What? I'm back with a new chapter after just a few hours?! Well, the truth is it took me almost a week to post it here after I posted it on ao3, so chapter two was already finished. Yes, I'm super lazy, I confess. But hey, you got two chapters in a day, so why complain? Anyway, sorry.

I hope you like it, I changed some of the backstory and some other stuff, but hey, that's what fanfiction is for, right?

Anyway, I'll let you get to the actual fic now. Enjoy!

Magnus had been in Idris for five days, and other then that first day everything had gone smoothly. He hadn't seen Jace again, and he'd already made some friends! He'd seen Catarina again two days after they'd first met, and now they were meeting regularly. If you could call it that after they'd known each other for less then a week.

Magnus also considered Clary a friend, although they'd only talked twice. Magnus saw her around in the castle when he had stuff to deliver there.

He was getting used to working for Luke. Mostly he just had to deliver medications or get ingredients, but it was fun. He got to explore the city, both inside and outside the walls. Luke had sent his mother a letter, to let her know he had arrived safely. He avoided telling her about the incident with Jace though, which Magnus was very grateful for.

Right now Magnus was on his way to the castle again, some knight needed some painkillers after getting hurt during sword practice. The knight didn't live in the castle but had agreed to meet Magnus there. Clary had shown Magnus another way into the castle, so he didn't need to pass the training knights. He hoped to avoid Jace, and any other royal ass, this way. This way was slightly longer, but Magnus didn't mind, he liked walking through the streets, the markets. Until he spotted Jace ahead of him that was.

Magnus was already turning around, but Jace had seen him. "Have you learned how to walk on your knees yet?" He said mockingly. Magnus tried to walk past him, he didn't want another fight. "No, don't walk away! What, are you scared?" Magnus couldn't get into another fight. No .

"Of you?" But he really couldn't do nothing. "I've already told you you're an ass, I just didn't know you were a royal one," Magnus said.

"Yeah? Well, now you do. What're you gonna do about it?"

"I don't know, I have a few appealing ideas," Magnus was already thinking of all the things he could do without even lifting a finger. Screw the death penalty. Jace however just chuckled. He obviously didn't see Magnus as a threat.

"I could take you apart with one blow," He said.

"I could take you apart with less," Magnus mumbled.

"That didn't go so well for you last time, did it?" Jace laughed. "But we'll make it fair this time," Jace signaled to a knight behind him and the knight handed him two flails. He threw one at Magnus, and Magnus barely caught it.

Magnus had never used a flail before. The only weapon he'd used before was a dagger, and it hadn't been in a fight. But he wasn't backing down.

"I'm warning you, I've been training to kill since birth."

"Yeah? Well, how long have you been training to be a brat?"

"You can't talk to me like that!"

"Oh, sorry. How long have you been training to be a brat, sire?" Magnus had barely gotten those words out before Jace swung his flail, the ball heading straight towards Magnus' head. Magnus ducked quickly and avoided it by a few inches. Once he stood safely again he tried to swing his own at Jace's legs, but he didn't have much control of it and Jace avoided it easily. There was a crowd gathering around them, it wasn't every day you saw the prince fighting someone in the middle of a market. Magnus hated that, he had no idea how to fight and now he also had so many people watching.

He was driven back by Jace, but soon he would hit a wall or a booth, and he wouldn't have anywhere to go. Would Jace really kill him, or just throw him in jail again? Goddamnit, he'd promised Luke to stay out of trouble.

Magnus had to do something, he couldn't lose this fight. He looked around at his surroundings, what could he use? There, a discarded rope on the ground. No one would notice if he just raised it a little bit from the ground, just enough to make Jace trip. Magnus had barely had the thought before it happened. This could actually work. While Jace was out of focus Magnus looked around for the next thing he could use as he threw a blow at Jace. He missed by barely an inch.

By the time Jace had gotten up again, Magnus had moved a box, just a little bit, to lay in Jace's way. It wasn't a big hindrance, but it was something. This is actually going pretty well, Magnus thought. He immediately took it back as Jace's spiked ball missed his face by inches. Magnus tried to swing his again, but it got stuck in something hanging down from one of the booths, and Magnus had to leave it to avoid Jace's next blow. He took two quick steps back, and now it was Magnus' time to stumble as he fell into a haystack.

Magnus saw Jace's triumphant look, he thought he'd won. No, it's not that easy. There were a few chains hanging just a little bit away from where Jace was swinging his flail. The chains tangled themselves around the weapon, and while Jace was trying to get it out Magnus got up from the haystack and got his own flail free from where it had been stuck. Now he had the upper hand. He swung his flail at Jace again, and now he was driving Jace backward. He moved an empty bucket and Jace fell backwards.

