A/N: Hey guys! I hope you enjoy this chapter. There is a little Spanish in there. I just used google translate. It is only like 7 words, so I figured it wasn't a big deal. The actual words aren't important either.
Please enjoy!
Clary leaned back against the tub she was sitting in. The household was readying to attend a party at the Duke's country estates. Since Jace was their ward, they came a few days early, and, as a gift, the duke had brought in beautician for all the girls in the house. Frankly, it was needed. They were all getting on the smelly side. Clary had to have her perfume treatments once a day and she had been doing Isabelle's more frequently as well. Emma never did the treatments. Honestly, Clary didn't know what to tell the poor girl. She didn't care, but it was getting hard to spend any time with her. The boys hardly noticed because they were always around her, but Clary and Isabelle noticed. Clary never realized how hard it would be to get the girl to take a bath. The poor beautician ended up with a black eye. After that, the lady was very harsh with Emma's treatments, and they had to help keep Emma from flailing about.
Clary didn't understand why she hated it so much. It was very relaxing if you just sat back. She assumed it was because Emma was young, but she wasn't that young. Jace has spoiled her by not making her do these things more regularly. Clary determined that as one of her guardians she needed to make these things more frequent with Emma. She was mistress of the house and in charge of the ladies of the household, it was about time she started actually doing her job.
The three girls were sitting in the respective milk tubs next to each other. It was the first time Emma hadn't squirmed like crazy. Clary looked over at the girl, who was holding her knees to her chest, playing with the tops of the water.
"Why are you being so difficult about these things?" Clary asked softly, adjusting the pin that kept her hair up. Emma kept her eyes on the pool of milk, shifting uncomfortably. "Emma?" Her voice was quiet, as she began to feel concerned for the girl.
"I feel like I'm being prepped to be married." She sighed, sagging her shoulder.
"Do you not want to get married?" Clary furrowed her brow slightly. Almost every girl wanted to get married. She remembered her wedding fancies before she was actually married.
"No, because I'll lose all the freedom I have in the Herondale villa. I'll have to bear children and manage the household. I don't want that responsibility. I just want to run around doing whatever I want." She shrugged her shoulder, resting her cheek on her knees.
"Oh." Clary murmured, understanding the need for freedom. "Jace is your guardian he would never force you to marry someone you didn't want to. He can put conditions in your marriage contract. You don't need to be scared." She assured her.
"Who would I even marry? I don't know anyone I would even like to marry." Her cheeks turned red, as she glanced away from Clary.
"You do want to marry someone." She grinned deviously at the blonde girl.
"No, I don't." Her face got even redder.
"Yes, you do! Isabelle, tell me I'm right!" She reached out to her friend, who had been quiet the whole conversation.
"You're in love. Who is it?" Isabelle spoke up, keeping her eyes close and head rested against the side of the tub.
"Julian." She squeezed her legs tighter, tucking away from us.
"What?" Clary raised her eyebrows, as Isabelle slid into a sitting position.
"No way!" Isabelle smirked, rested her elbows on the side of the tub. "Spill! Has anything happened between you two?" Isabelle sounded so excited to hear this piece of gossip. Then again, she always loved gossip.
"Nothing has happened. I just-" She groaned, covering her face. "When I was younger, I use to fancy his brother, and now Julian's getting older. He's just so handsome and my best friend, and it's humiliating." She murmured into her hands.
"Awe, it's so cute." Clary smiled widely.
"Stop it. It isn't cute." She whined, dropping her hands into the tub.
"Yes, it is" Isabelle sang.
"Whatever." Emma climbed out of the tub, stomping over to her robe. "I'll be in my room." She slammed the door behind her.
"I'll go talk to her." Isabelle sighed, crawling out of bath. She wrapped a robe around her, quickly following Emma out the door.
Clary sighed, sinking down to her neck. She would have to talk to Jace about this development, but for now she was going to relax. She exhaled a large breath, propping her head up on the tub. Maybe they could see if Julian feels the same way.
The door opened, and she sat up, wondering if Isabelle had brought Emma back. She was wrong. It was her husband.
"What are you doing here?" Clary smiled at him, as he shrugged off his outer coat.
"Isabelle said you were in here alone, so I figured I would join you." He pulled his shirt over his head before dropping his pants. Clary looked him up and down, making him smirk at her. He climbed in across from her, resting against the opposition side of the tub.
"Emma fancies Julian." She grinned wider.
