Authoress Notes: Hey guys, I'm back with another chapter. Sorry this took so long, between me being sick and just everything else work and life in general, things have been uber crazy which has been driving me nuts like usual. I spilt this into two separate chapters because I was having difficulty uploading them, so I guess it worked out just fine. You're getting two chapters in one day ;)
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Disclaimer: I Do Not Own The Mortal Instruments originally created by Cassandra Clare or Beauty And The Beast.
Even Angels Have Their Wicked Schemes
By EbonyDarkness25
Chapter Three
Without bothering to even look back, Clary right away left the happy and safe atmosphere of the brightly lit miniature house that rested up top the small hill, setting off into the unknown. Her small hands gripped the leather reins, while she rode through the familiar village in which she'd learned to call home over the last several years. The town was usually ridiculously cherry and tranquil at night. Red brick shops, including the bakery, small bookshop and other business's sat in perfectly adjacent straightened cordial rows. Many of their doorway's lit brightly by soft lanterns. Plants growing in pots added a pleasant touch and splashes of color to the establishments, which interrupted the annoying, continuous cobblestone pathway on which Wayfarer trotted upon.
Some of the doors opened, only for a mere moment; and she would catch a glimpse or a hint of what or whatever was going on or inside the buildings. There were many tantalizing smells, cherry, animated conversations going on between people at the tavern, happy and loud laughter echoed throughout the night. Typically, all of these things would put her in a cheerful, pleasant mood, but therefore as a result only added to her growing anxiety. Simultaneously, the wind whipped at her hair, as they galloped towards the forest.
The moonlight shone through thin gun-metal clouds, and before she recognized it, Clary and Wayfarer discovered themselves in the same scary looking place as her father before her. She'd watched ever so slowly as the lovely countryside around them changed drastically: One moment everything was bright and happy, as it should be, and the next it was dark. The wooded area had morphed into much deeper, dark one's. She noticed that the tree's no longer had leaves, revealing thin scraggly branches. Each of them, she examined closely upon more further inspection, looked to take the appearance of extended, grotesque fingers. Fear rose inside of her heart but she took a deep breath swallowed, and held her head high, and continued after the trail which her father's horse had left behind.
Finally, at, Clary and Wayfarer finally made it to the castle from which the poor, frightened scared horse had escaped from earlier the previous night. A gasp escaped Clary's lips, as she looked up at the tall iron gates which seemed to be attached to the very wall itself. She right now stood before the gigantic structure, which seemed to radiate and pulse with an aura of negative energy and pure coldness. A shudder ran through her small body, as a bolt of lightning flashed in the darkened sky, illuminating the grounds. Wayfarer stopped dead in his tracks not bothering to budge another inch.
"By the Angel, Wayfarer, what is this dreadful place?" she asked. Wayfarer led out a huff in disgust, his enormous brown eyes also glancing up at the momentous castle, for they were wide with fear, before he started to back up whining in protest.
"Wayfarer, calm down. Steady, be still," Clary said.
She slid down from the horse, and onto the ground. Placing her left hand against the right side of his large face, she buried her cheek into his soft, warm fur.
"I promise you, I'm going to rescue father and we'll be all right."
He snorted in response, before she took hold of the reins and led him forward. Much to her surprise, the iron gate swung open, allowing them to enter. As she aided him through the rusted gate, her green eyes took in the scenery around her.
The castle's grounds had long started to decay from not being taken care of, nor tended to for so long. Everything seemed so lifeless and dull including the flowers which had long wilted away. Their once, vibrant petals were stripped of any color, brown and withered. The once bright, beautiful grass was a dull yellow and faded brown as well. Moss had begun to grow over the statues and fountain, up to the point where a passerby could not admire nor tell them apart anymore. The beauty of the earth was gone.
A sigh escaped Clary's lips, as she swiftly walked across the stone bridge towards the front door, with Wayfarer slowly moves behind her. On the left-hand side, she noticed a glowing orange light coming from, what appeared to be a stable. Within, it was much more heated. Piles upon piles of golden straw were piled high against each of the invidiual stalls which were empty. The first one had a bucket of oats and a wooden feeding and water trough. There was plenty of hay on one side and fresh water on the other.