Magnus had pretty much won now, right? Jace was down, and he wasn't making any move to get up. Magnus looked out on the crowd, there were people there cheering for him like this was all a game. But he saw a familiar face. Luke. Luke and his disappointed look. He wanted to go to him, say sorry, promise he wasn't going to do it again. And he would have, if it wasn't for Jace who hadn't given up yet. While Magnus was distracted he'd gotten up and snuck up behind him, and now it was no challenge to take Magnus down.

"Cheater," Magnus said from where Jace had thrown him to the ground. Not that he had any right, he had been using magic through the entire fight.

"Idiot," Jace replied. He was already calling on the guards again. They were going to take him. Again. God, how could he have been so stupid? Again.

"Wait!" A voice said. A voice Magnus hadn't heard before.

"What now, Alec?" Jace asked a tall, dark and handsome man. Very handsome. But Magnus couldn't think about that now.

"Are you really going to do this again, Jace?" The man, Alec, asked. "No, go away," He told the guards approaching Magnus. Why did they listen to him, who was he?

"Come on, Alec! Why are you protecting him? He's an idiot." Wait, Alec? As in Alexander? As in the future king?

"Yeah, he is. But he's a brave one. And Luke needs him. Also, you see how throwing him in prison worked out last time, so why do it again?"

"I can't believe this!" Jace exclaimed before storming away. At the same time, Alexander approached Magnus. The future king. Was approaching Magnus. And Magnus was staring.

"Hey, um, are you alright?" Alexander asked. He gave Magnus a hand that Magnus gladly took and pulled him up.

"Uh, yeah. Thank you." Magnus said. "Sire," He added quickly as he remembered who he was talking to. Who's hand he was still holding even though he really didn't have to.

"No, no, don't call me that. Alec is fine," Alec said with a smile.

"Erm…. If you insist" said Magnus and smiled slightly. He realized that he was still holding his hand and he knew he should let go, but he didn't want to. Just for a few more seconds. He looked into Alec's eyes. They were a beautiful shadow of hazel, and Magnus thought he could stare at them forever without getting tired.

The moment was interrupted by Luke's sharp voice. "Magnus!" Magnus looked away from Alec's eyes and quickly let go of his hand.

"Y- yes?" Magnus said, slightly scared. He knew Luke wasn't mean, but he was mad. Magnus had disappointed him, and there would be some kind of consequences, he was sure of it.

"Come on, we're going home," Luke said, not leaving any room for discussion. Magnus gave Alec an apologetic look before going after Luke.
"I'm sorry. It wasn-"

"I don't want to hear it!" said Luke and interrupted Magnus's apology. "Twice, in less than a week! I don't care who started it, or what he said or did. What if someone saw that you were using magic?"

"How did you know?"

"Because I saw it! What if someone else was paying attention? Buckets don't move by themselves, Magnus. I want you to promise me that you're never going to use magic, ever again."

"I can't promise you that," Magnus said. He didn't beat around the bush, didn't think it through. He couldn't do that, he just couldn't.

"You have to! Everyone manages to live their life without magic, you can too."

"No, you don't understand! I was moving things with my mind before I could walk. My magic is the only thing I know will always be there, it's the only thing I can really rely on, it's a part of me! If I can't use magic then I might as well die." Magnus realized just then that it was true. All the times he'd told himself he didn't need the magic, that he wasn't going to use it, he knew it wasn't true. Using magic was like breathing, and if he stopped using it, it would be like stop using a fully functional arm or a leg. And Magnus would rather die than stop using the only thing that felt right. Luke seemed to have been rendered speechless. He was looking at Magnus with a look he couldn't quite place, was it worry? Sorrow? Whatever it was Magnus couldn't stand to look at it. He turned around and went to his room, closing the door behind him.

He lay down in his bed, he didn't have much else to do. He thought about reading a book, but he didn't find the energy to. He must have fallen asleep, cause the next thing he remembered Luke was shaking him awake.

"Sit up," Luke said, "We have to clean those wounds before you get an infection," Luke had brought a cloth and a small bucket of water, along with a few vials. "Take your shirt off,"

It went pretty quickly. Magnus had actually avoided seriously getting hurt, just a few scrapes and cuts here and there. Most of them were on his back, from where Jace had repeatedly thrown him onto the ground. Magnus didn't say a single word as Luke did his work. Only when Luke was done and on his way out did Magnus speak up.

"Why am I like this?" He asked. "Why do I have this power? Why me?" Luke looked at Magnus with a sad look.

"I don't know." He said. "But I know that nothing happens without a reason. This magic, whatever it is, it's part of your destiny."

"I don't want this destiny! I just want to live my life without the constant fear that I might get executed for doing something as natural to me as breathing. I don't want any of this."

"You can't choose your fate, Magnus."

"Luke," Magnus said, ignoring Luke's words. "Do you think I'm a monster?"

