They were as they had been when they started, walking slowly around the periphery of the audience chamber. The Emperor was no less agitated now than he had been then.

"I am telling you, Z'haas, there is little to worry about from Freya," Gronnus declared. "I have already spoken with her."

The Emperor cast a dubious gaze at the Overlord. "From what I have heard, 'talking' is not a means by which she obtains what she wants from other Overlords."

Gronnus allowed himself a sly smile. "Well, I will admit ... having her attempt to use her other means of persuasion on a man gives her an advantage over the other Overlords. But I daresay that I handled myself with ..."

"I do not wish to hear the details of your sexual prowess, Overlord," Z'haas said in a disdainful voice. "Get to the point."

Gronnus frowned deeply at the Emperor, but moved on. "Anyway, it was as I had suspected. She simply wants something from Roquan, and does not necessarily believe in his cause."

"And what does she want?"

"Likely the same thing she always wants from an Overlord. A sweet deal. A trade or purchase of slaves."

"So what makes you think she will side with you rather than Roquan?"

Gronnus laughed. "Your little trade agreement cancellation has placed him in dire straits financially. Roquan cannot even begin to offer her what the other Overlords could. Why, I alone could give her six choice slaves and still have enough good ones to contract to my own clients."

The Emperor sneered. He despised hearing an Overlord boast about his slaves. It was not that he found slavery itself distasteful; indeed, the practice went back centuries, even before there were Overlords. It was simply another reminder to him of how powerful and influential the Overlords were. No group, no matter what their business, should be that powerful.

The only other Guild that had approached the power of the Overlords was the Mages' Guild, and the Emperor had succeeded in taming them. Witness the ease at which Z'haas had managed to recruit one of them for his cause. It had been Q'yros himself, the best Mage in Oceanus, that had willingly adjusted Roquan's Portal to bring Sirinna to the palace.

It had helped that the Mages' Guild had little use for another power in Narlass attempting to devise new weapons of war. If there was one thing the Mages' Guild liked above all else, it was the status quo, which they ruthlessly maintained with cold and calculating precision. It was little wonder there had been no serious technological advance in a century. The Mage Guilds across the world would debate endlessly about each one before finally accepting it. By that time, they had imposed so many restrictions on its use that it might not have been invented in the first place.

"What of the other Overlords, Gronnus?" demanded the Emperor. "My intelligence has had little to say of them."

Gronnus allowed himself a small, smug smile. Despite his allegiance with the Emperor, he did not take kindly to Imperial spying. He had quietly warned many of the other Overlords he had met, and they had unobtrusively increased the security around their Manor and surrounding lands. That, he hoped, would be a sign to Z'haas that he should not meddle with the balance of power between the Imperium and the Overlords.

"A fair number will side with me," he said simply.

The Emperor gave him a sharp look and stopped walking. "A fair number? And just how many is that?"

"At least five."

Z'haas' eyes burned. "That is not even half!"

Gronnus sighed. "Z'haas, realize that an Overlord tends to play his cards close to the vest at all times. The fact that I could get five to openly cast their lot behind me before we even arrive at the Conclave is nothing short of an amazing show of support for our cause!"

The Emperor did not look the least bit mollified. "This Conclave worries me, Gronnus."

Gronnus was taken aback. That was the first time he had heard Z'haas ever openly admit something like this. "Does it?"

"Several times I have considered abandoning this plan and going with my alternate idea."

The Overlord looked alarmed. "Is that your 'more permanent' solution, Z'haas?"

"Yes, it is."

"You had better not mean assassination!"

The Emperor said nothing. The intense look in his narrowed eyes was answer enough.

"Do not be a fool, Z'haas!"

Z'haas bristled. "And do not think you are protected by your association with me. You will not resort to open insults against your sovereign."

"If you do such a thing, you will bring about what you fear most! Murdering an Overlord by Imperial order will bring about civil war!"

"Not if it is made to look that the Imperium had no hand in it."

Gronnus stared at the Emperor. "You intend to frame another for it? Exactly who?"

"That is not your concern."

"I cannot even conceive of how you would manage to infiltrate ...!"

"That is not your concern, either, nor a problem," said the Emperor with a trace of pride in his voice. "The infiltration has been handled most satisfactorily."

"Hellfire, Z'haas, you can't ...!"

"It is time you stop informing me what I cannot do and focus on what you can do!" the Emperor thundered. "If you do not wish me to take this course of action, then you will insure that the Conclave goes as desired."

