Clary was in her room, drawing, or at least attempting to.

On the page was a picture of the raven-haired girl from last night, sitting on a throne made entirely out of human skulls. She was wearing a sleek black dress with a plunging neckline, her chin titled proudly as she looked down on her subjects. At the top of her head sat a crooked crown of old, twisted bones. Regal, powerful and infinitely dangerous, the girl looked like a dark, maleficent queen.

Clary couldn't stop thinking about the events of yesterday but most of all, the image of the girl seemed to have ingrained itself onto her brain. She just couldn't get her features quite right. Her intense dark eyes, the delicate arch of her eyebrows, the long spill of her inky hair, her tall, slender silhouette...

She ripped her headphones off with an exasperated sigh, only to realize the phone was ringing, and probably had been for a while. Clary ran over to the living room, grabbing the antique red phone off its stand as it rang on.

"Hello?" she asked the receiver, twirling the cord nervously around her finger

"Hi, I'm the spooky phantom you saw last night in the storage room, and I was worried I'd given you too much of a scare? So I was hoping I…"

"Very funny, Simon" Clary interrupted him, sighing as she heard his laugh booming from the other end of the line

"I'm a comedic genius, I know"

"Yeah, right" she said, rolling her eyes "You should've seen my mom yesterday. So not funny"

"Why?"

"She freaked out that I was late. Let's just say it wasn't pretty"

"What? It's not our fault we couldn't hail a cab!" Simon said, outraged. He always did have a great sense of family justice, Clary thought to herself.

Various voices could be heard in the background as he spoke to her, shouting and speaking excitedly behind Simon. Wherever he was.

"Yeah, well, she doesn't think that way. I'm a disappointment, her greatest affliction, the bane of her existence, you know the drill..." she trailed off "Anyway, where are you?"

"That sucks, Clary" he said apologetically before perking up again "Oh, we just finished practising. Eric's doing a poetry reading over at Java Jones tonight, want to come?"

"I don't know, my mom's still pretty mad about last night. Not sure I want to piss her off on account of Eric's poetry, you know?"

"Come on, it's not so bad" Simon said "Besides, it's just around the block from your house. I'll pick you up and we'll go together. Your mom won't mind. She loves me"

That made Clary laugh "Sign of her questionable taste, if you ask me"

"I did not" he said pointedly before hanging up

Jocelyn apparently thought it was the perfect time to break the news of their summer plans to Clary, who was obviously not pleased.

"What's up with that?" Simon asked her once they were on their way to the Mexican restaurant they often went to, apparently not having missed the fact that Clary and her mother weren't on the best of terms when he showed up on their doorstep, unknowingly taking Clary out of her misery.

"Say goodbye to my art classes, even though I paid for them" Clary said with an irritated sigh "She's going to exile me for the whole summer for who knows what reason. It wasn't enough to ground me every other week, now she has to do this?"

And she actually expects me to be okay with it?, Clary thought to herself in disbelief.

Simon gave a low whistle after hearing what she had to say."Well, I guess that's how your mom gets sometimes. Though I have to admit, it seems a bit over the top, even for her."

Clary shook her head.

"I just can't believe the way she's being right now"

As if on cue, Clary's phone buzzed with yet another of her mom's calls. It wasn't surprising, after the way she'd stormed out of the house as soon as she'd seen Simon's face, grabbing his hand and hauling him away before Jocelyn even had time to protest.

Clary gave yet another sigh, starting to get real tired of the whole situation and all the drama, as she rummaged through her messenger bag to find the dammed apparatus, scowling at the sight of her mother's name on the screen.

"That your mom?" Simon asked, to which Clary simply nodded in reply "I could tell. Are you going to answer her?"

"Not now" Clary said, only feeling a little guilty about it as she declined the call "I'm sick of fighting with her"

"It's not going to last forever, Clary. I know your mom. She gets like that sometimes but she'll think better of it." Simon's voice was levelly and meant to be reassuring, but the statement only made more doubt grow in Clary's mind.

