Pandemonium: Chapter 26
So yeah, pretty much everything belongs to Cassandra Clare, but you knew that already.
AN: So Sorry. Much Apologies. Very Late. Wow.
Okay, so besides the random stupid Doge thing that I just did, I really have to apologize for this being so late. I would be lying if I say I hadn't forgotten. In fact, I just saw the COB movie a few days ago, and then remembered that I was writing a whole story. Anyway, here I am back to write this for y'all. Hope you've had a wonderful two-ish months, and a very Happy Holidays!. I sure did (not?). Also to be fair I think this chapter sucks and is forced, but there are places I'm going after that matter that I've already written and that I like, so please bear with me.
Alec froze.
Queen Charlotte had stood up. She was clearing her throat.
A bewildered Alec wondered what she was about to say.
He and Clary stepped apart and stared intently at the now standing Queen.
The music stopped. The crowds ceased milling around, and patiently waited for the Queen to begin.
Noting that they were done, she cleared her throat again, and spoke quietly:
"After thorough consultation with many advisors, I have concluded that it is in the best interest of the realm that Prince Alexander be married soon. To that extent, I have chosen the Lady Clarissa von Morgenstern, daughter of the esteemed Baron Valentine von Morgenstern to be his wife, and your future queen."
Alec stared, unimpressed, at the Queen and the audience before her. What was news to them, was an old, sad fact to him. Clary had a similar look on her face. Jace and Magnus, on the other hand, stared angrily in the distance; their eyes leered towards the Queen and Valentine, giving them a glare designed to burn through walls.
Eventually, the murmur died down; the music resumed, and so did the dancing. Yet, Jace still fumed.
Magnus, standing with Jace in the corner, did his best to contain Jace, to prevent him from making any rash decisions.
Unfortunately, Jessamine returned to try to get Magnus to dance again. She clearly showed the signs of intense intoxication. Eventually, she was such a mess that it became impossible for Magnus to keep her in the ballroom. Out of kindness, he dragged her staggering lethargic body out the door, and eventually to her house. This interaction was noted with interest by both Valentine and Camille, both of whom stole a quick glance at each other and a nod.
In his absence, Magnus had charged Will with the task of babysitting Jace and making sure he didn't' do anything crazy. Unfortunately there was a moment when Will was a bit too occupied with Tessa, and as such Jace was left alone.
As soon as he could, he snuck away from the corner and moved towards the dance floor.
He lithely moved between the pressed bodies with the skill and purpose of a man with no other purpose. Though, that was probably because he only had one purpose: to find Clary.
Sure enough, he found Clary, still awkwardly dancing with Alec.
As soon as he walked forward, Alec faltered. The look in Jace's golden eyes was not the normal softness he expected; instead, they were alight with rage and a little bit of intoxicated boldness.
With a sudden bit of force, Clary was ripped from Alec's arms by Jace and roughly turned to face Jace, who without saying anything, kissed her deeply and thoroughly.
Everyone around them immediately stopped and stared. Slowly, as the two stayed in their embrace, the silence and open mouthed stares expanded to everyone in the room, including Valentine and Charlotte.
After what seemed like an age, the two finally parted.
Valentine was standing. His face was red; his cheeks burned with rage. Charlotte was frowning, yet for some reason there was a twinkle in her eyes.
The silence was deafening. The iambic patter of of the second hand on the great clock set the pace for the room; it was as if the air itself had a beating heart.
The tension was palpable in the room; slowly, the shock faded for most of the audience, and they began shifting their heads-right to watch Valentine and left to see Clary and Jace.
Despite the crackling noise of necks constantly shifting direction, the room was still stiflingly silent. The clock-heart was still beating, showing that time was slowing to a crawl. Somewhere between a breve and an ictus, something snapped.
Like a spark of energy, the room exploded; action potential had been reached; there was no stopping the enzymatic reaction now.
The clock-heart quickened; feet of iambs rushed forth like a dam had broken and this was the deluge of water.
Riding atop that wave was Valentine. His eyes were soulless black holes; deep within them was a vacuum so deep that everything, light, sound, life, breath, space, and even time was lost. There was nothing.
From somewhere within that icy coldness, deep within that nothing, was a rage. A rage so deep, yet so undeniable that it escaped the inescapable pull of that nothing. It was the rage of a man whose life's ambitions had just been thwarted with a kiss.
He crashed through the crowd, heading with singularly focused energy towards Clary and Jace.
A small bead of sweat rolled gently down Clary's face; even her mother could not evoke this much rage from her father.
Jace steadied himself. All hints of intoxication were gone. The adrenaline rushed to his brain, and between flight or fight, he chose fight.
