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The Cabinet meetings had become much more robust over the past two years. Alec had to relocate from the small conference room near the basement of the New York Institute to the large ballroom that was typically reserved for Clave-related gatherings. Alec had improvised: he managed to get a large, rectangular table to seat each Cabinet member as well as some accompanying shadowhunters. Magnus had to lengthen the table (with magic, of course) at least four times over the past few years. The reason being that more institutes, wolfpacks, vampire clans, high warlocks, and members of the Seelie court had become interested in the political peace that had recently formed between New York’s Institute and the local downworlders. Eventually, this interest spurred action and the majority of the East Coast’s respective leaders decided to join the Cabinet, as well as the high warlock of L.A. and the leader of the Seattle vampire clan (the largest clan in America). Word was spreading fast and Alec was frantically trying to keep up with everyone’s demands.
After about a year, Alec began requesting that the heads of the East Coast Institutes attend the meetings as well (or, at least, send a representative). He needed everyone to be on the same page, especially when drastic changes were taking place (i.e. the vampires requesting to set up blood donation centers of their own, instead of just continuing to steal from Red Cross). Alec knew that, while his progressive mindset was spurring New York in the right direction, he couldn’t force the hand of the other Institutes. Therefore, he needed their input to strike a balance with every party involved in this new age of diplomacy.
This was becoming exceedingly difficult with each monthly meeting. There were more members appearing each time. Word travelled fast when someone in a position like Alec’s was being civil to the downworld.
Currently, Alec was sitting at the end of the large table, glancing back over his list of items that needed to be discussed over the course of the next few hours. It was a lot, and he wasn’t looking forward to hashing out the logistics of any of them. He had to keep reminding himself that the bigger picture, the unity of these two worlds, was worth the headache that came alongside these five-hour debates.
His daughter was worth these five-hour debates.
Alec cleared his throat and looked up at the large group gathered around the table. He made a point of introducing himself to each new member every month; so he, at the very least, recognized everyone in attendance. A few faces stood out though, of course.
Lorenzo was the first member that Alec took any notice of. Alec spotted him three chairs down, smiling coyly at the young fairy knight sitting next to him. Lorenzo made it his personal mission to make Alec’s life a living hell during these meetings. During the first few meetings after Magnus had been booted from the position of “High Warlock”, Lorenzo had been punctual and pleasant. He hadn’t brought a lot of input to the meetings, but he hadn’t objected to much either.
Things quickly changed after his and Magnus’ fight outside of Hunter’s Moon. He was obnoxiously late to every meeting, answered phone calls the entire time, and objected to anything Alec had to bring to the table. The man became insufferable. The only reason he’d eventually become more cordial was simply due to the growing number of people attending the meetings. Lorenzo didn’t mind if Luke or Raphael saw how spiteful he was being, but he didn’t care to ruin his immaculate reputation with his fellow high warlocks. Now, he only made subtle digs at Alec when he could sneak them in, as well as continuing to sanction Magnus out of business. Alec drew the line when Lorenzo tried to overtake the warding duties at the Institute. He may be High Warlock, but everyone knew who held the true power in Brooklyn.
Alec didn’t think Lorenzo would stir up much conflict today; too much of it would be going against his own interests. The other warlocks would definitely notice.
Across from Lorenzo sat Raphael, looking solemn as ever. He complained every time Magnus came to deliver his invitation, but he had yet to miss a meeting. Raphael was speaking softly to another warlock, a young, blonde woman who looked to be about sixteen (in reality, she was around two-hundred-and-fifty years old, give or take). Her name was Elizabeth and she was the High Warlock of D.C. She was an immensely kind woman and often gave Alec excellent advice about cooling things down during particularly intense discussions. She was also on Alec’s side when resolving issues, the majority of the time. Since Magnus could not attend these meetings (well, he could, but he'd insisted that it would appear as unnecessary favoritism), she had become Alec’s source of comfort and stability during these heated discussions.
She chose that moment to look up and give Alec a soft smile of encouragement. Alec nodded back, happy to have her close to his side of the table.
Luke was there, of course, as well as Meliorn and one other knight from the Seelie realm. They all sat together, discussing, what Alec assumed, was the first topic to be brought up during the meeting. It had, after all, been Luke’s idea.
The majority of the shadowhunters sat grouped together at the other end of the table. They typically only spoke up to object. There were, however, two of them, the head of the Miami Institute and a representative from the New Jersey Institute, that tried to back Alec’s progressive ideals. Alec would take all the support he could get, no matter how sparse. Downworlders may have different ways of approaching the issues that arise during the Cabinet meetings, but at least they all had one end goal. The Clave, on the other hand, almost always refused to listen to reason.
Speaking of…
Alec cleared his throat again, this time a bit louder. Conversations died out and the members began turning their attention towards Alec. Elizabeth smiled in encouragement, and Alec gave her a tight-lipped smile back. He stood from his chair so that he might see everyone in attendance.
“Welcome,” he began. “I’m glad you all could make it. I’m happy to see all of our old members, as well as some new faces here today. I’d like to personally thank Joshua Smith, leader of Pennsylvania’s most prominent vampire clan, and Hee Kim, High Warlock of Miami for joining us this evening.” Alec gestured towards each guest as he spoke their name, and most everyone at the table nodded in greeting.
