As soon as Evie had entered her hotel room among the darkness, her elegant posture and mask fell.
The room of the Hallow Inn she was in was warm, familiar even, a little old fashioned but it felt mostly like home. She had been here many times before, and she had lived in Lyonfort for years now so she did not find strange the complexity of this place that used to be a fortress thousands of years ago, long before Zeth bought it and remodelled it.
But this time, for the first time, she felt like she was in a fairy tale castle, and it terrified her.
She had once been the villain of this story, then became the knight in shining armour, and now she wanted to become a princess.
It sounded stupid even to her own ears. A silly thought, but enough to have faith.
"Home, almost sweet home," Evie said, tossing the keycard on a small round table. Zeth had asked his people that this particular room would never house anyone other than Evie, and although he offered her a suite, she was used to small rooms so she declined the offer.
Zeth, however, ordered some minor changes: A small kitchen area, a bathroom larger than the rest of the rooms, a bathtub and many secret compartments where weapons could be stored.
Evie wished Zeth had asked for a more military bed though, because the one here was just too comfortable. She sometimes felt like she was sinking. She could never sleep in it, not even once.
"I'm not insensitive. I'm not the mask I always wear. I'm not perfect. And that's okay." Evie whispered, and headed straight for the kitchen area, opened her freezer and dragged five ten-pound bags of ice. "It's not wrong to be afraid. It's wrong to give up because of my fears." She emptied them into her large tub, and filled it with cold water.
She let the mixture sit for twenty minutes so the water and the tub could get as cold as possible.
She was safe here, she wanted to believe.
The peculiar aroma of hotels was familiar to her, she got used to it long before she was the boys' bodyguard.
She was used to not having a home, just little places to call shelters. But the boys changed that.
Or at least that's what she told herself.
The more things changed, the more they stayed the same.
After removing her battlesuit, she put on a blue bathrobe and placed a pair of platform sandals next to the now freezing cold tub, sandals almost as high as her ever-reliable stiletto boots. She would never wear flat shoes, she would never have the luxury of wearing tennis shoes or flip-flops, because her anatomy had changed, she had been broken and reassembled to be ever-elegant, perfect, and practically a lethal weapon on the outside.
But she was none of that inside. She was still a normal girl with an abnormal past. She liked to buy clothes, shoes, listen to music, read and waste time watching funny cat videos, and she even dreamed of one day finding love, because she knew that it would not make her weak, just more human.
But she also knew she was too cold and used to wearing masks to admit it in public.
When she was sure the water was cold enough, she dropped her bathrobe and looked over her shoulder.
Bruises and scars, that's what she saw in the reflection of the huge mirror.
The emotional scars were much uglier than those on her body.
"I should have been more careful tonight," she told herself. Maybe this job was too risky, but she didn't know what else to do with her life and she didn't want to trade the adrenaline that came with it for anything in the world.
She simply didn't want to change lines of work, she just worked for different employers and put a more modest name on her lifestyle.
Bodyguard? Yeah, that sounded normal.
"I have to remind myself that it's okay to feel. There's no one left to hurt me if I show that I have weaknesses." She said once she dipped her delicate hand into the water and decided it was cold enough.
She set a timer for five minutes and eased in.
The first moments stung. Then the sharp pain quickly went away, but the cold didn't, especially where her body touched the tub.
She closed her eyes and tried not to focus on the clock.
The sound of ice clinking in the tub made her cringe.
"Damn, I think an ibuprofen would have been a better idea," she told herself, but the Monster Hunters' ways were ingrained in her. They may have had old-fashioned methods, but those always worked to soothe her bruises and the occasional nasty black eye.
Five minutes felt like forever, but the soreness she had felt was gone.
"It's okay to... F-Feel c-cold... It's o-okay t-to... Feel... I'm n-not... A m-machine," she told herself, shivering, shaking, her teeth chattering. The confidence boost that came from competing against herself and winning extended into every other part of her life.
And it was a great reminder that she could always do more than she thought.
She didn't want to take ice baths.
She never stopped dreading those five minutes, but this reminded her that she was nothing special, just a simple mortal like the vast majority of people all around the world.
After five excruciating minutes, she got out of the tub with a loud, long breath. She dried herself as quickly as she could, and headed in the dark to her closet. Moving in the shadows was easy in a place she knew, her irrefutable room, her safehouse as she sometimes liked to call it. In the closet there were only battlesuits, and a royal blue faux leather jacket that she had forgotten here a year ago.
There was no glamorous option.
