The next day, after spending all morning going from the sea to the pool, and to the sea again; the guys decided to take a walk on the surroundings of the manor, as they wouldn't be able to go far from the house. Wading through the vast jungle, watching certain small animals fly; Jace praying not found a duck, Clary awkwardly trying not to trip on a branch while her companions walked as if the word fatigue wasn't a term included in their dictionaries.
"Oh, look! Those would match my ruby necklace so well!" Izzy squealed approaching to some middle sized red coloured flowers. "Come here, Clary, I have an idea!" Clary was suspicious for a bit, but then agreed, she made her sit on a rock nearby. "Let's see what these little miracles of earth and my expert hands can do with your hair, missy!"
"Thank Raziel! The weather has turned my hair into a red nest, so if you consider yourself brave enough to fight against it, I won't complain!" she said joyfully.
"You're on good hands, cousin!".
"Once they start talking fashion it means that we won't move until they're done!" the guys also sat next to them, finally taking a breath although they didn't really need it. Clary didn't know how, but Isabelle had turned her hair into a flower crown with just two plain and simple fishtail braids, and it looked like what Magnus got to achieve in hours of work, with Idris' weather, and she even had time left to do the same with her hair.
"I don't want to brag but... I'm a motherfucking genius, claps for me!" she said admiring her job, Clary's husband left speechless looked at her.
"You look like one of Zeus's many descendants..." he said astonished.
"Oh, Jace loves it also! Alec, take some pictures of us, we'll pose like greek goddesses and sent them to Simon, he'l go crazy!" Iz proposed happily, Clary accepted of course.
"Sure, Clary will be Psique, Cupid's beloved sweet and innocent princess; that cause Jace still wears a diaper as he's a whiny, and Iz you can be Persephone..." Alec said as the girls smiled to the camera.
"Well, thank you for the comparison, brother!" she said proudly.
"Yeah, that's cause you're Queen of Greek Hell... Anyways, take a look!" her brother quickly ave her the cell phone before she could punch him where the sun don't shine. They picked the one they most liked and sent it to Izzy's boyfriend, waiting anxiously for his reply.
"It's getting dark, dinner will be served soon, we should get going..." Jace hugged his wife from behind, breathing the wonderful smell of the flowers on her head.
"Right, at least at the house they'll only make a small fuss if I get too hot or something..." she smiled.
"Baby, if getting hot was your problem... that was probably just because of me..." he joked, Clary nudged him, not hard enough to hurt him.
Surprisingly, they looked much comfortable and please inside the house, Clary didn't feel so guilty anymore. Especially when Izzy opened a bottle of rozoli, a traditional liquor from the area, only for the two of them while they refreshed their feet in the pool.
"So, how's the anniversary going?" she asked happily.
"It couldn't be better, dear cousin! I tell you, Jace... knows how to please a woman..." she confessed.
"Too much information, dear, I didn't need to know that!" they laughed "But yeah, Jace... can be truly kind and committed to someone he cares about..."
"I can see that; you know? It's such a fantastic thing to see this side of him, six months ago I wouldn't have imagined to be here, drinking fancy liquor and waking up with his kisses, for weird that it may sound... he was like the devil to me, but the truth is... that no one inside that palace has more of a golden heart than he has, and no I don't mean literally"
"Well, thank you..." said Izzy sarcastically, yet knowing that he had no reasons to, Clary giggled.
"No, I mean that... Jace seems to have built up this giant wall around himself, thinking that a cold and almost cruel attitude would protect him from anyone that dared to get close to him... but with me, he doesn't seem to need that" it was a bit hard to explain, but Isabelle understood it perfectly.
"He has his own way of acting, and it depends on where, when, and most with whom... but that's not weird at all, being brought up the way he did, lonely, thinking that he'd never be good enough as a son or prince, always trying to be flawless as if that would make someone truly care about him; you should know by now, Clary, that having thousands of people watching every single one of your steps doesn't meant that you're not alone... it means that there will always be someone there to point out any mistake you can make, and judge you because of it..." if they didn't know that, then nobody did.
