The euphony of the rustling
meadow was my education;
among flowers I learned to love.

Friedrich Hölderlein from the poem 'When I was a boy'

"It's a toga-party," Alec said despondently because his sister didn't seem to understand how uncomfortable he felt.

"It's just a party," she declared while blissfully ignoring the people clothed in white togas.

They were sitting on a white chaise lounge in the center of a penthouse, quite an imposing one at that. Its windows offered a panoramic view of nightly Manhattan. The interior clearly let everyone know that it was inhabited by highly affluent people. The furniture was invariably white aside from the glass table that seemed to be floating in mid air.

All items appeared to be placed precisely in the exact perfect spots and sparkled either silver or golden. An astonishingly massive sculpture was sited in the right corner, showing the naked shape of a Greek God and Laurel wreaths had been giving out at the entrance. The music in the background was softly heartening, and nothing like Alec had ever heard before and he found it oddly hypnotizing.

Almost everyone wore a white toga wrapped around pale or golden shimmering skin. Some though had shortened or sexed up the robe, which was one more detail that intensified Alec's discomfort. These people all appeared to be quite open and irritatingly joyful. Downworlders weren't usually as happy as the guests at this party and Alec had declined more than one invitation for a drink since he suspected it to be responsible for the nerve-racking lively ambiance.

"You should walk around and blend in," Isabelle suggested cheerfully and earned a deadly glare.

"Isabelle." Her brother snapped, "we are the only two people here not wearing a white bedspread wrapped around our bodies! Blending in doesn't even seem an option."

"I didn't know, okay." She retorted defensively and was quite frankly fed up with her brother's constant negativity.

"And even if I would have known and told you about it, do you think you would have dressed up like that?"

"Most definitely not." Alec stated firmly and crossed his arms before his chest.

The party was Izzy's idea to cheer him up and it really didn't go very well so far. Not only did he feel completely misplaced, he was also the only person in the penthouse wearing black. Usually wearing black helped to blend in easily and not stand out, which Alec much to his discomfort, did. Like a black spot in a white ocean.

Even Isabelle wore a white dress. Not quite an ancient Greek garment but white nonetheless. Her black hair was crowned by the laurel wreath. Between the realization that this was a motto-party, finding out the motto (ancient Greek) and freshening up in the restroom, Isabelle had found a way to create her own unique somewhat Greekish style. She had no problem fitting in and that only increased Alec's antagonism.

When she went for the bathroom, he found a place to sit down and had been sitting there moping for the past hour, regretting that he had given into his sister's persistence earlier this morning. While he was silently cursing her, himself and the rest of the universe people passed him all looking as if they had walked straight out of the 'Ilias' or, in some cases, a bad Julius Caesar Production off-Broadway. He even spotted a Vampire couple dressed in Togas.

"I can't believe you did this to me." Alec lamented loudly.

"Did what? Trying to get you out of your room for a change?" Isabelle snapped back at him angrily.

"Why is that so important to you?"

"Because I can't stand your Emo-attitude anymore."

"My what-attitude?"

"Your Emo-attitude." she repeated saying it very slowly to mock him.

"I don't have an Emo-attitude."

"All you wear lately is black, all you do lately is moping and your hair is now covering both of your eyes because you want to hid from the world." She pointed out and added, "probably because you are misunderstood and confused."

"I…" Alec tried to defend himself but was shockingly out of remarks. After all he did feel confused and very misunderstood.

"When was the last time you had fun?"

"I've been dealing with some issues lately and you know that."

"I do know that. It's why I brought you here. To have some fun."

"You seriously thought I would have fun at a Toga party?"

Isabelle frowned and shrugged since in retrospect it really didn't look like such a good idea.

Both Lightwood's sighed at the same time. Obviously they shouldn't have ignored all the signs pointing to a disastrous night. It all started with Isabelle trying to convince Alec to come with her to a party and if that wasn't difficult enough, Jace kept mocking the both of them constantly. He was only trying to make some jokes but Alec reacted extremely affected. As always.

