Hey guys!

So I managed to get away from schoolwork long enough to write this chappie for you guys I hope you like it.

Disclaimer: Last time I'm putting this because I'm seriously low on witty ways to say I don't own TMI.

LEGGO.

"Wait, you actually beat Jace?"

I sigh for what felt like the millionth time. "Yes Isabelle."

"In an actual duel?"

"Yes Isabelle."

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." That was a total lie. In reality, I wasn't sure at all of what had happened on that mat. It sure looked like I won, but every time I thought of his lazy smirk; I felt like I had lost a bet I didn't know I had placed. It had driven me crazy for the past two weeks, replaying the scene constantly in my head. I had been practicing daily, incase the opportunity to fight him again ever came up. Isabelle had come by to visit me today, and still couldn't believe I might have won.

"Just, wow. I've fought him ever since I was a child and he is hard to beat. I'm surprised somebody as tiny as you could beat him up." She remarks, taking a sip of her tea. I roll my eyes and continue to thread the needle through the soft fabric in my fingers. One of my dresses had gotten ripped, and I was in the process of mending it.

Isabelle eyes my work distastefully. "You know you have maids that would happily do that for you." She reminds me gently, as if speaking to a child.

"I know Isabelle; I just want something besides throwing daggers to occupy me. I've been so bored in this castle lately." I reply. She sets her tea down.

"I bet Jace could keep you occupied." She waggles her eyebrows. I roll my eyes at her, hiding my slight pink flush.

"Isabelle!" I scold; scanning the room just to make sure Jace hadn't magically appeared in it. She shrugs, unabashed, and continues to drink her tea.

"I'm just saying, you have a perfect distraction all wrapped up in a delicious gold wrapping in your bed every night; you should take advantage of it." She states.

I raise my eyebrows. "I thought you and Jace were like brothers; isn't it a little weird to refer to him as 'delicious'?" I say, reversing the pressure. She doesn't seem to care though.

"Sure he's like a brother, doesn't mean I can't admire him. Angel knows the crude things he's said about my legs." She mutters into her cup.

By the angel, this was one strange kingdom.

There's a knock on the door, and I look up to see Helen by the door.

"Yes Helen." She curtsied before stepping into the room.

"Milady, the king is requesting your company in his study." I nod and stand up, placing the dress on the table in front of me.

"I'll be back soon Isabelle."

"Take your time sweetheart." She wins at me over her cup. I roll my eyes and follow Helen out of the room. The walk there is silent, as Helen guides me to Jace's study. We enter through the large oak double doors, into a large room. A stained glass window on one side casted filtered rays of light over the large desk in the middle of the room where Jace sat at. He was writing something on a piece of paper, and didn't look up.

"Thank you Helen, you may leave now." She curtsied and quickly left the room. I stand still for a moment, then I move towards the desk until I'm about two feet away.

"You asked for me?" I say tentavely. He stops his writing and gets up, walking around the desk until he's directly in front of me. He leans against the desk, bracing his hands on it.

"I just wanted to let you know that there is going to be a party tonight, a birthday celebration for a military leader who's a close friend of mine. We are attending, considering it's in our castle." He smirks at that, and I ignore the heat in my stomach at the sight of his gorgeous smirk. I swallow and nod.

"Okay, is there a specific way I need to dress?" he waves his hand at that.

"Tell the maids not to bother readying you, that's why Isabelle is here. She has a better sense of what fashion or whatever girls call it here. Just let Isabelle dress you, she'll know. I don't care as long as you look gorgeous." I nod again, and I head out of the study, feeling his eyes burning hole in my back. I sigh in relief as the door closes. Every time I was around him, there seemed to be so much underlying sexual tension I felt like I was about to explode. I wasn't sure where it was coming from, considering I had never gotten the opportunity to kiss somebody before. But Jace… he made me want to do a lot more than just kissing.

I arrive back in the parlor, where Isabelle hadn't even left her previous position. She immediately frowns when I walk into the room.

"You're back way too fast." She says distastefully. I roll my eyes and sit back down, finishing up my last couple of stitches on the dress I was mending.

"Jace was just telling me about the party tonight, and how you're supposed to get me ready." She perks up, putting down her almost empty cup.

"Oh, I almost forgot! Come on, we barely have three hours to get you ready. By the Angel, he should've told you sooner." She mutters, dragging me to my feet.