"Nothing more true than that..." she agreed, her mother in law's name being whispered inside her head as she drank another sip of liquor.
"But if you're wondering why he has opened himself to you, that's because you've given him enough reasons to do it; you trusted him, you gave him a chance to be himself in all his magnitude, and even though you did criticise him sometimes, you pointed at the Crown Prince's flaws, not Jace Herondale's; you saw the person in him, you appreciated... and you loved him; now you may not be aware of this but, as royal children we were taught only one idea of love... kill for your dear ones, not necessarily in a literal sense, but you do understand how big it is for us, to have something that could actually last long in a world full of changes? Love being such a precious thing that has to be protected at all cost, even to get to be worthy of it... that's why we might close ourselves around people we don't know good enough, but the three of you knuckleheads got to break all of that, and don't you ever think that he wouldn't fight for you, because he did and still does, only to keep you safe, and well, next to him of course. You've gotten to know a part of him that nobody will ever be able to meet..." in other situation, that kind of information would've creeped her to the bone; but now, Izzy had just turned into words a part of all the things she felt about Jace. But Isabelle had been also talking about herself a bit.
"I do get what you're saying, but I just hope... that he doesn't only fight for me, because I could take a misstep at any time... and I don't want to drawn him with it" she looked down at the ground, that being something far too hard to say while looking at her.
"Don't worry, everything in this world has a solution, If I know something for fact that is it... but of course, sometimes is better just to stay out of trouble..." Clary knew she meant something more with those words, but she stopped her before she could get to analyse it. "Enough of serious talk already! We're here to have fun not to remind ourselves of our problems!" she served another round of the liquid for them; not really knowing when she'd stop.
"Oh, oh... they're laughing like weasels and the music is really loud, you know what this means..." Alec's "older brother alert" was turned on. As Jace had to take care of his own allergies, they had decided to play some poker hands.
"That's just an excuse to leave the game, such a bad looser..." and he had won most of them some.
"No, for real! Isabelle's "I'm the best shadowhunter ever" type of wasted, and your wife is not exactly better either, I mean, she's dancing, man!" he looked at the two jumping girls on the outside of the house, they laughed and danced to one of Izzy's most played songs, if not the only one she heard all the time.
"Will you ever let go of that? It was once! And I wasn't drunk, I was high!" of course, alcohol wasn't the only way on earth to have fun.
"Whatever, the point is that they're not ok!" sometimes is hard to be the older one, for sure.
"They're having fun, Alec, that's it! I know you've heard of it... and I'm sure Magnus has made sure of making you experience it..." Jace didn't try hard not to be heard, mocking wasn't a one way street for them, his cousin gave him a death glare. "But fine! If you want to check that everything's fine, we can go with them..." he got up, but didn't go after the girls before reuniting and hiding every single coin he had won from Alec.
"...I, I follow; I follow you deep sea, baby!" they sang in chorus, as they jumped holding hands on one of the fancy couches placed next to the pool.
"Well, well, well... your royal highnesses, this is completely inappropriate from you" Jace smiled at seeing Clary enjoy herself so much.
"Oh, shut up, grandma!" Clary jumped to his arms this time, and covered his mouth with hers, he could taste the sweet flavour on her lips; God, if he ended in the hospital because of that kiss, he'd take the necessary shots without saying a word, there was nothing better than her.
"So, you got tired of playing "Jace wins all the way"?" Izzy on the other hand just hugged her brother.
"No, I still had some other things to loose but I was quite worried you'd say something you shouldn't..." he kissed her forehead, as she rested it against his shoulder.
"I almost did, but I was sober!" she laughed.
"Be careful, Iz, if letting any of them know about what's going on is dangerous already, imagine what would happen if father knew, half of the guards around work for him..." he reminded her.
