Chain of Iron

Chapter Thirty-Five

Lucie awoke the morning of her seventeenth birthday, to the sound of pots and pangs clanging from the Institute's large kitchen. She groaned, tiredly, and shifted around in her bed, wanting more sleep. She had gone to sleep very late the night before as she had assisted James and Cordelia with cleaning up after their ball and Lucie did not feel like rising early. She checked the pocket watch she kept on her bedside table and saw that it was not early at all; it was nearing noon.

Lucie sighed and then the door to her bedroom was thrown open and her mother and father came strolling in, wide smiles on faces. Her mother was holding a grand white gown and lay it down on the trunk at the foot of Lucie's bed, and her father was holding a small box with a blue ribbon atop it.

"Happy birthday, Lulu." Her father grinned.

"Happy birthday, my sweet." Her mother followed in suit, bending down to kiss her daughter on the forehead.

Lucie smiled bashfully. "Thank you both."

Her father then excitedly handed Lucie the box in his hands and instructed her to open it. Lucie did and gasped at its contents; it was a leather-bound notebook. Some of the finest leather Lucie had ever seen and a brand new fountain pen. Lucie knew that this gift must have been very expensive and she bounded out of bed to hug both of her parents.

"Oh thank you!" She exclaimed as she embraced her mother. "I love it!"

Her mother chuckled happily. "Your father and I had noticed that your regular notebook was becoming quite full."

"Now," Her father clapped his hands together, his bright blue eyes gleaming with mischief. "You must put on this lovely gown your mother has brought you and meet us in the gardens."

"Why?" Lucie asked curiously.

Her father shook his head. "It is a surprise, Luce. Hurry down!"

Her parents then shot her one last smile and then left Lucie's room so she could get ready. She chuckled at her father's dramatics as she changed into the white gown; he had always been that way for as long as she could remember. Lucie put on the dress and looked at herself in the mirror and with a start she saw that it was a mundane wedding gown. It reminded her awfully of the wedding dress Isabella had worn in The Castle of Otranto - a character from her favourite novel. Lucie then styled her hair neatly so it was falling down her shoulders and then made her way down to the gardens. It seemed like a beautiful day outside and she figured that her parents wished to go on walk.

Lucie then walked into the back gardens of the Institute and was startled by a big group of people yelling "Surprise!" at her. She blinked a few times, a smile coming to her face, as she recognized the people in the crowd. James, Cordelia, Jesse, Matthew, Thomas, Christopher, all of her aunts and uncles and her parents, There were, of course, many other people present but those had been everyone she could recognize right away. And, Lucie noticed, they were dressed as literary heroes. So that was why her dress had reminded her of Isabelle; she was meant to be her. Her parents had thrown her a surprise birthday; Lucie felt happiness flow through her.

"Happy birthday, Lucie!" Cordelia ran up to her and hugged her.

James then embraced his sister and Lucie took a step back to study both of them and then gasped.

"You are both dressed up as Cordelia and The Cruel Prince James from The Beautiful Cordelia." Lucie felt herself beam with happiness.

James grinned widely. "Of course we are. We had to dress up as the characters from your novel for your party, Luce."

"It is only fitting." Cordelia finished, smiling warmly.

Lucie embraced them once again and then walked around her party to greet everyone. Her mother and father had dressed up as Sydney Carton and Lucie Manette from A Tale of Two Cities; their favourite novel and Lucie grinned at them. Uncle Gabriel was dressed as Ernest and Aunt Cecily was dressed as Cecily Cardew from Importance of Being Ernest and they gave her a new Stele with her initials carved into it. Cordelia gave Lucie a charm bracelet with charms that represented all of their inside jokes and adventures together; Lucie had started crying while Cordelia had explained it.

"Oh, please do not cry, Luce." Cordelia spoke, her own eyes welling with tears. "If you cry, then I will begin to cry as well."

Lucie only chuckled and sniffled at her but nodded. James had bought her a new typewriter to which she had been delighted; hers had not been working as well as it once had. Lucie then had moved onto Matthew who was dressed up as Dorian Gray from his favourite work by Oscar Wilde; he had given her a trunk full of new dresses. They were all made from the finest fabrics and she felt shocked.

"Oh, Matthew," Lucie started, wide eyed. "You should not have gotten me so many. One would have sufficed."

Matthew shook his head, dramatically. "I will not hear it, Lu. It is your birthday and I wished to do something nice for you."

Lucie only smiled warmly and hugged him. Lucie then found herself sitting on a bench by the fountain in the garden, observing the party. James and Cordelia were eating cake and laughing about something and Matthew looked deep in conversation with Thomas and Christopher. This had been the best birthday her parents had ever given her and Lucie felt so very grateful as she looked over at them. Will and Tessa were standing together; her father was smirking at her mother who was only blushing and rolling her eyes at him. Lucie had always thought that her parents had a very young sort of love - that they had never lost the wild teenage spark that left many couples as they grew older.

"There you are." A voice spoke then. "I have been looking all over for you."

Lucie turned her head to the side to see Jesse standing there. He was dressed up as Mr. Rochester from Jane Eyre and he held a small box in his hands. Her cheeks heated at the sight of him; Jesse looked so very handsome and he took a seat down next to her.

"Where have you been this whole time?" Lucie asked, smiling.

"I was speaking to Christopher and Thomas for awhile and then I spoke with Uncle Gabriel." Jesse replied.

Lucie smiled at his words. Jesse had become quite close with Thomas and Christopher, as they were his cousins, and she felt glad to hear that he was having a relationship with his uncle as well. Jesse had not seen Grace, as it was too much of a risk for now, but he did not seem to mind so much. Lucie had initially had been afraid that Jesse would have a hard time fitting in when he first arrived at the Institute, but everyone seemed to love him. There was never a moment where he was not speaking to someone and laughing.

"I am glad to see that you are having relationships with your family." Lucie told him.

"I would never have gotten the chance to if it had not been for you, Lucie." Jesse smiled at her softly. "And I am forever grateful towards you."

She only blushed and then Jesse placed the small box in her hands.

"Happy birthday." He said to her. "Open it."

Lucie curiously opened the lid of the box and her eyes widened as she held the contents within it in her hand. It was a silver ring with a blue pendant in the middle; the blue was the exact same shade of her eyes and it was one of the most beautiful pieces of jewelry she had ever laid eyes on. The pendant seemed to have many layers to it and it sparkled and glimmered under the sunlight.

"Jesse." Luce breathed. "Oh this is beautiful, you shouldn't have."

"Yes, I should have." Jesse spoke lightly. "The least I could do was get you something nice for your birthday after everything you have done for me, Lucie."

Lucie slid the ring onto her ring finger on her right hand. "I will always wear it. It is this most beautiful item that I own. Thank you, Jesse."

He gave her a bashful smile and Lucie felt her heart flutter. Her birthday felt complete now; Jesse had been the icing on the cake. As she gazed at him, Lucie felt a strange feeling overcome her and realization crashed through her. It had been there all along, from the moment she had first encountered him in his ghost form, and it explained why she had been so desperate to bring him back. Lucie was in love with Jesse Blackthorn.