Clockwork Princess

I'm obsessed with the Victorian world of Cassandra Clare's Infernal Devices series, and I don't think I can wait to find out what happens, so I'm going to write my only little version. Stay tuned, and if you haven't read any of Cassandra Clare's books yet - do it!

WARNING! CONTAINS MANY SPOILERS FOR BOTH CLOCKWORK ANGEL AND CLOCKWORK PRINCE

PROLOGUE

Tessa Gray was never miserable. Even when she was in the Dark Sisters clutches, she had never felt sorry for herself. But she decided to make an exception, just this once, for her heart was breaking. 

"Miss Gray?" Sophie knocked on the door of her bedroom in the Institute. It still seemed strange to Tessa how this was her home now. Surely when she and Jem were married, they would find somewhere to live on their own? But that could hardly be possible. There was no way they could ever have a family, for Tessa was a warlock and therefore infertile. This fact still made her stomach drop as if she were descending a hill too fast in a carraige.

And with Jem so ill, they would need a source of the yin fen, and as much as Tessa loved her fianceé, she feared she would not be able to face an ifrit den alone. Of course, she could bring Will with her. But then of course, she couldn't.

The thought of Will made her heart ache and a murmur of pain escaped her lips. 

"Miss Gray, are you alright? Shall I fetch Charlotte?" Sophie asked, rushing towards her bedside. Tessa wanted to wallow in self-pity, just for once, to let all her losses of the past few months consume her: Aunt Harriet, Nate, and finally, the death of her heart. But she could not take pity.

"No, thank you, Sophie," Tessa said, meaning to sound polite, but sounding weak and sick. Perhaps she was truly coming down with something, her whole body unable to cope anymore.

She had been in this sorry state for four days now, cacooned in the fine sheets of her bed, her burnt hand still wrapped tightly in gauze, her heart breaking. Jem had come to the door to inquire about her health more than once, but she would not let him in, for surely he would ask how she was, and she could not tell her husband-to-be why her heart was so shattered.

Charlotte was overly concerned too, ignoring Tessa's protests and visiting her regurally. Charlotte knew, of course she knew, that this was not an illness of the body, but of the mind. She had not called for the Silent Brothers' help as one normally would have in this situation, but asked Tessa over and over again if she wanted to discuss the engagement. Tessa had not answered.

Henry, hectic as ever, had not even noticed Tessa's abscence at dinner, seemingly, according to Sophie. When Jem had explained to Henry that she was sick in bed, he had paled somewhat, assuming it was because of the attack in the tea warehouse weeks ago, and that it was his fault. Of course, it wasn't.

The concern from her Institute family made Tessa feel sick with guilt, but she could not bring herself to get up, to face the world. Not quite yet. Yesterday, she had stood up, cautiously, slowly, but as soon as she saw the copy of the book Will had given her what seemed like forever ago, she had slumped again.

The one thing keeping Tessa down was not the fact that Will hadn't visited her door, inquiring about her health like the others. She hadn't expected him to. It was the fact that without Tessa around, Will seemed to be 'quite merry', as Sophie had put it. Tessa had brought herself to asking about his welfare yesterday, asking her handmaid:

"Sophie... how... how is Will?" Tessa's voice had sounded pathetic to her ears.

"I would usually reply with a smart comment about his behaviour Miss Gray, but... lately... Mr. Herondale seems quite... happy, I suppose. Carefree. Merry, that's the word. Merry."

Tessa's heart had sunk further. "How so?"

"He is particulary jolly at dinner, cracking jokes and laughing even more so than usual..." Sophie seemed to trail off, and Tessa hoped she hadn't noticed the colour draining from her face. "Why do you ask, Miss Gray?"

Tessa could not answer. She couldn't tell Sophie what had conspired in the library the day her hand had been burnt and the day her heart had been broken. She couldn't tell her about the love she had for both these boys, and why she was stuck in an engagement she could not undo. She couldn't tell her that Will's merry behaviour due to her abscence had made her stomach turn unnaturally and her heart burn abnormally.

"No reason, Sophie," Tessa whimpered, turning into her pillow to hide her tears. "No reason at all."