Hi all! Sorry I've been gone for so long, I just got back from camp!

This is the beginning of a what will very, very long adventure with my OCs! Since this is the first chapter, if things get a bit confusing at first, hang on until the end of the chapter, then ask any questions you have that weren't clarified!

I hope you come to love these kids as much as I already do! I feel like they've been with me for a very long time even thought it's been like three weeks! My plan as of now is to use this as an introductory fic and then things will get a bit longer and more complicated with a lot more backstory for them all and so on!

Enjoy, and let me know your thoughts!

"Charlie, you shouldn't be doing that!" her little brother, James, yelled up at her from where he was standing on the floor of the training room. Charlie rolled her eyes and continued her work on the rafters. She had quickly found out that working on the rafters was the best way for her to work on her balance, even if it was slightly, terribly dangerous to be doing flips that high up. Especially without a balancing rune. But Charlie also knew that she had to find new and inventive ways to push herself, to make herself better. None of the others had to practice their balancing skills. None of the others had to get by without runes.

As she did another flip, Charlie began smiling. She knew what was coming next before Rafael even began speaking. "Charlotte, listen to your brother and get down here now!" Rafe's voice was final, full of the authority that came with being the oldest out of all of the kids, the only one who was an adult even by Shadowhunter standards. Sometimes Charlie had to admit that Rafe was a lot like Uncle Alec. But admitting that would also mean admitting that Rafael was usually right, that he actually should be listened to, and that wasn't something Charlie was willing to do.

"Fine!" she yelled back at them, the smile stretching even further across her face. Neither James nor Rafe had the time to yell anything else at her before she did a backflip off the rafter. Judging by the looks on their faces when she hit the ground, she knew it had been perfectly executed. They wanted to be angry, but she'd stuck her landing just as well as the rest of them would have, and they both knew they couldn't find any fault in that. She was willing to bet that even Uncle Alec wouldn't be able to find fault any fault in that, and that thought made her even happier.

"That's not what they meant, and you know it." Charlie turned to smile at Max and the fact that his voice was as tender as it always was. "Now take this and go rest for a while; take it easy," Max finished, holding out a bottle of water for her to take. Charlie could never seem to find it in herself to be annoyed with Max. He was always the gentle one, always the one who showed that he cared by actually acting in a caring fashion. So she took the bottle of water, moving to sit on the floor, her back against the wall. She didn't want to admit that her breathing was actually a bit forced, so she looked down at her feet, trying to keep that fact to herself.

They all worried about her, no matter the situation, and if they thought there was any reason to do so, they would go get one of her parents in a matter of seconds. Charlie didn't know much about the specifics, but she did know that she'd been born with something wrong with her heart. That had gone uncorrected for almost a year, and by the time she'd finally turned blue and her parents had called Catarina Loss, the damage had been so severe that Catarina had insisted that the only way to help her was for them to allow mundane doctors to repair her heart surgically. Even after the heart surgery that had left her with a very large scar all the way down her chest, Charlie had ended up with a pacemaker, the damage still too much for her heart to deal with on its own.

So, naturally, the entire group worried about her constantly. When she was training, her brother and her cousins were continually telling her to stop pushing herself so hard, continually asking her to take a break and rest. But she knew the other kids weren't the only ones incessantly trying to make sure she was safe. She'd once heard Uncle Simon telling Sophie to make sure Charlie was okay, telling her what signs to look for that might tell her that Charlie's heart was having trouble. It wasn't that all the care annoyed her exactly; it was simply that Charlie hated being treated as though she was fragile because of her heart. Fragile was the last word she would ever use to describe herself, and she certainly knew when she needed to stop putting so much pressure on her heart.

But Charlie also knew that she had to push herself harder than the rest of them if she wanted to keep up with absolutely any of them. Just before she had turned twelve and was set to begin her training, Catarina had explained that her heart would not be strong enough to take the power of the runes. So it had been decided that, while she could still fight and train, she could never rune herself. Being a Shadowhunter without runes was a terribly hard thing to do, but Charlie generally thought that she did a pretty fine job of it. Even without the runes, she was just as competent of a fighter as any of the others, even if she did tire just a bit quicker.

