The Secret Life of Heronstairs [The Infernal Devices fan fiction] [On Hold]

A Date for the Books

Will lay across Jem's bed reading another book as Jem intently played his violin as he had been doing for an hour. Will himself was getting lost in his book, distantly finding it intriguing that Jem could play a tune that seemed to match what was happening in the book without knowing so himself. Though he noticed it more as background music to his reading, Will was aware immediately when Jem suddenly stopped his playing. Out of habit, Will looked over at him to see if he was ill but instead noticed a thoughtful look upon his face. “Is something wrong, James?” he asked and Jem slowly shook his head.

            “No, I was just thinking,” he answered slowly. “We spend a lot of time here in the Institute when not hunting down a demon. People come from all over the world to visit London, and yet here we are living here and letting it's beauty slip us by.” He paused for a moment and then looked up to meet Will's eyes. “I know we agreed it would be best if no one saw us together in the way that we are in private, but wouldn't it be nice to spend a day away from here for just a short time? We could go anywhere in London and being cloaked with glamour no one would see us.”

            “You want to go out?” Will asked for clarification and Jem nodded with a smile that Will couldn't help but return.

            “If you wouldn't mind so,” Jem replied.

            “Well, what do you propose we do?”

            “Nothing too extravagant,” Jem said thoughtfully. “Perhaps a walk through Hyde Park. It is the nicest day London's seen in awhile and the park seems like the perfect place to spend it. Do you have any objections to that?”

            “None that come to mind, no,” Will answered. “With that planned, I suggest we leave right away before the weather catches on to the plan and ruins it for us.”

On their way to Hyde Park, Will caught smell of something delicious and demanded Jem stop with him long enough to get some. After buying enough food to fuel Will's apetite, they took their bounty with them to the park and ate occasionally as the walked. Upon Jem's request that they sit to enjoy the scenery, the pair found themselves sitting not too far away from a small pond with some of Will's worst enemies; ducks. Noticing them as he sat, he decided to pretend as though they didn't exist by focusing on a tree in front of their bench and tried desperately not to think of his childhood as he often did with reminders such as that. After a few minutes of Jem conversing lightly with Will, his gaze fell on the ducks and a smile slowly crossed his face. “William, do you see those mallards there?” he asked, admiring the animals as they glided swiftly across the pond water. “Aren't they beautiful creatures?”

            “I would describe them as many things, and beautiful would not come up once,” Will said offhandedly and Jem gave him a curious look.

            “Are you saying you don't like ducks?”

            “'Like' is a soft word,” Will answered. “Despised seems much more fitting for those beasts.”

            “And why is that?” Jem asked, amused by the conversation. However, his amusement was short lived as Will stayed silent for a minute and Jem realized it was a topic Will wasn't very eager to discuss. He knew Will believed that he hid his feelings well enough that no one noticed when he was reliving the past, but over the years since they'd met Jem had slowly noticed the shifts in his mood and when they happened. At first it wasn't clear he was reliving his childhood but the more time he spent with Will the more he understood the biting words that often followed such reactions to be attempts to hide something that no one in the Institute was aware of. Before Will could respond, Jem stood from the bench and took bread from the bag of food next to Will. “Well, I happen to like ducks,” he said as though he never asked Will a question. “You can stay here if you would like, but I am going to feed them for a bit.”

            Will looked at him silently and a slight amused smile crossed his face. “There isn't much bread for the amount of mallards there,” he replied. “You would be finished before all of them fed.”

            “I'm sure there will be others who come to feed them as well,” Jem shrugged. “It is something people tend to do on occasion.”

            “You are right, James,” Will said, standing up suddenly with his smile now wide across his face. “I should give it a try; it has been a while after all.”

            “Good,” Jem smiled back. “Come then, we will share the bread to feed them.”

            “No no, I have a much better idea,” Will said, going into the bag on the bench and coming up with a plate of poultry pie they had brought.

            “You are not going to feed the mallards that,” Jem said disbelievingly.

            “And why not?”

            “It's poultry pie!”

            “Yes, and pie is made from dough much the same as bread,” Will said with false innocence. “What is the problem, James?”

            “You want to feed mallards poultry pie,” Jem said unable to contain his laughter anymore.

            “Well, they don't have to eat it if they don't wish to,” Will said mischievously. “I am being a gentlemen in offering them my food. If they wish not to partake in it than that is fine. I think it would be interesting to see if we can breed a race of cannibal ducks, don't you?”

            “No, not at all,” Jem laughed.

            “You say that now, but when we are successful you will lay claim as though it were your idea,” Will said, walking towards the pond. “Come now, James, before our experiments get away.”

            “They aren't my experiments, they're yours,” Jem said with a shake of his head as he followed after him. Coming to a stop on the side of the pond, Jem began breaking pieces of the bread a part and tossing it to the mallards who eagerly rushed forward to consume it. Will remained still next to him, and Jem was sure he wasn't going to go through with his ridiculous idea and yet somehow was unsurprised when he did.

            Waiting until Jem had finished feeding the ducks, Will began cutting out pieces of the pie with his dagger before throwing them in the pond for the ducks. The first duck to approach the floating piece stopped before it for a moment but before Jem could tease Will about his failed experiment, the mallard struck forward and ate the piece. Will laughed at the duck before throwing in more pieces until soon they were watching multiple ducks eating poultry pie at once. “Well, it seems I was successful,” Will said triumphantly, glancing over his shoulder every once in awhile as they walked away from the pond to return to the Institute. “I have successfully bred a cannibal race of mallards.”

            “Congratulations,” Jem laughed, happy to see Will amused once more and not reliving something that pained him. “You shall go down in books of science for years.”

            “With a creation such as mine I should go down in the books of history,” Will laughed. “I warned you that they were malicious little beasts, James.”

            “I don't recall you mentioning that they were malicious,” Jem responded. “Though you did say they were beasts. But what does that make you, William, for feeding the pie to them?”

            “Me?” Will asked proudly. “I am a scientist, James. As a scientist, I conducted an experiment that gained results and now I can be content until another experiment opportunity presents itself to me.”

            “Of course,” Jem laughed again. “Does this mean you no longer despise them, then?”

            “I said no such thing,” Will replied. “If there is one piece of information I proved above all else, James, it is this: Never trust a duck.”