Shadows in the Snow (A Shadowhunters Fanfic)

Chapter 4

Later that Night

Out in the dark -and damp- streets of New York, Krystal wandered around trying to clear her head and avoid any patrols that her father had undoubtedly sent looking for her. Although her Anti-tracking rune was activated, she kept a special eye out for Uncle Jace who had always been unnaturally good at hunting her down, thanks to Max always scaring her out of the house with his magic and Alec calling for reinforcements to find her. Krystal knew the backstreets and alleys well enough to know exactly where the shadows hit the walls and dumpsters and how to use them to her advantage. As Krystal neared the entrance of an alley near The Hunter's Moon, she spotted a flash of gold on top of a rooftop and froze. Jace was on her trail.

Slowly Krystal began to back into the alley -after activating a silence rune- when she ran into what felt like a warm, solid, wall. Krystal slowly turned around and met eyes with her brother Rafe, a mix of fury and worry swirling in his eyes. "Are you ever NOT going to cause trouble in our household, Krys?" Rafe shook his head, sighing, "You're lucky I found you before Jace did. He would've taken you to Dad and you would've been in much more trouble. You're lucky that I'm on my way home from a patrol and Papa sent me a fire message and I happened to have your necklace, which you dropped during training today by the way, so I was easily able to track you myself and take you home instead of the Institute." the two siblings stared each other down, debating on either what to say or how to act next. Krystal shifted her feet and looked down at them, her shoes beginning to soak through from the wet streets of New York, she must've stepped in some small puddles without realizing. "I'm sorry, Rafe. It's just...Something happened today at the Institute today that I just couldn't handle...Or process and I freaked out." looking up to her big brother, she gripped his hands, "Please, just take me home." Rafe nodded and took his sister's trembling hand.

Rafe and Krystal took their time getting home so Krystal could explain the events that unfolded at the Institute with Kieran and the deal she was forced into making with her uncle. With every new detail, Rafe's already clenched fists clenched tighter and tighter to the point where Krystal thought the skin would tear.

To say their parents were angry would be the understatement of the century. Papa's cat eyes were glowing as bright as stars and Dad had thrown a glass vase on the floor in anger on the floor. "What do you think you were doing, Krys!? Do you KNOW of the dangers on the streets at night? Downworlders, demons, if you got in a fight you'd come out hurt and it'd be a while before we found you!" flames burned like Hellfire in Alec's eyes as he lectured her. Rafe sat quietly on the living room couch, Magnus silently leaned against the kitchen counter. Krystal flinched, avoiding her father's gaze before Magnus spoke up, "So, while everybody else was looking for you, Nightblossom." Magnus pushed away from the counter, putting a hand on Alec's shoulder to try to calm him, then looked at Krystal, "Alec and I decided that it's best for you to go to the Academy, where you can be kept under control and under watch. You'll be in good hands and-" Krystal didn't let her father finish, her head shot up and she stared her father directly in his glowing cat eyes, "The ACADEMY!? Are you kidding me? That's where rich kids and flunk-outs go! But you're going to send me so I can be kept guarded like some...some PRISONER?!" the two just stared at her before Krystal stormed off to her room. Rafe slowly stood up, "I'll handle this." with that, he silently walked down to his sister's room.

Clary had spent time teaching Krystal how to paint over the years and Krystal never had the heart to get rid of any of the paintings -good or bad- she created with her teacher. The walls were covered with various paintings, portraits, and rough sketches. Among the madness was a TV that Krystal rarely used but was a gift from Simon because Simon decided she needed to know what Sci-Fi was. Near the small window that overlooked the street, there was a blue rectangular desk that had a computer along with a stack of books she used for studying various things for her training. Her queen-size bed -an upgraded gift from Magnus when she turned ten- was covered in throw pillows and blankets of various sizes and colors and at the foot of the bed was a simple white bench with a throw pillow on either side of it. The walk-in closet -also a gift from Magnus- magically fit into her room to the right side of her bed, stretching about ten feet back. To the left of the bed was a small vanity -that she rarely used but Magnus insisted she have- and a small stool in front of it to sit on.

Krystal was sitting on her bed, reading a book called The Lightning Thief, not wanting anything to do with the world of Nephilim at the moment. There was a silent knock on her door and Rafe poked his head in, "Can I come in?" sighing, Krystal closed the book and set it next to her, "Even if I said no, you would anyway. Your superiority complex is off the charts when it comes to entering Max's and I's rooms." Rafe flinched at that statement but walked in anyway. Silently, he made his way to the bench at the end of the bed and turned halfway towards his sister, resting one arm on the edge of the bed. Krystal lowered her legs, which she had been using to rest the book on while she was reading. "Listen, I know that you're upset, and I understand. Dad and Papa sending you to the Academy might seem like a bit of a harsh punishment but-" Krystal snorted, "A bit? They're sending me to a farm in the middle of nowhere, Rafe. What could be worse than that?" Rafe simply closed his eyes and sighed before continuing, "You have to understand, Krys, that they love you and don't want to see you get hurt. You're not trained enough to protect yourself properly out on the streets and you keep putting us into these situations by running away and today was just the last straw for them." he shifted on the bench, playing with a loose thread on one of the blankets, "Think of it this way; at the Academy, you'll have a chance to make lots of new friends, train alongside somebody other than me, NOT have to deal with Jace. It's your own personal paradise." Krystal smirked and sat up, "It'd be nice not dealing with Uncle Jace for a bit."

As the night droned on, the two siblings kept talking and talking, Krystal's mood slowly lifting as her brother told her stories from his days in the Academy. "What about Max? Did Max enjoy his time at the Academy as well?" Rafe's eyes widened as he chuckled, "Max was...A...Special case to say the least." Krystal, having moved forward and sat cross-legged, inched even closer to her brother, who had moved onto the bed and was sitting across from her, his long legs stretched across the bed, "Because Max is a warlock, things didn't click as easy for him but he was part of the Downworlder Program which Dad had started when he became Consul so he was stuck there. Max was there for a total of four years, though if you ask him, he'll say he had fun, making friends with people from all the Programs and taking part in activities the school held. Papa wasn't too convinced, but as his older brother, I knew he was telling the truth." Rafe leaned forward and placed a hand on Krystal's knee, "If Max, a downworlder had fun at the Academy, Krys, I'm sure you, a half-downworlder half-nephilim can have fun as well." that gentle, warm smile that Krystal hadn't seen in a while spread across his face and some of the uneasiness she had been feeling left her body. Outside the door, distantly, Magnus called out, "Rafe, it's getting late! Go to bed already!" the two laughed quietly before Rafe got up and left the room, giving his sister one more reassuring smile and closing the door.