gobble it up,

The young brunette looked up at the looming church in front of her. Growing up between Alicante and Seville, she had seen her fair share of churches. Some bigger than this one, some older than this one, but there was just something about this majestic, ornate cathedral that brought about an element of fear inside of her.

She had never been in this city before, she'd never even been in this country before and here she was suddenly moving here. Out of her comfort zone, into a giant church surrounded by people she had never met in her life. She had lost everyone she had ever known, everyone she loved and now she was being forced into a new family.

An entire family. Not just parents, but from what the Inquisitor had told her before pushing her through the portal at the Gard, also four children.

This was just going to be a disaster.

"Lena?"

Turning her head towards the door she noticed a Latina woman making her way towards her. She assumed this was the mother.

"I'm..."

"Maryse Lightwood. My new mother."

The taller woman looked down at her with a soft concern filled smile. "I'm your guardian because..."

"My mother was murdered, a year later my father committed suicide and you already have a penchant for taking in stray children."

Maryse's eyes widened slightly in shock before a small smirk moved at her lips. "Well, you're definitely going to fit right in here. Come on in."

And she turned, not waiting for the twelve-year-old Spaniard to follow her.

--------------

"You must be Lena."

The golden-skinned pre-teen looked up from the book she had been trying to focus on for the past hour, to see a blonde-haired boy, possibly younger than her, who was most definitely not Maryse's son. It was a physical impossibility for her to have a child so blonde and so pale.

She raised an eyebrow at the boy making his way towards her. "I must be."

She turned back to the book and continued to peruse the novel. She had already read it before meaning she didn't actually have to pay attention to the words on the page in front of her, but she wasn't really interested in the conversation that was about to take place.

"I'm Jace Wayland."

She let out a sigh and closed the book with a slam. "I know." Rising from her seat she made her way down the hall away from him, trying to remember the direction the room Maryse had given her was in.

"That's rude."

"So, sue me." She called over her shoulder, continuing her search and turning a corner leading to another corridor that looked exactly like the one she had just left with even more doors. She sighed internally, this was going to take a while.

"You're never going to find your room if you just keep wandering around."

"What I do is none of your concern."

"It is when I try to sleep and all I hear is you wandering around the building lost because you refused to accept the help you're being offered."

Stopping in her tracks, she sighed and crossed her arms over her chest. Spinning around on her heels she turned to face him, raising a slender brow at the smirk tugging at his lips. She pursed her lips slightly and glared at him with a look of pure disdain and loathing.

"Okay, how the hell do I find my room?"

"Ask Church."

Tilting her head to the left she looked at him with pure bewilderment, "You want me to ask the building where my bedroom is?"

"I want you to ask the big blue cat where your bedroom is."

She watched as he nodded his head, indicating towards her feet, where she noticed for the first time a fluffy Persian weaving its way in and out of her legs. Bending down slightly she stroked softly at the fur of the blue cat. She looked back up at Jace a soft smile trying to let itself free across her face. "You named your cat Church?"

"Nope. He's not mine, been here longer than I have."

She watched as he made his way towards her and bent down himself, his hand joined hers as they stroked the cats soft fur. She watched as he spoke to the cat in a reverent sort of tone. "Okay, Church. Show us to Azaria's room." The cat looked at both of them almost reproachfully before turning away from them and trotting off down the opposite corridor to the one she had been heading down.

Straightening up they both followed behind at a safe distance. "Church knows everything about this place. Ever need to find a room or someone that's here just ask him, he'll lead you right to them."

Lena fidgeted slightly at the blonde's side, struggling to speak two simple words. "Thank you."

He looked over at her, a soft rare smile gracing his lips as they came to a stop where the cat had stopped. She assumed it was her bedroom if the cat really was as smart as he was made out to be. "It gets easier you know, losing a parent."

She tilted her head slightly, so she could look up at him - a tear threatening to fall from her eye. "I lost my mum a year ago yesterday. I know how hard it is losing a parent already. I just lost my final one." She sniffed slightly as the tears fell freely down her cheeks.

She let out a sob as her legs almost collapsed her under and she slid to the floor the weight of her grief forcing her down. She felt as his arms wrapped around her, pulling her to his chest as the tears continued to fall. And she heard as he whispered two soft words into her hair over and over again.

"I know."