Alec POV

Alec got off the plane at the Charles de Gaulle airport, near Paris and breathed a sigh of relief. He just had endured a 8 hours flight and could not wait to get to his hotel to rest for a while before his business dinner at some fancy restaurant in Montmartre. He waited for his suitcase and was on his way to exit the airport when he heard someone call his name.

"Monsieur Lightwood!"

He turned around to see where the voice came from and his gaze fell on a tall man holding a sign with his name on it. Alec approached the man, but before he could say or do anything, the man took his suitcase and spoke in a thick french accent.

"Monsieur Lightwood," the man said. "I was sent by your assistant to pick you up and bring to your hotel."

Alec didn't know his assistant had booked him a chauffeur,. He made himself a mental note to thank her when he got back to New York. Alec followed his new chauffeur to a beautiful black Jaguar, where his suitcase got put into the trunk while he climbed in the backseat.

"First time in Paris, Sir?", the chauffeur asked.

"Yes," Alec replied. He was too tired to engage in small talk and it seemed the man driving had noticed this.

"Bienvenue à Paris," he said in a warm tone. "My name is Guillaume."

"Nice to meet you Guillaume," Alec began. "I don't know if my assistant told you which hotel I'm staying at. It's the…"

Alec started, but was cut off in the middle of his sentence by Guillaume.

"Angela told me where your hotel is Monsieur, as well as the restaurant your meeting is at. I was actually hired to be your personal chauffeur during your entire stay in the Ville Lumière, Monsieur. So your assistant shared with me your entire itinerary."

Alec was stunned. He really should think about thanking Angela for all this. Maybe buy her a souvenir from Paris or give her a raise for all her hard work.

Alec got lost in his thoughts, while Guillaume was driving him to his hotel. "Le Triangle d'Or" was known to be one of the most beautiful arrondissement of Paris, famous for the prestigious hotels and luxurious boutiques. Hospitality's finest, "la crème de la crème" as they say in France.

Due to traffic, the ride took over an hour, but finally they arrived. The Four Seasons Hotel George V. Guillaume dropped him off in front of the entrance with a promise to return when he was needed.

Alec entered the palace and stopped for a second, amazed by the size of its hall. The entire room was made out of marble. The pattern on the floor was stunning, a mix of grey, black and light pink. Vases of fresh flowers were scattered everywhere as if meant to be the main focus of the room. It was simple yet so elegant. A chandelier hung from the ceiling adding to the magnificence of the place.

Alec made his way to the reception desk located under an arch in the wall on the other side of the hall. He was greeted by the receptionist, who accompanied him to the elevator. Together they rose up through the building until they reached the "The Penthouse" located on the eighth floor, the highest floor of the hotel.

While they were on their way to Alec's suite, the receptionist explained to him everything about the hotel, regarding the reception, the concierge services, Wi-Fi and the many other amenities the Four Seasons provided, like their Spa area.

"And this is your stop Monsieur Lightwood," the friendly receptionist said as she gestured towards a door.

"Thank you," Alec replied, accepting the key card she handed him.

"Have a wonderful stay with us," she said by way of goodbye before turning to leave.

Alec took a deep breath, before entering the room. If he thought the hall was stunning, it was nothing compared to this. "The Penthouse" wasn't your typical room, he could see that now; it was more like an apartment. Alec made his way around the Penthouse taking in the space. First there was the foyer, a long corridor that linked the entrance of the suite to the living room. Then, there was the office located on the right side of the living room.

After seeing those two areas, Alec went on to explore the the bedroom and ensuite bathroom. Every room seemed more stunning than the last and somehow each room tied together. Beige and white tunes were a theme throughout, making every space feel like it belonged there. The bathroom was entirely made out of marble and so were the counters. But what stunned Alec the most was the view. From his personal terrasse off the living room Alec had a 360 degree view of the entire city.

He simply stood there for a few moments, mesmerized by the beauty of Paris.

Magnus POV

While Alec gazed upon the skyline from his hotel in Paris, Magnus was in the middle of a soundcheck, singing softly in the microphone in a cabaret in Montmartre. He sang only a few bars before being told to stop.

"Everything is fine, the sound is perfect. Thank you,", one of the technicians told him.

Magnus smiled at him and took off the microphone. He gave it to the technician before making his way back stage, to the dressing room he shared with his best friend. They each had their own, since he and Mitra were the lead singers and dancers of the cabaret. None of his co-workers was here yet except for the technicians.

Since he had an hour to kill before his next show, Magnus got out of the dressing room and headed towards the costume department. Magnus loved performing, but what he loved most was creating and designing clothes. Soon his contract as a performer would come to an end, as did everyone else's that danced and sang in the show at the moment. They all had a one year contract with the cabaret, after that they could ask to renew it or leave or sometimes be asked to leave. Magnus wanted to renew it, but not as a performer this time around. He wanted to switch to the costume department, the area where his true passion resided.

As he entered the costume storage room, Ashley lifted her head and a smile spread on her face as she saw him.

"Magnus! I'm so happy to see you," Ashley cheered. Ashley was the wardrobe mistress for the show and responsible for what everyone wore during performances.

"Hey Ash. You saw me yesterday and the day before that. You can't be missing me that much right?" Magnus teased her.

"You're the only one with whom I can talk about fashion design!" Ashley answered. "At least you're the only one willing to listen and actually participate in the discussion!"

