Secret (Alec Lightwood)

Chapter 1

I put my duffle bag over my shoulder and take a deep breath as I close the door to my house. "Off to the Institute," I say to myself.

I take a look around, at the beautiful scenery that is Idris. My home. I'll probably never be back here. Unless I get like, a really important job, I won't have a reason to come back.

"Ready?" Isaac, a Warlock who I hired to open a portal for me, asks.

I nod, nervously. "Yeah."

He does some magic and opens a portal for me. "Just focus on the Institute."

I nod. "Thank you." I hand him his payment, then slowly step through the portal.

Almost immediately, I appear in what I really hope is the Institute.

"You must be Charlotte," a rather tall man with blond hair says while approaching me.

I nod. "You must be Hodge," I say while remembering the few letters he and I have sent back and forth discussing my arrival.

He nods. "We've got a room all set up for you."

"Thanks. Instead of showing me or something can you just tell me where it is? I kinda wanna be alone."

"Yeah, sure. It's right down the hall, up the stairs, third room on the left."

I nod again. "Thank you." I walk towards the small hallway leading from the room as the portal behind me closes. I go through the hall, up the only staircase, and look at the left wall. Once I reach the third door I open it and step inside.

It's not exactly a big room. There's a bed, a nightstand, a closet, and that's it. But it's pretty roomy. Probably for training space.

I put my duffle bag down on the bed and open the zipper, removing the few possessions I have. Clothes, a laptop with a charger, a small box, my phone charger, a bow, and my stele.

A light knock on my door causes me to jump and turn around.

A girl is standing in the doorway, along with a guy that's just a bit taller than she is.

"Hey," the girl says. "You must be the new girl. I'm Izzy."

I nod. "Charlotte."

"This dork is my brother Alec," she says while pointing to the guy behind her. He's actually kind of cute. No, no thinking about that. I came here to get stronger, not think about guys.

Alec stares at me for a moment before speaking up. "Hey."

"So, we just wanted to stop by and introduce ourselves. If you need anything, just let us know. Or if you want someone to train with. Or just to talk."

"She gets it, Izzy."

She chuckles. "We'll leave you to unpack." She drags her brother out of the doorway.

I turn back to my duffle bag and grab my small pile of clothes, bringing them over to the closet. I open it up and see a dummy leaning against the wall. I drag it out of the closet and put it into the corner of the small bedroom, then put my clothes away. I pull my dagger from my tall boot and put it on my night-side table.

I move my duffle bag to the floor and push it under my bed. I grab my stele as I sit down on the bed and twirl it between my fingers, as I normally do when I get bored.

After a moment I put it back on the table and pull out my phone. I go into my gallery and scroll through all the photos I've taken. Most of them are just the scenery of Idris, since it's so beautiful and I'll probably never see it again.