Innocent Lesbian Surprise
Merita tried not to panic as the alarms blared in her tiny space shift. She manipulated the controls with her hands and four purple tentacles. She stared at the blue planet before her It filled the curved screen. She was caught in a decaying orbit and her engines had malfunctioned.
"I'm going to crash," she whispered to herself, her tentacles twitching. Violet panic pulsed beneath her skin.
She orbited a primitive planet, its inhabitants thousands of years behind Merita's own culture. It was not an ideal place to crash. She would be hard-pressed to find the means or materials to repair her craft.
But she had no alternative. Crashing was inevitable. All she could do was hope that they were a kindly people. She leaned her seat back and prepared her ship for crash landing. It would be hours yet, and several orbits, before her ship made contact with the planets atmosphere and began its fiery reentry.
~ ~ ~
The carriage wheels clattered on the country road, carrying me to a new beginning.
I peered out the carriage window at the dreary moor. Fog still lingered despite the sun rising towards noon. Placid sheep grazed the green fields, unmindful of the gray trying to swallow them. A nervous flutter went through my heart.
I peered up the road, struggling to see Kensington, the boarding school my parents had sent me to. Billy, our family's groom, was my escort. First on the train, which had been a remarkable experience riding it west from London. And now by carriage. I would spend the next few months at the school.
I was shocked when I was told I was going. I had thought my tutors were enough for my education, but my father wanted me to socialize more. To befriend the girls and make connections for adulthood. It was daunting. I hated meeting new people. I never felt...comfortable. And a whole new school...
Eighteen years was not enough to prepare myself.
I clutched my purse in nervous fingers as the carriage followed the road's curve. Through the fog, a building appeared on a hill, fuzzed by the haze. Lights glowed in the windows, cheery against the drear of the autumn countryside. The green lawn clad the hill's gentle slope, dotted with broad oak trees for shade. Gravel crunched beneath the carriage's wheels as it wound up the drive to the front of the school.
My heart fluttered worse. I took a deep breath, my small breasts straining against my tight bodice. My hand fumbled on the seat for my bonnet. It was a dark-red, almost black, and matched my dark traveling dress. I pulled the bonnet over my head and tied it at the nape, my blonde pigtails protruding outside.
I hoped no one thought my hairstyle was childish. I loved the simple style, but my mother had taken to criticize it of late. I bit my lower lip as the building grew larger and larger. From a distance, it looked like any other county estate, but up close it was mammoth, halls reaching in both directions, the floors rising one after the other.
Six floors.
The horses neighed as Billy stopped the carriage before the doors. A maid in a black dress, white apron and cap awaited, hands folded before her. The carriage creaked as the groom dismounted, his boots crunching on the gravel. He opened the door, his rough face giving me a comforting smile.
"Young miss," he said, holding his hand.
I took his calloused grip in my gloved, left hand and stepped out of the carriage. "Thank you, Billy."
He knuckled his forehead then climbed up the carriage to fetch my luggage while I walked up to the maid, pulling off my gloves. She gave a curtsy, a smile on her freckled face. I swallowed, fighting the urge to smooth my skirt.
"Well, what a pleasure to receive you, Henrietta," smiled the maid. "I'm Daisy. You're the last student to arrive for term. I'll see that your luggage is taken to your room."
"Thank you, Daisy" I said, hoping my voice didn't betray my nerves.
"Almost late for term to start. Another day late and the Headmistress would be none to pleased with you."
I swallowed. "She sounds strict."
"Aye, that she is. Just go inside. Young Tabitha will take you to the school's nurse for your physical."
"Physical?" I blinked.
"Well, we need to make sure you're in full health, now don't we. It's our duty to nurture your body as much as your mind. But don't worry your pretty head. Nurse Paige will take good care of you."
I took a breath and headed to the door, my heeled boots thudding on the polished stones mortared together that made the porch. I grasped the brass handle and my thumb pulled the lever. The door creaked inward with a groan onto a well lit foyer, the high windows overhead letting in plenty of daylight. I saw no signs of electricity.
London had been lit for a decade, but the country lagged behind the metropolis.
A girl my age, with fiery hair, stood in a what could only be the school's uniform--gray skirt, white blouse, a gray bow at the throat, a smile on her freckled face, her fiery hair falling in waves about her face while blue eyes twinkled with a most mischievous light.
"You must be Etta," the girl beamed. "I'm Tabitha, your roommate."
"Etta?" I arched an eyebrow. "I'm afraid you're mistaken. My name's Henrietta."
"And that is such a stuffy name. I think Etta is better." Tabitha beamed. "So that's what I shall call you."
Her personality was so strong. I gave her a nervous smile. "Okay." My name was too stuffy and yet she went by Tabitha? Why didn't use her name's proper diminutive Tabby. Hettie or Ettie was the proper diminutive of my name, not Etta. I almost called her Tabby, but shyness held my tongue.
"Now I've been her a week," said Tabitha, "and been everywhere in the school." She hooked my arm in hers. "From the basement we're not supposed to venture down all the way to the attic. Boy was it dusty up there."
I gave her a polite nod as I let her lead me from the foyer.
"The things I have seen. Why, I bet they would turn your straw hair white and put a good deal of color into your cheeks."
I nodded again. Color in my cheeks? Wouldn't a fright have the opposite effect?
"You would not believe some of the things that happen at night."
"Is it...haunted."
Tabitha gave a rich laugh. "No, no. But I think you'll get a taste when Nurse Paige give you your examine. It is...personal."
"Aren't all examines personal?" I asked. "I have been to a physician."
"Well, you'll just have to see. It was invigorating, I will tell you that much. Invigorating and relaxing in turns."
What did that mean?
"Now we all eat in the great hall for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, but we have tea in our sitting rooms. There are about a hundred girls separated into four dorms and we each have our own sitting room. The tea is just lovely and a fine time to relax and socialize."
I nodded.
"You're not much of a talker."
