Started owning my mistakes instead of living in denial, always waiting for tomorrow

Amelia sat back in the lounge outside the bedrooms and took a sip from her mug. She let out a sigh as she rubbed her temples, nursing the persistent headache that had been tormenting her since practically the second she arrived in this bizarre place.

“Nicholas, you fool,” she muttered under her breath, taking another sip of the murky beverage.

She had wanted to talk to her stepson some more today; but apparently, his attention had been occupied by several other girls. Even though there were some very severe issues that he needed to clear up with the other women in his harem.

For example, the business of Ella and Cinder.

Another sigh escaped Amelia’s lips as the throb in her head intensified. Apparently, her stepson still had a problem with taking the initiative and being proactive in his life.

Of all the things he could have picked up from her, why did it have to be that one?

“Oh, hey.”

Amelia perked up, and turned to see Gina entering the lounge. She had an awkward expression on her face, and one that immediately brought the older woman back to when she’d been a pudgy-faced little girl. It looked like she’d been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

“Good evening,” Amelia greeted the young woman pleasantly.

Gina relaxed a little upon hearing that, and walked further into the room. “I don’t suppose that’s alcoholic, is it?”

She was trying to crack a joke, but it didn’t exactly land.

Amelia raised her eyebrow.

“It’s coffee,” she replied icily, taking another sip.

Gina’s eyes widened. “Coffee? Not tea? But aren’t you British?”

Amelia raised her eyebrow, not amused.

“…It’s a habit I developed,” she finally admitted. “Living with Nicholas and his father. I can’t seem to kick it.”

Gina winced. “I… have some experience with that…” she admitted, looking down guiltily.

That was quite an understatement.

“I am glad to see that you’re well, Regina,” Amelia said gently, reaching out to caress the other woman’s cheek. Gina turned bright red.

“It-it’s just ‘Gina’,” she stammered, shying away from her touch. “And don’t do that, you don’t have to be so… You were always really cold when I was a kid, go back to that, please!”

The last thing she needed right now was some motherly affection. Especially from a woman whose harsh austerity had intimidated her so much as a child.

Amelia’s eyebrows twitched and her lips pursed slightly. “…I have been trying to improve in that regard,” she replied. “I am… sorry for making contact like that.” She shook her head. “These transformations… they are having more of an effect than I would have imagined.”

“Yeah, tell me about it,” Gina muttered. “I’ve got this stupid voice in the back of my head, right? It keeps telling me that I need to be polite, and be a good girl, and it’s such a pain in the…”

Her voice trailed off as she felt Amelia’s probing gaze bore into her. Maybe saying stuff like that wasn’t the smartest course of action, given who she was talking to.

“…Never mind,” she mumbled, looking away.

“Gina…” Amelia tried out the other girl’s name, not really liking the way it felt on her lips. But that wasn’t important. “I can see that you’re hurting. But I think of you as my daughter, and would like you to stop.”

“Oh, well, I’ll consider that,” Gina scoffed, rolling her eyes. She pushed off the table and stepped away. “Reeaaal helpful there, just stop hurting.”

“No, that… that came out wrong…” Amelia stammered, her cheeks turning pink. “I just… how should I say this…”

“Maybe just don’t?” Gina shrugged. She was getting agitated, but tried to keep from losing her temper. “Just… don’t. Okay? It’s better that way. For all of us. I don’t need a constant reminder of my parents, and you definitely don’t need a daughter like me, so… yeah.”

She shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts. This wasn’t what she’d had in mind when she saw the other woman sitting alone and looking so forlorn, but for some reason she just couldn’t interact with her without making a fool out of herself.

It stung.

“Well, ladies, this is certainly a nice reunion, I must say.”

Gina jumped and Amelia twitched. Dakota was sitting at the counter as well, wearing an amused expression on her face as she fingered her cane.

“D-Dakota,” Gina stammered. “Hey…”

“Good evening,” Amelia greeted her politely, but the iciness in her tone was cutting.

Not that Dakota seemed bothered by it.

“Did you want something?” Amelia asked.

“No, just… enjoying this a little,” Dakota replied, drumming her fingers on the countertop. “It’s not every day that I get to reminisce with two important people from my childhood, that’s all.”

Her tone sounded almost whimsical, as if she were basking in nostalgia. But the twisted smirk on her face told a different story.

