«—CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE—»
WRITING WRONGS

MAY HAD BEEN TYPING AWAY AT A COMPUTER ALL AFTERNOON. She was also trying to call Clary every thirty minutes, but only got her voicemail with each dial. Every time that automated voice answered, her heart sank deeper and deeper into the depth of stomach.

She had been hoping that with the sun being at its peak and the hours she had to think about it that Clary was ready to put Simon to rest.

The decision of what to do with Simon was really crawling up her back, whispering in her ear and fogging her mind, making it hard to read over the many emails she was getting from the Clave and the many reports about Valentine's past work.

She smiled at the report she had written for the Clave. Maybe it was a little kiss-ass-ish of her to write such a good report on the Lightwood family and their work at the Institute but she was just being honest and she wasn't going to cover up how she felt about the Institute and how it was being run.

May was looking over her messages when a new one popped up from the Clave. It was a letter sent to a special group of people and her name must have mistakenly been added to the list of recipients.

The girl scrolled through most of it but gasped when she read through the last lines. The lines that read that the Lightwoods were to lose all control of the New York Institute.

May leaned back in her seat and stared at the screen.

They were really doing this? Now? When the Clave's focus should be on finding and stopping Valentine? Instead, they focused on frivolous politics and the inner workings of a system that stood strong for so long.

May shook her head and scoffed. She couldn't let it happen. She couldn't let the Clave take away something so special to the Lightwood name. Izzy and Alec were losing everything. Their free will to love who they want, their own expression of who they are through something so simple as what they wore.

May wasn't blind. She saw the sudden change Izzy went through the second her parents came back. She had mentioned how she broke up with Meliorn, the Seelie she was seeing. She had cleaned out her closet of anything revealing and suddenly took charge of a lot of things that she hadn't before. She was being the diplomat. The job Alec was trained for years to eventually have.

May wouldn't even mention Alec and what he will be sacrificing for the family name. Marrying some woman he had never met just because his parents told him to. May knew he wouldn't say no. Alec was trained not to.

Maybe it was the fact that May remembered what the Institute was like years prior when she would visit. Or maybe it's the fact that they stuck their neck out for her and her mom many years ago. Giving them a place of refuge while her mom ran from something bigger than her but May couldn't help but feel she had to do something about it. Only one thought came to mind.

This was her ticket. This was her ticket to a fresh start and a possibility for something more.

She knew her worth to the Clave and her importance of staying in New York. If she threatened that... the Clave may waver their decision.

May cleared her throat as she held the envelope with her latest letter tightly in her hands, psyching herself up for what she was about to do. She fixed her jacket and brushed her hair out of her face before she turned the corner and went head first, not giving herself the chance to look back.

She walked in through the open door to the Lightwood office, knocking as she came in.

Maryse, Robert, Alec, and Lydia were having a serious conversation before May walked in and dropped a copy of her letter on the blonde's desk.

"Mrs. Stonehart, what's this?" She asked.

"A hard copy of the report the Clave asked me to write about the Lightwood's work here in the Institute. I think it would be nice if the Clave considered reading over it again, just to really this about it." She smiled condescendingly.

She then pulled out another letter and dropped it on top of the first one. "I'm also giving my two-week notice." She sighed.

Whatever confident expression Lydia held fell quick as her eyes went wide. "What?"

"The Clave told me about their recent decision for this Institute, and I simply refuse to work here if a Lightwood is not running it."

Lydia stammered for words and shook her head. "You don't have the right to that decision."

May smiled, "I know this may sound little egotistical of me, Ms. Branwell, but I know how important I am to the Clave, and I know how important it is to them that I stay here, in New York to ensure that Valentine is stopped..."

"But I have the right to a transfer just like anyone else here. So, really, the two weeks is just a kind gesture as I've already been offered a position at the Chicago Institute as an investigative researcher and detective, a position I can take at any time. I'm just giving the Clave the time to reconsider a few things."

The blonde didn't know what to say, she stammered for words. She knew that the Clave couldn't do anything about it. She knew that Mayla is able to transfer and move anywhere in the world since the Clave just wished to keep her now that they had her in the Shadow World again, but a lot of people would be screwed over if Mayla chose to separate from her assignment, if she chose to move where she isn't involved in stopping Valentine because her role is bigger then she knew.

"The Clave won't be reconsidering anything." Lydia glared her down.

May tipped back on her heels and turned to the three Lightwood's who are watching her carefully, shocked expressions all around.

