Every muscle in Rosalie's body ached; she had scarcely moved all day. Charlotte had been running everyone ragged in an attempt to gather any information on Mortmain. They had spent all day in the Great Library, hunched over books and news articles. Yet in all of that searching and scouring, they had found nothing. Absolutely nothing. Rosalie leaned back in her chair with a sigh and pressed her palms against her eyes. If research was all she could contribute to the search for Mortmain, she would do it without complaint. No matter how tired or frustrated she felt, she would continue working. For Charlotte. For the woman who had taken her in during her most desperate hour; for the woman who had protected her younger sister on multiple occasions. She owed Charlotte.
Across the table, Jessamine pushed a book away from herself and frowned. She wanted to quit; Rosalie was sure of that much. The girl scarcely did anything that wasn't to her own benefit... so why would today be any different? What would Charlotte's predicament mean to her? "I think we're wasting our time." she said, her eyes focused on Charlotte.
At this, Charlotte tore her eyes away from the book she had been scanning over. The words had clearly pained her, it was all over her face. "You do not have to help, Jessamine." Charlotte began slowly. She looked much older than Rosalie had ever seen her; her eyes were tired, and a series of dark rings sat beneath those tired eyes. "You never applied yourself to your studies," she went on. "So, I cannot help but wonder if you even know what you are looking for."
Everyone seated around the table had stopped reading to look between Charlotte and Jessamine. The surprise splayed across everyone's features was evident. It was so rare to hear such unkind words from Charlotte. Other than Henry, she was undoubtedly the nicest person in the Institute. Yet Rosalie knew precisely why she had taken such a sharp tone with Jessamine. She's worried. Charlotte must be fearful that they would fail in gathering a new lead on Mortmain; and that fear was beginning to take its toll on her.
"I want to help!" Jessamine disagreed; a flicker of hurt laced into her words.
Rosalie glanced around the table, surveying everyone's expressions. Tessa had returned to her book, pretending she could not hear a word of the conversation surrounding her; Henry appeared stunned by his wife's tone, yet part of him seemed to be miles away; Jem and Will were exchanging undecipherable looks, and Jem was undoubtedly urging Will to stay out of it.
As if on cue, Will chimed in. "No, you don't." he said tonelessly. "What you want is for Nate to be caught. You want him to be punished for pretending to love you."
Beside her, Rosalie felt Tessa tense at the mention of their brother. She was struggling more than Rosalie had initially thought; Tessa had gotten so good at masking her emotions that Rosalie was never quite sure what she was thinking. She was nothing like the Tessa she had been a few measly months ago. Rosalie could no longer read her sister like an open book. She had to dig before she could even scratch the surface of her sister's thoughts. Rosalie reached to place a reassuring hand over her sister's and gave a gentle squeeze. Tessa looked up from her book once more and smiled faintly. It was a ghost of a smile; it was nothing like the bright and pleasant smile she used to wear. This one was tired and drained of nearly all emotion. Yet another mask.
The doors of the Great Library opened with a loud creak to reveal Sophie. She crossed the room in quick strides to stand beside Charlotte, where she murmured something Rosalie couldn't quite make out. She watched Charlotte as she rose to her feet and announced that Brother Enoch had arrived before leaving with Sophie.
"I know you are hurting, Tessie." Rosalie whispered. She kept her tone as quiet as she could so that the others wouldn't hear her. "What Nate did is nothing short of awful... but we will find him. We will find both of them, and then you will be safe again. I know it." she went on in the same hushed tone, her eyes never leaving Tessa's. "And when this is all over, we can go wherever you'd like. We can go home, or we can make a new life for ourselves somewhere new."
Tessa blew out a long breath and nodded. "My safety is not my concern at the moment." Tessa said. "I only want to help Charlotte... nothing else matters right now."
