I HAVE AN EXCUSE!

Okay, I know I haven't updated in a couple of weeks, but I have a valid reason! My crappy, 6-year old computer broke down on me! Luckily, I managed to get it fixed, so here I am! Plus, I am completely stressed about school; I have been having mental breakdowns lately from all the stress, so it's a miracle I even have had time to sit down. Please don't hate me, and I have a feeling ya'll will like this chapter ;)

Slight smexy warning for those who need it, but seriously, if you don't like lemonade, what are you doing on this story?! LOL

Disclaimer: all I own are my weird ideas and a crappy laptop, but hey, at least I have a laptop, right?

LEGGO.

I could feel my heart beating so rapidly that it might fall out of my chest. Of course, if it wasn't for the god forsaken corset currently crushing my petite torso.

"Who in the world invented this death trap?" I gasp as Helen pulls once again at the strings of the corset. I know she's trying to be as gentle as possible, but it's hard to gently cut off someone's air supply. Maia, who's currently arranging my hair perfectly around my shoulders, shrugs timidly. They had become slightly more comfortable around me after the bath, but they were careful not to step over any boundaries.

"I heard that it's the latest fashion in London." She supplies. I sigh- as much as the torture device allows me to.

"Well, woman in London must have learned not to breathe." I mutter, wincing at another sharp pull. Finally, Helen finishes and, along with Maia, step back and leave me staring back at the reflection in the tall, gold gilded mirror.

I was no stranger to luxury, having grown up a princess, but the Herondales were obviously much wealthier. A blood red dress was fitted over my frame, billowing out after my waist into a wide skirt. Black lace lined the sweetheart neckline and was woven in intricate designs into the skirt, along with what looked like real diamonds. The dress wasn't made for an innocent and sweet princess; it was made for a daring, sexy queen. And Helen and Maia had obviously made me look like one on purpose.

My hair, instead of just a pile of unruly curls, was styled to near perfection and laid delicately over one shoulder, held back by a stark black clip. They hadn't applied much makeup, but lined my emerald eyes in dark eyeliner and applied blood red lipstick to my lips. Black silk gloves were on my small hands, hiding there frail appearance. They had obviously been instructed to make me look older then I actually was. Because, even though I had been forced into marriage, I still wasn't good enough the way I was.

A wave of bitterness washes through me at the thought, and I quickly fight it down. No use for it now, and I refuse to turn old and angry, hating everybody for something they never did. I refuse to be Valentine.

I straighten up, smoothing out my skirt even though the material was flawless. A let a small smile grace my face and turn as elegantly as I can to face Helen and Maia.

"Thank you so much, I have never felt more beautiful. But I must ask, why all this? Does the king desire for me to look like this just for a simple meeting?" Helen and Maia share looks of confusion, and turn to look at me slowly. I feel a wave of anxiety hit me at there stares. "What is it?" I hear my voice rise.

Maia speaks up. "We had assumed you would've already known…" I give her a confused look "Know what?"

This time Helen speaks. "You are going to meeting the King on your way to your engagement party, My Lady."

I feel my knees go weak. Engagement party? I had expected a wedding, but in a couple of weeks, after I had already met the king. But an engagement party? Minutes after meeting the man I am going to be marrying? I wasn't prepared for this.

Helen steps forward, albeit hesitantly. Are you okay, My Lady? We apologize for not informing you, we thought you would've known." She sounds truly woeful, and it knocks me out of my despair. At least one of us should be happy.

"No Helen, no need to apologize. I was foolish for not guessing as soon as I saw this magnificent gown. Thank you again for readying me, I couldn't wish for two better maids." I offer her a real smile, and she gratefully accepts with one of her own. I take a little breath ad turn back towards the mirror. I look so different, no longer a girl. I was a woman. And women are strong. I let a cool, confident look replace my woeful one, and a small smirk curls my blood red lips. This king isn't going to know what hit him.

"Why Clarissa darling, you look absolutely stunning." I whirl around, my skirts flying, in panic; afraid the king was already here. But it's only Magnus, the eccentric man I had met upon arrival. He's wearing a smart suit that fits him well, and is lined with thick stripes of gold. His hair is spiked up, but thankfully no glitter, I am pretty sure he sheds that sparkly substance like a dog. He bows deeply and approaches me, eyeing the dress.

I do a small twirl. "What do you think?" I ask. Hard to describe, but I feel a connection with this strange man, and I'm not afraid to act more friendly towards him. He approaches me, and I notice with a shock his eyes don't just resemble a cat, but are cat eyes. Must be his mark of being a warlock. I suddenly have the absurd desire to ask him to make a rabbit appear, but I have a feeling he wouldn't be amused.

