Rosalie walked into the main room, shortly before Jace.
"Isabelle, which color do you like better? It's for the curtains adorning the wedding tent." She heard someone say.
Rose walked to one of the computers.
"The cobalt blue. It's elegant, masculine... very Alec." Izzy told her.
"I'll put the cobalt blue out right away." The girl said before walking away.
At that point, Jace walked in.
"How are we supposed to get any work done with all this going on?" He asked walking over to the screen that Rose was at.
"We haven't had a wedding here in years. People are allowed to be excited." Izzy said.
"We need to focus. Have you narrowed down the list of warlocks more powerful than Magnus Bane?"
Izzy pulled up a list.
"I've got it down to 20. But it's gonna be hard to figure out which one cast that spell on Jocelyn." She said.
"I don't care how tough it is, we've gotta find him. Back at Renwicks, I let Valentine go. I won't make that mistake again. We gotta wake up Jocelyn, in case she heard anything about his plan." Jace said.
"Have you spoken to Alec?" She asked.
Before Jace said anything, Rose and him shared a look.
"He's probably busy, what with wedding plans and all. And I don't need to talk to anyone."
At that Izzy just said, with a slight smirk.
"Well, anyone except Rosalie. You talked to her."
"Let's just stick to the mission, okay?" He said, before leaving.
"Really, Izzy?" Rose asked her.
"What? It was the truth, was it not?"
Rosalie shook her head, a small smile on her face.
~~~~
~~~~
Rosalie was sitting at the table with Magnus, in the main room.
The two were talking, and catching up, before Clary and Jace came into the room.
"Morning." Clary said.
"Morning. You just come from training?" Jace asked, sitting in the chair beside Rose, who was sitting on the side of the table.
"Yeah. I'm, uh, workin' on my right hook." Clary said awkwardly.
"Good. That's a good punch." Jace replied in the same awkward way.
Rosalie almost couldn't watch this.
"Yeah. I'm, uh, I'm workin' on it." Clary said.
"While this conversation is no doubt scintillating, remind me why we couldn't do this at my place? At least there we'd have cocktails." Magnus said.
"I'm with you on that one." Rose agreed.
"It's 9:00 in the morning." Clary said.
"Oh, it's happy hour somewhere, my dear." He said again.
"I'll have to take you up on that." Rose just said.
Maybe then she'd be able to forget some things for a bit.
Jace gave her a look, before looking at Magnus.
"We invited you here, Magnus, because Hodge can't leave the Institute. He's an important part of this mission." Jace said.
"Well, then, where is our tardy little tutor? There are certain individuals that I'd like to avoid, so let's make this quick." Magnus said.
"Pardon the delay, Magnus. I was following up on a lead." Hodge said, as he came over.
"Now, we've narrowed down our list of warlocks to these three." Hodge said, as he pulled up pictures on the screen.
"Why is Ragnor Fell up there? He's not more powerful than I am." Magnus said.
"Well, some would disagree. He is older than you." Hodge said.
"Certainly not wiser." Magnus retorted.
"Who is Ragnor Fell?" Clary asked.
"The former High Warlock of London." Jace told her.
"And one of my oldest friends. Very prickly, likes to keep to himself." Magnus said.
"Okay, look. We just need to figure out which one of these warlocks had enough access to Jocelyn that they could create the potion for her without anyone discovering what they'd done." Hodge said.
"By the early '90s, Ragnor was a professor at the Shadowhunter Academy in Idris." Magnus told us.
"Isn't that when my mother lived there? Could he have made the potion for her?" Clary asked.
"The little bugger! That's why he hasn't responded to my fire message. Ever since Valentine began hunting warlocks, Ragnor's been holed up in his secret country house just outside of London. For all I know, Ragnor suspected my fire message was a ploy by Valentine to lure him out of hiding. We'll have to confront him face-to-face." Magnus explained.
"You're going on this mission?" Hodge asked.
"Of course! I'm the only one Ragnor trusts. Besides, I've played my last hand here. Even I know when to fold." Magnus said, as he got up.
Not knowing that Alec and Lydia were walking up to the table behind him, he turned around and was face to face with Alec.
"Magnus, I didn't know you were here." Lydia said.
"That was the point." He mumbled.
