A/N:Hey my crazy readers! I know, I'm a total jerk for not updating sooner, seeing as it's summer and all. But, I have been pretty busy being lazy and traveling; I'd tell you about it, but it's completely irrelevant to the story. Anyway, this chappy was inspired by a lot because I wrote it all summer. Moving on, it's kinda a transition chapter and I had to get a lot of info in without taking all the mysteriousness away...
This chapter is supa-long (exactly 2630 words actually) and I was planning on making it longer but decided I'd make it a bit of a cliffy with some unanswered questions to make sure that you read the next chapter. It's not a very dramatic cliffy mind you, more of a ledge you could accidentally trip over if you weren't paying attention, but still, a cliffy-ish.
This chapter I listened to a lot of music that I would like to recommend, because I really like recommending things...
Basically, I listened to everything by "My Terrible Friend", which is an indie band you can only find on Itunes or Youtube, which I think are highly talented and funny.
Talk to you some more at the end...
For a moment, everyone stopped yelling at each other and just stared. Except for Magnus.
Magnus beamed widely. Jocelyn thought it strange seeing as Clary was bawling her eyes out.
Magnus approached her. He put one hand on her back and patted reassuringly.
"Tut-tut now, precious." He said picking up her teacup with his other hand, "Drink some of this, it'll make you feel better." Wearily, Clary wiped her tears away on her sleeve and held her breath long enough to take a sip of tea. She felt stupid and embarrassed.
"Now, Clary I want you to take a deep breath and tell me everything you remember."
"Why?" Her voice cracked.
"I need to know just how much you remember, much more how much I'll have to fill you in." Magnus said, examining his fingernails. Clary sighed and nodded.
"I remember when we were still in Idris after what we thought was the final revolt…I remember the deaths, the messages, the raids…Nothing's really detailed… Except my last one." Magnus nodded.
"But how is that possible? One moment- No not even; A mention of something and she remembers it all?" Questioned Alec. He seemed almost angry. Magnus turned around.
"No, I don't believe that she remembers everything. I still think she's hiding something from herself. Someone specifically." Magnus hushed.
"So you're saying that she doesn't remember Jace?" Simon exclaimed a bit too loudly.
"I remember Jace," Clary responded in frustration, "And stop talking about me if I'm not here!" Jocelyn stared intently at Clary. Magnus ignored her and continued whispering to the remainder of the group.
"No. Not that she doesn't remember him. Just… How should I explain this?" Magnus mumbled to himself for a minute, "You know when you have a dream and you make up a bunch of characters?" Everyone nodded in understanding. "Well I believe it's somewhat like when you wake up after a dream and you'll remember the fantastic adventure you went on and all the characters, but you don't really remember, or feel anything towards these characters like you did in the dream. Understand? In this case, I believe Clary doesn't want to remember how she loved Jace; he's like some begotten character that she doesn't really remember. That's why she doesn't remember the details: she doesn't want to remember. Also, I don't believe she knows just how she came to be so incoherent and forgetful. This must be an extremely confusing situation for her." Jocelyn's eyes flicked off Clary.
"So what you're saying is that she doesn't want to know, therefore she doesn't?" Luke interpreted.
"Correct." Magnus replied.
"Then why was she crying?" Jocelyn reprimanded.
"Why don't we ask her? I'm sure she has as many questions as we do." Magnus chattered.
They all turned around to see Clary sitting and staring confusedly at her wrist.
"Clary?" Simon prodded.
"Yes, Simon?" She snapped as her head jerked upward.
"Are you alright?" He mumbled warily.
"Yeah I'm fine." She said curtly, feeling more and more like a cornered animal.
"Okay…" Simon responded, sounding resigned.
"So Clary," Magnus announced, rubbing his hands together, "Why were you just crying?"
"Well I… I… I don't know. I guess I was overwhelmed with all the memories or something." Blurted Clary.
"Something indeed." Magnus agreed. "What did Jace mean to you?"
"Nothing." She said the words quickly and smoothly.
"So you weren't in love with him?" Magnus pushed.
"No. Now that I look back at everything, I realize that I just wanted to love and be loved. So I convinced myself I did love him- I was in love with the idea of love. Now I know better. I was devastated when I was rejected and that irrationality is what put us here." It was as if she was reading something off a page.
