As Celeste Rosewain was getting settled into her new bedroom at the London Institute, rain quietly began to patter at the windows that laid in the walls. She enjoyed the homey feel that the Institute harbored with each of the bedrooms having a four posted bed, a large fireplace and vanity along with a washroom. She decided she ought to get ready for supper as the stars were starting to flicker the sky while dusk approached. She had already unpacked her bags and had written to her mother and father telling them how she missed them dearly. Shadowhunters were encouraged to take a travel year once they turned 18 to learn other Shadowhunter accustoms and that was exactly what Celeste was doing. Although, she had never been interested in a travel year because she hated the idea of leaving her family behind but, her parents insisted that she would regret it if she did not go. Her father was not fond of the idea that she would be staying with the Herondale's as he thought it was mad that a Shadowhunter was married to a warlock. Celeste absolutely despised that her father thought so negatively about the Herondale's as they were heroes of the Clockwork War and a small amount of demon blood meant nothing about who they truly were.
Celeste had bathed instantly when she arrived at the Institute from the port where Mr. Herondale had picked her up in one of his carriages. He was strikingly handsome with black hair salted with gray and startlingly blue eyes. She would be lying if she were not looking forward to meeting the infamous James Herondale who was near the same age as her. While on their way to the Institute Will had cracked many jokes and was indeed as lively as Magnus Bane had mentioned to her back at home in New York.
Celeste's long, thick dark hair had finally dried from her bath and she sat at her vanity to begin styling it in a presentable way. She indeed wanted to make a good impression on all the Herondale's and was hoping to become friends with their youngest daughter Lucie Herondale as she was only two years younger than herself. After debating between a deep crimson silk high-necked gown and a dusted blue chiffon dress with lacey sleeves that reached her elbows, she decided on the crimson gown. The gown was stunning she had to admit, its sleeves were short and did not pass her shoulders and had a thick silk black ribbon that tied around her waist accentuating her curves. After fussing with her wavy hair for what felt like an eternity, she had perfected her pompadour and went to place gold rings along her slender fingers. Feeling presentable, she nervously entered the hallway outside of her room and started heading down the direction to which she remembered Mr. Herondale and herself had walked down earlier that day.
After aimlessly walking throughout the witch light-sconced hallways for at least ten minutes she had come to the conclusion that she must have taken a wrong turn. The hallways were dimly lit and had tapestries of images all too familiar to Celeste. They depicted stars, swords and various Shadowhunter runes. When she gazed up at the ceiling, she noted how it appeared to disappear into an abyss, this place truly felt like a castle out of a book. How dreadfully embarrassing it will be for her to appear late for dinner. She turned back around, eyeing the carpeted ground as she walked. This was not how she had planned her first evening in London and had dreaded making---
Celeste got thrown out of her thoughts as she had walked right into someone and stumbled back. "Bloody hell!" said the tall man with tousled golden hair that was walking out of one of the many bedrooms. "Watch where you---" he cut off mid-sentence as he stared down at Celeste. He was rather young, about the same age as herself and he was devastatingly beautiful. His golden locks were unorderly, and he had dark eyes that appeared to be brown but as looked closer she realized were a deep emerald color. He was wearing charcoal evening wear that matched her dark gray eyes and his white bowtie was adorned with a tiepin. His waistcoat was clearly very expensive and was an emerald green color that matched his tiepin. The scent of spicy cologne and alcohol radiated off him. His eye's flickered over her entire body before resting at her own gaze.
Her mind was racing with thoughts but all she could gather up to say was, "Oh my goodness, I am so very sorry, sir. I should have been paying attention to wear I was walking." She was breathing heavy and was well aware of her cheeks heating up with embarrassment. The boy only gave a wide, wild grin and tilted his head slightly to the right.
"Miss Rosewain is it?" He asked in an amused tone. Celeste could only bring herself to nod slightly in fear that if she opened her mouth she would stumble over her words. Not once did his eyes leave hers and she felt as if he was interrogating her with his gaze. "Pardon my language, I thought you were Lucie, she's always scurrying around the halls with her nose in her journal." After a few moments had passed and her breath started to regulate she finally spoke.
"It is quite alright but, please do call me Celeste, there is no need for the formalities." She was surprised she had said this, after all she had no idea who this boy was. He could not be Mr. Herondale's son as they had no resemblance to one another, but there was a trusting nature about him.
"Celeste," he said in a questioning tone. "Quel beau nom tu as." Celeste beamed at that statement.
"You speak French!" she said trying to hide the excitement in her voice but clearly failing as he turned his head and smirked.
"Not very well I must admit."
