𝑶𝑭 𝑩𝑳𝑶𝑶𝑫 𝑨𝑵𝑫 𝑩𝑬𝑻𝑹𝑨𝒀𝑨𝑳

HᏘIL ᏘᏁᎠ FᏘRᏋᏊᏋLL

"And how has that been going?" The Queen asked, almost mockingly, with a raised eyebrow.

"It's been a bit of a work in progress." Alec admitted. Magnus looked like he was trying not to make a remark on that, looking away. Alyssa frowned at his behavior, seeing as it was unlike him.

The queen rose from her seat and looked at Alec. "For far too long, the Downworld has depended on the Clave and your Institute to protect us from men like Valentine. It's time we learned our lesson and started fighting for ourselves."

"We can't do this alone. Valentine is a threat to all of us." Alec pleaded.

"The answer, Shadowhunters, is no." The queen said firmly to the disbelief of Clary, Alec, Izzy, and Jace. Alyssa, on the other hand, could see where she was coming from, even if she didn't agree. "Alyssa, we have a meeting that you promised me. I hope you haven't forgotten."

"How could I forget that I'm supposed to have a nice chat with mummy dearest after this council meeting?" Alyssa said with a false smile, her words heavy with sarcasm.

The others looked at her in surprise, but for different reasons: Jace, Clary, Alec, and Izzy because she hadn't told them about any meeting with the queen, and Magnus and Raphael because of the way she spoke to the queen. Luke only shook his head at her, hiding his amused smile.

The queen ignored all that and smiled slightly. "Well, then come along. We're done here." She said, moving around the table and leaving the room, with Magnus on her tail, as well as the two Seelie knights that accompanied her.

"Lucky me." Alyssa muttered before turning to kiss Jace on the cheek. "See you later."

"Okay, be careful. Bye." He said, pecking her lips. She nodded and followed the leaving party.

Seelie Realm - The Queen's Room

Alyssa looked around the room as she walked in, noting that the setting looked almost like something out of a fairytale, with the bed in the middle of the room and cherry blossom-like petals falling around them.

"Come sit." She heard the queen say, then looked at her to see that she was gesturing towards a small living area that she hadn't noticed at first. There were even refreshments set on the coffee table in the center, but Alyssa knew better than to eat or drink any of it.

"Okay, if we're going to talk alone, then you need to lose the child disguise, Amara. It's a little disconcerting and frankly weird to speak to you alone in that form now that I know you're my mother." Alyssa said. The queen sighed and rolled her eyes but changed her form to that of a woman about Jocelyn's age.

"Is this better?" She asked.

"Much, thank you."

"But if I'm going to be in this form, then you also need to be in your natural form." The queen said, taking a seat in one of the single armchairs.

"I'm not sure I follow, considering I am in my natural form." Alyssa said, a frown of confusion on her face.

"You were born half Seelie with all the markings and features of a Seelie princess. That is the natural form I'm referring to, and from what I've heard, you can shift back and forth between your different sides as well as merge them. But right now, I want to see you as you were born." The queen said, making it clear it wasn't a request.

"How would you know what I looked like when I was born? You 'died' after I was born." Alyssa asked, sitting in the other single armchair, next to the queen's.

"Not exactly. I saw you before I decided to leave that life, and I was the one who suppressed your Seelie side, so my cover wouldn't be blown."

"And also so I wouldn't know that you were the mother who allowed me to be subjected to those messed up experiments of your beloved leader at the time."