Blessed and boiling

“It shalt forever be the duty of a daughter to cleanse the aches of her family.” Offered Father, reciting yet more passages of scripture that Chastity had never heard before… but made sure to take in and memorise. “And we are all family here, little one… So be sure to offer your hands and tongue to any of your brothers you might find here in future.”

The room they were in was wide and dim, disconnected from the main buildings and opened up to the elements on two sides. It was more just a sheltered alcove than a true interior, though carved rather elaborately from natural stone. It reminded the devout teen of what the Roman bath houses that the Son and his ancient disciples visited, must have looked like. There was a large pool of water dug down into the floor, gently steaming away as if fed from some natural hot-spring. Several large, smooth-stone tables stood nearby; low to the ground at near knee-height and looking more like altars than anything else. They were topped with padded mats and cylindrical cushions, looking actually far more luxurious than the dirty, old mattress Chastity and her mother had been expected to sleep on. The teen's mind was already racing towards what such plinths might be used for.

Father indicated for the two naked women to step toward the pool, so they did so immediately. Chastity watching her mother lower that magnificent naked form into the rippling depths and gasp with what was clearly the heat of it. Still, she had no choice but to follow along diligently. Trapped between the example of obedience that was her own parent, and the unswerving expectations of the priest… she was not a young lady who would rebel for just the avoidance of a little hot water. She clambered over the side and felt the stinging change in temperature assault all the nerves in her calves. The raw juncture of it, from the slightly chilly state her body had been in having not yet adjusted to so much time spent unclothed, sent lighting running through every other part of her. Goosebumps leapt forth upon all her skin that wasn’t immersed in scalding liquid… and the girl felt her own nipples stand immediately to attention once again. Every. Primal. Urge within her wanted to leap back out of this cauldron and cooking pot. But, at the same time, the thought of cleansing herself from all the dried and itching patches of man-goop lining her skin was palpable. After a second or two of adjustment… she managed to force herself to step in a little further, and lower more of her naked body into the sploshing inferno.

After a little while… her skin didn’t feel quite so on fire. Though the oppressive, humid press of heat still made her feel dizzy and loudly aware of each thump her heart made within her chest. Her mother’s red face and slightly-panting voice made it clear she was suffering through the same reactions. Yet, Father had stripped down and joined them in the pool without any indications of discomfort at all. With three of them sat upon a shelf below the waterline, there was just not quite enough room for them to comfortably share the space without causing their naked bodies to touch. The teen managed to surreptitiously tuck her knees up to her chest and secure her own corner of personal space, but neither of the other occupants seemed invested in that idea at all. Her mother cuddled up to the man who had brought them here immediately… and Chastity was fairly certain the hand she was dipping beneath the water line had already begun exploring the contours of his privacy. Meanwhile he seemed intent on just staring into his younger prey’s eyes. Keeping her trapped in those slate-grey irises and piercing through into what thoughts lay behind them. She couldn’t look away… and that rhythmic thumping of her heart in her ears made her feel like he could hear it too. Could scour away every layer she put up around herself, just like the boiling water was doing to her dead and dirtied skin.

“It is good… to wash away the person we were yesterday.” He announced, sermon-like as ever. “For that person is gone now… and tomorrow yet awaits us: Fresh and pink and cleansed.”

The man smiled a wolf-like smile. The way he said ‘pink’, while rinsing his eyes across her tender, uncovered form… made Chastity feel more exposed than ever. Made her feel like a worm wriggling upon concrete before the beady-black pupils of a crow. She did feel like she was being scrubbed of all the filth left over from the last few days… but also felt like other things were being taken away with it: Senses of who she was and where she belonged in the world. Her individuality. Her certainty of ‘Right’ and ‘Wrong’. Her very name… and all the connotations Mom had clearly meant when picking it for her.

Who was this man? What powers did he seem to have over everyone around him? Even her anxious curiosity over answers to those questions seemed to begin fading away. Was it too late now? Was she lost forever within those eyes?