"I love the dress, but it could use a tad more shimmer." He suggests, and I smile back. Warlock or not, Magnus was definitely one of my few allies in this fortress. I step as elegantly as I can towards Magnus, glad that the heels adorning my feet aren't too high. High enough to add some height, but not enough to hinder my walking ability. I wave back at Helen and Maia, and take Magnus's offered arm. We walk out of the room into a large, marble corridor that was lit by witch light. I'm disoriented by the darkness; had the girls been preparing me for so long? While I'm trying to count the hours, Magnus begins to babble.

"Now, we are on our way to the entrance of the engagement party, which by the way has already begun. You are to meet Jace there, where you will both enter the part and the real festivities shall begin. All you two have to do is be seen together and mingle." He begins to talk about how divine the wine is, and I let my self feel some panic. In a few short seconds I would be meeting the King, or Jace, as Magnus said. I'm a little surprised he addressed him with his first name; he must be very close to him. I start imagining things, of how he would look and act. All I know is tall, blonde, and scary, according to the few maids at the Morgenstern castle who had seen him. I feel the panic rising, and my instinct is to run. But there's no where to run to.

I finally tune Magnus back in, just to find him still talking about wine. By the angel, he sounded like an alcoholic, the way he described it.

We finally reach is what I assume the entrance, but right before we turn the corner where the king is to be waiting, Magnus stops me and turns to face me. "I just wanted to let you know Clarissa; I am truly sorry you must be in this position right now." I'm taken aback. All traces of amusement have left his face, and now there's just sadness, as if he was delivering me to my execution. A pang of sadness overcomes me, and I smile as best as I can.

"It's okay Magnus, it isn't your fault. It isn't anyone's fault." Except the King's and Valentines. "I'm a big girl, this was going to happen sooner or later; I can handle it.

He shakes his head. "You shouldn't have to bear this burden. Believe me, I know what it's like to have to leave the comforts of childhood to soon." He attempts to run a hand through his hair, but it gets stuck. He impatiently yanks it out. "You seem strong for your age; I'm sorry you have to be."

I blink away the tears. "Thank you." I whisper, my voice catching. Magnus sighs and gently wipes his thumbs under my eyes. "Now Clarissa, those poor girls worked so hard on this masterpiece, don't you dare ruin it." He chides, and I laugh. He steps away, and slowly starts walking backwards.

"It's time Clarissa, just follow the path down, you'll see the entrance soon." I nod and turn, starting to walk the rest of the path alone, and Magnus calls after me one final time.

"He's a good man. Harsh, but good. You may not be happy, but you'll be safe." I don't stop. Safe, that's the best I could hope for.

I turn the corner and walk down the corridor, where I see a figure waiting at the end next to two large, elegant French doors. I feel my heart beat speed up, and stop all together as The King turns to face me.

Before me stands the most heartbreakingly beautiful man I have ever rested my eyes on. An elegant mess of honey gold curls sits atop his head, purposely styled to look as if he had rolled out of bed. His face was all sharp angles, toned and tanned. His gold skin was marked everywhere with several permanent runes, signifying his rank as a shadow hunter, besides being the king. Liquid gold eyes, the strangest color I'd ever seen, stare right back at me, piercing my skin. He reminded me of a flame, beautiful, but deadly. And I was drawn to it like some helpless moth. A dangerous aura surrounded him, a seductive mystery that I ached to solve. I force myself to get rid of the insanely poetic thoughts that were running through my mind and manage to walk those few finally steps until I'm right before him. I look up at him, far enough so I didn't have to break my neck, but it still required way too much effort then should be required. Why does everybody have to be so tall?

He looks down at me, his face unreadable. After a moment, he speaks. A deadly smirk curls his full lips, and I have to bite my tongue.

"It's rude to stare, princess."

I'm taken aback by his rude greeting. Was he joking? There was no way a king could be so rude.

I raise my eyebrows. "Excuse me?" I say, trying my best not to splutter. I should have expected this. Why didn't I? Everybody did warn me.

He raises his own eyebrow at my response, and I instantly hate him a little more for being able to do that. "Did I stutter? God, they never told me you were dumb."

Words can not describe how much I wanted to hurt him. I felt an intense anger starting to brew in my stomach, and under that something more intense. I decided to ignore the other feeling.

I abandon all my attempts towards sophistication. "And they never told me you were a big-headed shadow hunter who I would have the urge to punch in the face, now did they? I guess this day is just full of surprises." I smile sweetly, venom dripping off of my words. Jace's face darkens instantly, and he steps forward, his chest flush with my own. His heat seeps through his decorative shadow hunter gear and my dress, warming me. His deep and musky scent accompanies the heat, and I'm tempted to close my eyes. I don't though, and I stare right back into his angry gold eyes.

