Oh yeah, minor muck up from perviosuly. CLARY IS NOT 23, I've just got awful maths. She's seventeen.
"My name is Jace. Jace Lightwood at your service"
"Well now that we're all best friends, can you please let me go?" I ask him, pushing him away. He doesn't move his arm though; he just keeps smirking down at me.
"We can't be best friends if I don't know your name"
I glare at him.
"It's Clary, now will you please move your arm?"
"Mmm…no?"
"Oh for goodness sake Jace, let it go" The other dude pipes up, pushing him away. Jace rolls his eyes but moves away. I stalk past him, but he grabs my arm as I pass. I turn around in frustration.
"You might want to brush up on your battle reflexes, I bet even a mundie could take you down"
"You just caught me by surprise" I mumble, ripping my arm out of his grip, not willing to admit that I've never had any training at all. I hear black haired dude say something to Jace, whose attention quickly becomes diverted, leaving me to go attempt some sleep by a stack of crates. The new dudes make me feel a little unsettled but I trust Jordon's judgment, and anyway it's not like I have a choice. I drift away, seeking comfort in the now familiar movement of the train…
"Oi, buttface, wake-up" I hear the familiar wake up call of my best friend Izzy.
"Five more minutes"
A sharp sting on my cheek makes my eyes suddenly find the ability to flutter open. I push her away from me.
"What was that for!?"
"Come on Clary we've known each other since we were born, so of course I know that five minutes means two hours"
"You're the worst friend I ever had"
"Only friend"
I just laugh off the insult and stretch out my aching limbs. The scenery has changed slightly since yesterday, the scenery displaying some pretty breathtaking mountains.
"Where are we?" I wonder out loud.
"Somewhere near Illinois is my guess" A voice answers from right behind me, I squeal and jump just as the train turns a corner and I'm flung to the ground. I look up to find Jace laughing at me, he offers me a hand but I don't take it.
"Breakfast?" He asks, handing me a packet of waffles. I eye it warily but my stomach decides for me and I take them. I nibble on them as I try to avoid both Jace's eye contact and Izzy fussing whom is busy fussing over Simon.
"Hey Jace, have you checked out the-?" The other dude starts before his gaze falls on Izzy. Last night I didn't fully appreciate his appearance, but now, looking at him in the daylight I can see juts how much he resembles Izzy. They both have the same dark black hair and blue eyes, it's like witnessing a real life gender bend!
"Who are you?" He asks curiously.
"I'm not telling you until you tell me who you are" She replies.
"Alec Lightwood"
"Oh, I'm Isabelle"
"Isabelle? How old are you?"
"Erm…eighteen?"
"Are you sure?"
"How can you not know your own age?" Jordon asks, coming into the cart.
"Not helpful Jordon" Jace responds.
"Are you trying to say you know who I am? You know my family?" She asks hopefully.
"I think so, I mean I had a younger sister who should be seventeen. She was called Isabelle"
"Oh, so you're my brother?"
"Not necessarily, we can't jump to conclusions…but most likely"
"Oh my gosh!" She squeals and attacks him in a hug, he looks awkward and doesn't hug her back.
"Alec is mucho and doesn't appreciate hugs" Jace explains.
"Right" She says, letting him go. He looks a little shocked at her sudden outburst.
"If she is family we should definitely go to Institute 3, not 4" Alec suggests to Jordon.
"We can do that I suppose, I was planning on dropping these two off" He points at us, "and then we're going to the praetor lupus camp"
"Two? What about me? Why am I always left out?" Simon complains
"Because you're a mundane" Jace simply replies, smirking at him.
"Oh great, so I make it this far only to be rejected again because I'm actually human"
"Exactly"
"Actually no" Maia interrupts "Simon is just as important as all of us, Valentine will still torture him for information. He deserves our protection."
"Fine, then Lucian can handle it"
"Who's Lucian?" Izzy asks, concerned.
"Lucian Graymark, werewolf pack leader"
"Wait, did you say Luke Garroway?" I ask, sure that I misheard.
"Garroway…" Jordon muses. "He hasn't gone by that name for a very long time, only a few people know him by that"
"Who did you say you were again?" Alec asks, giving me a quizzical look.
"Clary"
"No, full name"
"Clarissa Fray, I don't see how this is important"
"Fray…Garroway" Alec starts.
