The Results are Close

Upon Amelia's announcement, Carla and Alexis immediately deflated. They did not finish their quizzes, so they were the last to get some reprieve from the vibrators. The eight women all sagged in their seats, physically and mentally recovering from the tumultuous last half hour. Many of the spectating immortals applauded the completion of the event, congratulating the women just for getting through their first challenge.

Amelia clapped as well, but slowly and dramatically, in the way that movie villains do when entering a room. The harem members looked up at her to see what she had to say, but only Sophie and Molly looked eager to find out who won. Erica still had her thick thighs clamped together as she was still worked up, while her harem had all orgasmed in the last few minutes.

"Well done, my students," Amelia began in the same commanding tone. "I have some good news and bad news for you. The good news is that you have completed your first challenge and put on quite the show for our audience. For your visually pleasing performance, you get to keep those vibrators out of my good graces." The deities on the side who weren't still pleasuring themselves promptly clapped, while the resting women looked unimpressed at Amelia's faux generosity. "The bad news is that you all struggled mightily with the quiz. None of you even reached 50%." In response, the deities promptly groaned as if there was a flashing sign telling them when and how to react. Since they were literally a live studio audience, perhaps that was the case, and the harem members simply couldn't see the sign. "Victory points will still be handed out the same way as if you had all scored highly, but you might not find the winning transformations to be as positive as you expected."

The women muttered disagreeably at the news, and Molly even slapped her own knee. They all dreaded upcoming transformations and what could happen to their minds or bodies.

Amelia continued speaking but unbuttoned an addition button on her shirt for some reason. The black lace bra underneath was peeking through, and Erica hoped it would conveniently disappear. To her disappointment, Amelia stopped at one. "Before we go over the quiz results one by one, I will reveal the results of the Best Woman poll from yesterday. Let's see what kind of first impressions you made with the audience."

Large writing popped up in the middle of the room like a jumbotron, but the words weren't connected to anything. Kristie and Alexis recognized it as the same style as the VP notification they received.

1. Penelope -- 800 BP
T2. Molly -- 700 BP
T2. Kristie -- 700 BP
4. Veronica -- 500 BP
5. Michelle -- 400 BP
6. Alexis -- 300 BP
7. Carla -- 200 BP
8. Sophie -- 100 BP

Penelope cheered softly, unsurprised at her win, as her mother gave her a congratulatory one-armed hug. Penelope was used to being liked by the masses, after all. Sophie, meanwhile, had a rare outburst. "WHAT?! How am I last? Popularity contests are how I get ahead! That's exactly what being class president is!"

Amelia's self-satisfied smile returned. "Oh, Sophie. You must remember your voters are no longer gullible children who want longer lunch breaks. All of you are now appealing to a more mature audience who want to see sexual corruption and romantic development. I would recommend you start using that tongue of yours for what it's now good for."

Sophie steamed in her seat, unable to come up with any kind of wise response or change the current results. Amelia continued on, as she still had much to cover. "Now, I will go over each question individually, and at the end reveal your collective scores. For question 1, the answer is A. Jennifer Perkins took Hector's virginity."

Erica was hearing the questions for the first time, but she wasn't really caught off guard. The content was expected, and other than the sexual nature, this really did feel like a classroom setting. Penelope, Kristie, and Molly cheered quietly at getting the question right, while the rest either groaned or shrugged at getting it wrong. They could have easily been reacting to questions about geography. "Just this summer, Hector went on a volunteer trip to build houses in New Jersey and hit it off with a girl named Jennifer. For question 2, the answer is D. Hector's biggest celebrity crush is Emily Ratajkowski."

Molly and Penelope cheered again, alongside a surprised Alexis. "Wow, total guess," the buff girl muttered.

"As you might be wondering, Hector has fantasized about all four options before."

That piqued Erica's interest. "Wait, who are the other options?"

Amelia kept the pace up. "For question 3, the answer is D. Ms. Perfect Sophie here likes big dicks in her porn videos." Sophie nodded stiffly and marked her own sheet. Michelle was the only other person who cheered.

"Yes, I knew you had high expectations!"

"Who are the other options? Can't I get a copy of the test? Amelia!"

Said host turned to Erica and plucked off another button. "No, you just sit there and look pretty for all of us." Erica was quickly learning that no one could get what Amelia was unwilling to give.

The teacher turned back to her students. "The other options might look familiar, because Molly searches for BDSM, Carla obviously watches lesbian porn, and Veronica includes the interracial tag." The volume suddenly dropped in the room as the group collectively realized Amelia was revealing secrets beyond just what belonged to the subject of each question. Veronica was burning red and slumped down in her chair while Michelle gave her a grossed-out look and Carla raised an eyebrow.

