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CHAPTER FOUR:
Ultimatums in the Seelie Court
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This story was sort of impromptu, being my first TMI story and everything, so the plot is a little less planned than my Harry Potter works, but you can bet Jace is going to get dangerous. He's going to get dangerous and angry and witty and you're going to love it. I promise. I'm not sure if I captured the Seelie Queen though. I can't remember how she spoke and was too lazy to look it up in the books but I don't think it's too obvious a difference or really that important to the plot.
And again, thank you all soooo much for all your lovely reviews, birthday wishes, and wonderful critiques. It's fans like you who make us better writers.
This chapter's song: Marching Bands of Manhattan by Death Cab for Cutie.
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Suddenly, no amount of amulets could keep Clary steady and upright. She gave out a jagged breath and slid down the frame of the door onto her knees. The impact of bone on hardwood echoed through the Institute, calling Alec and Magnus to attention in the distance.
"Clary?" whispered Isabelle by her side, her hand gently on the poor girl's shoulder. "Come on now. He'll be fine, I'm sure, but we have to go."
Clary shook her head, gripping the frame tighter. "I can't go, Iz."
"What?!" shouted Isabelle and Meliorn.
She locked her jaw to keep from crying but it got painful quickly. "I'm sorry," she said, a dozen more times in her head. "But I can't go. They'll just use me to hurt him even more. He can't know. He can't see me."
Footsteps came up behind them. Alec pulled Isabelle away from Clary's crouching figure and knelt down in her place. Magnus gave Meliorn a nod hello but the faerie did not so much as blink in return.
"Alec, you can't just let her—"
He snapped to face her and the ferocity in his eyes made her step back at once. "Izzy, get your whip," he commanded forcefully. She went to complain but stopped herself. That look on Alec, that fear masked by a ruthless sense of duty to his family, told Iz everything she needed to know. She nodded and ran to the weapons room for their things. Meliorn followed, though nobody neither noticed nor cared, except Iz.
"I love it when he gets that look," said Magnus with a large grin, completely unaffected by the situation. "It's usually followed by 'Take off your pants' and several hours of screaming."
Clary didn't register the joke though she did notice the red marks on Alec's neck from his proximity.
"What if he doesn't make it, Alec?" she asked, gripping his arm but still unable to stand. Alec and Magnus seemed to be sharing a look because Magnus' humor died immediately. Something told her it was more serious than she imagined.
"He'll be fine," he lied halfheartedly. Apparently, Alec didn't have the ability to multi-task emotions because he couldn't hide his worry at all. It made her wonder if he was just a better person than her. "We're going to bring him back to you. I promise."
She still didn't believe him but Magnus obviously did.
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"This is wrong," said Isabelle for the first time since they left, trailing behind on the way to Central Park. They could see the godforsaken pond in the distance. "She should be here instead on sitting on her ass by the window with her damn sketchbook."
Magnus slid his hand into Alec's back pocket as they walked, bringing him closer. "She has her reasons, Isabelle. Let her be," he said.
Izzy scoffed. "Don't be ridiculous! All the times she's—"
"She. Has. Her. Reasons," growled Alec through gritted teeth.
"And you know these reasons?" she replied, unfazed.
Meliorn looked back at her for a second and she stopped talking again. He didn't have the same murderous stare Alec seemed to don but somehow, it was more effective. Magnus raised a carefully groomed eyebrow and looked from Meliorn to Isabelle and back down to Alec.
He leaned down, pretending to kiss Alec's cheek, and whispered, "Are those two—"
Alec gave a surreptitious nod but it wouldn't have mattered. With a single look, Meliorn had captured Isabelle's attention for the rest of the walk. Magnus was very curious about this particular ability.
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Clary knew she was tearing apart inside. She thought about calling her mother but realized she was still back in Idris with Luke. She found her sketchbook waiting for her on the window lattice but couldn't imagine steadying her hand long enough to draw.
Instead, she brought the sketchbook to her chest and hugged it tightly. She walked over to the bed and lied down atop the sheets, curled up on her side. She looked at the window but the city was drowning in oranges and reds. Her pen could never do it justice.
