The news that Jace was gone and Alec was severely injured had just been the tip of the iceberg to Clary. Magnus said that Alec was going to be fine, but the fact that he stayed by Alec's side every second told her it was worse than he might want to admit. She didn't know the specifics of what Valentine had done to Alec, but she did know that he hadn't tried to spare Alec's life in any way. The thought of what her father had done made Clary so sick that she hadn't yet gotten up the courage to go visit Alec in the infirmary.
Everything inside of her told Clary that she needed to go see him, or that she at least needed to go see absolutely anyone. She had shut herself in her room at the Institute, unwilling to talk to anyone about what was going on. She hated her father for everything that he was doing, but more than that, she had to gather her thoughts on this whole soulmate situation. It seemed to her like Simon and Isabelle were the only ones who weren't having terrible trouble with their soulmate situation.
Now Clary knew why her mother had always warned her to not put too much hope in the soulmate legend. Clary idly wondered if her mother had hidden the fact that she had a brother from her because she knew that Jace had the same soulmate tattoo as Clary. If Jace was really Clary's brother, then, even if her mother had really thought that Jace was dead, she would have hidden it simply for the fact that the soulmate tattoo would have been a rough subject. Clary had always been terribly curious, and Jocelyn likely knew that she would have wanted to know what her brother's tattoo had been.
Clary was going to attempt to take a nap when she heard a soft knock at her door. Opening the door to see Simon on the other side. She'd become so accustomed to people coming to tell her bad news or to drag her out on another mission, so Simon was a very welcome and pleasant change. The only problem was that he looked particularly tense, and Clary immediately became worried that something else had happened, even though she couldn't figure out what could be worse than anything else that had happened of late.
"I need to talk to you," Simon said, his voice quick in the way it was when he was nervous. "And no, nothing huge is wrong," he said when he saw Clary's expression change into one of panic. "It's just me being the same idiot I've always been." It was then that Clary realized that this had to do with Isabelle. That was the only logical reason that Simon would be talking this way because she knew how much the legend meant to him and how much he already cared for Izzy.
Sitting back down on the bed, Clary moved to throw a leg over one of Simon's, the way they had done since they were little. Suddenly, Clary found herself wishing that Simon was her soulmate. They fit together so perfectly, and Clary knew things would have been much easier if that were the case. "Isabelle is very angry with me," Simon said, his voice distant in a way Clary knew it rarely ever was. "Which I can't really blame her for that because it's all my fault." Clary took Simon's hand then, knowing that whatever was going on, she was Simon's source of comfort, just as he was her source of comfort.
"I'm squirming, Clary," Simon continued, obviously trying to keep the emotion out of his voice. "I finally found my soulmate and now I'm doubting everything. And that's all my fault, I know it is. But I'm doubting whether or not Izzy and I are meant to be together. I mean, come on. Have you ever met two people more different than us? She's a warrior, which is something this little nerd will never be, and I just don't know anymore." He stopped abruptly, and Clary could tell that he had forced himself to stop instead of rambling on.
"Simon," Clary said, her voice betraying just how tired she was. "You're overthinking things, just the way you know you always do. You and Izzy are soulmates. You're meant to be together." Clary tried to put as much force and meaning behind her words, but she was no longer as confident in the soulmate legend as she had been before. Simon, however, seemed to understand that because he gave an indignant snort before replying.
"Just like you and Jace, huh?" he asked, unable to hide the bitterness in his voice. Then he seemed to realize what he had said and began trying to backtrack. "I'm sorry, Clary. That was uncalled for." Clary couldn't help but smile at how quickly Simon tried to amend what he'd said. She shook her head, trying to imply that what he'd said was actually terribly correct. There was no way she could deny it, and Simon knew that, too. "Let's forget about all of this for a while," Simon said, reaching for Clary's sketchpad. She smiled as he handed it to her, knowing that he was going to start naming off ridiculous things for her to draw, knowing that it was his way of distracting her, knowing that it would likely do the trick.
Clary jumped as the door to the room burst open. She and Simon had apparently fallen asleep, but that didn't surprise her. What surprised her was the fact that the door opened to reveal Alec. He was leaning heavily on Magnus, and she could tell from Magnus's expression that he had tried everything in his power to keep Alec in bed, that his options had been watch Alec go by himself or help him get to where he wanted to be. Alec stopped as he realized that he was waking them up, but he kept coming when he apparently decided that there was no going back now.
"Sorry to wake you, but you're needed right now," Alec said, his voice much more frantic than Clary had ever heard it. He was usually very composed, but at the moment it was as though he was too tired to try to keep his composure together. "Jace is back," Alec finished, his voice terribly final, terribly exhausted. Clary couldn't tell Alec's thoughts on that subject from his voice, so she simply got out of bed, shaking Simon a little to get him going.
