*puts reviews in Janie's Box of Beautiful Things that makes her happy* Still don't own Cassandra Clare's boys though...
So I realize I've taken a few days but just as a warning this is the typical pace I will be updating but that's still two chapters a week. :D This chapter was kind of hard to write and is a different tone than the last chapter but I definately ask for patience because the next few (one or two more) chapters are necessary plotwise before full (not half) lemons appear. Again, thank you so much for the kind reviews! What else? I just realized I spelt fashion wrong... Sorry... Note that I fixed it, am I forgiven?
Music I listened to is Done All Wrong by Black Rebel Motorcycles and The Only One by Evanescence
Chapter Three-Love is a Crime
Magnus lounged on the couch, one leg hanging off while facing the ceiling with a board expression. Chairman Meow sat on his chest, kneading and purring like a motor. Magnus had canceled all his appointments this morning when Alec had been staying the day with him but now Alec was gone he had nothing to do and he sure as hell wasn't going to call his clients back. The scarcity of his work is what made it special.
"Isn't that right, Chairman Meow?" Magnus inquired. Chairman Meow opened his eyes slightly before closing them again, continuing his kneading. Magnus chuckled, "Now if Alec would only tell me when he'd be home. Maybe I'll surprise him…"
He lazily turned his head to the TV, hoping for ideas, seeing a very interesting commercial for Adam&Eve. "We could start with sex toys. He probably wouldn't know what half of them are though," Magnus added as a chuckle, the rubble shaking Chairman Meow. Disturbed, the feline jumped off and stalked out of the room.
Magnus sat up hurt, "Now if you leave I'll just be talking to myself." He whined. Magnus considered bribing him with catnip but, alas, a parent had to be strong when enforcing punishment.
As Magnus was about to succumb to boredom again his phone rang. At first jumping to answer it incase it was Alec, but then remembering Alec wouldn't be able to use his phone in Idris, he stalked towards the cellular device.
Picking it up he glared at the screen. An unrecognizable number showed on the screen with no name. He tapped the answer button and held the phone to his ear, "Who are you? What do you want? And who gave you this number?"
Magnus was answered by deep, warm hearted laughter, "For the love of Lilith, is that how you answer the phone Magnus? You'll be single forever."
Magnus took a moment to decipher the voice then it came to him, "Boris!" He said with a smile, ignoring the single bit.
"Long time, no see," Boris answered in response. Boris Whyn, the high warlock of Springfield, Massachusetts, had been an old friend of Magnus's for a long while.
"I'll say, 1920's. For what reason do you have the great pleasure of calling me?" Magnus asked with a large smile.
"Straight to business then. I have somewhat of strange client on my hands," Magnus hummed to let Boris know he was listening, "You see, her son has died and she believes the Clave is behind it."
Magnus sighed, "Boris, I was at the signing of the Accords and the Battle with Valentine. I've seenShadowhunters and Downworlders work together. If their isn't a good reason to kill a Downworlder then they won't do it."
"I understand that, Magnus," Boris continued, "but their son was a Shadowhunter."
Alec made his way threw Idris, the familiar feeling of warmth of being the Shadowhunters home city making its way over Alec's skin and threw his veins.
He smiled at passing Shadowhunters, making his way threw the streets and to the center of the city, were the Hall of Edicts was.
Upon arriving in front of the building he took a moment to absorb it's magnificence. It was the same building the Hall of Accords and Hall of Edicts and many other halls with fancy names that Hodge had taught Alec, Jace, and Izzy but Alec had forgotten (or been asleep when taught). The building was tall and wide, made of shining glass and stone.
Alec smiled and happily bounded up the steps, excited to be involved in his very first Clave meeting alone. He walked into the chilled building and made his way to a counter where a girl was filling out some papers.
"Excuse me," Alec started, the girl looked up, "I'm Alexander Lightwood. I received a letter requesting my presence." He handed the girl the letter who read it over and handed it back to him, "Could you please direct me to the Hall of Edicts?"
The girl stood up and pointed to her right, Alec's left. "Yeah, you'll head down that corridor and make a hard right. Keep walking until you see some guards."
Alec nodded, "Thank you. Ah, do you know what we're doing exactly," he asked, a little nervous about being completely clueless as to what his first Clave meeting was about.
She smiled and shrugged, "No, sorry, I have no idea."