"It will, Z'haas! I can guarantee you of that! We will have Freya on our side. Doran is no match for that."

"You had better be right about that. You will not have much time."

Gronnus frowned. "What do you mean by that?"

Emperor Z'haas turned more fully towards the Overlord. "I give you a half-moon from this point in time before I proceed with my alternate plan."

"From today?! But the Conclave is in another quarter-moon!"

"The remaining quarter-moon should be enough time."

"Not at a Conclave it isn't! You obviously have no concept of them. We spend a quarter-moon just sizing each other up, weighing the initial issues, and making deals."

"You will not have that luxury this time," the Emperor stated blandly. "You must hurry the Conclave to a decision."

Gronnus huffed. "You again ask for the impossible!"

"Even so. This is what you must do. Now, I must ask you to leave. I must begin planning for the aftermath of the Conclave."

Gronnus uttered a long and tired sigh. "It would help, Z'haas, if perhaps you would give me some more insight into exactly what it is you are worried about from the west. I still see no overt threat!"

The Emperor drew in his breath and let it go as a slow sigh through his nose. His eyes took on a momentarily distant look. "I may tell you after the Conclave is concluded."

"If the Conclave goes as planned, you might as well forget it then. Keep your little secrets, Z'haas, if they comfort you!"

Gronnus turned and stormed off without waiting for leave by the Emperor.

Emperor Z'haas watched the Overlord depart, not moving or altering the expression on his face one iota until he was alone. Then his eyes narrowed and a sneer came over his face.

He hoped that Gronnus would fail. He hoped that he would have to activate his field agent from among the merchants. It would be a pleasure to bring down two Overlords at once. For if Roquan was to die, Gronnus would as well. Kill the two of them, and make it look as if Gronnus had chosen to kill Roquan, and the two had instead killed each other. The threat would be ended, and the Imperium would be safe for a time.

And without proof of the Emperor's involvement, there would be no civil war.

The golden column of energy filled the center of the chamber, held in place magically by the polished mirrors on floor and ceiling. It cast an undulating radiance as slow pulses rippled along the surface of the column from the crystal cage suspended at its center. The light was mixed with crimson from the blood-red jewel that lay inside the cage.

Before the column stood the slightly stooped form of the Mage Q'yros. A small smile played on his cracked lips -- one part joy for his work, one part smug satisfaction -- as he examined the gem within the cage. His dark blue eyes were as sharp as needles as they focused on his task. He raised an aged, bony hand and waved it before the cage. It slowly came to a stop and opened for him, the golden energies growing quiescent.

His form and his advanced age belied his strength; as one of the most powerful Mages in Oceanus, anyone who dared to attempt to sneak up to him would either live to regret it, or simply not live, depending on the Mage's mood.

Nothing, however, could protect him from the glowering looks of the Overlord behind him.

Roquan stood close behind the wizard, his arms folded across his chest, observing the Mage intently. He had no knowledge of magic, at least not this advanced. He knew how to operate the Portal, and that was it. Yet he hoped that his presence would remove the temptation for Q'yros to do what he had done before. It was this Mage, Roquan believed, that had "adjusted" his Portal to allow the Imperial agent to take Sirinna from the Manor. Roquan had vowed never to let the Mage back into his Manor again.

Yet Q'yros had said that if the Manor ever needed a Mage again, and the Guild decreed it to be Q'yros, then Q'yros it would be. This had come to pass, and was the reason for the smug grin on his lined face.

The Mage had no intent for mischief today. The Emperor had bid him no further tasks. He would do what he had come to do, which was maintain the Portal. Oh, but there was one additional matter, and he took care of it with a mere flick of a hand and a single mumbled incantation. The jewel flashed dimly once, causing Roquan to glance over the Mage's shoulder suspiciously, but the deed was done. The adjustment that allowed the Portal to open to the Imperial palace had been removed.

"Maintenance only, Q'yros," Roquan rumbled.

The Mage smiled to himself, the lines on his face multiplying. Not that the cretin would know if I had done anything, he thought to himself. "That is what you wished of me, is it not?" he asked in an gravelly voice.

"See to it that it stays as such."

"Do you always insult the skilled artisans that come to your Manor, hmm?"

"Do not play games. I know what you had done."

Q'yros pretended to study the jewel more closely, tapping his staff absently against the floor. "Done? Ah, yes, I have heard of your accusations leveled towards me. Quite amusing."

