When Technical Support is Too Helpful

Celestia woke up in a cot. She scanned her surroundings and concluded she was not in the vault but inside a tent. Golden armor laid in a pile in the middle of tent on a rug, a staff rested on a nightstand beside her cot accompanied with an oil lamp, which cast its soft yellow glow to help her see. She heard a commotion just past her tent. She let out a yawn and removed the thin cotton cover off her. Her nudity caught her off guard but it was the glowing tattoo an her stomach that caught her attention. It had a faint white glow and strange shape. Her hair fell past her and she saw it white as snow. She noticed a long strip of cotton that dangled off the golden staff and decided to wrap her breasts with it. Lacking any other clothes, she decided to strap on the gilded armor, and struggled with the breast plate to strap behind her four wings.  She left the wing shaped helmet and staff behind.

When she left the tent, she first noticed the luminous, full moon above, and smiled, then the number of other white tents, hers was significantly bigger. A tall, red tent was not far from her own and figured that the leader resided there. Cheers and whoops caught her attention, she had wanted to ignore it at first, but a yelp of pain made her want to investigate.

She took a short stroll past several tents and saw a cage surrounded by men in standard metal armor. They laughed but she could not see why. Standing behind a soldier, she was at least two heads taller than the tallest man of the group, she saw a young female, with light red skin and dark crimson hair, clothed with a burlap sack, on the muddy ground. Black liquid streaked from cuts on her back, her hands and feet bound  with a rag stuffed in her mouth. A man was in the cage with a whip. He cracked it on her back with a sickening snap, which made the men holler and laugh, the girl's cry was absorbed by the rag. Celestia was absolutely disgusted. When she was about to raise her voice a familiar voice spoke behind her.

"What is going on here?" a deep voice rasped.

She turned around and sure enough, she saw Darqlon in black armor with his smoky head and wings protruding from the armor. His crimson eyes ablaze.

"Lord Darqlon," the man Celestia was behind turned and saluted with his arm across his chest, "We caught this demon trying to spy on us, sir!"

"And you decided to torture it?"

"Uh..." the man swallowed, his brown eyes avoiding Darqlon's.

He snapped his fingers and all the men around the cage dropped to the ground with their eyes rolled up in their head. He glanced at Celestia and opened the cage to enter. His eyes burrowed into the man holding the whip.

"You," he picked up the man by the neck, "we do not torture prisoners." He snapped the man's neck and threw his lifeless body against the cage.

The young girl had horrified lavender eyes as she looked up at the Reaver.

His eyes faded from glowing hotly. He knelt beside her. A yellowish glow emitted from his hand. He motioned over her body and a similar yellow glow wrapped her body which healed her wounds. He drew a dagger, cut the binds off the girl, and removed her gag. Celestia watched closely. The girl shuffled away from the Reaver her back against the metal bars of the cage.

"Do you know who I am?" he questioned her.

She nodded her head quickly.

"Were you spying on us for the upcoming battle?"

She shook her head, "I... I ran away. I was a slave," she squeaked, "I just wanted some bread."

Darqlon held out a ghostly hand, "I will feed you."

"Really?"

"Yes. No one deserves to be a slave," he stated. The young girl placed her hand on his and he helped her up, "Do you have a name?"

"I am called Heidi," she curtsied, "Lord Darqlon."

"She," he looked over at Celestia, "is the Commander of my army, Astrid. I thought best if I intervened lest she killed everyone here."

He walked out of the cage with Heidi close at his heels he motioned for Celestia to follow, which she did.

After a short walk, the three of them reached a long white tent that carried the smell of food.

Darqlon addressed one of the guards, "Call Garrent to me."

"Sir!" the guard saluted and ran off.

He held open the tent for the two ladies and led them to his private table. A waiter immediately rushed up to him.

"What can I get for you, m'Lord Darqlon?" he asked with a notepad out.

"Serve whatever the young one wishes."

"Really?" Heidi exclaimed.

"Of course."

"Well, can I have some steak? My m-master always ate it and said it was delicious...."

The waiter nodded respectfully and turned his attention to the Commander, "And for you, ma'am?"