Alec made his way down the hall in the direction he was told. As he walked he tried to brainstorm what important business he would be attending. There were guards, so that meant it was dangerous right? Or at least no one who wasn't suppose to be there could overhear what was being discussed. That had to mean this was on a need to know bases. Only question was, why did Alec need to know?
As he marched down the halls he saw two guards standing in front of an open door. Alec did his best to wipe the giddy look of excitement off his face and replace it with a stoic professional one.
The guards were both big and muscular, in Shadowhunter gear with weapons attached to their belts and each with a long sword on their left hip. One, the more muscular, had dark brown hair with a thick beard were the other was leaner and clean shaven with a dark military cut.
When Alec approached them they quickly moved their bodies to shied the door, "This is a private meeting." The bearded one said. He had a thick Russian accent.
Alec held out his letter to the guards who read it and looked at each other. The thinner one smiled while the Russian frowned looked away.
"So glad you could make it," said the thin one. He had a soft voice that Alec had to strain to here. "Now we can get this show on the road."
Alec nodded, "Yeah."
"Step inside. The meeting starts soon," the Russian man stated, still avoiding eye contact with Alec. He looked uneasy while the other looked oddly smug.
Alec stepped past both men, turning behind him, "Thank you." He said before the door shut behind him.
Inside the room was mostly white except for wood furnishings. A judges stand stood tall with a witness stand to the left of it. There was a single stand opposite the judges and a jury bench directly across from the door. This was private court room, with no benches for an audience.
Alec looked around. In the judges stand was an older man. Well, old for a Shadowhunter at least. Alec recognized him as High Judge Joshua. Alec nodded his head respectfully and eyed a man in the witness stand. He had one leg crossed over the other and his hands on his knee, smiling at Alec with the same venomous smile as the guard outside.
Alec looked away quickly, he wasn't sure why he was receiving all this hostility. He hadn't done anything wrong.
"Am I to be part of the jury?" Alec asked the judge.
He shook his head, "There will be no jury for this case. Stand there," Judge Joshua directed to the stand across from his own.
Alec blinked in confusion before standing where directed and facing the judge, a overwhelming feeling of dread coming over him. He felt his stomach knot up and butterflies swarm around. But not excited knots he felt with Magnus, knots that sickened him and made him want to throw up. And not the giddy butterflies he felt when Magnus kissed him or took his time when undressing him, sickening butterflies that made him want one person he knew in the room with him.
No matter how anxious or ill Alec was, nothing could have prepared him for the next statement that came out of Judge Joshua's mouth.
"Alexander Lightwood you are being trailed for the murder of Benjamin Odds."
Alec's stomach dropped out from the bottom of his feet, "Wh-what?" He gasped leaning forward on his stand toward the judge, grabbing the wooden rail in front of him. "What the hell are you talking about?"
Judge Joshua turned to the man in witness stand, "You saw this?"
The man looked up and smiled, "Yes, of course. I saw him pierce Mr. Odds threw the chest with a well shot arrow."
Alec's mouth dropped, he had never seen this man before in his life and now he was saying he had witness him murder someone?
"There has to be a mistake," Alec pleaded, but the Judge talked over him.
"You testify to this?"
"Yes," the man replied."
Alec looked between the Judge and the man rapidly, not sure who to yell at. "No! You've got to understand I've never killed anyone! I hadn't even killed a demon until the war with Valentine!"
Alec heard shuffling footsteps and the rustling of clothes behind him. Turning to look quickly, not wanting to take his eyes off the Judge for too long he saw three Shadowhunters walk in, advancing on him.
Quickly turning back to the judge and witness they continued to ignore Alec, not even making eye contact with him as they proceeded their conversation as if Alec wasn't there. And it seemed the way this hearing was going it wasn't making a difference that he was.
"You're willing to put your life on the line defending your statement?" Judge Joshua continued, directing another question to the "witness" .
"Absolutely."
The guards came upon Alec, quickly grabbing his arms and jerking them behind his back. Alec felt the sting of holding runes being drawn on his wrists as handcuffs. He tried struggling and pulling away but the runes on his wrists pieced his skin every time he tugged and the guards had a good grip on each of his elbows.
While trying in vain to arched his body away from the guards he being screaming.
"Listen to me!" Alec screamed, feeling tears sting the back of his eyes in frustration.