"Really?" He raised an eyebrow, still adjusting his position.
"Yes, do you think they could potentially marry? You're Emma's current guardian, and I'm sure that Arthur Blackthorn wouldn't mind, considering Julian won't be inheriting the main estate." She suggested, as his foot skimmed her inner thigh. She flinched slightly, splashing towards him. "Jace, this is serious. Can you wait a few minutes before feeling me up?" She sighed, moving his foot to the other side of her thigh.
"It's highly irregular for a man to marry at 15. He hasn't established any land and little to no job." He scratched his scalp, heaving out a breath.
"She doesn't want to lose her freedom. She should have been married a year ago, Jace. This is your job, and she doesn't even have a suitor." Clary scolded him for being so lenient on her. She knew how it felt to have your freedoms taken from you, but it was a woman's job to get married. She was determined to find a suitable husband for Emma. One that was kind and giving towards her.
"I know." He grumbled, rubbing his neck. "I didn't really know what to do. They tried to find some suitors for her when she lived with the Blackthorns, but she would spook them away." He huffed.
"That's why I want to try with Julian. Arthur is here tonight. Could you speak to him about it?" She asked with a sweet smile.
"Alright. Alright." Jace agreed. "Now can you come over here and sit on my lap?" He smirked, putting his arms on the rim of the tub.
"Could you be any more discreet?" I rolled my eyes teasingly, as she maneuvered herself over him.
"No." He chuckled, kissing her jaw.
OoOoO
Jace pulled down on his shirt, glancing over at Julian. He was helping the boys look presentable tonight. He exhaled a breath, knowing he had to talk to Julian first about this whole marriage thing before he talked to Arthur.
"Jules, your collar is messed up." He walked over to his protégé, fixing the fabric on his neck. "I was speaking to Clary, and she wanted me to discuss something with your uncle." He crossed his arms, taking a deep breath.
"What?" Julian cocked his head to the side.
"Clary was thinking it was time for Emma to get married, and she suggested you as a possible suitor." Jace felt awkward about asking Jules if he was ok with this, but he knew he should ask.
"Oh." The boy's face turned bright red, as he glanced away from his mentor.
"I know you're only 15, so it probably wouldn't happen for a year or two. Is this something you want to do?" Jace wanted to clarify that this wasn't something that was going to happen immediately. "Jules, I have to do this tonight. If you don't want me to start discussing this with your uncle, you have to tell me now." Jace spoke softly.
"I don't know. I mean we are best friends. Wouldn't it be weird?" He stammered, scratching behind his ear.
"Well, not necessarily. You would be lucky to be friends with your wife." Jace assured him, putting his hand on his shoulder. Julian stared at the floor, as a crease formed above his nose. He was thinking extra hard about this. Jace felt oddly proud of the boy for taking this into serious consideration. Jace at his age would never have even considered getting married, but Julian was behaving like the man he was going to be.
"Talk to my uncle." He ruffled his hair, seeming slightly distressed.
"Don't do that to your hair." Jace flattened it down, trying to fix it. "You can always back out of your arrangement with her if it makes you uncomfortable. I won't force you to marry her. There are plenty of men who could use a wife." He guaranteed the boy, knowing that he was nervous. He lifted up Julian's hand, checking that the cufflinks were done correctly. Julian nodded, gulping heavily. "You're all grown up." Jace sighed, checking his other cuff. "I remember when you came to live with me. You were barely 9, and I had no idea what I was doing. I was barely out of childhood myself, and I was already taking on another life. You've grown a foot, and now you might be getting married. How the time flies." Jace sighed.
"Jace, I can't make this belt work." Max whined from across the room. At least one of his two boys still needed him.
"I'm coming, buddy." Jace grinned, walking across the room, and crouched in front of him.
"Is Julian really going to marry Emma?" He whispered, looking over at the other boy.
"I don't know. Why, do you want to marry her?" Jace teased, hooking his belt correctly.
"No!" He said quickly with wide eyes.
"What am I going to do with all you wild kids?" He chuckled, fixing the things that Max poorly fastened. Max smiled, shrugging his shoulders.
OoOoO
Jace met up with Clary before the ball. She smiled up at him, leaning against the hall outside the ballroom. Jace placed his hands on her hips, brushing their lips together.
"Hi." She breathed, holding onto his waist.
"Hi." He kissed her lightly again. "So, I spoke to Julian, and he said to go ahead and speak to Arthur about a possible betrothal." He informed her with a grin across his face. He knew that this news would please her.
