Hey guys! Thanks to those of you who reviewed to last chapter. I love hearing feedback! :)

So I finished rereading/editing another chapter. Like I mentioned last chapter, I have through ch. 6 written from when I had previously posted this story. They should be up fairly quickly, and then after that, you can expect updates about weekly.

Anyway, please read and enjoy. :)

Clary sat at the table in Luke's (and now also her mother's) kitchen. She had finished breakfast (toast and coffee) a few minutes earlier and was now waiting for Jace to come pick her up for yet another long day spent at the Institute; days which her mother finally seemed to have opened up to enough to be almost okay with them.

Jocelyn sat across the table from her, a terrycloth robe wrapped around her and a mug of coffee in her hands. She watched as Clary zipped up the jacket of her gear- Jace had told her to be sure she wore it today and brought Heosphoros, which had her both excited and anxious for whatever it was they were going to be doing. Jace had given her no clue.

Clary leaned back in her chair and met her mother's eyes across the table. Jocelyn gave her a small smile. "How's Simon's training coming?" she asked.

Clary shrugged. "It's coming, I guess. He's doing a lot better than he was." She smirked. "He says we're all cheaters because we can use runes to help us and he can't."

She smiled. "I suppose he would have a point there. You don't use runes for training, do you?"

Clary shook her head. "Only the permanent ones."

"He'll have his own Marks soon enough." His Ascension was in a matter of days now.

Clary smiled as a knock sounded on the front door. "That's what I told him," she replied, standing up.

"Have fun," Jocelyn said, "Be safe."

Clary, resisting the urge to roll her eyes, just smiled. "I will, Mom," she answered and made her way from the kitchen and to the front door. She opened it to reveal Jace standing there, in all his angel-like perfection. He smiled upon seeing her. "Hey," Clary said. She barely had time to step outside and close the door behind her before Jace pulled her close and kissed her quickly.

"Hello," he said softly after pulling away.

"Jace," Clary scolded, unable to keep the smile from her face, "Come on. My mom is finally okay with you. Don't make her hate you again."

"Hate me?" he replied sarcastically, keeping only her hand in his as he led her away from her house. He shook his head. "Not possible. I refuse to accept that she hated me."

"Yeah? What would you call it then?"

"A very strong disliking," he answered with a grin.

Clary snorted. "Last I checked, that was the definition of the word 'hate.'"

"A difference in opinion," Jace said with a shrug. Rolling her eyes, she looked away, still smiling. "So how are you?" he asked then, charming as ever.

"I'm fine. What are we doing today?"

Jace's smile was dazzling. "That is for me to know and for you to find out."

Clary gave a light sigh, which turned into a laugh, giving in. "Okay."

Simon was waiting with Isabelle for them in the training room. Clary wasn't sure how long they'd been there, but judging from their swollen lips and rosy cheeks, it was fairly obvious what they'd been doing. She glanced beside her in time to see Jace give them a sarcastic look. Isabelle gave him the face right back while Simon just looked away.

"Okay," Jace said in a commanding voice as the two moved closer to them, "As per Maryse's orders, we are training in combat today." Clary wasn't sure what exactly made him so special that he could give orders, other than that he was better than the rest of them, but no one questioned it.

"Wait," Simon put in, "We? Meaning it's not just me anymore?"

Jace simply looked at him with an even expression. "That is what I said, isn't it?"

Simon, used to the blond Shadowhunter's sarcasm by now, nodded. "Just checking," he said easily, obviously pleased.

"Anyway," Jace began again, "We'll start with basic sparring sessions. Izzy and I will go first, and after that, Clary and Simon. Winners of each will then proceed to face each other in the third round."

Midway through Jace's instructions, Simon had glanced over at Clary and she was sure she could see the slightest apprehension in them. He's intimidated to fight me," she realized, unsure of whether that made her feel more pleased or sorry for him. She wasn't sure what exactly made Jace think that the current exercise was anything even remotely close to fair, but then she remembered to whom she was referring and scratched the thought. Jace would be Jace, and the rest of them (though Clary, at times, was a bit of an exception) were powerless to do anything about it.

"And remember," Jace added as he and Isabelle walked to the center of the room and Clary and Simon walked to the side, "It's not about who wins, but how long you can last and what you know." He didn't sound like he believed that for a second.