She looked back at Lydia once more. "Well then, I guess I'm not reconsidering anything either." She gave her a cocky smile before she headed for the door, not saying another word.

May let out a huge puff of air in relief, glad she was out of there now. She wanted to take Chicago's offer ever since she got it but was worried that she wouldn't be able to leave her assignment of taking care of Clary but when she read some books and studied the Clave's laws, she realized that she can transfer and that she doesn't need to stick around.

She's been watching Clary the past couple of days, the whole time she had been in the Shadow world, really, and she noticed that Clary would do great on her own. She had Jace, Izzy, even Alec to help her. She knew that Jocelyn wanted Clary to find the Cup and stop Valentine on her own, they've talked about it before but she was too scared to leave her because of deep-rooted issues May had struggled with for a long time.

But now, with what happened with Simon and the others things she's realized recently, May needed to leave the city. Bury him tonight with Clary and just go to a new place where she hasn't been in years and be a new person.

May turned the corner and leaned on the wall. She rested her head back and smiled.

She got all giddy and tapped her feet in excitement, thinking about her new possibilities in Chicago. She wouldn't mind staying in New York, like at all, there are some amazing people here she would stick around for but if there's a chance this will change the Clave's mind on taking control away from the Lightwood's then she was glad she did it. This was a chance for something different. Something exciting and good.

Alec paced down the hallway, looking for the redhead who just left a whole room shocked. He didn't understand why she did what she did. Why she was choosing to leave.

He turned the corner and bumped into someone, causing them to tip, he quickly caught her fall.

"Woah." She muttered with a chuckle as she regained her balance. Alec recognized that laugh.

"May." Alec sighed in relief.

"Hey, Alec." She smiled she hopped on the balls of her feet and jabbed a thumb in the direction of the office. "Did you see what I did in there? It was awesome." She said as it followed with a cough.

"Yeah, I did. Why did you do that?"

Worried someone might hear their conversation, he lowered his voice to a whisper.

A big part of him didn't want to see the girl leave. He hated the feeling he got in his chest when she mentioned the offer in Chicago but he didn't want to admit that he was upset about the idea.

May tipped her head to the side and smiled. "It's like what I told Lydia, I refuse to work here if a Lightwood is not running it." She shrugged, turning to walk down the hallway, thinking the boy would follow.

He took her by the hand to stop her from walking away, desperately holding it close. "So you're just going to leave?" He asked her. "What about Clary? What about the Clave's orders?"

"I've read the laws, I know my rights and Clary will be fine on her own. She has Jace and Izzy, and hopefully you-- she'll be okay." May confirmed.

He noticed that she seemed to be convincing herself more than him. Her hand wheezed his sweetly.

"Look, with everything that has happened with Simon, I need to get away from here, I know I wouldn't be able to handle this place without him and it hurts too much to stay." Her voice cracked then, as she shifted on her feet.

Alec opened his mouth to speak— to argue but she beat him to the punch. "I need to do this, Alec. You, Izzy, your parents all worked way too hard to have something like this taken away. The Clave's focus should be on the war that coming whether we like it or not. It's the best thing for everyone if the Clave keeps their focus on that."

Alec shook his head with a scoff. Maybe it was Simon dying or the fact that she was still recovering from what she had been doing to herself for the last couple of weeks but he couldn't believe what he was hearing coming out of the girl's mouth.

"The best thing for everyone is for you to stay, help us stop Valentine here, in New York." He pulled her closer so she couldn't walk away from the conversation.

He couldn't allow someone as good as Mayla go and work somewhere else... At least that's what he told himself, to how he made sense of why he wanted her to stay so badly.

May tired finding an argument that would make sense. She though carefully but nothing came ti mind.

She already decided that she was going to leave unless the Clave change their mind. She didn't say anything after that because she would only yell at him, telling him that he was doing it for him and Izzy and that she was doing what she could to get the Clave to hear her.

She sent him an apologetic look before she slipped out of his grip and said. "I made up my mind Alec and you can't change it." She stepped back and turned on her heels, making her way back down the hallway.

Alec didn't stop her this time. He let her go, deciding that if he couldn't change her mind then he could try and find a loophole to her offer.

a/n:

15k reads?!

Holy shit. I can not believe so many people have taken the time read something I wrote.

That's amazing, guys. Thank you. I literally can't word how grateful I am.

Seriously, thank you.