Before you begin I must apologize two fold for this chapter. First is to apologize if you get your hopes up that chapters will increase in frequency. I had a very bad day, a very very bad on to be concise. As a result, I had a drink and decided to forlorn my educational duties for the evening, something I will certainly pay for come tomorrow. The other apology comes for after this has been read, I'm sorry to put my frustrations on you, I hope you can forgive me for the chapter and how it unfolds. I also typed this without a second reading, I hope the grammatical and spelling errors are not too vast. Please enjoy, or hate this chapter, it helped me to escape a troubled day with thoughts of a world I created, full of it's own flaws and pain but nothing compared to my own.
Chapter 7
Clary managed to make it through the evening without asking to be escorted back to her guarded room. This was mostly because of the dancing, and the occasional alcoholic drink she partook in. Jace seemed to have no quarrels as he handed her the first drink of the evening off one of the large trays extended from the server's arm. The concoction within swirled of its own fruition and Clary watched transfixed as the colors within merged and untangled themselves. She took a hesitant sip and found it to be both sweet and spicy. It made her nose turn up involuntarily and she watched Jace stifle back laughter. It only made her more determined not to allow something as simple as a drink to overcome her and she braved another sip and found the spice to be less intense, more of a warming of her throat. Within time she found is eased some of her anxious discomforts and then she realized what a true danger alcohol could be. One could get lost in the effects of the nearly translucent swirls as they drowned their fears while giving rise to their most harbored ambitions. Clary took it easy on the alcohol for the evening, allowing it only to keep the edge off but fortifying herself against letting it consume her rational side.
As the evening grew later it came the time where the lights slowly brightened in the room and the music softened, identifying to those that remained that the celebrations were coming to an end. Jace left Clary alone on the dance floor, going to the spot where the musicians were playing softly as he made an announcement to the room.
"Thank you all for coming for the celebration of my governship as well as my marriage to the beautiful Mrs. Herondale." Jace had indulged in a few more drinks than Clary allowed herself, and in the late hours of the night it shown.
"We wish you safe passage back to your homes, and I welcome the coming responsibilities once I return from my marriage time." Jace concluded, referencing the time he would be allowed away from responsibilities after acquiring a wife. Time, they said was necessary to attempt the creation of a child as well as getting to know their new bride.
Those that remained began saying their fair wells and headed for the front door. But before Jace returned from the front of the room, the man with salt and pepper hair approached Clary, making her feel panicked as she did not have Jace by her side.
He strode confidently towards her, reaching out and grabbing her hand once again.
"I want to thank you again, most sincerely for your marriage to Jace. I know that he will be a good husband to you, and I cannot express enough how much difference I know his position will make to the cause." His eyes were pleading, a silent thought urging her to understand. He kissed the tops of her knuckles in a sweet and desperate way, trying to communicate something that Clary simply couldn't understand. "Thank you" he mouthed as he turned and collected his wife who had seemingly been abandoned at the table during the entire exchange.
Jace arrived a moment later, not seeming concerned about the exchange that took place in his absence.
"I don't know about you, but I am ready for our home to be empty again." Jace whispered in her ear, signifying the relief he would feel once everyone was gone and they were free from the charade.
Clary simply smiled in response, allowing Jace to wrap his arm possessively around her waist as they looked and waved to their departing guests. When the last chair was empty and the guests finally made their way to the door, Clary could feel the Jace of the evening melt away into the far more relaxed and carefree man she had come to know.
"Come sit down, your feet must be killing you." He motioned to one of many abandoned chairs nearby. Clary happily took a seat, having refrained from sitting during the entire celebration. It was only now that he mentioned it that she realized just how much her feet were aching to be let out of the unworn shoes. The height on the back had made the situation worse as she bore all her weight on the balls of her feet. She allowed herself the chance to slip her feet out of the shoes and found them red and screaming in protest of the evening she had put them through. She started to rub her feet, hopelessly trying to return the blood flow to normal. Jace did not hesitate as he grabbed a nearby chair and moved it into position, sitting swiftly and grabbing her aching appendage and began massaging it with expertise. Clary slumped back into her chair, unable to control herself as she let out a groan as her eyes rolled in the back of her head. She felt the pressure increase.