"Why would you need three hours? I got ready for my engagement party in an hour in a half." I say, confused. She leads me to the bedroom and into the bathroom, sitting me down on a delicate chair.

"Well, you can't put a time limit on beauty. Now, hurry and run yourself a bath, make sure to put in rose bath salts. I need to prep." She took this way too seriously.

~o.O.o~

My bath was finally over, and now I was sitting in a robe watching in amusement as Isabelle cursed repeatedly to herself as she attempted to uncurl my hair.

"By the angel, you call this hair? This is more complicated than slaying a Iblis demon." She mutters. I raise my eyebrows as she successfully untangles one knot of 500.

"You kill demons?" I ask, interested. She nods.

"Yes, while there aren't any in Alicante, my parents have made me and Alec, my older brother who I presume you've met, spend a month or two a year at Institutes around the world to help and get more experience. We've been doing it since we were fifteen, so I've seen a fair share of actual demons."

"Are they as bad as textbooks describe them?"

"Worse. When I first fought a demon, I freaked out so bad; I lashed out with a whip randomly and got ichor all over me. Stung like a bitch, but now I know how to kill cleanly. They're scary as hell, and it doesn't really get better. But eventually, you get the hang of it. Jace did the same thing as us; we often spent our time in the same institute. He was always the best, and still is. He is, arguably, the best shadow hunter of his age. Trust me; you have no idea how much pride I had to swallow to admit that."

Best shadow hunter? It certainly wasn't too much of a crazy idea. But now I knew he had let me win the other day. My heart sunk slightly; I really thought I had won. But I had surprised him; guess I wasn't the weak little girl he though I was. That restored my spirits slightly, and I smiled at the thought. I'd beat him one day. I would make sure of it.

"Finally, I got all the knots out." Isabelle announced happily. I laugh as she picks up the hair dryer and sets to work. After she's done, I'm pleased to see my hair looked beautiful, falling to my waist in perfect red curls. I touch one of them softly. I look up to see Isabelle grinning in the mirror. I roll my eyes at her, but silently thank her with my smile. She nods and opens my makeup drawers.

"Now, time for the hard part."

I sigh and sit still as possible as she expertly applied a light powder, followed by varying shades of eye shadow and a thin line of eyeliner. Mascara, then a deep, ruby red lipstick. "If you even smudge a centimeter of this, I will personally punch you in the face." She warns as she closes the lipstick bottle. I roll my eyes and survey myself in the mirror. I look amazing, at least to myself. I smirk slightly, admiring how well the lipstick looked against my pale, glowing skin. Isabelle might as well have been a warlock, considering it was like magic with what she could do with some makeup.

"Okay, now let's just find the perfect outfit for tonight." She yanks open the double doors to the closet and rummages through the mountains of silk, taffeta, and velvet. She almost disappears from sight by the time she finally emerges, holding a dress triumphantly.

I stare at her, appalled. "Isabelle! There is no way I'm wearing that tonight!" I almost shout, my eyes wide. She rolls her eyes and sets it on the counter.

"Yes you are Clary. I know you may not be used to it, but we are a lot more modernized here. We don't exactly wear corsets on a daily basis. I know it may seem like a lot to you, but this is going to be considered normal, I promise. If it helps, my dress is also backless." I sigh, sagging against my chair.

"Let me put it on." I say tiredly. She nods and hands me the dress, leaving the bathroom to give me enough time. I shrug off my robe and don the dress reluctantly. I arrange my hair and stare into the full length mirror.

It truly is a beautiful dress. Two wide straps that covered my chest looped behind my neck and crossed on my upper back, coming back around to under my breasts. A large, crystal imbedded rectangular piece was fitted there, the long black skirt falling from there. It came together on the small of my back, leaving my entire back exposed, along with two triangular pieces of my stomach where the straps and skirt weren't connected. It exposed more than I had ever exposed before, but it was strange how insanely confident I felt. It made me look sexy, daring, and commanding. I felt like I finally was as confident as I had always wanted to be my entire life. I grin at myself in the mirror.

Isabelle pokes her head in, a hopeful smile on her face. "Well?"

I bite my lip. "Are you sure this isn't too inappropriate?"

"Compared to some things you'll see tonight, you look like a nun Clary."

