Lady Catherine opened the door herself--unusual!--and even more unusual, she was already dressed. Her petticoats were showing beneath her dress, and her hair was more than half untamed, and Cosette had the urge to fix her mistress' mistakes. Instead, she found herself grabbed by the arm and yanked into the chamber.
"Did you bring it?" Catherine asked breathlessly.
"M'lady, may I help you arrange your hair...?" Cosette began, distressed by the state in which Lady Catherine presented herself.
"Did you bring it?" Catherine insisted. There was a wild look in her eyes that frightened Cosette.
Cosette produced a small velvet pouch and presented it to her mistress. Her hand trembled as Lady Catherine's hands brushed hers. Catherine did not notice as she tore open the pouch and looked inside.
"Lapis lazuli!" she said. "The final ingredient! Was it much trouble to get?"
"No, ma'am." In truth, Cosette had to brave the most dangerous parts of the city, alone and unprotected because of her mistress' demand for secrecy. She had been pinched, grabbed and threatened. One Malay sailor threatened to take her as a slave. Even the Arab merchant who sold her the exotic stone had demanded a grope before he would deliver the item to her. But Cosette did not want Catherine to think that any service was a hardship. Her mother had served Catherine before her as nurse and maid. Cosette, just being a few years younger than Catherine, had watched the young noblewoman grow into a staggering beauty, with a full bosom and narrow waist, whose face artists competed to paint. Cosette worshiped and adored Lady Catherine, and the chance for the intimacy that came with being a Lady's Maid was a dream come true for her.
Catherine led Cosette around a screen that divided her private chamber. There, on the floor, Catherine had drawn a circle inscribed with a five pointed star. Strange markings unfamiliar to Cosette surrounded the circle, and a small candle burned at each point of the star.
"Magic?" Cosette whispered.
"Don't act surprised, Cosette," Catherine said. "I've seen you glance at the books I keep. You're not the illiterate you pretend to be, are you? Father would be shocked to see this, and the archbishop would die of a heart attack. They must never know. Do you understand?"
Cosette looked shocked that Catherine could even hint that she might betray her. "I understand, ma'am. It is not my place to tell. But if I may ask...why?"
Catherine sighed. "Cosette, do you have any idea what it is like to feel powerless? To know that you have no control over your future?"
Cosette remained silent. She thought it imprudent to point out that no servant ever felt like they had power or control over their futures.
Catherine continued. "Tomorrow my father will announce my betrothal to the Duke of Bregoyne. It is a good match from his point of view. Our family's holdings will more than double, and the Duke's position at court will enhance my father's status immensely."
"But...?"
"But the Duke is older than my father by ten years and he brags of his hitting servants and animals. I do not think it would be any different for his wife."
Or a servant, thought Cosette. It would be her destiny to accompany Lady Catherine to her new household.
"But what can you do?"
"I can say no of course. But I will not refuse as a weak woman. I want strength of my own. I want men to look to me as their superior, to see me as they would have me look at them. I am not some pet or some tool."
"Hence the magic."
"Very good, Cosette. You may stay and watch, if you wish. Soon, I shall be more than your mistress. I shall be your goddess."
Catherine did not hear her maid murmur "You already are." Instead, she busied herself with final preparations, sprinkling lapis powder and other ingredients into the flame of each candle. Then, she took a jeweled dagger from a table and began to chant in a strange language. Holding her bare arm over the bare pentagram, she prepared to draw blood. Cosette could not bear to watch, and she closed her eyes. She could hear her mistress' voice make its final invocation in French.
"Into the flame I offer my blood.
Into the pit I offer my soul.
Come to me, Angel of Darkness.
Grant me the strength of ten thousand
And the power of the storm.
Make me more beautiful than the sky
And swifter than the prayer I offer to you.
Take my soul, O Abbadon,
And make me your eternal vessel of infernal power!"
Cosette felt an icy breeze, and when she dared to open her eyes, all of the candles had gone out. She thought she could see the symbols around the pentagram glowing with a faint green light. A pool of fresh blood stained the floor in the center of Catherine's inscribed circle. Catherine stood unsteadily, blood dripping from a cut in her forearm, gazing expectantly at the circle.
But as the glowing runes faded and the last wisps of smoke rose from the candle, it became clear that nothing was going to happen. Catherine sank to her knees, weeping. Cosette put an arm around her mistress to comfort her.
"I'm sorry you did not get what you asked for," she said.
"I was a fool to believe it in the first place," Lady Catherine sobbed. "A vain, blasphemous fool."
"You were scared, and you dared to hope, my lady. I see no shame in that."
Catherine managed a weak smile. "Now I must tend to my wound. Please clean up all evidence of my foolishness before someone else stumbles in here, and I am faced with shame as well as humiliation."
"Of course, m'lady." Together, they bound Catherine's arm with a kerchief, and the young noblewomen set off in search of her father's surgeon. Cosette prepared some water to clean the blood off the floor before it hardened between the cracks on the floorboards.
A man's voice spoke. "You ready for this?"
Cosette spun around, nearly dropping the basin. How had an intruder entered without her noticing? At first, she saw nothing, but then she saw a small man, no taller than her knee, standing in the center of the pentagram. He was absolutely naked, and his smooth red skin shone like the skin of a tomato. Two little horns that grew from his head told Cosette all she needed to know about the man's origin. She stared at him, unable to speak.
