Ch.1 : The mansion
Yuki stood in the immense entrance hall of the exceptionally large mansion. The walls and floors were made out of marble, the chandeliers were made of gold, and were actually lit with candles, how oldfashioned. There were expensive paintings and tapestries everywhere, statues adorned the hall, and the doors she could see were made of mahogany,gravured and decorated with gold.
She couldn't believe how big it all was. The man living here must be so rich. From what her father told her, she only knew he was a very succesfull author, that he inherited his wealth from his deseased parents, and that he hardly showed his face in public. Her father was also the one who helped her get this job. Considering her father, Cross Kaien, was basically the landlord here, he arranged for her to work here during summer break. That way, she could earn some money, so she might finally be able to make that trip to Paris.
Yuki impatiently tapped her foot. Her father told her to wait here for the head of the household, but she had been waiting for fifteen minutes already. Did they forget about her? Or didn't they care?
A door creaked to her left, and she turned her head, only to see the most beautifull woman she had ever seen. She had long, ashy blond hair, reaching down to her waist. Her eyes were big lightbrown orbs, that quickly eyed Yuki as she elegantly came closer. She was completely dressed in white, apart from a red bow tied under the colar of her jacket. Her skirt ended a few inches above her knees, and she wore black stockings.
The woman halted in front of Yuki, looking at her top to bottom again, without speaking. Not knowing wether it was polite to speak first, Yuki waited untill she would talk.
"Cross Yuki, I presume?"
"Yes, Miss."
"Miss Souen. Or Souen-sama, for you."
"Yes, Souen-sama."
"Please follow me."
Impressed and also slightly aggitated by the cold and distant behaviour, but also the elegant way Miss Souen walked, Yuki quietly followed her, into another hall, and up some stairs. Miss Souen lead her to the East wing of the mansion, and halted in front of a wooden, lightblue door, turning to face Yuki.
"The maids sleep in the Eastwing, the master and his personal servants sleep and live in the West wing. We do not dine together, because the servants and maids eat after the master is finished eating. You are not permitted to go to the West wing, unless you're ordered to. The master may not be disturbed You may not go to his private quearters, unless he specifically summons you, wich is very unlikely. Your uniform is on your bed, you start working at five in the morning. Rima-san will explain your duties to you then. I sugest you take some rest, and put your belongings in place. You have a private bathroom, wich is a privilege. Be thankfull. You are not allowed to invite your boyfriend over; if you wish to see him, you do that on your day off. Understood?"
Miss Souen just ratled her intsructions like she had been doing nothing else all day long, and raised her eyebrows at Yuki.
"Yes. Miss... Souen-sama. But I don't have a boyfriend."
Miss Souen looked at her again, and slightly smiled.
"Yes, no wonder. This is your room. don't be late tomorrow."
And with those words she turned and left Yuki alone. Yuki looked at her leave with a frown on her face. That woman was as unfriendly as she was beautifull. But then again, most beautifull people were. Arrogant, selfish and obnoxious. With a sigh she opened the door to her room, and gasped when she layed eyes on the room itsself.
"My goodness..."
The room was light blue of color, with white ornaments on the ceiling, the walls and even the furniture. The knobs on her drawers and closet doors were white with silver decorations, there was a full length mirror in a silver frame, and again the floor was made of marble, slightly blue-ish. There was a large white, fluffy rug in the middle of the room, and the kingsize bed had white pillars, as tall as Yuki, with silver angels on top of them, and the sheets were made of the finest blue silk she had ever seen. Yuki noticed her suitcases were already next to her bed, and on the bed was a black uniform, exactly like the one Miss Souen wore, the only difference being its color.
"Miss Souen must be one of the Masters private servants. It almost seems like he is royalty."
Noticing the door to her right, she walked towards it and opened it, her eyes almost popping out of their sockets when she beheld the humongous bathroom. Instead of marble , these walls and floor were made of some darkblue stone Yuki didn't recognise at first. When she looked closer, she noticed little golden sparkles in it.
"Is this Lapis Lazuli? That's insane!"
Yuki mumbled to herself as she looked around the bathroom. The giantic bath was made of marble and gold, the toilet and sink were made of solid gold, the mirror had a golden frame and was adorned with little diamonds, and golden cupids. The ceiling looked like she was looking at the sky; it was painted like the ceiling of The Louvre in Paris. She had only seen pictures, but it was breathtaking. For a servant, a maid, to have a room like this, it made her wonder what the masters room was like. Or even Miss Souens room. It all looked ridiculously wealthy.
