Once Upon A Time
Chapter 12
Your guys' reviews for the last chapter had me laughing so hard! And since all of you were so angry about Jonathan, I will apologize ahead of time for this ;)
Disclaimer: I do not own the Mortal Instruments characters or this chapter. Bibee wrote this chapter, so don't shoot the messenger, please.
3rd Person P.O.V
"Jace, have you been listening to a single words I've said?" Isabelle's voice cuts into his thoughts and he jumps a little in shock.
"Uh, pardon?" He says, glancing at Isabelle as they walked down the crowded street. Idris was particularly active today, though he didn't know why.
She sighs and shakes her head. "I asked if you can see what's going on over there." She says, pointing to where the busy streets thickened to a crowd of people. They are all standing under a balcony of the royal palace and a flame sputter in his chest.
Clary.
He shakes his head, trying to clear it of the thought, but it comes back more insistently.
Her hair, her eyes, her laugh like tinkling bells, the way can always the find beauty in all things.
A burning begins in the back of his throat and he knows that if he doesn't calm down, he will break. But he can't help but wonder if Clary is up there, maybe looking for him. He can't just walk away, never knowing. He can't let her think he doesn't care when it's ripping him apart from the inside out. "Let's get closer." He says, grabbing Isabelle's hand and half-leading half-dragging her into the throng of bodies.
They keep moving, despite Isabelle's protests, until they physically cannot get any closer.
With anxiety swelling up his throat, he looks up.
And there she is, wearing a blue dress and the same crown he had been given orders to retrieve not 4 days ago. Her cheeks are rosy and her skin is just as pale and beautiful as he remembers.
It feels like he hasn't seen her for years, when in reality it's been less than 24 hours.
But something feels different about her, and it takes him a moment to realize what is missing. Her smile. The spark in her eyes that used to drive him insane is gone and she has dark purplish bags under her eyes. She isn't the Clary he left here 24 hours ago. She should be ecstatic to see so many people in the same place, not fixated on the balcony ledge.
"Welcome, people of Idris." Booms the King, stepping forward from his place beside Clary.
The crowd cheers and throws their arms in the air.
"As I am sure you all know, last night, we celebrated the return of my dear daughter, Seraphina." He gestures to Clary- or Seraphina really -and she steps forward, barely lifting her eyes. "Finally, our princess has returned, and like any fine young lady, my daughter needs a prince."
His breath stop short in his throat as several hands shoot up into the air. Prince? But that means...
The King waves away the hands, chuckling as he does so. "There will be no need for that, a prince has already been chosen. May I welcome to you, Jonathan Morgenstern."
It is at this moment he knows what true loathing is.
The man steps forward, a lob-sided grin on his pale, angular face and his white blonde hair falling into eyes that resemble black pits.
He hates this man. He hates that he is the one who will get to spend the rest of his life with her and he hates him because he has done nothing to deserve it.
He looks at Clary, his grin widening, and gets down on one knee in front of her.
No...
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out a small ornate wooden box, decorated with gold flowers and silver leaves, and opens it, revealing a huge diamond ring.
No.
"Seraphina Fairchild, princess of Idris," He says, looking up at her with his black eyes. "Will you do me the honour of becoming my Queen?"
No.
She looks at the ring in his hand, and then back to his face.
I swear I can see her bottom lip tremble, but then she says one word that makes my blood run cold and my heart shatter.
"Yes."
"No!" I yell, but my outburst is drowned out by the uproar of cheers of the men and women of the city.
Clary's head flicks to my direction and for a bittersweet moment, our eyes meet. The twinkle reignites in her green eyes and for a split second, she smiles, and it feels as if my heart is slowly rebuilding.
But then the moment is over and she is swept away inside the castle.
My heart falls to pieces, the rebuild abandoned. My head spins and I start to feel numb all over. I distantly hear Isabelle calling my name, but it's just white noise.
Clary is getting married.
And there is nothing I can do to stop it.
O~o~O
Jace
I saw him. He was there, right in front of me. But I noticed too late, if only I had looked up...
"See, that wasn't so hard now, was it?" Jonathan says quietly, a hand on my arm as he leads me further and further away from Jace.
