She finally woke up hours later with Jace combing his fingers through her hair. He was flipping through her book with his other hand. At first, Clary didn't disturb him and just remembered her dream and smiled a little. It was much better than the dream she had last night and she wouldn't mind falling back asleep to that kind of dream.
"Afternoon sleeping beauty. How'd you sleep?" Jace asked as he closed her book and set it off to the had noticed her wake up but she looked so blissful so he left her to her thoughts for a moment as he finished looking through her sketchbook.
"Good," Clary answered as she sat up.
"I'm taking it you didn't sleep a lot last night. The amount of drawings in your book has almost doubled. Although I am flattered that most of them are me." Jace did look worried.
"I had a nightmare and couldn't fall back to sleep," Clary said as she tried her best to reassure him.
"Do you want to talk to me about it?" Jace was curious as to what would make her stay up all night and not wake him.
"I had been in a flower field playing with some people and then the next thing I knew I was in my bed back home. I heard someone ranting and my door flew open. A man approached me with an ax in his hand. I begged him not to but he said it was for my safety. The last thing I remember was apologizing to someone who wasn't even there." Clary looked so scared and weak.
"That sounds awful. I'm so sorry. If you have trouble sleeping tonight feel free to wake me up." Jace hugged her while rubbing her back. Had she seen his face she would have noticed the look of pure rage but behind that was a deep sadness.
"I hope you don't mind but I cleaned you up," Jace said as she noticed she was no longer in her bathing suit and smelled of strawberries and cream.
"Thank you. What time is it?" Clary's stomach was obviously empty with all the embarrassing noises it was making. She barely ate any of the sandwiches from this afternoon.
"An hour before dinner. Magnus is probably in the kitchen now," Jace answered " Let's head to the kitchen. He might let you snack on something." Clary took notice that she was naked. She looked at Jace but he just winked. She noticed that some cotton shorts and a tank top were on their bed. She grabbed them and put them on before walking with him.
"Hey, Magnus. Sleeping beauty finally woke up." Jace went over to help with dinner.
"How'd you sleep biscuit?" Magnus asked as stirred some noodles in a pot.
"Good," Clary said as she passed some red sauce to Jace.
"Well, that's good. We are having spaghetti tonight. A word of advice for you. When it comes to cooking any food do not let Izzy or Alec make anything. They are horrendous at cooking and will likely poison you. Jace and I are the only ones you can rely on to not kill you." Magnus was glad that Clary was more comfortable around him and the others.
A week passed while Clary was at the mansion and it hadn't even felt like a week. It had felt like 2 days at best and she was just having so much fun with everyone. Simon had called a few times but every time someone else answered her phone. During this week she had been given a large canvas and the colors that Alec and Magnus had selected. She had only painted about half of it at best. She didn't work every day and finally got Alec to have lunch with her by himself. Alec wasn't nearly as cold and mean-looking as she first thought. He cared about keeping his loved ones safe and even was a bit sassy with her.
Magnus had been checking on her when she was painting and had only complimented her. The art they wanted was so complex and beautiful; as if they had captured all their lives in one moment. She had wanted to keep drawing until her arms fell off but Izzy dragged her away saying breaks were necessary. She would have spent another week there but she didn't wish to intrude. She had everyone's number on her phone and would most likely come to their house a lot more.
She hadn't been feeling very well for a couple of days now and not wishing to make them worry she wanted to go back to her apartment. Some days she had headaches that made it hard to even stand and other days it felt like her whole body was underwater. She had tried convincing herself that she was just homesick at first but the pain had never been this bad. She even bought medicine in secret hoping it would go away in a few days but it never did. They had all put up with her for so long and she didn't wish to trouble them any longer.
"I'll come back sometime next week to continue working on the painting but I have to get some of my class stuff done," Clary wasn't completely lying when she said that.
