Angels and Demons
Though his words confused her, Clary knew she would be more than happy to never have to drink the potion again. Though it didn't taste bad, it was cold and thick going down and it made her want to gag. She hated the feeling of emptiness and confusion for the days following these visits.
"Let's just get this over with," she grumbled, taking out her annoyance and confusion on Magnus as she pushed him off of the bed.
Magnus nodded, handing her the cup. As she drank it and felt the sleepiness wash over her once again - this familiar sleepiness, one that wasn't pleasant or normal - she could see the sad smile on his lips. His eyes were bright and shimmering, almost as if he was holding back tears. And, as she snuggled into her blankets and fell into a fitful sleep, she heard his voice one last time.
"Clary, oh beautiful Clary. I cannot wait until you know the truth about yourself, about me, about everything."
And then the world was dark.
Chapter 7
Clary awoke sluggishly. She was still in her bed, but the light outside was fading fast. Izzy was in her room, dusting and straightening. As she expected, Magnus was nowhere to be found. Clary groaned as she tried to sit up. The room was spinning a little, but with a few deep breaths, she was able to make it stand still. Clary laughed to herself; she was getting really good at this.
"How are you feeling?" Izzy asked, sitting nest to her on the bed and passing her the glass of water that Magnus had no doubt prepared for her before he left.
"Oh, the usual complaints," she groaned, accepting the water and sipping it slowly. As the liquid entered her veins, the world steadily became more clear and solid.
"Are you feeling up to telling stories?" Izzy asked, nudging her shoulder and waggling her eyebrows. Clary laughed weakly and nodded. "Yeah. I think so. You first."
Isabella squealed in excitement and jumped from the bed, grabbing the blue beginning reader's book from Clary's vanity. She flipped it open to the third page and started reading for Clary.
"The... dog ran. The cat ju-jumped. They had fun." She turned her eyes, shining with excitement and happiness, to meet Clary's gaze. Clary was grinning, and as Izzy finished reading, she squealed and clapped her hands. She stopped, however, when a wave of dizziness hit her. Izzy helped her lay back down and then they both started laughing, content to be where they were.
"So," Izzy said, proping her head on her hands as she stared down at Clary. "Tell me! What did you find out this afternoon?"
Clary searched through her fogged brain, finally remembering her conversation this afternoon. "I only found Alec," she began, walking herself through the events of that afternoon in attempt to remember through the fog. "I said hi, and he didn't really seem to respond to me until I mentioned that you had told me about him. He warmed up to me a little, then. I saw into the bag he was carrying, but that's the only real hint I got. He gave me a prepared speech about how Valentine was teaching them everything he needed to, and that he liked it here. Then... " Clary broke off, frowning as she tried to remember the last detail. It had surprised her, what Alec had said, and made her a little angry... right! "He told me I needed to stay away from Jace, that I would only hurt him again." Clary shrugged.
Izzy squealed beside her, not loudly but excitedly enough to let Clary know she approved of her investigating. "So?!" Izzy prodded, poking her friend on the shoulder. "What was in the bag?"
This was a detail that Clary could not bring to mind. She remembered seeing in the bag, and being surprised at what she saw... she remembered that it was an important detail, one that she really, really needed to tell Izzy...
But... "I just can't remember," Clary sighed in frustration, grabbing her pillow and shoving it over her face. "It's that damn medicine. It makes me foggy for a few days." After screaming loudly into the pillow, Clary pulled it away and looked apologetically at Isabelle. "I'm sorry," she mumbled. "Maybe I'll remember tomorrow, after a good night of sleep."
"Maybe," Izzy agreed. "I'm not too worried. Between me having an inside brother and your investigating skills, we'll figure it out sooner or later." Grinning, she hugged her pillow to her chest. "It's kind of exciting," she added. "Having something to investigate. It's like a real life mystery story."
"Yeah," agreed Clary a little weakly. "It is."
They lay in silence for a few minutes, until Clary spoke up again.
