Confused, that would describe his mental state, he could understand her getting mad over the clothes but oh well, it was that or nothing and her old clothes were too dirty. Now she was standing there ranting at him calling him a "necrophiliac" and "corpse rutter" and other words and things that he had no idea what they were or meant.

She kept going till he suddenly lurched to his feet and stormed around the table and towered over her, this was the first time she gotten a good look at him. Intimidating and spooky were two very good words, standing at just over 6' tall with blazing blue eyes, pale whitish, pink skin, the kind of pale that allowed her to see the veins. A white silvery beard and long hair of matching color, he looked the portrait of a man who aged rapidly without his face aging beyond its late thirties.

As he looked down at her with a portrait of utter fury, the kind of fury that would leave her as nothing more than a dusting of soot on the floor Shadow realized she may have just overdone it a bit. He was a solid built fellow too she realized, maybe he would not burn her into the floor, maybe he would break every bone in her body. Still, ears laid back she found herself pinned to the wall as he kept yelling at her, fear had shut out everything he was saying but she did catch one bit. "And FURTHERMORE I am NOT having SEX WITH YOU!"

"Wait, what?" Her entire rebuttle was two short lived words as he stared her shrinking form down. "Your not... Going to have your way with me?" Now it was his turn to change colors and look confused again. "No of course not! I only have the one bedroom! Its not like I ever built this place with the intention of having guests! Where in the hell WOULD you sleep? On the floor?! I will not have any servant or slave of mine sleeping on the floor but YOU are trying my patience!"

Oh, well this is embarrasing. "But what about the clothes?" He leaned back from her and went back to his table and sat down again "Its all I had in storage, its a long story but it will have to do till clothes can be made." He already knew what started all this and his anger dissipated now that he knew she was drawing the wrong conclussion. "I have little to no use for my chambers anymore since long ago I got over the need for sleep, played hell on my senses for a time but..." There he goes again, explaining himself to his slave. Snapping his mouth shut for a moment he looked up and glared at her again "Go to bed, I will have my servants wake you when its time for you to continue your dutied. Leave." Waving his hand she found herself floating out the door with the other servants. The doors shut with a quiet thud and she was quickly ushered down the halls again.

Grand, opulent, overdone perhaps. Valkardian must have been bored when he or whoever designed this room drew it up, it was massive, more like a museum for all the random things laying around, an entire library was arranged on one side, a bed big enough for a large herd in the center, low to the floor but it looked very plush. She assumed the other doors led to wardrobes. Armor, weapons were also plentiful along with... Trophies... Skulls, a dragons head was mounted on one wall. Shadow gave the weapons a look then thought better of it, something told her that even IF she were armed it wouldnt make a lot of difference. For one thing all the armor and weapons were made to fit HIM and looked WELL WORN. Secondly, even if she got lucky, there were enough skeletons out there to overwhelm her wings or not and she had no idea how to get out ANYWAY. Best to just buy her time and pray that one day he slips and gives her a chance to get away.

Stripping off and laying on the bed left her feeling wierd, looking up she found out why, two servants guarded the door, armed. How had she NOT noticed them before? Oh well, the bed was plusher than it looked, she sank into the silk sheets and sighed, whatever tomorrow would bring, it would. There was nothing she could do about it so best sleep and be ready for whatever nefarious torture and hell he had planned for her. Yanking a sheet over herself Shadows mind drifted back to a concern of hers: what would become of her when she was no longer needed? It did not last long however, sleep overtaking her mind as she quickly slipped away in the beds silky embrace.

What to do with her... Hmm... At least she was asleep, he would need to figure out something for sleeping arrangements though... Letting a slave sleep in his bed... No, then again at least she had not tried anything after seeing his "collection." At any rate he had a short list of things for her to do now, too short but at least his new slave would have SOMETHING to do other than stand around. He had to admit, having her around livened things up for the first time in... Memory failed him but it was livelier and she was quite amusing if nothing else, a pain in the ass but amusing all the same. Tomorrow her work would begin, first she would dust the murals in the hallway then if she did not botch that... He would allow her to work outside the house in his garden but time would tell. Stopping suddenly he remember a very important fact: she needed to eat. No, a slave would not eat at his personal table, she already had his chambers and was using his bath. Sending out a series of commands that sent servants skuttling through the halls he was now certain that come "morning" she would be fully capable of being fed, watered and cleaned up after. A table would be set up in the banquet hall, he had commanded his servents to keep it "simple and primitive." A chair, table, what else would she need, food would be prepared from the stock available and that would be that. Clothes... Oh well he would get around to that later, she could wear some strips of cloth from storage if it came to that. Not giving anything another thought he turned back to his reading.

