little santiago (shadowhunters) - SLOW UPDATES

chapter five

c h a p t e r f i v e ; hotel dumort

Elizabeth didn't know where she was going. She just wanted answers. Answers to what exactly? Elizabeth didn't know. But she wasn't sure if her instincts were right. Her father was at his work office rather than his home office, so she was currently digging through her grandmother's stuff.

She found pictures of her abuela Rosa when she was younger. She looked happy and full of memories that she remembered. She stumbled upon a picture from her abuela's wedding with her abuelo. Somehow they had the same surname, but they immigrated from different countries. Her abuela from Mexico, and her abuelo from Colombia.

Elizabeth flipped through photo albums, seeing pictures of her father and her aunts and uncles. Then she found a photo album labeled Raphael and Rosa. Rosa was her abuela, and Raphael was her abuela's brother. Kids smiling in Mexico, kids running around. Easter pictures. A picture from her abuela's quinceañera birthday. It reminded her of her own quinceañera. Simon had been her chambelane, and Clary was one of her damas.

She stopped at a picture of Raphael. She knew it now. Raphael looked the same as she did that night she was with the vampires. It had to be true.

Her abuela's brother didn't run away and die. Actually he did run away, but he wasn't dead. He was undead. That's why he looked familiar and had a familiarity to him. He was Elizabeth's family.

⁂

"Simon? What are you doing here?" Elizabeth asked when she walked up to Hotel DuMort. She didn't know why she was coming here either, what was she going to say to a vampire that she was related to?

"I- I don't know," Simon responded. "I just feel drawn to this- you know what. I need coffee. I'll see you later, Liza."

Elizabeth watched Simon walk away, she knew she should've followed him, why would be getting coffee during the sunset? He was going through something, but she continued her way into the building she was running from last week.

"What are you doing here, mundane?" Someone asked. She recognized the voice as Elliot, the vampire who Raphael reprimanded that night.

"I'm here to see Raphael. Bring me to Raphael," she stated. Elliot laughed.

"The little mundane is ordering me around?"

Her breath hitched when he appeared behind her. His mouth getting closer to her skin every second. He didn't have breath, Elizabeth couldn't feel him breathing.

"Elliot, the laws," Raphael warned the vampire. Elliot showed his fangs but eventually stepped away from Elizabeth. "What do you want, mundane?"

"My name isn't mundane," Elizabeth stated. "It's Elizabeth. Elizabeth Santiago."

Raphael finally looked at her. "What do you want?"

"I don't know," she answered truthfully. "Why didn't you feed on me that night? Why didn't you attack me and make me one of your vampire slaves?!"

"Mundane, it's against the laws. Now, what are you doing here? It's obviously not because you enjoy my company," Raphael said.

"Ever since that night, other than not being able to sleep all night. I've been thinking that you seem familiar. I wasn't sure why. My father's name is Raphael Santiago. He was named after my abuela's brother who ran away without saying goodbye."

"I said goodbye," Raphael whispered.

"You're really him?" Elizabeth questioned. "You're my abuela's brother?"

"Why are you here?" Raphael demanded.

Elizabeth huffed. "Because you're family," Elizabeth answered. She sounded naive, and it reminded Raphael of Rosa.

"We're not family," Raphael stated. "You're just-"

"Your sister's granddaughter," She interrupted. "I'm family. Your family."

"My family is my clan," Raphael said. Elizabeth sighed. "They've been my family for almost a century. I don't need anybody."

"I don't care." She stood straighter, trying to look intimidating. Raphael had to be at least six inches taller than her.

"There's no reason why you should be here. It's dangerous, and you're lucky I came in here before Elliot-"

"Okay. Whatever!" Elizabeth shouted out of frustration. "I thought I could find out more about mi abuela. She's told me so many stories about her days in Mexico, at least what she can remember. Now she barely remembers me." Tears flowed down Elizabeth's cheeks.

Elizabeth gulped, and wiped her tears with the palm of her hands. She reached into her bag and pulled out copies of the pictures she found earlier. "I also thought you'd like these pictures," Elizabeth thrusted the pictures in Raphael's hands. "I'll go leave and never bother you again." Raphael turned around and didn't watch Elizabeth leave.

"She smelled sweet," another vampire walked in. "Did you-?"

"Leave it, Tyler. No one touches her," Raphael demanded. "If anything happens to her, you'll have me to talk to other than the Clave. And I won't hesitate to do what the Clave would want to do."

And that's when he heard Elizabeth's scream. Within seconds he was outside, thankful it was finally night. Elizabeth was crouching over Simon's body, crying.

"I don't know- I was walking out and he- Simon was just lying- lying here. I-" She was taking short breathes and couldn't find words.

Raphael knew what was happening to Simon. There were rules about turning someone, there had to be a contract. And he knew leaving him with Camille was a bad idea. But he wasn't going to leave the girl with Camille- the girl who looked too much like this younger sister.

"Elizabeth," Raphael finally said, he was kneeling beside her. She looked up to him, her eyes were wet and red. "Your friend is going through the transformation."

"T-transformation?" Elizabeth whispered. "What did you do to him? No, Simon."

"I didn't do anything," Raphael responded. Elizabeth looked back at Simon and she didn't when or how it happened. Raphael sighed, he stood and picked Simon up. Without a second thought he started walking away from Hotel DuMort.

"Wait- where are you going?" Elizabeth called out.

"Are you coming or not?" Raphael questioned. Elizabeth quickly stood up and followed.

honestly proud of how this
book is coming to be.
it might be long, but i love it.
I hope you guys like it!