My Little Angel - Jace Herondale

Team Up (2x06) part 1

A sense of guilt consumed Alec.

Ever since Valentine had kidnapped both Jace and Leila in front of him, he felt nothing but useless while his friends had been suffering away from him.

Valentine was more dangerous than ever. For him to be able to set an attack at the Institute twice in less than a few months was a disgrace to the Institute.

A disgrace to Alec.

Alec had gone on the Institute's roof. Away from everyone, away from the people he had hurt and the people he couldn't have saved, to practice his archery skills as an escape.

As he was about to shoot his next arrow, Jace suddenly appeared in front of him.

"Alec."

"Move." Alec told him.

"How long have you been up here ?" Jace asked, ignoring Alec's order.

"I'm glamoured. No one can see me. Now, move."

When Alec changed the direction of his arrow, trying to not only ignore Jace but also spare him, Jace didn't see that way, and stood in front of Alec again.

"You can't beat yourself up, Alec."

"I'm not." Alec lied.

"Who are you talking to ? It's me. I'm your parabatai. I know exactly what you're going through. What happened with Jocelyn...that wasn't you. That was the demon." Jace told him, trying to reassure him.

"Get out of the way."

"Hey. Same side, remember ?" Jace answered, putting his hands up as Alec insisted with his arrow targeted his way. "Come on, man. Come back inside. Valentine has the Soul-Sword. He slaughtered the Silent Brothers. We need our best soldiers..."

"Stop pretending this never happened !" Alec growled out of anger and frustration. "I couldn't save you or Leila from Valentine. I couldn't save you guys either, from the City of Bones. I..." Alec continued in one breath. He sighed, letting the past events get back to him. "She's Clary's mother. She's your mother."

This time, Jace was the one to sigh, knowing that the way to make Alec see the situation as he did, wouldn't be easy.

"Nobody blames you, Alec." Jace reminded him.

Alec sighed again, bringing down his arrow, making Jace bring his hands down to his sides.

"They should." He said before activating his agility rune and jumping out from the roof.

~~

"Hello, this is Luke Garroway. I am not available at the moment, but feel free to leave a message. I will call you back shortly."

"Liar." I sighed.

I hung up after my seventh try to reach Luke since this morning. The first two times, I thought maybe he didn't have his phone with him. On the third and fourth time, I left a message telling him to reach back to me once he'd see my texts that he left unread. On the fifth time, I told him everything I wanted to tell him in person after finally being set free but also, after finding that Jocelyn had died. And the next times, I only called him, knowing perfectly that my calls would be unanswered and my concern wouldn't die down.

Luke and I hadn't had the time to build a father-daughter bond since we only found out about our relationship right before I got kidnapped, and yet, he was one of the first people I wanted to come back to after being set free from the City of Bones. At that time where I was doubted and wronged, I needed someone with a strong presence and voice, and recomforting words.