"We're just on our way to greet a few representatives of the Clave who arrived early for tomorrow's wedding. How long are you staying?" Lydia went on.
"What's going on here? Nobody told me about a meeting." Alec asked, cutting off the conversation.
"Magnus figured out that Ragnor Fell is the warlock who can wake my mom. We're just bringing him back to the Institute." Clary explained.
Jace and Rosalie walked over to the others.
"How can I help?" Alec asked.
"We're just recovering a warlock, Alec. We got this covered." Jace said.
"Besides, you have emissaries from the Claev to meet. You don't want to tarnish your family's perfectly-crafted image now, do you? " Magnus said.
The room was filled with awkward tension, and it made Rose uncomfortable.
"Again, lovely seeing you, Magnus." Lydia said, before the two left.
Magnus then left the room.
"I'm going with you. " Rose said to Jace.
At that, Clary asked.
"Why is she going with us?"
Jace sighed.
"In case you didn't know... I made a promise, to your mother, to keep you safe. And I don't know why, because she treated me like crap for the 11 years I lived with you." Rose said, before Jace cut in.
"Okay. Get ready. We leave in an hour."
Everyone went their separate ways.
~~~~
~~~~
The three stepped out of the portal into a field.
"Ragnor's house is just across these fields." Magnus said.
"Let's make this quick." Jace said, moving ahead quickly.
"We'll talk to Ragnor, then portal him back to the Institute before anyone knows we're gone." He said again.
Rosalie stayed back with Magnus.
"So... brother and sister, huh?" Magnus asked, and Rose knew he shouldn't have.
"I don't want to talk about it." Jace said.
"What, so we're just gonna be work buddies now? All about the mission, and totally ignore the huge bomb that just dropped on us." Clary started.
"Yeah, sounds like a plan." Jace said with a sigh.
"What do you want me to say, Clary? That I was attracted to my sister?" He asked.
"Point of fact. Brothers and sisters are often attracted to each other. I once knew this one couple in ancient Egypt..." Magnus got cut off.
"Magnus, not helping." Clary said.
"Maybe this will all make sense when we wake up Jocelyn. Since she is Jace's mother as well, perhaps..."
At that, Jace turned around.
"Don't say that again. Maryse is my mother." Jace cut Magnus off.
"At best, Jocelyn is the woman who abandoned me."
"Hey, that is not true. My mother would never abandon he son. She thought you were dead." Clary said, sticking up for her mother.
"Or maybe she just didn't want me." Jace said.
"You don't know her, Jace."
"That's right, Clary, I don't. Do you?" He shot back.
"I'm sorry I asked! I came with you to escape my relationship drama, not to get a front row seat to yours." Magnus said.
At this point, Rose spoke up, going over to where Jace was.
"And Clary. Not all people cope the same way. So instead of starting shit, and acting like a bitch, maybe you should just keep your mouth shut."
As Rose spoke, a noise was heard.
"What was that?" Jace asked.
And of course... Clary, being the child she was, didn't listen.
"Nice try, Jace. You're not getting out of this conversation that easily."
Clary stood by Magnus as Rose and Jace were trying to listen to this noise they heard.
"Look out!" Magnus said.
At that Jace and Rose jumped back.
Well, more like Jace moved back and pulled Rose along with him.
The two stood there for a minute looking at each other, before looking away and to the greenish fire that appeared.
"Ragnor put up wards to protect his lair." Magnus said.
"Why is the fire green?" Clary asked.
Jace and Rose came over the the other two.
"It's a wall of fire that only the pure of heart and intention can pass through. Are you ready?" Magnus asked.
The four of them walked through, and Clary was the only one to appear on the other side.
~~~~
~~~~
Rosalie, Magnus, and Jace were all invisible, and in Ragnor's house.
Clary soon found her way in and found Ragnor hiding in a painting.
"Well done... Clary Fairchild. I've been expecting you. You have Jocelyn's talent, I see. Only a true artist would notice the subtle changes in my eyes." Ragnor said.
One of the others said something, but Rose didn't pay much attention, until Clary came over beside her.
"My friends, Jace Wayland, Rosalie Lightwood, and Magnus Bane. They were with me, but I lost them in the fire." She said, before taking a seat.
"Do you mind hurrying up?" Magnus asked Ragnor.
"Let me do this my way! Your friends, are they true?" Ragnor said.
