Of fights and punctuality
At thirteen years of age, Seraphine was a bundle of brown streaked blonde hair, golden eyes, and tanned skin. Clary sometimes looked at her in wonder, at her endless energy, competitive nature, and at her gorgeousness. Even in the middle of puberty, Seraphine was beautiful. It made Clary worry about the boys that would soon look her way.
Thud.
The ornately carved knife embedded itself deep in the center of the target. But then again, Seraphine was the best knife thrower anyone had ever seen, including Jace. And Jace was a fantastic Shadowhunter, so for him to say that, well, that was phenomenal. At the very least, Clary was pretty sure Seraphine would be able to defend herself.
As she walked up to Jace and placed his hand in her own, Clary looked around Alicante. It had been many years since she had been here, but as Seraphine would be starting her later trainings, it was time for her to see the main Institute. So far, however, Seraphine had refused to go anywhere until she had practiced extensively in the practice room. If anyone was dedicated, it was her. Competition was second nature to her. As she was Jace’s daughter, Clary was not surprised in the least.
“Sera?” Jace called. “We are going for a walk. Remember, you need to be ready for dinner by six. And that means ready, not getting ready.” Seraphine resisted the temptation to roll her eyes at her father.
“Dad! You have so little faith in me!” She complained. “Of course I’ll be ready!”
“That’s what you said last time.” Jace remarked dryly. “Remember how that turned out?” Seraphine blushed slightly as Jace continued. “If my mind remembers correctly, there were six fights, two broken ribs, a good amount of stitches, a ruined tablecloth, and a pair of snapped high heels.”
“And a two week punishment of helping Uncle Magnus brush, AND BATHE, Chairman Meow.”
“One of my finer punishments.” Jace smiled crookedly. “But yes, six o’clock. Sharp. I mean it, Seraphine.”
“All right, all right. I’ll be ready.” And with that, Clary and Jace stepped out of the training room and into the cobblestone streets of Idris.
“She’s going to be late, isn’t she?” Clary whispered.
“I’ll just have to top last time’s punishment then.” He grinned as they left the room. “She’ll need to learn some punctuality eventually, though.”
Seraphine continued throwing various blades at the targets until she heard male voices approaching the practice room.
“Liam, what do you think of----“ A tall Asian boy and a silver eyed boy entered the room. The Asian boy stopped talking as he saw Seraphine. “Well, what do we have here?” He smirked. “Looks like someone’s been throwing knives.” He poked the other boy, Liam, Seraphine assumed.
“Are you any good?” Liam asked.
“They tell me I’m the best.” Humbleness wasn't one of Seraphine's gifts, although the Angel knew she had many others. Liam smiled, a calm, lazy grin. He had heard about this spitfire of a girl.
“Fancy a challenge?” “You won’t win.” She retorted. “What are you, ten?”
“I’m thirteen, thank you very much. And who do you think you are, anyways? Is this how you pick up girls, you insinuate they’re babies and can’t throw knives? Because I’ll have you know, I’m no baby.”
Seraphine had always had a sharp tongue. Liam was surprised at her insolence.
“I’m Liam Carstairs, and this is Kai.” “Kai---“ “Just Kai.” Kai’s voice held a warning. Don’t ask. Fortunately Seraphine was intuitive and did not press it.
“Well, Liam, Kai, stand next to me. I’ll show you how knives are thrown.” She tossed the knife in her hand. It landed dead center. Two more, and she had made a triangle. Three more knives, and she made a star. “It’s one thing to hit the center of the target. It’s another to hit the target and make what you will.”
The boys stood in place, speechless. Finally, Liam spoke.
“Are you as good with other weapons as you are with your aim? How ‘bout without them?”
“Try me.” Seraphine challenged him. Kai smirked. He and Liam were two of the best trainees . This girl didn’t stand a chance.
“No weapons, then. Hand to hand combat.” Kai proclaimed. “Let’s see what they teach you in---which institute?” “New York. I’m Seraphine Herondale. Remember that name when you’re begging me for mercy.”
Seraphine warily looked over Liam as they slowly circled each other. He was tall and slender, with muscles like wires rather than bunches. His pale skin held a hint of gold to it, but was lighter than hers. She noted long slender fingers, calloused in many places, more so on the left hand. He was leggy and gangly, putting her at a disadvantage. He would be able to reach her better than she could.
At the other side, Liam also looked over Seraphine. She was quite petite, with long blonde hair streaked with brown. He would have to watch out, she could definitely whip him with hair that length. Experience had taught him well. Isabelle and Simon’s daughter, Lilah, had hair down to her waist and was not against using it. She took a few steps and he could easily see her inexperience. It figured, normally thirteen was when sparring training began. She could have only been at it a few months. He, on the other hand, had been sparring with Kai since they first met. This will be a piece of cake. Liam didn’t really enjoy fighting, and rather preferred his violin, but he and Kai felt obligated to retain their reputation as the best trainees. So he always made his fights quick, to prevent either of them from getting injured while still upholding his reputation. This one didn’t look like it would be any different.