The following morning, Rosalie did not come down for breakfast. She remained in her room to dress in the gear that had been provided to her. The Lightwood brothers were coming today for a training session. Rosalie ran her finger along the folded black material on her dresser, feeling the thick material. At first, training had seemed like a brilliant idea and Rosalie had been so excited. But now that the time had come, she couldn't deny the growing nerves she felt. Throwing a dagger at a wall with Jem was one thing but learning to fight was something entirely different. I don't think I can do this. I know I can't do this, she thought bitterly. Yet she had no other choice. So, Rosalie stripped out of her nightgown and shimmied into the loose-fitting trousers and tunic. She couldn't help but stare at her reflection in the mirror; she looked so different. She didn't look like a defenseless girl in need of protecting; she looked like a fierce warrior. Someone capable of protecting themselves... and capable of protecting others. Rosalie smiled as she pulled her hair back and secured it tightly at the base of her neck. While her nerves still prickled restlessly inside of her, the worry she had felt had been diminished. Now, she felt ready. Rosalie hastily threw on her shoes before hurrying downstairs to meet Tessa and Sophie in the training room.
Halfway to the training room, she ran into Jem- who was also dressed in training gear. Although instead of a tunic, he wore a black shirt that stopped at the waist. "Good morning, Jem." Rosalie greeted with a bright smile.
"Good morning, Rosalie." Jem said while returning her smile. She couldn't help but notice how much paler his gear made him look, nor could she ignore the way it made his silvery hair stand out. It almost reminded her of starlight. "How are you this morning?" he asked kindly.
"Mostly excited." she admitted, almost sheepishly. It felt strange to say she felt excited... especially after weeks of feeling fearful. "Even more so now that I know you will be joining us." she added.
Jem chuckled and shook his head. "I am glad to see you looking so happy. It has been far too long since I've seen you smile."
"Well, there hasn't been anything to smile about lately."
"I know," he nodded once. "But I believe our luck is changing."
When they entered the training room, Tessa and Sophie were standing with their backs to Rosalie and Jem. The pair were deep in conversation; Tessa listing off the weapons she recognized from the Shadowhunter Codex. Neither of them seemed to have noticed that they were no longer alone.
"That one," Tessa said while motioning to a large sword. "Is a claymore, I think."
Jem's eyes followed her finger and he smiled. "Close." he said "That is an executioner's sword; used mostly for decapitation."
Tessa whirled around with wide eyes to face him and then peered over at her sister. Sophie let out a startled yelp before she too, turned.
"I think you may have scared them." Rosalie said, the corners of her mouth pulling into a grin.
Jem did not match her expression. He frowned softly as he apologized. "I didn't mean to startle you." he said.
The look on Tessa's face when she looked at Jem surprised Rosalie. For a brief moment, she didn't look sad anymore. A true smile traced her lips when their eyes met. And in that moment, Rosalie's happiness grew tenfold. To see her sister drop her guard was all Rosalie had been wanting- all that she needed. Just one small sign that her sister's spirit hadn't died completely.
"I was beginning to think Sophie and I would have to train each other." Tessa joked, her gentle smile growing.
"Are we sure the Lightwood's are coming?" Rosalie asked, her arms folding over her chest.
"Oh, they'll be here." Jem nodded.
"Just fashionably late." Tessa added with a scoff. She seemed to bear the same ill-will toward the Lightwood brothers as Will. But that did not come as a surprise. Even Rosalie could admit that she too, was guilty of disliking them. And she had yet to even meet Gabriel's older brother. Will's emotions were just so easy to fall into; almost as if his emotions were a pit that others were destined to fall into. Inevitable. "I wish you were the one training us." she said after a moment.
Jem smiled. Yet Rosalie couldn't help but feel that it was a sad kind of smile. "I couldn't, I haven't completed my own training yet."