I can see his face clearly in front of me, his blonde hair, his golden eyes, and his smile that could light up a city. My heart aches more with every step I take. I don't know how I never realized my feelings for Jace were to this extent, but now that I know, it seems as if my every thought revolves around them.
Jonathan puts a hand on the small of my back and guides me further into the castle, my father trailing behind us.
The moment the door clicks shut, a spin away from Jonathan and run to my father. "Father please," I beg grabbing his hands. "Please don't make me do this, please."
"What are you talking about Sera-"
"Don't make me marry him, I beg you." I can feel unshed tears well up in my eyes and I will myself to hold them back.
"Seraphina, where is this coming from?" He asks, his eyebrows furrowed and his expression worried. "I don't understand-"
"Father I don't love him. Please, how can I marry someone I don't even love?"
Much to my surprise, father begins to laugh. "Is that all you're worried about my dear? My girl, you have been away from your people for much too long."
"I-" I look between my father and Jonathan, both smiling. I take a step away from them, my hands slipping out of my father's grip "I don't understand."
"Seraphina," Jonathan says, reaching for my hand, but I pull away and glare at him. He smiles lob-sidedly. "You've been promised to me since we were only children. This has been planned for a very long time."
"Promised to you!? How do you promise someone to another? I am a person, not an object." I shoot my father a heartbroken look. "You honestly promised me to him? You gave away your own daughter as if she were a thing you owned and didn't want anymore?"
He shakes his head, his eyes desperate. "No, Seraphina, it was nothing like that-"
"Well it sure seems like it." I scowl at them both before storming away, finally letting the tears fall.
O~o~O
Jace is going to kill somebody. Preferably the bastard who had the nerve to propose to Clary. He's pushing his way through the crowd, back towards home, with Isabelle calling after him, but he hardly hears her. Not with the adrenaline and rage pounding in his ears.
He swings open the door and storms inside, his abrupt entry startling Alec, who falls out of his chair in shock.
"Jace, what are y-"
He stalks into his room, slamming the door shut so hard it reverberated through the whole house, making even the foundations quake. He let out a cry of frustration, grounding his palms into his eyes.
Alec and Isabelle pound on Jace's door, calling his name, asking if he's okay.
He's not. Nothing is okay. Clary is getting married and there is nothing he can do. Who is he to assume he can give her the life she deserves when she has a prince, or a duke, or whatever the hell he is. But he can't get that smile out of his head, the look of hope that had reignited in her eyes and him melt on the inside. Surely that had to mean something, didn't it?
Jace searches his room, desperate for some form of outlet to show on the outside the pain he felt inside. He sees his window.
Without a second thought, he sends his fist through the glass just as Alec kicks the door open.
Silence in the Lightwood house.
In the corner of his eye, he can see Isabelle place a hand over her mouth as she takes in the scene.
Blood trickles out of the cuts on his knuckles and the back of his hand. He watches as the first drop lands on the floor.
"What the hell were you thinking?" Alec says, pushing him away from the window hard.
"She's getting married Alec." He spits out, his words tasting bitter in his mouth. He stands right in front of Alec, almost nose to nose. "She's getting married to some pretentious prince and there is nothing I can do about it!" He yells, his hands shaking by his sides.
No one speaks as Jace begins to pace the room, running his hands through his hair and violently shaking his head. No explanation is needed. They know who he is talking about. "Alec," Jace says, his voice strained and cracked as he takes hold if Alec's shoulders. "I don't know what to do." He whispers.
Alec looks into his eyes, his mouth in a thin line. "Jace," he says, his voice so quiet Jace doubts Isabelle can hear him. "Who told you there was nothing you could do?"
*puts human shield between me and all the angry, but beautiful readers*
*awkward laughter*
...Sorry? But before the pitchforks come out, look on the bright side: Alec's getting Jace fired up! An angry Jace means a sexy, vengeful Jace who'll stop at nothing to get his princess back! Yay!
As a side note, this is the second to last chapter that Bibee wrote, which means that it will soon be my turn to take over this story 100%. If you guys want to PM me or review where you want this story to go, I would love to hear your ideas!
See you tomorrow, hopefully,
ByTheAngel99