Ah, the Grand Budapest Hotel, in the peak of it's season. The building was filled wall to wall with rich, important, and sophisticated people. The halls, main lobby, and bar were filled with the sounds of talking, laughter, moving luggage and glasses clinking. There was a light haze of smoke around the hotel from all of the cigarettes. It was not enough to make it hard to breath, but just enough to be smelled by those within the building. It was a beautiful assortment of noises for the young man known as Gustav.

This was his fourth season working as a Lobby Boy in this fine establishment. He was extremely well liked by all of the guests and all of his coworkers as well. He was a bright young man, strong and charming. His eyes were immensely kind and seemed to glimmer with hope and excitement. He was always eager to help everyone in any way he could. He never complained about his duties, nor would he ever. He flattered and pampered every guest who was brought before him, which was of course, all of them at one point or another. He took deep pleasure in making his guests happy and comfortable. Gustav was busy at work, arranging bags upon a luggage cart. He worked fast, but he also worked efficiently. None of the bags were going to fall or be crushed. He was extremely good at his job. He looked up for a brief moment in order to wipe the sweat from his brow with his purple sleeve.

That was when he saw her across the building. It was like the parting of the Red Sea. Everyone seemed to step aside all at once in order for him to gaze upon the stunning beauty who had just entered. The glow of the sun entering from the door behind made her look like an angel. Her bright red hair seemed to burn and blaze like wildfire in the sunlight. It was almost as if a halo was around her lovely head. He could not help but to stare at her from across the hotel. Never in all of his life had he seen a beauty like this. She could not have been older than eighteen. Her eyes were as bright and deep as the tropical forests of the Amazon jungle. He was surprised at how vibrant her eyes were from this distance. Her cheeks were smooth, round, slightly flushed and covered in freckles. Her skin was flawless and looked like smooth porcelain. Her hair was in two braids, one over each of her shoulders. It made her look even younger, he assumed. A woman entered the building and stood beside the young girl.

He recognized the woman as Baroness Margaret VanKampf. She was recently widowed when he saw her last, which was about a year ago now. He had no idea that she was old enough to have a child in their late teens. If he remembered correctly, she herself was only about thirty years old. My goodness, this would mean that she had a child when she was twelve years old. There was no way that was possible. Perhaps this was a younger sister, or a cousin.

He quickly grabbed one of his coworkers, Heinrich, and asked him to assist their guest to her room. Heinrich was a rather mousy man, but a fantastic worker. He had dull, gray eyes that always seemed to be focused and studying his surroundings. He was not an overly muscular man, nor was he scrawny. He was average, with sandy blonde hair that was gelled back smoothly. The amount of product in his hair made it look greasy and slippery in the bright lights around them. He nodded his head before he helped load the luggage cart into the small elevator. Gustav hurried over to Baroness Margaret and smiled as he walked to her with open arms.

"Ah, darling, it has been too long!" He said with a heartfelt laugh before he placed his hands on her shoulders. Her coat felt soft beneath his bare hands. It was obviously very well taken care of and expensive.

"I agree, my dearest Gustav." She said with a small smile. She and Gustav kissed one another's cheeks as if they were old friends who had never been parted.

Margaret was a lovely woman, barely over thirty. She had long, blonde hair that was braided down her back and nearly reached her knees. She was wearing a black, fur coat that made her look three times heavier than she really was, at least. She was beautiful, but noticeably aging. Grey hairs had started to show up in her golden head. There were crows feet in the corners of her sapphire eyes. She had a bright shade of "whore red" lipstick on. At least, that was what Gustav called it. He could tell that she was desperate for attention now that her husband was officially deceased. She had been rather needy on her last few trips while her husband was ill. She never lapsed in her loyalty to her husband. As lonely and miserable as she was, she never accepted the company of a man. He released Margaret then and turned towards the younger girl. He could not hide the excitement from his face as he stood so near to the beautiful vision. He wondered what her name was, how old she was, who she was to Margaret, where she was from, etc. All of these thoughts kept running through his mind as he stared down at her. She looked up at him sheepishly for a few moments before looking down at her hands. She brushed a loose lock of hair back behind her right ear nervously. She had never had anyone stare at her like that before.

