Enchanted

There was soft knock on my door, waking me from my slumber. I'd always been a light sleeper. I had to be ready for anything at any moment, but whoever was on the other side of the door had to be harmless, otherwise they wouldn't have knocked.

"Come in," I groaned, pushing myself into a sitting position. I rubbed the sleep from my eyes and attempted to detangle my hair with my fingers. I gave up after I'd snagged the third knot and dropped my hand to my side. The door slowly opened, and I half expected to see Hodge telling me to get my ass out of bed, but when I glanced at the clock, it was only half past 9.

"Hey. Did I wake you?" Clary poked her head in. I could tell by the look on her face that she was worried.

"Yeah, but it's fine. What's wrong?"

"Simon's been acting weird. He's not answering my phone calls." The two had been attached at the hip for years. They rarely ever argued, and more often than not, I thought they'd end up married. Simon not answering phone calls, especially from Clary, was unusual, so I knew something wasn't right.

"What happened before I got here?"

"He was kidnapped by some vampires when we went to see the Silent Brothers, but we got him back the next day. He was fine. I don't know what's wrong, and I'm worried." A worried Clary was never a good thing. She became frantic, especially when it came to the people that she loved.

"Have you tried calling his mom?" Her eyes widened with realization, and I gave her a small smile. Her brain was always going a thousand miles a minute. She overlooked the small things.

"No, I haven't. That's a good idea, but I have to tell you something."

"What is it?"

"The night that we rescued Simon.....I saw Ezekiel. I didn't know who he was until that night at Magnus'." A cold feeling settled in my chest, like my heart had been turned to ice. I was less than an hour away from the only person that knew me better than I knew myself, and I didn't know how to feel. I wanted to find him, but the bitter part of me made sure that I stayed in my bed.

"Did he look okay?"

"I don't really think vampires can look okay. He was with Raphael, and he's the one that let Simon go, so I don't think he's too much trouble." It didn't make me feel any better. Whoever this Raphael person was probably had a motive behind releasing Simon. I'd been taught to distrust downworlders, like every other shadowhunter, despite the fact that half of me was one. Vampires were on the top of my list of creatures to stay away from unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Good." I pushed myself from my mattress and shut myself in my bathroom. I made quick work of brushing my teeth and haphazardly throwing my hair into a bun. Anger sizzled in my veins. Now that I knew Ezekiel wasn't laying in a ditch somewhere, I was pissed. He'd abandoned me without a second thought, and I wasn't okay with that. When I walked back into my room, Clary was gone, probably off looking for Jace. I dressed quickly in a pair of nike pros and a sports bra. I walked into the training room, heading straight for the punching bag. I wrapped my knuckles in tape and swung, making the bag fly to the left. I kept swinging, each blow harder than the last. I could feel sweat dripping down my back, but I didn't stop. I pushed myself harder, panting as I kicked at the heavy object.

"Someone's upset." Alec's voice was the last one I wanted to hear. He had the tendency to be condescending and sarcastic. He'd only piss me off even more.

"Fuck off, Alec. I'm not in the mood," I growled, punching the bag again.

"Come on. Hitting an inanimate object isn't going to make you feel better. Do your worst." He was smirking at me, holding his arms out, leaving his entire midsection open for me to take a swipe at.

"Don't tempt me."

"What? Are you scared I'll knock you on your ass?" Anger was a dangerous emotion. It made us lethal and unforgiving. Alec was at least a foot taller me and was probably twice my weight, but what I lacked in muscle, I had in skill. I weighed my options carefully because I knew he wasn't just going to let me hit him. His abdomen was exposed, but that was too obvious. A blow to his chest wouldn't do much, and I doubted that he wanted me to take a swing at his face. I decided that his legs were my best option, and I kicked out, but he was quick to block and deliver a light blow to my cheek. I cracked my neck and rolled my shoulders, suddenly determined to make sure he never wanted to fight me again.

"You're a dick," I grumbled, stepping to my right. He followed never taking his eyes off of me.

"You're gonna have to do better than that, Gabrielle." He was smirking, and I wanted to smack it right off his face, but that wouldn't be fair. I lunged at him, managing a punch to his chest, but he only staggered for a moment. My anger was getting the best of me. I swung, trying to take out whatever I could get to, but one blow to my shoulders, and I was on my back, staring at the glass ceiling with disdain, "Come on now. Aren't you Ian Erela's daughter? I thought you'd be a bit better than this." He hit a soft spot, and I wasn't going to be held responsible for anything I did next. I kicked his legs out from underneath him, causing him to fall, but he was back on his feet in seconds. All bets were off, and I aimed straight or his jaw. The contact stunned him and gave me enough time to grab his arm and flip him over. I held his arm behind his back with one hand and pushed his face down with the other while I pressed my knee between his shoulder blades.

