Sisterhood - Temptation Ch. 21

Katharina passed through the archway and stepped onto the short ledge overlooking the gardens. She looked up past the high wall of the library and observed the the night sky, glowing with moonlight. Then she looked down the stone staircase as she took her first step, and immediately stepped back. Ascending, and already half way up, was a slim figure in a ruffled black dress that swished about her knees as she climbed.

Katharina recognized the dress. Anna had been wearing it when they had met briefly in the bar of the Great Hall earlier. Anna's thick brown hair was trailing over her shoulders, bobbing and drifting as she trotted up the steps on her high-heeled shoes.

Anna looked up and locked eyes with Katharina for a moment as she reached the last few steps. Anna's lips curled into a brief smile of recognition, then she strode past, up and over the last step, and through the archway, where Ivy pulled aside to let her pass.

"Thank you," Anna murmured faintly as she passed, likewise smiling briefly at Ivy.

Katharina waited for Ivy and then Josephine to step out, then she descended, letting her feet hop down onto each stone step, carried by gravity. At the bottom, she stood to one side and waited for Ivy and Josephine to join her.

Ivy huddled closer and glanced back up the stairs. "Oh fuck," she whispered.

"What? Who was that?" asked Josephine, leaning in excitedly.

"It's okay Ivy," Katharina smiled. She turned to Josephine, "That was Anna."

"Anna?" Josephine looked at her blankly.

As Ivy had done, Katharina glanced reflexively up the stairs. Then she looked around her at the garden and checked that they were alone before answering Josephine, "Anna is the girl whose apartments we were in, just now. Mari's mistress."

"Yeah, whose apartments we left a complete mess," Ivy tugged at Katharina's wrist, "Come on, let's get away from here quickly."

"Alright," Katharina smiled. She followed Ivy's lead and began walking briskly along the raised stone pathway of the garden, "But I think we're okay. How would she know?"

"She'll know," Ivy groaned, "I just know it. She will, somehow. Or minibitch will tell her."

"Ah, come on," Katharina shook her head and smiled at Josephine.

But despite her own reassurances, Katharina too felt somehow certain that Anna would know who had been in her chambers. Though she could not ground it in any specific observation, she even suspected that Anna knew already. Looking back, she could picture a subtle smirk in the brief smile that Anna had flashed her moments before, on the stone staircase.

They hurried on through the far archway into the next garden.

"Ah," Josephine's eyes brightened with happy recognition, "And this is her garden, isn't it? With the birdcages."

"That's right," Katharina stepped forward.

Now that night had fallen completely, the birdsong had gone. Katharina heard the ruffle of wings, movement in the leaves of some of the trees, and the scuffing of her shoes on the stone as the three of them walked on. The torches on the walls had burned down, or had perhaps been extinguished. They walked in close darkness, the trees shading them from the moonlight.

Katharina slowed and peered round some of the cages, looking for shadows or glimpses of another body. If someone else was lurking in the garden and did not wish to be seen, it would be difficult to spot them. It seemed now that there was little chance that she would find the girl who had run from her earlier. The thought of the girl running aimlessly through the house distressed and half naked made Katharina very nervous. She consoled herself with the thought that technically the girl was the responsibility of whoever had first brought her to the guest suites, and that in any case she would be unlikely to be able to identify her, Katharina, as the person she had last seen. They had not exchanged names, nor had the girl even looked at her closely for more than a few seconds. Then Katharina scowled, chiding herself for the selfishness of the thought.

They rounded the corner of the central pathway between the cages, and made their way through the arch into the next garden.

"Well you were right Ivy," Josephine called out behind her as she stepped through the archway after Katharina.

"About what?" said Ivy.

Josephine waited for Ivy to join her, then she pulled Ivy closer by the arm and looked back over her shoulder before answering, "She does have legs to die for."

"Who does?" Ivy frowned.

"Anna," Katharina smiled, "It's okay to be hot for teacher, Ivy."

"She's not really a teacher," Ivy grumbled.

"Well, hot for head girl or whatever," Katharina walked on past the fish ponds of Mona's garden. She peered into each one as she passed, and watched her own silhouette blot out the reflection of the wavering torchlight on its surface.

"Well, I would love to meet her later," Josephine said quietly, "Will she be at this secret party we're going to?"

