Faded Runes |Alec Lightwood|

~PROLOGUE~

Alec awoke in his cold bed. Even though no one else slept there anymore, he balanced on the edge out of habit. His wife would snuggle into his back, either tracing his strong back muscles lightly with her finger or do the same with his stomach, as Alec was always scared that he would squish her small body. Even though she was small, she could pack a punch and the wall of fire that lay behind her eyes when she fought was the thing that made Alec begin to fall for her.  

However, she wasn't there anymore. He was worried about squishing nobody. He now did it just to trick himself in the morning that she was there -- every morning his heart would lighten at the thought of her being there, only to fall again when her side of the duvet was untouched. This morning, however, something felt different. His heart didn't feel heavy, only his red eyes. 

He looked around the room as he slipped out of the bed, his feet hitting the cold floor, the duvet falling from his torso and falling to his waist, as he studied the room. All her clothes were still in the wardrobe and most nights Alec would snuggle with one of her favourite articles of clothes -- if he really tried, he could still smell her natural scene wrapped on the cloth. His eyes then landed on her vanity. Both her and Izzy would get ready together, laughing and giggling together. He could still hear the echos in the room. 

His eyes then landed on her bottle of perfume that sat on the white wood. He had bought three new bottles since her death, spraying it around the room each morning and night. He walked towards the vanity, his mind slipping back into the numbing routine. Four months ago, they would still be snuggled in bed, not needing to get up until midday, just talking and laughing together. 

When he got in front of the vanity, he sprayed the perfume into the air, letting some of the drops fall onto him as he closed his eyes and tilted his head up, breathing deeply in as he let her scent consume him, ignoring the single salty tear that trailed down his cheek. He slowly turned back around to place the perfume onto the wood as he went back to his routine. He glanced at himself in the mirror, his hair had grown longer in the three months, and somehow even more unkempt. He remembered the way she would run her fingers through it whenever he was sad, or she was sad, or just before they fell asleep. 

There were large purple bags placed under his eyes, he had only just started to get 6 hours of sleep a night. Though the nightmares seemed determined to stop that. It was supposed to be his mission. He remembered her shouting at him when he told her about it -- she said he wouldn't make it back. He had ignored her worries and dismissed them, that was the first time he awoke to an empty bed. 

His eyes lowered to what he did every day, trace his two wedding rune. He had to see the one on the back of his hand every day, the one over his heart, however, was wrapped in cloth during the day. They had placed the runes upon each other on the night of their wedding, tears of happiness slipping down their cheeks. Now, however, it only earned a sob when he saw them both grey. 

Only, this time, it wasn't. The intricate lines that made the rune had bled into black, boldly standing out on his skin as his heart lept into the air as he stumbled closer to the mirror making sure that he did see what he think he saw. Suddenly, he ran to the door, throwing it open before going to search for his family. He had never given up, and this time, it worked in his favour. 

<->

Jace awoke not in his own room but in his sisters' childhood room. The room had enough memories to chase the nightmares away. When Alec and Sophie married, Alec agreed to change his room so they could stay in his. Agreeing to add a vanity and move his clothes into a chest of draws so she could have the bigger wardrobe.