Amelia still struggled to connect the malevolent woman in front of her with the temperamental child she remembered all those years ago. What Dakota must have gone through… Nick told her some things, but not nearly enough.

With a sigh, she shook her head, and set down her coffee mug.

“Dakota… I would like to ask you something,” she said firmly.

Dakota’s eyes widened. “You… asking permission to ask me? That’s rather novel, coming from you,” she chortled.

Then she shook her head. “But now really isn’t the best time… I’ve got an important announcement, after all, and I need to focus on that, first.”

She picked up her cane and tapped it on the floor. And suddenly, everyone began to appear.

Amelia looked around in surprise. Dani, Carly, and Marley all popped up at the same time, rather stunned. Vivian was there as well, and for a brief moment, she looked shocked. That only lasted for a second, however, before her smirk returned and she was back to looking casual and unbothered by anything.

Everybody else quickly popped into the lounge as well, called forth by Dakota’s magic. Dawn, Morgana, Kim, even Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin. When Sylvia appeared, Amelia needed to do a double-take because of how different she looked.

She wasn’t the only one to notice.

“Hey, wait a minute!” Dani exclaimed, staring at the blonde and her newly-embellished curves. “What the heck!?”

“Yeah, I forgot to mention,” Marley sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. “Sylvia used the transformation she copied from Rose to borrow your Soft as Silk transformation. She was trying to seduce Nick.”

“Oh, really?” Vivian leaned forward, intrigued. A wicked smile curled up her lips. “So how did it go, then?”

Sylvia pouted.

Augmented Synthetic Humanoid Assassin shook her head slowly and rolled her eyes.

“What’s going on?” Kim demanded, looking around. “Why did you call us all here?”

“Not all of us,” Dawn noted, scanning the room. “Ella’s absent. …And Rose is, too. What’s up with that?”

“Ella has work to do,” Dakota replied, walking over to one of the chairs and sitting down regally like a queen taking her place on the throne. “And as for Rose… she decided that she’d like to do some work as well. So they won’t be joining us tonight.”

“Joining us for what?” Morgana asked warily.

“Knowing Dakota, I’m guessing movie night?” Gina teased, trying to hide the tension and anxiety she’d been feeling just minutes ago when it was the three of them.

Dakota gave her a look of restrained amusement and rolled her eyes.

“Obviously not,” she sniffed, twirling her cane. She snapped the end of it against the corkboard hanging behind her seat. “I have an important announcement to make, now that the round has officially begun, that’s all.”

Dawn eyed the corkboard warily. She had suspected something was up with it the moment she saw it, but Dakota had evaded her question. It looked like now, she was about ready to get the answer to her question.

“So what is it?” She asked suspiciously.

“Looks kinda like a forum for posting announcements,” Vivian noted, stroking her chin.

“Or a complaint board,” Kim muttered. She could definitely think of a few complaints to hang up about the administration.

The two girls glanced at each other, realizing they were kind of on the same wavelength. That was enough to make Kim scowl in disgust.

“It’s none of those things,” Dakota assured them, shaking her head. “No, this is board will be quite an important tool as we move forward into the next phase of this competition.”

“You mean it’s part of the show?” Dani asked, frowning. “Great…”

“Exactly right,” Dakota confirmed. “Now, let me ask you girls something, how have you been doing with your BP?”

“Huh?” Gina blinked.

“What kind of question is that?” Dawn asked. “Obviously we’re making the best use of it that we can.”

“Well yes, of course you are. But for the most part, you can only acquire BP through the popularity poll,” Dakota pointed out. “And with four new girls joining the harem… your individual pieces of the pie will be considerably smaller.”

“Huh? Really?” Morgana frowned.

“Yes,” Dawn nodded. “With 12 contestants instead of the previous 9, if we still receive 500 BP for every 3% of the vote, then the average amount of BP we could obtain each round would be-”

“1000 BP,” Vivian answered before Dawn could get a chance. The cat girl gave her a dirty look.

“…Yes, that’s what I was about to say,” she muttered. “As you can imagine, that is not a lot.”

“No, no, it isn’t,” Dakota said somberly, and shook her head. “Not to mention, you’ll only be getting BP at the end of the round… no, if we want you girls to start making the most out of you wealth, then you’ll need to find some new methods of acquiring some.”

