Pandemonium: Chapter 36
Nothing belongs to me, because why would it?
AN: I'm really quite sorry about how late this is, but I have a pretty good reason... so the two weeks I was just plain busy with school. Lots of exams and papers; it wasn't fun. Then, last week happened. Someone in my family passed away (don't worry; I'm totally fine) and everything kinda got crazy and busy because... you get the idea. Anyway, after all that was finally done, I got enough moments to myself to finally write this.
Izzy walked sullenly down from Alec's chambers with Jace. Her brother was an incorrigible, stubborn, no good clotpole! He would never do anything that she said, even if it was for his own good. "Well," she whispered to Jace, "I'd like to see his morose face when Magnus is attacking him." Jace just rolled his eyes. Alec was almost his brother, and to have him that miserable for the rest of his life would be an utter disaster.
Finally, they reached the entrance to the dungeons. The tall guard had eyed them on their way down and looked at them suspiciously.
"What do you want?" she asked.
Isabelle smiled brightly and said in an eerily chipper voice, "Well I was telling my idiot brother that I never even got a proper tour of the palace, and I know there are just so many wonderful sights to behold, especially the places that are built from the foundations of the old castle, so of course I've been begging, and begging, and begging to see all the places, but they won't let me see anything." After that long winded explanation, Izzy took a moment to put on a silly little girl frown, breathe, and then continue, "so anyway, I was saying this earlier, but by stupid brother was too busy grumbling about how much work he had to do, and how he didn't have time to take me on a tour because he barely got a good tour himself. And then the Captain of his Guard, this guy here, basically told me that he knew the palace inside and out and the best place to start is obviously at the bottom so then we can work our way up!"
Jace was stunned. In the short while he had known her, he never could have imagined that she was quite so good at acting the part of a ditz. If anyone knew her remotely well, they would be extremely surprised to see Izzy talk this way, but the guard barely knew her name. It was perfect.
The guard looked dazed, confused, and just plain weary. He looked at her one last time, and then decided that it was best to avoid another rant. He waived them through into the dungeons.
Magnus sat in his cell and stared at the tiny hole high above him. He closed his eyes and thought for a few moments. This would be the place he spent his last night on earth. In a rotten, smelly jail cell far beneath everyone and everything. Tomorrow he would go. Deep in his heart though, he was not sad. He was resigned. With a snark he remembered the quote, a favourite of Will's, "It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to than I have ever known." He would miss Will and his pretentiousness; his odd quirks; his strange Dickensian sense of heroism. He would miss a lot of people, not just Will. He would miss Tessa; he had long forgiven Tessa. She was doing her job, and she was doing what she believed was right. How was she supposed to know that people hated him? And regardless of what she had done, even she knew that death was too much. He would miss Clary, the girl he had grown up with, one of his best friends. He hoped that her fiery spunk never dimmed, even in the face of this. He would miss Lewis, that bloodsucking nerdy bureaucrat that he was. He would-of course-miss Izzy. In such a short period of time, she had become one of his best friends, and she was wonderful. He would even miss goldilocks, that golden pretentious ass did have some good qualities deep down, and he would take good care of Clary. There were plenty of people to miss, Luke, Maia, Jordan, Caterina, and...and him.
Magnus finally opened his eyes and stared at the floor. It was all for him. This was all for him. He was that "far, far better thing."
Magnus had a vision of the world. A vision of a more fair and just world, a world based on the idea that nobody was better than anyone else, that blood mattered less than what was inside your head. He knew that vision was unpopular, especially among those who thought that blood mattered more than what was inside your head. It was those people, those who were so antagonistic to such a change that had him here, had him on the verge of death. But there was one person who would certainly be able to fix that, to make his vision come true. This was why he sat in this cell and did not fight. This is why he was resigned. Love and hope. Hope and love. And most importantly, "a far, far better thing."
Magnus laid his head back against the grimy wall. He was going to be thoroughly cleaned before his execution anyway, so it didn't matter what ick he got into his hair. He closed his eyes once more and imagined a particular pair of blue eyes. He smiled wistfully; maybe they would be there tomorrow, and what a wonderful last sight they would make.
"Where in this hellish labyrinth are they keeping him," Izzy hissed.
"You think if I knew, we would be wandering around here?" Jace hissed back.
"I should have asked that stupid guard where they're keeping him...he probably would have told me, I think he liked me."
"Are you kidding me? He was so glad to get rid of you! He looked like he was going to pass out if you kept on talking like that."
She hit him on the harm, rather forcefully. "Take that back!"
Pouting, Jace said, "Ow! That hurts you know! And you know I'm right!"
"Awww, poor little Jace-y Wace-y cant even get hit by a little girl? Wait till I tell Clary, she'll be so pleased to hear what a sissy her boyfriend is."
"Little girl? Are you crazy? You hit like a giant man!"
"Thanks, darling. You really know how to make a girl feel like a lady."
"Wait, hush! I think this is it."
Thanks, darling. You really know how to make a girl feel like a lady.
Magnus heard that voice. It didn't make any sense. He wasn't supposed to hear that voice, or any of those voices ever again. It was the end. This was supposed to be it. He was maybe going to see the faces tomorrow, but the voices? No, never the voices. What were those two idiots doing here?
"Psst. Magnus." Izzy whispered. There were no guards in the immediate vicinity.
"Psst. Magnus." she said again.
