"A promise is sacred to a Herondale, highness, from the day you were given the ring, we became responsible of your education, that's right but also for your safety, protection and care… there's no real reason for you to suffer more abuse from your father than the abuse you've already faced. We will do what's in our hands… this we swear on the angel"

"Thank you, majesty. Thank you so much..." Clary could finally lift her head up from Imogen's embrace and stare into their eyes. She cleared her throat so as to regain composure and said "I understand how the procedure is meant to go and I thank you, from the bottom of my heart, for all of the support and assistance. Still, I might have to seem ungrateful and selfish at your eyes now and beg you… please, don't let this matter affect my family more than it already has. My parents, my grandfather, my brother… they all did even the impossible for me to have a normal, comfortable life, to keep me safe and happy, this was their only intention; they may have not made the greatest decisions, though it's just now that I see that perhaps there wasn't any other way. As for me, I would never to damage any of you, you're all… you have become… also family to me, I couldn't even think of causing you harm. You're part of those who are dear to me and this is the reason why I will allow myself to ask this so freely. I am willing to bear all the consequences of my father's actions; I'll do whatever is necessary if that means ... that will dismiss any other from the charges presented. Please, Your Majesties don't let anything bad happen to my family; Raziel knows how much they have had to go through already to make it easy for me. If possible, let all the blame fall on me, I'll know how to deal with it. Just don't make them continue to suffer because of this ... It has been only more than enough for them."

The elders kept on to become surprised and bereaved by her words, however they knew that the responsibilities she had faced were the ones that had pushed her into taking this choice. Celine most of them all, could comprehend better than anyone what she was going through… Taking all of the blows for the sake of her loved ones; neither she had known soon enough that the little broken girl standing in front of her was the materialized image of her own past.

"I'm afraid I'd be lying to you if I told you that your family won't be affected by this even in a minimum way. But if this is what you want, princess, we'll do what we can…" Stephen agreed to his wife's thoughts without being aware of it, Celine on the other side vowed to take the entire situation on her own hands.

"Worry not, my lord. If this is her highness only request, the least we can do is making sure it happens…"

"I will never be able to thank you enough, majesty. To thank all of you, I know I don't deserve it…" the redhead could hardly express all of her gratitude, especially coming from her mother in law which whom she never had the opportunity of stablishing a good close relationship, and though she couldn't find a reason for her kindness she didn't bother wondering and instead kept the memory inside; to remind herself, what this woman had done and was yet to do for her that day for the rest of her life.

"Well then, it's been a long day, let's go and rest for a bit… It will help us feel and think better" the Queen Mother suggested and she was followed by her granddaughter and son.

"Aren't you coming, honey? You must be awfully tired too…" so Stephen was especially observing that day, and how to blame him with all that was happening.

"You go ahead, dear. I have some business to take care of still…" her husband nodded and headed out of the room "But hum, could you tell Jonathan to come meet me in ten minutes please?"

"Of course…" like that, she was left alone, going through thousand ideas inside her aching brain. What to do, what to say, which strings to move… how could she stop the hurricane from hitting them too hard to recover from it; Robert had, and what's more, could get any evidence needed to bury the Fairchilds so deep under the ground that no one in Idris could even remember their names, she sighed troubled and dialed the first number on her personal contact list "Hello? Good morning, Mr. Aldertree. I'm sure you're still very busy with the matters of the trial, but I find myself in desperate need of your help… You see, my daughter in law… she's innocent…"

The next day, the Queen Consort still couldn't stop from thinking about what had happened yesterday, before she was the one to tell the bad news to her beloved son, she also became as awakened as she could be. After seeing how injustice took the most visible in the specific place where it was supposed to be shattered, seeing how an innocent child took all of the bullets thrown to her wordlessly only guided and strengthened by love towards those who surrounded her. While trying to soften an inevitable fall, and being the one who had to break her own son's heart again only to give him some kind of faint peace that would surely vanish after everything was said and done. Celine had never in her life felt so indignant, not even when she had discovered she had been late King Marcus' wildcard to make Stephen and Amatis part and not to bring shame into the royal family. Never had she been so powerless and yet enraged that people only seemed to acknowledge what they wanted to and not what was real and standing right in front of their eyes.

