In the Eyes

Nineteen

Nineteen

*~*~*~*

"Cici," Alec called my name as I walked down the hall, towards the control room. At the sound of my name I turned around, finding him hurrying to catch up with me, looking more relaxed than I'd ever seen him since I had come back. "Where's Magnus?"

"He had to make a few calls." I told him.

"Have you seen Lydia?" He asked me.

"Not since the wedding that didn't happen." I shook my head. "I was actually looking for Joseph. I wanted to thank him again."

"No one's seen either of them." A frown pulled at the corner of his lips as he pulled me alongside him. When I saw where he was heading though, I could feel my eyes widening, a sense of dread filling my stomach. He was leading me towards the monitor our mother was standing in front of.

"Alec," I whispered, trying to take my arm from his, but he only pulled me closer to his side, not letting me go. I looked at him, finding him already looking down at me, a look of reassurance shining brightly in his eyes.

"Have you spoken with Lydia or Joseph?" Alec asked our mother once we reached her. "No one's seen either of them since the wedding."

"Mom," I frowned as she continued to ignore Alec and I, focusing only on the monitor, "Come on."

"Maryse." Dad sighed as he joined us, noticing the trouble we were having with Mom.

"Mom, I understand you're upset, but this is..." I began.

"Calling off the wedding would've been one thing... but kissing that warlock in front of the entire Institute?" She cut me off with a shake of her head, finally looking at me. "You've embarrassed all of us."

"Why?" I narrowed my eyes at her. "Because you didn't get to pick who I decide to be with?"

"No. The fact that I didn't pick him, as you say, is the least of my worries." She locked her jaw.

"Then what's the problem?" Alec questioned her. "Cecile's happy, isn't that what's important?"

"It's that you chose Magnus Bane." She finally admitted. "His reputation precedes him. And even for a warlock, he's a bit of a lothario."

"Cecile, there's so much that you don't know about him." Dad agreed with her.

"Well, then I plan to get to know him. And if you have a problem with that, then I suggest you deal with it." I told them, refusing to back down. "Now, I have to go find Joseph and Lydia."

"She's probably packing for Idris in your father's office." Mom suggested. "What he did..."

"Saved my life." I finished for her. "So I should go thank him."

With that said I walked away from my parents, leaving Alec alone to deal with them. I made my way through the halls, but as I turned the corner that led to the hall that held my dad's office, I found Magnus standing there, waiting for me.

"On a scale of one to ten... how unpleasant was it?" He asked me.

"Off the charts." I sighed. "Yeah, I've never seen them so angry."

"Just give them some time." He told me.

"You're immortal. Time is on your side." I shook my head. "After what I did... I don't think they'll ever forgive me."

"Don't underestimate a parent's love." He gave me a soft smile. "You don't regret it, do you?"

"Everything happened so fast. I didn't have time to think." I struggled to find the right words. While I was happy to be with Magnus now, I couldn't help but worry about Alec, wondering if our parents would now try to force him into a marriage, the exact thing I'd been trying to prevent. "I just wanna make sure Joseph's okay. Now I owe him so much."