Clary POV
Jace drives us for about 15 minutes, and then pulls over at a small building. It looks like a piece of art in itself. The windows all have marble carvings on them, the door is a huge, polished oak slab, the path that leads up to the door is lined with roses of all sorts, and the structure has all kinds of ivy vines growing straight up it. I look around in wonder and face Jace, who is watching my reaction amusedly.
"What is this place?" I ask, amazed. He chuckles.
"If you think that the outside is great, just wait until we get inside." He comments before leading me up the stairs towards the door. "This is the Jardin de Reves, the Garden of Dreams. My father built this place for me when I was little." He pauses to open the door with a large key. "The structure was built on a dream really. My father said that he had a strange dream one night, while I was still a baby, and it led to him building me my own garden." He explains, while ushering me inside.
On the inside, it has a narrow staircase that leads to another door. Jace opens the door, and I gasp at the sight in front of me. The large room is a dome. Its walls are twenty feet tall, covered all the way to the top in greenery and vines, and made of marble. I slowly turn in amazement. Thousands of types of flowers litter the ground, and you have to carefully navigate yourself through the thick. I turn to Jace in awe.
"This place is amazing!" I exclaim, while grabbing his hand and tugging him along. I look around the atrium with wide eyes. He chuckles happily, and leads me over to a large bench in the middle of the room. There is a large fountain in front of it, and it has a beautiful sculpture of herons on top of it. I look closer, and realize that intricate 'H's are carved into the marble. I look at Jace expectantly, and he smiles widely at me.
"The herons are for Herondale. It's part of my family's crest." He pauses, and shows me his hand, where a large ring is placed. It has a large 'H' on it and small detailed herons. I nod for him to continue, and he does. "My family is very big on tradition. That means that every son gets the family ring from their father, and if I had a sister, my mother would've given her a necklace." He reaches into his pocket, and comes out with a small black box. "The necklace could also be given to the son's love." He smiles at me nervously. "It would work the same way for the daughter I suppose, but in my case, it's just me." He hands me the box, and gestures for me to open it. "My mother gave me this when I turned 10. She said, 'If you ever fall in love, give this to the lucky girl. That way she will know that you are completely hers, and she is completely yours'." He smiles at me, and by now I have tears in my eyes. I open the box, and there stands a small locket. It is detailed with a proud 'H' and small herons on the front. Jace grabs my hand and holds it in between the two of his. "I'm giving this to you, because I want you to be completely mine, and vise-versa. It's not a marriage proposal or anything, but more of a promise ring. It's a way of declaring to the world that you're mine, and that I'm yours. So, will you be mine?" he finishes off with a soft smile, and I nod.
"Yes." I simply state, because I'm afraid that I'll start bawling if I speak anymore. He smiles genuinely, and grabs the back of my neck and brings my lips to his. I set down the box with the necklace in it, and wrap my arms around his neck. The kiss isn't hot and heavy, but soft and loving. He gently kisses me for a few moments before drawing back, leaning his forehead against mine, and looking into my eyes.
"I love you." He whispers into the air in between us. I smile brightly up at him, and softly peck him on the lips.
"I love you too." I say, and that's all that Jace needs to hear, before crashing his mouth back on mine.
Eventually we pull apart, slightly out of breath, and he pulls me to him. I snuggle into his chest, and grab the box again. I re-open it and gingerly finger the locket. Jace notices, and chuckles deeply.
"Did you look inside of it?" he asks curiously. I slightly shake my head, and then open it up. On the inside, there are small, delicate words carved into one side of it. They say, 'I'll be yours, and you'll be mine. Forever.' I look up at Jace through my eyelashes and grin.
"I love it." I state factually. He smiles softly at me again, and then pulls me tighter to him.
"I'm glad. I thought that this would be too soon, but then I realized that we have always moved fast." He says, clearly relieved. "Y'know, we're like cars. Sometimes we move slow, and other times we just run through the red light and look around suspiciously to see if any cops are around." He adds as an afterthought, causing me to laugh.
"Yes, because that's what I try to be compared to as. A car." I comment through my giggles. He chuckles with me and then carefully stands up, pulling me along with him. He gently grabs the necklace out of its box, and clasps it onto my neck. "Thank you." I say, and he just smiles at me and kisses me on my forehead. He steps back away from me after a moment, and takes my hand in his.
"Well, shall we go explore?" he asks excitedly. I nod vigorously, and allow him to lead me through the flowers. We wonder through all types of flowers, and then Jace stops me at one type.