"Don't." he hisses, suddenly way more angry than before. "Don't even try to get smart with me princess. You should be lucky I'm even dealing with you right now and agreeing to marry you." His fists are relaxed by his sides, but I'm close enough to feel how tense he was. I let a small smirk curl my blood red lips; at least I can get a reaction out of him.

"And don't try to threaten me. I woke up this morning and was told I was to marry somebody who I've never met, spent a good 6 hours in a carriage, and then been prepped up for a surprise engagement party to meet my asshole of a husband, so don't act as if I am some burden on you. Because I don't want to be here ay more than you do, so I suggest you back off." My last words come out as a hiss, and I realize I've risen up on my toes, and my cheeks were flushed. He stares at me, his own breath leaving making his chest rise and fall rapidly. His eyes are so dark they're almost black, and I realize his face is so close to mine, close enough to grab and bring his full lips down on mine. I feel the flush darken in my cheeks, and I struggle to control myself. Unfortunately, the blush hadn't gone unnoticed.

His angry expression dissolves into one of dark humor. His lips curl up into a smirk I already know would probably never leave his face. I waver slightly, and I let my faces flicker for a second to regain my composure. Oh god, this man was going to be the death of me.

His hand snakes around my waist, and I gasp when he draws my in even tighter than before. His smirk widens at my startled look, and he ducks his face next to my dear. His breath is hot and delicious against my skin, and I shudder at the sensation. A low chuckle rocks his chest, moving it against mine.

"You don't want to be here? Well, your body says otherwise, Clarissa." He whispers hotly, trailing a finger around my collarbone. The sound of his name on my tongue was so intimate all I wanted was for him to repeat it. I feel my eyes start to roll back in my head, and I'm shocked out how he controlled me with a simple touch. Was he human?

I open my mouth to reply, what I was going to say I had no idea, but then I heard a door open and a throat clearing. Our heads snap to where a tall man stands, about the same build, height, and age as Jace. His hair was a raven black, contrastingly shockingly with his pale skin and the more electric blue eyes I've ever seen. He has a small smirk on his face after viewing the situation Jace had me in. I quickly push lightly against Jace's chest and he releases me, not without another stupid smirk. I offer the man a meek smile, not sure what to say. He simply smirks back, surprisingly familiar to Jace's. Did these two grow up together or something?

"I'm Alec Lightwood. You must be Clarissa, Magnus told me about you." He says finally. I nod and curtsy slightly, habit kicking into play. Queens don't curtsy, princesses do, I chide myself. He nods back and turns to Jace. "They will be announcing you right now, so get ready." That's all he says before ducking back into the ballroom. He doesn't seem too talkative. Jace offers his arm and I take it, fixing a gentle and happy smile on my face. I had always dreamed of big parties to celebrate my marriage to handsome prince who I loved when I was a child. Well. This seems to be as close as I'll ever get to that.

I hear an announcer start to speak loudly to the entire ballroom, and I start to tense up. I haven't even seen as many people at one time in my entire life, being brought up as Valentines mystery daughter who never left the Morgenstern land in her entire life. And now, I was going to be announced as Queen of the Herondale portion of Idris. Jace seems to notice my tense state, but instead of offering positive advice, decides to make another snarky comment. "Loosen up sweetheart, you look like a statue." He murmurs in my ear, bringing back memories of the embrace he just had me in. With an effort I scowl and attempt to loosen up as much as I can, which proves to not be much. Jace chuckles lowly at my obvious discomfort, and I'm tempted to elbow him, even though he wouldn't feel it through his gear.

Finally, the wooden doors are swept open by two palace guards, and I'm slightly blinded by the rush of applause and golden light. We are standing on a balcony, with dual mahogany staircases leading down into a large ballroom filled with shadow hunters cheering as if there lives depended on it. I turn and notice Jace is grinning broadly, waving to everybody and anybody. I turn and smile tentavely at the rest of the ballroom, still unsure. I feel Jace's arm leave mine, and he steps forward until he's pressing himself against the banister. The crowd quiets down, expecting some long, drawn out, heartfelt speech. But Jace simple utters one word.

"Enjoy." The crowd cheers nevertheless, and he steps back and takes my arm again, guiding us down one of the staircases. I step as gracefully as I can, trying to avoid stumbling. We finally make it down in one piece, and I breathe a sigh of relief. Jace leans down to mutter in my ear. "Just stick close and act like you actually care."

