The leaves fell silently around Clary as she watched Jace walk toward her, his pale blonde hair standing out like gold against the dull mist, It was times like this that made Clary long for her art pencils and something to draw on.

"You called?" he said sitting down on the icy bench beside her, brushing his lips across her cheek, his golden eyes shining like the morning star.

she had been replaying this conversation over in her head all day deciding what to say and finally coming down to "I have to tell you something..important" she knew it wasn't great but it was the best of her options, as the words left her mouth she felt him tense beside her preparing himself, waiting for her to continue.

"The Clave has offered me a mission" she said pausing so he could relax before she continued, he didn't, she finished "In LA" steeling herself for his reaction, he did nothing, she glanced at him and could tell by they way he was tightening every muscle in his face, forcing himself to appear calm, and by the way he was balling his hands into fists that he was trying hard not to snap, they sat in silence neither one of them willing to break it,

"and?" he breathed his voice rising, she chose her next words carefully for she knew they would matter

"After thinking about it, i accepted" and that was it, he lost control and she felt rather than saw him jump up, and then he was kneeling in front of her, his breath hot and fast on her face

"Clary, please think about this, you know the dangers involved and

being so far away i cant help you if something happens, if you-" his

voice broke

"just please think about what your doing."

"I have, and I'm going " he leaned in closer staring into her eyes, she looked into his and thought she caught a glimpse of fear deep down in them, but it was gone as fast as it had come, Jace Herondale was never scared she reminded herself, pushing the thought away feeling nervous.

"No Clary, not without me!"his voice was pleading and for a moment the world stilled, it was just Her and Jace staring into each others eyes both hoping for something the other was unwilling to give, she ripped her gaze away staring at the ground

"Jace please let me do this" she said quietly her eyes still looking down, hoping the ground would open up and swallow her, ending the conversation and pulling her away from the frustrated expression she knew was splayed across Jace's face.

"No, I'm not letting you do this by yourself" he said sounding annoyed like he was telling a child off for doing the same thing a million times, she felt anger bubble up inside her, anger at herself for thinking he would accept this, and anger at him for refusing to.

"I don't need your protection or permission Jace, I'm not a child!, I love you and I'm sorry but I'm accepting this mission weather you want me to or not!" She said sternly, she risked a glance up and immediately felt guilty, the spark in his eyes that she had associated with Jace was gone , replaced by hurt and worry, but she didn't need looking after, she was a shadowhunter and sometimes Jace forgot that, this was just a reminder that she was as strong as he was she told herself as she gently pushed him to the side, got up and fighting back tears and fled until the sound of her name being called was lost on the wind and she disappeared into the mist.

"You know you could just chose one outfit already so we could leave?" Simon pointed out to Izzy, they had only been in the Lorenzo Dress shop for ten minutes and already she had tried on almost everything in it.

"You know, that as long as you keep complaining that's never going to happen" she joked as she appeared from behind the curtain wearing a green cotton dress that hugged her frame tightly, there was amusement in her eyes as she flung her long head of dark hair over her shoulder so that it was no longer obstructing her view of him, making a clear path for the hard glare she threw his way, Simon shuddered as realization dawned on him, he thought out loud "this is payback for the party isn't it?" he sighed, regretting the question after he said it, as she spun around, the full force of her anger weighing down on him, "Might be?"her voice rose to that pitch she used when she was threatening someone and he backed away feeling nervous when she followed, a frightening grin splitting across her face

"seriously Simon, you didn't expect me to forgive you that easily, after you left me ALONE! to explain to Magus and my brother why their apartment looked like a demon had thrown up in it, did you?" she asked in a deadly voice he had no idea she was capable of, he was saved from answering as his phone buzzed repeatedly at his side, he silently thanked the angel but made no move to answer it, he was scared that if he moved Isabelle would lunge on him like he was a hunger demon who had just eaten her whole family.

"you should probably answer that, could be important" she stated nodding her head towards his jacket pocket, he smiled making a mental note to apologize later, before reaching into his pocket for his phone and bringing it to his ear.

"hello?" Isabelle was staring at him, she tapped her foot impatiently three times before poking her tongue out, heading back into the changing room and ripping the curtain shut, no doubt to try on another one of her stunning outfits,

"Oh Simon, I was beginning to think you weren't going to pick up!" it was Jace his voice slightly muffled from the phone but he sounded worried, dread settled itself in his stomach Jace never sounded worried, not unless it was something to do with Clary,

"Jace? whats wrong, is it Clary? is she-"

he was cut off"Shes fine, but she's had another crazy idea of hers and I need you to come talk her out of it."

relief washed over Simon but he couldn't get over the feeling that something was terribly wrong, he froze as Isabelle emerged from the changing room in a pale orange dress, the fabric bringing out the color of her hair and made her black eyes stand out against her pale skin, "Simon?" he remembered Jace was still on the phone and with uncertainty he answered "sure whats does she want to do this time? "

"She wants to go on a mission, alone" Jace said his voice laced with fear and worry, Simon didn't understand why Jace thought this was a crazy idea, Clary went on missions alone all of the time and most of the time Jace didn't care, so what was so bad about this one? "whats so bad about about that?" he echoed his thoughts, dreading the answer, Isabelle was staring at him with interest, obviously wondering what the conversation was about and why Simon was trying do hard to compose himself, Jace's voice sounded over the phone

"its in LA and-" Simon was out the door before he could finish he dropped his phone and quickened his pace, pushing people to the sides as he sprinted up the street, he could hear Izzy calling after him but he felt distant, like everything was very far away, he had only one thought as he ran the entire five blocks to the institute

Clary.