"What! Of course not," Luke exclaimed. "You're different, Magnus. And maybe not the best kind of different in your situation, but don't ever think you're a monster. You are meant for great things, Magnus. Good things. I can feel it." It was silent for a while as none of them said anything. "Go to sleep now, it's getting late,"

This man was such an idiot, thought Alec as he looked after Luke and the boy following him. But such a handsome idiot. Alec knew it was stupid of him to think that but he couldn't help himself. He watched them for as long as he could before he decided to go back to the castle.

There had been people watching. Alec had only realized that after they both were long gone. There had been people watching when Alec helped him up, held his hand and stared into his eyes until Luke had interrupted them. What was it he had called the boy again? Marius, no. Marcus? No, it wasn't that either. Magnus! So that was his name, Magnus. Alec liked the sound of it, it was a beautiful name. Beautiful name for a beautiful person, his brain supplied. Stop it, he shot back at himself.

Here he was, again. Roaming through the hallways thinking about him. Magnus. Maybe he should order something from the medic and hope that Magnus would deliver it? What could he possibly need, what would be believable? Maybe he could just go there one day, ask for Izzy's sleeping potion, say she was out. And hope Magnus was there.

This was ridiculous, how could Alec be so smitten after half a conversation? And a lot of admiring from afar. And how could he even be thinking about meeting Magnus again? He should be staying as far away from him as possible, to make sure he didn't do anything he might regret. Or at least not anything his father might not like. Like having a crush on a boy. But he was already guilty of that if he was being honest.

"Alec! Where have you been all day?" Izzy's voice shook him out of his thoughts.

"Nowhere," Alec said, "I've just been… you know… hanging around,"

"Hanging around?" Izzy raised an eyebrow at him. "Since when do you hang around ?"

"I also spent some time training, and I went to a meeting," Alec added, he tried to think of everything he'd done that day that didn't include Magnus. Izzy looked doubtfully at him before breaking into a grin.

"Okay, who is it?"

"Who is what?" Alec said innocently. He knew there was no point, Izzy wouldn't let it go, but he really didn't want to talk about it. Especially not in the hallways where anyone could overhear them.

"Drop the act, Alec. Tell me!"

"Okay, okay! But not here. Come," he said and pulled her with him to his chambers. No one would interrupt them there. Izzy sat down on his bed and looked excitedly at him.

"So, who is she?" She asked.

"It's not a-"

"Alec! You said you would tell me,"

"Yeah, well you're gonna have to listen," Alec said slightly annoyed.

"But you were saying it wasn't anyone," Izzy accused him.

"No, Izzy, listen," Alec took a deep breath. "It's not no one, but it… it's not a she," he mumbled. Izzy looked confused for a few seconds before it dawned on her.

"Is it… is it a he?" She asked. Alec nodded slowly and looked away. He wasn't sure how she would react, and he didn't want to know what he would see if he looked into her eyes. Isabelle didn't say anything, but she stood up. For a second Alec thought she was going to leave, but then she embraced him in a hug, and he sighed in relief.

"So that's why you don't want to marry any of the princesses father introduces you to!" Izzy said when she pulled away. Alec chuckled.

"Yeah," he mumbled and then sighed. "More or less… I mean I know I have to marry one eventually, but… I can't get …. him out of my mind, and I think it's driving me crazy"

"Who is he? Your boyfriend? Do I know him?"

"No no no, he's not, and you don't know him. I… He just moved here less than a week ago. I haven't even had a proper conversation with him! I don't know why I'm feeling like this, it's stupid."

"It's not stupid, Alec. Don't ever say that. You're having feelings, you're being human, there's nothing stupid about that."

"But I don't even know him. I only know his name because I heard Luke call for him,"

"Do you believe in love at first sight, Alec?"

"Do you?"

"No, not love. But feelings, attraction, curiosity, want, I believe in those at first sight. And… I also believe in fate, and that everything will work out like it's supposed to,"

"So… what you're saying is, if it's meant to be it'll happen?" Alec questioned.

"No, I'm saying that if that's what you want, then go for it. And if it's not meant to be, you'll at least have given it a shot." Alec smiled down at Isabelle.

"When did you get so wise?"

"I've always been this wise," she answered playfully. "Now you better do something about that boy, or I'll come and kick your ass."

"I can't Izzy. He's a guy and father would kill me if he found out," he told her.

"Who cares about dad! This is your life, Alec, you can't let someone else control it. But if you're really scared you can just keep it a secret until you're ready,"

"But what if he's not… you know… like- like me?"

"Gay?" Alec winced at the word.

"Yeah," he said.

"Well, you won't know until you ask him." She made it seem so easy, was it really just like she said?

"It is much harder than it seems when you say it,"

"That's normal, Alec. You're scared, it's natural. You just have to go on in spite of it, be brave. I know you can,"

"You have too much faith in me,"

"And you don't have nearly enough," She replied. Just then there was a knock on the door.

