I'm pretty proud of this chapter. I hope you like it!

Chapter 2

(Jace's pov)

Two days later

"Sir. Are you sure we're going the right way?" Magnus asked.

"Yes, Magnus. Do you not trust my amazing navigating skills?"

"Um no," he replied plainly. I rolled my eyes. We were on our way to a neighboring kingdom. Our king thought it would be a good idea to get to know some other ones. In case we needed help with any financial problems.

So now we are trekking through a forest. Thick with trees and animals. And let me just say it is hot.

"The August heat is so intense even I can barely take it! I mean I know I'm hot but this is ridiculous!" I complained.

I could see him roll his eyes out of the corner of mine. He muttered something that sounded like, "Arrogant rich kid."

"According to the map, we should be there by night fall," I said proudly.

"Good. We've been traveling for days in this heat! Can we please take a break?" I happily obliged and sat down in the shade of a tree.

"Magnus..." I said suspiciously.

"Hmmm?"

"Do you hear something?"

"No, I can't say I do sir." I shrugged it off and laid back against the tree.

(Clary's pov)

I heard voices from outside.

"According to the map, we should be there by night fall," a mans voice said.

"Good. We've been traveling for days in this heat! Can we please take a break?" another male voice said.

I smirked and looked out the window slowly. Two men, but I couldn't see their features from here. Both on foot. This will be a piece of cake.

I found Luke in the next room counting our recent winnings. "Luke! There's two men out there! They're wearing royal clothes. And there even on foot! How great is this!"

He grinned. He went for his weapons, but I stopped him. "There's only two. I got this."

He nodded in approval. I decided to play the poor helpless girl that could really chop your head off with a flick of the wrist. I covered myself in a cloak, so they wouldn't see who I really was at first, put my mask on my face and concealed my sword.

I hid for a moment behind a tree to find the perfect place to start the action. I listened in on what they were saying. One of them said they thought they heard something. I almost blew it! I thought. I need to practice on my stealth.

Then the two grew silent and I figured now would be the best time to swoop in.

So I walked into the open and pretended to trip and fall into the ground.

(Jace's pov)

I saw a hooded figure come into view and trip. But I couldn't see their face. "Excuse me? Are you alright?" I asked carefully, not wanting to startle them. I silently took out his sword behind my back, just in case.

"I'm fine. I'm fine. Thank you," replied a girls voice. This just got interesting, I thought. I put my sword back into its holder now that I knew she was no threat.

"Here. Let me help you," I said turning on my charm that no one can resist. When this girl turns around she'll fall all over me.

The mystery girl grabbed my out stretched hand and I helped her into a standing position. I still couldn't see her face. I let go of her hand. "Are you sure alright?"

"Well the real question is..." I could hear the smirk on her face, it made me nervous. "Will you be?"

Before I could ask what she meant, she threw her cloak off and I saw a flash of red. Next thing I knew I was on the ground with a sword at my throat. Too stunned to speak, I took in what was around me. The girl had a mask on but through it I saw the greenest eyes I've ever seen. Her hair was as red as fire. She was petite and had a small body.

"Who are you?" I manage to say.

"I'm your worst nightmare," she said mischievously. I heard Magnus calling my name. Like a flash of red and silver, the girl flung a dagger at Magnus. It went through his shirt and pinned him to a tree. I gasped! I've never met a girl who could use weapons so well.

"What do you want from me?"

"Very straight forward, I see. And for what I want... well, I want everything you have," she says with a suggestive smile. I was very aware that a stranger was straddling me, but that didn't seem very important right now.

"No way!" I yelled.

"Okay, I'll make you a deal. I saw you pull out a sword so let's fight. If I win I get all your stuff and clothes. If you win I'll leave you alone. But if your too scared to fight me I'll just force you to give me what I want."

"But you're a girl!" No way I was fighting a girl! I could seriously hurt her.

She laughed, one that just melted my insides. "You underestimate me, royal," she said 'royal' like she was talking about the dirt on her shoes.

"How did you know I was a prince? Perhaps my angelic face?" I wiggled my eyebrows.

"Maybe." She took it like a challenge. Oh boy, was she cocky? "Or maybe it's just your clothes."

Oh, right. But I kept the smirk on my face.

"Hello? Stuck to a tree here!" Magnus yelled. I would've laughed if I wasn't in this situation.

"Okay, fine. I accept your challenge. Miss...?" I waited for her to tell me her name. She got off of me and I stood up showing her my full height. She was only about 5'2", a good eight inches shorter. This should be easy.

"Fray. Clary Fray," she said with her head held high.

"Well my name is Herondale. Jace Herondale."

"Well Mr. Herondale, prepare to get your butt kicked," Clary said. She came at me with her sword. I blocked her strike, surprised by her strength. We went on like this for a while. She strikes. Block. I slice at her. She jumps away.

"Is this all you got?" I say, trying to sound bored. However, I was getting pretty tired. I didn't let it show because Clary wasn't even breaking a sweat.

"Just warming up," she shrugged. I realized that I had slowly backed up into a tree. I took one last desperate wide swing at her. She did what I could never think of doing. She did an ariel over my sword and threw daggers at me.

I was now stuck to a tree just like my good friend Magnus.

"Now this is a twisted turn of events," I heard Magnus mutter.

"Now I believe I won the bet," she leaned in closed and trailed her finger along my arm. It sent shivers down my spine, but not in a bad way. She smiled and whispered," I think you owe me some royal clothing."

(Clary's pov)

I had kept my head down in the beginning so he wouldn't see my face. When I looked up I thought I had met an angel. Everything about him was... golden. His skin, his hair, even his eyes were gold.

I didn't let my interest show. So when he got all cocky, I took it as a challenge and fired right back. While we were dueling I went easy on him. I saw he was having difficulty keeping up so I finished the job by pinning him to a tree. Just like I did with his friend. Magnus, I think.

After they had given me all their possessions I disappeared into the shadows. Literally. It was a trick Max showed me. It worked well for small people.

Everyone grinned proudly at me when I walked through the doors of our home. I swung the bag of clothes I stole in the air excitedly. "Hey guys! Look what I got!"