“There are three items on the agenda for this evening,” Alec started again. “The first subject to address was an idea brought to me by Luke Garoway, leader of the New York pack. I will allow him to direct the meeting for the next few hours, as he has been working diligently on the logistics of this idea over the past few weeks. Luke,” Alec began, shifting his gaze to the man in question, “are you prepared to address the Cabinet?”
Alec knew he was; they had spent many weeks going over the details of this plan together, but he could not forgo formalities for friendship. Especially given the rapid pace of growth that the Cabinet was experiencing; Alec needed this group to excel in both progressive and diplomatic ideals in order for anything to come of it. If he wanted the impact of these ideals to last longer than his lifetime, he needed to build a solid foundation. He knew he could not be there to watch over his husband and daughter forever, but he could leave them with a world that would continue to love and accept them, just as he did.
Luke cleared his throat, and began:
“Yes, thank you,” he paused briefly, nodding to Alec before directing his gaze back to the group in front of him. “It has come to my attention, in my years as a pack leader, that while the wolves and the vampires may have their own initiation processes for those undergoing transition, the shadowhunters are often left out of the loop. This makes it difficult for the downworld when a fledgling or young wolf gets out of hand, as they are told immediately after their transition to be trepidatious of the shadowhunters. This is not done without cause. Shadowhunters are known for their rather abrasive ways of dealing with rouge downworlders. They are taught to be physically reactive in desperate situations, often leading to the death of young downworlders.”
“I am not here to point fingers.” He stopped to look at the shadowhunters at the end of the table. There was a rising, palpable tension in the room and Alec hoped he wouldn’t need to step in and deescalate the situation. He wanted Luke to be treated with the same respect and dignity that the attending shadowhunters gave to him. They were all equals at this table, he had made that clear many times.
Luke continued to speak.
“I am here to suggest that the shadowhunters shift their resources and man-power towards deescalating situations when called upon for transition missions. I believe this could be done with proper training and support from local vampire clans and wolf packs. We would like for the shadowhunters to work with us in getting the new downworlders to a safe and comfortable environment, as opposed to reaching for the last resort during their missions. Fledglings and newly transitioned wolves are scared and vulnerable individuals; I don’t believe their first days as downworlders should set precedent for their character. I also believe that, with our combined forces, we could keep them from doing things that they’ll regret later. If we could build trust within our own communities, then I’d eventually like to see downworlders calling on the shadowhunters to help in these types of situations. The shadowhunters offer strength and structure that could be a huge asset in calming our young downworlders.
"This would also establish a good first encounter that the new downworlder has with the shadowhunters. Eventually, the young generations of both groups could grow to rely on one another. However, I understand that this is an ambitious goal. This is why I’d like to hear everyone’s concerns and improvements that could be made before executing this plan.” Luke ended, looking around the table to gauge everyone’s reactions.
Arguments erupted immediately, as they often did at these meetings. The shadowhunters were affronted, which was channeled through accusations and the occasional racial slur. The representative from Philadelphia was being especially crude, going so far as to make a remark directed at Alec, questioning the way he ran his institute. Alec had cut him off before he could finish his sentence, advising the older man to keep his criticism constructive or else refrain from making remarks entirely. This earned Alec a scowl, but the shadowhunter kept his comments short and to-the-point afterwards.
The vampires were torn. They would appreciate the extra manpower, but they feared the site of a fledgling needing blood might be viewed as more hostile than what the shadowhunters were used to, inciting their protective instincts as soon as they arrived at the scene. The wolves, for the most part, appeared to agree with Luke; they appreciated the long-term goal of a strong relationship between the downworld and the Clave. They wanted more respect than they had received in the past, both from the downworld community and the Clave.
The warlocks held no strong opinions on the matter. “Our people are born, not made,” was a point brought up by Lorenzo in a sort-of sneering remark, which Alec took note of hastily. It would make a great segue into his next point of discussion.
During the next two hours, nearly every downworlder and some attending shadowhunters had made their opinion on the matter known (aside from the warlocks, who began to look increasingly bored). Magnus had pointed out earlier that, though noble as Luke’s cause was, the Warlocks had witnessed this idealism pop up a few times through the ages. While it was a lovely idea, they were going to need to see repetitive action taking place, particularly on the shadowhunters' end of things, before their interest was piqued. Thus, Alec was prepared for the disinterest on their end during the duration of the meeting. However, he did hope to salvage it with the next topic of discussion.
About an hour into the meeting, Alec felt his phone buzz in his jacket pocket. He had informed the members of the Institute not to call him during the Cabinet meetings unless the situation was dire, but he went to check the caller I.D. before making a rude exit, just in case.
It was Magnus.
Alec shifted uncomfortably. He knew that Magnus wouldn’t be contacting him unless it was something important, but he also knew that Magnus was no stranger to butt-dials. In the end, Alec decided to take it; there were too many times that the both of them had been in desperate situations and Alec knew it would eat at him the rest of the meeting if he didn’t take the call. However, before he could make a move to excuse himself, there was a knock at the door and one of the newly recruited shadowhunters popped their head in.
He looked frantic.
“I, umm, I apologize for interrupting. But I need Mr. Lightwood-Bane,” he said, glancing nervously around the room until he spotted Alec. “It’s an emergency," he finished, staring wide-eyed at Alec, and then glancing back down at his shoes. He was barely fifteen, and Alec knew he probably felt rather intimidated staring down this many downworld leaders in one room.
