Thanks for the encouraging reviews! I have a pretty good outline/timeline of where I want the story to go so I'm not trying to rush the relationships. I want to build them up and make them solid. Let me know what you think and if you have any guesses about the Jace/Sebastian issue.
FYI: The story is currently rated T and I think it will be staying that way for a while. However, I have some plans and it may require a changing of the rating in the future. If that happens, I will forewarn you so you can decide whether or not to continue with the story. (I don't write smutty smut though so no worries there.)
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Clary tried not to fidget as she listened to her piano teacher play at the grand oak piano that had once belonged to her mother. It had been a long day and her eyes were beginning to droop. Normally, Clary wouldn't have cared one bit if she needed a mid-afternoon nap. However, she had promised Balios a ride around the ground and that is exactly what she intended to do.
You could never break a promise. Especially to a horse.
As soon as her lesson was over, Clary hurried up the stone steps to her chambers. She was almost finished changing into riding gear when Isabelle knocked their special knock on her door and peeked in, her eyes dark and wide. "Princess Clarissa? You have a visitor in the entrance hall. Mr. Sebastian Verlac."
Clary's heart stuttered for a moment before she was able to respond, "Uhm, are you sure he isn't here to see my father?"
"I'm certain. He asked your father permission to escort you around the grounds. Become better acquainted." Isabelle lifted her eyebrows suggestively before pushing the flustered Clary in front of her vanity for a quick makeover.
"I was supposed to ride Balios this afternoon! I already told the trainer I would be there." Clary pouted at Isabelle in the mirror. She really didn't want to have to change again, either.
"Oooh, so you've seen the trainer? Isn't he handsome? Personality-wise he could use some work but he is much nicer to look at then some of the other help around here."
Clary remembered those gold eyes more vividly than she did anything else about last night. "He's okay, I suppose. "
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Sebastian took Clary's small arm as they strolled through the gardens and along the pathways of the castle. Clary found herself enjoying his company as he talked about his childhood and his love for his little sister, whom reminded him of Clary.
"She's very petite but fiery as you would imagine any dragon being." Sebastian laughed and looked down at Clary. "Pity you don't have any siblings. I'm sure you're father would have loved a son."
Ouch. Clary didn't see that one coming. "I'm sure he would have."
Sebastian continued, unable to hear the hurt in Clary's voice, "I hear you have our old horse trainer." Sebastian's eyes were glaring off at the horse stables, where a halo of gold could be seen shoveling manure into a barrel. Clary's heart fluttered, but she couldn't imagine why.
"I didn't know he used to work for you." Clary and Sebastian sat down on a stone bench, keeping a friendly distance, and continued staring at the stables. She hoped her tone implied she wanted to know more. She hated prying outright. She'd been told it was unladylike.
"We had quite a few disagreements over the course of his employment. He has a problem with authority." Sebastian's eyes turned even darker when he spoke about the trainer. Suddenly, they didn't seem as charming as they had last night.
"I should be getting back, Mr. Verlac. I've got another tutor coming around four this evening."
"Of course! I should have been more attentive to the time." Offering her his arm, they walked back to the entryway. His eyes melted back into their usual dark chocolate color and after a kiss on the hand and a promise of another walk soon, Sebastian was gone. Clary barely waited till he was out of sight before rushing to change into her riding gear.
Clary tried not to remember the way Mr. Herondale had called her beautiful as she looked at herself in the mirror before heading back down to the stables. She had always been told she looked like her mother but she never believed it. But now, seeing that her eyes were a little greener with excitement, maybe she could believe it…just a little bit.
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Jace watched as Sebastian Verlac and Princess Clarissa walked away from the bench they had been perched on moments ago. Just the sight of Sebastian made his skin crawl. Could the princess really not feel the bad energy that guy gave off?
Shaking his head, Jace continued shoveling the old hay and manure into the wooden barrel. It was dirty work, but it kept him strong and busy. Not to mention he loved training the four-legged beasts behind the stall doors. It was one of the only things he felt passionate about.
Jace lost himself in his thoughts and was startled when he finally noticed the tiny redhead he had been watching earlier had appeared in front of him, dressed in riding gear and ready to go. He stared at her as she looked up at him with her green eyes. Her cheeks were flushed red and she was panting. Obviously, she had been trying to run away from Sebastian.
Or maybe that was just wishful thinking.
"Is Balios ready for me to ride?" Clary was looking at Jace as if he had two heads. He had been staring.
