The prison consisted in a warren of small rooms, all of them crudely built into the stone and the thick webs of thorns. The air was dank and heavily stagnant due to the lack of circulation and the narrow corridor along which the cells were positioned was scarcely lit under the small flame of the torch hung on the pillar next to the cell in front of theirs. The green flames cast a sickly light on the otherwise gray surrounding, making the place look like a terribly beautiful scenery straight out of a fairytale book.
Clary slumped back against the furthest wall from the massive tangle of thorns that served as door, and gathered her legs against her chest, tiredly resting her forehead against her knees. She had no idea how long she and Jace had been held prisoner, there were no windows to see the rise and fall of the Sun and the visits they got from the guard who brought them food were sporadic and irregular. It was even harder to guess how long they had been gone since their mission started, time ran differently in Faerieland and week here could mean a year in their world. Her thoughts immediately ran to Simon and her mother and Luke. She hoped that they were fine, not too worried about her well being.
"Hey," she felt Jace's large hand brush her hair away from her neck, the comforting warmth of his body next to hers, "Are you okay?"
No, she wasn't fine at all. Clary could feel her heart beating in her throat, could almost taste the sour taste of fear for the uncertainty of their future – of her future - on her tongue, and she was sure that her face was pallid and clammy.
"I've been better," she replied weakly, twisting her head towards him.
His hair were ruffled ridiculously now that they had grown longer and were lacking of their usual care and his golden eyes, bright even in the darkness of their cell, were still clouded by sleep, but they held a hint of concern.
"It's fine really," she rushed to say, "I'm just feeling a little weak. It's been a while since the guard stopped by to bring us food."
Jace slid his hand down her back rubbing slow circles over the thin material of her gear. "Do you want to sleep for a while? I can give you the change for lookout."
"No, it hasn't been that much since you fell asleep."
"Alright then," he lifted himself up from the pile of shabby blankets they used as bed and crawled into one corner of the cell, where he had tossed carelessly the jacket of his own gear. She could faintly make out the outline of his hunched back as he rummaged through the cloth.
There was a square of white cloth bundled in his hands as he slid back to her, settling down in front of her with his back turned to the entrance. Jace set it down between their crossed legs and undid the knot that held it closed.
Clary felt her eyes widen as they took in the contents. It wasn't much, but given the circumstances it seemed like the most precious of treasures. A single red apple, a slice of cheese and a small chunk of bread that was probably several days old. Her stomach gave a loud rumble of appreciation for the sight.
"The lady is served," he announced with a flourish of his hand.
"Where did you take all of this?" she asked with a laugh of disbelief.
He shrugged and ran a hand through his hair. "Just leftovers from our last meal."
Jace smiled, his teeth a flash of white, and pulled out his witchlight from his pocket. Under the white-silver light of the stone Clary took the small pocket knife that was the only kind of weapon they had left since both hers and Jace's blades had been sequestered upon their imprisonment. She cut the bread in half and then spread the soft cheese over the two slices.
Everything would be perfect if this really was a holiday, if all of this whole trip was just a way to spend time with Jace surrounded by tiny pink and purple-winged faeries and vividly-flowers and bathing in pools of crystal clear water without a care in the world.
Jace moved next to her, sitting with his back propped up against the cold stone wall while Clary reached out and grabbed the apple and sank her teeth into its side, wiping at the drop of juice that dribbled down her chin with the back of her hand. "Here, have a bite," she handed him the fruit as she settled back next to him, snuggling into his side and resting her head against his shoulder.
Clary's body ached with the need to rest, yet her mind begged her to keep active, to burn the anxiety right out. In the few hours of rest she had managed to cut for herself the previous night, she must have woken up at least three times. Not for that long each time, just a few minutes where she'd snap her eyes open on the cold floor of the cell, shivering and shaken, but long enough to break her sleep into un-refreshing chunks.
The few times where she could sleep uninterrupted was when exhausted. When she felt the tiredness in her chest, in how she breathed and her thoughts dragged by in slow motion, she'd slunk to a quiet spot and curl up. And then she wouldn't dream of her death.
It wasn't like getting exhausted was hard either. Despite being locked up into another realm, Clary's mind was being eaten away by anxiety. There was the blight to think of and the warlock growing sicker each passing day and the Faerie courts being at war with each other and now… Ash.
They had found out pretty early on their mission that the Unseelie King had kidnapped the Seelie Queen's son, it was something of an open secret in the Courts. It hadn't occurred to her, not even remotely, that Sebastian might have been the father. Then, the first time Clary saw him - they were captured before even getting closer - but she had known who he was right away. He looked exactly like his father, there was no mistaking him, even from afar.
"What is troubling you?" Jace's voice shook her from her thoughts.
"I was thinking about Ash," she said after a beat of silence. "He's my- my nephew. I mean, my brother was a monster, but he doesn't deserve what is happening to him. He's just a kid, for heaven's sake!" Her eyes stung with unshed tears and her throat felt constricted by an invisible chocking hold.
