11 - Cleaned Up

Posted on Mon Apr 22nd, 2024 @ 2:03am by Dungeon Master Sue Donym

1,080 words; about a 5 minute read

Mission: Chapter 4 - Apprentice
Location: Aurelia's New Home
Timeline: 2090

Back at home, it took a little bit to get Ember past security. One of Ryder’s co-workers kept insisting on seeing her ID and Becca had to run interference, insisting that it would be provided by the Crimson Cartel at a later date. Eventually, they relented, but the sheet they had wrapped her up in was still stupidly suspicious.

But they eventually got upstairs and Aurelia got her unwrapped and was able to confirm that she was indeed cleansed - not a trace of demonic energy remained. “Usually, there’s at least a trickle feeding through you to keep you maintained, but I guess I burned even that out of you. Different world, different rules, maybe. For now, let’s get you cleaned up and something to eat in you. Becca, can you get some charcuterie made while we get cleaned up?”

Hearing some sort of affirmative from the kitchen, the red headed sorceress guided the now demonic woman into the main bathroom. “Yeah, nothing quite like a shower to help you feel more alive.”

“I haven’t had a shower with real water since I was nine,” Ember said meekly as she started to pull off the scraps of clothes she had on. “I don’t have any money. These scraps are all I have.”

“Don’t you worry about that. We’ll order you some new clothes. Some nice outfits you can work in, something you can relax in… I have a feeling you’d enjoy something in darker shades, am I right?”

“Yeah, actually. If that’s not too much to ask.” Picking at the desiccated remains of her undergarments, Ember just stood there like a little lost demon, not sure what to do.

So Miss Luna just took pity on her and guided her into the shower as she was. “The first seashell is for body wash, second is for shampoo, third is for conditioner. Use as many washcloths as you need. If you have trouble scrubbing anything like your horns, just let me know and I’ll help you out, ok?”

At the mention of her horns, Ember started to cry again. She’d been avoiding looking at herself in the mirror, but now she couldn’t help but glance at the giant mirror over the double sink and stare at the monstrosity she had become and she started sobbing once more. Her blond hair, brown eyes, and slim figure were gone and replaced with pitch black hair with sparkles, eyes like black holes with glowing embers in the center, a pair of horns that looked as twisted and nightmarish as she could have possibly imagined coming out of the sides of her head and pointing forwards, and her figure… Her melons had to each be bigger than her head and she had hips, thighs, and a bum to match. This was the first time she had gotten a proper look at herself since that demon she had made a deal with had done this to her, and she was horrified.

“Shh. There, there.” The other woman pulled Ember in and hugged her tightly. “We’ll get through this together. I promise you that. As long as you’ll have me, I’ll be here for you.”

“Thank you…” Ember got out as she let out all her pent up emotions, tears flowing freely now. Her life had absolutely sucked before now and the one chance she had at trying to make it better, she’d messed that up royally. The one bright spot was that someone had actually come to save her.

After a few minutes like this, they eventually untangled themselves from each other and Ember regarded her new mistress with hopeful eyes. “You can do magic… Does that mean…”

Aurelia had a feeling she knew what the young woman was about to ask and smiled sadly. “I can make a charm that can make you look like you used to. It’s not absolute and it’s nowhere near perfect, but it’s enough to trick cameras and eyes. If you’re ok with that…”

“Oh, yes, please!” Ember grabbed Aurelia’s hands and actually cracked a smile for the first time in months.

“Then you get cleaned up and I’ll work on that, ok?” With a satisfied nod, Aurelia left her new apprentice in the shower and went to one of her work rooms to get started. Thankfully, Becca seemed to be done in the kitchen and had joined her. “Becca, I need a tasteful necklace that the Cartel won’t mind missing. Also, I assume you got her measurements? She needs a few outfits.”

As she spoke, Becca picked out a simple yet elegant steel necklace with a steel wire wrapped amethyst and offered it to the red headed sorceress. “Yes, mistress. I was able to calculate her measurements and I’ve already ordered several work suits and some loungewear popular with young adults in the colors she’s historically been seen in. The first outfits should arrive within the hour. As for your food, it has been placed in the lounge as you seem to enjoy dining there most often.”

“Thank you, Becca. We should all be so lucky to have someone like you by our side.” With a flourish, she put the necklace on and began casting as she looked in the mirror. “I’ll need an image of what she looked like.”

“You flatter me, my lady,” Becca replied, the skin on her android face actually feeling a bit warm. She definitely needed to run a diagnostic later. But now, her mistress needed her. She tapped at her pad and pulled up a recent ID scan of Ember Mofington. She looked like she actually could have been one of the beautiful, popular kids if she hadn’t grown up like she had.

“How did her parents die?” Aurelia asked as she began working, her own form shifting to match that of the woman on the screen.

“Logs indicate that her parents…” Becca made a slightly agitated sound as she paused in her reading. “Lady Luna… Her parents died on Mother Earth. She was born on Mother Earth. She spent sixty years in cryo-stasis as a baby.”

Now close to an exact likeness to the woman on the screen thanks to the glamor charm she had just created, Aurelia furrowed her brow and turned towards her assistant. “Then the rabbit hole goes deeper, doesn’t it?”

 

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