Katharina was about to reply, to take the opportunity to explain a little more to Josephine while reminding her to talk discreetly, when she saw two figures at the opposite side of the garden. They had their backs to her, and were walking away, on through the next archway into the final garden. Before the pair passed out of sight, Katharina gathered a brief impression of their appearance, of their figures and the colors of their clothing. One of them, the taller, slimmer one, was dressed in white, with tight pants and a gauzy blouse that showed clearly the straps of her bra underneath. The other, still slim but with thicker hips, was dressed in black, a long figure-hugging dress made of a glossy fabric that shimmered in the low light of the torches.

Katharina felt a grab at her wrist. Ivy pulled her to a standstill. "Bitch balls," Ivy whispered.

"Really? You think?" Katharina hadn't seen clearly enough, but the figure in black could perhaps have been Yvonne. The shape seemed about right, and Katharina thought she had seen long dark hair.

"It's her," Ivy nodded, still whispering.

"Bitch balls?" Josephine giggled.

Katharina addressed Ivy, "Ivy, don't say that, please."

"Sorry," Ivy scowled, "Bitch... tits. Bitch face, fucking bitch."

Josephine giggled again, "You two don't like her? That's so funny."

Ivy turned to look at Josephine, and Katharina did the same, "You know her?"

"Yeah, I think so. Pretty sure," Josephine nodded.

There was a pause, and both Ivy and Katharina studied Josephine's expression. "How did you meet her?" Katharina asked.

"We fucked of course," Josephine answered breezily. After a moment she added, "Wasn't very good though."

"It wasn't good?" Katharina's curiosity was aroused.

Josephine knotted her eyebrows and looked upward as if in reminiscence, "Actually really lousy, if I'm being honest. Not to say she isn't hot. Like, seriously smoking hot. But yeah, her pussy eating skills could do with some work. She didn't even make me come," she giggled suddenly, "Which is pretty rare. I come like crazy, I'm such an easy fuck."

"It wasn't good," Ivy repeated. Her lips pursed into a gleeful smile, "Josephine?"

"Yes?" Josephine smiled at her, a trace of laughter still in her voice.

"Fucking marry me."

Josephine burst into a short peal of laughter, then clapped her hands to her mouth to silence herself. "So you two are enemies or something?" she said.

"She and Ivy fight, yes," said Katharina.

Josephine laughed again, "That's so cute!"

"It's not cute," Ivy scowled, "She's a fucking psycho."

"Hmm," Josephine pursed her lips in thought, "Maybe I did kind of get that impression. I mean, she had a lot of energy at least. Probably some girls like that, the rough, passionate stuff, you know?"

"And Katharina beat the fucking crap out of her earlier," Ivy continued.

Josephine turned to Katharina and took hold of her arm, squeezing it as she looked up at her, wide-eyed, "Wow, Katja. I would have loved to have seen that."

"I didn't..." Katharina laughed, "Ivy is exaggerating." She looked out across the garden towards the archway through which the two other girls had just passed, "So, you want to go back a different way? Or do we just wait a bit until they're out of the way?"

Josephine's hand slid down Katharina's arm to take her wrist, "Let's follow them," she said excitedly, "Katharina will protect us Ivy."

"Oh no," Ivy groaned, "You want to follow her?"

"Come on," Josephine began walking, leading Katharina and Ivy by the hand either side of her, "Did you see those other two girls she was with? I really want to meet them!"

Katharina recalled only one other girl walking with Yvonne, "Two other girls?"

"Yeah," Josephine nodded, "They looked really hot. I know, I'm superficial, I'm sorry. Just gotta love big tits."

With Josephine hurrying, they reached the other side of the square garden. Josephine let go of Katharina's hand and peered around the stone pillar of the archway. Katharina followed a moment later, stepping round Josephine's body to look into the next garden.

As before, the other girls were just passing through the next arch, this time the final, slightly larger one in the right wall, which led through into the tall hallway in front of the Great Hall. Now, with the light shining in from the hallway through the paneless windows, she saw the three figures clearly, and recognized them all. Though Katharina could not see her face, she was sure that one of them was indeed Yvonne. The long, straight hair was the same, and in particular Yvonne's distinctive figure was familiar beneath her tight dress. Katharina still recalled how it had felt to dance up close against Yvonne and feel the slight thickening of her otherwise slim figure, the softness at her hips and stomach, and her petite chest.

At Yvonne's side was a taller, slimmer girl with dusky blonde hair tied in a tight ponytail high at the back of her head, baring her neck and shoulders. Katharina caught a glimpse of her face from the side and saw the slim outline of her jaw, her sternly pursed lips, and pale skin. She recognized Lena, the senior girl who led dance classes and who Katharina had met earlier in Vera's chambers. It was her expression and her poise that above all were special to her. Severe, commanding but benevolent.