When they heard the alarm sound, indicating that someone was at the door, Charlie jumped up and dashed out of the training room before anyone else could even so much as move. She knew that none of the parents would move to get the door, that they would expect one of the kids to do so, and she wanted to be the first one to meet their new visitor. They were expecting a Shadowhunter her age, someone who was moving into the Institute for an undetermined amount of time to further their training and learn about the ways in which the Institute ran. She had no idea who it was supposed to be, but she was still terribly excited at the prospect of having a new person in the Institute.

Flinging the door open, Charlie was slightly shocked when the boy standing before her automatically strode past her and into the Institute. He turned to look at her, his startling green eyes taking her in in one swift glance. "Preston Cartwright," he said, his voice firm and authoritative in the way Charlie always attributed to Rafael. "Grab my bags and show me to my room," he finished, and Charlie could only stare at him for several moments. Preston apparently wholeheartedly expected her to carry his bags for him, and she couldn't even begin to fathom why that was.

Before she could so much as stammer through an, "Excuse me?" Preston spoke up again, obviously picking up on the confusion on Charlie's face. "You're the mundane help, correct?" he asked, and Charlie felt anger automatically well up within her. She now wished that she'd let one of the others answer the door, but she also felt the sudden urge to knock this kid off of his feet, just to show him what the "mundane help" could really do to him.

"I suggest you be more careful about who you call the mundane help around here," she responded, trying to fling as much spunk into her words as Sophie might. "My father would not be at all pleased to hear you call his daughter such things." Charlie registered the look on Preston's face with joy; her parents now ran the Institute, and that knowledge combined with her strawberry-blond hair and golden eyes made it almost impossible for someone to not realize that she was a Herondale. She almost laughed when Preston realized how bad his mistake had been, but she also saw how quickly he wiped away his surprise and became arrogant once more.

"You don't have any runes," he said, so matter-of-fact that Charlie wanted to laugh it him. "I simply did not think that a Herondale would be a runeless Shadowhunter. Forgive me for the very logical assumption." It was evident from Preston's tone that he did not actually want to be forgiven for anything. Charlie decided that, no matter what he did, she would never like him. Preston could discover a spell to fix her heart, and Charlie would still wonder what might be in it for this arrogant fool.

"Grab your own bags, Cartwright," she said, turning around and walking away before Preston had even moved for his bags. "You've got a lot to learn if you're actually going to survive around here." As Preston caught up with her, Charlie glanced at him out of the corner of her eye. She was interested to see that Preston looked slightly nervous, and she could tell that he wasn't expecting her to be looking at him in that particular moment. "You're going to have to learn how to deal with eight very different kids with startlingly different personalities. Not to mention our parents." She smiled at the thought of it. No outsiders had ever tried to navigate their family, and she knew she was going to enjoy watching it happen.

"If I've got so much to learn," Preston said after he placed his bags in his room. "Then why don't you teach me about your family." Charlie could tell that he was trying to hide the fact that he was curious because he wanted to know what he was up against. Charlie also knew that she was likely the only one who would so easily see through his façade, that the others would be much more trusting of him in the fact that they would think that the person in front of their eyes was the true Preston, but Charlie was the one who generally picked up on even the most stubble of things.

She moved to take Preston on a tour of the Institute, knowing that he would still get lost dozens of times before he actually began to remember his way. "There's my little brother, James," Charlie began, hoping to summarize each of the kids as best as possible. "Red hair, green eyes, glasses, hard to mix up with anyone else. He's basically the brains of the operation. He'd much rather be studying than fighting, but don't mistake that for inability to fight. He's very lethal when needed, and if you make him angry enough, you'll likely find that out."

Charlie moved to allow Preston to enter the weapons room so that he could familiarize himself with the layout. "As far as the Lovelaces go, George is the oldest. Black hair and black eyes, he's also hard to mix up with any of the others." Charlie shut the door behind her and made her way to the training room, purposely trying to leave the library for last. "He's pretty cheeky and hard to navigate sometimes. He knows who he is and he knows what he wants, and he doesn't let anyone get in the way of that. Oh, and he's a huge flirt, so beware." Charlie smiled as she caught the look on Preston's face. "Don't worry, I'm pretty certain you're not his type. He likes men and women who can hold their own against him, and I highly doubt that you can do so."

