❝𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐈𝐓𝐎𝐑❞ 『𝐚. 𝐥𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐰𝐨𝐨𝐝』

𝐬𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧

The group of Shadowhunters plus the mundane arrived at the Institute in silence, no one daring to utter a word. Not even Regulus, who usually couldn't read the room. Everyone dispersed into their rooms for the night. It had been maybe two hours of Cassiopeia trying to get a wink of sleep, but for some reason, her brain wouldn't shut off.

Her parents were killed when she was ten, and for a year, her oldest brother, Perseus had taken her and Regulus in to live with him and his wife. The two didn't last a month there. Perseus sent them to live with their other brother, Aster, who then passed them on to Andromeda. Andromeda then made the decision to ship them away from Idris and into the New York Institute under the care of Robert and Maryse Lightwood. Apollo and Sirius were living in the Institute as well, and a few months later moved back to Idris.

The two youngest of the seven children spent years moving from home to home until they were ultimately abandoned by the people that were supposed to love them. Abandonment issues became a prominent obstacle in Cassiopeia's life. She would sneak into Reggie's room at night and lay in his bed without sleeping, just to make sure he wouldn't leave. After all, who's to say he wouldn't leave her as the rest of their siblings did? She knew Perseus tried convincing Regulus to move back to Idris with him. That made her nervous, however, Regulus kindly told him to screw off.

It all made sense now, to Cassie. Why her siblings always seemed to not love her as much as they should have. As much as Reggie did. They knew Cassiopeia was Valentine's daughter. Their parents must have told them. They were never as cold and aloof to Regulus.

The abandonment they suffered brought them closer than ever, and after three years, Regulus asked Cassie to be his parabatai. So, at 16 and 17, Cassie and Regulus had sealed their bond.

It was safe to say that Cassie's abandonment issues did not only affect her sleeping schedule. Cassiopeia refused to connect with anyone that wasn't Regulus for the first year that she spent in the Institute. Isabelle was ecstatic to have another girl around her age living there but was slightly off-put by the lack of interaction the blonde offered. That didn't deter her though, Izzy fought to earn a spot in the blonde's closest friends. And she did, eventually. Isabelle ended up being one of Cassie's best friends. On the other hand, Jace and Cassie had a rough start. The two were fierce on and off the training mat, making the two get into more spats than any of them could count. Especially since Regulus seemed to be growing close to the boy. Cassiopeia was jealous, but so was Alec.

Alec and Cassie were a weird pair. Alec never showed much interest in the blonde when she first arrived. He had Jace and Izzy, what more could he need? However, Regulus and Jace were not similar by any means, but they complemented each other well. For a while, Alec felt like he was being replaced, not only by Jace but by Isabelle as well. The younger Lightwood was adamant about being Cassie's friend, but the blonde was a tough shell to crack. Alec knew that much so he didn't worry.

One day, Alec saw Cassiopeia trying to shoot a bow. She was failing, miserably. He let out a chuckle which alerted her of his presence. Her head whipped to the sound and found Alec standing there.

"Well, are you going to stand there and laugh or are you going to help me?" She said. He remembered being shocked by the straightforwardness of the blonde. He knew Cassie had a strong personality, he'd seen her argue with Jace and win.

"Your stance is wrong," Alec said. Cassiopeia looked at the bow and back at Alec with a raised brow. The boy walked up to her and spoke. "When you're shooting a bow, stand upright with feet shoulder-width apart, and feet at 90 degrees to the target." Alec kicked her feet lightly, effectively placing them in the right position.

"Relax your grip. You need to have a relaxed grip on the bow handle." He loosened the girl's hand on the bow. "Next, place the arrow. Turn the bow so that it is horizontal and the arrow rest is facing upwards. Place the arrow on the shelf of the arrow rest. Push the nock of the arrow onto the string between the two brass nocking points, you need to ensure that the cock fletch is pointing upward. Then bring the bow back to vertical."

Alec stood behind Cassie as she followed his instructions. Alec whispered, his body close enough that she could hear him perfectly. "Position the fingers on the string with the index finger above the arrow and two fingers below. The string should sit in the last crease of your fingers, the one closest to your fingertips." Cassie nodded, her body suddenly aware of the close proximity.

"Now you draw. Don't grip the arrow with your fingers. Pull back the string using your back muscles, not your bicep or arm. Pull back the string so that the index finger of the pulling hand is under your chin, and the string touches your nose and lips." Alec let out a shaky breath. "When aiming you use your dominant eye. Look down the arrow and align it with your target."

Cassie nodded and followed instructions. "Now what?" She managed to choke out, her voice raspy.

"Shoot."

The arrow flew from the bow and hit the bullseye. Cassiopeia let out a chuckle in disbelief and turned around to face Alec. The boy was closer than she expected and ended up not even an inch away from his face. Cassiopeia was 15, Alec was 17 so he had a bit of a height advantage. The blonde took a step back, putting space between them.

"Thank you," Cassie said. "Um, you're a good teacher."

"Don't mention it," Alec smirked. "You have potential." Cassie hummed. "You did that by yourself, I just told you what to do."

The blonde laughed genuinely for the first time with someone that wasn't Regulus. "Thanks," She said. "But I think I'll stick to my ring daggers and throwing knives."

"I've always wanted to learn how to use those," Alec admitted.

"Then why haven't you?"

"I don't know."

Cassiopeia chuckled and pulled out the throwing knives from the holster on her thigh. She passed one to Alec. "Well, then. No better time than the present." Alec smiled and took the knife from the blonde's hand.

And so, an unlikely friendship formed between the two. Alec and Cassiopeia would meet up after whatever they had to do in the day and train together without anyone else in the room. After a while, those platonic feelings that developed turned into something more. Unknowingly they started to gravitate toward each other, and everyone else started to notice. Including Alec's parents.

Robert didn't have a problem with the young girl. Maryse, however, was a different story. She wasn't completely against Alec having a friendship with the blonde, but once she noticed that friendship turning into something more, she wanted to put a stop to it. One day she pulled Alec away and showed her distaste toward the idea of Alec and Cassie being something other than just friends. Not directly, always just hinting at it. Eventually, Maryse got what she wanted. Alec is willing to put her wants over his own and deprive himself of being with the girl he fell in love with at 17.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

Cassie woke up from a nightmare. She managed to fall asleep for two whole hours. "That's enough sleep for tonight." She muttered and walked to her adjoining bathroom. The room was dark, she couldn't see anything causing her to stub her toe on the corner of the bed.

"Motherfu—" She grunted. "Ow." Ignoring the pain, she got ready. Cassiopeia put on her training clothes and tied her hair into a ponytail.

The blonde walked out of her room, running into a frantic Isabelle in the process.

"The mundie's leaving." Izzy sputtered out.

"He can't just leave." Cassie's eyes narrowed. "Go get Jace and Clary." Isabelle nodded.

Cassie ran toward the Ops Center, finding Simon making his way down the steps. She stopped right in front of him.

"And where do you think you're going?" Cassie smirked with her head tilted in question.

"I-I'm leaving."

"Does Clary know that?"

"Simon!"

Cassiopeia smirked again and walked out of his way, Clary quick to follow after him. The girl shook her head and tried walking away from the scene. Jace, who had just stepped out of the elevator, grabbed her wrist. Cassie laughed.

"Nu-uh. I am not going to take part in this little love triangle discussion," She snorted. "Good luck."