The Doctor

Tension filled the kitchen air and Aline's eyes turned up unconsciously. She surveyed the rest of the kitchens before spotting the intruding figure, she gasped and dropped the knife she'd been holding. It clattered to the floor and vanished beneath the table she'd been chopping celery on. Aline sank to the floor, out of sight, praying to every god she knew that he'd just go, just pass through the kitchen and go on to his life, and leave her and her fears behind. Her fingers groped under the table, grazing the knife. Aline curled her fingers about the handle, holding it like she might a dagger for defense.

"Looking for a piece of cheese, little mouse?"

Aline felt her heart stop. "N-no, milord," she stuttered, keeping her eyes down.

Jonathan reached down and scooped Aline's chin in his hand, forcing her eyes to meet his. Aline's terror locked her throat up as she stared into his black eyes. It was like looking into a void, nothingness. Aline wished she knew how to use a weapon.

"So, tell me, little mouse, what's on the floor?" Jonathan's eyes moved to her hands, and his fingers slipped between hers. She dropped the knife again, wishing she had the strength to pick it back up. "Ah, a little knife for the little mouse. Do you even know how to hold this?"

When Aline tried to speak, to beg for him to just leave, Jonathan sliced the air with the knife, leveling it with her throat. She felt the cold edge of the knife kiss her throat and she tried to pull back. Jonathan's hand caught the back of her neck and forced her forward. "You see, little mouse, how this handy blade of yours so quickly turns against you? Do you see just how dangerous a knife can be in the wrong hands…or, should I say, the right hands? Like this knife, information is just as deadly, and just as valuable. In fact, information is just as protective."

"Mi-milord?" Aline stuttered, trying to ignore the pressure of the blade. She pleaded with her eyes, but Jonathan's smile was a sharp as the blade.

"You seem to know what goes on in this household, little mouse. That's useful for a man like me whose concerns are not what goes on in his household but only the overall function. Do you hear what I'm saying?"

"I-I'm sorry, milord, but-but I don't understand…"

Jonathan sighed and rolled his eyes. "Stupid little mouse, I want you to answer my questions, and if you answer well, I'll reward you."

"I'm just a kitchen maid," Aline said in a rush. "I don't know anything important-"

"This I know, but you might know something useless. Something useless about a certain boy." Jonathan slid the knife up, and began tracing Aline's mouth with the tip of the blade. "You know something, and I want to know, and you're going to tell me."

"Please, milord, just let me go. I can't help you." Aline looked about frantically, desperately hoping that someone else would come for her rescue. A few glanced her way, but she was too unpopular and disliked. A small part of her regretted her hard exterior, but then, if she wasn't that strong, she suspected she might already have gone to tears.

"Tell me about the boy, Jace," Jonathan said sharply.

"Jace?" Aline gasped.

"Yes, you know, handsome, blond, stubborn. I want to know about him." Jonathan's hand, holding her head turned to a stroking motion in her hair. "Just tell me what you know about him, little mouse, and I'll make sure you're well rewarded for it. Just tell me a little about him."

"I don't know anything about him." Jonathan's hand turned hard and his eyes narrowed dangerously. "He serves your sister, I know. He's friends with the Lightwood slaves, you know, Isabelle, the princess's other slave. He mentioned that he grew up in the country, in a manor," Aline said frantically, "and he can read and write. He's smart and knows how to ride a horse, and-"

"Shut up," Jonathan said sharply. "He likes the Lightwoods, eh? How very charming, and a little group of slave friends." Jonathan laughed and stood, dropping the knife before Aline. "Very well, little mouse, you've served me well. I'll have some food sent to you, maybe a new dress." He looked down at her with a sneer. "God knows, you need something."

He strode away, smirking at the kitchen manager as he went. Jonathan turned for the slave quarters, the smirk still in place, and descended to the small common room to wait for a lull in the slaves' work. The time passed slowly, but Jonathan didn't mind; he liked to have time to think and plan and imagine all he could do. It was a balm on his usually restless, angry mind.

