Ember ↠ Paul Lahote ✓

01

𝐋𝐈𝐓𝐓𝐋𝐄 𝐒𝐏𝐈𝐓𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐄
though she be little, she is fierce.

CLARY SALTZMAN SPITS out the coffee she's drinking as she overhears her mother speaking. "I'm what?!" She growls, shooting to her feet. "I'm not going to some lame-ass town named after a utensil to live with a father I haven't seen since I was four!"

Charlie may be her biological father, but Alaric is the one who's been there with her through everything. She's been with him since she and her mother moved to Mystic Falls twelve years ago.

Even though it was hard living in a town chock-full of supernatural creatures at age four, she handled it quite well.

Clary had only been fifteen when she triggered her werewolf curse. She was out in the woods at a party with her boyfriend at the time.

He had come up to her, completely wasted, and tried to force himself on her. She had pushed him away hard, and he had hit a tree, breaking his neck instantly.

Since then, she's been a lot more moody and depressed than she used to be.

The redheaded girl stares at her mother in surprise and anger, glancing at her stepfather standing beside her. His twin daughters are off to the side, frowning.

Clary clenches her hands into fists at her sides as she feels her wolf howling in the back of her mind. "You can't just send me away when you know that mythical creatures are attacking my home! Our home! I have to be here to protect everyone."

"No, you don't," Emma, her mother, says sternly. "I'm the parent—I'm supposed to protect you, not the other way around. That's why I'm sending you to your father's. Who knows, maybe after all this time, you two will finally get to know one another. Even your sister, Bella—"

Clary cuts her off angrily, "Bella is not my sister! I don't even know her! Or Charlie! They're strangers to me! My sisters are Lizzie and Josie, and my father is Alaric. I don't need strangers to care for me. For fuck's sake, Mother, I'm sixteen and a hybrid—I don't need a fucking babysitter!"

"Don't speak to your mother that way, Clare," Alaric chides softly, sending her a scolding look. "Sooner or later, you'll need to see your father—to get to know him. Because whether you like to admit it or not, you need him and he needs you. I'm flattered you think of me as your father and the twins as your sisters, but so is Bella. Maybe you'll end up liking her—she's the same age as you after all."

"She's older by a few months," Clary responds, still noticeably angry. "I don't need them, and I don't need to go to their town. I'm perfectly safe, even with dragons and gargoyles running around. And I can take care of myself. If something goes wrong, I have Lizzie, Josie, and Hope by my side." She crosses her arms, huffing. "Them, you, and my mother are all I need to survive. This is my home—I'm not leaving."

"Clary..." Josie starts, moving over to her side with Lizzie trailing behind. "Your mother is only doing what she thinks is right. After Jace... I think you need a break from this place. You need a fresh start." She smiles softly. "If I could get away from you-know-who, I would. So you should go—experience something new. And when you come back, we'll be waiting."

Clary can't help but smile as she looks at Josie. She's the sweetest, kindest person she knows. She also has a mean, scary side—something Clary loves about her.

"That's why I love you so much, Jose," Clary says softly, embracing the brunette girl. A silently crying Lizzie joins the hug well. "Aww, Liz. I love you too."

The three sisters embrace each other tightly for a moment, not wanting to let go.

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HOPE WALKS INTO her combined room she shares with Clary, freezing as she notices the redhead packing her bags. "What's going on? Are you leaving?"

Clary is her best friend—the only person who accepts her for who and what she is. Besides, a hybrid and tribrid need to stick together.

"Mom is sending me to my dad's. I don't want to, but everyone is saying I should. Josie helped me understand what this means to my mom and Alaric." Clary approaches the tribrid, who is shaking her head. "I don't want to leave the school or you and the twins, but I have to. For them, and for me. I need this."

"No. You can't. You can't... just leave me." Hope shakes her head again, her lips trembling. "I need you here, Clary. I need you. You keep me sane—the only person who understands me."

"Hope..." Clary steps towards the girl. "You know I love you. You're the Robin to my Batman, the Winn to my Kara—you're literally my everything. I've known you since we were kids. You were new and also a redhead at the time, so I automatically liked you. We were partners in crime—we still are." She pulls Hope into a hug, resting her head on her shoulder. "You know I wouldn't leave you behind unless it was important."

The tribrid sighs and nods, letting her head fall against the redhead's. "I know... but you're all I have. My aunts and uncles don't even contact me anymore. They think I'm broken... that I don't need their problems in my life. You're the only one who cares enough to be by my side no matter what, even if I don't want you there.

"You've always been there, for as long as I can remember. You were there when my family couldn't come together because of the evil inside of me. You were there when my mother died, when we had her funeral, and when I triggered my curse. You were there through everything. It's going to be weird when you're not here anymore by my side."

Pulling back from the embrace, Clary smiles softly. "I'll always be here, whether it's in person or not. I'll be one call away, and if you need me, I'll come running, no matter what. Just like the twins, you're my sister, Hope. Alaric has basically adopted you. Well, he's basically adopted every child here, but you know what I mean. You three are the only ones I'm close to."

She lets out a humourless laugh, tears gathering in her hazel-green eyes as she continues, "God! I can't even... I'm so mad at my mother and Alaric for sending me away from the only home I know, from the people I love. I understand where they're coming from... but it makes me worry about the monsters that may come-a-knocking in my absence. I don't want to leave knowing my home and the people I love are in danger."

"Hey." Hope gently grabs Clary's face in her hands. "Don't worry about us. I'll protect everyone... even Lizzie," she says, spitting out the blonde's name distastefully.

Clary laughs. "I don't understand why you hate her."

Hope shakes her head. "I don't hate her—she's just a bitch."

"Just give her a chance," Clary pleads with watery eyes. "Please. For me. She's actually really sweet when you get to know her. She's just really sensitive and... hurt. She thinks Alaric gives you more attention than he does them, so she doesn't like you. And, to be quite honest, it's true."

Hope frowns at the words, but knows they're true. "Okay... I'll try to be nice... for you," she forces out with a small smile.

Clary beams. "Thank you."

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AS CLARY WALKS towards the small but crowded airport, she glances back at her mom, Alaric, Hope, and the twins.

They're watching her go, so she sends them a smile and a wave before walking into the building.

The tears Clary's been holding back finally flow freely down her cheeks as she leaves the only place she's ever called home.