I know it's short but you guys are lucky I finished this much. I woke up late and barely had time to write this. Yes, I do have a life. Not much of one, but hey, I'm not complaining.

Thanks to all reviewers, I love you guys!

Disclaimer: I own nothing but Nerissa and her story. Everything else belongs to Cassandra Clare

"Make Alexander Lightwood immortal."

The Queen frowned, carving a hard line between her eyes. Somehow, it made her look even more beautiful, in a brooding, sullen sort of way. One of her courtiers giggled, a girl with long moss green hair and brown skin that crackled like bark. Magnus resisted the urge to shoot her a glare. It took all his strength of will to keep his head lowered and his hands still, even as a trickle of water wound his way down his neck, raising goosebumps.

"You are not the first to ask me for this," the Queen said, cocking her head to the side. Her head shifted with a sound rustling autumn leaves. Her eyes glowed with old power. "I highly doubt you will be the last."

"But will you do it?" Magnus blurted, wishing he could snatch the words back as soon as they left his lips. Shut up, he told himself. Shut up and listen to what she says, idiot.

"It is not a matter of will," she said, gathering the folds of her long cream-colored dress in one hand and baring a slice of her ice-white legs. With more grace than seemed possible, she strode over to where a girl sat, a tray resting on both her outstretched hands. The Queen's steps made no sound. "It is a matter of can." Smiling evilly, she lifted a crystal goblet from the tray, not seeming to notice as the girl's hands shook and a drop of crimson liquid spilled to the floor.

"What do you mean?" Magnus asked, watching the girl carefully. She kept her eyes on the floor, hidden by long tangles of dark gold hair. She seemed dim surrounded by the rest of the faeries, washed out, like an old photograph.

The Queen lifted the goblet to her lips and took a long sip. "It is indeed true that the Fair Folk are blessed with exceptionally long life," she said, replacing the goblet on the tray, her fingers brushing the girl's trembling hand. The girl yelped, surprised, and the tray went tumbling from her grip, spraying the Queen's dress with a pattern of scarlet wine. The crystal goblet shattered against the floor, liquid pooling around it like blood pooling around a dead body.

The expression on the Queen's face didn't change as she reached down and slapped the girl across the face, leaving an angry red mark. The girl gasped, and for just a second Magnus saw her clearly. A smattering of freckles was painted across her nose, her rounded ears poking from beneath her hair. Her eyes were a clear, endless blue. Just like Alec's. She was undoubtedly human.

The Queen returned to her couch, settling down as if nothing had happened, her smile unmarred. "We neither age nor fade in any discernable way," she continued, as the girl was lifted away by the leafy-haired knight and dragged crying from the room. Magnus tried not to stare. "But the gift of immortality is not one I am liberty to give."

"But you can give it," Magnus said, glancing up just once, quickly.

The Queen nodded. "In theory, yes," she paused to beckon the bark-skinned faerie, whispering in her ear. The faerie bowed and left the room, her gown bouncing around her legs. The Queen let out a long sigh.

"Have you any idea how many tales of woe and destruction are weaved into our history?" she said. "And almost all caused by humans. We are beautiful creatures Bane, no one would deny this. Even the most grotesque among us,"—she shot a look towards a faerie with a hollow back and a face so sunken she looked like skin laid down over bone—"are more alluring than any human. It is part of our magic. Humans have been falling in love with us since the beginning of time. And every once in a while there would be a hero, a king's champion, that one of the fey would love in turn. There was a time when I would bless upon them immortality, allow them to live among the Folk." Her smile was wicked. "But it never ended well."

Magnus couldn't stop himself. "What do you mean?"

"You met Nerissa, did you not? She was once a sweet, carefree girl, but time has turned her bitter and coarse. One of the heroes I changed was hers. A long, long time ago. But humans are not made to live forever. He began to fade." The Queen shook her head in an unbelieving way. "But Nerissa loved him. She gave everything, even offered her own immortality for me to make him right. I refused her. I would not warp one of my own into something half-human and half-fey, caught between two worlds. A wraith, a shade. I think she's hated me ever since. Her human died, and she retreated to the pond, living on the very edges of our realm. An exile."

"That would not happen to me," Magnus said, shaking his head hard. His heart was thumping furiously in his chest, fast and rigid as the beat of a war drum. The sound pounded in his ears. "I wouldn't let it happen."

"You wouldn't have a choice," the Queen pointed out, her voice devoid of any emotion. Her eyes were like two empty holes, looking into them was like looking into a bottomless pit and trying to gauge how far he would fall. "Your human would fade, just like all the others, and you would be left with the guilt and sorrow of his memory. No, I will not do this."

"Please," Magnus said, begging now. He didn't want to beg. It was degrading, humiliating, unbecoming. He couldn't remember the last time he begged. But he did now. He begged for Alec, for a chance to be with him. It was all he wanted, and here the Queen was telling him it was the one thing he couldn't have. "There has to be some way. Something. Anything. I'll do anything."

And she smiled. And the smile was so cunning, so conniving, so dangerous, that Magnus shuddered, a sick feeling churning in his stomach. He might not be human, but the faerie Queen was something so completely other that he pushed back the urge to flee. "It is tempting, I shall give you that much." Her grin spread, lighting up her endless eyes. "To think of the things I might ask of you in return. It is tempting. But I swore long ago to never bequest immortality again. I cannot break that promise."

Magnus choked down his fear and his smartass response. "Yes, my lady," he intoned, looking anywhere but at the treacherous Queen.

"But," she said, quietly now, as if part of her had diminished. "Because you amuse me, and because of your past, I shall let you leave my realm alive and unspoiled. Treasure this gift, for it is not given lightly."

"Yes, my lady," he said, getting to his feet. The two knights returned and each took one of his arms, their faces hard and impassive as stone. They led him from the room and through the dizzying blur of the faerie revels, through a whirl of color and limbs and beautiful faces.

Before he knew it, Magnus was rushing through the dark swirl of pond water, icy currents digging into his skin. Part of him wished he wouldn't surface. Part of him wished he would drown. It would be easier. Easier than going back to Alec, easier than watching him as he grew and changed and aged. Easier than watching him die.

His arms were so cold he thought they might fall off, half-frozen in ten places, five completely deadened parts just below each elbow. It was somehow soothing, like the gentle buzz of anesthetic. Suddenly there was hard pressure at the numbed parts, as if someone had squeezed him. The water rushed past so fast that it forced his eyes closed.

He broke the surface, water streaming down his face. Instinct kicked in and he sucked in deep, bone-rattling breaths so frozen they burned his throat. As he sloshed to the shore, wet and dejected, he thought he saw a face just below the water's skin. A pale face, framed by long blond hair. It disappeared as quickly as it came.

He must've been imagining things.

Review please! Seriously, review. Tell me what to change! Help me improve! This fic is a long way from over!