Clary found herself in the center of the Accords Hall, Jace was next to her and he smiled ad he held her hand, something in his touch make her think he was proud of what was happening, but she couldn't discover what was it; she looked behind her to see her friends and family looking at her with loving eyes, Izzy held a small bulge in her arms and it raised its little hands to play with Maryse, when had the baby born? And why wasn't Robert there with them? Her mother and father in law were beside them but without their usual crowns.
"Ready to be called Queen Clarissa?" her husband asked her as the minister that had married them approached with two enormous crowns.
"Queen?" she looked down to them both to see that they were wearing ceremony gowns. Was it for real? She had managed to become the Queen? She felt joy building up inside her heart, she had done it!
"By Raziel, we're going to be the kings!" she squealed happily and Jace kissed her cheek.
"Nobody would deserve this place more than you do" he answered and just when they were about to be pronounced Kings of all Idris, he appeared.
"I wouldn't be so sure…" Valentine talked to her ear, the room got darker and everyone was gone, except for Jace.
"What are you doing here?" she was somehow frightened by the presence of her father, what was happening?
"You'll never be the Queen, darling… not as long as my blood runs through your veins!" he grabbed her other hand with impressive strength, trying to get her away from her husband. When Jace looked at her father, he immediately let go of her hand with a confused expression.
"Why did you lie to me, Clary?!" he screamed in pain watching as Valentine took her away from him.
"What? I didn't! Jace… Let go of me!" she screamed and Jace seemed to be more far away each time she spoke.
"We were meant to finish them, not protect them… now look how the happy ending turns all over…" he said as Clary watched Jace crying his eyes out. "Try to deny it all you want… but you'll always be my daughter!"
"Go away!" Clary yelled out to whom had left already. She was inside her room, the sky was still dark and she felt as Jace moved beside her.
"What's wrong?" Jace had gotten a bit pale because of the tears that fell through her cheeks.
"He's always there… why does he never leave me alone?" Clary cried hiding her face on her hands; Jace braced her gently while caressing her curls.
"Who are you talking about? Clary, it was just a nightmare…" her husband assured her, but Clary wasn't just talking about the dream, deep inside her she knew, even if she didn't want to accept it, that her father surrounded her thought every day.
"Why does he always ruin everything…? Why can't he just disappear?!" Clary was about to lose her head, the dream had just been too realistic, and with all the memories she had told Jace before going to sleep, it only made it worse.
"Clary, he's not here, alright? He can't hurt you now…" Jace replied when he understood what was going on. She sobbed silently trying to calm her frighten heart.
"I'm sorry…" she whispered.
"About what?" Jace kissed her forehead. 'About whatever I did to you in that freaking nightmare…'she thought, but she didn't find herself in position of saying that when not even she could understand what had been that fuss about.
"About waking you up with my childish fears…" she wiped her tears and tried to smile, but she was still shaking.
"It's ok; some say in sickness and health, remember? … Are you alright? Do you want some water or…?" now she was scared about something far more terrifying.
"Absolutely not! You cannot leave this room! My mother could be wandering around the house and if she sees you coming out from here… well, you may say goodbye to our children, if you know what I mean…" she had used that kind of threat with him before, but the thought of Jocelyn applying it sounded a bit more serious… and literal.
"Ok, I don't think I'll come out of here ever again…" he answered and made her giggle; he loved that happy expression on her face.
"Better for me, I'll have you as my love slave for the rest of my days!" she laughed and along with her did Jace tightening up his grip around her.
"You don't have to keep me here for me to love forever, you know?" Clary looked into his somehow innocent and honest eyes that she absolutely adored.
"Yeah, I just thought how fun it would be to have you tied up to the bed" with a final smile they both got into bed and Clary held Jace close so her nightmares wouldn't come back.
"Someday, I promise… but right now just try to sleep" he kissed her and they went back to sleep.
Izzy had another thing to her "'I've never done or been list" She had never been losing her mind thinking about what to wear for a date! But this was different, it was Simon she was talking about, the first guy she had ever likes for real, the first guy that had made her feel butterflies in her stomach and that kind of things! She just had to look her best!
"I insist you should wear the blue one, it looks perfect on you!" Alec was also a bit tired of thinking and also dizzy because his sister and boyfriend wouldn't stop walking from one corner to the other of the bedroom.
"It's simple, honey, I tell you… A person never wears the same dress twice, even worse if that person is a Princess!" Magnus said as frustrated as Izzy was.
"But nobody will know she's a Princess, she'll go undercover!" Alec reminded them, as they could have forgotten about it!
"Simon will know! And actually that's the only external option of me that I'll ever care about!" Izzy pointed, Alec snorted annoyingly.