"Here, you can stay here while I go try to find Father." She stroked him on the head and gave him a quick kiss on the snout as the horse bent his head down and began eating some straw. For she could tell Wayfarer was hungry and needed to rest before she walked back outside. Wayfarer would be safe in the stalls for they didn't know this strange, unfamiliar terrority, and mostly likely one of them would get hurt.
Along the way, she noticed something lying on the ground. As she got closer, she discovered it was her father's black knit hat. Clary fell to her knees on the stone ground, picking it up with her hands.
"Daddy," she whispered against the wind.
"Magnus, this is all my fault. I never should have yelled at you," Alec said, as he paced back and forth across an elegantly expensive looking table. Magnus stood a few feet away from him, his brown eyes bold of worry as well.
"We should've sent him away, to seek shelter somewhere else, and then he wouldn't be rotting away in that blasted dreadful duengon."
The candle placed his hand upon his boyfriend's shoulder, "There's nothing else you could've done. We were just trying to be hospitable, and Jace just had to flip as he always does."
Walking up to the massive double wood doors, she took a deep breath, before mustering all of her courage, and quickly knocked at them. The door slowly creaked open, allowing her to slip inside. A mellow orange light filled the eerie quiet darkness, as she closed the door behind her to not let in the brisk air. Inside the castle, she found that it was much nicer, warm and dry. The entryway was as very bit as scary, big, and cold as the castle's exterior.
The castle's very walls were drab, as the orange flames seemed to be dancing in the shadows, along on the strange demon statues which she encountered on her way in. Large marble pillars lined the long non lit hallway, while the floor was made of a rare precious stone.
"Hello?" she anxiously called out into the various corridors, hoping someone would answer back. But not a solitary soul seemed to be dwelling here. Her voice echoed inside of the desolate chamber.
"Hello? Is anyone here? Daddy are you here?" she said, following the plush crimson carpet up the staircase which led to another adjacent hallway. A strange, violent shudder racked through her body.
This place reminded her of a graveyard, a tomb, or a some kind of crypt. She literally almost expected some kind of monster or maybe even a more significant demon to jump out at her from the shadows.
'If only I was that lucky or fortunate, this place gives me the creeps.'
Recognizing the fact that she was still alone, Clary moved quickly like a deer through the hallways in search of her father.
"Izzy, hey Izzy!" Max's voice rang out through the kitchen, as he bounced around on the table. Isabelle sat perched upon the table, her back turned to her sibling, with a very large bucket of soapy water.
"You'll never guess what I just saw," he said.
"Oh and what's that?" his sister replied, her back was still turned to him as she continued her task of washing the dishes.
"There's a girl in the castle!" he yelled out happily, spinning around excitedly.
Izzy turned to glare at him, her brown eyes narrowed, before she leaped down from the tub's side and onto the table.
"Now you listen here, Max Lightwood; I will not have you making up such a wild, crazy tall tale."
Her brother stopped jumping, "Iz I'm not lying. Undoubtedly, I saw her honestly!"
The teapot rolled her eyes, using the end of her spout, she lifted Max off the table. "I don't want to hear another word about this. Get into the tub so that I can wash you," she said, managing to persuade him into the soapy water, emanating a bold splash; not before Selene came rushing in.
"You guys, I saw a girl in the castle! She's a small red head, and I believe she's looking for her father!" she exclaimed, her ocean blue eyes and her golden fibers bristled as they were both lit with excitement.
"I told ya," Max giggled spitting out a mouthful of water.
"Oh so it's my fault that Jace got mad?" Magnus said, as he and Alec were locked in another heated argument.
The clock glared at his boyfriend, his sky-blue eyes filled with anger.
"Certainly it is your fault. You couldn't keep your big mouth shut for not even five minutes, and he could've gone away! You merely had to invite him in to stay, to serve him tea, sit in Jace's favorite chair, pet the cat!"
Magnus rolled his eyes, "I was trying to be a pleasant, nice, and gracious host."
"You weren't any of those things. You were highly irresponsible, those ears of yours need a thoroughly good cleaning. They must be clogged up because you don't follow directions!" Alec continued to rant, waving his small arms back and forth while Magnus stood behind him, pretending to grimace, as he moved his mouth mimicking Alec's words."Waxy-eared, snot-filled to-"
"Daddy?" a voice from the hallway suddenly snapped the two of them out of the fight in which they'd currently were in. Alec and Magnus spun around at the same time to glimpse the figure of a slender girl wearing a long dark cloak peering into every room inside of the corridor. Clearly she seemed to be searching for someone.