"It is not like you to travel with a guest, my dear Margaret. Who is this vision of loveliness that you've brought with you?" He asked charmingly as he took the girls hand and kissed her knuckles very tenderly. His lips were soft and his mustache tickled her skin. She only stared at him with wide, horrified eyes. He realized then that she was wearing absolutely no make up, or jewelry, or even nail varnish. Her beauty was completely and utterly natural. He had never seen a woman who was so naturally beautiful before. It was such a rarity in this world to see a woman who didn't think she had to cover her face in product just to appear beautiful.

"What is your name, sweet girl?" He inquired tenderly, still not releasing her hand. He could feel her begin to tremble as she looked up at Margaret. The expression on her face made it very clear that Gustav was making her extremely uncomfortable. He was not used to this kind of a reaction. Usually, women found him to be very charming and kind. They swooned at his feet, for most men were not as kind or as sincere as himself. He wondered what he had done wrong. He did not want to frighten her away. There was so much that he still needed to know.

"This is my step-daughter, Evangeline. She does not speak and she can not hear, my dearest Gustav. I am afraid your words fall on deaf ears." Margaret said frantically before pulling their hands apart and stepping between them. She seemed to be getting very defensive of this young woman. Gustav smiled to himself. He did not know that Margaret was a mother at all, but it pleased him to see that she obviously loved her step-daughter. He thought that it must be hard to love a child like your own when they are not of your flesh and blood. "Do you think you could assist us to our rooms, Gustav?"

"Rooms? You are not staying together?" Gustav inquired with a small raise of his eyebrows. Perhaps he had judged her motherly instinct too early. What kind of a mother doesn't want to share a room with her child? Perhaps, on this visit, she was seeking the company of a man. In that case, it would be justified. No one would want their child to walk in on them in such a position.

"Heavens, No! She is an adult. She requested to be in a room separate from my own. Besides, we are here for her birthday next week. I want to make her as happy as I possible can on this marvelous week." Margaret said with a sweet tone before she looked down at her daughter, stroking her hair tenderly.

"Ah! A birthday! How many candles shall I need for the cake?" Gustav inquired politely. He was genuinely interested in the age of this beauty, and her name, but he did not want to be over zealous and frighten her further. Nor did he want Margaret to be upset with him.

"Seventeen candles. Thank you, Gustav. You always take the best care of your guests. It's hard to believe that you are only a lobby boy." Margret said with a tender smile as she raised a gloved hand to cup the mans cheek.

"Evangeline and I are going to go check in and get our keys. I shall see you in a bit, with our bags, I trust?"

"Of course, Madame. I will deliver your luggage promptly and delicately. As always." He said before bowing politely. He turned from them, towards their bags, trying his best not to watch them walk away.

Margaret and Evangeline turned and walked towards the Concierge desk to check into their rooms. The young girl, the beautiful Evangeline looked back over her shoulder, at Gustav. He thought that she seemed curious about him, but also frightened by him. He realized then, of course she would be frightened! He had taken her hand and kissed her skin. He spoke quickly and she likely had no idea what he had been saying to her. Margret intervening probably made it look as though he said rude things to her. He frowned slightly and took a deep breath before he grabbed a luggage cart and quickly went to work, stacking the heavy, elegant bags on to the cart. He knew that he would need to find a way to win her over. Perhaps he would write poetry for her. It had to mean something if it was hand written. He was going to get through to her, one way or another.

Margaret stood patiently, waiting to retrieve their room keys and she looked over at Evangeline. She could see the look of unease upon her daughter's face and she let out a small sigh. She did not want her daughter to feel upset in such a beautiful building on the week of her birthday. She knew that Gustav was a little bit overwhelming at first, but she did hope that her daughter would learn to appreciate his kindness and loyalty.

"You should be cautious of that man, Eva." She said sternly. "Men like Gustav only want one thing and they are willing to say anything to get it. I know it was rude of me to interject, but trust me, it will be best if he thinks you can not speak or hear during our stay here. It may be enough to convince him to leave you alone all together." She said with a sad smile before cupping her daughters cheek. "Do you promise not to talk with him?" Evangeline did not say a word, but only nodded as she looked up at her mother. A small smile crossed her lips before she looked down at her feet.

Evangeline did not know why she was so stirred up by this Gustav, but she kind of liked it. She was well aware that her mother did not approve of her talking to gentlemen. If she were to marry, all of her father's estate would go to her and her husband. They would be the new Baron and Baroness of their country. Her mother always did her best to keep Evangeline far away from suitors. Margaret feared that she would have to give up everything she had worked so hard for in her life time.