"That is still very lovely," she mused. Although, from that statement alone she could tell his pronunciation of the language was beautiful. His voice sounded smooth and rich, like golden honey dripping from his lips. Her mother had come from France to America and often spoke French around the house and insisted that Celeste learned it when she was a little girl.
"Where is it that you are off to, Celeste?" She had nearly forgotten that she was still trying to find her way to the dining room but, was more intrigued by this boy and who he was.
"Tell me your name and I might tell you where I am off to." She spoke as she crossed her arms over her chest raising her chin slightly.
"Feisty I see, the name is Matthew Fairchild and please do not call me Mr. Fairchild, it makes me feel old." Fairchild. He must be the consul's son; she had seen Consul Fairchild on various occasions in Idris but what was her son doing in London? She could see the resemblance between the two clearly now in the shape of his eyes and nose.
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Fairchild." She spoke in a teasing tone. "Although I must ask, what are you doing in London? I had assumed you would live with your mother down in Idris." He rolled his eyes and chuckled.
"My father and I are often at our London house as my parabatai, James, lives here while Charles, my god-awful brother, lives with my mother in Idris." A smirk spread across his mouth as he said, "You never told me where you were heading."
"Don't laugh, but I have been walking around aimlessly trying to find the dining room without prevail." She gestured towards the hallway as she said "It's like a maze and I just cannot seem to find my way out. I am afraid the Herondale's will believe I have awful punctuality." Her mother would be ashamed if she knew that Celeste was over a quarter of an hour late to supper.
"Don't you worry Celeste, your knight in shining armor is here to rescue you and guide you through this treacherous maze as I am also on my way to dinner." He raised his arm gesturing for her to wrap her own around his. She chuckled as she grabbed hold of the blonde before they walked in unison down the hallway.
She had some how managed to miss the green carnation sticking out of his breast pocket earlier and reached over to brush it with her fingers, removing her hand quickly after realizing it was an awfully intimate gesture for someone you just met. She cleared her throat and in a delicate tone quoted "I can resist everything except temptation" as she brought her gaze up to his glittering green eyes. He quickly turned his head down and looked towards her ---he was quite taller than she was, which wasn't saying much as she was only five feet and two inches tall--- and a wide, golden smile spread across his face. The sight instantly caused her to blush, dusting her cheeks with pink before she giggled.
"Are you an Oscar Wilde devotee like myself?" He asked, his grin not leaving his face for a second. She turned her head and was looking straight ahead once more, but she could still feel his gaze on her as she spoke.
"Indeed, I think he was absolutely spectacular. My father scorned me about reading his work and when he found my copy of The Picture of Dorian Gray inside my pillowcase back home, he chucked it out the window. But don't fret, that didn't stop me from sneaking off to the local library to read it whenever I got the chance." She turned her head to look at him once more to find he was still gazing down upon her and a smile spread across her lips. His hair fell upon his forehead and she desperately wanted to brush it out of the way but knew that would be wildly inappropriate.
"It should be a crime for people to not appreciate the literary art that Oscar Wilde has gifted us. I must admit I have never liked anyone who does not appreciate his work, but I do hope your father would be an exception to that."
"Oh, I doubt it, he is rather dull or at least in comparison to you."
"I always love it when women compare me to their fathers." She instantly turned a dark shade of pink and quickly looked ahead out of embarrassment. They were now passing tapestries that held names of various Shadowhunter names, Lightwood, Blackthorn, Highsmith and many more. Sensing her discomfort, he said "Don't worry, I'm only teasing you that's all. I am quite honored that you don't think of me as dull."
"Well, I don't see how anyone couldn't, especially with your sense of fashion, that I might add is impeccable." And she truly meant it, she had always loved it when man put effort into his appearance and Matthew clearly had. When she glanced up at him, she saw that his cheeks were pinkened.
He cleared his throat before speaking, "You are too kind, Celeste." She had to admit that she absolutely adored the way her name rolled off his tongue and it gave her butterflies.
