"Absolutely not; we can't, Alec! What were you thinking? You want me to feel even more hypocrite than I already do?" ok, maybe Alec should've gone a little slower while telling his sister about Clary and his idea, she almost yelled at him like a teacher does with some annoying children, and that made Max release an angry cry as he woke up, nice job, talking about such scandalous matters inside the baby's room.

"If you had seen the look on Clary's face, I bet my ass that you would've answered the same! I couldn't say no, Iz... And if you want my opinion, call me crazy, but I do think it's a good plan..." Izzy turned to see him showing her best "seriously?" expression, as she picked their baby brother up from his far too big, expensive and fancy crib.

"Of course! If you want father to rip off our fingers and toes one by one and being hated for the rest of our lives by him and the happy couple as well, yeah, it's a genius plan Alexander!" he couldn't say which one of his siblings was angrier, Isabelle with her soft and delicate cheeks turned into a bright red color, or Max who seemed to be depriving himself from air on her chest, rather than holding on to her somehow.

"No, I mean... think of it, how many chances will we have from now to show them that we really give a damn about what happens to them? I know as well as my name that we cannot say a thing or we won't live to say a word ever again, but... I don't know, I just think that... after all has been said and done, we might never get to see them again the way we used to..." Isabelle looked through the window, meditating, it was always like that for her, first thinking about one side of her beloved ones and then to the other, in the middle always; either way she decided to follow, someone would end up hurt.

"But how? How do you plan to just go to Greece without someone noticing... we'll be in trouble just because of even mentioning it, and even worse if we dare to take a step out of our side of the palace, after what happened with Simon the other day... god, when it comes to father I'm always clueless..." she couldn't deny the fact that a vacation sounded like the sweetest melody ever for her, but it was way too risky, how to cover it up? It was almost impossible...

"Well, if you want my permission, you have it..." the three of them shivered at hearing his voice, yes, even the baby who had no idea of what the hell was going on was a little frighten of him; he stood next to the door, Maryse hearing from behind, she surely went there after she heard Max crying, and Robert... as soon as he was mentioned of course.

"What?" Izzy couldn't believe it, why would he want him to go with Jace and Clary? And after remembering all of the things she had learned and done with him for the past few weeks, she knew, there was something about that situation that would end up beneficing him.

"If you ask me, I think it's a good move for us, to sympathize with Jonathan and Clarissa, they'd never think of you taking the throne, my beautiful princess; and it'll hit them even harder after spending some time together after being so cruelly taken away from each other, the reunion of the cousins, right? It'll be only easier for us to beat them when the "celebrations" finish, and with some other of my tricks hidden... the have no chance, they'll be lost" of course, why would you try to look for some humanity inside someone who lost it long ago?

"I … get it, father, but I don't consider that this is necessary..." she didn't want to be so heartless; she was committing too many awful things already, why would she want to add another one to the list? If she was ever able to get out from the terrible image everyone would have of her, she'd want to live peacefully, not eaten by her own conscience and guilt.

"You know I don't like it when you question my decisions, Isabelle Sophia..." the furiousness he had shown until that moment suddenly vanished, making Izzy get even more scared and impotent, he walked over to her, caressed the few hairs on Max's head then moving his hand to her cheek, thing he had always done when she was a child, when she was scared as in that moment, trying to calm her with just one look from his eyes, but back then, his eyes had shown love and concern, adoration... but now, they were empty blue.

"C'mon, now, honey... Daddy knows best, doesn't he?" like movies, she thought, when the coward enemy knows he has lost part of what made him strong, he lets out his most vulnerable look to weaken the "hero's" will. Izzy opened her mouth, but nothing came out from there, as if welter had taken away every word she could say, she didn't know what else to say... since she had returned to the palace, her powerful voice seemed to fade faster every day.

"If that's best..." the baby, who had gotten closer to her chest, tried to look up at her after saying this, how come even the smallest person around her could made her feel such a lie? Robert smiled to her, kissed her forehead and got out saying.

"That's daddy's girl..." Maryse and Alec stood there, speechless, not because they didn't have anything to say but because, nothing of what they could say would make it better.

"No, this is what you've made of daddy's girl, father..." she recognized, resting her head softly of her baby brother's, sighing almost defeated, almost... because she knew that she couldn't let him win over her, ever.

