The Final Ceremony

Harper

Harper burbles in the Jacuzzi throne, letting the saltwater flow across her gills, the heat and bubbles melting away the knots and stresses of the challenge. She did it, the impossible thing. She saved all ten of them, just as they have saved her. She feels the water drain, then the throne assembling itself into its more usual shape. Break time is mostly over, then. The temple scene adjusts slightly to allow for a number of large screens to manifest in the room.

The Mistress pulls out the DM tablet one final time today to give herself one final level. To think, I started the morning at Level 18. Ten levels in a day. And we killed an archdevil, I think…

The actual rogue level is not that impressive. One more SP, another 1st level spell (but she grabbed both of the trickster eligible spells that she sees any real use for last level), and a bit more HP does not feel like much. She finally grabs the Slasher Feat to boost her strength score a little and lay on another pile of disadvantage on the opponent with a crit hit. The big prize is the epic boon. She now ignores damage resistances and immunities. Maybe, after we start wiping out The Hunger, I can hit level 30?

Harper’s thoughts are interrupted as Glitterdust appears, a plate of muttonchops in hand and a face full of meat. Harper stomach gurgles at the sight. She hasn’t realized just how hungry she was, given how leveling works.

“Can I have one?”

Glitterdust growls, “MY meat. Get your own, MY Harper.”

A plate of muttonchops appears in Harper’s lap. The sea elf shrugs and picks one up to nibble. Another stomach gurgles. “Mistress, I know you fed me for the day, but…”

Harper hands the chop off to Nyadia, saying, “You’ll get five meals a day with me once we’re settled, Nyadia. We’ll work out a diet plan for you when we handle the immediate aftermath of going home. Here, I’ll split my lunch with you.”

The chop is taken and a second meal appears. Harper takes a chop off of the new plate and hands the first one over to the lazzorkat. Nyadia purrs contentedly, which brings a few tears of joy to Harper’s eyes. The three of them eat in relative silence. But, by the time they ate their fills, Calypso arrives with the spectacle of her waterspout teleportation.

Harper beats the mermaid host to it, “So, where’s Honey? And are the others getting fed?”

Calypso doesn’t immediately respond, instead launching into her speech, “Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen, to Harem Hotel. Our dear Mistress Harper has given us a great capstone to our final challenge of this season, didn’t she? Well done, Harper. You assisted every one of your girls successfully navigate their challenges and exterminated that bitch Beckie. Only way it could have gone better was if I got to kill the harpy myself. You didn’t make her suffer enough for what she did to my nieces and daughters. How do you feel?”

Harper sighs a little, “Still a little worried. Gonna answer my questions?”

Calypso holds a hand to her ear fin, as if she’s listening to directions from an earpiece. She answers, “The others have had lunch while waiting on you. And Honey is with the winner helping her work through the wish. Any other questions or can we move on?”

“I’m good, Calypso. What’s next?”

“Poll results. But first, we should see what the standings are. Irene, if you please!”

The screen lights up with the leaderboard displayed before the challenge, this time with the VP totals that were hidden from the audience this morning:

• Mattie 164 VP
• Aelene 162 VP
• Scarlet 159 VP
• Josie 147 VP
• Tina 144 VP
• Skye 143 VP
• Daphne 142 VP

“The first poll was the Best Girl poll. Care to play the position guessing game, Harper?”

“Nope. Not after last time. Just put the results up.”

“Boo. C’mon, Mistress. It’s fun.”

Glitterdust blurts out, “I’LL play! Obviously, I am in first place and MY Harper is in second, followed by Mattie, then everyone else tied for last place.”

Nyadia growls, “Assuming I was added to the poll, I am in last place. Who would think I am a good girl?”

Harper pinches the bridge of her nose at Glitter and feels badly for Nyadia. She beckons the lazzorkat over, “You are my good little kitten, Nyadia. I would definitely pick you above me.”

Calypso grins, “Well, Mistress, for someone not playing the game, you got a prediction right. Irene, if you please!”