"Izzy? Can I ask you something?"
"Mmm hmm," Izzy mumbled, turning back around to meet Clary's gaze. Clary hesitated, and then said,
"Is Alec gay?"
Isabelle let out a squeak of surprise, and then pushed the palms of her hands into her eyes with a big sigh. "Is it really that obvious?" she mumbled out past her hands.
Clary nodded a little. "I mean, not too obvious. And I think more obvious to us - I mean, people his age. I don't think Valentine will ever figure out, if that's what you're worried about. Really," she said, trying to reassure Isabelle. "It's not that big of a deal."
"Yes, it is!" Izzy protested, frustrated. "I mean, I don't care, and you don't care, but it's a big deal. If it happens, no one speaks of it. If you're a servant, it can get you in trouble, or treated badly by the other servants. Alec could be... well, he could be hurt by... by the other men. I worry for him."
Clary reached over and played absently with Isabelle's hair. "I think he'll be OK. He has Jace, and you. And... " she paused, debating. "I think he has Magnus, too."
"Dr. Bane?" Izzy asked, surprised. "What does he have to do with this?"
"Well," Clary said slowly. "He asked me not to tell anyone, but since I trust you, and since it involves your brother, Magnus is gay, too. And I think Alec likes him. Something he said earlier, how he responded to me mentioning Magnus, makes me think that. And Alec is a good guy - Magnus would be crazy to not like him, too!"
"Well," Izzy began. "That does make me feel a lot better. Having Magnus on our side. He's a really cool guy. I think I had a crush on him once."
Clary laughed, and eventually Izzy joined in. "Don't worry about your brother, Iz. We'll watch out for him." Izzy didn't respond at first, and Clary sensed that they were done talking about that topic.
"We should sleep," Izzy said finally, a yawn tugging at the edge of her lips. "We can investigate more tomorrow."
"OK," Clary said, and she watched her friend as Izzy closed her eyes and slowly fell into a deep, comfortable sleep. After Isabelle's breathing slowed and Clary was sure she was asleep, she turned over onto her back and stared at the ceiling, letting her thoughts take a new turn.
What is it I'm forgetting? she thought. She'd never had this feeling before - like she knew there was something she was forgetting. Often Izzy would bump her palm into Clary's forehead and call her silly for forgetting their plans or her mother would gently remind her of something she had heard or seen.
But she'd never remembered that she had forgotten something.
She remembered that she'd forgotten something about her conversation with Alec, and maybe her mother was supposed to be telling her something?
Clary sighed.
Surely this had to mean something.
...
...
...
It was the next morning, and Valentine was still out of town. Because he wasn't staring over their shoulders, Jace rushed through his work that morning. He mixed the portioned, dried blood with the food he gave to each of his animals - a rat, a rabbit, a cat, a dog, and a falcon. Once he finished this and started distilling the blood for a new batch, he left Alec in the basements and wandered up to the kitchens. He knew that the first step would take nearly an hour, and if anyone asked, he could always claim he was running an errand for Valentine while it worked.
In reality, however, he was hoping to catch Princess Clary and talk to her for a few minutes.
But don't look too much like a lovesick puppy, he reminded himself. She is basically engaged to the Herondale heir.
Rolling his eyes at himself, Jace exited the manor. He knew that Clary often liked to ride her horse if her afternoon was free, and he'd managed to weasel from Izzy that she had nothing lined up this afternoon. Odds were good that she was out in the meadow riding her horse, Seraph.
Instead of stealing a horse from the stables, Jace decided to just walk. He hadn't really taken the time to just walk around the manor. It was a beautiful place, really. The trees were all old and towering, green finally on their branches after a long winter of nothing but barrenness. The grass was soft and short under his feet, so carefully tended to by the yard servants. So he walked, his hands in his pockets and his hair blowing around his face. Eventually, the path he was taken grew more wooded, and he had to brush branches out of his way and step over fallen trees and rocks half buried by fallen, dead leaves. But when he finally pushed away a large, towering branch and stepped into the small clearing, his breath was taken away.
