A/N: Just the prologue, so it's short. This story is AU, and inspired by "Beauty and the Beast." Don't expect the perfect fairytale, though. I hope you enjoy!

Prologue: Goodbyes

To the Taniyama residence:

It is to our dismay that we are to inform you that Arata Taniyama, a previous servant at the Shibuya Mansion, has recently passed away. We share our deep regret and sorrow with your family. However, the Taniyama family still is in large debt to the Shibuyas and we ask for another servant to replace him and continue to repay the debts held.

Shibuya

Mai Taniyama read over the brief, insulting, and life-shattering letter over and over again, hoping to find some lie about it, hoping to see through it as a joke that should have never been played. She let herself fall into one of the wooden chairs at her shabby dinner table, the dozens and dozens of nights spent alone at this very table rushing back to greet her.

The letter fluttered onto the table and was slowly made unreadable by tears the dotting note, running the ink everywhere. So many days she had spent waiting around in this wretched little shack she had managed to find, wondering when her father would come home again. She remembered his face from when she last saw him, even though it had been nearly four years. She remembered her mother much less, only catching glimpses of her funeral in her mind's eye.

But now she had no one else to turn to. Whatever she owned now would be automatically given to the master of the Shibuya mansion whether she liked it or not to pay their withstanding debts. However, Mai knew there would still be a remainder, and now she was the only Taniyama left to pay the debt.

She sat at the small table for the next hour, debating her fate. Living in a mansion as a servant wasn't as bad as having her house and land and belongings taken away and having nowhere else to live. She would at least be warm and well-fed… she hoped.

As if urging her on, her empty stomach groaned. She had learned to ignore the persistent hunger pains. The money on hand was too short for any extra food in the house. What she bought she ate immediately and didn't save any leftovers, even if she ever was too full from a meal. That had not happened yet.

Mai rose from the breaking chair and found a large carpetbag to hold all of her belongings. She may not have had much, but she intended to keep all that she could.

She pulled down pictures from the dusty shelves and tugged holey sweaters from her barren closet. She peeled the shabby, faded blanket from her cot in the corner of the room, made by her mother so many years before. She yanked on her too-small boots. Winter was nearing and if she wanted to make it to Shibuya Mansion unfrozen, she would need to layer everything she had.

On top of everything, she tucked the somewhat damp letter in her bag. Looking around, her home looked so bare and unwelcoming. Dust still gathered in the corners and she could barely see through the dirty windows, but she could still… well, she used to be able to call it home.

Nearly four years previously, her father had gone off to earn money, but with one investment too many and too much money borrowed from the Shibuya family… they were in lifelong debt. Mai had seen her father once after that, and now he was gone forever.

"Damn you, Shibuya," Mai growled under her breath. "I swear, when I get to your godforsaken house, you're going to hear a piece of my mind."

She wondered what he was like. In her father's letters home, he had said nothing really about the conditions he was living in or who he was working with or for. She imagined Shibuya as an old, crabby man, lording things over his servants and demanding things on minor whims. She could see him now. Graying hair, round belly, and dark bloodshot eyes. Mai shuddered.

It's what she would be living with for possibly the rest of her life.

Mai swung her bag over her shoulder and gave a last look around. Nothing was left for her here anymore. She reached the door in three easy steps, took a hold of the icy handle, and flung open the door. She walked straight out into the misty, foggy air, not even bothering to look behind her.

"I hate goodbyes."

A/N: Please review and tell me what you thought!