The Fey Sorority

"Uh..." Serenity let her voice rise in pitch as she trailed off, to express just how unhappy she was with the knife being pressed into her hands. "Don't you think this is, like, a little far?"

From all around the spacious party room of the Kappa Kappa Tau sorority house, she heard derisive laughter. Regina Charles, the queen bitch of the sorority and the girl currently pressing the knife into her hands, flashed a deeply irritated look and put a hand on her hip.

"No, Serenity, I do not!" Regina made her name sound like a slur. She had a wonderful talent for that. "Don't you think that you should be a little more grateful that I'm giving you such a big role in our Halloween party, when you're still only a pledge?"

It was all Serenity could do not to roll her eyes. She knew it wasn't exactly a favor. She didn't like Regina, and Regina didn't like her. Regina didn't like anyone who didn't treat her like the queen she thought she was, and Serenity was nowhere near superficial enough for that. Frankly, she hadn't wanted to join a stupid sorority in the first place. But it was a family tradition, apparently, and being in KKT looked excellent on your résumé. She was starting to wonder if it was worth all this.

"Need I remind you," Regina continued, addressing the room far more than she was addressing Serenity, "that Kappa Kappa Tau is famous for our extremely high-profile, extremely exclusive, no-boys-allowed Halloween parties?"

She paused for applause. Drunk, girlish cheers erupted around the room.

"And as sorority president, I will not allow my Halloween party to be anything less than truly perfect!" Regina declared. "Or... Serenity, surely you're not going to tell me you don't want me to break one million Instagram followers?"

Serenity wished, very badly, that she could tell Regina what she really thought. But it wasn't worth it. She just had to get throw this stupid party, and soon enough, Regina would find another favorite victim.

"Of course not, sis," Serenity replied, forcing an insincere smile to her face. "I just... can't we use, like, a scalpel, or something?"

"Um? No?" Regina replied, appalled. "Look, Serenity, you're just a pledge, so I wouldn't expect you to understand, but Becky translated the ritual herself. And she's a linguistics major!"

There was more applause, and Becky - one of the smug-looking girls flanking Regina - smiled. She was dressed like Velma from Scooby Doo, fittingly, and in her hands was a huge, old, leather-bound book, the words within completely illegible.

"The incantation is very specific," Regina continued. "It has to be the right kind of ritual knife! And I'll have you know that Daddy spent thousands having the genuine article imported from some dusty old tomb in Scotland."

Serenity grimaced at the ancient, jagged-looking piece of black glass in Regina's hands. It certainly looked like it belonged in a tomb.

"Whatever," she said reluctantly. "Let's just get this over with."

Once again, the whole sorority cheered. By Regina's decree, everyone was there. The whole room had been decorated for Halloween, the lights shrouded and everything draped in cobwebs. Most people were in costume, but not Serenity - and not Regina, either. She seemed to think that going as anything less than herself would be demeaning. Begrudgingly, Serenity had to admit there was a certain logic to that. If you had Regina's perfect cheekbones, perfect platinum blonde hair, and perfect blue eyes, why disguise yourself?

"Then quit holding us up, and get on with it!" Regina said, smirking and thrusting the knife at Serenity. She took it, and prepared herself.

Monica, one of Regina's other cronies - dressed, preposterously, as a sexy scarecrow - held out a large chalice expectantly. It looked every bit as old as the knife. Serenity placed her hand over it, palm down, and used the knife to slice herself open.

It was only a small incision, but thanks to the knife's jagged edge, it hurt more than it should. As she watched her blood drip and drain into the chalice, Serenity once again cursed Regina's stupid idea. Authenticity was all the rage on social media, apparently. And what could be more authentic that a complete recreation of an ancient Celtic faerie summoning rite? Serenity hoped Regina choked on all those retweets.

Once the chalice was filled, Serenity was permitted to bind her wound with a strip of cloth and step back into the crowd. As she did, she caught the look of malicious glee in Regina's eyes at seeing her bleeding and in pain. The sorority queen really was a sick bitch sometimes. Serenity decided to simply try and forget about it, and do her best to blend in with the others so she wouldn't end up as the victim of any more special treatment. It was, admittedly, something of a foolish effort. She didn't really fit in with the other sorority girls. She was a head taller than most of them, for one, and not nearly as glamorous. She didn't consider herself ugly, but she wasn't a fan of the heavy makeup her sisters favored, and she kept her hair cut nice and short. At least the dyke look was popular with the kinds of girls Serenity was actually interested in.

