Sisterhood - Temptation Ch. 25

"So girls," Vera sighed. Her eyes glanced down very briefly, taking in Emmie's state of near-nakedness, "You have brought some guests to the North Wing tonight. Emmie, lovely to see you here."

"Right," Katharina turned hurriedly to introduce Emmie, then realized that Vera had already spoken her name, "Yes. And Ivy's partner tonight is Josephine."

"Josephine," Vera turned and smiled, "Lovely. I hope Ivy has been treating you well."

"Oh very," Josephine bounced on her toes and flung her arm around Ivy's shoulder, hugging her close.

"And Katharina?" Vera turned back to look at Katharina.

The tone of Vera's voice was indicative of a question, seemed at least to be prompting for an answer. Unsure quite what the question might be, Katharina nodded and held tighter to Emmie's hand.

"She has been extremely kind to me," Emmie interjected, "You have taught her well."

"Good," Vera seemed pleased. "Well, please explore and enjoy yourselves. Katharina and Ivy will show you around. And if you don't mind, I would love to come and join you a little later."

"Of course," Emmie smiled.

"Yeah sure, that would be great," Josephine nodded.

"Excellent. Very good to see you here girls. Well done. Miss May and I must go and shower first, but then I hope to see you again," Vera's eyes brightened and she seemed to gather herself, her posture straightening with renewed energy. She turned to May and indicated the gangway ahead, "May."

May nodded briskly at Katharina and the others, then turned and strode on up the gangway with Vera. Once the two of them reached the other end of the chamber and turned to the left, Josephine whispered, "That was a bit weird."

"Weird?" Katharina asked, surprised.

"I mean, not weird but all that, 'Oh yes awfully, very well done girls, we shall see you presently'," Josephine giggled, making an imitation of May's and Vera's clear, crisp enunciation.

Ivy laughed, "Yeah, some of the senior girls tend to talk like that. I don't know why. Just... kind of formal I guess. Hierarchy stuff." She steered Josephine onward and the four of them began making their own way up the central aisle of the chamber.

"So it's a big deal, you've got teachers and lessons and ranks and everything?" Josephine continued.

"It is kind of weird, I suppose," Katharina felt the need somehow to explain, if not apologize, "Not ranks really, but there's some structure. There are old traditions that are a bit weird now, but a lot of girls feel a sort of loyalty to the Sisterhood maybe, and stick to them."

"Like the getting naked tradition back there?" Emmie nodded her head back towards the door by which they had entered.

"Right," Katharina laughed.

"Well," Emmie clutched Katharina closer, a silent laugh on her face, "I secretly really enjoyed that tradition. I hope you've got more like that."

"I'll try to find some for you," Katharina grinned, "Or make them up if necessary."

Ivy and Josephine halted. They stood between the three archways where the chamber ended. "So Ivy," Josephine turned and looked excitedly at Ivy, "Time to honor the ancient and mystical tradition of burying your face between my thighs and making me scream like a little bitch. Where are you taking me?"

"Um..." Ivy looked over her shoulder at Katharina.

It took Katharina a moment to gather her memory of the space, and what Vera and the other senior girls had told them of how it would be organized. She looked first at the archway on the right, saw the brighter light that glowed from under the foot of the curtain, and heard above the quiet conversations of the chamber the clamor of voices in a crowded space, the chink of glassware, and the muffled grate of wood against stone as chairs were shifted.

Katharina raised her hand to point, "Through there has probably been set up as the bar, if I remember right. For drinks and resting up."

"Nope," Josephine giggled.

Katharina swung her hand to the middle archway, right ahead of them, "And through there is a..." she wondered how to phrase it, was aware of being overwhelmed by the desire to be circumspect, but ashamed of seeming prudish, "A big bedroom. You know, like Anna's bedroom, where we were earlier."

"The sex room, got it," Josephine chirped, "Okay, off we go Ivy."

"Uh, okay," Ivy staggered forward as Josephine led her on by the hand, skipping towards the middle archway.

"And that one?" Josephine span on her feet and jerked her head at the left archway as she continued walking backwards.

"The hot baths," Katharina called out.

"Good to know," Josephine replied. She turned and bounded onward.

Katharina watched Ivy lift the curtain in front of the central arch and duck under with Josephine.

Emmie turned and smiled at her, tilting her head and smiling wryly, "And where are we heading, Katja? To the sex rooms?"

"Well, if you wa-," Katharina was irritated to hear her voice choke off in her throat, suddenly nervous.

"Where would you like to go?" Emmie asked.

"I, um, anywhere, with you. I'll take you where you like," Katharina looked at each of the archways in turn, "But I mean, if you're asking what I prefer, well..."

Katharina discounted immediately the idea of entering the crowded bar space. Though she felt a slight tickle of thirst in her throat, it could wait. And she was fairly sure she recalled there being small drinking fountains somewhere in the baths. She could feel on her forearm the hot caress of the thicker steam that crept out from between the curtains that covered the entrance to the baths. She pictured the dimness and the quiet of the spa, the comfort of being beneath the water, with the obscuring warm vapor in front of her face.

"Yes?" Emmie watched her.

"I'd love to go swimming with you," Katharina pointed to the curtains, "In there. It's really relaxing. Do you like hot baths?"

"I do," Emmie smiled, "So let's go."

"Okay," Katharina smiled, feeling curiously relieved.

She headed for the archway, a little bounce of excitement in her steps. She stepped between the curtains and held one of them aside with her back, then pulled Emmie through.