As they moved toward the kitchen, Charlie couldn't help but smile at the thought of Preston trying to navigate George, and she knew she couldn't wait to see it happen. "You're likely to get George's sisters mixed up because they're twins, their eyes and hair are brown, but they wear their hair in different ways. And they're complete opposites, so you shouldn't have much trouble with them after even a week here." Most people could tell Sophie and Anna apart just from the way they acted, but Charlie was willing to bet that Preston wouldn't want to waste his time figuring out which one was which.

"Anna is very quiet and gentle. If she's not in the training room, she's most likely in the library reading.
Charlie could see that Preston relaxed ever so slightly, apparently feeling much better about Anna being gentler than her brother. So, naturally, she had to ruin that for him. "But don't you dare be fooled by any of that; she's extremely fierce. She specializes in throwing knives, and at any given time she has at least eight of them on her person. She's very, very accurate with them, so I wouldn't push her too hard if I were you." Charlie knew that Anna could easily hold her own against Preston, but she also knew that the last thing she wanted was for Anna to get hurt in any way. And if anyone was likely to hurt someone as gentle as Anna, it would be the arrogant jerk beside of her.

"Sophie has spunk that I doubt you've ever encountered before. Even look at her the wrong way and you'll be on the ground before you even know you were looking at her the wrong way." Charlie almost laughed at the thought of it. Sophie's spunk was one of the many reasons she was Charlie's best friend, and she couldn't wait to see it unleashed on Preston. "She may be the youngest, but she's the best fighter of us all, and she knows it, too. If we're on a mission and she tells you to do something, I highly suggest that you do it. Don't ever doubt that she knows what she's doing because you'll likely end up dead if you do so."

They made their way toward the greenhouse, and Charlie's thoughts shifted very fondly toward the rest of her family. She was slightly surprised that Preston hadn't said anything yet, but she kept speaking anyway. "Rafael is the oldest of the Lightwood-Banes, and he's the oldest of us all. You'll know him as soon as you see him just by the authority he commands. He's fairly stoic, so don't ever assume you know what he's feeling or thinking. Rafe is George's parabatai, and they'd honestly do anything for each other." Charlie paused for a second, then amended herself, not wanting Preston to get too comfortable. "Oh, and don't ever call him Rafe. That wouldn't be a good move for an outsider."

Preston simply nodded, and Charlie was surprised to see that she couldn't exactly read his expression. "Then there's Max. He's utterly, terribly gentle, and if you ever need advice on anything, he's the one to go to since he'll be the most understanding. He's a warlock, so he fights with magic, but he mostly just spends his time covering everyone else. He'll probably confuse you the most, though. When he's not glamoured, he's pretty easy to peg. Blue skin, blue hair; but ever make a comment on that and you'll wish you hadn't. He glamours himself to look like his papa, which I trust you know what he looks like."

Charlie was going to continue, but then she sensed that Preston wanted to ask a question. "I do know what his dads look like," Preston responded, his voice careful and thoughtful. "But he has two of them, so you're going to have to be a bit more specific." Charlie couldn't help but laugh at that. She had wondered if Preston would comment on her choice of words, and she was terribly glad that he had. There were a lot of things Preston needed to pick up on, a lot of things he needed to very quickly accustom himself to, and she was glad to put him in his place on that matter.

"I was very specific," Charlie said, turning to finally lead her way back to the library. "Uncle Alec is Max's dad. Uncle Magnus is Max's papa. Like I said, you've got a lot to learn, so I really hope you've been listening." Preston only nodded once, and Charlie moved to the one person she was most worried about Preston being around. "The last of us is Maddie. Uncles Magnus and Alec adopted her, too; she's a werewolf, but she fights with us just the same." Charlie whirled on Preston then, trying to erase any room for his interpretation. "Maddie is a mixture of bookworm and warrior, but if you don't listen to anything else I tell you today, listen to this. If you ever, in any way, yell or become violent in front of her, you will no longer have the number of testicles you currently have. If you're not in a fight with a demon, you do not raise your voice with the people of this Institute."

