SO! This is a fanfic I had time for, since I have been SUPER busy with high school and such.
This is set in the Medieval Period.
Chapter 1
The castle was large enough. Servants scuttled around, going about their business. Clary rarely saw her father, King Valentine anymore. Not that she was complaining.
Idris was in the height of its glory. It was united under the fist of Valentine and Jocelyn, the "Match Made in Heaven". Clary shuddered whenever she heard someone say that. It was disgusting, what Valentine got away with. No one saw the abuse, or the anger, or the liquor, or the many whores he had brought to his chambers. And if anyone said "Nay" when Valentine spoke, they were executed.
But the people of Idris were content, without war or poverty or famine. So they lived in ignorance of how corrupt their ruler was.
Clary was a sensation in Idris, though she did not care for her fame. All the men wished to court her, whether it was for her beauty, status or wealth, she wasn't sure.
Of one thing she was grateful for her father. He did not allow men to date her; he was protective of "Idris's Angel." She despised that name, too.
Her red curly hair fell pleasantly over the emerald green of her satin dress that perfectly matched her eyes. She sat straight, remembering her mother's lectures of what is it to be royal. Her pale fingers danced along the red velvet of the chair, nervous in anticipation.
Her father had called her to his chambers, much to Clary's dismay. Valentine's chambers, though colored with warm, bright hues, were cold. And hollow. Entering the room was bad enough, but she knew that whenever Valentine had to speak to her directly, something important of nature would be occurring soon.
With a loud bang, the oak doors at the front of the room flew open, with Valentine, crisp white hair and dark eyes, leading the way. Servants ran to catch up with him, holding scrolls or patches of fabric for his latest cloak. His wiry smile crept up his face as he came to Clary.
Clary stood automatically, and bent over to kiss his ring. Valentine's hand was cold, so cold. She shivered from the smallest touch.
"Clarissa," Valentine drawled her full name. "I have splendid news." His eyes stared into hers, revealing nothing.
"Father?" Clary asked, in no more than a whisper. Despite her seething hatred of Valentine, she was frightened by him. He was responsible for most of the old bruises and scars along her arms.
"You will not have to be alone anymore." He smiled, though his eyes showed no kind of actual happiness.
"We have found a match."
A match. Oh Lord, please, no! Clary wanted to scream, to spit in his face. She had seen the cohorts Valentine had introduced her to. They were crude, perverted men who Valentine saw as business deals, most of them being wealthy or owning lots of land.
Clary's hands curled into small fists behind her back. Who, who in God's name had he found?
"You'll enjoy each other," Valentine sneered. "Sebastian?"
Clary's heart stopped. Her body transformed to stone, as if Medusa herself had caught her glance. The person revealed was not Medusa, but Clary wished it was.
Sebastian Velarc slowly walked to Valentine's side. This boy, with jet black hair and dark eyes had a smile that could make children weep. He made no effort to hide the fact that he was assessing Clary's body. Her skin crawled.
Anyone but him, she prayed, anyone but him!
"You have met before, indeed?" Valentine drawled. Sebastian gave a silent, polite nod, with his eyes still pouring over Clary. "I shall leave you alone with your fiancé."
And with that, Valentine strode out of the room, his servants pathetically running beside him. Clary wanted to cry, to yell at him to come back.
Instead, her hips were gripped by cold, unwelcoming hands. She yelped and jumped back, looking frantically around for some kind of help. All the servants had left. They were alone.
"Clarissa, we are going to be married." Sebastian laughed, sending chills down Clary's spine. "You must get used to it."
He wrapped an arm around Clary's waist, and pulled her against his chest. Clary writhed underneath his powerful arm. Slowly, he reached a hand up and grabbed her chest.
Clary screamed and pushed away. How dare he violate her? What is going to happen when they were married? She trembled violently.
She was brought out of her thoughts by a sharp crack across her face. She was taken so off guard that she toppled to the floor. Her dress ripped from catching on her heels. A single tear leaked from her eye, rolling down her cheek and dripping on her dress.
"Dear," Sebastian sneered, "We are going to have to work on that, aren't we?" He grabbed her arm, tight enough to leave a bruise, and yanked her to her feet. Clary stumbled up, aghast at his actions. His eyes showed no mercy. He crashed his lips against hers.
Clary struggled, but couldn't escape. His teeth gnashed against hers, leave cuts on her lips, which began to drip blood. He pulled back, with a satisfied smile.
"Good enough." He shook his hair out of his eyes, and walked out of the room, the doors crashing behind him.
Clary wiped the blood from her face, wincing as her hand traced over her newly injured cheek. Her eyes were wide from fear and shock. She would be his wife. His toy. His fun for the night.
"Tonight?" Clary heard herself whisper. He would expect them to sleep together. She had just had her first kiss stolen from her. And now this? Her life was crashing before her eyes.
As she went to collapse on the couch, to wallow in self-pity and hate, she saw a mirror.
And in the mirror, was her future. Bruises, cuts and scars, showing on the flesh of a broken girl. Her eyes were filled with tears of anguish and hatred. She tentatively pulled her hand through her hair. She could not recognize this girl in front of her. A girl distraught with worry and anxiety. A girl that had a constant tremor ever since her father walked into the room.
Her next decision was the best she ever had.
She slipped off her heels, and pulled on a pair of white sandals. She yanked her white traveling cloak off the hanger.
With one quick look, she scanned the room, saying goodbye to her past.
She opened the back door of her father's – No, not her father. Valentine. She opened the back door of Valentine's room. It revealed a small meadow, and beyond that, the shabby houses of the townspeople.
She breathed a breath of freedom as she ran out the door, leaving behind Sebastian and the hatred that had held her down for years.
