The Dark Artifices: Lady Midnight

Chapter Two: When Fairies Sing

"Practice time!" Hollered Cristina Rosales the next morning, as she, Emma, the trainer, Diana Wrayburn, and two of the Blackthorn children shuffled down the stairs and into the dining room for breakfast, rubbing their eyes and yawning shamelessly. Cristina, ever the morning person, had her silky black hair drawn back in a bun, her dark caramel skin clean and crisp, and her dark brown eyes wide and awake as she bounded down the steps, barefoot. Emma couldn't remember when Cristina wasn't like this; always chipper, always upbeat, ever since the moment she had transferred to the Los Angelos Institute from Mexico a few years back. Being the same age, Em and Tina had gotten along great. Perhaps not as much as Emma and Jules had, since they had known each other their whole lives, but Tina was very charismatic, and soon the two girls sparked a close friendship.

Even Diana Wrayburn, who had become the instructor after Katerina was killed, wasn't fully awake: the silver koi fish tattoo on her cheekbone glittering against her  dark skin as she yawned. Emma, after the fiasco last night, was stumbling down the stairs like a zombie.

"At least let us eat some breakfast, Tina." Mumbled Drusilla sleepily, her blue green eyes red and crusted,  and her short brown hair sloppy and disheveled. She had her pale hand in her younger  brothers, Octavian, who was in a similar state, his firetruck pajamas rumpled and baggy. Dru and Tavvy were seven years apart, but about as close as the twins, despite the age difference, and Tavvy, the adorable six year old, was absolutely gushed over by his big sister. Most days, the only times Dru left him was for practice, to sleep, or to shower.

Uncle Arthur (who insisted Emma and Tina call him that too) was already in the dining room, his thin frame already clad in a full suit, sitting at his signature head of the table seat, a cup of breakfast tea in his hand as he started on his eggs. He looked like a younger, smaller version of his brother, Julian's father, but the tone he set upon the household was very different.

The twins, Livia and Ty, were already seated to his right, Ty staring blank faced at his food and Livvy stoically buttering toast. Her blue green eyes caught Emma's for a moment, questioning her. After the episode the night before, Ty had felt awful, and hid up in his bedroom, while Livvy cleaned up the glass so Uncle Arthur wouldn't find out, and Emma tried to both physically and emotionally patch up Julian, who was humiliated by his meltdown and hadn't moved from his spot. Emma knew Ty could get like this sometimes, and so she tried not to be angry. She loved Ty, she really did, like she loved all the Blackthorns, her family, but she had a hard time forgiving people who hurt Jules. And what Ty said last night had nearly pushed the limit.

It was hard to lose your parents, Emma knew that well, ever since John and Cordelia Carstairs had been murdered, but it was something else to kill your father. And five years ago, Jules, sweet, protective Jules, had been forced to do what no twelve year old, or anyone, should have to; to kill his own dad in front of his siblings to protect them from their own father. It wasn't Julian's fault, it wasn't anybody's fault except Sebastian, who had Jules's father Changed into an awful monster, a dark Shadowhunter. But Jules had taken it hard, so hard that the only thing that stopped him from destroying himself from guilt was painting. Painting, Emma, and clove cigarettes.

Speaking of painting and Emma and clove cigarettes, Jules hadn't come down to breakfast, and it didn't take rocket science (not something Nephilim learned anyway) to figure out what he was doing or why. Livvys eyes seemed to think Emma had the answer, but the blonde just shrugged, exasperated. She knew no one, especially Julian and Ty, had wanted to bring the situation to attention, so that meant that she would have to drag Julian downstairs before everyone noticed his absence and the absence of the flower vase.

She yawned, for affect, and then said, "My, isn't Jules sleeping in late. Guess I'll have to get his lazy bum outta bed..." She paused, as Tina snickered, and then sauntered upstairs and broke into a jog once she was out of sight. Jules slept in the bedroom across from hers, though sometimes when she woke up from nightmares he would camp out and sleep on her floor. His door was a plain brown wood, no posters or runes like Emma had. She knocked, just to make sure he wasn't getting dressed or anything (that might make for a awkward situation,) but with no response she just shoved the door open and entered the chaotic mess that was her parabatais room.