"Now," Regina announced, stepping up to the ridiculous podium she had ordered constructed for herself. "Are we ready to get this party-slash-ritual started?"

Every single girl in the room, except for Serenity, screamed their acclaim, many of them holding empty glasses into the air. In response to Regina's queue, eerie music started rising in volume, projected from speakers hidden throughout the sorority house.

"That's what I thought!" A huge grin was spread across Regina's face, like she was drawing energy from the volume and praise. "So, Becky. The spell?"

Becky cleared her throat, and started chanting. The room went quiet as all ears strained to make out her words. She was speaking in some kind of ancient, unfamiliar language - an ancestor of Gaelish, perhaps. Over her, a few seconds later, Regina started chanting the same incantation, helpfully translated into English.

"Oh, Mab!" she cried, throwing out her hands dramatically. "Ancient queen of air and darkness! Hear our plea! On this day, the day the veil grows thin, heed our call! In our hour of need, your humble servants yearn for your rule! As summer turns to winter, bless us with your presence, mighty queen of the Unseelie court! Make of all of us your subjects, and of our humble domain, your court! And so, for you, we offer this sacrifice!"

As she spoke, Monica hefted the chalice in both hands, offering it up. Another of Regina's inner circle, Kristen, stepped up to her, and held up a small, silver mirror - kind of ironic, Serenity thought, given that she was dressed as a vampire. At the climax of Becky's chant, she took the ritual knife, still stained with Serenity's blood, and used it to shatter the mirror into pieces. Each fragment fell into the blood-filled chalice, submerging so quickly it was as if they were melting.

The moment the last of the mirror disappeared, the room went dark. Then, at the same instant, every single window in the entire sorority house opened, as if a rushing wind was blowing through the place. Serenity couldn't tell if something was being blown out, or being blown in. There were frightened little squeals from all around her as sorority sisters turned and bumped around in the dark, but none of them very serious. All of them knew this was just pageantry, after all. Regina had made no secret of the fact she had something special planned. Serenity had already decided to stay for only as long as necessary, and then bow out.

Those plans changed once the lights came back on.

The room felt completely different. The air seemed as cold and heavy as a winter's snowfall. Just looking around, Serenity could see that everyone felt it, even if they didn't seem to know why. The light was different too. It was dim and flickering, and an ethereal purple-red instead of the familiar platinum glow of electric light bulbs. Even the music was different. It felt more real, somehow, as if the ghastly strings and flutes were really in the room with them, and not simply being played through speakers.

All that, as perfectly-executed as it was, Serenity could have dismissed as skillful showmanship. But not what was happening to Regina.

In the dark, she had snatched the bloody chalice from Monica's and was holding it aloft. But something looked wrong. Her eyes were wide with fright. Serenity gasped as she watched vapors rising from the chalice, red at first, but slowly turning into an abyssal, inky black. It congealed into a dense orb, floating impossibly in the air in front of Regina's face. Regina opened her mouth, dumbstruck.

"What the-"

Immediately, she was cut off as the ethereal black liquid hovering before her flew towards her in thick, viscous streams and started to pour into her mouth, up her nose, and even into her eyes. Serenity clasped a hand over her own mouth, horrified. She wasn't the only one. From all around her, sorority girls were shrieking and screaming as they watched their president choke on the impossible substance. Even Becky and Monica looked shocked. Eventually, the chalice was empty, and Regina was finally able to take a desperate, ragged, breath, bent double over her podium.

"Oh my god..." Regine breathed. Serenity may have hated the girl, but there was something chilling about hearing her sound so truly terrified. "W-what... what the... someone call-"

Regina cut off again, but this time, it wasn't clear why. All of a sudden, she simply stood bolt upright, like a marionette whose strings had been pulled taut. And when she spoke again, it wasn't her. It was still Regina's voice, her mouth, her lips, but they were someone else's words. That much was clear from the strange, foreign, lilting accent she was using, her tone still regal, but suddenly mature and experienced rather than youthful and petulant. The fear drained from her face, and she looked over the assembled, stunned sorority girls with a predatory eye.

"My, my," she said. "What do we have here?"