She couldn't help but smile as Simon started asking whether or not he was okay to actually go anywhere else in the Institute, whether or not the sun was up or if he would be okay. Clary didn't stop to hear anyone's response; as soon as Alec had indicated that Jace was currently in the library with Robert and Maryse, she was immediately on her way down the hall. She knew it would take Alec and Magnus a little bit to actually get to the library, but that thought didn't stop her either. Walking in to see Jace was like walking in to a nightmare all over again. Every time she looked at him, she felt her stomach clench, her feelings for Jace still mixed up in the apparent fact that Jace was her brother.
Clary wanted to change her feelings so badly, but she knew that even if she changed her feelings, she wouldn't be able to change their soulmate tattoos, so she shoved the thought back down as Jace turned to see her. "I got away on my own," he explained, knowing what her first question would likely be. "And yes, I'm fine. Valentine didn't hurt me." She noticed the way he said Valentine, the way he said it with so much hate, the way he avoided calling Valentine his father. Clary looked at the Lightwood parents, idly wondering what their thoughts on the situation were.
She listened as Jace told his story, apparently having waited until everyone was together to tell it so that he wouldn't have to repeat himself. He explained how he had pretended to give into Valentine, how Valentine had been utterly trusting, and as soon as he could, Jace had escaped. Escaping when you were free to go where you pleased was easy enough, but Clary tensed as Jace explained that he hadn't truly escaped, that he had a plan. His plan was apparently to continue to trick Valentine into thinking that Jace was on his side, to learn more of Valentine's plan while still staying in touch with the Lightwoods. Clary watched Alec's face as Jace revealed his plan, and seeing how easily they communicated with one another without so much as a word made her almost jealous of their parabatai bond.
What Alec thought of the plan was completely and utterly obvious, but when Jace gave him a look that said it was likely their only way to learn any of Valentine's plan, Alec relaxed ever so slightly, remaining silent and allowing his parents to voice their thoughts. "There's just one last problem," Jace said as the Lightwoods finally conceded, apparently realizing that Jace wasn't going to give up. "He's asked me to bring him a vampire tonight. I guess as a sign of trust or whatever twisted thing he might be thinking. I don't know much yet, but what I do know is that he's not going to hurt them for a while." Jace paused for a moment, not meeting Clary's eyes, and Clary immediately knew he was thinking.
Before she could interject, however, Jace continued, and Clary's heart fell. "I'd like to take Simon with me. I can keep him safe, I swear I can. It would really help to have someone else on my side while I'm there. Someone I know I can trust." Clary was only halfheartedly listening as Isabelle began arguing with Jace. Apparently Isabelle wasn't as angry with Simon as he thought she was, or if she was, the fear of what Valentine might do overcame that anger. Clary knew that Izzy and Jace could argue all day, but she was surprised when Simon was the one who interrupted them.
"I'll do it," he said, cutting through whatever Isabelle's argument had been. "If Jace needs help, then I'll help him. If it will help us get Jocelyn back, then I'll do it." Clary smiled at that, but she could feel her heart rate increasing at the very thought of both Simon and Jace going to be with Valentine. Simon was the closest thing to a brother that Clary had ever had, and whether Jace was her brother or not, she didn't relish the idea of him being with Valentine, even if he would be relatively safe.
The look in Simon's eyes told her that no amount of arguing would change his mind, that he was set in what he wanted to do, and he apparently wanted to help Jace figure out what was going on and how to get Jocelyn back. Jace tried to talk to her about where the Cup might be, but Clary still didn't have any more idea than she had ever had before, so he finally gave up, promising that they would work on that, that he would try to learn as much about Jocelyn and her Shadowhunter days as he could from Valentine. In the end, Clary hesitantly hugged Simon goodbye, hoping with all her heart that this wouldn't be the last time they would see each other.
So I'm here to tell you that this story will not be updated again until I get back from my trip! I will be gone from June 20th through July 2nd.
I also want to let you know that I am starting to plan a (very large) OC project. It will be about all the kids of the entire gang. If you would like any information about it, feel free to message me, as I am in the planning stages of that right now!
There is also going to be a lot of information about that on my blog (my username is canonizes on tumblr) and I tag all posts about it as "CanonizesOCs." Feel free to come there and ask me anything you want about any of my OCs, and the original post about them is here canionizes. tumblr. com/post/145874519650/oc-project (remove the spaces!)
If you have any questions for me about anything at all, just let me know! I will see you wonderful people when I get back! Get ready for all that I have in store!