"I'm sorry I picked out these shoes for you. I should have taken a moment to think about the fact that you have never wore high heels before." Jace apologized as he grabbed her other foot, making sure to work it as thoroughly as he had done the one before.
"Sir the guests have all gone." Announced one of the servers Clary had previously seen walking around with one of those trays holding all the alcohol.
"Good, good. Everyone can retire for the evening, cleanup will begin in the morning." Jace announced, continuing the ministrations on Clary's feet.
"Thank you, sir." The waiter bowed in gratitude as he scurried off to tell the rest of the help that their cleaning duties could be postponed until the morning. Clary figured it was rather late in the evening, later than she had ever stayed up in her life. At that moment Clary gave a large yawn, her body confirming the hour.
"We should get you to bed." Jace said with a smirk as he released her foot, allowing it to lay limply suspended in air above the floor. Clary was so small that sitting back in the chair her feet hung mere millimeters above the ground. It made her feel like a child.
Clary went to stand but quickly found her feet protested as they refused to bear her weight. Jace caught her quickly under the arms, pulling her into himself. She felt the hard stability of his chest against her own as he held her weight like it was nothing at all.
"I think you are going to need help getting to bed." He said with a knowing smile as he quickly swept her up into his arms, cradling her knees with one arm and supporting her back with the other. Clary felt her cheeks redden as she had never been held in such a way.
Jace didn't seem to notice her embarrassment or didn't bother to comment as he made his way out of the ballroom straight for their bedroom.
He carried her the entire way, seemingly unaffected by her weight. Clary knew that she was small, but it wasn't the same as carrying a sack of flour as Jace made it seem. She wrapped her arms around his neck to help support her weight in any way possible, the tips of his shaggy blond hair tangling between her fingers. He strode with confidence until he reached the bedroom, where the two guards were still standing diligently at their posts.
"Open the door please, then you are relieved of your duties for the night. I will accompany my bride for the evening." Jace announced with the same fake preamble he had used with speaking to the other governors, but Clary could sense a hint of teasing behind the voice as the guards were well aware of Jace's normal facade. They looked to each other with a smile before nodding their heads and opening the doors wide so Jace could enter, still holding Clary tightly in his arms. Her shoes were long forgotten still resting on the ballroom floor.
Jace entered their room, kicking the doors shut skillfully before depositing Clary at the foot of the bed. She sat up, her feet swinging off the end of the bed, unable to even graze the floor. She watched as Jace shrugged out of his black jacket, allowing it to hit the floor, and she bit her lip unknowingly as a wave of unfamiliar sensations washed over her. She had never watched a man undress before, and the sight was something she could not peel her eyes away from. His gaze never left her own, as he began to unbutton his shirt, painstakingly slowly, starting at the top working his way down.
Clary couldn't peel her eyes away as she had never truly seen a man without a shirt on before, Jace had previously pulled the covers to his arms the night before so she hadn't glimpsed him naked. As his shirt widened fully Clary glanced his naked torso, built much differently than her own. His skin seemed stretched taught against his underlying muscles, peaks and ridges formed as the skin moved over mounds of muscles. There wasn't an inch of fat upon him, nothing soft to cushion under the flesh. Clary got lost mentally marking the lines that crossed his abdomen, forming perfect rectangulars of a man that paid homage to his body despite the large and fattening breakfast she had seen him consume. It made sense then, the ease in which he had carried her.
He paused when his shirt was entirely unbuttoned, looking not at the shirt but rather up and into Clary's eyes, watching her as she watched him peel the shirt back, unsheathing his arms as he let the garment flutter to the ground as the jacket had done. Clary watched at his chest puffed with each breath, heavy like he had just finished a grueling workout. His eyes never left hers as he reached for the button of his pants, flicking it open with familiarity, as Clary felt her fingers grip into the sides of the mattress. She felt something new and foreign, a curiosity for what lied next light an itching hot feeling covering her body making the hairs in her arms stand at attention. For once the nagging feeling of fear and anxiety was gone, replaced entirely by this new feeling along with curiosity.
