Shadows in the Snow (A Shadowhunters Fanfic)

Chapter 14

After much nagging from a mix of Clary, Jace, Zach, Dad, Papa, and Rafe, Krystal agreed to a second year at the Academy; Krystal had planned to anyway, but for some reason, almost everybody thought that she wasn't going to go for another year.

Zach lugged his bags to where the portal was going to be opened. "I offered to help, Zach. But, big boy over here had to do it on his own." Krystal kicked over one of Zach's suitcase's and a mix of hurt and anger flashed across his face, "Gotta keep those muscles, you know?" Zach winked as he bent and picked up the suitcase, setting it back in place. "Ah, yes, because moving suitcases will put you in more shape than months of training." The two looked up as Kai, along with Inquisitor Highcrest walked up. Krystal straightened up, "Inquisitor Highcrest! How unexpected to see you here!" The Inquisitor smiled and waved off Krystal's comment, "Oh nonsense, Krystal. I was here last year to see Kai off, as well, but I believe I had just left by the time you and your fathers had arrived. Where are they, by the way?" Everybody looked around the entryway of the Institute, "They should be here soon. We can't get to the Academy without a portal, anyway, so we're kinda stuck here until Papa decides to arrive. Which, as we all know, Papa operates on his own time." The Inquisitor laughed and opened her mouth to talk but stopped just as the elevator doors at the back of the Institute opened and Dad, Papa, and Jace walked out.

"Sorry we're late, everybody. The meeting got a bit heated courtesy of the vampires." Dad sighed at Papa's remark as they neared the three waiting teenagers. Zach leaned in, "Don't even ask, Zach." Krystal knew what he was gonna say and cut him off before he could say it. After greeting the Inquisitor, Papa began working on the portal to the Academy, no times for sobby goodbyes, because of the meeting, the three of us were running late. "Oh, before you three go, we all got something as a parting gift." Dad held up a finger, something he often did when he remembered something then hurried up the stairs behind him. Zach and Krystal looked at Jace who had his arms crossed and just shrugged at their confused looks, Jace clearly knew but wasn't going to tell anything. Moments later, Dad returned with three boxes, each with their own respective family crests on them, "Here, open them." Each of the students took a box, looked at one another, shrugged, then opened the lids. "This is...New Gear? As in Brand New?" Zach stared wide-eyed at the shiny black leather gear folded neatly in front of him, and the twin sets sitting in front of Kai and Krystal, who had equally shocked expressions on their faces. Kai looked up, "Gear is expensive these days. Not that we're not grateful, don't get me wrong, but..." Inquisitor Highcrest gently smiled and shook her head, "Don't think we didn't take note of the state of the gear of your gear when the three of you came home. It was so beat up it would barely last a week at the Academy. Besides, normally by your fourth year, you're wearing gear almost on the same level as to what Jace wears." The Inquisitor gestured at Jace, who, in turn, gestured at the black gear he was dawning. "Such a sweet moment, all my dear lovelies, but the portal is open, and the children are late. Time to go. Jem told me Tessa has been in a foul mood the past two weeks, I'd rather not face her wrath." Magnus called out over the blast of wind from a portal, then began ushering the teenagers through the portal.

Evelyn practically tackled Krystal when the three of them popped out of the portal. "Roomie! It's so good to see you! By the Angel I missed you!" Admittedly, one of the things Krystal had forgotten was how strong Evelyn was. Krystal struggled and patted Evelyn's back, "Evelyn...AIR..." Pushing off, Evelyn nervously swept a strand of purple hair from her face, "Sorry, Roomie! Just missed you so much and." Her gaze drifted up to Zach, then slowly at Kai. Krystal had told Evelyn about Kai, but she was slow to accept it still, "Zach." Rolling her eyes and sighing, Krystal stood up and walked over to Kai, who stood near Krystal's things. The two stared each other down, two animals daring the other to make the first move. Kai took Krystal's hand and Evelyn tensed, "Oh simmer down, will you, Evelyn." Zach clamped Evelyn's shoulder, but Evelyn didn't release her gaze from Kai's, neither did Kai. Krystal and Zach looked at each other, unsure of what to do. "Treat her well, Highcrest, or I swear." Evelyn pointed a finger at Kai, narrowing her eyes at Kai, who returned the look and tightened his grip on Krystal's hand. "Evelyn!" Evelyn looked at Krystal, who had a shocked expression on her face, the fact that Krystal's roommate would do that shocked her beyond words. Breaking the stare, Kai looked at Zach, "I heard we're roommates this year, guess we're stuck with each other." Zach held up a hand and the two high-fived. Krystal let out a sigh of relief, Evelyn and Krystal had been paired together again, hopefully, Zach and Kai won't kill each other.