"Do you, though? Know her, I mean" She said, biting her lip, more to herself than to him "Sometimes I get the feeling that no one really does. Except for Luke, maybe"

Clary's mother had always been a bit eccentric and enigmatic, it was all part of her charm, but everytime she got overprotective like this, Clary couldn't help but wonder if there wasn't a deeper reason behind it, and something she wasn't telling her. The only one who seemed to know her better was Luke, they had like this mutual understanding and sometimes gave each other these looks of silent communication that she had never been able to decipher.

"Uh, you lost me there" said Simon, snapping her out of her thoughts, a quizzical expression on his face

Clary shook her head, realizing he'll probably think she was paranoid when she told him.

"I just don't know that much about her. Her life, her family, she never talks about any of it. She says her life started when she had me, but that just seems weird to me"

"Well, that's sweet. That just means she really loves you. But what's that about Luke?"

"They've known each other for years, so he obviously knows things about her past that I don't" Clary said slowly

"Come on, Clary, your mom isn't Batman or anything." Simon gave a little laugh, like he thought Clary was being ridiculous "I doubt she has this deep, dark past you don't know about. She probably didn't get along with her parents and that's why she doesn't talk about it"

Clary wasn't convinced in the slightest by that statement, but decided she would have to do her own research and just dropped it for now.

"Yeah, I guess" she simply answered him, as they made their way into the restaurant to order their usual meals.

The coffeehouse where Eric's reading was taking place was particularly packed that day, especially for a Monday, all the worn-out couches were occupied by teenagers busy chatting amongst themselves. The strong smell of coffee and clove cigarettes filled the room and made Clary crinkle her nose when she came in through the front door.

Eric was already on stage, looking deeply concentrated with his eyes closed, a microphone in hand, and Clary saw he'd even dyed the tips of his hair pink for the occasion. Behind him Matt was erratically beating a djembe, looking pretty stoned. It was all beyond lame.

Clary tugged on Simon's sleeve, ready to tell him Eric probably wouldn't mind if they both skipped this one.

"No, Clary, we mustn't. I am a man of my word" He theatrically said to her, reading her thoughts and shaking his head for extra dramatism "I'll get us coffee if you find our seats. What do you want?"

Clary gave a big sigh before saying the lamest thing she could think of in the most serious tone possible : "Black, like my soul" to which Simon gave a snort. She found a seat towards the back of the room and waited for her friend to come back. When he did, he was carrying two Styrofoam cups, concentrating on not dropping either of them or burning his fingers.

"Uh, Clary, there's something I need to tell you" he said as he sat beside her, uncharacteristically serious for him

"It's fine if they didn't have any mugs, I don't mind" Clary took the Styrofoam cup out of his hand, blowing on it before taking a boiling-hot sip. The strong bitter taste filled her mouth, with only a hint of sugar at the end, instantly giving her a much needed energy boost.

"No, that's not it. Listen, you know how I'm the only one in our group who doesn't have a girlfriend"

The sudden change of topic took her by surprise.

"You are? What about Eric?"

Simon gave her an impatient look, annoyed she wasn't getting whatever he was trying to say.

"He's dating Sheila, but that's beside the point, okay?"

"Huh, okay. Then why don't you ask Jaida Jones out?" Clary said, not really getting why he seemed so troubled about the whole thing. He and Jaida were friends and Clary was sure she secretly had a thing for him, anyway.

"Because I like someone else" Simon said, practically shaking with nerves

Just what is he so afraid of telling me?, Clary asked herself

"Okay. Do I know them?" She tried to make her voice as steady and reassuring as possible.

Simon gave a small strained laugh before answering "Yeah, I guess you could say that. Listen..."

Behind them someone gave a long, annoyed sigh, interrupting them.

Clary turned around, and on a nearby chair was the girl from yesterday, like an apparition, looking like an annoyed alternative model. She was dressed in a short velvet dress, paired with fishnets tights and chunky black boots, a dark coat draped over the arm of the chair, in what had to be casual wear for her, if yesterday's Victorian gown was anything to go by. Clary actually gasped at the sight of the girl, as lovely and outlandish as ever, and wasn't surprised to see Simon glancing behind them, totally oblivious her presence. In fact, for someone so breath-taking, she wasn't attracting any attention whatsoever.

And Clary was sure she hadn't been there when they came in.