"Magnus said he's known you for centuries. He sent you a fire message." Clary said.
"Just cut the act. We have better things to do." Jace and Rose both told Ragnor.
"This is not an act. It is not an act! It is essential." Ragnor said, this making Clary stand up and have enough.
"Okay, what is your deal? My friends are missing and if you can't help me, I'll find someone who can."
"What is it worth to you?" Ragnor asked her.
"You find my friends and wake my mother... I'll give you anything." She said.
"That's what I wanted to hear." He said.
And with that, he snapped his fingers, and the three others appeared.
"Honestly, Ragnor, was that nonsense necessary?" Magnus asked.
"Of course. She offered me anything. You were only up to a timeshare of your flat in Paris. Yawn."
"All right, enough with the warlock games. Can you really wake my mother?" Clary said.
"Not without the book of the white."
"What is the book of the white?" Rose asked.
"It's an ancient book of warlock magic containing spells more powerful than... most warlocks could ever imagine." Magnus said.
"I possessed the book when your mother came to me, and I used it's contents to create the potion. Regrettably, I no longer have the book. I asked Jocelyn to hide it that Valentine might never find it." Ragnor said.
"Ragnor, please, I have to get my mom back. Is there any way to get the book of the white? " Clary said, desperate.
"Possibly. I may have something that can help us. Won't be but a moment." He said before rushing to the next room.
"What do we do if he can't find the book?" Clary asked Jace.
"We'll cross that bridge when we come to it." He said.
"It's a bit drab, isn't it?" Magnus said, trying to not make this awkward.
Just then, they heard Ragnor scream. They turned around as he fell off the top of the stairs.
"Ragnor!" Magnus yelled going over to him.
"Shax demon." Rose said, looking at Jace, before going over.
"Creature took me... by surprise." Ragnor told Magnus, who, was by his side holding up his head.
"How could a Shax demon get past Ragnor's wards?" Clary asked.
"It must have followed us. Jumped through when the fire wall reset." Jace said.
"Be still, my little dear cabbage. Your wounds are deep. Hold on, please." Magnus said as he tried to heal his friends wounds.
Ragnor slowly slipped away.
"For centuries, this man knew me better than anyone." Magnus said again.
"Magnus, I'm so sorry." Clary said.
Rose put a hand on Magnus' shoulder.
"We have to leave, now." Jace said getting up.
"We can't. Not until we find whatever it is Ragnor said could help us locate the book of the white." Clary said.
"It's too dangerous. If one Shax demon found us, you can bet there are more on the way." Jace explained.
"We have to try!" Clary begged.
"We don't have time to scour through mountains of Ragnor's stuff." Jace said again.
At this point Magnus was done with their arguing. He opened up a portal.
"Get back to the Institute. I'll transport everything back to my place, and find what you need. Now, leave me to take care of my friend." He told them.
Rose moved her thumb slightly, before she took her hand off his shoulder and walked over to the portal.
"Magnus, I am...." Clary started to say but Magnus cut her off.
"Go!"
The three went through the portal, to be met by Izzy on the other side.
"Jace, you're coming to Alec's bachelor party, right?" Izzy asked him.
"No. He doesn't want me there, and I'm swamped. "
"You two seriously haven't worked things out yet?" She asked.
"There's nothing to work out. If he wants to talk, we'll talk."
"He's your parabatai." Izzy said, as we stopped in the main room.
Jace looked right over at where Lydia was talking to someone.
"We have more important things going on than a bachelor party. Come with me." He told them.
Rose looked at Izzy, before following.
"I'll talk to him."
They walked up to the training room.
"We have a mole in the Institute." Jace explained.
"We were attacked by a Shax demon when we went to see Ragnor Fell." Clary explained.
"The attack couldn't have been a coincidence. Valentine must have been tracking us." Jace said.
"You don't think someone from the Institute told Valentine where you were going." Izzy said.
"There's no other explanation." Clary said, and Rose agreed.
"No one here would betray us like that. This is our family." Izzy said.
Jace walked forward, staring straight at Lydia.
She was there when Clary explained where they were going.
"Not everyone's family yet. I swear if Lydia is the leak, I'm gonna...." Jace started.
"Slow down. We don't know if she did anything yet." Clary said.
