Dinner had been an embarrassing affair. Will made it that way almost effortlessly with his never ending stream of crude comments and interesting innuendos. Clary remained quiet after Will described the way Jace was staring at her. She was embarrassed, and felt something flutter in her stomach that she hadn't felt before.

She just listened to Jace and Will bantering back and forth, Jem, and Jon would occasionally joke around with them, squashing their egos and generally seeming to have a pretty good time. Izzy and Simon were explaining different terms that Will and Jace were throwing out into the open, such as who Woosley Scott, who had kept Jordan and Maia out longer than the rest, was, and who Raphael was. It turned out that she was in a realm full of monsters.

While Isabelle assured Clary that she was one hundred percent human, and that there were only two at the table who weren't, she was still uneasy. There was only so much a person could process at one time, and Clary had managed to over step that limit by a mile.

I've went through some kind of Narnian door and into a strange place full of werewolves, vampires, and warlocks. Said strange place, Alicante, might possibly end up being driven to a civil war because of one man. My father, who, before he was captured, arranged for me to be married to my childhood tormentor, turned possible friend, Jace Wayland! No she corrected her self wryly, Herondale

The only thing she wanted to know was if anyone else from the 'mundane' realm that was presented with the information, which could be proven true, would have lost their mind. Then again, another, probably better question, was when did she lose hers.

Her eyes flickered over to Jace, who was laughing at something Will said, and she silently decided that she lost her mind the day that he walked into her life. He'd most likely stolen it from her, and she was oddly okay with it.

His eyes strayed toward her, and he held her gaze for just a moment. His smiled died slightly, and Clary felt guilt beginning to claw at her insides yet again. She was a terrible person.

She sighed quietly as she, Isabelle, and Tessa walked down the hallway together toward the bedroom wing of the institute. The guys had stuck around in the dining room to compare testosterone levels and whatnot.

Tessa was talking about different shops that were located near the institute. They had plenty of clothing stores, and, according to Tessa, despite being in a different dimension, the fashion choices were fairly similar. Clary was relieved, she didn't know if she could handle strange robes or dresses that she always associated with the idea of different realms. Watching Thor, Narina and several nerdy SciFi movies had done that to her.

The group of girls came up to a two way turn on the hallway. Tessa turned left, and said, "The pool's on the right, by the way."

Clary raised an eyebrow, but remained silent otherwise.

The hallway was a long and had to have had twenty rooms on either side. "You guys can pick from just about any room," she said. "Will's got the one on the end, and mine and Jem's are on either side of his. Jessamine's is the first one on the hall, since she loathes most of us."

"She likes to shop," Isabelle said, as if that made up for it.

"Shopping isn't everything," Clary reminded her patiently.

"I know," Isabelle agreed. "It's just nice to know someone else who enjoys it too."

Clary rolled her eyes and asked the question that had been on her mind since dinner. "Is Jace still mad at me?"

Both girls shared a look as if agreeing on information that Clary was not in on.

"I don't really think that he was mad," Izzy said after a moment. "I think he was more hurt than anything."

"He doesn't even like me," Clary said. "I imagine he's just as upset by it."

"Are you upset by the fact that you were supposed to marry Jace, or are you upset by the fact that you were being forced to marry?" Tessa questioned.

"What do you mean 'were'?" Clary questioned. "Is the wedding still not-"

"It's your choice completely," Izzy assured her. "You,don't ever have to get married."

"Then why was it even mentioned?" Clary questioned. "Why is it such a big deal?"

Both girls looked at each other once again, this time it was an uneasy look that was mirrored on both their faces, as they were arguing over which one was supposed to answer.

Tessa seemed to lose the silent argument as they got toward the end of the hall. She leaned against the last door on he right, and sighed. "If you don't marry Jace," she replied slowly, as if trying to figure out the proper way to word the answer, "There will be...indecision about who will take the throne."

"What do you mean?" Clary questioned.

"The Morgensterns, other than Valentine, are an old and well respected family, and the Herondales are too," she explained. "The country doesn't really trust any child of Valentine, but since two Herondales have been murdered on the throne, thanks to Valentine, they want a union of the two as a way to prevent further bloodshed."

"And if there isn't?" Clary questioned, her arms crossed.

"Then it is unlikely that either family will take the throne, which may not seem like a big deal to you," Tessa answered, "but it means that a new family must come into power. This will likely result in a civil war for the title."

Clary groaned, "That isn't a choice. It's either I marry Jace, or people lose their lives."

"You never really answered the question," Izzy prompted, "are you upset by the fact that it's Jace, or because you don't want to be forced to marry anyone."

"I'm sixteen!" Clary said. "I'm too young to get married. I've never even dated anyone, my first kiss was this morning, and now, all of a sudden, I'm being informed that I'm engaged!"

Both girls regarded her for a second before they began smiling. "So it isn't the fact that it's Jace," Tessa said slowly, almost sounding relieved. "We can deal with that!"

"What-"

"You don't have to get married until you're eighteen," Tessa said. "That's when you'll inherit the throne. Will is...not quite king, but he's controlling everything until you both turn eighteen."

"Did these people know where I was?" Clary questioned. "Is that why no rioting has happened?"

"They knew that you were in hiding from Valentine," Izzy answered. "Not where. Jace too."

Clary sighed, feeling incredibly exhausted. "I-I need to sleep on this."

Both girls nodded in understanding as she walked to the door that was beside Tessa's room. "Good night, Clary," they said.

She was awakened by Sophie the next morning. The servant girl had a duffle bag filled with, what Clary imagined, her clothes. "Your mother got here last night, Ms. Fairchild."

Clary blinked, "What?"

"Jocelyn Fairchild is your mother, right?" Sophie questioned.

"Jocelyn Fray is," she replied.

"That was the name she used in the mundane world," Sophie explained helpfully. "Is that what you would prefer to be called?"

"Just call me Clary," she replied.

Sophie looked at her for a moment, and Clary realized that she was most likely going to have the time of her life trying to convince the servants to be on a first name basis with her.

Sophie walked out of the room, favoring Clary with a small smile before she went.

Clary hurriedly unzipped the black duffle bag and grabbed the first pair of jean and suitable top she could get her hands on. Her mother had quite a few questions to answer.

No waiting for Sunday, lolita is fandom crazy! :)

: I'm glad everything's going good, and I'm happy that you're back! :)

And to JaceHerondale17, all Herondales are too sexy to not have tension! Lol.

I hope you enjoyed and leave a review on the way out, because you're ALL so awesome!