okayyy... so that took a lot longer than I expected. And I'm totally sorry for that, I mean I did promise that I'll publish a new episode pretty soon since I'm officially done with apps, but I got so caught up with seniorities and ugh. Yeah bad excuse. I'm really sorry for this but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless! :) Love you all! ENjoy!
"Clary has nothing to do with this!"
Jocelyn's clear voice resonated through the great Academy hall. The Clave has called an emergency meeting to how to deal with her daughter, and she wasn't in the least happy with it.
"She has everything to do with this Jocelyn! You of all people should know that! You were there! We were all there! She was beside him and Jace, attacking us! How could you say that she has nothing to do with this?"
"Well for one, Robert, she doesn't remember a thing! Her mind's blank!" Jocelyn growled, annoyed at Robert Lightwood and tired from the meeting that was now taking more than three hours. Clary was beside her, eyes wide open and nervous, with Luke sitting behind her, murmuring that everything was going to be fine.
"What if this was their plan Jocelyn? Clary could be pretending right now! She could be-"
"Are you saying that my daughter is acting as a spy for them?" Jocelyn rudely cut him off, her voice steel cold, eyes glaring, almost daring him to answer.
Robert's lips zipped tight into a straight line and his jaw clenched.
"I know that this is a sensitive situation.. But Jocelyn.. Clary was there with them. Now, the sensible thing to do would be to perform some basic spells on her mind when she recovers, I'm sure Magnus here would help us, and then we'll decide whether she's really innocent or not." Mayrse spoke up in caution.
"He. Forced. It. Upon. Her. Did anyone not see that four years ago? It must have been some kind of way for him to gain access of her mind! I think it's pretty clear what happened! She was brainwashed, and when she got hit by Glorious, bam! She's back again!" Simon shouted, his brows frowning in frustration as he stared at the slowly paling Clary and those who were trying to prove her guilty. The crowd buzzed around them affected by his words. Isabelle grasped his hand, silently telling him to calm down, that now is not the time to interrupt.
"Enough!" Jia Penhallow's voice echoed throughout the Great Hall and silence was met again. "It is true that she was forced to drink the...demon blood-" Jia made a face, unsure of how to describe the situation four years ago."And she has disappeared from us four years. We do not know what had happened to her during those four years, but we can suspect that there has been some degree of mental abuse imposed upon her. Her behavior in the battle can be rendered suspicious, and she was indeed seen fighting alongside with the enemy. But again, we must not forget that she was kidnapped and possibly abused by her own brother-"
Clary flinched violently. "Shh.. It's okay Clary. Calm down. He's not here." Luke murmured and Jocelyn cast a worried glance towards her. The word brother made her sick. She could break down - right now - right here. She wanted to tear those walls confining her, she felt like she was being suffocated by a million pairs of invisible hands hovering in the air, near her throat.
".. The Clave concludes that Ms. Clarissa Adele Morgernstern, or.. Fray- will be observed by our officials until further recovery. We will arrange another meeting in Idris until then. That will be all." And with that Jia stood up, as well as Inquisitor Lightwood and the other judges, and walked across the hall away from the crowd. There was a portal to Idris already set up for them, and they slipped inside one by one. By the time the last judge disappeared into the portal, most of the audience was gone and the Academy was again filled with silence.
Rain Rain Go Away Come Again Another Day-
Little Clary Wants To Play-
Rain Rain Go Away-
Clary sang the lyrics to her favorite nursery rhyme in her mind as she stared at her foggy bedroom window and the droplets of rain feebly battering against the cold glass.
"Knock Knock- You there?" She turned around and saw Simon glancing in, his pale face still distinct in her dark bedroom. He noticed her curtains were closed leaving only a gap for her to stare at the one window across from her. He raised his eyebrows.
"The light was blinding." She explained.
"Right. Because it's the perfect sunshine gay day today. Hey - that rhymes." He said with a bemused expression. She sighed inwardly and chuckled. He was right. The weather was horrible. She felt a light breeze and a shuffle and realized that Simon was now sitting beside her, leaning on her bedpost.
"That was cool." She fiddled her lock of soft red hair absently. "Hm? What? My speed? Really? That's the conversation you chose to take on? I thought you already knew all about my vampire skills." He scoffed at her.