"Then what the heck are we doing here?!" he yelled and let himself fall on his sister's big and puffy bed.
"Helping me! Alec, for the love of Raziel… It's our first date since we're officially a couple and I want it to be perfect!" she looked like she was about to cry, he noticed.
"Iz, nothing in this world is perfect, you know that! The only thing you can do is try your best and be yourself… that's what the guy wants, isn't it?"Alec sighed, the two bothered fashion lovers turned to see him with their arms crossed to their chests "Are you finally going to end with my misery?"
"Actually, bro… I could use those words of yours… I can try to be the best version of myself! You see, Magnus? That's how things work with Alexander, he'll say something dumb and then you must organize it so it becomes something smart…" And they went back to work with a smile on their faces.
"If I didn't love them with all of my tortured heart… I would've been out of here the moment I heard "date"… "Alec gave up to their nonsense worries, he knew for fact that Simon was a good boy who'd take care of his sister, he was Clary's best friend after all! But Izzy was such a drama queen… but there was no good in trying to stop or change her, whatever would make her feel better, he'd stand it happily.
"Ready, hun? You're a bit late…" Magnus asked to the bathroom's door in which Iz had been for the last 30 minutes.
"I'm not sure of it yet…" her voice sounded shakily, there were very few times that anyone could hear her hesitating about something.
"Let us see, alright?" he asked and then she finally appeared. She had finally decided to wear a red wine colored dress and not too high heels, her hair and makeup were much more natural than her everyday look, she looked wonderful… so much that Alec asked himself how could she be unsure about anything?
"Well… even without a crown or jewels you look like a Princess…" his brother smiled and she smiled back.
"Really? Isn't it too… boring or something?" she turned again to the giant wall mirror and examined her look.
"No way, missy! If I dress you, you'll never look boring!" said Magnus indignant.
"He surely knows what he says…" Alec agreed, Izzy chuckled and said.
"Fine, then… I'm ready" and she was, for once in her life she was sure about something: she wanted Simon.
Magnus drove her to the coffee shop where Clary, Simon and their friends often went to, Izzy played nervously with her rings and bit her lip softly, she looked through the window and saw him there, hoping her heart wouldn't give up beating.
"Alright, highness. We're here…"Alec turned to hold her shaky hand.
"I know, you fool… he's right there! And I'm here sweating like a pig… What if he regrets it? What if the one who asked me to be his girlfriend wasn't him but only the alcohol running through his system?!" she was feeling far too anxious.
"That's ridiculous, Iz! You know drunken people never lie! And he was as drunk as a pirate that night; he told you even what he didn't need to tell! Everything will be fine… as long as you remember the plan of course" he reminded her.
"Oh and you must also remember that neither mom or father or even grandma must know about this!" she looked at him with a calculating glare, making him shiver.
"Don't worry, I'll keep his mouth shut…" assured her Magnus with a devilish grin.
"Ok, no more details of your love lives… Thanks for everything" she said coming out of the car and putting her glasses on.
"Good luck, we love you!" was how her brother said goodbye, then she walked slowly to the door begging that her legs wouldn't fail to her and cause a scene that she'd never be able to forget, ever!
"Finally, I was worried that the waitress would come and ask if I was sure that the table was for two people…" his voice was so calm and funny, like hearing a cheesy song that you just can't get over of.
"Sorry, I had some, uh, family problems as always…" she sat down trying to look calm, but she had the feeling that someone around was hiding a camera and documenting everything.
"Really? You fought again with your father or…?" he remembered about that? For real? How often did she complaint about it?
"Oh, no, no! I've decided to send my father to hell, at least mentally… it was something less serious but anyways I don't want to talk about it…" she released an awkward giggle and looked down.
"I wish this could be somehow easier…" he sighed forcing her to look up a little disappointed.
"What do you mean?" she asked. 'Oh, as if I didn't know! This would never work; he doesn't want to be with a spoiled little princess! He wants a real girl! I cannot give him that!' She thought
"I wish we wouldn't need to hide… that you'd be safe from everyone that tries so desperately to know everything about you… I don't want you to be scared when you're with me, Izzy…" wait, so he wasn't worried about his situation, but about her?
"I'll try not to be… It's just that I've never done something like this…" she took his hand without noticing, but Simon did and he felt surprised about it.
"Well, there's always a first tome for everything, right?" he also chuckled a bit, making her relax a bit more.
"I guess so… you're quite cute when you flush…" she observed.
"Oh, and I bet I can be much cuter if you let me…" what was that about him that made her laugh even when she didn't want to?
"Really? Then I'll have to try to make you flush more often…" she smiled to him.
