Après Midi a Paris (An Afternoon in Paris) - A Malice Mizer Fanfiction

♣️ Chapter 1 ~ Am I Me? 🏰

I wake up to the sound of my alarm clock.

"Oh, won't you just be quiet!" I bellow to the alarm as if it would listen to me.

I tumble out of my luxurious, silky, rococo-style bed in a messy fashion. Hold on, let me process that. I tumble out of my luxurious, silky, rococo-style bed in a messy fashion? Also, didn't I have a cell phone ringtone as my alarm, not an actual alarm clock?

I must be confused, so I run to my refrigerator to grab some chips. I know they're bad for me but I just can't resist! Down the stairs we-

Oh. My. God.

I stand there in absolute shock, as I take in the majestic, elegant, heck, even beautiful view just above the stairs of a humongous castle. The castle has multiple decorative features to it; its walls are mostly off-white, with multiple gold and silver details in addition to the various paintings adorning the massive walls, mostly done with pastel colours in an old-fashioned style.

As I start to wander down the beautifully spiraled staircase, polished to the point that you can see your reflection in its railing, I hear the voice of a young man; 25 at most.

"Bonjour, Mademoiselle Merveilles. Avez-vous bien dormi?" he asks gently. (Translation: Goodday, Miss Merveilles. Have you slept well?)

I hear steps coming closer and closer until I see a tall, slender man dressed in a butler uniform with dark ginger, hip-length hair descending stunningly in the morning sun. 

Before I think too much about who this may be, I feel a bombardment of memories surge into my drowsy body. I feel flustered, but I don't remember why. It feels like I've completely altered bodies, but I'm not quite sure how to explain it well enough for anyone else to understand, (other than myself.) 

Why am I standing here in my nightgown? What was I thinking?

"Oui, merci, Kami. Je suis désolé, je descends dans une minute." (Translation: Yes, thank you, Kami. I'm sorry, I'll come down in a minute.)

"Ne vous inquiétez pas, prenez votre temps," replies Kami. (Translation: "Don't worry, take your time,")

The Blanchets, Kami's family, have served and managed the Merveilles castle and aided our family for almost a century. They know their way around the castle and its policies, especially when it comes to recruiting staff on our behalf. A decade or so ago, they hired world-class maids that take care of maintaining the castle in a pristine manner on the quotidian. 

The Blanchets themselves also help us with finances and multiple other affairs, (that, if I had to be completely honest, couldn't interest me in the least.)

The Blanchet family has been a miracle since they came to us, the Great Merveilles, when we were in dire need of succor back when Kami's great-great-great-grandfather was the head of their household. Our family doesn't like to speak of those times for some reason. My father is distant and coldhearted, and my mother passed away when I was 7 so I never got a real chance to get to know her well enough to grow close to her. 

That is one of the things I regret the most so far in my short, 20-year life.

 The successor of the current three sons of the Blanchets is Kami, my butler. Kami isn't an ordinary butler; he is also a knight and protects the Merveilles to the best of his abilities. Kami is the middle child, but unlike his two brothers, he is the only one to care for his job, and who he has to protect: me.