Alec stood quickly, apologizing for the interruption and asking for a fifteen minute recess. Then, he hastily followed Steven out into the hallway. When they rounded the corner, he spotted his husband and daughter standing off to the side of the Ops Center.
As soon as Magnus spotted Alec, he picked up the little girl and ran towards him.
“I’m sorry,” Magnus started out, breathlessly. “I’m sorry. I tried Izzy, and then Jace. And then your mother. But I can’t get anyone and Cat needs my help. There’s been a terrible accident. A mundane wreck of sorts and Cat’s not strong enough on her own. I need to go, I’m so sorry.” He looked into Alec’s eyes, pleading that he’d understand.
“Hey,” Alec softly replied, trying to calm his husband down from his wired state. “Hey, sweetheart, it’s okay. Don’t worry about it. It’s okay.” He smiled at Magnus, opening his arms to indicate that he was ready to take Ari out of Magnus’ grasp. “Go do what you need to do. We’ll be okay, won’t we baby?” The last part of his sentence was directed towards their daughter, who just stared up at him with her large, brown eyes.
Ah, he forgot.
He started again, this time speaking to her in Korean.
“Dumpling, Bapak needs to go take care of a few things. Why don’t you come hang out with daddy for a bit, hmm?” Alec asked, leaning down and reaching for his daughter. She smiled and reached out to Alec with little webbed hands. Alec scooped her up, then leaned down to give Magnus a brief peck on the cheek. “Don’t worry about us, Magnus. Go help Cat," he said with a reassuring smile. Ari had already tucked her head under Alec’s chin and was eyeing her surroundings with a wary look. Alec didn’t bring her here very often, with good reason. He knew she stuck out like a sore thumb and he also knew she hated any excessive attention spent on her. She was extremely shy.
They had acquired Ari a few years ago. She was just shy of turning two when the New Jersey Institute (with the help of Magnus) had barely saved her from drowning along the Jersey coast. According to the official records, her mother had tried to get rid of her by tying her ankles to a sack of rocks and dumping her about a hundred yards from the shore. Luckily for Ari, her warlock mark was little webbed hands and feet, excellent features for swimming. Additionally, she had an affinity for water. Magnus had noticed quickly, in the first few days of watching over her, that she was in her element near water. She loved baths and she drank so much water that she constantly had a little pooch protruding from her stomach. It also meant she was so full of liquid all the time that it was like pulling teeth trying to get her to eat. Alec eventually gave up and started blending all of her food together so that she could just drink it. Magnus thought he was a genius.
Thus, Ari had little trouble using the ocean to her advantage and made her way back to the shore. She wasn’t completely unscathed, and she wasn’t invincible to drowning either. The shadowhunters found her gasping for breath and covered in little scraps that she’d acquired from bouncing along the rocky shore. Magnus made sure to heal all of these little wounds. He later prepared his home for her temporary stay; he and Alec planned on taking care of her until a more permanent home could be provided. The alternative was the dusty, judgmental halls of the New York Institute, or the Silent Brothers. Magnus had shuddered at both of those options.
Ari was taken to Alec almost instantly. She didn’t speak unless it was absolutely necessary, and Alec never pushed her to. They spent many evenings at the local YMCA rec center, learning different swimming techniques and playing tag. Mostly it was just Alec lifting her up on his shoulders and throwing her to the other end of the pool while she squealed in delight, crying out “Again! Again!” as soon as she resurfaced.
This was how they had learned she spoke Korean.
Magnus’ ears perked up the first time he heard it. He’d been lounging off to the side of the pool, reading some ancient Seelie text that Alec was sure he was being paid an arm and a leg to translate. When he asked her to repeat herself, she looked quizzically at Magnus before asking:
“Why?”
Again, in Korean.
After that, she opened up like a flower in bloom. In fact, she gave Magnus a run for his money when it came to eloquent, lengthy speeches. She talked about the beach and her mom and her love for Chairman Meow, all in Korean.
The first few weeks were hard. While Magnus understood her perfectly, and could give her an understanding reply here and there, Alec was floundering. He tried desperately not to let on that he didn’t understand a word she was saying. He took up learning Korean immediately, using all of his spare time to acquire a level A knowledge of speaking the language. Eventually, Magnus concocted a potion that translated her speeches, but Alec still needed to come up with the replies on his own.
One morning, when Magnus walked into the kitchen to get the coffee started, he witnessed Alec with headphones on, scrambling eggs while repeating Korean nouns to himself. When he spotted Magnus, he smiled and pulled the headphones down to rest around his neck.
“You know,” Magnus whispered into their “good morning” kiss, “It takes the average person about eight years to get to a level two proficiency in the Korean language.” He hoped Alec could see what he was getting at.
Alec, ever the intuitive shadowhunter, smiled back.
“Hmm, and I would guess, oh, eighteen years, give or take, to become fluent?” he finally replied, looking straight into Magnus’ eyes. Magnus smiled, and that was that.
They knew they would need to get her more comfortable speaking English eventually, but there was no rush. She was barely coming out of the parrot-talking stage. Even her Korean, over the past two years, had just been a mashed up string of words and feelings. She was finally learning how to articulate her sentences.
Basically, her and Alec were on the same page.
