"There you are!" Magnus chirps at Alec and Isabelle when he and I walked into the armory, "Good news: the Core is off the ley line grid and free of demonic corruption-"

"Well, we just walked into straight buzzkill-" I noticed the energy immediately when neither of them replied, stopping in my tracks, "We'll take our good vibes somewhere else-"

Alec held his arms out, "Can I have a hug?"

"Yes-" I slowly walked toward him and hugged his middle, looking at Isabelle, "What is it?"

"We just got a fire message from Mom, saying she's dropping by for an impromptu family dinner." Isabelle used her fingers to air quote multiple words in her sentence.

Magnus took a few steps closer to us, "Those are a lot of air quotes."

"Mom doesn't just drop by for anything." Alec held onto me tight, keeping me held close.

"Yeah." Isabelle exhales, "We're thinking it has to do with her and Dad- they're finally making their divorce official."

"Oh-" I blink, "I'm sorry-"

Magnus sighs, "My condolences-"

"It's for the best." Isabelle purses her lips, "Problem is, instead of just being sad like a normal person, she starts trying to fix everyone around her."

"Which usually includes grilling her children on everything she thinks is going wrong in their lives." Alec looked down at me and I immediately knew.

"Hey- it's your own fault for falling in love with a Morgenstern out of all people." I looked up at him, "Although, I'm giving you the chance to tell her I moved to England- fell in love with a kind, british gentlemen and fled the country-"

"After all I did to get you to be my girlfriend?" Alec couldn't help but smile at my words, before lightly tickling my sides, making me squirm instantly, "I'm never letting you escape me-"

I swat his hands away, pursing my lips hard to try and keep back my laughter, "Alec!-"

Magnus asks, "Where are you holding this suspenseful dinner?-"

"Definitely not here." Alec pulled me into him again, this time with my back against his chest, "The Institute tends to bring out her inner Inquisitor."

"How about my place?" Magnus offered, "I insist- you can have the place all to yourselves."

"Besides, I think I should go shopping for you-" Magnus gestured to me, "Your wardrobe lacks color-"

"What?" I blink, "I wear- color-"

"I don't think I've ever seen you wear the color yellow-" Magnus crosses his arms, "Or purple-"

"Yellow-" I grimace, "Purple?"

"Pink!" Magnus snaps his fingers, turning and leaving the room, "I'm going to raid your closet and see what else you need-"

"Pink?" My eyes widen, calling out after him right away, "No pink!-"

"Wait-" Isabelle points at me when Magnus left the room, "You should be there-"

"Are you out of your mind?" I looked at her, blinking a few times, "She hates me- I mean, she hates me-"

"Think about it: if Zee is there being her usual likable self-" Isabelle suggests, "Mom won't have time to interrogate us."

"No-" I slipped away from Alec when he was now convinced, "Absolutely not-"

"Zee-" Alec grabs my hands.

"Alec, you once asked me what I was afraid of," I immediately shook my head, my eyes widening lightly staring at the both of them, "It's your mother-"

"Oh, come on-" Alec pulls me into his chest and holds me tight, "Please- you being there will ease the tension-"

"Me being there is what'll create tension-" I shot back at him, "Your mother despises me-"

"Please." Alec squeezes me tighter, "For me?"

-

"Hey, I need to talk to you-" Jace caught my arm when I was walking through the Institute, starting to drag me backwards and towards his bedroom.

"What? Dude-" I stumbled, my eyes wide as he pulled me along, "I'm not interested!-"

Jace shut the door behind him when we entered his room, as I caught eye of the bags under his eyes and his messy hair, "What the hell happened to you?-"

Jace doesn't reply, grabbing his tablet from his desk.

"Wait, Jace, are you alright?" I was suddenly concerned, dropping all the jokes, "You look exhausted-"

"This is Morgan Young, the Owl's latest victim, except she escaped before he possessed her." Jace doesn't answer my question, handing me his tablet.

"Okay." I trail off, "How'd she manage that?"

Jace crosses his arms, "She got him in the face with pepper spray."

"Well," I looked at the profile on the tablet, "That wouldn't affect a demon-"

"No, it wouldn't." Jace shook his head, "It means the Owl is part human, the same- as Jonathan."

"Jace- what?" I did a double take, looking up at him with wide eyes, "What?"

Jace began, "Listen-"

"You're delusional- I think that lack of self care is getting to your head." I set down the tablet, "Jonathan is dead, Jace-"

"How do you know that?" Jace drops his arms to his sides, "They never found his body."

"I don't know- maybe, because I'm the one that killed him?" I gape at him in surprise, "Jace, I shot like four arrows into him- he fell into a river and floated away, he's probably in the middle of the ocean somewhere."

"I was dead." Jace reminds me, taking a step towards me, "Until you brought me back."