"I found nothing at all funny about it."

Q'yros waved a hand. The cage closed and began to turn. The energies flowed again through the column, filling the room with its low thrumming. He turned to face the Overlord. "Is this where I am supposed to say 'why, Overlord, I have no idea what you are talking about'?"

Roquan's eyes narrowed, and he said nothing.

"Rest assured, Overlord, the Portal will cease to trouble you no more in that regard."

Roquan looked askance at the Mage, who looked back with a serene smile. "Are you saying you have removed your 'adjustment' just now?"

"I have removed what appeared to be an aberration in the matrix, yes."

"Then you admit to your treachery!"

Q'yros laughed and shook his head. "I admit no such thing. You had an aberration, I removed it. It is very true that such things can accidentally open local Portals. You are fortunate no one was hurt."

Roquan's eyes flashed with anger. "And you claim no knowledge of how it got there?"

"Oh, I know how it got there. You are so lax in the maintenance of your Portal, Overlord."

"Portals do not spontaneously produce new endpoints!"

There was not a modicum of alteration in the Mage's smile.

"You're taking me for a fool, and I will have no more of it," Roquan said dismissively. "If you have completed your work, I will pay you and you can leave."

"I have indeed finished, your Lordship."

"It will cease to leak energy then?"

Q'yros paused. "I beg your pardon?"

"That is why I have called you here. Surely you saw that for yourself when you examined it."

The Mage wrinkled his brow. He turned and looked back at the glowing column. He opened his Mage senses to it again, then slowly shook his head. "No energy leaks," he stated flatly. "Not before and not now. This type of Portal cannot 'leak'."

Roquan sighed through his nose. He could not tell if the Mage was lying to him or not. Q'yros could very well be covering for a poorly constructed Portal. It had been the Mage Guild under his auspices, when Q'yros had been Guild Master before his retirement from that post, that had built the Portal for Roquan about ten years ago, when the old one had finally failed.

"I am curious," Q'yros said, draping both knobbly hands over the end of his staff. "Why would you believe this Portal would leak?"

"My healer, Vanlo G'tort, is sensitive to Portal energies."

"Ah, yes, I recall that now." The Mage quickly quelled an epithet in his head. It was that infernal Healer that had led to the situation they were in now. True, it had been Amanda that had foiled the plot to kidnap Sirinna for the Emperor, but it had been Vanlo's ability to sense that the Portal had been activated that saved Sirinna's life. Had she died, they would have had only the outworlder girl's story, and the case against the Emperor's involvement may not have been strong enough to convene a Conclave in the first place.

But the Healer was still no expert in Portals, and he found it amusing that this was the basis for the Overlord's desire to have the Portal serviced. "You must have great faith in his Portal knowledge, hmm?" said Q'yros.

Roquan bristled at the dismissive attitude towards his Healer. "A leak was the most probable reason for what he was sensing. The only other one was implausible, that other Portals have been opened close to the Manor."

Mage Q'yros' fingers tensed around the end of the staff. "That is impossible."

The Overlord detected the anxiety in the Mage's voice. "Is it?"

"Yes. A preposterous notion! He is a fool for suggesting it."

"And why is this?"

Q'yros heaved an exasperated sigh. Damn this Overlord. Others simply accepted the word of a Mage and let it go. They did not question such things. He did not want to create explanations for this one. "Simply because the Mage Guild tracks all Portals operated within its auspices, my dear Overlord," Q'yros said, a sarcastic edge to his voice.

"Yet you cannot control incoming Portals, can you?"

Q'yros frowned. "You of all people should know what is needed to open a Portal locally with such pinpoint accuracy!"

Roquan, of course, did, but he was rather curious about the reaction of the Mage to this line of discussion.

Portals by their nature needed to be anchored. Where the Portal energies were generated was one such anchor, and did not move. The other end was projected towards the point of egress, but without an anchor at that end, the endpoint could vary as far as fifty miles from the targeted spot. This was adequate for sending a Slaver to a new world, but inadequate for retrieving her and any Captives she may have secured.

Thus another use of the ubiquitous magical energy focus, the blue pearl. A special spell upon such a pearl allowed it to be used as a homing beacon of sorts. The Portal energies could detect this and focus on it, opening the Portal within mere feet of the one holding it. Its limitation, naturally, was that it required a person at that end to be carrying such a thing.