Unfortunately, neither Jace nor Clary were up for a party considering all the things that happened and all the future plans. Isabelle, who was exhausted already couldn't bring up the energy to convince them, too and didn't feel in the mood to call up the Vampire either. She was regretting her decision and realized somewhat sadly that it was no fun to hang out solely with her older brother.

Alec regretted that he gave in and wished himself back in his room. Alone with his thoughts and he had quite a handful of them to sort out. This party was certainly not helping with any of his problems but made them all worse because he started to miss certain people that he shouldn't miss at all. He glared at Isabelle in silent anger because she just couldn't leave him alone in his misery.

While both regretting various choices it was Isabelle who broke the silence, saying,

"You know maybe he can cheer you up."

Alec followed her view and made a face, "Oh, no."

It was Magnus Bane of course and Alec couldn't even bare to look at the warlock. Instead he hissed something harshly towards his sister and rushed up to storm away. He had to struggle through various dancing mundanes, vampires and what not and ignored his rising panic attack. His heart was filled with a chaotic mess of emotions that he really didn't need to feel right now.

Unfortunately he didn't take the time to look around and ended up in front of the bedroom door instead of the exit. Cursing out loudly he turned around only to stumble against Magnus who bestowed him with a precautious smile;

"Hello Alec."

"Uhm, hey." he mumbled and nervously scratched his head.

"So, now you are running away from me?"

"I wasn't running away from you. I just wanted to leave this shitty party." Alec snapped back faking total indifference and failed miserably at doing it.

"It's fine." Magnus graciously offered and shrugged, "it's not like we're friends or something."

"That's not fair."

"What is not fair?"

"You said you didn't want to see me anymore."

Magnus let out a disapproving growl but restrained his anger while saying, "On the contrary, I never said I didn't want to see you anymore. I only said that I didn't want to play around anymore. There's a difference my young shadowhunter."

"Whatever." Alec snarled out defiantly and sounded like a pouting child.

Before Magnus could reply, Isabelle approached them and greeted the Warlock with a warm smile that he returned somewhat sadly.

"My gosh, you look stunning."

"Thank you." she said happily and made a spin.

"I wouldn't have expected to see any of you guys at this particular party." Magnus versed at her trying to ignore Alec.

"I thought a little fun would be good idea to cheer up the mood of certain people." She nicked her head in Alec's direction, "but some are just helpless cases."

"Stop it Izzy." Alec persisted.

It came out a lot harsher than intended but his inner fury had him overpowered. That Magnus was here only made things worse.

"I just wanted…"

"That's the problem with you isn't it? You always think and act but never so much try and talk to someone before. You have no idea what happened between me and…" His voice cracked.

"I'm having the strong feeling he was going to say my name." Magnus finished after a short break and looked at Isabelle.

"You never talk to anybody." She tried justifying her actions but felt admittingly uncomfortable standing next to them.

"Just." Alec started and his eyes rested briefly on Magnus before wandering to Isabelle, "leave me alone."

With that, he dramatically turned around and fled scene. His face was blushing heavily as he tried to find his way out and away from this party, his sister and Magnus. He screamed out inwardly due to the heavy ache he felt. It was just all so messed up and he sincerely wished he would have never met Magnus Bane in the first place. Now, everything was much more complicated and much harder to hide.

xxxxx

"What happened between you two?" Isabelle curiously as she watched her brother running off.

"As you might have noticed your brother and I aren't exactly on good terms. I would rather avoid infuriating him further by gossiping out the details of our failed romance."

"I'm sorry." She apologized for being impolite and her voice softened, "I'm just worried about him."

"Everybody is worried about someone, I guess." Magnus stated wisely and sighed.

"I'm guessing that is the reason for his bad mood."

"I'd prefer if you wouldn't blame me for that. After all, I think we both know that Alec Lightwood has about a dozen reasons for misery."

"But I thought…"

"There isn't anything I can do. I'm not willing to waste my time with childish games. More importantly I can't stand confused adolescents who aren't sure of anything. They are, granted, quite adorable while at the same time a very frustrating tease." Magnus explained carefully and tried to hide how much he was still affected.

