Chapter 2- Nightmares
Clary didn't remember falling asleep. She usually didn't, given how tired she was after a long day of walking. The capital was a hundred miles away from Ignis. About a half a day's travel time by horse but walking was much slower. Especially given the rough wooded terrain one had to pass through. The dark woods were mysterious and eerie. There was a magical presence about them but everyone knew that behind that beauty was danger. Many who got lost in its depths were never seen again. The forest was massive and went on for hundreds of miles. Its thinnest part where most traveled though was ahead of them. The woods marked the halfway point from Ignis to the capital city of Idris.
Clary shivered at the thought of getting closer to the king and his son. She had been so exhausted that she fell asleep as soon as her head hit her makeshift pillow. She fell through the darkness before a light suddenly appeared engulfing her as most dreams did. She had learned long ago that her dreams often revealed things. So, she usually made it a point to write them down as soon as she woke. Yet, she didn't have access to a quill or paper anymore.
The light faded leaving Clary in the middle of a familiar crowd. She was back at the King's Address. Looking up she watched King Valentine rise to stand on the stage as the crowd waited with bated breath for him to speak. The people had been working long and hard to serve his majesty; hoping to be worthy of his grace. Though to be honest, the people just wanted to keep their heads attached to their bodies. Which was a difficult feat lately for those who found themselves in the King's presence.
The sky was clear since the fires had not been lit for the last few days in preparation for the crown's arrival. Things had gotten worse in Ignis the last few years as the demons grew more ruthless. They were now requiring special sacrifices in order to work and with a larger demand from the king they had to work. The city knew and would arrange hunting parties to collect the adequate number of animal sacrifices to please them. Still something had been bothering them. Simon, a worker in the mine and one of her best friends, had been keeping an eye on things by the pit. One night he snuck a small sack away while the guards made the foolish decision to venture too close to the pit opening. Once he opened the sack he was horrified to find not an animal but a small baby's body. He barely got out of there before he puked into the nearby bushes.
Simon had told Isabelle and Clary the next morning and they had notified Lord Blackthorn immediately. Clary trusted Lord Blackthorn completely, having grown up with his children. She did not doubt that he was unaware of the situation completely. They had banded together to stop the sacrifices, this time, for good. Unfortunately, this in turn slowed down production and drew the king's notice. He immediately traveled to Ignis to make a speech. Clarissa couldn't resist the notion of hearing how the king was going to motivate the crowd. He was known to be quite the snake charmer.
The dream replayed the events of that day, sharper now that her memory had once dulled them down. She watched as the King took the stage glancing out at the crowd. He was tall, muscular, and had a commanding presence about him. Light gray hair began to set in mixing with his platinum blonde. She hadn't noticed that before since his large crown had caught her attention previously. Clary watched herself lower her hood and lean forward to get a better look. At the time she had thought she would draw more attention to herself if she kept it on. Now, she knew better. Her mind shouted at herself, begging that she put the hood back up and run. She knew it was useless though. This was just a dream of a memory. There was no changing things now.
The king had only visited the city a handful of times since the wars five years ago. In those five short years, Clary's body had grown and developed into a young woman's. She had just turned seventeen and was now old enough to make her own decisions. Something that Imogen reminded her of often. She was free to make up her own mind on most matters except when it came to this. Lady Herondale still forbade her from seeing or being in the presence of the crown, yet, refused to disclose the reason why. The Lady would be irate if she found out the Clary had snuck out to hear the King. Guilt sunk into her chest, Clary wished she would have listened.
Isabelle was at home with Imogine, distracting her. Izzy hated the crown with a passion. She didn't often speak of the months she was confined to the castle but from the short pieces of information Clary was given, it was not a pleasant experience. Isabelle was at least fortunate enough to be in the castle while the prince was not there. Prince Jonathan was away after the wars traveling about the kingdom. Now he was at the right hand of his father and rarely left the man's side. Rumors suggested it was Jonathan who kept the demons in line now that the king was growing old. Oddly enough, he was not with his father today. If he had been, she might not have gotten away that day.
The King started off boastfully praising the city of Ignis on its hard work and dedication to the crown for all of these years. The city was truly a "jewel of his empire." Clary barely contained the laugh that threatened to escape from her lips. The man behind her apparently wasn't as capable of such restraint. The King's cold eyes shot up and locked down onto the old man with an ill disguised warning. The man, who must have had some sense of self-preservation, quickly looked away. Clarissa turned around, her attention was once again on the King when she accidently locked eyes with him.