Slowly, the slaves filed in. When they saw Jonathan waiting, they checked on the spot, and when they recognized him, a few panicked and looked back the way they had come. Jonathan gleamed at them all with glowing, black eyes. The sneer was still in place when Isabelle came in, holding Max by the hand. She noticed everyone staring and followed they gaze. When she saw Jonathan the blood rushed from her face.

"My lord," she said, bowing low, and tweaking Max for him to do the same. "Has the Princess Clarissa called?"

"Not quite," he answered and swept over to her. "But you're to coming with me all the same." His eyes landed on Max. "Your little brother, too."

Isabelle's grip on Max tightened and she pulled him to her skirt. "Max doesn't need to come with us, my lord. He's needed back in the dining hall to stoke the fire. The warden gets furious when Max is late. Please, I don't want my brother to get in trouble…"

Jonathan held up a hand to silence Isabelle. "I will speak with warden. He won't challenge me. Now get your brother up and come with me." His dark eyes flickered over Max, and the small boy stared back with a considering look. With a sharp turn on his heel, Jonathan strode off, Isabelle and Max following miserably in his wake.

Max decided he didn't like Jonathan. The young man had the straight back of a soldier, but the stalking walk of a panther. His dark eyes seemed empty and cold, and only came to life with a frightening fire. He reminded Max of flint. When he led them into the great hall, Isabelle checked on the spot and paused. She was only ever brought to the great hall when Clary was dining and she was there to wait on her. Jonathan spun about when he didn't hear her footsteps following him.

"Why have you stopped?" he demanded, an ugly frown on his face.

"I-I'm sorry, my lord," she said, giving Max a tug and drawing him forward. "I'm just not used to such grandeur."

"I'm not surprised," he sneered. They crossed the hall and approached a set of double doors, flanked on either side by two guards. They bowed to Jonathan respectfully. "Do you know what this place is?" he asked as the guards opened the door for them.

"I'm not sure…" Isabelle murmured, but she knew deep down where she was.

"This is the king's privy chamber. The antechamber is where my father meets with advisors and councilors." He watched shock wash over Isabelle. "You will be meeting with my father here; something unheard of, I think."

"The-the King?" Isabelle gasped, this time stumbling to a stop. "But-but, my lord, what does he want with me and Max? Princess Clarissa sent us away, but she wasn't angry with us. It was just-"

"I'm glad she did," cut in Jonathan. "I really don't want my sister consorting with the likes of you. But don't flatter yourself," Jonathan laughed, turning about and giving his a dark look, "my father doesn't want to see you. In fact, he won't. I'm just using you to draw in that stupid, yellow boy of yours."

"Jace?" Isabelle whispered. "What do you want with him?"

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it," Jonathan said, waving a hand. "We'll take good care of him. For now, though, let's you and me have some fun."

"I still don't understand," Alec murmured to Jace who was shoeing a feisty stallion. Carefully, Alec took a brush and began to untangle the horse's mane. He didn't want the already aggressive stallion to buck and kick Jace. "How can the Princess be in trouble? I mean, she's the Princess-"

"Quiet!" Jace hissed, his golden eyes darting surreptitiously about the barn. "If someone heard you I dare say you'd be in for a hell of time."

"Me?" Alec asked, outraged.

"You really think Clary would admit to anything like that? She'd deny any of it and her brother would have you killed." Jace ran his fingers along the horse's hoof and nodded faintly. "Jonathan isn't going to risk having you running your mouth about his nasty little side business."

Alec considered his words and knew just how much truth there was to it. "I don't understand how a woman of-of her status could possibly be in that type of danger. She has guards, she has maids, she has servants. It's not like she needs us."

"I think she does," Jace mused softly. "I think she's trapped by her status and has no way of getting out. Who can she tell? I assume her father already knows about it, and he clearly isn't interested in helping her."