Clary woke up with a bright smile on her face the day of the trip, she got up before Annemarie or Camille could even get to her room; she practically ran to the bathroom and, instead of spoiling herself and using the tub, she just used the normal shower but sang with all of her heart, later bowing to the shampoo bottles that clapped for her inside her head. Usually, she had much struggle deciding what to wear, but after thinking that they'd be traveling all day long, it felt marvelous for her to wear her normal clothes again, she didn't bother trying to do anything with her hair, Jace said he liked her fierce locks just the way they were, and she had to make sure that both of them would enjoy that vacation as much as they could. And she knew what that meant… after almost six months of ups and downs with him, anyone would think it was already time for them to… consume their marriage, when she was with him, there wasn't that unsure feeling inside her heart that constantly haunted her, she just let go, her usual annoying thoughts seemed to disappear, she could be herself with him without asking.

"Highness! You're up this early?" asked Camille, clearly surprised; some say that princesses wake up with the first sun ray, and that day, she did!

"Yeah, I'm feeling quite anxious today, I could've tried to sleep more but... I've never felt more alive or ready!" she wasn't sure about what caused such excitement, Greece? Seeing Izzy and Alec again? Having a whole side of the beach for themselves? Or maybe just getting to spend some alone time with Jace? At that final thought, she shivered and a strange sensation covered her from head to toe, how weird.

"We're glad you're feeling fine..." the whore, or Annemarie as she was commonly known ,said; Clary never thanked her comments or smiled hypocrite to her as she did, if you have nothing to hide you have nothing to fear, and she surely had things to fear, but as the Lightwoods weren't that near again and having a new baby made her relationship with Robert get a bit "complicated", she seemed to behave better, at least one good thing happened after such an unnecessary separation.

"So... is breakfast ready?" she asked nicely, she wouldn't let anyone ruin this for her.

"Yes, as always, you want us to escort you?" Camille asked as the two of them started making her bed.

"Nah, I don't think I'll get lost anymore but thanks..." she got up from her desk and went to the door.

"Oh, Mr. Bane... might be there on the dining room, he wants to show you some clothing he's working on..." pronouncing Magnus's name seemed to be like swallowing a chilli pepper for her, the word "ex-girlfriend" reflecting of her face as Clary turned to reply, she giggled softly, did she know about Alec and him?

"Sure, I'll see him there..."then she walked through the halls, or rather bounced trough them, the greatness of the palace had made her feel uncomfortably short at first, and not because of her height but because of what kind of person she was, but that day she didn't care much about it; during their vacation they wouldn't be the Crown Prince and Princess, just Jace and Clary, the blond and the redhead, the adorably arrogant guy and the stubborn to death girl; yeah, that was it, the chance to get some normality back to her life, that was what made it so special. She didn't really want to think rudely about her mother in law, but later she seemed to try so awfully hard to make her life a misery, and some days off from her classes were like a drop of water in the desert for her. She saw somebody sitting on the table reading the newspaper, how strange! Magnus knew everything there was to know about Idris, he didn't really liked gossiping but it surely kept him busy.

"Good morning, Magnus! You proud? I woke up early..." then her mystery guest showed himself, with a tender smile and looking as happy as she did "...today; Jesus, Mary and Joseph! What are you doing here?" Jace scowled at her comment.

"None of them; Jonathan Christopher, remember? Your brother's the same! And if your question is what divine power made my parents let me see you before the trip, well, none... I freed myself from giving explanations today; They know part of the plan sure but one, if not the most important, remains untold to them, only few people know this tiny aspect and I don't find a good reason to deal with their comments today; I don't want to lie to them, but a secret is not necessarily a lie, and they'll find out anyways..." she liked when he was so reckless, unworried, letting himself relax for some time before the weight of his crown came back again. "For these three days I'll be completely yours, I won't let them get into my mind with their endless reprimand..." yeah, they could've tried to have some more time for themselves but between the kings complains and their classes at the Academy, although the semester was almost finishing, they thought that three days would be just fine, for them time wasn't a problem ... if they were together.

"Yeah, you don't need their approval always... every kid needs to be absolutely stupid and imprudent sometimes, am I wrong?" she rested her head on her hands as she gave him a seductive wink.

"And we're surely experts in that topic, love..." he smiled back to her. She tried to eat her breakfast slow and calmly, but with all of her romantic thoughts and seek for adventure, it was hard to make; when the finished, she dragged Jace to the Lightwoods' side of the palace; Amatis, Alec, Izzy, Maryse and Max, surprisingly, waited for them right in front of the gate.