"Here you go, Eva." Margaret said with a tender smile as she handed her daughter the key to her suite. "Gustav should already have your bags in your room." She said tenderly before kissing her daughter upon the forehead. "I will be right down the hall from you. I don't want to leave you completely abandoned in this large fortress of a hotel." She said sweetly.

"Thank you, mom." Evangeline said with a tender smile. Her voice was barely above a whisper before she looked from her mother. She quickly walked towards the hotel elevator and stepped inside. The young man running the hotel seemed to stare at her with wide brown eyes. She only smiled up at him before holding up six fingers. He nodded with a small smile before he stood up straight and started the elevator. Evangeline could see a small blush across his cheeks, where his beard did not quite cover. His facial hair was not very long, but long enough to look full and neat. She had never had a man react so positively to just seeing her before. Was this the same affect she had on Gustav, and he just reacted differently? She smiled to herself and began to play with one of her braids childishly.

The gentleman opened the door not long after that when they arrived on her floor. She smiled and took out a few coins and placed them in his hand for a tip. He smiled and tipped his hat to her before he stood back against the elevator wall to allow her to exit. She stepped out of the elevator and smiled brightly as she looked at the brightly colored hallway. She read the sign on the wall in front of her and crinkled her nose. She looked down at her room key tag and smiled before turning towards her left, and starting down the hallway.

The sounds of the people talking below her rose up and sounded like a comforting hum. She could not make out anyones voice or any conversations, but she did not mind it. She did not much like to overhear specific conversations anyway. This reminded her of when her father threw parties when she was just a child. She took a deep breath when she finally reached her door. She gently traced her finger tips against the smooth wood before inserting the key into the lock. She twisted and heard a small 'click' before she pushed the door open.

Before she could even see anything, the smell of fresh lilac filled her nostrils. She pushed the door open further and stared at the room with wide eyes. There were flowers everywhere. She hurried over to a vase that held a bouquet that sat upon the small desk beside the couch. She took a deep breath of the flowers and let their scent calm and sooth her. She closed her eyes and tenderly brushed her nose against the petals. She giggled to herself softly before she stood up straight again and looked around her large, extravagant room.

There was a large, queen sized bed, complete with banisters and curtains that were tied to them. She thought that those would be a lovely thing to have. The sun would not wake her up early in the morning. There was a large vanity mirror upon a long dresser and her bags were stacked neatly next to it. It was almost as if someone knew that was where she would put her clothes. There were two larger dressers, one on each side of the bed. They seemed to be freshly varnished and appeared to be made of Oak. There was a large, bay window directly in front of the door to enter this room and she loved it. She hurried over to it and quickly sat down upon the ledge. There was a soft, pink cushion that sat upon the ledge and a couple of light purple pillows as well.

"I do hope that you find everything in this room to be to your liking." A mans voice called from behind her.

She gasped and jumped in surprise. She turned around and grabbed one of the pillows, throwing it towards the voice almost instantly. Gustav caught the pillow and laughed quietly as he flattened it out and walked towards her. He placed the pillow beside her and smiled at her.

"So, you're not completely deaf, are you? If you were, you would not have heard me speak to you." He said with a tender smile before cautiously sitting beside her. "Do you read lips?" He asked quietly, with a tender smile.

This man was absolutely stunning. She had never seen such an attractive man in all of her life, especially not one that spoke to her in such a way. He could not have been much older than herself. He smelled extremely strong and it made her want to cough. She would have, if it would not have appeared to be rude. She only smiled at him and nodded to answer his question.

"Ah, wonderful. I shall speak slowly, so I do not lose you in my words." He said slowly before he began to recite beautiful, thoughtful, intelligent poetry. She could not believe the amount of effort that was put in to this poem. She could not tell if he wrote it or if he was simply reciting it. In all honesty, she did not really care. The fact that he knew it by heart made it obvious that he had spent a great deal of time to memorize this beautiful speech, word for word. There was never a gap in his words, nor was there a lapse in focus. He knew absolutely all of it flawlessly.

She could feel the bright blush crossing her cheeks and she bit her lower lip slightly. She wanted to interject, to explain that she was not actually deaf, but thought against it. Her mother would be furious with her if she deliberately disobeyed her. As it was, Margret would be positively mental if she knew that Gustav was in Eva's suite with her, reciting poetry.