"I know, but it's true what you said... you cannot lie to Clary, not for long..." she accepted.
The next, and last day; Jace had been busy half of the morning giving useless explanations to his parents, grandmother, Lady Amatis, Hodge, and any reporter who had gotten his cell phone number, and for what it looked like, the vacation would end sooner than expected, and not exactly because of the time.
"Gosh, this is so our fault... I knew we should've told them!" Izzy protested.
"If we had told aunt and uncle, we wouldn't be here... and well, yeah, that would've been a good option to choose..." Alec granted.
"No, guys, I don't want you to feel guilty because of this, if there's anyone to blame, that's me... and I bet your aunt doesn't need a confirmation to be sure of that, and I'll take full responsibility, I was the one who begged to my knees so you'd come even knowing it would bring trouble, I'm sorry..." Clary scowled, disappointed.
"What are you saying? You shared your anniversary with us! Nobody should blame you for this..." Izzy said nervously, but it wouldn't be of use to look for criminals at that point.
"...fine, yes I do get it, I'm not stupid...I'm not in the mood for scolding, mother... just leave it like that! …. yes, I agree this is more than enough, goodbye!" he hang angrily and threw the phone away, almost causing it to fall and break. "We leave tomorrow morning, it's the best I could do..." he ran his hands trough his hair and snorted annoyed.
"Don't worry, thanks for the back up..." was all that Alec could say.
"You... should go for walk on the beach or something, I need some time..." he started walking to the stairs.
"Jace..." Clary's voice died at the moment he didn't turn back.
"We better do as he says, when he doesn't want to have company, he means it..." Izzy took her by the shoulders.
"True... you girls find something to do, Magnus is calling..." Alec said, another one with a worried person to explain things to.
"By Raziel, why do I always ruin everything?" Clary let herself fall on the couch, hiding her embarrassed face with one of the cushions.
"You didn't ruin a thing, my aunt can be... hot-tempered sometimes, but don't let that bring you down..." she answered, trying to smile to her.
"Well, things got a bit more complicated than trying that when she's a Queen and the mother of the future father of my children!" he uncovered her face to reply, and then hid it again.
"Oh, come on! The vacation isn't really over yet!" she cheered her.
"But I don't want to try having fun if Jace feels so bad..." that comment lighted up something inside Isabelle's mind.
"Then, you should try to make him feel better..." she smiled devilishly.
"I've seen that gleam on someone's eyes before, and I tell you that if I don't give in so easily with glitter head, you'll have to beg to me much more than him!" even though she had handled Magnus' diva complex for a long time now, it was still hard for her.
"You want to make the man happy?" her cousin crossed her arms to her chest, accusingly.
"Yes,but..." she agreed.
"Then add some spice to his food, baby girl!" she smiled taking her hands.
"And exactly how dressing like a hooker going to help me?" Clary dragged her feet as Izzy took her to her bedroom.
"Hey, hey, you'll be wearing my clothes!" she contested indignantly.
"Let's say that your fashion taste is a bit more scandalous than mine!" was her last try, but she had not even one unsure cell on her entire body.
"Don't worry, I'll try to keep it as natural as possible..." she assured her.
And what a big, fat lie! A tight red dress, magnolia heels and almost two layers of makeup weren't exactly her definition of "natural", apparently it was Izzy's.
"Ok, this definitely proves my theory that you should fire my brother's boyfriend and hire me instead!" she was incredible an almost annoyingly pleased, Clary didn't think she looked bad, it was just rather like... if she was going to fast, maybe? Well, the tension had been there awfully often since they had began the trip, but the thought of doing it for real, sent goosebumps trough her, half exited, half terrified.
"And... what do I do?" now that was the most uncomfortable, stupid thing that had ever come out of her mouth.
"What you want to! I mean, if you really want it, it comes spontaneously, just don't feel obliged to do anything..." suddenly, she was urging her to their shared bedroom. "Have a good time!" she squealed and hurried back down.
