wcylnds:
jace’s arms wrapped around his mother when she pulled him in. he inhaled the familiar scent that he could only associate with S A F E T Y; the embrace of the only woman he’d ever called mother. a parent who’d loved him when she’d had no obligation to do so, RESCUING him from what would have surely been a lifetime of torment && pain. he owed her everything. he held onto her like a lifeline before pulling back, his gaze stormy as he smiled at her. while surprised to see her, he was happy that he wouldn’t be alone in this. that someone saw what he saw. that they recognized how important this was.
her words startled him though. what were you thinking? his brow knit tightly together, pulling back slightly as his eyes narrowed. “what do you mean?” his words were calm, though confused. a low buzz amidst the comings and goings of people popping out of the portal behind him. with his gaze settled on maryse, he took no notice of who stepped out of the portal. his attention was only on her.
“i was thinking we need to do something.” jace said, impassioned. “you heard him. you saw what happens to people like us if we’re exposed.” his eyes flashed, his jaw tense and shoulders rigid. he’d wanted to shut the images out when they came, close his mind to the intrusion, but something had stopped him. maybe it was a sense of INJUSTICE; of knowing that whether he looked at the horror or not, it had still happened. it was a powerless feeling. “sitting back and doing nothing isn’t the answer. if they want a fight, maybe we should give them one.”
there were facts that could not be refuted, even if one tried desperately to do so. one of those facts was that jace was her son, and that heaven and hell could rain down on the world and maryse would allow no one to say otherwise ; but there was no denying that as much as she'd attempted to push it down, to ignore it, her baby boy was very much like his father. he always had been. watching jace grow up had been one of the greatest gifts the universe had granted maryse lightwood—— but it had also been like holding a bomb in your arms and having nothing but your faith that perhaps it wouldn't explode to guide you ; as the years had passed, she'd seen it take shape, the ways that the son was like the father ; sometimes small, like their characteristic smirk, the way they held themselves, the way emotions could be concealed if needed be but never in their eyes. but sometimes jace had spoken and maryse had heard his father's voice instead of his ; heard her son passionately spew his opinions in a way that imitated his father so perfectly it made her heart clench in fear.
her gaze was soft, comforting, her hands dropping down to rest on her child's forearms—— keeping him close to her just in case ( ... ) keeping him close because soon, there would be nothing she could do to make the pain go away. "jace." her tone was hushed, quick ; she didn't know how much time they had. "i heard him, and i understand you, i do. we need to do something, and we will, but do you hear yourself? give them a fight?"
her head shook once, wetting her lips and pushing away the parts of her that wanted to scream, that desperately wished to re-write history ( or at least keep it from repeating itself over and over again )—— still, there was an underlying harshness in her voice, passion of her own seeping through and twisting into words that she'd said once before, so many years ago. perhaps this time they would make a difference. "sweetheart, our acceptance, our ( ... ) freedom isn't going to come from fighting. making wars to fight wars is giving them a reason to be afraid of us, to want us gone—— are you willing to live with people's blood on your hands? to kill just so that we can have our way? it's not right."
eyes closing for a second, maryse simply shook her head once more and took her son in her arms again, a hand moving up to rub his back like she did when he was small ; this wasn't the time or the place for an argument, for a lecture—— perhaps the worst part of it all was that, for once, she was at a loss. there was nothing she could do now but be here, play her part, and hope that her family would make it out of this mess ; a mess that, ultimately, she had created. maybe not now, maybe not directly, but guilt was a funny thing and maryse was consumed by it. now more than ever, she knew that feeling wasn't going away ever again. "i'm going to be with you every step of the way, cariño. i'll be here. but you need to know this and," words failed her as her head lifted to look at jace's face ; the world around her slowing down as found herself delivering news she'd hoped she'd never have to speak. "the man who threw the party was... valentine, mi hijo. he's alive." and he'll be here any second now.
