Hiya! I have good and bad news at the bottom, so please read it once you read this story. Don't worry, the news probably isn't as ad as you think.

DISCLAIMER: A lot of the things are not mine. Like the characters. Yeah. So there.

Heaven In Freedom: Have you ever really wondered why Brother Zachariah felt so much more emotion than the other silent brothers? I mean, it can't just be because of Tessa, right? Surely other silent brother's must have had to leave the ones they loved behind. Or maybe that's why they decided to become a silent brother. Because they never could get a date. I'm just kidding! Anyway, when Brother Zachariah is cured of the Yin Fen, he has a big decision to make, and he finds out some startling truths.

Heaven In Freedom

The fire was in him. It engulfed his body. It coursed through his veins. It seared at the evil inside him.

He had never felt so relaxed, yet terrified at the same time. And silent brothers were supposed to feel no emotion.

He fell to the ground, not in pain, but in shock. He was burning.

The last thing his mind registered was the iron sisters standing above him, looking down with worry, before he lost consciousness.

Brother Enoch was standing over him, looking down with his emotionless face. Brother Zachariah blinked, then sat up.

What happened? he thought, sending the message to Brother Enoch's mind.

Your body has been cured of the yin fen, Zachariah, the other silent brother replied. If you were mortal, your body would no longer depend on it.

Zachariah stared in shock, But how? I remember nothing recently. Just that I went to the attack on the Citadel.

He could not remember, yet he felt different. Lighter, maybe. As if something had been removed from inside him. He sat up in the bed, and realized he was in fact, in his own room.

You attempted to save the Herondale boy, Jace Herondale, from the heavenly fire that rages within him, Enoch told him.

Memories came rushing back. Jace had been stabbed in the shoulder. He had bled fire. He had attempted to end the pain using a rune. It had backfired, somewhat, and the fire had begun to burn him.

Zachariah shook his head, How do you know this?

I have a first hand account from Clary Fairchild. She was at the scene with Jace. She witnessed everything.

Ah, yes. Clary. He remembered that she was there, trying to comfort Jace as he bled. He had seen her drawing her soul into an iratze, right after Jace had stopped bleeding fire from the wound.

If I am not poisoned anymore, what does that make me? Zachariah wondered, picking at a piece of fuzz on his blanket. He looked up at Enoch, and started into the eyeless face.

You are still a silent brother. You are as you were before this incident. But now you have two options. The first is to become a full powered silent brother, since when the drug was in your veins, there were some runes you could not withstand. Runes that would kill you. Now, they will not. Your second option is to leave the brotherhood. I know that you never wanted this life, and really, it is not much of one. You would be fully mortal again. Able to die, but able to live. It is your choice. I will let you deicde. When you have, you know where to find me.

Enoch left the room swiftly, leaving Zachariah staring after him. He had to make the decision. Either become an equally powerful silent brother, or leave it all behind in search of a more normal life. A life in which he could feel. Could love.

Tessa. Never had her name ever sounded so beautiful for the last one hundred years. He could be with Tessa. Love her like he had wanted to for the last hundred years.

He stood up, gathering his robes, and looked into the mirror that hung on the wall.

Brother Enoch was right. He didn't want this life. He never had, but he had learned to accept it.

He had made his choice.

I choose to leave the brotherhood, Zachariah annouced through his mind after finding Brother Enoch.

The silent brother replied amusedly, I knew you would. You feel emotions much stronger than the rest of us. Cherish that. It is one of the best gifts to have.

I never asked, but why is that? That I feel emotion. It is not because of the drug, is it? Zachariah asked.

If the other silent brother could have smiled, he would have, When you joined the brotherhood, I wanted to keep your humanity. Your kindness. I changed one rune for you. It was the wall of glass rune. The one that keeps the rest of us from feeling any emotion. I weakened it, so you could still feel some, and I blamed it on the drug. I didn't want you to lose connections with William Herondale and Theresa Gray. I didn't want you to be too distant from them.

Zachariah inhaled sharply. I cannot even express how much thankfulness I am feeling right now.

Don't worry. Now, we must remove you from the brotherhood, so you may live a normal life, something I have known you wanted since before you became a silent brother. Enoch said, and led Jem to the room in which he had received his first brotherhood runes.

The process was short, and he was told to recite some words, and swear on the Angel. As he did, the runes on his cheeks began to burn. They became hotter and hotter, and a liquid spilled down his face.

His eyes flew open. His cheeks were streaked with blood, he found, as he placed a hand to one, but the runes that had adorned his cheekbones had turned a dull silver. He looked around, seeing everything in a completly new perspective, though he had been in this room many times.

Zachariah, you are now mortal, or would you prefer to go by James Carstairs? Enoch sent to Jem's mind.

Jem opened his mouth to speak, but nothing came out. He forced his mouth to shape words, and slowly, they came, "I wish be, no, I wish I that, no."

He thought of how he would say it through his mind, and slowly he heard the words pouring out, "I wish to be known as Zachariah, until I am ready to reclaim my old name, Jem Carstairs."

The silent brother nodded, and escorted Jem back to his room.

Closing the door behind him, Jem sank into his bed. Though he would still be called Zachariah, he was Jem. He was an adult version of the Jem he had been before he had been poisoned.

Every emotion that had been muted during his time as a silent brother poured out. He grieved deaths, wept for the friends he had lost, but he also replayed happy memories in his mind, and found himself smiling uncontrollably, and laughing every so often.

And Tessa. For a moment, his world froze. He could have Tessa. He smiled, but it turned into a frown. They were in the middle of the Dark War, however, he knew this much:

He would fight. He would fight until he was bone-tired and his muscles called out for mercy. He would fight until he was at the brink of death. He would fight even if he lost everything.

But he would win.

He would have Tessa.

I'm sorry! I wrote another about Brother Zachariah/Jem! I need to stop. This obsession is unhealthy.

Okay, now to the good and bad news. I'll start with bad, first. I won't be updating as much, because I have started a new story, and honestly I am kind of running out of ideas here. I have maybe, one or two more, but that's it. These stories take me longer to write than others. Balancing four stories isn't too easy either, and I feel like a lot of my attention is going to the new story I am writing.

Now the good news. Ive started a new story! It's called Love Me, Hate Me, Believe In Me, and it's in the Infernal Devices category. So if you've read the books, you should check it out.

Summary: When Tessa Gray, a local girl from a bad town, is held hostage by Will Herondale, who is working for the notorious Mortmain, he has no intent of ever returning her. Over time, they find love for each other, but will it be enough to make them change their entire lives? AU, set in modern times. All human. Mostly Wessa.

Anyway, please review, follow, or favorite. I'd especially like the first one, because I'd love to hear your ideas, good or bad.

~Hearts With Love~