A blank screen displays the Best Girl poll results:

• 1st Daphne* (Last Week 4) +15 VP
• 2nd Skye* (Last Week 1) +10 VP
• 3rd Josie* (Last Week 5) +5 VP
• 4th (tied) Aelene (Last Week N/A) +0 VP
• 4th (tied) Tina (Last Week 3) +0 VP
• 6th Scarlet* (Last Week 2) -10 VP
• 7th Nyadia (Last Week N/A) n/a
• 8th Harper (Last Week 6) n/a
• 9th Mattie (Last Week N/A) -15 VP
• 10th Glitterdust (Last Week N/A) n/a
• 11th Honey (Last Week N/A) n/a

The list is followed by a brief note: Those with asterisks got 1st place votes.

Harper feels bad for Honey and Mattie. Both of them should have rated better than me.

Glitterdust fumes, “How dare the audience insult ME and MY Harper with such poor ratings. Terrible taste!”

“Glitter, it’s fine. I get that the archetype I have been shoved into is kind of hated. Honestly, so is the one you willingly put yourself into. And neither of us get any rewards for our placement.”

“But MY Harper…”

Nyadia interrupts the whining with a little growl, “But nothing. The Mistress spoke.”

“Lovely little bit of drama, girls. Please give a round of applause to my runty little fingerling Daphne for winning the Best Girl poll! I am glad that the audience has good taste! Now let’s see how the poll affected the leaderboard. Irene, if you please!”

The leaderboard screen updates to add in the Best Girl poll results:

• 1st Aelene +1 position
• 2nd Daphne +5 positions
• 3rd Skye +3 positions
• 4th Josie +0 positions
• 5th (tied) Mattie -4 positions
• 5th (tied) Scarlet -2 positions
• 7th Tina -2 positions

Calypso continues, “Now, our last bit of VP for the season. The Best Date of the Week poll. Mistress, you turned us down with sharing last time. Give us something. Who do you think did the best job on their date last week?”

“Obviously, the best date was Scarlet’s, for that was when I joined the harem. Followed by Aelene’s, for I was also there. Then everyone else, I guess,” Glitterdust answers, unbidden.

After a sigh, Harper answers, “I suppose it depends on the criteria. If you want me to judge it purely as a date, Mattie’s was the best, hands down, probably followed by Tina’s. If you want me to add ‘how much did it help people’ into the mix, probably Skye’s date was the best, followed by Daphne’s.”

“Glitterdust probably didn’t reason it correctly, but she drew a right conclusion. Irene, if you please!”

A third screen displays the best date list:

• 1st Scarlet* (Last Week 3) +15 VP
• 2nd Skye* (Last Week 1) +10 VP
• 3rd (tied) Josie* (Last Week 4) +5 VP
• 3rd (tied) Tina (Last Week 5) +5 VP
• 5th (tied) Dinah* (Last Week 6) n/a
• 5th (tied) Aelene (Last Week N/A) -5 VP
• 5th (tied) Daphne (Last Week 2) -5 VP
• 8th Mattie (Last Week N/A) -15 VP

Again, the list has the following as an accompanying note: Those with asterisks got first place votes.

Wow. Now I really feel bad for Mattie. Her date was great! Certainly better than Dinah’s “rip out my heart and stomp on it” experience. While I am happy for her now, that was a terrible date. Who are the psychopaths that voted that as first place? Also, did the audience really like me suffering in the stank water suit inside a volcano or was there a better reason for that one to win? I mean, meeting Scarlet’s parents was good and I’m glad Tina and Josie worked out their issues, but still...

The leaderboard screen goes blank. Looks like Calypso is going to reveal the final results one at a time.

“With that, let’s announce some final results. First thing is first, sorry sadists with poor math skills in the audience, but everyone is safe from last minute downgrades. Even if you voted for my runty little fingerling for last place in both polls, she still would not have dropped below 100 VP. Also, any of you that did that will be soon experience me gutting you like a fish. In last place, our resident sexy spy and the only contestant to lose VP once both polls are taken into account, Mattie!”

Mattie stomps out of her door, double deuces in the air, shouting, “Fuck you, audience! You didn’t have to be such bitches!”

Harper is standing and hugging Mattie before she says much more. Mattie sobs a little as Harper starts to try to soothe her. “It’s okay, Matilda. They don’t matter after today. I love you. I hope that is a good enough consolation prize.”

Mattie hugs back. “Oh, you’re the grand prize, Sarge. I just wanted the wish too.”

“What would you have wished for? I can try to make it happen.”

“Dunno.”