"Good morning, lovebirds" greeted them Alec, Izzy who was playing with the cute bulge on her arms raised her head to smile at them.

"Hey, guys... and hello to you, little prince" Clary approached to Max and he held her finger, as he had done the first time he'd seen her, trying to open his tired eyes, he let out a happy squeal, all of them smiled.

"Everything ready for your departure, highnesses..." said Amatis checking her cell phone, everything had to be carefully prepared and developed, secretly, of course; one tiny mistake, and the kings would know all of it, terribly sooner than they had expected.

"We owe you one, uh, Lady Amatis?" Jace granted; she smiled sarcastically.

"Not just one, highness, but if I start reminding you about how many times I've saved you all from your elders' rage, you'll lose your flight... Time to go" she replied, her face showed no anger or annoyance, looked rather pleased and amused.

"You heard, baby boy..." Izzy raised Max trying to leave him with their mother, but he didn't like the idea.

"Jesus, this kid's got Isabelle's strong lungs..." Jace complained as his little cousin cried his eyes out, seriously trying to make them all deaf.

"I don't scream that much, you dumbass!" said Izzy as high as Max's protest, she gave him a kiss on his tiny forehead and caressed the little amount of hair he had, whispering something so he'd calm.

"Is your baggage on the car yet?" asked Jace trying to be as understandable as he could.

"Yes, but I don't think we'll be leaving any soon if he doesn't calm down; he has become something like an organ for my sister..."had to confess Alec.

"That's because the only thing you know about maternal instinct is that mother always has to be there to wipe your boogers!" his sister gave him the sweetest death glare possible.

"Uh... there's something about how to calm babies that my mom once thought me, can I try?" Clary offered; Maryse nodded desperately putting Max on her arms. She started patting his back softly and rocking him along with half of her body, but still slowly; the screams decreased, and after two minutes, they were almost imperceptible moaning. "That's it, he must be tired, babies don't sleep that much but I bet that with all the noises were making because of the packaging and stuff, he didn't take enough rest..." she left him with his mother, the resting five looking at her in amusement. "Ok, guess we have to leave now, don't we?" she leaded the way to the main gate of the palace, her cousins and husband followed her and she tried to ignore as Maryse said at her back "She'll be a great mother one day..." it was not time for her to tense like a leaf in winter.

Clary was surely surprised that the secret service was that efficient; with all the camouflage and constant watching, they went to the airport and left Idris without a single paparazzi or fan girl problem, the second one because of Jace of course.

About two hours of the flight time the four of them spent talking about all the things they'd do when they were there, Izzy was really planning to have some crazy fun with or without the many kinds of liquor that could be found in Lefkada, Clary's liver begged for help just from hearing her. Other half hour they spent enjoying the luxury of the first class section that had been reserved only for them, and Clary constantly looked through the window knowing that if anything went wrong, the "fallen angel" concept that Jace had of her would become much more literal, then she stopped looking, only to look again after three minutes or so; the last hour, the tiredness of waking up at "early morning" as she'd said won over her, and she spent it taking a little nap on her husband's arms, she remembered just before she was unconscious what Maryse had said about her being a good mother in the future, and she thought that Jace would be a good father as well, the warmth of his skin, the sweet melody of his heart beat and the caressing of his soft hand all over her back, yeah, Jace was surely a good nanny, and she smiled with the thought of him holding a little version of himself, but with green eyes! 'Someday, maybe...' her mind whispered, and with that sweet dream, she was long gone.

"Highness, I don't really want to wake you up from your beauty sleep, but I must insist that you don't need it..." his mouth travelled all the way from her right shoulder to her upper neck, ending at her cheek, making her giggle and shake uncontrollably.

"Why? Because I'm lazy as a bear on hibernation?" she smiled sleepy, reminding him about the constant fights they had so lovingly shared when they first met.

"No, because you're far too beautiful already and I'm scared that if you become prettier my poor heart won't be able to handle it..." she raised her head to meet his deep eyes, giving him a soft kiss.

"How much more do we have to wait?" she asked, opening her eyes widely to greet Izzy and Alec.

"About five minutes, we'll be the first ones to come out of the plane" replied Izzy, checking her cell phone, maybe her mother had been sending text to her to catch up, just as Jocelyn, but when the pilot said that they had to turn their cell phones off, she did and didn't turn it on for the rest of the flight, before her vacations began she'd have to deal with her screams.

