Sisterhood - Initiation Ch. 33

A cloud of warm vapor puffed out and settled against Leah's skin as she lifted the curtain aside. She peered through into what looked like near darkness, but then as she stepped forward her eyes quickly adjusted and she saw the flicker of candlelight. It was a stark change in atmosphere from the other chambers she had passed through. Little trays, each bearing a single candle, sat at regular intervals on a jutting lip of stone around the edge of the room, throwing a flicker of blurry shadows across the walls. The soft light from the candles reflected off the surface of a very large pool that occupied most of the center of the room, casting reflected watery waves onto the low arches of the ceiling.

Above all, it was warm, and humid. Leah had become accustomed to the slight steamy dampness in the air throughout the North Wing, but here it struck her anew, much more intensely. When the curtain flapped back into place behind Caroline, shutting out the last of the light and relative cool from outside, the warmth and moisture that enveloped Leah made her feel almost as if she were already bathing.

The pool was rectangular, like a regular swimming pool, but much larger than any Leah had seen before. She and Caroline stood near one of the shorter sides of the rectangle. Here, a few girls bathed, reclining with their arms resting up on the tiled rim. The dim light and the blanket of wispy steam at the pool's surface obscured the far end of the room, but Leah could see more figures bathing, and amid the slosh and lap of water that echoed quietly all around, there were a few indistinct voices in hushed conversation.

"Nice, isn't it?" whispered Caroline.

"Yeah," breathed Leah enthusiastically, "So are we going in?"

"Of course," Caroline pulled Leah's hand and indicated an area where a group of simple stone benches were arranged in rows, "Let me just get my shoes off."

A few coat stands stood at the edge of the room near the benches, along with two sturdy wooden wardrobes and a big square wicker basket like the one Leah had seen in the entrance tunnel where some girls discarded their clothing before entering the North Wing. Caroline hoisted one foot up onto one of the benches and undid the strap of her shoe, repeated the procedure for the other, and then kicked them both off. She bent to retrieve them and hung them by the straps from the top of one of the coat stands.

Caroline bounced excitedly on her feet as she skipped back over to Leah. They rushed to the edge of the pool hand in hand and Caroline lunged in up to the knee. "Oh fuck yeah!" she groaned as she let go of Leah's hand and plunged forward on her front, sinking in with a loud splash.

Leah followed after, more gingerly. She dipped one foot into the water, toe first. She gasped. It felt for a moment as if it were too hot to bear, but as the warmth seeped into her skin she adjusted and found her foot wrapped in the comforting heat of a luxurious hot bath. She leaned more of her weight into her forward leg and found the underwater shelf with her foot. Then she brought her other leg in and took a step further to where the pool deepened again. She sank in up to the top of her thigh.

The surface of the water lapped at Leah's pussy, rising to stroke it and then falling back as the ripples from Caroline's dive passed between her legs. Leah stood for a moment, trembling, as she savored the promise of warmth and cleansing. A faded soreness that she had almost forgotten came briefly back to life before she took a third step forward, and fell in to let the hot water envelop her all the way up to her neck.

The intensity of sheer simple physical relaxation was such that Leah groaned out loud as she closed her eyes, bent her legs, and let her head sink under. The sound continued to exit her mouth for a moment after she was submerged, and she heard it through the water around her, deep and muffled. She put her hands to her skin and rubbed, across her body and her face, then between the folds of her pussy and up through the crack of her behind, feeling the water wash her skin clean. Then she pushed her head deeper until she was sure her hair had sunk in after her, and ran her hands through it, rubbing the knotted strands between her fingers. She kicked out and swam a few strokes forward underwater, plowing with her outstretched arms to pull herself along. She opened her eyes for a moment and saw only watery darkness, then she felt her lungs begin to burn for air and she kicked herself upward to break the surface.

Leah put her hands to her face and wiped away the water, muffling a gasp of exhilaration. She tossed back her wet hair and wrung it out over her shoulder. She looked around to see Caroline floating idly on her back a short distance away. Caroline rolled over and swam towards Leah, "So? You like it?"

"Oh yes," Leah replied enthusiastically, taking a deep sigh.

Caroline smiled, "We'll go to the sauna in a moment. Come, swim with me."

