Surprise! It's the end of the story... well not really. I'm going to write a couple epilogue chapters but not until next week. Goign on vacation. You know how much I love you guys? My flight is at 5:30 am tomorrow and I'm taking precious sleeping time away just to get this posted. :/ Oh well enjoy! Hope this will last you until the epilogue. It was kind of physically painful to write this chapter and end my story. You know?
Jonathon hears a light tap on the door that pulls him from the warm, pleasant sleep he fell into with his sister tucked under his arm. He is going to skin the servant outside his door if this is anything short of the Gard on fire. Either way he hauls himself out of bed, careful not to disturb his sister and walks over to the door. Clary has him concerned; he can see the loneliness that grips her heart even with him next to her. He's trying to fix it, Angel is he trying, he hates seeing her in pain of any kind but all he can do now is keep her company, now she thinks her family has abandoned her, try to be her family. Try to distract her, love her, he won't ever abandon her, ever. Like their mother when she took that sleeping potion and left her to deal with the new world alone. When that werewolf shoved her away even when she needed him. He'll be her family now and no one can change that.
He pulls open the door, glaring at the offender who woke him from his rather peaceful and pleasant sleep. Ever since he got Clary he hasn't gotten enough of it. Before she came to him he was always plagued with horrible nightmares or left to float in darkness. With Clary he actually dreams now, of her. A lanky, scrawny Shadowhunter stands in the bright hallway. Jonathon doesn't squint against the light but it still hurts slightly coming from a pitch black bedroom.
"What," Jonathon snaps, glaring down at the small, sandy haired man.
"Sir, the Council wanted to call a meeting at your earliest convenience. They want to lay out land claims," the scrawny man says. His voice is steady but his body quivers slightly, seeing Jonathon's annoyance.
"Well tell them my earliest convenience is when I so choose it to be," Jonathon snaps. "Knock on this door again, I will hang you by your toes and watch you…" Jonathon stops his rant as small arms wrap around his waist and Clary's warm cheek rests on his back.
"Don't be mean Jonathon," Clary says drowsily. Jonathon makes sure to block his sister's mostly naked body from the view of this Shadowhunter.
"Angel, go back to bed," Jonathon says his voice softening immediately. She shouldn't be up; she needs the sleep especially after the pain that was evident in her stance last night. It's evident now as Clary grips Jonathon tightly for support. He puts an arm around her waist to further support her body leaning heavily on him.
"In a minute," Clary says still mostly asleep. "Come back later, Sam."
Jonathon is surprised she knows this Shadowhunter's name but then again she knew all the names of the servants at the manor. Sam bows and scurries down the hall. Jonathon closes the door and scoops Clary up before she can collapse, carrying her back to the bed while her head lulls against his chest and she wraps her arms around his neck. Jonathon glances at the clock and the green lights blink 9:14 a.m. They went to bed around five in the morning so they probably won't be getting up until later this evening.
Jonathon slips back into bed and he settles Clary down next to him with her legs entwined with his. Clary goes back to sleep within two minutes and Jonathon stays awake a little longer, trying to sort out what territory he should give to the vampires but lets it slip and he fades back to sleep.
Clary's dreams swirl endlessly. She's running down a long hall chasing after her mother but every time she gets close and she can see a flash of crimson red hair it disappears again. Then she turns a corner and runs into Simon who takes her by the shoulders and says, "I never want to see you again." He dissipates into smoke and the scene changes. She is standing alone in a foggy field and a painful loneliness grips her stomach and she sinks to her knees on the wet grass.
"No one's coming," she whispers. "No one's left." The fog shifts around her and engulfs her. She hears the whispered words, echoing in the fog. "No one."
Clary sits bolt upright with a gasp, looking around into blackness instead of the gray fog. The gray fog gripping her throat and whispering the abandonment of her family. That she is utterly alone… but that's not true she has Jonathon. He won't leave, her brother won't leave her. Looking over at the green clock she sees it blinking 6:49 p.m. She sees that Jonathon removed their crowns from last night and hers lies propped against his own on the nightstand next to the clock. She feels Jonathon's hand run down her back as he sits up and pulls her back into his embrace. He kisses her head, her cheeks, her throat, her jaw, soothing her, whispering, "I'm here Clary. I won't leave."
Clary turns her face into Jonathon and hugs him tightly. "How?" Clary murmurs miserably into him.
"You talk in your sleep, angel," Jonathon says pulling her closer.