The gnawing at her stomach had grown but she did not want to say anything. As if reading her thoughts, Darqlon nodded at her. "Well," she began, "a salad, if that would not be too much trouble."

"Nonsense, Commander Astrid," he bowed, "Your usual salad?"

"Yes, please."

The waiter smiled and hurried off.

Darqlon had is attention on Heidi who just looked around the tent at all the soldiers who looked back at the three of them, "Heidi, how did you become a demon?"

Heidi looked up at him then at the table, "M-my parents... they sold my soul to Mystin for power... then they sacrificed me..."

"That's horrible," Celestia mistakenly said aloud.

"Yes," Darqlon nodded in agreement. "Do you wish to stay a demon?"

"No!" she began to cry.

Darqlon placed a hand on her back to comfort her, "Good. How would you like to become my apprentice?"

"W-what?" she sniffled.

"I sense great potential in you, Heidi. If you will allow me, with my guidance you could release your full potential and become a reaper."

"I.. I don't know," she hesitated, "If I say no, will you throw me back in the cage?"

"No," Heidi sighed in relief, "I will kill you."

Both Heidi and Celestia were shocked.

"You, regardless of you wanting to change, are a demon."

"That is hardly fair, Darqlon. You can not blackmail her to become your apprentice," Celestia spoke.

Darqlon gazed long and hard at her before chuckling, "I was merely joking. I would not kill you but you would have to go back to Hell, Heidi."

Heidi thought, "Would... would it be difficult?"

"Very," Darqlon nodded.

"In my life, Heidi," Celestia spoke, "I have found that some of the best things in life are the most difficult to obtain," she smiled comfortingly at the young demoness.

Heidi gulped then looked up at Darqlon, "I... I will do it... Master..."

"You honor me, Heidi," Darqlon bowed.

Shortly after, the waiter brought out a plate with the thickest steak he could possibly carry, and a salad bowl for the Commander with a fresh garden salad. During their meal, a stout man with a fabulous handlebar mustache took Heidi's measurements for new clothes. When Heidi had finished her fourth plate of steak, Darqlon led them out of the dining tent and to his personal tent. A hooded figure waited at his tent as they approached.

"Astrid, take care of Heidi in your tent for a moment, please," he held up three fingers at the figure who nodded and entered the tent, "I have some business to attend quickly."

"Of course, Darqlon," she reached down to Heidi, "Please, come along with me to my tent, Heidi."

Heidi hesitantly followed the archangel into her tent, not until she watched her new Master enter his tent.

Celestia smiled warmly at the young demoness. Heidi sat on the rug. She fiddled with her fingers. Celestia, feeling the weight of the awkwardness, began to search her drawers for anything to break the tension. She saw a lengthy penile shaped crystal in the top drawer and immediately closed it, with heated cheeks. Heidi looked up at her with a curious glance, she just smiled politely back at her, and resumed her search in the drawer. In the second, she found a diary and thought it rude to look through the contents. In the third and finally drawer, she found a hefty gilded tome and brought it out.

Heidi awed at the sight of the book, "What is that?"

"Just a small book of spells," she smiled, "Would you like to read it?"

"Yeah!" Heidi interjected but slumped, "I-I don't know how to r-read...."

"I will help you," Celestia placed the book on her bed and tapped the bed for Heidi to join her.

Heidi was fast asleep on Celestia's cot. She laughed softly, it would seem those four steaks have caught up with her. Celestia quietly got up and left her tent to speak with Darqlon.

"Darqlon?" she announced herself at the tent.

"Enter," he rasped in a quiet tone.

She entered and saw the specter sitting at a desk. He looked... he did not have as ghostly an appearance as he had earlier; he was more a solid shadow. "Is everything alright?" she asked concerned.

"No," he sighed, "My son and daughter-in-law have both died."

"Oh no," Celestia frowned, she could not begin to imagine how he felt, "I'm sorry for your loss, Darqlon. I wish I could say I know how you feel, but I can not."

Another sigh escaped him, "Just... get some rest. You are dismissed."

"Alright," she bowed politely, "If you want to ta  "

"Dismissed," Darqlon cut her off curtly.

Celestia went back to her tent. She removed her armor and decided to curl up with the young girl. She draped her wings protectively over her and slept.