"HEY, Michelle!" Amelia intervened. "Cut it out, there will be no kink-shaming on Harem Hotel. We are here to embrace our desires, not hide them. For question 4, the answer is B. Veronica was once charged with public urination." Penelope rubbed her mom's back knowingly, while Alexis let out a chuckle as she was lucky again. The rest of the test takers looked baffled.

"Public urination?" Kristie asked in disbelief.

Veronica immediately went on the defensive. "It was one time in a moment of weakness! I really, really needed to pee after a night on the town, and I wasn't careful enough. I could have picked somewhere more hidden."

"Fortunately, no one here is guilty of assault, but Alexis has gone drunk driving before, and Sophie has stolen from a clothing store. Be glad neither of you were caught."

"Yeah, big surprise." Alexis shrugged off her secret.

"You don't have to reveal every little thing we've ever done," Sophie said petulantly.

"Oh, but it's so fun to see you squirm in your seats while the universe learns everything about you," Amelia responded with glee. "And there's so much more! For question 5, the answer is A. Michelle enjoys some special delivery roleplay." Veronica's mood brightened as the only person other than the subject to get that one right. "Erica, I hope you're taking notes, but any of these scenarios would be quite sexy to watch."

"Again, WHAT ARE THE OPTIONS?!" Erica was normally good at keeping her composure, but being ignored was a pain point for her. Why did Amelia have to be so hot and so frustrating at the same time?

"Oh, use that active imagination of yours. For question 6, the answer is D. Penelope is as horny as her sibling, so she masturbates almost every night." Alexis and Sophie clapped quietly while Veronica seemed to be replaying her whole life.

"How did I never hear you?"

Penelope's cheeks tinged red but she managed to look her mother in the eye. "I'm good at keeping it down."

Amelia was thoroughly enjoying every interaction. "Well, now that we all know, there's no need to keep it down! Feel free to moan for all the world to hear. For question 7, the answer is C. As Alexis already yelled out, she enjoys drinking vodka alongside her marijuana." No one reacted much since they already knew the answer, but Penelope, Veronica, and Kristie guessed right at the time.

"Not much to say about that, it seems. For question 8, the answer is D. Carla most enjoys doggy style while having sex." Only Sophie appeared to reach in a positive manner. Erica, though, immediately pictured herself in both positions with the sexy Latina: railing her from behind and being railed from behind.

"Damn, I was certain it would be 69ing," Molly complained.

"Yes, that was quite a predictable misdirection," Amelia supplied. "But a 69 is actually Alexis's favorite position, while Sophie enjoys cowgirl, and Veronica loves the intimacy of missionary." The named subjects didn't seem so bothered by that, considering Amelia was revealing touchier subjects, and they were starting to get used to the constant mention of sex. But Erica got a whole bunch of new images in her head, sending her horniness into overdrive. She really needed to cum already.

"Uh, Miss Amelia, can I be excused to go to the bathroom?" Erica even raised her hand like a nervous child.

"And miss the results? Of course not! If you need to ejaculate you can do so in front of all of us."

"I don't think that's a good idea," the powerless master muttered. Penelope felt for her sister and was moved by her impressive restraint.

"Now, for question 9, the answer is A. Molly wants to wear a collar during sex. Naturally, the other items are intriguing to her, as well." This would have been a surprise to some, including Erica, if Amelia didn't already say that Molly watched BDSM porn. Wearing a collar fit very neatly in that regard. But as well as she knew her best friend, Erica didn't ever get the idea Molly was submissive in bed. Picturing her perfect body with a collar only made Molly seem more perfect on the outside. Only Carla seemed to have selected the correct answer.

"For question 10, the correct answer is B. Kristie takes a birth control pill on a regular basis." Everyone cheered except for Michelle.

"Wait, how did you get that wrong?" Sophie asked her roommate.

"Yeah, that was the one easy question," Alexis added.

"I overcomplicated," Michelle replied simply. She let out a disappointed sigh.

"You will be interested to learn," Amelia butted in, "that Molly takes an anti-depressant pill." That news turned some heads in the group. Even understanding the host's tendencies, Erica frowned that Amelia revealed something so sensitive about Molly, especially when it wasn't even the question at hand. Veronica went one seat over to give her child's friend a very motherly, supportive hug. Molly, afraid her medication would come up, looked like she wanted to crawl in a hole, but she accepted the comforting hug nonetheless.

There wasn't really anything for anyone to say, which meant that Amelia continued speaking unimpeded. "For question 11, the answer is C. Carla has had sex on a mountain." Molly cheered up slightly as she got the answer right, while the rest looked at Carla in surprise.

