Previews of Coming Attractions

Sarah was back at the cinematheque as soon as it opened.

She'd given up on gaining anything useful from watching entire episodes from other Harem Hotel seasons. All that had provided was slow motion trainwrecks of lust, heartbreak, and interpersonal drama. Good TV sure, but useful precedent? No. Instead she decided to shift her focus to the challenges. Ava had so happily warned the contestants that there would be one at the end of the week but had been otherwise tight-lipped about the details. However, Sarah's mind kept drifting back to the large marquee on the Masterwork Theater. The point totals had updated overnight.

NOW PLAYING

BAILEY WINTERS: 8 VP

SAMANTHA MARTINEZ: 6 VP

SARAH BRIDGES: 0 VP

CASSANDRA LAYTON: -2 VP

ROBIN LEVY: -2 VP

CHLOE TAYLOR: -2 VP

Sarah was surprised to discover Bailey now the point leader considering how furious her roommate had been the past couple days about being separated from her fiance. She found herself wondering just how the proud woman had earned her eight points overnight.

You could have earned points for yourself. And it could have gotten you what you wanted...

Sarah did her best to push those thoughts aside. She wasn't going to **** a relationship just to earn points for some trashy reality TV competition. She turned her attention back to the screen.

The current challenge being played out in the theater was a kind of scavenger hunt. The contestants had fanned out, searching for all fifty-two playing cards out of a deck. Compared to the other challenges she had watched this one was surprisingly chaste. That is, until one of the contestants triggered a trap that released a horde of slime monsters that had a nasty ability to dissolve clothing. This was the fourth challenge she had watched and the only common theme among them was that they were all lewd. She shouldn't have been surprised. Harem Hotel's entire existence seemed to be predicated solely on getting women in various kinky situations.

The women on screen were running for their modesty, but Sarah was only half paying attention. She had her legal pad of notes balanced on one knee, while a massive tome lay spread out on her other. It was the official copy of the rules for her season. She was surprised how easily it was to come by. All she had to do was go down to the studio office and request a copy and the petite receptionist had been all too happy to give her one. That ease of access was exactly why she was doubtful she'd find anything worthwhile in it.

The rules were written in convoluted legalese. A labyrinth of words designed to keep open loopholes advantageous to the show while slamming the door shut on ones that could be exploited against it. It was a game Sarah was intimately familiar with as a lawyer. If she was back in California taking this to court as an illegal contract would be almost trivial. However she didn't think getting a fair hearing would be possible here, wherever here even was.

Up on the screen the challenge had come to an end. The contestants, battered and in various states of undress, staggered up to a stage whereupon sat the Master's Throne. Sarah couldn't bring herself to care who actually won the challenge. It didn't help her situation one way or the other. She had been hoping she'd have something she could take back to the rest of the women that they could act on, but it looked like she was going to return with nothing worthwhile to show for her two days of work.

She settled back in the theater chair and sighed as the women on screen began to award roses to one another. As if The Bachelor rip-off wasn't blatant enough already...

******

Robin stumbled into Dorsia slightly after noon.

Her black hair was mussed and her eyes still bleary from sleep, but her now permanent gothic makeup was as immaculate as always. Clad in her typical uniform of jeans and a t-shirt, she made her way to the lunch spread. It wasn't until she started putting a cold-cut sandwich together that she realized Chloe was also there, sitting at one of the dining tables. She had a small salad in front of her, but it lay forgotten as she watched her roommate make her way down the serving table. Robin acknowledged Chloe with a nod, retrieved a mug of straight black coffee, then joined her.

“Nice to see you up,” Chloe said it genuinely, without malice or judgment, but it still set Robin's teeth on edge. She took a long, slow sip of her coffee, using the time to reassure herself that the petite blonde meant nothing by it.

“Yeah, well, it's easier for me to sleep once the sun comes up.” Robin finally replied flatly.

“I know...” Chloe glumly pushed her salad around her plate.

Of course Chloe knew. Her roommate had been **** to endure four nights of Robin's senses becoming over-tuned when the sun set. Robin wasn't sure how Chloe had managed to get any sleep for herself. She had tried to help Robin through it the first couple of nights, but Robin had finally managed to convince her of the futility of her efforts. What Robin could never admit is that Chloe had been helping. Her presence, her contact, had helped ground Robin to reality while her senses ran haywire but she couldn't stand to watch Chloe wreck herself trying to aid her.

So Robin had spent most of the last two nights lying on the cool tile floor of their bathroom in complete darkness. She found eliminating visual stimuli made the ordeal slightly more tolerable, but she still had to contend with her other senses. Closing doors boomed like thunder in her ears and Chloe shifting under the sheets was rushing wind. The odor of soaps, shampoos, and whatever cleaning solution the staff used burned her nostrils. The first night she was intensely conscious of her own scent, but thankfully that quickly became part of the background. She was intimately aware of every point of contact between her clothes and her skin especially across her breasts and groin. The second night Robin shed her clothing entirely, her desperation outweighing any concerns that her roommate might walk in on her. Her naked body pressing against the cool tile was jarring it it's own way, but at least it wasn't the constant small friction of fabric.