"Are you in there, Sire?" A voice said. One of the servants.

"Yes, what is it?"

"Your father has requested your presence in a meeting," Alec looked down at Isabelle.

"Sorry," he said, "duty calls." Their conversation was not over, Alec knew that. Izzy would not give him peace before he did something about Magnus. But Alec needed to think, alone. And this meeting would be a good excuse to do so, as he usually didn't participate a lot anyway, no one would notice if he was buried deep in his thoughts.

Morning came around a lot quicker than Magnus would have liked it to. He felt like he'd barely slept a minute. But the sun was shining in through the window, and the smell of breakfast was coming from the door.

Magnus got dressed and went to see if he could help with anything before he was sent away with whatever it was he had to deliver today. "Hey," he said to Luke.

"Hey," Luke said back. He sat down at the table and Magnus did the same. "I've rescheduled your meeting with sir Elemar. You'll be meeting him at the castle later today to give him the painkillers. Please don't get into trouble today," Magnus nodded but didn't say anything. He was buried deep in his thoughts, and only spoke up when they were both almost done eating.

"Why was magic banned?" He asked. Luke froze in the middle of a movement. He got a thoughtful look on his face, and he didn't say anything for a while.

"20 years ago, before you were born, there was a war raging. The war had already been going on for two decades. It wasn't even a proper war, it wasn't one side against the other. It was everyone against everyone. And magic, people used it for awful things. Torture, murder, kidnapping, the people back then crossed every line there was to cross. The power of magic drove some of them insane, good people did bad things. Robert was king at the time, but he had no power. His hand were tied, he couldn't do anything without risking himself, his son, or his wife." Luke got a sad look on his face. "After the war had been going on for over twenty years Robert finally had enough. He asked me to take Maryse and Alexander out of the city, out of the kingdom, that's when I met your mother. Then, Robert set down his laws. Magic was banned, the dragons were killed, and so was anyone who used magic. It worked, the kingdom became peaceful. When I returned with Alec and Maryse everything was different. The streets were calm, the people were safe. Robert did a good thing when he banished magic, even if it doesn't feel like it."

"But didn't the queen die?"

"She did, she was killed a few years later by a wizard, desperate for revenge after his own wife was executed." A few more silent minutes passed.

"What did you say about dragons?" Magnus asked after he'd gone through the whole story in his head.

"They were killed. All except one, who was locked down in a cave to stand as an example."
"But why did he kill the dragons?" Magnus wondered. Luke looked at Magnus carefully, like he was scared he might say something wrong.

"There are some people, they're called dragonlords. It is said that dragonlords are the descendants of Asmodeus, one of the prince's of hell, and that the power is passed down by the generations. Dragonlords have the ability to talk to dragons, summon them, control them. But a dragon being controlled by a human is like a torch being controlled by an ant. It's playing with fire, and it gets out of control before you've even started. The city you know today is completely different from what it was 20 years ago. Only two of the towers remain from that time. So Robert had the dragons killed, he blamed them just as much as he blamed the dragonlords."

"That's awful," Magnus said. He could imagine the city burning, dragons terrorizing people, warlocks, wizards, and magicians putting up curses. It sounded like a nightmare. Maybe king Robert hadn't been so wrong about banning magic. But that was twenty years ago, right? Things were different now. Magnus told Luke so.

"That's easy for you to say, Magnus. You were born after the war was over, and far away from where it took place. Maybe things change, maybe people are better now, but that doesn't change what had happened. Maybe when Alexander becomes king he will change the rules, he was just an infant in the time of the war, but Robert isn't gonna change. He's bearing too many painful memories for that."

"What about you? You don't seem to mind my magic, but you were alive at the time too, right?"

"I was. But I knew magic before the war. What wonders magic could do. Robert, he only really encountered magic during the war, only saw the horror and fear it could induce." Luke said. "But enough about that, you need to go if you're gonna meet sir Elemar in time."

The meeting had been boring but luckily for Alec it had been over soon and after a quick bath he had gone to bed. He woke up a few times in the middle of the night because of his dreams and he cursed every time but in the end he did get enough sleep to survive the next day, which arrived way too early. But maybe he would see Magnus again.

That was the thought that finally drove Alec out of bed. He was probably gonna be late for breakfast, but he was sure no one would mind, he would just grab some leftovers from the kitchen. No one would even notice he hadn't been there.

Except for Izzy, who pretty much attacked Alec after he turned a corner. "Where were you?" She asked.

"I was sleeping…" Alec answered.

"You slept in? Since when do you sleep in? Were you out tonight? Did you go see him?"

"By the angel, Izzy, no! I didn't go anywhere, I just didn't sleep very well tonight. I was thinking."

"About him?"

"Do you really need to ask that?" Magnus was all Alec thought about. "I was gonna get some food down at the kitchen, wanna come with me?" Alec said, changing the subject completely. Izzy took the hint.

