Thanks for the reviews! I love ya'll sooooo much! So I feel the need to explain the story name. All my other stories are the titles of songs, and while this one isn't, it's actually used in a song. In the song Lights Out by Breaking Benjamin, they repeat the line "and now your life is broken" a couple times. The song doesn't really have to do with this particular story, but listen to it and tell me whether or not you can picture Jonathon singing it! Anyways I own nothing except this plot so here's the next chapter!


After Jace wrapped the bandages around Clary's arm, he got up and quickly went into the only other room in the small house, not looking back once. Clary watched him leave and her heart sank. She wanted Jace to stay, to hold her in his arms and whisper in her ear that everything would be okay. She had just met the boy and already she had an ache in her chest, one that would only be soothed if he was with her. Clary knew nothing about Jace and she felt safer with him then she had in her entire life. She felt that if Jace was with her, then nothing bad could happen.

Clary shook her head, trying to get him out of her mind. But she couldn't. With his tan skin, blonde hair, and gold eyes, Jace was hard to forget. He had full lips and long eyelashes that girls would kill for and guys wouldn't even notice. Clary knew it was wrong for her to feel this way about a person she only knew for five minutes, but she didn't care. She had noticed Jace, and Clary so desperately wanted him to notice her as well.

"Clary?" Isabelle waved her hand in front of Clary's face and she realized that this was not the first time her name had been called.

Clary closed her eyes for a moment before opening them to see Izzy's concerned expression. "I'm sorry. I guess I was a little lost in thought." Clary blushed slightly, embarrassed that she was so focused on Jace that she had no idea what was going on around her. "What were you saying?"

"I asked what it was like being a princess." Izzy hesitated. "But if you are too tired than I can wait until morning?"

"No, I'm not tired." But as Clary said it, she knew it was a lie. She was exhausted, since she was not able to really sleep since before she was kidnapped. However, she did not want to disappoint her new friends who were looking at her so expectantly. Clary slid backwards so that she was still sitting on the ground, but her back was leaning against the bottom of the bench that the boys were sitting on. Max scrambled off of it and snuggled himself into Clary's lap.

"Max." Isabelle scolded.

"I don't mind." Clary said. She liked the fact that Max had to decided to sit on her lap. Clary had always hated being an only child, and she had wanted a younger sibling more than anything. Although Max was not actually related to her, Clary felt that him sitting on her lap was a natural thing.

Clary began to run her fingers through Max's hair and launched into her story. She told them what it was like to grow up in a palace where people catered to your every need. About all the amazing balls she went and the beautiful dresses she owned. Clary noticed how dark it was outside and stopped speaking. She looked down at Max and saw that he was struggling to stay awake. "I think I've told you everything. We should probably get some sleep now."

Alec, who had been leaning forward, entranced by Clary's story, shook his head like he was trying to come back to the real world. Maia and Izzy also looked a little dazed and it took a few moments for everyone to react.

Isabelle sighed. "I wish I could be a princess. It sounds like so much fun." She chuckled when she looked at Max. "Come on little guy, let's get you tucked in."

Max raised up his arms and Isabelle scooped him up and took him into the room that Jace had disappeared to. Maia stood up and smiled at Clary and Alec. "I guess I'll be leaving now. See you tomorrow." She walked out into the night, leaving Clary with Alec.

Clary felt awkward. She had nowhere to stay, and although she was now friends with the Lightwoods, she didn't want to intrude on them. Especially since there was already four of them living in a house that was smaller than Clary's bedroom back at her palace.

Alec spoke to Clary. "You are welcome to stay here Clary. We don't have enough beds though, but I'll gladly give you mine."

"Definitely not. I already feel like I'm intruding on you, so the couch will be fine. I'd greatly appreciate some blankets though."

"Of course. You are Izzy's friend and I can tell Max really likes you. That practically make you family." Alec grinned. "Let me go get you some blankets. I'll be right back."

Isabelle came back out of the other room just as Alec was entering it. "Be quiet." She warned him. "Both Jace and Max are asleep." Alec nodded and crept into the room.

Izzy walked over and plopped down next to Clary. "I'm really glad I met you Clary. I think you'll be good for all of us."

Clary smiled and felt a blush creep up. "Thanks."

"I mean it. Alec does not really interact with others, so him talking to you is a big deal. And Max thinks you're great. He is too young to understand everything that is going on around him and he needs a distraction, and I think you gave him just that. Plus I have feeling that you and I are going to be really good friends."

Clary smiled wider this time. "I'm glad." Clary was silent for minute and then she looked up at Isabelle. "What about Jace?" She whispered.