"Well, what can we do? She sent us away, Jace." Alec stopped brushing down the horse to take a long look at Jace. From his position, he caught the view of Jace's back and mop of hair. Even that was enough to bring faint heat to his face. Jace was handsome in a way that no other man he ever met was. He seemed to glow golden like the sun, and burned with all its heat. No one was as intriguing or mysterious as him…

…Except, of course, the doctor.

Alec tried to push the memories of the strange eyes and seductive purr from his mind. Magnus Bane had been haunting Alec's dreams for some nights now, and all he wanted was the rid himself of the image of his face. Or maybe, all he wanted was to see the man again.

"She sent us away, but she can't send us from the castle. We're still around, and there's got to be a way to help." Jace frowned in thought. He didn't realize just how much Clary's predicament had affected him till then. He'd never been so consumed by a need to be around someone, never wanted someone so bad. "She won't talk to me, she's not too pleased with me. But, maybe, she'd listen to Isabelle-"

"Alec!" The sound of footsteps pounding along the cobblestone drew them both out of their thoughts. A young woman was racing toward them, her skirts gathered in her hands and her hair flying behind her in her desperation to reach them. She skittered to a halt before the horse they were working on. "Isabelle and Max are gone!"

"What?" Alec demanded leaping over the stall door and snatching the girl's hand. "What do you mean, Maia, they're gone?"

Maia shook her head uselessly, glancing once at Jace. "They were taken away, that's what the maids said. They said they saw Isabelle and Max leave with-with Jonathan."

"Jonathan?" Jace rasped, joined Alec and staring hard at Maia. "They went with Jonathan for what?"

Maia, Jace noticed, didn't look like the casual slave. She didn't have the same broken look in her eyes, or the slump of her shoulders that spoke to her years of enslavement. No, she looked like a woman with some fight left in her, and he wondered why he'd never met her.

Maia caught Jace looking at her, but just shook off his hand and turned to Alec. "I don't know, but he marched them off to the King's antechamber a little bit ago. Perhaps they're to go before the king?"

"Go before the King for what?" Alec demanded. "My sister hasn't done anything! And Max, Max is just a little boy."

Maia shrugged. "I wouldn't know, but everyone has been gossiping about how Isabelle was dismissed from the Princess's service. Perhaps the King has taken it upon himself to discover why."

"Clary wouldn't do that," Jace said stoutly, and Maia gave him a penetrating look.

"I wouldn't know much about the Princess nowadays, since I haven't been in her service many years, but, may I ask, what do you know?"

Jace looked affronted, since usually his looks could win him any woman's good favor, especially one Maia's age. "I serve her."

Maia gave him a quick up and down. "I heard you were dismissed from her service, too; let me guess, she was madly in love with you and her father had you sent away?" Maia laughed without mirth. "Alec, what are you doing with this trouble-maker? I thought you'd listen to sense better, if not your own, than mine."

"Just who are?" Jace demanded. "It's not like you've got anything on me, seeing as we're both in the service of the King."

Maia smiled. "I am in the service of the king, you are in his slavery. I am a maid, paid and respected."

This pulled Jace up short, and he had to give her appearance another searching look. He noticed, under closer inspection, that this was possible. Maia was dressed better than the slaves, her clothing clean and unwrinkled, a pair of well polished boots peeking out from under her swaying skirts. She'd tamed her wild hair into a knot with ribbon and pins, and her eyes held something of a challenge in them.

"So surprised, boy?"

Jace swallowed. "I didn't know the staff was in the habit of making friends with the slaves."

"Only a select few," Maia said stiffly. "Now, Alec, if Jonathan took Isabelle and Max to see the King, you're going to need to call in whatever favors you have from anyone with rank. They'll have to go before the King for you."

"There's no one," Alec murmured hopelessly. "I'm a slave, Maia, I spend my days in the basement, cooking and cleaning. Is there no other way to help them?"