"You broke up with him." Isabelle conjectured.

"On the contrary there was nothing to break between us in the first place."

That was all Magnus wanted to say in that matter. The young shadowhunter with those blue eyes had already taken up too much of his time. It started out quite amusing but turned out to be an unsolvable case. Alec Lightwood wasn't ready to let his guard down and the warlock was far too impatient to wait. That he was still feeling rather strongly was an unpleasant consequence of his decision.

…………

Meanwhile, Alec tried desperately to leave the party but couldn't find his way around. If he wouldn't have been so caught up by emotions, he might have realized that nothing in the penthouse was exactly normal. It took him while to notice that, even without some treewalls the place felt like a maze and he kept running around in circles. He had found several doors but they all led to bed – or bathrooms but none to the exit.

Still angry and annoyed, he finally decided to find some peace of mind. Just as he finished the thought, he found himself in front of a golden door. It wasn't just painted but literally of gold but Alec didn't appreciate the elegance but opened it and wandered in. Candles lighted up the inside and a soothing odor thickened the air. He inhaled deeply, grateful for the quietness and leaned his head against the door with closed eyes.

"Too many heavy thoughts for such a beautiful mind." a voice whispered through the shadows and made Alec lifting his gaze.

When Alec looked up he found himself staring at a guy who outright took his breath away. This man was unearthly beautiful. He was tall, lean but well built. His skin glistened alabaster white in the candlelight and he seemed to be the only guest at this party who didn't look entirely stupid wrapped in a white toga. His garment looked daintily covered around his body like a snake around a prey.

He had amazingly striking green eyes with long lashes. The color of his hair almost seemed to change in the shadows. While in one moment it was bright and almost golden, it shimmered more darkly when he turned. The Laurel wreath looked fused into the wisps as if it was a natural part of his head. He was holding a flower in his hand and bestowed Alec with a poignant smile. Truly divine, Alec thought because it was the most fitting description he could come up with.

"I…I'm sorry…I didn't mean to interrupt…"

"You didn't interrupt anything, precious." The stranger said, his voice sounding seductively entrancing and Alec felt himself floating while his heart started to pound more rapidly inside his chest. He bit his lips for the lack of words because nothing his mind came up with sounded remotely cool enough for actual verbalization.

Alec gazed around the room and tried to control his voice as he casually said, "Pretty flower."

"It's a Hyacinth." The guy explained softly, "It has the color of your eyes."

"Uhm." Alec made and nervously played around with his hands because he wasn't even sure if that was a compliment or a simple statement of a fact.

"Do you like flowers?"

"Sure who doesn't?" Alec replied and felt increasingly stupid.

"Then I shall give this one to you," the man said with a flowing smile and offered the flower to Alec who took it with a faintly perplexed look.

"Ehm, thank you."

"May I ask what made you hide in here?"

"My sister. She…she's just annoying," Alec answered and felt like a lost child talking to a stranger.

"Tell me about it." the guy said and waved his right hand up dismissively, "my sisters are probably worse."

"How many do you have?"

"Countless." Was the reply supplemented by an empathetic glance.

"I'm Alec by the way." he courageously said when he found his voice again and stretched out his hand.

"Indeed you are. Alec Lightwood." the guy replied much to Alec's confusion and shook his hand, "Shadowhunter and tormented brother."

"How do you know…?"

Instead of answering the stranger took a step forward and pensively brushed a strand of black hair out of Alec's face, saying, "You've got such beautiful eyes."

Alec didn't really know how to reply. It had been difficult with Magnus and felt downright impossible with this man who reminded him of a Bernini sculpture. As ever, his consciousness felt reluctant against the flirting in fear of temptation. However, his reluctance seemed to fade the longer this guy gazed at him and it was more than astonishing as Alec realized how fascinated he felt by this man.

The stranger however only smiled pleased when unexpectedly, out of nowhere, he was holding a wine bottle in his hand. Alec blinked and noticed two wineglasses suddenly had appeared as well. It made him take a step back eyeing the scene suspiciously.

"Are you a demon by any chance?" he dared asking hoping for a lie not expecting the sudden laughter filling the room.

