"Rule two: to see the Beast at night is to lose your heart and your soul."
oOoOo
Clary's head throbbed, impossibly painful when she awoke. The ground was trembling beneath her. No, she realised, pulling herself up into a sitting position, I'm in a carriage.
In a carriage bound for Hell.
The seats were impossibly lush and expensive. Even the Lightwood's had not been able to afford such luxurious material. Clary didn't even know its name as her fingers stroked it repetitively. It was soothing. And then she turned her aching head to the matter at hand.
The Beast. What future awaited her when they made it to the colossal black castle hidden in the depths of a forest so thick that barely anyone dared to venture forth? Clary peered past the drawn curtains; they were rushing down an unmarked dirt track, the trees barely inches away from her nose. When she peered closer, she gasped: the trees were moving out of the carriage's way! They parted through the green as easily as a hot knife through butter. A glance back told her that the trees had resumed their usual positions upon the forest floor.
Magic. That was the only answer for such a thing. Not the magic of a card trickster, but true and pure magic.
Doomed. She was doomed. Clary pulled back and sank down into the seat, bringing her shaking palms together.
And then she began to pray.
The castle was as vast as the tales said. When Clary spied it through the curtains, she stilled: it was nothing more than a collection of towers and sharp spires that seemed to scrape the darkening sky. It looked like something out of her darkest dreams. Or maybe her nightmares.
How long had they been traveling? Clary's stomach growled in fury, demanding to be fed. Surely she would be allowed food at least?
And then at long last, the carriage stopped and the rumbling of hooves ceased to be no more. Silence, then footsteps crunching upon gravel met her ears. Clary recoiled when a shadow crossed the door and then opened it.
"Oh," the figure said in evident surprise. Clary couldn't see his face in the gathering darkness. "You're awake. Good! Come along then."
Very hesitantly, Clary ventured forth and took a shaking step out of the carriage. Directly above her loomed the castle of nightmares and when she craned her head backwards, trying to see the top of the monstrous creation, she couldn't even see halfway. The dragon gargoyles leered down at her, teeth bared in a feral snarl. She could almost feel the ghost of them latched on her throat.
"Miss?"
Clary started, skittering back a few steps. "Yes?" she squeaked, turning her attention on the carriage driver. She had to blink twice at the sight of a boy not much older than her, so very normal looking with brown hair smoothed back from his face. In the shadows his eyes seemed almost black, though they were probably the same color as his hair.
Normal. Human. This place had human slaves. Or staff? Clary didn't know. And she would probably never find out.
"Look -" he sighed heavily, "I know you're confused, frightened and upset. Of course you are. But you must be hungry? It was a long journey from your home."
Clary shook her head. "It wasn't my home," she found herself saying. "I don't have a home. I belong nowhere."
"Come on; you'll feel better once you've eaten. Everyone does." He gestured towards the door and Clary nodded tightly, trying to ignore the unsettling thoughts in her head.
Everyone does. How many girls had this boy seen pass through, then die? How many had he brought to their death? She was just his latest. The words were probably rehearsed as well.
The castle was even dark and shadowy inside. Though night had begun to fall fast, the torches remained unlit. When Clary voiced this to the boy, he chuckled quietly. "The Master isn't fond of lights at night."
"Why?"
"You'll find out why soon enough. Though it's not wise to ask too many questions in this place, I will warn you."
"Why?"
"Didn't I just warn you about questions?"
Clary shut up and followed him inside, her footsteps echoing off the stone floor. "At least tell me your name," she chanced.
The boy sighed heavily and Clary didn't understand. "Curious one, eh? It's Simon," he replied. There was no other exchange afterwards. Clary followed him through the almost endless corridors until they came to a set of colossal doors, the dining room behind it. Simon ushered Clary through and told her to eat what she wished, then to call him when she was done.
In the end, Clary ate nothing at all. Not one bite, no matter how tempting it looked. She couldn't stomach it, especially after hearing the distant roars of a bear somewhere in the castle.
After her failed dinner, Clary was shown to a bedroom deep within the castle. At least there was light in there, candles lit and dotting the room. Simon told her if she needed something, all she had to do was ring the little silver bell at her bedside. "My Master would like to see you in the morning. So get some sleep." Simon closed the door behind him and Clary heard the lock snap into place.
She couldn't leave her room even if she wanted to.
It was a beautiful room. The walls were a bright gold, a dark fireplace set into one with a large mirror the shape of an oval above. Pushed against the opposite wall was a four poster bed with crimson hangings and covers that matched the walls. Even the tall curtains in the room reached to the top of the giant window. When Clary drew them back, she stared. Stared at the vast and almost endless ocean of dark green before her. In the day she knew it would be a stunning emerald. They truly were in the middle of nowhere. She tried the doors to the balcony, but they were shut tight.