Maia looked hopeless. "I don't know why they're being taken to the King, so I can't say what you could do. Only that it must be quick if you wish to do any good."

"What am I supposed to do?" Alec moaned. "Isabelle was friends with the Princess, not me. The only person I ever met was the warden, and I don't think he's going to pull any strings for me."

"What about the doctor?" Jace asked suddenly. "The one Clary called to clean your wound? He seemed fond of you."

"I've got no clue where he is," Alec muttered. "Anyway, I hardly think he'd risk his position for my sister, no matter how fond of me he was." However, a small hope lingered in Alec that maybe the doctor would help if he went to him. Maybe things would be better if he went to him regardless.

"It's not a poor idea," Maia mused, something secret racing through her eyes, something only Jace took notice of. "Magnus Bane is a peculiar man, and he's been known to make exceptions for those he calls friends. Besides, I hardly think he's in danger of losing his position. When Jocelyn first came here with Valentine, pregnant with Jonathan, she brought Magnus in tow, and completely refused to send him away when Valentine marched every physician in the land before her. He seemed to think very little of the medicine of the east. But Jocelyn refused, and Magnus bore her both Jonathan and Clarissa." Maia looked away sadly. "I think Valentine keeps Magnus around out of respect for Jocelyn, and he wouldn't lightly dismiss him."

"Should we go get him?" Jace asked sharply. "Where would he be?"

Maia considered this for a moment. "Alec, you should go get Magnus, I'm sure you're his preference. You, boy, should go to King's antechamber and linger there. There's only one door in that room, and if, for some reason, Isabelle and Max are allowed to leave, you'll be there to catch them."

Jace wanted to argue that he wasn't a baby sitter, but the look of fear on Alec's face and the tension that was turning his stomach stilled his voice. "Alright, I'll go now. Alec, go find Magnus and be as quick as you can."

"I don't think I'll need telling twice," Alec said as Jace sprinted off at an incredible speed. Turning back to Maia, Alec said, "Where is Magnus?"

"Follow me," Maia said, and she set off, Alec like her shadow.

Alec, admittedly, didn't know Maia all that well. When he and his siblings had first come to the castle, Isabelle had been assigned to Clary's retinue at once, and Maia had arrived, there to train Isabelle in the duties of a handmaid of the Princess. She had been kindly and gentle, and wasn't at all offended by their status as slaves. Instead, Maia had treated them like people, going so far as to tell Max stories. However, she'd never really mentioned her personal life, never given them even an inkling of where she was from or what she had done before coming here. Maia, had, of course, nothing but good things to say for the King and his family, and was quite knowledgeable about Jocelyn and the Princess, but while her conversation was lively and light, her thoughts were her own. Alec often thought Maia had simple appeared from the ether with nothing but and smile and a faint memory of her previous life.

"Hurry up, Alec, we don't really have time to spare," Maia called over her shoulder as they raced for the west side of the castle. A few people gave them curious stares, but Maia paid them no heed. "Magnus usually just stays in his apartments, making things."

"You seem to know him well," Alec commented casually.

Maia smiled sweetly. "I came here with him."

When they arrived at Magnus's rooms Alec felt a strange hesitation steal through him. He trusted Maia enough, but Magnus was a strange man, hailing from far away. How much would he really do to help Isabelle and Max? Maia however, seemed very satisfied as she knocked loudly on the door. Alec gave her a startled stare. What type of maid pounded on the royal physician's door?

There was a long silence, almost a minute, then the handle wiggled and the door swung open. Magnus Bane, in all his exotic glory, stood before them. "To what do I own this honor?" he said sarcastically.

"Always a pleasure, Magnus," Maia said before Alec could even begin to explain the situation. She tipped his a quick bow, like a second thought. "We seem to find ourselves in a slight conundrum, and thought perhaps you might be able to aid us."

