Chapter Text
Part One
“You don't love someone for their looks, or their clothes, or for their fancy car, but because they sing a song only you can hear.”― anonymous
Chapter 1: Edinburgh, Scotland December 1905
Sarah was lying on the grass looking above as the long willow leaves blew in the wind. A soft whistle sang to her, lulling her into a calm head space. It was her favorite weather, slightly misty where she could smell the crisp watery air filling her lungs. On one of the willow’s branches was a white barn owl sitting on one leg watching her below. The little creature, Pearl, had always been with her at this willow; flying around in the sky, sleeping in the crook of the branches, or just watching her from above. Pearl was her friend, a companion of sorts, always with her as a calming presence.
Today was not one of those calming days.
Unusually, Peal was chirping above her in rapid clicks, trying to get Sarah's attention. Sarah sat up and looked ahead of her; past the long willow leaves was another bird perfectly perched on a nearby boulder. Its feathers were bright goldish orange with dark brown tips; A type of falcon. The falcon looked at her and made a small squeaky sound.
“Hello there,” she said to the falcon, “who are you?”
The falcon squeaked again and this time Pearl stretched her long white wings and silently glided towards the new creature. Getting up Sarah began to to walk slowly towards the pair watching them slowly. Pearl landed near the falcon and began to hoot softly. The falcon in turn chirped back and began to push something near its feet. As Sarah got closer she noticed it was a smashed lemon with its seeds scattered on the ground. Odd falcons don't eat lemons or any plant for that matter. Just as Sarah was a couple of feet away, Pearl and the falcon flapped their wings and took off together flying up into the sky.
Its time.....
~
Sarah bolted upright from her desk, taking in her surroundings as the visions from her dreams faded away. She looked around to see she had fallen asleep while studying the gray book, a page on Nephilim memory runes laid out before her. Needing a break, Sarah walked to the wash basin to clear her head.
Sarah was used to getting vivid dreams; the owl and willow tree were a constant, but during her life, Sarah had experienced many different variations; snakes hiding among the brambles, an unreachable misty forest, or whispered voices from an unknown source. Sometimes they were dreams, other times it was a warning of sorts. One time when she was twelve she dreamed of a doll house floating in the stream; a couple of days later Sarah had witnessed her warlock brother Elijah almost falling into the river during a fishing trip.
Her adoptive Mother told her once that sometimes people had prophetic dreams due to parentage or gifted angels. Sarah thought that didn't fully explain her strange ability to know things, but she was used to never having the full truth. It wasn't an ability that she mentioned often, her parents and brothers knew about her dreams, but she mostly kept them to herself. She especially didn't tell anyone in the clave; the last thing she needed was to stand out even more than she did.
Patting the last of the water off her face, Sarah looked at the clock by her bed. Quarter til eight, she needed to get ready if she was going to make it to the show. Her destination for the evening was the Ocean View Concert Hall a local downworlder haunt located in Old Town. Often known for its many performances, this evening the concert hall was presenting an original work, Lagoon Rainfall, a piano and dance performance inspired by some of Chopin's works. Her brother Elijah, who often performed a the hall, had told her about the new performance at dinner a week ago.
“I saw some of the rehearsal while I was talking to the manager.” Elijah said at dinner, “There are to be dancing mermaid for the main act.”
“Could you ask the business manager to save me a seat for one of the shows? I can send you the money to reserve it.”
“Of course,” said Elijah, “I’ll make sure your usual spot is reserved.”
For the concert, Sarah had picked a burgundy gown and matching gloves. The cap sleeves were beaded along the bust and down the sides of her body and hugged her hips. She wore her pearl drop necklace paired with matching pearl earrings. As Sarah was putting a seraph blade in her thigh holster, a knock came at her bedroom door.
“Sarah,” said a young familiar voice, “I’m here to say good night.”
“You can open it, Hanna,” Sarah replied ruffling her dress down. The door opened wide and a little girl ran into the room running straight to hug Sarah. “Hey you, someone seems wide awake.”
Hanna giggled before burrowing herself more into Sarah’s side, her white fox ears twitching in place.
“How can I be asleep when you, Ren, and Elijah will all be up all night?”
“That’s a bit of an exaggeration, Hanna,” said Ren who leaned casually against the bedroom door. Ren was Hanna’s older brother and Elijah’s boyfriend. When Sarah and Elijah first moved to Edinburgh, Sarah started her shadowhunter training and Elijah to make a name for himself, Ren and Hanna were originally tenants for their downstairs townhouse. One thing led to another before Ren and Elijah started to develop feelings for each other. The two had made it official this past spring much to Sarah’s pleasure. It was nice seeing her brother happy and put himself first for a change.