"Nice to know," Clary mutters. All drowsiness has worn away, replaced by that terrible knot but Jonathon seems to soothe it as his hands run up and down her body. The knot fades into almost nothingness but still persists at its presence being known. Jonathon kisses her cheek.
"Come on, angel. We have some meetings to attend," he says getting out of bed and gingerly taking her with him. He sets her down on the carpeted floor and keeps an arm on her waist.
"What? About where the vampires get to hunt? I think I'd rather stay in bed." Clary moves back to the bed but Jonathon swings Clary up on his shoulder.
"Not an option little sister. You and I had a good thirteen hours in that bed and all we did was sleep. Besides I have a meeting I think you'll want to attend," Jonathon says carrying her towards the bathroom. He sets her down only to find her glaring at him.
"I don't think there is any meeting I would want to attend," Clary says while stepping into the shower. Jonathon steps in after her, removing her panties and bra and his boxers. "No funny business Jonathon. I just want a shower right now," Clary says dipping her face under the stream of water to wash off her makeup and douse her hair, patiently unbraiding it.
"You're so unfair," Jonathon complains but all he does in response is kiss her cheek and use the second shower head to wash himself off. Clary finishes and steps out, wrapping herself in a towel and walking over to the windows, flinging back the blackout curtains to see the sun setting on the Glass City. Jonathon's dragging her to a meeting, which means she can't visit her family today. Not that they want to see her.
She turns around and makes her way to her closet and pulls on some sweat pants and a sweat shirt knowing full well that she is either going back to bed in a few hours or sitting at boring ass meetings all night. She might as well be comfortable.
Back in the bedroom she sees Jonathon in cotton pants and an Idris sweat shirt. He looks good in a sweat shirt. She can see the hints of muscle outlined under the bulky fabric, the blue of it shimmers under the dying afternoon light. Clary's hair is tied back in a messy bun with stray curls hanging down in her face and Jonathon's hair is tousled which makes him look as though he's a college frat boy woken up from a party, and a very handsome frat boy at that.
"You're very fluffy," Jonathon says taking her hand while handing her a pair of heavy boots that match his.
"So are you. That sweat shirt compliments you," she says putting on the boots. She and Jonathon walk out into the dim hall. His warm fingers are laced with hers and he doesn't seem to be in a hurry so they mosey down the hall in a comfortable silence until they come to a corridor with multiple sets of giant, oaken, double doors. Jonathon stops them in front of the first one on the left.
"This is the meeting hall for you and I'll be down the hall in another one with a bunch of vampires, werewolves, warlocks and maybe some fairies," Jonathon says kissing her forehead. "Guards are stationed inside the room and some will come take up positions, here, outside the doors. I'll probably be a few hours so you can do whatever but you're not allowed to leave the Gard. Understand? The guards have orders not to let you out so don't try and convince them otherwise."
Clary nods, she doesn't really see why she would want to leave the Gard any way. All her family is probably back in New York by now. "See you later then," she says quietly but sends Jonathon down the hall with a smile and pushes open the big doors in front of her. She takes a minute to take in the long wood table in the center of the room with mounted witch light torches along the walls, guards, maybe five or six, stationed along the walls and sitting at the table… her family. Jocelyn and Luke sit next to each other chatting quietly, Simon, Isabelle, Alec, Magnus, sitting down at the side of the table and strangely, Maryse and Robert Lightwood sit a few seats apart from each other. Alec and Magnus look terrible, probably regretting drinking so much wine. Simon is the first one to notice her. He stands and walks over to her, bringing her into an embrace. Clary stands shocked for a moment before hesitantly hugging her friend back.
"Hey," Simon says.
"Hey," Clary says. "What are you doing here; I thought you all would've left by now?"
Simon pulls back. "Without saying good bye first? No way," Simon says smiling.
Goodbye. The word twists her gut and she has to sit down before she falls over from the wave of nausea that sweeps over her. Sitting down, every one's attention is turned towards her and she can feel their eyes burning against her skin. She squirms uncomfortably under their gaze but pulls a smile onto her face.
"So why are you guys here? As in 'in the Gard' here," Clary asks looking at her mother. Her mother's eyes look filled with pain but when Luke grabs her hand that pain immediately disappears to be replaced with happiness. This makes Clary smile, truly. She still hasn't told her what Valentine did. If she should even tell her. He's gone now and it will only hurt her mother more by telling her what he did to Clary.
"Housing arrangements because of that bet you won. For that all of us are happy you're a natural horse woman," Alec says groggily, pinching the bridge of his nose. Magnus waves his hand and two mugs of coffee appear in front of them. They both start sipping at them tentatively.
