Isabelle Lightwood x Isaac Branwell [AU]

Who is Isaac Branwell?

Year: 1880

Henry Branwell was a forgetful man. He lived in a world entirely incomprehensible to the rest of us and that is why he often didn't notice things. He didn't notice that his thumb was in the way before he smashed it with a hammer. He didn't notice that his tea was steaming hot before trying it. He didn't notice when his clothes caught on fire.  He didn't notice that the woman he was seeing was pregnant. He did, however, notice when she left him. But it was too late.

The world was made to believe that the Branwell lineage ended when Henry took the Fairchild name. But the woman raised a genius little boy who would later on make significant contributions to the mundane community and carry on the Branwell name.

Year: 2010 [12 YO Isaac's POV]

Irrelevant. Unremarkable. Ordinary. These are the words he swallowed down bitterly while his father passed down pieces of family heritage in the dimly lit living room. Tales of the extraordinary adventures of his ancestors: teachers, doctors, and poets. Yawn. His younger sister, Lydia, loved them. He, however, was thoroughly unimpressed. But he never said anything. He was raised better than than. 

So every night his father's deep voice would lull him into a warm nap by the fireplace, until one day he heard a story that didn't make him want to throw himself into those flames. It was the story of Henry Branwell. Even though it sounded like a fantasy, his father swore every word was true. But then again, he had said the same about Santa Claus. And let's just say Isaac was less than impressed when he found out his father was the one eating all the cookies he left out for the no longer mysterious man in red.

When his father passed, Isaac decided to pursue the breadcrumb trail and discover the world of shadows. He was less than happy when he found out that he and his sister were the only Branwells left, and that his family name was long forgotten. He was about to change that. He would train hard and make his ancestors proud. He would make history.

Year: 2018

In his years of training, Isaac learnt the ins and outs of this shadowhunting business. Yet things didn't go quite as planned. Crushed were his juvenile dreams of slaying dragons and riding unicorns. What he had to do instead was fight the oh-so-annoying demons that kept coming back from hell to bite him in the ass. And that was on a good day. On an average day, he would sit in his office, attending to Clave business. See, the Clave decided that with his family's academic background, he would be more useful to them as a counselor. Oh how he missed the days when he could dose off by the fireplace. He would give anything to hear his father's voice one more time instead of Imogen's persistent nagging.  

In truth, he was very fond of the woman. After the tragic death of her son, Imogen Herondale took Isaac under her wing and supported him better than the extra pair of training wheels he had on his bike as a boy. She couldn't say exactly why she did it. Perhaps it was the way the light hit his blonde curls on a sunny morning that reminded her of how she would comb her baby's luxurious locks, or the way her heart sank when his teary blue eyes would mirror Stephen's. The Inquisitor in her wasn't proud when she made him the head of the London institute knowing that he was too young, but the mother in her felt that there was no one better for the job than her perfect boy.

But now she was going on and on about how she was getting old and wanted grand children. Isaac was going to point out that they wouldn't technically be her grandchildren, just some random guy's kids, which she could find anywhere on the streets, but again, he kept his mouth shut out of respect. He was really hoping that she would give up the idea soon though.

Year: 2019

Maryse Lightwood regretted a lot of things. She regretted helping Valentine. She regretted putting on the stupid pretty heels that tortured her feet. She regretted marrying her husband. There. She said it. She loved Robert once, but he broke her like no one else could. The glued pieces of the once shiny vase weren't fooling anyone anymore. The water had leaked through the cracks and the flowers in it were dead.

What drove her even more insane was seeing her kids make the same mistakes she did - relying on love. It would be their undoing.

So when she heard the rumors that Imogen Herondale was looking for a bride for her adopted son, she decided she'd kill two demons with one rune. She would get into the inquisitor's good graces, find a good match for her daughter, and put the light into the Lightwood name.