"So, we're already here?" she tried not to squeal and failed, almost crashing her face to the window. Even thought the first thing of Athens she saw was the airport, she could say that it was a bit of paradise, the sky was clear blue and the clouds showed just the perfect amount of sunlight, she'd wanted to take her pencils and notebook and start drawing right there.

"You remember, Jace? This is where your name was born" Alec winked at him.

"It's Greek?" Clary asked surprised.

"Meaning a healing" he said proudly, it definitely suited him, for Clary, Jace was like medicine for all of her doubts, fears and pain.

"Yeah, sure, or rather a giant pain in the ass, which is the first thing all men on earth think when your name is brought up..." his cousin mocked him, making Izzy laugh too.

"Don't give me reasons to regret bringing you two spoiled brats here! I knew we should have taken Max and not you..." his fake angriness made her chuckle.

"Well, talking about meanings and stuff... this might be a stupid question being already here but, which one of you speaks Greek?" she asked, her eyes going from one face to the other; Izzy and Jace raised their hands, as Alec kept his eyes down.

"What? I decided I wanted to study some other important things..." he defended himself, his sister giggled sarcastically.

"Yeah, like his latest, now favorite, subject: Magnus's butt!" the three of them laughed.

"Luckily, I'm the oldest here and I'm not offended by those immature comments of yours..." he smiled to his sister, victoriously.

"No, because you know it's true and you love it!" Clary knew that when they started giving hell to each other, it was because they were in good mood. Izzy had been right, after five minutes they got off the plane; Jace said that she probably wouldn't see them but that there were guards everywhere watching each one of their steps. When she entered the airport, she could help but screaming "By the angel!" the excitement had been too much for her, the three of her companions quickly jumped to cover her mouth and put her sunglasses on, the fact that they were being taken care of didn't mean that she could act like a child whenever she wanted to, "You cannot blame her, this must be the first time she has ever been undercover" Jace defended her as her cheeks flushed to death, still making her wonder, how many times had they used that kind of special protection to cover their naughtiness. The trip to Lefkada would take four hours by car, Jace confessed he had wanted to make the trip as normal and comfortable as he could, that's why he'd be driving the car all the day to the house along with the three of them, like if they were just college friends going to the beach and that's it; she was sure that she'd be eternally grateful for that, they were on vacation, she didn't want cameras or articles on the newspaper, she just wanted to have some fun, and he knew how important that was for her, still she behaved like a kid again, asking every five minutes "Are we there yet?".

But she couldn't believe what her eyes saw when they really got there, the Herondale manor, which was their beach house, was almost a quarter of the palace! Having the same decoration of it at the front of it, the angelic rune placed just above the giant crystal gate surrounded by a heron pattern, at each side of the door two Doric styled columns, meaning strength, seemed to hold the four floors above the first one, all painted in white with touches of brown. Clary was the first on to come out of the car, and stepped into the white and soft sand that surrounded the mansion, she ran to the house, and before her fingers got to touch the lock, it opened; a few servants were waiting for them behind the door.

"Ah, the prinkípissais here! Welcome, highness!" said a tall man with clear European features, and a strange accent. He and the rest of the personal deeply bowed to her.

"Hello..." she really wasn't expecting to be that attended, for a moment she really had forgotten that they were royalty.

"Argus, a pleasure as always" greeted him her husband that came from behind, then pulling her closer to him with a gentle pull from his hand.

"It's our honour to have you here again, ypsi̱lóti̱ta" which she guessed must've meant prince or so. The inside of the house was as amazing as the outside, marble floor, like the palace, the cream-coloured walls with portraits and pictures hanging from them, all lined in gold and silver and other shinny materials, and a few ornaments made of adamas, of course. A living room quite spacious with big armchairs lined with soft printed fabric, a plasma screen that took up most of the wall in front of them. Right next to the room there was a glass door that showed a large pool from which you could see the sea water, the delightful sound of the waves with the breeze filled her ears and she smile, urging Jace and their companions they went up to explore, so they went through the curving staircase. The polished halls welcomed them as Clary leaned to browse the many rooms, all painted in a different colour, light and warm tones, and she was surprised to learn that each room's bathroom had a Jacuzzi. Theirs would be on the third floor and her heart sank when she saw a double bed. 'But of course, little idiot! You are married! Why should you not sleep in the same room? '. They were not in Idris and it was their anniversary, it was then that it became aware of the scorching heat of the coast mixed with the heat that came down to her cheeks. Jace had been telling some things to Argus as they inspected the house, then he leaned to kiss her on tip of her head.

