(A/N): This is a new series of short stories starring my new OC Ashley during her time as a guest/new resident at Palutena's temples and all of the adventures she has with the other KI cast. Enjoy!
When she woke up, it still felt like a dream. The fluffy pillows, the soft blankets, the bouncy mattress, the spotless bedroom, the fact that she was staying in THE Lady Palutena's temple.
There's no way it could be real.
But then Ashley opened her eyes and looked around the room. She smiled before putting aside her blanket and getting up.
Taking a moment to twirl around in her pretty nightgown, simply embracing her current situation, the young angel smiled even more.
Calming herself down a little, the blue haired girl made her way to the bathroom, her freshly cleaned tunic in hand. Opening the door, she was met with shiny brass pipes and nozzles and the whitest walls, bathtub, toilet, and sink she's ever seen (not that she's remembered the last bathroom she used).
"Wow." She said in shock at the quality of the room. She knew gods lived in luxury but even the bathroom was fancy. "I don't belong here, yet they accepted me anyway." This fact of letting such a revolting angel stay with the Goddess of Light would never be a fact Ashley would get over. It was all so strange but great at the same time.
Shutting the door, Ashley turned on the shower and let it simmer to a temperature hot enough to wake up the rest of her body, but cool enough as to not feel like burning. Once she was happy with the water, she took off her gown and got in the shower, sighing happily once again at the simple luxury of warm water cascading over her body, face, and wings.
-:-
After freshening up, Ashley found herself looking at her new tunic in the mirror, it was a similar shade of blue as her hair and had a light purple scarf as well, 'They made this to match my eyes and hair.' She thought to herself, blushing a little at how cute she thought it looked. But once again, like a blot of ink stain on a parchment, there were her wings showing she was still ugly in that regard. Ashley lowered her head sadly and sighed, walking out of the bathroom and to her bedroom door.
Opening the doorway slowly, she suddenly flew forward a little as someone on the other end of the door opened it while Ashley still had a grip on the handle, sending falling right to the floor with a small, "oof".
A hulking centurion was to blame as he nervously stood over the angel, rubbing her head as she got up. "My apologies." The brute angel said sternly. "Lady Palutena and Commander's Pit and Pitoo are in the dining hall for breakfast, they recommend your attendance."
Ashley's eyes moved to the floor as she flushed, "Me? They want...m-m-me to have breakfast with them?...Why?" She asked, still seeing herself as inferior in every way.
The centurion did move from his previous position, "You are a guest. Lady Palutena requests you to be treated as such. Follow me to the dining hall." And with that, the large angel began a firm march down the hall; Ashley gulped and followed.
-:-
As Ashley slowly followed the hulking centurion to the dining hall, she took the time to truly take in the decor and grand scale of the temple. The walls had the same basic skin tone color, but almost every inch had something with extra color to make the scenery pop. Ashley saw paintings and carvings in the walls, columns at every angle, tables with vases and flower pots on top, candelabras and even the ceilings were painted to look like an open view of the clouds and sky. It was so beautiful, vibrant, and for a lack of a better term, godlike.
Once again, the only thought that went through the young girl's head was: 'Why am I staying here? I don't deserve to be here.'
Ashley was snapped back from her thoughts when she bumped into the rock-hard back of the centurion. "We have arrived." The Centurion stated, opening the door and walking off back to his post. Ashley shook her head and regained herself before heading to the door. She was surprised to see the door was a simple average wooden door, no bigger than an average townhouse door either. Peeking her head in, she was a little shocked at what she saw inside.
Compared to the rest of the temple, the dining hall seemed rather unimpressive, as it looked no different than the average kitchen and dining room. To be fair, the room wasn't bad looking, just surprisingly normal.
"Ashley, good morning!" The angel girl jumped at the volume of the greeting from Lady Palutena, who walked over to the doorway, her arms happily raised in the air. The Goddess of Light brought Ashley into a hug, which both caught the angel off guard and made her feel a little uncomfortable, spreading an embarrassed blush across her face.
"Um….g-g-g-good morning." Ashley whispered.
"You're sure being super friendly all of a sudden." Dark Pit's voice sprang up from the table, where he was balancing a butter knife with a fork. "Y'know, for the girl you interrogated and claimed was a demon last night."
"Pitoo!" Pit yelled, smacking the knife his dark twin was balancing to the table, "Don't say that! Lady Palutena is being nice to our guest." The light angel stood up and walked over to Ashley, holding a cup of orange juice. "Sorry about that, Ashley. Pitoo's just...not used to you being around yet." Ashley shuffled a little and looked at her feet in response.
"Or he's just trying to figure out what that warm feeling is whenever Ashley enters a room." Palutena commented snidely. Dark Pit shot a glare that could've sliced the whole temple in half, and angrily grunted before leaving the room. "I'm not hungry anyway." He mumbled, walking out the door on the opposite end of the room.
Palutena smiled a little and sighed before turning to Ashley and Pit, "He'll simmer down eventually. Care to join Pit and I for breakfast, Ashley?" The green haired woman asked, smiling as bright as the morning sun beaming in from the window. Ashley silently shook her head yes. Palutena squealed happily and sat the two down at the table.