"Distinguished members of the council, members of the jury, Highnesses of the Lightwood family. At nine o'clock in the morning we resume the treason trial related to the charges brought against Clarissa Adele Fairchild Morgenstern, accused of high treason to the royal family derived from maintaining close connections to the criminal known as Valentine Morgenstern. The plaintiff will once again be His Highness Prince Robert Lightwood. And the questions will be addressed only to the accused as was previously stated; everyone in the room must remember and act upon the rules and precepts. If there are no inquiries we request the defendant to take her place in the dock…" her husband initiated the beginning of the end; and as she knew that the sight of the poor child being led to a place where she didn't belong, being exhausted, betrayed and pained would hurt her to the core and bring her to her knees resulting in her not being able to fulfill her duty; she decided to keep her eyes locked on her brother in law's, watching every movement, every word, anything that would bring him to the ground… as he was doing with the Crown Princess.

"Do you, Clarissa Fairchild Morgenstern, swear on holy Raziel's name to speak with the truth and the truth only?" the guard in charge asked her as he lifted her right arm with much more force than needed, she felt so weak.

"I do" she tried to talk as loud as her lungs and fading bravery allowed her.

"Good morning, members of the council and jury. Princess…" Robert walked dangerously near to the dock, too calm to be real again; he bowed his head to her… as if to show some kind of respect he never truly had for her. "To begin, can you describe all of the attendants your memories of the last time you saw your father?" Clary knew he didn't intend getting any useful information from that question, he only had the desire to make her flinch with hurtful memories, so she didn't have the courage to fend off whatever came later.

"I was four years old, a Saturday morning. He had woken up at early hours to pack most of his things, I was awakened by the noise he made, and our routine went by as normal as it had always been, then I…" not now, Clary, not just now. You cannot let him see you cry, you cannot give him what he wants, don't let him win over you yet "I meant he… began taking his baggage outside the house, I wasn't informed of the reasons or plans he had. He left in a taxi and that's the last memory I have of him…"

"Who was with you when you witnessed such terrible happening?" and he took a turn, once again, he wouldn't try to aim at her to start.

"My mother and grandfather." She begged the last one to give her strength to go through it, she had nothing to hide… nothing more than all of the sacrifice her family had been obliged to make for her sake; she wasn't scared, she was aching only.

"Please remind us of their names".

"Jocelyn and Granville Fairchild the second…" if she hadn't been in front of the most powerful people in all of Idris, there wouldn't have been the need to mention her grandfather hadn't been the only Granville of her bloodline, she remembered with a frail smirk how such fancy addressing used to bother him. How she missed him…

"Correct. I bring into thought, ladies and gentlemen, that Granville Fairchild was a close friend and confident to deceased King Marcus and the result of this friendship is what brought her highness to taking this respectable position. Now, allow me to ask this, highness. Did you receive any particular education or preparation for the role of a Crown Princess before becoming the Royal Bride?"

"No, I only heard about it days before the wedding. But I understood it was because the commitment was meant to be optional, that's why I wasn't instructed before agreeing to become the Crown Princess…" she felt a little fooled then, she should've noticed then… how could anyone ask her to be something she had no idea of how to be?

"So we could say it was kept a secret from you until the Crown Prince came to age of marrying… which would lead him to accede to the throne, is that right?" there he was, dedicating one more hateful, tiny spot on the Herondales' name.

"Yes…" how the hell could he put together the whole story if he had hardly even spoken to her, or anyone of her family?

"A secret… never good between family members. And why would it have to be kept as secret, unless Mr. Granville Fairchild by any case thought that such alliance represented a danger or risk for both families, in their own separate ways…"

"I clearly explained that it was a choice for me to make… my relatives didn't told me before for the same reason why they didn't spoke to me about my father. To keep me safe and tranquil…" he couldn't possibly be accusing even her late grandfather now!