Blue pearls so imbued were very easy to detect with magical wards, as they pulsed with powerful energy at all times. Thus it was a very simple matter to prevent someone from opening a Portal into a location where it was not desired. The Manor had such a ward, for example, as did all the keeps of the Nobility, and the Imperial palace. Portals were so prohibitively cumbersome to operate, often requiring a full day's time to energize sufficiently, that this also prevented its use as casual transportation, clandestine or otherwise.

"And you control who has pearls for this purpose?" Roquan asked in an even voice.

"No, we do not. But such things command a high price. It is beyond the means of anyone but Overlords, Nobility, and the Imperium." He gave the Overlord a wry smile. "Unless you are suggesting there are Overlords, Nobles, or Imperial agents running amok in the forests outside your Manor, or the nearby islands."

Roquan would not put it past the Imperium to have agents doing just this, but he held his tongue. Yet if it were not this, why was the Mage anxious when he heard that Vanlo was detecting such things?

The only conclusion he could come to was that the Emperor was playing games with him, possibly to affect the Conclave. So be it. He would refuse to play.

"Understand this, Q'yros," Roquan said, raising an admonishing finger to the Mage as if he were one of the Overlord's slaves. The Mage bristled and frowned deeply. "I will not tolerate any further interference with this Manor, or with the Overlords in general. Too many have overstepped their bounds lately, and this will stop."

Q'yros' eyes became ice. "Then, perhaps, Overlord, you should direct your comments to someone more appropriate. The Mages shall have no part of your delusions."

Roquan fumed silently. He reached into a pocket in his tunic and yanked out a leather bag. "I will pay your price and you will get out of my Manor."

"Most happily, your Lordship. One hundred platinum."

Normally, the Overlord would balk at this price, but decided it was better worth his time to be rid of this loathsome person. He counted out ten coins into the outstretched claw of the Mage. Q'yros snatched it away as soon as the tenth fell into his palm and quickly made them disappear on his person.

The two of them exchanged one last spiteful look before parting.

The Mage hurried back up the path, moving as fast as his aged frame could carry him. His face was creased with anger and worry both. He quickly made his way to the outer gates of the Manor, where his coach waited to take him to the docks for his trip back to the Guild Hall.

Once secured inside his coach, and as it ambled along the road through the fields outside the Manor grounds tended by the peasantry, he reached into his robes and withdrew a single blue pearl. He reached forward and placed it into a receptacle in a post that rose from the floor between his seat and the empty one opposite him. He waved a hand over the pearl.

The pearl glowed with Farviewing magic, and soon he was alone no more in the coach.

"Yes, what is it?" said his visitor's shimmering image in an annoyed tone of voice.

"My Emperor," Q'yros said in a somber voice. "We have a problem."

Amanda was never more nervous than she had been on the very first day of her slave training.

"Just remember everything I've been teaching you, love," Sirinna said as she secured the cuffs to Amanda's wrists.

Amanda swallowed and nodded, her heart pounding. She noted that even Sirinna's voice sounded tinged with excitement and concern. She drew in a deep breath and let it go, though it did little to calm her.

It was the halfway point until the Conclave. For the past week, Sirinna had been holding the morning half of her training in their shared quarters. This was when she had her submissiveness training. Today was the first day she would be taken to the Circle and demonstrate what she had learned.

Sirinna finished securing the locks on the cuffs and gave the chain a gentle tug. Amanda swiftly turned around, keeping her eyes forward and steady. A small smile came to her trainer's lips. Amanda had been doing very well the past few days. She had not slipped once. She had done everything she had been told without complaint. Sirinna had been amazed at the resolve that Amanda had shown.

Yet she knew that morning would be the true test of that resolve.

"I cannot hold back Marisa any longer," Sirinna said in a more somber tone of voice.

"I know, mistress," Amanda said evenly.

"She'll be there today. She'll likely be your mistress during this test."

Amanda took a deep breath and let it go, closing her eyes briefly. She did this every time she felt the urge to say something out of line. It was generally enough to let the impulse pass.

"Do you need me to go over anything with you? Do you want me to ..."

Amanda shook her head. "No, mistress. Let's ... let's just do this."

Sirinna raised a hand to her trainee's cheek. Amanda managed a small smile.

"I'm very proud of you," Sirinna said softly. "You're really coming through for me."

Amanda's smile widened a touch, but there was a lingering, tired look to her eyes. The last week had been far more intense than she had thought it would be. It was not so much the submissiveness training in the morning as it was the sexual training in the afternoon. The former left her drained emotionally and the latter physically. She had not had any energy to make love with Sirinna in the evenings. Most of the time, she fell asleep, curled up against her lover's body.