"You don't get to talk about my father. Next time you say something, I'll make sure you walk away with more than a bruised jaw." I released him and walked back to my room. I wanted to shower and go back to sleep, but that was never how the day went. I'd barely changed into a pair of jeans and a tank top when my door swung open.

"You should come out." I didn't like the expression on Clary's face. It was a look that spelled trouble. I slipped my feet into my combat boots and grabbed my stele from my bedside table, slipping it into my back pocket.

"What's going on?" I asked, following her down the hallway.

"Alec and Izzy's mom is here." The way she said it was enough to make it obvious that this wasn't a good thing. I stepped into the main hallway where other shadowhunters tapped away at glass screens and keyboards.

"Hello, Gabrielle. It's nice to see you again." The woman gave me a tight smile, and I recognized her instantly. How had I not put two and two together?

"Hello, Maryse." I didn't step any closer than I needed to. Maryse Lightwood was one of the people I liked least in this world. She was arrogant and had a superiority complex that could rival my grandparents'. Her husband was the more understanding of the two, but she didn't seem to like him too much either.

"Your father sends his love."

"How sweet," I remarked, my tone completely sarcastic. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. I didn't like her, but she was still someone that I was supposed to respect. I really didn't want to get lectured for my behavior either.

"Where's Jace? We have a situation that needs to be handled now." That didn't sound the least bit delightful, and I was pretty sure we were all in for it. Izzy looked like she'd swallowed something sour, and Alec held a neutral expression despite the purple that covered the left side of his jaw. I should have been proud of myself, knowing I was the one that put it there, but the only emotion I was feeling was anger. I was angry at Ezekiel for dropping me like trash, and I was mad at Alec for mentioning my father.

"He's probably in the training room." Clary was the only one to speak up, and Maryse left the room without another word. Alec followed behind her, but I stayed back to check on Izzy.

"Well, that's my mother." There was an obvious sense of disappointment in her voice. I could tell that Izzy didn't let a lot of stuff get to her, but her mother's approval was clearly important. I knew the feeling.

"Is she always like that? She didn't even hug you."

"Shadowhunters aren't big huggers." It was all a part of the life we lived. You'd think parents would at least be affectionate with their children, but from what I'd seen and experienced, work was always first, meaning emotions were pushed to the side.

"Maryse, it's good to see you. Where's Max?" Jace was grinning from ear to ear, sweat dripping down his face. I watched Maryse hug him, and my mood went from bad to worse. Jace was clearly the golden child of the bunch, which was ironic considering he liked to break the rules.

"No Max. Just mom with her hair on fire." I hid my laugh with a cough at Izzy's comment and pretended to look busy when Maryse glared at me. Obviously I wasn't her favorite person either.

"We have a problem. The Seelies have stopped communicating with the Clave and won't explain why. My guess is they're still upset that we asked them to send scouts to look for Valentine, but no one in their realm will talk." That didn't surprise me. I understood that the Clave was supposed to bring balance and peace between the realms, but they had a fucked up way of going about it.

"I have Seelie friends." Izzy perked up.

"Yes. I know about your friends. Isabelle, we stay separate from the Downworld for good reasons. The wrong word, the wrong move...do you think there's such a thing as harmless rebellion? Who knows what offends these creatures? Maybe you told him something he shouldn't know. Maybe you trod on one of their ridiculous customs without knowing it." And just like that her excitement was gone. Maryse was a real bitch, and I wanted to know why. I was even more pissed off because whether I liked it or not, I was part of the Downworld, and so was my mother. The Seelies weren't horrible people, and Maryse was making them sound like they were the scum of the earth. It was insulting to say the least.

"Wait, I don't understand. You're laying this all on Izzy because she has a friend in the Downworld?" I was happy that Jace came to her rescue because the words that were threatening to fly from my mouth would have surely gotten me in a world of trouble, maybe even arrested.

"When someone upsets the natural order, everything falls apart." The only person that disrupted the natural order was Valentine. No one else was to blame for the things that were going on in the shadow world. To even consider that one of us could be responsible was ridiculous and outlandish. I didn't stop myself from rolling my eyes that time, "Something you'd like to say, Gabrielle?"