"He says you're truly cute..." he translated for her; she gave him a tender and pleased smile.

"If you need something, we're here to serve you..." he bowed again and followed by all the others he left.

"Whoa, now this is what I call an anniversary gift..." said Izzy entering the room "It almost as big as your parents', good job with the redecoration" she winked at Clary.

"So you mean... this was your room?" it had sounded a bit smarter inside her head.

"Yeah, and I have another two as well, just like you, but I decided to make the main one ours, you know, so you wouldn't miss me that much at night..." Clary flushed feeling happy; he took such good care of her.

"Instead she'll have nightmares, I guess..." joked Izzy, making his wife giggle a bit too as he scowled. "Well, I must say that something smells really good in the kitchen, I'm starving and her highness won't wait for you to trying to make the sexual tension disappear like magic, we'll wait for you downstairs..." she waved at the door, strutting as she left the room.

"I really hope they don't ruin this for us..." said Jace looking serious, but that couldn't be something more than a joke. She put her arms around his neck, standing on tiptoe to catch a glimpse of his splendid eyes, that bright golden colour that made her skin crawl.

"It's not like they'll mess with our privacy..." she stole a kiss from him or so she tried, because he refused to let her go; his lips caught hers strongly, almost as an urge, after so much time being separated it was like a dream come true, every time they kissed Jace felt something deep inside his chest, like a matching piece of his body being placed back to where it belonged.

"To hell with lunch, I'm hungry of you and nothing else..." he said in between kiss and kiss, making all her consciousness melt with his and the beach's heat.

"We don't want to make Iz angry, remember? And for what she said the food must be really good..." she said in husky voice, again it was brain vs. Heart inside her, but she knew that it was just not the moment...yet.

"But of course, if the kid doesn't eat soup first she won't get a bite of the dessert..." he bit her lip softly and then guided her out of the room.

"How's Idris's Aphrodite doing?" Simon's playful voice was like fresh air for Isabelle, so comforting.

"Pretty well; you know we travelled an awful lot! But this place is as dreamy as I remembered; I wish you could be here also..." she wasn't complaining about anything, after all her cousins had invited them to their anniversary trip! But, having Simon there would've been like a miracle for her.

"If you find a really ugly and weird fish somewhere, it'll be just as having me there!" and he was the only one who could make her laugh with such lame jokes.

"I bet I will, you know as I'm followed only by those kinds of living creatures..." both of them chuckled "How are Becky and your mom?"

"Good, I guess, you know asking if I'm sure I have a real girlfriend this time, it's normal in them..." that made her sigh disappointed, but of course he deserved someone who'd treasure him enough to watch him while sleeping to confirm he's breathing.

"I'm ... so sorry" she tried to make her voice keep strong, but as the sea outside the house, inside her there was a sea of emotions she constantly fought to control.

"Baby, I was kidding! You don't have to feel guilty; I mean... sometimes I think that we forget that you guys are royalty... I understand that I cannot be more important than all the other people of Idris!" and then the horrible why? Showed up inside her mind: Why did he have to be so cute, funny, caring, understanding? Why did he have to choose... her?

"You are, I mean for me... you're absolutely important, Simon... I wanted to make this easy for us but... things have changed quite a lot..." she replied, trying not to worry him.

"It's ok, love, I get it... sometimes easy things, are not worth enough... I don't regret anything that has happened, Iz, I truly don't... except for being such a hopeless romantic and drunk guy!" she wished he could see her smile trough the phone, that he knew how much those words meant for her.

"You're surely terrible..." he giggled at her answer. "Simon?"

"Yes?" she bit her lip, starting to shake and almost choke with those words hidden inside her mouth, it seemed like they did the impossible not to come out and finally be said, she sighed defeated.

"I miss you..." it was almost the same, but with "miss" instead of, well, you know.

"You want me to try to go flying to Greece, don't you? Because you know I'll try being so stupid and clumsy and in desperate need of you... Gosh, I miss you too..." so irrevocably adorable, that was just him. And just when she was about to reply something even cheesier, Jace and Clary came down holding hands and sat on the table.

"I have to go now, but don't you forget to call me! When you have time, of course, that means not while rehearsals, class, or family time, okay? I don't want to bother your dear ones..." another good point about being out of the palace, they could talk whenever they wanted.

