New Rule

David was the first one to react. Without a second thought, he jumped out of his chair and ran over to Fiora. He turned her over and placed a finger to her wrist.

“What happened?” asked Hailey, who totally wasn’t panicking.

“She passed out. I’ve seen her do this before. I guess the magic here doesn't protect us from overexertion,” said David.

“No, it doesn’t. If you choose to push yourself past your limits, you must be willing to deal with the consequences,” said Nyx. Although her words were harsh, her expression wasn’t. David scooped Fiora into his arms and stood up.

Princess Carry 1VP

“I’ll take her to bed and stay with her until she wakes up. You guys try to enjoy the party some more. If we all crowd her, she’ll be extremely embarrassed and overwhelmed when she wakes up.” David carried her into the cabin and closed the door with his foot.

To David’s surprise, the inside of the cabin was very simple. There was a bed in the middle, a bathroom off to the side and a small kitchen, but that was it. But looking at the woman in his arms, he figured that’s exactly how she wants it.

He didn’t take too much time to admire the room, as he was beginning to struggle to hold her. He put her down on the bed and sat next to her. David did take time to admire her while she laid there. Even before all of this, Fiora held a special place in his heart, a place that has only grown since they were both brought into this horror show. He didn’t want to pick favorites, but she was quickly becoming second in his heart, if she hasn’t already.

…

It didn’t take long for Fiora to wake. She looked up at David and sighed, a look of embarrassment on her face.

“I passed out, didn’t I?” David nodded, and she buried her face in her hands.

“I can’t believe I did that. I bet everyone is extremely worried about me now.” David began to gently stroke her hair.

“They’ll be glad to see that you’re ok. But please don’t do that to me again. I’m not as young as I used to be, and my heart can only take so much.” Fiora couldn’t stop herself from laughing at his joke. Once she stopped, she rested her head in his lap.

Lap Pillow 1 VP (First x2)

“Thanks for staying with me, Daddy. It means a lot to me.” David began to stroke her hair, just like he did while she was unconscious.

“Of course. It was nothing.” The two were quiet for a while until Fiora sat up. Her smile was gone, and she couldn’t meet his eyes.

“Daddy, there’s something I need to tell you. Something I probably should have told you earlier.” David reached out and cupped her cheek, and saw that she had tears in her eyes.

“You can tell me anything. Anything at all.” She nodded, but still took a second to speak.

“I used the favor I got from Esmeralda to ask her something. She told me that not long after the show is over, my cancer will come back. I…I won’t beat it this time. Daddy, I’m going to die.” She looked into David’s eyes, and saw so many emotions swirling in them that she couldn’t dream to pinpoint them all.

But the most prevalent one, was determination.

“Esmeralda, come here.” His voice was steady, but laced with tension. As always, the host appeared when called.

“Yes dear, how can I help y-” David cut her off.

“I know you were listening to us. What can be done to prevent this from happening? I know that something can be done.” His tone of voice caught Esmeralda off guard.

“I’m afraid that there is nothing that you, me or Fiora can do to prevent it. The Director’s rules are clear.”

“Daddy, I already asked Es-”

“Then let me speak to the Director.” Esmeralda’s eyes nearly jumped out of her head.

“One does not simply request to speak to the Director. The only one who chooses who the Director speaks to is the Director himself.” But David didn’t falter.

“I don’t give a damn. Let me speak to him.”

Before Esmeralda could protest anymore, all three of them were suddenly teleported outside. They looked around in confusion as Hailey ran over to them and hugged Fiora.

“Fiora, are you ok?” Before Fiora could answer, there was a loud clap of thunder. This sent Rachel into the air and eventually into the arms of Jennifer.

“Thunder, but there are no storm clouds?” questioned Morgan. The eyes of the staff widened and they snapped their attention to David.

“What did you do?” snapped Nyx. Lightning struck behind David, scaring the daylights out of everyone. When it faded, there was now a man standing there. He was wearing armor over his body, with only his face visible, with the exception of a mask framing his eyes that made it look like he was scowling. There was a long sword attached to his hip.

“Who is that?” asked a panicked Fiora.

“The Director,” said Alear. David took a deep breath and stood up to face this other man.

“So you’re the Director.”

“Yes, I am.” His voice was deep and commanding in a way that demanded respect, but didn’t force it.

“What are you?” asked Stella.

“To put it simply, I am the one in charge of Harem Hotel. The only one. Next to me, Esmeralda would be a dust speck next to a star in terms of power.” The Director walked up to David, who stood his ground despite his trembling hands.

“I believe you had something to ask me.” David took a deep breath.

“Y-yes. How can Fiora be saved?” This question confused the other contestants besides Hailey.

“Saved. What do you mean?” asked Jennifer. All eyes landed on Fiora, who couldn’t find her voice to speak.

“Her cancer will return not long after you return to Earth, and she will not survive," said the Director. Everyone protested until the Director literally shut them up by raising his hand.

“So, David, what are you willing to give in order to save her?” David’s eyes widened.

“You’ll let me?”

“Answer my question, boy. What are you willing to give in order to save her.” David raised a hand to his chin and began to think. After a while, the Director chuckled.

“You see David, that is one of your biggest flaws, you think you’re smarter than you really are. I asked you a question, and you tried to think your way around it. In truth, I already know your answer, and every possible work around you could think of. So keep your mouth shut and listen to me.” David hung his head as the Director turned his attention to the crowd.

“I am willing to make a slight adjustment to the rules, but it is one that you must all agree to. However, I will not tell you what it is until you all agree.”

“I agree,” said Hailey, without any hesitation.

“So do I,” said Rachel.

“Same here,” said Jennifer.

“You don’t even have to ask,” said Olivia.

“I’m in,” said Stella.

“Same,” said Morgan. All of that happened mere milliseconds after each other. All eyes turned to Angel.

“I agree too.”

Fiora had tears in her eyes.

“You guys.” There was another clap of thunder, catching everyone’s attention.

“Just what I thought. Very well. If every contestant ends the show with at least 100 VP, Fiora will get to live a long and healthy life. If not, then her life will be extremely short.” The Director gave everyone a moment to comprehend this. 100 VP for each of them. It was doable, but wouldn’t be easy.

“Wait, how long is the show? How long do we have to save her?” asked Hailey. The Director smirked, and disappeared in a bolt of lightning. Everyone was frozen in shock, everyone but Fiora, who was crying tears of joy.

“I can live. I get the chance to live.” Esmeralda quickly disappeared, right before anyone could ask more questions. Fiora looked at all her new friends.

“You guys are really ok with doing this, just so I can live?” Olivia scoffed.

“Just? Your life isn’t a just, dear. We’d put ourselves through worse without hesitation.”

“Yeah, 100 VP was the end goal anyways,” said Stella. That’s when it looked like something dawned on David.

“That was his plan.” Everyone turned to him. “He’s been planning this from the beginning. He wants all of you to reach 100 VP, to become the “prefect Harem”, and wanted to give you all the proper motivation.”

“Then why not start the show with that?” asked Angel.

“Drama. It makes for a more interesting story.” Everyone, even the staff, seemed to realize this. But Hailey spoke the truth.

“It doesn’t matter. What matters is that Fiora gets to live. And we’ll all work to make that happen.”

That was also something that everyone could agree on.