The next morning, Victor woke up feeling refreshed. He jumped out of bed and took a long shower before he finally stepped out, finding the french woman standing in the middle of the room with his clothes.
"Pauline, you- you don't knock, do you?" he asked, slightly embarrassed of the situation.
"Your clothes, Mr. Abbot. I just thought you might need them as soon as possible." she answered with no reaction whatsoever to his nakedness.
Victor watched her put the suit on the bed before she turned around and left, as if she was controlled. Afterwards, he looked at his suit, clean and with a faint scent of lavender coming out of the fabric. He put it on and smiled, feeling like he was a part of the elegance he was surrounded by.
It didn't occur to him, but guests don't usually wake up so early. It wasn't even 8 o'clock and many doors were shut and halls were empty and silent. Victor walked downstairs and arranged his hair one last time in the mirror before he went into the restaurant, hoping someone was there. Thankfully, he met Abel who was grumpily setting the tables while murmuring different curses under his breath.
"Good morning," Victor greeted the boy.
In return, Abel almost dropped a set of silver forks on his feet.
"You woke up too early, sir. Breakfast will be taken at 10 o'clock sharp."
"10? Isn't breakfast usually taken at 8?" he asked curiously, trailing after Abel.
"Not here, it isn't. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to finish this in time." Abel answered as politely as he could before he walked to another table, further from the new guest.
Victor sat at a nearer table with less chairs. He only waited ten minutes or so by himself before another person entered the restaurant.
"Evan! An early riser too?" Victor asked, his eyes glinting at the face of the older man.
"I wouldn't say so, no. I like to sleep late, I always do but on certain mornings I need to sneak out before anyone wakes up. You know what I mean," continued Evan, throwing a tricksy look from the corner of his eye.
"An eventful night, hm?" asked Victor, already knowing what Evans has done the whole night.
Evan laughed loudly before he winked playfully at his new friend.
"Let's do something today, Victor. Let's go to the lake."
Victor leaned over the table with a glint of excitement in his eyes.
"There is a lake nearby?" He asked, just like a child.
"Of course! We'll go right after lunch. We can skip dinner since the twilight at the lake is something you need to see." Evan added, growing a bit excited himself. The Irishman smiled before he glanced around, "Now, where is that famous coffee of Abel?"
Right when he was called, Abel walked out of the kitchen with a trail of fresh fruits, tea and coffee.
"Ah, I love this hotel," Evan said with a happy sigh.
Throughout the period of time he spent with Evan at breakfast, Victor learned a few important details about that hotel.
"Only special people are guests because it is pretty expensive." Evan said, "If you look around you carefully, you'll see only men and women of high status in society. Of course, you may not recognize them but they are the ones working from the shadows."
"So, they're all rich and powerful and influential. But how come I haven't heard anything about it? I've been in Italy for a year and I have met people such as these. Nobody said a word about this hotel." Victor started, confused how such a beauty escaped him.
"It happens. Sometimes, you're so busy with life that you pass by incredible locations without realizing." Was the answer of the older man while he looked down at the liquid in his teacup.
"And? What else is there to know?" Victor continued his questioning.
"This hotel has everything for everyone; not many children come because it's seen as a place to escape the tumultuous family or business life. Overall, it is a place to escape reality." Evan added a few minutes later before gulping down his second cup of coffee. "Women and men come here for affairs sometimes. Granted to the location on a hill, it doesn't draw attention. The domain is large and most of the time people pass without seeing it."
"What about the staff?"
"The only staff members are the twins, Pauline and Guillermo. At least they are the only people I have seen. The manager of the hotel is a young woman who inherited it from her father. I don't know what her name is. I only saw her once. She's always busy doing whatever she does but I heard she is a true beauty and she manages the hotel very well. Everyone calls her Mistress."
That was enough information given away. Evan chose not to venture into details and by the look in Victor's eyes, it was best to let the young guest search the answers by himself.