"So it seems, so it seems," Continued Magnus, "Do you know how you… for lack of a better word- hid your memories?"
"Ummm…" Hesitated Clary.
"She has no idea." Answered Luke. Everyone turned toward him momentarily.
"What," Luke said with a rare smile, "I know when the girl's pulling a blank."
Magnus turned around. "Apparently."
Suddenly Simon stood up. "This is so stupid." He muttered as he stormed out of the room.
"What's wrong with him? Did I say something?" Gasped Clary in confusion.
"I would guess that he's angry because he's in love with you." Replied Jocelyn idly.
"I don't understand…" Clary stared absently at her hands.
"Then let me elaborate," Alec volunteered, sounding slightly hateful. "All this time he gave up on you because he thought you were happier with Jace; that you were in love with him. Now suddenly, you never loved Jace in the first place and Simon's left a little confused and broken-hearted. We all are."
Clary inhaled sharply.
"Now, Alec, no need to be so blunt about it." Magnus chided.
"Yes. There is." Alec's jaw was set.
"Alec-" Magnus began.
"Why are you defending her Magnus? She's the one who ran away from all her problems while we dealt with Fenmore. She's the one that's wrong!" Alec shouted. He stood up for a moment before exiting in the same fashion as Simon.
Magnus sighed and scrubbed a hand across his face. He stared down at his untouched tea in the eerie silence before leaving into the kitchen muttering something about, "needing something stronger".
In the middle of pouring himself an unhealthily tall glass of scotch, Magnus turned around abruptly.
"Luke." He said shattering the awkward silence.
"Yes?" Luke responded.
"I suggest you catch Clary." Magnus replied while returning to his scotch.
"Why?" Luke asked. Jocelyn gave Magnus a peculiar look.
"Because, Luke," Magnus said with raised eyebrows like it was the most obvious question ever, "She's about to faint."
Just as the words came out of his mouth, Clary's eyes rolled back into her head and she toppled forward.
As quickly as she fell, Luke ran and caught her.
Magnus returned into the living room then. He easily gulped down half of the glass of scotch like it was orange juice and looked at Luke holding an unconscious Clary.
"Good catch, doggie," He spoke with sarcasm dripping from his voice, "Now be a good boy and put the nice lady in my room."
Luke narrowed his eyes in annoyance and carried Clary into Magnus' room.
It was the day after the festival.
The sun didn't seem too harsh as it glorified the room in pools of gold. Clary thought that at that moment, everything was perfect. A perfection that nothing could taint.
She was lying in bed, beside Jace. It was poetic justice what had happened these last months; it was like Clary had finally started living.
Jace was still asleep. It was fascinating to Clary to see Jace sleep. He had a certain vulnerability that he never showed while awake, except to Clary. In rare and beautiful moments such as this, Clary liked to take a mental picture and stow it away in her mind for future reference.
Clary tried to memorize every detail. The way his hair curled in every direction and yet sat perfectly on his head, the soft curves of his lips, the shape of his liquid gold eyes…everything.
Clary was suddenly aware of a ticking noise. She sat up and stared at the clock in Amatis' guestroom for five whole minutes before she realized what time it was.
"Shoot." She muttered under her breath. Looking at Jace's peaceful form, Clary couldn't bring herself to waking him up- yet. Standing up, she softly let go of his hand and walked toward the trunk at the foot of the bed.
She was wearing large flannel pyjama's of Amatis'. Clary hoped that her clothes were cleaned somewhere. Strangely, they were.
Grabbing the meagre amount of clothing she owned, she quietly exited the room and entered Amatis' comfortable bathroom.
She silently dressed, brushed her teeth and chased knots out of her hair with a comb. Clary didn't wince at the mirror when she spied the dark bags beneath her eyes. Staying up had been worth it… That thought brought a sly grin to Clary's face.
I should probably go wake up Jace, she thought. However, the blatant protests of her stomach convinced her to have just a small snack.
Clary slipped down the stairs as quietly as she thought humanly possible and wondered quietly why no one was home.
