Raquel Vargas

Raquel Vargas is a human student at Evernight Academy, although she drops out in Stargazer following the burning of Evernight to join Black Cross. Raquel is best friends with Bianca Olivier and is also her roommate during their second year at Evernight. In Hourglass, Raquel begins a relationship with Dana and the pair later leave Black Cross to a start a new life together.

Early Life
Raquel was born in either 1991 or 1992. Her parents are not very wealthy and paid little attention to Raquel when she was growing up, seeming to prefer her older sister, Frida. At some point in her life, Raquel realized she was a lesbian; it is possible that she always knew, as she told Bianca in Hourglass that had always had "zero interest in boys". As a child, Raquel felt lonely and misunderstood, which continued into adolescence. To make matters worse, Raquel's house was haunted by a particularly malicious wraith that targeted Raquel. The wraith, apparently a pedophile, would sexually assault and torment Raquel, leaving her understandably traumatized. Her parents, of course, did not believe Raquel and likely thought she was just trying to get attention. Raquel became so afraid to sleep in her own room, that she spent most of her time at the home of her sister and brother-in-law, avoiding her childhood home as much as possible.

When Raquel was sixteen, her parents managed to get her accepted to Evernight Academy on a scholarship. Raquel did not look forward to going to a strange, exclusive boarding school, but still thought it was better than staying home with her ghostly tormentor.

Evernight
TBA

Stargazer
TBA

Hourglass
TBA

Afterlife
TBA

Balthazar
Raquel does not appear in this novel, but she is mentioned by Skye Tierney and Bianca. Skye is revealed to have one of Raquel's artworks on her bedroom wall; Bianca recognises it as Raquel's work, remarking that she loves Raquel's art, and Skye states it's titled 'Save Your Drama for Your Girlfriend ', adding that she "raved" about it when they both attended Evernight, resulting in Raquel gifting it to her.

Physical Appearance
Raquel is quite skinny; her uniform, which is already "two sizes too big" hangs off her. She has black hair which she cuts very short; in the first book, Bianca says it looks "like she'd haphazardly taken a razor to it", (implying that she cut it herself) but in Stargazer she gets it cut professionally, so it looks more even and suits her better. Raquel usually dresses in dark, unfashionable clothes; she also frequently wears a tawny-coloured leather bracelet.

Personality
Raquel generally comes across as being moody and anti-social, however, this is mostly due to the fact that life has not been particularly kind to her. She often feels lonely and misunderstood; her own parents pay very little attention to her and she has presumably been hurt or let down by people in the past, making it difficult for her to make friends and trust people. Once her trust is lost, it is quite difficult to get back and she is often suspicious when people try to be kind to her, apparently assuming they are trying to trick her or will want something in return.

Despite this, Raquel is actually quite a nice person; she is less bleak and more light-hearted around people she likes, such as Bianca, and has a good sense of humour. Raquel is good at listening to people's problems and can be sympathetic and understanding, such as when Lucas is forced to flee Evernight Academy in Evernight, leaving Bianca despondent. Raquel is also brave and strong-willed, though she tends to do things without thinking some times, such as when she decided to walk back to Evernight when she realized Erich was following her, only to end up stuck virtually in the middle of nowhere with him, only realizing her mistake afterwards - a mistake she quickly recognizes as being potentially dangerous. Raquel can jump moods quite suddenly, depending on the circumstances; she goes from relaxed to furious and upset when Bianca starts talking about ghosts, though, as it turns out, this is only because of Raquel's terrible experiences with wraiths.

Raquel generally despises the supernatural due to her personal experiences; she senses from the beginning that Evernight Academy is "evil" and is only too happy to join Black Cross. She is even vaguely disgusted upon learning they are studying Dracula in her first year English class. She is also horrified upon learning Bianca is part vampire and, in her panic and confusion, impulsively gives Bianca's secret away. However, she later deeply regrets her decision, once she thinks it through properly. Raquel eventually gets over her fear of some supernatural beings, as she is still friendly with Bianca even after learning she is a wraith. Raquel loves her parents' home-baking and apparently has quite a sweet tooth. She is also a big fan of art and loves creating artworks in her spare time, especially collages, though she often picks rather dark subject matter, such as death, violence and betrayal. This reflects her somewhat bleak, cynical outlook on life.

Appearances

 * Evernight 
 * Stargazer
 * Hourglass
 * Afterlife
 * Balthazar (mentioned only)

Trivia

 * The name Raquel is the Spanish/Portuguese form of the name Rachel, meaning 'ewe' in Hebrew. It is also a Biblical name, Rachel being one of he wives of Jacob.
 * Her surname Vargas is also Spanish/Portuguese. This would imply at least one of Raquel's parents are of Spanish, Portuguese or possibly Latin American descent.