"Sure. I don't have anything else to do anyway," she said. They walked in silence, neither of them could think of anything to say. Until Izzy remembered the banquet.

"It's tomorrow, Alec! And I haven't picked a dress yet! You have to help me with it later."

"I thought that was Clary's job," Alec said.

"No, her job is to help me get dressed. Helping me decide what to get dressed in is her being a friend. But I let her take the day off today. She's having some family trouble, and I can manage a day without her around. So that leaves you to help me."

"I guess I don't really have a choice, do I?"

"Nope,"

"That's what I thought," God, this was going to be a long day.

Magnus did make it in time to give sir Elemar the painkillers and then left the palace to head back to Luke. He passed a lot of servants on his way who all looked very busy. Magnus wondered what was going on that caused so much action. He decided to ask Luke when he got back.

"Magnus! There you are, I need you to go get me some herbs from Catarina," Luke said as soon as Magnus stepped through the door.

"Catarina? Why would she have herbs?" Catarina had never mentioned that she worked with medicine, only that her father was a blacksmith.

"Her mother plants the herbs I need, and Catarina said she could give you some if you passed by there,"

"Oh," was all Magnus said as Luke handed him a list. "Can I ask you something?"

"Of course, what is it?"

"What's going on in the castle? Everyone seemed really busy," Magnus asked.

"Right! The banquet, I had almost forgotten."
"What banquet?"

"The king is holding a banquet to honor a singer that's coming, Mrs. Alina Dark. Well, that's the official reason but the truth is that he is trying to set his son up with some princess."

"I can't imagine who'd possibly want to marry Jace," Magnus snorted.

"Not Jace, Alexander,"

"He's trying to find Alec a wife?" Magnus hadn't meant to say that out loud.

"Yes, is that a problem?" Luke asked suspiciously.

"N- no. Not at all. I was just… surprised," the truth was Magnus hadn't managed to stop thinking about the future king ever since their small interaction. There had been lots of other things on his mind, but Alexander always made his way to the spotlight. But of course he was marrying a girl. He was the future king, and he was straight, there was no point in even thinking about him.

"Speaking of the banquet, you're gonna have to be there."

"Me? Why?"

"Because Robert invited me, and you. And you don't say no to the king." The king had invited Magnus? How did he even know about him? Except for that fact that he'd tried to punch his son…

"Is Jace gonna be there?" Magnus asked anxiously. He was trying to avoid Jace, to not get into another fight. But if Jace was there and they made a scene at the banquet… Well, that would certainly be embarrassing and should be avoided at more or less all costs.

"He will. But he's not gonna do anything, not in the castle. But I'll be keeping an eye on both of you anyway." Weirdly enough, that made Magnus feel safer. "Now, about those herbs, I would like them today,"

"Right! Yes, sorry. I'm going,"

"Hurry up!" Magnus could hear Luke laughing as he hurried out of the house, on his way to Catarina's.

"This one is really nice," said Alec when Izzy move out from behind the folding screen in a light blue dress.

"You've said the exact same thing about the last three dresses, Alec. I need your help. Which one is the best?" she asked.

"I don't know! You look good in all of them. The first one was a bit too revealing though, so not that one."

"Really, Alec?"

"You asked for my opinion!" Izzy huffed and went to change dress again. Alec had lost count of the amount of dresses she had tried, he didn't know how someone could even have that many dresses. Or why.

"What about this one?" Izzy asked as she stepped out again.

"Looks good,"

"Yes, I know that, but does it look better or worse than the last ones?" Alec made an exasperated sigh.

"Better, I guess," the dress was beautiful. It was long, down to her ankles, so Alec didn't have to worry about that. It was a dark purple color, which brought out Izzy's dark eyes. The sleeves ended just below her elbow, and the sleams were rimmed with gold. The v-neck wasn't too revealing, so it was ok for boys to be around her.

"You know what, that one is perfect, wear that one," Alec said before she had the chance to try another one. This one was beautiful, not too revealing, and it suited her. Also, Alec was tired of giving advice on something he knew nothing about.

"Are you sure? I have a few more I can try on…"

"Really, Izzy. I'm not just saying this because I'm tired of watching you try on dresses," although that is one of the reasons, "you really look good in this one. I think you should wear it."

"Okay, I guess it's been settled then, now what about you?"

"Me? I was just going to wear my usual…"

"Alec! Those silly royal clothes and a cape? You can't wear that to every happening!"

"Why not?"

"Because they don't look good, Alec. You helped me choose my clothes, so now I'll help you choose yours."

"It's fine, Izzy, I really don't need your help-"

"You don't have a choice," Izzy interrupted. "Come on, let's go," she was already pulling him along to his own room. She made a disappointed sound when she opened his wardrobe. "The only thing with color here is your cape!" She exclaimed.

