Isabelle wasn't a nervous person, at least not in general. But for some reason, their plans for the night made her ever so slightly anxious. They still didn't know what Valentine was planning to do, but until he made another move, the Clave had decided that they weren't going to do anything either. Hunting him down to get the Sword from him would be far too risky, not to mention seemingly impossible. So they opted on waiting, and for once, it seemed like the Clave was actually doing the right thing. Instead of worrying about what the Clave was doing or what Valentine might be doing, her entire family had been going about life much in the same way they had before Clary had come along and turned everything upside-down.
Except for the fact that things were so far from Isabelle's idea of normal that nothing would ever go back to the way it had been before. Jace had always been arrogant and a bit closed off, but ever since the whole ordeal with Clary had begun, he'd seemed to be much more so. Especially since Valentine had told them they were siblings. But Isabelle tried to ignore that as much as possible, knowing it was a very touchy subject for Jace. Alec seemed much more relaxed and happier now that he and Magnus were actually allowed to be together, and that made Isabelle infinitely happier as well. And Isabelle had to admit that she herself was now much happier with Simon in her life, even if he was a terribly annoying nerd at times. But she supposed that most soulmates were also constantly annoyed by one another, so she took that in stride as much as possible.
Yet their plans for the night were making her much more nervous than she would have thought possible. Everyone, including Ragnor and Raphael, was set to have dinner at Magnus's that night, but that wasn't what was making her so nervous. Ever since the trial, Max had been begging Alec to let him meet Magnus, and tonight was the night that Alec finally agreed. And Isabelle was just terribly worried about how this meeting might go. Unlike the rest of them, Max had very little experience around Downworlders, and throwing him into this situation was what worried Isabelle most of all.
Max and Alec had always had an easygoing relationship. Where Isabelle would say that Max worshiped Jace, she would say that he adored Alec. They'd always been terribly close; Alec was the one Max wanted when he was sick; Alec was the one Max wanted to help him with his training and lessons. It had always seemed to Isabelle like Max worshiped the idea of everything that Jace stood for, but when it came to his best friend, his closest confidant, that was Alec. And Isabelle couldn't help but be terribly worried that the situation with Magnus might change all of that.
"What's wrong?" Simon asked her as soon she left the Institute to meet him for the walk to Magnus's. She almost hated the way Simon could automatically pick up on even the slightest of her moods in a way that no one else could. "You look really tense for someone who's going to dinner with her family and friends." For several long seconds, Isabelle considered pushing her feelings away and simply telling Simon to ignore him. But she also knew that Simon would easily see through that, so she quickly explained all of the thoughts that were currently running through her mind.
When she had finished speaking, Isabelle registered the fact that they were about halfway to Magnus's as Simon seemed to take several moments to think about what she had said. "You're worried about Max, and that's fine," Simon said, his voice thoughtful and full of care. "But you and I both know that Alec is going to take care of him. And I have the strange feeling that Magnus is going to surprise us all with how wonderful he is with kids." Isabelle couldn't help but smile at that thought, but that didn't do anything to erase the anxiousness she felt.
And yet as soon as they walked through Magnus's door, Isabelle found herself wanting to smack Simon as he automatically leaned over to whisper, "I told you so." Alec was sitting on the couch beside of Ragnor, the two of them looking just as grumpy as ever. But Isabelle couldn't help but laugh when she saw the situation that was going on in the kitchen. Magnus, Raphael, and Max all seemed to be cooking together, wearing the most ridiculous of aprons, and laughing about just how terrible both Ragnor and Alec were at cooking.
"I honestly think Alec could burn water," Max said as Isabelle entered the kitchen. Magnus's laugh was hearty, and even Raphael's smile was surprising to Izzy. Now it made sense that Alec and Ragnor had retreated to the living room, and Isabelle quickly did the same, knowing that her cooking abilities were much worse than Alec's. "I would say you should teach him to cook, Magnus, but I think you'd actually have to waste more time putting out fires than you would with actual cooking." Isabelle was surprised to see the slight smile on Alec's face. When Alec's smile was wide, he was genuinely happy, usually in a surprised sort of way. But when his smile was slight, that was when he was at his happiest, that was when he was content, and that was the smile Isabelle always loved to see.
Everything went especially smooth until Jace and Clary finally walked through the door, and one glance at Alec was enough to confirm that it most definitely looked like they had been fighting. But they seemed to have agreed to set that aside for the time being, both of them simply going their separate ways as soon as they possibly could. But Isabelle couldn't help but notice that when dinner was finally ready, they sat as far away from each other as they thought they could without seeming suspicious. Yet from the look on Alec's face, they had done pretty terrible at not seeming suspicious.
Conversation at dinner seemed very innocent, at least until Simon had what was possibly the brightest idea he had had since they'd met. "Oh dear," he said, slowly setting down the bottle of blood he'd been sipping on. "Oh no, I completely forgot. Oh dear." Isabelle was fairly certain that she'd never heard Simon so concerned. "You're not siblings," Simon finally said, pointedly looking back and forth between Jace and Clary. The room was much quieter than Isabelle thought it would be, at least until Jace voiced his opinion that he thought Simon was insane.
That only launched Simon into his story of everything Valentine had told him before taking him to the boat. "He never planned for me to live long enough to see any of you again, so he told me everything." Everyone simply looked at Simon, most of them in open disbelief. "Why would I lie to you about this?" Simon finally continued, looking very specifically at Jace. "I'm the last person who would want to hurt Clary, and trust me when I say that I know exactly how much lying about this would hurt her. You're not siblings."
After what was an agonizingly long silence, Max was, very surprisingly, the first to speak up. "I believe him," was all he said, but he flung it at Jace with a force that Isabelle had never heard from him. Jace slowly blinked several times before he simply got up from the table without a word. It looked as though Alec was about to follow him when Magnus held up his hand. He looked as though he was going to say something, but then he quickly shot up from his chair, going to the door without another word.
Just as Clary got up to follow Jace, Magnus reentered the room, stopping her before she could skirt around him. "Sorry to ruin this heartwarming discovery, but we've got to go. Seems Valentine has struck again. This time in Idris." Alec was the first on his feet, but that wasn't very surprising to Isabelle. Alec was always the one who took charge, he was always the one who took care of them in almost any situation they found themselves in.
Getting back to the Institute and getting themselves into gear wasn't the problem. Getting themselves ready for whatever kind of battle they were now up against wasn't the problem either. Their biggest problem was that their parents were already in Idris. And no matter how hard they tried, both Magnus and Simon refused to stay behind. So that left absolutely no one to leave Max with. "I'm not a little kid, Alec," he was currently saying in the all too mature way he often did.
Before Alec could respond again, Isabelle tried to step in. "Listen to me, Max, just for a minute." Max simply nodded his head, his air of seriousness closely mimicking Alec's. "We're going to have to take you with us; we don't have another option. Mom and Dad would kill us if we left you here by yourself. But you're going to have to listen to absolutely everything we say. Whatever we tell you to do, you have to do. This is serious, Max. Even if Magnus or Ragnor or Raphael tells you to do something, you have to do it." Max nodded, and Isabelle was satisfied with their ability to take care of Max, but the look on Alec's face showed her that he was much less confidant.
"He'll be fine," Isabelle said as she moved to walk beside of him as Max ran to catch up with Magnus. "You and I both know that everyone here is going to keep him safe. Especially Magnus." Alec flashed her a weak smile, and Isabelle could tell he was trying his best to relax. "Come on, bro," she finally said, taking his arm and stopping him just before they went through the portal. "Let's go get the Sword back and end this once and for all."
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