Robin told Chloe staying in the dark bathroom helped, but it was mostly so she wouldn't disturb Chloe's own sleep.

Robin took a ravenous bite out of her sandwich, trying to ignore the way Chloe was studying her as she ate. Robin might be sleep-deprived, but she wasn't blind to the pity creeping in the corners of the blue eyes across the table from her. Pity was the last thing she wanted.

“Have you thought anymore about upgrading your transformation?” Chloe asked.

“Yeah, I think I could get some piercings to go along with the make-up, really complete the whole look,” Robin quipped bitterly.

The petite blonde sighed. Her eyes dropped back to her lunch as she continued to push it around her plate.

“That's not what I meant.”

Robin took another vicious bite of her sandwich. She knew exactly what Chloe meant which was why she wasn't dignifying it with a response.

“I just think it could help.”

Robin slammed her sandwich down on her plate, causing the silverware to jingle slightly.

“What, like it helped Cassandra? You saw what happened to her. I wouldn't call that an 'upgrade.'”

Robin's face radiated her exhaustion and frustration but this time Chloe didn't look away. The “I'm sorry for you,” look was in full **** now, not just hiding around the edges. The look that people slowly destroying themselves are all too familiar with. Robin met it with a glare but her guilt made her break first.

“Just...just drop it, ok?” Robin sighed, lowering her eyes. “I appreciate you trying to help Chloe, but I don't think the transformation shop is the way to do it.”

Chloe nodded once, then turned back to her salad. They ate together in an uneasy silence that Robin was just beginning to enjoy when Chloe broke it with a new question.

“Have you given any thought to your night with Robert?” She asked hesitantly.

Robin snorted.

“No. Why should I?”

“Don't you think you should at least have a plan or something? Some idea of what you're going to do?”

“Planning ahead has never really worked out for me before. Plus it's not like I'm trying to seduce him or anything. I just want to survive this thing, I don't need to win it.”

Chloe was nervously poking at her salad again.

“I don't need to win it either but...”

Robin searched Chloe's face, but this time her roommate dodged her eye. Her gaze was entirely on her salad, like it was her entire world.

“I don't know. He seems nice enough and there's no harm in getting to know him better.”

Robin didn't respond besides taking another wolfish bite out of her sandwich. Sure, Robert seemed harmless enough but that didn't mean Robin was interested. It was really the **** nature of this whole arrangement that really made her bristle. If she had run into Robert back in L.A., then yeah, maybe. But here under these circumstances?

“Which reminds me,” Robin suddenly said with a sly smile,” We were going to have a discussion about your dating history.”

A faint blush flowed into Chloe's cheeks.

“Mine?” she whispered.

“Yes, yours. How is it that a cute little blonde like you...” Robin paused, considering her next words carefully. She didn't want to accidentally trigger Chloe's Sampler transformation again. “How is it that your...first time...is a magically compelled encounter with me?”

Chloe's deepening blush had now consumed her forehead as well.

“I've had a couple boyfriends in the past, it just never really got that that far. I was always busy with one theater production or another.”

“And you couldn't land a single theater kid looking like that?”

“I did! Where do you think I met them?” Chloe replied indignantly. “It's just...well, none of those relationships ever lasted much longer than whatever show we were working on together. We'd drift apart and then it would just kind of...end.”

Robin nodded, before adopting a Very Serious Face.

“Ok, I'm going to need a detailed list of what sexual acts you have and have not done.”

“What?!” Chloe squeaked.

“I'm serious! How else am I going to know what's safe to say around you?” Robin was attempting to remain solemn, but a wry grin was creeping onto her face.

“How often do you expect to talk about sex?!”

Robin's face fell.

“Honestly with the way this show is shaping up? Probably a lot.”

“Fine...” Chloe sighed resignedly. “Not counting the...the other night I've made out and gotten to second base.”

Robin blinked in surprise.

“That's it? You can't be serious...”

“Yes! That's it!”

“Were you on the giving or receiving end of second base?”

“Does it matter?!”

“I don't know, that's what we're trying to ascertain. French kissing or normal kissing?”

“French...”

“Oooo, you naughty girl.”

Chloe groaned and buried her face in her hands. Robin took another bite of her sandwich and chewed thoughtfully.

“So what I'm hearing is,” Robin mused after she finally swallowed, “is that mentioning pretty much any sexual act is going to set you off. Jesus, that's brutal.”

Chloe nodded slowly, her face still hidden.

“Cheer up Buttercup, we'll figure out a way to get you through this yet.”

That earned Robin a glare from in between Chloe's parted fingers, just the reaction she had been hoping for. Robin grinned back, but before she could say anything else Sarah strode into the room. The leggy woman had a tendency to walk fast, but currently there was a frantic energy to her steps that Robin didn't like and the oncoming quip died in her throat as she saw the grim look on Sarah's face. She stopped suddenly by Robin and Chloe's table, stock-still but for her eyes which darted between the two seated women. Chloe stared at her apprehensively while Robin simply cocked a questioning eyebrow. Then with nary a greeting or even a preamble, Sarah spoke.