She took the first battlesuit she found, squeezed herself into it, and then approached the beauty table.
She opened her cosmetics box, it wasn't a large collection but it was enough.
"Tonight will be the night," Evie said in front of the mirror, applying more mascara than she usually wore. She then put on her favourite earrings. Zeth had bought these for her birthday. They were Swarovski heart-shaped cultured sapphire earrings, with diamonds set in silver around the precious royal blue stone. She had an identical pair at home.
It was like the beginning of one of those fanfics that Mashers all around the world wrote, looking at themselves in the mirror before the change of fate.
She sat on the bed and put on her stiletto boots. They were designed by Monster Hunters and had been with her for years, unbreakable, full of surprises and made of Vorpal Steel and bulletproof leather.
She ran a comb through her short black hair, hoping it would look somewhat presentable for tonight.
Still, she didn't feel human enough yet.
She walked towards the closet, opening the door to look at her reflection in the full-body mirror. The battlesuit accentuated her athletic curves, but the skin-tight material made her a little insecure tonight. When she protected the boys during concerts, this suit was her best ally, but going to confess her love to everyone dressed like this?
Maybe it was a little too much.
She took her blue jacket from the closet and closed the door, feeling a wave of sadness wash over her.
"Come on, Evie! You can do this! Tonight, you will tell the guys that you love them, beyond friendship or your job as a bodyguard." She loved how the words felt rolling off her tongue, even though she had never said them before.
There was a low noise, a giggle.
She narrowed her eyes, looking over her shoulder.
"How long have you been sitting there?"
"A while." BC-13 said, sitting on the edge of her bed with his silver grapple gun in his hand. She hadn't seen him in a year. "You left the window open." He was handsome, with a sly face and short black hair, hot enough to look like one of the dancers who always performed with the boys during concerts, and with silver eyes that could steal anyone's soul and breath. He was quite athletic too, a former Monster Hunter like herself. He was also her right-hand man here in Hallow Woods, half Lebanese, half German and multilingual. She sometimes wondered if he always wore his skin-tight black battlesuit, which squeezed his athletic torso like a glove, because he liked showing off or if it was because he was always ready for battle.
Maybe it was a bit of both.
"When I told you to come over, I thought you'd knock on the door," Evie grumbled.
"Sorry, you know it's not in my nature to go against protocols but I was a little late to arrive ten minutes early." He cleared his throat, "Don't you think you're being too ambitious?"
"Are you going to convince me not to do this?" She asked as she adjusted her blue leather jacket, which looked a little tight over her black battlesuit.
"No," BC-13 laughed, "And even if I tell you, will you change your mind?"
"You know I won't," she said, inspecting his face to see if he was hiding something, "You look a little worried. Any news?"
"Yeah... Do you remember that I had a black cat that never came back when we still lived at the Hunter Academy?" He asked with his eyes on the ground, she nodded, "Well then... There's a girl looking for her cat everywhere, I saw her on my way here," BC-13 pointed to the open window, "Poor girl has been looking for some 'Mozart' for about two hours already."
"It must be someone who wants the three thousand dollar reward, the cat belongs to Cadence Christensen," Evie said, but then cocked her head, "Wait, you waited for us for two hours?"
"No, but the girl talks to herself a lot, with a Kardashark accent from time to time, not the first time I've heard something alike this month." BC-13 replied, "And she mentioned something about not being able to watch the end of the concert because of the cat. The concert ended a couple of hours ago so I did the math."
"Of course," Evie sighed, "I hope Cadence finds her pet soon."
"I do too," BC-13 looked out the window, "So, you are going to confess your love to the boys?"
"That's right," Evie replied, her voice breaking, "I have to do it now before..."
"Before they fall in love with someone else?" BC-13 wiggled his eyebrows.
"I'm sure they don't have anyone else in mind," Evie replied, "And I don't think anyone's going to come over tonight to ruin it."
"Why do I feel like you just Jinxed yourself?" BC-13 shivered.
"I hope not. Anyway. Do I look good?" Evie asked, spinning rather quickly. For a second she felt like a real average girl, scared of a first date so to speak.
"You always look good, but..."
"But?"
"Your boots? I think they're too much. You look like a dominatrix." BC-13 laughed and Evie raised an eyebrow, "Why wear work boots for a date that is not a date?"
"Because the Hunters deformed my feet since I was a child and I can't walk without heels maybe?" She asked. As if he didn't know that.
"I mean, obviously I know that. What I meant was, don't you have any other shoes, Evie?"
