Disclaimer: all characters belong to the one and only Cassandra Clare.
Chapter 1
Clary POV
I watched as the carriage entered through the huge iron gates of the rich area of Idris. A long pave way was surrounded by tall trees and blooming flowers. As the plants gave way, I was greeted by the sight of a gigantic resident. It was way bigger than the previous manor I've previously served in.
"Welcome to Herondale Hall," Mr Lightwood introduced me. I was too nervous to answer. So all I did was nod. The carriage came to a halt and Mr Lightwood jumped out and started walking towards the manor. I followed slowly, wincing in pain, from all the beatings I've gotten from him. We entered a large foyer, and Mr Lightwood propped his hat on a coat stand. He ushered me through a long hallway, and then entered a huge study room. Clean, polished shelves lined the walls, filled with documents and files and small picture frames. I didn't bother looking at them. Even if I did want to, I didn't get the time when the door opened, and a tall, young man walked in, carrying documents. He spotted me and Mr Lightwood.
"Thanks for bringing her safely, Alec," Mr Lightwood, who I now learned is Alec, nodded curtly and went to stand by the door, shutting it. The young man went to his side of his desk, and sat down, gracefully. I remained standing, unsure of whether to sit down or not. My hands knotted together. But even that didn't help the nervousness in my system.
I watched as the man went through the documents quickly. That gave me time to look at him properly. He has this beautiful blonde hair that curls up at the nape of his neck and ears. He is thin, but has muscle.
He finished scanning my documents and looked up. I was in slight...awe? The guy had...gold eyes? I immediately noticed him as Mr Herondale, the person who bought me. But, it was the most beautiful pair of eyes I've ever saw. I got this sudden itch to take out my sketchbook and draw this angel. Unfortunately that cannot happen. My previous owner was, how do you put it? Cruel. He was absolutely cruel. He burned my sketchbook after discovering it under the loose floorboards of my room..But that's a story for another time.
Mr Herondale seeemd to notice that I was still standing.
"You may take a seat, if you wish," he motioned towards a black leather single seater opposite his desk. I obliged and took a seat hastily. I winced softly at the sligh throb of pain that shot up my back.
He seemed to notice my small injury and asked, "Are you injured?"
"Yes sir," I replied, forcing myself to not look into his gorgeous orbs.
"You will look me in the eye when speaking to me," he said coldly. I flinched a little, now forcing myself to look into his eyes. He huffed,"Well, what hurts?"
"My back sir," I replied, twisting my hands in my lap.
"And what exactly happened during the course of you injuring your back?"
I lowered my head, "Well, it happened-"
"You will look at me when talking," he snapped. I practically jumped in my seat.
"S-s-s-sorry sir," I stammered. "It all happened while I was dusting the antiques, when I broke a vase. As punishment, Master whipped me," I explained.
Mr Herondale frowned in displeasure, "He whipped you just because you broke a vase?" He asked bewildered.
"It was Fine China sir, and my second vase sir. I don't handle porcelain well," I answered back.
"Fine China or plastic, I don't care. But you didn't deserve being punished because of a stupid vase," his ears turned red, which I thought was cute, considering it didn't suit the well-built man. I pushed the thought down my throat. "I'll have Isabelle take care of you. She's another maid about your age, who works here. You'll be her shadow for the next couple of days, just to get to know the people and how this place functions." I nodded in response. "But you won't be working in the kitchen then. You'll simply be doing regular cleaning; laundry, bedding, the works."
"Yes sir."
"On that reminding note, I'll have the doctor deal with you shortly. Don't be afraid of her, she's actually a warm-hearted lady," with that, Mr Herondale turned his attention towards Alec, whom I forgot was guarding the door "Alec, you may bring Doctor Loss into the room. We'll be needing her shortly," he informed Alec.
"Yes Mr Herondale," Alec said, and exited the room. Mr Herondale continued to scan through the stack of documents.
"Huh. It doesn't mention your name here anywhere," Mr Herondale said, his nose still buried deep in the documentation.
