Warrior- Alec Lightwood {DISCONTINUED}

17 - The Forsaken

"Clary what happened to the plan? Tell her that Simon's not coming home," Nina heard Jace say. She followed his voice.

"I tried, okay? I just...I can't. I'm not ready to just give up on Simon," Clary said as Nina walked into the room. She was shuffling around, going through the Mundane's things when she noticed Nina come into the room.

"What are you doing here?" Clary asked the girl. Her tone was rude, just held disbelief.

"I called her," Jace said, nodding at his sister in greeting. She nodded back.

"Wait, didn't Simon's mom see you come in?" Clary asked, suddenly worried.

Nina shook her head. "No. I'm glamoured. Mundane houses are so easy to break into."

Jace let out a small smirk at her comment, which was true. The two watched as Clary rushed to his closet, took put a bag, and began digging through it.

Nina sighed. "Would you stop for a second, think about what you're doing?"

"I am, Nina, okay?" She stuttered. "It's like my brain is telling me to do one thing, and my heart another and..."

Clary's voice trailed off, and the two could tell she was frustrated. Jace shot Nina a look that she couldn't quite read, although it looked like he was telling her to mentally prepare for something.

"Okay. Look... there was a boy and a girl and their father bought them a falcon for their sixth and fifth birthdays. It was a present they shared," Jace began to say.

Nina closed her eyes abruptly. Images of this flooded her memory. She remembered receiving that falcon along with Jace. She remembered how beautiful it was, with its red-brown feathers and it's long, long wings. She recalled how happy she had been, and the great big smile on Jace's face. She didn't like the fact that Jace was sharing a piece of their lives with Clary, however, maybe it would help her understand.

"Are you seriously telling me a story right now?" Clary said, looking at the two. She had stopped shuffling around and was now sitting on the bed.

"Please, just listen," Jace said, and his hand tightened around Nina's, intertwining their fingers. "Their father told them to tame the bird. Make it obedient."

"That's crazy," Clary replied.

"And the sister and brother would spend every day with that falcon," Nina said, keeping her voice steady. "It would scratch at them. Make them bleed. But eventually they earned its trust."

"They brought the bird to their father, to show him that the bird would come back to them," Jace said, and his hand squeezed hers. "He thought his father would be proud."

"And he was, right?" Clary asked, raising both eyebrows.

"No, Clary," Nina said. "Their father took the falcon and snapped its neck."

"Okay, that is the worst story I have ever heard," Clary said, turning around. Nina missed the bird dearly. She had loved it, something that was dangerous.

"You're missing the point," Jace said, struggling to keep his voice steady and calm. Nina looked up at her brother, while Clary stood still, ber back to the two. "Yes the brother and sister were devastated. But they realized their father was right. They was told to tame the bird...not to love it."

Nina swallowed before speaking slowly and gradually. "That's why you have to listen to your head. If I...or my brother listened to our hearts, we'd never be able to do our job," she said. "Third rule of Shadowhunting, emotions cloud judgment."

This was true. She believed it, as did Jace. It had been drilled into their minds. If they followed their hearts, they would never, ever, be the Shadowhunter they are today. She missed her father, no matter how harsh and strict he had been. He had taught her so much.