"The shoes they sell in stores are not designed for everything I do so no, none of them lasted more than a week." Evie said with a sigh. "And nothing I have in my luggage is romantic, just a couple of sweatshirts and wedge sneakers. My fancy fighting-clothes are in my apartment in Lyonfort."
"Didn't you buy and wear several clothes during the world tour? What happened to the red satin suit you bought in Shanghai? The one with those pants that you said went perfectly with your black booties?"
"Torn when Draco was handing out heart-shaped balloons to encourage people to donate blood and plasma." She sighed.
"The All World Blood Donor Day?"
"Yeah. Draco tied too many balloons to his wrist and started going up into the air," Evie laughed a little, a love-struck smile on her face, "I had to use my grapple gun to get him down but I got stuck with a metal rod. No more red suit, nor booties, after that."
"But didn't you buy two identical suits?"
"You know Draco has personally donated to help people with heart disease, right?" Evie asked and BC-13 nodded. "Well, that other suit was also ruined because there was a meeting with alleged hospital executives that turned out to be Hunters."
"And what about the purple leggings you told me you bought in Madrid? You said those went well with your top and golden wedge sneakers."
"Well, Alex went viral with a video where he approaches a lion and..."
"What the hell was Alex doing near a lion?!" BC-13's eyes widened.
"You know Alex. He has visited thousands of zoos and saved many animals in need." Evie explained, "Even the fiercest animals lower their heads to be petted by him."
"And how does that relate to your purple leggings?" BC-13 raised an eyebrow.
"One of the lion's caretakers happened to be a Monster Hunter, so I had to take care of that. The leggings didn't make it."
"Right... What about the teal leggings and coral print top you bought in Cancun? You kept saying on the phone that they were beautiful."
"Remember when Finn launched a campaign to raise funds for training people to clean up pelicans affected by oil spills in oceans and seas?" Evie asked and BC-13 half-shut his eyes.
"Yeah?"
"Well, Finn volunteered for beach cleaning in San Diego, specifically? Imperial Beach. One of the volunteers told him that there was a pelican in trouble."
"Let me guess... It was a Hunter."
"I had to chase a white van to rescue Finn from his kidnappers, it was a battle on the freeway, and I literally had to climb onto the roof of the van. You know the rest," Evie rolled her eyes, "And so I lost another nice outfit."
"I think it's best to stick with the clothes you already have," BC-13 said and she nodded, chuckling, "At least you still have that white coat you bought in Ohio, right?" He half-shut his eyes when she bit her lip, "Right?"
"You know? Everett has been expanding fire and rescue stations all around the world," She said while she put on her belt and gun holsters, "The coat? Let's just say it went from spotless white to burnt black after the makeover of the Columbus Fire Station."
"I didn't know Everett did that charity thing." BC-13 blinked rapidly.
"He's always done it, he says he doesn't need a lot of money because he's too simple and minimalist, although I must say that he once asked me for something curious."
"What did he ask you for?" BC-13 sounded genuinely interested.
"He asked me to hire snipers to protect the Arctic and Antarctic wildlife against hunters."
"Snipers?!" BC-13 gasped.
"Yeah. He ordered anyone who even tried to harm baby seals to be shot without asking questions."
"And what happened next? Did you do what he asked you to?"
"BC-13, I'm running late," Evie said, "Let's talk about this later."
"Wait! You can't just leave me wondering!"
"I have to, sorry," Evie said, and then she took her grapple gun from her beauty table, putting it in the holster of her left leg. "Wish me luck."
"Evie, please." BC-13 said as she walked towards the window, stopping dead on her tracks, "You are like one of the millions of fans that the boys have. What makes you so special that you think they will love you back? No offence."
"I am not a fan, I am their bodyguard."
"Well, are you going to risk your job just because you want to tell the guys you love them?" BC-13 asked. "What if they fire you? What if they don't love you the way you love them?"
"They are very mature even if it doesn't seem like it. Believe me, everything will be fine even if everything goes wrong tonight."
"If you say so, but what do I know?" BC-13 grunted, "You're their bodyguard, I am only in charge of keeping Lyonfort safe."
"You're doing a great job. Our home would not still be standing if it weren't for you." Evie reassured him. It was strange to say the word 'home' and Evie still wasn't used to it.
"Thanks. I think I'm a very good candidate too." BC-13 wiggled his eyebrows as he stood up, walking closer, "How about a date if everything goes to hell, huh?"
