Captured by the Prince of Blood

Chapter 2: A New Job at the Mysterious Manor

*Mika*

“Hello there miss, you're hired," said the voice on the other end of the phone. I couldn't believe I passed her phone interview so easily, but here I was. I let out a sigh of relief, rubbing my temples with a free hand for a moment before smiling to myself.

“Thank you," I said sincerely to the gentleman on the other end. At the moment, I was sitting on the couch, covered in blankets and enjoying a cup of hot chocolate with whipped cream. I smiled to myself, glancing up as Abby walked into the room. My roommate had medium tan skin and curly hair, often in a gothic style quite like me. She wore an unobtrusive choker and black clothing, often with cute little graphics on them.

Abby eyed me curiously, then asked, “What's up? You were home early last night, but I didn't want to bug you."

“...I lost my job," I began, causing her to glare.

“And you panicked, worried about how I would react, didn't you?" she asked, rolling her eyes. “Mika, how many times do I have to tell you, we're in this together. You don't have to worry about that sort of thing, I won't freak out when things happen. You were treated horribly at the mall, so I'm glad you're away from it. I doubt they did it in a nice way, though," Abby said.

I shook my head, glancing away from my best friend and grumbling. She was too understanding, I knew she'd call me out. Still, I said softly, “No, they didn't." I winced, remembering how much the incident stressed me out. “But, look. I got a new job actually quite quickly with twice the pay. I'm going to be starting in a couple of days."

“Already?! But Mika, you need rest!"

“I'll get rest over these next couple of days," I reasoned with a sheepish smile, causing Abby to give an exasperated sigh.

“Fine. Alright, what's the job then?" she asked. “Oh, I got you some breakfast." That's when the smell of eggs hit my nose, and I smiled. Abby held up her hand for me to wait while she left the room, making her way to the kitchen. I was left with my thoughts for just a moment, and general relief. She wasn't angry!

Though… I probably should have known she wouldn't be. We were together at one point and broke up mutually in a very respectable fashion, returning to a casual friends-with-benefits relationship. She very rarely ever got angry, and our scuffles were mild. We agreed our relationship was better as a friendship, though I hadn't found a lover of any gender yet while she dated frequently. I was too busy for romantic relations! Or possibly too anxious. Likely a combination of both.

Abby returned to the room with a plate full of scrambled eggs, placing it on the table in front of me. She put down some orange juice and sat down on a comfy chair across from me, leaning forward. “Please tell me the job isn't something crazy," Abby said, raising a brow. I shook my head, reasoning that being a maid of all things wouldn't be a big deal.

“The manor that's a bit odd is hiring a maid. I guess someone new moved in? Anyway, since the pay is much higher than in retail, I applied and got in to work while waiting for some positions that actually utilize my degree," I explained. Abby stared me down as if I'd grown two more arms, then pinched the bridge of her nose.

“You know the local forums say that place is haunted, right? I heard about the move-in. There's rumors that the guy is a vampire," she said with a wink. “Would help with your biting fetish. Not so much with your health."

“Abby!"

“What? Getting your blood drained a lot can't be good for you," she teased, causing my already flushing cheeks to darken further.

“You know what I meant," I muttered. “He's probably some old, rich dude who thinks he has better things to do than clean all day. Neither vampires nor ghosts exist. The house looks cool, though."

“Vampires? No, I doubt it, unless you look at the scientific ones, like bats, or people with that disease that people think is the origin of vampires. Ghosts, though? Totally. I think this apartment is haunted, actually," Abby said, causing me to roll my eyes. She could be a bit gullible at times. Evidently she saw 'Bloody Mary' in the mirror when trying it or something, yet I knew it was just a trick of the eye.

“Either way, ghosts or vampires, I'm not going to get hurt. The only thing that would be terrible would be if I couldn't listen to music while working. It can be tedious. However, that was a question I asked on the phone interview, and as it turns out, I can. So I'm all set," I said. I finished up my breakfast and stretched. “Today I want to lose myself in nature documentaries, those calm me down. Last night was hell."

“Of course you do, nerd!" Abby joked, leaning forward and poking me gently on the nose. I went cross-eyed for just a second to stare at her finger, then mock-bit at her. She laughed and added, “Hey now! You're the one who's supposed to deal with a creepy vampire, not me!"

I shook my head and bit her farewell as she went off to her college classes.

That left me alone in the apartment, and I definitely did what I planned. I entered my bedroom, draping across my bed and snatching up my laptop, putting on some documentaries. As I watched, though, I couldn't shake a certain feeling. I recalled the conversation Abby and I had. The notion of vampires and ghosts was ridiculous! My instincts told me to listen, however. Why?

Must be nerves. I watched a wolf take down a rabbit on screen, shuddering subconsciously. I watched this stuff with no such reaction all the time, so what was going on now? Letting out a sigh, I reached over and closed my laptop, resolving to take a walk around the neighborhood.

I made my way through the apartment, smiling at the little display stands with glass statues of mythical beings Abby liked to keep. We had common interests in that. A lot of my random display pieces were of nature in general, like paintings of birds, but I adored the mythical as well, and Abby was so great at finding niche things like that. It brought a lot of creativity to an otherwise slightly dull living space.

I got outside, grabbing a small jacket since it was approaching mid autumn and quite breezy out. There was a slight drizzle of rain as I made my way onto the sidewalk, glancing to my side at all of the pine and maple trees lining the streets. We lived in a quiet neighborhood, thankfully, meaning cars rarely zoomed by since they could just take the main roads.

Spotting a bench up ahead, I sat down and observed a murder of crows playing around in the dewy grass. They caw'd out happily to one another, one even rolling about like some puppy. Though I had felt off about the whole ordeal and instincts thing, slowly I began to calm down. Corvids were so fascinating, and not just because I was considered 'goth'. As highly intelligent birds, they had some neat behaviors.

I leaned back on the bench, telling myself that everything would be just fine. My worries were nerves, that was all.

Even if I'd never felt quite like this before starting a new job. I wasn't some rabbit being eyed by a wolf. But why did my stomach turn as though I was?