“You will have a chance to stay up all night tomorrow during the New Year's Eve Party,” continued Ren. His arms crossed in a relaxed manner a simple silver ring visible on Ren’s ring finger. “Now say goodnight to Sarah, then I’ll read you a story of your picking.”
“Can’t Sarah read to me?” pleaded Hanna.
“Not tonight Hanna, but how about tomorrow? I can read you a story at the party. Some of the other kids can join as well?”
Hanna thought about it, before nodding her head slowly. The little girl gave Sarah one more tight hug before joining her brother by the door. Ren gave Sarah a knowing look before heading towards Hanna’s bedroom. She knew Ren and Elijah appreciated the evening to themselves. Sarah tried to give them one or two nights of alone time outside of her nighttime patrols for the Edinburgh Institute.
Grabbing her plum-colored winter coat, Sarah opened her window and looked out below. The noise from Leith Walk rang louder in her ear mostly the sound of carriages and a group of carolers across the street. The night was mostly pitch black except for a little bit of light from the moon. Drawing a glamor rune, Sarah took a deep breath, centered herself, and released her wings. The sensation came to her in moments, the cool night air hitting her feathers. Her wings were white with specks of bronze at the tips of her feathers. She had always known she could fly since she was a child; Although she didn't know why she was given this gift she was thankful for it nonetheless.
Stepping on the stone ledge below the window, Sarah stretched out her wings and jumped. The air caught her and she began to glide between the old Scottish buildings. The cold winter air hit her face like someone had thrown a snowball at her. She was used to cold while flying and often wore extra layers like wool socks and gloves to shave off the cold. Typically Sarah wouldn’t dream of flying in a dress, but considering how low on time she was it wasn’t the end of the world. The distance from Leith Walk to Old Town was relatively a quick flight, she just had to make sure her dress didn’t fluff out when she landed, or a least not have anyone around.
Sarah found a wide enough alley about a block away from the concert hall, landing away from prying eyes. The glamor rune along with her warded pearl necklace was typically enough for mundanes to not notice her, but she was taught to be extra careful. Once landed, Sarah retracted her wings, fixed her dress, and walked into the city streets. The evening was late enough for most people to be at home, but some partygoers were walking about, dressed in gorgeous coats and jewelry. As Sarah walked she rubbed her hands together, trying to shave off the last of the cold.
Above the concert hall in a bright dark blue color was a billboard sign labeled The Ocean View. Despite its names, the Ocean View was in fact not near the water by any means, but was rather the theme of the venue. The main owner was one of the mere and leaned into bringing their homeland on land. The main entrance door was painted a gorgeous deep blue with small bubbles drawn on the perimeter. A few posters were by the door listing out the main acts for the following month. After the crowd looked like it was dying down a little, Sarah walked across the street straight to the front door. Reggie, the normal bouncer for the concert hall, stood at his podium. He was a tall man with gills on the sides of his neck which was mostly concealed with a black scarf.
“Evening Reggie, I’m here to see the show. Ren told me you reserved a ticket for me?”
“My sorry Sarah I have not been aware of this,” said Reggie. Sarah frowned, of course, her brother would forget to grab her a ticket.
“That’s alright, I can just pay for a new ticket.”
“I’m afraid that is not possible, we are sold out for the night.”
“Sold out?!” she exclaimed. It was uncommon for the Ocean View to be fully booked for an evening. Apparently, it was more popular than she thought.
“I’m sorry Sarah, the most I can do is get you tickets another night in the new year.”
Sarah was about to reply when a man from behind her leaned over and passed the Reggie two tickets.
“Don’t worry, you can use my extra ticket” said a voice. Sarah turned and saw an unexpected surprise.
“Oh, Matthew.”
Matthew Fairchild, stood next to her with a mischievous grin his green eyes piercing as the day she met him. He was dressed in a dark brown coat and trousers with a hunter-green vest and a walking cane with beautiful gold patterns.
They had originally met in London a few years ago at the hell ruelle. It was a brief encounter, Matthew had complimented her piano playing when she was hiding away in the private music room. It was the first time Sarah had met a shadowhunter. She had heard rumors and horrible stories about them, but Matthew turned out to be none of those things.
“Hello, Sarah it's been a while.”
Matthew remembered her name and he was covering for her, but why? It had been almost two years since they first met and they barely knew each other. Whatever the reason Sarah still needed it get in the music hall and if Matthew was her ticket in then she would take it.
The Reggie handed the tickets back to Matthew and offered his arm to her. Sarah linked arms with him and together the two walked hand in hand inside Ocean View.