The order of Dark Pleasures

"Grand Witch Aphrosia, could I have a moment of your time?"

Jane had made sure that nobody would hear them, for days she had waited for the right opportunity, as well as worked up the courage to approach Ms Steward. It was late in the day and Jane's high school teacher was on her way to her office, by herself in the corridor. Jane touched her arm as she spoke, and Ms Steward turned around.

She looked at Jane, her eyes playful, dark and cold. She did not seem chocked, nor angry, but perhaps surprised. Jane immediately felt terrified. She let go of her teacher and licked her lips, uncertain of how to continue.

"Jane Cooper?" Ms Steward said, "why, I must say, I am surprised." She smiled, but her eyes still had the same dark, fear inducing gleam. "However did you find out?"

Jane had found out about the order of Trifold Night through her online research. For many years she had studied the occult. I started as a mere curiosity but in the last year or so it had turned into a pure obession. When Jane had seen her teacher's locket about three months past she had locked herself in her room for days to make sure she had not been mistaken. Ever since then she had planned this encounter, allthough when she was actually standing here she did not feel prepared at all.

She swallowed. "Well, I have been doing research on such things and... I saw your locket a couple of months back... and..."

Ms steward smiled, "ah, the internet! It is impossible to keep a secret order secret anymore! Well... Shall we take this conversation to my office?" She turned and started walking immediately. Jane followed, her heart pounding in her chest.

Ms Steward signelled to Jane to close the door behind her. She did so. Her teacher sat down on her desk and looked at Jane with a cocked head. It struck Jane how beatiful the woman was with her dark, curly hair, pale skin and a curvy body fitting perfectly into her black dress. She did not look like a high school teacher. As often around more beatiful women, Jane felt awkward and clumpsy in her presence. She herself was thin, with long arms, pasty skin and no curves. He hair had no shine to it, she looked cold, outside, friendless. And of course, she was.

"No" Ms Steward said.

"Um, excuse me?" said Jane. "No to what?" but she feared she allready knew. Her face turned red.

"There is only one reason a young woman doing research on such things would approach me. You wish to join us, and I can't blame you, but the answer is no. We simply have no use of you."

Jane heard the words wash over her and felt completely unprepared for them. Her immediate thought was that she must not cry. How pathetic was she? She had thought that because she had found out the secret, because she had shown herself to be intelligent, eager, the order would accept her. That they would view her exactly like everybody else seemed to, as someone whom you had no use for, had never struck her mind. The world spun around her, no it must not be, it couldn't be, she must do something!

She looked around desperately, grabbing a letter opener from a shelf in Ms Steward's office. She pushed it against her throat, it was blunt, but it had a point and Jane pushed it hard enought to almost breach the skin. Tears where forming in her eyes now. "I'll, I'll kill myself if you won't let me join!" she shouted.

Ms Steward raised an eyesbrow at this, but stayed, relaxed, leaning against her desk.

"I'll really do it!"

"Jane... You must have read about our order quite a bit. It surprises me you think that something like this would compel me. We work towards our own power, not to help young women from commiting suicide, tragic though it would be. But if it's a matter of you rather dying than not getting to join us then go right ahead. I will not enjoy the cleanup, but what is a teacher to do?" she smirked slightly, still lounging.

Jane's hand shook, she fell to her knees, she had let go of any sense of pride at this point, tears and snot where running down her face as she crawled to her teacher.

"Please! There must be something I can do, there must be something you can use me for?! I'll do anything! Anything to join you, I can't just go out there, knowing that you exist." She grasped the hem of her teacher's dress and looked up at her.

This actually seemed to give Ms Steward pause. "Anything, you say?"

"Anything!"

Ms Steward looked down at her and pursed her lips. "Well... there would be no guarantee that you would join. I could only offer you a chance."

"That's enough! That's all I ask for is a chance!" Jane felt an insane hope at the words, she felt like kissing her techer's feet but descided not to.

"Very well. I shall make you our new serving girl."