O.K. So new story...I'm a little worried about this one. When writing about war i feel there is a very fine line since it hits home for so many at the current time. So feedback is GREATLY needed on this...I apologize if anyone feels offended as it is not my intention. Clary and Jace screamed this at me and I felt it should be writtend down.
I do NOT own any of these characters, any and all references to the books belongs to the WONDERFUL and AMAZING Cassandra Clare! However the creative idea for the story is mine and any and all changes or references to it must go through me.
Prologue
Never in a million years did she think that this was where she would have ended up. The way everything started wouldn't make anyone else think that either. As she sat with Celine, a numb feeling crept over her while they read the letter…yeah a fucking letter.
Mr. and Mrs. Herondale,
Our sincerest apologies go out to you and your family at this trying time. We regret to inform you that your son, Jonathon Christopher Herondale, has been killed while serving his country. He was a brave soldier and will be greatly missed. Please accept this flag as our token of appreciation to one of the finest men of duty I have ever met.
Sincerely,
Major General
Hodge Starkweather
Honestly, our friends and family go off to war and when they don't come back we get a letter and a flag? It enraged Clary to the core. Jace was…gone and never coming back. What was she going to do now? They were going to get married…and the baby…would never know how great its daddy really was. She couldn't take it anymore. Clary had to get out! She looked around the room and it suddenly felt like it was closing in on her. She ran to the one place she felt she could let it all out, their place.
"I hate you! How could you leave me like this? What am I supposed to do now?" The numb was gone and now the pain ripped through Clary like a chainsaw. He promised, he swore to her he would come back. He lied to her. Deep down inside she knew she was wrong. That Jace would never willingly leave her, not like this.
Clary had managed to calm herself somewhat. She kept telling herself that she had to keep calm for the baby. She couldn't lose Jace and the only part of him she had left. She let the swing drift back and forth, soothing her some what as she remembered the first time they met. It made her smile.
~oOo~
Clary was six and it was the summer before she would start first grade. Jocelyn, her mother, had become irritated with her whining and sent her outside to play. She groaned and stuck out a pouty lip but did as she was told. Jocelyn always pushed Clary aside when she was working. A new painting or sculpture for an upcoming show was usually more important. Clary was too young to fully understand but she understood very well that it took her mommy away from her.
Valentine, her dad, was around more and set aside time specifically for him and Clary. She loved it because it was like they lived in their own little world. Jocelyn found it repulsive and never failed to express her opinion about it to her father but, he didn't care. He was at work at this point, though and she would rather play outside than get yelled at.
Clary moped as she pushed open the sliding glass door that led to the backyard. She closed the door behind her and watched her silver sparkly shoes that matched her pink and silver dress as she made her way to the swing set while pulling gently on her braided pig tails. She was fighting tears now but, even as young as she was, she still hated crying.
When she looked up at her swing set, a blonde boy was perched in her favorite swing. She knew that new people had moved in next door. She had heard her mother talking to some lady last night. Anger shot through her now though, who did he think he was?
"Hey, that's my swing!" she shouted. The boy looked up in surprise. She could see he was a little older than her but not by much.
He narrowed his eyes on her and chimed, "I don't see your name on it, Red." Clary's hands flew to her hips and she scowled at him. This was HER swing set. In HER back yard. What made him think he could be here anyway?
"MY name is Clary…NOT. Red and you're in MY yard."
The boy shrugged and pushed himself back and forth with a coy smirk. Clary stomped passed him and he laughed at her. She got the best of him though. She stood behind him and waited until the swing came closer to her. When it did, she pushed with all her might, sending the blonde boy face first into the dirt. The swing swayed back and forth over his unmoving body while she stood triumphantly with her arms crossed. The boy got up slowly with a groan but quickly spun to face her. She gasped at the sight. The front of his white t-shirt was covered in blood and it seemed to be coming from his chin. He wasn't crying…did he even know? Well, he found out when he looked down and saw his nice clean shirt now covered in dirt and blood. His face twisted in disgust as he tried to brush the dirt away.
"I…I'm…"
"I'll get your for this, Red," he cut her off and stomped home holding his bloody chin.
Later that night the boy's mother had called Jocelyn and of course Clary got in trouble. Now she hated the little bastard even more! Jocelyn had said the boy had to have stitches. O.K. so Clary did feel a little bad bu,t it was her swing! Her dad had gone over the importance of sharing with her…again. She hated that because they never did that with her brother, Jonathan, and he never shared.
The next day when Clary went out to play, that damn boy was on her swing again. He just loved to irritate her! He sat with his hand grasping the chain of the swing kicking at the dirt and looked up when he saw her coming at him. He didn't say anything, just smiled. She hated him and she would push him off the swing again but she heard dad's words in her head. 'Clary, little girls don't do things like that. It's not proper.' She didn't want to disappoint her dad so she decided to try a different approach.
"Hey stitches," she yelled. "Back for more?"
"My name's Jace, Red, and my mom said I could play here."
"FINE, you can play here but that is my swing!" she pointed.
"So…"
"So get off!"
Of course he didn't, Jace wouldn't be Jace if he did what other people wanted him to do. Even at a young age he never did what he was told. Which was why Clary could never understand how he did so well in the Marines, Jace never took orders…from anyone. So, of course they fought and this time it was Clary that got hurt. She had scraped her knee up pretty good and Jace banged up his elbow. So needless to say when Jocelyn got a second call she was more than furious. She invited Jace and his family over for dinner. Ugh! Now she had to share her food with him too?
Jace's dad Stephen and Clary's dad hit it off well. They both had a passion for football that kept them locked in conversation almost all night. Jace's mom Celine had followed Jocelyn to her studio upstairs to look at her art which left Jace, Jonathan and Clary all by themselves. Jace and Jonathan were a year apart, Jonathan being the older of the two. They seemed to get along well enough. You know little boys, big trucks and G.I Joe.
Clary retreated to her room to color. She didn't want any part in this. She couldn't wait for school to start and the snow to fly so she didn't have to see Jace hogging her swing. Their parents thought if they could show the kids they got along, then so would Jace and Clary. They were so wrong. Their fighting continued until the end of summer.
~oOo~
"Clary?" Celine's voice called.
She had pulled Clary from her first memory of Jace and Clary was kind of pissed about it. Her memories were all she had left now and she wanted to savor them. Relive them as many times as she could, even the bad ones. Clary lifted herself from the swing and slid her hands inside her pockets. She began walking toward the house but turned one last time to look at her swing. That swing started it all and she would be forever grateful.
Whew! O.K. so moment of truth!
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