He finished after nearly an hour and Eva could not stop herself from smiling like an idiot. She could feel the bright blush that was upon her cheeks, but she could not will it away. He could see that she liked her poetry and he nervously grabbed her hand. She squeezed tenderly and slowly scooted closer to him, as if to ask him to recite more poetry for her.

"Did you enjoy that?" He asked tenderly as he stroked the back of her hand tenderly with his thumb. She nodded her head frantically and squeezed his hand harder. He stared at her hopeful face and tried to figure out what she was trying to ask of him. He smiled with a nervous smile before he stood up and reluctantly released her hand. He did not feel right about being so close to this girl who could not speak or hear. He did not want his employer or her mother to think that he was attempting to take advantage of her. He slowly turned away and ran his fingers through his sandy blonde hair and let out a deep sigh.

"I am afraid that I need to be going." He said gently without moving a muscle.

"Please… Do not go…" She said quietly before slowly standing up. He turned around instantly and grabbed her hands tightly, looking her dead in the eye before he began to speak again.

"I knew that you weren't deaf!" He exclaimed excitedly as he looked down at her, feeling quite triumphant. She stared at him, as if she was trying to ask how he knew, without revealing that he was correct. "I was not facing you when I spoke, nor was I facing the door, nor did I speak loudly. There was no way for you to know what I said unless you could hear me!"

"Please, do not tell my mother. She would be so furious if she knew that I was talking to you. She has talked about you for years, Gustav. She fancies you quite a lot, you know. Please, do not let her know that you know that I am not deaf. I do not want to leave yet, nor do I want you in trouble." She explained frantically, biting her lower lip to keep it quivering.

"Hold on for just one god damn moment!" He said loudly as he released her hands. He cupped her cheeks and smiled brightly. "You're voice is like warm, fresh honey. My ears are tingling from the utter delight upon hearing your angelic voice, my delicate flower."

"Oh my… Thank you…" Evangeline said with a tender smile before laughing quietly. She looked up at him again and couldn't stop smiling. What was it about this man that made her feel so at home?

There was a knock on the door then. Evangeline felt her heart sink as she looked up at Gustav. She grabbed his hands more tightly and quickly lead him towards the large wardrobe beside her bed. She opened the door and quickly pushed him inside before she shut the door behind him. She then hurried across the room and opened the door.

"Evangeline, there you are." Margret said tenderly as she looked into the girls room. "Oh, look, they got the flowers like I asked! Lilacs are your favorite, aren't they? I thought so, but I didn't want to ask you and ruin the surprise."

"They are perfect, mother. I absolutely love them, thank you." Eva said with a tender smile before stepping aside and letting her mother walk into the room.

"I have our dinner reservations set for tonight. I want to help you get ready. It will be a formal dinner with some very prestigious and influential people." Margret said tenderly as she walked over to her daughter's bags and began to open them and pulling out layers of fancy dresses.

"Mother, must I go…? I really do not want to have to pretend to be deaf the entire evening."

"What? No, you don't have to do that. Just don't speak around Gustav."

"Why are you so against him, mother? When we first walked in, it didn't seem like you had anything against him. He did seem nice enough." She said quietly.

Margret let out a deep sigh before she stood up and turned around. She faced her daughter but did not say anything to her.

"I can not explain to you why I want you to stay away from him, but, you must. If I find out that you have been speaking with him, at any point during this trip, we are going to go back home immediately. Do you understand me, Evangeline?"

"But-"

"Do you?"

"Yes, mother…" Evangeline said quietly before looking down at the floor. She sighed as she walked back over the window and sat down upon the ledge. She looked out over the mountain tops, towards the sun that was setting in the distance. The sky was beautiful shades of orange, red, purple and blue. She took a deep breath again before closing her eyes tightly.

"I am sorry, Evangeline. I do not want to upset you. I only want to keep you safe, sweet heart. I am responsible for you now and I could not bear for anything bad to happen to you." Margret said quietly before she sat beside her daughter. She grabbed the girls braids and slowly began to unbraid them with tender fingers. "You look beautiful today, Evangeline."

"Thank you." Eva said tenderly before she looked up at her mother and smiled childishly. "I do understand why you need to be this way. I just wish that it did not have to be this way.

"Me too, dear girl. It is only until your eighteenth birthday." Margret said with a small sigh before kissing her daughter upon the forehead tenderly. "Will you please get ready for dinner?"

"Yes mother. What dress should I wear?"

"How about the gold one? You always look so elegant in that one."

