Charity Hunter is the ONLY character that belongs to me. All other characters belong to Cassandra Clare. In case anyone was curious, Charity Hunter bares a resemble to Emmy Rossum. She's the closest celebrity I could think of that looks like Charity. Charity wears her hair much like Emmy Rossum did in "Phantom of the Opera."

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Charity looked out of the window of the carriage as she bounced lightly over the uneven ground. Today was the first day of the rest of her life. She was leaving Idris, and starting her life in London. Her parents were a bit upset that she was leaving but they gave her all the love and support they could muster. Charity just needed some new scenery, besides there was something about the mundanes that fascinated her. Growing up, she didn't have what the mundanes had. Most of what the mundanes had and knew about where alien to Charity. She felt that if she was going to protect the mundanes from the things that hide under your bed, she'd have to learn just as much about her subjects as she knew about monsters and demons.

The carriage was driven by Henry Branwell, who was the husband of the woman, Charlotte, who gave permission to Charity to live at the Institute. Charity looked at the back of Henry, as he continued to manuever the carriage with little to no effort. "Mr. Branwell, when do you-"

"Henry." His voice was bright, like he was smiling as he correced Charity. "Please, call me Henry."

A smile played at Charity's lip as she nodded. "…Henry, when do you think we'll be arriving at the Institute?"

She heard Henry chuckle. He pulled the reins lightly to the left, telling the horses to move slightly to the left. "It shouldn't be much longer, Ms. Hunter."

Charity smirked. "Please, call me Charity."

Henry chuckled again and nodded. "From now on, I shall, Charity."

He paused for a moment before speaking again. This time his tone was a bit more concerned. "Are you nervous?"

To be honest, Charity was more excited than anything. She knew she could get along with anyone, so the occupants of the house didn't threaten her. She was more afraid of getting lost in London and not being able to find her way back to the Institute. "No, not at all. If all of the inhabitants of the London Institute are as nice as you, then I have nothing to fear."

Henry was one of the nicest people that Charity had the privilege of meeting. She was truly hoping that everyone at the Institute was as nice as him. Henry had begun telling her about some new ideas he had for inventions and some of the things he's already created. "It's called a Sensor. It detects demon energies. Makes it so much easier for us to find the buggers."

"I'd love to see your laboratory. I've always loved science and such. However, hunting demons is obviously my true passion."

Charity could see Henry smiling at her comment. His inventions seemed to make him very happy and extremely proud. Charity knew that his inventions would be used by all Shadowhunters some day, especially the sensor. What Shadowhunter wouldn't be able to benefit from that?

The other invention he mentioned was called the Phosphor. Henry explained that he hadn't perfected the Phosphor yet but the device was supposed to amplify witchlight. Charity had raised a brow at his explanation, wondering to herself how one could amplify witchlight. Witchlight was extremely bright as it is. Unless Henry wanted someone to burn their eyes of their socket. A snigger had escaped her lips when Henry told her that his invention caused more harm than good. "Even though it's supposed to amplify witchlight, it tends to cause…" He paused for a moment, searching for the right thing to say. "…other things to happen. Bad things."

Charity had placed a gloved hand to her lips to stiffle another small laugh. "Well, I'm sure you'll figure it out sooner or later. Science takes patience, doesn't it? And great things take time, do they not?"

Henry shrugged. "I suppose you're right."

The carriage came to a stop a few minutes later. Charity peered out of the window and saw through the glamour. She smiled up at the Institute. It was breathtaking. Absolutely breathtaking. Normally, Charity would have opened the door to the carriage herself but Henry had beaten her to it. She looked at his outstretched hand and gently took it in hers. Like the gentlemen that he was, he lead her out of the carriage. She stood looking up at the Institute for a moment, as Henry fussed with her luggage.

Charity wore an red artistic dress which consisted of a tight corset, a hoop skirt and bustle. The dress was also draped in lavish ornamenatation. Her hair was pulled back at the sides and worn high with many ringlets. On the very top of her head, she wore a small red head with a little white veil. Most people would think she was going some place fancy but she didn't care. Charity wanted to look as beautiful and sophiscated as she could. This was London afterall.

"Everything you expected Charity?" Henry stood behind her, with one hand in his pocket.

A sweet smile appeared on Charity's face. "And more, Henry."

XoXoX

Henry had taken all of her luggage up to her new bedroom as Charity met with Charlotte. Charlotte was just as nice as Henry. Charity began to walk with Charlotte as they headed to her new room. Every once in awhile Charlotte would stop and tell her a few fun facts about the Institute. She also pointed out where everythin was. Charity knew it was going to take her awhile to get used to where everything was, just because of the size of the Institute. Her home back in Idris was a mere five rooms; the kitchen, living area, her bedroom, her parents room and the bathroom. The Institute seemed like a palace right now.

They stopped at her bedroom door. Charlotte gave her a sweet smile. "You'll meet the rest of the clan at dinner I'm sure. They're all scattered about the Institute, so instead of finding them all, I'll let you get settled. Dinner is in an hour. "

"Thank you Charlotte. I'm looking forward to it."