"And wrongfully accusing someone of a crime is dangerous. Trust me, Izzy and I have been through it." Rosalie said, knowing from experience.
At that, he looked at Rose.
"Lydia was right there when we were talking about Ragnor Fell. If she's not gonna admit what she did, I'm gonna make her admit it." He said, going to leave but was stopped.
"How? Huh? Making a damn fool of yourself, and getting into more trouble? I think you know better than that. Jace, you are too worked up to talk to anyone right now." Rose said crossing her arms, as she stood in front of him.
"Especially an important envoy from the Clave." Izzy added.
"Let me talk to Lydia. If you accuse Alec's fiancee of treason, you will ruin whatever relationship you have left with him." Clary said.
"Clary's right, Jace. If Lydia did this, she might not be so defensive with Clary. She might let her guard down. Slip up." Izzy said.
"Fine. But I wanna know everything she says." Jace told Clary.
Rose followed Jace as he left the room.
"Jace, wait. I know I can't make you change your mind, but I can try. You need to go to Alec's bachelor party. You need to make things right. Will it be easy? Probably not... But he's your parabatai, your brother. You need to make things right eventually. He may never admit it, but I think you know that he needs you. And I think you need him. Please, just... think about it?" Rose told him.
He sighed before nodding.
~~~~
~~~~
(Jace and Alec at the bachelor party. )
Alex took off his blindfold and turned around to see Jace walk through the door.
"Izzy said you wanted to talk." Jace told him.
"I don't know what she thought I wanted to say." Alec said
"Great. I guess I'll go. I've got work to do anyway." Jace said as he went to leave, but stopped.
"Damn it, Izzy. " Jace mumbled to himself, before turning around.
"You know what? She's right. We do need to talk."
"Okay. Well, it's my bachelor party, so you go first. " Alec said.
"I don't know how things got so messed up between us. But I do know my life has been a lot harder not having you to talk to." Jace said.
"Mine, too." Alec said with a sigh.
"I know it seems like I've been making a lot of crazy choices lately. And I know you think that I was only thinking about myself... And Clary, and I wasn't thinking about the consequences to anyone else. All I can say is, I've been going through a lot. But I only ever did what I thought was right, Alec. But I never wanted to hurt you. I'm sorry." Jace said, explaining.
"I know. You know, we just got caught in all this drama." Alec said.
"Yeah." Jace laughed slightly.
"I mean... you're getting married tomorrow." He added.
"And Clary's your sister. You know, what's up with that?" Alec asked him.
"Hell. Yeah, uh, don't even get me started on that." Jace said, before going to sit down.
"I kissed her." He said again.
Alec listened to him, letting him talk.
"The thing is, I imagined her as someone else, that I couldn't have. I was falling in love with someone else. I must be sick or something. I don't know." He said.
"No. Nah. You're not sick. Situations just... It's confusing. And trust me, I know. You know, its like, you have this plan for your life... right, and you know what you need to do and what your responsibilities are. And you think, you know, 'if you follow the rules, everything's gonna be fine.' Then somebody comes along, and... pushes you off that path. You just..." Alec said, trailing off.
"Hey... I get it." Jace said.
"The point is, we're Shadowhunters. Emotions get in the way. And if you get knocked off the path, you have to focus... And find your way back." Alec said.
"I mean, you still have to be true to yourself." Jace told him.
"I am. I'm fulfilling my duty." Alec said.
It was quiet for a moment.
"Look, would you be my suggenes and give me away tomorrow?"
"Alec, if this is what you really want... I'd be honored. I'm always gonna be here for you." Jace said.
"Me too... And one more thing. I know you like her..." Alec said.
"Who?" Jace asked confused at first, but then he realized that he meant Rosalie.
"Rosalie. I know you like her, and I know she likes you."
"How do you know that?"
"I know from her reaction to when you and Clary first happened. Talk to her. I know how she makes you feel. You are more yourself around her..." Alec said.
The conversation stopped shortly after that, and it left Jace with some things to think about.
A/N: HOPE THIS MAKES SENSE AND THAT YOU LIKE IT. AGAIN, SO SO SORRY FOR A LATER UPDATE. I'VE BEEN GETTING READY TO START COLLEGE. SO, IT'S BEEN STRESSFUL... HOPE YOU ENJOY!