At the present, both Alec and Ari watched silently as Magnus created a portal to wherever Catarina had called him from. Before he stepped through, he blew a kiss to Alec, who pretended to catch it and hand it to his daughter. She smiled up at Magnus, and reached up to plant it on her cheek. Magnus smiled back and then stepped through the portal.
After it closed, Alec set his daughter down on her feet and kneeled down to speak with her at eye-level.
“Okay babydoll,” he spoke to her softly, making sure to keep her eyes focused on him so as not to be frightened by the other shadowhunters making a racket in the Ops Center. “I have a meeting that I need to wrap up, and you’ll have to come with me. I promise I would let you hang out with Izzy if I could, but she’s not here right now.”
Izzy, Jace and Clary were all off on patrol, and Alec would be damned if he entrusted his daughter’s life to anyone else. Things were changing around here, but slowly. Slow enough that Alec wasn’t going to let Ari out of his sight until they got back to the loft.
“I’m gonna need you to be extra quiet while we’re in there,” he said, motioning to the entrance of the ballroom. “But, I promise, if you’re patient through this, I’ll take you to the water park this weekend.” Ari smiled at that and nodded softly before reaching out to be picked up again. Alec doubted he needed to incentivize her silence, but he loved to spoil the girl anyway.
Alec gave her a quick hug before reaching under her arms and hoisting her up above his head. He gently brought her back down so that her legs dangled over his shoulders and her stomach was pressed up against the back of his head. Ari knew the routine, and slouched down to wrap her arms around his neck. She was very tiny for a four-year-old, so this maneuver didn’t require a lot of effort on her part. This was her favorite mode of transportation because she could hide her face from everyone in Alec’s hair.
Alec made a quick stop in the kitchen to grab a few water bottles for her, then headed back towards the meeting room. He ignored the imploring looks that he received from his fellow shadowhunters and the few visiting downworlders that were milling about the Institute during the break. When he entered the ballroom once again, most everyone was back at their seat. There were about five minutes left for the break.
Alec’s reentrance immediately silenced the majority of the conversations scattered around the meeting room. Lorenzo and a few of the visiting shadowhunters had the audacity to look affronted, while Elizabeth and the remaining warlocks were smiling warmly. Raphael just rolled his eyes and mouthed “sap” at Alec before turning back to the werewolf sitting next to him and resuming their conversation. Everyone else just expressed differing levels of shock. Elizabeth gave the little girl a quick wink before taking her seat and Ari blushed, burying her face in her father’s hair.
“My apologies," Alec cut in at the head of the table again. “We’ve had a bit of a family emergency. Unfortunately, my husband is needed elsewhere, so my daughter will be joining us for the remainder of the evening. If I don’t hear any objections, we may proceed.” Alec finalized his statement by making a sweep of the room with his eyes. He knew the fact that he even had a daughter was not news to most of the people in the room; her and Magnus had stopped by before plenty of prior Cabinet meetings to bring Alec dinner (the meetings were always held at night to accommodate the vampires). However, there were a few new members, including the representative from the Philadelphia Institute.
“Your child,” the man sneered, “is a warlock.” It wasn’t a question.
Before anyone could say anything else, Raphael rolled his eyes again and deadpanned to the group of shadowhunters clustered at the end of the table:
“Your shadowhunter,” he paused dramatically, “is a child.”
Laughter erupted from the table. The downworlders were accustomed to the snide remarks from shadowhunters, but rarely did they get to witness one of their own striking back in such a diplomatic setting.
Before the shadowhunter could make a retort, Alec held up his hand to stop him.
“My child,” he said, looking straight at the man, “is young enough not to read too deeply into what you just said. I would prefer to keep her ignorant of such biases as long as I can. Additionally, I would watch your implications. You are in the presence of some of the most powerful warlocks in North America.”
“Not to mention,” Elizabeth added cheerfully, “that her father is the most powerful warlock.” Lorenzo glared at her for that one.
Confusion washed over the shadowhunter’s face.
“What? But, Alec isn’t…” And then he stopped.
Husband. Alec mentioned that his husband had an emergency earlier.
“Oh good God!” The man stood up and stormed towards the door. “My institute will be taking no part in this disgusting display of-”
“Stop.” Luke cut him off, forcing the man to reel and look haughtily back towards where the werewolf was standing. “Before you go, you need to apologize.”
Anger boiled up into the man’s eyes and he almost stumbled as he strutted back towards Luke.
“Apologize? I am a shadowhunter, born from the same set of rules and standards that Mr. Lightwood was, not that you would understand any of that. I don’t owe him anyth-”
“Not to Alec,” Luke said again. He spoke in a calm, self-assured manner, but his tone left no room for negotiation. “To her,” he said, looking back at the little girl watching the scene unfold between the tufts of her father’s hair.
“As I was saying earlier,” Luke began again, “first encounters matter. And this is not going to be hers.” He raised his eyebrow, daring the shadowhunter to come back with some sort-of remark.
The shadowhunter looked back towards the group that he had left behind, but they were looking at anything but him. He then snuck a glance at Alec, who was holding his little girl’s hand, trying to comfort her by rubbing his thumb over the web between her thumb and pointer finger. Not that she needed much comforting; she had very little idea of what was going on around her. Mostly, she was just thinking about how thirsty she was.
Alec watched the shadowhunter pointedly, daring him to do anything aside from Luke’s suggestion. He was rather outnumbered.
Finally, the man broke his glare and walked over towards Alec’s end of the table.