Charlotte walked away, her heels clicking on the floor of the hall. Charity looked around her room, it was safe to say that it was a lot bigger than she was used to. It held a four post bed with dark red drapes with black outlines. The top blanket of the bed looked to bed a dark red satin. In one corner of the room stood a lovely dark wood wardrobe with very intricate designs on it. She placed a hand onto it, feeling the carving wood. Not far from the wardrobe was a vanity with three mirrors and a darling little seat. It wasn't overly extravagent but to Charity, it was more than enough.

With a raised brow, Charity wondered to herself if they had showed her the right room. There was no way she was privileged to have a room this size. People with rooms this size either had money, worked to get a room like this or a little of both. "I assure you, you're in the right place."

A voice sound behind her, which caused Charity to jumped a little. She turned around suddenly to see a blonde girl standing in her doorway, in her hands a lovely parasol. "I'm Jessamine, by the way."

Charity smiled politely at her then gave her a curtsey. "Charity Hunter, it's a pleasure to meet you."

Jessamine gave her a once over and smiled brightly. "I absolutely love that outfit. Where did you buy it? Is your family rich?"

Charity looked confused for a second then spoke. "Oh, actually my mother made it. She likes to sew and whatnot. I just told her what look I was going for and she created this. And no, we're not rich. We actually have a very small home in Idris."

Jessamine stepped into the room and moved over to Charity. Her face became suddenly blank, her motions were flawless, effortless. It was like she glided across the floor. She walked around Charity, looking her up and down, occasionally nodding an approval. "I usually buy all my dresses, from the best dress makers in London, but this doesn't look half bad. At least it doesn't look like its made by a peasant. "

Charity tilted her head to the side and shrugged. Hadn't Jessamine just stated that she loved the dress and now she only thinks its not half bad? Why, because Charity wasn't rich? Charity wasn't going to start a quarrel with the girl since she just arrived. There was no need to step on toes just yet. As Charity thought about Jessamine's comment, Jessamine took it upon herself to walk around the rest of the room, looking at everything. She mumbled something about taking Charity out to buy nice, expensive things. She turned to look at the luggage that lay next to Charity's door and frowned a little. When she spoke, her tone was a little harsh and filled with slight annoyance. "Would you like some help putting your stuff away?"

It wasn't so much a nice gesture as it was to see what Charity had brought with her. Jessamine just needed to know if there was going to be another female in the building that shared her love of beautiful items and clothing. She knew that Charity wasn't rich but that didn't mean that Charity's mother hadn't made her more beautiful dresses, which is exactly what she did. It was obvious that Jessamine liked expensive things. Also, from what Jessamine was muttering under her breath, Charity was under the impression that she was uppity and clearly full of herself. Typical rich girl syndrome, as Charity called it.

Jessamine left a few minutes later, not before warning Charity of the servants in the Institute. Her blatant dislike of them sort of annoyed Charity. The servants were normal people and should have been treated with some respect in her eyes. She never fully understood why rich people felt the need to treat 'commoners' like they were trash. However, Charity just nodded at Jessamine and returned to her room to unpack her belongings.

Charity hadn't brought much, just some clothing, which she hung neatly in the wardrobe. Among some of her possessions was a music box that her mother had given her when she was about 13. It wasn't anything too fancy. It had a nice decoration on the front and on the inside was a glass covering so that you were able to see the mechanics of the device. There was also a small decorative card on the under side of the lid. Charity always loved listening to the music as she laid down to sleep.

Charity took out a small clock from her luggage and placed it onto the small table that was beside her bed. Charlotte had told her that dinner would be in an hour. Charity had 5 minutes to find the dining room. She had hoped that she would be able to change but she didn't have the time. She rushed out of her room and tried to remember the exact path that Charlotte and her had taken an hour earlier. "Oh…"

Charity stopped in the middle of a long hallway and suddenly felt like she was in a labryinth. She was completely lost and there was obviously no one around to help her. She turned on her heel and dashed back down the hall, taking another turn, hoping to go back the way she had came. That's when it happened.

BAM!

Charity flew backwards and landed on her bottom. She winced as she looked up at and met the silver eyes of a young man. He looked to be about her age. She tried to hury herself and stand up to apologize but the boy merely extended her hand to her and apologized himself. "I'm sorry, are you all right?"

Charity took his hand and stood up. Quickly, she brushed herself off as she felt her cheeks flush. "Don't be sorry. It was my fault, I shouldn't have been running but I figured I'd be late to dinner and I have no idea where I am."

The young man stared at her as a smile formed on his face. Charity noted the angular structure of his face and the slight curve of his eyes. His hair was the same oddly bright silver as his eyes. His skin was like porcelian. Now, Charity was really embarassed. She had just ran into a rather attractive young man, who was being more than polite to her. "Don't worry about it. When you're new here, this place is very overwhelming, I would know."

