Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.
Author's Note: I'm aware that Kaelie's age was never detailed in the books. I decided it myself based on the fact that the fairies would have never sent a kid to discuss the peace treaty after the Dark War. Since her character was never detailed, I created a personality for her that suited my story. I know she's different from the general view of her character in other fanfictions, but I hope you'll appreciate her all the same.
Thank you everybody for the reviews, I seriously love you all!
Kaelie was waiting for Jace to arrive, sitting on the couch. It wasn't often that he chose to stay the night, but recently it looked like he wanted to spend more time with her. And yet he didn't try to lure her into his bed yet. Maybe he was just saving it as a last resource if nothing else worked.
Kaelie wasn't stupid or naive—she perfectly knew what Jace was doing: he was trying to make her fall for him, so he could ask her help in getting his son back. The problem was, he was succeeding. Not in making her fall in love, no, she wasn't stupid enough for that. It just took a glance for anybody to understand there would be no other woman for Jace Herondale save Clarissa Morgenstern; he only had eyes for her. And when, the past week, Jace suggested that maybe he could be moving into Kaelie's apartment with her, she never replied, knowing it was just part of his plans. At first she was angry, yes. She even thought about allowing it, just to see how far he was willing to go, but she already had an answer for that: he would go as far as necessary for his son. He would move in with her, he would woo her, he would sleep with her and he would pretend to love her. And nothing good would come for her, if she decided to play his game.
She sighed, getting more comfortable and looked around. Kaelie's place reflected the fairy's sparkling personality: it was painted in bright colours and the furniture was both extravagant and comfortable. There weren't many fairies that decided to live outside the Court, but Kaelie loved to stay there, loved the feeling of being independent. Most of all, she just needed some alone time recently, away from the Court and all its problems. Was she becoming estranged to her own people?
She sipped at the glass of wine in her hands and started thinking. So much happened in the last decade and sometimes she couldn't even remember what her life was before Jace Herondale and his siblings came into it. He went by Jace Wayland of course at the time, when he first walked into Taki's, a pretty boy of just fifteen years old. He was already pretty confident, his golden eyes sparkling with smugness. She was older than him by nearly a century, but he had something that immediately drew her in like almost no human and certainly no Shadowhunter ever did.
The first time they talked it wasn't smooth, she remembered; he had this conceited attitude and since she was a Downworlder he actually looked at her like she was some inferior being. It hadn't taken long though, for him to like her. Actually he liked her so much that one year later she was the first one bringing him back to her place and not letting him go till morning. The morning after he was trying so hard to find the words to tell her it was just a one-night stand (although she had been his first) that she almost laughed, explaining to him that she really wasn't expecting a relationship, not with someone that young. One-night stands were perfectly fine with her. And from time to time, they still spent nights together when they both felt like it. Until Clary showed up.
When Clarissa Morgenstern appeared in Jace Wayland's life, everything changed. He couldn't take his eyes off her and Kaelie knew there would be no more nights with him. She told herself it didn't matter, she told herself he was a Shadowhunter and she could find someone else. She told herself she would move on. And then, when she was ridiculed and threatened in front of the Clave, at the end of the Dark War, she told herself she despised the Nephilim and never wanted anything to do with them again. And that included Jace.
Kaelie sighed again, leaning against the couch and wondering, not for the first time, why the Queen decided to side with Sebastian Morgenstern in a war against the Shadowhunters. She knew she was sleeping with him, but the Queen wasn't known to let her feelings cloud her judgment. And this was the result: they were outcasts, looked upon with open hostility, and their Queen decided her personal feud with Clarissa Morgenstern and Jace was worth risking the obliteration of their race. She didn't want to know what would happen when the Clave came to know that the Seelie Queen abducted a Nephilim child and ruthlessly used him to torture his parents. She didn't want to imagine it, because she already knew the outcome: war, unending war. A war she knew they couldn't win, a war she didn't know if she wanted to win. She hated what she was doing. Revenge was one thing and the fairies were known to be cruel, but using an innocent child was too much for her.
Maybe I spent too much time with the humans, she wondered. Or maybe it was because of a certain Shadowhunter. Ever since Jace came back into her life, she never stopped questioning what she was doing, something new for her. She never said a word when the Queen started sleeping with Sebastian Morgenstern. Or when she saw her brother raising his blade against the Nephilim. She never said anything when her kind helped capturing and Turning the Shadowhunters in the Dark War. She was loyal to the Queen, loyal to the Fey.
But that was before William. That was before she was made an accomplice in stealing a child from his parents. And yet, she should be used to it. Wasn't it a custom for the Fey to steal a healthy human child and replace it with a weak one of their own? Wasn't it necessary for the strengthening of the Fairies bloodlines? Not even the Covenant Law condemned that. And yet this had nothing to do with the tradition of creating a Changeling.
