Once Upon a Vampire's Dream

Chapter Three - Someone's in the Kitchen with Claudia...

When Claudia woke up, she was lying in a huge bed. She panicked, thinking she had fallen asleep in one of the Master's guest bedrooms. Claude would be so angry and she'd get thrown in the basement again.

After the momentary panic, Claudia realized that the room she was in was not the Master's. The walls were white with gold-colored ornamentation on them. The bed had a thick white coverlet and sheer bed hangings; it was nicer than anything she'd ever slept in before.

Claudia got up and scrunched her toes in the soft, thick cream carpet. She looked to her right and saw a big window covered with a pale blue sheer curtain. She walked over and pulled back the curtain a little bit to look out the window. She could see a large white building over the tops of the trees. It must be the school.

She pulled herself away from the window to examine the room more closely. There was another bed and a door to the left. Claudia walked over to the door and opened it. It was a bathroom; identical to Kaname's.

Closing the door, Claudia walked back to her bed. It was then that she noticed the pile of clothing neatly folded on her bed. It made her a bit nervous to know that someone had been near her while she slept, but she relaxed a bit when she saw a note on top from Kaname.

This is the school uniform. I hope it fits alright.

-Kaname

Claudia unfolded the clothes. There was a black button-up shirt, a white jacket with black accents, a short white skirt, black sock and black boots. Claudia carefully took off the nightgown Kaname had given her and gently laid it neatly on the bed. Then she dressed in the uniform Kaname had given her.

When she put the jacket on, Claudia noticed that there were rose-shaped cuff links on the sleeves. She always had problems with things like these, but she eventually got it.

Fully dressed, Claudia looked around the room again, just in case she wasn't able to come back. She noticed a red ribbon lying on the bed. She didn't know what to do with it. Where was it supposed to go? She tied it in her hair, but that didn't seem like it would be right. Then she tried it around her neck like a choker, but that didn't seem right, either. Frustrated, she decided that would ask Kaname.

The dormitory was quiet when she walked out the bedroom door. There were doors on either side of the hall; Claudia walked quietly down it and around two corners before reaching the staircase she had followed Kaname up. She could hear two voices in the foyer. She peered over the railing and saw Kaname and one of the other vampires she had met last night, Takuma.

Claudia walked down the steps. Only a few from the bottom, Claudia tripped and fell on her back on the stairs with a small oof, banging her head in the process. She wasn't used to wearing boots and she'd tripped over them.

Claudia closed her eyes and rubbed her head where she had hit it. When she opened them again, Kaname was standing in front of her.

"Are you alright?" he asked, looking a little concerned. He extended his hand to help her up.

Claudia nodded and put her hand in Kaname's. As he pulled her up off the floor, he said quietly, "You look adorable."

Remembering the red ribbon in her hand, Claudia gently tugged on Kaname's sleeve and held it up.

He smiled at her. "Here, let me help." He tucked it under her collar and tied it in front with a bow.

Claudia touched the bow lightly. So that's what you were supposed to do with it. It felt right like this.

Kaname wrapped an arm around Claudia's shoulders and guided her toward one of the red velvet couches. Claudia stood next to the couch while Kaname sat. Takuma was sitting on the couch opposite.