Here's for the guest reviewer, MI cra cra!: I'm glad you liked the chapter! As LuminousFishy said in her Author's Note, she lost inspiration for the story and asked for someone to pick it up. We've been friends on here for a while, since I started on here I believe, so I offered to pick it up like, the second she posted It. Lmao. I've loved and followed this story from the start, and as a reader and writer, I don't wanna see a good story go unfinished. (:

I wake up to a loud pounding and jolt upright immediately. I jump out of bed and grab the first thing I can find- a heavy decorative rock paper weight that sat on the desk. I edge around the corner into the hallway before making my way to the entryway and standing behind the door, staring at the knob, deciding what to do. With a deep breath, I unlock the door and bolt around the corner, my back pressed against the living room wall and the weight help above my head, ready to smack down on whoever comes through.

The door flies open with a bang, and someone runs around the corner in a dark jumper with the hood pulled up, concealing their face. Being ready to attack, I jump forward and use the full force of my body to swing my weapon into the intruder. I'm too short, though, and the paper weight hits the man square in the middle of his shoulders, causing him to lose his balance and fall. Just as I raise the rock again, my feet are kicked out from under me and the man is pinned above me, golden curls tickling my face and matching eyes staring into mine.

"Nice to see you too, love," Jace says with a smirk. I let out a squeak and drop the rock, my mouth hanging agape as well.

"You're here!" My arms are now released and I throw them around Jace's neck, pulling him tightly down on me, burying my face in his neck. I kiss his neck, run my hands through his hair, and breath his delicious scent in, trying to memorize him so that if we're ever separated again, I'll have something more to remember him by. Thinking of it, I need a picture for my wallet or something too…

"That's better," he says, hugging me back and kissing all over my face sweetly. I giggle, then glare at him accusingly.

"Where have you been?!" I yell, pushing myself away, but only enough to look at him without going cross-eyed. "I was stuck here, worrying, not even knowing if you were alive!" Not completely true, but still…

"You know as well as I that I can hold my own, Clary. Besides, It's not like I haven't tried to get to you," he says and I raise my brows in question. "Well, Valentine was very upset when you didn't arrive in the dining room at exactly at six. So, I offered to come find you," he says with a goofy grin.

"You expect me to believe that that man let you go wandering around in his headquarters...alone...to retrieve his daughter from her private suite?"

"Sounds far-fetched, but that's what happened. We need to go before he gets suspicious…"

"What, are we supposed to just play into his plan?" I ask, though I had thought of that too. I just didn't know if it'd work. He nods and sighs, getting up and pulling me with him. I straighten myself out, checking in the entryway mirror to make sure I look decent, and we leave my room, Jace leading the way down another hallway to an elevator.

In hushed tones, he explains his plan, saying that he'll try to get in contact with the Rebels in the hope that they'll help us out. But, for now, we'll have to suck it up and go with the flow. That way, maybe, just maybe, we can get on Valentine and Jonathan's good side and gain some intel.

In a way, this is my very first mission as a shadowhunter, and to be honest, it's terrifying.

There's something odd about her. I can feel it every time I am in her presence, and unnerves me deeply. She tries to act calm and collected, but that's easy to see through, and underneath it, the fear is visible. But even deeper than that is the confidence that tries to rear it's- in this case- annoying head. It's almost admirable, but she's a shadowhunter that has lived a mundane life for sixteen years; that in itself makes her less intimidating.

The uncanny resemblance between her and our mother is another thing that annoys me about her, along with heaps of other stupid little things. Her hair, for example, looks like she just rolled out of bed- messy and unclassy, so unlike a Morgenstern. Definitely her size, too, though she's not too bad to look at. All of it just irks me almost to the point of hatred.

Why does father have a sudden interest in her, especially when I've been here the whole time? I've commanded armies alone since I was her age, yet father obviously doesn't think that's good enough. She's been alive for sixteen years, and we both knew it, so why not recruit her earlier, when it would've been easier. As a child, she would have probably been much more compliant and willing to please, but now, she's a stubborn bitch. No need to hide the truth with niceties.

Dinner goes on, and father is seething silently, waiting for that Jace boy to retrieve Clarissa. I don't think he knows what a favor it is for him to be able to personally escort Clarissa, because he bolted out of our sight the second he was given the okay. Even I was surprised, but I don't question him. I never question him; that's how scars and nightmares are made.

When they finally do arrive, father only nods curtly and stares straight ahead, eating silently and probably thinking of the best punishment to deal out to them.

"Sorry I'm late, uh, sir. I fell asleep," she says sheepishly. Our father looks up at her with a bored, calculating stare before turning his eyes to Jace. Then he completely ignores the apology.

"I hear that you two are together. I thought it best to ask you yourselves, rather than trust secondhand sources," he says evenly. Jace looks up from his plate with a careful, questioning gaze.

"Yes, we are, sir," he says smartly. Valentine's fork clatters to the plate and his hands sit balled on top of the table, knuckles white with tension. He eyes them before standing up and strolling to their side of the table, stopping behind them. Clarissa sits up board straight and her eyes focus downwards, avoiding looking back at father. Jace sits slouched lazily, that is, until he gets a hard blow to the side of his head.