It took Katharina a little longer to first notice and then recognize the third girl walking on the other side of Yvonne, slightly ahead. She was a lot shorter than the other two, stood only as far as Lena's shoulders. She was stouter, too. Not fat, but very full-figured. Even from behind, Katharina's eyes were drawn to the heavy bulge of the girl's bust, which heaved and swung in her tight black dress as she skipped over the threshold of the doorway.

The shorter girl tossed her curly black hair from her eyes as she looked up at Lena, and her peculiar voice came clear in Katharina's memory. It was high-pitched, flirtatious, and punctuated with little murmurs of laughter, "So are we going to dance? Please let's dance."

Katharina recalled her own dance with the girl at the beginning of the ball, the first dmurrhisi girl she had danced with. Katharina's lips and tongue moved silently, seeking out the memory of the girl's name. "Emmie," she murmured to herself finally.

"You know the other girl?" Ivy appeared at Katharina's shoulder, whispering.

Katharina nodded, "I think so. We danced. Only briefly."

Ivy stared after Emmie as she and the other two disappeared around the wall of the archway, "She has fucking massive tits."

"Ivy," Katharina laughed quietly, "Don't be so crude."

"It's okay. I like massive tits too," said Josephine, likewise staring across at the doorway. Then she turned to Ivy and to Katharina, "The other two. Are they, um..."

"Yes?" Katharina prompted her.

"Are they also, you know, girls like you?"

"Lena, the taller one in white, she is," Katharina replied, "But the other one, no. At least, I'm pretty sure not. She's a guest at the ball, like you."

"Okay," Josephine nodded, still looking at the doorway.

"Is that important to you?" Katharina wondered.

Josephine looked up, frowned, seemed to consider the question, "I dunno. I guess not. So, are we going to follow them then?"

"Ah, fuck," Ivy muttered.

"Alright, we'll follow them. Just to see," Katharina nodded at Josephine, then she turned to Ivy, "Don't worry."

"What? Okay," beneath the creases of Ivy's scowl there was perhaps a trace of a smile, "Just don't tell me you're going to protect me or something like that."

Katharina laughed, said nothing. Josephine made to walk on through the garden, but Katharina reached out quickly and took her wrist, holding her gently in place, "Just one moment more. Let them get ahead a bit."

Josephine nodded. She stood still, looking at Katharina. Katharina looked away from her to the other archway. She pictured just beyond it the grand hallway in front of the doors to the Great Hall, tried to play in her imagination the moving image of a shorter girl like Emmie crossing the space in small strides. When it felt as if the other girls might have covered most of the distance, she turned back to Josephine and nodded.

As they rounded the cluster of palm tress at the center of the garden, glimpses of the hallway came into view through the paneless windows. Katharina saw girls standing around in groups, or filing in and out of the Great Hall as they had been doing since the outset of the ball. She couldn't see Yvonne or Lena among them. But if they were heading straight for the main doors they would not be out of sight yet.

Then she saw a sliver of Lena's clean white clothing, salient among the mostly darker dresses of the other girls. Then Yvonne tossing her long hair behind her as the three girls paused before the doors. Katharina walked on through the last archway out of the garden and into the echoing chatter of the hallway.

As they crossed and approached the doors themselves, Katharina held Josephine's arm again, gently slowing her. She worried that Josephine was walking too eagerly, and that her haste would make them stand out. The idea of approaching Yvonne directly made Katharina nervous. But as she reflected on what they might do once they entered the Great Hall, she realized that it was not the prospect of physical confrontation with Yvonne that she was shying away from. With so many other girls around, including Lena and other senior members of the Sisterhood, it seemed very unlikely that Yvonne would want to actually attack her. When she tried to picture what might occur if they met again now, Katharina experienced instead of fear a sort of nervous embarrassment. She regretted intensely having struck Yvonne so hard during their brief scuffle, and she was worried now that she would simply feel ashamed if she had to speak to Yvonne again now. She would feel like an aggressor, an idea that made her very uncomfortable.

When she turned her focus outward from her thoughts to look ahead at the approaching doorway, Katharina saw suddenly Yvonne's turned head, her face, and then her eyes, looking straight Katharina's way. Katharina quickly pushed back the instinct to look away, and braced herself to hold a straight face and return Yvonne's gaze. She examined Yvonne's expression. A sliver of Yvonne's mouth was open, her jaw slightly slackened, and her eyes were staring wide.

