The Other Wayland

Something Bad is Happening

Jace's POV
The doors slammed shut and light unburdened laughter filled the institute. I, in my anger at my sister, dropped my weapons and ran to the door. Lizzie was standing in the atrium with Joe, they were both dripping wet and giggling like children.
"Oh hey Jace, we got caught out in the storm." She giggled again rain dripping off the ends of her curls onto the floor.
"Go change, you're dripping water all over the floor." I said harshly.
"Jace..." She pleaded with me with her eyes.
"No Elizabeth, I can't even look at you without almost screaming at you so please just go to your room."  She lowered her eyes and nodded dragging Joe with her. "No, he stays here. You go to your room. I'll come get you when I'm ready to talk." She frowned then shrugged and ran off to her room.
"We shouldn't have gone. She wasn't well enough. It was stupid." Joe said quickly.
"Did something happen?" I asked instantly worried.
"Can we go somewhere more private?"
----------------
The blonde girl walked head down along the corridor humming a tune to herself. The white of her shirt had gone see through with water revealing the scars along her stomach of old runes and the ugly jagged line across her rib cage. The skin around it a darker colour than the rest also spoke of scarring and scar tissue. She absent-mindedly ran a finger along it. It seemed like a habit. She stumbled and lent against the door frame before sinking to the floor.
--------
He stood in the library of the Wayland manner and turned to face his daughter. She faced him once again but in a white top that was sheer from water. He sucked in a deep breath in shock when he saw the scar running along her rib cage.
"How did this happen Ellie?"
"I was stabbed with a dagger of demon metal." She told him truthfully once again running a finger along it.
"How much damage did it cause to leave that much scarring?"
"I died. The blade didn't go in very far, in fact it got lodged in between two ribs, barely reached muscle but it was enough. It was agonising, the skin started to die around it and I ended up with sepsis. My heart stopped. Magnus Bane is the only reason I'm here now." She spoke with no emotions as if she was reading facts off a piece of paper, like it happened to someone else.
"I am so sorry, my darling, it was never supposed to happen like that." She looked confused. "I did not think it would cause so much damage, I did not factor in the possibility that your blood would react so aggressively to the introduction of anything else demonic."
"Anything else?" She looked shocked.
"A slip of the tongue, do not worry about it." He shook his head. He wasn't thinking. "I am sorry for the pain that I will continue to cause you in the coming weeks but it must be done. I must have you back as my daughter and under my control again. It is the only way to keep you and everyone you love safe."
"I don't understand what you mean."
"No you wouldn't because I never told you. You will wake up and will go to your room and you will change out of your wet clothes and wait for your brother as he requested. You will apologise for your behaviour and you will thank him for caring for you. You will not utter a word of this conversation to anyone. You will go about the rest of the night like nothing has happened. Then you must sleep. You are no use to me unwell. Do you understand Elizabeth?" He commanded in a harsh and unrelenting tone. She nodded her head. "If you do not do as I say, I will have to punish you. Do not disappointed me."
"I won't disappoint you." She repeated.
"Good now wake up, remember I'll be watching."
------------
Elizabeth's POV
I opened my eyes and found myself slumped on the floor of the corridor outside my bedroom. A pain danced along my cheekbone and along my forehead. I must have fell hard. It had happened again, and his words still rang in my ears. This had to be more than my brain just finding a way to cope. Something bad was going on and it scared me. I did what he said though and went into my room and pulled on a pair of sweatpants and a comfy cotton t-shirt. I wanted to make it stop though, I couldn't stand the thought of it happening again. I couldn't see him again. I needed to tell them both what just happened.
-------
Jace's POV
Joe sat across from me in the library nervously biting his nails.
"So what happened?" I asked prompting him.
"It's difficult to explain." He sighed and pulled a hand through his hair stressed. "She said she felt dizzy when we first came out of the cinema, she grabbed hold of me and it was like she was in a different world, like she couldn't see or hear anything that was happening. When she snapped out of it, she claimed it was because she was hungry but I asked again when we were eating and she told me that she saw your father when she was unconscious, that he told her that he wanted her to join him." He looked at me and his face was the picture of worry. "Then when we were outside the cinema, he talked to her again, that he said that you didn't love her but that he did and to let him find her." I took a deep breath, this was bad, this was really bad, no wonder she was being strange, I knew that I would be too if I saw our dad again. He looked like his heart was breaking when he spoke again, it reflected in his voice as well. "She thinks she's going crazy." His voice cracked. "And I am so worried for her, I can't stand to see her hurting but this is different. I don't know what to do. I don't know how to help her."
"I don't either. It could be an illness, the silent brothers couldn't find anything before but..."
"Joe..." There was a small voice from the door and Lizzie stood there looking like a small child, a fresh bruise criss crossing her cheek bone and forehead.
"Liza?" I looked back at Joe, his eyes were so full of love and sorrow at the sound of his name being said with so much vulnerability by someone that was never usually vulnerable.
--------
Joe's POV
"Joe..." Liza stood in the door way looking so tiny and uncomfortable. There was a new bruise forming along the side of her face.
"Liza?" I called out to her .
"It happened again."  She stated as tears started to fall down her cheeks.
"Come here." She walked slowly and carefully over to me as if she was unsure of her own feet. I pulled her into my lap and we hugged as I rubbed her back until her tears stopped. She sat up and moved onto the sofa. "I'm going to make you some tea and get you some ice for your face and then you can tell us what happened if you want?" She nodded and I kissed her forehead quickly before heading to where I found the kitchen before.
------------
Jace's POV
"As if tea is gonna solve anything." I muttered under my breath as he left the room. Lizzie let out a short laugh.
"He's English, he thinks tea solves everything." She sniffed and wiped her eyes. Joe came back a few seconds later carrying a steaming mug of tea and an ice pack. He pressed the ice to her face and set the mug down
"I put some sugar in there. It's good for shock." He sat down next to her. "Do you wanna talk about it?"
She nodded and took a deep breath. "Something bad is happening to me and I don't know how to make it stop."