#but my dad’s parents were bi (or tri) lingual as kids

[always-a-slut-4-ghouls]

Duolingo being like “this is the 15th time you’ve misspelled this word, you’re on thin ice” and my ass is fucking crying because I probably have dyslexia but didn’t get diagnosed as a kid and now I’m being reminded of it all over again when trying to learn another language for the first time since highschool

[cristinablackthornkingson]

Shadowhunters Short Story #34 part 3.

It is a cool Autumn morning in 2031 and 18 year old Cordelia Carstairs has found herself sitting by her daughter’s crib, for the last hour, just gazing at her in awe and love. It had been 2 months since Sofia was born and she was the best thing ever to happen to Cordelia and Rafael, she is such a sweet, happy baby and is totally adored by everyone and spoiled rotten by all her grandparents. 

Cordelia folds her arms over the top of Sofia’s crib and rests her head on her arms, smiling softly as she watches her daughter sleep peacefully. She had no idea love this strong was possible. She thought the love she felt for Rafe was intense and amazing, but it was nothing compared to the love she feels for her daughter, she would do anything for her. Though Cordelia is a bit disappointed she isn’t off on her travel year with her cousins Stephen and George like she planned to be before she got pregnant, she wouldn’t swap spending time with her daughter for anything. 

As Cordelia watches Sofia sleeping, she hears the door to the nursery creek open and padded footsteps approach. 

“Mi amor have you been here all night?” She hears Rafe softly ask. 

“No just for the last hour or so, I woke up and couldn’t get back to sleep so I came in to check on Sofia and then I just couldn’t stop looking at her, she’s so perfect Rafe, isn’t she?” Cordelia softly says. 

“Sí, just like mami.” Rafe gently says, slipping an arm around Cordelia’s shoulders. Rafael is absolutely infatuated with his daughter, he loves her so much it hurts and he would do anything for her. Growing up, Rafe had often heard his papa and dad talking about how much they love him and Max and how it is unlike any other love, he had always thought they were just being over dramatic, his papa had a tendency to be dramatic and his dad was an extremely protective, loving person, Rafe had never met anyone like his parents before and until his daughter arrived he simply couldn’t understand how they could say they loved he and his brother more than anyone else. 

“And her papí.” Cordelia quietly says, smiling up at Rafe who grins back and leans down to kiss her. Rafe then reaches into the crib and softly strokes Sofia’s cheek.

“Mí nina bonita, te quiero.” Rafe quietly says. He always speaks to Sofia in Spanish, in the hopes she will pick it up naturally from a young age, she is half Spanish after all and should know the language, that was something both he and Cordelia had agreed on very early on in her pregnancy. 

“You’ll have to help me improve my Spanish before she becomes more fluent than me.” Cordelia says in a light tone. Growing up Cordelia had always had a flare for languages, she mainly spoke English and Mandarin, she has been bi-lingual her whole life, her dad always talked to her in Mandarin as a child and she picked it up very easily, as did Jade and Will. She also speaks French, German and Welsh fluently but isn’t too good at Spanish, Rafe had always tried to teach her when they were growing up, but she could never get the hang of it for some reason. 

“I still don’t understand how you’re fluent in multiple languages including demon languages yet you can’t get a grasp on Spanish.” Rafe says in an amused tone. 

“Me neither but I have to learn it for Sofia, once I finish my studies and my training I can focus on learning Spanish.” Cordelia replies. She has recently slowly started getting back into training, her brother Kit and her cousins Emma and Jace are helping her out mostly, but she also has help from her father and Alec, and not many can say they’re trained by an ex-Silent Brother, a Shadowhunter with Faerie lineage, two of the greatest Shadowhunters of all time and The Consul. 

“How long until you finish?” Rafe asks. 

“Two months, I have 2 written exams in a few weeks and then my final training exam, I’ll have to stay at the Academy for those four days, I’m going to miss you and Sofia so much.” Cordelia quietly says. She is extremely proud of herself and thrilled that she has almost finished all her training and studies just two months after having a baby, but those four days when she will be away from her baby will be awful, it will be the first time she’s left Sofia since she was born.

“We’ll miss you too but we’ll be just fine, we’ll stay the first two nights here and then I’ll take Sofia to New York to stay with my parents for the last two nights, she’ll be spoiled rotten by papa and Max and she already has dad wrapped around her little finger.” Rafe says in an amused tone. While Magnus loves to buy his granddaughter lots of gifts and dress her up in the most stylish outfits, Alec loves to hold her and cuddle her and play with her, often times Rafe has taken her to visit his parents and his dad has dropped everything to spend time with Sofia. 