Ari blinked, shifted uncomfortably, then blinked again.
Alec cleared his throat, and then shifted his gaze up and to the side so that he could see his daughter.
“Mr. Woodsworth is telling you he’s sorry,” Alec explained to her in Korean. He knew she understood the man’s English perfectly fine, but he had hoped to ease her tension a bit by bringing some familiarity into the room. He expected her discomfort; what he hadn’t been prepared for was her reaction.
She looked back up from her father’s eyes to the man standing before her.
“It’s okay,” she spoke shyly in English.
Alec’s breath caught.
“I know you didn’t mean it,” she finished, looking back down and trying to shove her face further into Alec’s hair. Alec knew that the small acceptance of the man’s apology had taken a lot of effort on her part and he hated that she had to expend it to such an arrogant stranger.
“I- pardon?” spoke the shadowhunter, a bit perplexed by her reply.
“You didn’t mean it,” she repeated, seemingly focused on one lock of Alec’s hair. She was staring intensely at it, focusing on finishing her statement. It always made her feel better when Magnus told her these things, so perhaps she could offer the same encouragement to the man before her.
“That’s what Bapak tells me when I’m not nice.” She was whispering now, hiding her face completely in Alec’s hair. “You didn’t mean it, so it’s okay.”
“Bapak?” The man asked, not unkindly.
Finally, she looked back up at him, but she looked just as confused as the man himself. It made sense, of course. How does a child explain who “dad” is? They’re just… dad.
Alec cleared his throat again.
“My husband,” he clarified. “‘Bapak is the Indonesian term for dad.” He turned then, looking back up at his daughter. “Ari, Bapak would be so proud of you. My brave girl.” He’d transitioned back to Korean and began stroking his thumb along her webbed hand again. “I’m so proud of you.”
Ari smiled shyly and ducked back down into her father’s mess of curls.
Alec turned back towards the shadowhunter with a softened look.
“Mr. Woodsworth, you do not have to stay for the duration of this meeting. However, my daughter has carved out a small path of forgiveness for you and I do believe it would be unwise of you not to take it. You may go, or you may stay and work with us to build a world of inevitable unity. No one will remark on our prior dispute. Tolerance begins with forgiveness on both ends.” Alec spoke with an air of dignity, but his words did not lack warmth. He meant what he said. If he wanted to leave behind a better world for his little girl, he needed to be the bigger man in these types of situations.
Woodsworth gave them each a stiff nod and then moved to return to his seat without looking at any of the other downworlders. Both options would have left him feeling morbidly embarrassed, at least this one offered redemption. He also couldn’t get the little girl’s look out of his mind. She hadn’t understood everything that was going on, but surely she could at least see that the shadowhunter wasn’t treating her, or her father, very kindly. And she hadn’t even batted an eye at offering him forgiveness.
The depth of a child’s kindness is endless.
Was he worthy of such raw affection?
This last thought was a bit out of Woodsworth’s depth, but it would mull around in Alec’s mind for the next few hours.
“Now,” Alec shifted his attention back to the task at hand. Luckily, this little hiccup only robbed them of about five minutes of meeting time. “I understand the previous discussion topic may have thrown everyone for a loop, and I don’t expect that we’ll get every issue resolved in the timespan of one meeting. Therefore, might I suggest we spend the next hour creating a cohesive list of questions that we’d like to have answered surrounding this topic by the next Cabinet meeting?”
Everyone began speaking again and the hour dragged on sluggishly. Alec was sad to see that nothing pertaining to this issue was going to be resolved anytime soon and it seemed that everyone was more interested in pointing out how this could go wrong instead of pondering how this newfound unity could be beneficial. Alec had to keep reminding himself that great ideas couldn’t be implemented until everything that could go wrong was discussed. This way, everyone was prepared for the worst.
Alec tried to stay focused on the meeting, but he was worried about Magnus. He kept reaching up to nervously run his hands through his hair, but stopped each time, remembering the child he had hiding her face up there. Instead, he’d smile and pat her little feet that dangled around his shoulders.
Ari, for her part, didn’t get up to much the first thirty minutes or so after the break. She had formed a little nest on her dad’s head with her arms crossed over themselves and her chin propped up on her forearms. She observed whoever was speaking with quiet curiosity.
Eventually, after the first half hour, she began to squirm. Alec handed her a water bottle, and she drank the whole thing in about fifteen seconds. He handed her another that she sat and sipped on throughout the next half hour.
At the end of the hour, everyone agreed to hash out their questions within their own communities about the involvement of shadowhunters in transition accidents of young downworlders. There already seemed to be an unspoken understanding that any experimentation and implementation of these new ideals would take place in New York. Alec was already formulating a plan to meet with the original cabinet members later this week to discuss how they’d like to move forward. In the meantime…
“Well,” Alec clapped his hands together to quiet any tittering conversations, “now that that’s settled, or at least put on hold, there are two more topics on the agenda to discuss. However, I believe their connection to one another is up for debate, so I’ll just give you all the rundown for each.”
Ari took this as her que to let out a sneeze (her father’s hair was ticklish). She'd held it for as long as she could, waiting for a break in her dad’s speech. At his final sentence, she let the tickle in her nose finally take over and out came two little sneezes. She made sure to cover her mouth, but her hair was a different story.