Clary drew the curtains once more and turned away. She wanted to check the wardrobe for a change of clothes, but she didn't dare snoop more. Instead, she curled up upon the top of the covers and watched the candle burn lower and lower until she finally fell asleep.
oOoOo
In the end it was her starving belly that got her into trouble. When Clary awoke in the dead of night, she was so very hungry that it hurt. Very carefully she felt around the floorboards until she found a loose nail and pulled it free. Then, just as cautiously, she knelt before the door and inserted the nail into the lock.
Clary had learned how to pick a lock long ago when she was still in the orphanage. Jonathan and the older children, the thieves, had forced her on many occasions to watch out for the law while they worked at a window or lock.
A minute later and it clicked open. Relieved, Clary doubled back and snagged one of the still burning candles and ventured into the dark corridor in search of the kitchen, cursing herself for not forcing down dinner before.
Clary had never known such a penetrating darkness. The candle barely did anything, light shining weakly before her. It was like the very essence of the flame was being stolen away, devoured by the deep shadows. And to make matters worse, she hadn't the faintest idea where she was going.
There was stupid ideas, and then there was this.
Through the black, Clary heard soft and thudding footsteps. She stopped dead, clutching her worthless candle before her, breath catching in her throat. The footsteps stopped, but still Clary didn't dare move.
A wind as strong as a hurricane blew wildly down the corridor, utterly taking Clary by surprise; she dropped the extinguished candle and clutched onto the wall as best she could, trying to stay on her feet.
And then the wind stopped and a low, growling voice said "How the blazes did you get out of your room, human?"
Clary flinched violently, taking a hasty step back while squinting through the darkness - she couldn't see anyone.
"I picked the door. I was hungry," she chanced.
A snort. "You didn't eat a bite earlier. Afraid that it was poisoned, maybe? So foolish..."
It was a male voice. Deep and angry, full of disapproval. Could it be-? Clary wondered. "Who are you? Was that... Magic?"
Silence and then the figure in the darkness chuckled under his breath. "Who do you think I am, girl? I am not a servant. Not a weakling. Also, I am wearing the cover of darkness."
"No need to be rude about it." Him. It truly was him. The creature, the monster that ruled their lives and kept them trapped inside of a cage of ivory claws and teeth. "Why are you wandering the corridors in the pitch black? Can you even see?" Clary was surprised at her own boldness.
"No," he replied shortly, offering no explanation as to his nighttime wandering. "I cannot see. But I have lived here a long time, child; I know these walls and corridors just as well in the dark as broad daylight."
Clary's foot nudged the candle stub. "Well, if that's true, would you mind terribly and take me to the kitchen? Or is that beneath someone like you." Again, a flash of boldness that she didn't know she had.
The Beast snorted and Clary heard footsteps. Not the thumps of a giant creature, but human footsteps. She screamed when a hand latched itself onto her wrist.
Now the beast - no, the man, hissed "Do you want to wake up the entire castle? Foolish child!"
Clary gasped when the fingers curled around her narrow wrist. So the tales were indeed true: a Beast by day and man by night. She made to squint through the darkness, but soon thought better of it when she recalled that to see the man was a curse. Instant death. So was kissing him, but Clary had no intentions of kissing death.
"Are you done with the screaming?" he said grumpily pulling at her wrist so that she followed him down the corridor at a brisk walk. Clary was almost jogging to keep up.
"I apologise," she panted, rounding a sharp corner.
"Stairs," the beast now grunted, slowing them down to a crawl. He let her go so that she could take ahold of the marble railing, but at the bottom his fingers were a manacle once more.
Clary had expected to see moonlight outside, or stars maybe, but there was nothing. Just endless darkness and shadows. Even the shadows seemed to have even darker shadows. And from within those dark shadows, Clary swore that she heard whispers and felt unseen eyes watching her every step through the gloom.
"How much further?" Clary asked when they descended yet another set of stairs. She got no answer this time. And then he stopped them.
"This is where I leave you. Dawn is fast approaching and I cannot be here when it arrives. Goodnight, girl." Clary heard a sigh of intense frustration. When she asked, panicked, about how she was going to find her room again, she received no answer. The Beast was gone already.
To her immense surprise, the chandelier above the great dark wooden table was alight when she stepped into the kitchen. It was a large room filled with pots and pans of every size. Clary almost moaned with delight when she spied the bread rolls in the wicker basket. She dashed over and tore into one immediately. They were slightly warm still.
After eating so much bread she might explode, Clary ventured back into the castle. She desperately tried to retrace her steps through the darkness, but it was hopeless. In the end she waited by a window, watching and waiting for the sunrise to peek its head above the treeline. Not too long after, it did and Clary found that she could just about see the outline of the corridors and doors. So she set off.
It was just around two more corners when the soft footsteps reached her ears. Alarmed, Clary spun around. There; she could see the form of someone waiting, watching. There was a thick line of white across his eyes that made Clary take a few steps back from horror. What was covering his eyes? The shadows were indeed alive.
