The ocean could be seen at the horizon, glistening in the noon sun. The density of the tiny houses that peppered the landscape, decreased the farther out from the palace they were. The Palace itself was made of bright shimmering crystals, that sat atop its highest towers and glowed a light blue at dusk. More practical grey bricks made up the main body of the building. According to legend the Palace had been built here by the kingdom's founding family; his family.

Alec's parents were the current monarchs of this land, and for as long as he could remember he'd been groomed to take over the throne. Alec valued family and duty very highly and worked hard to be worthy of his role even if he didn't really want it, or at least he didn't want one aspect of it ― the problem was that the job title required one to marry and produce heirs.

His father had married without love and Alexander knew exactly what that had done to him, but at least Robert Lightwood was attracted to women. Alec, on the other hand, was not. Robert and Maryse hadn't been surprised by this news, but they had reminded Alec that kings must provide heirs. The rest of his family hadn't thought much of it either. His little sister, Izzy had offered to set him up with men, but though Alec knew what strong attraction looked like in others, but had yet to experience it himself.

Alec had once researched this topic in the archives of the royal library. He'd been curious if there had ever been a monarch like him before and to his surprise there were records of at least two kings in the last few centuries that kept a male lover in the Palace along with the Queen. The problem was that this solution and Alec's morals were at odds.

Alec regretted to this day that he'd never told his little brother, Max, that he was gay. When Max had been alive Alec had held out hope that his little brother could have ascended the throne in his place. The day Max had died in his arms, Alec had lost both that hope and the brother he loved. Alec considered that to be the worst day of his life.

These days Alec just wished, in vain, that his arrogant best friend was actually his brother because he would have loved every part of being King.

"Are you just going to stand there looking gloomy forever?" Alec turned around and saw the bright gold hair and eyes of Jace Herondale. Alec's parents had taken Jace in as their own when Jace's parents had died, just weeks after Jace was born.

"I am considering it," Alec said absently as he turned back to the window.

"It's like you walk around with a rain cloud over your head," Jace complained. "If I was going to be king I would be, you know... happy." Alec didn't comment so Jace continued. "So what if you'd rather have a guy. All you have to do is get your wife pregnant. Simple. Then you can go back to whichever dude you want." Alec rolled his eyes.

"Thanks," Alec said sarcastically. "That makes everything better."

"No problem," Jace replied spiritedly. Alec knew Jace understood sarcasm, but was just choosing to ignore it. "Always here to help."

"Go away," Alec whined.

"Sorry, can't," Jace said sharply. "Maryse sent me to tell you duty calls." Alec groaned; he so wasn't in the mood, but he turned around and followed Jace down the hall.

This was the purpose of the royal family. This was why the blood-lines had to remain as pure as possible. It wasn't just politics or tradition. The blood that ran through their veins allowed them to work the weapons that no one else could, the only weapons that could protect them when demons threatened their lands. They had a name for themselves, these people who could wield the weapons of the Angels, they called themselves Nephilim.

Every person who lived in the Palace had at least a little angel blood. In fact, Alec was pretty sure no one without the royal blood had ever set foot within these walls. The majority of his people were what the Nephilim referred to as mundanes, though never to their face. They were the same as the royalty, except they didn't have Angel blood. The other two races that shared this world with them were not protected directly by the royal family as the mundanes were. These two races mostly looked after themselves though the Nephilim did cross paths with them from time to time.

Alec knew one such instance was the shield that surrounded their capital city. It looked like nothing more than a shimmer in the sky, but was actually a powerful protective spell placed there by warlock's magic. The warlocks were the only ones capable of putting up a barrier or ward against the demons. This was because they had a little demon blood in them, but they were very rarely trusted by the Nephilim for that very same reason. However the very existence of the protective shield proved that there must have been at least one trustworthy warlock at some point in history. The history of the shield was lost to them as that particular spell had been put in place so long ago that the records of its creation had faded away.

Usually the Nephilim paid for warlock magic and Warlocks charged high prices, often asking for more than just simple currency. The warlocks were at least on better terms with the Nephilim than the fey folk, otherwise known as the fairies, gnomes, pixies and pests that littered the lands. The origins of such creatures were not well documented and in general the Nephilim tended to not have many dealings with them.

Alec had followed Jace without really paying attention and now found himself entering the mission room where the only permanent portal in all the land stood glittering in the late afternoon sun. This portal also represented an instance of warlock assistance and, like the shield, had been in place for so long no one remembered anything about its origins.

At the grand oval table in the center of the room sat Alec's parents. Maryse and Robert both had dark hair, fair skin and stern looks. Around the table on either side of his parents sat the king's advisors. Alec didn't know very them well, but he knew their names to be Lucian, Amatis, Valentine and Jocelyn. Lucian and Amatis were brother and sister while Valentine and Jocelyn were married. Jace's father and mother, Celine and Stephen, had been among their number before their deaths.

Sitting across from his parents sat the second generation ― Valentine and Jocelyn's two children Jon and Clary, were seated toward one end. They looked nothing alike as Clary resembled her mother and Jon his father. Clary and Jocelyn had bright red hair, while Jon and Valentine were blonde, like Jace. Every member of the royal bloodline shared the same pale skin. The rest of the second generation consisted of himself, his sister, Jace and Simon. Simon was his sister's betrothed and an orphaned nephilim, taken in and sheltered much the same way Jace had been.

"We have gotten news of a demon attack," Robert told the room at large as Alec sat down next to his sister. "Even though it doesn't seem to be a very powerful demon we must still eliminate the threat."

"I'll go," Jace said with a shrug. This surprised no one. Jace was always the first to volunteer.