The shadowhunters sat still at the end of the table, staring with open mouths at Alec’s daughter. Or, more specifically, his daughter’s pink hair. Hee Kim came forward with a smile on her lips just as Alec began sputtering out an apology.
“I’m sorry,” he addressed the table, reaching to lift Ari from his shoulders. “If you’ll allow me to-”
“Don’t fret it!” said the High Warlock of Miami as she came up to lay her hand on one of Ari’s webbed feet (she had been on shoe-strike for three months now. Magnus had exhausted all argumentative angles and just prayed her feet would get cold enough some day for her to see the light). “I’m sure many of us here,” she turned back to the table to eye the few warlocks in her peripheral vision, “remember rather clearly the days when we couldn’t quite get a handle on our magic yet. It’s a little thing,” she cooed the last sentence, looking up at Ari. “May I?” she asked, gesturing towards Ari’s bubblegum pink hair. Ari looked skeptical, but lowered her head a bit when Alec squeezed her hand in reassurance. Alec used his other hand to pry Ari’s tight grip from his hair and offered her hand to the High Warlock. She gently took hold of it and smiled at Ari in reassurance before leaching her hair of the pink color. It faded softly back to its original dark brown.
Once all of her hair was drained of any bright pink coloring, the warlock went back to her seat. Ari watched her walk away through the curtain of her hair before laying her cheek back down on her criss-crossed arms.
“Thank you,” Alec directed to the warlock warmly. He then turned back to face the room as a whole. “I apologize for the interruption. I’m sure, as some of you know, warlock children don’t have a strong grasp on their magic.” He smiled, lifting his head up to give his daughter a goofy smile. “And bapaks aren’t always there to stop sneezes.” He pinched her side gently and she let out a little squeal of laughter. “Which leads me to my next point,” he said, turning back to the crowded table again. “I would like to open an orphanage for young warlock children and I’d like for it to be funded by the Clave. Additionally, I’d like to open up a school as well. A place for them to come and learn how to control and harness their magic so that it doesn’t become unintentionally destructive.”
Everyone was looking at Alec like he'd just sprouted three heads. Alec knew it was a bold statement and a request that the Clave would most definitely deny the first time around. But, Alec was persistent, and extremely stubborn. And, with enough downworlders and shadowhunters on his side, maybe even persuasive.
Lorenzo, of all people, was the first to break the silence.
“Alexander,” Alec visibly flinched at the use of his full name. It made his skin crawl any time anyone other than Magnus called him by his given name. “As lovely and ambitious as this idea sounds, it doesn’t seem to have a completely, shall we say, altruistic motive.” He ended with a coy smile, daring Alec to object to his intuition. Alec would bite.
“No,” he admitted. “I will admit that I have,” he glanced up, “certain ties to the warlock community that are hard to overlook.” He smiled at his daughter as she nuzzled her nose behind his ear. All this attention had embarrassed her, something Alec could relate to all too well. “That being said,” he gave her a quick peck on the cheek, and then looked back towards Lorenzo, “I don’t believe an act of love is indicative of a terrible idea. Sometimes, the greatest changes come about as acts of compassion.”
Before Lorenzo could respond, a shadowhunter from the opposite end of the table spoke up.
“Mr. Lightwood-”
“Bane," Alec corrected.
“I’m sorry?” She balked, seeming a bit flustered at getting corrected.
“My title, Mrs. Sparrow, is Lightwood-Bane. I am married. Please continue.”
Alec used to get embarrassed correcting people after he and Magnus had tied the knot. However, a few weeks after the wedding, Alec’s father came to visit the Institute and had continued to refer to Magnus as “Warlock Bane” no matter how many times Alec corrected him. Now, Alec refused to allow others the luxury of attempting to side-step his choice in partnership, especially shadowhunters who knew all-too-well what his last name was. It had, after all, appeared in bold, curly letters on the meeting’s invitation.
“Of course.” She almost sneered. “Mr. Lightwood-Bane,” she spoke the name like it tasted bad coming out of her mouth, “As ambitious and, ahem, noble as this cause may appear, I am wondering how you plan on accumulating funding for these projects. Surely the Clave has not approved of the New York Institute investing in something like this.” She spoke with certainty. They both knew the world they came from, and it did not make a point of going out of its way to help little warlock children.
“No,” Alec confirmed. “They could not have known to allocate funds when I haven’t even asked them yet. I’m hoping to create an in-depth spreadsheet of everything financial that will need to be taken care of. That’s where you all come in.” He smiled at the table of downworlders before continuing. “I believe this could be a great investment on the Clave’s end. Please, let me explain,” he rushed out the last part, stopping Mrs. Sparrow at her second interruption.
Before he could continue on with his explanation, Alec felt a little tickle at his ear.
“Daddy,” Ari whispered, “flowers, please.” She said, sticking her big toe in his front shirt pocket.
Alec knew immediately what she was asking for. Magnus had been working with her on growing plants from seedlings the past few weeks. It all started when they’d taken her to Central Park and she'd noticed a dying rose bush hiding near the paddle-boating pond. She picked one of the wilted roses and asked Magnus if he could fix it. Instead of helping her directly, Magnus brought her over to the water and told her to place the flower in it so that the stem was completely submerged and the petals held the rose afloat. He sat cross-legged near the bank so that she could plop herself down into his lap. Afterwards, he placed the palms of both of his hands on the back of hers and cradled the petals with their joined hands. Then, he whispered into her ear, telling her what she needed to do to help the flower bloom. Though he did have to help guide her magic a bit, her power alone brought the rose back to full bloom. Ari was delighted. They sat there with the bush for the next half hour and collected a whole bouquet. Maryse was gifted with over a dozen roses that evening by her granddaughter.