"I hope you two enjoy this morning's breakfast, the cooks have prepared a wonderful meal." Palutena said, walking to a rope leading to the service bell and pulled it slightly.
"No offense, Lady Palutena, but so long as you have as little input with the food as possible, I'm sure it will be great." Pit said, fork and knife in each hand now. Palutena only smirked in reply.
"What are we having?" Ashley asked quietly. Palutena sat beside her, placing a napkin on her lap. "Froutalia." She replied happily.
The south doorway opened, and a tall, young angel with silver hair entered the room carrying a platter of three breakfast dishes. He had general chef attire and a stern butler look on his face. "Your breakfast." His voice was deeper than his face let on. He sat the platter down on the edge of the table and placed a plate in front of Palutena, Pit, and Ashley.
"Thank you, Lance." Palutena said, bowing her head slightly. Lance finally opened his hazel colored eyes and smiled, bowing back. "You are welcome, enjoy." The angel cook was about to leave when Ashley caught his eye. "Oh my…"
Ashley saw him staring and hid her face. Lance in response gasped and bowed to her sloppily, "E-Ever so sorry for staring, my lady. I have simply not seen you before, f-f-forgive my staring." He said nervously.
"I-I-I-It's ok." Ashley squeaked out before she jumped once again the sound of a fingersnap. She looked up to see Palutena was doing the snapping. "Lance. Please calm down."
The silver haired angel rose up straight and fixed his hat, taking a small breath, "Yes, Lady Palutena. Enjoy your breakfast." He said, trying to retain his calm voice before exiting the room.
"Excuse Lance, he doesn't respond well to people he believes are upset." Palutena said, turning her attention to her meal. "He'll be fine, now enjoy breakfast! Lance's Froutalia is wonderful."
Ashley looked curiously at her plate. "What is Froutalia?" She asked. "Oh just an omelette with some potatoes and sausages, I can't say enough how scrumptious it is." Pit chuckled, "You don't have to sell Lance's cooking, Lady Palutena, I'm sure she'll like it." The angel popped a bite of sausage in his mouth.
Ashley looked back at the meal and suddenly felt hunger overcome her whole being from the lack of food she's had in the last few days. "Right now, I'll eat anything." She quickly grabbed her fork and knife and began cutting a piece of the omlette. "It does look good though." She picked up the omelette, took the bite, and groaned in utter bliss. "Mmmm, this is….so good." The omelette was warm and full of taste, she particularly tasted pepper on top of the egg, it was wonderful. She swallowed the bite and sat back as if fully satisfied already, but within seconds, the utensils were raised again, and Ashley was tearing apart and absolutely devouring the meal, displaying her enjoyment vividly. Palutena and Pit chuckled, "Glad you liked your first meal here, Ashley." Pit smiled.
Ashley blushed a little, embarrassed by her rampant eating, and began calmly wiping her mouth with her napkin, "...Sorry, I was...I was hungry."
Palutena patted Ashley on the shoulder, "It's alright. You probably didn't have much food until now, so it's understandable. And by the way, I'm used to quick, big eaters like a certain commander." Palutena guided Ashley's eyes over to Pit, whose plate was licked clean. Pit himself was leaning back in is chair patting his stomach. Ashley couldn't help but giggle. "This was a nice breakfast, thank you. And if I may ask something?" The angel girl looked at the floor again and started twiddling her thumbs awkwardly. "I really still don't know why you….you treat me so well. Dark Pit does seem to have a point, just last you….thought I was, well-"
Palutena threw her hand in front of Ashley, stopping her. The Goddess of Light sighed, "I know, but it's clear by the little interrogation last night, your actions this morning, and your general personality that I misjudged you."
Ashley suddenly felt a hand on her shoulder again, she turned and saw Pit on her other side. "We wanted to make everything up to you, Ashley. You were a victim of something, and no one wanted to help you. We aren't that heartless here."
Ashley blushed and smiled. "Thank you so much." She whispered. "I'm very grateful. So very grateful." And she was, she didn't even know who she was anymore, but apparently she was worthy of all this kindness from the greatest people in Skyworld, and to stay in what she thought was the most beautiful place on earth. She didn't think she deserved this, but apparently everyone else thought so.
Suddenly, she felt a warmth across her and hair against the side of her face, she blushed when she realized Pit was hugging her. "P-Pit? What're you-"
"Group hug!" Pit yelled, laughing. Before Ashley could react, Palutena had her arms around her too, "Group hug!~" She repeated excitedly. Ashley smiled and looked down shyly. "This has been as a great morning. Thank you."
"It only get better from here, I have a whole day planned for us, Ashley." Palutena smiled.
"You're about to get a Pit and Palutena style welcome to the temple today, Ashley!" Pit responded, moving one of his arms upward, fist pumping the air.
Ashley's smile grew, and she embraced the hug now. "I….I-I-I….I can't wait." She said, her shyness momentarily giving way to full happiness.
A/N: I really like how this story came out, I'm really happy with how I wrote Ashley and I really liked the other OC I popped in with Lance, you'll probably be seeing more of him too since I like the boy haha. Expect more chapters soon!
Until next time, Gotta Fly!