"Did you see that Alexander?" Magnus asked, as he leapt off the table, landing on the ground with his boyfriend following close behind him, as they peered around the doorway.
"It's a girl!" he exclaimed.
Alec rolled his eyes in pure annoyance, "Magnus, I know it is a girl, you foolish warlock. I can see her with my own two eyes."
Magnus smiled, "But don't you see? She's gotta be the one. The girl we've been waiting for all this time. She's come to break the spell!" He grabbed Alec's hands, as he started to dance around and whirled him into a circle.
He instantly took off hopping down the corridor, before Alec went chasing after him. "Magnus wait a minute!" he cried, running after him. They followed Clary closely, keeping out of sight so that she wouldn't see them.
"Daddy?" she called, walking past a pretty painting of the landscape outside. The two enchanted objects stopped at a tall wood door which just so happened to led to the castle's duengon. Magnus looked at Alec for a mere second, before he nodded and forced the door open, quickly running inside.
The sound immediately caught Clary's attention, as she whirled around to see the door was open. "Daddy?" Alec and Magnus each smiled in delight knowing she was following them. She reached for the handle on the door, propelling it open. "Hello? Is someone here?"It was at that time she noticed a bright warm yellow light floating in stone stairwell.
"Please wait! I'm looking for my father!"she said, running as fast as her legs could haul her up the stairs. Her long dark cloak billowed out from behind her. Hope arose in her heart, but as she rounded the corner she found the corridor was empty.
"That's odd, I could've sworn I saw someone come this very way," she muttered. Magnus smiled from behind her, as she looked around. "Is anyone here?" She saw the whole entire room was made of stone, which was all cold and freezing. Piles of straw hay lay scattered across the floors and some in the corners.
"Clary?" a familiar voice called from the darkness. It was followed by a very loud hacking cough, as it also gasped in surprise. Clary recognized her father's voice, rushing towards the small cell which held him. Grasping a light torch in her hand, she knelt down to the floor so that her face was presently eye level with his. Luke reached a hand out; she leaned forward grabbed it with her free hand.
"How did you find me?" Luke asked, his hazel eyes bright with happiness.
"Wayfarer escorted me back here. Your hands are like ice, they're freezing. I have to get you out of here," she said, pulling and tugging on the locks, attempting to sway them open, but to no avail. Her fingers clenched themselves around the iron bars, trying to pull one loose but it refused to budge.
"Clary, I want you to leave this dreadful place before it's too late for you," Luke replied.
"Who's done this to you Daddy?" She refused to have it; whoever was responsible for this would pay dearly.
"There isn't any time for me to explain, you must leave now!"
Clary shook her head, "No Daddy, I won't abandon you. I need you to come back home with me."
"What in the hell are you doing here?" a massive hand had wrapped itself by the upper part of her shoulder, jerking her away from her father. The force sent her flying backwards, as the torch she held landed in a puddle of water on the floor, immediately the flame went out. The man's voice roared with anger and a huge amount of testosterone mixed in.
Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed a tall shape which shrank back into the shadows.
"Who's there?" she called out, her green eyes squinting into the darkness.
"My name is Jace, and I'm the master of this castle," an ice cold voice responded. It had the sightliest hint of an accent, as the large shape once again moved. The girl wasn't able to identify another person in the room with them, or her father, at the moment who appeared to be more frightened than she was. In that instant she decided it was up to her to be brave and stand up to this person.
"Please Jace, I've come for my father. I'm begging you, please let him out. Can't you see he's sick?"
"Then he shouldn't have come or trespassed here in my home! It was his own stupid foolishness that landed him here, in this dank duengon. I suggest you leave before something horrible happens to you as well," the man's voice hinted, and was laced with palpable anger and not a single trace of compassion.
"There must be something I can do," Clary said.
Jace rolled his eyes, "There's nothing you can do. He's my prisoner, now leave!"He was just about to storm out before she stopped him.
"Wait!" Clary cried, reaching her hand out to him. "Take me instead!"
"You-You would..." the words almost nearly escaped Jace's lips, as he turned the other way to look at the red headed girl who was cowering on the floor before him. "You take his place?" he asked, so softly that he almost didn't think she heard him. She lowered her head, nodding in response, "If I did, would you let him go?"she replied."Very well," he answered.
"But you have to promise to stay here forever."