Lana walked out of the washroom clutching her robes to her soaked, naked body. She barely had the time to dry her hair and face with a towel before another girl snatched it away, desperately trying to scrub off the remnants of the baptism. Before the ceremony even ended properly, they were ushered out to get themselves cleaned before they'd be shown to their quarters. The washroom itself was outside the sanctum, meaning they all grabbed their robes on the way out, however, seeing as it was their only clothing, no one was eager to put them on quite yet.
She was aware the black cloth would be damp by now, as she held it close to cover herself, but didn't really care. Ever since she first witnessed her friend standing naked among the ranks of the newly appointed disciples, face frozen in disbelief, Lana felt like her mind blanked out, her body acting automatically without being told. In a way, it felt almost like she was possessed again. They never spoke a word to each other before they were separated, getting lost in the crowd of maybe thirty confused young women.
The priestess who led them to the washroom stood waiting before the entrance, pointing the cleaned girls to a door further down the hall. Lana stopped, watching as another batch of women, hair still soaked in white goo, pushed their way inside past her, trying to get their turn at one of the washbasins. She tried to remember that they've all seen each other naked just moments before (and for that matter,
will be
seeing each other naked often from now on) and slowly let go of her robes and quickly put them on.
She followed the outstretched finger of the older priestess, arriving at a plain-looking door which led to a long room lined with rows of beds pressed against the walls at each side. There could have been maybe fifty of them, most already occupied, either by a young sister or a pile of robes and other simple belongings signaling the existence of an occupant. Those that weren't, were in a process of being claimed by one of the new arrivals and that motivated Lana to quickly pick an empty one and make it her own.
She dropped her nun hood at the one she picked and tried to look around to make a better sense of the scenery. All the women in the room wore a copper pendant just like her, meaning they were all lowly disciples, yet it was clear that they had joined an already existing group as some of the sisters present were clearly a long time inhabitants and the large room was quickly filling up.
"Lana?"
She quickly turned around upon hearing the voice and froze. Staring back at her was Petra. In black robe now, but like her, she left her hood down and her mane of red hair was falling down onto her shoulders, framing her pale, freckled face.
"Petra..." she mumbled. She didn't know what to say. Her throat clenched and so she just stood there, silent and still. Suddenly, the girl threw herself around her shoulders and hugged her, holding her strong and tight, her breath coming in quick ripples. Just like that, Lana's trance had broken, and all the emotions flooded her at once. She could feel tears flowing down her cheeks as she buried her face in her hair, returning the hug. She couldn't tell how long they stood like that, but she didn't care. Everything else in the room ceased to matter.
"How... how did..." she stammered.
"Stop!" Petra said. "Don't say anything!"
They sat down on Lana's bed and Petra proceeded to tell her everything. From how she got away from the raid, her arrival at the Temple and everything about her stay up to this moment. From what she could tell, it went exactly the same as for her, with the exception that Petra had spent weeks awaiting her initiation along with the other girls and through the gossip had managed to get a better idea of what was to come. It still wasn't enough to prepare any of them.
Some time into their chat, they noticed that the room was now full, every bed being taken. A few of the last girls peeked into the room, before being sent next door into another dormitory. In short time, the older priestess who had led them here came in to check. She hadn't said a word as she scrutinized the room, her sharp gaze piercing through Lana as it passed her.
"Once again, I welcome you amongst our ranks, disciples," she proclaimed finally. The words didn't carry any feelings with them, her face remaining blank as she spoke.
After a moment of silence, she added: "It is dark by now. I encourage you to take a good night's sleep. Come the morning, you will begin your time in the service of the Temple."
When she closed the door, the room fell into silence. True to her words, the sky beyond the curtained widows was black as pitch and the few lit candles on the night tables besides the beds provided only a dim light.
After a while, one of the older disciples rose and stood at the opposite end of the room, facing the new group.
"Now that
Big Sister
had gone to sleep," she said, voice young and not as deprived of emotion as the rest of the priestesses, "first of all, let me welcome you. I am Sister Othella. If you have any questions, I can answer them now."
Immediately, few voices rose up from among the crowd.
"What the fuck is wrong with this place?" asked a tall, hazel-haired girl, slim as a stick.
"Wrong?" asked Othella.
The girls stared back at her for a moment. "Yes! How else would you describe what is happening here? What these people do? How would they look at this back home?"