King Valentine stopped mid-sentence, his eyes locked on her, staring at her with disbelief. Clary's heart raced and her body froze in absolute fear. Why? Why was he staring at her like that? Each second that passed felt like a lifetime before the King composed himself and grinned down at her. It was a cold smile that promised nothing but wickedness. Another shiver ran down her back as her mind shouted that coming here had been a bad idea. It was too late now though both the Clary in the memory and the one watching the memory replay from above knew that.
"I know production has fallen and I am to get to the reason why. I have heard from the nobility," his majesty spoke, gesturing to Lord Blackthorn.
By the angel, she should have listened to Imogen.
"Yet, I wish to hear from you. Now, allow me to bring one of you up here so I can ask one of you the cause of the delay." he announced. Clary didn't need to think twice about who he was going to call up.
By the Angel, what the king wanted with a commoner like her she couldn't fathom but she knew in her gut that it couldn't have been anything good. He had pointed to her and had now turned to call his guard to escort her up to the stage when a loud explosion erupted from behind them. The crowd screamed as fire and smoke went everywhere. Panic ensued as everyone began to run. Clary quickly put her hood up and took the opportunity to escape. She practically sprinted away with the others as the king began screaming orders to the guards to put out the fire. She had jumped behind the last cart in the square before she heard him yell out orders to find the girl, clearly just realizing she was missing. Her heart was beating frantically as she rushed towards the market. Once she had safely turned another corner she busted out into a full run. She felt herself slipping as the earth gave out beneath her. The last thing she saw was King Valentine's dark eyes and his lips form a word which he cursed out in anger. One word that made her heart clench, "Jocelyn."
Clary's eyes shot open as she began looking around frantically. A pressure pushed lightly on her shoulder as she turned frantically. When she finally saw Gertrude beside her, the woman's hand touching her shoulder, she began to calm down.
"My dear, you were having a nightmare." The old woman spoke.
She placed a comforting hand on her forehead, checking her for a fever. Clary's heart pounded and palms sweated; she was scared. The redhead looked at the old woman, still drenched in sweat.
"No, not a dream Gertrude." She gasped trying to catch her breath. "A memory."
It had been a month since she had last seen the king. He had kept his imperial guard on alert throughout the city and extended his stay for an entire week after the failed address. Imogen had been so livid she had confined Clary to her room until the King left. A punishment Clary happily complied with. When the guards could not find the women the king sought they moved onto the next town. She had gotten lucky, for a while at least. Clarissa wasn't able to fall back to sleep after that. So much had happened and her mind kept jumping from one thought to another. Her heart wrenched thinking about her friends. The plan had gone wrong. They were all supposed to get out and travel back to the Lovelace kingdom with Simon. He promised them they would be safe there but things had gone wrong at the last second. The water explosives had gone off killing most of the demons but one had gotten free in the confusion. The building was collapsing and the beast had blocked Clary's way; separating her from the others.
She shivered remembering the fire demon's black eyes boring down into hers. She remembered the feel of the flame and the sharp cut of the creature's claws on her skin. What she couldn't remember was how she escaped. One minute the creature was on top of her and the next it was dead. All she remembered was waking up outside the collapsed building surrounded by imperial guards. If it had been Ignis guards, they would have taken her back to Imogen and hid her. Imogine was very generous to them and most served Lord Blackthorn before the king. Imperial guards however, were not so lenient. Especially since she matched the description of the girl that the king was looking for.
Clary heard the sound of the horn which alerted the others to wake up. She sighed and rolled up off of her makeshift bed. It was going to be a long day. Fog littered the forest, making it difficult to see the path ahead. The young woman smiled, it would buy her some time and a potential chance to escape because the guards didn't dare risk more prisons in such weather. Not with all the stories of those lost in such fog. No, they would have to wait until it cleared. Lifting herself up, Clary went to go unpack breakfast when she overheard a conversation between one of the new guards.
"This wall is so odd? Who would build such a wall out in the middle of nowhere?" the guard asked, pointing at a small gap in the fog towards the forest border. Clary and the others kept their heads down but listened quietly. There were many myths and legends about the wall that lay in the middle of the forest. It was too tall to climb and bad things happened to those who tried to cross it. There were also no doors. The tall brick enclosure was covered with vines and there was something different yet oddly alluring about it.
