Welcome to the beginning of my alphabet fic. I've seen a few of these before, and really wanted to try one, so here it is. I'm also going to attempt to teach you guys a few new words before the end of this, beginning with:

A for Aposematic

Aposematic (adj., Zoology): 1. coloured or constructed in a way that indicates special capabilities for defence.

(Source: dictionary . reference . com )

Alec's POV

It is not often one awakes to the stench of a putrefying corpse. It is as if someone has driven a thin dagger up my nostrils its intensity is so great, and my stomach lurches uncomfortably with sudden nausea. My hand is clamped firmly over my mouth as I stagger to the bathroom. A dribble of fluid escapes my lips, and I dart towards the toilet as I convulse. A gruesome grey liquid erupts from my mouth, a fountain of partially decomposed food. I retch repeatedly. My hands quickly become accustomed to the cool porcelain they are gripping.

"Hellfire," I mutter as I lean back, panting. My eyes water a little. Belatedly, it occurs to me that during my ordeal I had heard nothing but the sound of my own vomiting. I wipe my mouth with a sheet of toilet paper, discard it, and flush it away with the previous contents of my stomach. I listen again for any sign of life. Nothing.

Frowning, I wander back to the bedroom. My eyes widen as they see the bloodstain on the large bed. Had we been attacked in the night? Why didn't I remember any of it? And where the fucking hell is that smell coming from?

My heart stops a moment as a possibility crosses my mind, before logic kicks in. Someone who was killed last night wouldn't have begun to rot yet...

Even still, a faint, "Magnus?" leaves my throat. It is barely audible to my own ears. Fear and frustration taunt my self-control, throwing it languidly back and forth between them like a ball.

"Magnus?" I try again, but my volume does not exceed that of a whisper. My voice is of someone who had shouted themselves hoarse. Fear is in strong possession of the ball of self-control.

Water. Water is what I need, I decide. And surely Magnus can't be that far. In fact, he is probably just feeding Chairman Meow or something, and this whole thing is a huge misunderstanding. It isn't as if either of us are unused to abnormality, with him being a warlock and I a Shadowhunter.

With this in mind, I open the door of the bedroom with confidence. And then slammed it shut. I've gone insane. No, Magnus has gone insane. One of the two of us must be insane. Or I'm dreaming.

No. The image was far too vivid to be merely a figment of my imagination; my boyfriend's apartment now resembled the Amazon Rainforest. I hit my head lightly against the door several times, feeling it reverberate. This cannot be happening.

This is what you get for dating a warlock, I thought gloomily. Reluctantly, I prepared to face the jungle. I just needed to keep in mind that the actual dimensions of the flat hadn't changed. Everything would be the same, except for a few more plants. I did hope that he hadn't conjured up any of the fauna; who knew how many different spiders there were in a rainforest?

I let the door open a sliver. Immediately, I located the source of the repugnant smell: a carrion flower, of the species Raffesia kerrii. It was an ugly orange-red flower, and the purpose of the revolting smell was so that it could be pollinated by flies that were attracted to it. They were mainly found in the rainforests of Thailand and Malaysia.

My safety in my own knowledge soothed my nerves; most things weren't scary when you knew a 101 facts about them.

Carefully, I brushed a curling vine out of the way, and stepped into the forest. The humidity was stifling. It appeared that Magnus had wanted to create the most realistic rainforest possible. I cursed him silently. It wasn't only the humidity I noticed. All around me I could hear life: the calls of howler lemurs, the clicking of insects and cries of birds. The raucous noises of a huge density of life from rainforests around the world.

After walking (wading) for a few minutes, a realisation settled upon me. It would not have taken this many strides to cross Magnus' apartment. I really was in a massive rainforest, with no-one around for miles, full of who knows how many deadly creatures. I sank to my knees, my head in my hands.

I had been transported to some parallel universe, I decided. The laws of physics were only optional guidelines here; this world didn't have to obey them. Moments later, I felt the cool moistness of rain fall upon my skin. Because of course, what were rainforests known for?