I glare at him, affronted. "I seem to care more than you." I counter. He rolls his eyes and pulls me into the direction of Alec and Magnus, who are accompanied by another girl. She's gorgeous, dressed in a shimmery salmon floor length one-shouldered dress. It was the perfect blend of modern and old, and definitely much more scandalous then most women's outfits here. But she managed to pull it off flawlessly on her tall and curvy figure. Her skin resembled a bowl of unmarked cream, and it clashed beautifully with her long, silky black hair. There was no doubt in my mind that she was related to Alec, the only difference being her eyes were brown instead of the shocking blue Alec possessed. I notice the girls calculating stare is fixed on me, and I resist the urge to hide behind Jace. We finally reach them and Jace drops my arm at once.

"You never told me how rude she is." Jace addresses Magnus with an accusatory tone. Magnus simply scoffs.

"Please, you mean she doesn't worship you? It might be good for your ego Jace to get a little bruising." Jace rolls his eyes, clearly not amused

"Don't be dumb Magnus. Anyways, I need a drink. Watch her will you?" before anybody answers him, he disappears into the crowd. I feel my anger rising at being treated like some child, but there's nothing to do about it now. I turn and realize the other girl is still studying me. She doesn't break here stare even what I meet it. And just continues to break me down as if I was a complicated math equation, or a demon that needed slaying. After a moment though, she cocks her hip and smirks.

"Has Jace irritated you enough to make you jump off a cliff yet?" she says abruptly. I'm slightly taken aback, but I force a little laugh out.

"Not yet, but he's certainly getting there." I confide, and she nods knowingly.

Her laugh tinkles through the air. "Oh he will, probably by tomorrow." She jokes, and I find a real smile breaking out on my face. She seems nice. The mystery girl holds out her hand and finally introduces herself. "Isabelle Lightwood, sister of Alec. You may be seeing a lot of us; our parents help Jace run the kingdom. He thinks he's got it under control, but even he isn't good enough to run a whole kingdom right now." She scoffs at the last part, and the last name clicks into place. Her parents must be the king and queen of the Lightwood kingdom, the neighbor of the Herondale kingdom. For some reason I felt a connection with her through 30 seconds of conversation. Probably because she didn't seem to be Jace's biggest admirer either.

I hold out my own hand and shake hers. "Clarissa Morgenstern." I say, and she raises an eyebrow at my last name.

"I know King Valentine has a son, but I wasn't aware of a daughter?" her tone becomes suspicious, and I grin inwardly at her suspicion.

"I never left the castle." I explain shortly. She doesn't reply or pry any more, and I'm grateful for that. She simply hands me a glass of a dark red liquid that looks suspiciously like wine. I don't question it, and simply murmur thanks and take a delicate sip. I'm surprised to find it's a citrusy drink, fresh and airy. It filled me with a warm and delicate feeling, unlike the buzz wine supplied. I force myself not to down it all, and take another small sip. Isabelle notices and smirks.

"It's good, I know. They use the berries from a plant in east Idris to make it. I'm not sure what it's called to be honest." She grins and takes another sip of her own drink, and I turn to face the rest of the people.

They were all so different from one another. In shape, size, color and any other way possible. But they all seemed to blend together seamlessly, a large moving mass of shadow hunters. The dresses were extravagant and the gear was the absolute best, donned by even more extravagant people. They all seemed so vibrant and alive, unlike the cold demeanor of all of Valentines guests to the castle.

He held an occasional ball every 3 years or so, but it was strictly business and I was never allowed to attend. But everybody here seemed so happy, joyous, so, alive. I have never seen this much life before, or people who just didn't have a care in the world. There expressions were light, airy, and slightly mischievous. I have to say, Jace must have actually been a decent ruler. But he was so rude, and used intimacy to escape any real conversations. Well, the five minutes I've spent with him aren't much to judge his character on, but that was my impression so far of him.

I start to scan the room for him, and I find him with a group of other official looking people, all holding glasses of the strange drink. They all seem to notice me looking and motion to Jace, who turns and smiles broadly when he sees me. I'm a little taken aback at his joyful appearance, and then I realize it's probably for everybody watching us. I'm tempted to ignore him, but I don't and return his smile with one of my own. He motions me with his glass and I walk delicately over to him and his companions.

When I reach him he draws me in by the waist and snakes an arm around me, chuckling at my surprised gasp. "May I introduce you all to my beautiful fiancée, Clarissa." I nod politely at all of them, clutching my glass in one hand and my other around Jace's broad back. They all smile at me, drinking in my entire appearance. I feel myself tensing slightly at there predatory gaze set on me. I feel Jace's arm tighten around my waist, did he see it too?