Poking, something was poking her, it just kept poking till Shadow opened her eyes whisking her away from a happy dream of orchards and succulent fruits. Turning over and looking up a servant was using a broom to poke her, eyes nearly bugging out she almost let out a scream before calming down, she was still HERE. Climbing off the bed she quickly dressed in what amounted to string and wishful thinking. Afraid, yes Shadow you should be terrified, PETRIFIED at this situation but for whatever reason it did not terrify her at all. True, she was scared of him but last night any terror she may have held melted away, he had not raped, killed or reduced her to ash after her outburst. However slaves were supposed to be treated this was likely not it, then again today was the day her work started and that might change. What WAS he anyway? Would asking get her zapped again or worst? Strange how a mortifying experience was turning more curious. Expecting to be given the broom she reached for it after dressing only for the servant to hold it away from her and leave. Following it outside another pointed and she dutifully followed.

These murals were damned disturbing, they were on every wall including the grand dining hall she now sat in. If this is how her new master treated slaves... She didn't mind one bit. Sitting at the head of a large table decked out in finery it made her feel more like a princess than a slave. Silk tablecloth, fine dining-ware, silverware, crystal goblet and some kind of wine jug all for her. Grinning like a fool Shadow waited as her skeletal butler loped its way over to her carrying a tray of something... It smelled good that was true, as it set the tray down and began to serve her she finally got a good look at it. Mushrooms... Lots and lots of mushrooms... And THINGS. The "main dish" assuming that's what it indeed was... Held an array of mushrooms cooked and seasoned three different ways, a bowl of what appeared to be black gruel was placed beside it. None of it smelled bad, it smelled delicious, taking a testing taste of the seared mushrooms a smile spread across her face, this was delicious! With some trepidation Shadow eyed the bowl, carefully picking up a spoon and poking the contents. "What is this?" Taking a spoonful she smelled it, whatever this stuff was it smelled sweet and after tasting it indeed it was. Bit chewy and had a crunch to it but very sweet. Unidentifiable Sweet Thing, that's what she would call this, reaching for the jug on the table a skeletal hand shot out making her jump. It did not go for her but instead grabbed the jug and poured the contents into her goblet before placing it down and stepping away, going rigid. Grand dining hall, full course breakfast, wine, fancy table, actual SILVERware, private butler to serve her... Oh yes, she could get used to this.

Yes, that might work, Shadow should be here soon too... Looking over at the doorway a servant led a beaming Shadow into the room, maybe she was one of those masochistic types. No one in their right mind would be smiling like that and nearly hopping in place while a slave and head nearly on the chopping block. Ack, orders, yes her orders. "Slave, your job for the next few days is dusting the murals in the halls, a servant will give you what you need, off with you." Waving a hand dismissively at her and turning back to the experiment he caught a happy "Yes master Valkardian!" before she was ushered away. Turning to look back he muttered and shook his head before going back to the experiment. Clothes would soon be in production for her in the next few days, getting the skeletons reprogrammed on short notice was no small feat, nor was getting the patterns! She had best be worth it.

Duster in hand Shadow lazily flapped her wings, the murals in this hall were much bigger than the others, this was a "primary" hall she guessed, this place must be HUGE! A true palace hidden away... Somewhere. Dusting was easy, every once in a while a servant would lope down the hall to check on her before leaving, that was another thing, there was nothing scary about them at all. The ones with glowing blue eyes ignored her, they seemed to be the soldiers, always armed and marching around quietly. The yellow ones cleaned, lavender served, whoever this Valkardian was he was a very organized stallion-thing. Even the doors had some weird script chiseled into them or above on the frame. The only scary thing down here so far was these nightmarish murals. So far she had cleaned quite a bit, most depicted history of some time long forgotten or simply not IN pony books. Shadow found herself dusting and studying the murals at the same time, every once in a while a servant would come along and bat at her with a broom to get her cleaning again but she had since learned to listen for their quiet clacking sound.

So far she had dusted off one depicting some "paleo-pony period" rendition showing the various ponies killing each other with sticks and stones, others showed bug ponies starting fights. The worst of them however was whenever HE made an appearance, in one mural he was harvesting them and their dead to make servants. Maybe he was not so nice after all... Actually, as she thought about it going back to dusting the next mural in the series, everything so far showed him either intervening to stop the fighting or downright stomping out the competition. Maybe he was an evil neutral? The day seemed to go on till some skeletons arrived and ushered her down, the little convoy carried a small table, chair and other things. They quickly set up a table for her and adorned it quickly, setting out food and more wine. Yes, life was good, very good.

Must be time for dinner... His stomach growled and standing he walked out into the hall. "I wonder where she is now..." A simple thought allowed him to glimpse her through the eyes of a servant passing by, she had made good progress but she could be faster. "Hmm... Best go see how good a job she is doing..." Muttering to himself and stalking down the halls he eventually rounded a bend bringing her into sight. What the devil was she doing? Ah, she is... Studying the murals? Quietly making his way over he stood behind her as the little hovering bat quietly beat her wings examining the mural she had just dusted off. A bit of pride filled him looking at it, one of his finer moments indeed. "Learn anything USEFUL or are you lazing about?"