She glanced at Kim. “Reliable methods.”

“Oh, for-!” Kim’s face burned with frustration at the other woman. “Just shove a sock in it!” She spat venomously.

Dakota smirked in response.

“Oh! I think I know what this is!” Sylvia’s eyes widened. “You’re planning to-”

“Be silent,” Dakota snapped, cutting the blonde off with a withering glare. “You’ve lost your right to have any comment about how this show is conducted.”

Sylvia closed her mouth and looked down bashfully. Marley reached out and placed her hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

In a flash, Dakota was all smiles again. “…Now, if there are no further interruptions, I’ll be explaining how the Bounty Board will work!”

A hush fell over the assembled ladies, followed by a clamor of voices.

“Wait, what?!” Dani exclaimed. “A bounty board?”

“Is that like Rose’s bounty sheet?” Kim questioned.

“I’d say it is,” Dawn nodded. This was just what she’d been expecting. “A board of tasks we can do to earn BP.”

“Ooh, now you’re talking!” Vivian’s eyes twinkled with delight. “Always like having the option to really go at it and earn some money!”

“So… we get money for doing stuff with Nick now?” Morgana questioned, still not sure if she was getting this.

“Yes, yes, I’m glad to hear that you all think so highly of the Bounty Board,” Dakota murmured, stroking her own ego slightly. “While I for one am loathe to borrow things from other hosts, I have to admit, the times I’ve used this system before in the past have certainly gone well. I think this is the perfect season to bring this little tool back, and you’ll soon agree with me once you see what’s possible with it!”

She tapped her cane, and a flyer appeared, pinned to the board.

“This right here, is an example of a bounty,” Dakota said, tearing the paper off and displaying it to the girls. “It reads exactly what your ‘task’ will be, and what ‘reward’ you will receive as a result of completing that task.”

She held the paper up for everyone to see.

PROVIDE A SHOULDER MASSAGE

REWARD: 100 BP

“That… doesn’t seem like a whole lot,” Vivian groused, deflating slightly.

Dakota raised her eyebrow. “It was just an example,” she replied, tossing the paper into the air, where it crumbled to ash as it left her fingers. “No need to get so worked up over something so pedestrian. No… the tasks could range across all manner of options, and of course, the rewards will be commensurate.”

“So it really is just like Rose’s bounty sheet,” Dawn muttered, shaking her head.

“Hey, is that why you didn’t show us this until Rose was gone?” Carly asked, speaking up for the first time. She’d been remarkably quiet this evening. “That’s kinda dirty.”

“Ella too,” Morgana mumbled.

“Not at all, it’s just a coincidence,” Dakota assured the girls. “…For Ella, anyway. She had a conflicting schedule, unfortunately. As for Rose… I anticipated that she might throw a fit. And that would distract from the matter at hand.”

The sad thing was nobody could deny the likelihood of Rose derailing the conversation with a tantrum about how unfair this was.

“Now, don’t get me wrong, it isn’t as if this is stripping any opportunity away from Rose,” Dakota assured the girls. “She can compete for these bounties just like the rest of you- remember, it is first-come, first-served. If you see an option on the Bounty Board that you would like to attempt, you may remove it. Once it’s removed, you have 24 hours to claim that bounty, otherwise it returns to the board and anyone may take it for themselves.”

“So when will the bounties appear?” Kim questioned. “Does the board refresh every morning?”

“And how many will there be?” Carly asked. “I mean… is it going to be like one new one a day? Or three? Five?”

Dakota shook her head. “That’s not how it works at all. There will be no set time for when the board refreshes. After all, that would just encourage you girls to camp out in front of it every morning, and we wouldn’t want that. No, that would just distract from getting to spend time with Nick in the mornings, for those of you who have your nights with him.”

A valid point.

“So what, they just show up whenever you want?” Dani questioned.

“Precisely!” Dakota nodded. “If I come up with a good idea, well…”

She snapped her fingers.

“…Like that. And again, it’s first-come, first-served. …Oh, but you can only take one bounty at a time. No hoarding them, now. You can’t get a new bounty sheet until either the 24-hour waiting period has elapsed, or you have completed the bounty.”

“That does seem fair…” Dawn nodded.

“I’m actually kind of excited!” Carly admitted. “This really does breathe some new life into the whole thing!”

