Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
Ella
Dark Paradise - Lana Del Rey
W ho knew you needed so much knowledge to become a whore for rich men?
I’m not really someone who loves studying and my knowledge of Greek mythology is rather limited. So, the first thing I did was google Daedalus. And I found out I was looking for a maze. Daedalus’s labyrinth. It wasn’t hard for me to know where I had to be. There’s a country club on the outskirts of Stoneview that my parents used to go to. As a kid, I couldn’t join them, but my mom always brought me back the individual chocolates they give with tea or coffee when you eat at the restaurant. It had a maze on the wrapper.
I barely make it before sundown, advancing in my dress toward the grand white doors of the property. It’s built like a Greek temple. Tall, thick Doric columns stand behind me as someone opens the door.
I expected an empty grand entrance hall, statues of Greek gods and goddesses, paintings of Greek mythology scenes from Homer’s poems. And there’s all of that. Except it’s not empty at all. There are probably around thirty or so women, their chatter and excitement buzzing in my ears. All wearing the exact same dress as me. They’re so focused on their conversations, giggling about their expectations, that barely any of them notice my presence.
I step farther inside, the door closing behind me, and tap on the shoulder of the first girl I see.
“Hi.” I smile tentatively, still unsure why there are so many of us. “Is this…” I look down at the invite I’m holding, noticing all of us have the same one. “…where the Dionysian Mysteries take place?”
She claps her hands, almost jumping on the spot. “At least that’s the spot we all figured out! I’m sure we’re in the right place, but we’ll know once it’s completely nighttime. You barely made it. Who invited you?”
“Uh, Hades, and you?” I show her my invite, and she takes it, giving me hers.
I look down and read the exact same words that were on mine, except hers is signed Perseus.
“Hades?” she reads. “Who’s that, your boyfriend?”
I shake my head. “No, I…just someone kind enough to get me here.”
“Kind,” she snorts. “You mean someone who wants to fuck you on demand? Same, girl. But I don’t mind if it means I get myself that favor from the Shadows. I’m kind of desperate. I’m Ana, by the way.”
I open my mouth to talk, but a voice resonates behind me. “Ella.”
Ana is already moving on, talking to someone else as I turn around. I look up at Megan, who’s also wearing the same dress. Of course, hers makes her look like she’s about to pose for Vogue .
“You got an invite,” she says matter-of-factly. As if this isn’t the most obvious point. She snatches the invite from my hands and reads it.
“Of course.” She gives it back to me, cocking an eyebrow as her eyes roam over my body. “You’re not going to get in like this.”
I look down at my dress. “I’m wearing the same thing as you.”
“No, you’re not.”
And that’s when I realize she’s not wearing any underwear. No bra. No panties. Nothing. And with the sheerness of the dress, I can see everything.
“Look around you, Ella. You’re not in the sandbox anymore. You’re with the big players now.”
I notice what I hadn’t a minute ago. All the other women here aren’t wearing anything under their dresses either.
“You still have about two minutes to take these off,” she says, pointing at my bra, then my panties, both which can be seen clearly under my dress. “Bathroom is that door over there right next to the painting of Medusa.”
Pulling my shoulders back, I act like this isn’t a problem for me. It can’t be.
“I’ll be back,” I say with a calm I certainly don’t feel.
I stride to the bathroom, feeling my heart pounds against my ribcage as I rid myself of my underwear. This place is no joke, and I hadn’t realized the lack of dignity was going to start so soon.
I walk back out, right on time to follow the others, as we are being moved into another room. When we pass the door, a man in a suit is asking for the invitations, taking them from us. I don’t recognize him from anywhere, but I catch the signet ring on his pinky .
I’m in the right place.
Megan finds me again when we enter the second room. She walks beside me as we’re all guided through double doors into a backyard. Well, if you can call what looks like acres of land a ‘backyard.’
“Take off your shoes,” she whispers to me as we step outside. “They won’t want you to wear them.”
I do so and notice the girls who didn’t know are almost told off when ordered to do so. Then they’re placed at the back of the crowd.
“Thanks,” I murmur to Megan as we both settle toward the front.
Why is she helping me suddenly? I prefer when she’s horrible.
“You seem to know things a lot of the other girls don’t,” I tell her.
She nods, looking ahead of her as we keep walking through lush grass, following two men guiding us.
“You always have an advantage when you already know people within the Circle. The other girls are randoms trying to be initiated into a society they don’t understand. You and I are different. Our families are part of it.”