Since then, Magnus worked with Ari each day on a different flower at different stages of growth. She seemed to do better with tropical plants. Magnus figured this had something to do with her natural affinity for water. Both he and Alec delighted in her little hobby. The loft was starting to smell like a garden, and they both figured there were much worse things children could be leaving around the house.
Alec had begun keeping flower seeds in his breast pocket; he gave them to Ari to play with when he was stuck at work and she started to get bored waiting for him in the office. He supposed it was high time for her to be bored now. He was honestly shocked that she had lasted this long.
Alec reached into his pocket and grabbed the bag of mixed seeds, handing it up to his daughter alongside another water bottle. He couldn’t see, but he knew she was smiling, judging by the gooey looks he was receiving from his warlock colleagues.
“As I was saying,” he turned his attention back to the shadowhunters at the end of the table, “I think it would be in the best interest of the Clave to completely fund these projects. My reasoning being that, while we are great at taking proactive measures in handling rogue warlock cases, we lack in preventative action.” He paused, giving himself a moment to think through his next statement. “What I mean by this is that, most of the time, warlock accidents involve children. Seventy-eight percent, in fact. The reason being that the majority of warlock children are abandoned by their mundane families. These families may not have the proper support or know-how to take care of a warlock. Additionally, warlock’s are often bred of rape cases, and thus resentment. Most are left to their own devices as soon as the warlock mark begins to show itself, usually at around two-to-three years of age. This leaves the child in an extremely vulnerable position, both physically and emotionally.
“Warlock children have very little control over their magic to begin with. It can take years of practice and patience before they have full reign on their powers. As many of you know, strong emotions directly affect how one’s magic is wielded. This is why most catastrophes involving warlocks are actually just emotionally unstable children crying out for help. They’re lost, scared, and hurt. If we were to open this orphanage, we are offering them a temporary home. With the school, we’re giving them a way to channel their energy productively. We’re giving them the warmth and care that could lead them down a less destructive path. We’re also offering a means of support for those mundane families that decide to keep their children. And, perhaps, in the distant future, we’ll see less children being left behind altogether.
“I want the Clave to start taking preventative measures when it comes to our relationship with the downworld. I would like for us to work with all of you to make safe and comfortable environments for your transitioning fledglings and growing children. Harboring resentment for powers that you all cannot control in the early stages of your lives does nothing but harm everyone involved. Ultimately, the goal of all of these changes is to give you the opportunity to use the Clave as a crutch in times of unavoidable desperation. In turn, I believe it is our duty to make sure that you live and grow in a world that does not push the younger generation to such desperate measures.
“I’d now like to hand this conversation over to you all and am officially opening this topic up for discussion,” he ended, leaning back in his chair and shifting to get a tighter grip on Ari’s ankles. As everyone began saying their piece, Alec took diligent notes with one hand, while the other idly traced the webs between Ari’s toes.
About fifteen minutes into the discussion, Alec felt the cool sensation of water droplets trickling down the back of his neck. He reached up, curiously, to find that his whole head was damp. Ari had poured the contents of her water bottle all over his hair. Before Alec could begin to ask what she was doing, he felt Ari bury a seed into the thick of his hair, then cup her hand around it. She leaned down to whisper little encouragements to the seed, and Alec could feel the small, tingling sensation of a sprouting plant. He glanced over to catch one of the seelie knights smiling at him, a bit bemused. Elizabeth was also looking at him with a bemused grin, but she held her tongue. Nobody felt it important enough to interrupt Lorenzo’s lengthy, arduous commentary at the moment.
After another ten minutes, Alec looked up from his notes when someone made an audible, and rather dramatic, gasp, cutting off one of the vampire clan leaders. It was one of the shadowhunters; he was looking directly at Alec with a mix of shock and slight horror on his face. He felt Ari freeze in her ministrations and tuck her face behind Alec’s ear.
“Mr. Lightwood... -Bane. I hate to interrupt,” he managed to get out, drawing the attention of the table to Alec, “but you, um… there’s something…” he trailed off, pointing at the top of his own head, hoping to portray to Alec what was going on in his damp hair. Alec reached up and tentatively patted around his head, feeling the soft petals of what he assumed to be a flower of some sort. Alec hadn’t checked all the plant types in his seed package.
He knew that he needed to deescalate the situation quickly and divert everyone’s attention back to the task at hand. Ari hated attention, and she often cried when she felt overwhelmed.
“It’s fine,” Alec reassured the shadowhunter, patting Ari’s foot at the same time. He turned his head slowly, so as not to disturb the flower blooming in his curls, and gave his daughter a reassuring smile. “It’s fine sweetpea.” He was speaking to his daughter now, making a point to speak in Korean so that she’d feel more comfortable. “You’ve done nothing wrong my little sorceress. Why don’t you show me what you’ve made, hmm?”
She nodded, shyly, and picked the flower from her dad’s hair. She brought her arms around her dad’s neck, holding the lotus in the palms of both hands, and laid her cheek down in the nest of his wet curls. He knew she was trying to avoid eye contact with everyone else in the room. Before Alec could offer Ari any sort of praise, he heard Elizabeth coo.
