Rapunzel

Jocelyn Fray stared out the window, sighing with weariness. She had seen better days. Her face and body had grown haggard with the lack of food but it wasn't her fault. Her taste buds seemed to reject everything put in her mouth except...

She looked wistfully out the window again at the bright plumes of purple that blew gently in the wind. It was ironic how much she had and yet how much she wanted a bundle of clary sage plants perhaps just to taste. It was torture to be up here, seeing them but not being able to get them. Her fingers itched to pick the bright petals off of one, just a few, perhaps to boil into tea. She glanced down at her protruding stomach...but that would be impossible.

Lucian was getting worried about his wife. She wasn't eating or drinking anything except for the times when he had to force her for the sake of their unborn child. She did nothing but stare out the window all day. He gripped the tray, sighing mournfully at the loss of vitality in his wife. He set the tray down, sending a clatter in the silent room. She was sitting in her chair again, gazing absently out the window with her hands stroking her stomach.

"Jocelyn-"he started.

"Look at them," she murmured, "look at how enchanting they are beautiful, free..." Her voice went soft and nearly inaudible. "I just wish...I could have just one." She picked up the cup of tea and stared at the tea leaves, as if trying to imagine them out of sight. She closed her eyes and forced the hot liquid down her throat, pretending that it was the lovely petals of the clary sage herb instead of the dark tea leaves.

Luke stared at his wife in despair. There was absolutely nothing he could do to deter her obsession so there was only one thing to do.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Luke grunted as he sniffed the perimeter of the manor, not detecting any lingering scents or activity. The things I do for family...he thought as he shifted back. His hand gripped the wall tightly as he heaved himself up once...twice...with the third time he quickly swung his leg over. With the quick switch of weight, he was pulled off the wall and sent crashing into a nearby bush. For a few seconds he refused to breathe...afraid he had been caught.

He shifted back into a wolf, running quickly through the rows of succulent fruit and plump vegetables from the growing season. His eyes quickly spotted the clary sage, fenced in with a metal wire which his teeth made short work off. His hands went quickly as he yanked out a few of them, not caring about the disruption of the soil.

"Filthy downworlder, you dare steal from my prized garden?" Luke froze, his hands gripping the bundle even tighter as he refused to turn around. He knew that voice, the voice that rang true and cold with authority, the voice that commanded and entranced. He slowly turned to face Valentine Morgenstern with his cold his fixed upon the bundle in his hands. Valentine straightened, recognizing the person who had broken into the garden. "Lucian...I had expected you to be dead." Luke bit back the bitter comments bubbling forth in his mouth. His life as well as his family's was on the line here and he would not ruin that with his anger.

"Please Valentine; I would not do this unless it was absolutely essential. These are needed for an emergency." Valentine raised his eyebrows.

"Might I hear the circumstances in which you feel the need to steal from me?"

"It is my wife, she is ill with desire for these. She won't eat or sleep and it is endangering her health as well as the health of our child." Valentine looked at him thoughtfully. There would be nothing stopping him from beheading this filthy mutt right here in this instant however...

"Your wife is Jocelyn Fray is it not?" Lucian nodded. Fray was one of the most respectable shadow hunter names...their child could be of use...

"For the reason that you used to be my most faithful servant as well as the fact that your wife comes from a pure family, I will spare your life this time as well as give you unlimited access to my garden. However I require payment." Luke's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"What is it you want?"

"When your child is but one month old, I will come for her and I shall raise her. You will never see her again." Luke's heart broke at these words, he couldn't allow him to do that, to keep him from seeing his little girl ever again but if he didn't do that...His mind flashed to the bone haggard Jocelyn staring absently out the windows. He shivered.

"Very well, I accept your deal."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Luke watched as Jocelyn devoured her dinner with a surprising ferocity. Even this sight wasn't enough of alleviate the deep pit that formed in his stomach.

"This is delicious Luke, however did you do it?" Jocelyn asked happily as she sipped the steaming tonic.

"Jocelyn...I have something to tell you..."

