The Tournament Read Online Free Page B

women about their experiences. None would even hint at what to expect.
    "The Second Trial isn't about endurance," said the doctor. "To pass, you must make an invitation . It's not enough to submit. You must offer."  
    "That's all?"  
    "That's all."
    "That's a valuable secret," said Ruby.
    "You have a beautiful cunt," said the doctor. "Now, I need to continue my examinations."  
    With one bead on her wrist, and the secret to another, Ruby found it easy to relax and enjoy the King's hospitality. She swam and sported with the other aspirants, she stretched and danced, she tested beauty treatments.  
    She slept better than she ever had in her life.  
    One evening, while Lily fed Ruby supper from her fingers, Ruby kept her hands busy by stroking Lily's lithe body. She caressed Lily's small, pert breasts and nestled one hand between Lily's slim thighs, watching the serving girl's eyes dilate and her lips ripen.  
    Lily moved more and more slowly, pretending to be unmoved.  
    Ruby only knew Lily had come by the clenching of her inner muscles. Quickly, fiercely, Ruby flipped Lily onto her back and held her down, drawing out the orgasm with her tongue while the girl mewled and shivered.
    "Oh, Ruby," said Lily, when she'd caught her breath. "You shouldn't have done that. Now you'll be summoned to your Second Trial in the morning."  
    "You are beautiful and delicious," said Ruby. "And I'm ready."  

3
The Guild Hall

    The next morning, just as Lily had predicted, Ruby was summoned to her Second Trial. She had time to bathe and prepare herself before she and a dozen other girls climbed into carriages lined up in front of the Palace gates. They were taken to a grand edifice of wood and stone. Ruby, who'd grown up in the capital, recognized the Weavers' Guild Hall.  
    The aspirants clambered down from the King's carriages to find the Steward waiting for them at the door.
    "A Kingdom may be built by war, but it thrives on trade," said the Steward. "Morrow is famous not only for our Army, but for our crafts. Our silks and laces, our magework and porcelain. Ambassadors travel for weeks, months, sometimes even years to visit our King. Merchants travel for just as long to view the goods sold at our Guild Halls. If you will carry our King's gratitude to his craftsmen, you may enter."  
    They filed into a dim, low-ceilinged hall. Unlike the open, well-lit tent of the First Trial, the Guild Hall boasted numerous curtained partitions, screened nooks and sheltered corners. The guildsmen had gathered in little groups, and many were so absorbed in conversation that they didn't pause to watch the aspirants disrobe.  
    Ruby ducked behind the other girls to undress. She spotted the Guild Master by his gray hair and the gold chain he wore slung over his tunic. The other men varied widely in age and importance. Journeymen and apprentices, plain men of the kind that Ruby met in the streets every day, had gathered in the same room as grand merchants and skilled master craftsmen.
    And that, Ruby understood, was the challenge. Most of the aspirants Ruby had arrived with lapsed into familiar habits. They knotted into small groups, imitating the guildsmen. They spoke to one another and cast suggestive glances across the room. The bold ones did little more than strike provocative poses.  
    They were citizens, after all. And these men were neighbors.  
    Ruby picked out the poorest, homeliest man present, and walked right up to him. "Will you take me into an alcove?"  
    She held out her hand.
    He turned red and didn't respond immediately. Ruby blushed, sure she'd made a fool of herself, until the homely weaver stood and took her hand.  
    "You are kind," he said. "I'd like that very much."  
    The alcove held a wooden table, two benches to either side, and a leather-upholstered settee.  
    "I know how strange this will sound," said the homely weaver, "but I haven't been with a woman in a long time. It's been years since the last Tournament, and I