"Okay, Iz, have fun! Tell everyone I said hello, and take care..." if only he knew she was the last one he should worry about.

"You too, honey, bye..." and it hurt for her, just a bit, to hang up. "Simon said hello" she sat next to Jace "And also sent lots of kisses to you" she squeezed one of his cheeks lovingly.

"Those are my boys" Clary rested her head on her husband's shoulder.

After a very good meal, and half an hour no matter how much Clary protested, the guys were ready to try the water, and stayed there for what looked like hours. She was of course a bit uncomfortable to be seen in a bathing suit, she wasn't Isabelle after all, she looked like Miss Universe even being wet and sweaty or anything! She could make one of those awful sweaters everyone gets on Christmas sexy, but her? She looked like a twelve year old redhead who was barely learning how to swim in open water. Then all those thoughts vanished while looking at Jace, if greek gods did existed, hell, he was one! The sun kissed his soft skin making all the golden features in him gleam incredibly, as if heaven had opened it's gates and left a miracle on earth, and that miracle loved her! If that wasn't a dream come true. Well, hell with fairy tales, this was a hundred times better! And Alec didn't look bad either, it was obvious why Magnus had fell in love with him on first place! Had they done a pact with the devil or something? They were heavenly beautiful!

"Come one, Clary! It's not that high, you've done many other dangerous things!" Izzy had the idea to jump from a little cliff nearby the shore, sure she was somehow fearless being, well, Isabelle Lightwood! But the only close to death experience she had ever had, was when she had had a lavage because of alcohol intoxication on her sixteenth birthday, Simon never got over it, he still laughed his life out every time someone mentioned it.

"Like what, tell me?" she was trying not to shake, not sure if it was the breeze or the cool breath of death getting close to her neck.

"Like confronting Jace in front of all your classmates at a school cafeteria, like talking back to my aunt, father and Lady Amatis, listening to Simon's bad jokes and not wanting to choke him with all your strength, if that's not nerve I don't really know what it is!" she had a point... but when she had done all those things there wasn't a risk of getting a full body cast as a consequence, except for talking back to Celine maybe.

"It's ok, baby; I'll catch you, I swear" said Jace floating around in sky blue water.

"You see? He won't let you die..." Clary's lungs stopped working at her comment. "I meant! Get hurt or something... ready?" Iz took her hand strongly, she swallowed and shook her head insanely. "That wasn't exactly a no! Here we go" she didn't know how come she didn't squeal like a chicken inside a slaughterhouse, it was almost like flying, like beating wind in a race, and before she knew it, two familiar and comfortable arms were holding her, she opened one eye.

"I died, didn't I?" she held her breath.

"Well, I didn't die, because if something happened to you I would, and I don't see my good friend Lucifer anywhere nearby, so... I guess you're alright" how not to love his sweet sarcasm? She had smiled a lot that day, and she was doing it again, as she kissed him.

"My hero..." she whispered to his lips.

"Guys, you won't want to make babies in here... you could get an infection or something..." advised them Alec.

"And you're an expert, Alexander, you are an infection itself!" said Jace annoyed, but that just made them all laugh.

"Actually is getting dark, the tide will grow soon, we should get out..." Isabelle said wringing her long, dark hair.

"Sure, and we should go to the city for dinner, what do you say?" Jace rubbed his nose with Clary's.

"You hungry already?" said Iz a bit shocked.

"It's a life law, dear cousin; Guys eat like pigs and look like models, but us girls eat like models and look like pigs!" but she wasn't sure about if that law applied to Izzy.

"You've got a point there! Alright, I'll take a bath first!" she agreed and ran out of the sea, being followed and later caught and carried by her brother. "Let go, Alexander! You're fake kindness won't win me this time!" she chuckled, and then their protest sounded very far away; during all the conversation, Jace hadn't let go of her wife, and it looked like he wasn't going to do it any soon.

"So, how was your first vacation day?" he asked her happily.

"Absolutely amazing, my love..." she stroked his wet curls, even milder in her hands due to the moisture, like silk.

"And I still have a few surprises left for you..." his lips pressed a deep kiss on her neck, making her crazy, both of their hearts starting to pound because of each other's touch; Clary wrapped her legs around his waist, bringing him closer.

"As long as we're together,you could take me to a seedy motel with cockroaches hunting me at every corner and I'd feel as if I had won the lottery" he couldn't help to giggle.