Jace moved painstakingly slow, his eyes never leaving her own and his pulled the zip of his pants, tooth by tooth until it could go no lower. He grasped the sides and pulled them down, letting the material pool at his feet. He was standing before her wearing nothing more than underwear and a familiar voice inside Clary screamed for her to look away, but she was captivated and unable to follow its command. She swallowed hard, pushing down her inner thoughts and focusing on memorizing the way Jace looked standing before her. A long moment stretched between them, neither saying or moving.
Jace watched as Clary's eyes roamed his body, and he simply stared at her face, waiting for her eyes to return to her own. When they did it proved too much, and he closed his eyes finalizing his resolve as he stepped from his pants.
"I'll get you a night shirt." He managed, his voice deep and gravely.
He turned and left for the closet, allowing Clary to intake a sharp breath of air. She loosened her grip on the bed, finding her knuckles rejoice in the comfort. He emerged moments later, still clad in nothing more than underwear which resembled a small pair of shorts pulled taught against his body. A brief flicker of wonder crossed Clary's mind as she considered what could cause all the dips and bulges hiding beneath the fabric.
He stood at the edge of the bed, throwing her the black soft shirt she identified as being one of his.
"Go ahead and take your shirt off and put that one on instead. You'll sleep more comfortably that way." He said, turning around, giving her the slightest bit of privacy.
Clary hesitated, shirt in hand. She had never removed clothing with another person in the room before. That had been strictly forbidden. Even though his back was turned, she felt as though this was all new territory as he could easily turn and steal a glance whenever he pleased, even if she was in the middle of removing her shirt. He was her husband after all and able to make such demands, but in the moment, Clary wished for another one of the swirling drinks to help her a nerves began to rear their heads once more and Clary's hands trembled as she crossed her arms in front of her and began to lift the hem of her shirt.
She wondered why she was acting so slowly. The hem creeping up her waist rather than swiftly ridding herself and discarding the used fabric. She was mimicking his show, his painstakingly slow movements though his back was turned. She saw the muscles in his back flex as he waited for her signal, but he did not turn around. She balled up her used shirt and threw it to the floor, landing it beside his feet. He looked down at the garment but did not turn as she quickly donned his shirt then mentioned she was decent.
Jace turned slowly but hesitated before moving. Seeming to consider her in the black skirt and his plain cotton t-shirt. He moved toward her slowly but with an intent of purpose. Stopping by the end of the bed, positioning himself between her legs.
"I don't imagine it would be comfortable sleeping in this" his fingers grazed the edges of her skirt.
Clary swallowed hard, fighting a knot in her throat. "No, I don't imagine it would be." She managed, her own voice shocking her as it resembled the gravely tone he used earlier. Perhaps this is what he felt when she watched him undress.
His finger crept upwards, moving the hem of the shirt in their wake until he found the upper hem situated just below her navel. He began to pull downward, and Clary's felt her hips rise above the bed as her arms stabilized her on the bed. Her back arched slightly as he pulled the skirt over her hips and down her thighs, revealing the underwear picked out of the day. He removed the skirt from the remainder of her legs quickly, tossing it aside so it added to the pile of his own discarded clothes. Clary sat up, allowing the hem of the shirt to cover her upper thighs as she stood her ground face to face with Jace. She could feel his breath on her skin. One of his hands pressed flat against the mattress nearly brushing her waist. His other hand came back from tossing the discarded skirt, hovering above her cheek but just barely not touching.
Clary felt her chest heave for each breath, her heart hammering in her ears. She looked into his eyes which still seemed to swirl golden despite the lack of twinkling lights from the ballroom. His eyes searched hers and flicked towards across her face. He looked like he was searching for something, but Clary's didn't know what or else in this moment no matter what he asked she would have given it to him. His eyes fluttered closed, long fair eyelashes fitted together tightly. When he reopened his eyes, he looked into her own, but the golden color dimmed, producing a more mundane effect.
"We really should get to bed, it's late." He breathed, looking purposely away from her.
"It is late." She managed, unsure how to proceed.
With a final push off the bed, he stood up straight before her. He rounded the side and slipped under the covers into his normal spot, tucking the covers firmly under his arms. He patted the empty side of the bed beside him, signaling Clary's spot. Clary climbed up the bed and hastily dove under the covers, wanting to feel shielding from whatever had just transpired.
"Goodnight Clary." She hear Jace breathe as he turn and shut out the light.
