Finally finished chapter 2! Thank you so so much to all of you who followed, favourited, or reviewed! You have no idea how happy it made me! :)

I don't really know how I feel about this chapter, it's a little short, and I'll try to have them longer from now on.

I hope you all enjoy!

Disclaimer: still not Cassandra Clare :(

Chapter 2

Jace walked behind the page that was showing him to his room. He supposed he should pay attention to the castle, so he would be able to find his way around later, but his mind was elsewhere. He couldn't stop thinking about the princess. He hadn't originally been planning on seriously considering a marriage contract with the Morgenstern kingdom. After all, why would he? Jace knew well enough that Valentine was the most ruthless, well, cruel really, king that anyone had ever seen. It made sense that his daughter would be the same, and he didn't really want to get involved with the twisted politics that went hand in hand with Valentine. But he knew he couldn't refuse direct invitation from him. So he thought he would go, bring Alec and Isabelle, pretend he was considering it, and go straight back home. And that was still his plan, but… something about Clarissa intrigued him. He couldn't quite put his finger on what made him so drawn to her. Jace felt like he could look at her all day and he wouldn't get tired of it. She had seemed almost bored when they were introduced, but he thought he could see something else below the surface. For now, he thought, I'll at least get to know her. That can't hurt.

"Here you are, Your Highness," said the page. Jace waved him away, muttering a quick thanks. He opened the door and looked around the room. It was fairly large, not as large as his room back home, but that was to be expected. He walked over to the bed and sat down. He was pleased with the room, and decided he wouldn't mind spending awhile here. Now to find where Alec and Isabelle were staying. If only he had been paying attention.

He set off down the hall. No one gave Jace a second glance as he strode along the castle. They had probably gotten used to looking the other way when something strange was going on, what with living in a castle with Valentine as the king. He reached the end of the hallway and turned right. There was a set of stairs that went up, so he decided to climb them when he reached the top, there was a short hallway that seemed to be decorated much nicer than where Jace was staying. He assumed this must be where either the king or the princess stayed. He knew he should probably leave, but he was curious. He took a few steps and came face to face with a girl. His heart jumped, thinking it might be Clary, but this girl was much too tall. Looking again, she was nothing like Clary, and was clearly a servant.

"Excuse me sir, but you can't be here," she said timidly. Looking almost afraid of him. He felt bad that the people who worked here had learned to be afraid of any newcomers.

"I'm sorry," he smiled at the girl, who didn't react, "I'm visiting the castle, and I don't really know my way around yet."

"These are the princess's chambers," she said. So Jace was right. "And you can't be here."

"Alright then. Thank you," Jace smiled again, and made a mental note to remember this hallway. He went back down the stairs and was turning a corner, when he bumped right into someone else. He really was having a bad day for running into people.

"Watch it," snarled the boy, and Jace realized he had run into Sebastian. He didn't trust the other prince; something about him just rubbed Jace the wrong way. He stepped back and eyed the other boy.

"Sorry, Sebastian, I guess I just wasn't looking," Jace said, but there was an edge to his tone. Sebastian glared at him.

"Just get out of my way," he growled, and stalked off. Jace raised his eyebrows. Now he had an extra incentive with the whole marriage thing: if Clarissa chose him, Jace would have the satisfaction of beating Sebastian. Jace headed back down his hall and knocked on doors until someone finally opened one. It was Isabelle, and she let him into her room.

"Nice place," Jace remarked as he looked around. Her room was different than his, it was brighter and seemed airier. Jace's room had dark wood and the colours were dark reds, Isabelle's room had a lighter look with whites and light blues.

"It is, isn't it? I think I'm going to like staying here," she commented. "So," she said with a devilish grin, "what do you think of the princess?"

Jace thought about this. What did he think of the princess? "Well," he started, "she's pretty-"

"Oh, she's beautiful!" gushed Izzy. "But go on, go on!"

"And um, she seems interesting," Jace didn't really know what to say, so he trailed off.

"Well I think you'll like her. She looks like she's got some attitude."

Jace laughed. Of course Isabelle would talk about the princess as if she were just one of the girls she socialized with.

"You know what? I think so too," Jace said, and he believed it. "Do you know where Alec is?"