"FAIRCHILD" Jace exclaims, as if it is some great revelation. "Show me your wrist band"
"No"
He rolls his eyes and grabs it anyway, pulling up my sleeve to get a better view.
"Jocelyn…and inconclusive results"
He looks up at my face again, scrutinizing it.
"I thought so before…well this certainly makes things more interesting"
"WHAT IS GOING ON?" I yell.
"Welcome to the world of fugitives Clarissa Fairchild"
"Fairchild?" Jordon says, suddenly perking up.
"But if she's a Fairchild…and Jocelyn Fairchild is her mother…then she's also…" Alec starts.
"A Morgenstern" Jace finishes.
"Morgenstern? Wait, no. You must be wrong, I…I can't be related to them!" I cry, tears threatening to spill out as I attempt to crush the inevitable truth. "No, I can't be… my dad, look!" I say brandishing Jonathon Clarke's name. "Look, it says Jonathon Clarke, not Valentine Morgenstern!"
Jace gives me a pitying look.
"As much as I would like to say otherwise, I think no-one can hide from the fact that you're his daughter"
"But it doesn't make any sense!" I argue.
"Actually…it does" Izzy says, biting her lip.
"How!?"
"Well…we've never actually met your dad. Your mum has always been over protective and maybe that's because she wanted to hide away. We now know that she was part of the rebel alliance and what more reason would she have other than to go against your dad? And, come on Clary, we both know her hatred for Valentine and his son is too strong to not be personal!"
"But there's no actual proof!"
"There is, you just don't want to admit it. Your wrist band, the inconclusive results, that's all Valentine's doing. It's the extra angle blood, it has to be" Jace says.
I turn on my heel and storm out of the carriage, jumping from this one to the next. I'm grateful that no-one tries to stop me. I need some alone time. I contemplate the revelation as I watch the scenery fly past, wondering what this means now. A figure plops themselves down next to me.
"Hey."
I turn to see Jace. I contemplate leaving, but decide that I really can't be bothered.
"What do you want?"
"I just wanted to see my favourite red head"
"I'm probably the only red head you know"
"That's not strictly true, I know your mother"
"Great"
"Okay, what I really wanted to say was…"
"Was what?"
"That…that family don't need to be your blood. I mean, my father is…well no actually my father is Robert Lightwood. I chose him, family aren't your blood, they are the people you choose to be with"
I look curiously up at him; I assumed he thought he was above everyone else. He certainly looked like it.
"Who was your real father?"
"Stephen Herondale"
"Oh well-"
A scream pierces through the air. Jace bolts upright, suddenly on the alert. The scream sounds again and Jace sticks his head dangerously out of the carriage door. He turns back to me with wide eyes.
"What is it?"
"Shadowhunters on the train and lots of them"
"Then who screamed!?" I yell over several of shouts from the carriage behind me.
"I thought everybody was in that carriage" He says pointing to the one I stormed out of. I smack my forehead.
"MAIA!" I yell, tearing through the carriage. I reach the door leading to the other carriage, when Jace pulls me back.
"No Clary. They're here for us, you even! Do you want to meet your father face to face!?"
"Obviously not! But we can't leave Maia!"
"We have to"
He drags me over to the door.
"You're going to kill me!" I yell over the wail of the wind.
"No we're going to jump!" He states, but he appears to be waiting.
"YOU'RE CRAZY!"
"There she is!" A male voice shouts from too close by. I take notice of the use of she, goodness gracious they are actually after me. When the teachers at school told me to think about where I'd be in a five years, I didn't think I'd be leaning out a moving train with a complete and utter stranger, running away from the Clave. Jace launches out the door, pushing me with him. I scream as we hurtle through the air. The ground flies towards my face as my too-short life flashes before my eyes. I land with a smack and start…sinking?
The dark envelops me and I feel as though I've been wrapped up in an icy blanket. I realise I'm under water when I can't breathe. I panic and frantically swim in any direction, not knowing whether I'm going up or down. My heart hammers in my chest as I run out of breath and my lungs feel like they are being crushed by a herd of elephants. My eyes droop closed as I begin to embrace the darkness of the water's depths. I vaguely feel strong arms envelope my torso as I let the water loll me into a deep sailors sleep.