Chain of Iron

Chapter One

The sunlight that was streaming through the window was harsh and bright and Cordelia had to blink several times to adjust her eyes. It seemed to be a sunny day outside in London which was a rare sight; it was usually quite gray and dull and Cordelia already knew it was the perfect day for a walk. She yawned and stretched her arms out and then hopped out of her bed. Cordelia sat down at her vanity and began to brush her hair and could not help but allow her mind to wander as she readied herself for the day.

It had been one month since and her and James' engagement party and everyday still did not feel like real life. Cordelia spent much of her days at the London institute, training with Lucie but also spending time with James as they had to make it seem as though their engagement was real. Sometimes, Cordelia was able to pretend that James really was in love with her -- that he had really asked her to be his wife and that they were going to live happily together for the rest of her life. Although, every time she laid her eyes upon the silver bracelet that lay on his wrist, it was a cold reminder that it would never be. Cordelia made herself forget about this though; she had one year with James and she would not let herself waste it.

After dressing herself in a dark red dress that seemed to bring out the redness of her hair even more, Cordelia walked down to the main floor and into the dining room where her mother and Alastair sat eating breakfast. Sona was busying herself over stacks of papers while Alastair was simply staring off into space, completely disregarding his breakfast. Cordelia had noticed that ever since her James' engagement, something had changed in him but she could not put her finger on what exactly it was.

"Good morning." Cordelia greeted as she sat down next to her brother.

"Good morning." Sona replied, looking up at her. "What are your plans for today?"

"I am going to go see Lucie and James at the Institute." She was not sure why her mother even asked, this was what she had done almost everyday.

Sona beamed. "You know, Cordelia, I am still so pleased with your engagement to James. His family is an honourable one and one day you might even become the head of the London Institute."

Cordelia felt guilt course through at her mother's words. I will not be married long enough for that to ever happen, she thought to herself. She hated lying to her family about her arrangement with James but she knew it had to be done; her mother would be broken when she would eventually divorce James but she would move on.

"All I have ever wanted was to be married to James." That, although, was not a lie and Sona's smile grew wider.

Beside her, Alastair only remained silent and Cordelia looked at him worriedly but did not say anything. She knew that there was no point in forcing her brother to tell her something that he did not want to; he would come to her when he was ready. But that did not mean that she did not worry for him. Risa then came into the dining room and handed Cordelia a slip of paper.

"A letter came for you, Miss Cordelia." She spoke.

Cordelia thanked her and looked down and immediately recognized her future Parabatai's handwriting. Lucie had informed her to meet her and the Merry Thieves at the Devil Tavern; at this news, Cordelia quickly ate and bid her family goodbye. Alastair only nodded his head at her and Cordelia frowned as she exited the room. What could be so wrong with her brother?

* * *

The Devil Tavern was nearly empty as Cordelia entered it; only a few Downworlders sat drinking and murmuring to each other. Cordelia guessed that many were not fond of drinking early in the morning. She walked up the stairs and entered the Merry Thieves' designated room. Thomas was sprawled out on of the sofas, lazily watching Christopher who was sitting on the floor messing about with a collection of beakers filled with some sort of purple liquid. Lucie was sitting across from them, an amused expression on her face as she watched her cousin pour the purple contents into a separate beaker, a notebook and pen in her lap. Finally, James was cuddled into an armchair, a book in his lap, his gold eyes studying the pages intensely.