Shadowhunter

Consequences

     "You blatantly disobeyed me!"  Jace, Isabelle, Alec, and Hodge stood in front of Camille with disapproving looks.  Each of them, except for Jace, who was flailing his arms in all direction, had their arms crossed.  Camille also had her arms crossed.  Her head hung to the side in boredom.  She had changed from her risque purple cocktail dress and replaced it with a pair of comfy grey sweatpants and a solid black V-neck.  Her eyes glimmered as she tried to hold back tears of humiliation.  Her eyes were still lined in black, but her lipstick had faded away after wetting her lips in anticipation all the way home.  Her hair fell lazily on her shoulders.  Jace paced in front of the chair Hodge had sat her in. 

"What made you think this was okay?"  His accent was strong on his last word.  He stopped pacing and stood in front of her with his eyes wide, impatiently waiting on an answer. 

"I don't know."  Was all she muttered.  Jace scoffed and continued his pacing and flailing. 

"What were you thinking?"  Asked Hodge feverishly. 

"That's just it, she wasn't!"  Alec cut in furiously before she had a chance to retort.  Her eyes flickered in the low lamplight provided by the lamp on Hodge's desk.  "Don't think this will go unpunished!"  Alec continued.  He walked closer to her and stood beside Jace, who had stopped moving slightly taken aback by his parabati's uncharacteristic authority.  Alec's eyes never leaving hers.  She had finally reached a fever pitch.  She jumped out of her chair and stood in front of Alec in a surge of confidence. 

"You are not in charge of me, Alec!  I am fifteen years old!  You are not that much older!!"  Jace grabbed a hold of both of her shoulders gently and sat her back down in the chair.  Knowing each of their tempers combined could result in someone with a black eye.

"What has gotten into you?"  Isabelle was appalled.  Now all three of them were standing in a line, glaring at Camille. 

"I just wanted to be like you guys!"  Camille let a tear slip out by accident.  She angrily brushed it away without making eye contact with any of them.

"You are just like us,"  Isabelle started calmly, but Jace held up a hand.

"No, she's not like us at all."  He said.  This was like a icy knife to the heart.  She stared at him in surprise.  "We were raised with patience and we were taught to be obedient.  You have just proven to me tonight that you are not ready to continue going on hunts with us anymore." There it was, the twist of the knife that would've brought her to her knees if she was standing.  Alec and Isabelle both looked stunned, completely drained of the anger they felt minutes before.

"Jace!"  They said in unison.   Camille forced her emotions to look unfazed as the pain withered her insides minute by minute.

"If that is what you wish,"  She stood up and curtsied.   "Your Highness..."  She smartly smirked and walked out of the library, where she immediately let every tear go.  She sat at the foot of her bed and grabbed one of her pillows.  She had always promised herself that crying is a sign of weakness, but losing the trust of someone she loves and looks up to put her in a very weak state.  She buried her head into the pillow and let out a scream of frustration that turned into a violent sob.  The words of Jace replayed in her head like a skipping track.   This night could not possibly get any worse. 

A moment later there was a gently rap at the door.  Before she could deny them entry, they were already in the room.   She didn't look up from the damp cushion she held in her lap.  She couldn't let the intruder see she had been crying.  A gentle, yet firm, hand rubbed a patch of Camille's shirt.  If it was Jace, she was seriously going to kill herself.  

To her relief, it wasn't.

"You know Jace always says things he doesn't mean..."   The sound of Alec's soothing voice filled her ears.  a sudden ease washed over her.  Camille shook her head without removing it from the cushion.  "It's okay to cry..." He said calmly.  "It proves that you're not solid rock inside."  She lifted her head slightly so that she could see him.  His rune-stained neck was visible above his grey V-neck he was wearing.  His stark blue eyes stared down at her fragile body with discontent.  Camille's gaze wandered down to his forearm.   A fresh rune was positioned on a deep, open cut.   The rune had not completely taken full effect yet. 

"What happened?" She picked her head up so fast, the pillow bounced out of her lap and onto the floor.  Her fingers wandered the the cut without touching it, she grazed her fingers over the sensitive skin around it.  He winced slightly as she did.  She looked back up at him apologetically.   "I'm sorry I said those things to you.  I really do respect you.  I was just angry."  She had the feeling of regret lodged in her throat.  She really didn't mean a word she said to him, it was the anger taking control.  

"You know that was a very dangerous thing you did earlier."  He said while ignoring her apology.   She swallowed hard around the knot in her throat.  "You lied to Hodge and you disobeyed Jace. That's not like you, Cami.  Why?"  He was the only person who called her 'Cami'.  To everyone else, she was Camille.   Although, she liked it that way.  Camille shrugged her shoulders and avoided looking at him.  "Cami, look at me!"  He suddenly sounded cold.   "Answer the question, you're going to have to answer Jace eventually, so why not get it straight now?"  She looked back at him with regret.

"I had a feeling..."  She muttered under her breath.  Alec looked at her with a cocked eyebrow.

"A feeling?"   He questioned.  She nodded. 

"I had a feeling something was going to happen to you guys.  You were going to meet someone. Someone who would try to hurt you.  I couldn't let that happen.   I wanted to be there so that I can see for myself that you were alright."  She stood up and handed him a brown leather bound book.

"Your journal?" He breathed as he opened it.

"Every time you go on a mission without me," She watched him as he looked through the pages. Every page had something scribbled on it.  From runes to words.  "I get scared.  Scared that I will lose you guys like I lost my father.  Once he died, my mother blamed me."  Her words stung her tongue like poison as she spit them out.

"Is that why you followed us? To make sure we were safe?"  Alec repeated looking through pages and pages of protection runes.  It all became clear to him. 

"That's why I followed you."  She she answered.  He nodded and jumped from her bed.  There was a strange look in his eyes.  Urgency.
I have to tell Jace before he screams at her!  He thought as he ran out of her room, leaving her standing there dumbfounded and confused.

About an hour after Alec ran out of Camille's room, Jace entered, without knocking.  He didn't say a word, he sat on her bed and looked at her with a slight smile.  His elbows were rested on his knees.  His hands folded in front of him.  She didn't know what to do.  She opened her mouth to say something, but his words interrupted her. 

"I realize that you were not a complete idiot for following us tonight,"  He took a deep breath and continued.  "And even though I am touched by the sob story you fed to Alec, that does not excuse you from being grounded.  Dangerous acts like that, even if they have good intentions, are still not going to go unpunished to make you think they're okay."  The little hope in Camille's heart vanished with every spiteful word that came out of his mouth.  "You will not be hunting with us for a week."  He stood up and walked towards the door without another word.  Camille was relieved that he didn't punish her too bad.  She moved over to her bed and slipped under the cool covers.  The feeling of depression was eating at her stomach.  He turned to the door and paused.  "You are also forced to eat Isabelle's cooking for a week." He grinned wickedly as he reached for the light switch.  A smile formed on her lips. 

"I hate you." She stuck her tongue out at him.  He smiled widely and shut off her light, closing the door behind him. 

Her thoughts raced before exhaustion took over her body.  Okay, I can't disappoint Jace like that again... Her thoughts told her.  Definitely not Alec, either.  I love them.  What if they send me away.  They wouldn't do that.  They love me.  Jace loves me.  I can't be another burden.... I can't.... I won't. And sleep fell over her troubled thoughts.