Distractions

Five: Two Sides of the Hotel Dumort

When she woke up, it was not to a pounding headache as she had expected. Instead, it was to soft classical music playing and the feeling of crushed velvet under her bare shoulders. She shivered slightly as she sat up, waiting for the unbearable pain that never came. She stared around the room in awe; it was gorgeous. There were red velvet couches, black tables, and gold knick-knacks lining the empty shelves on the walls. She tried to stand, but someone she hadn't seen before rushed over to her side and pushed her back down gently.

"Sit, Escritora. You'll hurt yourself if you do not," a gentle, slightly accented voice told her.

Everest looked up, shock and disbelief written plainly across her features. The voice belonged to a boy, who looked around her age, with curly black hair and amber colored skin. His eyes shone with care and love, though there was some regret intertwined within. She knew this boy, had known him almost as long as she had known Isabelle. She knew how and when his accent got stronger, when the gentle voice he used now went away and was replaced with a cold one that was almost unrecognizable to the voice she knew so well. Everest knew who this boy was, personality, looks, habits, and all. It was Raphael Santiago; the boy who had been taken from her all those years ago by the strange woman in the alleyway and the one she called her brother.

"Raphael..." she breathed, not entirely believing the sight in front of her. She had dreamed and imagined being reunited with him before, but never had she ever truly thought it would happen.

"Escritora...Everest." Raphael smiled at her sadly.

"How—what—why—I don't get it!" Everest cried out. Her arms wrapped around her stomach and she pulled her legs to her chest. She laid her head on her knees, barely noticing the cold hands on her upper arms.

"Everest, I need you to calm down for me alright? I'll explain everything, you just have to let go of your stomach and put your legs down," Raphael coaxed her.

It took a few minutes, but the girl did as he asked. She looked up at him, her jade colored eyes shining with unshed tears and her hair nearly entirely out of her French braids. It made for a truly pitiful sight, she was sure.

Raphael just smiled sadly at her again, pulling her into his arms tightly. He whispered sweet nothings into her ear to calm her down, just as he did when she was little. And just as it did then, it calmed her within moments, the familiar voice making her feel safe. She pulled away slightly, just enough that she could look at his face, and he looked down at her too. He didn't look her directly in the eyes, for which she was grateful, but he still gave her his undivided attention.

"Would you like me to explain what happened that night?" he asked her quietly. All she did was nod.

"The first thing you should know is that I'm a vampire." Raphael waited for the gasp of surprise, the rejection, but he needn't have worry. Everest just nodded for him to continue, knowing that he'd explain more if she didn't interrupt. "I was turned when I was young, nearly 16, but because of how I dress, act, and speak, I'm able to pass as 18 if I need to. When I met you when you were 7, I had no idea who you were. You had strawberry blonde hair with bright pink ends and you hardly looked like Jocelyn Fairchild.

"As I got to know you, you wormed your way to a special place in my heart; one only my family had gotten to before. Once I learned of your heritage, I was put off yes, but that didn't stop me from being close with you. You were raised a mundane, with no knowledge of the Downworld or of your own kind. You didn't even know your best friend was a Shadowhunter."

"Yeah, that was a surprise," Everest muttered. Raphael laughed, his chest rumbling with the action.

"I bet it was." His laughter slowed as he continued with his story. "That night in the alleyway was one of the worst nights of my life. Camille, the clan leader, despised that I was interacting with the mundane world so much. So she followed me that night. I'm sure you know the rest."