"No, Alec. I'm certainly no demon. You don't have to be afraid of me. I can see your sadness, you know. And according to my brother this." He lifted the bottle, "is the best medicine."

"Alcohol?"

"Wine is a perfect cure for heaviness and sorrow." the guy rejoined in a melodious voice and handed the cup to Alec who took it with a skeptical glare.

"Are you serious?"

"A roman playwright said that once."

"Are you roman?"

"No. I'm not."

Holding the cup with the possible cursed wine unsurely in his hand; Alec leaned his head to the side and scrutinized the stranger, looking for signs of fowl play. He shouldn't, that much he was sure of, stand here and even consider drinking but he couldn't help but feeling incredibly tempted. Not solely by the wine but by the man in general.

"Drink wine, and you will sleep well. Sleep and you will not sin. Avoid sin, and you will be saved. Ergo, drink wine and be saved."

Alec smirked and asked, "Roman too?"

"No, that's a medieval German saying."

"Are you German?"

"Why is my origin so important to you?" The guy asked and drained his cup.

"I just like to know the people I'm talking to, that's all."

"Really? And I thought you don't want anyone to know the real you."

Alec was stunned and very much shaking out of control. He risked a look at the ruby fluid and smelled it. It did not smell like the cheap Wine Magnus once offered him but it didn't smell like blood either. He was briefly reminded of Simon's transformation into a rat before disregarding all worries. Everybody always told him to do something. To live. Why not starting that by a zip of wine?

He inhaled deeply before drinking. The second the wine hit his tongue all his senses were pushed into overdrive and his entire world started to spin. He blinked and tried to focus on the man, wondering if he was drugged but felt far too delightful to worry. In fact, Alec felt like he had never felt before, completely at ease with himself and the world. Not just that but also elated. His eyes locked with those of the stranger who was now standing directly in front of him and lifted his chin. Overwhelmed by the sudden need to taste him, Alec leaned forward. The kiss electrified him and his lips trembled softly under the pressure of the stranger's persisting tongue.

In the back of his head he was wondering, if not frantically worrying, what he was doing. Though rational thoughts were quickly blanked out and he was breathing out heavily into the man's throat. A moan escaped him in a rare moment where their lips weren't locked. His head started whirling in absolute ecstasy.

Only the Nephilim blood inside him made him free himself for a fleeting moment repeating the previously asked question, "Are you a demon?"

As he was pulled into another embrace and overcome by overwhelming passion he heard a voice gasping into his ear,

"I'm not demon."

Despite everything that he had seen in all his life, Alec Lightwood simply chose to believe those words. He really didn't have another choice as his hormones pushed him in a feverish infatuation. His guard broke down and he let himself fall into another kiss.

……………………………………………………

"Apollo? He left with Apollo?" Jace asked baffled and shook his head.

Isabelle had called in about an hour earlier and even though there was so much going on, Jace as well as Clary rushed to the rescue. Only to find that the person in need for a possible rescue had already left the building.

"Who's Apollo?" Clary asked while trying to ignore the people in white Togas.

"The guy Alec left with."

Magnus Bane said that as he appeared unexpectedly behind Jace who twirled around.

"What do you mean left with? Where did they go?"

"Dirty rotten motel or the Elysian Fields who knows." The warlock replied carelessly but Clary could see the distinctive spark behind those dark eyes. Jealousy was a feeling she knew quite well by now.

"Either way he is in big trouble," Magnus added quietly.

"What do you mean? Who is this guy? Is he the devil or something?" Jace asked impatiently and tried to hide how uncomfortable the situation made him feel.

"Worse. Apollo is a god."

Lucian, Dialogues of the Gods 16 (trans. Fowler) (Greek satire C2nd A.D.) :

Apollo:….As for the child, I buried him at Amyklai, on the fatal spot; and from his blood I have caused a flower to spring up, sweetest, fairest of flowers, inscribed with letters of woe.--Is my grief unreasonable?"


Hermes : It is, Apollo. You knew that you had set your heart upon a mortal: grieve not then for his mortality."