"Um... Regina?"Kristen asked slowly. "Are you, like, OK?"

"Regina?" the sorority queen replied. "How amusing."

Serenity was horrified. It was as if Regina had been possessed. This wasn't her.

"Well," the strange presence in Regina's body mused, looking around. She spoke in a deeper voice than her host usually chose. "These are strange surroundings indeed. It has been some time since I have been called forth to a new court. And this vessel?" She gestured at herself. "It is... adequate, I suppose. But I think some glamour is in order."

Suddenly, Regina's body bent double again, and all her fear returned. "W-what the fuck!" Regina breathed. She sounded like her old self again. "N-no! G-get out of my h-head."

The moment passed and, just as if a switch had been flipped, she drew herself up to her full height once more, regal and ethereal and unafraid. "My head now, mortal girl," the presence cackled. "But, my goodness! Such self-possession! It's a shame it will avail you so little."

"N-no!" Regina snapped, snatching back control of her own body for a few more precious, pained seconds. Serenity was mesmerized by the spectacle. "Mine! Mine! This is all mine! You c-can't... w-what are you doing?"

Serenity gasped again as she saw that Regina's hair was, somehow, starting to change color. It was turning black, spreading from the roots down along to the tips.

"M-my hair!" Regina shrieked. She was frantically clawing at her own head, eyes twitching, body shivering, clearly struggling to maintain control of herself. "G-give it back! It took s-so long to bleach!"

A huge gasp went up from next to Serenity. "S-so she's not really a natural blonde?" she heard a girl whimper.

The presence steadily taking over Regina's form laughed as it smoothed her steadily-darkening hair. "There's no use, darling," she said cruelly. "You've already promised yourself to me. Now... these clothes? Tasteless. I'm sure we can do better."

She waved a hand, and just like that, they started changing too. Regina had been wearing a simple outfit - nothing more than a tank top and some booty shorts. But, in mere moments, those garments were unraveling, and even more impossibly, growing. They quickly turned just as dark as Regina's hair was becoming, and the threads started sewing themselves into the form of a magnificent, black ball gown.

When Regina seized back control momentarily. Her cries of horror were even more shrill. "Those w-were designer!" she shrieked, clawing desperately at the clothes covering her body, which continued to reshape themselves in complete defiance of her misery. "This... this can't... you c-can't..." Ominously, her voice was growing weaker.

"Much better," the foreign presence purred, an instant later. It was truly something to watch Regina's face, contorted in shock, suddenly smooth out, becoming utterly, icily calm. "Yes, oh yes, I think this will do nicely... just as soon as I'm rid of this irksome little voice."

"W-what?" Regina protested, swaying unsteadily as she made one last bid for control of her body. It was clear she was fighting a losing battle; she no longer even looked like herself. Her hair was now black all the way to the tips, and the ball gown forming about her body was almost finished. "You... no... I... but..." She was fading, and fast. Serenity couldn't help but feel for her. "But this party was supposed to be for m-me..."

And that was it. Regina was gone.

The new presence inside her body breathed a sigh of relief, and spent a moment fussing over her long, back hair and elaborate, magnificent gown. Every other person in the room was utterly silent and utterly shocked.

"Um..." Becky ventured, eventually. "Who... w-who are you?"

"I?" The presence smirked. "What a foolish question! Was it not you, yourself, who called me forth? I am Mab, Faerie Queen of Air and Darkness."

Serenity's eyes bulged. It seemed impossible, but the proof was right before them. The ritual was real? It had worked? She expected the screaming to start at any moment.

Instead, though, the room seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, and everybody started applauding.

"Oh my gosh!" Monica said adoringly. "Regina- I mean, um, 'Mab', I knew you had something special planned, but this is just... wow!"

"Yeah!" Kristen added, as Mab basked in the cheering crowd. "But, gosh, how did you do it? Secret projectors? Hidden makeup? You've got to tell me your secret!"

"Magic," Mab replied simply.

Everyone giggled. "Oh, of course," Becky said, with a knowing wink.

Serenity couldn't believe what they were saying. They thought this was fake? Just a performance? Were they using their eyes? None of this was possible, not even on the most expensive Broadway stage. Looking at Mab closely, Serenity could see that her eyes had turned as black as her hair, and her eyes had lengthened into elfin points. And the wind? The light? Serenity quietly shuffled over to the nearest lamp, and lifted the lampshade. Where there had been, just moments ago, a simple electric bulb there was now a candle, burning with a strange, sinister light.