I contemplate it for a moment, and then slowly, I nod. Isabelle grins so wide, I'm afraid her face would split open. "Thank the Angel; you look damn hot in that dress. Jace might just fall to his knees."

I hadn't even considered Jace's reaction. He did buy this dress for me, along with al the other even slightly provocative pieces in there. He was probably waiting for me to wear one of the pieces. Well, there's an added bonus.

Isabelle lights up again. "Oh, I almost forgot!" she dives back into the closet, and emerges with a pair of black heels. Luckily, they weren't too high. I take them from her and tug them on, surprised to find they fit perfectly. How come Jace knew my exact measurements? From the dress to the shoes? Maybe Valentine had told him.

I survey the final product in the mirror. My hair was resting on my shoulder, complimenting the dress beautifully. My makeup was perfect and light, not as much as I had seen some girls wear at the engagement party. The heels gave me some extra height, so I wouldn't look as small compared to Jace as I actually am.

I turn to Isabelle. "Thank you so much, I look fantastic. But don't you have to get ready?"

She dismisses it with a wave. "Oh never mind, I can get ready quickly. Plus, I have a thing for being 'fashionably late.'" She winks. I nod, even though I had never heard the term before.

"Well thank you again, this really is amazing."

"Oh stop it Clary, you're making me blush. Now go, I think Jace is waiting in the bedroom for you." She winks and slips out, giving me a moment to steel my nerves. I take a breath, straighten my perfectly straight dress, and head out into the bedroom.

Jace was waiting there, picking at his nails absentmindedly. He looks up when I enter, and freezes. His eyes widen fractionally as he takes me in, his eyes raking every inch of me. Finally, his heated gaze returns to my eyes, locking me there.

"I was hoping you would wear that dress." He said roughly, a small smirk on the corner of his lips. I smirk back taking him in as well. There were no words to describe how amazing and sexy he looks. He's wearing a tight fitting black suit, accenting his golden skin and hair perfectly. He looked gorgeous, except for…

"What is that?" I demand, pointing at the abomination on his neck. He raises an eyebrow, looking down.

"Um… a bowtie?"

"No, it's a clown accessory. There is no way I am going into that ballroom with you wearing that. Where is your closet?" I spin around, looking for it. I spot the double doors on the other side of the room and march to it. I enter his bathroom, which is done up in all shades of white, black, or grey. I open his closet and rummage through the drawers until I find his tie one, and I grab a simple, pure black tie.

I walk back out to Jace, who is in the same place I left him. He watches me with curiosity and amusement as I promptly reach up and undo the bowtie expertly. I toss it on the bed and start to work on his tie, tying a Windsor knot. Valentine had made me take classes on everything, from how to tie a tie in several different knots to how to crochet a sock. I finish off, tucking it into his suit and smoothing down his lapels.

I grin in satisfaction at my work. I look up at him, only to realize how dark his eyes had become as he stared down at me, filled with a carnal desire that shot heat straight up my veins and clouding my mind. I realize how close I am to him, and that my hands are still lingering over his chest.

"Better?" he asks, his voice deep and rough. I nod slowly. His arm comes up and he pulls me close to him. I breathe out quickly as his finger slowly trails up my spine, sending shivers throughout my body. I wanted to close my eyes, melt into Jace, and never leave. "Good." He mutters, his lips slowly getting closer and closer to mine. I gulp, and at the last moment, I whisper. "My lipstick."

He stops, a mere breath away from fulfilling the desire that had been growing in me from the second I first saw him. A low, incredibly sexy groan escapes his lips as he lets his forehead fall against mine. "You're seriously worried about your fucking lipstick?"

I laugh slightly. "Isabelle did a lot of work, and I doubt you'd like to have red lipstick smeared all over you when you walk into the ballroom." He smirks slightly, smoothing his hand down my exposed back. I shudder, my eyes falling closed for a split second. I stay like that for a moment, until I open my eyes and Jace pulls away. Our moment was broken, for now.

"Come on, we have a party waiting for us." He says, offering me his arm. I take it, and he leads me out into the hallway. The sound of my heels against the marble floor bounces off the high ceilings as we make our way to the corridor where we had first met. We wait there for a minute, until somebody pokes there head in and motion us in. We walk in, and I fix a dazzling smile on my face. Everybody in the ballroom roars as we walk in, and Jace waves as he let's go of my arms and steps towards the balcony. The party was already in full swing, but everybody had paused while we stepped out, all being handed small flutes of wine by waiters clad in gold. Jace and I each accept our own flutes, and Jace turns to address the audience.