She closed her eyes but all she saw was the city… a city. She looked out into her mind and imagined herself sitting by her window in Idris, watching over the demon towers. She imagined Jace walking to her from across the street, his blonde hair glowing in the bright moonlight. It calmed her enough. She imagined he'd walk into the room and his warm body would sink into bed beside her, the weight of his arm around her waist like the night before.
Then, she remembered the Seelie Court and its every gruesome little section of Hell. She remembered dancing. She'd never danced with Jace, not even in Idris. She wondered if he even danced at all. She wondered why something so otherwise insignificant was so important now that he was gone.
When she opened her eyes again, unsure of how much time had passed, the Institute was still deathly quiet. She knew when they returned, the sounds would echo the halls. She looked down at the sketchpad, her pen lying on the edge of the paper.
She snapped up and ran her fingers over the drawing. She didn't remember drawing it before, didn't remember moving her pen at all. The page had been blank when she'd closed her eyes. Now, a city stared back at her with great twinkling lights. If she looked close enough, long enough, it was almost as though the demon towers were calling her into the ink.
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Jace clung to his chains on the wall, his hair falling down over his eyes. It stuck to his forehead.
"We had a deal, boy," said the queen, running her long fingers over the ribs of one of her subjects. It made a strange screeching sound like nails on chalkboard.
"She'll come," he whispered to himself, tasting the blood on his lips. Every join in his body hurt like he'd survived an earthquake.
The queen laughed dryly, quickly getting bored. "She is connected to another. I have told you time and time again."
"Pardon me if I don't take your word for it, you cow."
The queen scoffed and, with a snap of her fingers, tightened the chains on his arms. He groaned but didn't struggle. There was no point in struggling anymore. All he could do was wait.
Time passed though he didn't know how much. Every second felt like forever. New sounds filled the Court but he didn't hear her footsteps – that light shuffle he'd love to hear through the Institute late at night – and didn't bother lift his tired head.
He heard a gasp and the voices got louder. He recognized two of them but he still didn't look up because Clary wasn't among them.
"What have you done to him?!" screamed Isabelle, struggling to escape Meliorn's arms. He knew if she made it to Jace, she'd be trapped too and, as much as he wanted her to join him, he cared too much to trap her. He had decided this some time ago and would never go back on his word. It was why he never spoke. If she knew the truth, who knows what she stupid stunt she might pull in the name of a childish love. All he had to do was look at Jace, tied up to the wall behind the queen's throne to know the stupid things these Nephilim did.
"He did this to himself," she said. "I simply made him a deal."
Alec laughed. All courtesy flies out the window when creepy faerie people tie up and torture your friend. "He knows better than to deal with the likes of you."
"Does he?" laughed the queen. "You of all people know what runs through the minds of young men in love. They are desperate, insecure little creatures. I simply—"
"Feed off it?" finished Magnus coolly with his hands in his pockets.
The queen pretended to be offended but it was obvious she was anything but. "Help them discover the truth."
"What truth?" cried Isabelle. "He loves her. She loves him. What more could they possibly need?"
Meliorn laughed and let her go. "You silly child."
She reached up and slapped him. "This isn't about us! Why are you just standing there? Free him!"
He didn't even flinch at the slap. "My duty is to my queen, Isabelle, not my occasional playthings. Remember your place in this court."
She stared up at him in disbelief, tears flowing from her eyes. She wiped them away, smearing her hands with mascara. She turned to Jace's lowered head and called out, "Jace! Remember what you said this morning? She brought you back to life, Jace! Twice! No matter what happens, you love each other!"
"Forget it, Iz," warned Magnus, taking a step forward. "If you want to free him, you simply need to ask."
Alec stood beside him and demanded, "What is it going to take to free our friend?"
The queen looked around the room, trying to find something else to inflict pain with. There was nothing. "I'm afraid he's all mine, dear. You see, he's made a deal. He was so sure his dear Clarissa would come. Since she hasn't, I win and he joins my court. And what a beautiful addition he is!"
Her shrill voice echoed the court. "Take me in his place!" shouted Isabelle, staring at Meliorn.
He shook his head. "You're only proving me right, Isabelle."
The queen raised a hand and the entire court silenced. "No no, Meliorn. I accept her request. I will let you all go for now but only if you bring me back a present."
Magnus rolled his eyes but Alec only tensed. "She's not going to make this easy," whispered Magnus in a sing-song voice, balancing on the balls of his feet.