The bet. They're leaving, leaving her. "Coffee?" Clary says raising an eyebrow, trying to distract her thoughts from the sick knot. "At seven o'clock at night?"
"Oh sorry," Magnus says and waves his hand again, making more cups of coffee appear in front of everyone. Magnus seems out of it. Clary wonders how much wine they had last night. She shrugs anyway and grabs the coffee, seeing as she just woke up herself. In fact all of them seem like they just rolled out of bed.
Clary sinks back into the cushioned chair as Simon settles back in his and grabs a cup of coffee. "What about housing arrangements? Aren't all of you going back to New York?"
Jocelyn speaks up now, gripping a cup of coffee in one hand and Luke's hand in the other. "Of course not! Luke and I are at least staying here, but I don't know about the rest of you. I'm not leaving you, Clary," she says with a worried look on her face.
Clary smiles as the knot lessens, she turns towards Simon and Isabelle. "What about you? Are you going back to see your mom and sister?"
Simon smiles sadly. "No. They're better off without me… but I still talk to my sister," Simon says after a concerned look from Clary. "I'm going to stay with Isabelle now."
"So you guys are officially dating?"
Isabelle nods enthusiastically and takes hold of Simon's hand. "I'm eighteen now so I was thinking we could live here or out in the country, seeing now Downworlders are allowed in Idris. That's one of the reasons we're here. To see which villas or houses are available in Alicante."
As Isabelle says those words one of the guards, Sam, comes forward with a map of the city and sets it in front of Clary.
"That's where I come in," Sam says with a bright smile.
Clary supposes she should introduce him to her family. "Guys this is Sam Highsmith, he's a friend."
"Well, where do you all want to live? I have villas in the inner and outer city, manors from the city border to the edge of Brocilend forest. Some of the major Institutes are willing to take in residences too, mostly in Europe though," Sam says excitedly.
"Um, do you have the Lightwood manor? If it's not destroyed or anything," Izzy says hesitantly.
"Yeah. 'Course. It's yours anyway. Also if you want, you can have a villa in the city to come and visit," Sam responds.
"Sure. That sounds great!" Izzy says.
Sam jots something down and marks something on the map. He sort of reminds Clary of a real estate agent. Clary focuses on Maryse and Robert who are quietly talking over their cups of coffee. They both have scowls on their faces and they seem to be arguing even though their speech is quieted.
"Izzy what about your parents?" Clary asks her friend so only she can hear. Sam's turned to Alec and Magnus and is discussing how they'll be travelling but may come back to a villa in the inner city or Magnus's apartment back in New York.
Izzy's face turns grim and something resembling sadness and anger flashes across her features. "They're getting a divorce. Mom is going to run the New York Institute and dad is going to apply for some other Institute management position," she says curtly.
Clary puts a hand on her friends arm. "Izzy, I'm sorry. Are you okay?"
Izzy wipes her face of imaginary tears. "Fine, I'm just glad I'm old enough I don't have to be forced to choose between who I have to live with. Now I can live with Simon, maybe travel a bit."
"That's great Iz. Where do you think you guys will go first? My brother and I were planning on going to Paris, to the Louvre," Clary says, testing to see Izzy's reaction to the mention of her brother. She's seemed to accept it because her face just lights with excitement.
"Maybe Si and I will meet you there," Izzy says.
Clary smiles back. "That's great."
Alec wonders if she knows. If she knows Jace is dead. His parabatai rune had faded rather painfully almost a week ago. He had been locked in the dungeon at the time when the rune had burned to nothing but a white outline. His screams had echoed throughout the stone walls but no one had heard him. No one had heard his tears and sobs either. His parents had already surrendered and Izzy was in another part of the dungeon being tortured.
Alec looks at Clary now, chatting with his sister. No, she doesn't know. She would be crushed and look as though a weight is settled on her shoulders. Well, it already looks like there is but not the grieving type. He doesn't think he should tell her because it would kill her, kill off the little spark of happiness in her eyes that after so long has finally found its way into her green emeralds. Oddly enough Alec has come to view Clary as a little sister and is every bit as protective of her as he is Izzy. He resolves to spare her the grief and pain. He only hopes she never finds out.
The meeting lasted another hour before Izzy and Simon took off for their villa, Alec and Magnus to the Portal to start travelling, her mother and Luke to their villa and Izzy's parents to where ever they were staying so Maryse could pack and leave by tomorrow morning. It's about eight o'clock as Clary heads back to the room. She can see the guards out of the corner or her eyes.