Isabelle led him down the hallway to where her brother was staying. They sat in Alec's room until it was time for dinner. Jace was surprisingly excited. He wanted to learn more about the mysterious princess.

:::

When Clary arrived at dinner, everyone else was already seated. The only empty spot was between Jonathan and Sebastian. She slid into her seat without a word.

"Clarissa. How nice of you to join us," Valentine boomed with a mocking smile. She forced herself to smile back, and said nothing. She was just going to get this meal by saying as little as possible. That was usually what she did when dealing with Valentine. The servants started bringing out the food, and they began to eat. Clary was just starting to cut her chicken when Valentine spoke again.

"I was just thinking it would be beneficial if you got to know our guests. After all, you will be spending quite a bit of time with them," Valentine said. Clary wasn't sure how she should respond so she stayed quiet, and simply nodded. "So tomorrow," Valentine continued, "I thought you could spend the day with one of the princes."

She was about to stutter out a reply when someone else cut in.

"I would be happy to spend the day with the princess," said Jonathan. 'That is, if she wouldn't mind." Clary was surprised, and she turned to face him. He had a small smirk on his face is if he already knew she would say yes.

"Certainly, Prince Jonathan, it would be most pleasing to spend the day with you," Clary said, and she smiled for real for the first time all day. She turned away quickly, and replaced her smile with her usual indifferent expression, but she knew he had seen it. When she snuck another glance, he was still looking at her, and smiling. She cursed herself for being silly. Now was not the time to smile, now was the time to be careful. That was a lesson Jonathan would have to learn.

"And of course, I would ask the princess to accompany me the day after?" Sebastian intervened. His face showed no signs of unease, but Clary knew he was scrambling to get back in the game.

"Of course," Clary said with a tight smile, not quite looking him in the eye. There was only a bit of small talk after that, which Clary did her best to stay out of. She found herself sneaking glances at Jonathan, and to her surprise, he was looking at her too. The only difference was when she was caught she blushed bright red, whereas he only smirked at her.

Over the course of dinner she learned a bit about Alec and Isabelle, and she thought they seemed like pretty nice people. Alec didn't seem very talkative, and Isabelle engaged in far more conversation than he did. Apparently Alec and Isabelle had been friends with Jonathan since he was a child, and they were like family. They seemed like very nice people, and Clary wondered what they thought of her.

Dinner seemed to drag on for ages, as if everyone wanted to keep her here for as long as they could. Sebastian certainly did. She could feel his eyes on her all night, and he kept trying to ask her questions. She answered what she had to, but mostly ignored him. Finally, it seemed to be drawing to a close. Everyone said something polite about how much they liked the food and began to get up. Once Valentine made his exit, Sebastian turned to Clary.

"Walk me to my room?" he said with a grin that didn't quite make it to his black eyes. They still unsettled Clary. She definitely didn't want to spend any more time with him than she had to.

"I would, but I'm afraid my room is in the complete opposite direction," she said with what she hoped was an apologetic smile. She just hoped he would believe her; her room was actually quite near the guest hall.

"That is most unfortunate. See you tomorrow, then?" Sebastian conceded. He looked only mildly discouraged. Clary nodded and set off away from him. She ended up going out to the stables and walked around. She hadn't been here for a while. These days she mostly kept to her section of the castle. She left the stables and wandered around. She passed the kitchen and the ballroom. She didn't run into anyone until all of a sudden, there was Jonathan. She stepped back and looked up at him.

"Jonathan! What are you doing here? Isn't your room on the other side of the castle?" she asked him. To her surprise, he turned bright red. She almost laughed; Clary never thought he would be embarrassed about anything.

"Uhhh… probably," he said cringing. This time she did laugh.

"What, are you lost?" Clary asked jokingly. He laughed and shook his head, ashamed.

"Yes," he groaned. "I wasn't really paying attention when I was lead to my rooms and now I can't find it" Now Clary was really laughing.

"I'll show you the way back," she offered.

"Thank goodness! I was beginning to think I would have to wander the castle all night!"

"In fact," Clary started, "I could give you a tour of the castle… But only if you promise to pay attention!" He laughed and put his hand on the heart.

"I swear to devote my utmost attention to your tour," he said in a serious tone.