'Ok, so, what the heck am I doing? Trying to turn him on or whatever? There must be an easier way, "follow your heart" is not enough for me, people! Is that enough for anyone? I mean, yes it is our anniversary, yes the sunset creates a beautiful scenery and yes the bed is amazingly comfortable but... but, I'm sure there's a but somewhere! … No? Not even one? So... what's stopping you? You won't get a chance like this ever again... Go for it..." she thanked her thoughts for the first time, and opened the door slowly; Jace was also captured by the sunset, but when he saw her, everything else was gone, Clary walked to him calmer than she had ever been, smiled, sat next to him and took his hand.
"You actually were occupied, weren't you?" his golden eyes shone with the last blink of the sun.
"I was, but there was something missing..." she got closer to him, tightening the grip around his hand.
"What exactly is that?" his voice became a whisper, like soft music to her ears.
"You..." any words left to say died when her lips touched his, intoxicated with the feeling of him, her heart throbbing with shocking speed, she stopped hesitation of her hands as she tangled her fingers in his delicate hair; as he hugged her waist, stroking her as a fragile jewel, her hands went up to her bare shoulders, stroking a curious birthmark he had noticed long ago, but did not dare to tell you watched every detail of her, loving every fiber of her being.
Without realizing it, he was already lying on the warm surface of the bed and her legs were open at his sides and her heels nowhere to be found, her hands stroked the fabric of his shirt, feeling the strong muscles beneath it, and even below, the weak flutter of his heart, she smiled knowing that she caused such effects in him; Jace could not stand not to feel her touch so directly as he wanted and got rid of his shirt, his heartbeat louder each time as she surveyed his chest, dedicating to her every single one of the beats of the heart that belonged to her.
He leaned on his elbows to gain better access to her lips, thus binding the other half of their bodies, trying with all of him not to scare her, his hands walked through the soft skin of her thighs, she gasped against his mouth, but she didn't get away, rather pulled him closer to her, they had often been close to that situation, but this time was much more natural, less hurried, if there was any way to let him know how much she loved him, maybe it was this.
the route of his fingers stopped at the touch of her dress, his lips had been burning her neck with slow kisses, he raised his deep eyes to ask if I was okay, heat was spread throughout the room, Clary nodded and did not feel uncomfortable , his arms were all the protection she needed. Jace could not explain how wonderful it was that she trusted him so much.
"I love you, my darling ..." he whispered in her ear, the love of her life against her lips smiled and said
"I love you too, I love you so ... "she caressed his cheeks, reviewing his features, the way those beautiful words formed on his lips. He switched places with her, kissing her jaw.
"You really want this? I don't want to pressure you..." he asked, fighting with all of his instincts to say this.
"I want you..." she replied, her hand caressed the sensitive skin of his nape. After a kiss that could've last forever, he held out his hand to search for something inside the nightstand. the crunch of an envelope tore part of her courage, and she trembled below him, something was just not right. 'Oh God this is so happening! But why? Only because you want to get distracted? That doesn't sound very good, and it's not reason enough to become Bloody Mary down there... okay, fine, just don't panic, don't! Fuck no, Clarissa! Not now! Hell, you're panicking!"
"Wait..." her voice sounded like a plea, making him scared.
"Are you okay? What did I do?" he quickly removed his body from hers and looked at her precious eyes in concern.
"No, it's not you... it's that there are too many things going around... I'm sorry, I don't seem to be ready yet..." the last thing that she wanted was to bring him down, but something didn't go as she had expected.
"It's ok, I'll wait for you... as long as it takes" he assured her bringing her to his arms in comforting embrace.
"... I truly have no words to explain how displeased I am about what you've done! You both should be more than sorry about this! Doing such a shameless thing!" after almost 7 hours of traveling, the Queens accusations weren't exactly what they had been longing to hear back home.