She walks into the room and grabs a sketch book of her desk and grabs some graphite pencils. She pokes her head out the door and finds the two guards standing on either side of it. She knows both of them. Ry and Roman.
"Ry?" she asks.
Ry is a handsome man in his late, maybe early, twenties with a cap of pitch black hair. He turns to her with a smile and says, "Yes your majesty?"
"Two things," she says sweetly. "Don't call me that and which way to the roof?"
"Yes, Lady Queen," Ry says with a playful smile. Clary sighs in exasperation but says nothing. "The roof is that way," he points towards the left of the hall. "Two rights, a left and then the first spiral staircase."
"And I suppose my brother told you to come with me? Where ever?"
"That he did."
"Well where I'm going isn't 'where ever' it's the roof so you can stay here," Clary says and bolts down the hall taking two rights, a left and the first spiral staircase. She wrenches open the hatch to the roof and quickly locks it from her side. That should give her at least a few minutes of peace while they have to go off and find the key.
She settles herself on the flattest part of the roof, right on the edge and dangles her feet over, placing the sketch book in her lap. She opens to a fresh page and numbly starts to sketch the constellations with the illumination of the Glass City below. She didn't want to lock the guards out, well, yes she did, but she just needs some alone time. Which seems peculiar to her seeing as the knot in her stomach was from loneliness but now that she knows her mother and Luke and friends will occasionally be around gives her peace of mind, knowing she won't have lost all recollections of her old life.
Not that she doesn't like her new life with Jonathon, frankly she likes it better, but she can't completely forget her past. It will leave a big gaping hole in her heart, sixteen years' worth of normal, clumsy, mundane years. Sometimes she's grateful for being brought up in the mundane world, if she hadn't been she wouldn't have met Simon. She absent mindedly sketches Simon into the Glass City on her page.
Up on the pencil Gard she sketches herself, sketching. Then on a second thought sketches Jonathon sitting next to her, both their faces tiny blurs but her brother's body language tells her that he is happy, sitting next to his sister on the roof watching her draw. Something tugs at her and she wishes Jonathon was here now, sitting quietly next to her, watching the stars as she commits them to paper.
She closes the sketch book and lies back on the stone roof, gazing up at the stars for pleasure instead of with an artist's eye. She listens to the silence of the city and the distance hoof beats of Shadowhunters' horses, probably Isabelle riding out to the Lightwood manor. Then the rowdy shouts of some vampires, racing through the streets to the open Portal to go back to their home territory. She hears nothing after the Portal closes, just the slight summer breeze, rustling her hair and moving a strand across her face.
She hears a banging on the hatch door and calls out, "Go away! I'll only be a couple minutes!"
She hears Ry's voice, muffled, "We're not allowed to leave you alone, Lady!"
"What do you think I'm gonna do? Jump off the roof?" Clary calls back.
Silence. No banging, no shouts. She's made her point until she hears Roman's deep voice call up through the wood. "Five minutes, Lady, then we're breaking the wood if you don't come down."
Clary rolls her eyes at this but resumes staring at the stars, swirling on the pitch black-blue midnight canvas sky. She listens to the wind and the city, enjoying the solitude but still wanting her brother next to her. Too fast the five minutes pass and she hears Roman banging on the door again. She sighs and runs a hand through her hair, taking one last look at the sky and stands to walk over to the rattling hatch.
She unlocks it and Roman and Ry come tumbling through onto the roof. Clary holds back a laugh as they shove off each other and stand at attention. Ry gives a lopsided smile and Roman laughs slightly. Clary rather likes these two, they're nice company to keep and they make her laugh. Clary smiles back and steps through the hatch to walk down the spiral staircase.
"Hey Ry, Roman?" Clary calls behind her.
"Yes," they both say.
"Can you guys train with me?"
"'Course."
"Sure."
"Awesome, I need something to tire me out. Let's go."
Clary, Ry and Roman step into the training and Clary, quick as lightning, grabs a knife and spins on Ry. His eyes widen as he pulls out a dagger to deflect the blade with. Roman stands back while Clary weaves and ducks, taking swings at Ry who deflect them until she starts nicking him on his gear and he hasn't laid a finger or blade on her. She can't decide if he's letting her win or if she's really that good.
She wouldn't be surprised after all those lessons with her brother. Clary, after a few minutes, or maybe hours, eventually pins Ry on the ground with her blade to his throat. His handsome face lights in humor and she smiles down at him and says, "I win." She climbs off him and helps him up.