"Pleasure to meet you." I say politely. They all grin and toast me, a few murmuring responses. I pass the rest of the night in a similar manner, smiling at whoever Jace introduces me to, countering his snarky comments with my own, and I manage to make some time to talk to Isabelle more. She was good friendship material, and I find myself looking forward to that aspect in the future.

Finally, the night draws to a close. As Jace and I stand at the castle doors, waving off all of our guests, I suddenly start to panic. Was Jace expecting anything tonight? He better not be, I've had long enough of a day as it is.

We walk back to our chambers together, not saying anything. The maids are waiting for me when I get back, and I quickly step up and let them loosen my corset.

They go to help me undress completely, but I'm suddenly acutely aware of the king in the background. I wave them off. "It's alright ladies, I'm simply too tired to properly prepare myself for rest. Simply meet me in the morning." I instruct.

They look unsure, there hands lingering at the rest of my dress. They had obviously been trained not to leave anything unfinished. I smile kindly, but firmly. "Good night Helen and Maia, please rest, it's late." I say, and they finally nod and scurry from the room. I sigh and trudge into the bathroom to draw the rest of my dress off, grabbing the most modest night gown I could find, which was sadly pretty indecent. I seriously require a different wardrobe. I'm used to undoing gowns by myself, not usually letting maids pamper me. I draw the dress off and quickly put my silky red nightgown on. It was a simple slip, but no cutouts or tight hips. I always slept in these because they were so comfortable, but that was when I slept alone. Not when I had a smoldering hot king two feet away from me. Now, if he wasn't so crude..

I sigh and deposit the heavy lump of fabric in the laundry basket, and I take out all the clips and pins from my hair, letting it fall loose and unbrushed. I took a deep breath and looked myself in the mirror, afraid of leaving the bathroom. But I couldn't escape reality forever. I splashed water on my face to rid myself of the makeup, and then walk out before I lose my nerve.

Jace has already changed, and was stretching out his lean muscles next to the bed. All he was dressed in was a pair of loose pajamas and a thin white shirt. He turns and eyes me slowly, head to toe. I stop the shiver and quickly walk over to the bed. I peel back the covers and quickly jump in, not willing for him to see me exposed anymore, no matter how little it was. He smirks at my obvious haste.

"Nervous princess?" he says mockingly. I roll my eyes at him.

"Of course not." I say, angered slightly. He raises an eyebrow and climbs into the bed, and I'm shocked by his resemblance to a lion, dangerous and nimble. His predatory gaze scanned every aspect of my face, and I want to hide from how intense it was.

He turns off the lamp on the headboard, casting the room into darkness. I find myself feeling oddly vulnerable, knowing he's somewhere around me. I feel the mattress area right next to me lower with his weight, and I tense.

"Sure you aren't." he says dryly into the darkness. I feel my cheeks burn and I turn my back to him, drawing the blankets closer around me.

"Goodnight princess."

"Let me sleep for Angel's sake."

What is it about him? Must he be so rude? And yet, so deadly attractive? Tomorrow was going to be a long day?

Last thing I heard before I faded into unconsciousness was his derisive laugh.

GAH. FINALLY.

I know there wasn't a lot of effort put into the ending, but I have been working non stop since my laptop was fixed, and it's midnight right now and I have to wake up early tomorrow and I didn't eat dinner… OH WELL.

*IMPORTANT NOTE* okay, I don't want anybody to get confused, so I'll address this right now. This isn't set in a specific time period. As we all know, Alicante is described as slightly old fashioned, so this could easily be set in modern time just in Idris. The outside world doesn't really impact the story, so just know there will be a mixture of modern and classy language mixed up, so a time period doesn't apply to this!

ALSO Jace is going to be really OOC, just that he will be much more dark and snarky and rude, but double the sexiness cuz hey I love some dark and sexy Jace ;)

ALSO I have gotten a message about this story being similar to another story on this site, written for Mortal instruments. I have reviewed this story and yes, our first chapter is shockingly similar. Why? I have absolutely no idea. However, I talked with the author, and we shared our plot lines, and we decided our stories are VERY different and focus on different aspects of the story, so if anybody is wondering just know they will be very different

I LOVE YOU ALL SO SORRY THERE WASN'T A LOT OF TIME PUT IN IN THE ENDING BUT THE NEXT CHAPTER WILL HAVE LOTS OF SMEXY JACE AND GAH THANK YOU ALL FOR STICKING BY ME LOOK OUT FOR SOME UPDATES FOR MY OTHER STORIES JUST GIVE ME SOME TIME LOVE YOU ALL!

Kepp reading… *MUAH!*- Madeline