Not long after, they had stopped in front of two large wooden doors and before Celeste could even mentally prepare herself, Matthew had reached over and swung them open. She gazed into the large well-lit room that had a long dining table surrounded by many chairs. The table had various types of food laid out on it and a large gasolier hung grandly above the table, casting a bright yellow glow throughout the room. Witch light candles in golden candelabras were placed between the food on the table and on the side tables that were placed along the walls. There were five people seated at the dining table, she recognized Mr. Herondale instantly at the head of the table and seated to his right was a woman who look no older than Celeste but had an aura about her that gave the impression she was much older than she seemed. Tessa Herondale. She was absolutely beautiful with long brown hair that reached her waist and kind gray eyes that complimented her soft features. A boy with hair the color of a crow's wing was sitting next to her and when he looked up, she noticed his eyes were an unnatural golden hue, the color of pale tea. He must be James Herondale, his features were sharp like his fathers although they had a softness to them that Mr. Herondale lacked. Seated across from him was a girl with deep red hair ---the color of rose petals--- and light brown skin. She had a warmth about her that intrigued Celeste, making her want to know more about the red head. Another girl who looked as if she could be Mrs. Herondale's twin was scribbling down something in a journal, she looked up with wide light blue eyes. She could be no one other than Lucie Herondale, it was startling how much she looked like Mrs. Herondale, whom she was sitting across from. All eyes in the room were on Celeste other than Matthew who was gazing fondly at his parabatai.
Celeste gulped before stating, "I am truly sorry for being late Mr. and Mrs. Herondale. I must admit that I did get quite lost trying to find my way around." Her voice came off shaky and she cursed herself for it.
"That was of course before she ran straight into me and forced me to accompany her here." Matthew stated. Celeste's mouth dropped open as her face turned a horrid shade of red when she turned to Matthew.
"That is not true, you offered to accompany me!" Celeste could not have been more embarrassed than she was in that moment.
"Oh Matthew! Do stop being awful. And do not worry, dear, the same thing happened to me on my first night here as well. And do please call me Tessa." Tessa said with a warm, reassuring smile.
"You ran directly into Matthew when you first came here?" James asked in an amusing tone. At that, Lucie picked up a gold napkin ring and through it at her brother.
"Celeste!" Lucie shrieked in excitement and jumped out of her chair and bounded over to the dark-haired girl and wrapped her arms her around Celeste's neck tightly in a hug. "I just know we will be the bestest of friends, you, me and Cordelia." When Lucie pulled away from her, she noticed that the red-haired girl was out of her chair and making her way over two the two girls and Matthew.
"Pleasure to meet you, Celeste. My name is Cordelia Carstairs, I am to be Lucie's parabatai." The red head said as she reached her hand out to Celeste.
"The pleasure is mine." Celeste said warmly, while grasping the girl's hand. She hadn't realized that Matthew had made his way over to a side table that had crystal glasses and a crystal bottle that encased a deep brown liquid. She noticed Mr. Herondale eyeing the boy suspiciously as Matthew poured himself a drink and sat next to James.
"Oh James, do come introduce yourself." Cordelia said while gesturing for James to join them. He looked up from Matthew to the girls and smiled, resting a hand on Matthew's shoulder as he rose from his seat. He walked over to the girls and placed his hand on Cordelia's shoulder, and she leaned in slightly to his touch and gazed up at him with clear desire before quickly looking to the ground.
"Anything for you, Daisy." He whispered into Cordelia's ear and the girl fiercely blushed. James straightened up and look at Celeste before saying "Celeste, we are so thrilled to have you here in London."
"Thank you so much for having me." Celeste said with a smile.
"Don't just stand there! Do come sit, the food is getting cold." Mr. Herondale insisted. The four of them returned to the table and Celeste took a seat next to Cordelia, across from Matthew. She looked down at her plate that had a rather large piece of steak on it and she reached over to grab a roll and start plating her dish with mashed potatoes, peas and carrots.
"I forgot to thank you for helping me find the dining room, Mr. Fairchild, although I don't know if you deserve thanks for how much you embarrassed me earlier." Celeste said jokingly, eyeing the blonde boy.
"That's what you get for calling me Mr. Fairchild." Matthew muttered meeting her gaze as he took a sip of his liquor.
"What can I say, it's much more amusing to see you uncomfortable over such a silly thing." Celeste mused. Matthew glared at her as he took a bite from a dinner roll and James chuckled. Matthew swatted him on the shoulder with the back of his hand which caused James to attempt to muffle his laughter, but he failed drastically.
"I like her." Mr. Herondale said in a loud whisper to his wife and she laughed as she shook her head.
"I like you too, Mr. Herondale." Celeste also said in a loud whisper as she giggled while taking a bite of mashed potatoes.
"Call me Will, darling, Mr. Herondale is my father."
Celeste nodded before correcting herself, "Will." And he gave her a wide charming smile before he took a bite of his food.
Matthew butted in. "So, you'll call him by his first name but not me?"
"See, you're starting to catch on. It's okay, some of us are slow learners." He shot her an annoyed but amused look before he downed the rest of his glass as everyone laughed.