Crash! Porcelain shattered on the floor as the tonic crept its way into the crevices, the cup escaping from Jocelyn's shaking fingers.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Clary threw open her only window, letting the natural light illuminates the dark room. The morning breeze was crisp as it blew across her face. It brought with it the scents of the newly baked bread and fragrant waxes being sold at the town but a few miles from her place in the woods. It was a shame for, she would never visit it. Clary turned away from the window, being careful to avoid the role coils of red hair which neatly wrapped itself around various pieces of furniture.

It was always like this, her life was a heavy mundane silence which hung heavy in her heart nearly every day. She longed for the freedom which she would never get to taste, the forbidden fruit. She was payment for the forbidden herb which her parents had sold her for. She smiled wryly at the very tops of the trees peeking out from the window. Wanting the forbidden was something that ran in the family.

She sighed as she rested herself on her chair, in front of the window, brushing her long red hair. She had no one, no friends, no pets; she had no connections of any kind except for the one with her supposed "father", who visited her in her tower every day. After 16 years, Clary still wasn't sure what to make of him. He remained stoic all the time, eyes empty and only lighting up in the heat of fighting. He had trained her well but never allowed her to keep any weapons. Their relationship was purely teacher and student and sometimes not even that. Clary couldn't help but long for something more fulfilling, softer, kinder.

"Clarissa, Clarissa let down your hair!" Clary sighed as she heard her father bellow. She gathered up her hair and allowed it to tumble down the side of the tower. The minor pressure on her scalp indicated the arrival of her father as he climbed into the room. He set down a basket, her supply of food for the day and threw her, her stele. Clary's fingers tingled with excitement as they touched the smooth crystal. Finally, she has it back.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Alec Lightwood was a dead man when he got home. At least that's what Jace decided as he wandered around lost on his horse. He had never been to this part of the woods; the thickets were so tightly clustered together that he needed to cut at them with his seraph blade.

He should have known better. He should have expected nothing more than sweet revenge from Alec especially after revealing Alec's underwear with the clown prints to Magnus. He had decided to lure him out here and leave him here. Jace sighed as he steered his horse around another bend. It was getting dark soon and he should head back.

Except...Jace squinted his eyes. What was that? The tops of the trees...seemed to ripple in the dying sunlight. Jace hurried his horse towards that sop of the woods, demons, downworlders, shadowhunters, whatever; he wanted to check it out.

The clearing, the trees had been glamoured. He stared in amazement at the tower in its place. It was tall, white with winding black runes that ran up its slim body. They led to a small window at the very top from which now a man was climbing down. Jace edged his horse back into the shadows, keeping quiet. There was suddenly a flash of red as red...hair? Yes, red hair seemed to be cascading down the tower. Jace watched as the man climbed down it.

Jace bit back a gasp as he recognized the man. It was Valentine Morgenstern. His parents had told him about him. He had tried to rebel against the Clave ages ago and failed. He was apparently conducting some questionable experiments. Jace stared as the last of the red disappeared from sight and into the tower. He might have just found Valentine Morgenstern's dirty little secret.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"Clarissa, Clarissa, let down your hair!" Clarissa? Was that her name? Jace watched as the red ladder came spiraling down the tower. He smirked. He had found the secret code.

Jace crept out from the shadows. He had just left but perhaps he could still summon her. He cupped his hands to his mouth.

"Clarissa, Clarissa, let down your hair!" Again the red hair came, falling to his feet. Jace took hold of the silky strands and began to pull himself up.

Clary was confused as to why father needed to see her again. Hadn't she already perfected the technique? Her eyes widened at the head of golden hair that appeared in her window. The intruder jumped in, inspecting the place with a sort of awe apparent on his face and then settled his gaze on her. Wham! Clary's body seemed to react on its own as she grabbed the frying pan and slammed it into his face. His eyes seemed to empty as his body rocked back and forth before collapsing.

Jace woke up with a considerable throbbing in his head. He reached up to run his hands through his hair, taking in his unfamiliar surroundings.

"Why are you here?" He looked up at the voice and stopped. Who would have guessed that Valentine's secret weapon was..a girl..and a beautiful one at that. He smirked.