"Of course not. I haven't seen you... For four years Simon. I feel like I don't recognize anyone here at all." Her head was bent low so Simon couldn't see her expression. But from her voice he could feel her pain. Her pain for missing out four years of her life, gone, vanished - She couldn't remember anything.
"Well.. You're here now. Everyone missed you." Simon hugged her lightly and kissed her forehead. She smiled at that. "So... I heard that you killed me." She smirked and watched Simon's eye bulge out. "That's not... Okay yeah. Kind of. But you're still alive." She rolled her eyes and thought he was being really cute. He was her best friend and he would always be there for her.
"How was I?" She asked, her green eyes focused on him.
"What do you mean?"
"I mean... When you saw me after all those years.. In the cave. How did I look?"
Simon's face darkened, seeming to struggle with how to answer her question.
"You were.. well... different. Especially your eyes.. It was black. Like your brother's." She winced at the word brother again, but he continued. "You said that you were with them by choice. That you loved your brother. You didn't understand why we would try to get you back. You were..."
"A bitch to be exact."
Startled, Clary whipped around to see Isabelle leaning against her door frame smirking at her. "Welcome back Fray."
She smiled wryly. "Nice to see you to Izz."
"You didn't tell me that you were going to see Clary!" Isabelle said, casting an irritated glare at Simon.
"Well you weren't exactly in a nice situation. So I just came here by myself. Too bad." Simon grinned and jumped to the other side of the bed in inhumane speed when Isabelle tried to kick him.
"What situation?"
"Yeah... Family problems. Dad's being an arse again." Isabelle lightly quipped and Clary nodded. So Isabelle's parents are still... Even after four years.. I guess nothing's changed that much. Except for the fact that I was missing those four years because I was impaled by the damn sword.
"Earth to Clary!"
"Huh?" Her thoughts were cut off and she faced Simon flapping his hands.
"We were saying - You should go meet the others now. They've been waiting sick for you!" Isabelle said as she braided her silky black hair. Clary seriously wondered which conditioner she used.
"Oh. I- Uh.. I thought I wasn't really allowed to leave this room?"
"Since when did you follow rules?" Simon gasped.
"Knock it off Si-!" Clary punched her best friends arm none too lightly. "I mean, wouldn't the Clave say something if they find out that-"
"Oh wow. I can't believe this. They tried to stop you from doing stuff hundreds of other reckless things, and this rule is what you finally choose to follow?" Simon retorted and Isabelle smirked widely. "Yup. You're still coming Fray."
She sighed. She knew she couldn't stop them anyway.
"Here you are!"
She turned around and saw Maia and Jordan walking towards her. With a wave and a smile she said hi.
"We were worried sick about you - Well, I guess Luke was the worst one. I mean with the war and all..."
Isabelle flashed Maia a sharp look, which led her to stop talking. She clearly did not want Clary to throw a hysteria from remembering something of her dark four years. Clary rolled her eyes. "I'm okay guys, really. I don't remember a thing. So... I don't mind you guys telling me what happened the last four years or during the war or whatever. I really need you guys to fill me in." She emphasized on the word really to get her point through. She was really sick of all this protecting her mind crap. She needed the truth - and she needed to remember.
She quickly took a sip of her fairy frizzle shake while Simon finally chose what he wanted and called the blue skinned fairy waitress to order a cup of whiskey mixed with B positive blood.
Isabelle sighed. "Is this really necessary? What happened to a nice happy hangout? It was supposed to be a - Clary's back! Hurray! thing."
Clary deadpanned. "I find that difficult to do that when I know that Jace is still being held captive by my broth- Jonathan." She stopped midway of her sentence to correct herself. That bastard wasn't her brother. He never will be. He will always be Jonathan. Or Sebastian. Or whatever he chose to call himself - He'll always be the guy who killed dear Max, who almost killed her entire family, and who is still holding Jace as his toy.
"We'll find him Clary. We promise. But for now - Let's just celebrate what we have right now. We have you back! It's been four years. We missed you a lot."