She ran and didn't stop running until she found her bedroom. Once she was there, Clary began praying once more, her voice punctuated by tears.
Dawn was here. Death had come on swift wings for her.
oOoOo
Simon came for her just before midday, dressed in a dark golden jacket shot through with red. His eyes were tired and bleary, much like Clary's own. When he told her that she had been summoned, she trembled and refused to change her dress. She wanted to run and never stop running.
"How long have you been here?" Clary asked, trotting alongside him. Anything to forget where she was going.
Simon cast her a quick look. "Since I was about eight. My sister was chosen and... I had nowhere to go. So I came here to work; he needed someone, so he kept me. For my sacrifice... He let my sister go. I sent her far, far away." He swallowed hard. "I will never see her again. But she is safe and free, that's all I need to know to keep me going."
"I'm sorry," Clary said quietly, sincerely. What a noble boy walked beside her. "Is there no way of escaping? Of being freed?"
Simon chuckled, flashing her a sad smile. "Only one way. Which, I'm afraid, will never come to pass. Are you ready?" he nodded to the oaken door.
No. Never. "Yes." Without waiting for him to open the door, she threw them wide and walked inside.
Before the towering dormer window, the bear sat.
Though his size had been greatly exaggerated, he was still gigantic, at least as tall as a fully grown man and twice as long. His coat was long, shaggy and the most beautiful dark gold Clary had ever seen. Ivory claws as long as her entire hand protruded from a huge paw.
At her entrance, the Beast turned its piercing gaze upon her; Clary met strikingly golden eyes and just stared. She thought that she'd feel fear at her first glance at the Beast, but all she knew was wonder. And then, finally, fear took over.
This truly was the creature.
The Beast cocked its head inquisitively. It's mouth moved. "You look like some terrified terrified mouse, child." He sounded less than pleased at the fact.
Clary ignored his words and sank down onto her knees upon the lush red carpet, pressing her palms together. Her voice wavered. "Let me be brave. Let me feel no pain nor fear as-"
Thudding footsteps. A flash of gold. "So resigned to your fate, little one?"
She didn't look up. Didn't dare to. The power radiated from him in waves, taking her breath away. He was magic. Instead she prayed for a quick death. A merciful death.
It never came.
The Beast sighed in exasperation. "I merely wished to introduce myself and inquire as to your own name. Is that so terrible?"
Clary looked up, eyes widening in unconcealed shock. "Excuse me, Sir?"
"What is your name? Simon neglected to tell me. And I don't recall you informing me last night."
She was still alive. How was that possible? Very carefully, Clary rose to her feet. "Clarissa Morgenstern," she said cautiously. "Clary."
The great bear nodded and Clary was struck by how intelligent those eyes were. "Clary," his rumbling voice said, "Welcome."
"So... You're not going to eat me, Sir?" Clary asked in a nervous whisper.
He looked startled at that. "Eat you? Why would I do such a thing? You wouldn't taste any good. Not until you were cooked, at least."
Clary felt faint. Evidently noticing her distress, the Beast spoke again, growling voice softer than ever before. "Sorry. It was a joke. As you've probably guessed, I cannot exactly go out and socialise whenever I want to."
"Apology accepted, Sir."
The deep rumble in his chest returned and Clary took a step back as he flexed those long and lethal claws. "Stop calling me that. Sir."
"Then what should I call you?" Did he even have a name? What about when he was human? Or looked human at least.
"Anything. Anything but that. Please."
Clary nodded, clasping her hands before her.
"I want to show you the castle," the Beast said quietly, gesturing towards the door with a giant forepaw. "If you'd let me?"
What else did she have to lose? Her life was already forfeit, belonging to the monster before her. Plus this would be an excellent opportunity to look for escape routes. "I- I would like that. I think," she chanced.
The Beast nodded. "Come then, Clary." He padded past her and Clary couldn't help but wonder two things; why she was still alive, and if he had indeed never killed anyone... where were the other girls?
There was a strange magic at work in the castle, and she was determined to stay alive long enough to discover just what it was.
And another chapter! The plot thickens. So much mystery and intrigue. And of course, we have meet Beast!Jace. And his human form, though you couldn't see him. It's really rather fun writing this story! Retellings are great to plot and write. And for those wondering: how the heck is romance supposed to work with Jace like this? Have no fear! I think you'll like what's coming.
It looks like everyone is also conflicted about the TV show. After the state of the third episode, I think that I might give up. It feels like they're trying too hard now, sadly. But I desperately want to see Jonathan on the silver screen!
Thank you for the reviews! Anons, you have been cracking me up. Especially the one named Faith. (Girl, get an account and PM me and let's be friends. Yep.) Next chapter we shall be joining Clace on their tour of the castle. And things happen. Are they good or bad things? Find out next chapter! Don't forget to review! Thanks guys! x