"Life with me can feel like that sometimes... especially because of the roaches wanting to end with you..." what a strong confession from him.

"Hey, no one said that being the wife of a future king would be easy..." she made him look at her eye to eye "but for moments like this, it's worth it..."

"Hell, it is..." his mouth met hers in less than a second, all the air of her lungs escaping, but she didn't need it, she just needed him, to feel him closer, his body connected even deeper to hers; and that was sure a sensation she had never experienced before, but being with Jace was like an apocalypse, a part of her died and was reborn on his arms.

"We're going late again..." saying those words had hurt like disinfecting an injury with pure alcohol.

"Right... but don't think you've freed yourself from me yet..." she kissed his cheek as he also carried her out, and he tried not to be heard as he said this "... the greatest thing will come when we less expect it to, I'm sure..."

Lefkada was as beautiful at night as it was at day time, the shores all decorated with boats, the houses, hotels and buildings a mixture of classic style but also with modern touches, the lights blinding her softly; and the feeling of Jace's grip on her hand made the sensation even better. Finally, they decided to stay at a restaurant that seemed to be, if not the most, one of the most expensive ones in all the island.

"Look carefully, every time you see a guy who seems he never learned how to smile, that's one of our guards..." Jace pointed at some random yet known faces all around the place, and also out of it.

"And we know where they got that from..." whispered Alec, his sister holding in a burst of laughter next to him.

"Who?" Jace sighed, ready for a very stupid comment.

"Your mother, of course..." his cousin smiled patting his shoulder, and suddenly Clary was doing the same as Izzy. The menu showed variety of dishes, most of them containing seafood; Clary was a bit picky when it came to seafood, but she was on vacation and didn't really want to behave as a spoiled child in front of her husband! She picked the one that Jace translated as sour fish, it didn't sound as bad as you'd think.

"By Raziel, this food is to die for!" exclaimed Izzy when she took her first bite. Clary jumped on her seat.

"Why? Do you think it has pepper?!" she started pinching the fish with her fork, as if it were poisonous.

"No, I mean it's really good, relax..." this time, she couldn't help but to laugh.

"Right... so you spoke to Simon earlier?" was the first thing that came out of her mouth to erase the colour of her cheeks.

"Yeah, he seems to be doing fine..." she had never thought she'd had to get news about her best friend trough his girlfriend...

"That's great! Uh, did he... ask for me or...?" she surely wasn't jealousabout it, but... she hadn't talked to him in a very long time too.

"...ah, well, he told us to take care, so I bet that was mostly for you, he must be worried..." Isabelle clearly got uncomfortable with that question, genius Clary!

"That's just him, always watching my... everyone's back..." why did she have to say that? And why did Izzy had to look as if someone had punched her on her face, Clary turned her gaze to Jace, who seemed to be really entertained on his cell phone.

"Talking to mama?" she asked playfully.

"Uh, I did a while ago..." then he smiled while watching an incoming message, she tried to to see who it was, and she surely would've rather him speaking to Celine.

"Texting Aline? I thought you'd had gotten over that already..." the tense atmosphere managed to make her good mood fade a bit.

"She's telling me about a new friend she's got..." when his glare positioned on Clary, he read "jealousy" all over her face "God, you don't think... oh, my sweet little baby!" his arms held her close, smiling as Clary rather scowled. "My wonderful wife here is jealous, isn't it cute?"

"Only if you want a good kick on your three friends down there..." Alec said trying to focus on his food.

"You think that'll make anyone feel better?" his sister asked.

"I don't know but it'll surely keep him quiet a bit longer!" he replied.

"Clary, Aline's just an old time friend, alright? She's got the idea that I'm a married and handsome as hell guy pretty clear, and she's fine with it! You have nothing to worry about, honey" Jace avoided his cousins's jerky jokes and kissed her cheek like a hundred times, until it tickled for her.

"Alright, I'll forgive you just to make sure you take me on vacation more often!" she pouted and he erased that expression with a kiss.

"Your wishes are orders, my lady..." he caressed her hand which he was holding, the guys continued joking, laughing and talking, but a familiar voice kept Clary away from that conversation.