Magic. It really was magic.

"Girls..." Serenity said uncertainly. "I-I don't think she's joking."

No-one took any notice.

"Goodness," Mab said, looking around the room. "What an unusual era this must be!" The faerie queen was like a dark mirror of Regina, every bit as regal and authoritative, but gothic and more menacing, with eons of arrogance and power lurking behind her words. "If this is to be my court, and you my subjects, I will have my work cut out for me. Perhaps there is some fun to be had in the process. But first... cup-bearer! I require a drink."

"Right away, Reg- um, Queen Mab!"

A figure scurried forward from the crowd. She was a fellow new pledge - Serenity thought her name was Charlotte - and unlike Serenity, she was determined to do whatever it took to get into Regina's good graces. As she reached the faerie queen's side, she offered her a drink. It was, naturally, vodka with some kind of fruity mixer, in a red plastic cup. Queen Mab sniffed.

"Oh, no," she said. "This simply won't do."

Mab snapped her fingers.

Charlotte yelped in shock as her body was suddenly ablaze with sparks that were at once as bright as the sun and as dark as a black hole. When they faded, the poor girl was completely transformed - all in an instant, not the slow, creeping possession that had befallen Regina. It was just as dramatic, though, and just as impossible.

Moments ago, Charlotte had been dressed as some kind of zombie for Halloween, wearing a trendy outfit, but torn and bloodstained. Now, that was all gone, and instead, she was a maid. Not just dressed as a maid; no, the black, frilly outfit and white apron she was wearing were far too well-crafted and authentic to be a mere Halloween costume. They were scandalously short, though - short enough that Serenity could easily see her ass as she performed a perfect curtsy before the faerie queen. She wasn't wearing any panties anymore. The plastic cup in her hand was gone, replaced with a fine, silver tray bearing a crystal glass filled with wine.

"Please forgive your most humble maidservant, oh resplendent Unseelie Queen," Charlotte said as she curtsied. She was now speaking in the same foreign, lilting Celtic accent as Mab. Clearly, the changes were more than skin deep. "I trust this shall be more agreeable to your palate."

"It shall," Mab replies pleasantly, taking the crystal glass and sipping from it.

Just like before, a round of applause went up around the room. Serenity couldn't believe the blatant, fawning stupidity of these girls.

"But I can't see to everything personally, of course," Mab continued. "I'll need a couple of trusty manservants to take care of all the petty arrangements. Let's see... if this body's memory serves, you two are among my right hands." She turned to Monica and Kristen.

"Us?" Monica replied. She was clearly a little confused, perhaps uncertain as to how things had gone this far off of Regina's script. "I guess, but... manservants?"

Mab snapped her fingers again.

The same thing happened to the pair of Regina's cronies; they were engulfed in mind-warping, iridescent sparks, and when those faded, they were completely transformed. Not into maids, though. Into butlers.

Serenity was so astonished she momentarily forgot how scared she was. Monica's scarecrow costume and Kristen's corny vampire costume were both gone, replaced by neat, sleek-fitting tailcoats with perfectly white shirts underneath. Their legs were now covered by black, expensive-looking slacks, and their black leather shoes were so well-polished Serenity could have sworn she could see her face in them. Both of them had long hair, which was now tied back in a tight, braided ponytail that gave them both a decidedly orderly look. The pair looked slightly shocked, at first, but that soon passed, and they stood to attention, bolt upright, before offering Queen Mab a low bow.

"At once, your highness," Monica said. Again, her voice was tinted with that unfamiliar accent, and furthermore, she was making her voice lower and deeper. Despite herself, Serenity found herself admiring the pair's new look and vibe. She had a weakness for handsome girls.

"Excellent," Mab said with an appreciative nod. "Now. Who's next?"

What followed was an impossible cavalcade of transformation. Serenity kept hoping that the girls around her would start to scream or run or fight, but far from it, most of them were lining up excitedly to partake in what they foolishly assumed was nothing more than some flashy Halloween fun. Serenity was horrified, and the worst part was that she didn't dare flee. Not by herself. What if Mab tried to stop her? All she could bring herself to do was shrink into a corner of the room and hope that she escaped notice.