The doorbell interrupted her thoughts and she rose up shaking her head. She was thinking too much. She had a task and it was to make sure Jace would keep his end of the bargain with the Queen. It was just damn hard to keep being his jailer. It made her feel filthy.
Opening the door, she saw what she expected: Jace looked devastated. His face was pale, his eyes red, his frame unusually empty of life. She softly told him to come in and he settled on her couch without a word, keeping his gaze down. She never saw him so quiet and shattered, except when he came back from his monthly visit to William. Sitting down beside him, she handed him a glass of her wine and then just waited for him to talk.
"I'm not on my best right now, I'm sorry." He whispered at last, taking her hand. "Seeing him is hard."
She nodded, slowly caressing his arm in a comforting gesture. "Maybe you should stop going. It's only hurting you more." And yet, wasn't this what the Queen wanted? For him to suffer? She shouldn't try to ease his pain at all.
Jace shook his head, closing his eyes in exhaustion. He really was tired, the whole day took all his strength. He had hope now that his family knew what was happening and yet his heart was still aching. "I can't, Kaelie. He's my son. I need to see him, I need to know he's alright."
"The Queen won't hurt him, you know that."
He bitterly smiled, allowing the pain to show in his voice. "Your Queen already hurt him. And I believe her perfectly capable of doing it again. She's just waiting for a new opportunity."
"As long as you and Clarissa keep your end of the bargain, no harm will come to the child. The Queen promised."
"I know you're faithful to her," Jace smiled at her, trying to look affectionate. "But she poisoned my son. She imprisoned him. She tore him away from me and from his mother and now William won't talk because of it. He's in shock, he misses his parents."
"You know I don't approve of her actions." She told him quietly. "But she's still my Queen. I have no say in her decisions."
"You're a good girl, Kaelie. You have a heart, something most of your people miss."
That was it. Kaelie bit the inside of her cheek and sighed, coming to a decision. Playing that game with him was starting to hurt her. She knew his smiles were fake, she knew that when he was holding her hand he really wanted to hold his wife. She knew that every time he kissed her, since that awful story started, he pictured Clary in his mind. She needed it all to stop now, before she started to hate him for deceiving her so well that she could almost believe him.
"A heart you're trying your best to charm. Too bad it's all fake." She said at last, almost whispering. Somehow she found the strength to smile when he sharply turned to her. "You forget I'm much older than I look, Jace. I'm not completely naive."
"I never thought you were." He commented, feeling his heart missing a beat. She saw through it, he hadn't been good enough. Was it over? Was this the moment Kaelie would laugh in his face telling him it was all for nothing? Was this the moment he had to take the final step and keep bluffing, taking her to his bed to convince her?
But Kaelie didn't laugh or mock him. She just squeezed his hand and looked at him with pity. "I know what you're doing. I would do it too, if I were in your place. But you have to understand that I can't help you the way you want me to. I can't take the child away. That would be treason."
"That would be for nothing." Jace slowly answered, dropping every act. Apparently that was the revelation day, first his family, now Kaelie. She knew everything and if he wanted to gain her cooperation he had to be sincere. She was willing to listen for now, so he would talk. "Even if I managed to sneak William out the Court, he would die without the antidote. I need to find a cure first."
The pixie shook her head. "There is no antidote that I know of. The only one is the tea he's already drinking every day. And the plant won't grow outside our kingdom."
Jace bit his lower lip, thinking fast. Could he trust her? Could he risk telling her something that could be used against him, against his family? Or was this just an act to find out what he's been plotting so she could tell the Queen? He had to be cautious.
"There is no antidote that you know of." He said at last. "But maybe—" He left the phrase hanging, waiting for an answer. The ball was in her court now.
Kaelie didn't say anything and after a few moments she stood up, walking to the table to pour herself more wine. She turned around so he couldn't see her face and leaned her hands on the table. Jace waited. He knew she was thinking, weighing her options, deciding where her loyalty stood. This was a turning point and he didn't want to rush anything, scared she would back off if he tried to force her. The minutes passed and he dared not even move, just looking at the fairy and hoping against all hopes that she decided to help him. If she didn't and reported what he tried to do, he was in trouble. And yet he exposed neither Clary nor his family, it could look like he was the only one trying to find a way out of that damn trap. The risk was minimal and it had to be taken.
Then Kaelie sighed and lowered her gaze on the table, still not turning to him. "The Fey are an ancient people, Jace. We were here way before humanity appeared and we stayed, through thin and thick, throughout all the ages of men. We survived wars, calamities and demons. We were respected and humans told tales about us to their children, calling us The Little People, fearing our powers but happy we existed because we made them dream about wonderful worlds and great adventures."