"Do you even hear yourself right now?" I crossed my arms, "Why would anyone want to bring that lunatic back to life? The only person I could think of that would even want to is six feet under, and guess what? I killed him too!"

"Zee," Jace told me, "Ever since Lake Lyn, I've been having dreams about Jonathan-"

"And?" I stare, "Dreams are a figment of your imagination, Jace- did you not learn this when you were like, what- eight?"

"Like your dreams about the Mortal Mirror?" Jace brought up, "They all ended up being true."

"That was- different-" I stammered, then covered my face for a moment, "You can't use that against me!"

"Maryse wants to have dinner with Alec, Izzy and I later on tonight, but- I think this is more important." Jace showed me a flyer, "Morgan is throwing a fundraiser for disaster relief- if I know anything about Jonathan, he will be there to finish what he started."

"I know about the dinner because I'm the host." I looked up at Jace, "Are you suggesting that I ditch my boyfriend that begged me to have dinner with his mother to go to this stupid thing?"

"You're right- look, you go to the dinner." Jace took the flyer from me, "I'll go to this with Clary-"

"This is going to be a waste of time," I crossed my arms, "But, if you need me- call me. I'll come-"

Jace pulled me in for a small hug, "Thanks-"

-

"Are you sure this is exactly half a cup?" Alec calls out from the kitchen while cooking, as I fixed my hair in the mirror in the other room.

"It said half a cup on the handle." I walked into the kitchen, fixing the bracelet on my wrist, "I'm sure it's structured to half a cup as well-"

Alec stops when I walked into the room, accidentally dropping the measuring cup into the stew, jumping lightly when the splash made a bit of the liquid fall into the counter top, "Oh!-"

"Alec!-" I used a utensil to quickly pull out the measuring cup, tossing it into the sink.

Alec wipes the counter top, "I messed it up-"

"Alec- it was just a little, I'm sure it hardly made a difference." I washed my hands, "Cooking is an art, not a science."

"If that were true, then there wouldn't be instructions." Alec wiggled an index card in front of me, "You look beautiful by the way-"

"Yeah? I got that when you dropped an entire measuring up into the stew." I tilt my head to the side looking at him, "What if it tastes like metal?"

"Zee!" Alec playfully pushes away my face, before starting to stir, "This is an old family recipe- Izzy and I found it right after my grandmother died, my mother was inconsolable until the day we made her this stew- and that was the first time that I saw her smile."

"That's so sweet of you." I softly smiled, then put my hand on his shoulder, pushing myself onto my tippy toes despite my heels and grabbing a piece of radish off the top of his head, "How did this even get up there?-"

"Here-" Alec took a spoonful of the stew, blowing on it to cool it, before shoving it right into my mouth, "How is that?-"

My eyes were wide at the disgusting taste that was forced onto my tongue, humming, nodding my head quickly at Alec, who was questioning, "Good?-"

"Hang on-" Alec handed over the stirring to me when his phone buzzed in the other room, as I immediately spit out the stew into the trash can, coughing lightly, grimacing at the taste.

I quickly grabbed my phone off the counter and texted Magnus as quickly as I could, my eyes spotting magic surround the pot, before setting my phone down the moment I heard Alec's footsteps, pretending to have been stirring this entire time, "Izzy texted-"

I slowly nod, "Did she?-"

"Out, out, out, out-" Alec shooed me, taking over the stirring, "She's going on mission with Clary and Jace- which means that it's just us tonight."

"She ditched me?" My eyes widened, before clearing my throat, "I mean, oh no- how unfortunate she can't make it-"

When there was a knocking at the door, my eyes widen again, "You know- on second thought, you're on your own buddy-"

"Zee!" Alec caught my arms before I could flea the kitchen, "Alright, remember, my mother is on edge and that means avoiding any sensitive subjects, like my dad, or like that I turned down that job at the Clave-"

I gape up at him, "Or the fact that you're dating the ignominious and infamous Zee Morgenstern?"

"I'm sorry." Alec almost immediately apologized, "Am I being terrible?"

"No- you're just tense, and I'd offer to ease it, but- the ways I have in mind are too inappropriate given the circumstance-" I grabbed a drink, holding it up, "This'll have to do for now-"

Alec took the drink down in one gulp, my eyes widening, "That was- really strong-"

"I'm okay-" Alec swallowed, handing me back the glass, "You're okay?-"

"I'm okay-" I nodded once, as he kissed my temple and walks past me, as I stared at the empty glass.

I slowly followed him to the door, watching as Maryse greeted us with open arms, "My children!"

She threw her arms around me, hugging me tight, my eyes wide as ever, "Hi, Maryse-"

"Can I get you a drink?" Alec held the bottle of wine she brought after hugging him.

Maryse was fairly happy and filled with smiles, before heading over to the dinner table, "How about a round of cocktails?"

