"May I help you, sir?" the young lady behind the front desk at the hotel says. She was rather beautiful, her skin was a rich brown and her dark wavy hair fell in loose waves from her shoulders. She had a strange accent. It sounded a bit… Eyllwe. She wore a pale blue blouse which complemented her strangely bright blue eyes. Over top of that was the standard navy vest that all the hotel employees wore. Her name tag said Nehemia. Definitely Eyllwe.
Dorian found himself fumbling for words. He knew what he was going to say –generally– but the girl had stunned him. She was beautiful and strange, and looked both wise and youthful.
"I… uh… On my way here, um, I saw this house, this house that had an AK on the front door in fancy lettering. I was, er, wondering what that, um… stood for?" he stuttered.
She flashed him a warm smile. "Pardon, what were the letters?" she said.
"AK,"
Her face went from serene to stern to terrifying. Not terrified. Terrifying. Her eyebrows furrowed, and her gaze darkened as she stood up, pushing her chair backwards with her legs. She leaned forward with her hands placed firmly on her desk.
"Listen, pretty boy," she said sternly. Dorian would have laughed. "Promise me you will never go back to that house. That's…" she lowered her voice drastically. "Assassin's Keep." She whispered.
She plopped back into her chair and smiled as if nothing had happened.
"But uh… do you know who lives there?"
Nehemia gave him a millisecond stern glance before handing him a pamphlet. "Here you'll find all the information you need to make your stay at the Three Sisters Hotel more enjoyable." She smiled, and then looked back down to her paperwork.
The pamphlet was titled Doranelle Night Life. He snorted, but opened it up anyways. What he saw shocked him.
In bright red marker, written in a fast handwriting, was DON'T GO BACK –N. He took the hint, but stole a glance at the woman again. She met his eyes and smiled, before picking up a phone call.
Later that evening, Dorian was lying in his hotel room, waiting for Roland to come back with dinner. He reached for the TV controls but his cell phone ringing stopped him. He prayed it wasn't his parents. They were taking care of some business in Meah for the next two weeks. His mother was the president of Adarlan, the first female in centuries.
If they found out he was in Wendlyn…
He pulled it out of his pocket and on the screen was the name Chaol Westfall.
"About time, too," Dorian muttered. Chaol had been his best friend since they were children. Dorian pressed the green button on the screen.
"Dorian! Where've you been?" Chaol's worried voice cut through the white noise.
"I'm in Doranelle, I told you rem—" Dorian snapped his mouth shut remembering how he'd forgotten to tell Chaol.
"Doranelle?" Chaol shrieked. "As in, Wendlyn's most beautiful city?" he said in disbelief. "Oh my God, I was supposed to go with you! Your own mother, the president said you couldn't! You could be arrested, Dorian!"
"They're my parents, calm down! They can't arrest me! They love me!" Dorian said, but deep down he knew he was even lying to himself.
"Yeah, your parents, who love you so much, they don't even care who you love, they only want you to marry Kaltain, that billionaire's daughter just to make them some quick cash and reliable in-laws. Get your ass on the first flight back!" Chaol said. Dorian knew he only cared about his safety, but a stupid, stupid voice in his head told him Chaol was just jealous. But then, Chaol hadn't gone because Dorian didn't have permission. He suddenly felt an overwhelming pang of guilt.
"Okay, you're right. I'm so sorry, Chaol. I'll check the times for the next flight–" Dorian was interrupted.
"Next flight where?" the stern voice of his brother demanded.
"Shit," Dorian muttered. "Adarlan. Like it or not." He worked up a strange courage and thrust it in Roland's face. The older boy was taken aback. He kicked the door closed and put the pizza box on the nearest surface.
"Listen here, brother," Roland spat, his hulking figure stalking slowly across the room with predatory ease. "Why are you going to Adarlan?" he growled. Dorian was surprised, why was his brother acting so strange about going home?
"Chaol's worried sick, I feel so bad, we should've told him, should've invited him." Dorian said, his sudden flare of courage vanishing into smoke that made him stutter and stop.
Roland plopped onto the other bed, burying his face in his hands.
"Sorry, Dorian," he said, looking up at the younger boy. Dorian saw there was still a flare in their forest green irises. "The guy at the pizza place was acting up… But please don't go back. I wanted to spend some time with you here. Doranelle, it's such a great place. You can't leave after just hours of exploring!" Roland convinced his brother.
"Fine," Dorian said. He realized Chaol was still on the phone.
"Um… so you're staying?" His friend's puzzled voice inquired.
"Yeah. You can catch the next flight if you want." Chaol seemed to brighten with that.
"Alright. What hotel are you guys at?" And after a few minutes of detail sharing, Chaol and Dorian hung up.
"So, is your friend coming to pay us a visit?" Roland sneered.
"Yeah," Dorian said.
"Just kidding. He won't." Roland said with an evil grin.
A/N: Hey guys! Wow, I posted the first chapter just hours ago and I already have 2 reviews, oh my god! You guys are the best omg. Well, this is chapter 2, enjoy! Check out my tumblr:
Current status: planning chapter 3.