When Technical Support is Too Helpful

Smack! Whack! Crack! Dash crumpled to her knees as she held her head and massaged the spot where the broom had hit her. She glared at the tiny old man in front of her with teary eyes.

"Hmph!" the old man harrumphed at her, "If you planned on failing miserably, you are on the right path, Daea. What is with that face of yours? Are you angry? Do you want to hit me? Hmmm! Get up then! Or you can sit there and cry like the baby I know you are!"

She growled at him, she knew he was stronger and more skilled than her  he was a master for a reason, on the other hand, she did not want him to get away with his verbal abuse. She had been rudely awakened to a new place by the little old man, with cold water to the face and he spent every second making her life miserable.

"That is what I thought," he threw the broom down at her feet, "I say sweep, you sweep, not ask for break, not give attitude. Sweep!"

Dash grumbled and bent down to pick up the broom. The students on the other side of the room snickered and laughed at her. She glared at them but said nothing. She stared out the open slide door as a cool wind blew in. When she first saw the green outside, it took her breath away. All the trees, bushes, shrubs, and flowers, all different from back home but just  if not more  as beautiful. A drastic change from the bleak, dusty plains the world was when she fell asleep. As picturesque the place was, she could do without that cranky old man. What was his problem?

After two hours of sweeping the entire wooden building, she sat on the porch, and untied her ponytail, her green hair caught the gust of wind. The sky had become a mixture of purple and orange; the sun had just disappeared behind the snow-capped mountains in the distance.

She ignored the footsteps behind her.

"You know," a boy spoke up, "if you weren't so rebellious, the Master would teach you."

"I don't want to be taught, I need to get out of here," she replied as she watched the wind rustle the garden's denizens.

"The gate is open," he teased, "What's keeping you here?" he sat down beside her.

She took a quick glance at the young man beside her. He wore a similar white jacket and pants as her, but had a black belt tied around his waist, she did not have one. He had short brown hair. With a huff she answered, "Not knowing where I am and the fact that I would be defenseless out there  alone."

He laughed, "How do you not know this place?"

"Doesn't matter. Hopefully, when I fall asleep, I'll be back where I was," she replied flatly.

` "Oh? Where were you before?" he asked curiously.

She looked at him with a scrunched face, "Why don't you leave me alone and worry about yourself. I'm not here to play twenty questions."

"So why are you here?" he smiled, his brown eyes twinkled.

She huffed annoyed and got up, "Bye."

"Wait!" he jumped up, "I could teach you how to fight with a rod staff!"

Dash stopped in her tracks and thought about his offer. She turned to him, her fuchsia eyes scanned him, "No. Good night."

Rejected, he slumped back onto the porch.

The annoying ambiance of frogs, insects, and birds kept Dash awake. She did not have to deal with all this noise while up in Cloudsdale. She tossed and turned in her bed  a rolled out thick cover  and fluffed her pillow. Her door slid open slowly which made her freeze. Her grip tightened on the pillow. Soft footsteps edged ever closer to her. A hand covered her mouth that stifled her scream. She looked up to see a devilish grin on the guy's face she had spoken to earlier.

"I get what I want!" he hissed and punched her in the stomach. "You be a good little girl and we'll both enjoy this night."

With the wind knocked out of her, her resistance and futile attacks died down, as asphyxiation grabbed her consciousness. Tears rolled down the sides of her head.

He chuckled wickedly, "I love it when girls cry." He threw the cover off her with his free hand, "What goodies are you hiding under here?" he teased as he opened her white jacket.

"MMMMM!" she muffled her displeasure. She tried to fight him off again. Her nails only dug into the arms of his jacket and his face was out of her reach. Her attempts halted with a knee to her diaphragm.

"Oooh, you're going to be a lot of fun!" he taunted lasciviously. A whimper of defeat escaped her when he opened her jacket completely which exposed her creamy budding breasts. "Delicious," he licked is lips and began to take off his pants.

With the moonlight, Dash could see his fully erect member inches away from her stomach. She struggled to free herself of him.

"Really, sweetie, you can not escape from me," he pulled her pants down, "Oh ho! The carpet matches the curtains!" A small patch of green tried  but failed  to hide her nubile sex from his perverted gaze. She clenched her knees together and brought them up to her chest.

He huffed, his patience worn thin, "I should have just knocked your ass unconscious when I first came in here."

"Yes," the old man spoke behind him and cracked a wooden rod across the side of his head, "You should have also not done this in the first place, Thomme."

The boy slumped to the ground, red slowly dripped from his head. Dash covered herself quickly. Her violet eyes gazed up at the old man.

He sighed, "Teenagers and their damn hormones." He hobbled over to Thomme and glanced softly back to Dash, "Get dressed. I will go prepare some tea for us in the dining room."

Dash nodded her head and wiped her eyes with her forearm, "Thank you, Master."

"Yeah, yeah," he began to drag Thomme out the room.

"The reason I have not taught you how to fight was because you were not brought to me to learn how to," the old man said over his cup of tea, "I was told to protect you and to teach how to become a lady."

"But I want to learn how to fight! You won't need to protect me if I can protect myself," she stated, "Especially because of what happened..."

A long, tired sighed escaped the old man's lungs, "Yes, yes, you are right." He pulled out a key hidden inside his gold belt, "This is a key to the archives. Within the scrolls are everything I know. Study what you can today and tomorrow show me what you can do. Now," he yawned, "if you will excuse me, I need some rest." He placed the key on the table before he left.

Dash quickly snatched the key and ran to the archives. The door took a considerable amount of for to open and when she did dust pour out of the room which made her cough. After her fit, she closed the door and locked it. The lamp she carried illuminated a towering bookcase before her. She saw that four more bookcases were on either side of the one in front of her.

"Oh, where to begin!" she thought. A glint caught her eye in the far back of the room. She managed to reach the source of the glint, after much maneuvering and climbing, a golden scroll stuck out from beneath a pile of scrolls. "Shiny is good," she grinned and pulled the scroll out from under the pile which scattered the others. She unraveled the scroll and a blinding light flashed in her eyes.