Sirinna gave the chain a light snap. Amanda dutifully fell into place ahead of her mistress, and both headed out the door and into the sunlight.

Amanda knew why she was so nervous. It was not just the act of doing this in front of the others, or even the fact that it would give Marisa carte blanche to torture her. It was that this would be a final acknowledgment of her station. As Sirinna started her submissiveness training, it dawned on her that she had yet to truly accept what she had become. This would be a final acceptance, and everyone would know it. There would be no way for her to deny it in her own mind any longer.

There was another reason as well. Normally, a test of this sort was simply one of many that a Trainee undertook. To "fail" one was acceptable. But not now. Not when the Overlord was to depend on her during the Presenting at the Conclave. Amanda could not afford to fail it.

Amanda's breath caught in her throat as the Circle came into view. The crowd of slaves that had come to watch was the largest she had ever seen. Roquan's presence was not a surprise; the rather sour expression on his face was.

There was no way for Amanda to know that the Overlord was still seething at the Mage and that it had nothing to do with her. She swallowed once, and set her face to as neutral an expression as she could manage.

Sirinna had explained this test to her. This was going to simulate Amanda being given to a contracted client. Sirinna would act in the role of an Overlord's representative, the one that delivered the slave to the client, and Marisa would be the client.

Just as Amanda stepped into the Circle, Sirinna snapped her chain once. She came to an immediate stop. Sirinna silently released her from the cuffs, and then detached the chain.

Sirinna leaned over and whispered into Amanda's ear, "We've arrived."

Amanda's heart thumped. The test had started.

She looked towards Marisa. The woman stood with her arms folded, her eyes set in a manner very reminiscent of Roquan, hard and cool. Her mouth was drawn tight, as if already in disapproval.

Sirinna lay her hand behind Amanda's neck and urged her forward.

Amanda kept her eyes level with Marisa's chilly gaze. This was the first part, a sort of Presenting. She had to maintain eye contact, to show that she had no fear of accepting her place as her client's new slave. This was the hardest part for her. She struggled to keep her gaze steady and unwavering, and to push any pejorative thoughts of Marisa from her mind. If Marisa was playing her role true to form, she could reject Amanda right then and there just from what she saw in the slave's eyes.

Sirinna gave Amanda's neck a gentle squeeze to stop her, some six feet before Marisa.

Amanda suppressed the urge to sigh in relief. Instead, she remembered herself, and slowly lowered her eyes and folded her hands demurely in front of her, her legs held close together. It was then she realized she was trembling. She had to hope that Marisa would not call her out on that.

"This is your new slave," Sirinna intoned. "Owned by Master Roquan D'ronstaq, but bound to you and to your bidding. Use her as you see fit. May she bring you great pleasure. Treat her well."

Sirinna removed her hand from Amanda's neck and stepped back.

Amanda took one last deep breath. Slowly, and without raising her eyes, she dropped to her knees, spread them apart, and turned her hands palm-up on her thighs. She let her breath go as a gentle sigh and waited.

There was silence, save for the gentle breath of the wind through the trees. It blew some locks of her hair before her eyes and tickled the side of her nose. She did not move. She could not move, not until she was commanded. She had to wait until her mistress made her desires known.

Finally, she heard soft movement in the grass. Her mistress was walking a slow circle around her. Amanda felt her heart pound, and her breath quickened. She closed her eyes briefly and forced herself to breathe normally.

Marisa stopped somewhere behind her. Amanda just barely held herself from flinching when she felt a single fingertip touch the back of her neck. Nevertheless, a small gasp did escape her lips. It sounded loud to her in the quiet of the Circle.

Marisa traced her finger slowly down Amanda's back, a single, sensual caress that made Amanda quiver. Her breathing grew heavier as it slipped into the crack of her ass and paused, then lifted from her body. She held her breath in the silence that followed.

Finally, she felt Marisa at her sex. Amanda let her breath go as a ragged sigh. She could not keep herself calm any longer. Her breathing became a soft pant as Marisa's finger gently teased her, sliding easily over her dry skin. Her body visibly trembled, and faster than she thought was possible for her, she moistened. Before long, she could hear her folds making gentle, wet sounds as Marisa probed them.

As her pussy grew aroused and slick, Amanda shuddered as she realized something was wrong.