I look down at the grass that is starting to feel damp as the night blankets over us and the temperatures drop.
“I don’t know if I’m so different. My dad?—”
“He was still a member,” she cuts me off. “And I brought you to the front. You have better chances.”
“What is it we have to do exactly?”
I’ve been so focused on the grass, my own feet, my fear, that I didn’t look ahead of me. It’s only when Megan points out the giant entrance to a hedge maze that reality sinks in.
“What the hell?” I knew they wanted us to find the place that had a maze, but I didn’t realize we would be walking barefoot through it.
I look back to see the main building a little too small in the distance to my liking. We’re far out, the edge of Stoneview forest to our left and the eerie maze looking like an entrance to Hell.
Unable to control my fear, my mind goes to the only person who’s always protected me.
“Where’s Chris?”
Megan cocks an eyebrow at me, and I can hardly feel guilty. I’m too scared. I need him.
“Are you looking for my boyfriend?” she asks, completely unimpressed. I am, and there’s nothing I can do about it now.
“It’s just…he’s just…the only person here I know.”
“He’s at the center of the maze,” she explains calmly. “Waiting for me.”
Her eyes hold mine for a few seconds, driving the knife a little deeper with her stern look.
“Ladies. Good evening.”
My head snaps back to the front. Eugene Duval is standing at the entrance of the maze. That’s Achilles’s dad. I would be glad he cut through my awkward conversation if he wasn’t looking so terrifying. Like a ringmaster ready to put on the show of his life.
“I am so incredibly honored to welcome you to the yearly initiation into our community. Within our circle, my name is Zeus, and I’m the president. There is no higher authority than me.”
He smiles, so proud of his status. Achilles’s dad has always given me weird vibes, but then, so did my dad, and I learned that all those men couldn’t be trusted. But I never thought he was the president of the Silent Circle .
“Tonight, some of you will become Heras, and some of you Aphrodites. That depends not only on your fierceness to go for what you truly want, but also who you truly are. What is for certain, is that your lives are about to change.”
He extends a hand, presenting the entrance of the maze. “In less than a minute, you will all be given a chalice filled with Circe’s poison, which will help reveal who you really are. Then you will enter Daedalus’s labyrinth. In the center, the bachelors who are being initiated into the circle tonight await their wives, their Hera. Be the first to reach one and you will become his. You will become a goddess highly respected in the Circle. You will carry our children and ensure our legacy.”
His gaze travels over all of us, darkening as flames of excitement dance in his pupils. “But don’t forget that five minutes after you enter the labyrinth, the Shadows who are already members will come chasing after you, and if one catches you before you find a husband, and brings you to the center of the maze, you will become no less of a goddess, but a servant to our needs. Aphrodites live to feed the lust of men, and you shall submit to the choice your heart made. Your bodies will be ours, and we will forever cherish them.”
He pauses, looking like he’s already analyzing our reactions so he can find the woman he’ll go after. I find it insane to say we would have to submit to the choice our heart made when we’re basically running for our lives and forced to submit if we’re caught.
My knees weaken as a line of men dressed in suits advances toward us. They all have the Silent Circle signet ring, each holding a chalice in their hand.
Eugene Duval approaches me, but at the last second, he turns to Megan, offering her the drink. I look around, wondering who around here is her family. Is it a dad? A brother? Both? She seems to have so much advantage over everyone else.
Megan doesn’t hesitate to drink the liquid offered to her. Her lips are a deep, burgundy red when Eugene walks away, and she looks at me with a smile on her face.
“Here he comes,” she tells me. “The man who invited you.”
I follow her gaze to Professor Reeves, approaching me like a hunter on prey.
“You’re here,” he says blankly.
I don’t reply anything, simply take the chalice he offers me.
“I think I’ll be running after you tonight, Ella. After all, if you’re here, you know what you’re getting yourself into, right?” My stomach clenches as a slow smile spreads on his lips, and he nods at my cup. “Drink up.”
It tastes like bitter red wine, and I gag as I down the whole thing. Looking at Megan, she has a hazy smile on her face, and panic takes over me.
“Wait,” I hesitate. “Did they… Are there drugs in this?”
She nods, laughing softly. “Have fun.”
“Ladies, on your marks.” Eugene’s voice brings my attention back to the entrance of the maze. “Ready…”
A buzz resonates around me, all the women starting to feel the effect of whatever they drugged us with.
“Let the Dionysian Mysteries begin !”