"No one knows who made it or for what purpose. Nor does anyone wish to lose their life finding out, boy." The captain spat cutting in. The young guard brought his head down in shame.
"My apologies Captain, I was just thinking out loud." He muttered. Gertrude attempted to rise from her spot only to struggle.
"Get going you filth! The king is waiting for our arrival and it wouldn't do to try his patience being late." The captain yelled, taking his frustration out on the older woman. The captain was a cruel man who got pleasure from having power over them. He treated the prisoners cruelly and like Lord Axel, had a healthy appetite for pretty girls. The king would often give him girls to sedate his hunger though none seemed to keep his interest for long. She had heard that being given to Captain Zara was comparable to being locked in the dungeons. The man in question turned and met her gaze. He gave her a small smile.
Clary saw how the Captain's eyes lingered on her for longer than what was proper. She also noticed he would go out of this way to make small chat with her. Although the redhead was a virgin, she knew what that look in the man's eyes meant. A look of lust and the longer she spent in the woods with him the more his self-control seemed to be weakening. Clarissa had enough by that point. She would die either way by the hands of the king or these vultures. It made no difference to her. The captain approached her.
"Tend to her, Irene, and see that she is taken care of. We wouldn't want her to fall behind." The Captain warned Clary darkly. Clary's skin crawled as his fingers caressed her shoulder. Ignoring the sick feeling in her stomach she nodded her head and silently went to tend to the older woman. She had told the guards that her name was Irene Gray. The name of a girl who had passed away a year ago outside of the city. They never found her body, most likely having been fed to the demons, her family couldn't bear the pain of losing a child so they left town. Once she had tended to her friend Gertrude, she made her way to breakfast. The fog lasted most of the day and only started to clear towards nightfall. Clary knew it would be cleared away when they woke up tomorrow. If she was going to plan her escape, she needed to do so now.
They now sat in front of the fire attempting to warm themselves from the cold. Clary was quiet and ate the food she had stored from breakfast in silence while the others spoke amongst themselves. They only got one meal a day. It was when she felt a familiar gaze and noticed the Captain's eyes lingering on her hungrily that she decided to go through with her plan. She had to get out of here, now. She doubted his resolve not to take her would last the night. He had been growing bolder and bolder every day. All she needed to do was to get the keys to their shackles. Once those were off everyone would be able to run free into the forest. There were too many of them for the small group of shoulders to catch all of them. While their was a chance they could get lost in the fog it was better than the alternative. It was their only shot. Clary began whispering to Gertrude who gave her a weak smile and a small nod. After dinner, the guards began to shackle the prisoners as they did nightly in order to ensure they wouldn't run away. It was then that Clary spoke up.
"Permission to speak to the Captain?" she asked one of the younger soldiers. The young man looked at her with concern burning in his eyes. Her green eyes met his hazel eyes as he spoke.
"That is not a wise decision, Irene. No matter what you think will come of speaking with him... it will not be something you want." The young guard warned. "He doesn't give freedom away and...and he is not gentle. The last girl who went into his tent at night…" the young man trailed off. Clary looked at him with appreciation. Not all guards were bad. This one cared enough about her to give her warning. Still, if she wanted to get out she knew that she needed those keys.
"I appreciate the warning, however I've already been instructed to come to see him tonight. I think it is a little too late to back out now don't you?" She lied.
The boy looked saddened but nodded his head in agreement.
"Go, you know where his tent is and may the angel be with you." he whispered.
Clary nodded and quietly made her way over to the Captain's tent. She took her time seeing the prisoners chained up and the guards now heading into their own tents. Some looked at her curiously and even more with pity as she knocked on the Captain's tent.
"Who's out there? Come in already, I haven't got all damn night!" the older man hissed.
Clarissa took in a silent breath and made her way into the tent. The man smiled wickedly upon seeing her; his eyes lingering on her frame.
"Please forgive the interruption, Captain, " Clary smiled sweetly. "but I was informed that you wished to see me." She lied.
"Ah, I, in fact, did not request your presence but since you are here I don't see a reason to turn you away." He smiled, taking a step forward. Lifting his hand, he gently brushed his knuckles across his face.
"Come sit down my dear. Let me take off those chains, they must be terribly uncomfortable." Clary blushed and did as she was told. The sooner this was over, the better.