The Grand Tranquility Hotel | Alex Turner

Chapter I - The Grand Tranquility Hotel

As she tried to drown out the screaming of the baby in the arms of the woman sitting across from her, she scolded herself yet again for forgetting to bring her earplugs. The train ride wasn't all that long and would arrive at her destination in a few minutes, yet she already felt a migraine coming up. It was something she had since suffered from early on in her life. The doctors were never able to find what suggested there was anything physically wrong with her, so they recommended wearing earplugs as a precautionary measure.

She just hadn't thought she would be needing them at the Grand Tranquility Hotel.

She had heard of its great reputation and only recently of its sudden financial problems. It had been in every newspaper in the country, read in a bold font 'TRANQUILITY HOTEL BANKRUPT?! Owner remains silent'. Though the Hotel had always been in a very secluded area, a lot of influential people seemed to be regular customers. Even Miles Kane, the mayor of the city, appeared to be fond of the hotel and rumour had it, of the owner as well. It was still a wild guess to the public as to why the hotel was at its sudden demise.

Which is why she was now suffering through this awful train ride. Her desperation for inspiration to start a new story, perhaps even a new book if she was lucky, had led her to book a room at the residence. And the fact that her friends wouldn't stop nagging at her to take a break.

Losing her job as a high ranked editor, her book deal being cancelled, and the sudden death of her mother had made sure that the year was possibly the worst of her entire life. And like with all emotional things she couldn't handle; she tried to find a distraction.

As she was about to glance down at her grandmother's watch, the train finally slowed to a stop. Grabbing her suitcase and coat, she stepped onto the old yellow brick flooring of the station. It wasn't as chilly for an October afternoon, something she was rather grateful for. She hadn't exactly packed enough layers to withstand a lot of cold wind and clammy rain.

She managed to find what seemed to be the only guard at the station, an old man who looked like he was about to fall over if he even so much as thought about running after someone. He kindly directed her towards the front of the building where a cab would be waiting for her, sent by the Grand Tranquility Hotel itself. He had explained to her that the city was rather small, and the only real other public transportation was by bus, so the hotel often sent out chauffeurs of their own to pick up their guests.

After thanking him she was able to make her way from the lonesome guard to the apparent lonesome car in the middle of the vacant square outside of the building. The entire block looked rather quaint, and the black classic Cadillac stood out against the various shades of yellow of the old-fashioned English architecture. The driver had been casually leaning against the door while having a smoke up until the moment his eyes greeted hers. He then proceeded to throw said cigarette on the floor and open the back door for her.

She thanked him with an amused smile, and he replied with, "at your service, ma'am." His thick accent betraying a Sheffield background. Her keen eyes scanned around the chic leather interior and the flyer tucked into one of the backseat pockets that read: "The Grand Tranquility Hotel; take it easy for a little while. Come and stay with us!" It made her scoff.

The drive was silent for the most part, up until she blatantly caught him looking at her through the rear mirror a few times and she in return started staring back. He gave her a small smirk and introduced himself as Matthew Helders, but told her that she could call him Matt. She raised her eyebrows but gave her name in return anyway. No reason to be rude, just yet. "If you ever need me to drive you anywhere, I'm your man. For other stuff, too." When she crossed her arms and he started sputtering and getting flustered, she had to calm him down and tell him it was fine, because he nearly drove them off the road.

At least she now knew she had at least one person that would amuse her on this trip. A 'smooth' gentleman who she could have a laugh with (or laugh at). "I suppose you don't really have much else to do, since the holiday season is over and all," she said, almost suggestively.

"Oh no, it's a pleasure ma'am, really," he replied sincerely. "And it's not like we had much to do during the holiday season." It took her some effort to make out the sentence he had grumbled, and she almost thought she had misheard him until she saw the bitter look he was wearing. So, the staff has been dealing with their own share of the impending bankruptcy. It didn't surprise her.

The tires cracked the gravel underneath them as they finally approached the looming building that was the Grand Tranquility Hotel. In other circumstances she probably wouldn't have described it as 'looming', but with the silence surrounding it and most of the blinds shut, she didn't know what else to call it. Matt lead her to the front door where he held the it open for her.

Inside, she was met again with a wave of silence. It was as if she had stepped into a museum and she was the only one there. With Matt, of course. In a way, it was a true museum, with grand paintings of great battles and beautiful women adorning the walls, up to the massive chandelier hanging from the towering ceiling above her. The baroque detailing was incredibly well maintained and nowhere was even the faintest hint of dust to be found. It was breath-taking, and she would have stood there with her mouth gaping wide open if it hadn't been for the person behind the counter clearing their throat.

He was almost the complete opposite of Matt in appearance. While Matt had a square jaw, short styled hair and seemed to be a rather imposing figure, the clerk had a more rounded face, long curly locks and wore a suit that didn't manage to hide his slim body. He also looked as if he hadn't had a proper night's rest in weeks, yet the smile he wore on his face was very welcoming.

He introduced himself as Nicholas O'Malley, and much like Matt, he told her she could call him what all his friends called him; Nick. "Here's your key, ma'am. Dinner will be served around 7, and if you need anything else, don't be hesitant to ask." His accent was just the same.

Her room number was 521, which was on the second story of the building. "Great. I just need to take my suitcase from the-" Her sentence was cut short when she noticed Matt picking up said suitcase from the floor with a wink. "If you'll follow me."

He proceeded to give her a small tour of the Grand Hotel, not missing the way she would walk a tad slower around rooms with a lot of art. "I'm sure you'll have plenty of time to wander around afterwards, but now I must hurry you along the tour, because this suitcase is getting pretty heavy." She gave him an innocent smirk as she stopped walking, taking her sweet time to inspect a painting of a small girl picking up a teddy bear, and Matt groaned.

When they finally made it to room 521, Matt momentarily glanced at the other end of the hallway, before turning back to her with a serious expression on his face. "It's best if you don't wander towards any of the other rooms. Some people get cross if you disturb them."

"There are other people staying here? During this season?" She questioned, her curious writer side getting the better of her. He smiled briefly, but she noted it was more in a way of saying goodbye.

After she had left him to unpack her suitcase, Matt's eyes glanced one last time at the gleaming golden numbers of room 505, where he had sworn he'd seen the slit opening of the door shut right when he looked at it.