Yvonne turned away after a second or more. Before she did so, Katharina had time to notice something. She found that when she tried to meet Yvonne's stare, she couldn't quite lock eyes with her. Their gaze didn't meet because Yvonne wasn't looking at her. Yvonne's stare remained fixed, but aimed just shy of Katharina's face, as if she hadn't even noticed Katharina, or not recognized her.

Once Yvonne had turned away, and slipped between two huddles of girls standing right in front of the door, Katharina slowed and looked to her side. She saw Josephine, whose hand she was still holding. Josephine's pretty face was angled downward, examining her own chest while her free hand fidgeted absentmindedly with the shoulder straps of her dress.

Josephine looked up, seeming to notice the doorway and the crowd of girls in front of them. "So, we going in?" she asked Katharina, "To follow that mean girl and kick her butt?"

Katharina smiled to herself. She drew a deep breath and felt again the curious arbitrary sense of boldness and energy that she had felt the last time that she had re-entered the Great Hall, a feeling of being caught up in something big and wonderful.

"So Josephine," she said, "How do you feel about taking on a little mission?"

"Ooh a mission. Great!" Josephine tugged her hand free of Katharina's to clap them together in excitement.

"That mean girl," Katharina continued, "She tried to hurt Ivy. And you and I, we love Ivy very much, don't we? And we won't tolerate anyone hurting her."

Ivy mumbled, "Well, I mean, it wasn't-"

"No, no, no," Josephine cut her off, pursing her lips in a playful caricature of anger, "Bad, bad girl, hurting poor Ivykins, Must be punished."

"Come on, you two, fuck, it wasn't that bad," said Ivy, "Katja, what are you plotting?"

Katharina turned to Ivy, "We'll go in. And you take Jo for a dance."

"Okay," said Ivy warily, "So far, so good."

"And you Jo," Katharina continued, "You keep a good lookout for that mean girl. You remember what she looks like?"

"Oh yeah," Josephine nodded.

"Well, when she sees you with Ivy, she'll be jealous. For sure, she's that sort of girl."

"Jealous of which of us?" Josephine giggled.

"Har har," Ivy scowled.

Katharina laughed, then she continued, "She'll want you. I saw her looking at you just now. She won't be able to resist trying to get with you again. She... really likes your dress. In particular, she likes how short it is, if you see what I mean."

"Oh yes. Brilliant," Josephine smiled broadly, "Pussy-flashing is kind of my default tactic, to be honest."

"Classy," Ivy smirked.

Josephine leaned across to punch Ivy in the shoulder, laughing. Then she skipped round to take hold of Ivy's arm and hold her close, "Okay partner, let's dance." She turned to Katharina, "And then? Once I've got hold of the mean girl? What are you going to be doing?"

"Well," Katharina smiled, "She'll need someone to look after her dance partner for her, won't she?"

"Oh yeah," Josephine's face scrunched into an excited smile, "Go Katja!"

"You said you danced with her before, right?" said Ivy, "You think she likes you?"

Katharina realized the volume of her voice had been slowly mounting, in pace with her nervous excitement. She shrugged, and answered softly, "I don't know. Maybe. I've got to find a date, haven't I? Might as well give it a go."

"Great. Okay, plan. Let's go," Josephine drew her breath and took one step with Ivy towards the doorway, then pulled herself to a stop, "Oh, once I've got the mean girl, what then? Just take her away for a bit or something? Should I just let her fuck me again?"

Katharina laughed. "No no," she replied hurriedly, "I think that would be going above and beyond the call of duty. Unless you really want to, that is?"

"Nah," said Josephine, "That'd be a waste of time."

"Good. I think it's enough if you just keep her occupied for a short time," Katharina replied.

"And then?" asked Ivy.

Katharina looked up to the far off ceiling of the hallway, thinking. She had formed her plan in an excited haste, and it occurred to her only now that Josephine would need some way of extricating herself once she was dancing with Yvonne. To suggest that she simply walk away seemed a bit weak, and also a bit unfair, as if she were simply abandoning Josephine to her own wits after having made use of her.

Katharina thought quickly as she spoke, "Well, usually one of the girls who lives here calls changes in the dance. At least in the early part of the ball. Mari was doing it earlier. If you just shout out 'change' really loud, everyone will switch, and you can quickly hand Yvonne off to someone else and then disappear."