Leaving the Castle

Sophia Maoulin

Sophia, sitting on her bed, tapped her foot in annoyance. She looked over at her laptop on the opposite table, which was currently being used by Ji-Woo.

The businesswoman had become very interested in Sophia's database ever since the latter had mentioned it during the conference. As they were wrapping up, Ji-Woo had requested to use it, promising it would only take a moment.

That had been nearly 45 minutes ago, and it was already 12:15. There wasn't much time until the pool party, and Sophia had multiple items she wanted to review before then.

"I can help you search, you know," Sophia explained for the third time. "Just tell me what you're looking for and-"

"For the last time, that doesn't concern you," Ji-Woo snapped back, unable to keep the irritation out of her voice.

"Sure, it's not like I bought the laptop or anything," Sophia muttered bitterly.

Ji-Woo ignored her and retained her focus on the screen. A plan had been assembled in her mind. She just needed the pieces.

---

Elena Mendez

"Here ya go!" Jezebel cheered as she handed the requested card to Elena. The two of them were joined by Tomoko in the card shop, the contestants having arrived together to do some shopping.

"Thank you, Jezebel," Elena replied, glancing at the card description to confirm it was as Sophia had said.

Stargazing One-Shot: 10 BP

Turn the sky into a romantic nighttime starscape for three hours. Any day or night game effects will trigger to reflect being night.

"So, ya buyin' it then?" Jezebel asked in excitement.

"You sure about this, Princess?" Tomoko questioned, her last word being altered to refer to the girl as royalty. "I mean, 10 BP is a lot. You sure you wanna spend all that just so you can do a couple hours of swimming?"

Elena thought about it for a moment. "It's not just for swimming. I also want to talk to Levi again in that form."

Tomoko was confused. "Can't you just wait until night, then?"

Elena shook her head. "He has to be in his tower at night. So there aren't a lot of opportunities otherwise."

"But why does it matter if you're buff or not?" Tomoko asked. "I mean, ya just wanna talk, not crush him, right?"

Elena thought back to the date. How she had smashed the back of his bed and roared at him with such primal fury.

"I just don't want last night to be how he remembers my other self," she explained.

"Wow, how bad did the date go?" Tomoko laughed while slapping Elena on the back, though she stopped when she realized the princess wasn't joining.

Elena looked back at Jezebel. "I'm buying this card."

Jezebel fell to her knees. "OOHHHHH GGGAAAAWDDDD" she cried, orgasming at another successful purchase. Unlike Elena's last acquisition of 2 BP, this more expensive option made the bimbo cum five times harder. Fluids poured out the corners of her bikini bottom, forming a puddle between her legs as the blonde twitched in ecstasy.

'I forgot she did that,' Elena thought, blushing in embarrassment.

"Uh, are you ok?" Tomoko asked.

Jezebel instantly rolled onto her feet with a swiftness that swung her gigantic mammaries with enough **** to smash wood. "Yeah! I'm totes good," she said casually as if she hadn't just loudly cum in public. Then, without missing a beat, she winked flirtatiously at Tomoko, "You wanna buy somethin' hot stuff?"

Tomoko rubbed the back of her head. "I dunno. I figured I'd think of somethin' on the way here but got nothin'." She turned to Elena. "You actually know the guy. Any recommendations?"

"Oh yeah, I forgot you two are pretty much strangers," Elena observed, pondering on what advice to give.

Tomoko's smile instantly fell. "I wouldn't say we're strangers. He abandoned our kid," she sneered, her carefree attitude instantly turning to resentment.

"Oh, uh, yeah," Elena muttered awkwardly. The girl was unsure if it was a good idea to challenge the poor woman's delusion. "That, uh, sucks-"

Tomoko laughed bitterly. "Uh, understatement of the century!"

Elena treaded carefully. "Sorry, he, uh, doesn't seem like the type of person who'd do that."