Magnus thought about responding. But then again, if he pretended to not hear it, to be asleep or something, maybe they would think they had the wrong cell; maybe they would go away.
"I know you're in there," she whispered, "so you better get ready to leave this stinkhole. We're getting you out.
Finally, Magnus decided that it was not worth the waiting. They may get caught, and that would be bad for Alec.
"Go away," he said monotonously.
"What?" Jace hissed.
"You heard me goldilocks. Go. Away," Magnus replied coldly, "I don't want you or anyone else here."
"But we're here to get you out," Izzy said, confused, "to set you free so you and Alec can..."
"Just please go away," Magnus mumbled sadly. "It is over, stop trying to fix something that cannot be fixed. Just let me die in peace."
Suddenly, Jace got very angry. "Let you die in peace!?" He asked, his whisper filled with the intensity and rage of a shout. "Who do you think you're leaving in peace by dying? Certainly not anyone else but yourself, and definitely not Alec. He will probably never be left in peace if you die. If you have an iota of decency or if you care about him in the slightest, you will get up and help us get you out of here now!"
Magnus snorted and let out a sad chuckle. "You think I don't care about him? I'm in here because I care. I refuse to leave because I care. I am going to die tomorrow because I care. Don't ever accuse me of not caring."
"Well you're wrong," Izzy said. "We're getting you out. Jace, how exactly do we do that?"
"These bars... they're, uh, oh I know! They're half pin-barrel hinges! With leverage and the proper application of strength, the door will lift free!"
"Well then, since you're the strong man, go apply the strength properly!" Izzy said rather excitedly.
Jace disappeared for a few minutes, and came back holding some wooden plank. Then, he stuck the plank in between the bars and pushed down with some struggle. After a few moments, the door lifted free with a large clang.
"Quick," Izzy hissed, "someone definitely heard that and if we're caught...well I'm sure you get that, let's go."
Magnus's world slowed instantaneously. Moments ago he was trapped in a cell, resigned to die, but now? Now he was free. The door was open. He was out. He could leave forever. He was free.
Magnus got up and walked towards the door, smelling the dank air like it was a warm spring breeze coming off an ocean. He walked with a surprising spring in his step, and then ran to the door.
"Alright, let's go," he whispered.
"Come on, move, move, move!" Jace hissed. The guards were not too far behind them. Luckily they were stomping on the ground and had bright torches that gave away their location.
Magnus held back for a second and breathed heavily. It was the prison food. It didn't give him enough energy to make a daring escape.
Izzy grabbed his hand and pulled him forward. They were going to make it. He could already feel the upward climb decreasing the pressure in his ears; he could smell the brighter, fresher air of the palace above him.
Then they heard the bells tolling. The entire palace guard was going to fill the labyrinth now. They knew he had escaped. They were going to make sure that he-and whomever helped him escape-was going to go back into his cell and die. The dream was over. It was all over. He had to protect Izzy and Jace. Alec would never forgive him if they too got captured because of his folly.
He stepped back.
"What are you doing?" Izzy hissed with some hysteria in her voice.
"Saving you," Magnus replied.
"Don't you dare! You're coming with us! Let's go!"
"Jace, take her to one of the side alleys in the dungeon. Keep your sword drawn and pace back and forth like you're ready to strike someone. When the palace guard gets to you, tell them you two were down here touring the dungeon when you heard the bells. You weren't sure who had escaped and so you decided to stay in place and defend her."
Izzy didn't even let Jace reply. "I'm not letting you do this."
"And neither am I," Jace said.
"Will you two thickheaded idiots get it in to your heads!? You will get caught. You will be thrown into jail. And they will have you killed too. Don't be a fool! Don't. Just don't."
Magnus turned around and started to move away, hoping to find a place he could hide in and somehow explain his attempted escape.
"M-m-magnus, you can't," Izzy said.
Magnus looked at her one last time, his eyes filled with tears. "Please tell Alec that I love him."
With that, he dashed off back into the darkness. Izzy stared at the spot where Magnus had been moments ago. It was a failure, a complete and utter failure. She was a failure. A complete and total failure.
Jace grabbed her arm and pulled her into a tiny niche in the wall. He kept his sword drawn and did exactly as he was supposed to do.
When the guards eventually came to their niche, they were aware that the two of them were in the dungeons. Jace told them everything while Izzy played the frightened little girl. The captain of the palace guard patted him on the back, saying, "You did the right thing stopping and protecting her. Now get yourself back up. As it turns out, no prisoners escaped. One of the old doors in an empty cell broke down, that was all."
Jace and Izzy just nodded.
When they finally made it back to Alec's chambers, it seemed like everyone was standing in the room pacing, except Alec himself.
Simon was the first to speak. "Where is he? What happened? Did you do it? Is everything okay?"
Izzy ran and collapsed into his arms, seeming vulnerable for the first time.
"No," Jace replied softly. "We were half-way out when the guards were closing in on us. Magnus thought we were going to get caught, so he ran back to a cell. They think he never left."
Everyone stopped and sat down. It was a failure. Magnus was going to die, and Alec would never be happy again.
Sitting on his bed, Alec heard everything. He knew it was going to be a disaster, from the moment they left. But he had held out hope. Hope that maybe it could work. But that too was dashed when he heard the bells. He heard them come back. He heard Jace say everything. In the corner of his bed, he stared at an empty spot on his wall. Tomorrow was going to be a disaster.
A single tear rolled down his cheek.