Clockwork City (The Mortal Instruments / Infernal Devices Fanfiction)

Chapter Two : The Institute

They walked into the main hall of the institute and Tessa looked around. Like all institutes, this one was built on hallowed ground. The church's stained glass windows some depicted with the Virgin Mary, others with Jesus and one with the Clave's symbol of four interlocking letter C's. Maryse had pressed a button on an elevator and it clanged to meet them. Maryse ushered Jem and Tessa into it and they clanged upwards.

The inside of the institute was basically the same as in the UK, Tessa and Jem followed Maryse into the kitchen where two boys sat throwing little objects across the table at each other, whilst a girl shouted at them to stop it. The girl looked just like Maryse, but she had a rounder face and longer limbs. When Tessa saw her, she was reminded - with a pang of grief - of Jessamine. Frazer came into the room behind them and offered Tessa and Jem a drink.

"Yes please Frazer, I'd fallen asleep when the attendants came past with the trolley." Tessa said, turning around as Maryse began shouting at the boys. Tessa heard the chairs scrape across the tiled floor and turned back around to see them leaving. The blonde one punched the dark haired one on the side and he fell sideways into the wall, before pushing the blonde one again. They continued this banter all the way down the narrow corridor that Tessa assumed must have once been a servant's corridor. They reminded Tessa of when Will and Jem used to do when Jem was in good health that day and Will was taking advantage of it. She looked at Jem in order to share the memory and saw his face had paled. Impulsively, she grabbed his hand to secretly check his pulse. It was racing.

"Jem," Tessa said, putting my other hand on his shoulder, Maryse turned around. "Jem, can you hear me?"

"Jem?" Maryse walked forwards and pulled out a chair.

"Please, Jem!" she begged, getting worried. His face was getting paler and Tessa feared he might pass out...

"Is he okay?" The girl asked, walking over to them. Jem sat down his eyes wide and his fists clenched. He was tense all over. "He looks like he's seen a ghost," she observed.

"Who-who is that boy?" Jem stuttered.

"Jace and Alec," Maryse said, handing Jem a glass of water.

"Tess, did you see him?" Jem asked pushing the glass away. Tessa had never seen him this terrified.

"See who?" She asked, pushing the glass back at him.

"Will."

Then he collapsed forwards, Tessa did her best to catch him, but he was too heavy for her to support him on her own. She sat down and cradled Jem's head in her lap.

"Frazer, help Tessa carry Jem to their room." Maryse said and Frazer lifted the unconscious Jem into his arms.

Tessa followed Frazer and Jem down the corridor and nearly tripped over a grey cat outside the door. It looked oddly familiar but Tessa was too busy paying attention to Jem to notice that it was following them.

Maryse knocked on the door of her room twenty minutes later to find Tessa curled up on the seat beside Jem's bed. She smiled when Maryse came in and got up out of the chair to offer it to her.

"Tessa, I do apologise--"

"What for?" Tessa interrupted, Maryse hung her head, "Exactly, don't apologise for something if you didn't know what happened. Jem's probably got jet lag, he'll be okay."

Maryse nodded. "We don't get many visitors," she said, looking around the room. "I asked everyone to help clear this room of boxes and dust before you got here," Tessa ran a finger along the dresser, it came up covered in dust. "I guess they just cleared out the boxes."

They both laughed. "Maryse, do you run this institute all by yourself?" Tessa asked, Maryse shook her head.

"No, my husband runs it with me, he's in Idris at the moment. I don't suppose you know what that is though, do you?"