Isabelle, Maia, and Simon all found themselves nodding silently to Jordan's words. She didn't know what to say. She felt touched, but also weird at the same time. She remembered nothing of the past four years; she felt as if time hadn't passed at all. That's why she had a hard time believing that her family and friends had waited for her all this time. It felt surreal.
"You're right." She took another sip of her shake.
"Well, if we're going to have a proper celebration, we should go to the Hideout."
Simon choked and sputtered some of his drink. Jordan handed him a napkin, stunned at Isabelle's suggestion.
"Your mom's so gonna kill us when she finds out we took Clary there. No wait- scratch that. Jocelyn, the Clave, and our pack leader are going to be raging on us." Maia clipped, with a bemused expression on her face.
"Where's the Hideout?" She frowned, not liking the idea.
"Oh... just some place...fun."
She definitely did not like Isabelle's idea of fun.
"I can't believe you dragged me into this!" Clary shouted with an incredulous expression on her face. Somewhere behind her, Maia giggled.
It took 3 hours for them to get here. The girls declared that they had to get home and get ready (something Clary definitely did not like), and halfway when they got to the Hideout Isabelle realized she left her purse so Simon had to use his vampire speed to go and get it again.
Clary was absolutely horrified. She already felt traumatized from getting Isabelle and Maia's beauty treatment, which involved putting on gunky mascara as well as wearing a black mini dress that hung dangerously above her thigh. It reminded her of that night where Isabelle forced her to go through all that for Magnus's private party. It was now all worse because Maia was putting her through this too. Double pain.
"You deserve a little fun Fray - besides, nobody's here." Jordan chuckled lightly. By nobody he meant their guardians. They were relieved that Maryse, Joceyln, as well as Luke were all absent - Isabelle guessed that they were all expected at Alicante for Clary's future trial scheduling. She had frowned at the idea.
In front of Clary was a tall cement building, emitting pink and blue fluorescent light. She could hear the loud beat of the EDM playing inside. But what caught her attention was the huge Enkeli rune glowing on the building entrance. It reminded her of Pandemonium all over again.
"That rune-" She started, but she was cut off by Simon.
"Yeah. Reminds you of Pandemonium doesn't it?" He winked. "You'll understand when you go inside."
"Come on!"
Isabelle grabbed Simon and her hand and pushed them all inside the entrance. Maia and Jordan followed shortly after.
The sound inside the club was deafening. What stunned her though, wasn't the music. Everywhere she glanced were Downworlders dancing and swaying to the music.
"This whole area is protected by our kind. It's the only place designed specifically for Downworlders. The illusion helps prevent humans from coming near this place. All they see is a worn down factory building." Simon explained with a grin. "Cool isn't it?"
"Uh.. Yeah. Didn't know there was even a place like this."
"Oh.. well.. It was created after you were.. well..."
She nodded to show she understood what he was about to say. It was created when she was gone. Somehow that created a knot in her stomach. Isabelle approached them, pulling Simon to dance with her. She wiggled her eyebrows at Clary, telling her she should come too, but Clary smiled and yelled over the loud music saying she wanted to go get a drink anyway.
She had to struggle her way through the huge crowd of Downworlders who were so engrossed in dancing. She took a seat quickly with a sigh when she finally found the drinks table. She glanced back and saw Maia and Jordan snogging the hell out of each other. Ugh. Definitely didn't need to see that.
"Hey there."
She turned and saw the bartender, presumably a vampire, smiling at her. "Oh uh.. I guess I'll have a bourbon?" He nodded and turned away from her.
She actually didn't feel like drinking. It's just that she felt so stupid right now - and that nagging knot in her stomach was driving her crazy. The loud music was hurting her head too. I should just go to the restroom to splash some cold water on myself - she thought as she slowly got up from her seat.
"A cup of bourbon-"
She raised her head and saw the bartender grinning at her with the cup of alcohol in front of her. Creepy... She thought, as she noted his razor sharp teeth and drapy eyes. His voice was also somehow strained. She wondered whether it was because he was thirsty - She shuddered inwardly at the idea and slowly started to flinch away from the table.
"Sorry, but I think I'll pass. Feeling a bit off. Must be all the music.." She smiled apologetically and started to walk away when everything suddenly became silent. She froze and realized that everything was still - no music, no laughter, no dancing around - nothing. It was as if time had stopped. Except her. Panic crept up to her and she had to clench her fists hard that the pain from her nails prevented her from having a panic attack.