The air smelled fresh with the possibility of murder.
Alec's pupils dilated. Somewhere neurotransmitters crossed a synaptic cleft and a connection was made. Right as Valentine was about to reach the two, he stepped into the middle.
Valentine and his wave came to a crashing halt, with all his hate flowing headfirst over onto Alec. From somewhere in the audience a gasp was heard.
The clock-heart slowed. The beat of Alec's heart matched that of the clock. The blood rushed to his head as he heard it swiftly move past his ears. He could feel the heat rising from Valentine. A dark heat emanated off his body and hit Alec in the face.
Now was the moment to speak; now was the moment to extricate himself from the marriage pact.
Yet now his throat scratched like sandpaper on skin; now his tongue weighed in his mouth like lead; now his lips sealed shut like the gates of Eden.
"da... DUM" the heart-clock went.
Between breve and ictus, Alec shut his eyes. Images flashed before his eyes: Izzy, Clary, Magnus, Jace, and even Simon happily intoxicated in his apartments; Clary and Jace happily together, gently pressing their hands; Carstairs chuckling to himself softly; and Magnus-the scent of sandalwood, the touch of lithe arms surrounding him, the sound of a smooth silky voice calling out his name, not Alec but Alexander, the sight of beautiful yellow-green eyes, and most importantly the taste of those lips.
"da...DUM" said the heart-clock, agonizingly pointing out that yet another iambic foot had passed.
Sandpaper melted into words begging to be spoken; lead became silver, and a tongue prepared to work its magic; the gates of Eden were opened once more, for all sins can be forgiven.
Facing to turn Valentine, Alec gave his hardest stare and said "Enough."
Valentine said nothing; he did nothing; the dark heat continued to emanate.
"Clearly," Alec intoned, "the two of them are madly in love. I have no interest in entering a loveless marriage that is doomed to fail. I'll find my own spouse."
The silence returned to its deafening state.
da...
Valentine's eyes narrowed. Deep within his mind moved a plot. Part of him felt the urge to chuckle. So two pawns were acting like knights. It didn't matter; he had a castle, a bishop, and most importantly a Queen. This King was guaranteed to be in checkmate sooner or later; chess, after all, was a game of patience.
DUM
A snigger emerged from behind Valentine and Alec that startled everyone.
Charlotte could barely contain herself. Within moments, her laugh was full-throated.
The entire crowd stared at her, mouthes agape. Finally, she decided to speak.
"Well, Morgenstern, I suppose we were both wrong. The Prince isn't entirely an idiot. At least he knows when something is doomed to fail, and knows when to leave it be. Perhaps he does have the prescience to be a good ruler."
For some reason, the crowd thought that was a particularly good moment to start clapping.
Valentine's brow had furrowed in consternation, as if some calculation had gone horribly wrong but he didn't know where.
With an exasperated huff, he swiftly turned round and went back to his place near the Queen.
The music rose up again, the chatter returned, and a general cacophony ruled the room. Yet, deep within that cacophony one sound metrically reminded everyone of time. It was the time of their own hearts responding with a delicate, but steady "da DUM."
It was to this scene that Magnus returned. What surprised him most, though, was a very peculiar scene: A still rather infuriated Valentine staring unceremoniously at a happily dancing Clary and Jace.
Magnus ran to Will and almost ripped his arm off as he pulled him from Tessa. Glaring he said, "What did you let happen!?"
Tessa rolled her eyes and asked, "Where were you for that entire time?"
"Someone had to make sure that drunk Jessamine didn't asphyxiate. Remind me never to help someone throw up ever again. Never mind that though, what happened?"
"His Royal Highness broke off his engagement with the Lady Morgenstern after she and his guard decided to fully make out in front of everyone."
"And...?"
"And what? The Queen was perfectly fine with it, so now everyone else has to stomach it. I suppose everything as it should be now."
With a distant look in his eyes Magnus said, "I suppose...though perhaps not everything..."
Before Tessa could even ask him what he meant, Magnus walked away.
The rest of the evening was spent in a whirl of color and dance. The drinks flowed freely and the music continued late until the night.
Soon enough, very few people remained there. The Queen had retired long ago, and Valentine was in some corner talking to a maid who was nodding furiously.
A very tired Alec slumped off into a corner, where he met Magnus.
Magnus forced him to get up, and leave the room.
As soon as they were a safe distance away, Magnus kissed him lightly.
While Alec's eyes were closed, he felt a thin piece of silk cross his eyes.
"What," he asked, "is this?"
Chuckling lightly Magnus replied, "Nothing Mr. Moncrieff, absolutely nothing. Just a little surprise."
With a tug on his arm, Magnus dragged Alec away.