Leah followed her. Along the walls on either side, the distance between each candle and the next grew greater the further they swam. The light was dimmer out in the middle of the pool. Leah saw the dark shapes of a few other girls swimming or treading water around them, and heard the splashes of their movements, but she couldn't make their faces out clearly enough to identify them.

Then, at the edge of the pool, Leah spied a figure she thought she did recognize. She recalled having bathed with Lena in her apartments, and how Lena had spread her arms out wide at her sides when she reclined at the edge of the pool, her chest just free of the water so that her breasts bobbed and floated at the surface. There she was, sitting in the same posture, with her fine hair clinging damp to her shoulders. There was another girl sitting with her, turned to her side so that she faced Lena. The other girl had her lips pressed to Lena's neck.

As Leah slowed to observe them, Caroline turned and swam across her path. "That's Vera," Caroline whispered.

Leah sought out the bottom of the pool with her feet. It seemed to maintain a uniform depth throughout, and when she stood she found she was again in up to her neck. "Lena, you mean?" she whispered back.

"Ah, you're right," Caroline took Leah's hand beneath the water, "There's Lena, too. But the girl she's with, I meant. That's Vera."

Leah looked again. She would probably not have recognized her in the steam and the dimness, following their fairly brief encounter earlier. But she saw the long dark hair, and then the cheerful, pretty smile when Vera looked up and stared into Lena's eyes for a moment, before the two of them kissed.

"Whoa," Caroline's whisper rose to a excited hush, "They're kissing!"

"Shh," Leah said quietly. Like Caroline, she was curious, and she was keen to watch for a moment unobserved. But she was mindful of being overheard. It felt wrong to be staring without the other girls being aware of their presence.

"Here," Caroline turned away from the other two girls and faced Leah. She took Leah's other hand and pulled her close, then put her arms around Leah's neck. "Discreetly, like this," she whispered, her cheek against Leah's, "We're just another couple. Busy with our own thing."

Leah glanced over Caroline's shoulder at Lena and Vera. She watched them kiss, with their mouths locked together, faces squirming against each other. The sight stirred in her a slow throb of excitement, but Leah also found it a little difficult to focus on observing them. Caroline's body was pressed up against hers in a close embrace. The awkwardness of the sensation reminded her of when they had danced together in the Great Hall, at the very beginning of the ball, only more unsettling now that they were both naked, and given all that had occurred since then.

"What are they doing?" Caroline whispered softly.

"They're... really kissing," Leah watched, fascinated. Though slow and tender, the kiss was the most passionate Leah could recall ever having seen outside of romantic movies or pornography. Lena's head lolled back and Vera was kissing all around the edges of Lena's wide open mouth, tugging at Lena's lips with hers while both their tongues flailed out and slid across each other's faces.

"Let me see," Caroline gripped Leah by the shoulders and danced slowly around in the water so their positions were exchanged. "Oh wait, she's looking over," Caroline whispered. She closed her eyes, then pressed her mouth suddenly to Leah's and feigned kissing her.

Startled, Leah stiffened in Caroline's arms. Then she relented, not wanting to seem prudish, and reciprocated with a faint movement of her head, while keeping her lips firmly shut.

Caroline gave a faint laugh, muffled against Leah's mouth, "Alright, you don't have to moan as well, you know."

Leah became aware of the quiet, breathy sound she had been making simply as a matter of habit, whenever kissing. She felt an embarrassed blush rise to her cheeks and was glad of the dim lighting. She laughed it off, "Hah. They've spotted us?"

Caroline glanced quickly over Leah's shoulder. She paused for a moment, looking, and her eyes widened, "No. I guess not."

"Are they still kissing? What are they doing?" Leah whispered eagerly. She had seen Sisterhood girls kiss each other, and more, and had always found it exciting. But there was something more here. Lena had played such a prominent role in Leah's initiation into the Sisterhood, and yet she remained something of a mystery. She was confident, superior, even a little intimidating, and above all exquisitely beautiful. Now Leah had seen her for the first time from afar, in a moment of intimacy, and she seemed different.

"Fuuuck," Caroline exhaled in a slow gasp, "You were right."

"About what?"

"They do fuck each other."

"Are they...?" Leah fought the urge to twist round and look, "How do you mean?"

Caroline didn't answer, and continued staring. Her embrace tightened and Leah felt herself pulled closer, then Caroline twisted her hips and their legs locked briefly together.

"Hey!" Leah whispered, laughing in disbelief as she felt Caroline's thighs grip hers, "Are you humping my leg?"

