Everywhere was black when I came to. I could hear voices, girls talking over one another. I tried to move but my hands were restrained behind my back.
"Guys, she's awake," someone announced and the entire room was thrown into silence. "What do we do now?"
A much stern voice followed. "Move."
I felt hands grab the fabric on my head before they pulled it off. I blinked severally in order to adjust my eyes to the dim room.
It was a room full of girls, all of them in a circle while I sat in the middle. They had different types of halloween masks on so it was hard to tell who they were. But I could tell some voices apart from the others.
Each person wore a long white gown, something one would wear for baptism. It was almost virginal, and I was very much afraid and a bit excited.
"What am I doing here?" I asked no one in particular, trying to figure out who they were beneath the mask.
One of the girls came forward, she seemed to be the leader.
"We never got to give you proper orientation after what happened…I'm sure you already heard everyone talk about it."
"And to be fair, we all thought you were Mary brought back to life. With everything happening around here, it wouldn't be far from impossible. I still…"
Someone cleared their throat, successfully cutting the speaker off.
"Wait…you all thought I was the dead girl brought back to life?" I asked and they chorused a yes.
"I mean…can you blame us? You both look alike, and answer the same name. It's like an episode from a mystery drama." The voice sounded young, and almost playful.
"I understand." I mumbled. "But why am I here? And why am I tied up?"
Their leader walked towards me, then knelt down in front of me. "It's your initiation into the sisterhood."
My eyebrows furrowed. "Initation?"
She nodded.
"Into what?"
"The sisterhood. It's a tradition that has been practised here for years. It started with the seniors before us, and now we must continue it."
I shook my head, trying to back away when she moved closer. "I'm not following."
"Sancta Verita Academy is a reform institution at its core, even though no one quite admits to it. Every single girl was enrolled into this school as some sort of disciplinary measure because they deviated from the society's acceptable norms. We're supposed to plead forgiveness day and night and believe our existence is a sin itself."
She spoke like an activist that was rallying a crowd. "They've made us feel like our basic human desire for connection is something we must be shameful for."
I felt her kneel down in front of me. I startled when I felt her finger under my chin before it trailed slowly down my chest.
"To love someone like yourself is not a sin. Do you think the same as us Mary?"
"Do you mean to love a woman?" I stuttered, my brain trying desperately to keep up with what she meant.
"Yes."
"I…I…" I've been taught otherwise since I was a child. I'd spent nights on my knees praying for God to change me, only to realize that some people are just born this way.
Yet, it was also the very reason my parents had threatened to kill me after they found out the kind of stories I wrote.
That world was miles away from me, yet in this new reality it haunted me still. "Yes," I whispered. Then got bolder when her finger dipped down my stomach. "Yes!"
There were giggles around.
"Good. Then you shall be welcomed as one of us."
I could see shadows move around before I felt different hands on me, undoing the buttons of my shirt and pulling down my skirt.
"Wait…what's going on?"
"This is your rite of passage. To make you feel whole and connected to your body." The one I assumed to be the leader was still on her knees in front of me. Her voice had turned hoarse.
"You have a very beautiful body," she purred, her fingers on my stomach. "Has anyone ever told you that?"
A shiver worked up my spine. "No."
"Well, now you know." I felt her place a wet kiss on my navel. "Give me the communion."
I heard someone shuffle around before the cold metal of a goblet was placed on my lips.
"This signifies the blood of those before us. Drink it and feel connected to your deepest, darkest desires." She tipped the cup and I drank its content.
The warmth of the alcohol traveled down my throat smoothly, loosening my senses in a way I've never experienced.
I felt some of the liquid run down the side of my mouth before a warm tongue licked it up in a slow sensual way that had me pressing my thighs together.
"Do you like that?"
I found myself nodding.
"Good." I could feel the smile in their voice. "Now open your thighs for me," her nails trailed down my legs. "Let me show you how good girlhood should feel."
The voice was hypnotizing and soon enough my thighs fell apart. Without my sight, all my other senses had heightened.
I could feel the breathing of the girl at my back fall softly on my shoulder. I heard the small snap of my bra giving way for warm fingers.
Soon palms cupped my boobs gently, earning a small gasp from me. I tried to control my reactions but the alcohol was making it pretty difficult.
Thumbs circled my nipples before they were both covered with warm mouths. I threw my head back and thrust my hips forward as undiluted need coursed through me.
"Let it all out," someone whispered against the shell of my ear which made me shudder. "Never hold yourself back."
I cried out when teeth bit my nipples before it was followed by a soothing tongue. It transported me to the time I was in the bathtub with Ms. Duval.
I imagined that it was her mouth on me, and her fingers circling my inner thigh.
Someone grabbed my throat, putting just enough pressure before capturing me completely in a wet sloppy kiss. I could taste the alcohol off their mouth.
"Tighter," I whispered, my voice hoarse.
I'd always wanted to be dominated like this, told what to do, be conquered and reduced to a shivering mess.
It was why I wrote a character like Ms. Duval, who could both be nurturing and cruel in equal measure. Her hand closed tighter around my neck in punishment, just enough to leave me gasping for air.
Then my underwear was pushed to the side before I felt a finger slip into my wet folds. I whimpered…I needed more.
I couldn't stop myself from grinding on the hand, seeking all the release Ms. Duval had left dangling in front of me.
"Do you want to cum?" someone asked softly, before pulling my hair back.
"Yes!" I cried, I couldn't take it anymore. "I need you now."
I could hear the other girls cry out in pleasure. And even as those fingers filled me, all I could think of was lying bare, body and soul in front of Ms. Duval and surrendering completely as I come undone.