"Who controls the past controls the future. Who controls the present controls the past."
-George Orwell

Lisa let out a frustrated sigh. From the moment they fled the ball, they had run to Moira's apartment with the book. The sorceress sat in her purple pajamas, bent over the Fairy book and a copy of the text on the scepter, she bit her lip. With her hands in her hair, one finger twisted around a blonde lock. She and Jonathan had been standing there for an hour, motionless, staring at her.

It may have been her shadowhunter's instinct, but she could feel Jonathan's gaze piercing her back. For the umpteenth time she shivered, it was a cool winter night and the wafer-thin fabric of her dress didn't bring much warmth.

"Did you find anything yet?" she asked hesitantly. Of course, Moira had nothing yet, the fairy language was very complex, with a trillion different dialects. She wanted to go back to the Institute, to Anna and Thomas.

The thought of Thomas upset Lisa for a moment. Should she tell him she kissed Jonathan? No, why would she? Lisa was the best at keeping secrets, or so she thought of herself.

Moira shook her head brusquely, still focused on the strange symbols of the text. Her graceful hand moved a pen across the paper as she took quick notes.

When Jonathan broke the tensed silence with a cough, Moira put the pen down and turned.

"You children must rest, I can do this alone," she whispered, "you are not of much help." The shadowhunters nodded in relief and walked out of the room together. They both knew that the streets of Antwerp were unsafe at this hour and she had only hidden a simple dagger in her dress. Besides, it wasn't the first time she'd spent the night in this apartment.

They had often came to drink tea with Moira and knew her small but stylish apartment like the back of their hands. Lisa followed Jonathan into the bedroom and closed the door behind them. Alone at last, she thought. Lisa dropped onto the purple-and-white king-size bed, while Jonathan unfolded the guest bed. She heard the squeak as he laid down with his weight on it and then sucked in a big gulp of air.

She hoped he was too tired to talk like her when he opened his mouth anyway. "Lisa, about-"

"If you say one more word about this evening, I'll make good use of this dagger." She conjured the weapon from under her dress and pointed the tip at Jonathan. He closed his eyes, clearly irritated. She wanted to act tough, but she also knew he was right. Talking was the only solution. She dropped the dagger on the mattress and looked sideways at the shadow where Jonathan sat.

"You kissed me back," he said, as emotionless as he could. Though she heard his doubt.

"That's right," she replied in an equally flat tone. And I would do it again.

The next minute, Lisa stared at the shadow that Jonathan was supposed to represent.

"Why?" he whispered as softly as the wind blew outside. Lisa purses her lips, because I love you, by the Angel. She thought about her answer for what seemed like an eternity.

Luckily she didn't have to answer, a quiet snoring sound told her he had fallen asleep. Exhausted from their mission, she felt her eyelids grow heavy, soon following Jonathan's lead.

*

A shriek broke through their restless sleep. Almost bumping into Lisa, Jonathan jumped up. The look in her gray eyes was as confused as his.

"Moira," they said simultaneously.

Jonathan burst into the living room, Lisa on his tail. He had pulled a throwing knife from his belt, his eyes scanning the room for potential danger. Moira was still hunched over, staring at the pile of papers. It wasn't until Lisa patted his shoulder lightly that he relaxed his muscles.

"What happened?" he asked sheepishly, it was as if they had imagined the cry.

Moira finally seemed to notice them, forcing smile to her face and sliding her notes under the book. Lisa had clearly noticed too. She strode toward the sorceress with long strides and grabbed the piece of paper.

Her lips parted in surprise. He couldn't help but stare now that he knew what she tasted like. Jonathan was afraid she would never talk to him again after what happened last night. And he couldn't imagine life without her. He put his knife back away and looked away.

"You managed to translate the text," Lisa squealed. His head turned in surprise to the duo. In a spark of purple fire, Moira stood across the table, the notes clutched in her hand.

"That's right," she said firmly. Lisa's gaze met his, Moira sounded unwilling to share this knowledge with them.

"This secret has been kept for so long," she began, "why try to resurface it? You children have no idea what that scepter is capable of. There's a reason it's so well hidden." Her eyes darted to the two shadowhunters in panic. In all those years he had never seen Moira afraid, she was the wisest and bravest of them all. Her gaze was almost pleading.

Jonathan leaned against the wall when Lisa took a deep breath. She may not have been the best warrior, but sometimes words could hit you harder than any weapon.

"We found the information about the scepter by accident, it might as well have fallen into the wrong hands. Jonathan Shadowhunter knew how destructive the scepter was, which is why he hid it so well. He did not yet trust his followers and was afraid that it would be used against the underprivileged. He had hope, however," she paused and looked into his eyes in panic, which gave him chills, "hope that the shadowhunters would one day rise above that injustice. The Clave is corrupt and would indeed misuse the weapon to make itself even more powerful. So there is only one option left for us; destroy the scepter.' She ended on a dramatic note and bit her lip, both of their eyes fixed on Moira.

Like him, she stared at Lisa in bewilderment. With a vanquished sigh, she held out the wrinkled note. Lisa eagerly snatched it from her hands and read it aloud.

Seek and thou shalt find
Near the water of the Scheldt
Well guarded in a fortress
There is a treasure hidden
But do not listen to what they told thee
Look before thou leap
For thou cannot turn back time.

They looked at each other speechless. "Look before thou leap," she whispered.

"Have we gone through so much trouble for six pathetic sentences?" Jonathan wondered aloud.

Moira clicked her tongue. "I did all the translation work while you were asleep," she said wearily.

"And we risked our lives at a fancy party," he snapped back.

Lisa stepped between the two and spread her arms, her eyes seeming to storm as she looked at Jonathan. Again a chill ran down his spine.

"Don't you understand what this means? We know where the scepter is, instead of arguing we should go find it."

Moira laughed. "A fortress near the Scheldt. That could be just about anywhere, honey." She studied her nails, maybe she would get what she wanted after all. Perhaps it was impossible to get hold of the weapon and all their efforts had been in vain.

Lisa's broad smile told him otherwise.

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Also remember: trust no one