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What a nuisance!! Etienne was having such a good time at that masquerade, but of course, he got into a fight and ended up getting kicked out. Ugh, if only they knew who he was. He was the Duke of Lorraine! Well...soon to be...

"I need a drink..."

Etienne burst into the pub as if he owned the place. Ha! He practically did own the place. He had more money than all of the middle-class citizens put together! If he wanted to, he could buy this place in a second and turn it into whatever he wanted! He seemed out of place with his high class attire, but on top of that, he was still wearing his mask from the party. Storming over to the bar, he announced that he must have a gin. A gin, the strongest that the bar could provide and nothing less.

"The entire bottle," Etienne flashed a perfect smile and handed the bar tender a small roll of cash. He was promptly handed the new bottle of gin and a glass with ice. He popped the top with gusto and poured it. After a sip, he sighed, "That's good...I needed this..." He leaned on one elbow on the bar and turned to watch the act on stage.

On stage was a beautiful girl, or so he thought, and she seemed so graceful for one so young. She couldn't have been an adult; she was too petite and lacked the curves of a woman. On a normal day, he would have just watched -he wasn't interested in girls at all- but after drinking several glasses of gin, he was tipsy and wanted to see if she was willing to let him blow off some steam. "Bar tender," he barked, pulling the mask off and tossing the gold encrusted item at the man, "Get me the girl. Give her the night off. Let her have some have a drinks with me." The bar tender eyed the mask, noting that it was worth more than the entire year's profits and went to retrieve the girl from stage.

"Urichia," the bartender came up behind 'her' and pointed to Etienne who still sat at the bar. "You have a man over there that wants to share some drinks with you. He seems rich...so do whatever he wants..."

"Ah, so she finally arrives," Etienne smiled, his breath thick with the smell of the gin. He easily noticed the tone in the other's voice and motioned for 'her' to sit, "Don't be nervous. And you don't have to call me sir. Afterall, you look like such a beautiful princess and I'm only a Duke. Compared to your beauty, I'm just a common street rat."

Ah, the good ol' charm of the snake that was Etienne. He often sweet talked anyone he wanted on his side. Most of the time, no one knew any other side of him but the charming, charismatic and loyal one. Very few discovered his true identity and the blood thirsty monster that lay beneathe. Those that did were now dead.

"Do you drink?" He asked lightly. Before Uriah could answer, he simply barked an order at the bartender, "A glass of wine for the young mistress!" When it was set on the bar, Etienne pushed it towards the young boy with a smile, "So tell me... why is a young woman, barely old enough to bear children, working in a place like this? You could be learning how to teach or how own a restaraunt."

Etienne frowned, "Relly? You could make more money working for me." He held up his hand in a matter-of-fact manner and chuckled haughtily, "I have a servant, but he's best at cooking. He's depressingly quiet, so I find myself unable to have a conversation with anyone." He leaned forward and wiped away the single tear that rolled down the 'girl's' face. "It's a tough life...I know... my mother and brother are both dead..."

His mother had died naturally and as far as everyone else knew, so did his brother, Jules. In truth, Jules had suffered a terrible death at the hands of Etienne, but the young Duke would never tell. The only one that knew besides him was Chathierry and the neko butler resented him for it.

Eyes flashing birhgtly all of a sudden, the man smiled, "I was going to ask you to let me blow off some steam. You see, I was thrown out of a party after causing a fight. Some of that anger is pent up. I'm sure you understand." With a wave of his hand, he sighed, "But I cannot defile such a lovely woman in such a way. Although I do have a generous offer for you." Cupping Uriah's slender jaw delicately in his gloved hand, Etienne softly asked, "Will you work for me? As a maid? You can get out of this horrid place and never have to deal with strange men ever again. You will have a home, food, and even a small allowance. All you have to do is clean and maybe even pleasure me. But surely pleasing one man many times is better than pleasing many men one time. What do you say?"

Etienne's smile reamined, although it gained a satisfied quality. "Good, then if there's anything you want to take with you, then get it now and we will be on our way to my home." He scoffed as he stood, "Of course, I can provide you would everything you'd ever need."

The handsome Duke glanced over his shoulder at the bar tender, "Let the owner know that this girl will be working for me now. She doesn't need to work at a dump like this with her beauty." After some protest from the man, Etienne slammed his hands down on the bar. "I either get the girl, or I get the bar. Would you like me to make you and all of your coworkers homeless??" He smirked when the man simply shook his head solemnly.

"Ah, sorry about that my dear Urichia," Etienne gazed at 'her'. "Oh...I didn't introduce myself. I'm Etienne Luc d'Lorraine. Heir to the Duke d'Lorraine's fortune and throne. You will call me sir or Mr. d'Lorraine, understand?" He shooed 'her', "Now go. Get your silly things."

Etienne had taken upon himself to follow the other into the back. "Let's go then, beautiful. You can go see them all in a few days. You need to get aqquainted with your new home first though." He nudged the other, "You don't want to keep me waiting."

He pulled Uriah up and led the cross-dressing boy outside. For a second, he had noticed a tiny bit of masculinity to his new maid's features once the make-up was gone, but he only thought of it as just part of her natural alluring beauty. Maybe that was why he had asked in the first place. A lot of her features resembled that of a young boy. Etienne didn't think too much of it since he was still drunk from the gin he had had earlier.

A carriage was hailed and within the hour, they arrived upon a grand mansion that sat nestled between tall oaks on top of a hill. Horses grazed in a pasture off to the west of the home and a lush garden rested to the east. It was a beautiful place and a sight that most of the inhabitants of the city did not get to see.

Outside the front door, a young man with strange, upright ears stood with his hands behind his back. When Etienne stepped out of the carriage with his new maid, the butler uttered, "Welcome back sir..." He ears sat forward as he watched Uriah. He waited for Etienne to introduce the newcomer.

"Good evening Chaton," the Duke nodded to him as they approached. Motioning to the 'girl', he added, "This is my new help, Urichia. She will be assisting you with the household chores. Why don't you get aquainted while I go freshen up?"