Goddesses of the Night
"What if we get caught?" Narcissa asked, chasing her sister across the damp grounds. The pale moonlight glowed off of Bellatrix's white skin, giving her an almost ethereal appearance. To Narcissa she looked like a pagan goddess of old myth. Her raven black hair streaming gorgeously behind her.
"That's the whole fun of it. The added element of possibly getting caught makes it ten times more thrilling. Besides what are the chances of a teacher taking a midnight stroll around the lake? Don't worry Cissa no one will see you in all your naked glory." Bellatrix yelled, for all the night to hear. She wildly spun around, her gown of red velvet flaring about her slender frame. It had been a gift from their grandmother, who believes that girls should own many pretty things.
Narcissa was wearing her own, pale blue, dress. It clung tightly to her body, accentuating every minute curve and blending it all together in a manner that was flattering to her figure.
"I'm not worried about anyone seeing me… naked," Narcissa argued, feeling red embarrassment creep up her regal face. She was glad Bellatrix couldn't see in the dark.
"Good!" Bellatrix twirled around, gliding to Narcissa's side. "For you are a maiden of the night. There is nothing in this feeble existence that could surpass your beauty. Men follow your every whim." Her arm slid around Narcissa's waist. "Rejoice in this, sister." Her voice fell to a low whisper.
Narcissa couldn't help but giggle at this romantic notion. It seemed so… unBellatrix. "Who are you and what have you done with my sister?" she demanded, grabbing the impostors arm.
The girl who would be Bellatrix giggled playfully and yanked her arm away. "I was reading about ancient pagan magick when I came across a chapter about Priestesses. To be initiated a virgin would be taken to a lake under a waning moon and told to swim in its water skyclad, which means naked.
"As they swam their God would appear in any form he chose and copulate with the virgin. From then on she was a Priestess of the Order. But if he didn't they were sent back to whatever crappy living they had before trying to join the Order."
"And?" Narcissa urged Bellatrix to continue; dreading what may come from her sister's mouth.
"And I thought it would be fun to try it out. I'm not expecting any God to come down and sleep with me but the idea of swimming naked sounded fun."
"Bellatrix, you do that all the time," Narcissa knew better than to underestimate the cunning of her sister's mind. "What's the real reason?" They were nearing the lake. Narcissa could hear the sound of waves lapping against the land.
Bellatrix sighed, staring sadly at the moon. "I'm so tired of everyone around me trying to shove me into a mold of what they think I am. Can you unbutton me?" Bellatrix turned her back to Narcissa, who began to undo the buttons. "Don't you think it's fun? Just us girls, no pressure from society and boys, just us and the sky. The real us."
"I guess you are right. The idea of just being me is nice," Narcissa agreed slipping the last button from its hole. "I am too busy being a daughter, student, girlfriend, and socialite to ever be me."
Bellatrix breathed in the night air, moving away from her sister. "Sometimes I forget I'm even a woman because I'm so rundown."
Narcissa nodded, still wishing they could be themselves without getting naked. "Now do me," she said reluctantly, pointing her back at Bellatrix. Her older sister quickly undid the buttons with firm, agile fingers.
"You hair is so gorgeous," she whispered, caressing Narcissa's golden locks. "Why do you always wear it up?"
Narcissa pulled away, placing her hair over her shoulder so it hung in her chest. She didn't feel comfortable when people said she was beautiful or compliment her like that. Because she didn't feel that way and it felt patronizing.
She looked down at her hair and began to wonder if it really was gorgeous.
"Just wear it down more often." Bellatrix slipped her crimson dress from her pale, slender shoulders. They glowed like the rest of her in the moonlight.
Narcissa slipped out of her own dress, feeling a little self-conscious. She let it fall in a puddle of slivery blue at her feet. The cold air nipped slightly at her naked body.
She turned around to look Bellatrix in the face. Instead she ended up staring jealously at how beautifully sculpted her sister's body was. Her breasts were not small, yet not so big that they demanded attention. They were perfect.
Narcissa stared at the water uncertainly. "It looks cold."
"Who cares?" Bellatrix said in the wanton manner Narcissa was used to. She dived headfirst into the chilly water.
Narcissa reluctantly followed suit. "Holy shit this is freezing," she complained wading in slowly. The moonlight shimmered magically on the lake's surface.
Bellatrix's head popped up not to far from Narcissa. "Stop being such a sissy," Bellatrix laughed, grabbing hold of Narcissa's arm.
"Don't you dare!" Narcissa screeched, trying to wrench her arm free. "Bellatrix let go!"
"Join us in the deep my pretty," Bellatrix hissed in a haunting voice. "Join my pretty garden." She pulled Narcissa's arm slowly into the water.
Suddenly Bellatrix tugged sharply pulling Narcissa under the dark, cold water. Narcissa broke the surface frantically, gasping for air.
"You bitch!" She splashed Bellatrix angrily in the face. "Don't ever do that to me again."
"Loosen up," Bellatrix laughed, lying on her back, allowing the water to carry her wherever it will. Narcissa sighed and floated on her back grabbing hold of her sister's hand.
"So at least we won't be separated."
Both sisters stared up at the stars and moon as they floated across the water's surface. The heavens sparkled and winked pleasantly down at them. Around them the forest was alive. Creatures howled and cried to each other. Screeches as something died.
The night was infinite and they were apart of that. Immortal, suspended in this single moment of forever.
"No expectations. Just the real us, like the Goddesses of old…" Bellatrix whispered, reaching her hand over her body and resting it on Narcissa's smooth, luminescent stomach.
Narcissa sighed and rested her hand atop her sister's, still staring up into the bleak vastness of the galaxy.
Their bodies floated on the surface of the Great Lake, tiny dots in a field of blue. Like the stars above. Going on forever. They were so small and simple, like nothing else but to twinkle happily was expected of them. Narcissa wished she could be star and get away from this world.
"Virginal and pure. Pure again after years of dirt." Bellatrix whispered, her body floating up with a small wave.