I squint past the beam of sunlight peeking through the leaves, my eyes scanning past the soaring trees and vast areas of greenery, mesmerised.
If heaven existed, I'd imagine it to look like this.
Serene, effortless and magical.
But we weren't in heaven, unfortunately. Instead Clary, Jace and I found ourselves trustingly following Meliorn through this abyss of nature, hoping he would lead us to the place we've been desperate to find since we landed into this mess.
Wherever the hell Valentine was.
"Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore." Clary mutters, brushing a low hanging leave out of her face, the same look of disbelief and tranquillity evident on her expression, I could tell she too was still getting to grasp with how magical our world really was.
"Welcome to the Seelie Glade, Clary and Camilla Fairchild." Meliorn says, a knowing smirk on his face, "The remotest edges of it."
"How did we get here?" I ask, "We aren't dead are we" I say tentatively, a mocking tone to my words, but my brow was still furrowed, hoping that weren't actually dead.
" There are entrances all through the mundane world." Meliorn replies, smiling at mannerism "You just have to know where to look."
"Why did we have to come here to find our father?" Clary asks, and I roll my eyes, my chest tightening whenever the word father is associated with Valentine. He was merely a sperm doner, and even then that felt too intimate a relationship to have with him.
"Because of your necklace. It's a Portal shard." He states, simply.
"Tell us something we don't know." Jace mutters sarcastically and I nudge him lightly. He sighs in surrender and looks away, Meliorn grinning at his unengaged figure.
"How do they work?" Meliorn asks, his attention on Clary and I, and I instinctively touch the ember shard, a strike of nostalgia and fear rising up me.
"When I touch the crystal and I think of someone, I can see where they are." Clary says, sending me a questioning side glance at my brain freeze, but I quickly smile back, not wanting to worry her.
My daddy issues can wait for another time.
"I'm curious, Shadowhunter, who knows so much about Portals, did you never wonder why this Portal shard doesn't behave the way normal Portals do?" Meliorn asks, his body now facing us and his smile indicating a sense of arrogance and teasing.
Something that seemed to rub Jace the wrong way.
"Normal Portals can only take you to places you've been." He states, slightly irritated about being ignorant on the subject "I guess I never really thought about it."
"I see Isabelle is the smart one in the family." He mocks, making me chuckle, but the unamused stare I receive from Jace shuts me up, and I pout childishly at him in a fake apology, making him roll his eyes and smirk at me in amusement.
They never stay mad long.
"Your Portal shard works the way it does because it's a piece of a Portal from another dimension." Meliorn states, quickly bringing me back to the topic at hand. "If you can find the only Portal still standing in that dimension, it will take you to your father."
" Another dimension?" I ask in disbelief, noticing that Clary and Jace looked just as confused as I did. Meliorn nods, not disputing the fact and not bothering to go too in to detail either, something I was glad for, since I probably wouldn't have understood anything he would say.
Newbie Shadowhunter and all that.
"How is it possible that the Clave doesn't know about your dimensional doorways?" Jace interrogates, seemingly suspicious of how something as big as this could go undetected.
I hated to think what the Clave would do with something this powerful at their disposal.
"They are our most guarded secret. We are their protectors. Only Seelie's know of their existence" Meliorn explains, moving closer to a centred area of the forest, two large and sky scrapping oak trees stood firmly in the middle, a fair distance apart.
"And yet, here you are exposing that secret to three Shadowhunter's..." I say poignantly, "You could see why we're a little sceptical, right?"
"I owe you a life debt, and I don't like being indebted to anyone." He enlightens, a more serious and formal tone to him, though I could understand why.
I don't think I would want to owe anyone anything that big either.
"What would happen if–"
" If the Seelie Queen finds out I've shared this with you?" He asks, looking at Clary "I could be executed."
"Well, we'll be extra careful then." Jace states, though not very convincingly.
He really needs to let the drama go.
So what if he's boning Izzy, let a guy live.
"There's no "we" in this scenario. Only Clary and Cam will go in to find the Portal. My debt is to them." He declares, a harshness and complete distrust evident in his tone, and even if Seelie's could lie, I could tell that he wasn't.
"You've given us no reason to trust you, Seelie." Jace jeers, making Clary huff out, probably sick of the seemingly never ending cat fight.
"He brought us here." She argues, making me nod in agreement.
"Plus, if by some act of stupidity he does fuck us over, he won't have to worry about the Clave because he'll be too busy worrying about the pain I will inflict" I say matter-of-factly, a charming yet sinister smile on my face, my eyes glued on Meliorn.
He smiles appreciatingly, knowing my threat to be true, and it seems to ease Jace and Clary's mind, both who are now willing to do what we have to.
Seeing that we were all in agreement, Meliorn turns towards the arch and after a moment of silence, and only the howl of the wind and tweets of the birds were heard did he begin to move. I stand, enthralled, as I watch his hand move, a whirlwind of emerald green and jade practically sparkle out of his fingers, his hands leaving a trail of free flowing and living magic behind.
Within moments, within a blink of an eye, a whirlpool of colours stood before me, a door to the next dimension.