“I know, it’s just going to be hard for me, especially since I haven’t left her since she was born.” Cordelia says.

“I know mi amor but those 4 days will fly by and at the end of them you will be a fully trained Shadowhunter jut like you always wanted, and Soph and I will be waiting for you with open arms, and of course Kit and Emma are planning a party for you.” Rafe softly says, rubbing Cordelia’s arm comfortingly.

“I love you.” Cordelia softly says, turning to smile up at him. 

“I love you too.” Rafe replies, leaning in to kiss her.

A few hours later, just as it’s coming to the end of Sofia’s afternoon nap, there’s a knock on the front door. Cordelia sets her textbook down and runs to answer it, her heart soaring when she sees who’s at the door.

“Emma!” Cordelia exclaims in a tone of excitement. She hasn’t seen her cousin since she was pregnant, they have both been so busy, Emma and Julian had been on a mission in another country when Sofia was born, and had only recently got back. Cordelia wasn’t expecting to see Emma before her final training session for her final exams, but she is beyond thrilled to see her. 

“Hey Cordy.” Emma softly says, pulling her in for a hug. 

“I’m so glad you’re here!” Cordelia exclaims. “Is Jules with you?” 

“I’m glad I’m here too, no he’s not, I wanted to come spend some one on one time with you, he’ll be around tomorrow.” Emma explains, pulling back from their embrace. “So how are you?” She adds.

“I’m great, I feel great, Sofia is absolutely amazing and perfect, I couldn’t love her more.” Cordelia says in a tone of affection, her heart swelling with love just at the thought of her precious baby girl. 

“Can I meet her? The baby?” Emma asks. 

“Yeah of course, she should be just waking up from her nap now, I’ll go get her.” Cordelia says, ushering Emma in before she rushes upstairs and into Sofia’s nursery. 

When she walks into the nursery she stops in her steps when she sees a tall man dressed in old fashioned clothes with curly black hair, leaning over Sofia’s crib, murmuring to her in Welsh and stroking her cheek. Instantly Cordelia knows who it is. 

“Uncle Will?” Cordelia asks in a tone of excitement. She adores her Uncle Will and loves when he comes to visit.  

Will turns from the crib and grins widely at Cordelia.

“Not in the flesh exactly, but I suppose you could say I’m here in spirit!” Will exclaims. Cordelia giggles and rushes to hug her Uncle, if he is able to touch Sofia then surely Cordelia will be able to touch him. 

“I missed you Uncle Will.” Cordelia quietly says. 

“I missed you too Cariad, I can’t believe your’re a mother now, and I’m a grandfather again!” Will exclaims. He loves Cordelia and her siblings as his own, just as Jem loved James and Lucie as his own and loved their children as his own grandchildren, etc. Will loves little Sofia as much as his other grandchildren and considers himself her grandpa.

“Are you mad I’m dating a Lightworm?” Cordelia asks in a teasing tone. Will chuckles and says

“Well he’s not all Lightworm now is he?” 

“No not exactly, he’s wonderful, I’m so glad he’s Sophie’s dad.” Cordelia says in a loving tone. 

“I’m happy for you sweetheart, you are such a wonderful mother, just like your mum, I am very proud of you.” Will softly says. 

“You have to go soon don’t you?” Cordelia asks in a solemn tone. 

“I’m afraid so Cariad, but you know I’m always here and watching out for you and your daughter.” Will brushes Cordelia’s hair back form her face, before turning back to to the crib and smiling softly at Sofia. “Goodbye beautiful girl, I’ll see you soon, you too my beautiful Cordelia, I love you.” And just like that, he is gone. 

Cordelia softly sighs and lifts Sofia up, her mood instantly lifting when she holds her beautiful baby against her.

When Cordelia arrives back downstairs with Sofia, Emma instantly feels her heart melt for the sweet little girl.

“Oh Cordy, she’s so beautiful.” Emma says in a tone of awe, smiling widely at the baby. 

“I know, I can’t believe I made her.” Cordelia softly says.

“I can, I always knew you would be amazing Cordy, look at you, 18, in a stable healthy relationship, you have a beautiful baby and you’ve almost completed your training, I am so proud of you.” Emma says, squeezing her cousin’s hand gently. 