"What do you have against black?

"Nothing! I love black, but not just black."

"Well, I only have black, so you're gonna have to deal with it. Or you could just let me pick…?"

"Hah, good try. I guess I'm gonna have to work with what I have, then. But you're definitely wearing the cape, we need some color." Izzy started looking around in the closet, mumbling things to herself. "Not this, no, no no no. Definitely not this. God, is this even a shirt? It looks like a dead raccoon." Alec wasn't expecting her to find anything she might like in there, he didn't have any clothes that agreed with her style. "One would think you would have more space for clothes in here after you came out," Izzy said jokingly. Alec chuckled.

"Sorry to disappoint," he said.

"Wait, what are these?" Izzy asked suddenly, noticing something at the very bottom of the closet. She pulled out a pair of pants. Tight leather pants. Alec had used them once and then hidden them away.

"No. I'm not wearing that in front of people."

"But Alec! They're perfect! Please, for me?" Oh God, those puppy eyes. Alec couldn't resist them, he knew there was no point in even trying. But he did anyway.

"Fine," he eventually said with a sigh. He still wasn't convinced but when Izzy insisted on something and gave him that look, he almost always gave in.

"Yes! Thank you. Now, a shirt." By the angel, Alec wasn't going to survive the next day.

Magnus had been told pretty clearly that he could absolutely not wear day to day clothes to the banquet. Magnus had protested that he didn't have anything else to wear, and just a few hours later Luke had arrived with clothes for Magnus. Formal clothes, the kind of clothes you wear when you're going to the king's banquet.

"Where did you get those?" Magnus asked.

"An old friend of mine has her nephew staying over. He's about the same size as you, so I asked if I could borrow some clothes."

"And she just gave them to you? These are some good clothes,"

"She's a really good friend. Now get ready, the banquet is in two hours!" so Magnus went to get ready. The clothes mostly fitted, the sleeves were too short and the pants a little tight, but all in all they fitted.

They still had over an hour to burn when he was done, so he and Luke sat down and talked. Magnus liked talking to Luke. He wasn't sure if he viewed Luke as a friend or as a father figure, but either way, he enjoyed spending time with him, talking to him. Luke knew so much! He had the answer to almost every question Magnus had ever asked himself. Except for the ones he wanted answered the most. But Magnus couldn't blame Luke for that. No one knew the answers to those questions.

"Magnus?"

"Hm, yeah. I'm listening."

"You're clearly not. I said we're going. The banquet starts soon," Luke opened the door and motioned for Magnus to hurry. Magnus followed him out and stayed close by as Luke made his way to the castle. Magnus had gotten pretty good at navigating through the many floors and hallways on the few days he'd been there, but the room they were going to now was new, and Magnus wanted to make sure he didn't get lost. When they reached the ballroom Magnus was speechless, it was huge and beautifully decorated. There were two enormous tables there filled with food, and one smaller table standing on a small podium, in front of four big chairs. Magnus assumed that was where the king and his children would sit. Alexander, Jace, and Isabelle.

Magnus realized he hadn't met Isabelle yet, not even seen her. He wondered if he would meet her here. And if he would see Alexander again, those hazel eyes and that beautiful body. He momentarily forgot about the man of his dreams as he heard a familiar voice.

"Hey, Magnus!" He turned around.

"Clary, hi!" He said.

"Magnus, I have to introduce you to my friend, Simon," she said, waving a boy over to them, "Magnus, this is Simon. Simon, Magnus," Clary introduced them.

"Hi Simon," Magnus said.

"It's you!" Was Simon's reply. Magnus frowned.

"Umm, what?"

"You're that guy, from five days ago! You stood up to Jace."

"Uh, yeah. That was me." Magnus looked closer at the guy. Did he know him from somewhere?

"You probably don't remember, but I'm the guy you pretty much saved from a painful death," so that was why his face seemed familiar! Magnus had been a little too busy with Jace to look at anyone else, but now that he mentioned it he did recognize Simon. "Thank you,"

"You-you're welcome," Magnus said awkwardly. He wasn't expecting this.

"Anyway," Clary said, breaking the awkward silence, "there's something over here you have to try, Magnus. These cookies are the best in the entire kingdom…"

Alec was staring. He admitted it. He was sitting in a corner of the room, and Magnus had just entered.

Alec had not been aware that Magnus was going to be at the banquet, and he had not prepared himself. In his defense, Magnus was wearing clothes that did not look like they were his. The pants were tight, by the angel, they clung to his skin perfectly. And the shirt, it didn't leave much to the imagination.

Alec followed the boy with his eyes, watched as he talked to Clary and then Simon, and even though Alec was in love with his face he totally did not complain when he turned around to follow Clary and Simon to one of the tables.