"Unless your name is Jace Lightwood," Simon muttered lightheartedly, quietly enough that only Clary could hear, echoing her own thoughts. "That is his name, right?" he asked as a side-note, watching, as she was, Jace and Isabelle begin circling one another, weapons drawn.

She smiled, eyes not leaving Jace and Izzy. "It's Herondale, actually."

He threw his hands up dramatically, looking at her for the first time. "Is that his final answer?"

Clary was spared answering by Jace calling across the room as he struck out at Isabelle with a blade and then dodged a flip of her whip. "I can hear you, Mundane. And to answer your question: yes, it is. Now shut up and pay attention or you'll miss my imminent victory." He didn't skip a beat. Isabelle gave a single short laugh in response. Clary smiled, laughing silently, and shook her head slightly. Simon said nothing, but obeyed.

The match was over quickly and, sure enough, Jace won; another stoke to his already-too-large ego. He grinned at Clary and Simon."Your turn."

Jace stood off to the side with Izzy as she twirled her whip around her wrist absentmindedly, watching Clary and Simon begin their own match. The swords they used were wooden, mainly for Clary's benefit. Jace trusted her skill with a sword, but not so much Simon's. Not yet. And he didn't want to see his girlfriend accidentally impaled if it could be avoided. Or, more likely, Simon would impale himself, since Clary could easily defend herself. Either way, training swords were a necessary precaution.

He watched as the two circled each other, paying particular attention to Simon's technique. Clary made the first move, and he, almost gracefully, deflected it and parried; emphasis on almost. Jace was honestly kind of impressed as he watched. For only having been training for a little over a week, Simon had come a long way for a mundane. He seemed almost skilled by this point.

"Don't go easy on him, Clary," Jace called. She obviously was. And it was probably the merciful thing to do, but Simon needed a challenge, even if it was a little too far over his head. And Jace knew it was, but if he was never tested, how was he to ever get better? The Shadowhunter was doing him a favor. Simon just didn't know it yet.

Clary ignored Jace, stepping up the game minutely at best. Simon did, however, seem to be holding his own fairly well, despite how hard he was working while she hadn't even broken a sweat. Jace was just getting tired of looking at him when he could easily watch Clary, beautiful, dangerous, perfect Clary, instead.

"I mean it, Clary," he called again, smiling a little despite himself. Clary glanced at him quickly before looking at Simon again, easily blocking another of his advances, her expression questioning. He gave her a quick nod and Clary, with one last look shot at Jace, disarmed Simon in one swift movement and wound up with her sword inches from his throat.

"Happy?" she called to Jace, tossing aside her practice sword in exchange for her real one.

He grinned, mostly in anticipation, and began to move toward the center of the room again. "Very."

"It's fairly obvious how this is going to end, don't you think?" Clary said as Jace came to stand across from her.

He shrugged, still grinning. "Maybe not."

She just snorted as weapons were drawn and the two began to circle each other, determined to at least show him something of a challenge before he could disarm her. Jace made the first move, striking out at her with his sword. She deflected the blow with Heosphoros easily enough, but it was obvious from the look on his face that he was enjoying this way too much for it to be a serious match to him.

Gritting her teeth, Clary lunged forward again with the sword and Jace easily sidestepped. It went on like this for a while, the two of them parrying back and forth, Jace hardly trying at all. Finally Clary, winded and sweaty, met his eyes and gave in, allowing the sword to be ripped from her hands from the force of one of his blows and sent skittering across the room. Jace drew her in and around so her back was to him, pressed up against his body, and set his blade against her neck. "I win," he whispered, his lips an inch from her ear, and pecked her quickly on the cheek.

"I let you," she replied, breathing hard but smiling.

"I know," he said, clicking his tongue, "Ruined all the fun."

"Well," she said as he let her go, "It wasn't as if you would lose anyway."

"You don't know that. I might have let you win. Eventually." He grinned at the last word.

"Exactly. We don't have all day, you know."

"Well," he countered, always having to have the last word, "We kind of do-"

"If you two are done," Isabelle interrupted, "The rest of us would like to move on with our lives." Jace shot Clary a smile before retrieving her fallen sword, handing it to her, and walking to join Simon and Isabelle by the window.

Simon sat in one of the comfortable chairs in the library later that day, reading through another of the many Demonology books he was required to study before his Ascension. Frankly, he was getting bored. Shadowhunter studies were more fun than regular mundane studies, but after days upon days of doing nothing else, he could really use a break.

