Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, they belong to the wonderful Cassandra Clare.

Clary had always had her big brother Jonathan, he'd always been there, they had been inseparable all their lives. No matter where one went, the other followed, and Jonathan would protect her to the ends of the earth. Her family was by no means big, but her name was known, she was a Morgenstern after all. Her name held power, or so her father had told her. He was a proud man, who was the complete opposite to her mother, who was a carefree loving lady, who loved the bones of her children. The only people she had in her life were the ones she shared her name with, other than her uncle Luke and best friend Simon.

If it wasn't Jonathan by her side, it was Simon. They bounced the safety of her between one another, and at first Clary worried they would of hated each other. Simon wasn't born into a powerful, or well known family, but in the early years of the Academy, they had become the best of friends. The knew each other inside and out. Something her father sneered against, but even against their parents, Jonathan had her back.

Idris was beautiful in the fall, the colours of the demon towers enhanced the autumn colours of orange and red. The trees in Brocelind forest were starting to lose their leaves, that now coated the ground with mass of crunchy colours. The Morgenstern manor stood outside of the walls of the city, and out into the countryside not too far from Lake Lyn. It was vast, and all of the room wasn't needed in Clary's opinion. She had her room which held her essentials and art and craft supplies. She never needed anything, but once again, her father was all about image. He wanted to be better than everyone else, to look better. Which indefinitely gave herself and her brother, not to mention her mother a bad name.
As she walked along the dusty farm track that ran adjacent to the forest, the darkness flitting between the gaps in the trees. She had a sudden urge to throw away the school day and go adventuring. She knew she'd find something worth while painting or drawing in there. The drawings and paintings that hung from the walls of the manor were all of the fields, manor houses, Alicante, the Academy or just her family and friends. But she wanted something new, something amazing, something that stood out. A low cough shook her from her thoughts. When she looked up her brother was looking down at her smirking, shaking his head in a knowing fashion. Her brother was the one in the family that definitely inherited the looks. His sheer white blonde hair was styled in a boyish fashion, swept away from his bright green eyes. Which in turn, she also inherited, but unlike her brother, he was admired. All the girls, and even some of the boys fawned over him. They treat him like he was Angel Raziel, and a lot of people used her to get to him.

"You're not going in there, Clary. You do remember what happened last time you came in contact with trees?" He was grinning mischievously now. She shoved his arm, and pouted up at him.

"Hey! You told me to climb that tree. It was all your fault I fell out of that tree and broke my arm." Jonathan snorted. He stood at least a foot taller than her, and he was all muscle. Clary could understand why girls loved him, but surprisingly he wasn't like the other boys of his age. He didn't throw himself at girls, or break their hearts. For that, she was thankful.

"Your falling out of that tree was your own fault. I shouted that certain boys name, and you went up like a meerkat! Well I should say down, really." Clary blushed furiously, and looked away from her brother, who in turn was laughing at her embarrassed state. Her brother knew of her long term crush, and how he found out was such a brotherly way. Considering she didn't hold a diary, her drawings were the closest thing to it, and he'd snooped a look. Resulting in finding drawings of him.

"Oh shut up! I didn't fall because of that.. The branch snapped." Jonathan threw an arm around her shoulders, as she pushed her messenger bag up her shoulder. A gift from Simon, when they visited New York on a vacation. He had gotten it from a mundane gaming shop. The design had a picture of a girl with flaming red hair, clutching a book to her chest, which Simon claimed looked like her.

"Keep telling yourself that! I know you like him, Clary. Why don't you just tell him?" Clary looked up at her brother dumbfounded, and is he was talking a foreign language. Then feigned a laugh, smiling. Her brother was definitely a joker, that was clear. He pulled her forward, as they set off down the path towards the city.

"Yes, I will definitely just go and declare my likings for a Herondale."she spoke out mockingly, gesturing with her hands sarcastically. "He'd never be interested in someone like me, he likes the pretty girls." Jonathan smiled down at her, running a hand over her crimson hair.

"Well that just means you're too good for him, because you're beautiful." Clary leant into her brother as they walked through the North Gate of the city. She could always rely on her brother to try and make things better, or try to make her smile. Even if she didn't agree on his opinions.

To the eastern side of Alicante, the Shadowhunter Academy stood proudly inside the wards of the city, it's spires of stone reaching almost as high as the towers. It's structure was built similar to an Institute, with an old Latin inscription above the door. Clary and her brother had to pass through Angel Square and past the Gard to reach their school. A path she knew all too well, like the back of her hand. She knew without a doubt she could walk it in her sleep.