Alec took a glass from one of the servants passing around with them and downed it in one go. He didn't stop to check what it was, but it burned. That was good, Alec needed a distraction, or he wasn't going to survive the night.

"What's going on, brother?" Izzy asked lightly as she sat down beside him. Alec shook himself out of it and gave his now empty glass to another bypassing servant.

"Nothing, just sitting here. Trying to avoid everyone so no one sees me in these clothes," Alec said, referring to the tight leather pants and the two open buttons on his shirt. Izzy had forbidden him from closing them, and Alec didn't want to disappoint her.

"No, that's not it. You looked like you were drooling and then you emptied an entire glass of champagne in one go. What is it?" Alec's eyes flashed over to where Magnus was now eating cookies while talking to Clary. Izzy followed his eyes.

"Oh my god, is that him?!" Izzy asked excitedly when her eyes landed on Magnus.

"Do you mind saying that a little louder? I don't think he heard you," Alec said with an eye roll, despite the blush on his face.

"He is hot," Izzy said.

"Yeah, tell me about it." Alec sighed.

"You should go talk to him!" She said like it was obvious.

"Here? With all these people here?"

"Yes."
"But anyone could see. And I would make a fool of myself."

"What makes you think that?"

"What exactly would I say? 'Hey, we haven't really talked except for that one time I held your hand and stared into your eyes for way longer than necessary, but I like you. You can't say anything to anyone though, cause I'm not out yet and my father would kill me if he knew. But hey, you do want to go out with me?'"

"Oh, don't be so dramatic! Just ask him about some normal stuff, why he moved here or something like that."

"Yeah, no. Maybe later," Alec said.

"You are so stubborn…" the rest of Izzy's sentence was interrupted by their father approaching them with a woman by his side.

"Great," Alec mumbled. The last thing he needed now was his father trying to get him a wife.

"Alexander," Robert said as he was within hearing range. "May I introduce you to Kaelie Whitewillow, representative of the Seelie Realm." Alec stood up to greet her, as he always did. He plastered a fake smile on his face and said in the sweetest voice he could muster,

"Lovely to meet you, Mrs. Whitewillow," Alec took her hand in his and kissed her knuckles softly. A routine embedded into his mind ever since his father started looking for a wife for him. That was all those princesses were to Alec, routines. Meet, flirt, chat, part ways, go drown in self-pity. They were also a reminder. Never letting Alec forget about what he had to do, what was expected of him.

"I'll leave you two alone then. Walk with me, Isabelle. Will you?" Robert asked. Izzy mouthed a "sorry" at Alec before going with him. Alec looked over at Kaelie and forced himself to smile.

"I'm gonna be very honest with you right now," Kaelie said as soon as Robert and Izzy were out of hearing range. "I have no interest in getting married to you, I'm just here because the queen sent me, and honestly, I think I would prefer your brother." Alec had heard that the people from the Seelie Realm didn't lie, but he had not expected this.

"Oh," Alec said, surprised. "Good, then I won't have to pretend. I'm sorry about my father, he's desperate to get me a wife." Alec took two more glasses from a servant passing with a tray and offered one to Kaelie. She took it gladly.

"I understand. How about we save both of us the pain of acting and just part ways immediately?" Kaelie suggested.

"Good idea," Alec agreed. This was new. Never in his years of meeting women had this ever happened. Not that he was complaining, as soon as Kaelie was out of view he sat down again and started searching for Magnus. He was standing by another table now, talking to a woman Alec knew from somewhere. The blacksmith's daughter! That's who she was. They seemed to be good friends if the way they were talking to each other was anything to go by. Maybe even more than friends, a voice inside Alec's head said.

"Shut up," he told to himself.

"Can I have everyone's attention please!" Robert's voice came from where he was standing on the podium. The room fell silent. "If everyone could take a seat, Mrs. Alina Dark will be making her appearance soon," He said before he sat down on his big throne. Alec had to sit on the chair next to him. In front of everyone. He would have to walk over there and sit down while everyone's eyes were on him. Well, better get it over with, he thought as he stood up slowly. He was so happy Izzy had him wear the cape, at least that way no one could see anything from behind.

Alec noticed Magnus sitting by Luke's side, at the very end of the table. Close to where Alec would be sitting. God, it would be a victory just to get his eyes off him. Magnus looked up, and Alec found himself frozen as he was staring right into his eyes. He looked away quickly and shook himself out of it. There are people watching, for god's sake! Alec could not freeze because someone looked at him. He was the future king, eye contact shouldn't affect him like this. Alec kept walking, he looked straight ahead of himself and when he got to his chair he sat down without looking at anyone.

He did his best to not look at Magnus, but honestly, he only managed a minute before his eyes went there. He realized Magnus had been staring at him, but he looked away when Alec looked at him. How long had he been staring? Was it possible that he…? No, Alec discarded the thought immediately.

