Hey guys! I've decided to start writing for one of my favorite fandoms ever, The Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare! Disclaimer! I don't own any of the characters of the Infernal Devices series!
This oneshot is a Jem Carstairs x Reader oneshot!
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~(Y/N)'s POV~
I sigh, looking up at the looming building in front of me, the hairs on my neck standing up. The gates opened and let me in. I gathered my skirts and walked into the yard, walking up the brick walkway before arriving at the two large wooden doors. I see a knocker on the left door and shakily raise a hand, gripping the ring and dropping it three times. A large man with dark brown hair and brown eyes opened the door, looking down at me.
"Ah, you must be Ms. (Y/N) (L/N), the Consul told us you'd be arriving shortly, come in." He says, stepping to the side and letting me in. I walk into the foyer, looking around at the vaulted ceilings where an intricate chandelier hung above us.
"I'll be taking you to the head of the Institute." says the man, leading me up a grand staircase towards an office. He knocks on the door to the office, earning a 'come in' before he opens the door, leading me in. In the chair behind the desk sat a small woman with brown hair and brown eyes, her pale hands folded neatly on the desk.
"Hello, you must be the new arrival, (Y/N) (L/N), is it?" She asks. I nod.
"Yes ma'am."
"I am Charlotte Branwell, the head of the London Institute. I'd like to welcome you to our lovely home." She says, standing and walking around the desk, holding a hand out for me to shake. I remove my gloves and take her delicate hand in my own calloused one, shaking it gently. She smiles and lets go of my hand.
"I'll have our maid, Sophie, show you to your room. I hope you don't mind, your neighbor is an avid violin player." She says, gesturing to a young lady dressed in a black dress with a white apron, her brunette hair pulled back into a braided bun. I smile at her, bowing slightly at the waist.
"Hello Sophie." I say. She curtsies, a small smile tugging at the corners of her mouth.
"Hello ma'am..." She says, straightening before gesturing for me to follow her. I do so, gathering my skirts to follow her. She leads me down a few twisting corridors before stopping at a large oak door.
"Here's your room. Do you have any bags or anything we need to bring to you?"
"No. I packed pretty light." I say.
"Thank you though." I added, smiling to the young lady.
"You are most welcome Miss (Y/N)." She says, walking away. I open the door and walk into the room, taking a deep breath in. That's when I heard it, the ever so faint sound of a violin being played next door. I smile, listening to the music before my feet start to move on their own accord, dancing slowly across the wooden floor, the heels on my shoes clacking lightly.
"Oh, now who do we have here?" asks a sultry voice from my doorway. I stop my dance and turn to see the tall, slightly pale man with black hair and deep blue eyes standing in my doorway.
"Oh, hello. I didn't see you there. My name is-"
"(Y/N) (L/N), I know. You're all Charlotte's been talking about since the New York Institute mentioned sending you over here." He says.
"And you are...?" I ask, raising a brow.
"Will, Will Herondale." He says, bowing dramatically and taking my hand in his larger one and kissing my knuckles. I take my hand away, looking at him with my brows furrowed.
"Well, nice to meet you, Will." I say, moving to shut my door.
"I take it you like music?" He asks, stopping the door with a strong arm.
"What makes you say that?"
"I saw you dancing to my parabatai's violin playing." He says.
"O-oh, my room neighbor is your parabatai?"
"Yes. He's a treat." He says. I purse my lips.
"He's a lovely violinist." I say, smiling softly.
"Yeah, well, he's also shy and reserved, so, take that into account when you speak to him." He says, winking at me before letting the door close. I sigh and shake my head.
"By the Angel, that was a beautiful man... I wonder what his parabatai is like..." I whisper, going back to my room, seeing the books on the shelves and the light blue covers on the bed. The violin music stopped abruptly and a loud clatter was heard. I lift my skirts and rush out of my room, knocking on my neighbor's door.
"D-don't c-come in!" says a quiet voice from the other side of the door, loud coughs sounding through the wood. I furrow my brow.
"A-are you alright?" I ask, worried about my neighbor.
"I-I'm... Fine!" He shouts. I purse my lips and walk down the hall, listening to the sounds of the Institute. I walk by a room and hear the sounds of metal thudding against wood. I walk into the room and see the pretty boy from earlier, Will, swinging a sword at the wooden training dummy in the middle of the room. I reach to my side and draw my sword, bolting across the room and blocking his next hit.