Izzy sighed. "Jace is different. I love him a lot, but he can be distant. If you have not already guessed, Jace is not my actual brother. We took him in when was about Max's age. He does not really get close to people. Alec is his best friend and yet he knows nothing about Jace's past. Nobody does. So don't take his ignoring you personally, he does that to everyone."

Clary felt a little better about the whole situation, but she was still worried. Why was she so drawn to this boy? Before Clary could ask any more questions, Alec came back with several blankets. He set up Clary's 'bed' then he and Izzy wished her goodnight before joining Max and Jace in the other room.

Clary lied down on the couch. Normally, she would not have been able to get comfortable, but after sleeping on the ground for a while, it felt as if it was the softest thing ever. Clary could not even close her eyes without seeing an image of Jace. So instead, she looked up at the ceiling, not able to even see anything because it was too dark.

She thought about what tomorrow would bring. It would be her first real day as a slave and Clary was scared. She had no idea how to be a slave. She didn't know how to do anything considering that she used to have servants for everything. But now she was the servant. Hopefully Izzy and Maia would help her. They would teach her how to wash clothes, and the proper way to clean the palace, and cook. Well maybe Izzy wouldn't actually help with the last one.

Clary wondered what Jace did every day. Did he go work out in the fields? Or maybe he raised the animals? Clary would ask tomorrow. She would also ask him exactly why he was so quiet and distant. Clary frowned. She had no right to ask him those questions. Especially the second one. According to Izzy, Jace did not go around telling people everything about himself, so why would he tell a complete stranger? No, Clary just needed to stay away from him. But even the thought of doing that made Clary's body hurt. She was shocked to realize that it would be physically painful to not be around Jace. She groaned and rolled over. She had to at least try to give him space. Clary fell asleep trying to think of ways to be around Jace without having to actually interact with him. She kept coming up blank.

That night Clary dreamt of Jace. He was holding her in his arms and was kissing her passionately. His lips were soft yet demanding against hers and wherever his arms were touching her, she felt warmth. Clary felt something soft and velvety rub up against her shoulder and she opened her eyes to see that large white wings had wrapped themselves around herself and Jace. She looked up at him to see him staring back at her. "Jace." She whispered.

Clary woke with a start. She sat up and looked around. It was barely light out, but Alec was already completely ready for the day. "Sorry to wake you, although you needed to get up soon anyways." Clary heard movement in the other room and she slowly got up. "Go into the bedroom. I think Izzy has some of her old clothes that you can wear."

Clary nodded and walked over to the door. She pushed it open and saw that Max and Izzy were almost completely ready. She was about to say something, but her voice caught in her throat when Jace came out of the tiny bathroom. He was only wearing pants so that his chest was plainly visible. Clary's eyes ran over his muscles, his perfect chest, until she caught Jace scowling at her. She blushed as he quickly threw on a shirt.

"Looks like sleeping beauty's finally awake." Jace commented in a rude tone that made Clary blush even harder.

Isabelle glanced over and tossed Clary a servant's dress. "That used to be mine. Now go into the bathroom and change. Oh and it might be a little long, but I can always hem it later."

Clary walked over to the bathroom and stripped out of her dress. It was the same one she was wearing when she was first kidnapped, so she was glad to be rid of it. Clary slipped on the dress and saw that Izzy was right. The dress was ridiculously long and Clary hoped that she would not trip over it throughout the day. It felt strange wearing a dress that did not include a corset, but Clary liked it in a way. At least she didn't have any trouble breathing.

When Clary walked back out, the boys were already gone. Clary tried to get over her disappointment. She had been hoping to see Jace, which was crazy, one more time before she headed up to the palace. Oh well, maybe it was for the best. Clary felt her heart ache and knew it was not true.

"Let's go." Izzy motioned for Clary to follow her and together they went to pick up Maia before heading up to the castle.

"Today's Wednesday, which means cleaning day." Maia explained to Clary. "It is our turn-"

"And a bunch of other people's turn." Izzy interjected.

"To clean the entire palace. It shouldn't be that hard since it is cleaned every day." Maia finished.

"But us three have to clean Jonathon's room, and since he was home last night, it's sure to be trashed." Isabelle looked disgusted at the thought of having to clean his room.

"He won't be in there will he?" Clary asked nervously. Her arm was still hurting where he had cut her and she was not really inclined to see him again.

"No," Izzy said thoughtfully and Clary felt relief wash through her. "Jonathon usually leaves before now."