After breakfast, Victor returned to his halls and corridors, keen to discover everything there was to this hotel starting with the first floor. When he passed the big mirror in front of the L shaped stairs, he couldn't help but take a glance into it. His reflection was the same yet different but he couldn't quite point out why he was getting that feeling.
Once he got on the first floor, he couldn't help but go for the grand piano. It was an amazing piece and someone played it the night before. The carpet was different but not by much and the walls near the stairs were empty but as he was getting deeper down the corridor, he could remark more and more paintings; portraits to be exact. They were all drawn in a way that would make the viewer feel watched.
Once he got in the corridor that was separating three halls, he smiled at the sight of the piano; no one was there but he did notice a lamp on it. The guest looked above when he heard music coming from the second floor.
On the way back to the stairs, Victor passed an important portrait but he didn't even glance at it.
As he was getting closer to the second floor, the music became louder. He smiled and ventured down the hall. Unlike the first floor, the second had sculptures as decor. He saw miniature versions of some great pieces from all over the world, made carefully, to the smallest detail.
Victor was ready to enter the living area when someone collided into him. It was Kain. He bowed his head as apology and ran away but Victor got dizzy from that friction. Kain wasn't a big guy but he was a man nonetheless and the collision wasn't exactly light.
Anyway, Victor had a mission; he only got the chance to take a step forward when someone else interrupted.
"Hey, Victor! Let's go see the lake!"
Victor frowned. The music stopped and he was forced to abort his mission.
When he got down, he couldn’t help but give Evan the mean eye. The man chuckled while putting on the coat
“Did I interrupt something?” Victor’s gaze only intensified, amusing the Irish man, “Alright, so I did. Was it something interesting?”
“Yes. It was.”
Evan shrugged and waited for his new friend to get a coat. Much like before, the receptionist told Victor to take one from the back room. Victor smiled at Guillermo and thanked him before he hurried after Evan.
“He has no idea,” Guillermo heard Abel comment from the side.
The young receptionist blinked and turned back to his business.
“No one does, until she shows up.” He mumbled as he moved a few files from one side to the other.
Abel nodded and walked back into the restaurant.
“That’s amazing!”
They weren’t even close to the lake when Victor said that. He could finally see how the hotel looked like and what was so special about the domain.
“It’s so large and beautiful!” He exclaimed in awe.
Evan chuckled and put his hands in his pockets.
“And it’s in the middle of nowhere.” The Irish man added but Victor brushed that comment aside.
“I can’t believe I never noticed it. I researched almost every hotel in Rome and around it and never once did I think I'll find something so unique.” The guest started.
Evan stopped and watched him closely. Victor was just like a child. He was going everywhere he could see, gasping at the beauty of the building.
“No one does. You pass it without a thought and when you finally see it, you know.” The older man mumbled, shivering when the wind picked up.
Victor walked closer to his new friend and shuddered, as well.
“What do you know?”
Evan’s expression changed. It wasn’t very obvious –or maybe Victor was dense- but his whole figure became ghostly.
“It attracts you slowly with the biggest temptations. There’s nothing this hotel can’t get for you and the comfort is high quality. You return once, twice and at some point, you find it difficult to leave. In no time, you find yourself engulfed in the magic of it.”
Victor listened Evan closely but he only extracted the things he liked. He didn’t read between the lines.
Evan raised his head and stared at the hotel; it looked brand new, like it didn’t have a few decades behind. He noticed a woman watching them from the window. She was behind the curtain but he could see her eyes; those hauntingly green eyes.
They walked through the forest, on a fresh path. At some point, it forked in four more paths but Evan seemed to know the way very well.
“You come here often, don’t you?” asked the younger man curiously.
“I don’t have a choice. This place holds my soul.”
Victor nodded and patted his friend on the back before walking a little bit faster and leaving Evan a few feet behind. The Irish man wasn’t joking when he said that. It was the truth; it wasn’t only him, either. That was the reality he was living in.