"This will establish a connection to the other dimension." Meliorn explains, stepping back and watching as Clary and I investigate, cautiously moving closer, both thrilled and nervous.
"What's it like? The other dimension. Is it like this one?" I ask.
"It is... but it isn't."
"Could you be more vague?" Jace asks, an irritated sneer covering his face and I chuckle, noticing the thrill Meliorn seemed to get from riling him up.
"It is an alternate timeline, in a sense. There, Shadowhunter's and demons no longer exist. And Downworlders have conformed to the mundane way of life to avoid detection." He says and my eyes widen in surprise.
"What?" Jace exclaims.
"What happened to the Shadowhunter's?" Clary questions, and I narrow my attention to Meliorn, also wondering what happened.
I mean, it's not they all just decided to quit their day job.
"Their services were no longer required, because they won the war against the demons, centuries ago. Once they sealed the rifts between their worlds, their culture faded away. Once you arrive in the alternate dimension, you will assume the body of the Clary in that world. You will think and feel just like her." Meliorn explains, and I find myself involuntarily gulping, nervous by the prospect of practically going blind into another dimension, and another version of myself.
What if she isn't as fabulous as I am in this dimension?
"But we will still know who we are, right? We'll know to find the Portal?" I ask expectantly, though from the look on Meliorn's face, I could tell what the answer was.
"There's a catch. With Seelie's, there's always a catch." Jace mutters, rolling his eyes and folding his arms, waiting for the downside.
Because nothing in this world seems to come even remotely easy.
"Your alternate self could consume you if you let it." He sighs, and I scoff, my hand instinctively raking through my hair, my worry seeming to grow.
"Is there a way to not let it?" Clary asks, her hands rubbing tiresomely at her pale skin, stimulating a blood rush, and turning her cheeks a blooming red.
"Focus on the differences between that world and ours. Find something or someone to keep you grounded to this one." Meliorn states, as if it were the simplest of task. "It will be easier having the other one there, you both can guide each other, be an anchor back to who you were for each other"
"Easy enough." I mutter, sarcasm rolling out in waves.
"It will be more difficult than you think." Meliorn warns, "If you don't hurry, you could cease to be this world's Clary and Cam Fairchild, and be stuck in that world forever."
"How fucking predictable" I mumble, irritated and tired, but I still build what energy I have left and glance to Clary and Jace, and with an encouraging smile, we all nod in agreement, knowing that this was worth the risk.
With a deep sigh, I reach behind me and pull out the ace of cards that I had placed for safe keeping in my pocket. I walk stridently next to Jace and hold it out for him to take, surprising him.
After a moment he takes it and I smile, "Just in case we don't make it back, you're one of the only people I would trust to guard this" I say, a solemn yet sincere tone to my words, and Jace nods, smiling. He swiftly envelopes me into a hug, a warm and caring one and I hug him back, glad for the comfort.
From all the chaos we've endured, Jace becoming like a protective older brother had made it easier.
I step back and allow Clary forwards, and I watch as they stare lovingly into each other's eyes, trapped in their own little bubble, only seeing each other.
I felt a deep happiness for my sister, yet a deep pain, my heart aching over Alec still.
"You're coming back" Jace states firmly to Clary and she laughs, shaking her head. Instead of replying, she inches onto her tiptoes and places a deep kiss on Jace's lips, one that he immediately reciprocates.
I swiftly look away, not wanting to interfere on their farewell and certainly not wanting to cause myself anymore hurt. The ache I felt must have been obvious in my face, as when my eyes lift to Meliorn he shoots me a sympathetic smile, one that is knowing of who I missed.
"It's time" Meliorn states, and immediately Clary pulls away from Jace, turning to face his direction.
"Meliorn, I appreciate the risk you're taking, but a life debt requires you ensure my safety." Clary states, and I quickly realise what she means." We will agree to go alone, but if we find this alternate Portal, I doubt we will be able to face Valentine alone" she argues and I nod, standing next to her, a solidarity that Meliorn understands.
"If you find the Portal, you may come back for him. Shadowhunter's need Seelie permission to go through. Only demons can pass through unaided." Meliorn says, and I smile graciously at him, knowing that he was risking more than most would to help us, and that his help could possibly be exactly what we need to find our mother and stop Valentine.
Clary and I step forwards, inches from the portal that will take us god knows where.
I grab Clary's hand in reassurance, and smile gratefully when she grips back, knowing that I had my sister with me in this. We take on final glance back at Jace and Meliorn, both of who shoot us a comforting look, before we nodding to one another.
Before we have time to change our minds, we step forwards, instantly consumed by a whirlwind of colour.
Um...
Not me posting a third update, what??
Lmao, hii guys.
I hope you enjoyed the chapter, I always loved the episode of Clary going into the other dimension and knew that I had to involve it in my story and put Cam in too. Make sure you stick around for the next chapter, especially if you're trying to see some Camlec happiness... I'll leave that there for you to ponder :)
Make sure you VOTE, COMMENT and SHARE.
And I will see you lovelies soon x