He looked up from the textbook and out the window. He wasn't sure how long he'd been in there, but the sun was starting to sink in the sky, turning it shades of orange and pink behind the buildings of New York on the horizon. The door opened then and Clary, Jace, and Isabelle walked in, followed by Alec and Magnus. The Shadowhunters were all clad in gear and looked as if they'd been out hunting demons or something. They probably had. God, Simon couldn't wait until he could go out and do that too. Magnus was his usual colorful, spiky-haired self, wearing a bright blue shirt with jeans and a rainbow scarf. And sparkles; sparkles were everywhere.

Jace threw himself down in the chair across from Simon and as Clary walked by, he grabbed her wrist and pulled her down with him, settling her on his lap. Isabelle sat on the arm of Simon's chair and Magnus and Alec each pulled up a chair to the side of him.

Simon looked around at all of them and awkwardly said, "Uh, hey."

"Look at you," Jace said in a mocking voice," studying like a good little Ascendee." Simon ignored him, used to his sarcasm by now, but was slightly gratified when Clary smacked her boyfriend's arm.

"So, Simon," Magnus said, "How're the memories coming along?"

"Well I know who all of you are again," Simon answered, closing the book in his lap. He was exceptionally pleased with this fact. "Whether that's a good thing or a bad thing, I'm still not sure."

Magnus nodded, "And your family? They don't remember anything?"

Simon shook his head, narrowing his eyes. "No. They still think I'm just a normal teenager, who happens to spend a lot of time away from home." Not that that actually would have made him abnormal at all.

Magnus nodded again, very serious. "And what about your dreams? Have they been strange or abnormal recently?"

Simon gave him a weird look. "What are you, my therapist? No. I haven't been having weird dreams. And I'm not contemplating the purpose of my life either, in case you're wondering."

Magnus held his hands up in surrender. "Chill out, Samson. I just want to make sure there aren't any demons trying to influence you in your sleep."

Simon blinked. "That can happen?"

"Well Lilith did it to Jace easily enough." Jace looked down as he said that. "And my father is a Prince of Hell." He was clearly displeased at having to say the words aloud, but continued, "He won't take kindly to having been played. I used strong magic on you, hopefully enough to keep our plan for your Ascension a secret from him until you become a Shadowhunter and he no longer has power over you, but it's not a chance I'm willing to take if it isn't."

"Oh," Simon said, his voice suddenly smaller, "Yeah. That's um, understandable."

"But don't worry," Magnus said with a dismissive wave of his hand, "I'm sure you'll be fine. My magic is strong, and I happen to know what I'm doing. Mostly."

Well, gee, Simon thought, That's reassuring. Now any dream he had over the course of the next week would leave him freaking out over whether or not he was becoming possessed. Rather than voicing this though, he simply nodded, saying nothing.

"Well," Isabelle interrupted, probably sensing Simon's disturbed state of mind, "Mom is cooking dinner. It'll probably be done soon, so…" She didn't have to finish. Jace and Alec had already stood up. Simon had had Maryse's cooking before and it was great, but he'd spent one too many dinners away from home this week. Isabelle stood with her brothers. "Coming?" she asked, looking at him.

"No. I should probably get home early tonight. I can't be home late every day. My mom's not that lenient."

"He's got a point," Clary said, now also standing, next to Jace, his hand on her back, "I should probably eat at least one meal at home this week too." Jace gave her an over-exaggerated look of disappointment, but let her go. Simon turned to Isabelle as the two of them bid their goodbyes.

"See you tomorrow?" she offered with a small smile.

He smiled back, "Absolutely," and pecked her on the cheek (there were people around) and squeezed her hand before stepping back to see Jace and Clary walking toward him. "You ready?" he asked. She nodded.

The bunch of them left the library together and Simon and Clary detached themselves from the group and headed toward the elevator, while the others made their way to the kitchen. "You okay?" Clary asked him as the elevator began moving down. His face must have still betrayed his unease at the whole possible-possession thing.

He nodded. "Fine. Just kind of paranoid about this whole dream thing now."

She gave a sympathetic smile. "It'll be fine. Magnus knows what he's doing."

"I hope so." The elevator stopped at ground level, Simon lifted the door open, and the two of them walked out toward the front door.

"He does," Clary said reassuringly, though Simon could hear the tension underneath. She took his hand in hers for a second and gave it a gentle squeeze before letting it go again.

And Simon, despite everything, felt a little better after that.

Thanks for reading! Please leave a review with your thoughts in the box below. :)