"So cute," she giggled, kissing his cheek, "Thank you for coming all the way here to tag me while I make this risky move. Just make sure no Hunter comes our way while I am gone."
"No problem. And good luck. I want to be your 'man' of honour, because I bet I'll look Di-vine in a dress and heels," he joked and she had to laugh at this.
"Hey! Marriage is not a part of my plans. Having kids either because I'm no longer capable of..."
"That doesn't make you unworthy," he interrupted her, "I mean, adoption is still a possibility."
"I'm already a babysitter for six superstars, I don't want any more responsibilities," Evie replied.
"You're right. And I bet Draco is enough trouble for a lifetime." BC-13 stepped away, fixing her blue jacket a little, "You look gorgeous."
"Thanks. Are all the boys in the suite?" Evie asked, and with one leap she climbed onto the window frame, pulling her grapple gun out of its holster.
"Zeth, Draco and Alex went downstairs to smoke," BC-13 said, pulling his phone out of a pocket on his belt. "I already have MO-53 watching the guys. She's in the lobby hiding behind a huge flower pot."
"Fine. Keep me posted," Evie said, "Got my phone with me."
"Don't do anything stupid." he murmured, "And don't fall on your face."
"I'll try not to." Evie giggled.
She then raised her grapple gun and aimed at the upper floor balcony, firing.
The hook got stuck in the grey stone.
"Mozart! Where are you kitty, kitty?" Evie heard a feminine voice shout in the distance, and she turned slowly to try to figure out where that voice was coming from.
"All good?" BC-13 raised an eyebrow and Evie nodded slightly.
"Yeah, I think someone really wants the three thousand dollars. Oh well! See you around," she nodded and pulled the trigger of her grapple gun again, moving up fast while the cord retracted into the gadget.
Evie flipped in the air and landed gracefully onto the balcony.
A pair of blue eyes, cold as ice, immediately turned to look at her.
"Hey, Big Guy," Evie said, looking up at Everett, walking slowly toward him with one foot in front of the other, her heels clicking on the grey stone, "What are you doing out here by yourself?"
Everett didn't say anything. He just stood there, his arms crossed, looking at her for a long moment.
"Bad memories?" she asked.
"Some vocal coach wrote article saying mean things about us," Everett growled.
"What a shame. You guys must be really mad."
"We are."
"You want me to..."
"Yes. I need some human contact," Everett nodded.
She reached out and put her hand on Everett's back, rubbing a little. Touching him always sent shivers down her spine. He was warm for Yeti standards. Her body tingled and she wanted nothing more than to hold him and never let go. She loved being near him, touching him, and he didn't mind when she did it.
In fact, he seemed to enjoy it, sometimes even pressing back against her and bringing their bodies close together.
"I don't get it," Everett said, "Why would someone write mean things about us?"
Evie opened her mouth to reply, but closed it again without saying anything.
Maybe this person didn't know the boys as well as she did. They were all good people, heroes without capes, brave and strong, the perfect example of what she wished to become.
"People sometimes can't stand the success of others," said Evie, "Those who don't do, usually become critics."
"I need revenge," His voice sounded harsher, more menacing and intimidating than ever.
"I am here for you if you want to rant," Evie said. Everett snorted, but then smiled, and all those frightening features faded from his face.
He was cute in his own way.
Adorably big.
"I can't believe someone has something bad to say about you," Evie said, reaching up to caress Everett's cheek, "I'm really sorry, but we will find this person and make them apologise." He remained silent and continued staring intensely into her eyes. "Is that why the boys left for a smoke?" Evie asked. Everett nodded, but said nothing. She furrowed her brows, trying to understand what was going on inside of his head.
"Why do you care so much, Evie?"
"You've done so much for me, and I'd do anything to protect you from anything or anybody that might hurt you, including vocal critics."
"Then find vocal coach and shoot her." Everett said, low and menacing.
Evie laughed.
"I can't do that, Big Guy. It's illegal."
"Well, maybe kick her?"
"There are rules for everything, Big Guy." She shrugged, "But maybe I can let her off with a warning."
Everett laughed, loud and deep.
Then he returned to his expressionless state, looking Evie straight in the eyes.
"Would it be wrong for us to stay quiet and just look at stars? Like when I was Kid Yeti in Nepal?"
"I'd love that," Evie said.
"Then come here," Everett raised an arm and she took a step toward him, hugging him tightly, pressing her face against his round pectoral muscle.
Everett put his arm around her, and squeezed her tightly against himself.
"Evie. I like it when it is just you and me in complete silence."