Groaning, I stood up again and headed out to look for shelter. All I needed was to find a denser canopy of trees, which shouldn't be all that difficult, considering my location. The raindrops falling were soon rapid and full, each a stone against my skin. Grimacing, I threw myself flat against the trunk of the nearest tree, hoping the rain would not be as painful here. My hair was plastered against my head, but at least I was not cold.

I closed my eyes until the pounding of the rain was reduced to a lighter spray, only a pattering to be heard now. Opening my eyes, I encountered a strange thing; the leaves in lower forest plants looked as if they had been painted gold. Once my eyes focused, I realised instead that I was surrounded by thousands of tiny yellow frogs. I tilted my head back to take in the full number, and my head impacted against a smooth surface. Too smooth for a tree.

I turned curiously, and gasped with relief as I saw a metal inscription plate. Humans had been here recently; I was not alone. My relief faded quickly as I read the writing:

Phyllobates terribilis:

Golden Poison Frog

Warning: Extremely poisonous; one milligram of its poison will kill 10-20 humans i.e. Do not touch the frogs.

Below, in Magnus' writing, were the words: Poisonous, but not venomous. Poison is a defence mechanism only. P. Terribilis will not attack.

It struck me that these frogs were not here by accident but by design. Magnus, and any warlock I'm sure, would want the toxins for various spells and concoction. But I was not meant to be here, I thought, as I eyed the pulsating throats of the golden frogs surrounding me. Then again, why had Magnus chosen to restock on poison on a day I was in his home? Surely it could have waited?

Fortunately for me, escaping the little frogs without death would not be a problem; the sign clearly stated they had no intention of attacking. So, carefully, I picked a path through the layers of glistening bodies, wincing as they leapt out of my way. It was a good thing I was wearing jeans that stretched right over the tops of my shoes. Even if I couldn't remember where the greenish stain on them came from.

I was free of them in a fraction of a nerve-wracking minute, and I strode away quickly. Only to hit into what felt like a brick wall. I stumbled backwards. Looking up in surprise, I saw a pale-blue, flickering wall. The forest was not as massive as I'd previously assumed. There were clear boundaries, and the only thing I need to do to get out of here was to follow the wall.

The forest was considerably thinner nearer the wall, and so I made quick time as I walked.

A slim glass door stood in front of me, right in the middle of the leafy trees, looking impossibly out of place. But it was the exit of this sweaty little piece of Hell, I knew it.

I seized the metal handle- which was disconcertingly cold- pulled it open and entered. I did not pause, and it turned out to be my greatest mistake so far.

Flourishing letters were scrawled across the far wall:

WELCOME TO THE ARACHNID ATRIUM!

(Abandon hope all ye who enter, arachnophobes...)

The room was bright white, with two lab benches, glassware scattered upon them. An empty doorway led to another room, exactly identical to this one, and beyond it I could another, and another, and another... It was like that phenomenon when you looked into two opposite mirrors, and saw multiple versions of yourself, each a little further away.

This in itself would not have been too anxiety-provoking. What worried me more was that every surface was pulsating with various kinds of spider.

I spun around, grappling for the handle of the door back to the rainforest, (which now looked like some exotic form of heaven; oh, the lessons of perspective) but it was non-existent. As if time and space had devoured it. I was trapped. In a room full of spiders.

I physically felt the blood leave my face as I contemplated my predicament. I was enclosed in a room with one of my worst fears.

"Raziel," I whispered. A single tear slipped down my cheeks…

My fear of spiders was not a shallow phobia; it was deep-rooted in my childhood. A Tsuchigumo demon, to be precise. It was a creature straight from Japanese legend, supposedly a spider that was able to masquerade as a young boy in order to deceive its victims. I, as a Shadowhunter, was supposed to play the role Minamoto; to see through the trick and slay the demon.

The demon resembled a swollen, out-of-proportion tarantula. It had reared up in front of me. The abruptness of the movement had caused me to panic. All but my arms froze. I reverted to the human instinct of throwing my arms up in front of my head. Its fangs had pierced my skin just as my father's seraph blade disintegrated it.