“Oh Ari,” Elizabeth said softly, looking at the pair with adoration. “It’s beautiful.”
Ari turned to her, trepidation still very-much present in her big, brown eyes.
“I agree,” The seelie knight from earlier piped in. “What a marvelous talent you have, child.”
Ari blushed and leaned down to whisper a thank you in Alec’s ear. He knew she wanted him to speak on her behalf, but he thought, perhaps, it would be best to get her comfortable with Elizabeth. He wanted his daughter to make friends in the warlock community.
“Why don’t you tell her yourself," he whispered back in his daughter’s ear. He would never force her, and she knew that, but she also wanted to be brave for him. Like him. She nodded, and Alec beckoned Elizabeth over from her seat.
However, when Elizabeth made her way over to the head of the table, Ari didn’t say anything. Instead, she just looked up at the woman while holding her hands out, clearly offering the lotus flower to Elizabeth.
“For me?” Elizabeth smiled, reaching out with her own palms to take the little plant from Ari. “Why, thank you so much my dear. I love it. In fact,” she paused, bringing the flower up to lay in the nook between her half-braid and the crown of her head. Alec was ninety-nine percent sure she was using magic to stabilize it. “I think it will look perfect right here. Do you agree, darling?”
Ari blushed, but nodded her head enthusiastically.
“Very pretty,” she said to the woman in English.
Elizabeth reached out to give Ari’s hand a little squeeze, then went back to her seat.
Alec could feel the underlying tone of affection sweeping throughout the room. Ari generally had this effect on others. Even after all she had been through, she had a sweet demeanor that was hard not to feel affected by. She had Alec and Magnus wrapped around her little finger, but she hardly asked for anything. That was why Alec latched onto anything he could find that interested her. He wanted to spoil the girl; to give her everything she asked for as well as the things she had never thought to want. If growing flowers in his hair during a Cabinet meeting was the worst of her silent requests, he figured he was quite a lucky father.
After a few moments of silence following the brief disruption, the seelie knight picked back up on the point he had been trying to make earlier. Alec sat back and handed Ari another seed. Over the course of the next few hours, Ari had grown enough flowers that, by the end of the meeting, Alec had a bundle of baby’s breath tucked behind one ear, lilacs behind the other, a few roses stuck in his shirt pocket, and two more lotus flowers growing on top of his head. Anytime someone looked as though they might remark on the growing ridiculous state of Alec’s appearance, Alec shot them a look. It was usually one of the shadowhunters.
By the end of the meeting, everyone had agreed on most of the points to be brought up in the rough draft proposal that would be brought forth to the Clave. Alec suspected the proposal to go through numerous iterations before it wasn’t immediately tossed aside by the Inquisitor. However, Alec had a bottomless well of motivation growing flowers in his hair and he was determined to see this plan through.
When the meeting adjourned, Alec was one of the first people to step outside of the ballroom. He found his husband waiting anxiously on the other side of the door.
“Oh, Alexander, thank you so much," Magnus sighed, reaching out to wrap his arms around his husband and daughter. Alec had brought her back down off of her perch after the meeting and was supporting her on his hip. “I’m so sorry,” Magnus started again, turning to speak to Ari. “You must have been terribly bored my darling.” He rubbed his nose against hers and she let out a high-pitched giggle.
“She was wonderful,” Alec replied, staring down at his daughter in adoration. “She kept herself entertained.”
“I can see that,” Magnus said smiling while he plucked one of the roses from Alec’s front pocket and stuck it behind his own ear. “She’s made quite the decorative garden out of you.”
“Bapak,” Ari said, tugging at the lapels of her father’s jacket to bring him down to eye-level. “Bapak, Daddy’s making a school,” Ari whispered into his ear as he leaned forward.
“Yes pumpkin. A school for little sorceresses like you,” he said, giving her another bunny kiss.
“Have you thought much about what you would name this institute, Mr. Lightwood-Bane?” Elizabeth strolled up gracefully behind Alec, interrupting their little family bubble. She greeted Magnus with a nod before turning to raise her eyebrows at Alec inquisitively.
“That’s assuming I get this ambitious project off the ground,” Alec retorted.
“Well, if it is of any consolation, it would seem that you have full support from the warlock community. And we are a wealthy lot.” She winked at Magnus, knowing the man could probably fund the entire institute on last century’s pension alone.
“Well,” Alec began, tucking Ari’s hair behind her ear and looking into her eyes as he spoke, “while that is generous of you and your people, the Clave needs to be a part of this. We can’t keep acting like we don’t play a part in the destructive upheaval of the lives of your children,” he finished, tilting his head as he gave Ari a small, sad smile.
“Our children,” Magnus corrected, tipping Alec’s chin up with perfectly manicured fingers. He gazed into his husband’s eyes, willing him to understand that the weight of the Clave’s mistakes didn’t need to rest on his shoulders. That he had many allies to help build this foundation that Alec was set on creating. “We’re going to help our children.”
“Hmm, you know,” Elizabeth interrupted again, looking between the two of them fondly, “I’ve thought of the perfect name for your school, Alec. If you care to hear it.”
“And what would that be?” he asked, tearing his eyes from his husband to look at Elizabeth curiously.
“How about,” she began, pausing to take a flower of her own from Alec’s shirt pocket, “the 'Lightwood Institute'?”