The Lightwood's arrived a short-while later; Gabriel strolled confidently through the doors of the training room and his eyes scanned swiftly over the room. Rosalie knew exactly who he was looking for. Perhaps this one thing they could agree on: Will Herondale was a terrible person. Following behind Gabriel was an unfamiliar face- although she knew it was his brother. But where Gabriel had dark hair, his brother's was as light as the sand of a beach. Neither of them seemed particularly happy to be here. But Rosalie didn't blame them for it; this task had been thrust upon them by their father. This was the only way Benedict Lightwood could get under Charlotte's skin. In his mind, their presence would surely be a distraction for her; perhaps he thought her time would be consumed trying to keep Will in check. Yet no one had seen him today. Maybe he had decided to stay away for Charlotte's benefit. Rosalie was snapped from her thoughts just in time to catch the name of Gabriel's brother. Gideon Lightwood. "Before we begin," Gabriel said in a bored tone. "There are some people you should meet." he went on to explain that they had brought new servants for the Institute. The doors swung open and two people entered. The first was a girl with bright red hair; the bones in her face seemed almost too big, giving her a startling appearance. Behind her was a man who nearly made Rosalie's heart stop.
Sophie gasped and Rosalie knew that they were thinking the same thing. "Thomas." she whispered; her eyes wide.
He shook his head at her and smiled. "I'm Thomas's brother, miss. Cyril Tanner."
Brother. Rosalie felt ashamed of herself for not knowing Thomas had a brother. She felt even worse now that she had scarcely spoken to him. He had been so kind and gentle. Yet he was also very strong at the same kind. Seeing Cyril brought back memories of the night the Institute had been invaded; he brought back the memory of Thomas defending them. Of him dying for them. She wished there was some way to thank him for that sacrifice. But she knew that was impossible. No one could communicate with the dead. All she could do now was ensure that his death wasn't in vain. He had to have died for something. Rosalie's jaw set determinedly. She would train as hard as she possibly could; she would push herself to become better. For Thomas. That would be the way she repaid him for his sacrifice... by making sure the Institute was never weak again.
Rosalie was once again pulled from her thoughts and her body tensed at the sound of a familiar voice. Will's voice. She glanced over her shoulder to see him leaning against the doorframe. He looked ragged; his shirt was torn, and his hair appeared windblown and mussed from being tugged on. His eyes met with hers and Rosalie's cheeks burned. She quickly looked away and took a deep breath. So, he wasn't hiding. He just hadn't been here. Where was he then? No, Rosalie scolded herself. I don't care where he was.
"Will." Jem said calmly, his silver gaze fixed intently upon his parabatai. "Why don't you and I escort Cyril and Bridget to the drawing room?" he suggested. But it wasn't really a suggestion, he would be taking Will with him; he was just being his typically polite self.
Will nodded but did not move. His eyes flickered from Tessa to Rosalie and back again. His jaw clenched as Jem seized him by the arm and led him away.
Rosalie drew the back of her hand along her forehead, wiping away the beads of sweat that had formed there. She didn't know how long they had been training for, but she knew it had been at least a few hours; yet when the Lightwood's had said they were done for the day, Rosalie couldn't deny the disappointment she felt. She wasn't quite ready to call it a day. Maybe she would hang back and work on what Jem had taught her. Yes, that was something she could do; there was certainly room for improvement. Rosalie moved across the room in quick strides, eyeing the assortment of daggers resting upon an old wooden table. A faint smile covered her lips as she picked up the nearest one and turned it in her hands. The hilt felt cool against her warm skin. This one, she noted, was a bit heavier than the one Jem had loaned her that day. Rosalie took a moment to familiarize herself with the way the blade felt in her hand before turning around swiftly and flinging the dagger. It spun gracefully in the air, turning end over end before sinking into the wooden beam. It hadn't landed exactly where she had hoped; instead of hitting the center of the beam, the dagger had embedded itself a foot lower than intended. But it still struck the target. She could live with that. For now. Picking up the next dagger, she turned more slowly. Rosalie drew her arm back and then snapped it forward, releasing the dagger in the process. Like the first, this one spun end over end, but it did not meet its target. The hilt connected with the beam and clattered noisily to the ground. I just need more practice. Do not get frustrated. She wasted no time in scooping up the third dagger. Rosalie closed her eyes and took a deep breath before repeating the move Jem had taught her.