Harper gives Mattie a kiss on the temple, then takes her hand to lead her back to the throne. Mattie sits in Harper’s lap. “This okay, Sarge?”

A hottie in my lap? Like she has to ask. “Yeah.”

Calypso claps, “Okay, love the sore loser energy, Mattie. Loved the soothing mistress act more, Harper. Let’s see how the next girl feels. In 6th place, Harper’s bonny bunny who lost a lot of VP steam the entire round, Tina!”

Tina bounds over and sits on Harper’s other leg, giving her a kiss on the lips and a lick to the cheek. She looks a little sad, her ears drooping a little and murmuring, “Hey, cutie. Thank you for helping today. Sorry if I disappointed you.”

“You didn’t disappoint me, Tina. I love you. And it’s not your fault how the week was scheduled out. Once the show’s over, our time won’t be so rigid and we can have some real time together. Same with you, Mattie. Same with all of you.”

Another lick to the cheek later, Tina beams. What’s with the licking? I really should look at her transformation sheet again. Harper mentally shrugs and kisses her back.

Calypso claps again, “Awww, how sweet. You two are so cute together, girls. Time for the next girl. In 5th place, Harper’s beloved mermaid and actual Best Girl, Daphne.”

Instead of walking in, Daphne seems to just fall a foot or so into the Harper-Mattie-Tina lap mass, tail still unforming, a stone embedded into her chest. She’s dripping wet. Ms. E must have made a pool for her to laze in while she waited. Daphne giggles, “Hi, Beloved! And Tina. And Mattie. And Glitter. And new girl. Did I really win the Best Girl poll?”

“Yup. You did good, Daph.”

Daphne’s little wiggle dance kind of grinds Mattie and Tina into Harper’s crotch. All four of them are laughing. “I love you, my Beloved. I don’t need the wish, ‘cause I already got it, especially once you start with the ‘getting us all preggers’ times. My egg sacs need filling.”

“Okay, once we’re settled. I love you.”

Calypso claps yet again, “Aww, how sweet. Tell me when my grandbabies are ready to be spoiled rotten. So, we have a tie for third place. And the two ladies couldn’t be more apart. One is a princess, the other is not. In third place, your gym wolf Josie and your betrothed elf Aelene!”

Two women exit their respective doors. One looks more annoyed than the other. “Hey, old lady, there still room?”

Daphne’s legs are back, so the three currently on Harper squish to make more room. So, this is totally happening. The gag won’t be complete until all of them are on my lap. “C’mon, you two. I know you want it.”

Aelene sits gingerly on Harper’s knee as Josie dives into the pile. “You two feeling better?”

“Yes, Lady Harper, I am feeling better.”

“I’ll have nightmares for a week after that challenge, old lady, but I’ll be fine.”

“Good. I love both of you. Everyone comfy? Nyadia and Glitter, wanna get in on the ‘sitting on mistress’ action?”

Nyadia takes the other knee and Glitterdust jumps on top of Josie. I am starting to regret the gag. This is getting heavy. Worse ways to go, I suppose. Mattie gives Harper a smirk. Mattie knows that this is starting to hurt.

Calypso claps one more time, “Okay, last reveal. The difference between 1st and 2nd place was 1 VP, so this came down to the wire. So, Mistress, you want to continue being slowly compressed into a flatfish by harem-girl flesh, or should we just announce the winner?”

“My Beloved would make a sexy halibut.” Most of the others make concurring noises, some between snickers.

“Okay, whichever place Skye got. She’s bound to be lighter than Scarlet.”

Calypso nods, then declares, “Then, in second place, your lovely little drow wife, Skye.”

Harper can’t really see Skye, with both Josie and Glitter blocking her view, but she can hear her. “Uh, my lady love, what are you doing?”

“A little bit of absurdity to break the tension of the challenge. Hop on.”

“Um, okay?” Skye walks up to the pile. “Lady Aelene, may I sit on your lap?”

“Of course, Lady Skye. My lap is open for you.”

Harper adds, “Are you alright, love?”

“Still a little shaken from the challenge, but your loves will get me through it, my lady loves.”

“Sooo, cuties, celebratory cotton candy burritos?” Tina asks, sounding squished.

Calypso quips, “Sure, Harper, go give the winner hers. And, for the last time this season, Irene, if you please!”