"Alright then," smiling, she started taking him around the castle. She showed him every room. She knew the castle so well, as she had been in every room millions of times. He seemed to enjoy the tour, and kept asking her questions about things that had happened in each room, or why she liked it. She found it kind of odd, since no one had really ever been curious about her life before. Clary wasn't sure it was wise to go telling her whole life story to someone who was virtually a stranger, so she mostly told stories about her and her brother, whose name was also Jonathan, from when she was really young, too young for anything to start going wrong.

"Where is your brother? I didn't even know you had one," Jace asked after they left the kitchen. Clary bit her lip. She figured he would ask at some point, so she knew she had to tell him.

"My brother died when he was 15, I was 12…" Clary trailed off, unsure of what to say.

"I'm so sorry Clarissa, I never knew. That must be awful," Jace said, and he seemed to be genuinely sorry. He reached out a hand to touch her shoulder but stopped just before he made contact, as if he wasn't sure what was okay. When she made no move to turn away, he rested it on her shoulder. It was oddly comforting, and it made her realize how little anyone touched her. Certainly her father didn't.

She shook her head and smiled up at him.

"It's fine. It was awhile ago, I've come to terms with it," she said, even though she really hadn't. What had happened to her brother haunted to her to this day. He didn't look convinced, but they kept walking. They stayed quiet for a while, but soon found themselves laughing and talking just as they had been before. Clary didn't know why it was so easy to talk to him. She had grown up being taught that no one was to be trusted, and that no one was who they seemed. But he was different than anyone she'd ever met.

They burst out of the servants' hall and Clary realized that was the last stop on the tour.

"Well, Jonathan, was your tour satisfactory?" she asked with a smile.

"It was actually, and you can call me Jace if you want," Jonathan said.

"Jace? How do you get Jace from Jonathan?" she questioned.

"My middle name is Christopher. Jonathan Christopher, J.C., Jace. Only my friends call me that, you don't have to if you don't want to," he shrugged.

"Does this mean I'm your friend, Jace?" she said with a smirk.

"I guess so," he laughed. Clary actually preferred Jace. It fit him better than Jonathan; Jonathan seemed so formal. Jace just seemed right for him. Not to mention every time she said Jonathan it brought back memories of her brother.

"Well if I'm calling you Jace, you can call me Clary"

"Alright then, Clary," Jace smiled.

They walked down the hall back to where the guest rooms are.

"Now to find which room is yours," Clary said. "Was it at the end of the hall?"

"I think so," Jace said. They continued to the end of the hall. Finally Jace stopped at a door. "This one!" he declared.

He opened the door, and, sure enough, it was his. Clary turned to go. Jace stopped her, grabbing her hand.

"Thank you, for um, showing me around," Jace said, his cheeks turning the lightest shade of pink. She smiled shyly.

"My pleasure Jace, I just hope I did a good job. I wouldn't want you to get lost again," she said.

"Ah, but if I did you would have to show me around again, so I wouldn't mind" Jace smirked. "Goodnight, Clary."

"Goodnight, Jace," Clary left his room and started walking back to hers. Even though it was late she didn't feel the least bit tired. She couldn't get Jace out of her head. He was nothing like she'd ever seen before. Every time he smiled, she wanted to smile too. She got ready for bed as if in a trance.

"Everything alright, miss?" Maia asked as she combed Clary's hair.

"Yes, Maia. Everything is fine," she said. And, for the first time, she meant it.

:::

Jace lay in bed, unable to sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about the princess. When he had first met her she had seemed cold and distant. But then at dinner, when he spoke to her, she had seemed a bit warmer, and he had seen her smile for the first time. He couldn't keep his eyes off her. And then there was the tour. Clary had been a completely different person. She was laughing and joking around. When he brought up her brother she had gone distant again, but it didn't last. She was a bit of a mystery to Jace. Whenever she was around her father it was as if she were behind a mask, but then when she was alone with Jace, she opened up. He found himself looking forward to their day tomorrow, and to figuring out what was behind Clary's changes in personality.

When he finally fell asleep, it was with a smile on his face.

Jace's POV! I loved writing as him, and I'm probably going to be doing it pretty often. And the beginnings of Clace? ;) Also, I know I was pretty vague about Clary's brother but he will come into play more later on. Be sure to review and tell me what you think!

Ciao for now!

(P.S. I forgot to bold my commentary last time, sorry! )