Marisa's finger had been slick before Amanda grew wet. Marisa had something on her finger, some kind of salve. Now it was mixing with her moisture, and a flash of heat spread quickly through her cunt.

Marisa abruptly began rubbing at Amanda's clitoris, now swollen with arousal. Amanda bit her lip to suppress a moan, but a tiny whimper escaped though her nose. She rose quickly, the pressure mounting in her pussy as Marisa stroked her faster. Amanda struggled hard to keep her composure as she began staining at the edge of orgasm.

Marisa's fingers continued to stroke, and Amanda continued to strain. Amanda panted hard, and she realized with dawning horror what Marisa had just done. The salve on her finger had been Hiroxxa. It was the same thing that had been used on Sirinna when Roquan had punished her during the incident with Yanna. It stopped her from achieving climax while she was under its effects.

However, if Amanda thought this was all Marisa would do to her, she was very much mistaken.

Marisa eased off masturbating Amanda with the one hand, only to bring her other one between Amanda's thighs from the front. When her fingertip touched Amanda's womanhood, the girl flinched. Something coated this finger as well! It made Amanda moan in distress as her womanhood felt burning hot for a few moments before slowly subsiding.

Marisa withdrew both hands and stood. Amanda continued to pant as the stimulation in her pussy slowly fell back.

But then, seconds later, it began to rise again.

Amanda's eyes opened wide. Her cunt was on fire and nearly dripping with her arousal. She lost her composure long enough to utter a single, distressed moan. She rose and rose, as if she were being stroked, yet nothing touched her. Her pussy began to strain at the edge of orgasm.

And strain.

And strain.

"Marisa, what did you just use on her?" she heard Sirinna's voice say from behind her.

"Hiroxxa," came Marisa's answer. A pause. "And Porixxa."

"Porixxa? But that's ..."

"And orgasm inducer, I know. I checked with Master Vanlo. The combination is safe."

Amanda never needed to cum so badly in her life. The combination of the inhibitor and inducer was what was making her hover so close to the edge. It was more torturous than pain. Yet somehow she managed to remain in the position. She still had her hands on her thighs, still open, her eyes still cast down before her.

"All I need is to touch her for a few moments, and she will cum. And cum very hard."

Now Marisa crouched down next to her slave. Amanda swallowed, her body shaking.

"Do you want me to make you cum, Amanda?" Marisa whispered hotly into her ear.

Amanda very nearly said the wrong answer. Her mouth even formed the shape of the word. Yet she caught herself at the least moment. "N-no, mistress," she said in a badly strained voice.

"No? Then what do you want?"

"Wh-whatever you w-wish of me, mistress."

"And if I want to keep you like this for the rest of the day?"

Oh my God! Amanda thought, stricken. She pushed this from her mind, viciously quelled the rise of panic in her, and took a breath. "If that is what you w-wish of me, mistress."

"And if I never let you cum?"

Amanda whimpered. She barely held back a sob. "If ... i-if that pleases you, mistress."

There was a long pause. The only sound was that of Amanda's ragged breathing.

When Marisa spoke again, there was an edge to it, as if she were frustrated in her attempt to trip up Amanda. "What will please me is you licking my pussy nice and slowly until I cum. Then you can have your reward."

"Yes, mistress," Amanda said. Finally given a command, she was allowed to look up.

Marisa stepped in front of her, and now her view was filled with wet pussy. Marisa lifted one foot and placed it on a small stool that had been placed near her. She spread her labia with her fingers and moved her hips forward, thrusting her mound at Amanda.

Amanda drew herself up, her hips jerking as her pussy gave a single abortive throb. The strain was almost unbearable. It ached badly, and felt swollen. As she moved, she could feel the sopping wet moisture that had gathered there. A single drop trickled down her thigh as she tilted her head back and applied her tongue to her mistress' pussy.

Despite the terrible need that burned in her nether regions, she moved slowly and methodically. Despite how her body quivered and shook, she kept her mouth steady, her tongue licking Marisa's slot with deep, sensuous strokes. She focused her mind as best as she could, though the occasional whimper escaped from her as her sex briefly flared like it was about to cum, then dropped back very slightly.

Each time it did this, her cunt strained so hard that her hips pulled back and her thighs tensed. She had to struggle to maintain her concentration. She paced herself, quickening her strokes, flicking her tongue more at Marisa's clitoris. It swelled further in arousal to soft moans from Marisa. Amanda massaged the shaft, pressing harder, bringing a shudder of mounting pleasure from her mistress.

