FROM THE SHADOWS

[10] REMINISCENCE

Maryse led her through the Institute and into an office. Her office. Mabel wasn't sure what Maryse wanted with her, but this felt eerily similar to the first time she got called into the principal's office. She was so nervous and unsure of what would happen and the trouble she was in that she'd had to keep her legs from bouncing. The times after that, she'd known what was coming and wasn't nearly as nervous, but that first time always stuck with her. Even the way Maryse sat down behind her desk, with hands folded in front of her and her stern expression reminded Mabel of her old principal.

"Have a seat."

It wasn't a question and Mabel decided to do as told. And while she did listen and sat down, the tilt of her head was defiant and she refused to look away from the intimidating stare she was given. She may have been kicking herself for going off against Maryse Lightwood earlier, but that didn't mean she didn't fully stand behind the things she'd said.

Mabel had a few theories on why Maryse had led her into her office, but all of them flew out the window the second she saw the corner of her lips twitch into a small smile.

"By the angel, you look just like her."

Mabel blinked. "I'm sorry?"

"Your mother." Maryse's eyes narrowed a fraction as she truly looked at Mabel, almost as if she was just now seeing her for the first time. The young Shadowhunter felt like Maryse was looked straight through her. "From the nose and the hair, right down to the stubborn look in your eyes. Of course, Angela never knew how to keep her mouth shut either, but I always quite admired that about her."

A lump formed in Mabel's throat and she tried to swallow past it. This is not the direction she expected the conversation to go in and she felt wholly unprepared. It was like Maryse had pushed her off balance and she struggled to regain her footing.

"You knew my mother?" Mabel had never heard anyone talk about her mother. Her father only talked about her if she asked but he didn't want to remind her of that loss, so he never spoke freely of her. The only other person in her life who'd even known her mother was Jocelyn and she never spoke about anything relating to the Shadow World. This had included her mom. To hear Maryse talk about her was strange and jarring and yet Mabel had to push down the excitement that threatened to bubble up at the thought that someone else might hold a puzzle piece of who her mother had been.

Maryse didn't hide her smile this time and though it was small and sad – the way it was when you thought about a loved one who was gone – it was definitely there. "Angela Rayhorn. She was top of her class in the Academy, took down a hoard of demons by the age of sixteen, and was the only person I'd ever met who could backtalk the Clave and walk out with her head. She was the very first person to leave the Circle and see Valentine's plans for what they really were. She even informed the Clave and anyone who would listen. Every Shadowhunter who was alive back then knows who your mother is. She planted the first seeds of doubt about Valentine." Maryse met Mabel's eager eyes. "She was my best friend."

Mabel had been hanging onto every word but at the last two of them, her jaw dropped. "You were best friends? Really?"

"Is that so shocking?" The sharp, raised eyebrow should've been intimidating, but Mabel didn't blink twice. She was too preoccupied processing all the new information about her mother and the knowledge that Maryse Lightwood had been her mother's best friend.

"I don't think you want me to answer that," she murmured.

Maryse huffed out a breath and shook her head. "Just like your mother." She pushed her chair back and rounded the desk to lean against it.

This drew Mabel's attention back to her. She'd gotten so wrapped up in the information about her mother, she'd almost forgotten that she'd called out the Head of the Institute less than an hour ago. Somehow, knowing Maryse was close to her mother once, made it worse.