"Me too," Izzy added. "I'm so bored of just sitting around the palace." Alec sighed and added his own willingness to go. He never liked it when Jace or Izzy went off without him. He always worried they wouldn't returned, no matter how small the mission.

"Three should be enough for this mission," Maryse said. "You leave in an hour."

"Great," Alec sighed. At least fighting was easy, not like making major life decisions.

His weapon of choice was a bow and arrow, when combined with Izzy's whip and Jace's sword, there wasn't much the three of them couldn't handle. Jace stood up and blatantly made out with his fiancé, Clary, before they left the room. Alec sometimes marveled at why everyone was so quick to marry around here or maybe that was just him not looking forward to it. Everyone else seemed perfectly content to go straight from, 'I like you' to 'let's make babies.' Alec frequently wondered why straight people couldn't control themselves.

Once Jace had removed his tongue from Clary's mouth and Alec had rolled his eyes the appropriate amount of times, they left.

"Must you do that at every meeting?" Alec complained to Jace.

"Is it my fault she can't get enough of me?" Jace replied.

"Yes," Alec and Izzy said together. Jace just laughed as he picked up his favourite throwing knife, spun it around in his hands for the effect then placed it in his boot. Izzy's whip was soon wrapped around her wrist and they were ready to go. As they headed back to the portal, through the mission room where the king and his advisors still sat around the table looking over papers, Alec smiled at the fact that he didn't yet have to deal with the more tedious tasks of the crown.

"I think the portal's pretty," Izzy said as they were about to step through it.

"It's a tool, Iz," Jace replied. "It's meant to be useful, not pretty."

"Yeah, but I wonder," Izzy continued. "I mean, like, when it was created, do you think its creator was thinking about how it would look?"

"I have no idea," Alec sighed. "Let's just get his over with and save the philosophy stuff for later, shall we?"

"Fine," Izzy grumbled. Then her face split into a wicked grin and with a flick of her wrist her whip sprang out faster than a striking snake. "Let's give 'em hell."

Alec shook his head at her. Jace and Izzy were, as far as he could tell, the only two Nephilim currently living in the palace that truly enjoyed the fighting aspect of their job. Clary and Simon did their jobs, but there didn't take joy in it the way Izzy and Jace did.

"I will settle for coming home alive," Alec replied as he stepped into the shimmering purple portal.

The moment they arrived Alec's blood ran cold. He knew instantly something was wrong. Jace and Izzy appeared beside him in a matter of seconds, but the demons were already upon them.

The threat was far greater than they'd realized. They were meant to face a few lesser demons, easily defeated, but instead Alec saw an army of lesser demons being controlled by one feral beast of a demon.

Alec's first instinct was to run, but it was far too late for that. Alec heard Izzy's whip flash and Jace's sword clash. He loosed an arrow, and then another, and another into the beast of a leader, but it refused to fall down. Well, if they all died here and now, Alec thought suddenly, at least he wouldn't have to marry a woman. Alec couldn't help, but laugh at his strange thought. Then one of the demon's claws missed his face by an inch; now was so not the time to be laughing.

Alec tried, but failed to dodge the next blow completely. He felt the small cut on his shoulder, but it didn't concern him. Having the Angel's blood meant you healed fast and Alec knew that one small cut couldn't slow him down. The attacker approaching on the left was a different matter however. With his Angelic reflexes Alec grabbed his sister by the arm and pulled her away, just in time. The creature's claws missed her by inches. Next Alec saw Jace's sword get caught in the demon's scales. Jace couldn't get it free and went for the knife in his boot instead. Izzy had taken up her whip again but, at this rate, they wouldn't last much longer.

During the fighting they'd moved away from the portal. Alec looked around frantically for it and saw the shimmering purple light far off to his left. Ripping a piece of fabric from his shirt, Alec attached it to his arrow then turned and loosed. It went fast and true and hit right on target into the portal, but Alec had been looking away for too long. He felt the bite of claws across his back before his head hit the ground. Alec could feel his consciousness slipping away. If he passed out now he was dead for sure, but he couldn't get to his feet; he couldn't move at all.

Alec sensed Izzy and Jace fighting over him, protecting him. His delirious mind was absently thinking that no, that wasn't right. That was his job. Alec had always protected them and they had no business protecting him. Alec again tried and failed to stand, but it wasn't just the injury. Alec could feel burning in all the cuts, even the small one on his shoulder, and he knew what that meant. Poison. Alec lost conscious just as the reinforcements he'd called arrived. At least that meant Izzy and Jace would live, Alec thought as everything went black.

Editing and description help from Hewt. Beta read by Karen Hikari and Sabiduria. This story was inspired in part by another fantasy Malec fanfic written by ConsulFangirl. The story title is "Beyond The King's Walls" and so far I am the only one reviewing it which I think is very sad. She keeps updating though so more power to her!

I have never written an AU set in a fantasy world before. All my previous alternative universe fics have been set in the the modern world with all human version of the TMI characters. If you have read any of my newer stories you know I tend to include a sneak peek for the next chapter at the end of my chapters. :D Next chapter is Magnus POV. I am super excited about this story! I so want to know what you guys think!

Sneak Peek Chapter 02

Magnus didn't count any Nephilim as his friend, especially after how they'd treated Catarina. Magnus had his own theory as to why those high and mighty Nephilim didn't like the warlocks or the fairies ― he firmly believed they were just jealous because their bodies would grow old and wither away, while warlocks and faeries remained young forever. Magnus had watched countless generations of Nephilim live and die during his life and he had yet to be impressed by a single one of them.

Like this story? I write original stuff too and have a writer's blog. Check out my website: writealott DOT com