Angelus Bellator

The Weeks After Shanghai...

A/N: Hi guys! This one is only a short one as I wanted to make it short but punchy! Hope you enjoy it!

-*-*-*-*- Charlotte Branwell -*-*-*-*-

Charlotte knew the twins she had recently adopted were strange, but she didn't realise just how strange they were. She had woken up at half five in the morning after a night of restless sleep to go into the drawing room and find two small figures curled up together on the window seat.

The boy, with streaks of silver in his hair, was leaning back against the wall by the window, his mouth agape in his slumber. The girl, her dark hair tumbling around her shoulders, had her head resting on his shoulder, but she was very much awake. Her dark eyes were wide in wariness as Charlotte approached however she didn't stop her as she had done in the past few weeks. In fact, she just let her walk towards them although didn't lose the tenseness in her shoulders. Charlotte hoped that it was a sign of her trust being built back up.

"Grace?" she asked in shock. "What on Earth are you and James doing in here so early? You should be in bed!" The girl only shrugged, pushing herself up so she was now sitting opposite her brother, leaning on the other wall. She stretched out her legs so they were parallel to James'. But she didn't say a word. Grace was still yet to say anything to her despite having been here for a week now. Charlotte only sighed and drew up an armchair to sit by the window seat, leaning forwards so her elbows rested on her knees.

"Couldn't you sleep?" she asked gently. Grace looked up, her dark eyes flashing with a hint of fear. Finally, she looked away and shook her head. Charlotte felt her heart shatter for the small girl who had already suffered enough heartbreak to last ten lifetimes. Why couldn't she just have a good night's sleep without the...the demon plaguing her with nightmares that she just couldn't take?

"I take it James stayed up with you then?" Charlotte continued. Grace nodded but looked guilty, staring at her shoes and clutching her fingers together. She looked up at her brother with regret before taking off her cardigan and draping it over James' sleeping form. Charlotte watched with fascinated at the care Grace took over her brother. It was a rare the bond that Grace and James shared. She wasn't sure if they'd have it if their parents weren't brutally murdered and they themselves tortured beyond belief. But Charlotte was relieved that they did have each other to rely on, however brief it may be. At least they could get through the first few months together.

"How is he?" Lottie asked, gesturing to James. "Is he...adjusting?" Grace shook her head, signalling that she didn't want to talk about it. That wasn't an uncommon response so Charlotte just accepted it. Reaching forwards, Charlotte took the little girl's hand in comfort. To her surprise, Grace did not flinch away as she had always done. She only gripped onto Charlotte's hand more.

"He looks better than he was," Lottie offered. "Perhaps he will live longer than they thought. Isn't that a good thing?" Grace glanced up and suddenly, her eyes held so much wisdom that a twelve year old girl shouldn't have.

"Not if he suffers more because of me," she whispered. For a moment, Charlotte was to even respond. Grace had spoken for the first time...well, for the first time since arriving.

"It wasn't your fault, Grace," she said softly.

"Tell that to the Clave."

"I have already." That suddenly shut her up again. Grace looked completely alarmed.

"You told the Clave it wasn't my fault?" she said after a full minute of silence.

"Yes," Lottie replied. "You know I had to write a report on you, and that was my conclusion. They may not like it, but it is the truth."

"Oh." Charlotte smiled lightly, squeezing Grace's hand again.

"Grace, I promise that I am going to look after you," she said. "I can not protect you from cruel words or cruel Shadowhunters, but I can fight for you if that's what you want. And I will fight anyone who attempts to hurt you, because that it what a family does."

They stayed like that for the rest of the morning until Will came wondering in in all his glory, moaning about how cold the weather was and how his fingers were freezing off. Charlotte was about to sigh and tell Will that he shouldn't be wondering around London in the middle of the night, but to her surprise, Grace beat her to it.

"That's fine," she said. "I'm sure six fingered Nigel could lend you a few fingers if you needed it."

Needless to say, Charlotte had never seen William Herondale look more shocked in his life.

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