“You’re telling me!” Vivian chortled. “I can’t wait to see what’s on offer…”

“Of course, there won’t be any bounties to be claimed tonight,” Dakota said, shaking her head. “That wouldn’t be fair to our young ladies who aren’t here. But don’t worry, I’ll inform Ella and Rose of this change to the rules in time. The first bounties will be up for grabs tomorrow.”

“I guess that evens it out… though it still feels a little…” Kim was the only one who wasn’t smiling about this. And it wasn’t just because she was one of the only girls who had her own independent stream of revenue.

No, her concerns went a lot deeper than that.

“Problem, Kim?” Dakota looked at the asian girl and batted her eyelashes. Kim scowled back at her.

“Yeah, my problem is that I have to work four hours a day, and that’s going to give the other girls a lot of time to get to the Bounty Board that I don’t have,” she replied. “Look, I’m not trying to make a big stink out of this, but some of us have obligations with our time that others don’t have!”

“That is unfortunate,” Amelia nodded sympathetically. “Is there nothing that can be done about that?” She questioned.

“Hmm… you raise a valid point…” Dakota agreed, stroking her chin and squinting like she was trying to think up some solution to the problem. “Wow… if only there was some way you could remove those obligations? Say, a transformation that would allow you to take a day or two off from your job, just to wait and see if there are any bounties available…”

Kim’s eye twitched. “…So this again, huh?”

Dakota smirked and held out her hands, palms facing up. “I’ve given you all the tools you need to succeed on your own,” she said with a mocking tone. “The rest is up to you, I’d say. What do YOU want to do?”

Kim fought back the growl building up in her voice. This wasn’t helpful at all.

Dakota rose to her feet and turned to leave. But then she caught herself.

“Oh, one last thing,” she said, turning to the others. “Not every bounty will be in BP.”

“Huh?” Dawn’s ears twitched when she heard that. A lot of other girls were intrigued, too.

“Really? What do you mean?” Morgana asked.

“So we could get prizes or something? Like from the party?” Gina rubbed her hands together excitedly.

“Something like that,” Dakota nodded. “Occasionally, some rewards will be less monetary and more in the sense of an actual reward. A week of spa treatments, or a bonus prize, maybe even a temporary transformation or two… anything really, depending on the task you have to accomplish.”

She narrowed her eyes, which started to twinkle. “And… you could even earn some Victory Points this way, as well.”

THAT was sure something. Everyone was captivated by that idea.

“So we could earn VP off the Bounty Board? Wow, that’s…” Dani glanced at the board again with renewed interest. While there were a lot of things she could do with Nick that would earn her VP, the thought of getting some without having to have sex with him was tempting.

On the other hand…

“I doubt you’ll get VP for a back massage,” Carly said quietly, taking Dani’s hand in hers. “The real prizes will probably be locked behind some stuff you really don’t want to be doing.”

“…Yeah, you’re probably right,” Dani admitted with a sigh. Still, it had been nice to think about for a moment.

“You’ll all see where things are going tomorrow, I promise,” Dakota said, clapping her hands together. Then she turned to Dani. “Now then, Dani, to the matter at hand… tonight is your night in the Master’s Suite, isn’t that right? I’m sorry we don’t have any bounty opportunities for you tonight, but don’t let that stop you! Have all the fun you’d like!”

Dani glared at her with a sour expression. Carly tightened her grip on her hand.

“Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you tonight?” She asked as the other girls dispersed to either go to bed or discuss the new rule changes.

Dani smiled and shook her head. “It’s fine. Don’t worry! Nick and I have a lot to talk about on our own. I’m sure we’ll be able to work something out.”

“I hope so,” Marley sighed. “From what you guys told me, it seems like I missed a lot, huh?”

She glared at Vivian out of the corner of her eye, but the heiress didn’t seem to notice.

Dani sighed. “It’s fine, Marley,” she assured the other girl, patting Carly’s sister on the back. “Everything’s going to work out alright.”

For once, she said that with confidence.

“…Oh, and one more thing!” Dakota poked Dani to get her attention.

“What?” Dani asked through gritted teeth.

“Be prepared when you go up to the Master’s Suite,” the host replied with a cryptic smile. “Things got pretty hectic tonight.”

Dani had no idea what THAT was supposed to mean.