Part 3 of Come Home, Clary!

Slowly, Clary made his way back to Sforzendo, moving as if he was in pain. Indeed, he was in horrible pain. To make the story of his capture and torture believable, Clary had submitted himself to a set of long and torturous beatings. He was now covered in bruises, welts and cuts, but he labored to reach Sforzendo nonetheless.

At last, a wagoneer saw him and stopped The wagoneer insisted that Clary ride with him to Sforzendo, and allowed him to lay in the back of his wagon in a soft bed of hay. With mock sweetness, Clary thanked the fellow, before retiring to the back of the wagon.

After a short ride, the wagoneer told him that they had reached the castle of Sforzendo. Carefully, Clary climbed out the back of the wagon, and thanked the wagoneer. He then stood before the gates and called to the soldiers in the battlements. The soldiers immediately recognized him, and opened the gates to allow hm entrance. They rushed out to meet him, checking to make sure that his injuries were not fatal and telling him the joyful news. Queen Horn had been found! She had merely fainted after a particularly strenous magic ritual, and therefore could not answer when she was summoned. The soldiers then carried their wounded leader into the castle.

Queen Horn quickly found out the news of Clary's return and sent for him. Clary came as summoned, and knelt before the Queen in her private meeting chambers.

Upon seeing Clary's wounds, she gasped. "They are not as bad as they look, Horn sama," Clary assured her. He looked up at her with now blue eyes and smiled. Bass had thought to disguise his now red eyes with a spell that would make them appear to be their normal color.

"Clary, I am glad to see that you are home safely. I feared the worst when I heard that you had been captured," Queen Horn said softly.

"Excellent. Tonight we shall hold a ball to celebrate your return," Queen Horn said smiling. "But for now, you must rest and allow time to heal."

"Hai, Horn-sama," Clary said, and rose to leave. He stumbled up to his bedroom. He barely managed to strip off his torn and bloody clothes before falling into bed and pulling the covers over his head.

"A ball, the perfect time for you to carry out your test," Bass's voice whispered softly in his head. And as Clary listened closely, Bass outlined the plan for him.

After Clary left, Queen Horn sat in silence for several minutes. She then gently touched a bell that was hanging beside her throne. As its ringing filled the air, Hamel and Princess Flute entered through the very doors that Clary had left through only a few minutes before. "It is as I feared," she said seriously. "I am aware that Clary is an excellent escape artist, but I do not think he would be able to escape Hamelin as easily as he says. Worse yet, I sensed a small amount of dark magic in his aura. It is not much, but it is enough to a mind control spell."

"You think Bass allowed Clary to escape?" Hamel said, raising his eyebrows.

"To be honest, I am not entirely sure. Therefore, I want you and Flute to watch him closely for anysigns of odd behavior," Queen Horn said thoughtfully.

Hamel and Flute nodded their understanding, and turned to leave.