"Yeah. I'm usually bigger than this," he explained. "You drew the circle way too small. My dick's a lot bigger too, relatively speaking. Circle again. Shrinkage. You should see me when I'm full size. I'm a monster then. Two monsters, if you count me and Mr. Happy separately."
Cosette blinked a few times, trying to recover the wits to speak.
"Who...?"
"Abbadon. Duh. You called me, remember? I ate your soul, we had some laughs. So, now, do you want infinite power or not. You only called me here for a minute, so make up your mind fast."
Cosette finally realized what had happened. The idea that a fiend from hell could be talking to her, but her loyalty to her mistress gave her courage to compose herself and speak.
"It was Lady Catherine who called you, not I. She summoned you, but now she has gone to seek help for an injury."
"No shit? Sucks to be her. Seems the boss liked her gift, and I'm here to give it to her. But if she doesn't stand in the pentagram with me before I fade away, it's gone forever."
"And how long is that?"
"About ten seconds. You want it? 'Cause I got my soul and I get paid the same whether I give it away or not. Make up your mind quickly, because I'm leaving in four...three...two..."
As he spoke, he started to fade away. Cosette started to panic. She wanted her mistress to be happy, and the appearance of this Abbadon just seemed to mock Lady Catherine's frustration. It was all such a waste.
But, perhaps, if she accepted the gift, she could make things right for her mistress. Perhaps, if she were stronger, she could tell Lady Catherine how she felt about her, and she might be able to earn the love of someone so far above her station. Perhaps...
She stepped into the circle just as the small demon vanished.
Red light shot up from the circle, enveloping Cosette. She could not have moved if she had wanted to. For a moment, pain beyond what she could have imagined possible shot through every nerve in her body, but before she could draw breath to scream, it was over. From that point on, she felt no pain whatsoever. Indeed, the red light felt warm, and comforting, and it stirred in her sensations that were downright erotic.
Cosette gazed down at herself as her body started to change. The first thing she realized was that she was growing taller. Her legs stretched out and her frame grew until she was taller than Catherine's father, who was practically a giant at 6'6". Cosette watched with amazement as all hair fell off her body, leaving behind perfectly smooth, blemish-free skin. Even her freckles vanished. The hair on her head, however, exploded out of its bun and fell over her shoulders. Its pale blonde color grew deeper and fairer, and it became impossibly full and silky to the touch.
Just the act of touching herself gave Cosette a thrill, both through her fingertips and through the smooth, delicate flesh touched. She realized that all of her senses were greatly enhanced, and she was certain that she could count the atoms across the breadth of a strand of her hair if she were so inclined. Then, under her fingertips, he body began to change further. Her breasts began to swell as if they were being inflated, growing until they were larger than her head. Cosette had never understood the appeal of monstrous breasts before, but now she could understand their appeal as their strained against her increasingly inadequate maid's uniform. Her limbs grew long, graceful and toned, her waist cinched in until it was narrower and tauter than when she was a girl, and her hips and bottom flared out until she had curves that she was sure would tempt the heterosexual Lady Catherine's eye. Her sensitive fingertips explored the new contours of her face: full lips, high cheeks, perfect skin.
Then it was over, and the light vanished. Cosette stood there, gazing at herself, gasping, panting, feeling better than she ever had felt in her life. She felt full of energy, full of power. This was what Catherine had been prepared to sell her soul for. What she had sold her soul for. And now Cosette owned it all. Cosette caught a glimpse of herself in the mirror. A goddess looked back. Cosette could not help sliding her hand under the frills of her skirt, teasing the nether lips that now brought infinite pleasure with the slightest touch. She closed her eyes and thanked the powers for such a gift.
"Cosette?" It was Lady Catherine. In her bliss, Cosette had not heard her come in, but now that she had refocused her attention, she could hear every molecule of air entering and leaving her mistress' lungs.
Her old obedience died hard. Cosette's hand snapped to her side and she stood at attention. She could hear the seams of her uniform straining to contain her sexy new curves. "M'lady, I'm sorry..."
"What did you do?" Catherine spoke slowly and deliberately. She was no dunce, and she realized immediately what had happened.
"I'm sorry," Cosette stammered. "The demon who came...Abbadon...he said the gift would vanish if I did not take it. I did not want your sacrifice to be in vain."
"You got it?" Catherine's voice raised to a howl. "After what I gave up, he gave it to you? How could you?"
"I'm sorry..." Cosette said, apologizing yet again. Yet Catherine would not finished. She threw herself at Cosette, trying to pummel her. Her blows fell weakly on Cosette's chest, who began to realize that the demon's gift brought more than just great beauty.
"Wait," she urged. "Hit me harder." Catherine tried to comply, focusing all of her rage into the blows, but Cosette could barely feel her fists. "Now hit me with the chair." Again, nothing, even as the wood cracked across her back. "Now the knife." This time Catherine hesitated, but Cosette insisted. All Catherine got from her effort was a bent blade and a sore wrist. She collapsed on the bed, crying.
"It's not fair! I should be the perfect one. I should be the goddess. Why me?"
Cosette sat down next to Catherine and she took her mistress in her arms, cradling her head against her soft, monumental breast. "Don't worry. I'll look after you. I won't let them force you to marry the Duke, and I'll help you get whatever you want to make you happy. I love you. I'll take care of you."
Catherine looked up into Cosette's caring eyes. She knew her maid was speaking the truth. This was not what she had hoped for in her demonic pact, but perhaps this could work.