Wow, he thought. This is beautiful.
And it was. The opening he had found was a surrounded on three sides by trees - the side he had come from and the other two surrounding the cliff he was now staring off of. It looked out over the meadow, which wasn't cut and trimmed. It was allowed to grow free, with flowers in varying colors dotting the green landscape. There was a river at one end of the meadow - he and Alec had ridden to it several times over the past few weeks - and he could almost hear the water flowing over the rocks from here.
What he didn't noticed, so entranced by the landscape, was the small princess, curled onto a rock by the edge of the trees, facing the meadow.
Clary spent a few moments just staring at Jace, observing his tall, lean frame and the confident way he held himself. His hands were in his pockets as he stared out over the meadow. The way the wind blew his hair into his face made Clary want to run her fingers through it.
It was a small chuckle from Clary that made Jace realize she was there. His eyes widened and he jumped back from his spot, almost falling over but using his hands to recover before he fully hit the ground. Deciding it was more graceful to just sit down than try and recover himself fully, he let himself fall gracefully onto the grass.
"Jesus, woman!" he yelled, his cheeks turning pink as Clary laughed at him. It was a magical sound - pure happiness. "Don't scare me like that."
"Don't barge into my secret cliff," Clary countered, setting down the chalk she had been using to draw the landscape. "How did you find this place?"
Jace shrugged, wrapping his arms around his knees as he stared out over the meadow. "I walked." Then, without giving himself time to think it through, he added, "I was looking for you, actually."
Clary seemed surprised at the last statement and didn't bother to hide it. She put down her art supplies in an attempt to show Jace that she was willing to be completely focused on their conversation. He glanced at the materials, now on the ground, and smiled at the gesture. Neither made a move to be closer to the other.
"I was thinking," he began, attempting to add some humor into the situation, "That I should chat you up before you become a married woman."
Clary bristled all over, and this did not escape Jace's notice. "I refuse to marry that child," she fumed. "Just because Valentine wants something from Stephen Herondale doesn't mean he can use me to get it done."
Jace chuckled. "Good to know how you feel about that one." He scooted on the ground, pretending he was uncomfortable but in reality trying to get closer to Clary. "Tell me about yourself."
"I'm a princess and I'm boring," Clary concluded. Jace chuckled again, but waved his hand between them as if trying to convince her to continue. "Ok, fine. Let me think. I have an older brother - I'm sure you've met him, Sebastian. But he's never here. He disappears with my father for all of these millions of 'meetings' and 'political debates' they go to. Whatever the hell that means. I, for one, think they must be doing something else. But it's not my place to ask," she muttered, imitating her mother whenever she would ask a question. "I like to draw - people, the trees, anything. Painting is newer but I'm getting pretty good at it. I like horseback riding, I'm the least graceful girl you'll ever meet, aaaaand my best friend - my only friend - is my servant."
Jace nodded, taking in all of this information.
"Your turn," Clary said after a few moments, uncomfortable in the silence while Jace stared at her, considering everything she'd said.
"Fine. That's fair," Jace began. "I am a servant - always have been one. After my parents were killed - I was about two, I don't even remember what they looked like, but that's the story I've been told - I was given to a family. They raised me, and I loved them. I was sold from them when I was seven. I started out in the Fangborn manor, and I met Alec there. We were seven and we both worked in the stables, feeding and brushing and cleaning the horses. Morning to night we did this, and we slept in the loft. We made a blood pact," he said, smiling at this memory. "Like stupid little boys, we cut out hands and pressed them together and said we'd always be best friends, like brothers." He shrugged, and it was Clary's turn to scoot closer to him. They were sitting side by side now, their shoulders bumping occasionally. "But maybe there was some magic in it, because Alec and I have always been sold or traded together. We have literally worked together since we were boys. Ten years," he said wistfully. "Anyway. I worked for the Fangborns first as a stable boy, until I was twelve. Then Alec and I were sold to the Blackthorns. Blatkthorn was... well, he was harsher than your father. I kind of became Alec's protector." Jace shrugged again here, like it was a harsh reality that he had somehow just gotten used to. "Alec has a big mouth and opens it more than he should. I mean, so do I, but I tend to open mine when there's no one around to hear. I took his first beating for him, but it wasn't the last."