"These are called Asiatic lilies." He gently picks one of the orange-ish-red flowers, and hands it to me. "They kind of remind me of you." Noting my quizzical gaze, he continues. "They look soft on the outside, but they fight to live. You're a fighter. Even though you have been through things that most teenagers haven't, you still thrive and live. And you also have a spunky attitude to go with it, so you're like the whole deal all in one." He says seriously, but teasingly at the end. I blush at his compliment, and look closer at the lily. It is completely orange, with red and yellow stripes coming from the middle of the flower onto the petals. It is truly beautiful, I think. Jace then leads us along and points out different flowers along the way.
After about two hours, he takes me back to Headquarters to get my bike and I go home. I quietly walk up the steps, and make my way to my room. I collapse onto my bed, and think about today's events. We have to go back to Paris in two days, Jace loves me, I have a necklace that claims me his, I love him, and he is possibly the best boyfriend anyone can ever ask for. I close my eyes with a slight smile on my face and finally let my brain relax. The last thought that I think before succumbing to darkness is, 'I love you'.
Time Jump
I wake up to a loud beeping. Today is the day before we leave for Paris, and everyone is frantically trying to prepare. Jon and I have to meet everyone down at Headquarters at 12:00, and I have to pack before then. I glance over at my alarm clock, and see that it is 7:00, so I sleepily get out of bed. My feet hit the cold hard wood floor, and I wince. Dammit that's cold! I quickly make my way over to my bathroom, and hurriedly jump in the shower.
As I stand under the steady stream of water, I get lost in my thoughts. Last night I had the worst nightmare. I shake my head trying to forget the dream, but it keeps coming back to me, and I eventually let my brain recap.
(Flashback)
I look towards Hodge, and my eyes widen. In his grip is Jace, unconscious and unmoving. I start towards him, but the guards that surround me hold me back. They chain my wrists behind my back, and force me to watch Jace. Hodge grabs a fistful of Jace's blonde hair, and slams his forehead into the wall. Jace awakens with a pained scream, and frantically looks around for the cause of the sudden pain. When his eyes land on Hodge, he stops struggling and starts trying to do damage. Hodge tsks and drops Jace to the ground like a rag-doll. He weakly tries to get back up on his feet, but Hodge's boot connects with his side before he can. I pull harshly at my restraints, and watch wide-eyed as Hodge pulls out a very large blade.
"Stop! Please!" I cry desperately. Hodge doesn't even spare me a glance as he leans down towards Jace's groaning form. He runs the tip of the knife across Jace's throat, and stops it at his collarbone.
"Why did you love? Haven't you already lost enough, little girl?" he asks me maliciously, before scoring a long cut across Jace's perfect chest. He winces, and tries to cower away to no avail. I whimper from my position across the room and keep on pulling at my chains, unknowingly cutting into my skin. Hodge moves the blade further down Jace's chest, and stops right above where his diaphragm is. He slowly makes a sawing motion, and I scream at him hysterically.
"Stop! Please! He hasn't done anything wrong! Please, stop!" I ramble on, trying to bring his attention away from Jace. He stands up, and slowly walks towards me, only stopping a few feet away.
"Why do you love him? Everything that you have has been destroyed because of love, and yet you still willingly give it to others. I thought that I told you, 'To love is to destroy, and to be loved is to be the one destroyed'." He carefully walks towards me, the already bloody blade pointed in my direction. "Have you learned nothing, little girl? You do not love. Love is a weakness. You could've been great, but you let love get to you. You are weak, and you disgust me." He now stands literally in my face, and the blade is skillfully placed over my jugular. "I should've just killed you all those years ago when I had the chance, but I let you live. And this is how you repay me?" he blindly gestures towards Jace's form, which is now slowly getting up. He has slashes all across his abdomen and a rather large bruise on his temple. He starts towards Hodge, but the guards get him first and hold him back roughly. Hodge, oblivious to Jace, narrows his gaze upon my necklace. "What's this? Herondale? You really fell in love with a Herondale?" he mocks me incredulously. I stiffen when he rips the locket from my neck. "You won't be needing this anymore." He chuckles darkly, and then plunges the blade through my throat. The last thing that I see before everything goes black is Jace's horrified expression.
(End of Flashback)
I woke up after that, feeling frightened and shaky. I had clasped the necklace that Jace gave me tightly, until I fell back asleep. I smile slightly at the memory of the garden and Jace's declaration yesterday. It really still shocks me that he wanted to say the exact same thing as I did. Maybe we are meant to be. Who knows?
I am startled out of my thoughts, once again, by the water turning cold. I tend to do that a lot, I realize while wrapping myself in a towel.
