Chapter-1

Some women choose to follow men, and some women choose to follow their dreams. If you're wondering which way to go, remember that your career will never wake up and tell you that it doesn't love you anymore.Lady Gaga

17 year old Yuki Cross gazed up at the large mansion that loomed in front of her. The house could probably fit 30 families comfortably with leg room to spare. Its dark mahogany bricks and gothic windows made the young girl feel like she was back in the late 1800's. Never less, that didn't seem to put her off at this point.

She'd come this far, through various abandoned towns and forests; at which their gnarly branches seemed to try and reach out to grab her. And this is where she landed. An old villa that was surrounded by sweet smelling pine trees and that had been built expertly into the side of a large, craggy mountain. Ah, yes, it was quite the experience for her. Quite indeed.

Yuki glanced at the ad one more time. The advertisement was asking for another maid. And she, (who had just been fired from her part-time job at a restaurant) was in need for the money. Stuffing the newspaper clipping into her sweater pocket, beginning her ascend up the winding path. As she walked, she gathered her thoughts that had been running through her mind.

Before she'd left, she had gone out for coffee with her dear and closet friend, Sayori Wakaba. 'Yori' had told her several stories about this place and none were too happy. Though these stories scared her, one stuck with her.

"I've heard the owner of that dwelling, Kaname Kuran, is in fact a vampire. And, not just any vampire, but a pureblood, crazy huh?"

"Well yeah, Yori, but vampires aren't real. They're just myths that people made up thousands of years ago," Yuki said, tracing her finger around her coffee's lid.

Yori continued, ignoring her friend's doubt. "Several girls have gone up there to be maids, like you, and have never returned, or turn up dead by the side of the road," She raised an eyebrow, "With two puncture wounds in the side of their neck. They'd been sucked dry of all blood."

Yuki's brows furrowed together. Did Yori really think that this was going to scare her into backing out of the job? She was going to lose her apartment for God's sake! She needed the money, badly. "Listen, I understand your concern but, I'm not passing this offer up. I need it, whether Kaname Kuran is a vampire or not. I'll be fine. I promise."

She sighed. Yori had argued more but to no avail. Yuki just wasn't giving up. Her mother had always said she was stubborn.

As she rounded a corner, something caught her eye. A black blur ran past her. She stopped and looked on after it, her heart pounding. Was that…a wolf? She shook her head, walking faster now. No, that could've not been one. They don't come out this early in the morning…and too be that dark? She wasn't going to let that burden her. Besides, she'd made it to the front. Before she could knock however, someone had already opened the door. She assumed it was the butler since he was attired in the classic look.

"Ah, you must be here for the maid service, correct?"

"Oh, err, yes. Yes, I am. I'm looking forward to working with you," Yuki gave a small smile looking into the butler's eyes.

The said butler opened the door wider, allowing the skinny girl to step through. Her brown eyes scanned the large entryway.

It was absolutely exquisite. A large, grand chandelier hung in the center its crystals shimmering in the dim lighting. Two grand sweeping staircases adored each side of the room, meeting each other at the top of the second floor hall. Large portraits hung from the walls; family Yuki supposed. Everything was so baroque. It was something Yuki hadn't experienced.

The butler cut her out of her wondering. "Maria will take you to see Lord Kaname."

Yuki turned to see a frail girl in, what seemed to be, a French maid assemble. A short one she might add. She grimaced. Was this Kuran guy serious?

The grey haired young woman bowed, clasping her hands in front of her. "Right this way, Madame."

Yuki followed close behind her taking in account every detail of the halls. If she got the job, then she'd at least know where everything was. Both hers and the maid's shoes echoed throughout the empty hall, the only thing accompanying them was their shadows; whose figures were stretched up against the wall, the candle lighting bouncing off the walls.

She began to think about her soon to be, or hopefully, new boss, Kaname Kuran. What was his age? He couldn't be that old. Could he? Though, she wasn't going to doubt it. For all she knew, he could be 70. Ew. The way he dressed the maid leading her…if he was that old, well, that was just perverted.

Well, maybe he was handsome. In those movies, the guy was always good looking. But, this is reality…

"I've heard the owner of that dwelling, Kaname Kuran, is in fact a vampire."

Her friend's words echoed in him mind. Vampire? Hah, unlikely. She was positive blood sucking humans were most defiantly not real. And if they were? She shook her head. Impossible.

The grey maid motioned to the oak doors in front of her. They're here already?

For a moment, she watched the back of the maid as she made her way back down the corridor. Yuki narrowed her eyes. She didn't mean to be so suspicious…but, she had a strange feeling that what lay beyond these doors was not good.

She inhaled loudly, her hand clenching the doorknob. Maybe Yori was right, maybe this job wasn't for her. Was she really thinking about this? She was already here; at the door nothing less. She was just going to have to accept it.

With a swift turn of the knob, Yuki entered the office, closing the door softly behind. Nobody was in the room at the moment; which was great relief for her considering she wasn't too excited to meet this guy.

She glanced around the room. The office itself was quite large. A dark oak desk was featured centered in the middle of the room, chairs to provide seating for possible business clients. Towards the left wing of the room was an intricately detailed fireplace with a sofa positioned in front of it. To the right wing lay double doors, which Yuki assumed lead to a possible bedroom?

Yuki grimaced, feeling her enthusiasm drop low. This place…seemed way to classy for her taste. More like her social class. She felt uncomfortable and in a way, even intimidated. Never in her lifetime did she think she'd ever witness such class, such wealth (Never in her life did she expect to drop so low and become a maid, either). Yes, she though, a pout on her lips. Why in God's name had she even taken this job exactly? She thought she'd be a doctor…or a model…or even a chef!