They made a quick pit stop to get the cleaning supplies and then split up to get more cleaning done. They had agreed to meet at Jonathon's room in an hour to work on cleaning it.

It had been around 30 minutes and Clary had barely cleaned anything. She walked past a closed door, and thinking that another servant had already taken care of the room, was about to walk past when she heard music. Somebody was playing the piano and it was obvious that they were very skilled. Clary cracked the door open and saw that it was Jace. He was sitting with his back to her and she saw his hands fly across the keys. Clary had to really focus on not letting her jaw drop. Jace was a slave. Where had he learned to play the piano?

Clary stood there for a long time listening to Jace play. Right before he was going to get to the best part of the song, Clary dropped one of the dusters and mentally cursed herself for being so clumsy. Jace immediately stopped playing and whipped around to see who had interrupted him. There was a flash of relief on his face before he glared at her.

"Where did you learn to play like that?" Clary was truly curious about his talent.

Jace ignored her question and shoved away from the piano. "What are you doing here?"

"I came in here to clean." Lies. "But then I heard you playing and I could not bring myself to stop you. You were amazing." That was the truth. Jace was probably as skilled as Clary was and that was saying something.

Jace raised an eyebrow. "I should not be here." He strode out of the room. When he walked past Clary, his shoulder brushed hers. Clary jumped back. Where he had touched her, there had been a flash of heat. Holding on to her shoulder, Clary left the room as well and went to go track down Izzy and Maia.

It was evening and Clary collapsed onto the Lightwood's couch. Today had been awful. The way Jace had treated Clary was enough to drive her crazy, and having to clean Jonathon's room had been one of the worst experiences of the princess's life. She shuddered as she thought back on what she had to do.

Clary practically ran through the hallways until she found Maia and Izzy. "There you are!" Izzy exclaimed. "We haven't gone in yet because we were waiting for you."

Maia sighed. "Let's get this over with." She said, pushing the door open.

The good news was that Izzy was right. Jonathon was nowhere to be seen. The bad news was how horribly trashed the bedroom was. The sheets from the bed were knotted and the curtains had been knocked on the ground, allowing sunlight to flood into the room. Clothes were scattered along the floor and Clary was horrified to see that there were not just pants and shirts there, but quite a few dresses as well. The entire room looked covered in filth and Clary had no idea how it could look like that after Jonathon being home for only one night.

It had taken hours to scrub down the entire room and Clary's back ached from leaning over so much. She slouched back against the couch. Clary let out a deep breath when she thought about the fact that until she came here, she had had perfect posture. But that was only one of the many perks of being a servant.

Max walked in carrying a bag and Alec and Jace followed him inside. Alec took one look at the sight in front of him and laughed. "Rough first day?"

"Yes." Clary watched as Jace walked right by her and into the bedroom. She sighed. "I don't know how you guys can handle this."

Alec smiled sympathetically. "You'll get used to it. But in the mean time, a cup of tea will make you feel better." While he started boiling the water, Max skipped over and sat down next to Clary.

"Look what I've got Clary!" Max dumped the contents of the bag onto Clary's lap. It turned out that Max had several loaves of bread, three large squares of cheese, and a shiny, red apple. "Doesn't it look delicious? Jace stole them!"

Clary snapped her head up to look at Max. "I'm sorry. Did you just say that Jace stole all of this?"

"Max!" Alec groaned handing Clary a cup of very hot tea. "You weren't supposed to tell her. Clary might not be okay with it."

"Sorry Alec." Max mumbled before dashing into the bedroom.

Clary blew on the tea before taking a sip. "Why did Jace steal that?"

Alec sat down and put his head in his hands. "We don't get paid and the palace only gives us a small amount of food. Definitely not enough to feed all of us. We can't just starve. So Jace steals food every now and again. He's talented."

But Clary already knew that. Of course he's talented. He's Jace. Clary doubted anything was impossible for him. He could probably fly if he wanted to. Clary thought back to her dream and shook her head. It was a dream, nothing else.

At that moment, Izzy burst into the room. "Look who I've met!" She exclaimed, gesturing to the man standing next to her. "Don't worry, he's not staying with us, he's sharing houses with someone else." Isabelle said as an answer to Alec's panicked expression that another person might be living in the small house. "Time for introductions!"


What'd ya think? I know it was sort of a filler chapter and I'm sorry nothing too exciting happened, but it had to be written. Everyone loves a mysterious ending right? Who do you think is with Izzy? Review or PM me who you think it is! If you guess right I'll PM you a sneak peek of next chapter! So go ahead and guess away my darlings! But only guess one person to be fair...