Eyeing Preston was difficult, but Charlie could see that the tone of her voice had done something, and she hoped he would actually take that seriously. Uncles Magnus and Alec had taken Maddie in when Uncle Luke rescued her from a highly abusive home. Maddie was extremely well adjusted, but yelling and violence not associated with fighting demons put her on edge and was the easiest way to upset her. From a very young age, all of the children had learned to improve their argument instead of raising their voice, and Charlie wanted to be absolutely certain that Preston knew that, too. "If you're not busy after I meet with your parents," Preston said when they stopped in front of the library. "Might I interest you in a picnic in the greenhouse? There was a very gorgeous spot for that very thing."

Charlie couldn't help but laugh. She knew it was slightly rude, but after everything Preston had said before, even the notion of something romantic was absolutely ridiculous. "Are you hitting on me?" she asked, unable to hide her amusement. Preston's expression didn't change, but Charlie couldn't take it any longer. "Just gear up for training when you're done," she said, turning around and trying to keep from running away from him. When she turned the corner back toward her room, her smile widened when she saw James.

"You can't blame him," James said, his voice also full of his own amusement. "I think it was kind of adorable. I mean, it's not his fault he doesn't know you're not into guys." Charlie laughed once more, knowing that James was right, but also knowing how much she disliked Preston purely on principle. "I heard how much of a jerk he is, though, so don't let him down easily, Charlie," James finished in a fashion that was very unlike himself. Usually, James was like Max in the fact that he wanted to do the best for people, that he wanted to treat everyone with kindness. But Charlie could tell by his comment that he had heard Preston calling her the mundane help, and she knew that James was reacting because he wanted to protect her.

"I think I need to take a nap before I try to explain anything else to that idiot," Charlie replied, stopping in front of her bedroom door. James simply nodded and moved to his own room, and Charlie smiled at him one last time before all but flinging herself into her room and onto her bed. Charlie knew she wouldn't actually be able to sleep, but she wanted some peace and quiet for a while so that she could actually think things through. She knew it wouldn't be long before one of her parents came to ask her about Preston, and she also knew it wouldn't be long before her father took Preston into the training room to assess his skills.

Charlie thought very fondly of the fact that Uncle Alec was the one who always tested any of the children. No matter how good of a fighter Preston might be, he was no match for Uncle Alec, and that thrilled her to no end. From some of the looks he had given her, it was obvious that Preston had some prejudices about people who weren't straight, and being severely beaten by Uncle Alec in all of the exercises would do him good. Growing up, absolutely none of the kids had ever once felt any pressure to be straight. Charlie still very affectionately remembered when she had come out to her parents as lesbian. She hadn't been worried about their responses, but it was still very pleasant when they had told her that because they were extremely proud of her that they wanted to get the whole family to go out to dinner that night, just to celebrate her.

When George had come out as bi, he'd done so in front of the whole family, and Charlie had cried with laughter when Sophie got up and held up her hand, saying, "High five, brother, me too!" Rafael and Max had apparently come out by accident, and Charlie still wished that she had been there to see it. They'd been watching a movie together and didn't know that their dads had come in the room when they both said something along the lines of, "He's hot," almost simultaneously. When their dads had leaned over the back of the couch with a question in their eyes, they'd laughed as they explained that Max was gay and Rafe was ace and identified as biromantic. Charlie had always been happy that all of their coming outs had been a far cry from the stories they'd heard about various mundanes coming out.

Lying in her bed, Charlie couldn't help but smile to herself at that thought. Her family had always been far more accepting than any other family she had ever heard of, and that made her extremely proud of her parents. They had fought for so many things, and the thought that they still fought every day to give their kids the lives they had always wanted made her extremely happy. The only thing that ever worried her was how the outside world would react to them all. She never truly cared what others thought of her, the approval of her family was the only approval that would ever mean anything to her. But she knew that others were rarely so accepting, and the protective side of her wanted to keep her cousins as safe as possible. She idly wondered how Preston might react to any of them, the look he'd given her when she spoke of George still etched in her mind. But she shoved that thought away for the moment, knowing that her parents would quickly take care of any problem that might arise.

Sighing from contentment, Charlie swung herself out of bed, moving to spend the rest of her time waiting working on Sophie and Anna's birthday presents. James's birthday had been two days ago, so that meant theirs was only eight days away. She wasn't very good at shopping for presents, so she generally tried to make them instead, figuring those things would mean more than anything she could buy. As soon as Charlie became mildly annoyed at the work she was doing, she headed off to the training room, trying to ignore how much harder it was to breathe at the moment.