"Make me flush all you want, I'm totally yours right now! If you only knew how crazy you got me…" he confessed, with no embarrassment, not like she would've done it; he felt the same that she felt, the only difference was that she didn't know how to express it.
"…I'm glad we did this…" then his expression turned serious over her comment.
"You are?" he asked somehow shocked about it, he hadn't done anything extraordinary for her to feel so happy all of sudden!
"Yeah… You're so natural… so unafraid of being yourself, you've never been taught of pretending to be perfect like all of the people I know… I like that, you're just what I've always needed, Simon" her face got closer to him.
"And what exactly is that?" he wasn't nervous anymore.
"A bit of reality" she smiled and kissed him softly.
"That went really well, didn't it?" said Jonathan to his mother after his sister and brother in law were gone, the Angel knows how hard they tried to distract Clary every time that the theme of The Circle was about to be brought up. His sister had told her family how bad she wanted to discover the secret within that old story.
"It did, but I cannot stop myself of feeling guilty" Jocelyn said sitting on a chair and hiding her face on her hands, her husband got closer and caressed her hair.
"Mom, stop it already! We're doing what we must to protect her" he was aware of all the mistakes they were making for his sister's sake, but it was worth it; nothing of what had happened was her fault and she didn't have to suffer the consequences.
"Did you see the look in her eyes? And what about Prince Jonathan? They've never looked so happy! They're just children, how can they know anything about their own lives?" she was at the border of crying again, like she had done many times, on her own; ever since Valentine had ruined everything for them.
"That's another reason to keep holding on to the plan, Jocie…" comforted her Luke, as he always did; so nice, so protective, that was just him.
"Letting Clary live, believe and create a lie next to who she must've never married? She'll be broken hearted forever! I just don't know if this is right anymore… "As a movie says, the heart of a woman is a sea full of secrets, and once that woman becomes a mother, she uses those secrets to protect her children; of course I'd hurt, but what else could they do?
"Do you have any other idea, mother? It's too late to take a step back! She already did her part of the plan, now it's up to us to cover any evidence they can get of her…" but her son didn't think they were doing wrong, if only they had told her the truth before everything had began.
"But the truth will come out sooner or later, it might be Robert or herself who finds out… but Clary will know, and when she does… Heaven knows what will happen, if Jonathan will forgive her, what will Stephen do? Or Imogen… I always knew that woman was crazy but not this much! And what she almost did to us… Clary sees her like family, and the Lightwoods too… she'll be shattered" her poor daughter, who had given up so many things to live the life she was supposed to, and when she had gotten to love it, they would take it away from her, take it out of her heart and send her away, she knew that would happen.
"Better hurt than in jail, mom… We all have sacrificed things to take care of those who we love… and Clary won't be the exception, I don't know how much time she's got left… but… it would've been much easier if her heart hadn't stepped in the way… Now it'll be only more painful, it wasn't supposed to be like this, but we must keep going on… for how long it lasts until she gets discovered… or until she discovers herself" it also hurt Jonathan to lie to her, to be the one who had shared hopes with her and then destroying them, betraying her, ruining all that was left of her.
"I don't know if she'll stand it… but we must wait until we can think of something better to do, but this was definitely useful" said Luke looking serious and yet worried; when Clary had asked them to let her and her husband stay through the weekend, they had thought it would be a good way for them to take a look of how she was dealing with the situation they had created for her along with her grandfather; who had loved her dearly in life, without Granville, the Fairchilds would've been lost long ago.
"Now we know… how far this is from ending alright…" conclude Jocelyn, Jonathan got away from her, he couldn't see her eyes anymore, they were far too honest, too pure, to concerned about it; he could know the truth of their doing in just looking at her, and he couldn't bear with it.
"Oh, sis… Love always comes with a price… but you'll have to pay much more … if you only knew what love does to people… just don't say we didn't warn you…" he said looking through the window, his gaze going to the palace, where his sister thought she had the time of her life. He also felt like crying, he had wanted to cry many times; when Valentine had left without a goodbye, when he decided to leave and Clary had begged him to stay, with the same glare his mother had at that moment, being so small and yet she knew that if their father hadn't come back or even written to them, it was because he didn't love them, when he had written that letter encouraging her to become the Crown Princess, when his mother had sent the pictures of the wedding and Clary looked so miserable, so confused and lost, when he read her words begging him to come back, when he finally did and Clary confessed she was falling in love with her husband… and that weekend itself, when she was so happy over something that wasn't true; she finally was getting back the life she lost… but that was nothing but a lie. Clary could have gotten clues if she had only looked more deeply into what she was living, but they couldn't let her know, not just yet.