Magnus rubbed his chin tiredly. "Whatever you've gotten yourself into this time, I'm really not in any position to help you out Maia. Last time with that lord was bad enough, I had to say you had a raging fever that had left you addle-brained-"

"This isn't about me, Magnus, however, it is of a delicate nature, and I think its best discussed in the privacy of your apartments," said Maia pointedly.

For the first time, Magnus seemed to notice Alec, and his eyes sparkled, either with curiosity or understanding, Alec didn't know. However, he swept aside after a second, tipping his head slightly, "As you'll have it, my dear. Do come in."

Alec followed Maia in cautiously, wondering what the doctor kept his living area like, and was not the least bit shocked to find the place a strange concoction of modern and ancient. His rooms, Alec noticed were very much the same as the Princess's, with a large sitting room, private bedroom, study, and bath. However, the decorations that adorned Magnus's rooms were much different.

There hung in the air, a strange smell, sharp and tangy, but after a moment or two, relaxing. The rugs upon the floor were exotic, covered in images of dragons and demons, bursting with color. Books that looked thousands of years old lingered on shelves, and upon the walls were tapestries of aged mages performing great feats of magic, usually in battle. It took a moment for Alec to notice that the light in the room seemed red, like the color of a setting a sun, which confused him, since he knew it was just after high noon. When he found the window, he saw at once what Magnus had done, and could appreciate the creativity. Either through paint or some other form Magnus had worked, the window panes were red, orange, and yellow, creating a perpetual sunset.

"Don't just stand there," Magnus said sharply to Alec. "Sit down. You look as if you're in pain."

"Well actually-"

"Magnus, we've come because you're the only man with any pull on the King who I can call a friend," Maia began. "And a friend of mine is in danger of the King's wrath."

Magnus, who had been turned to the fire, watching the flames dance, stirred. "And what do you expect me to do, Maia? I am a doctor, not a politician. I cannot dissuade the King if he's made his mind, maybe Jocelyn…but Valentine, no."

"Please, it's my sister and brother!" Alec finally said, tired of being ignored while Jonathan could be hurting them. "Jonathan took them to the King and they haven't done anything, but he's going to hurt them anyway because Clarissa dismissed us-"

"What?" Magnus rounded on Alec, for the first time seeming at all interested in what they had to say. "Clary dismissed you? Why?"

Alec's mind went blank for a minute before he found his voice. Quietly, he said, "She told us to go. She didn't want us in her rooms anyway; we couldn't be her friends. She's a princess, and we're slaves."

Magnus narrowed his eyes. "That doesn't sound like Clary," he murmured softly, glancing surreptitiously to Maia. "What happened?"

"I don't know. She came back from dinner furious and told us to leave." Alec was staring to get frantic. "What does it matter how the Princess feels about us? My sister and brother are in danger!"

"It matters, Alec, because that doesn't hold at all with Ms. Clary, and I've known her for quite some time." Magnus turned away and returned to his place by the fire. "Whatever is happening to your siblings is just the fallout from something much larger, and I'll be damned if it hasn't got something to do with Clary."

"Damned, indeed," Maia said, and Alec noticed that she was smirking slightly.

Magnus gave her meaningful look. "Jonathan is a snake, he always has been, ever since he was boy. I warned his mother to keep an eye on him…to never let him wander…" Magnus's voice faltered as he fell into thought. It was a few minutes before his back snapped up. "Jonathan is evil, this I've known long enough, but the boy does a good job hiding it. But take heart, whatever reason he took your sister and brother, it's not for them alone. He has no interest in a farm girl made slave. No, he wants something else."

Maia stirred. "Clary?"

"No," Magnus said softly. "He's no fool, Clary is a good woman, but she wouldn't risk herself for the girl."