After the welcome-back dinner, per Kai's request, Krystal snuck off to meet Kai at the edge of the forest.

Kai was lounging up on a tree branch like a cat when Krystal found him and chucked a stick at the trunk to get his attention, "Comfortable up there?" Nearly falling, Kai quickly composed himself, then hopped down, landing gracefully on his feet. In the darkness, Kai was just a shadow that loomed over Krystal, Kai had a good three inches on Krystal. "Letting out my inner wild cat, that's all." Inclining her chin, Krystal plopped down on the ground, Kai following suit, "So, why did you ask me out here?" Kai was looking up at the night sky, his amber eyes shining dramatically in the darkness, almost as much as Papa's shone whenever he got upset or just plain emotional. Crossing his arms behind his head, Kai's eyes narrowed to slits, "I wanted to talk about...Well...Us..." He turned his head to meet Krystal's gaze. Krystal sat up, slightly worried, "What? Is something wrong?" Kai silently laughed, shaking his head, and didn't move from his spot, "No, what I mean is how we want to go about our relationship during these two terms. Because I know you don't like having all eyes on you, and you've done a good job keeping them off you, even though you're the daughter of both Magnus Bane and Consul Lightwood. But if word about or relationship gets out in the Academy, it will spread like wildfire, and all eyes will be on both of us." Krystal shifted uncomfortably, then turned and hugged her knees to her chest, resting a cheek on one knee. Shrugging, Krystal sighed, "The thought honestly hadn't crossed my mind."

Kai sat up and put a reassuring arm around Krystal, pulling him towards her. Krystal was incredibly tense, which was rare, Krystal was a person who was confident in themself, but this was a conversation that the two needed to have. "I don't mind the gossip...Even if Stephannie tries to come after me like she undoubtedly would. Besides, looking at our schedules, you and I have a lot of classes together since second and third years share classes so I say we just go for it." Krystal's face was warm. The plan that Krystal just presented formed as she spoke, literally one word after the other. Kai sighed, his chest rising against her shoulder, "Are you sure about that? I won't push anything if you don't want to." Krystal met Kai's eyes and smiled, then nuzzled his nose, "You told me I need to work on my people skills, don't I?" Kai bent his head, placing a brief kiss on her cheek, "Not quite what I meant, but, sure." Krystal giggled and rested her head on Kai's shoulder, locks of snow-white hair covering his shoulder.

The First Day of Classes

The bell was about to ring and there was no teacher. All the students were murmuring wondering where the teacher for Dark Magic studies was. Kai, who was holding Krystal's hand under the desk, sighed, "Maybe it'll just be an hour and a half of all of us doing absolutely nothing." Leaning forward, Kai propped his chin on his free hand then looked at Krystal. Those words might as well have been shoved down Kai's throat because just as the bell rang the door to the classroom slid open, and Krystal's heart stopped. "By the Angel." Papa sauntered into the room and took his place behind the podium, his presence immediately filling the room. Papa gestured at all the students, "Ah, young Shadowhunters, apologies for my lateness, old habits of seven hundred years never die. But, that aside, I, the great Magnus Bane, am going to be your guest teacher today. Your normal warlock teacher had some...Urgent business to attend to, so I stepped in." Papa made a dramatic bow and as his eyes drifted up towards Krystal and Kai, the two quickly unlinked their hands.

Admittedly, Papa did make class significantly more engaging and entertaining, that was just his teaching style, Krystal thought, but it was hard to focus at times because Kai and Krystal had to act how they did last year: like they absolutely hated each other.

Once class was over, Krystal gathered all her things and started to leave, but Papa wasted no time in pulling her aside. "Snowflake, you looked distracted the entire class, is something wrong?" Papa put a reassuring hand on Krystal's arm, gently squeezed. Kai walked out of the classroom, meeting Krystal's eyes, though Papa didn't catch, "No, not at all, Papa. It's just been a long day, is all. The first day is rough, with the exception of exams, plus, I was paired with Zach in my training class, which felt like going a million miles a minute. And seeing you caught me off guard. But, I'm fine, really. I'm happy to see you, though, don't get me wrong." He sighed with relief, though Krystal wasn't entirely sure Papa had bought it. Over the years Papa had mastered reading his children like books, "Well you know you can always send me or Alec a fire message if you need something, alright, Snowflake?" Nodding, Krystal hugged her Papa and walked out of the classroom. She could tell this school year was to be an interesting one.