"What the Hell?" I asked Rory and he stretched and yawned.
"Well no offense, but none of us wanted to make that trip every day, so Alexandre got us some rooms." Rory shrugged.
"Ok.." I looked at the guard. "What about you guys?"
"Oh, Mr. Rivers has made sure we're well accommodated as well." The guard replied. Rory snorted. I punched his shoulder.
"When did you guys work all this stuff out?" I fumed and he smirked. The guard opened the door for us as Alexandre appeared.
"Ah, I'm surprised Mina is quiet. I could swear I heard her wailing." Alexandre grinned.
"Oh, we didn't have any problems out of Mina at all." I said airily, getting out of the car. Alexandre looked at Rory and the guard. Rory snickered.
"The guard totally had her calm in like five seconds." Rory snorted, handing Mina and her car seat out to us. Alexandre looked shocked and I hid my grin.
The guards were more relaxed here because the media had not yet caught up to us-mostly due to the guards' work at evading anybody tailing us, but they still surrounded us on the way into the hotel and made sure to keep an eye out for danger or media.
The lobby of this hotel... didn't look like a lobby at all.
"What even is this place?" I asked, looking around. It looked like an indoor garden of some kind. You almost felt like you were outside, if it wasn't for the artificial lighting, pillars and ceiling. Plus of course the temperature controlled environment, tables, chairs, bar and fireplaces set strategically around for guests to enjoy. A woman stepped up to us with a cheery smile.
"The Rivers party?" She asked happily and Alexandre turned on the charm.
"Indeed." Alexandre replied with a smile, offering her a hand that he lingered over a little too long. I elbowed him. I could feel the subtle shift in the air as he gently prodded her mind. What manipulation was he trying to instill?
"This way!" The woman said chipperly, turning on her heel, her ponytail flipping out behind her. She led us towards a hidden bank of elevators.
"Neat." I commented and the woman smiled at me.
"As requested, we've reserved the entire top floor for your party Mr. Rivers. You may use any of the rooms you'd like. When you'd like maid service, please just hang the tag on the door and we'll send someone up for you." We all filed onto a rather large elevator that seemed ridiculously large for a hotel.
"This is the party elevator, as you may be aware from previous visits Mr. Rivers. There are also guest elevators located beside this elevator and on the other side of the building, along with stair cases. As per your request, none shall be granted access to this floor but your party. These key cards grant you access. You have to insert them here and push the floor level you'd like. Staircases have a similar keypad that only unlocks for staff and your keycards." The woman demonstrated and then passed out keycards to everyone and a few extra to Alexandre. The elevator started up.
"These cards will also open any of the rooms on this floor. You'll have to use the honor system among yourselves or the locks provided on the insides of the doors." Her eyes twinkled. "Safes are provided within the rooms, there are complimentary food and drink items provided and room service is available twenty-four/seven. Please check your room packets for further services or give us a call by dialing zero on your room phones if we can help with anything else. ...And we're here." The door opened on a long hall decorated in silver and blue. It was like stepping into the ocean. Or the sky.
"Woooow..." I breathed and Alexandre smiled a small smile as we filed out. I noticed there weren't many rooms on this floor, only about six were visible from where I stood. The elevator door closed behind us and took the woman back down to the the lobby. I walked down the hall a space and opened the first door. Rory was exploring the rooms on the other side of the hall excitedly, trailed by Cornelius with an indulgent look on his face. I grimaced, wondering if that's what Alexandre and I looked like. I peeked at Alexandre who had Mina in his arms again. He smiled warmly at me.
"Well, aren't you going to open the door? Not even I've seen all the rooms here." Alexandre remarked and I grinned. Not quite like Cornelius after all. I pushed open the door. The floor was made of a transparent material and lit from underneath with a soft glow.
"What the..?" I whispered as I walked in. The floor was tinted a light blue green so it was easy on the eyes and resembled pool water in a way. "Ok, this is wild." I said with a giggle.
"Very Rory." Alexandre commented next to my ear.
"Yeah, very." I laughed. "Let's go see another one, while this is wild, I don't think so." I giggled. We walked down the hall to the next room and used the keycard for access. Someone had decided to decorate it based on the spaciousness of the room in a relatively minimalistic style. There wasn't a lot of furniture, but what there was was very elegant and drew the eye. The light fixtures, flooring and everything were ornate, in many cases the light fixtures were hanging down from the ceiling in spirals of small lights. I whistled.