Alec had lost track of the conversation, furious that no one seemed all that concerned for his sister and brother, and confused that a maid and doctor would openly speak treason. He ran his hand through his hair before jumping to his feet. "I can't sit here anymore. I don't care why Jonathan's done what he's done, only that he's done it! I need to protect Isabelle and Max, and if you two are more interested in figuring out the Prince's intentions do it, but without me."

"Always a fool!" snapped Magnus. "This is why your people died, why your land was razed, why you're a slave. You never think! You are so concerned with the here and now that you don't give a thought to cause. If there's a landslide, all you do is run from the rocks, but you never wonder you could have done to prevent it!"

"Why would I?" Alec demanded. "If the rocks are coming at me with my death, why wonder why?"

"How will you stop it next time?" Magnus demanded. "How will you protect yourself, or, if not yourself, others? There's more going on here than your sister and brother, they've just been caught up in it. Now, if I'm going to help you, I need to see the big picture, I need to see what Jonathan wants, how he's going to get it, and how we can stop him. That way, he won't need your brother and sister anymore."

Alec had paled at Magnus's anger. "I just want to help my brother and sister."

"So do I, Alec," Magnus said, not unkindly. "So, let's think, what could he want? Who would go to him for Isabelle and Max?"

"No one except me," Alec said simply, doubting that Jonathan would ever consider him anything more than a slave. "There's no one who cares enough."

Maia gasped suddenly. "What about Jace?"

Magnus paled suddenly. "Jace? The boy who Clary bought?"

"What would Jonathan want with Jace?" Alec asked, perplexed. "He' just a boy."

"Of course he's just a boy," Magnus said softly. "Just a boy, who knows his way around a castle, a boy with an education, a boy with a trained wit, a boy who knows his history. Where is Jace?"

The silence outside the King's antechamber set Jace on edge. It was as if the world had shrunk down to just this room and the one closed off to him, and he alone, was the only inhabitant. Whatever might have been occurring in the room had not escalated, though it was by no means, over. Part of Jace wanted to throw the doors open and rush in. He wasn't afraid on Jonathan, not in the least.

Not being afraid, doesn't mean you go running head first into a fight though. You know better than that, Jace reminded himself. It might just be a mistake, and you bursting in would only upset it. Perhaps the King isn't really interested in Isabelle and Max.

Jace sunk onto the floor, relaxing against the wall behind him. He could watch the entrance hall and hear everything going on inside the doors. It was an ideal waiting place until Alec, Maia, and Magnus arrived. Maybe even Clary would come…

Don't fool yourself, he thought bitterly. Whatever else might happen, Clary isn't coming. Even if she wanted to, she wouldn't. Something is keeping her away, and pushing you out.

Still, it didn't hurt for Jace to think of Clary, and he found himself doing just that. She was still confusing to him, still a puzzle he couldn't quite work. She was in danger, he knew, danger from her brother, but her father didn't seem to care. Her mother wasn't dead, to the best of anyone's knowledge, but she had run off for some reason. And still, that madness that lingered in Clary's eyes; it was the most troubling. He couldn't think of a time when he'd seem someone so emotionally shattered, so sharp and wounded at once.

Whatever is doing this, you'll have to act fast because Clary looks about one more good blow away from losing her mind-

A terrified scream broke through Jace' thoughts, and then was cut short so quickly he thought it was his imagination. But Jace knew better, Isabelle had yelled, and then been silenced by a hand. Jace launched himself to his feet, not sure what he was going to do, but preparing himself all the same. His fingers just grazed the door when a hand with grip like iron closed on his arm and jerked him to his knees. When he looked up at the man holding him, he felt his mouth go dry.

It was Valentine, and his face was wore the most curious, interested look ever. As if he had just discovered a new species. His eyes raked Jace's face and then dropped to his chest where the gold chain Clary had given him winked out. Slowly, Valentine's lips turned up at the edges.

"So you must be Jace." His gaze drifted up to Jace's eyes lazily. "Did anyone ever tell you that you have the most unique color of eyes? Almost one of a kind."