"Oh," Caroline answered absently, still staring. Then she looked back at Leah and giggled loudly. Leah pushed away from their embrace just as Caroline made to do the same. They both staggered, their movements impeded by the water around them. Leah grabbed Caroline's arms as she lost her balance, and they both plunged beneath the surface.

With her eyes closed and with the blanketing rush of water around her, Leah had a moment to collect herself. She let go of Caroline and twisted round to swim downwards and away, hoping she might resurface further away from where Lena was sitting, but already unsure quite which direction she was heading in. After a few curiously peaceful seconds beneath the water she pushed upward and her head broke the surface. She shook her hair and wiped her face, then looked around and found herself momentarily disoriented when she saw that she was standing only an arm's length away from the edge of the pool where Lena still reclined.

"Oh hello," Lena purred cheerfully. Her voice had the deep, slightly hoarse quality of someone who was thoroughly relaxed, to the point of drowsiness, "Very lovely to see you again."

"Hi," Leah laughed.

"And your delightful cousin," Lena glanced over Leah's shoulder.

Leah looked around and saw Caroline swimming towards them with a slow breaststroke, her head held up and grinning. "Likewise," Leah smiled. She felt very happy to see Lena again. Her presence was reassuring. "We're just taking a swim. To relax. It's really nice."

"Isn't it just? I often spend most of the Summer Ball in here," Lena inclined her head a little to nod lazily over her shoulder behind her, "Apart from the occasional foray into the testing chamber."

Leah looked up. There was a narrow strip of tiled floor between the edge of the pool and the wall behind Lena. Glancing discreetly left and right, Leah saw no sign of Vera, who must have left very abruptly. Along the wall there were a few open doors that seemed to lead into dark passageways.

"The testing chamber," Leah echoed.

"Where you have perhaps just come from?" Lena asked.

Caroline plowed up through the water beside Leah, her arrival sending a broad wake rippling out across the surface until it reached Lena's chest and rocked her floating breasts up and down in waves. "Yeah," Caroline gasped.

"We were in the bar for a short while just now," Leah added, "But before that, we were in the room with all the beds."

"Good," Lena smiled, "And?"

Caroline grinned. "Ohh yeah."

"Come," Lena lifted each hand to beckon them forward to the spaces either side of her, "Tell me all about it. Who did you meet?"

Leah took a seat on the underwater shelf and huddled herself excitedly against Lena's flank. Caroline took up the mirror position on the other side and put her hand to Lena's shoulder. Leah felt her pussy, bathed in the pleasant heat of the water, give a slow, firm pulse at the sensation of Lena's skin against hers. But the excitement was tainted by a slight awkwardness. It felt odd, having Caroline right there in front of her, embracing the same girl. Leah tried to quash the throb of jealousy that began to rise inside her.

"I was there with your friend Vera," Caroline said, with a trace of a smirk on her face.

"My friend Vera?" said Lena.

"She's not your friend?" Caroline asked.

Leah had been wondering about something, an intuition that had occurred to her when she saw Lena and Vera together, just before. She felt she was beginning to understand something about how Sisterhood girls behaved with one another, how they asserted themselves. And she saw in turn an opportunity to assert herself over Caroline, by demonstrating her understanding. "She's a sort of rival, isn't she?" Leah ventured.

Lena's lips pursed and she seemed to think about it for a moment. "A friendly rival," she said finally, her mouth curling into the familiar, wry smile of acknowledgment that Leah found so gratifying, "We have different approaches... to some things." Then Lena turned to Caroline, "And did she treat you well?"

"Oh fuck yes," Caroline groaned.

The expression on Lena's face could have been a pout of chagrin, or of sly amusement. Leah still found her difficult to read. "And you?" Lena asked her.

"Oh," said Leah, "No, I just met her briefly. We didn't..."

"But you met some other girls, I've no doubt," Lena smiled.

"Yes," Leah was irritated to find she still felt a little embarrassed talking about it directly. It was perhaps Caroline's presence that was inhibiting. "Well, there was Yvonne first," Leah began.

"Oh yes," Caroline giggled, "She was fun."

"Yes," Lena gave a subdued laugh, "Fun." She turned to Leah, "Well you can perhaps spare me the details of what she did to you. I'm fairly sure I can fill those in myself. And then who came to see you?"