"Hey," Jace moved to stand on his knees, bending down on her to brush the hair away from her face, "Don't feel bad about not being able to help him. There was very little we could have done."
"Maybe.. maybe we could have tried to do something… anything."
His fingers slid down her cheek and under her chin, lifting her face up towards his. "Then the King or the Riders would have killed us. We were vastly outnumbered."
He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and pulled her close, gently rubbing her arm. Despite the heaviness in her stomach, it fluttered at the feeling of her body pressed against his. She sunk into the warmth of his side, appreciative of the simple gesture. His touch made the room warmer somehow, her future within its walls seeming a little less bleak.
"You know what I was thinking about?" she heard him ask, his voice muffled against her hair.
"That these cells suck and that the Unseelie King needs to invest into a cleaning company?"
"Bacon," he said instead, "That's the first thing I'm gonna get when we get home. A whole platter filled to the brim with a pile of bacon. I'll be sick to death when I'm finished but it'll be worth it."
"I really miss chocolate," she mumbled, her hand sliding inside of his and her fingers toying with his, "The first thing I'm going to do is eat a chocolate cake. A huge one, all by myself."
Jace huffed a laugh above her, she could feel his shoulder shake under her head and his breath puff against the top of her head as he pressed a kiss there. "Seriously? A whole cake for yourself without even sharing a piece?"
She looked at him affronted. "Hell no, if you want cake you are going to get your own."
"I'll give you some of my bacon for a slice," he bargained.
Clary scoffed in mock indignation. "I don't care about bacon. Chocolate all the way."
"You'll see, once we get out of here you'll be begging me for some bacon and then I'll say no," countered Jace self assured as he pinched her sides relentless.
"Stop it!" Clary squealed between laughter, jumping away from his arms, "Stop it, you are tickling me."
Jace moved, a flash of golden in the darkness. Sometimes she was still surprised at how quickly he could move. He pinned her to the floor, his fingers tickling mercilessly at her sides. "Not until you admit defeat."
The sound of her laughter echoed loudly, the only sound in the otherwise silent corridor. Clary whacked him on the arm trying to get him to stop, barely breathing for how hard she was laughing. Tears welled up in her eyes, threatening to spill down pinked cheeks.
Jace braced his weight on his arms and looked down at her as the laughter subsided. She reached up to touch his face and he bent down to meet her touch and kissed her. It was slow and soft, comforting in ways that words would never be. His hand rested below her ear, his thumb caressing her cheek as their breaths mingled. She ran her fingers down his spine, pulling him closer until there was no space left between them and she could feel the beating of his heart against her chest.
When they broke apart for air, Jace rested his forehead against hers, Clary's fingers gently running up and down his spine, coaxing shivers out of him. She watched breathlessly as his eyes studied hers with silent intensity. His warm breath ghosted across her face, his eyes softening with tenderness as he gazed down at her.
"Come on, lift me up the floor is cold," she said quietly, her fingers combing through his hair.
Jace smiled and placed his hands on her hips before rocking back on his heels so he was sitting once again with his back propped up against the wall, with her straddling his lap. "Don't be so sad," he told her, bumping his nose against hers, "Everything will be fine in the end."
"I hope so," she sighed snuggling against his chest.
A comfortable silence stretching between them. They enjoyed the warmth of each other close proximity, rather than the noise of chattering incessantly to busy themselves and easy their worries as they sat against the uncomfortable wall, watching the shadows cast by the flickering flame dance on the floor in front of their eyes.
As minutes ticked by, Clary felt herself slowly dozing off. From a week of barely getting any sleep, she had expected this would start to happen, eventually. As her head lolled forwards onto Jace's shoulder, she felt her eyelids slipping closed, the rest of her slowly leaning into him, her body going limp.
"Tired?" Jace's voice jerked her awake with a start. She rubbed her eyes fiercely, staring up at him wearily.
"Yeah, a little," she admitted stifling a yawn.
He started rubbing her back rhythmically, as she tried to move from his grasp, to draw her consciousness on for as long as possible. "Go on, get some sleep," he smiled at her ruffled expression.
Grumbling under her breath, Clary stood and walked towards the pile of blankets, sprawling messily on top of them. She heard Jace chuckle at her from the other side of the cell but she didn't have enough energy to do anything more than glare at him.
Her mind was already drifting towards unconsciousness when she felt herself being moved around and something lumpy although warm being laid on top of her, momentarily bringing her back to the world.
Her eye creaked open enough to see Jace's blurry figure looming over her.
"You are going to catch a cold if you don't cover yourself properly," he admonished gently as he settled down next to her, resting her head on his lap.
Clary mumbled something unintelligible as she tried to keep her eyes open. But it was so hard, and she was so comfortable. Soon, that was all that she was aware of: the warmth of the blanket around her and the softness of Jace's body under her head. Her eyes soon drifted closed and she was blissfully unaware of what was going on around her. Then it was just her and her dreams and for a few hours the blighted land in Faerie and her visions slipped from her mind.
She dreamed of the comfort of her home, and Jace's loving arms wrapped around her.