Ok, those were totally exaggerated. But, you get the idea. She felt like she'd let herself down. After all those plans of going to college to actually became something. And, inevitably, she wound up here. She was hopeless. Though, not entirely.

She leaned back against the doors, eyes closed, her lips spreading into a smile. The money she made here, could, however be used towards getting into college. And plus, she's have experience…not the kind of experience she wanted to put on a college paper, but, hey, it was something. The smile on her lips turned into a devious smirk. Ah, ha! She could learn tips from the other maids, yes, perfect. Then, she'd be the star of the Kuran Estate. Mr. Kuran himself would pride himself in hiring such a wonderful girl, and in return, he'd give her the biggest raise ever.

Flames danced in her eyes. Brilliant. Fucking brilliant.

She opened her eyes, noticing that now she wasn't the only one in the room. Her eyes were glued to the man's custom Giuseppe Zanotti loafers. Her eyes continued moving upward, examining the man's suit.

Oh. Dear. Lord.

This guy…he was just too rich. She didn't dare travel up past his tie. No, she refused. For the sake of seeing how old this guy looked. Judging by that ensemble he had going on, there was no way, he was young. Nope. (At the moment, Yuki honestly didn't care how stereotypical she sounded.)

A voice echoed throughout the room, irritation evident.

''May I help you?''

Yuki's mind went blank. Why was she here again?

"Uh…" She trailed off her voice low. "I…I'm here about the maid position. In the newspaper…." She continued, looking down at her feet. Could she be any more awkward? Lord.

A chuckle was released. "I see. Then, please, take a seat in front of my desk."

Yuki did as she was instructed, quickly finding a chair and sinking into it, the leather groaning in protest. Her hands folded together in a sloppy passion, and out of habit, she crossed her legs. So professional. She exhaled slowly, her dark brown eyes glancing around at the décor, (mainly just doing so to avoid look at Mr. Kuran).

Her face went hot. She could feel his eyes on her.

Regret.

Remorse.

Embarrassment.

…..Awkwardness…

She made herself look at him. If he was going to be her boss, she was going to face what he looked like…even if he was as old as Hugh Hefner.

Brown eyes met wine-colored.

A mouth parted.

A mouth smirked.

Oh.

…Oh…

He was…good looking. No, cross that out. Cross that out with a thick sharpie pen. He was gorgeous. And this time, she wasn't exaggerating. His perfect brown locks caressing his shoulders, his eyes the color of the red wine she'd sneak. Oh, and his face. His amazingly, beautiful face. Yuki's heart thudded loudly against her chest, face going even hotter.

Was this real life?

Was this actually the Kaname Kuran Yori had talked about?

This the man who she said was a vampire?

Vampire.

"Miss…Cross, is it?"

Oh, right.

"Ah, yes. That's correct. Miss Yuki Cross." She smiled a bit, staring into his eyes.

His eyebrow cocked itself up high. Wine colored eyes scrutinized her, Hands folded neatly on the desk. She was a cute one. A little…absent minded, but, nonetheless, looked like she was useful.

"Tell me, Miss Yuki," he started, his head leaning against his knuckles, other hand leisurely clicking the tip of his pen. "What made you decide to…come here?"

Yuki blinked. What made you decide to come here? What kind of question was that? Obviously she came there hoping to get a job.

"Well, I'm really in need of a job. And…I'd thought that this would be…perfect. To say the least, anyways, heh…"

She could practically feel the awkwardness in the air. It wrapped itself around her and squeezed, like a python killing its meal. She glanced at him, noting the bored expression on his face. Her eyes narrowed. Was this some kind of sick joke? She came all this way, expecting this to go smoother and not to mention, go by quicker. Why her? A sinking feeling came over her. He was uninterested. Yepp, he was going to put her through all this agony and then, to add the cherry to the top, tell her she wasn't needed.

Just. Her. Luck. (Exaggeration is one of Yuki's flaws, as you can notice).

"Do you think you have what it takes to work for me?"

….

What kind of absurd inquiry was this? The job opening was for a maid position. What could his maids have to do that would be so dangerous, so strenuous? She noted the little smile that played on his lips.

Making a fool of her? Cruel.

She spoke up, more confident. "I believe so, sir. After all, it is just a position as a maid. How hard could it really be…?" (Add witty to that flaws list).

He glanced up at her, lashes lidding his eyes, giving off an aloof expression. "Is that so…? Well, I could use someone like you. Smart, young, witty," His hands formed a bridge under his chin. 'Entertaining.' A mischievous grin pulled at his pale lips.

Yuki gulped. Why did she feel like something bad was going to happen to her right now? That look on his face…it was like he was the hungry lion, and she was the ever innocent gazelle. Her palms started to sweat a bit as his eyes narrowed to slits, that Cheshire cat grin growing bigger. Was this the end?

"Please, Miss Yuki. Humor me."—

K, so that was the end of chapter 1. Now, I know these author notes can be boring, put please, just take a look at this one. As you can tell, this story is being re-written meaning, I will be deleting the old one (unfortunately, I mean, I actually had over 70 reviews on it!), and replacing it with this one. I hope those understand. I will be also writing a notice on the original of this, to let those who are following it, a chance to switch over, etc.
Now, on to more important things. This revision will be including…basically nothing of the original. Yepp. Nothing. The general plot idea still stays, but the ending, climax, all that good stuff won't. Also, the chapters will be somewhat longer, I suppose… (Face it, I will never be able to make myself write a 10,000 word chapter and all of you know it). But, I could probably force out around 3,000. More details on this will be posted in the notice.

Considering the notice, and how you're not allowed to have notes like that as chapters, I will be deleting the original after a day. This way, those who are frequently on, can see.