "I don't know, miss," Sophie admitted. Jessamine had been forced to lend Clary one of her smaller dresses, seeing as Tessa's clothes were too large to fit the tiny girl.
"She's dressed like a boy!" Jessamine scoffed. Sophie continued lacing the corset quietly. "Tighter, Sophie," Jessamine ordered. The maidservant did as she was told, tightening the corset she was lacing around Jessamine. "That's enough," Jessamine declared. "Now go check on Tessa and that redhead. Make sure they haven't destroyed anything."
Obediently, Sophie slipped out of Jessamine's room, going to Tessa's. She knocked on the heavy wooden door. "Come in!" Tessa called. Sophie opened it and walked into the girl's room. Tessa and Clary were standing in front of a mirror. Clary looked very uncomfortable, while Tessa looked sympathetic.
"These clothes are so tight," Clary commented. "How can you stand them?" Tessa laughed. "They're fine once you get used to it," she assured. "Sophie, give us a hand and tie Clary's clothes." Feeling slightly bad, Sophie did as she was told. Clary winced.
"Izzy would love it here," she sighed. "Who?" Tessa asked. "My friend, Isabelle," Clary explained. "She loves pretty clothes." Tessa's brow furrowed. "A bit like Jessamine, if you asked me." Clary's eyes widened. "Isabelle is nothing like Jessamine," she exclaimed. "Izzy - she loves to fight. She has whips, and she knows how to use them."
A girl who liked to fight? That was new, Sophie thought. "Charlotte tells me you come from New York," Tessa said. Clary started. Whether it was from Tessa's words or the tight corset, Sophie wasn't sure. "Brooklyn, actually," Clary admitted.
"What is this?" Tessa asked, lifting a black rectangular device from Clary's things scattered on Tessa's table. "Oh, that's my phone," Clary dismissed. "And this?" Tessa picked up another black rectangular device. "That's a Sensor."
Tessa looked surprised. "Henry - he's making one of these," she told Clary. "So they're already finished where you come from?" Clary looked uncomfortable. "Yeah," she answered. "Finished, miss," Sophie declared, stepping away from Clary. She looked even more uncomfortable in the stiff clothes. "Thanks, Sophie," she gasped.
The redhead frowned. "And please," she added, "it's just Clary. No miss." Surprise streamed through Sophie. "Sophie, be an angel and help me with my clothes. No offense, Clary, but you're terrible at lacing dresses." Clary looked somewhat sheepish. "No offense taken, Tess."
"So - Jace, he's your brother, right?" Tessa asked. If possible, Clary's discomfort seemed to increase. "Sort of," she admitted. "I mean, we just found out a couple of months ago." Tessa's eyebrow quirked upwards. "How's that possible?" Clary shifted slightly. "It's just… well…"
Sophie sensed this subject going down a dangerous path. "I think we'd better be going, miss, Clary. Miss Charlotte told us to be down at seven." Clary and Tessa both nodded. "Thank you, Sophie."
The moment Sophie stepped out of the room, Tessa turned to face Clary. "Sorry," she apologized awkwardly. Clary smiled tightly. "It's fine," she assured the other girl.
The two girls made their way downstairs to the dining hall. When they arrived, everyone but Henry were already seated. Tessa made a beeline for the seat between a boy with silver hair and a boy that looked like an eccentric combination between Jace and Alec. Clary figured Henry would sit next to Charlotte, leaving the only empty seat between Jace and Jessamine.
Feeling a bit more than awkward, she slipped into the empty chair. "Hi," she whispered to Jace. Jace smiled tightly at her. He looked out-of-place in Will's clothes. "How are we getting home?" Clary asked. Jace shrugged. "Alec mentioned that Magnus may have briefly lived in London," he muttered out of the corner of his mouth.
"You think he'd help us?" Jace shrugged again. "Don't know." Clary shifted slightly as Sophie and Agatha arrived with their food. "Thanks," the redhead thanked the maid and cook. They both smiled at her as they continued serving the rest of the table. At that moment, Henry walked in and took a seat besides Charlotte. She smiled at him. "So, this is the London Institute?" Jace asked.
Charlotte nodded. "We can arrange for a ship back to New York," she offered, "but the Enclave… well, they'd want to know about you two being here." Both Tessa and Will shot up in their seats, and Jem stiffened. "Did you tell them?" they asked. Charlotte looked uncomfortable.
"You did!" Will accused. "I had to!" Charlotte protested. She looked apologetic. Will sighed. "Great, now we can expect the Enclave to come knocking at any given time," he muttered darkly. Pointing accusingly at the two newcomers, he asked, "Where did they even come from?"
Jace and Clary exchanged a look. "We're from New York," Clary repeated. Some how, she didn't think blurting out the fact that they had accidentally time traveled more than a century in the past was a good idea.
"You randomly showed up on our front door with no explanation!" Will exclaimed. "It's complicated," Jace argued. "Everything is complicated with you two!" Will shot back. "You didn't even give us a surname!" Clary bit her lip. She sensed a fight coming on.
"Oh, is that what this is all about? The fact that I didn't give you my surname?" the blond shouted at Will. "Stop!" Jace ignored her as Jem and Tessa both tried to restrain Will. "Jace, stop it. Don't get in a fight with them," Clary whispered to her brother (oh, it was terrible to think of him like that). She tugged at his sleeve fruitlessly. Fortunately, Jace and Will seemed to be content with just glaring at each other.
Clary sighed and slid down her seat. "We didn't give you his surname because it's confusing," Clary explained. "But if you really need one, it's Wayland." Charlotte frowned. "And how is that possible?" she asked. "It's complicated," Jace answered.
"That seems to be your answer for everything," Jessamine muttered under her breath. "That's because it is the answer to everything," Jace shot back. "Now, does anyone know where Magnus Bane is?" The Institute residents looked surprised.
Jem was the first to speak. "Why do you need Magnus Bane?" he asked. Clary shot Jace a glare. Now it would be hard to explain. "It's a long story," she began. Henry leaned forward, attentive for the first time since dinner started.
"We have time."