Marisa's hand suddenly appeared on the back of Amanda's head and pushed her face into Marisa's pussy. Amanda's body jerked, but she recovered and tilted her head back so she could breathe. She clamped her lips to Marisa's mound and sucked.

"Ohhh ..." Marisa moaned. "Mmm ... yes ..."

Amanda flared again, and her hips bucked. A single throb spasmed in sex, which was straining so hard it hurt. She mashed her face into Marisa's hot pussy until she could barely breathe, licking, sucking, and stroking as hard as she could.

"Uhhh! ... Oh, GODS!"

Marisa gasped, her body shaking as she came, the strength of her orgasm unexpected. It was all she could do to remain standing as it pounded inside her.

This time, Amanda did not make the same mistake she did before. She eased off carefully, bringing Marisa down easily. Marisa's gasps turned to softer moans, and then to sighs of post-orgasmic contentment as Amanda's mouth left Marisa's mound.

Amanda drew back and settled back on her feet. Her thighs momentarily squeezed her swollen pussy. She strained hard, her body tensing painfully for a second, and then crested.

Any composure she had left shattered when her pussy began to throb so hard she could almost hear the spasms, like blood rushing in her ear. Her orgasm was slow, each throb followed by a second or two pause. Her body jerked with each one. Yet somehow she remembered her training. She wanted to touch herself, to stroke her pussy to coax her orgasm along, instead of it coming in slow, powerful pulses that made her see stars at the edges of her vision. Instead, she spread her badly trembling hands over her thighs.

There was a rush of movement. Before Amanda could react, someone had reached between her legs and sank fingers into her pussy. Amanda uttered a shrill cry as her orgasm settled into a more rapid-fire pattern, making her pant and gasp, her body finally going limp at the sweet release. It was only when her climax had faded enough for her to think coherently that she realized it was Sirinna that had rescued her.

"Amanda, that was wonderful," Sirinna gushed softly in Amanda's ear as she gathered the girl into her arms. Amanda moaned and hugged Sirinna tightly, still breathing hard and shaking from her experience. "You did everything right. Didn't she, Marisa?"

Marisa was still catching her breath from her own orgasm. "Yes, Sirinna, she did rather well."

Amanda blinked in surprise. Marisa's tone had sounded sincere. She heard appreciative sounds from the other slaves as well. Amanda let go with a long sigh of relief, and her eyes teared from the intensity of her emotion.

"I'm proud of you, love," Sirinna whispered. "Very proud of you."

Just outside the edge of the Circle, Roquan watched with a thoughtful look on his face. Unlike the others, he could see the mistakes that had been made. He knew Sirinna could as well, but Amanda needed encouragement more than criticism at that point. He was sure Sirinna would help correct them later.

Yet there was no denying that Amanda had improved. Vastly improved. It was as if a different girl were out there. He could still see the traces of defiance in her, the bits of unrestrained fear, but it was much more in control.

There was yet hope that Sirinna would give him the miracle he needed.

Marisa watched silently as Sirinna led Amanda away from the Circle for a short rest.

Amanda had managed to pass the test. Yes, she needed improvement. Yes, she was nowhere near ready to be contracted -- or for that matter, Presented -- but there was no mistaking the improvement.

Moreover, there was no mistaking the determination in Amanda to do the right thing.

Marisa knew of several ways she could have tripped up the girl at the end. She knew it had been within her rights to simply claim that she had not been satisfied with the girl's performance.

And the Overlord had been there! That had been an unexpected bonus! Marisa could have embarrassed Sirinna right in front of Roquan, and shown him that Sirinna was simply not suited to train this girl.

Except that it would have been a lie.

In the short time that Amanda had been in training, she had performed brilliantly. Marisa ultimately did not have the heart to to let her down. No matter how badly Marisa wanted to be a Trainer, it was not worth disparaging such a promising young slave. And there was the simple fact that Sirinna had proved herself to be the best, or at least better than Marisa could have done.

She sighed and turned away from the others, and at her last chance to become a Trainer.

Feedback

Did you like this story? Hate it? Printed it and lined the birdcage with it?

Please take a moment to send me some comments about this story. Your comments may remain anonymous if you prefer, or you can include an email address in your comments if you wish a reply.

Since this is a multi-part story, you may wait until the last chapter to send feedback about the story as a whole if you wish.