"I would like to dedicate this toast to General Aldertree, whose birthday is the reason we're gathered here today. You have been extremely vital in leading our militia, and advising me from the moment I took the throne. Now, I know you're getting old now, but I think I still might need your help for a little bit longer, so do me a favor and don't die." He jokes, as the crowd laughs along with him.

"I don't plan on it!" Shouts somebody from the ballroom I zero in on a man in about his mid- forties, dressed handsomely in a Navy suit. He grinned whole heartedly at Jace, who returned it. He really was a good king, I thought to myself.

"I surely hope not, so on behalf of my beautiful fiancée and I, happy forty fifth birthday!" Everybody erupts into cheers and downs their wine, and I do the same. It was amazing to see so much life in the ballroom, everybody happy and not worried about anything. If anything, it was the exact opposite of the Morgenstern castle, which was always so cold and lifeless. This was a welcome change.

Jace lightly takes my arm and we descend the stairs together and enter the throng. We are welcomed warmly by everyone, and I get multiple compliments on my dress. I accept each and every one of them, surveying what all the other girls were wearing. I was glad to see there were many dressed like me, if not in less. I didn't feel scandalous, I felt sexy and comfortable. My smile steadily grew throughout the night as I chatted with several people, making a friend here or there. Isabelle found me 45 minutes later, and introduced me to everybody. At a certain point, Jace stole me away.

"Here, I have some people who would like to meet you." I nod and let him guide me to a group of men dressed handsomely, within them General Aldertree.

"I would like to introduce you all to my lovely fiancée Clarissa Morgenstern." Jace said. They all grins and waved slightly. "And this is General Aldertree, the one who's getting old." Jace joked. Aldertree rolled his eyes at Jace.

"Oh, Jace I can introduce myself, I haven't lost my voice yet." Aldertree joked. He turned to me, sticking out his hand. "Mathias Aldertree, general of the Herondale army." He introduced. I placed my hand in his, curtsying.

"Pleasure to meet you." I say softly, a soft smirk curling my lips. I rise as Aldertree gently kisses my hand before letting it go.

"The pleasure is all mine." He states, letting my hand go. He straightens up, smiling brilliantly. He really was attractive, with broad shoulders, black hair that was closely cut, and sparkling blue eyes. His skin was tan, and smile lines surrounded his lips. "Now Clarissa, I didn't know that King Valentine had a daughter?"

I laugh lightly. "I never left the castle much; I was more of an introvert in my childhood years. And please, call me Clary." I say softly. He nods, and his eyes light up when gentle music starts to fill the ballroom.

He holds out his hand. "Please Clary darling, may I have the honor of the first dance?" I nod and place my hand in his again, and he leads me out to the middle of the cleared space. We were the first ones out there, and he gently placed his calloused hand on my exposed waist. I placed one of my hands on his shoulders and let him lead me. He was a good dancer, and gently swayed us around to the rhythm. I kept up with him, my dancing lessons on classic waltz kicking in. He kept his friendly smile on as we gently waltzed, and started up a conversation

"So how is it being engaged to Jace? I know he can be a pain in the ass sometimes." I laugh at that.

"Very true, he can be difficult, but I can handle him. He can be decent when he wants to- that's just not very often." I say. He laughs deeply, his entire body moving from the force of it. I decide I like Mathias- he seemed very real.

We make small talk on a couple of more subjects for the remainder of the song, until a new one starts. Jace is quick to swoop it.

"Alright Mathias, I think you've stolen poor Clarissa away from me for long enough." He jokes, but I notice a tiny bit of steel behind his eyes. Mathias stops the swaying, removing his hand from my waist.

"Okay Jace, thank you so much for letting me borrow her for a dance." He turns towards me, kissing my hand again. "Thank you so much for the dance, Clary. I hope to see you soon."

"As do I." I say with a soft smile. He leaves, and Jace promptly takes my hand and places his other on my waist. He pulls me a lot closer than Mathias had, to the point there wasn't room for air between us he looks into my eyes as he starts twirling us, a lot more complicated and faster than before. I keep up expertly, letting him lead me around the floor. His eyes never leave mine once, roaming my face.

"You seem to have like Mathias." Jace says.

