I'm not even gonna try and come up with an excuse as to why I'm so late updating this time... Please forgive me?
Disclaimer: I am not Cassandra Clare. If I was I would have published Clockwork Prince forever ago. I can't wait for it to come out!
Clary looked up at Simon expectantly. "Well, I wanted to see you because it's been way too long so I asked around and found out where you lived." Simon shrugged casually.
Clary stifled a laugh. Simon was always so determined to be around her. "Well you found me. Please, come into my palace. And by 'my palace', I of course mean a tiny shack owned by the Lightwoods that I'm lucky enough to be able to stay in." This was why Clary loved being around Simon. He made everything carefree and happy. Clary could barely feel the now-constant pain in her chest.
Clary felt arms wrap around her waist and then Jace pulled her into him. He kissed the top of Clary's head and laughed into her hair. "Don't knock my house. It's a perfectly acceptable living space."
"Of course it is Jace." Clary angled her head so she could kiss Jace. Simon's smile faltered slightly but by the time that Clary looked back, he had pulled himself together. "Oh!" Clary started. "How rude of me! Jace, this is my best friend Simon. Simon this is my…uhm… this is Jace." Clary finished awkwardly. She hoped that Jace wouldn't be hurt by how she introduced him, but he seemed just fine.
"So this is your best friend?" Jace was appraising Simon carefully. "He sort of looks like a rat. Mind if I call him rat-boy?"
"Jace!" Clary pushed at him. "Don't talk about Simon like that!" Clary turned to her friend. "I'm so sorry Simon. Please, stay with us."
Simon scoffed. "I doubt that Jack-"
"Jace." The other boy cut in.
"Would like that. Besides, I was just leaving anyways." Simon turned on his heel but he had barely taken two steps when Isabelle ran up.
"Simon! What a lovely surprise!" Izzy gave him a breathless smile.
Jace opened his mouth, most likely to say something sarcastic, but he seemed to think better of it.
"Isabelle. I actually have to leave, but maybe next time we can talk." Simon walked away.
Isabelle looked curiously at his retreating figure. After a moment, she shrugged and skipped into the house. "Guess what!" She demanded of the couple.
After futile attempts of guessing what was so exciting, they finally begged Izzy to tell them what happened.
"Maia and I were walking around and we were approached by a royal guard. Apparently it's some sort of holiday and all the palace servants have the day off!" Izzy was so excited that she kept increasing the speed in which she spoke, so by the end of her little speech, Clary had to concentrate to hear what she was saying.
"That's great!" Clary looked over at Jace and was surprised to see that he was frowning. "What's wrong?"
"It's strange. Why is the king having a random holiday? And even if there is a good reason, why are the slaves not working? Normally they would have to work even more to prepare for the parties they have."
Izzy rolled her eyes. "Does it matter? The point is that we have a whole day for ourselves. We can do whatever we want!"
"Hmm. That gives me an idea. Isabelle, stay here with Clary. Let her borrow one of your dresses and do her hair all nice. I'll be back."
"I was going to go see Magnus." Clary complained.
Jace smirked. "Too bad. I'm highly more important than the psychic." Jace feigned being hurt when Clary snorted and started to make his way towards the door.
"Wait, where are you going?"
The smile that Jace gave Clary caused tingles to run down her spine. "You'll see."
As soon as Jace left, Izzy squealed and dragged Clary into the bedroom. "This is going to be so much fun!"
What Isabelle called fun, Clary thought of it as completely ordinary. It wasn't Clary's fault that she was used to having someone dressing her up every day. However, Clary had to admit that it was considerably more enjoyable due to the fact that she and Izzy were making jokes and laughing the whole time.
While Izzy was busying herself with Clary's hair, Clary had plenty of time with her thoughts. She wondered why she was able to distract herself so easily. Before, if Clary was ever upset, the only person who could make her forget, make her happy again, was Simon. But now Izzy was making Clary laugh, actually laugh, not just a fake one to make people think she was fine. It was Jace. That had to be it. He took a weight off Clary's heart that she hadn't even realized was there. Jace had unexpectedly entered into her life and was now acting like her own personal savior. If Jace was there, then there would always be hope. Just like what her father had said on that fateful day.
Izzy snapped her fingers in front of Clary's face. "Clary! Did you hear anything I just said?"
Clary lightly shook her head, pushing away all the dark thoughts into the far corners of her mind. There was no way that Clary was not going to allow anything to ruin whatever Jace was planning. "I'm sorry Isabelle. What were you saying?"
Isabelle let out a theatrical sigh. "I was saying that I think I have the perfect thing for you to wear." She got up and rummaged through her trunk. "Ah, here we go." Isabelle drew out a long champagne colored gown.
With assistance from Izzy, Clary had little trouble slipping on the dress. She looked at herself in the mirror and gasped. Her hair was pinned up on the top of her head but a few strands of perfect curls fell around her shoulders. The floor-length dress was completely covered in lace and a satin bow tied just below the low-cut back. "Isabelle." Clary whispered. She still hadn't recovered her full voice yet. "Where did you get this?"
"It was my mother's. She used to be a courtier, but she fell in love with my father, a servant. She gave up everything- her money, her status- out of love.
"I-I can't wear this."
"Yes you can. You look absolutely gorgeous." The front door opened and then shut. "That's Jace. I can't wait to see his expression."
Clary blushed and opened the bedroom door. She was looking down at the ground, but she looked up when she heard Jace's breath hitch. When her eyes met his, she saw that his contained a look of pure love and adoration. Jace strode across the room and cupped Clary's face in his hands. "You look amazing."
