Guess who's updating her fanfiction for the first time in like a year or so! I haven't checked this site for quite a while but curiosity got the best of me today and I realized I hadn't touched this story since April 2012. Awkward.

So, here's chapter 3, two years later. My writing has somewhat changed and I'm aware that the first two chapters are a hot mess. Ah well, I'm just gonna roll with what I had, even though I can't remember where I was going with it. One more thing, this is unedited. I'll probs go back later.

Happy reading!

Chapter 3

Clary wasn't a runner.

The fact that people did it for personal recreational enjoyment was one trend she couldn't understand. And yet, here she was, running. In heels. Through pitch black darkness. The only thoughts inside her head were along the lines of "Shitshitshit" and "Did Valentine see me? He definitely did."

In the midst of it all, Clary failed to notice the body of water in her path, and into the lake she fell. Freezing water immediately surrounded her, dragging her downward into nothingness. She flailed her arms and kicked her legs, but to no avail. Her last ounce of energy drained out of her. Clary was drowning.

Until she wasn't.

Strong hands suddenly grasped hers and pulled her back up to the surface. Sputtering and coughing, Clary struggled to get air back into her lungs. Wiping the water out of her eyes, she found herself face to face with Prince Jace.

"Hey, hey, you're okay. It's okay. You're safe now," he cooed, gently pushing her hair out of her face.

"Thanks," was all Clary managed to say before swallowing what felt like another gallon of water. Jace immediately took her hand, and together they swam back to the shoreline.

Minutes later, they were both standing again, drenched and breathless. "So," Clary broke the silence, "how much does it cost to get a lake in your backyard?"

The Prince chuckled, a sound she found to be beautiful. "I'm not sure, but I am missing a kidney, so perhaps my father sold it to pay for one." After a pause, he asked, "Why did you run in the first place? Was it the two guys from across the room that I saw you glance at?"

Clary nodded. "That was my stepdad and brother. I'm not supposed to be here."

"Well," Prince Jace replied with a grin, "I'm glad you showed up. I've held so many parties and dances that there's no more life to them. It's all the same; drunk adults and their drunker children."

"Then why do you throw them if they're so boring?" Clary retorted.

"In hopes of meeting someone like you," he said, his smile softening.

Clary could feel her cheeks turn bright red, matching her hair color. She whistled. "Wow, aren't you smooth. Does that line work on all the ladies?"

Jace laughed. "Usually. It had a 100% success rate, but I guess it's 99.9% now. Anyway, meeting you is the most exciting thing that has happened during any of my parties."

Clary raised an eyebrow. "What, is saving drowning girls your idea of a fun time?"

"Yes, actually. It burns calories while boosting my ego."

"Can your ego be any bigger though?"

"Hm. Touché."

The music from inside the ballroom, harmonious sounds of violin strings, drifted to the backyard, and Jace offered his hand in an elegant prince-like manner. "May I have this dance?"

Clary laughed and placed her hand in his, as if she could ever say no to the boy who'd just saved her life. Together, with the moon as their single spotlight, they waltzed, if you could even call it waltzing. It was more like Jace effortlessly gliding across the grass while dragging a stumbling Clary along with him.

They danced until her hair came undone from its elaborate up-do, until he shrugged his jacket off because it was far too warm, until one of her glass shoes slipped off her foot, until the music had ceased from inside the mansion, until all they could see was each other and nothing more.

Until it was 11:59.

They were resting their foreheads against one another's, Clary's arms around his neck and Jace's wrapped around her waist. "You do know how to throw a party," she said.

"You do know how to turn a mere get-together into a party. I don't think I've ever danced for a solid two hours."

"What time is it now?" she grinned.

"A minute 'till midnight."

The smile on her lips immediately faded and her emerald eyes widened in panicked remembrance of Isabelle's words. "All this prettiness disappears at midnight, Clary."

He noticed the change in her expression and frowned. "What's wrong?"

Clary hurriedly broke out of his embrace. "I have to go, I'm sorry!" With only one single stiletto, she ran out as if her life depended on it. Because her life did depend on it. If she wasn't home before Valentine and Sebastian, she was dead.

The sound of a clock chiming midnight faintly reached her ears, and she could feel the silkiness of the gown turn back into rags, the jewelry hung on her neck and wrists falling away into nothing. The only thing remaining was the one shoe on her foot.

Clary ran, unaware of the heartbroken prince she'd left behind her.

Jace stood alone in the grass, staring blankly in the direction that his mystery girl had fled. "I'm an idiot. I didn't even ask for her last name or where she was from," he muttered to himself.

Through the cloud of sadness that hung around him, he saw the glint of the moonlight reflecting off an object. Jace walked closer.

A single glass slipper.

I missed writing and this website as a whole. Last book of the series comes out in a few days, so I guess this is my preparation for it. Let me know what you guys think! And to user Delphinium14, guess there was a chance after all!