Jace carefully packed the bottom of his wooden toolbox with the items he thought would best help Clary understand the tale that he would be telling her tonight. He wanted to use the toolbox as a guise in case any of the servants saw him skirting around to Clary's. He didn't need anyone poking around knowing that they were friends.

Friends. Is that what they were?

Running away together after only a few stolen kisses didn't seem like a friendship. It seemed like something two people who were crazy in love would do. Jace didn't love the princess though. No, love didn't come that easily to him. He liked her. Jace didn't think that he had ever loved anyone other than his parents and doubted that he ever would.

He enjoyed her company. He wanted to touch her all over. And he honestly wanted to rip off any other mans hands who tried to touch her. He would run away with her if only to save her from a life of unhappiness and a way to spice up his. With Sebastian around, Jace wouldn't be able to stay in Idris long anyways.

She would be an enjoyable companion for however long their journey together lasted.

Before Jace realized it, he was at Clary's door. Most of the help had finished their dinner and were relishing in the few hours of peace they had before bed. He knocked lightly and was greeted by the sound of tinkling laughter.

Jace almost bolted when he realized that there was someone with Clary in her room. However, when Isabelle eased the door open, Jace relaxed. He knew that Isabelle was one of the only friends Clary had. It would make sense that she confided to her.

Before he could speak a word, Isabelle blew a kiss to Clary and flounced out of the doorway and down the hall. Not sparing Jace a glance. Jace almost got offended, but he decided to save it for another day. He wasn't altogether certain that Isabelle liked men anyways.

Jace entered the room and shut the door behind him, looking up to see Clary waiting patiently for him on the sofa. Her cheeks flushed from the fire. Or perhaps the empty bottle of wine on the table.

"Well, I see that we've been enjoying ourselves today," Jace said with a mock-stern voice, slowly walking towards the sofa.

"Isabelle drank most of the wine. She knows I can't do more than a glass without losing my head." Clary's smile was contagious as she spoke and Jace had to look away to stop from getting swept up in it.

"Do you still want to hear my story? I'll remind you again it's not pleasant." Jace fingered the toolbox latch, almost hoping she would back out. One look at her though, and he knew she was still set on learning the story.

"Oh, you can't get out of it that easy, Herondale." Clary scooted closer to him, "Start whenever you're ready, I promise not to interrupt."

"As you wish, Princess." Jace smoothed a rogue red hair away from her face before beginning, "It was two summers ago, right before my father passed away…."

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Jace Wayland paced outside of his fathers chambers, anxiously awaiting for the doctor to emerge. His father could be heard coughing inside, and it ripped through Jace's chest like it was his own.

After what seemed like an eternity, a skinny man with a red face and a full head of hair emerged, wiping sweat from his brow.

"Mr. Wayland?" His eyes lingered on Jace, assessing how this news would affect him. The young man was skinnier than the last time he had been here, and the hollows under his eyes reflected the long nights he had had.

"Yes?" Jace stared impatiently at the man. "How is he? He seemed to be doing better last night before this cold blew in."

"I fear, young man, that often times with this kind of sickness, things get better before they get worse. Be glad that you had the time with him that you did these past few weeks. I don't think you will have many more." The doctor bowed his head as he spoke. Jace's face betrayed his disbelief.

"There must be something we can do. We have money for medicine and nurses. Can't they help?"

"They can help only to keep him comfortable at this time." The doctor patted the young man on the shoulder and took his leave.

Jace could think of nothing to do but go sit by his father and wait for the inevitable.

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His father grew weak fast, but he always had enough energy to tell his only son about the proper way to rule as the Duke of Blackthorn. It was nothing that Jace hadn't heard already, but he let his father speak.

It was another cold day when his father left him. And it was a colder day still when Hodge Starkweather dropped by to offer his condolences.

"Son, your father was a good man and I know that he was proud of you." Hodge had already dipped into Jace's good stash of liquor, and Jace was slowly sipping on his. He didn't entirely trust Hodge even though his father had.

Although he loved his father, he knew he wasn't the best judge of character. Jace was glad he got that trait from his mother.

"Thank you, Hodge. I hope that I can do him proud as Duke."

"Well, that's also why I'm here. There has been talk in the kingdom about you. Everyone thinks you will be a great Duke, but there are some worries from the King…" Hodge let the sentence hang as he slowly pet the beady eyed black bird on his shoulder.

There was only the sound of the wind as Jace waited for Hodge to continue.

"Are you going to make me beg, Starkweather, or will you just spit it out already?" Jace set his glass down, making Hodge jump.

"You are a single man living in this big house with only your servants. Most of them women. You have had short lived liaisons with women of questionable background, one of which claims to be with your child." Hodge grabbed his stomach as he said this, making Jace turn his lip up at the mans ignorance.

"How many more people do I have to tell the child is not mine?" Jace got up and began pacing. "Illiana and I were never intimate in a way that would produce a child, I made sure of that. The girl is an idiot," Jace stopped pacing and stood by the fire, watching the flames dance and reminiscing on the days before his father was sick, when he actually had time to be with a woman.

Hodge poured another glass of amber liquid, "She will not give up, and the relationship was obvious to all who saw you. As someone who advised your father and now advises you, I would recommend keeping the woman as a show of good faith. Otherwise, this position may be ripped from your hands."

"Father the child of an idiot and a liar? Are you serious?"

"This is a big manor, Jace. You don't even need to see her or the child. Just keep her. The King is unhappy with the situation and doesn't want it reflecting negatively on him. You know he likes his toys just as much as the next man, but he is discreet and wants his men to be too."

"I have to think about it." Jace left Hodge in the room and asked the pretty maid outside to tend to Hodge's guest room. He went to his room and stared at the fire for a long time.