“Thanks Em, I couldn’t have done it without you, you and Julian were my inspiration for being a young parent, I knew that if you two could basically raise 4 kids from when you were 12, I could raise one baby at eighteen with help from all my family.” Cordelia softly says.

“Well I just hope Sofia has a better life than we all did.” Emma quietly says. She knows Cordelia will continue to be an amazing mother, she just hopes Sofia never has to live through a war or anything awful like that.

“Me too, do you want to hold her?” Cordelia offers. 

“I’d love to! So are you all ready for your final exams?” Emma asks, taking little Sofia into her arms and smiling broadly at the baby. 

“Yeah Kit and Ty are helping me study for my final written exams and dad and Alec have been helping me with my training, Rafe and Jace too.” Cordelia says. 

“Are you going to go join the boys on your travel year when you finish?” Emma asks, lightly bouncing Sofia. Currently Clary and Jace’s eldest son Stephen (who is a year younger than Cordelia) and Isabelle and Simon’s eldest son George (who is 2 months younger than Cordelia) are currently off on their travel year. They left shortly before Sofia was born and Cordelia misses them terribly, she was meant to go with them before she got pregnant and sometimes does wish she were off in France with them, though really she wouldn’t swap a moment with Sofia for anything. 

“No I couldn’t leave Sofia for that long and it would be so difficult to travel around with a little baby and my parents or Rafe’s wouldn’t get to see her again till she’s almost one, I’ll see the boys when they come home and I’ve got Max, Jade, Will, Jessie and Lucy to keep me company.” Cordelia replies. Jessie is Simon and Isabelle’s daughter, who’s a year younger than Jade who’s 16. Lucy is Clary and Jace’s daughter who’s just a year younger than her brother Stephen. Jessie is named after Jessamine Lovelace and Lucy is named after Cordelia’s older sister, and her grandfather, Lucian. 

Emma and Cordelia sit talking and fussing over Sofia for another hour before Emma has to head back and Rafe arrives back from visiting his parents in NY.

Right now Cordelia and Rafe are upstairs in Cordelia’s room playing with Sofia who seems fascinated by her reflection. 

As Rafe sits watching his girlfriend and baby daughter, his heart swells with love and he makes a sudden decision. 

“Cordy, can I ask you something?” Rafe calmly asks, hiding the nervous tremor in his voice. 

“Of course.” Cordelia says, laying Sofia down on her stomach on a blanket and spreading out a few toys in front of her. 

Rafe takes a deep breath and reaches into his jacket pocket before getting down on one knee in front of Cordelia. 

“Rafe, what are you doing?” Cordelia asks in a breathless tone of disbelief. 

“Cordelia I know we have only been dating for a little over a year but we have known each other since we were children, we’ve always been closes and cared so much about each other, I always felt especially close to you and felt that we had a special bond, when you agreed to be my girlfriend, it was one of the best days of my life, and then you told me you were pregnant and I was so, so happy and then Sofia was born and I don’t think I have ever been so happy, you have given me everything Cordy, you made my dreams come true by having my baby, our beautiful baby girl, I could not love you both more and I never want to spend a single day without you, will you marry me?” Tears well in Cordelia’s eyes, she can hardly believe this is happening.

“Yes... yes of course!” Cordelia exclaims in a tight tone, flinging her arms around Rafael. “I love you so much.” She adds. 

“I love you too, more than you could possibly know.” Rafe says, smoothing his hand over her thick dark hair.  When Cordelia pulls back, Rafe slips the ring onto her finger before grinning broadly at Sofia and scooping her up.

“Did you hear that Sof? Mama said yes! She said yes!” He exclaims, kissing her cheek causing her to giggle loudly. 

“Your papa is going to be so thrilled, you know he’s been planning our wedding since we were kids.” Cordelia says, remembering how her Uncle Magnus always talked about how wonderful it would be if Max or Rafe married Cordelia (Jade and Will were and are a lot younger than the boys) so that he and Tessa would officially be family. Even now, at every chance he gets, he tells everyone that he and Tessa share a grandchild, he loves that the Ligthwood-Banes and The Carstairs have now officially become family through Sofia. 

“Oh I know, we aren’t going to have to do any planning at all, all we have to do is choose our suggenes, I think I’m going to ask Max, do you have any idea who you’d like to ask?” Rafe asks. Technically only another Shadowhunter could be a suggenes but Rafe knows his dad will happily let he and his brother break that rule. 