"You're Valentine's...daughter?" Her eyes narrowed.

"You know my father?" Jace shrugged.

"As the old hermit on the street? Sure, but I didn't know he passed on his spawn."

"What do you want?" She held the frying pan threateningly at him. Jace chuckled before snatching it out of her hands and pressing her into the wall. Clary's breath quickened as she felt his lean body mold against hers.

"Just your name?" He whispered.

"My name..." she breathed. Her mind turned blank. God, what was her name? Cady? Caitlyn? Cla-Clary? "My name is Clary." Jace let her go as he straightened himself. Clary? Where had he heard that name before?

"Well Clary, my name is Jace. It's a pleasure." Clary nodded, still wary of his presence no matter how intoxicating it might be. "So Clary, would you like to tell me why you are in this tower?"

"Why don't you answer the same question?" Clary snapped. Jace shrugged.

"Long story short, I embarrassed my brother and he got me lost in the woods where I found you." Clary stopped.

"No one else knows about me?" Jace shook his head.

"Until now I didn't even know he had a daughter." Clary sighed.

"I suppose I shouldn't be surprised." She smiled at Jace's confused expression. "I was a bit of a...shock to him."

"Well then can you tell me why you're living in this stuffy little hole?" Clary's eyes narrowed.

"It's not all bad, I have all the essentials here, just wait un til it gets to night." Jace slid a chair out.

"Perhaps I will." The sky darkened, signaling the end of another day. Clary pulled Jace into the small opening of the window, revealing the deep, maroon sky.

"Look!" She exclaimed, pointed at the small dots of light that had begun to form.

"Yea, those are stars you can see them anywhere." Clary shook her head.

"I heard that in Idris, the witchlights are too bright to see any stars." So as the sun descended, throwing the world into a pitch black night, Jace had to admit they were pretty impressive. He could see why Clary loved looking at them, their free, unsorted positions in the sky was so vast, so massive that there was no place in the enormous expanse of sky that could go without the bright lights. From here, Jace could almost touch them; feel their heat in his fingers.

"Aren't they wonderful?" He heard her sigh. He looked over and had to grin as they awed expression on her face. Yup, he was definitely coming back.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Visits from Jace became a regular occurrence in Clary's life. Sometimes she would stop and reflect at how much that one man swept into her life and changed everything. She got a strange feeling in her stomach, a small flutter every time he was around and her cheeks seemed to be a permanent red every time he was around. She had never felt like this before. Perhaps it was like those books she had read; perhaps it was something called...love?

"Wait so seriously, you've never been to Idris?" Clary shook her head, feeling her cheeks warm again. Jace sighed and leaned back in his chair. "Well then, I guess I'll have to take you one day." Clary's eyes widened. What was he suggesting?

"Wait really?" She asked. Jace looked over, surprised by the intense look in her eyes.

"Well yes..I mean you don't intend to stay here forever right?" Clary looked down.

"I don't think I have a choice in that Jace." Jace snorted.

"Clary, it's your life you get a choice in everything. I mean, don't you want to leave? Don't you want to experience everything you haven't? There's an entire world out there, waiting for you. You can still see that stars millions of miles away." Clary bit her lip. She had resigned herself to the fact that she was going to be here for the rest of her life, never letting herself become tempted by the prospect of the freedom she never had.

"I don't know...this is my home..."

"From the way you speak of him, it seems like you really don't have an attachment to Valentine so what's holding you back?" Clary glanced out the window; she had never truly realized how vast the scenery was.

"What's out there." She sighed. She felt something warm slip into her hand and was surprised when she saw that it was Jace's hand. He looked at her, liquid gold boiling in his eyes.

"You can't let fear run your life, you're a shadowhunter, you're better than that. Besides," he smirked, "I'll be right there with you." Clary bit her lip. This was now or never. She sighed and took a leap of faith.