"Princess, you're only meant to speak when you're asked to do so" and there he tried to take the lead of the trial. "But if you have this burning desire to talk, I will continue the inquiring… could you please tell when did your mother marry Mr. Lucian Graymark?"

"Three years ago, when I was fifteen"

"Meaning it was eleven years after your father left Idris. Let's remember now that the time it takes for a legal divorce in Alicante to be processed is between three months to ten years. The longest in case there are children involved, or one of the spouses was out of the country. Talking about the Fairchild-Morgenstern family, this was the case; with even one more difficulty to be faced, one of the children, Mr. Jonathan Fairchild neither was inside the country. This means it took ten years for Mrs. Jocelyn Fairchild to become Jocelyn Graymark and finally cut relations with Valentine Morgenstern." She was so doomed, every bit and piece of information fell into its rightful place enough to make all of her relatives look like the guilty ones, which was the whole opposite of what she wanted. "And highness, care to tell when was that your brother left to travel around Europe?"

"Four months after the marriage" she felt so stupid answering his questions like a freaking programmed robot controlled by his filthy hands.

"And your grandfather was deceased by then… this could've lead to losing the only option of union for you and Prince Jonathan, then again… this is not how it turned out…A clever plan from your ancestor, highness, to release such important truth to your mother and stepfather before dying, so they could make up a whole plan and save you from the law's claws" that was it, she could take everything from him. The abuse, the hatred, the fact he once even tried to kill her with peppered chicken, the threats not only to her husband or in laws but also to his own kids and wife, her cousins. However, for him to put her family as experienced criminals was much more than what she could bear from him.

"I sense you already have all the answers you need, highness. Therefore I suggest that you're the one who speaks the truth out loud…" and for what it seemed for her, her mother in law had had enough already as well.

"Well, majesty, I'm very ashamed to be the one who says this though if you insist… I'm saying that the Fairchilds' aren't innocent by any chance… starting by the fact they let a wanted criminal flee the country so freely and easily, Mrs. Fairchild trying so desperately to get separated from her former husband in a "legal" manner, the Princesses' brother going away right after this, and finally hiding the agreement between King Marcus and Mr. Granville for so long to only carry it out for when the Crown Prince was old enough to take the throne; inserting a Morgenstern into the bosom of the Royal Family for her to manipulate her husband and even you majesties into making decisions in benefit of her misfit father, thus creating an apparently calm panorama for her family to enjoy the forgotten issue and for her accomplice brother to step back into our dear nation. Adding to the disaster the palace has become since her arrival, the disturbance of peace between Herondales and Lightwoods, the fire incident, the low profile and composure his highness shows around her. This, my Queen, is the only truth to be told that hasn't, this is why Crown Prince Jonathan can't become King… and your people deserve to know" Celine's attacking had also lit the fight fire inside him; Clary could recognize his rage from a distance of miles.

"That is not true, how dare you say I've manipulated his majesties minds right in front of them?! Besides, you're being utterly contradictory, you pointed out that my family did everything in a legal manner! How can they be taken as criminals when they have done everything while the law?" she was expecting to be able to stand up for herself, not knowing that her mother in law had come to the resolution of also having her back.

"Exactly, And how can you know all of this if you haven't stablished direct contact with any of the members of the family in question? Unless you have done it undercover, against the law you're insisting of applying so demandingly?" she spotted an opportunity there, maybe the one chance of freeing Clary from the charges and, putting him on evidence in the way.

"I personally took the bother of investigation every detail thoroughly, majesty. So as not to make the distinguished Clave waste its precious time on lies and secrecy, and have also bothered to expose all of the evidence to the members of the Clave." Lies, the only ones aware of this so called evidence would've been the percentage of the Clave that followed Robert's orders blindly. Nevertheless, this statement made words spread all around the room, words that crushed the little faith Clary had left and somehow increased Celine's.

"Majesty, the Clave has voted to start the declaration procedure. Do you approve this request?" Samuel Blackwell spoke in the crowd, clearly on the Prince's side and willing to take her down instantly. Stephen stared at the ground in distress, he didn't wish for his daughter in law to go through the shame of being marked as a traitor; Celine, in response to his hesitating, took his hand on hers.

