So here we are, the final chapter. Thank you to BadBad and AutumnHerondale for reviewing, every review means such a lot. And incredible thanks to the people who have been here from start to finish- you have given me such motivation.

Summary:
Clary and Jace have escaped the house and now only have to get out of the garden. They have had to leave Seb behind to tackle Valentine and stop his revolution which Clary is upset about. Clary knows how to escape because Ithuriel told her in a dream and Jace is going to try to escape to Stephen-his real father-'s house.

Here we go;

Chapter 31

The cold wind whipped Clary's hair as the maze faced her. The final hurdle. She was shaken, salty tears being blown about in the wind like leaves from a tree. Jace turned to her, wrapping her in a fierce embrace, making her heart stretch further than it had before. She felt the tears climb her throat. Her deep green eyes connected with Jace's golden ones and she heard him say in a soft but firm voice "I'm sorry, but I really need you to focus." She nodded curtly and dug through her mind as if it were a box of treasure. The garden was a maze that was stuck on repeat, the shining light their physical beacon of hope. Her mind strained. Where had the beam of light been? Where had it been coming from? It hit her like a flash of lightning, sending a physical shock through her body and she was sure it was Ithuriel, forever watching over her, helping her to see through her haze of human emotion.

The light was between two silver trees that were bowed into an archway, their branches knitted together in an eternal bond. Her mind raced through the map. Past the bushes, round the pond, through the wigwam and there she would be. She grabbed Jace's hand and set off, running into the wildness of the wind.

The blur of green and brown flashed her by, but she did not stop to admire like she usually did. She was on a mission, her mind focused only on one clear point. She knew that if she stopped then the sense of urgency would fall and then everything else would come racing in. This was no time for human emotion.

In the distance she saw it, the silver entryway like a pathway to heaven. In the sunlight the branches almost seemed to glisten, the branches like the wings of swans. Her breathing got heavier. The doorway was the final piece to her freedom. She had envisioned this day since she had been old enough to think for herself. She had imagined the total elation and joy that would grow inside of her, like a tree of emotion. And yet now she was here the tree was dotted with mould and moss, with a heavy grey cloud hanging above. Her worries were more than ample and yet the biggest one of all, the one that drove a sheer icy bade of fear straight into her pumping heart was stood right beside her, with his lips turned into a joyful smile.

The fear of Jace leaving was one that had gripped her for a long time. So long in fact that it had become the background to her life, just the dull pain that had throbbed at the back of her mind. She stopped, a few feet short of the trees, yanking Jace back with her. Jace span around.
"What's wrong?" he said, his voice screaming concern.
"I can't go." Jace's face settled with confusion. He tucked a strand of aluminous red hair behind Clary's ear, turning it into a caress down her cheek.
"Why not?" he said, his eye focused solely on the strand of hair.
"I don't want to lose you." Now, Jace's eyes focused on her own.
"Why on earth would you lose me?"
"You'll have a new family, a new life; slowly you'll drift away and forget about me. Forget about Seb." Jace took both of Clary's shivering hands into his own,
"Listen, I love you and there is no way that you are going to lose me. I'd rather stay in this hell hole than lose you. Besides, I already talked to Stephen and he said you could stay with us until we're old enough to get our own place." Clary's face lit up
"Our own place?" she said "You really think about stuff like that?" and before Jace could form a reply she kissed him, tender and sweet, the glistening light of the trees framing the scene like a halo. "Well let's go then." She said, grinning wide as she ran off.

And although pain still sliced at her heart and grief ran in her blood and questions rampaged around her head; for once, she felt hopeful. As if there was a brighter future out there somewhere, just the presence of the boy running next to her had reminded her of that. And so together, they ran towards the trees and out the other side, towards the great unknown with smiles on their faces and pain in their hearts.

Thank you so very much for reading this final chapter and sorry if it was a bit overly cheesy. Thank you for sticking with it right to the very end.