Tomoko sighed, leaning her butt against the shop counter. "Hard for me to believe, too. All these years, I've wondered who the dad was. I assumed whoever the guy was just didn't know and that we could be a family if I found him."

She chucked. "Never imagined it was some kid I used to babysit." She pounded her fist on the counter, her mood rapidly swinging from resentment to rage. "And worse! He knew the whole time!"

"Hey, don't hit the table," Jezebel pouted before winking again. "If you wanna hit something, I've been thinking it might be fun to do some femdom."

The contestants ignored the blonde's latest pickup line. Elena cleared her throat, considering her words carefully, trying to find a way to at least lessen this irrational belief Tomoko had about her friend.

"What makes you think he knew?" the princess finally asked.

"The openin' ceremony, remember?" Tomoko justified. "I said I had somethin' to tell him, and he said..." Tomoko did a mock impression of Levi, "...I'm not the dad."

She returned to her regular tone. "I never said anythin' about that, but he already knew! He was keepin' it a secret the whole time." She took a few steps from the counter. "And worse, he tried to deny it. Sayin' he couldn't be the dad since we never had sex. I mean, no shit, but what's that got to do with it?"

Elena wanted to pick apart that last statement but had seen firsthand the extent to which this delusion had blinded Tomoko to anything that contradicted Levi being a father. She settled on a different approach.

"I mean, maybe he just found out?"

"Huh?"

Elena rubbed her neck. "You said you just found out about Levi being the dad, right?"

"Yeah, after that whole vote thing happened," Tomoko nodded.

"Well, uh, maybe he found out the same time you did. So he could have been just as in the dark as you were."

Tomoko froze for a solid ten seconds, her mind processing this.

"Oh, ok. That makes sense," she finally beamed with the widest smile she could manage, a complete 180 on how she looked a minute before.

"Yeah, I should totally ask him. It was probably a ton to throw on him yesterday, but I'm sure we can make it work since he's had time to think."

Elena couldn't help but gape at how quickly Tomoko's mood could swing. The purple-haired woman then pulled her into a hug, her large breasts pressing against Elena's more modest bust. "Thanks, Your Majesty, that helps a lot!"

Elena chuckled nervously.

Meanwhile, Jezebel whined, "Isn't anyone gonna buy somethin'? Momma's horny and needs another fix!"

---

Lauren Peterson

Just outside the courtyard, where the opening ceremony had been held, was an enormous stone gateway that marked the entrance to the castle grounds. The building sat atop a large cliff, allowing the sight of forests and lakes to stretch on for miles. The gate also marked the start of a long stone staircase down the cliff into the sea of green.

It was here that Lauren stared off into the distance, trying her best to keep tears from flowing down her face, but crying on the inside. Her new pitch black outfit, chosen to be as causal as her skimpy curse allowed, matched the darkness she felt inside.

She felt so hopeless. The sting of Kaitlyn's betrayal was still fresh, and the constant string of humiliation she had received in the past day was too much to bear.

It was unbelievable to her how quickly she had gone from queen of the school to absolutely powerless. Throughout her entire life, she had understood that she could get anything if she demanded it hard enough. But everything had been turned on its head. Now, her requests were met with punishment and shame, and she had no idea how to function.

The words Lauren had spoken to her twin intruded into her skull. 'You're not my sister! Just go off and die!'

Lauren shook her head, trying to suppress the memory and pang of guilt that came with it. Now wasn't the time to focus on that. She looked back out to the landscape beyond the open gateway, resettling her resolve.

'You have to do this,' she thought. She knew she couldn't fight Azure, not when everyone else was too cowardly to fight back. This was her only option. She had to escape before the challenge. Even if her odds out there were slim, they were better then the certain doom that awaited her here.

She stood up and took a step forward.

"Are you attempting to leave?" a monotone voice asked.

Lauren looked back to see Alison, who had seemingly materialized out of nowhere.

"What if I am? Are you going to stop me?" Lauren dared.

"No."