"Of course. I will tie my hair back from my face, but not up. It will be lovely and crimped, since it was braided all day."

"That sounds lovely. I will see you in about an hour, down in the dining hall." She said tenderly before she stood up and walked out of her daughters room. As soon as Margret shut the door, Gustav burst out of the wardrobe.

"How the fuck can she talk to you in such a way!?" He demanded angrily as he walked towards the door. Evangeline gasped and stood up, grabbing his arm tightly to stop him.

"Stop it, Gustav! I can't explain this to you. Please, just, let it go." She pleaded quietly before looking up at him with tear filled eyes. "Do not make her any more upset than she already is."

"Why is she so fucking upset?" Gustav demanded angrily before he turned and looked down at her. He stopped instantly upon seeing the tears in her eyes. He took a deep breath and slowly forced himself to calm down. "I will not say anything to her…" He said quietly.

"Promise me, Gustav. Promise me that you will not say a single word to my mother."

"I promise you." He said quietly before smiling and leaning down to press his forehead against hers. "Will you at least tell me why she treats you in such a shameful way?" He inquired gently.

"I can not, not yet. She is very fond of you, Gustav. In time, I feel that she will tell you." She whispered quietly as she looked up at him. "You need to go, before she comes back. I need to get ready for dinner, anyway." She said tenderly.

"I will leave, but can I ask for just one thing before I go?" He whispered quietly. She could feel his breath, hot against her face. This caused her to blush again as she looked at him.

"What is it you want…?" She asked quietly.

"This…" He said gently before he quickly cupped her face and locked his lips on to hers. He groaned in pleasure upon kissing his angel for the first time. Her lips were soft and inviting against his own. She gasped and placed her hands upon his own. Tears slowly slid down her cheeks before she finally placed her hands upon his chest and shoved him away. She glared at him through angry tears before she reached out and slapped him, hard, across the face. The force of impact forced his head to turn. He looked at her and he looked completely confused and bewildered. Evangeline walked to her door and opened it hastily as she glared at him.

"You need to leave now."

"Evangeline-"

"Get the fuck out, Gustav!" She screamed angrily as tears continued to stream down her face. Gustav did not wait to be told a second time. He quickly hurried from her room and down the hall. She shut the door behind him and leaned against it, locking it quickly. Her heart pounded in her chest as she listened to him rapidly walk away.

She shook her head frantically as she hurried back to her clothing. She wiped her eyes and did her best to stop crying as she dressed herself in her finest dress gown. She sat down in front of her mirror and frowned. She rapidly dug through the smallest of her bags and took out a small container of make up. She began to powder her face, trying desperately to hide the fact that she had been crying. Once she was satisfied with her face, she began to put on some jewelry. She wore a pink, pearl necklace and a thin gold chain with a heart-shaped locket. She finished unbraiding her hair and let the locks flow down her shoulders. She did grab her long bangs and tied them back , to keep them out of her face.

Dinner was long and slow. She was positively disgusted by her mothers behavior. She seemed to be flirting with every young man at the table, and several that were not quite as young. She had never seen her mother act like this. Eva knew that Margret missed her ex-husband, but she did not realize that she missed him to this extent.. She had no shame and some of the statements that left her mouth made Evangeline completely horrified. Eva felt embarrassed for her mother at this point. Was this how she planed on seducing Gustav? She noticed that everyone at the table was getting drunker and drunker. She wanted no part in any of this. She quietly excused herself, but no one seemed to notice. The walk back to her hotel room was completely peaceful. She could not hear any noises from the floors below and everything seemed so calm. She smiled to herself as she traced her fingers across the textured walls of the Grand Budapest Hotel. She had not seen Gustav at all through dinner and she found herself wondering where he might be. She wanted to explain why she reacted so negatively earlier. He probably wouldn't want to see her again after she had slapped him. Perhaps that was for the best.

She hurried back to her room and quickly stripped out of her dress clothes. She stood wearing absolutely nothing. She took a deep breath before letting her hair down. This whole trip was already exhausting and it was only the first day. She walked to her bed before she curled up beneath the covers. The sheets were cold against her bare skin and the sensation comforted her.

She was not aware of the horrible fate that was to come this evening. If she knew, she never would have gone to sleep, and she certainly would have remembered to lock her door when she went back to her room. The Grand Budapest Hotel was about to become her worst nightmare and there was absolutely nothing she could do to stop it.