"Let them vote, dear, whatever happens… everything will be alright" she assured him as a whisper, with a barely noticeable smile; he gave her a reassuring squeeze and talked in loud, confidence full voice.

"Begin the declaration process…" it wouldn't take more than five minutes, he knew, his brother had half even more of the members of the Clave right where he wanted them to be.

"I just have one favor to ask of you, majesty…" Celine said in low voice and not daring to look into his eyes.

"What is that?" he suddenly felt uneasy and out of place, she might have not noticed, but he knew her as the bare palm of his hand.

"When the result comes, let me be the one who states the sentence…" her husband stared at her confused for a few seconds, before turning to his mother as if asking for an answer, an answer she didn't really have.

"I have agreed to let her do so, son, it's for the best. Dear Celine has always known what to do… all on her own…" the Queen Mother acknowledged and nodded, too calmly, resigning.

"Trust me, this one time, Stephen… if there's someone now who can ease that poor girl's pain, that's me… I'll explain to you later, now I can just beg for your confidence…" he realized she hadn't been looking at him. She was looking at the shaking, nervous shape of Clary, almost crying the tears that threatened to come out of the redhead's eyes. At last, it was Mr. Aldertree the one to bring the final blow, told something short to the Queen's ear and handed the envelope to the King.

"The defendant has been found… guilty" Stephen felt the shame of having to say so, of watching his brother's selfish pride and the despair of his nephew, niece and daughter in law. Not being able to believe that the tables had turned against his family so mercilessly.

"And the sentence has already been thought and approved by his Majesty King Stephen…" Mr. Aldertree announced, not having left the Queens side. She stood up, with her favorite mask of fortitude and fatality.

"We ask the defendant to stand in front of the judges…" Clary took a deep breath, trying to change her grimace and failing to do it. She felt smashed by the weight of untruths and distrust, couldn't bring herself to think how the most wonderful time of her life would end like that. "Clarissa Adele Fairchild Morgenstern… as a traitor to the Crown and the Royal family you are to be exiled from the holy territory of Idris…" the Queen's heart sank as her tears began to soak her face one by one, but not daring to sob even while her soul had been broken in two, that made her own voice shake with pain "a-and disposed from your title as heir to the throne"

"The case has been closed, the whole courtroom is dismissed… including Miss Fairchild…" the King said before burying his face between his hands, Clary fell to her knees defeated, embarrassed. And waited for everyone to be out, to regain composure and bow to her in laws.

"Thank you, I know you tried with all of you, and trust you'll keep your promise… I won't ever cause you any more trouble…" and thought all of the three judges would've wanted to run to her and apologize, they knew that the best they could do was let her go and mourn.

Clary had never wished so much to be completely alone in her life. She had gotten to be physically alone from time to time during her period as Crown Princess. But that turned into loneliness as her heart was empty inside. Now, there were thousand cellphone calls, knocks on the door, and whispers from concern and she only prayed for a little time for herself, knowing that the exact same faces that looked for her since morning were kept on her core, and she could be alone and not feel like it.

Maybe that was hurt her most, it wasn't because of him or whatever crap he had done, Valentine didn't have a grab of even a minimum piece of her affections or worries. She'd lost her father long ago, however in exchange she got a whole new family and she had just started to stablish communication, connection… a bond with all of them. The poem Jace dedicated to her on her birthday came to mind, and she smiled in spite of the wetness on her cheeks; the bird had opened its eyes, somehow her wings were granted back and she realized that the cage was in fact a shelter, though if she had to leave it, she didn't want to do it because of the wrong reasons or ways… there were so many things, she desired deeply for the people around her to see through her eyes ; to understand what she couldn't say with words, how sorry, heartbroken and yet thankful she was… for the most wonderful, tough, inspiring adventure of her life had to end in this… a lie. Another sound from outside her bedroom stole the melancholy from her mind.