Clary smiled. "It's all thanks to Isabelle." Jace grinned at Izzy and she dropped him a wink.
Jace intertwined his fingers with Clary's and gently tugged her after him. "Come on. I want to show you something."
Jace led Clary away from the servant's quarters and the market, and eventually they had reached the outskirts of the giant city. He walked past the gates and into the woods that surrounded the capitol. "Jace? Where are we going?" Clary mentally slapped herself for sounding so worried.
Jace smirked. "Scared?" Clary snorted and rolled her eyes, but didn't admit to the fact that she was a little nervous. "Trust me." Jace took Clary's hand and led her deeper into the forest.
It turned out not to be just a walk, but a hike. The couple climbed over fallen branches and around sweeping vines. By the end, Clary's feet were aching and she was positive that she would have blisters the next day. But Clary forget everything when she saw everything around her. Jace had brought Clary to the top of a very high cliff. Far below, a lake with water the exact shade of the sky swelled along its banks. Jace sat down and let his legs dangle over the edge. He patted the ground next to him, and motioned for Clary to take a seat. She looked skeptical. "Is it dangerous?"
"Not at all. I won't let anything happen to you." With that in mind, Clary slowly lowered herself so that she was sitting next to Jace and that her legs were also hanging off the edge of the cliff.
"So what is this place?"
"I used to come here all the time as a boy. I could look out over the lake and just think. This was the one place where I ever felt truly happy. Nobody even knows it exists except for me, and now, you."
Clary's heart stopped at that. This was a special place for Jace, and he had never shown it to anyone before. He must really care about her. "It's beautiful." Clary whispered, half to herself.
Jace reached behind her, and Clary heard the low rustle of bushes. When Jace drew his hand back, it was full of fruit that Clary had never seen before. "What are they?"
"Blackberries. They're better when you eat them with milk and sugar, but we'll just have to eat them plain." When Clary didn't immediately take one, Jace smiled. "Come on, take one."
Slowly, hesitantly, Clary took a berry and placed it on her tongue. When she bit down, juice exploded out of the blackberry and a delicious tangy, yet still sweet, taste filled Clary's mouth. She grinned and took another from Jace's still outstretched hand and popped it into her mouth. Jace laughed and began to eat the blackberries as well.
Once they had finished their little snack, Clary thought of something. "Why did you make me get so dressed up? All we did was hike and eat some berries"
Jace stood up and held his hand out for Clary to take. "Dance with me, Clary."
"But there's no music."
He grinned. "I can fix that." Clary raised her eyebrows, but wordlessly took hold of Jace's hand. He pulled her up and put his hand gently but firmly on her waist. Clary placed hers on Jace's shoulder and then they were twirling. As they danced, Jace began to hum a melody into Clary's ear. She didn't recognize the tune, but it was beautiful. Clary rested her head on Jace's shoulder and sighed contentedly. This she could get used to.
The song gradually came to an end, and when Jace was done humming, he stopped dancing and looked into Clary's eyes. "My mother used to sing that to me every night before I fell asleep."
The corner of Clary's mouth quirked up in a smile and she stood on her tiptoes so that she could kiss him. His lips were sticky from the blackberries and Clary could taste the juice on her tongue as the kiss began to deepen.
Clary didn't know how long they stood there like that, but what she did know was that she never wanted it to end. Unfortunately though, Jace pulled back and looked at the sky. "It's sunset. We should probably leave so that we don't have to walk through the woods in the dark."
Clary sighed but nodded. He was right; the forest was dangerous at night. Who knew what kind of animals lurked in the dark shadows, ready to pounce. She took one last look at the sunset- orange and purple streaks shot across the sky and cut through the clouds- and grabbed Jace's hand.
By the time they arrived back at the house, night had fallen. As soon as Jace opened the door, Alec jumped up from his position on the couch and strode over to Jace. "Where have you been? It's extremely late out! Do you have any idea how worried I was about you?"
"Calm down Alec, I was just on a walk with Clary. There was nothing to worry about."
Isabelle walked into the main room from the bedroom and rolled her eyes. "You know how Alec gets. You two missed dinner. There's bread in the kitchen if you would like some." Clary who had eaten nothing but the blackberries all day nodded and tore herself off a large chunk of the bread. Jace also took a generous amount and stuffed it into his mouth.
Izzy made a disgusted face. "How gentlemanly Jace."
"Do I look like a gentleman?"
Izzy stuck her tongue out and walked back in to the bedroom. Alec followed her after saying quick goodnights to Jace and Clary.
Clary looked at Jace. "Jace? Will I ever find out about your past?" Now that they were alone again, maybe Jace would open up.
Jace paled and looked very uncomfortable. "What do you mean?"
"I mean that I find it strange that a servant can play the piano better than a majority of the people I know. And plus, that toy you gave to Max, it's very intricate. It's something that looks like it would belong to a young prince, and it must have cost a fortune. I'm confused. Please talk to me."
Jace sucked in a deep breath. "I want to tell you Clary, but I can't. Not yet. You wouldn't understand."
For some reason, this really annoyed Clary. "Jace, give me some credit. I'm pretty sure your life isn't that complicated. I just want to know the truth."
"No." Jace said with a tone of finality. "I won't tell you about my past until I think it's time. And now is definitely not the time. Goodnight." Jace turned and marched into the bedroom without looking back. Clary huffed and stomped over to her bed. She was going to figure Jace out, even if it killed her.
So pleaseeee review and I'll love you forever! Also, there's a link on my profile if you want to see what Clary's dress looks like. It might be a little too modern for this time period but whatever. I hoped you liked the chapter my darlings!