"Then piss off," Lauren snapped.

However, Alison resumed as if she hadn't been interrupted. "I simply wish for you to understand the risk, considering Azure failed to explain as much."

Lauren looked back towards the gateway. "What makes you think I'm going to believe a freak like you?"

"Because, unlike Azure, I don’t have a preference for contests who fail."

Lauren sneered but listened all the same as Alison continued to explain.

"The woods contain game elements but are also where Azure's rejected concepts reside. This includes curses and treasures not bound by our reality."

Lauren laughed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"It means going alone is ill-advised. More individuals who perceive the events will help ground you in reality. It is suggested that your group be at least three before venturing into the woods."

Lauren looked down sadly. "I can't trust the others," she muttered to herself.

"How did you reach this conclusion?"

Tears began to well up in her eyes, the girl unable to restrain them anymore. "Because they've already given up. They treat me like I'm the crazy one because I'm actually trying to fight. Even my own sister-"

The goth stopped herself, "WHY THE HELL AM I SAYING ANY OF THIS TO YOU?"

Lauren wiped her tears away. "God, I've hit a new low if I'm talking to the doll." She glanced back at her, "Just stay out of my way."

"You are allowing emotions to cloud your judgment," Alison observed.

"Why the hell do you care?!"

"I don't. I was just here to ensure you understand. It is improbable you will find the exit, and-"

"Ah HA!" Lauren cheered, pointing at the maid. "So there IS an exit! All I needed to hear."

Lauren turned her back on Alison and marched out through the gateway with a huge grin, feeling a smug satisfaction in 'outsmarting' Azure's assistant.

Clearing the threshold, she trekked down the stone staircase into the forest. Alison stood in place and watched until the contestant was out of sight.

"There you are!" a familiar voice shouted.

Alison turned her head to witness the arrival of Azure, the latter of whom was looking at her in annoyance. She was no longer in her hosting costume nor her preferred suit attire. Instead, she wore a strapless red dress. On her side was a purse.

"Where were you?" Azure demanded. "I called out to you three times, but you never showed up. Isn't sensing your name and teleporting the only two powers you have? Or are you more useless than I thought?"

Alison turned her whole body to face the host. "It's always a pleasure to speak with you."

Azure scoffed. "What are you doing out here anyway? We're going to be late for the idiotic wedding, and the last thing I need is to waste even more time."

"No one is requiring you to go," Alison pointed out.

The host laughed. "Don't be absurd. Even if it is a pain, I'd never pass up this opportunity to advertise. I swear Sylvia scheduled the wedding on my season's first day to spite me. She and the other hosts are so petty."

"Yes, the other hosts certainly are," Alison snarked in her usual deadpan. However, Azure missed it entirely as she was busy pulling out a golden pocket watch from her purse. The item radiated a soft, otherworldly glow.

"A four-hour stasis on the castle should be long enough," Azure expressed as she analyzed the item in her hand.

"You’re only freezing time in the castle?" Alison asked.

She looked back in puzzlement. "Obviously, that's where everyone is. Why? Is there a reason I shouldn't?"

Alison turned her head from Azure. "It's not like you to make such a mistake," she said to herself.

"Speak up! I can't hear a damn thing you're saying!" Azure spat.

"Never mind."

The redhead eyed Alison suspiciously but didn't pursue the topic further. "Fine, just come with me, or I'll make you join them in stasis."

The two walked from the castle, taking the same path Lauren had used to begin her escape minutes before. Once clear of the front gates, Azure took the hour hand of her pocket watch and wound the hands back four hours. She then clicked the button on top.

The color drained from the castle, turning the building grayscale against the bright blue sky. Within the walls, every person's body, mind, and perception froze in place as time ceased to flow.

With her task complete, Azure put the watch back into her purse and pulled out an envelope with the Harem Hotel logo. As she opened it, blinding light escaped the letter, enveloping the two women. Moments later, the light faded, and both of them had vanished.

---

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