PSA: Again, this AN is old. I know it's pretty much what I said in the last one. Sorry.

What do you guys think of the direction this story is going? I'm a little bit nervous about it. I'm not sure you guys are going to like it. But I hope you do. Enjoy! -Megan

Clary sat in one of the worn leather chairs in front of her adoptive mother's desk. The mini grandfather clock sitting on the edge of the desk filled the silence with it's steady ticks. The two stared at each other steadily, Mayrse with a stern, angry expression, and Clary with a defiant, attitude-filled expression. The older woman cleared her throat, and Clary raised an eyebrow. After a few more moments of silence, Mayrse started talking. "Tell me about what you saw on that boat."

"I already did."

"Tell me again."

"No."

"Clarissa..." Clary scowled at the use of her full name. She had never been able to stop Mayrse from using it.

"I already told you, and plenty of others, what happened. It's not going to change the second, third, or fourth time I tell it. I didn't leave out some huge, important detail the first four times."

"Clarissa, why must you be so difficult?" Mayrse sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose.

"Where's Hodge?" She asked instead, not having seen her tutor anywhere for the last few days.

"He's with Alec." And that was all the answer she got, which, frankly, was more than she got on most days.

"Fine, if you won't talk about that night. Let's talk about the boy sleeping in one of my guest rooms." Clary rolled her eyes. This again?

"Don't look at me like that. You know what you did was wrong, in more ways than one."

It had been. She could admit that, at least.

"Yeah, I know. Sorry. Where do you want me to start?"

Mayrse gave a shrug that wasn't relaxed in the least. "The beginning would be nice."

Clary settled further into her chair. "Fine. We were at Pandemonium. We had followed a demon in there. Isabelle lured it into the storage room. But little did we know, we caught the attention of someone else."

"The boy."

"Jace. And yes. He could see us. Like, crystal clear. We were glamoured, but he saw right through it. We took care of the demon, but Jace got away. We didn't know what he was. I couldn't just let him go. So I followed him—"

"Without backup." Mayrse cut in.

"If you know, why do you ask?"

"Sorry." Clary said in response to the warning glare she received, and then continued. "His place had been ransacked—or, destroyed, would be the better word. And surprise, surprise, he got himself into trouble. A demon was waiting for him. We fought it off—yes, we. He has some fighting skills. He says his dad taught him. I'm looking into that. Anyway, both of us ended up injured. He was bitten by the demon. And the damn thing slammed me against the wall. Jace was going to die. So, I gave him an iratze."

"A very stupid, irresponsible thing to do." Mayrse scolded.

"But is he dead? No. That's it. You know the rest."

"And his parents?"

Clary shrugged. "No idea. They were gone when we got there."

Mayrse sighed and turned her attention back down to the papers on her desk, picking up her pen and continuing the work she had been in the middle of when Clary finally showed up. "That's all. You can go."

Clary didn't wait another second. She stood from the chair, turning and waking towards the door.

"And Clarissa?" So close. She turned, looking at Mayrse.

"I will be heading back to Idris to consort with the rest of the council tomorrow. Robert and I will be tied up there for a while. Can I trust that you will at least keep yourself and the boy alive?"

"Of course." Clary promised. She wasn't stopped again.

–•–

With the exception of quick stop to her room to change her clothes, she headed straight for the training room, where she guessed Alec & Hodge would be, but stopped as the sound of a piano being played drifted faintly through the highway. She followed the sound to the music room, where she found a blonde head looking down at the keys. She watched him, studying the way his hands drifted over the keys effortlessly, like he'd done it countless times before and now played the notes with ease. She tried to identify what he was playing, but didn't have much luck. Claire de Lune, maybe? She had no idea. But it was beautiful. As the song drifted off to its ending, she cleared her throat. He stopped playing abruptly, turning towards her.

"You play?" She asked.

"No. This the first time I've ever touched a piano."

"There was no need for sarcasm." She joked, to which he responded:

"There's always room for sarcasm."

She rolled her eyes at him.

"Um, actually. I was trying to find you, but it's like a maze in this damn place."

"You'll get used to it." She commented.

"Anyways, I saw this room, and—"

"Just started playing a piano that wasn't yours?"

"Pretty much. But, back to the reason I was looking for you. I want to find my parents, and I kind of need your help."

"Why me?" She asked.

"Well, your boyfriend didn't seem to like me very much, and—"

"My boyf—wait, Alec?" She burst into laughter, shaking her head. She made her way over to him, sitting next to him on the piano bench. He sat facing the piano, his fingers drumming lightly against the worn keys, absentmindedly. She sat in the other direction, watching him. "Alec is not my boyfriend. He's my paraba

tai."

"I have no idea what the hell that is."

She rolled her eyes. "Your parabatai is someone who you swear your life to. The parabatai bond is one of the strongest. Two shadowhunters that share the bond are stronger together."

"So, like, a best friend or something?"

"Uh, no. It's much more than that. Basically, Alec is a part of me, and I'm a part of him. And, coincidentally he also my brother."

"That's...different."

"You've much to learn, young padiwan." She joked.

"Did you just quote Star Wars?"

Her eyes widened. "You know what I'm talking about?"

"Um, yeah. It's a huge movie franchise. Pretty much everyone knows it."

She grinned, glad someone besides Simon finally knew pop culture. She stood from the bench, heading for the door. She motioned for Jace to follow her with a nod of her head. He quickly fell into step behind her, reaching her side quickly. His long legs were no comparison to her tiny ones. A blue-grey blob darted in front of them, going for Clary's ankles. "Church! No!" She ordered, nudging the cat away with her feet. She glared down at the little fur ball, who looked back her and gave a low growl. He pranced away from her, tail swaying and head held high. He stopped at Jace's feet, sniffing him, and then rubbing against his leg, purring. Clary's mouth dropped in shock. "That little bastard." She said. Jace laughed, reaching down to pet the Persian blue cat, who pushed its head into his hand. "I don't think he likes you." Jace commented.

"He only likes me when he wants to." She said, shaking her head at the cat.

"Come on." She said, starting forward again. "We've got to leave while the sun is still out."

"Why? Where are we going?"

"You'll see."

–•–