"Your turn Roman." Clary smiles at him and he only smirks in good humor. Roman, unlike Ry is built like a mountain. Maybe in his early thirties where Ry is early twenties, Ry is only as tall as Jonathon where Roman is a few inches taller so he towers above her. She has to crane her neck to look up at his roughly handsome brown eyes, just like his brother's, Ry.
Clary takes a step back as Roman draws a sword. He raises his eyebrows and looks down at her. "You sure little queen?" Roman asks as Clary draws a sword of her own off the wall. She's starting to doubt herself but she swallows and nods her head.
Roman is hesitant at first as he brings his sword down but as soon as Clary shows that she can hold her own and might even beat him he puts on the heat. Clary starts to sweat profusely with every swing of her sword and Roman sweats right along with her. He brings the sword down in an arc but she blocks it and rolls to the side as he swings his leg out to trip her. On the ground she dives for his legs and he goes down on the ground. Before he can regain his posture Clary sits on his chest and holds the sword over his heart, panting heavily and her arms tremble under the weight.
"By the Angel Roman. You are a hard man to take down, I see why my brother put you on my guard," Clary says falling onto the ground next to him, panting. Ry comes up to her and hauls her off the ground while Roman stands himself. Clary hangs the sword back up and looks out the window. The sun is rising.
If she makes it through today she can get back on a regular sleep schedule. She wonders if Jonathon's back from his meetings yet. Clary drags herself back to her room and she tells Ry and Roman to go clean up or at least change but they refuse to leave the door unattended. Clary sighs and opens her door, she sees her brother passed out on the bed. When she drags Ry and Roman in so that they can see she doesn't need them right now, she tells them to go get cleaned up or she will personally shove their asses in her bathroom and lock the door until they're clean.
Ry gives her another lopsided grin and Roman smiles. They cheerily walk out of the room and Clary locks the door after them. She peels off her clothing in the middle of the room and throws them into her laundry chute in the closet. Clary walks back out to find her brother cracking his eyes open and staring at the nice wake up show Clary has accidentally provided for him.
He throws a sleepy smile at her and she grins, winks and clicks her tongue before walking into the bathroom. This time she decides to draw a bath to soak her sore muscles in the sunken bath tub that could easily hold six people comfortably. She dumps a truck load of bubbles into the water and dips herself down into the steaming water. She lets out a sigh as the hot water encircles her muscles and seeps into her skin. She leans her head back against the cushioned headrest on the side of the tub and closes her eyes.
She lets her body soak in the burning water until the water level rises as another body displaces the water. She feels toes entwine with hers under the hot water and a smile creeps across her face. Keeping her eyes closed she reaches her hand across the tub and feels her finger lace with Jonathon's.
"Meetings about land ownership suck," Jonathon says from across the tub.
"I'll bet. When did you get back last night?" Clary says.
"This morning. Few hours before the sun came up. Where were you? I missed my angel in my bed."
"Training with the guards you set on me. I like them but they're rather annoying sometimes, always following me, threatening to break the door if I don't come off the roof. I much rather prefer you around."
Clary's eyes fly open as she's dragged through the water into Jonathon's lap. He has a grin plastered across his face. His arms wrap around her waist and she slips her legs around his waist. Clary grins back as Jonathon says; "Now that is what I like to hear." Jonathon pulls her into a deep kiss, as though he's been starved of her attention. Clary obliges and kisses him back, wrapping her wet hands around the back of his neck and runs them through his hair, dampening it. Jonathon slips his hands down her back to grasp her rear and pull her closer. In the process of doing so he slips himself inside her and she gasps at the surprise intrusion against his mouth.
Jonathon grins and rolls his hips, causing Clary to moan against his lips. Clary can't believe she's actually happy. Her mother and friends close by. Her brother who loves her and cares for her with his entire being all hers. She may have some things to sort through with the whole queen ship but with Jonathon by her side she feels as though she can accomplish anything. Her body arcs into his as her stomach coils and twists with the shudders of her peak. The hot water still soothing her skin as Jonathon soothes her within. He needs her just as much as she needs him. She's his angel and he's her demon. They balance each other. Jonathon moves his mouth down to her throat and nips at the skin. Her hands trail down his sides and come to rest on his abdomen. His beautiful toned abdomen.
It's hard to believe that not a year ago Clary despised her brother and now she was enjoying him in their bathtub. Finally Jonathon is thrown over his edge and moans lustfully against her skin. Still in her, he moves back to her mouth and gives her a long sweet kiss before pulling back the slightest bit and whispering in a husky, heartfelt, desperate voice, "I love you."
Clary sinks into bliss, finally and forever.