Magnus looked up again, and this time Alec didn't look away. He met Magnus' eyes, those deep brown eyes that Alec could stare into forever. Alec had been attracted to people before, but never like this. Alec felt like he had a connection with Magnus, like they'd known each other for months, or even years. Alec was attracted to Magnus, not just sexually, but in every single way he didn't know was possible. It was like… like what Izzy had said, fate. But fate had interrupted Alec from a chance to speak with Magnus thrice, so there were some mixed signals.

Alec realized he was still looking into Magnus' eyes and looked away. He shouldn't be looking at any man like that, especially with so many people around and his father sitting right by his side.

Just then Mrs. Dark finally came into the room. She looked right at Alec, and she smiled. It was just a flirtatious smile, but Alec couldn't help feeling uneasy, like something about her was wrong. He shrugged the feeling off. She was just an ordinary woman, like everyone else.

She started singing, and Alec had to admit that she did have a beautiful voice. Her song didn't have any lyrics, at least not in a language Alec understood. Alec started to feel sleepy, his brain was filled with mush. Surely, there would be no problem if he just laid his head down on the table and slept for a little bit…

Magnus had felt like something was wrong as soon as the woman started singing, but he discarded the thought and instead thought back on what had happened mere seconds ago.

The prince, Alexander Lightwood, had looked at him, had caught Magnus staring, and then he had stared back! And when Magnus looked up again their eyes had met, and Magnus has stared shamelessly at him, and he hadn't looked away. And just when Magnus thought he would have to look away from the intensity of it all Alexander looked away, and a second later Mrs. Dark had made her appearance.

Magnus looked up at Alexander now, expected to see him smiling at Mrs. Dark, or at least enjoying the music. Instead he saw him sleeping, like he had just passed out. Hadn't anyone noticed? Magnus looked around himself and was hit by a wave of panic. Everyone around him was asleep. Luke, Catarina, people Magnus didn't know, everyone was sleeping.

Magnus looked over at Mrs. Dark. She seemed to be glowing, a red energy surrounded her body, it gave Magnus chills. On an instinct Magnus stood up. First he was scared she would notice, but then he saw that her eyes were fixated on Alexander.

As Magnus watched she pulled a dagger out from the sleeve of her dress. By the angel, what was she doing? She was going to kill him, she was going to kill Alec. No. Magnus had to do something. What could he do? Mrs. Dark was coming closer and closer to Alexander, there was a chandelier right over her head. Now! Magnus felt that rush he always felt when he used magic, and then the chandelier was falling, and the woman was being crushed under it.

As soon as she stopped singing people started to stir and wake up. Alexander was one of the first ones, and when he saw Mrs. Dark lying under the chandelier he stood up immediately, probably worried for her. But then she started to change, her beautiful body turned into something monstrous, something Magnus would have been happy to go his entire life without seeing. It looked like… like a demon. Alexander seemed to be frozen in place too, along with anyone else who had laid eyes on the thing in front of them. The thing that apparently wasn't dead. With what looked like a big effort, the thing got up enough to raise it's hand back and-

Time seemed to be going in slow motion for Magnus. He saw the dagger flying towards the prince, and before he could think he was running towards him. He felt the dagger graze his hair as he threw himself on Alec, knocking them both to the ground. The dagger was sticking out of the chair, where Alec's heart had been just a millisecond ago.

And now Alec was lying under him, a position Magnus had imagined so many times, but in such a different setting. Just thinking about it made Magnus blush, and he quickly got off the prince. "Sorry," he said, his voice cracked slightly. Alec seemed to be dazed, he was looking between Magnus, the dagger, and the thing that had been a woman like he couldn't quite process what was happening. But Magnus's apology seemed to bring him out of his haze.

"What? What are you apologizing for? You just saved my life," Alec exclaimed. Now that Magnus had a good look at him he could see that the two top buttons of his shirt were unbuttoned, giving Magnus a small peak to his wonderful chest… God, Magnus. Stop! Magnus scolded himself.

"You saved my boy's life!" The king said from where he was now standing. "You must be rewarded"

"Oh, no, it's really not necessary…" Magnus started.

"Don't be a fool! My debt to you must be paid back."

"Well, I mean, if you insist…"

"Absolutely. You shall be rewarded with a position at the court. You will be prince Alexander's private servant," What?! How was that a reward? Magnus was going to have to spend all his time around Alec? Did he have a say in this?

"Oh, I- I'm honored, but Luke…" Magnus started, but suddenly Luke was right by his side.

"Oh, don't worry about me Magnus, I'll manage," He said. And Magnus couldn't refuse the king, could he? And he would get to spend most of his time around Alec, but would that really be a good thing? He would be torturing himself, constantly around the person he so desperately wanted, knowing fully well he would never have him.

The king must have taken his silence as an agreement. "Good! I guess I'll be seeing more of you then," he said.

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