The doors of the training room swung open just as the blade embedded itself into its target. Rosalie turned toward the door with a smile, half-expecting to see her sister standing there. "What are you still doing in here?" Gabriel Lightwood asked with raised eyebrows. "Training is done for the day."
"I could ask you the same thing." Rosalie shrugged while wiping strands of hair out of her face. "I happen to live here, unlike you." she went on coolly. "I thought you would have run back to your father by now."
"And I thought you would have gone running back to Will." he countered coldly, his green eyes blazing.
Rosalie's jaw clenched as she seized another dagger from the table. This one was smaller than the others that were either scattered along the table or embedded in the beam. She took a brief moment to align herself with the target before releasing the blade. It landed directly above the one she had just thrown. "Will Herondale is not the company I prefer to keep, Mr. Lightwood." was all she said.
"Oh? Last time we met, you seemed very fond of him." Gabriel said matter-of-factly.
She turned to face him, and her eyes narrowed. "And you would know that how exactly? Defending him does not imply fondness. It merely means I have no tolerance for bullies."
"I- bully?" Gabriel's mouth turned downward into a deep frown and a series of lines appeared along his forehead. "You know nothing about what he has done-"
"No, I do not." Rosalie agreed in a clipped tone. "Nor do I want to know anything about him." she added while yanking the blades from the beam and placing them back onto the table.
Gabriel's mouth opened to speak, but he had apparently decided against it. "Where did you learn to do that?" he asked and inclined his head toward the table behind her.
"Jem taught me."
"You..." he broke off, seemingly struggling to find the right words. "You have very nice form."
Rosalie smiled. She had to admit that he wasn't as awful as she had thought him to be. He was very patient with Tessa during their lesson, and she couldn't help but admire him for it. "You never answered my question, you know." she said with raised eyebrows.
"What?"
"Oh, for Heaven's sake." she laughed. "What are you still doing here, Mr. Lightwood?"
"I thought I would come here and spy on you all, of course." he chuckled. He bounded gracefully down the steps of the training room; although he did not carry nearly as much effortless grace as Will, she noted. As he passed her, their shoulders brushed against one another. Curiously, she followed him with her eyes and watched as he picked something up from a bench in the far corner of the training room.
"What is that?" she asked, eyeing the tube-like object in his hand. It didn't look like much... just an ordinary thing; not something she would have expected to find here.
As Gabriel neared, he held it out to her. "It's a seraph blade, surely you've seen one before."
"Of course, I have." she nodded, a thoughtful look in her pale eyes. "But the ones I have seen have always been weapons made of blinding light..."
"That is what happens when we name our blade." Gabriel explained. "By giving them the name of an angel, we hold the ability to defeat demons."
Rosalie knew he had barely scratched the surface of the workings of the seraph blade, but she appreciated the fact that he had bothered to explain it at all. Slowly, she extended her hand but paused when she neared the weapon-silently asking permission to take it from him.
Gabriel handed it to her and said: "It won't work for you, Miss Gray. Only a Shadowhunter may wield this blade."
"Well, I wasn't trying to use it." Rosalie laughed softly. She turned the blunt edged hilt in her hands, examining it closely. It really didn't look like much. Yet she knew the power it truly possessed. Tessa had told her about seraph blades after reading about them in the Codex; they could be named after any angel- with the exception of Raziel- and it is believed that part of the named angel's spirit was infused into the blade. It made sense in Rosalie's mind. How else could one blade be so powerful compared to a regular blade? Or perhaps it only made sense because she was merely a mundane. "What angel is this one named after?" she asked, peering away from the blade to meet his warm gaze.
"Nakir."
