Chapter Text
The snow swirled around with enough force to disrupt my hair from the bun I had placed it in. Biting wind pressed to my cheeks, causing my skin to flare red and my nose to burn. But I continued on. If I stopped now, I’d be dead come daylight.
Stomach rumbling under my too thin shirt, I wrapped my arms tighter around my abdomen, fingers gripping at my hips as I trudged forward. Surely, sometime soon, there has to be a shelter. Even a tented settlement was better than nothing at this point in my journey. After walking for a number of hours I’d long since forgotten, I was ready to retire anywhere, even if only for a moment.
Like always, a futile wish that things would change, I dug my left hand into my pocket. The ring on my index finger clinked against something, but my fingers brushed two objects instead of the one I had expected. Stopping in my tracks, I pulled out the two objects.
The crumpled ball of ones I had expected, my final money to get me through until the next stop where I could do some jobs. Though the jobs were far and few between now and days. No one wanted me to work for them. No one wanted someone weak and scared and constantly exhausted. I just wasn’t worth the pay, no matter how meager.
It was the second object, though, that caught my eye. A key about the size of my palm, glittering and gold against my darkened skin. It looked opulent, so far removed from my torn slacks and worn out shoes that it was nearly comical. I hadn’t seen it before, nor I had I remembered filching it from anyone at the last rest stop in Santa Barbra. Where had it come from?
Like it had been raked over hot coals, the key suddenly burned to life in my hand. Crying out, I dropped it the ground and stumbled back from the shock of it, but the key didn’t sink into the snow as it should have. Instead, it burned, a golden shimmer brightening and brightening until the snow around it began to melt on near contact. Within less than thirty seconds the key was back to a plain, lustless color, barely any shine to it at all now, and there was a trail of melted snow from my feet stretching into the distance.
Swiveling my head around to see if I was alone or not, I found no other person in sight. I couldn’t even see any street lights, just a white horizon dotted with white specks falling from the heavens. Swallowing, I reached down for the key and tentatively grabbed it. It was ice cold, soothing the still aching pain of my palm.
Standing up straight, I looked around again, but nothing had changed. As if to urge me forward, the key heated slightly, not painfully, but a nudge none the less.
“Okay...Okay…” I mumbled aloud to the empty air. I must truly be losing it, talking to a key.
With a slow inhale, I began following the trail of melted snow. The flakes still falling seemed to avoid the area entirely, drifting purposely away from it, landing only ever on the edges. A quick glance backwards showed that my progress was being covered, though. An ominous sign.
“Guess that means there’s nowhere to go but forward….” I told the key as if it could hear me. It almost seemed like it could.
The winding path continued for far longer than I had anticipated, my fingers frozen around the metal by the time I could see a looming shape in the distance. It was a foreboding building, standing high above, the outside a cheery orange-ish color that I could pick out even through the storm. The trail seemed to be leading right to it.
Thinking it as good a place as any to rest for the night, I hurried forward, blazing through the last hundred feet in only a handful of seconds. Standing in front of the gold emblazoned doors, I steadied myself before pulling on the handle.
The doors opened easily and I was blasted with warmth, causing me to shiver from head to toe. Stepping inside quickly, I dragged the door behind me, unable to help but to just bask in the warmth for a moment. It was a safety risk, but it was the first I’d felt my toes in ages.
After a minute, I flicked my eyes around to investigate the space I was standing in. To the right was what looked like a lobby, stocked with comfortable armchairs and small end tables that were piled with magazines. A cup sat on one of the tables, red lipstick smeared across the rim, but no owner was nearby to claim it.
Elevators stood beyond the seating area, the doors smooth gold and the buttons gleaming a brilliant blue even from across the room. Mats were placed in front of the elevator entrances, clean as ever, black with gold trim. I couldn’t make the words out from here, but I could assume it was the name of the building.
Off to the side of the elevators was a large staircase, not hidden by a door, but rather leading up to a doorway that presumably gave access to the rest of the stairwell. They were carpeted and the handrail was a gleaming wood finish, the bottom finishing off with a flourish of a golden swirl. It almost looked like a perch.
Turning, eyes scanning across the paintings covering the walls and the small statue placed on a table in the center of the room, my eyes finally made it to the front desk. It looked like any other hotel front desk, long and thick, made of oak, but trimmed in gold. Here is where I read the hotel name for the first time. Kismet Hotel
It was then that I noticed the woman sitting at the desk. She has vibrant blue hair and a flower crown perched upon her head, eyes locked on me. She was smiling already, as if she knew who I was. More likely, it was friendly customer service. In a place this fancy, their workers would be top notch.
Stumbling forward and up to the desk, now noticing how I was dripping with melting snow, I bit down on my lip.
“Come now, dear one. No need to fret.” The woman spoke, voice soothing and free, the smile still gracing her gorgeous face.
“I-I’m dripping all over the carpet…” A glance down confirmed that as the thick, red rug beneath me was turning maroon under my feet.
The smile stayed, “It’s alright. A little water never hurt anyone. Now, what can I do for you?”
“Oh, uh…” Panic flashed through my chest. I didn’t have the money to stay anywhere, let alone a hotel this nice. There was no way I could ask to stay, even for a few days of work afterwards. What was I meant to do?
“May I see your key?”