Damn it, Jace thought. Scare the shit out of her one day and stare like an idiot the next.
"Uh, yeah. I got him ready this morning." Casting aside the shovel, Jace lead Clary to the stall where Balios waited, rather impatiently. Jace stood aside and with a low bow, let Clary take the lead. It was her hardheaded horse, after all.
He watched with careful eyes, as Clary and Balios got ready for their ride. He hadn't been able to bond with Balios like the others and it made him uneasy. What hell it would be if Balios injured the Princess. He'd be out of this job quicker than the last one.
"Would you help me up, Mr. Herondale?" There she was, watching him stare again.
"As you wish, Princess." Jace hesitated as he brought over the stool to Balios. The princess was small and would need more than the two-step stool.
"I don't seem to have a ladder laying around anywhere. How do you propose to get on Balios?" Clary scoffed at his question, trying not to get too flustered. His golden eyes were laughing at her and his smirk making a reappearance on his perfect lips.
"I will stand on the stool and I'll simply need you to boost me up, like this," Clary took Jace's thin, long hands in hers and rested them on her waist. She got on the stool and waited. "Now, lift. I'm really not that heavy."
Jace hesitated for only second before lifting her. She grabbed the neck of the black beast and swung herself over the horse in the most graceful, unladylike way Jace could have expected.
"See? You're stronger than you look." And with that, Clary and Balios shot out of the barn, a blur of red and black.
He wasn't able to see the flush that had crept onto her face, but neither was she able to see his.
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Clary could still feel where Jace had his hands wrapped around her waist as she trotted Balios back into the barn. She shouldn't have been so forward, but something about him made her want nothing more than to get closer to him.
Clary and Balios were both windswept but happier than they had been in weeks. With no sign of the trainer, Clary leapt down as gracefully as possible and led Balios back to his keep. After some oats and a rub-down, Clary left Balios in his stall and wandered to the other horses. Some of them she had seen before and some were newly acquired by her father.
It wasn't until she wandered outside that she finally saw the trainer, nestled at the root of a tree with a paper in his hand. His brow was furrowed and his lip was stuck between his teeth. Clary was unsure of whether or not she should approach him. She quickly decided not to and was about to go on her way when he looked up and saw her. Jumping to his feet, he tucked the paper into his back pocket and sauntered over.
Clary had never thought that a way a gentleman walked could be considered attractive before. But she was beginning to doubt that assumption. She embraced the opportunity to watch Mr. Herondale without being considered rude.
He wore a loose white shirt today, the leather strings loosened at the neck to show just a glimpse of his golden chest. His pants were of similar material, but brown. His shoes dirty but without the usual holes many servants worked into them. His face was perfect, if not still slightly upset by whatever he had been reading.
"I've never seen Balios so attentive to a rider before." She noticed his chipped tooth as he spoke. It was on his sharp k9 and she couldn't imagine that such an imperfection could add to someone's looks, but she once again doubted herself.
"We grew up together. It's as natural as breathing for both of us." Clary smiled at Jace, making his breath catch for just a moment before he recovered.
"I saw Mr. Verlac earlier. Is he a friend of yours?" Jace asked as innocently as he could. Innocent and Jace never really go together but the Princess didn't know him and he doubted she was bright enough to read into it.
Clary stared at him wonderingly. She had never had a servant (besides Isabelle, of course) take any interest in whether or not she had friends. It was most definitely out of line, but hell if she didn't want to know what happened between them…
"Just as of this morning." Clary didn't feel like mentioning that her father wanted to marry her off to him for his own greedy reasons. "He is very nice, especially compared to many other gentlemen around here."
"I wouldn't get too close to Sebastian, Princess. He has a dark side that not many people see." His eyes searched her face as he spoke, "I would hate for you to get dragged into it."
Clary's breath caught. That wasn't what she was expecting. What kind of dark side could Sebastian have? And why would Mr. Herondale care about her well-being? She has known him less than a day!
"Are you going to elaborate on that?" Clary tried to keep her voice cool, but she wanted nothing more than to demand more information.
"Not now." Jace's glance towards the castle caused Clary to look over her shoulder. Her father and his guidance team were making their way towards the stables. "Tomorrow night. I'll meet you by the statue of Ithuriel in the west garden after dinner."
With that, Clary nodded and turned on her heels, hurrying back to the castle to avoid her father and to find Isabelle.