Leah thought back, "Another girl came and sort of... fought with Yvonne. She was angry with her, I think."

"Who?"

"Marianne," Leah replied, "The girl who, er, asked you to look after me, I guess. At the beginning."

"Good," Lena seemed pleased.

"They fought?" Caroline asked excitedly, pulling herself closer to Lena.

"Yvonne broke some rules," Leah explained. She turned to Lena for confirmation, "Right?"

"Yes. Marianne and the others will have to put her in her place, when we all meet, in a while," Lena nodded towards the wall behind her.

"At coven?" Leah asked.

Lena smiled, "That's right."

"When is it?" Leah thought to ask. Part of the reason she was glad to see Lena was that it assuaged her nagging worry that she might somehow accidentally miss the climactic event of the evening.

"Just before dawn. Don't worry," Lena's hand squeezed Leah's shoulder, "We have plenty of time still."

Caroline looked around her, then back at Lena, "How do you know what time it is down here? I've totally lost track."

Lena leaned back and looked up towards the ceiling. "The sky," she said simply.

Leah followed Lena's gaze and peered up through the steamy haze. Through it, she could make out the arched ceiling above them. And there, above where they sat, was the outline of a circular opening. It seemed to lead on to a long vertical chimney or vent, and at its distant end there was a glimpse of the dark blue night sky and what could have been a sliver of the full moon. Squinting and scrying, Leah still couldn't put together any notion of what time of night it might be.

"So what did Yvonne do wrong?" Caroline asked.

"Discretion is important," said Lena, still looking upward, "For us, for the Sisterhood. We have gotten into difficulties before. It's better that the outside world not get too curious."

"She gave away your secret?" said Caroline. She sounded somehow unimpressed, "Okay. But why is that such a big deal? It's okay for girls to have dicks, you know."

Lena laughed, "Indeed."

"I mean sure, it's a bit strange," Caroline continued, "But you don't have to keep it such a secret."

"Caro," Leah chided quietly.

Lena squeezed on Leah's shoulder again. She paused. "It isn't really that. Or not only." Then she ceased looking up at the ceiling and her pensive frown slowly melted into a smile. She waved her hand dismissively, "But forget Yvonne. Leah, tell me about Marianne. Did she enjoy herself with you?"

As Leah was considering her reply, she watched Caroline turn and look away along the edge of the pool. "Um," Caroline shuffled away from Lena an inch. She turned back, "I might leave you two to it for a bit. If that's okay. I think I see a friend."

Leah followed the direction in which Caroline had been looking. Sitting against the edge of the pool some distance away was the figure of another girl, with long dark hair clinging wet to her head and shoulders.

Leah waited for Lena to respond first. "Of course," Lena said, "Please, go enjoy yourself."

Leah watched Caroline slip off her seat and push out into the water to swim towards the other girl. Once Caroline began to fade into the mist, Leah turned to Lena and snuggled closer. Caroline's departure was a relief. It felt like a little liberation. Beneath the water, Leah slid one leg over Lena's and reached down to grope for her dick. It responded with a twitch to her first touch, not fully hard but stiffening. It felt warmer even than the hot water around it. Leah stroked slowly and put her lips to Lena's neck. "Does it... mmm... turn you on to hear about me in the, um, testing chamber?" Leah giggled, "Why didn't you come visit me yourself?"

"Oh, I had some business, unfortunately. Politics, tedious stuff," Lena took a hold of Leah by the shoulders, "Here, come sit in my lap."

Leah swung her leg around and turned to straddle Lena, facing her. She steadied herself with one hand on Lena's shoulder while with the other she guided Lena's dick up and into her eagerly throbbing pussy as she sat down. It pushed her slowly open, with a twinge of friction at first until Leah felt the store of moisture that had gathered inside her seep out a little and smooth its way. She plumped herself down with a twist of her hips to screw herself firmly on. The wave of warm relief that throbbed up through her body as she relaxed and sat her full weight against Lena's thighs was for a moment overwhelming, and the air left her lungs in a tight gasp.

Leah knew she had yet to answer Lena's question. It seemed that Lena was interested particularly in whether Marianne had been satisfied with their encounter. Thinking back, Leah supposed she had. She had certainly seemed to be. But to say so felt uncomfortably like hubris. Then Leah remembered the chain at her neck. She reached for it, held it in her hand just in front of Lena's face, "She gave me this."