"Highness…" Amatis had to clear her throat before speaking again, how many other would become sorrowful for the sake of her? She was tired of giving explanations already and she hadn't even answered to anybody yet "The Queen Consort has requested to have a word with you. I tried to persuade her, but she'd told me it's urgent and won't last long. Please, accompany me to her chambers for a moment…" her chest belittled more, if that was possible, she didn't have the nerve to have her majesty face to face, there was no more she could say… though, if she had insisted on it so much, perhaps it wouldn't be her to do the talking.

She forced herself to turn away from the balcony and the gentle breeze that had been companions of her sadness. Taking a few deep breaths and wiping her tears away, one last time, she walked to the door with dignity she couldn't imagine where she'd got and an imperceptible hint of fear, her maids bowed to her and walked behind her and Amatis to the encounter with her mother in law.

The Queen had replaced her golden skirt suit for a modest lavender dress and her wavy hair fell on her shoulders, making her look much more relaxed and young than what Clary had ever seen her. She sat on a small lounge next to her and the King's bedroom, she had only walked by the room before, she knew it was her private, special place for her inside the palace, as hers was King Marcus' garden. With tenderness she remembered how each one of them had their favorite hideouts and how she had come to know exactly where to find the person she was searching for in short time.

"The princess is here, Majesty…" Amatis had such an ability to hide how broken she felt inside in front of the Kings, specially towards Celine, that Clary thought that she too would be left alone in the palace when she was gone.

"Please, sit next to me, highness…" curious to begin with, she'd never expressed a desire to be close to her. Although since the day after that, a change in their relationship was evident even for those watching from the outside. "Your trip… ah, you'll be leaving in two days, its better if you start packing now to make sure you take everything with you. Did Lady Amatis already give you all the instructions?"

"Yes, majesty. Except the details about who'll be coming with me to America… but I guess you must still be too busy, I'll wait patiently. And I thank you for allowing me to have that possibility of not going off completely alone…"

"You shouldn't thank me about a thing, princess…" Clary noticed that Celine's face was one only filled with loads of regret. "I, for these past days, have been behaving the way a real mother in law should have… and I feel very grieved to think that not in even one occasion since you came to here, have I treated you with warmth or care" but the princess had been eating her brains out also, and she had come to the conclusion that neither she had done what she was supposed to, the way she was supposed to. If they were going through so much trouble, it was because of her, and how selfish she had acted, to believe that it was only hard for her.

"You shouldn't, the fault's been only mine. I didn't listen, or put in practice the advice you gave me; I haven't given the best of my while doing my tasks as a member of royalty…"

"No, let me explain… And be totally honest with you and myself for what may be the first time in years. When I was brought to live in the palace, I wasn't the Crown Princess; my coming wasn't even as awaited and planned as yours, and everyone around me knew that I had only been married to the King's younger son to prevent him from falling into what my elders would've called tragedy and dishonor. I was the wildcard, highness, and even when my husband was actually chosen to become the next King, I didn't receive a proper education as you did, or even had a royal wedding as announced as yours."

"And now that we're being so sincere, I must say I became sick with totally improper jealousy. As heir to the throne, I had no idea of what I had to do, and I constantly worried about being a good Queen for my people, for my husband, for my son… I was terrified of shaming the Royal family in anyway, I was so very much scared…And finally and I finally made up my mind that the only way to be sure not to fail, would be submitting myself to the toughest of their rules. To prove, I do not know who to yet, that I wouldn't only be the Cinderella of hasty decisions for the rest of my reign." Clary had to giggle at that, if it wasn't a deja-vu she was having there was no other thing it could be "So you understand, I saw myself when you came here; And I remembered that I clung so tightly into their orders that ... I lost myself and everything I had wanted to be and do in the process. But you, Clary, you defended yourself until the end… If I could turn back on time, I wish I could've been as brave as you were and preserve my thoughts and feelings" how she had come to tear all over, she'd never known, but she did feel that the same knife had been buried in their hearts with just time as a difference.

"Majesty, I must tell you that you didn't lack courage… it must've been hard to be so alone. To think that not even the one person who was supposed to love you…was there for you" she wondered if she had spoken too much, and if she truly was referring to her and not recalling her own first moments inside the palace.

