I tried to pet and comfort Wren, but she gently took my hand and looked me in the eyes. "Mistress Sasha. You just faced the trial of hands today. You're physically and emotionally exhausted. You don't need to comfort me, okay?"

I nodded and just snuggled up against her. "Thank you..."

She squished me close against. "Of course, Mistress Sasha. You're Mistress Eve's treasure."

"Mmm. I guess that's the only reason you're taking care of me."

"Hey... I know you're a good person. We were friends even before Mistress Eve decided I was hers too. And now we're slaves joined under her." She kissed my cheek, and petted the top of my head. "I'd comfort you regardless, okay?"

I relaxed against her, still crying softly. "Okay... thank you Wren...."

Eve was over me, looking down into my eyes possessively as she groped and petted me. "I'm back," she said softly, and went in for a deep kiss, and I eagerly kissed her back, tail thumping rhythmically against the bed as she rubbed my pussy, building my needy body quickly towards orgasm... and then stopped.

I whined. "Please let me cum, Mistress...."

Eve smiled down at me cruelly. "We were going to save torture and orgasm denial for me... but you let yourself get touched by all those girls, didn't you? So it's just orgasm denial now, and I'm going to make the most of it."

I whined and pushed up my hips helplessly, and after a few moments, she started slowly rubbing my pussy again, building the pleasure back up.

She smiled down at me with adoring possessiveness. "I wonder how many hours you can take this for before you lose all sense of reason?"

"Please Mistress...."

She laughed in sadistic delight, and took my chin in her fingers. "Wake up, Mistress Sasha."

...wait, what?

My eyes fluttered open, and I looked up at the girl over me, but as my eyes focused, I realized it was Wren, not Mistress.

"Are you all right? You had started whining and whimpering."

"Oh yeah, just an uh, Mistress dream."

Her eyes widened. "Oh! Sorry for waking you up."

"It's okay."

Her stomach growled softly.

I furrowed my brow and pet her cheek. "Wren, when did you last eat?"

"...I've been out of it for half of today... I don't know."

"Let's go get you some food."

"Yes, Mistress Sasha."

I stood up and stretched, and we walked down the hallway together.

"Hi Sasha! Glad to see you're with us again." A girl with a long purple braid and cat ears was smiling at me. A gigantic two-handed sword was strapped to her back.

"Oh, um, thank you? Um, who are you again?"

"Usubrant." Not a very feminine name, by my ears, but people came from all over, and I didn't know the naming conventions. Wait, had she been a boy when she was born? It seemed rude to ask, and it would be a weird question anyways.

Another girl with spiky green hair -- wait, I had definitely seen her before -- came up to me and smiled and ruffled my hair. "Hi Sasha!" She went on without introducing myself and my tail wagged softly, and I looked askance at Wren.

"Why's everyone being so friendly?"

"If I had to hazard a guess, Mistress Sasha," Wren said as she glanced behind us, "Now that you've been subjected to the Trial of Hands, it's clear you're truly one of them, and not some special and separate existence."

My heart danced and my tail started wagging as I realized I was accepted as one of the women of the harem. "...oh. That would make sense." Since I had survived, I guess there was a silver lining.

We entered into the cafeteria, and I beelined towards a delicious smell of meat and carmellized onions coming from a fairly large, star-shaped pie. I was just cutting myself a section, as was the custom, when two girls started arguing nearby-- and one of them was Zince, I immediately recognized her, a lamia kind of stood out from the crowd

"It's just three pastries, grow up!" A much smaller raccoon girl, barely five feet tall with a messy mane of black hair, and covered in tattoos and little else beyond a loincloth, was clutching a few triangular pastries to her chest.

"Yes, but they were the last ones!" Zince was looking pretty pissed as she glared down at her.

"There's plenty of other pastries! Someone has to eat the last ones!"

A slow, rhythmic clapping started, and I suddenly felt sick to my stomach.

It took me a moment to realize why.

Clap-clap-clap.
We vote with our hands.
Clap-clap-clap.
One day, you may be judged.
Clap-clap-clap.
And each of us will strike you once with our hands.
Clap-clap-clap.

Of course, no one actually said those things, but I felt violently sick and sunk to my knees.

Wren wrapping her arms around me and looking at me worriedly. "Are you all right?"

One by one, a hand strike by the hand of everyone in this room.

This is how I could've died.

One by one, a hand strike by the hand of everyone in this room.

This is how Velt had died.

Was I actually accepted here, or were people just tricked into thinking everyone else here accepted me, because I hadn't died due to the womb tattoo Mistress Eve had given me? I felt like a fraud and impostor... I wasn't their slave hero... I wasn't from this world... I wasn't even a real girl....

I rose to my feet. "I need to leave, now." My voice was soft but urgent.

"I'd like to apologize to you all, sisters." Zince was giving the room a sweeping bow. "That was entirely my mistake. Fuletta is, after all, new here, and I should have been patient with her... please forgive me, sisters, and be more patient with her than my poor example." With that, she withdrew, without food, I guess... I wondered when she'd be back to eat.

I, of course, was doing similar, clinging to Wren and looking to the floor as she guided me back towards our room.

A huge shape suddenly loomed over us. Valentine came over and reached towards me, and I flinched back, and she pulled back her hand, blinking, and looking hurt for a moment before she smiled again.

I smiled up at her awkwardly. "Sorry, just... the clapping...."

Valentine looked down at me confusedly, but nodded, drawing back and giving me and Wren plenty of space.

We made it to my room without me collapsing or throwing up, but the moment we were inside, I collapsed to my knees, and she helped slow the process. The stone floor was nice and cool, and I stroked my hand against it.

"Are you all right, Mistress Sasha?"

"Can you please drop the Mistress for the moment? And..." I shook my head. "I thought this harem was a nice place, but it turns out it's just enforced through death."

She stroked my head softly. "All societies are enforced through death and other punishments... Sasha."

"...what about exile?"

"You think being forced to leave your entire life behind isn't a form of death? At the very least, it's a form of punishment."

"I guess, just... everyone involved in here was involved in Velt's execution."

Wren nodded. "And one day we'll be on the other side of it, if Mistress Eve and the Princess will it."

The other side of it... I hadn't even thought about that. My stomach lurched, and I turned away from her, barely keeping down my bile, though my throat burned with acid. "Fuck, my throat..."

She grabbed me a half-empty glass of water off the table, and held it out to me.

I took a grateful gulp of it, then another one, before setting it down and clinging to her, my throat still burning, but a bit less now. "I can't... how am I supposed to deal with this, Wren?"

"With what?"

"I can't kill people... I need to protect people."

"You just need to do whatever Mistress Eve tells you to do. Thinking further than that will only mean more suffering for you and everyone else."

"...How the fuck are you just forgiving her!?"

She stared back at me. "Why, would you help me kill her?"

I opened my mouth, then closed it.

"No, right? Of course not." Wren petted my cheek. "She's our Goddess, and we're both her slaves, killing her is beyond our ability to comprehend, really. She's shaped us into the slaves we need to be for her, and the best we can do is try to be obedient and enjoy whatever she wants to do to us. That is our sole purpose in life."

"But... your people killed goddesses. Why do you call her that?"

"Of course I call her that," said Wren softly. "When it comes to goddesses, there's only two choices: kill, or obey."