"... she seems to have adapted to the plan very easy and quickly, uh? ...soon we won't have to worry about those blond rats anymore, you'll see... You can be sure that your daughters will look wonderful, of course..." well that was surely a suspicious talk, she couldn't really process all the things she was hearing. "... as long as nobody knows what's coming, we're fine, I assure you... well, thank you, I've always wanted the best for my people... that's a complete different thing, they don't seem to need me anymore, and frankly, I don't want to see them either!" after saying so, the man laughed dryly, though he was a bit far from their table, she could listen to everything very clearly, then the sound of him getting up wen trough her ears, curiosity defeating her self control, she look at the man as he approached to the restaurant's door, and she caught a glimpse of white bright hair, the air on her lungs turning into fire, her eyes returned to the table.

"...something wrong?" Alec asked nicely, she looked up to him in fright, took two deep breaths and shook her head.

"It m-must be the heat, I'm seeing things..." she rubbed her temples with her fingers, blinking softly; that was just stupid, it couldn't be him, not there, not in that moment.

"You sure you're fine? You're ice cold..." Jace's fingers were caressing her hand, but she couldn't feel a thing.

"I...I don't know..." she whispered and tried to move from her seat to fall back down to it, right after that, they heard someone speak with a known accent.

" Hey, isn't that Princess Clarissa?" they froze on their chairs, looking at each other concerned.

"Yes, those are the Crown Princes! And the Lightwoods also!" the companion of the speaker complimented.

"Well, fuck the good luck we thought we had!" Jace said and stood up, taking Clary outside with him as the people started gathering around the, now empty, table and the guards came out of their hiding place to stop everyone from even seeing them. They got inside the car in less than a second.

"Wait! We left without paying?!" now that was a very ridiculous fear to have at such moment, but Clary had to ask.

"The guards will take care of that also, don't worry..." Isabelle told her, all of them looking disappointed.

"I'm sorry I made a scene, I just thought I saw..." she tried to apologise, but that would've been rubbing salt on the wound.

"You saw what?" Alec asked.

"Nothing...I'm probably just tired..." she fastened her eat belt, her eyes meeting Jace's angry expression for a second. None of them said a word as they went back to the mansion.

"Well, this was a lovely evening until someone noticed the crown even when we weren't wearing them, have a good night... Oh, and please! We might be a floor under you but the walls aren't really thick, so I don't want any cabaret sounds until I'm sleep, okay?" Izzy kissed them both on the cheeks and walked up to one of her many rooms.

"I wonder how Simon doesn't live with full time flushed cheeks when you say such uncomfortable comments, Isabelle Sophia..." said her brother, later being shut by a hard blow on his shoulder.

"You mad at me?" Clary played uneasily with her fingers as she looked down, she was so embarrassed.

"God in heaven, no! Absolutely not, honey... it's just that... this night didn't go as it was planned, I'm tired of being followed and watched and never have just a tiny bit of privacy, and I know how awful it must be for you, and I can't do a single fucking thing to change this shitty reality we're forced to accept! I wanted everything to be perfect for you, for us..." oh, so that was it.

"Jace, it doesn't bother me that much... I mean nobody likes to be constantly observed as if we were criminals or something, but I get it; it's part of the package you know? You get a hot, blonde prince, a crown, a palace, nice clothes, and gourmet food... but you'll absolutely forget about the meaning of "alone time", eh?" he tried not to chuckle, he failed, she held his hand as he turned around. "Hey, I'm having an amazing time, for real! And we'll have to be more careful about what we do, but that's fine! I couldn't ask for more than what you're already giving me, I even doubt that I deserve this much..."

"Don't you dare to say something like that..." he stroked her cheek.

"If you take the "Princess" out of my name, I'm still Clary Fairchild, you know? Who am I to be this spoiled?" she had kept that for herself since she knew about all the things, almost sacrifices Jace was making for her.

"Clary, having a nice bloodline doesn't mean that you're worthy of having the world at your feet; no arranged marriage, or throne, or noble ascendance will ever get to make a person truly especial... If, God, If you're asking me what makes you special is that... you've conserved something that not much people on your place would be able to..." she looked up to him.

"Stubbornness, maybe?" they both smiled.

"A heart that feels..." he ended.

To be continued...

Dreamer.

So, hello guys! A little message, this chapter actually turned out bigger than I had expected, I already have the continuation but as it was a bit long I decided to upload it in two parts, so tell me... do you want to read the rest already or you rather wait a bit? Because, shi*t's getting real, I tell you! Well, it's your choice, leave your answer on the comments and we'll see how it goes. Kisses to you all, bye!