“M-My key?” I asked, confused, but handing over the golden key without a thought. It was as I passed it to her that I noticed it was warm again, but not painfully.
“Ah, yes. Room 113. Excellent.” She beamed and handed the key back. “I hope you’ll enjoy your stay.”
“Oh, no… No, this isn’t mine. I’m not even sure how I got it to be entirely honest...It just...It sorta just showed up? And I didn’t even know it went here. There was this heat and then the snow melted and, god, I must sound insane. I just—“
The blue haired beauty cut me off with a soft laugh, melodic. “You were meant to receive the key. The hotel doesn’t make incorrect decisions, my love. You’re meant to be here.”
“But—“ I began, eyebrows furrowed in confusion, but she didn’t let me.
“Come now. I’ll show you the way.” Hopping up from her seat, she headed towards the elevators across the room. Unable to argue, and not about to turn down a warm evening in a real bed, I followed behind her.
The button chirped gleefully under her press and the doors slid open immediately. Stepping inside, the receptionist pressed the button that said one and watched as the doors slid shut. The ride was quick and silent beyond my dripping clothes.
Gliding out of the elevator, my guide began down the hall, speaking as she went. “This floor holds three of the six of our current occupants. It’s for long term, so the hotel must like you. You’ll be in room 113, Amity is just across the hall and Cherry also occasionally stops into room 115. She’s a very busy girl, though, so don’t expect many daytime visits from her.”
Long term? That made no sense. It wasn’t even my key. And what did this woman mean by the hotel liking me? I didn’t ask, sealing my questions behind my lips. I’d be gone in the morning, when the storm was over, and it would never matter at all.
Stopping in front of the doorway, she smiled, unlocking the door with my golden key. Stepping inside, she gestured around. “This is your suite. I hope you enjoy it.”
The room was larger than most. The bed alone had to be a queen, surrounded by draping navy blue curtains and the mountain of pillows on top near to overflowing onto the floor. There was a nightstand on either side, one grey and one a pale golden shade. Even with all of that, there was more than enough room to wander the space and not bump into anything.
On the far wall from us was a dresser, the same grey as the one nightstand. A music box was on top, beside a startling array of books and what looked like a welcome basket.
“The bathroom is just through the door on the left. There’s extra towels on the sink and all the necessities under the cabinet. If you need anything else don’t hesitate to ask. We’re here to accommodate.”
“Ma’am—“
She cut me off again, a habit it seemed, “The name’s Destiny.”
“Destiny..This is beyond nice, all of it! But this wasn’t my key and I don’t even have any clothes. There’s no way I can stay here tonight.”
Her hand rested on my cheek, her eyes locking with mine, so full of love and promises I suddenly felt the air suck out of my lungs. The hotel is never wrong, Mia cara. Trust me.”
And for some reason I did. Implicitly.
“There’s clothes in the dresser and more in the closet. Try to have a nice evening, alright?” She grinned and pressed a gentle finger to my cheekbone, tapping gently, before she swept her way out of the room.
I stood, unable to move, for a few moments before my own trembling spurred me on. A shower then. That would be my priority and the rest of this mess could be taken care of in the morning.
Opening the dresser drawers I found clothes piled neatly, stacked in clear rows. Grabbing a set of long, thick pajamas, I headed into the bathroom.
The bathroom was larger than a standard hotel. It had a claw foot tub off to the back end, large and deep with a waterfall type attachment built into the ceiling. A few feet away was the shower, huge and made of what looked like stone with at least two shower heads, it was already fancier than anything I’d ever laid eyes on. Even the counter, a swirling of navy and grey marble, was long and gorgeous. It had two sinks, both of which had the necessity toiletries already placed out for my leisure.
Dropping the clean clothes on the sink, I turned to the shower to figure it out. Flipping the nozzle was easy and after only a few seconds the water pressure and heat seemed perfect. Shrugging it off as another perfection in this odd hotel, I undressed and stepped under the stream.
The stress, the fear, and the cold washed down the drain along with layers of dirt and pain. I couldn’t say how long I stood there, just soaking up the never ending heat, but when I did eventually extract myself from the warmth, it was to the sound of someone in the hall.
The walls hadn’t seemed thin, but it was odd that I could clearly hear sound outside of my room. Slipping into the soft clothing, I strained to make out the sounds.
“Shhh! We have to be quick before they wake up!” A voice called, full of laughter and youth.
“I’ve got it. C’mon, Reva.” Another spoke and the thundering of footsteps ran past the door and down the hallway towards the stairs.
Deciding to investigate, I headed to the entrance of my room and quietly unlocked the door. Poking my head out I saw that the two were gone, having most likely headed down or up the stairs. Glancing around, I saw the door across from mine had something on it.
Unwilling to go far from my room, my key inside on the table where Destiny had placed it, I held the door and stepped just out of the entryway to see. On the door was a bouquet of flowers in shades of pinks and yellows, a note attached. Amity’s room, I remembered Destiny saying. Must be friends leaving a present.
With that sorted, I headed back inside. Exhaustion swallowed me up as I headed towards the bed. I snuggled under the blankets, curtains drawn around the bed to keep any light from entering, a sort of shelter of its own. Soon enough, I was drifting, the sounds of an unknown humming lulling me to sleep.