"Speaking of fashion design, I brought you some of my sketches. Remember you said you'd look at them if I brought them over." Magnus handed her a folder. This was not the first time he'd come round to talk fashion with Ashley.

She took the folder out of his hand and cut him off as he was about to continue speaking."Yes of course, I'll have a look at them. I promised you! And I tend to keep my promise," she said with a smile.

The hours passed very quickly as they talk about what they loved. It was the arrival of the rest of the case that interrupted them. They had been talking about the costumes for tonight, the possible costume changes for the next few weeks and the comments Ashley had made on Magnus' creations. She gave him advice on what to change to make the designs better and what she liked as it was. Magnus always enjoyed her feedback. Ashley had a way of making him believe he could really be good at this someday.

"Thanks again," Magnus smiled as he got ready to head back to the dressing room for pre-show prep.

"Anytime," Ashley smiled. "You know that."

Magnus blew her a kiss before turning and walking towards his box to get his makeup and hair done. Magnus had his own personal makeup and hair stylist; her name was Rachel.

Mitra came in shortly after Magnus had sat down in front of his mirror. Mitra and Magnus had met on their first day at the cabaret and immediately became friends. They could talk for hours and never run out of topics. She was a beautiful woman, one of the most beautiful Magnus had ever seen. She was about 5'8 and had the perfect figure of a dancer. Her shoulder length hair was a deep and gorgeous brown and she had dazzling dark eyes. Mitra was one of the nicest and sweetest people, Magnus had ever encountered in his life. He often felt that the best way to describe her was like a rose, magnificent but she could also bring out her thorns if need be.

"Hi Magnus!" Mitra greeted him.

"Morning darling" Magnus answered with a smile.

"How long have you been here?" she asked putting her stuff down next to her make up chair.

"A little over an hour" Magnus replied looking at her.

"Went to bother Ashley again?" Mitra teased.

"Hey! She loves me. And besides I went to show her my sketches," Magnus retorted.

"Really? Oh that's awesome! What did she say?" Mitra inquired as she sat down next to him.

It was Magnus great pleasure then to recount every good thing Ashley had told him about his sketches, opting any of the less flattering bits. He then pulled out his sketches so that Mitra could see for herself.

She nodded, sometimes asking questions to clarify anything she didn't quite understood, but she mostly just listened to Magnus speak with a soft smile on her lips.

"Yeah I see what Ashley means here," Mitra was saying when they were interrupted by their prep team. It was Paul and Rachel's job to make them look stunning on stage.

"Well hello there," Rachel said as she came in. Paul, Mitra's hair and makeup stylist was right behind her.

Rachel was a super talented hairdresser, but she was even better as make-up artist. Painters used canvas for their paintings and to create their art, while Rachel used the faces of the people she knew and transformed them into her own vision of art. She was limited here at the Moulin, but Magnus had seen some of the work she did for Halloween or Carnival events. He knew she was wasted here, but still he was glad to have her around.

About 5'4, Rachel was a beautiful curvy girl. The most striking thing about her was her curly and unruly red hair, which matched perfectly with her pale complexion and made her striking blue eyes pop out. She always wore a small bag on her hip. Inside it were all the pencils and brushes she used for her art. She never used the ones the cabaret provided, only her own. Rachel was easy to talk to, and she laughed about everything. It was difficult to be sad around her as she had the uncanny ability to cheer up almost everyone. Magnus was glad she had been assigned to him. He'd lost one make-up artist before due to them believing he was 'too much work' and valued good people doing a good job. Rachel had impressed him from the first day he'd met her and he'd trusted her fully since then.

"Hi Rachel," Magnus greeted with a smile, which vanished as he added, "Paul."

Magnus didn't like Paul. There was just something about this guy. Paul was about 5'7, rather skinny, blond hair and grey eyes. Maybe Magnus didn't like him because everytime Paul looked at him, there was disgust on his face. Magnus being bisexual and not shy away about it, wasn't to everyone's liking after all. Paul just nodded in his direction, before making his way towards Mitra.

Rachel was standing behind Magnus, as she looked at him in the mirror and smiled.

"I see that for once you didn't put on your own makeup today, which is gonna make my work much easier," Rachel teased.

"You love my makeup, Rach'," Magnus replied with a wink.

She just laughed and started her work. Magnus always wore makeup in his everyday life. He had always loved it, but for the show, he had a special makeup routine, slightly toned down from what he usually put on. His makeup tonight consisted of a layer of foundation and a thin line of black eyeliner for his eyes, even though he knew gold eyeliner would make his green-gold eyes pop out way more. He'd had to fight a bit to get the managers to agree to let him have any eyeliner, but they had outright refused gold eyeliner. Black had been the compromise. Magnus had to give up his usual glitter entirely for the show though.

No one talked while they were getting done which in a way was relaxing. Magnus was mentally going through the lyrics and dance routines they had to perform that night and he suspected Mitra was too. After all, the first show would begin in less than 2 hours.

Every night, they performed three times, once at 7 then at 9 and the final show was scheduled for 11. Every show lasted about an hour and a half.

Closing his eyes, Magnus leaned back, letting Rachel work his magic.

Author's note:

A big thanks to my beta : Writesalott who puts up with my slow writing!

A big shout out to three amazing authors and friends that agreed to let me write them as characters in my story : Writesalott, FrostedDragonHeart and Rosycat! Go check out their work it'll be worth it :)

And leave a review if you liked the story!

Bye guys and see you soon!