Clary stared at him with huge eyes. Jace could see that she hadn't had much exposure to the harsher side of a servant's life and that she was upset by his story.
"Hey, Clary, it's OK. I survived." He laughed, and took her hands into his. He held them for a few seconds until she met his eyes. He just smiled his most charming smile and she finally nodded. He dropped her hands, but thought better of it and reached over for the hand that was sitting next to his. He laced their fingers, and smiled when he realized he could feel her heartbeat.
"We worked for the Blackthorns for five years. We started out as stable boys, spent some time in the fields in the summer, and the year before he sold us here, we spent training our replacements. I guess he knew he wanted to sell us. And now, I'm here," he concluded his story. "I like it. Although- and I'll use Alec's own gentle and careful words here - your father is batshit crazy," he stated, no traces of humor in his voice.
Clary laughed at this, the spell of a horrible past broken as Jace's deadpan words hit her. He glanced at her, the thought that she might be offended leaving his head as he saw that she was doubled over in laughter, holding his hand tighter than ever as she giggled.
"Really, Clary. It wasn't that funny."
Clary glanced at him, and Jace was certain he'd never seen a more beautiful person. Her red hair was a mess and her eyes were shining with tears of laughter. Her lips were split in a genuine smile, and all of this combined to make Jace unable to form words as he stared at her.
The spell was broken when Clary finally stopped laughing and fell onto Jace's shoulder, her head fitting in the crock of his neck. They lay there, comfortable, for a long while.
"Jace?"
"Hmm?"
"Do you know, I find myself quite drawn to you. I like spending time with you." Clary blushed as she said this, but since her head was resting on Jace's shoulder, he couldn't see her and for this she was glad.
Jace's chest rumbled with barely contained laughter. "Must be my charming good looks."
"And your humble personality," Clary grumbled dryly. At this, Jace chuckled out loud and shrugged, Clary's curls bouncing as his shoulders moved up and down.
"Must be," he agreed. And then, after a long silence, he added, "I suppose I like spending time with you, too."
Clary punched him in the shoulder as she sat back up. She frowned at him, saying, "Just remember, buddy. You were the one who was looking for me today."
"True, true," Jace relented, and then he asked, suddenly straightening up, "Clary, what time is it?"
Clary took out her pocket watch and stared at it for a few seconds. "Almost two. Why?"
"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit," he repeated, scrambling to his feet and running a hand through his wind-blown hair. "Oh, God, I hope Valentine hasn't made it back yet."
Clary stared at Jace as he stopped, one hand in his hair and one by his side.
"Clary," he informed her. "I have to run really fast now in hopes of beating your father back to the basements. But I wanted you to know that I enjoy spending time with you and would like to do it again very soon."
And, without giving her a chance to respond, he swooped down and planted a chaste, burning kiss onto her lips. Pulling back, grinning and blushing, he said, "Gotta run!"
And he did just that, leaving Clary dumbfounded in the clearing as the mid-day sun burned into her back. When she was finally able to move, she waved at his retreating form, just a dot in the woods as he hurried back to the house.
I think Jace just kissed me, she decided, still standing there with her hand in the air. And I think I quite enjoyed it.
WOW! Sorry it took me three days to update! School has started again - expect updates every 2-3 days! I have the next chapter almost done and then I'll need to edit it. I finished planning the story out, and unless my muse runs away with me, I'm looking at 24-25 chapters total! :)
Please Review - a few seconds to tell me how the story is going is worth an extended sneak peak of Chapter 8!
