World Domination

She was the last to arrive.

She paused before the door.

She breathed.

She straightened her robe and then she entered.

The room was dark, the chandelier above the round table where everyone sat being the only light. The one window in the room showed a moonless night. The crystals hanging at various levels from the candelabrum threw the light of the candles around the room in various forms. The light appeared to be dancing as the flames of the candle moved to any disruptions, the glow making the faces of the members of the society appear discoloured and distorted.

Looking around the table she saw everyone sitting there, waiting for her.

So she sat.

Everybody stared at the middle of the table, their sacramental cups in front of them.

Waiting.

Waiting for her.

The cup bearer.

All was silent, they dared not talk until the meeting started.

And it started with her.

She looked around the table again, taking in their faces, as dark as they were, hidden by the hood of their robes.

Next to her sat one of the two males in the society, a burly thing of a man. Built like a grizzly bear, he was just as hairy as one, his beard long and wiry, the different shades of brown and red and orange catching in the light. His bushy eyebrows were darker than his beard, covering his eyes in an eternal frown. She never saw what lay beneath his robe but she could only assume he was just as hairy underneath.

Adjacent to him sat the other male in the society, a dopey looking bloke that looked more boy than man. His long nose was disproportionate to the rest of him and always seemed to be wet like a dogs, dripping snot whenever she looked. His ears stuck out of his robe, as pointy as a husky, though he was nowhere near as pretty as one.

What he lacked in beauty was made up by what she thought was the most beautiful woman in the world. Sitting next to him, she was the picture of radiance. As pretty as a Barbie doll, she had long blonde hair that was flowing and gorgeous and beautiful lips that always seemed to be smiling like she held a secret. She knew they all held a secret being here tonight, but this woman’s perfect smile with her naturally pink lips           just seemed to hiding the world’s biggest secret. She didn’t know if that would save or doom them all.

Next to the world’s most beautiful woman sat the world’s most ugly. Her bright red hair was like knots of yarn, twisting and spiking in all different directions until it looked like a raggedy mop soaked in blood. If the eyes were the windows to her soul, it showed the craziness behind them. Her small lips were coloured to match her hair but unlike the other woman’s smile, this one’s was crazy, like the colour had been from drinking blood rather than wearing lipstick.

And they were all here because she had summoned them. Having taken in her surroundings, she lifted the jug in front of her and began to pour.

She went around the table, pouring some of the liquid into everyone’s cup before finally finishing on her own. She put the jug down and lifted her cup, taking the first sip.

The meeting of the secret society had officially started.

“I gather you all here today because we need to discuss something.”

She looked around, making sure the attention was on her, but it was.

Everyone was silent, waiting for her to continue.

“For too long we have been kept down by the bureaucrats, forced to learn from the government, forced to comply to their way of living. Forced to eat their food and abide by their rules. Well I say enough. I wish to live freely from the eyes of everyone, without cameras watching me and fake viruses controlling our fear. I say this because I know you all feel the same. I invite you to join me in tearing down the system.”

She stopped and a pregnant pause echoed around the room.

“What do you suggest we do?” the bear man next to her asked, one of his hairy eyebrows raised in question.

“I suggest we start again,” she replied simply.

“What do you mean start again?” the beautiful one asked.

“I exactly that, to start again. The world is beyond saving. There is corruption everywhere, much of it hidden but much more of it is staring us right in the face leading our countries”.

The dog looking man watched her closely.

“But what about our doctors and engineers and whatnot that keep the world running?” his barky voice asked.

“They once did not exist,” she replied. “We shall start again, a new world, a new government, a new way of living. No more wars, no more sickness, no more corruption, no more repression. We do this our way instead of theirs.”

“I’m in.”

She turned to the voice. Those soulless eyes looked back at her, her small blood-red lips turned up into a slight smile.

She smiled back, together they would make a change that was better for this world.

The dopey dog man looked at her, his eyes slightly wide, slightly terrified.

“I’m in too,” he still said.

“So am I,” said the beautiful one, her voice like wind chimes.

“As am I,” the gruff man said, his voice big and loud compared to the Barbie looking woman.

The cupbearer smiled.

“Together we can make the world a better place, not only for us but for everyone that remains. No more fighting, only peace.”

They all nodded in agreement, lifting their glasses towards the chandelier above them, clicking their cups, sharing not only the drink but also sharing the moment. The first moment of many, of true clarity.

“Katie!”

Her head tilts as if to hear the sound better, but she ignores it, the cup still to her lips.

“It’s bedtime.”

She ignores it again, hoping the nuisance will go away on its own.

But it didn’t, and the door to the room opened to reveal a larger lady, her hips wide from childbirth, her face beginning to show the early signs of age.

“Katie, it’s bedtime, come on, you have school tomorrow,” the mother of the 4-year-old said.

Walking in to the little girl’s playroom, she closed the curtain, blocking out the moonless night.

“Bed, now.”

The little girl, Katie, huffed but listened to her mother. She put down her teacup and got up from the small pink table and followed her Mum out the door, not looking back at her stuffed animals and dolls still sitting there, waiting for her.

She would resume her tea party tomorrow after school.

And their plans for world domination.