She jabbed out with a punch, but he easily dodged it.
Oh, so you’re fast, are you? Seraphine was dismayed.
Another jab, another miss. Yes, he was very quick, and could anticipate her moves better than anyone she had ever fought before. She noted Kai out of the corner of her eyes. He was watching intensely, calculating their every move. As Liam lunged for her, she saw the faded mark of a yet to be made parabatai rune near his collarbones.
He must be in Alicante for the parabatai ceremony. Looks like he and Kai are about to undergo it. No wonder, he’s been sparring for longer than I have. Kai must be good at sparring.
Just one look at Kai’s calculating face and Seraphine knew he was a strategist. Together the two of them must have been the best in their institute. Vaguely she recalled hearing about a soon to be parabatai pair, excellent sparring partners. What had she gotten herself into?
“What institute are you from?” She grunted, hoping to distract him from beating her quickly.
“Los Angeles.” He responded without missing a beat. Talking didn’t faze him. She sighed inwardly.
Seraphine did not have much experience sparring with those older than her. She had just begun sparring training, unlike her learning to throw. But she had to try and get an advantage over Liam. It wasn’t over just yet.
She feinted right, then kicked out roughly with her left foot. But instead of making harsh contact like she had expected, she found her other leg taken out from under her. She was abruptly dumped on the floor, and none too gently. She scampered away from Liam, who leapt at her and pinned her to the ground.
“You’re not as good as you say, little girl.” He grinned roughly, pushing her wrists into the floor, legs straddling hers. Seraphine’s breathing increased rapidly, a feeling of electricity clashing with her disappointment of losing. She had never been so close to a boy before, as Jace was fiercely protective.
“Called my bluff, did you?” Seraphine knew she wasn’t as good with hand to hand combat as she was with throwing knives, but she wasn’t half bad, either. She opened her mouth to make another scathing retort, when a shout tore the air.
“WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?” Jace’s voice thundered throughout the practice room. “I LEAVE YOU FOR TEN MINUTES AND COME BACK TO FIND YOU UNDER THE LEGS OF A BOY?”
“Jace, I’m sure you’re overreacting.” Clary tugged gently at his sleeve, but to no avail. Jace had lost it, as usual. He shook off Clary’s hand and ran over to Seraphine, tugging her to her feet and pushing her behind him. Clary rolled her eyes. Sometimes Jace’s protective streak ran too deep.
“Your name.” It wasn’t a request. Liam, at least had the decency to look slightly abashed, if not incredibly amused.
“Liam Carstairs. And nothing’s happened. We were just sparring.” Jace grinned maniacally, smirking a bit.
“The Carstairs owe the Herondales.” He whispered. He took a slow, deep breath, calming himself.
The world seemed to stop as Jace seemed to be deciding how to go about channeling his anger. But then he composed his features as Liam spoke.
“We. Were. Sparring.” Liam punctuated each word with a sharp breath. Looking at Jace’s slowly calming expression, then added a tentative, “…Sir?”
At that, Jace burst out laughing.
“Just sparring? Seraphine’s not had much practice with sparring yet.” He mused. “But rest assured, should I ever find you more than sparring with my daughter, things will go quite differently than today.”
As far as threats went, this was pretty serious. But then again, Jace was ever the drama king. He scowled slightly at Liam as he beckoned Seraphine to go stand with Clary.
“Jem is your father, is he not?” Liam nodded, slowly.
“Tell him to come to dinner tomorrow, Tessa too. It’s been a while since we’ve last met.”
Liam’s eyebrows nearly hit the roof. He was apparently uninformed of Jace and his relation to Tessa.
“We can’t. Tomorrow, Kai and I are undergoing the parabatai ceremony tomorrow.” At that, Jace absentmindedly traced his own parabatai rune.
“The next night then.” Again, it wasn’t a request. Clary stifled a giggle. She had a feeling Jace was going to try and match-make them, because he then would be able to keep eyes on Seraphine. The Carstairs owe the Herondales. That wasn’t exactly what Clary had in mind, but she couldn’t say the same thing about Jace.
Oh, Jace. Clary shook her head internally.
“Seraphine?” You might as well start getting ready for the dinner tonight.” He smirked. "You could actually be ready on time, for once."
For once in her life, Seraphine went quietly away, but not before she shot daggers of hatred at Liam.
“Don't go getting smug.” She hissed at him as she passed by.
“I wouldn’t dream of it.” He murmured softly, a look of slight amusement and wonder as she strode away.
Jace scowled as he watched Liam look over his daughters retreating figure. He won’t be the only one looking at her, either. I should send her to a convent.