*Disclaimer; I do not own these characters; they belong to Howard Pyle and Cassandra Clare.
Simon and Jace were very lost. As soon as they'd left the site of the portal all landmarks had vanished. The horizon was flat as a board and the surrounding area was a dusty, gray nothingness. But they trekked on, intent on finding the demon cities and the portals the creatures used to enter Earth. The general plan was to
(a) find a city
(b) navigate it
(c) find a portal, and
(d) get back to Earth.
But of course, as plans usually do, this one was bound to fail.
. . .
Clary stole one fleeting look back at Alec and managed to catch a glimpse right as the woman dragged her around a corner. She then turned all her attention to the woman. Escaping would be easy, just twisting the woman's wrist far enough to break it and Clary would be gone, but she had a feeling that it would be easier to find her friends if she cooperated. So she walked away towards a richly decorated mahogany door. The woman pushed it open and shoved Clary inside, then waddled in after her.
"Sorry," Clary interrupted the woman's bustling about. "But who are you?"
"Oh, don't be silly dear, I'm Margaret."
"Of course, of course," Clary fibbed. "I was just checking to make sure you were awake."
"All right, dearie." Margaret said cheerily and she continued rooting through another room that seemed to be stock full of dresses. Then Clary realized that the other room was her closet. This revelation hit her quite literally as Margaret threw a pair of gilded slippers across the chamber at her. They thudded into her lap as Margaret came out from within the depths of the closet. "I'll unlace your dress and then you can choose the one you want to wear for the joust!" Margaret said through a broad smile. She hurried over to Clary and deftly spun her about so that she looked away from her. the lady-in-waiting then began to loosen the tight laces that pinched Clary into her dress. Surprisingly enough, Clary hadn't even noticed that the dress was so tight until it came loose.
The fitted bodice fell to the floor in a heap leaving Clary standing in the chilly room in only a thin shift. Margaret bent down to gather up the emerald skirts of Clary's prison of late. She scooped them up and carried them out the door, presumably to be laundered. Before Clary could even notice her absence from the room, Margaret came scurrying back into the room and threw open the closet door to a riot of colors and patterns that made Clary's eyes hurt to look at.
. . .
Alec watched Clary turn the corner and then sprinted off to find someone who could direct him to his lodgings as he now knew he was a king masquerading as a humble gardener. So when he finally did happen upon another servant, he came to an abrupt stop and panted out,
"Do you know where my lodgings are?"
"Yes, I do suppose that you are new here, I'll show them to you, but just this once understood?"
"Yes, understood." Alec readily agreed.
The pair of them turned a complex pattern of corners and traversed to the outer edges of the castle, the servant's apartments. The man pointed Alec in the direction of a thin wooden door with chipped varnish. It was clear that this area of the palace was not a priority to the cleaning staff, or anyone for that matter.
Alec swung the door open with a loud creak from the unwilling hinges. he shut it softly behind him and walked into his quarters. A polished suit of armor shone in a corner. The metal was white and emblazoned with no symbol, clearly this was a way to keep Arthur's identity a secret to the Lady Guinevere. Alec sat down on his rough straw mattress and fell back on it. His eyes closed and he welcomed sleep.
. . .
Margaret pulled out a pale yellow dress with a low cut neckline and full skirts. She showed the selection to Clary who in turn asked if there was anything blue in the closet. Margaret walked back into the closet and emerged with a handful of dresses that all sported a different shade of blue. She held them up one by one in order for Clary to choose one. But Clary repeatedly turned her down. The first was too heavy, the next was too dull. They made it through all the blue dresses without Clary agreeing to anything. So Margaret delved back into the closet and pulled out a golden dress with full sleeves, a modest neck, and skirts that stuck out three feet on either side. Clary shook her head adamantly.
And so it was that they continued at this banter for a time, until Clary tired of refusing the dresses that were not right. So when Margaret pulled out another dress Clary agreed and almost instantaneously was spun around yet again and Margaret pulled the bodice over her head.
When it settled around her body,her lady-in-waiting instructed her to hold on tightly to the bedpost. Clary did so and Margaret began the long process of winching her up tightly to produce the desired bell 's breath was squeezed out of her slowly and painfully. When Margaret was done she looked down to see tat the dress she'd agreed to was a mint green gown that accentuated her curves nicely. The neckline was modest enough and the skirts fell loosely to the floor. Her sleeves were fitted tightly to her arms until the wrist where they flourished out in an empress fashion. The bodice was crisscrossed in silver thread that was threaded in elaborate patterns. She slid the gilded slippers onto her feet and then sat down at the vanity to allow Margaret to style her flamboyant red locks.
. . .
Alec awoke well rested. He sat up and looked at the suit of armor standing across the room at him. He stood and crossed to it. Then began the arduous task of putting it on. He began with the chain mail. it was like a really heavy, chain link dress. Next came the breast plate and stomacher. Shin guards, boots, a metal plate that encircled his torso, etc., and then the helmet which clanged shut and cut off his vision. He turned about and walked out the door, this time making more noise than the hinges. He clanked down the hall and out the door that emptied into a large courtyard. He made his way across the green to the stables where he saddled a horse and and found a lance. Hoping that he wouldn't fall off during the joust, he mounted the horse and rode off to prepare away from the castle as he had attracted enough attention already.