"Please mother, there are hundred other things we could do that would've been worse! Since when going on a family vacation is a sin?" and Jace kept on struggling, trying to make them understand him once, only once.
"You didn't just take your cousins on vacation, mister! You lied to us and walked around Greece so carelessly that anything could've happened to any of you, and now you're on every single newspaper all around the world, that's what makes it so bad!" she was so angry, that her face hardy showed any sign of her perfect skin tone more than pure red of rage.
"We did what we did because we had to! I knew that if I told you, you would react just like you're doing right now! Don't ask me to trust you while reacting like that!" and he was annoyed as well.
"How dare you, Jonathan? Trying to blame us for your disaster!" she turned to her husband furiously, he couldn't even look at them "You see? This is what happens when you give him freedom to do such things."
"Jonathan, just understand, your mother and I could be more comprehensive if you talked about your actions before doing them..." he tried to sound calm, but his wife's attitude made it hard for him.
"As if you always listened or told me about what you do! You're asking me for honesty and confidence when you don't even like to have me around? Those aren't things you can purchase from me, you have to win them!" their son replied anguished, his voice tone tearing a piece of Clary's heart, since they had began to speak, she couldn't even open her mouth.
"Oh, and you think the Princess is so worthy of that famous confidence and honesty over the people who gave you your life? By the angel..." she laughed sarcastically "What exactly has she done with you? I knew this would happen..." Clary's eyes went up to the Queen, no, she wasn't saying those words.
"Mother, don't talk to her like this was her fault..." Jace was surely trying to speak calmly, but his mother didn't give him reasons to.
"I knew that this union would bring nothing good! She's made you weak, forget about what's your place and pursue that ridiculous idea of a perfect life! Open your eyes, Jonathan Christopher! Understand that in this world they'll never be a single person who's always there! You're alone and you must stand up for yourself and she won't change that!" those words were too harsh, horrible for both of them.
"Majesty, I'm terribly sorry... but please don't say such things" Clary tried to stop her from saying something she couldn't take back.
"Keep your mouth shut as you should, princess... Amatis was right after all, if you didn't know a thing about the life you had before the palace, what would you know about royalty? Don't try to stop the consequences of your own doing, you should've thought that before getting inside my son's mind!" had she gone out of her mind? Did she think she was some kind of witch or something?
"Celine..." King Stephen also realised the weight of what she was saying.
"I knew it and I told it to everyone! But as always, you wouldn't listen! This marriage was a mistake! And no matter how much I try to fix it, if it has been broken from the start!"
"Mother, enough!" Jace yelled getting up from his seat, Clary did as well after a second or so.
"That's everything you've had to say this entire time, majesty... Excuse me..." she couldn't take it, she went out of the room without looking back, who did she think she was? It was her who knew nothing about her life and all the sacrifices she had done for her son, all the things she had to handle, all of her rude words, all of he useless lessons, all the pretending.
When she got to her room a big yellow envelop was waiting for her on her bed, "Happy anniversary from your beloved husband" it said, yes... and everything that she did was for him, only for him.
He who appeared on a picture she took out of it, walking hand to hand with... Aline Penhallow? She went to the next picture, this time the girl smiled as she hugged him from the waist, and the resting three were like that as well, Jace and Aline looking terribly comfortable and loving with each other.
"Oh no..." but it was the last one that stole a tear from her eyes, they were kissing, passionately, against a wall, there was no way that was something friends do. "No, please, no... anything but this" her hands shaking, she blinked one, two, three times, but it was the same every time, it was true, so horribly true.
"Tell me you didn't, please..." confusion, anger and pain rolled down her cheeks as she cried. Jace's own words being spoken inside her head 'You're asking me for confidence and honesty when you don't even like having me around?' Her heart burnt inside her chest, and she fell to the ground, the few things she had left being ripped from her chest and smashed. "Please..." 'save me from this...' but those last words never came out from her mouth.
To be continued...
Dreamer.