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This chapter is going to be kind of boring. I need to set things up, get a little bit of character background and stuff. Bear with me.

-Clary Fray-

The mirror is fogged over when Jace and I step out of the shower. I've finally pulled myself together enough to use my legs with little to no trouble. Jace pulls two white towels from the linen closet across from the sink and tosses one to me.

I'm sore in places I've never been sore before, but I ignore the dull ache in my core, and wrap myself up inside of the plush towel. Jace's eyes meet mine, and there's guilt etched into his retinas. I know he wants to apologize again, but I turn away before he can.

Somehow, I'm not angry with him. I'm doing my best to understand that he had to do it, without downplaying my own suffering. It's a difficult task, because it was my first time and that's not really how a girl pictures it. "Can Valentine see us all the time?" I ask, leaning against the marble counter top.

"There are cameras in all of the bedrooms." Jace answers, combing his wet hair. "He usually only watches us when we're..." he trails off, putting the comb back in the drawer he pulled it from before. "He'll say something when he's watching. If he hasn't asked you to do something, then he isn't watching." Jace explains.

His feet fall silently, moving across the floor back into the bedroom. I follow behind him, less grace in my walking. The towel starts to slip, but I catch it in time. Jace pulls clean underwear, a black long sleeve t-shirt and grey jeans from their respective drawers in the dresser. "Everything you need is in the drawers on the left." he says, disappearing back into the bathroom again to get dressed.

This strikes me as strange, considering the fact that he's just spent a considerable amount of time naked on top of me, and we showered together. I guess he's just trying to respect my privacy, but we might be a little past the point of modesty.

Just as he said, the left side of the dresser is filled with neatly folded clothing, all of them in my size. It's strange to think that they are so well prepared for me here.

I pull out the first t-shirt I can find, lowering it over a dark grey bra. The t-shirt is black with white lettering that spells out "Man Overboard DEFEND POP PUNK" and I wonder briefly how they knew I like that band. I select a pair of black jeans from the bottom drawer. Jace comes out of the bathroom just as I sit down on the window seat. He's humming a familiar tune, bringing back several different memories associated with the song.

"Polygraph, Right Now?" I ask, casually.

He smiles, sitting beside me. I try to be discreet about moving away, but I see regret flash in his eyes, and I know that he noticed. I'm not angry with him. He's as much of a victim as I am. I know he didn't want to do that to me, but that doesn't mean I'm comfortable. "You know that song?" he recovers quickly, putting up a natural front. Trying to present some semblance of normalcy.

"It's my brother's favorite song." I whisper, suddenly very sad that I'm not with Jonathan. I've never spent more than one night away from him. He's my best - my only friend. We get along better than most siblings do. He keeps me safe, and sings me to sleep after I've had a nightmare.

Jace watches my face silently, while I think of my brother. I wonder if he knows that I'm gone yet. Mother is probably frantic with worry. She nearly has a heart attack if I'm late getting home from school, or don't answer my phone when she calls.

A tall girl with black hair and dark blue eyes walks through the door, letting it swing open behind her. "Hey, you're finally awake." Her eyes rest on mine, and her lips curl up at the edges. I lift my hand to wave lamely at her.

"That's Izzy." Jace explains, cracking his neck.

The stunningly beautiful girl offers her hand to me. "I'm Isabelle Lightwood. But I will also answer to Izzy or Iz." I take her hand, shaking it firmly.

"Clarissa Fray. Call me Clary." I force a smile, unconvincingly.

Isabelle turns to Jace. "When is the wedding?" Her unceremonious tone strikes me as strange. Like arranged marriages have become commonplace for her. I look to the ring on her finger, realizing that she's probably in one herself.

Jace seems taken back as well, but recovers a lot quicker than I do. "It's tomorrow night, at seven."

Izzy smiles. "I'll come get you in the morning. Valentine" she spits his name venomously "wants me to get you ready." I nod, unsure what to say to her. She smiles widely, whirling around. Her hair spreads out, swaying behind her as she exits the room.

Jace and I lapse again into silence. "So..." I mutter, uncomfortably. "You said there's a library?" An image of the library down the street from my home flashes in my memories. I spent a lot of time there when my mother allowed me to leave the house. Something about the silence and being surrounded by books was therapeutic for me. I liked to sit at the tables and read, or sketch. However, mother didn't like for Jonathan and I to go out. She was afraid we'd be taken. I suppose she was right to worry, considering my current situation.

"Yeah. I'll show you." he offers, standing up and offering me his hand. I get up on my own, pretending not to notice his outstretched hand.

In the hallway Jace points to the room across from ours. "That's the music room." He gestures to several other doors. "Iz and Simon. Magnus and Alec. Maia and Jordan. TV room." Halfway down the hallway he stops in front of two large doors. "This is the library."

I point to the end of the hallway to the only door he didn't offer an explanation for. "What's that one?"

Jace looks longingly at it for a moment. "The stairwell." he finally answers. "It's locked. We've tried everything to get it opened." He pushes one of the library doors opened. I stare at the stairwell door for a second before following in after him.