Clary fished through the refrigerator and decided almost immediately that cereal was the best option. Extracting the milk from the fridge, she placed it on the table nearby and gasped.
"Well, good morning to you too." Magnus giggled. Really Giggled.
"Sorry Magnus…Why are you here?" Clary rebounded,
"Well aren't we on our best behaviour today?" He chided, sounding utterly pleased.
"Why isn't anyone home?" Clary ignored his question, rolling her eyes.
"Rome wasn't built in a day, pumpkin. You can't expect that everything's better and all the politics are worked out because you deflated the macho-man." Magnus explained matter-of-factly.
"But-" Clary started to say.
"Oh, no, no, no, Clary. Getting rid of our very unloving Valentine -do you think that's a play on words?- is going to seem easy compared to all the negotiations and consensuses were rerouting. You understand?" Magnus lectured.
"Magnus, I really don't appreciate it when you act like I was born yesterday." Clary replied sarcastically.
"Compared to me," Magnus said, "you were."
"Why'd you come here, Magnus? I'm sure you didn't come here to waste your time lecturing me." Clary sighed, slightly exasperated.
"On the contrary," Magnus countered, "That's exactly what I came here to do."
"Well," Clary sighed, grabbing the cereal from the cupboard, "if that is your mission; why don't I go wake up Jace? If he hasn't already been awakened by your shenanigans."
"Shenanigans?" Magnus repeated, sounding slightly offended, " I wouldn't call them that. And besides, I can assure you Jace won't be waking up anytime soon; I've made sure of that."
Clary stared at him for a moment.
"You did something to Jace." She replied with finality,
"Yup." Was all Magnus had to say.
"Why?" Clary's voice was becoming curt.
"That's the unequivocal reason I came here." Magnus paused.
"And?" Clary replied rudely. Magnus gave her a stern look as if to tell her to watch her tone.
"To be blunt; as you now know, you and Jace are both 'Angel children' for lack of better words," Magnus continued, "And therefore, you have abilities that are unimaginable to the other Nephilim, and the Clave is obviously interested. Now your boy-toy upstairs clearly doesn't want you to have any contact with the Clave because he has anxiety issues. It's my job to take you to the Clave, monitor your interrogation and return you here before he wakes up." Magnus smiled.
"Oh." Clary said, blinking. "How long until Jace wakes up?"
"Probably another two-and-a-half hours." Magnus said proudly.
"Probably?" Clary questioned.
"Well, I don't know how my potion works on 'angel children'. He could be out for the rest of the day, or, he could wake up in the next five minutes. Either way, time is of the essence." Magnus replied matter-of-factly.
"Then we'd better leave now." Clary finished.
"I knew you'd agree." Magnus grinned. He trotted through the house and opened the front door for Clary. Clary rolled her eyes at him as she exited.
"…So you only recently discovered your real parentage?" Continued a pleasant-looking brown-haired female Shadowhunter.
"Yes." Clary answered, glancing at Magnus who was standing in the corner of the room examining his nails.
"Well that's about it. Thanks for cooperating." The woman said.
"Great." Clary sighed in relief, she'd been in the claustrophobic room for about an hour and was definitely ready to leave.
Magnus' head flipped up and he blinked as if he'd just woken up. Clary ignored him vigilantly, and exited the room.
"Jace? Wake up Jace." Heard a voice he could place immediately as it interrupted the dreams in the recesses in his mind, or at least this was how Clary pictured it, really she was just shaking an unconscious Jace and softly shouting at him. After a moment of trying, she turned a fearful eye to Magnus.
"Clary, who are you looking at?" A suddenly conscious Jace said with playful eyes, his curls playing off his head in a bed-head fashion. Clary didn't have to fake a relieved smile. Magnus was gone.
"No one." Clary replied, fingering a rebel lock of hair on his forehead. She bent down and took his lower lip in hers. His arms wrapped around her.
When they released, she sat up and a smile spread across her face like sunlight.
"What was that for?" Jace interrogated curiously.
"Nothing." Clary sighed.
"If that was 'nothing' then I want a lot of 'nothing' in the future." Laughed Jace, "Wait-" He sat up, "What time is it?"