"Oh trust me. You don't want to know what I have to say, Maryse," I spat. If looks could kill, she'd have been eight feet under, and that still wouldn't be enough.

"I can help. I know how to talk to Seelies." Izzy stepped forward again, and I hoped she wouldn't get shot down. I didn't know how much more I'd be able to take.

"She's right. She can visit with Meliorn and see what he knows. I could go with her if you want." Alec finally spoke up.

"I'd rather Jace goes with her this time. Alec, you stay with Gabrielle and the Fairchild girl. She's caused enough trouble already."

"Maybe that's because I didn't know I was a Shadowhunter until a few days ago!" I was glad Clary was sticking up for herself. I needed to find something to do before my anger got the best of me.

"And what an exciting few days it has been. The Clave counts on us Lightwoods to maintain order here."

"You don't need to tell me that." Izzy and Jace were whispering to each other.

"If this mission is important to the Clave, I prefer to be the one to go with Isabelle." It was obvious Alec wanted absolutely nothing to do with me and Clary, and that was fine. If I never had to look Alec in the face again, that would be perfectly alright with me.

"You're all so eager to do what you'd prefer. It's time to face the truth. Life's not about what you want to do. It's about what must be done." I wanted to kick Maryse in her chin, but I knew better, "I have given you your assignments. Now carry them out." Maryse turned on her hell and walked from the room, Jace and Izzy following close behind her. I knew the irritation was written all over my face, but I was surprised to see that Clary looked pissed as well.

"What did you do to piss off your mom?" she asked, looking over at Alec.

"I'd guess for a start, all of the unsanctioned missions on your behalf didn't go over well with the Clave." I no longer wanted to be apart of the conversation. If I was stuck in the Institute, I'd make use of my time and read a book or something, "Gabrielle, wait up." I started to walk faster when I heard Alec's voice and footsteps following behind me.

"Go away." I glanced over my shoulder for half a second before speeding up my stride. I'd finally made it to my room and promptly slammed the door in Alec's face. There were a series of knocks, but I didn't make any moves toward the knob.

"Gabrielle, please open the door." I ignored him, settling myself on my bed. I pulled my laptop from one of my bags and searched for a movie on Netflix to occupy my time. I was scrolling through the independent film section when the knocking started again, but this time it didn't stop. I huffed and pushed myself from the mattress, swinging the door open.

"You just don't know when to quit, do you?" I glared up at him, halfway tempted to bruise the other side of his face just to make it even.

"I just came to apologize. I was out of line earlier, and I'm sorry." Despite the sincerity in his eyes, I had no intentions of forgiving him.

"That's great. You can leave now." I moved to close the door again, but he grabbed it before I had the chance.

"What's your problem with me?" He was getting pissed, but I didn't care. I kicked his ass once, and I would gladly do it again if he didn't move.

"My problem with you is that you're a condescending asshole that takes his frustrations out on people that don't deserve it. You've been nothing but nasty to me and Clary since we got here. I get that we came at an inopportune time and that shit's really fucked up right now, but she lost her mom. Imagine if your parents went missing. You'd do anything to get them back just like she's trying to do. So get off your high horse and get the fuck from in front of my room." I tried to close the door again, but he moved, stepping all the way inside and shutting it behind him. He was too close for comfort, and I stumbled back a few steps.

"You know you haven't been the most pleasant person to be around either. You're rude, you're sarcastic, and you're disrespectful." I rolled my eyes and moved back to my bed.

"Then why are you still here? If I'm so unpleasant to be around, leave because I don't want you here any more than you want me here. Let's just stay out of each other's way, and we won't have a problem."

"I didn't come here to fight with you."

"You could have fooled me," I grumbled, scrolling through the movies again. I settled on Waiting For Forever and plugged in my headphones to let him know the conversation was over, but he didn't move. He sat there, staring at me while I tried my best to ignore him. Ten minutes into the movie, he still hadn't moved. I sighed and hit pause, removing my headphones from my ears, "What?"

"I'm sorry."

"You said that already," I pointed out, a bored expression on my face.

"Look, I don't apologize often...or ever for that matter. So just know that when I say I'm sorry, I mean it."

"I'm sure you do. Close the door on your way out." I rolled over so that I was facing away from him and turned the volume up all the way to drown him out. I relaxed when I finally sensed that I was alone. We needed to find the Mortal Cup and stop Valentine so I could go home.