The Judge and the man became silent, considering Alec down their noises. Alec, surprised he had gotten their attention, took a few deep breathes.
"Listen, I've n-never," he swallowed, trying to stop his voice from shaking in fear, "killed anyone. Anyone. This is a mistake."
The Judge sighed and looked at Alec, "We know that Alexander."
Alec gapped at the man. Was this a joke? Was it going to be like that dumb Punk'dshow Jace had showed him (courtesy of Clary)?
He swallowed, "I don't understand."
"Do you understand the situation of the Shadowhunter race currently?" The judge snapped at him. Alec remained silent and let the judge continue, "Our people are dwindling. There are half as many Shadowhunters now as there were one thousand years ago when we were first created. We do not need any more problems concerning the reproduction of more Shadowhunters and your kind of people are a large problem."
Alec let his speech sink in, slowly gathering the meaning of the words, "This is because I'm gay?"
Judge Joshua seemed to wince from Alec's obvious mood swing from hurt and confused to pissed off. "Alexander, we don't need people to be following your example of disgusting behavior in the Hall of the Accords. Studies have shown that seeing someone like you committed for such a horrendous crime will associate homosexuals with the murder of Shadowhunters. A… turn off, if you will, for those considering following your deranged path."
Alec felt his blood boil in his veins, "So yourfucking sending me to jail for a crime I didn't commit! What kind of sick idea is that? It's not like I had a choice in being gay, it's just who I am!"
"And I would rather people hide it and have children then act upon it and stunt our rate of Shadowhunter birth."
Alec gasped and leaned back, away from the judge. He didn't know what to do. Were they going to throw him in jail for a made up crime he didn't commit?
As if reading his mind the judge's eyes softened, "We could pretend this never happened." Alec looked up at the Judge Joshua, "If you were to renounce your corrupt ways, meet a girl, raise a nice family…" The judge let the statement hang in the air.
So this was his choice? Alec bent his head, his messy black hair covering his eyes, shielding him from the small group in the room. He would be allowed to live freely if he just stopped being gay? Or pretended to be straight?
Thoughts of the people he loved came to his mind. His parents, Isabel, Jace. Max, who they had lost much to soon. Magnus…
Alec clenched his jaw and made eye contact with the judge, "You can't make me stop loving someone just because you think it's wrong."
The judge leaned back. "You choose to live an unfulfilling life, with no children, and jeopardize the existence of Shadowhunters. In this case, Mr. Lightwood, your love," he mocked, "is a crime." He raised his previously untouched gavel and slammed it on the counter, "The sentence has been written."
Alec struggled, trying to break away from the guards holding him, with renewed vigor and fear but before he could even fill his lungs to scream for help he felt a sharp pain the in back of his head and collapsed.
Alec woke up cold, his cheek pressed to a cold, slightly damp, stone floor caked in dirt and grime. He coughed, his lungs feeling heavy, and attempted to gather his surroundings.
Quickly, a little two quickly perhaps, he pushed himself up and jumped to the vertical bars encaging him in the small cell he now found himself in. Reaching the bars he held tight as his legs slightly gave out from dizziness, his eyes going into tunnel vision. He swallowed again and peered outside his cell.
The jail cell was part of a long hall with cells on both sides. Most empty, some with people sitting, not bothering to look Alec's way. The whole hallway was just as dank as Alec's cell and a rancid smell that couldn't be placed at the moment filled the air.
Looking down the hall Alec spotted a man sitting with his knees to his chest, slumped over, across the hall, two cells down from him.
"Hey," he yelled to the man. He remained motionless.
"Hey!" he yelled louder, trying to shake the bars but they didn't even budge.
"He's dead," a disembodied voice responded.
Alec looked to his left. The voice came from the cell right next to him. Alec was unable to see into it considering it was separated by a stone wall and no matter how close Alec pressed his face to the bars he couldn't get any farther.
"They're to lazy to clean up the bodies that have died."
Alec suddenly recognized the rancid smell as rotting bodies.
"That's disgusting. And sad." Alec whispered, staring at the bent over form of the man in his view.
"Yeah," the voice coughed. "He was nice, too." Alec winced. The voice was young and male. Slightly scratchy, as if he needed some water. "So who are you?"