She snapped her fingers and a skeletal court jester danced towards her. He bowed low to the ground and the queen pulled a knife from his spine. The jester fell apart at her feet. She extended the knife out to Meliorn, who fetched it like a good subject. He sauntered towards Jace's limp body and cut him out of the chains. They both fell down onto their knees.
Meliorn slipped the knife into Jace's belt and whispered in his ear, "Take care of them as they care for you, you undeserving primate."
Alec and the others ran to help him to his feet but Jace had no idea where he was anymore or even if he was still alive. His arms were numb and the floor was moving quickly beneath his dragging feet. The only thing he knew to be real was the weight of the jester's knife on his belt.
"What present?" asked Alec as they headed out the court.
The queen squealed with excitement and stood up to see them off. "All I desire is blood, my dear Jace. The blood of the other boy."
"I won't kill in your name," groaned Jace, finding the strength to stand on his own two feet. The longer he concentrated on the knife on his belt, the easier reality got. He couldn't use the memory of Clary to ground him anymore. It'd somehow been tainted by her betrayal.
"Oh no," she said with a laugh. "Her body betrays her, Jace. Remember that. "
"Don't listen, Jace," warned Alec, starting to pull him out the entrance. "Come on. Clary's waiting back at the Institute."
"You have until the next full moon!" called the queen, laughing with her court.
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Though she knew her body rested at the Institute, her mind happily glided over the city of ink. It looked as though a great sadness had swallowed the city, enveloping it in dripping black lines. She realized then it was her own tears smearing the picture. She awoke at the sound of knocking on her door.
"Clary, are you awake?" whispered Maryse Lightwood, treading lightly into the room.
Clary sat up reluctantly and closed her sketchpad, bringing it up to her chest instinctively. She didn't want Maryse to see the evidence of her weary heart. "I'm awake, Mrs. Lightwood. Please come in."
Maryse fumbled with her hands in her lap like a little girl about to ask her parents what those squeaking noises coming from their room at night really were. "Clary, is something going on with you and Jace I should know?"
Clary shrugged. "I don't know what you mean," she lied. She knew exactly what Maryse meant.
"Now, I tried to give him his space because it's been quiet around here and that's great and all. I even let him spend the night. I didn't question what he was doing up at 6am every morning in the training room. I didn't question it because I thought you were both happy but that's not it at all, is it?"
Clary gulped and carefully let her hair fall onto the sides of her face so Maryse couldn't see her expression in the faint lamp light.
"Clary, he and the others have been gone all day. I know compared to your mother, I must seem like I don't care but I do and Jace is my son and I need to know."
That brought a tiny smile to her face to know Jace was loved. Of course he was loved. Why didn't he see the same love in her? Why did he have to make things so bloody complicated?
"I love your son very much, Mrs. Lightwood. That's all you need to know."
Maryse wasn't at all convinced and went to object when the Institute doors were blasted open below and Alec began shouting instructions to Izzy and Magnus. Maryse automatically ran to meet them downstairs but Clary could barely get out of bed. She looked down at the shell-shaped amulet around her neck. It had been turned completely black. When she reached up to hold it, she realized her hand was stained with ink.
Her eyes began to gloss over again and she went in search of help and news. She stumbled slowly towards the elevator and headed to the first floor. She hugged the sketchbook closer to her chest and it seemed to give her strength. She didn't want to feel her heartbeat anymore. It was too loud and the Institute too silent. The closer she got to the first floor, the louder the voices downstairs got and she was suddenly bolted back into reality.
"There she is!" sounded Magnus, going to hold her hand to steady her. It seemed more as a gesture to get her to Jace as quickly as possible. The urgency in his cat eyes begged her to hurry. When she saw Jace sitting on the wooden bench near the entryway, she saw why. He had cuts all over his bare chest, ankles, and wrists. He shook all over, staring off at the wooden floor.
Maryse saw the tension in the room and quietly announced, "I'll go get some towels or something."
"Jace?" Clary whispered, carefully dragging closer. She knelt down before him and reached up to caress his tattered face. His once beautiful cheekbones were soot-stained as though burned very slowly and his eyes were enveloped in shadow. She'd seen this darkness before. Not lately but it was once all she saw.
"Don't touch me," he growled quietly, his eyes shooting up to hers through his eyelashes. She winced and quickly stood, taking a step back.