The boy introduced himself as James Carstairs. He gave her a little bit of his history at they walked to the dining room. Apparently, he was originally from Shanghai, China. His father was of English descent, while his mother was Chinese. He told Charity all about the Institute in China and how his parents used to run it. James also told her that his parents had been murdered and not wanting to press the memory any farther, Charity remained silent. "By the way, feel free to call me 'Jem'. Everyone else does."

"Just Charity for me."

Jem gave her another smile as they reached the dining hall. He motioned for her to go. Charlotte and Jessamine were already at the table. Henry was probably poking around in his lab still. It seemed that everyone was there, except for another chair was that empty. Charity shrugged it off, not really thinking anything of it. It was probably just an extra chair.

That was when Charlotte spoke up. "Will should be here soon. He went galvanting around London again."

Her voice held some disappointment and annoyance. Charity turned her head to look at Jem, who merely shrugged. Charity couldn't help but wonder who this Will person was and what his story was. Charity knew that Shadowhunters weren't allowed to kill anything until they were 18. Was Will 18? Maybe he was older than that? Charity didn't really care. So far, she had met people she liked, even if Jessamine wasn't entirely her cup of tea.

One of the servants, Sophie, served them their dinner. Before she left, Jessamine had begun to whisper in her ear. They looked like she was giving the poor girl some harsh words, but Charity knew it wasn't her place to pry. At least not yet. Not until she felt established enough within the Institute to stand up and say something.

A few moments later, a slightly disheveled young man came in, and ploppe down into a seat. He swayed slightly and gave Charlotte a grin. Charlotte tutted and tried to ignore him. He turned to Jem and smiled. "So, who do we have here?"

Charity was busy spooning some more soup into her mouth when the boy, who she figured was Will, spoke up. Jem chuckled lightly before speaking. "Her name is Charity, Will. Charity Hunter."

Will stared at her, with his piercing blue eyes for a moment then let out a loud laugh. "Hunter, huh? That's pretty clever, since you're a Shadowhunter. I guess it's safe to say your family are a bunch of hunters."

Charity stared at him, with slightly narrowed eyes. Was he drunk? She breathed in through her nose and the scent of hard liquor hit her. He was definitely drunk. He looked to be about her age, the same as Jem and Jessamine. Will stared at her for a minute more before leaning back in his chair. He glanced down at his meal and made a face. It was probably wise for him not to eat. No one wanted to watch him get sick. But that's the price you pay for being foolish.

"So, William, where were you all night?" It was Charlotte that spoke. She peered up at Will, disapproval etched all over her face.

"Eh, the usual. Gambling, drinking. I met some girl. You know the ones I like. No morals." He smirked at Charlotte then turned his attention back to Charity. "Do you have morals?"

"William!" Charlotte slammed her spoon down onto the table and glared him. She looked as if she wanted to reach across the large table and smack the smart ass right out of him. Charity pursed her lips together. At that moment, she didn't care about stepping on his toes. Will attitude and personality completely overshadowed his good looks. Nothing was more annoying than a man who thought he was God's gift to the world.

"Actually, I do have morals. I'm not some sort of street walker that wants to spend the night with some drunk for some coin."

Will faked looking hurt. "Ouch."

Charity rolled her eyes and continued with her meal. She didn't have time for boys and their stupid games right now. She was focused on finishing her dinner, getting settled then dealing with the rest of her training.

Once dinner was finished, Charity retired to her room for the night. After the small fight with Will, she decided it was best to calm herself and get ready for bed. She sat on the small seat on her vanity and stared at herself in the mirror. She began to undo her hair. It always felt so good when she took away all the pins and just let her hair flow down to her shoulders. She closed her eyes for a moment and shook her head, letting her hair gently sweep across her back.

A knock came at her door, as she was lost in her trance. Opening her eyes, she stood and made her way to the door. It was Jem. He gave her a polite smile and apologized for disturbing her. "I just wanted to also apologize for Will's behavior. As you can tell, he likes to indulge in gambling and alcohol-"

Charity interrupted him before he could go any farther. "And loose women. I'm sorry to say but you're friend is an utter diaster. You should keep him in line. You seem to know right from wrong."

Jem couldn't but laugh at that. He knew that Will's charms usually worked on any woman but Charity was clearly different. She wasn't goin to let his charms and good looks get the best of her. She was a smart girl, maybe too smart for Will to compete with. "Yes, I supposed you're right. Well, anyway, I wanted to apologize on behalf of him. He's not in his right mind just yet."

"Thank you for the apology but it shouldn't be you apologizing. I'd like to hear it from him." Charity crossed her arms over her chest. The look she gave Jem told him that she meant business. She wasn't going to take crap from some little bum who wanted to get knockered every night.

"I'll make sure I pass the word onto him." Charity nodded and bade him goodnight before closing the door. She went back to her vanity and continued getting ready for bed.

She spoke softly to herself. "Hell will freeze over before that boy gets any sort of sense. And if it's one thing I can't stand, it's men with no sense… and loose women."