𝐃𝐔𝐒𝐓 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐒𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐎𝐖𝐒 | shadowhunters [ EDITING ]

• 18. •

"-I must ask of you to stay, Miss Fawles." Blythe halts in her step. She looks over her shoulder at Aldertree, Simon following suit in her movement. "Wait, what?" Clary steps in front of Aldertree. "Blythe has done nothing wrong. Why would you want to keep her here?" Aldertree glances over Clary as if he dismissed her presence. He smiles charmingly at the brunette, but she didn't trust the facade he put on after he just mercilessly told her friend to get out, even if the sun that was rising could kill him. "You are one of the only people to escape Valentine after being captured. You may give us useful information from anything you heard or saw."

Blythe scoffs. "Valentine held me captive in a cage with no windows. I doubt I could help you with that. Besides, Valentine Morgenstern is a lot of things, but he's not as stupid as to spill his evil mastermind plan to someone like me." Aldertree folds his hands behind his back. Her outburst and underlying insult to his intelligence didn't seem to faze him. "He might have thought you were never going to get out alive. The reasons do not matter. So, if you would be so kind to subject yourself to a small interview with me, you are free to go."

The brunette glances at her redhaired friend just behind Aldertree and smiles. Then she returns her gaze to the dark skinned man. "I'd rather not. So, if you would excuse me, I'm going home. If there is anything else you'd just have to visit me there. Though, I do want to warn you that Magnus is no fan of trespassers."

She lays her hand in that of Simon and smiles at him. "Come on, Dracula. We need to keep you out of the sun." Blythe turns her back to Aldertree and the other Shadowhunters and casually strolls outside the Institute. Though.. she could not help the sigh that escaped her after the front doors of the Institute closed behind her.

Soon after the altercation with the new Head of the Institute, Blythe found herself squeezed next to Simon in a booth of Jade Wolf. They were sitting opposite Luke. The werewolf alpha just ensured Simon that he could crash there so that he wouldn't be exposed to the sun. Luke left to take an important phone call when Blythe's phone too made a buzzing noise.

She goes to her messages and sees that it was Magnus. 'It's eleven, where are you?', it read. After everything that happened with Valentine, Magnus had become more strict when it came to knowing where she was and when she was supposed to be back at the loft. It felt like the stories she read in books about teens with very strict parents. Not that she knew anything about that, since she had no parents anymore, but still. Now she had to confirm where she was every two hours if she was not home and she had to be back by 11 p.m.

It was suffocating to her since she had always determined her own rules. She grew up on her own without parents to watch over her and give her structure. Blythe just.. did whatever she wanted whenever she wanted to. And now Magnus was here to determine those things for her. It was nice to be without the burden for once, but it also felt like losing her self-sustainability.

Her fingers fly over the screen as she types a message back. 'At Jade Wolf with Simon&Luke, will be back soon', she wrote and then hit send. She turns sideways at Simon and pecks his cheek. "I have to go. Magnus is worried and wants me home." "S-Sure, I'll see you later." Blythe hugs him tightly and rushes out of the restaurant, not noticing how all the werewolves suddenly stood up when she left.

When she reached the loft she found Magnus on the balcony, shirtless and doing some sort of magical yoga session. "Hey.. I got your text." He didn't turn around and continued his swift movements, though he did seem tense. Blythe envied his graceful motions, his great style and his flawless sense of colour matching, though there were always things she didn't feel jealous about. For example, she couldn't think of living eternally.. Magnus pulled her out of her thoughts by saying something. "Getting from Jade Wolf to here takes about twenty minutes. It is half an hour since your text. Why are you late?"

Blythe releases a deep sigh. "Seriously? Are we doing this right now? Traffic was hell.. as it always is in Brooklyn!" Magnus drops the magic ball he was floating around. He turns around and eyes her. "I promised your father that I would ensure your safety. You barely live with me and already you have been kidnapped by Valentine Morgenstern of all people. I failed, but I will make sure that it won't happen again." The brunette leans against the wall by the entrance of the living room. She crosses her arms and ankles. "I'm not a child, you know." "I know you are not, but you are new to this world. There are dangers that even I don't know of. Especially in your situation."

The Mundane girl walks over towards him. "Then make sure I'll be as prepared as I can." Magnus was about to say something when Blythe shakes her head. "No, listen to me. You won't always be there. You literally can't always be by my side. It is a fact. And I don't want to be dependent on you all the time and I'm sure you don't want me to be either. So, can you not teach me how to defend myself so you won't have to?"

Magnus stands frozen in the middle of his living room. Sweat droplets still drip down his back and his chest from his work out. He was silent for a while and Blythe worried. "Uh.. Magnus?" Then the warlock sighed. "I am more than four hundred years old, but got outsmarted by a girl that is barely an adult." He smiles at her. "I'll request Isabelle to train you in combat. You might not be able to use seraph blades, but her technique will come in handy if you ever have to fight someone off." 

Blythe grins at him, but then realises something doesn't sound right in his sentence and her smile drops. "Why not ask Alec? I know he may not always like me, but for his boyfr-" "I don't want to talk about Alexander right now, okay?" The brunette cut her own sentence off and looks at Magnus. "Alright.. well, thank you for putting in the effort of asking Isabelle. I really appreciate it." She hugs him tightly. Magnus embraces her back and runs a hand through her hair. "Thank you for telling me how you feel. Don't ever feel afraid to do so, alright?"

She nods. "I promise." Blythe yawns and stretches out her limbs. "I'll go to bed early. See you tomorrow." Magnus places a kiss on top of her hair. "Good night, sugarplum."

Blythe left the room and Magnus went back to his yoga. However, when she was about to step into bed she heard the front door opening. Moments later she heard Magnus speaking with someone in a muffled tone. It was Alec. Blythe felt a smile creep up on her face when she heard the Shadowhunter apologize and quietly goes to sleep, leaving the two unbothered.