"Just don't say we don't love you… God knows how bad we're trying…" and for the first time in his whole life, he got the courage to let one tear flow, just one… he couldn't shed more, he had to stay strong for her.
The date was going exactly how Izzy had wanted it; they laughed, they flirted, and kissed a couple of times just like a normal and common couple would've done. Everything was just perfect until the first obstacle appeared.
"Are you sure you want another? You've drunk at least five cups of coffee since we got here!" she chuckled, she was starting to worry about his addiction to caffeine.
"What can I say? This magnificence is what keeps my heart beating when I see you…" Izzy was forced to smile with his answer, but then it became literal "No, seriously I must stay awake, I cannot finish believing you're my girlfriend… I hate to say this but Clary's right, this happened too fast…" and when he noticed she'd started to feel uncomfortable again he continued "But things just are what they needed to be and we're only starting… take it easy, Iz; we'll be fine" and he said that from the heart.
"I know we'll be… but it'll be difficult, you know? We'll have to be very careful… that will become annoying, I know it by fact…" she sighed, but not letting their hopes down.
"Who the hell cares? I'm willing to do anything that's needed to stay by your side… more than a lover or whatever, Izzy, I can say you need a friend… however you want to see me, that's fine, I just… want to be close to you…" it was strange for her to hear those words, nobody had ever been so careful with her, not even her mother.
"I'll let you, I promise… I trust that you'll be good to me" she had to admit that, like her brother and cousin, she had also built some walls around her heart and soul; things that nobody had seen or known about her, and that Simon was just beginning to discover.
"Thank you, madam... I appreciate the vote of confidence you're so gently giving me…" that was just him, flirting with even the most out of place comment ever.
"Hey, who'd say I'd find you here…" the sound of an annoying and very high voice made Isabelle wake from her love dream, she turned her head as a creature from a horror film would do to see who had dared to interrupt their conversation. She looked like a girl around 12 or 13, blonde hair, too childish clothes; she was almost a bad joke.
" Shit… Hey, Maureen… isn't this world so freaking small?" then her head turned to Simon who still held her hand.
"Maureen?!" she repeated as if she was telling a curse.
"Very small… who's your friend?" asked the intruder with an overly satisfied smile.
" Friend? Oh, no, honey … you see I'm not other fan of his I'm…" and just when Izzy was about to lose it, Simon tightened his grip. "Sophia … Trueblood… a pleasure" she offered her hand to the girl, she took it with not much joy.
"So, as I'm not getting in the middle of anything… could you tell a little message for dear Clary from me? … Oh, by the way, yes! I do know the Crown Princess who happens to be his best friend… " Boasted Maureen proudly 'Guess what, little whore? I'm her cousin! And yes you got in the middle of something… if it wasn't because MY BOYFRIEND is such a good and nice person I'd cut your little fingers with my shaver one by one… how about that?' She though as she smiled to the foolish girl who tried so hard to flirt with him, and she though many other things so she didn't listen to the so important message for Clary. "I know you'll tell her, you're so reliable, Simon!" she ended.
"Sure, Maureen… I'll make sure she gets it…" He sighed not wanting to be rude.
"Thank you, cutie" she kissed his cheek strongly and left waving at her. Izzy tried to breathe to calm her instincts, but it was useless.
"That was it! Where is she?!" she almost screamed.
"Hey, hey… it's alright! That midget's 15 and she's only one of our groupies, she's not something you should worry about…" he answered making her calm.
"15? And why the heck does she study with you guys?" she asked, with each second that went by she liked little Maureen less and less.
"Well she's a pain in the ass but hell she's smart! She already graduated from high school but she decided she didn't want to waste the talent she says she has and that any of us have found yet…" he said confused.
""That's a bit suspicious if you ask me… I bet the woman's so crazy that she kidnapped a teacher and tortured him until he let her pass every school year without doing a thing!" that's what happens when a girl's jealous, he blames the other girl for all that's wrong in the world.
"You can think about theories about her life later, right now… you're only mine, Isabelle… and talking about that… Sophia?" he asked surprised, she giggled.
"Well, the first time I was undercover and I chose not to change my name… it didn't go very well, did it? We must take other precautions if we want this to work!" and besides she had thought that her second name sounded fierce and mysterious and not common, it would work to scare that little horny bitch for a while.
"It will, we'll make it work… as long as Maureen doesn't drive you crazy"
"May the Angel hear you…" she answered and they both laughed joyfully.