The screen displays the final results as Harper and her throne disappears. The rest of the harem collapses into a pile:

• 1st Scarlet 164 VP
• 2nd Skye 163 VP
• 3rd (tied) Josie 157 VP
• 3rd (tied) Aelene 157 VP
• 5th Daphne 152 VP
• 6th Tina 149 VP
• 7th Mattie 134 VP

Scarlet

Harper is there, sitting on her throne, face flushed with effort and a bit of arousal, mouth slightly agape. She holds a cotton candy burrito, though it doesn’t look like she is aware of it quite yet. She is too busy drinking in Scarlet and her new dress.

Scarlet sashays towards her, gingerly taking the strange technicolor burrito. The oread takes a bite. Blackberry Grapefruit sorbet? Interesting. She offers Harper a bite. Harper takes it and makes a face, “The cotton candy kind of ruins it, huh? Way too sweet.”

“You’re okay, love?” Scarlet pockets the burrito into her inventory.

“I was going to ask you the same question, Scarlet.”

“I will be, Harper, I will be. Heidi shook me to my core with that last challenge. And, I know what you are thinking, but I don’t want to talk about it. Not until the war we are about to be flung into is over.”

Harper nods, understanding. She notices Honey hovering on the periphery for the first time. “Wow, Honey, you look different.”

“The agreed upon universal clauses of the wish has already been applied,” Honey explains, “One of the clauses gives the shorter lived members of the harem an extended lifespan and all of us immunity to the negative aspects of aging, at least until our supernatural ****. We are not all immortal, but it may seem as if we are. The immediate effect of this clause on me was to reverse the course of aging on me back to my prime. I anticipate that my younger features are not too different from your expectations?”

I didn’t even really notice. Wow, I feel kind of bad about that. We need to work on getting Honey better integrated with the harem.

Harper interrupts Scarlet’s thoughts with a reply, “You were beautiful before and you are beautiful now, Mate. I love you, even if you don’t understand what that means.” The sea elf then turns back to Scarlet, “I love you too. This dress is beautiful. Care to dance a little bit while we talk?”

It’s the cat’s turn to interrupt, “One song, then we need to get back on schedule. It’s time for all of you to go to your new home, Ms. O’Connor.”

“Tyalangan, Ms. E. The human has completely faded. I need to leave the ghost of him behind, embrace the new. And royalty doesn’t use last names.”

The cat nods, almost as if she expected the objection, and a slow jazzy number starts to play. The kind of song that calls for couples leaning into each other in swaying rhythm. Harper takes Scarlet’s hand and starts to lead the dance.

“Are you gonna make us call you that? ‘Cause Tyalangan doesn’t sound like a name to me, even with Elvish in my brain.”

“I’m fine with Harper, except when Aelene would yell at me for being too informal. Sooo, you won. How you feeling about that, love?”

“It was a shock. I thought the audience hated me. Surely, they wanted Skye to win. Surely, you wanted her to win, too.”

A dip, then a kiss when Harper brings her back up. She smiles, adding, “No matter who won, I was planning on being happy with the result for her and sad about it for the others. I wanted all of you to win, though I knew that it couldn’t happen. Honestly, your winning was one of the better options. I worried about what some of you would have wished for.”

Scarlet initiates the next kiss, the flames from her stoking passion filling both of them. I could so easily push her into hours of lovemaking with the effect of this dress. This is dangerous. And something for later. She pulls back to see the hunger in Harper’s eyes. “Sorry. Didn’t know how strong my exit was.”

“No worries, love,” Harper replies, breathing to calm down, “I have a lot of practice controlling my urges.”

“I suppose you do.”

The two pause, enjoying the feel of the other in their arms, the motion of the simple dance, the sound of the music. Harper breaks the silence, “So, what did you wish for?”

“The stuff the girls all agreed to, plus one more thing. A surprise for the first full moon after the war, to be delivered at the site of our last date, along with Skye’s community and a bunch of freed slaves from Josie’s date? Ms. E told me about that. Surprised you didn’t pick Josie’s date as the best, once you threw ‘helping people’ into the mix.”

“Oh, you heard that?”

“Ms. E had us watch the parts of the ceremony we were not there for, so, you know, basically the whole thing.”

“Fair. Glad to have freed them, did not enjoy participating in the tournament to do so. I probably would have put it in fifth place.”

“I am not going to ask about mine then.”