“I think I’ll ask Kit, he’s been one of my biggest supporters since I got pregnant and he’s always been amazing to me, he’s my big brother, my best friend, he’s the ideal person to ask.” Cordelia softly.

“Were you his?” Rafe asks. He hadn’t been able to attend Kit and Ty’s wedding 10 years ago, because he was visiting his home country of Argentina with his Uncle Ragnor, and Kit and Ty’s wedding had been very spur of the moment. 

“No,I was only 8 when he and Ty got married, dad was Kit’s suggenes and Dru was Ty’s.” Cordelia explains. 

“I hope we’ll always be as happy as they are, and as your mom and dad and my dad and papa.” Rafe says. 

“We will be, I know it.” Cordelia firmly says, squeezing his hand before leaning in to kiss him on the cheek.

Rafe and Cordelia decide to wait until after she has finished her training and studies to announce their engagement. 

Before Cordelia knows it it’s time for her to take her final exams, and though she has had excellent tutoring and training all her life, she is still very nervous, mostly about leaving Sofia, even though she will be happy as can be with Rafe and will get to see all four of her grandparents and all her aunts and uncles over the next four days. 

It comes as no shock to anyone when Cordelia passes all her exams with flying colors, scoring some of the highest marks in her year. Everyone is extremely proud of her and Cordelia is extremely proud of herself. So many of her classmates from The Academy said she would never be able to accomplish anything when she got pregnant, but now here she is  just under a year later, engaged, mother to a gorgeous healthy baby girl and one of the top graduates Shadowhunter Academy has ever seen.

Right now Cordelia is sitting in the ballroom of the LA Institute where Kit and Emma have organised for her party to take place. Normally Cordelia would be making her way around the room, stopping to talk to everyone but instead she’s sitting at a small table with just Rafe beside her and Sofia in her lap. She is so glad to be back with her daughter and Rafe, she missed them so much while at The Academy and never wants to be apart from them again.

 A few days ago Rafael and Cordelia agreed that they would announce their engagement at the party, Cordelia is nervous as to how everyone will react, but also very excited to finally be able to share the news with everyone.

“Do you want to tell them now?” Rafe quietly asks Cordelia, absentmindedly stroking her arm. Cordelia nods and says

“Yeah, no time like the present.” Rafe jumps up from his seat and in a loud voice he calls for everyone’s attention. It takes a few attempts but eventually silence falls over the room and everyone has turned to look at Rafe and Cordelia, Kit has come over from his spot by the window and is standing behind Cordelia, one hand placed protectively on her shoulder.

“You’re not pregnant again are you Cordy?” Kit teases in a quiet voice, sensing his sister’s nerves. Cordelia laughs lightly and says

“No way, if I got pregnant again now I’d die.” 

“Yeah because mum and dad would kill you.” Kit says in a teasing tone. Tessa and Jem were extremely understanding about the fact Cordelia and Rafe messed up and didn’t use birth control, they understood that mistakes happen, but Cordelia knew that if it happened a second time they wouldn’t be so understanding, and she wouldn’t blame them.

“Everyone! Cordelia and I need to tell you something.” Rafe announces, reaching down to grasp Cordelia’s hand in his. 

“Really? I thought you just wanted all our attention for no reason.” Ragnor says in a sarcastic tone, grinning at his nephew who has the same dry sense of humor as him. 

“Very funny Uncle Ragnor, just for that we may uninvite you from the wedding.” Rafe jokingly says.

“Wedding?” Catarina asks in a tone of shock. Rafe blushes as he realizes what he just said.

“Yes Aunty Cat, I proposed to Cordelia just before she left for The Academy to take her final exams, and she said yes. Papa, in a few months you and Tessa will officially be family.” Rafe says in a proud tone. He and Cordelia agreed that they wanted to be married sooner rather than later and are hoping to be married before Sofia turns 1. 

“Took you long enough young man!” Magnus teases, linking his hand with Alec’s, hardly able to believe their own engagement had been so long ago, when Max was just a tiny little baby, and now he and his brother were amazing, wonderful young men.

“Cordy I am so happy for you.” Kit softly says, coming around from behind Cordelia and embracing her tightly. 

“Kit I want you to be my suggenes.” Cordelia quietly says, as chatter begins to fill the room once again. Kit pulls back from their embrace and looks at his sister, wide-eyed in disbelief. 