Clary wasn't supposed to do research on her own. Amatis had made pretty clear that she'd taught her what was extremely necessary and no more, but she needed to know more! A problem like that just couldn't stay unsolved, what if The Circle decided to go back to Idris and this time finish what they couldn't the first time? She had to do everything possible to look for a solution, or at least the answers nobody could give her, she had thought of asking her mother or Luke but what could've they known about something so serious and important as that? They liked to stay at the margin of any dangerous situation, and she knew that was best for them. Finally, she found a book that caught her eye, one in the giant library that the palace offered; she took it down carefully not to fall down or everyone would know what she was doing.
"Ok, so… Hello Mr. Findings of the Circle from 1990 to 1991 … today you're going to share with me some of your deepest secrets with me… oh, don't worry I'm perfectly understanding and I'll keep them within me if it's necessary… "She spoke to the book and opened it slowly almost caressing the pages, pure excitement flowing trough her, she was thirsty for answers and willing to look for them.
"Alright… final warning, VM's threats are now dedicated to the new Prince… not sure if the Lightwoods or the Herondales are the most affected ones… Prince Jonathan Christopher is born, oh, so cute! My little Jace with his pink cheeks and his tiny curls! I bet our children will look exactly like him! I hope so… I don't want them to look ordinary as their mother!" she just couldn't stop daydreaming about what was to come for her and Jace, she had so much ideas for the anniversaries that would come, so many things she wanted to do with him, so many hopes for a beautiful future next to him. "Hell, focus! You have 24 hours to think about Jace, can't you just use one of them to think about something useful?" her usually mental scolding became true words, luckily she was alone and she could talk to herself as much as she wanted.
"Oh, now this is something! … Resent research has proved that VM resides near the center of Alicante… hey that motherfucker lives close to my house! … And it's affirmative he has a family, not big but enough to punish them as much as they deserve… poor bastards! I must admit this is unfair! But trying to kill the family that has kept our country alive for years over no good reason… that's not fair either… Most of the members of The Circle have vanished from Idris, the biggest threat is now the leader and the few groups of followers he still has, a theory says that one of these groups is formed by people close to the Palace and the Crown… Holly Mortal Sword! So this means that King Marcus's bffs were trying to kill him? I don't get it! … Reason why the authorities think that there are traitors in the insides of the Palace, someone who could've been disadvantaged by his majesty more than once, still these ideas cannot be confirmed because of the lack of clues… perfect! It's always the lack of clues that stopped everyone from doing something! … Still the only valuable theory found now is that the leader of the Circle, according to his nickname and recent information found might be…" and just when she was about to read the final line of the book, someone entered the door.
"Studying for your final "How to be a Princess, volume III" exam?" said Jace sitting next to her and kissing her cheek.
"If I had known there was a text book about that then Amatis or your mother wouldn't hate me so badly" she sighed but still smiled to him. "It's nothing very important…" she pushed the book aside to focus her attention on the only person she thought about day by day.
"She doesn't hate you… she's just overprotective… but not as your mother… definitely not, she's in the major level of it… I believe she's the one who hates me and thinks I'm the spoiled pervert that had to corrupt her daughter or I'll send everyone to the dudgeons… what about that?" he had a point and she had to admit it, her mother could be very frightening when she wanted to.
"My mother's something else, darling; there's no comparison…" she reminded him, he suddenly grabbed her by the waist and hugged her tightly.
"Hey, something wrong?" she asked a bit afraid that he'd be sad over something, maybe he had regretted going to her house!
"No… I've just missed you a lot today, after spending three whole days with you… now the rest of the time seems useless, empty, boring… so common, what I'm used to…" thanks to the Lord, he wasn't sorry about what he should've been, but rather he regretted coming back, still it wasn't something they could've chosen.
"I know… I feel the same sometimes too… but hey, didn't we say that we had to stop feeling sorry about ourselves and look forward to what's to come?" she said happily and kissed him.
"Yeah, and that was exactly about what I wanted to talk to you about…" he let go of her and spoke a bit nervously, making her shake like jelly.
"Oh, God… you're asking me for divorce, aren't you?" she didn't think what she was saying, she just said it.
"What?! By the Angel, Clarissa! No! What makes you think such things?" he answered terrified over her thoughts.
"Oh, it's nothing... you know… the normal doubts of a hysterical and overly worried and in love wife…" she tried to breathe normally again.
"Clary, you… you've made me happier than I've ever imagined I could be… and I don't think I'm doing the same for you… but if there's anything I can do to… somehow ease the pain you've felt for so long, then… By Raziel I will" he sounded so serious, so caring, so loving.
"I'm not asking for anything, Jace…" she assured him, just to have him was enough.
"I know you're not, but I really want to do this… Because I've seen how much it hurts for you… the thing is that… I want to bring your father back to Idris"
To be continued…
Dreamer.