My father had yelled at me for being so senseless, for forgetting all my training in a moment. I was screaming from the toxins in my system. Unsurprisingly, I collapsed. The next memory I had was of Isabelle leaning over me in the Infirmary, anxiety in her black eyes...

I leant against the wall, shuddering, feeling as if the beasts were converging on me. Damn you Magnus, I thought furiously, Damn you to Hell.

Even if I did somehow make it out of here alive (which I doubted), who knew how many other rooms full of poisonous creatures there were? Sooner or later (I was guessing sooner), I'd be bitten by something with lethal jaws.

I lifted the box jellyfish into the fishing boat using a net, hyperaware of the damage its 3m-long, trailing tentacles could do. The box jellyfish was renowned for being the most venomous jellyfish in the world. Its transparency camouflaged it from its prey as it hunted, and led to many swimmers being stung by its deadly tentacles. Covering the tentacles were millions of cells called cnidocytes, responsible for injecting the venom into the victim. The pain that results is said to be excruciating, but wouldn't last long; the person could be dead in under three minutes.

The venom was vital to a spell that allowed a warlock to engage in telepathy. It was in high demand because of number of warlocks who were simply curious about it, or those who thought it protect their secrets from Shadowhunters.

I myself had tried it once, and had vowed never to do it again. The intrusiveness of mind-to-mind contact being the principle reason; if one did not guard ones thoughts, they would quickly become known to the other person.

I extracted the toxin quickly, sealing it in an air-tight container. The less time I had to spend with this alien-like creature, the better. My lip curled in distaste at even the sight of it.

Once I was done, I released the jellyfish back into the waters and sent a spark towards the back of the boat that sent it jolting forwards.

I was immensely glad that Alec was still asleep in my bed. He would have a heart attack if he even saw the spider labs, better known as the Arachnid Atrium. As someone who refused to enter a room if he knew there was a spider in it, I didn't think he'd deal well with the mass of arachnids found there. The thought brought a small smile to my face. Heart attack indeed.

Two black widows and a funnel web spider. And that was only the venomous spiders now crawling over me.

I knew I would have been mortified at the thought of anyone watching me hearing the whimper that left my mouth under normal circumstances, but few times had I been so afraid in my life. Each new addition to the family of spiders now living on my body sent me in to a paralysing flashback. My every breath could be my last, and that terrified me. What if I had been bitten already, and just hadn't realised it yet?

I frowned at the sky (which was really just a simulated illusion). It was pulsing red. The alarm system had been triggered for the Poison Archives, this huge complex of rooms for all the toxic creatures worldwide. Someone was here that wasn't meant to be.

Belatedly it occurred to me that the sleeping spell I'd used on Alec might not work on a Shadowhunter the same way it would on a Downworlder. He might have woken up already.

The only way to confirm his presence would be to go to the control centre of the Archives. There were cameras there to monitor each room.

Not wanting to waste any time by getting lost in this maze of a place, I created a Portal that took me straight to the control centre. Stepping through, I went to the cameras and scanned them for a familiar face.

"Oh shit," I muttered, finding him at last. This could not end well.

It moved its twitching legs one by one, climbing my shoulder. All eight of its eyes seemed to be trained on me, entertained by my terror. It wanted to drag this out for as long as possible, the sadistic little bastard that it was. It paused for a moment then extended another of its huge legs, pawing at my neck. I shuddered.

This drove it forward in a rush and mindlessly I struck out at it, sending it spiralling through the air. In that moment, I had forgotten about the other residents of my body. The sudden movement had spooked some of them, and sure enough I had bites on my arms. It wasn't as if I could tell which spiders inflicted it, though; there were so many, most of which I didn't recognise.

Obviously, as an arachnophobe, I didn't spend time researching spiders. Perhaps that was going to come at my cost now. I could only hope the ones who sank their fangs into me were not deadly to humans.

