This is my new idea and I'm liking it a lot - I hope you guys out there like it too!

Just to lay out Clary's family in this fanfic: Jocelyn and Luke married and had two girls, Valentina and Clary. Valentine and Jonathan never existed, just to make that clear. Any other questions you have, PM me about it and I'll answer them the best I can!

Again, hope you enjoy this. R and R if you did! x

~InfernoAlive

The ring was beautiful, I had to admit.

It was one of the biggest diamonds I'd ever seen, glimmering like a star, set into the bright, golden band, with a collection of smaller diamonds surrounding it like the milky way. One look at it, and you knew it had cost big bucks. But of course, my sister had to go and marry a guy that was practically a millionaire. She'd said it was her type and I'd laughed – wasn't that everyone's?

Val wore it now, fingers spread in an obvious gesture as we both sat at the dining table, gushing about her and Jace's 'whirlwind romance', or whatever. I fought the urge to snort, keeping my eyes firmly on my sketchpad as she declared it was true love. They'd only been engaged for a month and already she was planning out the catering, wedding dress and church for her big, white wedding.

I nodded along to her passionate speech, chipping in with the occasional 'oh, definitely!' and 'that's so cute!' when I guessed it was necessary. Really I was focused on my most recent drawing: one of a rose bleeding into a lake, petals drained to white, the red like blood on the water. It was tragic, yet beautiful in an eerie way. I liked it a lot, paying close attention to the smudging of the rose bud.

"So, Clary, what do you think?" I paused, lifting my head to see Val's hopeful expression, blue eyes sparkling.

"Um..." I tried to think back to the conversation. What was it she'd been talking about again? I decided to wing it, "It sounds great!" My older sister frowned slightly, biting her lip.

"I'm not sure though. I know you've never met him, but I've told you he's got blonde hair. A golden wedding dress would surely clash... don't you think?"

I racked my brain for a reply that would satisfy Val, which meant it had to be perfect. For the age of 25, she'd been through a lot of romances, enough to fill up a whole series of love stories. She'd been engaged at least three times, and been married once before to a guy called Gabriel. The boyfriends were mere shadows, and at least hundred shadows at that. Val wasn't a slut of any kind, Mum had insisted, just a girl who was hunting for love with all her might, for her perfect happily ever after.

But even Mum and Dad had grown tired of the many men, and didn't bother with welcoming them any more.

Me on the other hand, was a completely different story. At the age of 20, I was officially a social outcast, having had only one boyfriend in my entire life, and it hadn't even been that serious. I could barely remember him now, but then again, it was good to forget the humiliation.

After graduating, Val and I had decided to move in together in a flat, and for the first few months it'd been great. That feeling of being free of parents, of living in the real world, was surreal and recklessly amazing. Then, Val coming home late at night, giggles and laughter becoming a common pattern, with a man creeping out of her bedroom door early in the morning and disappearing out of her life. If she was a romantic, I'd thought, she was definitely a naughty one.

Just like Mum and Dad, the idea of new men in Val's life had become tiresome to me. This Jace couldn't be any different to the rest. I sighed, returning to the present.

"It's your wedding, Val. Do what you think is best." She nodded, a smile teasing at her lips.

"Alright. Thanks Clare-bear." I rolled my eyes at the nickname and she grinned, leaning over to hug me, her brown, pin-straight hair tumbling out of its neat bun. When she pulled away, her phone buzzed and she picked it up fast. Val blushed reading it, tucking a strand of her behind her ear.

I tried to crane my neck to see the message as subtly as possible, but she turned off her phone quick.

"Clary? Can I ask you something?" I put down the pencil, deciding to give her my undivided attention now.

"Well, you already have. Want to ask me something else?" She laughed but then turned serious again.

"Yeah. You know that Jace is coming to stay here in a few days?" I nodded, "I just want to make sure it's still okay with you. I mean, you haven't met him, and if you don't feel comfortable I can always-"

"Val." I cut in gently, "Of course it's okay with me! Continue your 'love at first sight' romance!" What I said was genuine; her unexpected kindness, her asking me, had warmed me on the inside.

"Great! It's all settled then." She gave me a wink, getting up from the table to head to her bedroom.

I resumed back to my drawing, sketching out the stem of the rose carefully. I thought back to the morning she'd revealed she was engaged to a Jace Herondale, how I'd vaguely remembered her talking about him once or twice. He was apparently a male model, which immediately made me think of a self-absorbed prick, in love with himself. But if my sister thought he was good enough, I'd have to trust her on it. Then again, Val wasn't the best judge of men, considering how many failed affairs she'd had.

Well, I would be the judge of Jace Herondale when he came to stay here. To see, in my eyes, if he was good enough for my sister.