After I am ready, I walk downstairs to get Oli some food. He eagerly eats while I make Jon and I some breakfast. Jon wonders downstairs at around 9:00, and I am just finishing my breakfast. He thanks me before I head upstairs, and then I get to work. I haul out my huge, black suitcase from underneath of my bed, and lay it out on the floor. I walk over to my closet, and start randomly throwing clothing into it. I pack tons of black t-shirts, skinny-jeans, jackets, and underwear. I pack my gear, an extra pair of combat boots, just in case, and my toiletries. When all of that is done, I drag my suitcase down towards the front door. Robert is going to take our luggage for us, because it won't fit on our bikes. Max is also going to be watching Oli for me. I see Jon already loading his suitcase up in Robert's truck, so I go to join him.
Time Jump
When I get to Headquarters, I rush through the large doors with Jon. People are rushing around madly, and some random lady ushers us quickly into the meeting room. Everybody is gathered around the large table, and is looking over what appears to be gadgets. I walk over to Jace, and kiss him on the cheek. He jumps slightly, but smiles widely when he realizes that it's just me. He pulls me back in for a quick kiss, and then turns towards Director Lightwood.
"Agents, today we will be preparing for the mission in Paris. You will have to take new equipment with you, because the Paris Institute will not be providing it. You are basically working out of the New York Headquarters, over in Paris. Nobody is to know of your mission, as always, and for those of you who are new to the Agency, the two agents from Paris will help you translate." As if on cue, the doors to the meeting room open, and Sebastian and Aline walk in, seemingly calm and collected. "Ah, Agents Verlac and Penhallow. Nice of you to join us." They nod their heads at him, and then take their seats. "So, continuing. The new equipment is already lied out on the table. We have provided new earpieces that are invisible to the naked eye, microphones that can simply stick to any surface, panic buttons that are connected to the nearest Institute, electro-magnetic fingerprints; those shock people under your command, and new fie-proof gear." He pauses, and hands each of us a large case. I set mine on the table, and look inside. There are all kinds of new things, like things that can let you breath underwater, to miniature explosives. I sneak a glance at Jace, and smile excitedly. He returns the action with full enthusiasm, before turning back to the Director. "These new weapons are absolutely crucial to the success tour mission." He pauses to pass out folders. "These folders have all of your information in them. Your name changes, your passports, where you're going to stay. All of your new personalities for this mission are written down in here. Do not lose them. Your fake identities are another crucial point to the success of this mission." He stops to take a breath, before continuing. "Now that I have briefed you on your mission, do you have any questions?" he finishes. Everyone is silent for a minute, before Sebastian raises his hand.
"Sir, are we going to have to share hotel rooms?" he asks timidly. The Director nods curtly.
"Yes. The Agency has based your fake identities on your real life relationships. We didn't want any conflicts between your real lives." He explains. Jace smiles at me smugly and grab my hands underneath of the table. I slightly squeeze his hand, and he returns the pressure gratefully. The Director looks around the room before settling his eyes on Maryse, who nods. "Okay, well I guess that that's it. Report to Headquarters at 4:30a.m tomorrow morning, and I will see you off." And with that, he waltzes out of the room, Maryse not far behind. I grab my folder and my case, and then walk out of the room with Jace.
Once we have dropped off our luggage, he walks with me to the parking lot. He stops me right before I get on, and gently grips my waist. He looks down at the locket that rests right below my collarbone, and smiles softly at me.
"I love you." He states plainly, but his eyes say so much more. I smile at him, and bring his mouth down to mine. I slowly kiss him, but he starts kissing me more urgently. I un-hesitantly comply, and soon enough we are full-on making out. I vaguely hear someone clearing their throat behind us, so I slowly pull away. Jon is standing behind Jace, arms crossed and smirk vibrant.
"Why hello, dear sister. Such a wonderful day isn't it?" he asks sarcastically, while jumping onto his bike. I roll my eyes at him, and face Jace again. He looks like he's fighting off a smile but I'll never know because I choose that very moment to quickly kiss him again. I pull away before it can go too far, and grin at him.
"I love you too." I whisper in his ear as I pull away. His eyes brighten, and he steps back so that I can get onto my bike.
"Well, I'll see you tomorrow, Rossa." He states, and with another kiss, he starts towards his truck.
"Bye, Giallo." I call to his receding form, before pulling out of the parking lot and heading home.
Once I get Home, I gather up Oli and bring him over to Max's house. I quickly leave him there, and then go back home to sleep. 4:30 comes fast…..
So, there's another chapter. Sorry for the late upload, again.
Oh, and I don't own The Mortal Instruments…. Or Jace…. Cassandra Clare does. I forgot to put that on here before.
Thanks for the positive feedback. :)
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