"Fine but if you are not back next week I will find you and drag you back here." Izzy was not kidding and it made Clary laugh a little. She regretted laughing as it actually hurt a little to do so. She had wanted to leave sooner but she allowed herself to be persuaded to stay a bit longer. However, she knew she probably wouldn't last for much longer and wanted to pass out on her bed.
"I'll be back by..." Clary had felt dizzy and had to support herself against the wall.
"Clary?" Jace was at her side in a second with everyone suddenly looking a little nervous.
"I'm fine. I just…" Clary had felt the darkness approaching, she had tried to push it away. However, she had succumbed to it and she collapsed into Jace's worried arms.
"It's okay. When you wake up you'll understand." Jace sounded sad and so distant. Clary had felt like she was in a nightmare. Jace and she were sitting in what looked to be a dungeon. The same man that had killed her in her other dream came down the stairs.
"I'm sorry Clarissa but I can't let you be with this thing." The man approached her and wrapped his hands around her throat. She couldn't breathe and she could hear Jace screaming and thrashing in his chair. Her vision began to blur and she wasn't sure when but the man had stopped strangling her. Her vision cleared and she saw Jace ripping off her restraint. He then apologized for breaking a promise to her and killed the man.
He picked her up and took her out of the castle, where she saw Alec, Izzy, and Magnus getting out of a carriage. She was put in the carriage and slowly drifted off to sleep but it wasn't that she fell asleep. It seemed the man had a contingency plan in case they got away. Because when she woke the next time she knew this was a different time and place than the previous place. He had to have used a poison of some sort on her somehow in case she got away and the last thing she could hear Jace crying and begging her to wake up and to not go.
When she woke the next time she was walking up some wooden stairs. There she saw a hanging rope and in the crowd, she saw them again. Jace was being held back by Alec and Magnus while Izzy tried to comfort him." She smiled at them before mouthing sorry in their language. She could see his tear streaming down his face and knew he would break her promise again. She didn't blame him and simply hoped he would have patience. Just as the doors below opened she woke up in another place and time again.
So many lifetimes passed her in a moment and all of them ended with an angry and sad Jace. There was one where her father had left her in the woods to be feasted on by wolves. She hadn't even met Jace in this lifetime and her father had killed her at such a young age. Another lifetime she had killed Jace with her own hands after her father brainwashed her. She remembered seeing him smiling up at her as he turned to ash. He didn't blame her and Clary had practically begged whatever god would listen to bring him back to her.
In that lifetime she had killed her father with no regret or remorse. She felt the burning rage inside her as her father laughed at her despair. She had soon after found her family and they waited for Jace together. It was torture waiting for him to be reborn and remember her. She had met him when he was acting as a soldier on the enemy's side. She had acted as if she was a slave and got close to him. He thought her to be a spy and that was fine with her as long as he didn't leave her sight. When he was on the battlefield she kept a close eye on him without letting people know she was there.
She saw her father and how he had an arrow trained on her beloved. He hadn't remembered her quite yet but that was fine with her. She was just happy she got to see him and talk to him about anything. She took a deep breath before standing in front of the arrow that had truly been meant for her. She knew her father well enough to know this arrow was always intended for her. She felt it pierce her heart and saw the look of absolute surprise on Jace's face at the time. He took her back to camp and laid her on his bed trying to save her. He didn't know why he felt the need to save her but he did.
She remembered hanging around him soon after her death and saw the way he reacted to her body turning to ash. He couldn't understand that humans were not the only creatures on this planet. She had watched him for a couple more days and then watched him faint in his bed. When he woke up he looked to be staring straight at her even though she had nobody. He finally remembered her and she felt her heart skip a beat regardless that she was long since dead.
The worst death that she had ever experienced was one that she never shared with anyone. She hadn't even told Jace but she knew that he somehow figured it out. She had been out in the daylight as a recently turned vampire without the family for the first time in months. It was supposed to be an easy day with just grabbing some blood and then going back home. However, she should have known that something was up when Valentine hadn't attacked them in months.