"What dears, is it so hard to believe I took a bird on a hike?"

"Not exactly, it's more that the indoor locations seemed so believable," Penelope responded.

"Our literature minds here know that's called a red herring," Amelia pointed out. "And they are so believable because Kristie has had sex up against bookshelves, Alexis has given a tug in a theater, and Michelle once spent a memorable night on a yacht."

"Dammit, Amelia! That was a much better activity than studying, though." Kristie ran through a few emotions at once, just like the sports fans she used to seeing in the bleachers.

"Remember, we know everything about you. Why try to hide when everyone watching will learn anyway? For question 12, the answer is B. Sophie has a tattoo on her calf." Only Michelle cheered, having seen the evidence the previous night. "Sophie, why don't you show us your ink?"

Immediately after the ominous reminder, Sophie didn't bother pushing back. She stood up, put her left leg on her chair, and rolled up her pant leg. On her skin was a single five-sided star and the year 1848. "It's really nothing to make a fuss about for the show's purpose. 1848 was the year of the first women's rights convention."

"How noble of you and how ironic now that none of you can vote on anything." Sophie's anger came roaring back as she felt like she was slapped in the face. Not that they had forgotten, but the harem members turned to each other in recognition of who their true antagonist was. And Erica didn't like that Amelia had to rub it in at every opportunity.

"For question 13, the answer is A. Hector keeps his porn stash in a notetaking app. You can imagine what's in there." Kristie, Alexis, and Molly celebrated, and Kristie even let out a whoop for reasoning out the answer.

"I'm not showing you! Notes are private for a reason!" Erica shouted out.

"You can think that for now," Amelia conceded. "But Erica is not the only one with a secret stash. Veronica and Michelle grew up before widespread cellphone use, so they kept X-rated DVDs in shoeboxes and books." The two older women covered their faces in shame. "No need to be embarrassed, everyone here enjoys looking at naked bodies."

"Remember what I said, Mom: our lives revolve around sex now, so we have to get used to that."

"Exactly right, Penelope! Someone here understands the purpose!" Amelia briefly took off her glasses and batted her captivating eyes at Penelope, making the younger women blush with a confused mix of emotion. "For question 14, the answer is C. Michelle had a stripper at her bachelorette party. As Kristie knows, sometimes the obvious answer is the correct one." The red head nodded as Carla reached over to give her a celebratory fist bump. Kristie reluctantly returned it, still wary from the previous night. "Michelle, please tell us how the stripper came dressed."

"Oh," Michelle blushed but with a fond smile on her face. "He was the handsomest firefighter I've ever seen. The hose prop was a nice touch."

"I bet he lit a fire in your body. Now for question 15, the answer is D. Believe it or not, Veronica has not had sex in 17 years."

The whole room looked stunned. "Oh my!" exclaimed Carla.

"How is that possible, Mom? You really haven't since Dad died?" Penelope was bewildered.

Veronica had a distant look on her face. She was thinking of her precious little time with her husband, and all the successive opportunities she passed up. "It never felt right. I still miss your dad so much, and our lives are so busy, that I never wanted just a fling or had the energy to commit to someone else."

"Well then I have good news for you, Veronica!" Amelia directed. "The perfect person is sitting right ahead of you!"

Veronica threw her hands up. "OH MY GOD! Read the room, Amelia!"

"Hee hee hee," the host giggled. "You are so easy to tease. Perhaps because you are on such a long drought. We are up to the questions where you had to write in your own answers. For question 16, the name Hector wants to give his first daughter is Diana. Hopefully the goddess of childbirth will bless the delivery." Penelope, Veronica, and Molly smiled, knowing a more wholesome fact about Hector. The rest of the group looked up in surprise and wonder. "If you must know, Diana appeals to Hector as a regal name and the name of his favorite superhero."

"Ha, that means my daughter will be Natasha," Kristie commented half-heartedly, but she noticed Erica perk up and imagine that scenario. It suddenly didn't feel like a joke anymore. I'm in college! I don't want kids yet!

"For question 17, Hector's first real crush was Rachel Goldman."

"NOOOOO!!" Penelope blurted out. "I wrote Rachel GoldBERG, shit!"

The mild agony made Veronica laugh, as she and Molly remembered the name of the prim and proper girl one grade above Hector.

"As Sophie was wondering, Hector was in 4th grade at the time. Now, the question I bet the eight of you are most curious about: for question 18, the answer is no. Hector is not currently in love."