She turned around looking at him and he could see her eyes were cold and distant. His heart sank as she continued. "Then Jonathan Shadowhunter summoned Raziel and it all changed. He made up the term "Downworlder" to call us, the vampires, the werewolves and the warlocks and we became targets, prey to hunt like the demons, all to gain the spoils. And yet we still survived. It was never the same though, for in the eyes of Nephilim we weren't worth consideration, we were regarded as inferior beings. Valentine Morgenstern took this vision to its far end, wishing to obliterate us and everyone who wasn't Nephilim or human. And then his son allied with us to vanquish the Shadowhunters who mocked us for their entire life. I can see why the Queen found it appealing, like it was a sort of comeback at our former glory."
Kaelie sipped at her glass of wine and when she looked at him her eyes were unsure, like she was still battling with herself. "Now she wants another war, mostly to avenge Sebastian Morgenstern, but also to show the world we aren't pariah, that we're a force to be reckoned with. She will never consider backing off, she's blinded by hatred. I, on the other side, am not."
As she was talking, her tone changed, from unsure to steady, her eyes clearer, her frame standing straight and proud. "Don't misunderstand me, I'm not fond of the Nephilim. Most of them still look at us as trash, just because they have Raziel's blood in their veins. But I don't want another war: we lost many warriors last time, many fey children, and we still have to recover from that. If we fight now and we lose, our race could suffer a blow so fierce that it would take centuries to rise again. I doubt the Shadowhunters would stand two rebellions in less than a decade and I'm not willing to take that risk. So I'll help you."
Jace sprang on his feet, his mouth open to talk but Kaelie stopped him. "I'll help you if you promise me there will be no consequences for my people, after this is over. I don't want another humiliating peace treaty where the Fey are deprived of any dignity. I want us back under the Covenant, I want the restrictions of these past seven years lifted. I want things back like they were before the Dark War. That's my price: help me save my people and I'll help you save your son."
He was tempted, so tempted to promise her on the spot, just to have her help. But he was an honest guy, and she was putting everything on the line. He wouldn't trick her now. "I'm not the Consul, Kaelie. I can promise I'll do my best, but I can't assure you it will be enough. I'm not even in the Council."
"I know." She sighed. "You're just a voice in the Clave, but you have important connections: your wife is in the Council, Maryse Lightwood is the head of the New York Institute and Robert Lightwood is the Inquisitor. They love you like a son and they'll listen to you. Lucian Graymark is your father-in-law and the werewolves representative in the Council. And Catarina Loss, the Warlocks representative, is friends with Magnus Bane, and you can talk to him. So I can only hope it will be enough. But I want your word that you'll do everything you can to spare my people from further humiliation."
He slowly walked to her and put his hands on her shoulders, looking her in the eyes. She was scared but she was determined as well, and he admired her for this. And as much as he hated the Fair Folk for what they did to him, he wasn't ready to give up his only chance of saving his son to get revenge against them. "I swear on the Angel that I'll try everything I can to help the Fey. I swear I'll be their voice in the Clave until they have their own back in the Council. And I swear I'll protect you Kaelie. You're risking a great deal for your people and for me, and this won't be forgotten."
She nodded and then took a step away, letting his hands fall on his sides. She knew what she just did: stopping every pretence she just let go of Jace forever, giving up every possibility of having a future with him, fake or not. But he was never hers to begin with, she reminded herself. And one man, even Jace Herondale, wasn't worth risking the future of the Fey.
"I'm not sure a cure for your son exists," she told him, "but if it does, I'll find it. And if I can't, then I'll make sure that William never runs short of the antidote, even if he's not in the Court anymore. Give me time to research, and when I'll have some news I'll tell you."
"Thank you Kaelie." He meant it. He meant his oath, every word of it and he would do everything to keep it. He silently thanked the Angel for sending Kaelie on his way, even though he hated her with a passion when this all started: he thought she would be someone to crush, someone to trick in order to get what he wanted. He would have had no remorse in bedding her, even though it would break his heart to betray Clary like that. And yet, instead of a cruel jailer he had found an ally, a fierce fairy willing to risk everything out of love for her people. Much like he was willing to do for William.
"You should go now," she whispered, her eyes shining with tears. She didn't even know why she was crying. She wasn't in love with Jace. She wasn't.
He looked at her eyes and his expression softened. She watched him raise a hand to cup her cheek, brushing it gently and then she closed her eyes as he gave her what she would never admit she wanted, just once more before it was all over. When his lips left hers, after a sweet and gentle kiss, he leaned his forehead on hers, his deep golden eyes fixed in her blue ones.
"Thank you." He whispered on her lips before leaving her and walking to the door.
"Kaelie." He called once again, a hand on the knob. "You know all of this means we'll have to remove the Seelie Queen from her throne."
You know we'll have to kill her, was the implicit sentence. Because the Queen would never willingly give up her kingdom.
She looked at him, her hands closed in fists at her sides. When she spoke there was no uncertainty in her voice, no doubt at all.
"I know."
Jace nodded, looked at her one last time, then closed the door behind him as he left. And Kaelie turned and grabbed the table, scratching the surface with her nails. It was all she could do not to fall on the floor crying.