Damn! Normally she heard them coming but, oh wait this is worse. Descending to the floor and turning slowly she looked up at the face of a bemused master. "Oh, um... Yes! Am I not allowed to study them or...?" Looking over her his eyes tracing over the mural "No, you are free to study them so long as you do your job." Lifting a finger and pointing "A proud moment, a hive queen almost took over the three pony races and enslaved them. Was not much interested in allowing the changelings to concentrate their power like that so I stopped it, best to keep the factions divided and feuding. She had it in her head to be empress and even march against ME one day!" Scoffing at the notion he continued "A few words in the proper ears however put a stop to it, got my revenge on the bitch too, while she was busy loosing the war on three fronts I harvested her hive from behind, dug right into it and wiped most of them out. When she returned to the hive I captured her and well..." An army swept to the left and Shadow followed it, her master was running the changeling queen through and then raising her body as a servant... How very... FINAL. The pony army that showed up later it seemed had no idea what had happened as no trace was left, not one body. They were none the wiser.

"Um, master, is something wrong? I know its only been... Two days? But you never personally checked on me before, is something wrong?" Valkardians head turned and looked down and a toothy grin showed, he always enjoyed teaching history but that was long ago, he could not help but smile. "No, I came to get something to eat."

Oh crap he has sharp teeth! Vampony! The pale skin, living underground, undead servants! No wonder he had wined and dined her! All this was to keep her blood nice and tasty! "AH! Um! Batponies are poisonous! Very bad for vampony health! My blood would only make you very sick master Valkardian! Oh please dont suck my blood, please dont suck my blood..."

The last pleading part came out a low mutter that she just kept muttering leaving him there to just stare at this deranged little bat. Utterly insane, bouts of madness, good worker! Cheery, but deranged. That or she was just very good at assuming the worst and he always did that but she made him look like an amateur at it. Then again... The pale skin and all the rest of it... With a heavy sigh he shook his head "I am NOT a vampire. Besides, if I wanted your blood I would just magic it away... Then again I SHOULD take a sample, see if you have lead poisoning or something..." Continuing to mutter Shadow sighed in relief but that old question popped back into her head. "Master? What ARE you anyway? I have never seen a stallion like you before nor read about anything like you..."

Stepping back to reality his gaze drifted back down to his little slave. "I am ME, if you refer to species well... I gave up those petty notions long ago, I am simply who I am and that is all that matters, not this fleshy thing. Also, I am not a stallion, I am a MAN. All that matters to you is that I am MASTER Valkardian." Looking around again he felt hunger pangs, oh well, time to eat... Might be nice to have an actual flesh and blood servant for once too... "Slave, come with me." Continuing to stalk down the hall she dutifully followed him to his own private dining room, this was not that darned banquet hall he had made so long ago only to have it become useless. Then again he had assigned it for her use but oh well, she could eat in that drafty barn till hell froze over. A wave of his hand brought the doors open and leading her into his dining room.

Not as big as where she had eaten... Smaller, more private, familial in a way. The decor here was not grim but more scenic, quite nice really. The table was as opulent as possible: solid marble and polished to a sheen with fancy gold inlay. What looked more like a throne sat at the head, the table seemed to be big enough for some sixteen or so ponies but there was only the one "chair." Doors lead off the far side and braziers brought a bright magical light to the room, this was concentrated royal dining room for one. Sitting down with a tired huff she followed over and stood waiting, duster still in hand. Moments later he looked up and it and floated off into the hands of a servant. "Follow that one, YOU will be serving me tonight." He really liked to wave his hands out. Following it brought her into a grand cooking chamber, most of the servants though stood around idly, the place was built to feed an army but there was no army. Why had he gone to so much trouble to do all this then just abandon it? A "waiter" brought a tray over for her to carry while another carried a bottle and goblet on a silver tray. Oh well, if this was the extent of "slave labor" she could put up with it.

Having a pretty little thing deliver your meal after hell only knows how long is quite nice for a change. Being served by skeletons forever gets old after a time and having a new, pretty face makes things less droll and drab. On the other hand, having said serving slave be an attractive little thing dressed in a skimpy outfit is simply an additional perk. Maybe having a slave wasnt such a bad idea after all... Then again...

I have no idea what I am doing. Shadow stood there with the tray in her arms, it was too large for her but she managed, bit heavy too... Remembering her breakfast she quickly placed the tray down on the table and removed the silver lid, it looked similar to what she had eaten but with more courses, all of them made of mushrooms or THINGS. He must REALLY love his mushrooms... Setting the plates before him carefully she haphazardly started to lay them out after the first three. A sigh escaped him as he began to teach her proper placement and soon she was done, stepping back the other servant came forward, placed two goblets, filled one from the red bottle then poured water in the other and stepped away.