“Really?” He softly asks. He never thought anyone would want him to be their  suggenes, if Dru ever gets married he’s always thought she will ask Ty or Mark or Julian to be her suggenes, and he had never thought about any of his siblings getting married, they were still babies to him, especially Jade and Will who are only 16 and 14.

“Yeah, you’re my best friend Kitty, and the best big brother I could ever have asked for, you’ve always been there for me. When I was scared about getting my first rune, you calmed me down and held my hand when they gave me the mark, every time I fell or stumbled in training, you were right there to pick me up and help me try again. When I found out I was pregnant with Sofia I was so scared, I had no idea what to do, but then you came and sat with me, you held my hand and talked to me and listened to me and made me feel so much better, you have always been beyond amazing to me Kitty, there’s no one else I’d rather be my suggenes.” By the time Cordelia finishes her explanation, tears of joy have welled up in Kit’s eyes and are threatening to spill over.

“Oh Delia, I love you so much, of course I’ll be your suggenes, it would be my honor.” Kit softly says, kissing Cordelia on the forehead, softly.

Over the next few hours, Cordelia and Rafe are bombard with hugs, congratulations and stories of how their aunts and uncles always knew they’d end up together. Tessa and Jem hug their daughter tightly, smoother her in kisses and tell her how proud of her they are and how much they love her. Rafe’s parents do the same to him and tell Cordelia over and over about how they cannot wait to welcome her into the family. Rafe tells Alec about wanting Max to be his suggenes and asks if he’ll be allowed to seeing as he’s a warlock. Alec simply tells him not to worry about it and that he will sort it out. Magnus, Ragnor, Catarina and Lily immediately start planning the wedding, Lily insists they have a night time wedding so she can attended. 

For the last half hour or so Rafe and Cordelia have been left pretty much alone, though that was clearly about to end as Cordelia has just spotted Emma walking toward them.

“Cordy, I have something for you, a graduation gift so to speak.” Emma softly tells her cousin, kneeling down beside her.

“What is it?” Cordelia curiously asks, passing a fussy Sofia to Rafe. Emma takes Cortana from the scabbard at her side and holds it flat across her hands. 

“Hold your hands out.” Emma gently says. Cordelia’s eyes widen, she has always admired Cortana and hoped it would choose her some day, but she tried not to get her hopes up, knowing it could choose Jade or Will either. She shakily holds her hands out in front of her and Emma carefully lowers the sword into her out stretched hands. The moment Cordelia touches the sword, she feels as though it’s singing, she can almost swear she feel it humming and vibrating. 

“I... Emma what’s going on?” Cordelia quietly asks, looking up from the sword to see Emma smiling proudly at her.

“It’s chosen you, it’s yours now for the next eighteen years, then perhaps it will choose Sofia, but for now it has chosen you. It was meant to be your dad’s when he turned 18, but he was a Silent Brother by then, so it got passed to his cousin Cordelia- Who you’re named after-  and so on down the line until it came to my dad and then me.” Emma softly explains. She is so proud of her cousin, she truly deserves to be chosen by Cotrana and Emma knows she will do wonderful things with the sword. 

“I-I don’t know what to say.” Cordelia quietly says. Emma brushes her cousin’s hair back and gently squeezes her hand. 

“You don’t have to say anything, I’m proud of you Cordy and I love you so much.” Emma quietly says. Cordelia smiles weakly and hugs her tightly. 

“I love you too.”

Over the next few weeks with the help of all their friends and family (mainly Magnus) Cordelia and Rafe begin to plan their wedding. They decide that they will get married early in the new year and since they cannot be married in The Hall Of Accords since Idris has been in exile since before Cordelia was born, they settle on getting married in the New York Institute which has a lot of meaning to both their families, Magnus and Alec spent a lot of their early days of their relationship their, and Cordelia’s mother was born in New York before she moved to England when she was 16.

The next few months fly by for Cordelia and Rafael, they are both so busy with wedding planning, being sent on missions and raising Sofia, that before they know it it’s the day of their wedding. Rafael had stayed with his parents the night before the wedding and Cordelia and her family stayed in The Institute. Sofia stayed with Cordelia over night because she’s still nursing, Rafe hated spending the night apart from his daughter but he understands why Cordelia wants to exclusively nurse her.

Currently there is only about half an hour until the wedding, and Cordelia has just finished getting ready with the help of her mother. She chose to wear a traditional golden gown which was ankle length with a long sleeves and a skirt that flowed out at the bottom. Isabelle had helped her with her hair and makeup, twisting her long, thick black hair into a bun and then braiding it along the side. 

