A/N: This is a really short chapter I'm sorry, but I wanted to post something before I go away, since it'll be a while before I'll be able to post something else. It's a mix of past and present that I wrote quickly today. There's so much more that I wanted to post, but it'll have to be another time. :)

~~ Caspian ~~

Stopping by a pond that was not too close to the Hunt's base, Caspian reached over to pull out a dagger from a sheath at his side. Raising the blade to his blonde hair, he gripped some hair in his other hand, before setting to work and cutting it. The blade of the dagger itself was jagged, resulting in a jagged cut as he worked at shortening the strands. He had never thought much about how it must look in the past, not caring much about such things. But now he knew that Aspen must look at it, and his thoughts became amused. Since when had he cared so much about what he might appear like to others? In any case, he doubted Aspen would be satisfied with the level of neatness, but he would have to put up with it, unless he fixed it himself.

Caspian stopped before cutting it too short, liking to keep a bit of length, but nothing that wasn't practical for a fight, finding it grew annoying when it always fell in his eyes. Strands of blonde hair littered the ground, and he ran a hand through his hair to flick any remaining out of it. His lips curled up slightly at the edges when he thought of his last visit with Aspen. While he had gotten angrier than he should have, he was glad that it had ended well, his thoughts on the evening pleasant. He was looking forward to Aspen coming back to the Hunt, but there seemed to be no end date in sight, and Aspen himself was reluctant to return, he knew.

He stared at his reflection in the pond for a moment, from his hair to his darkened eye. He had changed in many ways, from the faerie he had been in the Unseelie. Looking away, he did not give it too much thought, for he had long since accepted such a thing.

~~ Kellan ~~

Sitting on a chair in the backyard of the Institute – always feeling more content when surrounded by nature – Kellan pondered over a book on the Seelie Court. He always felt guilty for reading such things, sometimes hiding books like that from his siblings. It was not that he wasn't happy where he was, with his own family. He loved them more than anything. But sometimes he couldn't help but muse over thoughts of what his mother might be like. He had so many questions, and so little answers from his dad. Whenever he tried to ask, his dad seemed to be lost in another world, his words growing distant and full of riddles.

His questions were simple enough. Mundane, even. Did she have red hair like his? What did she like to do in her spare time? What was her smile like, and her laugh? They were all little things, and he thought the answers might have brought a smile to his lips.

There was one question, however, that was a bit deeper. Had she wanted to keep him, or had she not been attached to him at all? He knew that he had been left on the doorstep of the Institute, but he did not know the full reasoning behind the decision. Of course, he realised that some faeries were not so attached to their offspring. That was just the nature of the fae. But perhaps she had given him up for another reason – maybe for his safety, or maybe because she had to, considering he had Shadowhunter blood.

"Kellan?" A familiar voice called from inside.

It was Grace, he identified fondly, and he rose to his feet, closing his book and tucking it under his jacket.

"I'm here," he called back calmly, stepping inside, to find her.

Such thoughts were pointless, he knew, trying to shake them from his head.

~~ Steff ~~

Claiming a free park seat for herself, Steff settled down comfortably, taking a book carefully out of her bag. She was at the Champ de Mars, a greenspace in Paris that overlooked the Eiffel Tower. Looking up, she could see it towering over her, and she smiled, enjoying her visit. It was nice to have some time to herself to enjoy the scenery, with a book in her hand. It had become a daily ritual since she'd been staying in Paris.

Since it was a popular tourist attraction, it grew busy, of course, but she found that her spot was private enough, and she felt almost invisible as most walked past her without sparing her a glance. She liked that, the feeling of privacy to be able to enjoy the view. Of course, she could have used a glamour Rune if she really needed, but that would pose a problem if someone else wanted to sit on the seat.

Finally tearing her gaze away from the Eiffel Tower, she ran her fingers delicately over the cover of her book, before opening it. It was the copy of Les Misérables that she had purchased from the famous bookstore, Shakespeare and Company. She could have spent all day in the store, admittingly, for it was a booklover's paradise, but she did not have the money to splurge and buy any more books. Finding the place she was up to easily with her bookmark, she relaxed, letting herself be pulled back into the world it described. It was fitting, reading such a book in France, and it was a fascinating tale of tragedy and redemption. Things that she could certainly understand. She could certainly sympathise with the convict Jean Valjean and his story. Perhaps even more so, she could understand Cosette, and how she had grown up with such mistreatment, yet she had still been open to the idea of love. Somehow, she remained full of a hopeful kind of innocence, and a desire to know and experience the world.

Allowing herself to get lost in the book, the murmurs of the crowds faded away, and she was simply a girl reading a book, to anyone who passed by.