"Why the hell did you bring him back here?" said a deep, masculine voice, clearly angry.

"I found him out in the woods when I was gathering herbs and the like," another voice, higher pitched and youthful. A girl.

"You know we cannot afford to have someone else under our roof," said the man with a sigh of frustration.

"I couldn't just leave him out there to die Nate!" the girl exclaimed. "He took a nasty fall down the steep ravine and practically crumpled on the ground right in front of my eyes. I had to help him."

"You weren't even supposed to be out there in the first place, Tessie. You were well aware that there was a thunderstorm and young little girls should not go out on nights like that."

"I'm not little. And I am not a girl. Besides, I am old enough and I can take care of him myself. I don't need your help."

"Fine, whatever you say little sister. Have it your way then. You always do. But if this boy has one slip up, then I will send him straight out the door and off to the streets with him."

"Oh, all right then. I will be careful," the girl said in resignation. "I wonder who he is. And where he came from."

"Doesn't matter to me," the older boy grunted, sounding irritated.

"I'll find out, sooner or later," the girl said so quietly that the other boy could not hear.


Darkness. Darkness and blackness was all Will could see. No matter how hard he tried to get away from it, he could not. It was like swimming against a tide towards shore, but it just kept bringing you back closer and closer to the depths of the ocean. That was exactly how Will felt at the moment. He had escaped, but he knew there was no going back.

Suddenly, there was movement in the darkness. Faces began to pop up right in front of his eyes. His father. His mother. Cecily. Jem.

"You have betrayed my trust, son," his father's voice was an echo, but it still held its reprimanding edge.

I am sorry, father, Will had tried to say, but he made no sound. It was like yelling in empty space with nothing to be heard. Meaningless words. Useless.

"William, why did you have to leave? You could have had a happy life here," his mother. But of course she would not know he was gone. And neither should his father.

"Brother, please come back. I miss you so much." Cecily. But Cecily was strong. She had given him her approval to go forth.

"Promise me you'll have a good life. Please promise me this brother. I will be forever in your heart," said Jem, his voice steady and calm, pulling Will back to shore.

"I promise," said Will. His hand flew up to his throat in surprise; his voice had come back. Will reached out his hand towards Jem, but Jem and the others were already beginning to fade away.

"No!" Will shouted, "come back! Please!" His voice caught on the last word, as he fought his way forward towards Jem and Cecily.

"We love you, Will," said Jem and Cecily, as well as his parents, all in unison. Will kept on making his way towards them, but it was too late. They had almost disappeared in oblivion, a mere light in the blackness.

Will thrashed around wildly in the dark, but he already knew that they were gone. Once again, Will felt utterly helpless when darkness took ahold of him one last time.


Will opened his eyes up groggily to see the afternoon sunlight trickling in. He was lying flat against a somewhat stiff bed. He was used to sleeping in his plush bed with his soft downy pillow. Obviously he had to get used to not having a life of luxury now.

He could feel himself breathing heavily. He reached up to his forehead to feel the sweat pasted to his forehead. He looked down to see white sheets, tangled all over his body. He sat up straight when a sudden, sharp pain hit him right in the stomach. He brought his arm over and clenched his stomach, letting out a gasp of pain.

"Be careful there," said a voice and he looked up to see a pair of curious gray eyes looking down him. A girl precisely, who appeared to be around Will's age, maybe a year younger. She was fairly tall with curling, chocolate brown hair tied behind her, a few tendrils boxing her face. He glanced at her clothing to see that she was wearing a shabby, gray dress that fell at her ankles, with tears and patches here and there. A peasant. She had a nice face along with a youthful glow, Will supposed, but he had seen much prettier. After all, he was a prince and met all sorts of girls. "You had quite a nasty fall and you may have hurt your ribs," the girl continued. She had the same voice that he had heard earlier before he passed out.

Will narrowed his eyes at her and said nothing. Looking away, he decided to absorb his surroundings. They were in a room with lightly coloured walls that was much smaller than his back at the Institute. Behind him was a single window where the sun was trying to come in. The furniture was sparse. There was the bed where Will was situated in, a small bed stand to the side, a shelf against a far wall, and a chair next to his bed. A quilt was thrown haphazardly on the chair, indicating that the girl had most likely been sitting in before Will had woken up. How long she was there for, Will could care less about.

A sudden throb started at Will's head, and he immediately gripped the side of his head to feel something soft that was definitely not his head. A bandage.

"I would also be weary of that," the girl advised, "you hit your head. Although, it should be better now." She reached towards him, and Will flinched away. Hurt spread across her face. "I'm sorry. I won't hurt you at all."

"Easy for you to say," Will muttered under his breath, hoping she had not heard him. "Well, what am I doing here?" he demanded. The girl regained her normal, serious expression. Usually girls went off crying or whining if William Herondale talked to them in such manner. Maybe this girl was different.