Dinner went by quickly with Lucie talking about a new addition to her book and Will praising Matthew and Cordelia more than his own children. Lucie had insisted Celeste would need to meet Uncle Jem ---Brother Zachariah--- who she had seen on multiple occasions but never actually spoken to; he was Cordelia's cousin and Will's former parabatai and remained a very close family friend. Everyone spoke very fondly over Thomas and Christopher Lightwood who were two of James, Cordelia, Lucie and Matthew's very good friends, and they called themselves the Merry Thieves which Celeste found cute and charming and was could not wait to meet them.
"Celeste! I forgot to mention earlier that we have planned a ball for your new arrival so you can meet the rest of the Enclave." Tessa exclaimed. Celeste froze, she absolutely dreaded big crowds and could feel her nerves pricking her skin with anxiety. The idea of meeting all the adult Shadowhunters and their kids, needing to make a good impression on them, was giving her goosebumps. London was a large city, there no doubt would tons of people arriving that she had never met.
Celeste cleared her throat before saying, "Oh, you didn't have to do that." Her voice was shaky, and Matthew shot a look towards her with a questioning glance.
"Don't fret, Tessa put on a ball when I arrived some weeks back. It's truly not as dreadful as it seems." Cordelia obviously noticed Celeste's concern with this announcement, she gave the other girl a shaky smile.
"Thank you, Tessa, I am looking forward to meeting all your friends." Celeste lied. What if the Enclave hated her, what if they couldn't stand her? Lucie seemed to enjoy Celeste's presence but what if she was just being kind and was going to gossip behind her back? The thoughts were making Celeste dizzy, but her mind wouldn't stop racing.
Supper ended not long after that, and as Cordelia was bidding her goodbyes as James was off to escort her home, Celeste saw Matthew pleading with Will near the entryway.
"Uncle Will, please may I stay another night. Charles is having Alastair over for breakfast tomorrow and I can't bare being around them for even a second! I truly might die if you send me away, and then my death will be on your hands!" Matthew whined. What a dramatic boy, Celeste thought, Charles couldn't be that terrible, could he?
"You know you are welcome to stay whenever, Math, you know where your bedroom is." Will gave the boy a welcoming smile while Tessa shook her head humorously. Matthew beamed and wrapped his arms around his parabatai's father before turning to kiss Cordelia on the cheek and wishing her a lovely night. Lucie then hugged Cordelia fiercely, repeatedly mentioning how she could not wait to see her tomorrow evening. Matthew and James were whispering and laughing about something and before Celeste knew it James and Cordelia where gone and there was only five people left in the entryway.
"Well, I hope your first evening wasn't too awful here in London." Tessa said while placing a delicate hand on Celeste's shoulder. "We are truly splendid to have you here with us."
Celeste beamed. "Certainly not, you all are very lovely, and I could not have picked a better Institute to reside at." Although she was dreading the ball, she was happy to have such welcoming people to live with.
"Indeed, very splendid!" Lucie exclaimed. "The other girls in London, of course not Cordelia, are dreadfully boring and I cannot wait for us to become friends." Her smile was wide and genuine and that put ease to Celeste's worries, but only slightly.
"I am equally excited if not more." Celeste said whilst grabbing the girl's hand and squeezing it slightly. "If you do not mind me asking, could someone escort me to my bedroom? I'm afraid I might get lost if I attempt to venture out on my own."
"I would be delighted to." Matthew mused as he stepped in front of Celeste, shoving Lucie out of the way who gave an annoyed groan. Lucie moved over to her parent's where Will bent down and placed a kiss on his daughter's head. Matthew raised his elbow and Celeste wrapped her arm around his as he turned to face the Herondales. Will glanced at Matthew and smirked before stating, "Well, we better be off to bed. Luce don't stay up too late writing; you need to help get ready for the guests tomorrow with your mother." Lucie groaned and hugged her father.
"Goodnight Papa, goodnight Mama." Lucie said and turned to Celeste. "Goodnight Celeste and Math." Lucie then scurried down the hallway and around the corner while Tessa looked after her.
"She's going to stay up all night writing now, you know that right?" Matthew said.
Will just shook his head before offering them a goodnight and headed down the hallway with Tessa. Celeste and Matthew were left in the entryway alone before Matthew tugged her along to her bedroom. They soon got to talking about Oscar Wilde and his works, discussing all their favorites and he had pointed out which door belonged to the library for her. Even when they appeared at her door to her bedroom, they continued talking for a few minutes longer.
Eventually Celeste faked a yawn and said, "Thank you so much for escorting me. I would have been helpless without you." She gave him a small smile while gazing into his eyes. His eyes were dancing with liveliness, most likely from the alcohol she assumed.
