Jace stood in the entry way grand hall with an air of indifference despite his inner turmoil. When Maryse had slammed Alec's door open, Jace's while Clary was training, ordering him to get up, shower and be downstairs in half an hour he had no idea what was happening. All she told him was the Clave had 'urgent matters to discuss'. He was furious when she said he would be going alone and wouldn't be seeing Clary, instead he had to answer questions from these bullheads. He hoped she'd remembered her medication; he usually reminded her.
The Clave hall was as grand as one would expect. Drapes and tapestries of gold, red and silver coated the walls. The floors were made of polished cream marble, the walls of dark maple. One long oak table ran down a third of room with plush ruby chairs with frames of shining gold surrounding it. The table was bare and reflected Jace's silhouette as he was escorted to the panel.
He seated himself in a red cushioned chair at the far end of the table. He remained immobile under the scrutiny of the twelve high court members of the Clave. They looked at him with steel eyes that left a feeling of unease on his chest. Each wore a black robe trimmed with purple and the faintest line of silver and a black shirt beneath it. Many had grey hair and the heads of handcrafted canes peppered the edge of the table beside them.
Finally they put him out of his misery and spoke.
"Jonathan, the-"
"It's Jace," said boy interrupted.
"Council has asked you here today," the old croon continued, ignoring Jace's interruption, "in regards to the matter of Jonathan Morgenstern and his current where abouts."
"I've already told you everything I know."
"Yes, however, that was before you were free of distraction and had time to think through your statement to find any more information for us," a balding man to his left pressed.
"Don't you think I would have contacted the Clave if I had obtained any new evidence? My loved ones are the most at risk in this situation. So sorry to disappoint but I have no further information to give you in regards to Jonathan Morgenstern," Jace argued despite the look of disapproval he was receiving from the table.
Surprised that Maryse had not reprimanded him for his rude behaviour, Jace glance behind him to where she had been seated. The chair similar to his was empty. He looked around and spotted her tucked into a corner with a piece of something red clutched in her hand. Then just as quickly it disappeared in a flash of smoke and fire.
Jace snapped his head back to the pruned face men in front of him at the sound of a cane snapping against the heavy wood table.
"Mr Lightwood we are you superiors and as such will be treated with respect. Now we understand you want to protect those you care about but the safety of the court and the pure lineages are what must be most protected at this point in time. Therefore we need you to focus more on finding us more information-"
Before Jace could bark insults at the callous old tyrant Maryse interrupted.
"My apologies gentlemen but I'm afraid this meeting will have to be postponed as we have an urgent family matter to which we must attend."
"That may be but-" one of the youngest of the twelve began before he was cut off by Maryse.
"We are here as volunteers not people under charge or order thus we may leave now and defer this congregation until further notice without question can we not?"
Mother and son pinned the court with angered and challenging eyes until the head of the judiciary consented with a brief nod before calling guards to escort them from the hall.
Maryse set a quick pace toward home as the exited the gates of the Clave headquarters. She had yet to tell Jace what the 'family matter' was but he stayed silent waiting for her to tell him. When she said nothing he remained patient until he couldn't stand the tense silence anymore and grasped her bicep to halt her.
"Maryse what's going on?"
Isabelle wrapped the red tongue of ribbon around the fire message, covering several letters of the name scrawled across the front. Magnus. Inside was a brief note asking for his immediate return due to a matter of great urgency. She sent the call then turned back to Clary.
The accident was so unexpected that Isabelle had almost remained frozen. There had been no warning, no signs, just a suddenly falling teenage girl. One moment they were sparing then they were on the floor, one of them seemingly lifeless.
Clary was lying on the training room floor with a pillow under her head. She had yet to move even the slightest since she collapsed fifteen minutes ago. Isabelle had caught Clary as she fell and retrieved a pillow for her before sending a fire message to her mother. She received the order from her mother to contact Magnus almost instantaneously. She knew her mother would postpone Jace's interview. Then she would tell Jace. He was going to murder her.
She began to pace protectively beside Clary as she waited anxiously for Maryse and Jace to arrive. Then she heard the door downstairs slam against the wall.
Jace thundered up the stairs to the training room with only one thought in his mind. Get to Clary. His heart pulsed in his ears in time with the pounding of his feet. Only when he skidded to a halt in the training room doorway did everything go silent.
Clary lay on the cold floor like a genuine Snow White, pale, arms at her side and her expressionless face tilted toward him on the pillow under her head. The sight made his knees tremble and his fingers reach for the door frame. He didn't see Isabelle at Clary's feet or feel Maryse's hand on his tense shoulders. But Jace knew.
This time he couldn't wake his sleeping beauty with a kiss.