Royal Dilemma

Treachery Forced

Tradition had dictated Alexander Lightwood's hasty appointment to the throne. However Valentine now believed that disregarding one tradition to save an entire way of life was the lesser of two evils. Everyday the false King took them closer to disaster, filling their sacred Palace with filth and promoting the pollution of their blood.

Alexander spoke about the very laws and traditions that formed the base of their whole existences as meant only to be broken. He was pulling shadowhunter women from their place and giving their jobs to mundanes. Valentine refused to eat the food prepared by the mundanes and had started preparing his own meals the moment mundanes took over the Palace kitchens. He hadn't been able to convince either his wife or children to do the same. Nephilim women had no place on the throne, Alec wasn't listening to reason and Valentine wasn't going to idly stand by and watch his world burn.

This is how Valentine came to be standing in the Palace dungeons, knocking on the cell door of Vlad Starkweather, the spy Valentine himself had captured. He held a metal rod in his hand and was running it along the cell bars, making quite a racket. Valentine grinned as he saw Vlad sleeping on the stone floor stir, though he remained lying on the thin layer of hay against the stone.

"Oh, good you're awake," Valentine smirked, knowing there wasn't a soul alive in this world who could sleep through that.

"What do you want?" Vlad spat at him, clearly annoyed to be awoken.

"Oh, so many things," Valentine smiled. "But at the moment I want to protect my family from the King's tyranny."

"Ha!" Vlad scoffed. "You locked me up for your king. I don't believe you."

"A different king," Valentine explained calmly. "My granddaughter will not grow up in this foul mixed blood world Alexander wants to create. And you are going to help me."

"And what makes you think I will help you?" Vlad scoffed rolling over on the ground to face away from Valentine.

"Well, for starters, there isn't going to be a ransom," Valentine whispered and he could see Vlad stiffen. "You won't be going home with a slap on the wrist and a scolding for being caught. It will take more than an empty coin bag to get you out of here, royal blood or not. The new world our false king is trying to create will end such practices forever."

"I don't trust you," Vlad said, standing up in his cell and facing Valentine.

"Fair enough," Valentine replied civilly. "Why would you? But listen. Did you notice that constant hum of human voices? Have you thought about why there are suddenly so many more people living near you?"

"No," Vlad admitted.

"There are mundanes living in the Palace," Valentine stated. "Mundanes being encouraged and rewarded to marry into the royal family." He spat on the ground, furious at the thought. "New laws threatening to destroy the balance of our society, the diplomatic relations between our people."

"And what do you expect me to do about this?" Vlad asked.

"I want to go with you to your country," Valentine explained. "Ally myself with your nation and together we can take down the false king rotting my ancestor's throne."

"Why do you need me though?" Vlad asked, distrust in his eyes. "You could just go on your own."

"If you vouch for me your leaders will accept my defection without suspicion," Valentine explained. "With my help you can't fail to overthrow King Alec and once I rule here you can be sure this country to be the most trusted and loyal ally of yours." He paused waiting for it all to sink in. "I am offering you freedom, glorious victory and friendship. What do you say?" He could see in the spy's eyes that he wanted it bad. They gazed at each other for a moment, sizing each other up before Vlad held out his hand through the bars.

"Deal," he said. Valentine shook the extended hand, then opened the cell door with the set of keys on his belt.

Together they left the dungeons and went around the Palace, past the mundanes being trained in the courtyard by Lucian and Amatis, past the mundane maids carrying laundry from the river, taking the jobs meant for the women of the royal family. They reached the back gate leaving the Palace grounds and the shield's protection without being noticed or so Valentine thought. As they got closer he saw a lone figure standing between him and the way out. Valentine stepped forward prepared to leave the Palace by force if needed, before he recognized who was under the hood.

"Jonathan," Valentine spoke his son's name.

"Please don't do this, dad," Jonathan pleaded with his father. Valentine wasn't surprised. He'd been watching his son closely lately and his worry had grown with each passing day. Jonathan was too often speaking to a young mundane girl who worked in the kitchens. He had always known his wife and daughter would not be able to see the changes for what they really were, but he'd hoped maybe his son had more sense. It seemed a pair of pretty eyes were all it took to make Jonathan forget everything Valentine had ever taught him.

"Get out of my way," Valentine said firmly.

"No," Jonathan said.

"Come with me then," Valentine suggested, but his son squirmed at the idea, mumbling something about his mother, sister and a 'Rose.' Valentine hoped in vain that Rose wasn't the mundane serving girl.

"She is not for you," Valentine barked. "You hear me. No son of mine will lay with a mundane. No grandchild of mine with be of tainted blood."

"It isn't, though," Jonathan pleaded with him again. "King Alec's discovery means that-"

"Nothing!" Valentine snapped. "Now move out of my way or I will make you."

"So you are really abandoning mom, Clary, and baby Adele?" Jonathan replied harshly, the begging in his voice gone now.

"I am doing this for them," Valentine replied. "You don't understand. Move aside."

"No," Jonathan said firmly. Valentine knew that look in his son's eyes. Jonathan wasn't going to move for anything and Valentine wouldn't be surprised if he'd already sounded an alarm. He needed to act fast, but though he'd been willing to knock out a stranger to escape, his first born was another matter.

That was when Vlad acted. He moved with the speed of a striking snake, knocking Jonathan unconscious in a single movement. As Valentine watched his son fall to the ground he reassured himself that Jonathan would be fine, waking only with a headache.

It had to be done, though he was glad he hadn't been the one to do it. Vlad gesturing to Valentine to follow him and together they moved through the gate and out past the shield.

So yes that was a very short chapter, but you guys didn't really want a long Valentine POV chapter right? This is moving the plot along like one of those scenes in tv shows where you see what the evil is up to.

Sneak Peek Chapter 16

They stayed quite late before doing home. Upon exiting the portal and stepping onto his front yard Magnus saw a note stuck to his door. It seemed Alec had come to visit while they'd been out. Magnus realized as she took the note down and went into that he and Alexander needed a better form of communication than Alec just showing up and hoping Magnus was home, especially now that Max was older.

The next day Magnus suspected Alec would try again so he stayed home, and looked up and performed a spell he hadn't needed in so long he couldn't remember. By the time Alec walked in the door Magnus had two glowing light blue pieces of paper on his desk.