The library is incredible. Shelves from floor to ceiling, filled with all of the classics. New books. Old books. I could spend the rest of my life in this room, and never have enough time to finish reading the entire selection. "Wow." I gasp.

Jace chuckles. "They added something for you."

I look at him, confused. "What?"

He motions for me to follow him. We weave through shelves to the back right corner. It was the exact replica of my mothers art studio. There was no difference, besides the face that hers is in a small room, and this one is in a library. Even photos of Jonathan and I as children hang from the walls. "Well, this is... Creepy."

Jace chuckles again, leaning against one of the book shelves. "Yes, but they've been stalking you for months." he points out.

"Well, I guess I should be even more creeped out then. Thank you for that." I murmur, walking around the studio. It's beautiful, and it feels like home. The only thing missing is the sound of Jonathan's guitar and his singing. I'll miss that the most.

Jace stays leaned against the wall, examining his nails for defects, while I pull out a sketch book and a pen. I plop down onto the overstuffed pastel armchair. The drawing is charcoal black, and spread carelessly across sun dried paper. A girl with black hair that falls all the way down her back. Isabelle. I hadn't meant to draw her, but her flawlessness is captivating. Whereas I have no semblance of beauty.

I close the sketchbook, putting it back on the shelf. Jace has settled into the chair opposite mine with a book.

I want to ask what he's reading. To know something about the man I'm supposed to marry, but images from earlier are branded into me, and I'm terrified. "You're staring at me." Jace says, boredly.

I look away, blushing. I had been staring at him, but not for the same reason as he thinks. I mutter an apology, sinking back into my chair.

"I'm used to it." he says, never moving his eyes from the page. "Women like to look at me. I'm stunningly attractive."

"Are you always so arrogant?" I ask, rolling my eyes. I've never liked cocky guys. Jon's friends are the most annoyingly egotistical people ever. He's always had a lot of friends, whereas I've never had one. I don't understand how my brother can be so normal, and I can be so awkward.

Jace laughs lightly, and sets the book down. "Not always. Just most of the time."

I sigh, changing the subject. "How long have you been here?" The smirk vanishes from his face.

"3 years." His eyes darken, and he turns away. "I was the first one taken. Followed by Magnus, and then Iz and her brother Alec. Jordan then Simon" you can hear the distaste in his mouth upon saying Simon's name "Maia, and lastly, you." He recites the list, sounding nearly rehearsed to perfection but I can see the sadness breaking through his blank facade.

"Hey Jace, have you seen-" A boy with dark hair and goofy glasses cuts himself off, stopping when he sees me.

"Your dignity?" Jace offers. "Never."

The nerdy boy, ignoring Jace's comment, turns to me. "Hey, I'm Simon." His smile is cute and friendly. It reminds me again of Jonathan's affectionate smile. The way it's always warm and contagious. I can't frown when my brother smiles. Simon's smile is equally infectious.

I smile back, genuinely for the first time today. "Clary."

His smile grows wider. "Nice to meet you."

Jace groans, loudly. "You are insufferable, Lewis."

Simon sighs, but otherwise seems unfazed by Jace's words. "Do you know where Magnus is?" he asks, turning back to Jace. "He stole my one of a kind Darth Vader action figure, and I can't find him."

Jace blinks several times, seemingly amazed. "Are you even trying?" Simon's face implies that he doesn't know what Jace is talking about. "Get out of here, Master Splinter. I haven't seen Sparkles all day." I feel bad for giggling at Jace's insult, but Simon kind of does resemble Master Splinter.

A pang of longing appears in the pit of my stomach. Everything leads back to Jonathan. He's been my whole world for 16 years. Just last week he and I ordered pizza and watched all of the old TMNT movies. I am going to miss my mother, and her boyfriend Luke, but I'll miss Jon more than the others. I wish there was a way that I could tell him I'm okay. At least hear his voice one last time. Tears sting my eyes, threatening to spill over the brim.

The sound of something dragging along the floor resonates in the air, and I feel a hand landing gently on my knee. When I look up I see that Jace has dragged his chair closer to me. He ducks his head, chin down, his long eyelashes covering the gold in his eyes from this angle. He blinks a few times before shifting only his eyes to look at me. The expression causes my heart to pound, and that nervous feeling you get in your stomach.

I jerk my knee away from his hand, still uncomfortable with his touch. "What's wrong?" He asks, ignoring the fact that I jerked away from him. "Why are you crying?" I can tell that he wants to touch me again, because it's such an essential part of comforting someone, but he keeps his hands to himself. For that, I am grateful.

"I won't ever see my brother again, will I?" I sniff, wiping tears from my eyes with the back of my hand.

Jace takes a deep breath before answering. "No, probably not." His voice is quiet. At least he's being honest with me. I don't want comfort right now. I want the truth.

Sorry it's kind of boring. I'll try to make my next update more eventful.

For everyone who wasn't reading my first story and doesn't know my schedule: I usually update every day Wednesday through Saturday, and sometimes Sunday. I'm pretty good at keeping my word on when I'll update next.

See you all on Wednesday. Until then, let me know what you think, and if you have any ideas/requests.

-IWriteNaked