"You will address me with better manners than that, Herondale," he growls menacingly while placing his hands on the back of his chair and leaning forward. Jace actually looks a little worried now. Serves him right. I quietly excuse myself while my father is preoccupied. Maybe I can get something done without the annoying distraction of babysitting…

Shit. He should not have said that! That stupid, beautiful boy just had to be smart. Valentine towers above Jace for a minute after slapping him, before Jace quietly apologizes.

"I am sorry, sir, I meant no disrespect," Jace murmurs, eyes downcast. It's sad to see him like that, all meek and obedient. Well, he should have kept his mouth shut, it's not like he didn't know who Valentine was and what he's capable of. I shake my head at him a little, sort of scared that he might be punished or something for talking back. I would assume that he was given the same spiel as me. I give him a hard look, urging him to shut up and let me talk. He nods minisculy.

"Father, may I ask a few questions?" I ask politely, turning my head to look him in the eyes. His creepy, black eyes meet mine for a brief moment before he straightens up and moves back to his seat across from us. When he turns his attention to pouring another glass of wine for himself, I take Jace's hand and squeeze it gently.

"Yes, you may," he says, sipping his wine. I smile slightly and take a sip of my water, suddenly wishing it was something a lot stronger.

"I know we're going to be here for a while, and it's pointless to try and reject that," he nods along, encouraging me to continue. "I was wondering if while we're here, you would teach us a few things?"

"And what do you have in mind?" he asks skeptically.

"You see, I'm not really sure. I just don't want to be a burden, and I want to make things easier for all of us," I say with a nervous shrug, trying to act sophisticated, though we all know I'm not.

"Well, I suppose that's something that we could figure out. You two could work here as a sort of...apprenticeship," he says with a wicked gleam in his eyes. I can see the cogs rolling in his mind, wondering how he can work this to his advantage. He'll probably make us do his laundry and cleaning; that's what I'd do, at least.

"Apprenticeship?" I ask, curious as to what he has planned. Jace raises his eyebrows but remains silent.

"Yes, something like that," Valentine murmurs, his eyes lost and unfocused. All he needs is a fluffy little kitten in his lap to pet, and he'll be just like The Godfather. And it would make him a little less intimidating. "You'll have to learn how we function here, Clarissa. I would like very much for all of this to be willingly executed, but if you and Jonathan," he says, nodding at Jace, "Don't comply, I will be forced to use other methods."

I grimace and look down before looking back up with a deep breath and meeting Jace's eyes. He gives my hand a squeeze.

"Well, seeing as there's no way out of this, we'll have to just deal with it," I joke, looking at Jace again.

"You'll become accustomed to this all very quickly, I promise you that."

(Clary; Jace)

"Like hell I'm going to sit around and be told what to do by a Morgenstern!" Jace whines as we sit in my room after dinner, still formulating a plan.

"Jace, just be quiet, will you?" I tell him softly. He apologizes and sits back. "Do you not see what I just did?" I ask with a laugh.

"Huh?"

"You seem to be able to listen to me just fine!"

"What are you… Oh. Well, that's different! You're my girlfriend, I kinda have to listen to you!" Jace laughs with me. I hold up a finger and run to my room, retrieving a pen and a notepad. I quickly scribble something down and toss it to Jace.

He might have our rooms wired. That's why I told you to be quiet…

"Ohhhh," Jace sighs and looks up. "Good thinking!" I give him a pointed look and roll my eyes just as Jace begins to speak again. He writes down what he was going to say instead.

What do you think about all of this?

It's weird. A few days ago, I was living happily and obliviously in the Mundane world, and now I'm a marked shadowhunter and being held captive by my psychopath of a father. Then there's also my brother…

What about him?

He's creepy. Caught him looking at me earlier. Ew.

"That bastard!" Jace roars and stands up in anger.

"Jace, calm it," I hiss.

"He's your brother, Clary, that's sick!"

"I know," I shiver, completely creeped out by him. By the whole situation, really. It's going to be really hard getting used to all of this, but until we can come up with a way to bring down The Clave from the inside, I'm going to have to deal with it.

"Jace?"

"Yeah?" he says, a little softer this time since my voice is so small and quiet.

"I'm scared."

On the occasion o fit being October, the month of scary shit, Imma be the wicked bitch (not a typo) and demand 9 reviews. That'll put us at 15 reviews total. Sorry It's been a while, and sorry my tactics are a but different from LuminousFishys, but hey, we live in completely different countries. (I'm in the USA! She's from England! Or somewhere else in the UK, not sure xD)

I really really hope you guys like it. It's really hard for me to write in a lighter, more joking tone. I'm more into the heavier, romancy, action stuff with a little comical relief, but not everything I write is comical. Sorry! Anyways, review. Let me know what you think. How do I compare? And don't worry, you can be truthful. Unless you call me a horrible writer and lame, cuz even 18 years on Earth wont prepare for that kind of heartbreak! Haha, anyways yeah. Love you guys so much, thanks!

-Emily