"Wooooww, how about that?" Alexis had unconsciously leaned forward to hear, and then she leaned back to think about the implications of the correct answer. It was the most engaged she appeared during the event. No one seemed to celebrate or complain about the result, but Veronica, Kristie, Carla, and Sophie picked the right side of the coinflip. Molly, once again, seemed to be reconsidering everything she had learned since arriving on Olympus.

"The stakes get quite large here. For question 19, among the women in the harem, Hector is most attracted to...Penelope!" Every eye in the room zipped over to Erica, who could do nothing but sit there. The question had an answer, and Amelia was bound to share it. Penelope was embarrassed and somewhat disturbed but not exactly shocked. For the past day she had felt her sibling's unending desire for her, and the two of them always had such a strong bond. She resorted to her one defense mechanism: covering her face with her hands.

"How can this be? Where have I gone wrong as a parent?" Veronica asked rhetorically and hopelessly.

"Nowhere, dear. You have done the best you possibly can." Amelia's smile was wider than any of them had seen so far, which was saying something. "We have reached the final question, and I will turn the tables around for this one. Erica, if there was ever a ninth member of your harem, who would it be?"

Amelia was most excited for this question since she already knew who Erica was thinking about. She wanted the master to admit it for every viewer to hear.

As she had felt since arriving, Erica was of two minds. She most definitely did not want someone else to be kidnapped and trapped, but she was also turned on by the thought of another attractive woman at her beck and call. But really one person above all others was filling her latest fantasies.

"Uh...umm..." Erica's eyes darted around. She knew she must say it. She also dreaded how her harem would react. Erica gulped and mustered the courage to stare at Amelia right between her tantalizing glasses. "I want it to be you."

The audience gasped. In all their immortal years, the deities watching had never heard a master admit to wanting the host in the harem. The eight women in desks, predictably, looked betrayed.

"You fucker!" Sophie yelled.

"How dare you!" Alexis slammed a fist on her desk. "I knew you were part of all this! Just when I was beginning to warm up to you, you pull this shit!"

Most were shaking their heads in some combination of disbelief and disappointment. Molly looked like she was on the verge of a mental breakdown. Veronica, ever the calming figure and with a tear in her eye, once again pulled her child's friend close to provide whatever comfort a hug could.

"Oh no, silly," Amelia chided lightly. "I can't be in your harem. No, for question 20, the correct answer is Jennifer Perkins. Who else but the one who gave you your first time?" Kristie and Molly got the official answer correct, but they weren't celebrating at the moment. "To tally up the results and announce the winner, I am inviting a special guest. Nike, will you please join me here?"

In the middle of the crowd behind Erica's chair, enormous white, feathery wings sprung up. They each spread ten feet across, and in one swoop, an unnaturally tall and slender woman with jagged facial features and a hooked nose flew up and then down next to Amelia. Unlike her wings, Nike's body was covered in black feathers, and there was no clothing in sight. If she wore any, then they somehow sat below her bird-like features. Amelia showed the newcomer what must be an answer key, as Nike read from the page.

Her voice boomed out for all to hear. "The winner of the first challenge of Harem Hotel: Ancient Desire is...MOLLY! Congratulations on achieving victory this glorious day!" The room broke into applause once again, but no one in the harem was joining in. Molly had felt good about this challenge and knew she could win it, but she was still reeling from the last few minutes.

"Thank you, Nike for your help. My Lady and I appreciate your participation. Here are the full results, alongside the victory points and bonus points you are earning. Those who finished the test sooner won the tiebreakers. Remember, the spread of VPs will increase in future challenges, and bottom finishers will lose VP at that point."

Just like earlier, a large hologram appeared so all could easily read it:

1. Molly, 9 correct -- 10 VP, 1000 BP (1700 total BP)
2. Veronica, 8 correct -- 7 VP, 700 BP (1200 total BP)
3. Penelope, 7 correct -- 6 VP, 600 BP (1400 total BP)
4. Kristie, 7 correct -- 5 VP (6 total VP), 500 BP (1200 total BP)
5. Carla, 7 correct -- 4 VP, 400 BP (600 total BP)
6. Sophie, 6 correct -- 3 VP, 300 BP (400 total BP)
7. Alexis, 6 correct -- 2 VP (3 total VP), 200 BP (500 total BP)
8. Michelle, 4 correct -- 0 VP, 100 BP (500 total BP)

"I hope you take your results to heart and consider how you can maintain or improve your standing going forward. We will reconvene this evening before Molly's date for the next transformation votes. I do so look forward to seeing you then, but until that time, those in the harem are free to do as they please on the mountain. So long!" Amelia, Nike, and almost every deity in the room popped away, leaving a sparse crowd who couldn't teleport to file out, and the harem members to reckon with what they had learned about each other.