Like an eerie picture of the drawing she'd done this morning, she was sitting like a queen at her throne, her arm resting lazily on the armrest, her chin propped on her hand, her beautiful face titled as she stared directly at Clary and Simon, like they were strange animals at the zoo or insects under a microscope. Clary noticed that same strange knife hanging from a holster at the girl's thigh.

Then the girl got up and started to leave, surprising Clary, gesturing with her hand for her to follow, not even waiting for her answer. That immediately pissed Clary off.

"Clary? Are you okay?" she heard Simon say beside her, looking lost. She felt bad for interrupting him, but whatever it was he wanted to tell her would have to wait

"Sorry, I'll be right back" she said to him, before getting up and hurrying towards the girl, who was already out of sight, a sudden flashback of yesterday's events flashing before her.

Clary hurried, both annoyed at the girl and slightly afraid that she might disappear, but once she reached the door, there she was, her back propped against the wall as she examined her nails, which were surprisingly short, yet still painted a glossy black.

"What took you so long? Quit wasting my time, will you" she said, barely even bothering to glance in Clary's direction

Clary couldn't believe this girl's attitude.

"Seriously? First you follow me around like some stalker and now this is what you have to say for yourself?"

"I wasn't following you because I want to. Obviously." The way she said that was rather insulting, especially since it was accompanied by a sneer.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?" Clary asked with equal snark, rolling her eyes

"I don't care how you feel. I'm supposed to bring you back to the Institute with me. Which is useless, if you ask me. And you made me sit through a pathetic poetry reading, listen to boring mundie talk...Hodge will hear me when I come back."

"That condescending tone of yours is really annoying, you know. Besides, I didn't make you do anything."

"Whatever." the girl said, abruptly grabbing Clary's hand, a bit too forcefully, and flipping it over to look at the back of her hand. She furrowed her brow in frustration.

"You're not left-handed, right?"

"Why does it matter?" Clary said, jerking her hand back from the girl's grip, still surprised at their sudden contact

"Shadowhunters get the Mark when they're born. Not that you would know about it. I kept telling Hodge you're just a mundie with some weird defect, but he wouldn't listen."

Clary chose to ignore the insult

"Then why don't you have the Mark or whatever?" Clary asked her after looking at the back of the girl's bare hands "Aren't you a Shadowhunter?"

The girl scoffed "Of course I am. You would know if you had the Sight, which obviously you don't. You're supposed to concentrate, clear your mind or something. Peel off the glamour. Want to give it a try?"

Clary knew the girl was sure she wouldn't be able to see anything, and was daring her, stretching the back of her hand towards her with a smug expression, which only served to annoy her. Game on, then, Clary thought, concentrating on the girl's bare skin, like she was removing coats of paint from a painting to reveal a hidden picture.

All of a sudden, it flashed in front of her eyes: a black design of an eye sketched across the girl's skin. Clary actually jumped back from surprise, but once she blinked, the image was gone.

"Huh, I guess you do have it." her tone was nonchalant, yet a tinge of surprise was peeking through. For the first time the girl was looking directly at her, her narrowed eyes now studying her, appraising her. Clary tried to return the look levelly, but wasn't sure she was succeeding entirely.

"Is it, like, a tattoo?"

"They're runes. Hurt about as much as a tattoo, I would say." the girl added, looking away from her thoughtfully before adding "They help us in battle. Give us an extra oomph, if you want"

"Battle? You mean for when you're out murdering supernatural creatures?" Clary asked her, not without a healthy dose of sarcasm

That seemed to amuse her.

"You got that right, at least. We don't kill all of them, though. Only the really nasty ones"

How generous of you, Clary thought to herself, mentally rolling her eyes.

"Which ones don't you kill?" she simply said

"Downworlders. We aren't particularly jimmy but we tolerate them." Isabelle said, to which Clary gave a puzzled look "You know vampires, werewolves, the like. Don't you know anything at all?"

There she was again with that 'I'm so much better than you' tone. But Clary didn't have time to be offended again, too busy processing the immensity of what she'd just revealed to her. If vampires and the like, supernatural creatures, merely out of children stories and classic literature were real, then...