"Wha- Oh, you... think you can best me?" He asks, a glimmer of arrogance in his eyes. I chuckle.
"With one hand behind my back." I say, smirking. He backs up, readying his sword. I put my non-dominant arm behind my back, lowering myself into a fighting stance. He lunges at me, which I easily parried, knocking him off his course which caused him to land ungracefully on his bum. He springs back up and strikes again, only to be parried once more. This continued for a good hour after that before he finally fell to the ground and I pointed my sword at his sternum.
"You win..." He pants out. I chuckle and sheath my sword.
"That's what I thought." I say, smirking. I offer a hand to lift him up onto his feet. He takes my hand and stands up, a smile tugging on his full lips.
"You're pretty good... for a girl." He says. I raise a brow and punch him in the face.
"And you fight like a child." I say, walking out of the training room before continuing my tour of the Institute.
Later that day, when we were all called to dinner, I walked down the stairs, following the stream of nephilim down to the dining hall. I look at the table, seeing Charlotte sitting at the head of the table with a tall, ginger man sitting to her right, Will was seated a little further down the table with a man that had silver hair and eyes sitting to his left. At the far end of the table was a slightly taller than Charlotte, blonde woman with brown eyes who looked considerably unhappy. I take a seat across from Will, eying the silver-haired man whose features set my heart aflutter. His high cheekbones, slightly tilted eyes and pale skin with a lanky frame drew me in. He notices me staring and quirks a brow.
"Oh, you must be the new girl. I'm James Carstairs, but everyone calls me Jem." He says, his silver eyes shining with a light I've never seen in anyone's eyes before. I smile.
"Nice to meet you Jem." I say, watching as the servants brought in our food, setting everyone's respective plates in front of them. I look down at the food in front of me, my mouth watering. We all started eating, dinner conversation at a minimum as everyone ate. The blonde lady stood up after finishing half of her meal, leaving the table. I raise a brow and shrug a little before going back to eating my food.
After dinner, I stood and walked out of the dining hall, heading towards my room. Sophie runs to catch up with me.
"Miss (Y/N)! I'm so glad I found you, I was wondering if you'd like for me to draw you a bath?" She asks. I shake my head.
"No, thank you Sophie. I'll be fine tonight. Maybe tomorrow." I say, smiling. She nods and curtsies.
"Of course ma'am." She says, walking off. I start up the stairs, hearing some heavier footsteps on the stairs behind me and turn to look at the person. I see the silver haired man, Jem, walking up the stairs to my left.
"Hello again." He says. I smile, my chest tightening a little at the sound of his voice.
"Hello." I say, continuing my way up the steps.
"So, what brings you here?"
"Oh, the New York Institute figured you guys could use an extra set of hands." I say, shrugging.
"Ah, and they sent you?"
"Is that such a bad thing? I mean, I bested Will in a sparring battle." I say, smirking. His silver eyes widened.
"You bested Will? Then the New York Institute is missing out on a good fighter."
"Meh, it was mainly men over there and they think women shouldn't be fighting demons, so, silver lining." I say, smiling.
"Sure, sure." He says, stopping at the top of the stairs to let me catch up. I take a moment at the top of the stairs to catch my breath, my corset practically strangling me. Jem smiles softly at me, holding out his elbow. I take his elbow and let him lead me down the corridor.
"Do you like to read?"
"Yes, I do. I also enjoy writing." I say, smiling.
"Well then I have to show you the library tomorrow." Jem says. I smile.
"I'd like that." I say, stopping at my door.
"Well, this is me." I say. He smiles.
"Well, it looks like we're neighbors." He says, chuckling. I blush softly.
"So, that was you playing the violin earlier?"
"Yes it was."
"You're an amazing violinist. I'd love to sit and listen to you play one day."
"Yeah, that'd be nice." He says, bowing slightly at the waist.
"I'll see you tomorrow. We can go to the library after breakfast."
"Okay. Thank you for walking me to my room, Jem. Goodnight." I say walking into my room.
"Goodnight (Y/N)." He says, waving to me before I close my door. I sigh and reach behind me, unlacing my corset. I pull the ungodly contraption off my body before stripping down to just my chemise, noticing a nightgown that was draped over the changing partition. I change into the nightgown and grab a book off the shelves before laying down in my bed, looking forward to my day tomorrow.
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I hope you guys liked it! I will be posting a part two later down the road!
Luv Y'all,
Aisy Daisy