“I found something you two need to see.” Her gaze finally left them, and scanned the rest of the empty dining room. “Where's everyone else?”

Chloe shook her head while Robin shrugged and muttered a “Dunno” that was far more casual than she felt.

“Help me find them. Robert too. Meet back in the lobby in fifteen minutes. We all need to see this.”

******

It had taken twenty minutes but they managed to track down the other three women. Sarah had gotten Robert herself. It had taken some further convincing and cajoling to get everyone to follow Sarah after that. Whatever it was she wanted to show them apparently couldn't be moved and she was insistent that they all needed to see it themselves.

Chloe dutifully followed Sarah down the street, having to take two steps for every one of the taller woman's. Sarah was setting a quick pace and more then once she had to stop and wait for the stragglers (a **** Bailey and a huffing Samantha) to catch up. She managed to refrain from tapping her foot, but her taut expression said it all. Robert floated awkwardly through the group, like he was uncertain where he should be. The urgent pace and Sarah's tense attitude precluded conversation.

Sarah led the group around the corner and then back behind the Wardrobe/Props building to a large modern structure.

“The hell's a cinematheque?” Robin muttered as they passed through the doors.

“A film archive,” Chloe responded as her eyes traced the lobby. Sarah barely stopped long enough to make sure they were all through the front door before she set off again, leading them towards a set of double doors marked THEATER by a small blue sign.

“You dragged us all the way here to watch a movie?” Bailey fumed.

Sarah shook her head as she stepped through the double doors.

“I was watching other seasons of Harem Hotel. I though maybe I could find something to help us.”

Chloe caught Robin throwing a undecipherable look her way.

“Did you? Find something that could help?” Chloe asked.

Sarah's shoulders stiffened. They were standing in front of the theater screen now as she fiddled with a small touchscreen tablet.

“Just watch.”

The screen flickered as a projector whirled to life, its soft mechanical whine soon swallowed by the sound of the film. A group of women on a stage appeared, flanking a man sitting on what could only be called a throne. They were watching a short, curly-headed girl as she nervously stumbled across the platform towards a curvy blonde woman, who was sporting a silk top hat and wielding a cane like a weapon.

“Is this another season?” Cassandra whispered. Sarah nodded forlornly, never taking her eyes off the screen.

“What's happening?” Samantha asked, but Sarah only shook her head.

The blonde smirked as the other girl was suddenly engulfed in a surge of blinding light. Chloe could barely make out that the girl had fallen to her knees, but her screams came through loud and clear. When the light finally receded, Chloe gasped. Samantha screamed and Robert's face blanched.

The girl's clothes had become a revealing maid's outfit, one that made Cassandra's temporary one look downright chaste. A collar had appeared around her neck with a chain leash attached. The panicked look in the girl's eyes was gone. Her pupils had become tiny hearts, empty and staring. Her cheeks were flushed as she panted with obvious need.

“Fuck,” Robin whispered beside Chloe, as the blonde woman on the screen lead the new maid up to the man's throne and tied her to it. The girl didn't resist. She obediently followed, never taking her eyes off the man.

“It's an exit transformation,” Sarah's voice was quiet but razor sharp as she answered the unasked question. “It's what happens to the eliminated contestants. The Host of this particular season calls this a 'moderate' one.”

“So...so what? She's collared and stuck in a maid's outfit?” Bailey's voice failed to carry her false bravado.

Sarah shook her head.

“It's more then that. She can no longer experience physical pleasure. She can only climax by watching her Master bring another woman to orgasm, and even then only with that woman's verbal permission.”

Samantha choked back a sob with one hand while the other gingerly touched her elongated ear. Cassandra was nervously tugging at the edges of her evening dress, like she could pull the fabric out to cover more of her skin. Bailey's jaw was set determinedly, but the look in her eyes betrayed her. Chloe wrung her hands while Robin muttered another curse.

Robert was staring at the floor, head lowered, refusing to meet anyone's eyes.

The screen went dark and the house lights came back on. No one moved or spoke.

“There are others like this.” Sarah said. “A man transformed into a woman, **** to act like a stereotypical bimbo, fully aware of what's happened to him but unable to stop. A woman twisted into a mixture of human and cow. People trapped as sentient inanimate objects. It's the price of losing or refusing to play.”

“Why show us this?” Cassandra's voice was ragged.

“Ava mentioned Eliminations during the premier after she took us. I just thought it was a game mechanic or something. I never imagined...”

Sarah's eyes looked like they could burn a hole through the blank screen.

“This changes things. We were operating with incomplete information, having sweet “get to know you” dates while this loomed at the end of the week. Only two of us have more then zero VP right now. The rest of us...”

“What do we do now?” Robin asked grimly, her hands clenched. Sarah tore her eyes from the screen, looking over the small **** group.

“We go talk to our 'Host.' She has some explaining to do.”