That wasn't an unexpected question. "Sometime around one." Clary responded. Jace's eyes widened.
" One!," He blinked, seemingly appalled, "I've never slept in that long. Is something wrong?"
For a moment, Clary just stared at him, fascinated; then smiled and shook her head slowly. "No Jace," She said, leaning back down, " Everything's perfect."
The last of the sunlight drifted down from the sun, a ripened peach hanging low, ready for picking. Clary had never seen the sun like that. Then again, she hadn't seen a lot before the last couple months.
Fingers intertwined, Jace and Clary were walking down the streets of Alicante. Although the parade had been the night before, everyone was obviously still celebrating; the mood was in the air.
There was a small group of people in the square in a circle. This raised Jace's eyebrows; it wasn't unusual to see a group of people in Alicante (there were always people about) but the atmosphere of the party wasn't positive, in fact, it leaked anxiety.
Wordlessly, Jace and Clary changed direction and pushed their way through the crowd. What was in the center rattled Clary's bones.
It was a man, easily identified as Shadowhunter by excessive use of runes, but he was dead. By just looking at him, you couldn't tell he was dead, thought Clary. If you had just seen a picture of him, lying there you couldn't tell he was dead, you'd think he was just asleep on the street. No, just looking at him didn't tell you he was dead; but something about this man was wrong. Maybe it was the look on his face, a mask of unresponsiveness. Or maybe the way his body was painfully and eerily still… A thought flashed through her head.
Clary turned her face away, strangely disgusted.
"Who is he?" Murmured Clary. Jace didn't seem to know the answer and after asking around didn't seem to know much more.
"Nobody knows." Jace responded with finality.
"Let's get out of here." Clary said, feeling slightly claustrophobic.
They marched out of the crowd quickly and saw members of the Clave entering the Square from the other end. Jace hastily pulled her into an empty alleyway and questioned her,
"What do you know?" His eyes alight with curiosity.
"How did you know I knew something?" Clary almost laughed.
"Your eyes lit up just like when you showed me how you thought your mother had hid the cup." Jace replied excitedly, "So, what do you know?" Clary smiled a little.
"I recognize him from somewhere… I don't know where, but it was fairly recently…" She struggled to concentrate on the thought.
"Strange… Could it be he was someone in your mundane life?" Jace asked, more and more interested and worried in the prospect of a mystery.
"I don't think so, I would have remembered him right away. No, this was someone definitely from my new life." Clary explained. "C'mon, let's go find Isabelle-and-troop."
A/N: Curious? Yes, she is beginning to recall certain important highlighted events. I'm only writing down the important stuff so you better pay attention for the pop-quiz coming up...
More memories and (exciting moment) plot next chapter. Anyway, I'd like to thank everyone for story/author alerting me and reviewing me with all the positive criticism. I really appreciate it.
Yeah, I' getting pretty excited about this story now so I hope to put in a new chapter soon with some action and more filling-in tidbits.
In conclusion, I wrote a small interview with Oek because she's a character I think deserves more attention. Here goes nothing:
Aimee: So, Oek, who were your parents?
Oek: My father was fey knight, Dain and my mother was mundane librarian, Roslyn.
Aimee: How was your childhood?
Oek: I grew up as one of the fey in a light, blissful childhood. I was never fully accepted into the fey community -like all Sprites-, but enjoyed what I could of the court life. I never knew my parents because my mother died in childbirth and my father went missing immediately afterwards. I have yet to meet my father.
Aimee: So, Oek how did you come to be in such a predicament with our inane antagonist?
Oek: Well, you already know, don't you Aimee? Your readers will just have to wait and see.
Aimee: How did I know you'd say something like that?
Oek: Well, you did write it.
Aimee: This is true. Anyway, what do you plan on doing first when you go "home"?
Oek: I have no idea. I think I'd first thank the big guy upstairs and see whatever happens.
Aimee: Well thanks, but that's all our time today, unfortunately we don't have enough time for Fenmore. (I have to go to sleep eventually!)
Please, let me know your hypothesis on this subject and click the boring-looking rectangular button below. If you don't... Who knows what might happen? Maybe no Jace in the next chappy... Or maybe not, either way I win. ;p
~Aimee Lafountaine