After a long, trying and emotional semester…

Me: *sleep deprived* "I don't know what's going on anymore-I don't give a crap about this s***ty painting."

Classmates: "You're painting is so cool! I like your technique!"

Me: "Well I must be doing something right, because I hate it and everyone who sees it loves it."

(Later at home when painting is complete)

Me: "Now what I am going to do with this spare time? *idea pops into head* Eh…why not?"

Hope you guys enjoy this!

DISCLAIMER:

This story and its characters' are works of fiction, though some aspects have been built upon/around historical events.

Chapter 1: Caretaker

St. Dymphna, Brittany, France

Spring, 1884

This is it. Emi thought to herself, No going back now.

She inhaled a healthy portion of sea air, and exhaled it all out deeply. She straightened herself up to her full height of 157cm (5ft 2in) before knocking on the impressive oak door. It wasn't just the door that was impressive; it was the entire house itself.

Emi enjoyed taking in the house's features as she walked up the hill from the nearby fishing village of St. Dymphna. It was the only two story house in the entire area (Emi did not count the inn or the live above homes of some of the local businesses' of St. Dymphna). She could tell that at one point that the house had been painted a bright white, but years of the costal weather had dulled its hue slightly. Though the gables were painted a dull grayish blue color they still popped out against the white of the home. Personally Emi did not like the color of the gables; the color reminded her of approaching storm clouds. If she had a say in what to paint those gables she would paint them her favorite color, Sapphire blue. Emi's favorite feature of the house was the large porch that she was currently standing on. The porch was the first thing Emi noticed about the home, it stretched from one end of the front of the house to the other. She could imagine herself sitting on the porch and taking a pleasurable view of the village below, with the room over head guarding her from the intense heat of the sun (as it was doing now). She did see two wicker chairs out of the corner of her right eye and was half tempted to take up their inviting offer to come and sit and enjoy the view.

The scrambling of feet from the other side of the door reminded Emi that she was not here for a social call, but on business.

She could hear the person on the other side fumbling with the lock of the door; up until now Emi had been calm and confident, but now that the moment was so close she began to feel nervous. Her heart hammered against her chest, her mouth became dry as a dessert, and her legs wobbled like a baby learning to walk. For once she was grateful for long black skirt that hid her legs, even if she still hated it, it now served a useful purpose.

Maybe this wasn't-

Her thoughts came to a screeching halt when the oak door opened up and revealed a Middle Eastern man, who only looked a few years older than she, but she sensed that he had a soul much older and wiser than hers. His facial features neither looked pleased or displeased by her presence, but his jade eyes told her that he was exhausted (so too did the dark circles under his eyes). He looked down at her with his neutral gaze and Emi felt as though she had shrunken down to the size of an ant.

"Can I help you with something, Mademoiselle?" he asked casually.

Suddenly remembering the reason on why she had come to this man's door Emi spoke up as though the man was partially deaf.

"Bonsoir, Monsieur." Emi greeted with a smile brighter than the sun, "My name is Emily Young, and I am here about a caretaker position."

Stupid! She scolded herself. Why are you smiling like a lunatic?

"Ah, yes!" the man said returning her smile with one of his own. "Please come in and we shall discuss the details of the job."

He stepped aside and bid Emi to enter the house.

"Merci, Monsieur." Emi said as she crossed the threshold of the home.

"You can call me Nadir, Mademoiselle Young."

Unlike the exterior of the home, which was somewhat bright, the interior was dark. There was not a single light source emitting from anywhere in the home (excluding the front door which was still open), and from what Emi could see of the inside thus far she noticed that there was not a single piece of décor to give the home a personality. No paintings, no decorations, the lack of personal items made the home feel empty and cold, like a body with an unfeeling soul.

Once the man called Nadir shut and locked the front door the room grew darker. Emi should have been wary about her surroundings and poor lighting, and the fact that she was now locked in the house with a stranger, but she sensed no sinister ulterior motive from Nadir and even if he did try anything Emi was confident that she could kill him and dispose of his body without getting caught.

"So," Emi spoke casually, "not a fan of light are you?"

"Please excuse the lack of light Mademoiselle Young." Nadir explained, "But the owner of the house does not have any use of light."

"Why? Can they see well in the dark?" She asked in a teasing tone.

"Actually," Nadir spoke hesitantly, afraid as though he was giving out a secret against someone's wishes. "He is blind."

"Oh…" Emi's face dropped, and she suddenly felt like the world's cruelest person.

"I am so sorry." She quickly apologized, "I didn't mean any disrespect. I was just trying to lighten the mood a bit." She slapped a hand over her mouth, and cursed whatever joking demon had possessed it.

Baka! She had switched to screaming at herself in her mother tongue. Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka!

She released her mouth quickly to apologize once again for her insensitive speech, never once noticing the look of utter confusion on Nadir's face.

"It's alright, Mademoiselle." He reassured her quickly, "You didn't know about the man's blindness, and I am sure you meant no disrespect."

Emi halted in her apologetic ramblings and looked up at Nadir. Now that her eyes had adjusted to the lack of lighting she could see the amusement bleeding through the calm exterior he tried to maintain in front of her.

She never felt like a bigger fool than at that moment.

"Sorry." She apologized one last time.

"No harm done." He reassured her. "Now shall we journey to my office, Mademoiselle Young, to discuss the duties as a caretaker? I do have some light sources.

Emi smiled shyly at his attempt to ease the awkwardness that she had created.

She nodded her head, "Hai."

"Um…hi?"

"Oh, sorry." She apologized once more, "I meant to say yes. I am quite curious about this job. The listing in the paper did not give much detail about the responsibilities' one would have as a caretaker."

"Well…" Nadir said as he began to lead the way to his office. Unable to find the right words to properly describe the job position he settled for honesty. "It is not your average caretaker job."

Emi raised an eyebrow at this.

Interesting. She thought as she followed him in silence, Perhaps this job will make it worth settling down here. That is if you don't screw up further, you idiot!

A few things:

One; yes I am a fan of anime, two; reviews/comments are welcome, three; I hope you guys enjoyed the story!

*ducks behind man made barricade to survive comments concerning overused plot structures*