City of Clockwork

Dinner

Heyyyyyy just a few things about the story.....

1. Gideon and Sophie are just friends.
2. Sophie is not a shadowhunter.
3. Cecily and Gabriel aren't engaged but are dating.
4. Henry isn't crippled.
5. Jem isn't a silent brother, but he is still an addict.
6. Charlotte isn't the consul.

London 1878

Tessa lead Clary down the halls of the institute, and into a spare bedroom next to hers. Tessa said she was going to go get some extra clothes that would fit Clary. After Tessa left the room, Clary immediately ran over to the window and looked out at all the carriage and attire of the people below. It was rainy and dreary, but it was beautiful to Clary. She had never seen something so... beautiful. Now she really wished she had a paintbrush and a canvas.

After a few minutes, Tessa came back in carrying clothes that looked like they weighed a ton. There was a dress, a corset, and a small petticoat. Tessa rang a small bell above the fireplace and a girl came in a few moments later. She was in her early 20s with brown hair and brown eyes. She must have been very beautiful before she got that long scar on her cheek. Clary decided it would be best not to ask about it, for she new that some scars are best not mentioned.

"Clary this is Sophie. Sophie this is Clary Fairchild." Tessa introduced. Sophie looked slightly startled when Tessa said Fairchild, but the look was gone fast enough that Clary decided she imagined it. "Sophie will help you get into you clothes Clary and then bring you to dinner." At that she left the room before Clary could say thank you.

"Hello Miss Fairchild." Sophie said.

"Hi Sophie, and you can call me Clary. Everyone does."

"I really should not. It is not right for a servant to call her mistress by her first name." Sophie responded.

"Oh, sorry. I didn't know." was all Cary could say.

Sophie helped her get dressed which took a long time considering how much there was to wear. Everything was different! The undergarments looked like something Clary would wear to bed, and the petticoat was like a really long skirt. But the corset was the worst! It took forever to get on, and it was so tight she could barely breath. After she finally put all her underlayers on, Clary finally got to put on the actual dress. For some weird reason she had always wanted to wear an old fashioned dress, and this one was beautiful! 

Next they moved onto hair, and after about 45 minutes of preparation, Clary looked beautiful. The dress was the emerald green color of her eyes. It was fitted until her waist, and it had short sleeves with little flowers along the neckline and sleeves. It extenuated the little curves she had very well. At the waist, it flowed out into a hundred little ruffles. It had a short train with flowers around the edges and a flower pattern. Her hair was in a messy braided bun with a curled piece of hair coming out of both sides.

"Are you ready to go to dinner yet Miss?" Sophie asked while Clary was staring at herself in the mirror.

"Yes and thank you for helping me. It looks beautiful." Clary responded. At that Sophie nodded and began to lead Clary down the winding halls of the institute to the dining room.

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When Clary and Sophie reached the dining room, Clary finally saw how many people there were at the institute. There was Will and Tessa of course, but there was also a small women with brown hair and eyes. Clary got the feeling she wasn't someone to mess with. Next to her was a burly ginger man with hazel eyes. Sitting between Tessa and Will was a boy with silver hair and silver eyes that felt familiar to Clary the same way Tessa had. Silver. Not grey but silver, Clary thought. Across from the trio, there were two boys with dark brown hair and green eyes. In between the boys was a girl who looked an awful lot like Will.

Tessa stood up, capturing Clary's attention. "Clary! Good, you made it. This is Charlotte and Henry Branwell, Jem Carstairs, Gabriel and Gideon Lightwood, and Cecily Herondale." Tessa said while gesturing towards each person. Clary couldn't help but notice how Gideon stared at her a few seconds to long making her blush. There was an echo of hellos before Tessa motioned for Clary to sit next to her.

"Hey why didn't you say my name?" Will asked. That's something Jace would say. Clary thought with a small stab of pain in her heart when she thought about Jace. At least now I know where Jace got his sarcasm from.

"She already met you William." Tessa replied in an annoyed voice. "Everyone this is Clary Fairchild. She's from the New York Institute."

Charlotte looked startled for a moment but quickly recovered before the food was brought out to the table. There was chicken and broccoli with potatoes and gravy. Everyone quickly began scooping  food onto their plates. 

After a few moments of awkward silence, Will and Jem began a conversation about demon pox. Gideon who was sitting across from Clary began speaking to her.

"Hi Ms. Fairchild, I'm Gideon Lightwood. Are you here visiting Charlotte?" Gideon asked. Cary wondered why Gideon was asking if she knew Charlotte, but she was saved from having to answer by Tessa calling her out into the hall. 

Out in the hall, Tessa and the woman she thought was named Charlotte were there. She was right. Tessa reintroduced Charlotte and Clary before Charlotte began speaking.

"Hello Ms. Fairchild Ummmm," Charlotte stuttered. "justthoughtyoushouldknowmymaiden nameisFairchild."

"Sorry I didn't quite catch that?"

Charlotte took a deep breathe. "My maiden name is Fairchild."

Clary was shocked into silence momentarily. She knew she had ancestors that went back to the creation of shadow hunters, but she never thought she would meet them! She had no idea what to say, so she decided to just say that she wanted to go lay down. Who could blame her? She had a rough day.

With that Clary tuned and walked down to the end of the hallway, and as soon as she turned the corner she bolted to her room. When she got there, after several long turns, she locked the door and tried her best to get the dress off of herself. After a long time of trying, Clary finally succeeded. She found a nightgown in the wardrobe on the other side of the room and put it on. It fit perfectly.

After blowing out all the candles, Clary finally got into the queen sized bed in the middle of the room. She finally realized what she had gotten herself into. She was in London, in the 19th century. Before she could dwell on it for too long, she drifted off to sleep.

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