I tried to maintain my stillness again. I felt awful, physically: I was drenched in sweat, I was feverish and I was nauseous. I knew that it probably wasn't the effects of any venom yet, but rather the high stress level I was being kept at, but it didn't stop the panicked thoughts. How long do I have to live? Will I die in complete agony? What are the first symptoms of a venomous spider bite?

The room pulsed red. Was it my imagination? Did spider venom induce hallucinations? Or had someone finally noticed I was here. Despite my situation, a little hope surfaced within me. I might actually survive this, I thought, as I slid dazedly to the ground. My eyes closed.

Seconds, minutes, hours, days, decades- no, it must be minutes, I haven't missed a decade- I heard a familiar voice:

"Alec? Can you hear me?" His voice was worried, and I felt his fingers at my neck searching for a pulse. He breathed a sigh of relief.

Just before I lost consciousness, I muttered three words: "I hate you."

I awoke to the smell of two-weeks-past-its-sell by-date fish. I gagged, and my eyes shot open. Chairman Meow gave me a disdainful look, almost as if it were me who had the bad breath.

"I'm going to kill your owner," I told him.

The Chairman arched his back, and then jumped off the bed. He seemed to have had enough of me.

I was back in Magnus' room, from where my rather unfortunate day had started. Once again there was no sign of the warlock, although I suspected that had something to do with my last words to him.

Grimacing, I left the warmth of the bed and walked towards the door. "If this is another bloody rainforest," I grated out while yanking the door open.

My sanity thanked the fact the apartment had gone back to normal (well, as normal as Magnus' apartment ever was). The man himself looked up as I walked in, a slightly sheepish look on his face.

"No more rainforests or spiders. I promise." When I glared at him he spoke again, his voice more serious, "I'm sorry, Alec. I honestly did think you were going to be asleep more hours more; I've used that spell on countless other people, and none have woken up that quickly."

"None of those people were Shadowhunters."

"No. No, they weren't. And I should have known better." He looked down. "You know I could never forgive myself if anything happened to you, Alec.

"Which one bit me?" I wasn't quite ready to back down yet.

"A Brazilian Wandering spider. Very deadly, but the anti-venom was easy enough to get."

Another thought occurred to me. "Why was there blood on the sheets? Why did you had to use a sleeping spell?

"You were attacked by a demon when you were coming home. You were injured very badly; it was lucky you remained conscious long enough to tell me what had happened. I came as quickly as possible. You were in a very bad state when I found you; I had to do most of the healing out in the street because I was afraid you'd die from the blood loss. I couldn't finish it out there, though, as I knew I might not have enough energy to fight off the demon if it returned. I carried you back here, and at that point you were slipping into and out of conscious; you were in tremendous pain, so I decided to put a sleeping spell on you." He stopped to collect his thoughts. "And you know the rest. I made a really bad decision, Alec, and I am truly so sorry for what I did. You don't know how scared I was when I found you in the Atrium. I'd already nearly lost you once, just six or seven hours before that, and to think you might die because of one idiotic decision…"

I sighed. I couldn't hold a grudge against someone who clearly felt so terrible about what had happened. I joined him on the sofa, leaning against him.

"I forgive you." I kissed his cheek. "Also, I lied to you."

His relief turned into confusion. "When?"

I smiled. "I told you I hated you. Nothing could be further from the truth."

"I love you too."

Several weeks later…

"This is the best way, honey. Trust me."

"I do trust you, but I really, really don't like this idea."

"Just try it. If it doesn't work, we'll stop."

Magnus gave me an encouraging look, and then gently guided my hand towards the infernal beast. I almost drew back, but Magnus coaxed me with a few gentle words.

Trembling, I lifted the tarantula.

"There. That's not so bad, is it?"

I stared at the arachnid ensconced upon my palm. "It's hideous."

"Don't insult her. Don't worry, Matilda, you are the most beauteous lady in this entire area."

I couldn't help but laugh at his antics, and although I still wasn't too fond of Matilda or her many brothers and sisters, I knew this was a fear I could overcome.

I loved writing this one. Even the research was fun when it consisted of finding out about dangerous creatures and Japanese legends. :)