In the morning, Hodge was gone and Jace sent his runner to town to find Illiana and bring her to him. She would need nothing from her home as he would provide her with everything she needed to be happy here.

He had spent the night tossing and turning, wondering what his father would want him to do. In the end, he knew his father would want him to continue his legacy as Duke of York.

Illiana arrived quickly. Her stomach was beginning to round and he couldn't help but glance at it as she spoke to him about her joy at being there. She was still as pretty as he remembered with her dark hair and eyes. She was also still as dumb and naive.

"Illiana," Jace interrupted her in the middle of her sentence about a nursery, "the child is not mine. I'm sure you know that. However, you played your cards well and now you will live here with it for the rest of your life." Jace spoke with no inflection, making his expression as indifferent as possible.

"We will be married tomorrow at noon. There is a dress upstairs." With that, Jace left her standing clutching her belly.

He missed the smile that flitted across her face as he walked away.

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"We never got to the ceremony." Jace looked at Clary for the first time since beginning his story. Her face had been passively neutral, even when he mentioned being a Duke for the kingdom north of her own. And even when he admitted his past relations.

"What happened?" Clary asked, her eyes wide at this point.

"She came up to my chambers that night. She wore only a nightdress. I had a friend up there with me and when she snuck in and saw me with her, she screamed as though I had murdered her mother." Jace shook his head at the memory. He felt that stab of guilt in his chest again.

"She ran out of the room and fell down the stairs in her haste. Nobody knew until the next morning, when it was too late. I woke to the screams of a maid and knew something was wrong. We called for the doctor and her family."

"That's terrible, Jace." Clary took his large, slender hand in her small one and squeezed gently. "It wasn't your fault though, you must know that."

"It doesn't matter, Clary. I brought her there and I exposed her to something so heartbreaking to her that she wanted to get away as quickly as possible." Jace pulled his hand away, not feeling worthy of sympathy.

"It spiraled out of control quickly. It wasn't until I was charged with her murder that I realized what had happened. Hodge quickly took my position in the manor and I was left in jail. I escaped during a storm when the guards were occupied with some prostitutes that had been brought in by a good friend of mine to distract them. I went back to the manor and was able to only take a few things before leaving. I wanted to kill Hodge for his betrayal at the trial, but he had men everywhere and I was almost caught." Jace opened his toolbox.

He pulled out a golden ring with 'JW' inscribed in beautiful workmanship and handed it to her. "That ring was given to me by my father on my 18th birthday."

He then pulled out a small locket, shaped into a heart. "This was my mothers. She passed away when I was eight. She used to wear that necklace every day."

Clary felt the smoothness of the locket and gently touched the edges, easing it open when she found the clasp. Inside was a small painting of a smiling blonde haired boy with golden eyes. The other side held a picture of a man that looked almost exactly like Jace does now.

"And this, dear Princess, is the feather from Hodge's bird that I will one day hunt and make a meat pie out of." He smiled as he said this, wanting to lighten up the mood. Clary laid the ring and necklace down gently on her lab and took the feather, running it through her fingers.

"Is that all?" Clary asked innocently, looking up at Jace.

"Is that all?" Jace scoffed, " I just told you I'm the convicted murdered of a pregnant woman and an escapee from prison and that's all you have to say?"

"I believe you though, Jace!" Clary handed back the feather and other trinkets. She stood up, walked to her bed where she retrieved a woven blanket and sat back down, covering her legs against the chill. Fire or not, she wasn't as warm as she was earlier.

"I may not have known you that long, but I don't think you are a killer. Maybe a womanizer, but not a killer." She fiddled with the blanket as she spoke. "I still want to go away from here with you. And now that I know what you are running from, I no longer feel selfish for making you go with me. You can not stay here much longer."

"And why is that?"

"The King of York is coming soon." Clary watched him closely as she said this. She can only imagine the panic he would feel at learning this information. However, Jace did not react. Instead, he smiled at her.

"The King will not recognize me covered in horse shit, Princess. He has only seen me dressed in fine clothing."

"You don't know that! What if you are made to come into the castle? You will have to bathe and he will surely see you then." Her logic was clear, but Jace's head was not. Her shoulder was showing again and those little freckles were distracting him. He had seen and tasted much more of a woman than her shoulder in the past, but he knew Clary would be so much sweeter than the others.

"Hello? Jace?" Clary waved her hand in his face, bringing him back to her green eyes. "Did you hear me? He will be coming back with my father at the end of this week."

"Mmmmm. I heard you."

Jace obviously hadn't heard her.

"There's a spider crawling up your face."

"Mmmmm."

"Jace. I'm serious. If we are going to do this we need to plan." Following his eyesight, Clary quickly pulled her blanket up to her chin. Effectively snapping him back to reality.

"I think you should reflect on this overnight at least, Clary. No matter how attractive I may be, you will be going on the run with a murderer."

"I can go on the run with a Duke falsely accused of murder, or I can stay here and marry a vile man and be under my fathers thumb until his last day," Clary snapped. She already knew she didn't want to be in Idris anymore. She wouldn't stop trying to leave until she was successful or died.

"We will need to leave tomorrow." Jace hoped the prospect of a day to get ready would deter her.

"Perfect. I'll need to start packing then."

"You won't be able to take Isabelle."

"Isabelle would never leave her family."

"We will have to stay in abandoned cabins or makeshift shelter. No heater to keep you warm at night."

"I run hot anyways."

"Our first stop will be to change our appearance. You will need to acquire peasant clothes and shoes. And probably a hat to cover your bright head of hair."

"Peasant clothes are probably more comfortable anyways."

"This is serious, Clary. We can never come back."

"Sounds perfect to me."