Isabelle went to stand by his side, her arms crossed. "Do you have any idea what you've done?" she scolded. "He could have died!"
"I don't—I didn't mean—"
"For him to find out? Was that what you were going to say?"
Alec and Magnus came up behind her. "We're sorry, Jace," said Alec, raking his hands through his hair.
Jace stood too quickly for their eyes to follow, his nostrils flaring. "You knew?" he said through raspy gasps. His numb body was beginning to melt. Though they'd taken care of some of the wounds with iratzes, the pain in his heart was poisoning his whole body in undulating waves. He breathed as though somebody was sitting on his chest.
His hands formed fists by his side and Clary stepped back into Alec and Magnus. Magnus surreptitiously put a hand on the base of her spine should he fall. Nobody, not even Clary, noticed.
"It's not what you think, Jace."
She gripped the edges of the sketchbook tighter, genuinely terrified of what he might do to her. She knew he would never physically hurt her. He had never so much as raised a hand at her. But Jace was a master at hitting people where it really hurt: the heart.
"Do you love me?" he asked, his words carefully chosen through gritted teeth.
She couldn't read his eyes. It was as though she were looking at a mannequin. "How can you ask me that? How many times have I told you? Why is it so hard for you to believe anyone could love you?"
"YOU DIDN'T ANSWER THE QUESTION!" he shouted. Both their chests heaved, adrenaline making her hands twitch.
"Yes! I love you! I love you more than anything!"
His eyes softened but the menace was still there. "Then tell me his name."
Clary's shoulders relaxed. "Whose name?"
"Just tell him, Clary," warned Isabelle behind him, shooting daggers at her with her eyes. "Tell him who you've been seeing."
Clary laughed, despite herself. "Seeing? Seeing where? You think I'm—You think I'm cheating on you? That was the big truth Meliorn told us about?"
Isabelle nodded as Jace continued to stare at her, smelling like pond water and blood. "It doesn't matter," he said. "I put my life on the line, my whole life, on the belief that you'd come for me. You always came for me. And now, no matter what you say, I can't look at you without thinking who else you've said these words too. It doesn't matter because… I don't love you."
At this, everyone turned to face Jace but Clary was hardly shocked. She'd been expecting worse. She could see it in his eyes that he was holding back everything he felt, for her sake no doubt. It's how she knew he still cared. "What?" laughed Isabelle, unable to see the hidden message in his eyes. "You don't mean that, Jace."
"I don't ever want to see you again," he whispered, his voice breaking though Clary could see no sign of tears. "I can't even look at you anymore, Clare!"
Alec took hold of Clary's shoulder forcibly to keep her standing. He could see her knees begin to weaken.
Magnus was paying much too close attention to her amulet. "Look," he finally spoke. "Clary can stay with me for the night until this whole thing dies down."
Alec snapped to face Magnus. Something was playing in the warlock's eyes. Alec knew he would never willingly lend his loft to anyone, especially not a Shadowhunter. He'd only ever done it before to win Alec's favor but this was very different. This was done out of fear, out of the need to observe and control whatever was taking hold of Clary's life. Alec realized he had no other choice but to agree.
Even Clary knew she was useless here. She knew Jace would never change his mind, no matter what she said or did or didn't do. He was hurt but he also didn't want to believe her. He wanted her to be a cheater, a liar, a manipulator… If she was, maybe he didn't have to constantly feel like he had to make it up to her for bringing him back to life back in Idris. Maybe this huge weight could be lifted off his shoulders and he could begin to see her as human, not angel. Maybe he wouldn't have to feel like he was the madman's wooden toy trying to play house.
So, Clary went without any objections, furthering his cause and his distrust. She kept her eyes on him as Maryse draped a warm towel over his shoulders, even as they dragged him upstairs to be healed. She watched until the Institute doors were closed on her, and she was finally allowed to collapse under the weight of her heart.
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This was another one of those scenes flying around in my head. You see the City of Ink (it's going to be important, obviously) and a little bit more about Meliorn and Izzy and the real truth which is not so much that Clary is sick but rather why she is sick. Only the queen could turn it into something sexual. Heh. But I hope you liked it and I hope you didn't get too disappointed in Jace. It's not his fault he's an idiot in love.
Reviews are better than that commanding look Alec gets.