She had been attacked from behind and bound by some unknown assailants. Her phone and bag had been lost in the scuffle and she couldn't see them when they put her in the van and shut the door. She had tried escaping her restraints but whatever they were was sapping her strength. She had been thrown into a torture room and strapped to a chair with the same kind of restraints. Valentine had casually approached her with a smile that said he loved her but she wasn't going to fall for that. He started talking to her but she kept her mouth shut and simply hoped he killed her soon.
When he finally gave up on trying to win her over with his dad's routine he started talking down to her as if she was an insect. He kept asking her where her family was located and how they could walk in the sun. She kept her lips shut tight and said nothing for the first day that was all he did. The second day he started actually torturing her every time she didn't answer. The third day he only asked her once but still, she simply smiled at him and said she would never sell out her true family. Valentine took that more personally than she thought as he stopped being nearly as gentle with the torture.
By the fifth day of it all, she could hear yelling upstairs and some people running around. Valentine had been with her at the time and seemed rather annoyed at the disturbance. It seemed her family had shown up and he wasn't about to give her back. He killed her where she sat and escaped through a secret door leaving his men to die. He had to leave his journal of the torture there unfortunately for him. When Jace and the rest finally got downstairs they saw ash in the chair and knew they were too late. Alec had the pleasure of finding the journal but refused to read it. They were well aware of what the journal contained but Jace pushed himself a step further and read it.
His face looked so devastated with each page he read and no matter how many times they tried to take it from him they wouldn't let him. He destroyed every inch of Valentines' hideout and every home he ever had in any lifetime. When he finally got his hands on Valentine he made that man scream in agonizing pain. Valentine kept pushing Jace reminding him that Clary never once gave up hope. She smiled at him every time she was asked their location and that his daughter may be a monster but she was stronger than he thought.
Jace had made sure that man would regret every time he ever hurt his beautiful red-haired goddess. He hadn't just stopped after 5 days either and continued for a month. His brother tried to make him stop but Jace never once even looked back at his brother as he continued torturing this man. Eventually, Alec couldn't take it anymore and ripped Valentine's head off without blinking an eye. He was aware of what he had done to her but this wouldn't have been what Clary wanted. Jace looked absolutely livid but he simply left the house before burning it down.
Alec couldn't understand his pain since he had only died a handful of times and Magnus always found him the second he was old enough. Izzy was the closest as she had many past loves in her life had had to watch all of them die to never come back. The only one that ever came back took forever to start a relationship with her. However, she still couldn't fully understand his pain. She had been the one to eventually snap Jace out of his comatose state and push him to find her again.
Although she didn't find that out till much later in time, she forgave him and moved on with it. She awoke one morning and there was Jace beside her, it looked to be his room in the mansion. Years seemed to pass in seconds as she remembered that he had bitten her. He had turned her soon after she remembered who he was and it was the longest amount of time to ever pass. She had then been in the city when her father found her. She knew better this time and called Jace as she entered a coffee shop.
"Clary where are you?" He sounded groggy. Clary steeled herself and began speaking very slow and clearly.
"I can't tell you that. I'm sorry my love but he found me. I love you and I hope we meet again soon." She hung up as she heard Jace start breaking things. She sent a message to Magnus saying 'I love all of you. Please keep Jace from hurting himself.'. She then destroyed the phone and made sure there was no way to get any information from it. He wouldn't find her family through her. She knew he would torture her if he caught her so she did the next best thing. Valentine had followed her out of the coffee shop's back entrance. She hid in the shadows as he exited.
"Come now, Clarissa. You should understand I can't let those things roam this earth." Valentine approached her.
"I'm sorry that you see it that way." Clary knew she wouldn't be able to kill him so she then opened a vile with holy water and drank it. In seconds she was turned to ash as Valentine rushed to stop her. He would be livid with her in the next life but for the moment she was happy that her family wasn't in danger. It seemed that her father had continued killing her in every life to assure that they couldn't get her. Now she knew why she couldn't turn Jace away no matter what.