Yuki went back to the bedroom,and started putting her clothes in the closet. She put some personal decorations on her nightstand, and plugged her phone charger in the power outlet, connecting her phone on the other end so the battery could recharge. When she was done putting all her belongings in place she stopped and looked around. Giving a quick glance at her watch, she decided there was plenty of time to take a bath before dinner, and went to the bathroom to fill the bath. While she waited for it to fill, she slowly undressed and went into the bedroom again to pick some clean clothes. She decided to wear her black lady pantalons, with a white blouse. Her working uniform already had a skirt, so when she wasn't working, she really did not want to wear a skirt as well.
When the bath was full, Yuki added some of her scented oil to the water, and slowly stepped into the water untill it covered her chest.
"Ahhh, this is the life. If I can take a bath like this every day, working here will almost be a party. I am so lucky!"
When she felt completely relaxed, she got out, and let the bath empty. After drying off, she wrapped the large, soft towel around her body, and went back into the bedroom, dropping the towel next to her bed, and started to get dressed. Just as she stepped into her panties, there was a short tap on the door.
"Just a minute, please!"
Yuki hurried into her bra, but was yet again disturbed with a tap on the door. A little aggitated by the impatience of whoever was knocking, she picked up the towel again, wrapped it around her body, and opened the door.
"Zero?!"
There he was. Her childhood friend, or at least, something close to that, stood right there in front of her, wearing a black suit that matched her uniform. For years he had been the only company she had, apart from her father. After his parents died in a tragic accident, her father took him in and raised him like his own son, but Zero had never accepted Kaien as his father.
He looked at her with distant eyes, only now seeing she wasn't dressed. He quickly looked around and pushed her inside, quickly stepping in after her. He softly growled as he talked to her.
"You idiot! Why do you open the door in a towel? It could have been anyone!"
"It's your fault for being impatient! I told you to wait a minute."
"You should've just said you weren't dressed!"
Yuki pouted, realising he was right, and not able to give him a decent reply. Besides, they were both shouting, the other maids and servants might have heard them. What would they say when they knew Zero was in her room while she was in her underwear?
Yuki's face turned bright red, and with her eyes squeezed shut she started pushing Zero towards the door.
"You idiot! What will they think if you're in my room, while I'm not dressed? I'm not allowed to have a boyfriend over!"
While being pushed Zero looked over his shoulder at Yuki.
"What are you talking about? I'm not your boyfriend! I'm almost your brother! Don't be ridiculous! Like I would look at you that way! OW, What the hell!"
Yuki smacked him on the back of his head, and opened the door, pushing him into the hallway.
"Thanks for making it obvious how unattractive I am!"
The door slammed shut, and Zero just stared at it with a blanc face. That girl, seriously. Since when was she working here? As soon as he heard he wanted to confirm it for himself, and she just smacked him on the head. And what did she mean 'unattractive'? What was she talking about? He knew her for years, but Zero was sure he would never understand Yuki. Girls were weird.
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Yuki entered the massive dining hall and halted to a sudden stop, once again in awe with all the grandeur and wealth . A firm hand on her back pushed her forward , towards one of the buffet tables.
"Don't just stand there like an idiot. You don't want to look dumb, do you?"
Zero's voice was close to her ear, sending a shiver down her spine, as he relentlessly kept pushing her forward. Once they reached the buffet table, he moved to the side to stand next to her, and handed her a plate.
"Selfservice. Pick something."
Yuki glanced to the side to see he was still in his uniform, even though after dinner they were suposed to be off duty.
"Why are you still wearing your uniform?"
"Just get some food."
Zero filled up his plate and walked away to take a seat. There were a ot lof girls, who were probably maids as well, and a lot of them were looking at Zero. There were a few guys, but even Yuki had to admit that Zero was easily the handsomest guy present. Some of the other maids were even whispering and giggling, but Zero looked like he didn't even notice. Yuki quickly filled her plate with something she didn't even recognise, and sat down next to Zero. He was the only one she knew around here, but it was obvious that the other girls didn't like her sitting next to him. She could just hear their murmurs.
"Who is she?"
"Why is she sitting next to Kiryu? He never sits next to anyone."
"Do you think they're dating?"
"Oh no! A hottie like him with HER?"
Yuki's face turned red in emberassment, but Zero started eating like he didn't hear a thing. Trying not to let the murmurs get to her, she followed his example and started poking her food with her fork. After a few minutes, Zero grunted with irritation.
"Stop playing and start eating."