The forest was old and it was mainly formed of old trees. It looked really calm and nice by day but Victor was sure it was the opposite at night. If anything, it looked like one of the old forests in ancient books. Victor couldn’t help but remember his mother’s fairy tales.
“My mother used to tell me stories when I was young,” Evan raised an eyebrow and walked next to his friend, listening curiously, “She used to tell me about Greek gods and their adventures and wars.” Victor continued,“She told me once the story of Pan.”
Evan was curious where that was going.
“Pan?” He asked uncertain.
“Pan was the god of the wild, hunting and companion of the nymphs. He was depicted as being half human, while having the legs and horns of a goat, just like a faun.” Victor continued. He could still hear his mother’s voice if he closed his eyes.
“Tonight, I will tell you about Pan.”
Little Victor stared at his mother in confusion.
“Peter Pan?”
The older woman chuckled and shook her head.
“No. This is another Pan. One who loved nature; whose home was a forest.”
Little Victor frowned, “Isn’t that unhygienic?”
The woman raised an eyebrow in surprise,“Where did you learn such a big word?” He only blinked innocently as her eyes narrowed playfully, “Did you enter my library again?”
He bit his lips and kept the puppy eyes, hoping it would help him.
The woman chuckled and decided to brush it off, “According to a myth, one day he came across a beautiful nymph called Syrinx. He tried to seduce her, but she managed to run away. Followed by the god, she sought refuge among her sisters, who transformed her into a reed. When the wind started blowing, a melody was produced. Pan, not knowing which reed Syrinx was transformed into, took seven or nine of them and joined them side by side in decreasing length, thus creating his musical instrument that bore the name of the nymph.”
She changed the subject and told him the story instead of making him feel guilty. That was probably what made her such an amazing mother; she was using stories not punishments.
“So he didn’t end up with the girl?”
The woman stared incredibly at her son, “Who knows?”
Little Victor got on his feet on the bed and bloated with pride.
“I will find my girl, mom. And I will fight for her. I will get her in the end!” He said proudly.
The woman watched her son with love and amusement.
“I’m sure you will.”
Evan stared at his friend as he smiled to himself remembering something from his childhood, something that made him happy. Evan wanted that too. He’s been in the hotel for so long that he couldn’t even remember how his mother looked. He missed her, though, he really missed having a life.
While Victor was still reminiscing old times, Evan heard a branch crack. He narrowed his eyes and warily scanned the surroundings. The Irish man heard another branch crack and a few crows flied over them, eyes watching him but not dangerously so. Evan glanced behind at a certain tree; in that white cover of snow, he saw two blue eyes. They were being watched by one of her slaves.
When they finally got to the lake, Victor couldn’t help but gasp again, making Evan laugh at his childish reaction; besides, the lake was frozen. What was indeed beautiful was the landscape. Victor swore he saw it before.
“It’s a little bit early. It gives us enough time to bond, don’t you think?” Evan’s easy going tone and attitude made Victor feel like he was teenager all over again.
“Manly bonding, eh?”
Evan winked and leaned against a tree, lighting up a cigarette.
“What are they doing?”
Kain and Abel glanced at each other before they turned to the chair; it was one of those high back chairs made from expensive red tapestry. The woman was hiding behind it and they could only see her hand, swaying along the music.
“Nothing. They’re going to the lake.” Abel responded.
They heard her hum along the music before she continued to speak in that elegant voice.
“Did Evan say something unnecessary?”
Abel looked at his brother and urged him to tell her something so they could leave.
“No. He didn’t say anything. They’re talking about some stupid stories about Greek gods.”
She chuckled and put her hand down before she got up and stopped the gramophone. The woman turned towards them with those big green eyes of hers, the twins freezing as soon as they looked into them.
“Good. Keep an eye on our special guest and don’t let him walk away.” The woman ordered. They bowed and walked to their duties. She sighed sat down, smiling to herself, “No one walks away from my hotel.”
ns 15.158.61.12da2
