Trapped in History

5

The next morning had Jace awake early. He had barely managed to sleep, too anxious, although having Alec in the next room, breathing, alive, and safe was definitely helpful. He still woke up far earlier than what Alec would have liked, he knew. While he had never truthfully managed to sleep well, it was far worse now. Even though he was not on Valentine's ship, had no way to go back and, more importantly, Valentine had no way to come to where he was he still found himself fruitlessly plagued with nightmares. It was ridiculous, if someone asked him. It was coping, if someone asked Alec. Jace also knew that Alec could tell that he was not sleeping well, and would likely demand to know what was wrong the moment that he woke up. He wanted to sigh. His Parabatai was his other half, and yet sometimes he wished that he had not burdened him so much.

Before Jace had come to the Lightwood house, while he was living with Valentine, he had always wondered what having a brother would be like. He had thought that it would certainly beat sitting alone in his room, avoiding his father, and having to hear nothing but himself. He had not been permitted to speak with the servants, so Jace was often alone. His childhood had always been particularly lonely. Alec, well the other had changed that. While Jace had not really been too certain that having a brother figure was the best thing when he had first moved into the Lightwood residence, and while he was fairly certain that the other had hated him for a good long while, it was also just nice to have someone else to talk to. Jace had never really had that before. 

Although...at times it could be more of a nuisance then a blessing. For instance, Alec always just knew when he was hiding something. Whilst he knew that there was a certain part of that which had to do with the Parabatai rune, there was another part which was just Alec knowing Jace, and knowing the type of person that he was. Either way, it could be vitally aggravating having someone who knew everything before you even managed to come up with a half way decent response. It was not like Jace could never trick Alec, but it did complicate things quite a bit, something which was rather aggravating more often than not. Not to mention a good portion of the time he just did not want to trick him, which really complicated matters. 

Alec would likely not be up for another hour or two, at the very least however, and so until then Jace was alone, and far too restless to just sit in his room like a good boy. He could not blame Alec for needing his rest. Valentine had kidnapped him and held a knife at his throat. While Alec had not been seriously injured, and Jace knew his father would never actively harm the only tool he had to gain leverage on Jace, he was well aware that such things definitely would wear a person down, after all he had first hand experience. Not to mention Alec had lent Jace quite a bit of his own stamina to activate the healing runes, instead of having Jace use his own because his was too low to even try to begin to activate anything. The other was exhausted, and Jace would not wake him up early just because he was restless and bored. 

So, the next best alternative was to wander around the London Institute. While he was not entirely certain that it was going to hold anything interesting, he knew Alec would loose his cool if he knew that Jace had tried to leave the institute, and there was just no way that Jace wanted to deal with a lecture from the young Lightwood. They were...the worst. Jace figured the best time to wander the institute would be in the early morn because it was less likely that he would run into anyone, and not to mention, he would not have that servant girl, Sophie or whatever, following him around. He got the impression that she did not really like him, although he was not entirely certain as to why that was considering he had never met her before in his entire life. Perhaps he reminded her of someone she detested. That was more likely. 

Not to mention, if Jace and Alec were to be stuck in this time and at the London institute for the foreseeable future, something which was looking ever increasingly likely, Jace figured it could not hurt to wander around and familiarize himself with the place. Though the layout seemed fairly similar to the Brooklyn Institute, he could not really take any chances. One never knew when a secret passage, or a hidden tunnel could spring up on you. Furthermore, while it seemed to be similar, he had only been conscious and aware of his surroundings when he went from the medical bay to the rooms on the second floor. Not exactly enough to make such assumptions. 

It would also give him something to do. He was stuck cooped up in this institute, and he may as well make the most of it. So he did, and with his decision made, he made his bed with precision, dressed himself in the clothes that he had worn the day before, (he had cleaned them along with Alec's as they had no other belongings and he figured Alec would not be too happy to have to wear old clothes) and left the room quietly. 

First taking a random stroll down the hallway. He paid close attention to the rooms of import. The library was on the third floor, as it was in the institute back home, and there were many other similarities. The offices, the sparring rooms, and the dining hall were all in the same places that they had been in his home. 

What was different was the music room. In the Institute back home, it was on the forth floor, not too far from the meeting halls. In this one, it was tucked away on the ground floor, far from the sparring room and the meeting rooms, and even the guest rooms. Jace wondered why, but did not really dwell too much on it.

He felt his fingers itching to play. As though...drawn to the blasted instrument, Jace moved towards the piano, idly trailing his fingers across the top. He exhaled a breath, which trembled and shook. His body seemed to be possessed by cold shivers all of a sudden as he sat down on the bench seat. He placed his fingers across the pieces, pausing, wondering what he should play. Contemplating if he really wanted to play at all.

With a deep, shuddering breath...he pressed down.