Being served was nice even thought she had no idea what she was doing, then again the bat learned quickly and listened well. Taking his time eating he simply enjoyed having an actual SERVANT for once but the silence was boring. "Have you been given enough sustenance? Water? Did the servants show you where the bathroom is?"

"Yes! The food is quite good and the wine was excellent! I had no idea you treated your slaves so well, at first I thought I might get gruel and water or something, not a private dining hall, table and all this fancy... Dining stuff. Its very kind of you master!"

Wait a second. Spoon almost to his mouth he began to rethink the orders given out last night, he had ordered the servants too... Oh dammit. They were only programmed for serving lavishly. That means they... No wonder she was so happy and bouncing around. *Sigh* Too much bother to go through all that programming again to create a handful of specialized servants just for her though. At least the banquet hall was getting used and she was now less likely to cause trouble. Continuing to eat, other questions came to mind. "Tell me, what did you learn from the murals?"

"That you dont like getting involved unless it might affect you personally." Well that was very true, for the most part at least from what she gathered, only once had he done anything "nice" in any of the murals she saw not counting the bug pony one... That was more a "you rub my back I rub yours." A nod was all she got in response to her answer. "I also learned that you are... Ancient... ANCIENT, ancient. Old as the princesses old or older. Are you older than them?"

"Yes, keep dusting and you will probably come across a mural with them eventually. We are quite "different" in age though, on the other hand I never got out as much as they did or... Experiment... As much as they did either." A smile crept onto his face. "Tell me, how much DO you know about those two sisters?"

"They are the rulers of Equestria, bringer of sun and moon, peace, harmony, unifiers of the country..." On and on she listed what she knew of them, all of it textbook jargon hammered into her head as a filly. Still, he seemed to find it amusing, he had stopped eating and had leaned back in his chair to listen and occasionally chuckle or guffaw at what she had said only to motion her to continue. After finishing her little speech with the occasional question thrown in he stood quietly and informed her that was all for the day, to go get dinner herself and retire for the day. Many questions did she have, many, many, many. Especially about him laughing hard when she mentioned how Celestia and Luna had brought peace and prosperity. Harmony? He guffawed. Protectors who drove off evil invading armies? He gagged on his soup.

For an almighty, terrifying evil bastard as the murals depicted... Shadow was having a hard time believing it, yes what he had done was... Well, just EVIL but something was missing, especially with his reaction to her story, something was just plain WRONG in how he responded, like he knew a big secret or something, a secret she wanted to know. However, that would have to wait, master had left her alone, one last parting bit was that by going through the kitchen she could reach her own dining room. Indeed she did, then again Shadow could understand why he prefered the other room, it WAS nicer abliet much smaller. Then again, how often does one get to dine in a royal banquet hall at a private table, servants, fine wine, food... They even brought desert! Wierd stuff it was, was it pudding or cake? A hybrid? Oh well, it tasted wonderful. Still, it would be nice to have someone to talk to while eating. That one slapped her in the face hard, having her serve him, she suddenly understood what it meant having someone to eat with, talk to or even listen to while eating. Especially if he had been down here as long as she was supposing he had been.

A bath could wait for another day, he had to finish up that experiment, everything was laid out, commands given, all that was left was to carry on and wait for tomorrow. It had been the nicest dinner he had in... Forever, what a funny little bat she was, what grand, tall tales she regaled to him. HAH! She made those two sound like saints! They were anything BUT! Then again... If HE was any measure to go by... Well... They WERE saints. Still, he couldnt help but chuckle, she had really got into her story telling, if she enjoyed telling stories so much he wondered what else she might tell him if asked, maybe dinners would stay interesting for a time. Who knows, if she kept studying the murals she might just learn something NEW and... "Different" about her reveried leaders. Now THAT would be fun to see, what would the look on her face be when she started to dust... What section was it? Section TWO... Yes... Section TWO was where those two entered. He would need to leave a spy to record her expression after seeing that section.

Once again she was led to her... Well HIS/HER chambers, did he EVER sleep? The servant stood by quietly as she stripped making her feel wierd, placing her "clothes" down it picked them up and left, maybe it was going to clean them? Exchange them with something new? No, he said this was it till new clothes could be made and he did not want her prancing around naked to distract him. Kind of touching to know he thought of her as beautiful to the point of distracting... Then again kind of creepy when she associated the face with the thought. Never mind, the bed bad already been fixed at some point after she got up, if she could say anything about his servents they kept the place IMMACULATE. More dusting tomorrow but for tonight... Soft, oh so soft silky softness and sleep.