"I found you out in the forest amidst an awful thunderstorm," she said, keeping a firm voice, "I had gone out there to run errands, but came across you instead. You had slipped down a steep hill at an alarming speed and hit the ground, head first. It seemed quite painful, so I had to bring you back here. You had hurt your ribs and your head badly, so I bandaged you up. Also, you're clothes had been torn and bloody, so I changed you into my brother's clothing. You're about his size." She eyed him and blushed at this and Will looked to see that indeed he was wearing different clothes, not the servant garments Jem had given him. Will realized why the girl was blushing; she had seen his full body, which many of the girls around the land would have killed for. "You've been asleep for nearly three days now," she added quickly, turning away.

Three days? Will thought in alarm. He hadn't even noticed that time had slipped by so quickly. He had never wasted such time being in bed and felt he should be more productive.

"I know what you're thinking," the girl said, reading his thoughts, "You're surprised that you've been out for so long and you wish that you could be out and about. I would say that you should rest for another day or so before you start walking, nonetheless standing."

"Finally," Will said.

"Ah, so you're not a mute," the girl said, amusement sparkling behind her stormy, gray eyes.

"Of course not," Will said defiantly, "what ever gave you that impression?"

The girl shook her head before saying, "what's your name?"

"William," Will said, and the girl raised an eyebrow, urging him to go on, "William… Carstairs. But everyone calls me Will." Jem's last name was the first to pop in mind. If Will used his real surname, he would have been screwed. This aroused no suspicions from the girl, thankfully, who nodded at that.

"Say, isn't that the prince's name?" So she did know who Prince William Herondale was. Will was glad he didn't give that away.

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"I thought it was not very common, at least where I live."

"I was named after him. Doesn't anyone want their son to be named after a future king?" Will was getting slightly annoyed at the girl.

"Most people I know would never," she said, giving Will a confused look. "Doesn't everyone know? The Herondales are hated across Idris. I've heard stories about them. How they care about no one but themselves. King Edmund saved most of the riches for himself leaving most of the villages in extreme poverty. No one ever hears of Queen Linette, but we know she just goes along with the King. And the children, too. I've heard that Cecily Herondale is sweet and the nicest in the family. But that William, he's the rudest, most unkind and uncivil man, as I've people have said."

Will was shocked. Sure, he knew he was rude, sarcastic, and an ass to pretty much everyone except for Jem and Cecily. But that was only to those who came into the palace. He thought that all those who resided outside the borders were oblivious to him, and especially his attitude. This girl had clearly proved him wrong though. No wonder there was such distaste and hatred in her voice. Even more the reason to dislike her.

"Why the look of surprise?" she asked. She could read Will so easily that it almost scared him. "And what do you do to not know about the Herondales?"

Will laughed. "Oh, I know of them. More than you can imagine."

"What do you mean?" she said, looking very puzzled by this.

"To put it simply, I worked for them."

"You what?!" That certainly surprised her.

"Did you not hear me correctly?" Will smirked, "I used to work for them," he said, enunciating every word.

"Yes, yes I heard you clearly," she said irritatingly, "I just never thought that people ever left the castle."

"Are you impressed?" Will gave her a crooked grin.

She rolled her eyes. "So how did you escape?"

"It was quite simply actually."

"Simple until you nearly died," she commented.

"Did I hear something?" he said, earning a poisonous look from her. It sure was fun to tease her.

"Nothing," she said quietly.

"So where am I?" Will said, deciding to change the village.

"The village of Blackfriars." She seemed relieved to be talking about something else.

"Never heard of it." It was the truth.

"You wouldn't have," she said, "most people don't know of us. We're on the outskirts of Idris that we are often overlooked. I highly doubt that the Herondales even know we exist. Which is a good thing, I may add. At least we don't get the bad end of their reign." Will sighed at this. He never thought his family was that hated. He did detest his father, but had no idea this feeling was mutual with the people of his land. "Out of curiosity, but what did you do? For the Herondales I menat."

"You sure are a curious one," Will chuckled.

"My brother does say that curiosity is my besetting sin," the girl shrugged.

"I like this brother of yours," Will said, "first he lends me his clothes and now he has the same thoughts as me."

"Just answer the question," the girl said impatiently.

"Alright, you asked and I shall tell. I was a servant for them. For that William Herondale you seem to like so much."

"You served Prince Herondale?" her gray eyes widened, "is he really as awful as people say?"

"Surprisingly, no," Will said, although he had no idea what to think of himself. "He is a bit of an ass, but if you look past his rough edges, he has a soft soul and a kind heart."

"I would have to see for myself," Tessa said dubiously.

"Suit yourself," Will said, lounging against the headboard of the bed, "so, fair maiden, you have given me this lovely room and this bed. And you have nursed me almost to health. Are you not going to introduce yourself?" The girl blushed fiercely again. Will's good looks must have really been rubbing off on her.

"My name," she said with an unwavering voice, "is Tessa Gray."


Eh, I'm not really happy with this one. But I felt that it was appropriate to end it here though. This chapter is important, for it sets up the rest of the story :D

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