"Okay, ok, I'll go with you." Jace grinned as he swept Clary in his arm. Clary's breath escaped her as she realized how close they were. Clary stared at Jace, still intoxicated by his smell, his very presence and then they leaned with their lips touching. Clary felt a shock run through her body as they finally met. She had never felt anything, experience anything like this before. It felt...natural, unburdened, the easiest thing she had never done. She could feel Jace's hands roaming all over hands back. She broke away gasping and laughing breathlessly as she felt Jace pressing kisses down her throat. She shivered as he held her tighter. Yes, Clary knew she had made the right choice.

Jace was ready to leave and clary, as sad as she was, was comforted by the fact that he would be back to run away...together.

"Take my stele." He murmured, pressing his lips into hers. "Just in case anything happened." Clary nodded, slipping the thin instrument into her sleeve, with that he left out the window.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"Clarissa, Clarissa, let down your hair!" Clary's heart seized. Father? How could she have forgotten him? With trembling hands she allowed her hair to fall down the tower, wincing now at the sluggish speed it took him to climb up compared to the lithe grace of Jace.

Valentine Morgenstern may not have been close to his daughter, but he observed enough to know that something was different. She was distracted today, gripping the length of her sleeve every few minutes. He dropped a seraph blade in front of her.

"Pick it up Clarissa." She hesitated before holding her arm out. Clink! Something slid out f her sleeve and hit the ground. They both froze, standing there looking at it. Valentine became enrage as he saw the stele lying on the floor. This was not his! He had not given on to her! He snatched it and glanced at the engraved initials, JCL. There was only on shadowhunter family with an L and one son's name that started with a J.

"Where did you get this Clarissa?" he growled. Clary stepped back, shrinking from her father's wrath. "Did he come? How often? Did he convince you to disobey your father?" Clary glanced out the window, mentally calculating her chance for it. "Is he your prince in shining armor?" he sneered. Clary got ready to run. "Well? Answer me!" Clary sprinted for the window but was yanked back by a burning sensation in her scalp. She saw Valentine grabbing her hair in one hand with a pair of shears in the other.

"You are no daughter of mine!" Snip! Clary's eyes watered in horror as her hair separated from her head, leaving only a choppy cut at her shoulders. Valentine packed her up that night and brought her back to the manor, instructing his son Jonathan to guard her. Clary had never been so frightened. Jonathan's eyes were black and the way he leered at her made her skin crawl.

"By the angel Jace," she whispered, "Please be safe."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Jace rode his horse, pressing her on and on with an excitement he had never felt before. His dream had come true. He was leaving with Clary, beautiful, wild, mysterious Clary. He reached the tower in record time.

"Clarissa, Clarissa, let down your hair!" The red came tumbling down just like any other time. With a grin, Jace grabbed on and started to climb.

He jumped into the room, surprised to find it empty and dark. "Clary?" He called.

"So you're the one who wants to take my daughter away from me." He turned around to face Valentine Morgenstern. He felt sudden sting in his cheek as his head snapped to the side. He staggered back as Valentine continued to hit him. He could feel himself hanging out the window. "Goodbye Jonathan Lightwoods and good riddance." There was pressure on his chest and suddenly he could feel himself falling...falling...falling in blackness.

0 – 0 – 0 – 0

Alec was already suspicious when Jace didn't show for dinner but when he found his horse stumbling towards him without Jace on his back, he knew something was wrong. "Quick show me where he is." Alec ordered as the horse tore into the forest.

Alec got off the horse and rushed towards Jace, who lay face down in a prickled bush. He dragged him out, inspecting the cuts on his face but worse...his eyes.

"Jace? Jace? Can you see?" He could see Jace's eyelids fluttering but Jace shook his head.

"M-Morgenstern Manor...take me there." Alec stared at him in shock.

"W-what? No, I'm taking you to Magnus, we need to fix you!" Jace grabbed Alec's shirt and pulled him towards him. Alec could smell the metallic scent of blood all over his face.

"Morgenstern Manor." He growled. "He took Clary." Alec shook his head. He didn't know who Clary was but if she was that important...

"Alright fine, I'll get a message out to Isabelle to get Magnus to meet us there ok?" Jace nodded.