Harper kisses Scarlet on the forehead instead of answering the implied question. Probably for the best. She really hated being in that volcano. The song ends and the two don’t want to let go.

The cat coughs loudly and obnoxiously, “Ms. Tyalangan, Ms. Smythe, we do have a ceremony to complete.”

The two reluctantly let go, Harper returning to her throne to sit. Scarlet gets on one leg while Honey, seeming to only care about the symmetry, sits on the other. Harper gingerly wrapping an arm around each of them makes Scarlet think that this was a good decision.

“Thank you for your consideration, Ms. Tyalangan. We need to provide you with your exit, then send you on your way. A moment.”

The room shifts, as does the bodies. Scarlet finds herself sitting on top of Josie’s abs. Honey is on the tippy-top of the pile.

“Now, the gag is complete, Ms. Tyalangan. Ladies, remember, the power of love and friendship can do much, including squishing your mistress like a bug.”

“Okay, this was a bad idea.” Harper grunts. The pile of women devolve into giggles as everyone carefully finds a place around the throne instead of on top of the sea elf.

“So, your exit, Ms. Tyalangan, is a bit more complicated than the others. Their exits removed their connection to this dimension, finalizing all of their transformations, in addition to the text of the exit. Yours needs to do the same, plus finalize the nature of their connection to you. We will be checking up on you all occasionally, but this will be your final change from the show. Are you all ready?”

“The nature of our connection?” Tina asks, looking a little confused, “What’s that mean?”

“All of your souls are bound to Ms. Tyalangan’s. Her exit defines the exact minimal duties and obligations you have to fulfill for her. And thus, the minimal duties and obligations she has to fulfill for all of you. It is her responsibility as Mistress to love and care for all of you, which, at a bare minimum, means that she needs to let you succeed in your duties to her.”

“Not that I am planning on dumping the old lady, but what do we got to do?”

“I suppose I can let all of you see a peek under the hood, as it were, Ms. Wulf.”

Another screen manifests, with a mess of Elvish written on it. The words slowly start to make sense. It’s almost like code, a representation of arcane logic. It gives Scarlet a headache to look at for too long:

• Add “Orgasm from Mistress” to survival requirements.
• Add “Orgasm for Mistress” to survival requirements.
• If n>10 at moonrise, +1 level of exhaustion, where n = number of nights since last “Orgasm from Mistress.”
• If n>10 at moonrise, exhaustion does not reset, where n = number of nights since last “Orgasm for Mistress.”

Scarlet feels the sensation of something heavy pressing into her very being. New needs. They are not nagging at the moment, but she knows she’ll need to address them soon.

The cat continues, “The sensation may feel strong to begin with, and it will build the longer you go without meeting it. You all will adapt.”

Tina interrupts, “BOO! No more letters math. Just tell me what we need to do.”

Harper answers, “Pretty simple, actually. We will need to give each other one orgasm every ten days. If I withhold, you will start to suffer from exhaustion. If you withhold, you won’t be able to recover from exhaustion, no matter what you do. Either way, it can kill you, not that I am going to let that happen.”

Tina blows a raspberry. “That all? Just one orgasm every ten days? That’s nothing. I expect way more than one, cutie.”

Harper nods, as if what Tina said was perfectly reasonable (which, to be fair, it is reasonable, given all that has happened), noting, “And you’ll get them; we’ll need to figure out logistics, though. I don’t want to hurt any of you.”

“I will note, Ms. Tyalangan, that this is a change to you, so, if Ms. Wulf adds more people to the harem, this will apply to them as well.”

Harper gives Josie a glare for just a few seconds, then nods, “Noted.”

“Now, for the rest of your exit, Ms. Tyalangan. You don’t get to craft this one yourself. But, I am sure it will be to your liking.”

Archarcanist – Some rules were placed to make things sexier for the show. Now that it is over, we can loosen up some restrictions. Harper is no longer bound by the nudity and orgasm denial clauses of arcane spellcasting. We’d still encourage showing off the goods through; the girls worked hard to make them (Wizard – Exit Transformation).

Harper looks… relieved. Almost as if she was worried about something and that transformation fixes it.

Calypso butts in, “And, with that, from all of us here at Harem Hotel, I hope you all enjoyed your stay! Be sure to give us a five star rating on Squeal. Bon voyage!”