Chapter 2

"What did you think you were doing?" Maryse screamed unbelievably at the children that stood in front of her. "You killed THREE fey warriors, THREE! The Seelie Queen has sent a very threatening message this afternoon demanding answers from the three of you!"

Alec, Jace and Izzy were gathered in the dimly lit library of the institute, enduring the lecture that had begun the moment they set foot inside the institute.

"But mother," Alec interrupted, trying to sound less frustrated than he felt, being the oldest here means taking responsibility. "They attacked us first!"

"I couldn't care less for what they did; you three risked the alliance with the fey folks with us nephilim and placed the trust we had in the trash." She said with restrained patience, turning to face Jace before she continued. "The Seelie Queen has demanded an audience with the one responsible for this massacre."

"They would have killed us!" Isabelle exclaimed at the outrageous comment.

"And if it wasn't for Jace, I would be dead already," Alec added hopefully.

Maryse sighed. There wasn't much that could be done. The Clave were not known to be generous to law breakers, and if the alliance broke, not to mention her life, the lives of all the people in the institute were on the line. At first she hadn't believed the message, she knew that Jace was a troublemaker, but not at this magnitude...

How wrong she was when the trio returned, covered in blood and sweat. She paled as Alec recounted their misadventures and described the event. Her mind raced and she grew more anxious as the story progressed. The situation was more serious then she had previously anticipated, which was a mere misunderstanding on the Queen's part, and could destroy the carefully mended connection between the fey folk and Shadowhunters. The clave would do unimaginable things to them. Strip their marks, and banish them to the cells in Alicante to rot.

Alec has never seen his mother being so aggressively out of control. Her calm demeanour never failed in situations which required it. Now she stands before him, screaming her head off over a few dead fey warriors. He guessed that her temper was partly their fault. If the alliance was really broken, they would've bought the Clave and their little army right to their door steps.

"You three are in so much trouble." Maryse sighed eventually after she had cooled down from her previous outburst. "The queen wants to see you, so you will go for an audience. If you do not fix your mistake, you are throwing the life of all of us into the pit." With that she turned around and stormed off into the maze-like hallways of the institute.

"What's the worst that could happen?" Jace said after a while, breaking the silence. He hadn't said anything since Maryse started talking. "We get a couple of clave people on our asses, so what?"

"Jace! This isn't just some game we're playing here! Exclaimed Izzy. "Don't you see the severity of our position? We could get in serious trouble with the Clave."

"And when has the clave been merciful?" Alec joined in.

"Oh a few silent brothers are going to come and rape our minds. How awful." Jace made a face and remarked sarcastically, waving his arms in the air.

He only received a skull shattering slap from Izzy, who was already strutting out of the library. "You boys get cleaned up. We're meeting back here in 15, and we're going to the Seelie court."

Only then did the wave of exhaustion hit Alec, as he swayed and planted himself in the sofa nearby. As the dizziness passed, he realize that he had a deep long gash on his shoulder. It hadn't bothered him until now, when the adrenaline from the fighting wore off. Better get fixed up buddy, the day isn't over yet, and it's not going to end so kindly. After denying the offer from Jace for an iratze, he dragged himself out the library after him to his room, where the warm shower awaited his aching body.

Alec stepped into the freezing lake water, the water soaking his feet and socks in an instant. Jace was in the lead, wading waist deep in the water with Izzy shivering closely behind him. After they cleaned themselves up, not wanting to look their worst before the Seelie queen, they set off to face the inevitable.

Alec hadn't brought anything. His phone, keys and stele were left on the bedside table in his room as he didn't want to anger the queen anymore by bringing weapons. They had no intention of starting a feud.

Jace made the dive first, into the other dimension. Izzy waited a few seconds before she also lowered herself into the water, to the feys realm. Then it was Alec's turn. He took a deep breath and plunged into the icy cold water. One second he was underwater, the next he was on solid ground, breathing for oxygen as the cold pierced his skin.

To no surprise at all, he found himself surrounded by the sharp edges of fey swords. He turned his head slightly to inspect the condition of his comrades, only to find that they were provided with the same warm welcome. Jace had his arm tied behind his back, held down by two giant fey folks who looked especially irritated. Alec suspected that the smart mouth of his blonde parabatai had gotten the better of him once again. Izzy was standing in the middle of a circle of fairies, not restricted but with weapons pointing towards her, like himself.

Without a word, they were escorted to the court room. Alec could feel the sharp jab of a sword on his back the whole way, and a few pairs of eyes observing his every move. The fey weren't taking any chances, not when they've worn out their trust for the shadowhunters.

The doors to the court opened and the vines shrank back into itself. They were shoved into the room ungracefully by their guards, whom followed them in and stood at attention awaiting further instructions from their commander. The hall looked just as majestic as he last remembered it, he looked around and admired the handiwork. His eyes eventually settled on the throne in the middle of the hall, on which gracefully sat the Seelie Queen, looking equally as majestic and very, very angry.