"Whatever just take me to Morgenstern Manor."

0 – 0 – 0 – 0

"He's dead." Clary looked up, her eyes still swollen from crying. "I killed him." Ice struck Clary's heart. She couldn't imagine Jace...lying dead at the foot of the tower...no...no...

"You're lying!" Clary shrieked as she flew towards him. "You're lying!" Jonathan grabbed her fists in time, laughing. She growled, surprising herself with the primal noise coming from her own throat. "He's not dead!" Valentine chuckled.

"Ohh...but he is do you know why my dear Clary?" He leaned in. Slowly, Clary could feel Jonathan's grip tightening. She could see his stele coming out of his belt in her peripheral vision. "Because I killed him." They both burst out laughing and Clary saw red. Her hand shot for Jonathan's stele and she could feel her fingers wrap around it as he pulled away in shock. Jonathan stared at her, before charging at her in anger.

Clary jumped onto the desk, avoiding his swipes. He grabbed her leg and she went tumbling down on top of him. Quickly he overpowered her as she struggled. "Calm down little sis." He hissed in her ear. She grunted as she threw her knee up as hard as she could. She could hear a grunt of pain as Jonathan's grip lightened. She took advantage of the distraction, swiping the stele across his throat. She winced as she felt the warm liquid splash upon her face. His dead weight made it hard to breathe as she heaved him off of her. She wanted to vomit as she found that her hands were covered in a sticky, black substance. By God...he was a demon... She could hear Valentine chuckling. She turned around, stele in hand ready for another fight.

"Congratulations Clarissa, you have become what I have trained you for." Clary stared at him.

"What are you talking about?" She hissed. Valentine laughed.

"You didn't honestly think I took you in through my kindness of my heart did you? No, when I saw that you were Jocelyn Fray's daughter i saw an opportunity...to groom the most perfect killing machine." He sighed at Jonathan. "Your brother was too cold, too aggressive with no control you however...took some molding but you've done it." His eyes sparkled with glee. "You finally took a life." Clary felt sick to her core. He was right, she had killed someone. What had she become? Suddenly she heard the doors burst open.

"Clary?" Her heart skipped a beat.

"Jace?" She called.

"What? Impossible, I killed him!" Clary's eyes widened as she saw Jace turn the corner but...he was covered in blood! There was another boy running behind him, he had black hair and blue eyes. His eyes widened as he took in Valentine.

"Jace! To your left!" He called. Jace flung his seraph blade to the left while Valentine dodged it cleanly. Alec went and swiped at his legs which Valentine pared with his sword. Clary's heart beat faster as he realized why the boy was shouting instructions. Jace's swings were wild and his movements were sluggish...he couldn't see! Valentine blocked Jace's attacks easily, forcing him down on his knees. Alec went for his stomach but Valentine yanked his sword out of his hands and knocked him against the wall. He turned back to Jace, lying there defenseless. He raised his sword.

Clary's fingers tightened around the stele. She couldn't let this happen, if Jace died...there would be no coming back from it. She sprinted towards Valentine, her body moving faster than her mind could comprehend as she grabbed Alec's fallen sword and stabbed it into Valentine's back, feeling the spray of blood hit her in the face. He fell to the ground, eyes wide with shock, still gurgling blood as he saw that it was his daughter who killed him before slipping into death.

Clary ran towards Jace, cradling his head in her hands. "Jace? Oh gods Please, plese just-just give me a sign you're still alive! Say something, anything?" Clary begged hysterically. She could feel tears well up in her eyes. They overflowed and spilled into Jace's. Jace could feel a strange tingling in his eyes, it was a warm, safe feeling that flowed throughout his body and broke the darkness. His vision was blurry but soon cleared. He smiled as he saw Clary's face hovering over his.

"You still want to see that stars with me?" He croaked. Clary laughed and she bent down and kissed him.

For Clary, life was a methodical circle, always alone but never independent. Temptation for her, for life was too much to think about but now, life is unpredictable, life is independent, life is freedom and best of all...Clary was going to have someone to spend it with.