Not Another Fairchild *Jace Wayland Love Story* [1]

The Mortal Cup Part IV

Pain. All she could feel was pain. Not a sharp, quick pain, but an immense, lingering pain that had you begging for death just so it would end. She didn't know what started it, a vague flash of a face before everything became fuzzy around the edges, like a burnt Polaroid picture.

"Sh," a voice cooed as fingers ran through her sweat soaked hair, "just a little bit longer." The voice was sweet, too sweet, sweet enough that her young mind drew comfort from it but with a lingering bitterness that had her mind screaming at her to get away from its owner.

She felt her back arch, her eight-year-old body trying to fight whatever poison was running through her veins in a vain attempt to make the pain stop.

A whimper left her lips as the pain abruptly stopped, turning into a dull throbbing and her little body sunk into the plush mattress. She barely felt the Iratze being activated, barely felt the dip in the bed as the sickly-sweet voice returned. But she did hear the words spoken to her next, words that would follow her for the rest of her life.

"Not long now," the voice purred, "you're becoming the perfect weapon. A monster disguised as an angel."

***

Lizzy startled awake, the dream fading from her mind faster than she could cling to it. Her eyes darted around the room, her mind not yet caught up with her being conscious. So, it was no surprise when Lizzy rolled from the bed, a litany of curses falling from her lips when she collided with the ground after her eyes had landed on the brunette sitting in an armchair at the end of the bed.

"Who the hell are you?" she questioned briskly, not bothering to get off the floor where both she and the blanket had fallen. Lizzy looked around the room again, her forehead creased as she tried to make sense of what was happening, "where the hell am I?" She glanced down at her body and frowned, "what the hell am I wearing?"

Finally, the fuzziness lifted from her mind and the events of before she passed out hit her like a train. "Clary!" Lizzy exclaimed, scrambling to her feet. She fought for balance, her legs wobbling like a baby giraffe taking its first steps, before she bolted over the bed.

"Hey!"

Lizzy ignored the gorgeous brunette as she ran from the room, her mind vaguely registering that it was the same brunette she had bumped into the other day. She ran passed several people, all of them looking at her curiously as she called for her little sister.

"Clary!" she screamed again, turning a corner only to run into a black-clad wall. "Woah!" she exclaimed as she felt herself falling back only to have calloused hands grab her by the elbows and steady her. Lizzy fisted the black fabric of the walls shirt and looked up into very blue, very unfamiliar, eyes. She frowned, letting go of the guy's shirt and taking a step back when he let her go, managing to catch herself on the actual wall before she could fall on her arse again.