"Yes, he was very charming." I murmur. He nods every so slightly.

"I see." He says curtly. I raise my eyebrows as he twirls me. I fall back into him and we continue dancing.

"Now Jace, is that jealousy I heard?" I ask, slightly teasing.

"Of course not." Is his short reply.

"I see." I bite my lip in contemplation. Then, "You know, when I think about it, he really is a nice man. Good built, and his eyes are so charming. And he's a General. Such a proper gentlemen, any woman would be lucky to-"

Jace stops, letting me go. He stalks off the dance floor, not looking back, leaving me confused and alone on the dance floor. I stare after him as he melts into the crows, leaving me. Great, I had gone too far.

I look around for somebody I knew. Several men asked for a dance, and I politely declined each invitation. I finally spot Isabelle next to the chocolate fountain. She did look amazing, in a ruby red dress with a back composed of lace and her hair straight and shiny. I call her name and hurry towards her. She turns, grinning when she sees me.

"Clary! You still look amazing, which is good, I'm glad you haven't wiped your makeup off by accident yet."

I wave it away. "Yeah, but I have a problem. I think I got Jace extremely angry at me, and I'm not really sure what to do." I say, desperate for help. But she simply waves it away with a ruby nailed hand.

"Oh please, Jace doesn't stay angry for long. By tomorrow morning he'll be back to normal." I eye her dubiously.

"Are you sure?"

"Nope!" she says cheerily, handing me a chocolate covered strawberry. I roll my eyes and wave it away. I was too busy worrying. But I had a feeling Isabelle was right, and that there was nothing I could do to help it.

So I drifted for the rest of the night, Isabelle introducing people to me, mingling for a while, dancing with Politicians and friends of Jace. He stayed away from me for the rest of the night, always staying at the opposite end of the ballroom. But, every time I got on the dance floor with somebody else, I could feel his heated gaze burning holes in the back of my neck. It took all my willpower not to look back at him.

Finally, after a long night, the party started to come to an end. People slowly started drifting out of the ballroom, so I ended my last dance and found Jace. We said nothing to each other, simply exited the ballroom and started off in the direction of our bedroom. We were silent the entire way; the only sound our breath and our shoes against the floor. Finally, when we are ten feet away from the doors to our room, Jace grabs my arm. He yanks me into a shadowy corridor, pushing me up against the wall until I could feel the cool stone of the wall pressed entirely against my back. My wrists are grabbed up in one of his hands and held against the wall above my head, and his other hand is braced against the wall. I gasp in surprise, looking up into his dark eyes filled with anger and lust.

"Don't you ever, even for a fucking second, convince yourself you are anybody's but mine. You are mine, not any other guys. Mine. Understand?" he nearly shouts. Before I get to respond, his lips come down hard on mine.

I'm shocked for a moment. I don't move, but, under the steady pressure of his lips, I slowly start to respond. A low moan escapes me lip and I kiss him back, my mouth opening under the pressure. Heat, starting in the pit of my stomach, slowly spreads throughout my body, lighting my skin on fire. I wanted to touch him, everywhere. My wrists squirm in his grasp, and he lets them go. My hands immediately go to his hair, where I tangle my fingers into his thick, gold locks. He does the same, using his harsh grip on my hair to pull me closer. His other hand grabbed my legs, wrapping it around his waist. His fingers digging into the soft flesh of my thigh drove me crazy, and I moaned into his mouth. We were consumed by each other, and nothing else existed besides us. I had never experienced anything as amazing as this, and I never wanted to stop.

I pulled away, gasping for air. I stare at Jace, thoroughly shocked. My eyes are wide as I pant, trying to regain my breath. Jace's eyes are also wide, if not bigger. I could see the desire for more in his dark, delicious eyes. I wanted nothing more than to drag his full lips back to mine.

His face slowly gets closer, until I can feel his lips brushing against mine.

"Mine."

I nod, still out of breath. "Yours, as long as you continue to kiss me like that."

A dark, incredibly sexy grin. "Princess, you haven't seen anything yet."

Ooooo possessive Jace, Yum,

Sorry this took forever to get up, but just a little reminder I just a 4500 word chapter in a 3 hour sitting, and my ass HURTS.

**** I just made up Mathias for Aldertree's first name, because they never say what his actual first name is Haha.

Hope you liked it! PLEASE REVIEW!

Love Madeline.