"You have a good rest of your night." He spoke smoothly, inclining his head slightly.
"Goodnight, Mr. Fairchild." She gave him a wide grin as he rolled his eyes and walked down the hallway, turning the corner. She didn't know why she liked to amuse herself by teasing the blonde boy, it just felt natural for herself to do so. She closed the door behind herself and began to undress and put on one of her nightgowns before slipping into her covers. She was not tired in the slightest but had to at least try to get some sleep. She was dreading tomorrow evening more than she would like to admit. She knew that she would have had to eventually meet the Enclave, but she was rather hoping for that to be at a meeting of some sort, definitely not at a ball dedicated solely to her arrival. She shuddered and wrapped the covers around herself and attempted to quiet her mind with sleep.
After tossing and turning for a few hours restlessly Celeste slid out of her bed before putting her slippers on her feet. She tied a robe around her body and slipped out into the hallway. She shivered at the temperature difference between her warm bedroom and the cool dark hallways. The witchlights were dim and shadowed the walls and tapestries. She quietly stepped through the carpeted hall until she appeared in front of the large oak door that belonged to the library. She grabbed the handle and pushed open to reveal a beautiful library, larger than anyone she had ever seen. There were rectangular oak tables that were set in the middle of the room adorned with witchlight lamps that casted a soft glow. Along one wall as a large painting of Angel Raziel and a spiral staircase that led to the second level that contained bookshelves that were caged in by metal screens. The second level had wooden railings that wrapped around the entire room. Between the floor level bookshelves, large curved stained-glass windows were set into the walls lined with stone benches creating small alcoves. Celeste's mouth gaped as she took in the large room and all its beauty. She had heard of the Great Libraries before but had never stepped foot in one.
Although the fireplaces were lit along with the witchlights, the library appeared to be empty. Celeste stepped forward and allowed the door to shut quietly behind her. She walked over to the nearest bookshelf and ran her fingers over the delicate bindings on the various Latin tomes.
"Looking for this?" said an amused voice from behind her. Celeste jumped and let out a small shriek before spinning around to see Matthew leaning against a bookcase in one of the windowed alcoves. He was looking towards her with a lazy gaze and was holding up a small book. She recognized it instantly, The Picture of Dorian Gray. She was suddenly very aware of her clothing, or lack thereof. She cursed herself for leaving in her nightwear and not putting on something proper to wear. Yet Matthew didn't seem to notice and if her did he didn't show it.
"Matthew!" Celeste shrieked. "You scared me!" She continued breathlessly, clutching at her chest. Her heart was beating rapidly, she could feel the repeated thumping against the palm of her hand.
"I gathered that when you screeched. I guess I need to start scaring you more often if it means you'll call me by my first name." he said while tilting his head slightly to the right, causing his golden locks to fall over his forehead. He was wearing shirtsleeves and trousers and wore a wild grin across his face. Celeste crossed her arms in attempt to cover her body has much as possible. She probably looked absolutely mortifying with her hair tangled, streaming over her shoulders in wild waves.
She ignored his mention of her use of his first name and said, "I am sorry for disturbing you, I would not have come in here if I knew you were occupying the library."
"No need to be sorry," He stepped away from the bookcase that was holding him up, and she couldn't help but notice that he stumbled a bit before gathering his weight on his feet. He walked closer to her, shrinking the distance between the two. "You just made my night much more interesting." He leaned in closer to her and she got a strong scent of liquor, overpowering any scent of cologne that may have had been left on him. His eyes were dancing and his movements were slow, as if he had anchors tied to his limbs.
"You're drunk." Celeste stated, noting the sternness over voice. A look of confusion crossed his face as he furrowed his brows and glanced to the side. She had seen her brother drunk enough times to notice when others were intoxicated. Her throat felt tight with the thought of her brother, but she pushed it aside.
"You never answered my question." He held out the copy of The Picture of Dorian Gray between them but as he did, he raised his opposite arm and placed it on the bookshelf behind Celeste above her head. Her breath caught at her throat; they were startlingly close now the only thing between them was the small book in his hands.
She gulped. "I was looking for that, but I see that you are currently using it."
"Please, do take it, I have read it more times than I can count." He took a step closer and attempted to press it into her palm but before he had the chance, Celeste weaved her way out from under him and took a few steps back so there was a greater distance between the two. Her skin was hot and felt as if small needles were pricking at it. She couldn't stand and talk to Matthew in this state, it was too much for her to handle. She was shaking her head.
"No thank you, I best be going. Have a goodnight Mr. Fairchild." And with that she turned and opened the door leaving the library without looking back to see Matthew's expression.