Hey, baby bat! So howās Shadowhunter Academy? Still having a good time? Howās the roommate ā Thais, isnāt that her name? Howās having a roommate? I always kinda wished Iād gotten to go to SA, although obviously the weather was better in California. But you like things dark and gloomy! Just, you know ā try to get some sun sometimes, okay? While I know you love your ghostly pallor, vitamin D is a real thing.
Not that weāre getting any sun here in Chiswick, where England is being fully England with the weather. I guess it goes with the house, though. Youāre going to love this place when you see it, by the way. Itās the most goth building youāve ever seen. The whole place is full of crumbling statues and faded wallpaper with creepy stains and a LOT of these dark bramblesā
Huh, I guess it makes sense there are a lot of black thorns at Blackthorn Manor. Still, theyāre a huge pain to cut back. Why didnāt your ancestors go with something less pointy? This was owned by Lightwoods for years, why no light woods? We may never know.
(I always forget about the Lightwoods because I think of it as Blackthorn Manor but I found a diary of a girl who grew up here, hidden under one of the floorboards. Like way back in the 1870s. Sheās just a normal Shadowhunter teenager of the time, complaining about boring history lessons and obnoxious older brothers. Normal stuff! Sheās about 13 in the part Iām reading but it goes for a few years. Her name was Tatiana Lightwood, I wonder if Isabelle and Alec have heard of her?)
Anyway, Jules is working hard on de-spookying the place, but trust me, itāll still be gothier than a ripped fishnet whenever you get to see it. Itās going to be ages before weāre done with all the hallways full of empty birdcages and decaying books. This house is big. And extremely busted.
Also . . . haunted. At first I think we were both in denial. It was just weird moving shadows, cold spots in places ā if this was one of your mundane movies, weād still be arguing about what was going on. But weāre Shadowhunters. We know ghosts exist. And we finally broke down and admitted to each other that thereās definitely one in this house. Somebodyās moving small objects around and playing the piano off in the distanceā¦ low, haunting bits of sweet music we can both hear. But hereās the thing ā the only piano here isnāt even playable. It rotted through a long time ago.
So, we have a ghost. But they donāt seem definitely or even particularly hostile. It could just be a bitty poltergeist, or a passing unquiet spirit. Iāve just started going through papers and itās obvious Some Stuff Went Down Here at some point, lots of weird references to demons and bindings. (Oh, Iām putting a thing aside for you, itās a taxidermied raven covered in flowers, I think it used to be part of a really extra hat.) So the potential for unquiet spirits is definitely there. One more thing to deal with along with the need for all new drains. (What, exactly, are drains?)
Anyway, I canāt wait to see you and oh no, I spent most of the letter telling you about the house but I really do want to hear about the Academy and your roommate and teachers, like is Catarina there? What about Ragnor? Have you seen Jaime lately? Tell me everything!
PS I just found out who Tatiana Lightwood thought was the cutest boy in London. Will Herondale. Wasnāt that the guy Tessa was married to, a long time ago? Would she think this was funny? I mean, itās kind of funny. Always a Herondale, you know?
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