"Ah, that too poisoned me on the inside, more than I can ever tell. To see how my child gave his love so thoughtlessly to you, that not only him but anyone here fell at your feet because you were nothing like they'd seen before. Stephen and I convinced ourselves that the only way to keep our prince safe was to watch each of his steps and never letting him give in to emotions, that we almost lost his beautiful soul and mind so many times… Then it was you who gave him all of the affection we should have. You, princess, did so much good in this place in your own way, you brought the pieces of his broken self together, and for a moment… Isabelle, Alec and him got the chance to be the only thing they were supposed to be… free. I must be the one to thank you, for bringing reality… and love back into out shallow lives. To make me awake from the image I had of myself and of the world that had surrounded me"

"Majesty…" was the only thing she could mutter through her silent, not bitter but moved sobs.

"It hurt a lot to have been the one who had to decide on your future when nobody had the right to, and having opted for sending you away much more, but I'm sure ... that our princess of sunny heart will comprehend that this is the only way to keep her safe, and calm. Since the place that should have received you as a protégé has become very dangerous now, and I don't wish ... that no one else points the finger at you, princess, for things I know very well are false. Your father-in-law has agreed as well…" it hadn't been the parliament, neither Robert who had chosen to send her away, it had been Celine, with intentions of protecting her; still, there was one last thing maybe she hadn't foreseen.

"A-and his highness? I haven't had time to…" no, she'd been honest with her, so very transparent, she had to give back the same to her "I didn't want to tell him yet, he has already so much to think about and I believe that's the reason why he hadn't looked for me yet either. It's so hard for me already, but to make him feel that pain as well…" she couldn't even finish the sentence. Jace needed her; she had been the only support for him long enough that she couldn't imagine what would happen if she vanished just like that.

"Remember I've told you never to start something you don't have intentions of finishing. The Prince was informed yesterday; I got his permission and approval too. But I beg you don't think wrong of him either, he has no desires of getting away from you. The thing is that you'll find yourself better off anywhere else than Idris. Until Jace can finish his plan, we can't deal with anything else. The verdict was issued, your Highness, and we couldn't help it, we can only spare you more embarrassment, I seriously hope you can forgive me though, I probably should've talked it through with you instead, I was scared that you'd assume I just wanted to get you out of the way" the Queen was right, they were somehow the same story with differing faces, she wasn't perfect either, she'd never been and she had also been pushed to be constantly; what was worse, she herself had brought her faith down and dragged her family along with it. Truth to be told, she had had it much worse than her, but if she'd never told her there hadn't been a way for her to know.

"Don't worry, my lady. I'll never see you as my enemy, not after you've put your hand on fire for me. And I declare again that I'll never be trouble for you again, even from afar I'll be watching, caring and hold you always, I'll do what I can so no one has to fight this alone… This…. This is my home, you're all my family and I have deep appreciation for you all in a certain way, that's not easy for me to leave without looking back. But if this is meant to help Jace in some way, I'll do it and won't think twice or question you" Celine smiled proudly and took her hands in her.

"I have made lots of mistakes, and I do not wish to continue to wrong you. So if this makes you feel more comfortable anyhow, I ask you to… for what's left of our time together as a family… please, call me… mother" Clary gasped at the proposal without noticing, stealing a light and elegant chuckle from her.

"A mother in law is a mother any way you read it. I intend to be close to you as well. Because now I see clearly what my son did from the first time, dear Clary… can I also have the honor of calling you my daughter?" she was surprised of having the Queen Consort of all Idris caressing her cheek , not wanting her to cry anymore… or ever again.

"Of course, mother. Of course you can…" She gave back an equally tender smile.

"That's right, child, you must smile through it all… I promise your life will be joyful from now on, we'll be on your side" she approached to share a kind, smooth embrace with her daughter "And wait with excitement for the day when you can come back…" she got the message from her overly fancy words and giggled.

"I'll miss you too… I'll miss all of you…" but she continued to feel lucky, and saw the bright side of her rainbow… She'd have to leave the only place she'd ever known and a piece of her would remain there. However, she would find herself wherever she was… how else had she survived to be a Crown Princess if not?

To be continued…

Dreamer.