“Oh Cordy, you look so beautiful.” Tessa softly says, gazing at her daughter in disbelief. How is her baby almost 19? How is she a mother herself, and how is it her wedding day already? To Tessa it feels like Cordelia was born just yesterday. 

“You look just like your mother.” Jem quietly says, lifting little Sofia and making his way over to his daughter and wife. “With your hair up like that and in that dress you remind me so much of your mother when I first met her.” 

“Don’t be ridiculous Jem, she’s your twin, Jade looks me and Will looks more and more like you everyday.” Tessa lightly says.

“Well either way, you look amazing Delia.” Jem says in a loving tone. 

“Thanks, though I think my Sofia is the most beautiful one here.” Cordelia says in a tone of joy, taking Sofia into her arms and smothering her with kisses. Sofia is dressed in a beautiful yellow dress with white leggings and socks underneath, though no doubt by the end of the day the dress will be covered in slobber because of Sofia’s obsession with chewing on her hands. She won’t take any actual teething rings or toys or anything like that, she just wants to chew on her hands and cause a mess. 

Just then Jace appears in the doorway and smiles at his family.

“Delia, come here I have something for you.” He says, gesturing for her to follow him out into the hallway. Passing Sofia to her mother, Cordelia slips on her shoes and follows her cousin out into the hallway, stopping dead in her tracks when she sees who is standing before her. Side by side in the middle of the hall stand two tall young men, one lean with golden hair and green eyes, the other skinny and lanky with messy black hair and deep black eyes. Cordelia would recognize them anywhere in the world, her cousins. 

“Stevie! Georgie!” She exclaims in delight, running to hug her cousins. They told her they wouldn’t be able to attend her wedding, they said they had been sent on a mission that was set to last at least a few weeks, she had been disappointed that two of her best friends would not be there to see her get married, but she understood. Now she suspects it was all a ruse. 

“Cordy you look amazing.” Stephen softly says, hugging her tightly. 

“What are you doing here? I thought you couldn’t come.” Cordelia asks in a breathy tone, pulling back from the hug and wiping tears of joy from her eyes.

“We wanted to surprise you so we made up a story about being on a long mission, we portaled in from Thailand last night and stayed with Uncle Magnus and Uncle Alec so you wouldn’t know we’re here until now.” George explains. 

“How long are you staying?” Cordelia asks, hopeful that she will get to spend some more time with her cousins. 

“2 weeks, we want to meet your baby and get to know her, can I be godfather?” Stephen asks. 

“Come on Cordy don’t trust him with your baby, you know what he’s like.” George says in a teasing tone. Cordelia laughs lightly and says

“Sorry boys but she’s already got a godfather, Max.” Stephen and George nod approvingly. 

“Okay but I call cool favorite uncle, like Uncle Alec.” Stephen says. He has always idolized and adored his Uncle Alec, he always thought he was the most amazing person in the whole world and wanted to be just like him, once he finishes his travel year he plans to spend a while studying The Law so he has a chance of becoming Consul too one day. 

“In a few years when Sofia’s a teenager, we’re doing a repeat of our travel year and you’re coming with us this time.” George says, putting an arm around his cousin’s shoulder.

“Yeah so if you and Rafe plan on having another baby do it before or after that, though I still think you should’ve come with us even though you were pregnant, we would’ve taken good care of you!” Stephen exclaims. 

“I did think about it but Brother Enoch said it would be dangerous for the baby to portal so much and I felt like crap when I was pregnant.” Cordelia explains. She had been 7 months pregnant with Sofia when Stephen and George left and couldn’t even bring herself to regret not going with them, because she was so sore and tired and sick. 

“Come on, we better get you to your wedding, Kit’s waiting for you in the chapel.” George says, linking one arm through Cordelia’s while Stephen does the same.

The ceremony is a blur for Cordelia, she can hardly believe it is happening, she stumbles through her vows and cries through Rafael’s, barely even feeling the sting of the stele when Rafe applies the runes. Before she knows it it is all over and she and Rafael are standing alone in a spare bedroom of The Institute, grabbing a few minutes to themselves before the reception begins. 

“I love you Cordelia Lightwood-Bane.” Rafe softly says, resting his forehead against Cordelia’s forehead. Her heart skips about a million beats and swells with love and joy at the sound of her new name. 

“I love you too Rafael Lightwood-Bane.” She quietly says, before Rafael tips his head down and kisses her for the first time as her husband.