The Legacy

Untitled Part 1

Wayland.

Morgenstern.

Herondale.

Lightwood.

Growing up as a Wayland, talking like a Morgenstern, looking like a Herondale and behaving like a Lightwood.

"Who am I?", Jace kept asking himself. With time, the question became more frequent until it crawled under his skin and it was the only thing that he could think about.

Who is Jace, indeed?

The performer sat onto the piano stool. Long skilled digits ran across the keys filling the room with emotionless melody, cold and distant.

Despite growing up as a Wayland with which family he felt nothing more than inborn attachment, Jace had no similarity with the famously known weapon maker family. His hands were meant for something more.

Jace had never met the real Michael Wayland or any other Wayland. He had no idea what the Waylands were like and if he had something in common with them. With the revelation that Jace is, in fact, a Morgenstern, the Wayland family was officially extinct.

Gradually, the melody became intense, wild and loud. The fingers stumbling across the keyboard irresponsibly, pressing rapidly and harshly on the keys.

"To love is to destroy..."

The words of Valentine Morgenstern were the ones that Jace was uttering. Being raised by the devil itself did not make Jace any less of a monster.

"...And to be loved is to be the one destroyed."

It was Jace's famous mantra. He would repeat it over and over, convincing himself that hurting people not only that is right, but it is inevitable. In fact, it was foolishness that Valentine filled his head with.

The music suddenly stopped and a heavy sigh was the only sound to be heard. The pianist stood straight in his seat, preparing himself to start from the beginning. This time, the sound that the piano was producing was low and fragile, slow and filled with sadness.

Yet, only sight of Stephen Herondale's photograph is enough to convince anyone that Herondale blood is running through Jace's veins. Same blonde hair and same facial features as Stephen. Even the same star-shaped birthmark on his shoulder. Both of his parents died even before he had released his first scream. It had been a lifetime ago, but Jace still grieved that he had not been offered a chance to meet them at least. During the dark time when Jace believed he was a Morgenstern, he had met a Herondale. Her name was Imogen and she was the Inquisitor of the Clave. She was his grandmother. Jace watched her die on Valentine's ship, the moment she realized who Jace really is. Before that, she felt nothing less than pure hatred for Jace for he was a son of the man responsible for Stephen's and Celine's death.

The music progressed, shaping and painting a different kind of emotion. It was relaxing, jovial and warm. Even the pianist seemed to be at peace while delicately pressing the keys, showing how love sounded to him.

The time spent with Lightwoods were of great importance for Jace. With them, Jace learned the true values. He learned what love and family are. The Lightwoods were the only family that he had ever had. They took him in and accepted him as their own. For a ten-year-old boy who had just witnessed the murder of his father, love and care were what he needed and what he deserved.

The pianist ceased playing. He was sitting a bit longer before he stood up and left.

Son of the notorious zealot, brother of the caring Lightwoods or heir of an old noble family of heroes?

Jace will have to decide eventually.