"Alec, check my pulse." I stared at the empty hall, completely shocked, "I think I just died-"

-

"Zee, you really do know how to host." Maryse's attitude towards me was catching me off guard, as she had been asking about me and actually talking to me rather than openly resenting me.

"Don't give me all the credit-" I softly smiled, putting my hand over Alec's, "Tonight was all Alec."

"Really?" Maryse smiles, "That stew was incredible- who knew you could cook?"

Alec's tone was innocent as he replied back, "Well, I've made that for you before."

"Ah, how could I forget?" Maryse thought out loud, "Alec and Isabelle made this for me when they were little kids- to see the looks on their faces when they brought it to me, it still warms my heart."

"But- that stew!" Maryse began to laugh, clapping her hands together, "I still have nightmares!"

"I-" Alec stammers, "I thought you loved that stew."

"Well, I do now!" Maryse said, making Alec look at me, as I pretended to be interested in my cocktail, "Whatever you've done to the recipe, it's unrecognizable."

"Okay, okay-" Maryse said, rubbing her hands together, "I'll stop, I'm probably embarrassing Alec enough as it is-"

"Well," I looked up at her, "We're just- glad to see you- in such good spirits."

Alec admits, "We thought you might be upset- with the divorce and everything."

"I've made my peace with that." Maryse sat up slow, "But- your instincts are right. I do have some unpleasant news."

"I wanted Isabelle and Jace to be here, but, you need to know." Maryse began, "In light of Malachi's coup, the Clave has reopened its investigation of former Circle members."

Alec tenses, "You had nothing to do with Malachi-"

"Still-" Maryse trails off, "Based on a review of my actions in the Circle, the Clave has reclassified me a traitor."

I felt sympathy, "Maryse-"

"They're stripping me of my runes." Her words saddened me, "In a few days, it'll be announced that I have been exiled from Alicante."

No matter how much that woman had resented me, I still felt terrible for what she was going through.

"This is completely unjust." Alec let go of my hand, "You've given your life to the Clave!"

"Uhm- I'll go and check on the desserts." I made an excuse, before stumbling up to my feet and quickly heading into the kitchen, leaning my back against the wall.

"This is total hypocrisy." I heard Alec say, "What about the Pangborns? The Blackwells? Do they keep their positions? What about Dad?"

Maryse answered, "He was assigned to the LA Institute- as part of a deal."

"That is exactly my point!" Alec wasn't happy, "He gets a slap on the wrist, not exiled!"

"Please, don't make this harder than it already is." Maryse sighs, "My punishment is more severe because my crimes were too- back in the days of the Circle, I was convinced Valentine had all the answers. I recruited many good people- including your father, and together with Valentine, I orchestrated all the bloody details of the Uprising."

"But- you got out." Alec said.

"Only after I knew we were doomed." Maryse replies, "Once I saw Valentine for who he really was, I couldn't believe what I had done- I vowed to devote the rest of my life to the Clave, but- the charges against me are just."

"That's very noble of you, Mom." Alec says, "But, if you're not going to fight this thing, I will- even if that means stepping down from the Institute-"

"No-" Maryse didn't want this, "Seeing what you have accomplished as Head of the Institute nothing has made me prouder."

"The Clave's always had its faults." She said, "My generation nearly destroyed everything in our passion to fix it- yours will have to be wiser."

-

"Thank you again." Maryse was getting ready to leave as we walked her to the door, "Tonight couldn't have been nicer."

"Of course-" I had my hands behind my back.

"And, um- I'd appreciate if you could keep our conversation between us." Maryse said to Alec, "I'd like to tell Isabelle and Jace myself."

Alec slowly nods, "Of course-"

Then it went silent between us all.

Maryse broke that silence by turning toward me, exhaling slow, "Zee- I am so sorry."

"I-" I stammered, "What?"

"You are not at all what I made you out to be, and there is no amount of apologies that could fix what I've said to you-" Maryse's words made me vulnerable almost right away, "But, I want you to know that- I could not see anyone else love Alec the way that I can see you do-"

"I may have had my prejudices in the past, but- seeing you stand by Alec?" Maryse put her hands on my arms, "It's what every mother wants for her children."

Tears were present in my eyes, my voice falling quiet, "Really?"

"Yes, really." Maryse pulled me in for a tight hug, "Thank you for loving my boy."

Maryse gave me one last smile, saying her goodbyes, before shutting the door behind her, Alec's eyes falling right onto me, waiting for my reaction.

I looked at him, my hands covering my mouth, not being able to help but starting to cry, as he pulls me into his chest, holding me tightly.

authors note:

i liked this chapter a lot sksksk

maryse's CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT.

and zee crying at the end- it aches my heart, but it shows how much maryse's approval meant to her-

zace is such a good brotp, i love them so much

and zee and magnus sksksk

but, thank you for 46k !!

vote and comment loadsss