"Clary Adele Morgernstern, is it?"
Her eyes widened and she turned towards the low voice. The bartender who was just now in front of her offering her drinks were gone, and was now replaced by a three headed beast. It was huge- the heads were of a dog, and they were currently growling ferociously towards her.
"We asked you a question."
One of the dogs barked at her. Their eyes were glowing red. She shifted uncomfortably from the beast's glare and carefully let her eyes wander around to see if she could find Isabelle and the others. But the place was too crowded - even if everyone was still, she still couldn't see anything because the crowd was blocking everything. She positioned herself in a fighting stance with caution before she answered yes. She could feel the weight of her stele on her back pocket as well as her seraph blade carefully hidden in her jacket.
"How did you get in? The Enkeli rune should have prevented demons from entering." She was a bit out of breath from the whole situation. Eyeing the demon carefully, she started to walk backwards in a slow pace as the demon beast began to come out from the bar table.
"We had help."
So there was someone on the inside... Perhaps it was one of the security guards who helped them find a loophole? It didn't matter - What mattered was what the demon wanted from her.
"What do you want from me?"
One of the dogs barked again, which sounded suspiciously like a laugh. She wasn't quite sure.
"Information!"
She frowned. Tough luck.
"You obviously didn't do enough research before you came to find me then. You see, I'm currently suffering from memory loss, so if you wanted to know something about the last four years I can't help you. My mind's blank." She admitted bitterly. As much as she was glad that she couldn't (well even if she could, she wouldn't help them anyway), she was resentful of her current state.
"We know that. But we can help you."
She shot them a scornful look. "How could I trust you? You're demons. And just what kind of information are you looking for exactly?"
"We know that you've been staying with the Fallen one for the last four years... He must have slipped information about his future plans... Or even better, you must have found out something about his weakness, maybe?" She heard a sly voice speak out to her in the darkness behind the beast. She groaned inwardly. Great - Another demon. Her chances of escaping was getting slimmer every second. Shit Why didn't she bring her cellphone?! Today just wasn't her day.
The new demon stepped out of the shadows and she narrowed her eyes to see clearly. Its skin was milky and pale, his fingers long and extended in front of his chest... It didn't have eyes, and she gasped when she realized that its eyeballs were attached to its palms. It grinned at her and she tried not to flinch in horror at the gruesome sight of its yellowing and decaying teeth.
"I doubt it- And I refuse to receive help from the likes of you." She spat.
"Pity... But I'm afraid you don't have much choice."
"Wha-"
Before she could fully react, she found herself being slammed against the concrete wall, giving out a harsh huff of air. She tried to lunge forward but she discovered that her wrists were now powerfully bound by invisible ropes that cut into her skin and burned her whenever she tried to struggle.
"Let me go you vil-"
Something smacked against her right cheek and she tasted something metal - blood. That bastard.
"Now . I assure you it will not be painful as long as you don't struggle against it. Think of this as an opportunity to regain your memories! It benefits both of us! Isn't that dandy nice." The demon grinned again and touched her cheek. She bit the inside of her cheek to stop her from screaming from repulsion. She shuddered. It wouldn't help. She had to get rid of these binds first but how?
"Just do it already!" The beast behind the pale demon in front of her growled.
"Getting impatient now, are we?" She smirked. "Just telling you again - You'll find nothing." Clary glared viciously at the two demons who were glaring back at her.
"We'll see about that." The pale demon bit his finger and drew black blood. Clary gasped and her eyes widened in shock as the demon came near her with his bloody finger.
"What are you-"
The demon used his other hand to clench his fingers around her hair to keep her from moving, and then moved his bloody finger towards her face. "Close your eyes." It ordered but she refused to do so until the pressure on her head was so strong she eventually had to clench her eyes. She felt its long bony fingers spreading blood across her eyelids and forehead. "Open your eyes."
She huffed in irritation and opened her eyes. When she did, the demon's milky beady eyes looked back at her. And it said softly - ulkhmarkaii - and she was sucked into the darkness.