"Yay." She buried her fingers into his hair, pulling his mouth to hers. "I'm so excited. They would be so cute together." She bounced, hugging him tightly.
"This dress is new." He took her hands, taking a step back from her. His fingers tangled into her skirt. "I like red on you." He grinned, tracing his finger over the neckline.
"I thought you preferred me in nothing." She smirked, biting her lip suggestively.
"Hmm... If you have to be clothed, I like you in this." He nipped at her lip, pulling her hips to his. She whimpered, loving the way he felt against her.
"The duke and duchess are waiting for us." Clary giggled, dragging him towards the ballroom. They paused before the entrance, and she held onto his arm properly. He escorted her into the room, which was filled with music and a handful of people. Since they were in the house, they had to arrive to the ball exactly on time.
OoOoO
Clary smiled, as they arrived at the duke and duchess. She curtsied, looking up at duchess.
"Clary, you look lovely." She grinned at her, cocking her head to the side.
"Why, thank you, Dauphin Maryse. This dress is beautiful." Clary complimented her.
"Please, just Maryse." She grinned at her.
"Maryse." Clary corrected.
"It's very nice to see you two again. I swear that villa he lives in is the most secluded place I've ever been too." She scoffed, looking over at Jace.
"I rather enjoy being cut off from the world." Clary explained, knowing that her husband wasn't listening.
"Why? It sounds so dull." Maryse exhaled a long breath, leaning against her husband.
"Jace keeps me entertained..." She trailed off, knowing that she couldn't say too much about her activities in the villa because they were a secret or highly inappropriate.
"I'm sure he does, darling." Maryse gave her a sly look, hinting at the inappropriate things they have done. Clary's cheeks flamed up, as she glanced over at Jace, who was busy talking to the duke.
"Anyways, I wanted to thank you for the way you have treated the ladies in my household. The beauty treatments are greatly appreciated, as well as our new gowns. It really wasn't necessary." Clary changed the subject immediately.
"It was no problem. One of those girls is my daughter, and the other is a daughter in-law." She assured her, resting her hand on Clary's elbow.
"It was still very generous of you." Clary looked over at Jace, who was leading her away from them.
OoOoO
The ballroom slowly filled up, and Clary found herself alone in the corner of the room. Jace had gone to speak to Arthur, which was great, but she didn't really know what to do. She could see Isabelle dancing across the hall with a scrawny curly hair man. Isabelle never mentioned a man before, and she seemed rather familiar with him. Clary always imaged her with a knight in shining armor, but this man was nowhere near that. She sighed quietly, realizing that for the first time Isabelle looked really happy.
"No te he visto antes." A voice came from besides her, startling her.
"Oh, you gave me a fright." She laughed, putting her hand over her chest. "What did you say?"
"No te he visto antes" The man curled one of his fingers into her hair.
"Umm… I don't know Spanish." She moved his hand away from her, as she began to feel uncomfortable.
"No importa." His hand grabbed hold of her arm, dragging her towards the side door.
"Ow, stop it!" She exclaimed before she saw the knife he had hidden.
"Silencias." He ordered, dragging her down the hall.
"What are you doing?" She stammered, as he slammed her against the wall. The wind was knocked out of her chest, and she gaped for breath, as his mouth attacked her. She started to punch at his chest, trying to get him to move, but he wouldn't. Tears started to trickle down her cheeks because she lost control again.
Suddenly the man was on the ground, and Jace was shaking out his hand. Clary flung her arms around his neck, hugging him tightly. "Are you ok?" He rubbed her back, resting his chin on her shoulder.
"I am now." She released a breath.
"Guards!" Jace yelled, bring the security to them. "Escort Mr. Santiago out. I'm afraid he's had a little much to drink." He put his arm around Clary, leading her down the opposite hall. "I shouldn't have left you. I'm sorry, angel." He kissed her temple. She leaned against him completely, and he supported her on the way home. Jace picked her up in his arms, carrying her to their room.
This was when Clary realized that she loved Jace. He would always be there. He would always protect her. She hugged his neck tightly, burying her face in his chest. He sat on their bed, lying down. He maneuvered their bodies to model together perfectly. Everything felt like it fit into place, comforting her entire soul.
A/N: Jules and Emma! How adorable. I love them, and it is adorable. I love all the reviews, favorites, and follows I get. I just started another story called Four Doors, and I finished my other story Living in the Margins. Please check out my other stuff!
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