Yuki immediately took a bite, and then had to fight the urge to spit it out again. She almost burned her tongue, and quickly swallowed, nearly choking on this unfamiliar dish. Next to her Zero sighed, and knowing him, he was mentally facepalming right now. If Yuki's face wasn't red already, it probably would've been right now. Next to Zero she just looked so awkward. He was always calm, and even though he was harsh, cold and rude, he at least had some dignity, where Yuki was awkard, clumsy and always getting in trouble.
Zero had tons of girls drooling over him, but Yuki never so much as even caught a look from a guy. The only guy looking at her, was Zero, who right now, looked like he wanted her to disapear.
"You better not screw up your work as much as you screw up eating."
Yuki's face drooped above her plate as she sighed again, and she continued eating. She had no idea what it was, but it was delicious. Zero probably knew.
"Ah! Zero, what is this?"
Zero glanced at her plate.
"It's an Indian red Curry."
"It's good!"
He nodded in silence, emptied his plate, and got up to put his empty plate on another table, wich had more dirty dishes on it. He came back to sit next to her and waited quietly untill she finished eating. Copying what he had done before, she took her empty plate to the table with dirty dishes and left it there. Looking around to see where Zero was, she saw he was already at the door, and when he saw her looking at him, he left the dining hall. That was his way of telling her to follow him, and Yuki quickly ran after him.
"Zero! Wait up!"
The halls and rooms were mostly dark at this time of day. The master and his personal servants were at the other side of the mansion, and the maids and other servants were suposed to retreat to their own rooms after dinner. Not that Yuki knew ofcourse. She just followed Zero in the darkness.
"Where are we going?"
"You start working tomorrow. You need to know the way around this place."
He walked towards a door and opened it, without going in. Yuki peeked inside, seeing a grand library with so many books, she couldn't possibly count them. When he was sure she saw what it was, Zero closed the door and went on to the next. One after the other he showed her different rooms,and told her to remember where they were. A Music room, a study, a salon, a cosy lounge with a fireplace. Each and every one of them was as beautifull and extravagant as the rest she had seen. Marble, gold, expensive stones. Statues, tapestries. It all looked so overwhelming.
"The servants use this side of the house. Kurans rooms are simpler. He is rich, but he doesn't care about it much."
"Kuran?"
Yuki tasted the strange name on her tongue. It sounded mysterious.
"Kuran Kaname. The Lord of this house. I thought you knew."
"I haven't read any of his books. I didn't know anything about him before my father got me this job."
Zero sighed again.
"Well, I'd recommend you don't read them. It's trash."
"He's famous for his writing."
Zero stopped and turned towards her. They had been walking in a dimly lit corridor, and she could hardly see his face. It looked strange in this light. His eyes seemd to be glowing. Zero almost looked scary.
"Trust me, it's nothing you would like."
"Have you met him?"
"Once."
"What is he like?"
Zero frowned at her, turned around and started walking again. Soon Yuki found herself at the bottom of the stairs that led to the corridor where her room was. It wasn't weird for her that Zero didn't answer. That only made it clear that he didn't want to talk about the subject, in this case the Master, wich made her believe he didn't like the master.
Zero went upstairs, and walked Yuki to her room. He stopped next to it, looking at her as she put her hand on the doorknob.
"Yuki. Lock the door behind you."
"Huh. I always do, but why do you feel the need to tell me that?"
Without a warning, Zero suddenly grabbed her shoulders, and pulled her against his chest. His nose touched her ear and Yuki froze up.
"Zero?"
"Lock the door, Yuki. I get lonely."
He let her go as he hugged her, and dissapeared into the darkness of the corridor, leaving Yuki speechless. She quickly dashed into her room and locked the door behind her. After setting her alarm, she checked her phone . One message from her friend Yori;
'How is the Mansion? Have you met Kaname?'
Yuki smiled and quickly answered.
'No, and I don't think I will. It seems he's very distant. Zero is here too, and the mansion is breathtaking. Gotta sleep now xoxo'
Yuki let herself fall onto her bed, hiding her face in the soft pillow.
"Ah, so soft! I'll sleep like a baby!"
Turning her head to the side she looked at her door. What did Zero mean when he said he got lonely? And why did she have to lock the door, to keep him out apparently? She never shut him out before. And he hugged her too. Zero was really acting strange.
Tired of all the impressions of the day, Yuki's eyes quickly grew heavy, and soon she was fast asleep.
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A/N: Please leave a review to let me know what you think. It's the first time I write A VK related fanfic, and I'm really looking forward to this one. Let me know!