"Fancy." I said and Alexandre agreed. We moved on to the next room hearing Rory's excited cries behind us.
"I think he found the room with the glowing floor." Alexandre commented. I laughed. The next door we opened was the room I knew I was staying in without looking at any others. The wall directly to the left of the door was a huge elegant bookshelf with mismatched shelves. Books and trinkets were scattered across the shelves, and the whole room was designed around it to look like a 'comfortable reading area', back-lit with one wall of glass. It reminded me of our library at home, but less 'vampire'. I walked in and ran my hand along the spine of the books nearest me. Alexandre quietly brought Mina's carseat inside the door and shut it behind us.
"Come love, I know you're feeling nostalgic, but we're all tired. Let's go get some sleep." Alexandre tugged me towards the large double doorway to the right of the room. It was up a short set of three stairs and Alexandre pushed open the door to reveal a beautiful, if very simply laid out bedroom. I blushed at the sight of the very large bed that dominated the room. It could easily accommodate Cornelius, Rory, Alexandre and I, and maybe even company. I giggled and blushed harder at the thought. Alexandre looked at me curiously and opened his mouth as if to ask a question, but there was a gentle knock at the room door.
"Mr. Rivers, the staff brought up the luggage, plus a bassinet for the young Miss." A male voice spoke. I assumed it was one of the guards I had not yet spoken with.
"Thank you!" Alexandre called, walking back towards the room door. I sat down on the bed with a huff. I heard the door open and a babble of voices.
"Carys, we have company!" Alexandre yelled directly before Rory came bounding into the room.
"Oh man, your bed is HUGE! You could fit all of us! Our bed's just a regular old King." Rory pouted. "Trust the nerdy room to be the pervy one." I swatted him, trying not to blush. As if I hadn't just been thinking about the same thing.. Rory had flopped down on the bed, he suddenly raised his head to look at me.
"Mmm Carys... you smell good. Like.. thinking dirty thoughts good." Rory looked at me with a hungry look. I snatched a pillow up and threw it at him.
"Perv." I remarked and stood up to leave the room. Cornelius and Alexandre's low murmured conversation came to a halt.
"Ah Carys!" Cornelius smiled.
"Sneaky bastards." I shot at them and Cornelius chuckled. Rory snuck up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist.
"Aw look! They included a baby gift basket in the bassinet!" Rory cooed and I checked to see what he was talking about. The bassinet was stuffed with things for parents and baby, some lush blankets, cloth diapers, plush toys, a couple of cute outfits with the hotel's branding rather discreetly but proudly displayed, a bottle of wine, some chocolates, and various other goodies. I laughed.
"Well Rory, I guess you can have the food and drink-unless... Alexandre, do you want the wine?" I looked at him with mischief in my eyes.
"I'd rather have you." Alexandre responded, licking his lips. Cornelius raised an eyebrow. I felt like blushing. Well, I'd sort of started this.. Rory snatched the food and drink from the bassinet quickly.
"Gladly accepted! I'm going to get drunk and stuff myself with chocolate and make lewd advances at everyone I see all night." Rory crowed. Cornelius growled.
"Then the only person you should be seeing is me." He snatched Rory into his arms bridal style. Rory clung to the wine and chocolates desperately, his legs dangling from Cornelius' arms.
"What about that cute driver?" Rory whined.
"No." Cornelius growled, starting towards the door.
"That woman in the lobby who.."
"NO!" Cornelius growled.
"Carys and Alexandre..." Rory gestured and Cornelius turned to look at us, not saying anything. "Is that a yes?" Rory sounded excited as Cornelius carried him from the room.
"That's up to them." Cornelius replied briskly. I heard Rory's objections fading down the hall.
"Well that's different." I commented and Alexandre looked at me questioningly. "Our Cornelius, playboy extraordinaire, is refusing threesomes or orgies? That virus must have done a number on him." I took Mina from Alexandre before she could begin to fuss, sensing it was about time to feed her. Alexandre laughed.
"I think you're misunderstanding Carys. He wasn't refusing orgies for himself, but refusing to share Rory with others." Alexandre remarked. Oh yipes, that possessive streak really was part of the virus.
"Except us." I said softly.
"Except us." Alexandre replied, pulling me against him and kissing my temple. "He really does love you Carys, love us, in his own way."