"Nakir." Rosalie repeated softly, her fingers rubbing against the hilt. The blade sprang to life; a bright, glowing light filling the space around her. Rosalie's eyes widened as she beheld the glowing blade in her hand. Only a Shadowhunter may wield this blade. Gabriel's words replayed themselves over and over again in her mind and her hand shook. "I- I don't know how I did that."
Gabriel's eyes flicked between the activated seraph blade and Rosalie's surprised face. "You need to speak to Charlotte about this." he told her while carefully removing the blade from her shaking hand. "But at least now we know why you were able to see through the glamours placed on our world."
"You mean..." Rosalie broke off as her voice began to waiver.
"That you have the blood of the Nephilim in your veins? Yes." he nodded.
Rosalie bit down on her lower lip. None of this made any sense. How could she possibly have Shadowhunter blood? My parents were mundanes, they didn't know anything about demons or Downworlders! This had to be some kind of mistake. Yet she knew it wasn't. Somehow, someway there was Shadowhunter blood in her veins. "I feel sick." she murmured, mostly to herself.
"Nothing has to change for you, Miss Gray." Gabriel said. His voice was soft, almost as if he were speaking to a child or a skittish animal preparing to flee.
"Yet everything has already changed." it was true. The life she had known mere months ago was gone forever. She would never walk the streets again without seeing all the secrets lurking there. Whether she liked it or not, her life had changed and there would be no going back.
The doors of the Great Library opened with a groan of protest as Rosalie pushed on them. She glanced beside her at Gabriel Lightwood and exhaled quietly. She had asked him to join her to meet with Charlotte. This was not something she felt prepared to do alone. The news was still too fresh, and she needed support. And he was all she had at the moment. Gabriel Lightwood was the only one who knew about her discovery... and she found herself relying on the shaky sense of stability he provided her. Rosalie half-frowned when she spotted Will seated a short distance away from Charlotte. He had stopped reading whatever book he had and was glaring mutinously at Gabriel. Not now, Will she begged silently. The last thing Rosalie needed right now was Will's attitude. Her legs wobbled as she crossed the room with Gabriel still beside her. "Charlotte," she said. "We need to talk to you."
Will's jaw clenched as he looked between the two of them. "We're a bit busy here, Rose." he said coolly. "You can beg for someone else to train you later."
"Stay out of this." Gabriel shot an angry glare in Will's direction.
Charlotte placed her book on the table and leaned back in her chair. It seemed that more dark circles had found a home under her eyes, aging her well beyond her years. She looked first to Gabriel before settling her gaze on Rosalie. "What happened?" she asked.
Rosalie spared a glance at Will. "I did something." she murmured. Not a great start, Rose. Now it sounds like you broke the law. "Nothing bad..." she added nervously.
"Relax, Rosalie." Charlotte said with a reassuring smile. "Just tell me and we can work it out together."
And so, Rosalie told her. She explained how she had asked to hold Gabriel's seraph blade and how she had accidentally named it. Her voice shook wildly as she did. Yet she didn't feel any better when she had finished. Part of Rosalie thought that telling Charlotte would feel like releasing a heavy burden; but she felt nothing. Nothing but that same sense of confusion and shock. She swallowed hard as she glanced between Charlotte and Will. Neither of them had said anything since she had finished her story. Rosalie hated that she even cared what Will might think about this; but the news she had just divulged was life changing, and she knew that he would hear it sooner or later. Yet she still hated that his thoughts mattered to her. But that was something she could dwell on later.
It felt like an eternity had passed when Charlotte finally broke the uneasy silence that had settled over everyone. "If you wish to know more about this part of yourself, I will do what I can to get that information for you."
Some small part of Rosalie wondered if she did want to know more... or if she would rather be left in the dark. Maybe she would be better off not knowing. Perhaps the truth would only bring more unneeded pain. But then again, the thought of not knowing already brought her pain. "I think this is something I need to know." Rosalie murmured. "But not now..." she paused, unsure of if she should continue. Gabriel was still here, after all. But after taking a moment to steel her nerves, she continued and said: "First I need to help you secure your position as the Head of this Institute."