Brothers by Blood (Alec Lightwood twin)

Chapter 35

*Max's Rune Ceremony*

NO ONE'S POV

A Silent brother stood next to what looked like an alter at the end of a long room in the Institute. Aside from the large, stained glass window at one end, it was quite plain. However, it had been decorated with four standing chandeliers, two on each side, forming what looked like an aisle.
Along with the Silent Brother, there were six other people in the room as Max entered it - his mother, his four siblings, and Clary. On the left side, Maryse was closest to the alter, and to her right was Isabelle. On the left side stood the boys and Clary.
As Max got closer, Alec, as his eldest brother and the eldest male attending, stepped out from where he was standing before to meet Max, and began walking him towards the alter. As Alec walked him towards the alter, Max looked at Jace as he passed him, and Jace sent him a smile and a wink. Even though Max had hurt him badly at the party, he wasn't going to ruin Max's big day because of it. Once Alec and Max got to the alter, Maryse stepped towards Max, a proud smile on her face, putting a hand on his shoulder briefly before everyone turned to the Silent Brother.
"To the Angel I entrust my life, and vow to uphold the laws of heaven.
I take this mark to honor Him, to bring His light into me, and vow to uphold the laws of heaven. So I may join the ranks of the Shadowhunters the guardians of peace." Max recited the vow he needed. He then pulled his sleeve up as the Silent Brother took a stele and began drawing the Angelic rune on his arm. Once it was finished, everyone went over to congratulate Max on his first Rune.

*Later*

Clary, Ben, Alec, and Jace were conversing at one end of the hallway after Max's Rune Ceremony.
"The ceremony was beautiful." Clary commented.
"Yeah, Max did great, huh?" Jace said, proud of his little brother.
"Didn't even flinch." Alec said with a smile on his face. Jace then noticed Maryse pacing at the other end of the hallway. He looked at his siblings and sighed.
"Give me a minute." He said, excusing himself from the conversation and making his way over to his adoptive mother. She turned to him as he approached her.
"Maryse, look, I-I just want you to know that-" He began, but she cut him off.
"I don't need any more apologies." She said, her tone almost harsh. Jace looked down, not meeting his adoptive mother's eyes. "Because you don't owe me one." She continued. He looked up at her in surprise at what she was saying. "I don't regret taking you in for one second." She told him in a kind yet serious voice, a look of pride on her face as she gazed upon her son. Jace looked at her with hope in his eyes. Was he really a part of the Lightwood family? "Max was totally out of line, because I have been out of line." She stated. She then took a step towards him and rested her hand on his cheek in a gesture of pure love and affection, something she hardly ever gave her four elder children. "As a parent, your greatest hope is that your children don't inherit your worst traits." She said, her eyes not leaving his. Jace smiled softly at her and was comforted in the knowledge that, no matter what happened, no matter who his biological parents were, Maryse Lightwood would always be his mother and the Lightwoods would always be his true family.
"Yeah, well, Max is still young. Impressionable. You can still steer that ship straight." Jace replied with a smile. She smiled back at him at chuckled slightly before she dropped her hand from his face. Just then, the twins walked over to their brother and mother.
"Max says that you and Dad have been fighting." Alec said. The smile disappeared from Maryse's face at that statement and she sighed. "About me and Magnus." He continued. Both Ben and Jace looked between their brother and mother in confusion.
"Max doesn't have any idea what's going on between your father and me." Maryse replied.
"Then what is it?" Alec pressed. She looked at each of her sons and then paused.
"I didn't want to burden you all." She began, taking a breath in and out as if she were thinking of how to phrase the news. Her eyes began watering.
It then dawned on Alec. The snapping and tightness in her voice whenever their father was mentioned, the hurt on their mother's face that she was constantly trying to hide, the fact that she wanted more than anything to make amends with her children, the look on her face right now.
"Is Dad cheating on you?" He asked. Tears filled her eyes and her strong façade finally broke. She looked down and then up at him as if to confirm his statement.
"Bastard." Jace exclaimed. She then began wiping some stray tears that had escaped her eyes.
"You can't tell Isabelle. She worships Robert. I can bear it, but it would destroy her." Maryse told her sons, still wiping tears. Almost in sync, Alec and Ben enveloped her one of their twin-hugs that she loved so much – Alec hugging her from the front, and Ben from behind. She then burst into tears.
"Come stay with us. You and Max. You don't have to go back to Idris or Dad." Alec offered, still hugging his mother.
"Oh I wish I could stay. More than anything." She said through her tears. There was a pause before both twins released her. "But I have to get back to the Clave." She said.
"Why? Let Robert take care of that." Jace suggested.
"Everything's different now because of Clary and the Sword. I can't let my problems interfere with my duty. Not now." She told them. Her three eldest sons nodded at this, even though they hated the idea of their mother having to endure even more pain than she already had and their youngest sibling having to endure the constant fighting between their parents. Maryse Lightwood may be one of the strongest Shadowhunters they knew, and they were all proud to call her their mother, but, as just demonstrated, she too had her breaking points and moments of weakness.