Alec sighed, and sat with his back against the wall facing his new neighbor. Drawing his legs to his chest Alec rested his chin on his knees. "Alec. Alec Lightwood."
There was a pause in the air, then laughter.
"What?" Alec asked, slightly offended.
The laugher died down, "You killed me."
Alec's head shot up, "What?" He repeated, slightly scared that he was talking to the ghost of his faux victim.
"Well, not really." The boy, Benjamin if Alec remembered right, "They asked me to come to a meeting and were all like, 'You have been murdered by Alexander Lightwood', or something. Then they took me here."
Alec sat in shock. He wasn't the only victim of this ridiculous trail setup? "Why are they doing this? I mean, when they put me on 'trail' they said,-"
"They said it was because you're gay?" Benjamin finished, "Yeah, me too. I kinda came out after I saw you kiss that guy in the Hall of Accords. Coming out like that, you were kinda my hero. I've wanted to meet you even since. Just wish it wasn't like this."
Alec turned to look behind him, starring at the wall that separated him and his new fan. Alec had never thought someone would think so highly of him for kissing Magnus at the hall of the accords. If anything they would react in disgust but even with that in mind he would never expect that he would be imprisoned.
Alec winced and returned to resting his head on his knees. That wasn't true. Since he was twelve years old and realized he liked boys he had been terrified of telling his parents in fear that they would disown him. Looking back now he realized that was silly. His parents loved him and even though they were shocked they assured him that they would never dream of disowning him but while he had been living in his safe bubble of acceptance in New York he hadn't bothered thinking of what the Clave thought.
"I see," Alec whispered, "Then it's nice to meet you, Benjamin." Alec said as enthusiastically as he could given the circumstances, which wasn't very enthusiastic at all.
In the corner of the room Alec saw a very uncomfortable looking bed. There was a mattress on the floor as thin as Alec's pinky with one sheet on top and a lump of a pillow. Slowly Alec crawled over to the horrid bed and pulled the blanket over his head.
How could this be happening? After all he had done as a Shadowhunter they were going to imprison him just because he was gay? Because he wouldn't make children?
Alec took a deep breath, trying to send the tears threatening the backs of his eyes away. His thoughts wandered to Magnus. His beautiful, sweet, wonderful Magnus. Magnus who was always looking out for him, making sure he was healed whenever he got back from a hunt. Who, when in front of his friends, would treat him like a hero and when they were alone would baby him and give him whatever he wanted.
Magnus with his politically involved cat, Gilligan's Island, expensive clothes, parties, glitter, beautiful eyes, mouth, arms, hands, figures, chest, stomach, legs… There wasn't a single thing that Alec didn't love about Magnus and now he might not ever see him again and would sit here and rot in this damned cell.
Alec squeezed his eyes shut, drawing in a shaky breathe. What was Magnus doing right now? Probably watching TV with Chairman Meow. How long would it take for him to notice he was gone? He hadn't said when he would be back…
Alec's suddenly widened his eyes in excitement. The letter! The letter Alec had promised to send but, obviously, never did. Magnus would worry. Magnus would come for him. Alec let this small hope register in his mind and held onto it.
Suddenly in a much chipper mood Alec's heart rate increased. He would get out of here, with Magnus's help. And Magnus would probably call his siblings and together they could all give the Calve a well deserved kick in the ass. They could help Benjamin too, and whoever else had been wronged by the Clave. Who knows how many fake trails had been executed?
Thinking back on his trail a stray thought entered Alec's mind.
"Benjamin," Alec started, "Did they tell you that you would be let go if you pretended to be straight?"
"Yeah. I told them no. I wanted to be brave." Benjamin gave a shaky sigh, "They've been keeping me here ever since. They only took me out once…" Benjamin's voice started shaking and he took a deep breath, as if he was crying.
"What for", Alec asked, fingering a thread from the blanket.
"When they stripped me of my marks."
Oooooh... yeah, plot thickenin' going on here.
So I'm sure everyone can tell because I'm writting a Malec fic but just to clarify... I am not homophobic, I think it's totally unjust to judge someone by who they love. Just adding that in case it wasn't obvious. Also, I realize this fic has taken a dark turn but like I said, please stick with it! Things get better. And as for me adding OC's, please tell me how I did on that because I was a little iffy on adding them.
Glitter is to Magnus as Reviews are to Janie! Do eet (please)!