I felt my stomach turn inside out at the mention of that, "That's because I don't have one sir," I replied, clearly ashamed. Mr Herondale looked up at me, shocked.
"Your mom didn't name you?" He asked, surprised.
"No. I was born a chattel slave. After my mom gave birth to me, she died of malnutrition. I don't have a dad. My dad is basically the person who raped my mom, while she was pregnant with me. But my brother and I got separated. I recently learned that he's no longer, and that he was a year older than I. My biological dad got beaten to death by his previous owner way before he found out about my mom's pregnancy. I was then sold to the Verlac Manor, in Alicante," saying all that resulted in my heart aching.
I'd give everything to get my family back. But now I'm all alone. And it's a game against the poor, and the rich. Mr Herondale was about to say something, when the door burst open and a beautiful lady, about middle aged, walked in. She was literally faerie from top to bottom. She has this long white hair and fair skin, with dark blue eyes. But in the lighting, her skin looked like a bluish colour.
"I thought I told you to knock," Mr Herondale snapped at the tall lady. She just rolled her eyes at him.
"And I thought your grandmother taught you manners towards older people than you, young man," she scolded him. All Mr Herondale did was snort and a taint blush crept up on his cheeks. In the lighting, you could see his angular face in detail. Doesn't he have any flaw? What caught me off guard, was that the lady mentioned 'grandmother' to Jace. What happened to his mother? I figured it was none of my business to pry into anyone's life story without their consent. Especially if that person is my new master.
"I just wanted to meet this sweet little girl properly'" she said and gave me a warm smile. It was kind of a motherly smile. It warmed up my heart a little bit.
"She's all yours. When you're done, send her back. I'd like to have a word with her," Mr Herondale ordered Doctor Loss. The lady nodded and motioned for me to follow her.
(A few minutes later)
"Oh my! Honey, who did this to you?" Doctor Loss asked, concern clear in her voice. I didn't want to answer. I was too scared to even talk. I felt uncomfortable with someone touching me. I fear that they'd hurt me, or torture me, or worse...rape me.
I watch through the mirror as Doctor Loss cleans my back. It hurts. The stabbing pain won't go away. A few tears escape my eyes. The next thing I know, my strength betrayed me, as I start sobbing.
"What's wrong Honey?" She stopped what she was doing.
"I'm not used to someone touching me so softly. I get scared when I am touched. I don't know if they'll do...things to me," I confessed, my tears slowly stopping.
"You have nothing to worry about. No one will hurt you here. Consider this place your new home." That just got me angry. How can I call this place my home. My home is where my family is. My home is where my mom, dad and brother are. But now they're gone, gone, gone, and I'm left all by myself. But I can never call this place, or anywhere else, home. I'm just on this planet to survive the life of a slave. Not a servant.
Jace POV
After Catarina took the girl away for her check-up, I couldn't help but be surprised that she doesn't have a name. I mean, all my servants here have names. And I respect them. But I think that it's just inhumane to not give a person a name. I don't know what her previous Master does to his servants, but I shouldn't pry into his business. If that's how he wants to treat them, then let him be. Then again, I can't dictate what he should or shouldn't do. But we are different. We like to do things differently. I take care of my people, and I wouldn't hurt a soul. I treat them like how any human should be treated like.
But this girl reminds me of a warrior I once heard when I was just a child. A few centuries ago, a young girl that went by the name, Clarissa, freed all the captured slaves and free people during the war of the Uprising. Together, they took down a group of terrorists called The Circle and escaped. She led them throughout the country, all because of bravery. But one night, she discovered that there was a spy from The Circle, who travelled with the group of survivors. She fought him, and got killed by him. Later, a younger girl came from behind him and stabbed him through the ribcage and pierced his heart.
The story still remains an inspiration to me. But I'd love to name the girl after the original Clarissa. She fought for her life in the clutches of that monster, and she survived. I don't know how many times she's been punished gruesomely, but I know that I'll take care of her. She'll come to think of this place as her new home. A soft knock came by on my door, breaking me from my reverie.
Author's note: How did you enjoy this chapter? Feel free to review or/and pm me.
Until next time,
apricot13