It was too much to absorb in too little time, and Clary wasn't even sure what to do with the information. There was something tugging at the back of her mind, something important, like a sliver of a memory or a dream that she just couldn't quite put her finger on. Her mother would say it was her overactive imagination at work again, but somehow she felt like she had known all along that it wasn't just all just stories and fairytales. The problem was that it didn't make much sense.

"You know, you still haven't told you your name" Clary ended up saying, changing the subject

"My name isn't something I hand out to anybody, child."

"Ugh, why are you calling me that? I told you my name is Clary"

"A mundie name for a mundie girl, would you look at that..." she seemed bored, but decided to add, generously "I guess, if you have to know, I'm Isabelle"

Clary had to admit that was a decent name. It seemed ancient and foreign, perfectly fit for someone like her, and rolled off the tongue like a sweet, whispered secret.

Isabelle…

"Anyway, enough with the chit-chatting. Follow me" Isabelle said, already turning away to leave, not waiting for her response, her long hair flowing in the wind behind her like a dark cape.

"You're crazy if you think I'm just going to come with you" Clary said to her, outraged "Ever heard of stranger danger?"

"Then I guess you leave me no choice" Isabelle answered with a shrug, her back still turned away from her, reminding her of what she said to the demon boy the night before, before she whipped out her blade and almost stabbed him in the chest.

Not like that's creepy or anything, Clary thought, subtly taking a step back from the girl.

"Uh, are you actually threatening to kidnap me right now?" Clary said, looking around the deserted alley they were in with disbelief

"If you want to put it like that" Isabelle said, turning back to face her again, a playful smile on her lips "Or did you want me to ask you nicely?"

Clary felt herself blush at the girl's teasing, but tried to not let it affect her.

And just as she was thinking that, her phone started to ring. Isabelle made an annoyed sound as Clary struggled to find it buried deep inside her bag amongst her second sketchpad, her colored pencils and other stuffs. When she finally found it and answered the call, it was on its third ring, and she didn't even bother reading the name on the screen, knowing it had to be her mother.

"Hello?" she asked into the phone, but instead of hearing her mother's characteristically stern tone, Jocelyn seemed outright frantic as she answered.

"Clary? Where are you right now?"

"I was just going to head home, what's going-"

Clary couldn't finish her sentence because her mom exclaimed, interrupting her "No! Don't come home. Listen to me Clarissa, don't you dare come home"

Her mother was practically shouting at her, and Clary had never heard her be this upset. This had to be about something completely different from their earlier fight. She distractedly saw Isabelle uncross her arms in front of her, giving her a puzzled, slightly concerned look.

"Mom? Mom, what's going on, are you okay?" Clary noticed her voice had taken a frantic tone, mirroring her mother's, and felt herself instantly regretting everything she'd said to her a few hours ago.

If she got hurt because of me, because I wasn't there to help her...Clary thought with pure panic, not letting herself finish her thought.

"Clary, promise me you won't come home. Call Luke and tell him that" Her mother's voice cut off and became patchy as static started to overwhelm the audio "Tell him that he's found me"

"Who's found you? Mom?" she shouted into the phone, feeling tears stinging at the back of her eyes "I'm calling the police, okay? Just get out of there right now!"

Object's clattering and falling to the ground with a dull sound and glass breaking could be heard from the speakers, as well as a horrible slithering noise that seemed to etch itself into Clary's brain, chilling her bones.

Jocelyn took a harsh breath before saying, in the calmest voice "I love you, Clary" before the call cut off entirely.

A/N: Thank you for reading!

The ClaryxIsabelle pair dynamics in this fic are really fun to write about, and I have so many cute scene ideas I can't wait to write! Somehow they're starting to feel like a match made in heaven (I love them both so much)!

I'm following a pretty straight line (lol) in terms of canon events in City of Bones, just tweaking certain scenes and events slightly, and plan on featuring all the other characters soon enough, just putting the focus on the Clizzy situation.

The title 'Queen of Darkness' is a goth clothing brand that I really like (but can't afford lolz), and I have the feeling that Isabelle would really suit their style, aside from just loving their stuff and looking like the magnificent goth queen that she is.

To answer you, t1gerl1ly, if you're still reading, I will most definitely make them kiss (and more), I promise *smirks* just not yet, so stay tuned for that!

And thank you to the guest who said they loved it!