[CG] death in a fruitbasket :: vips

Money means nothing to me if it can't have a name attached. Princeton. Unfortunately for Harvey Nashe, his last name doesn't get included in my famed persona. In a few years, he'll have little to do with my life. Poor guy's fatal flaw is that he's too shy to find the right person for him. Even his early wife, fifty years his elder, got everything she wanted from him and a laugh to go with it. It's amusing, though, how he never questions my absence. Investing is what I tell him that I do, gambling is what he assumes I mean. Gives me money for it as well, thinking I'm too embarrassed to use what Cash Baby left to me in his will. Two hundred thousand dollars a week is what he gives me. It's a bit generous, sure, but generosity happens when a scared middle-aged man is desperate to cling to the last chance he's got at pure joy.

But back to the investment-- Castle Game. It's been in the works for a while now. But financing the ordeal has been a challenge. Helping to pay for the lot, the lovely host Holly Slaughter, the crew, the production, and of course the prize money for the contestants. My contributions have amassed upwards of five million at this point. Who's generous now?

Slaughter's cheery disposition and a pair of kisses greet me at the grand entrance. It all looks pristine. Of course, any VIP Lounge in the Capitol should be. My fingers immediately find their way to a glass of champagne being held up timidly by one of the avoxes. "Oh, Holly! Harvey Nashe would be a rotting corpse in a place like this." She knows my secrets well enough that I feel comfortable making that joke. What power does she really have, as a reality television host and personality? She's eager for stardom just like yours truly. "This place looks heavenly! Of course, we might have to paint the walls and change some tones in the furniture. I was hoping for a sexier vibe in here." Keeping Holly on her toes, I whisper a promise for lengthy screentime in her ear. "Maybe when next season begins production, it'll be something we consider a bit more."

I take off my coat and throw it into a guard's arms. Avoxes are one thing to have power over, but these guards, from the districts themselves I hear, introduce an incredibly exciting power dynamic. They can fight back, talk back. If they're stupid enough to, that is.

My glass of champagne is already empty, I wave on the avox with the platter to come closer. Two more for now, I whisper, but tell her not to go too far.

The front row seat is empty and I take it, laying on my stomach and kicking my legs up. "Now, where are all the men! I'd hate to watch all alone for the big day."

Harv could never offer me love, excitement, passion. And for tonight, he's just a rotting corpse.

"Oh Grimsby," and her voice is always a cross between a sigh and a shout, "this is so exciting!"

Wear red, her father almost had a fit before they left the house so she opted for a dark shade of rose. Close enough, she had shrugged, giving Grimsby a matching bow-tie to boot. "Well I like it," she had whispered with a giggle to her silent friend, looping her arm in his as the carriage approached their home. "We look dashing!"

They sat now in the most bizarre room, far too colourful for what Amelia was used to. Some had shrieked on her arrival - "Lola! Lola!" - and she had beamed, playing the part, waving with her right hand and keeping Grimsby linked in her other. Some looked strangely at her, treating an Avox like an equal, one even asked who he was. "This is Grimsby!" she had frowned, unsure why anyone would question the company she kept. "He's my best friend!"

It got a little tiring explaining herself sometimes, so she was grateful for the couches and the opportunity to slouch dramatically as she waved back at Miss Mortem. Familiar faces, this was nice!

"I've got no idea what this is all about, but that's the fun of it - right?" blinks once, twice, unknowing deer in headlights. "What's your lucky number? Let's make a bet!"

And she laughed, stars in her eyes and an Avox by her side.

Player 018, eliminated.

Princeton keeps an eye on all of the players as they make their way through the first game. With every death, a light flickers away like a stage light losing power. It's truly gruesome, the way that he can hear the sizzling sounds of burning flesh from the balcony stands above in the viewing lounge. Game Makers should take notes! Killing one another is so stale, even if that is the point of the Hunger Games.

Player 012, eliminated.

"Holly's production here. It. Does. Not. Miss!" Princeton worried, initially, about the "Castle Game" and its success in Saturn City. How well might it compete with the Hunger Games as its rival killing machine? He finds himself impressed, though, as the numbers dwindle from eighteen to sixteen in just a few minutes' time.

Player 014, eliminated.

Fifteen, even!

He's sitting up now, leaning with his elbows on his knees. Antsy and weary of his surroundings, Princeton Nashe wants to remain hidden from the public eye. Harv is a humanitarian, and privately against the practice of killing the Districts' children. If he sees his husband sponsoring a murder spree, there's no telling how he might react. Princeton's attached to Harvey in every way but bone, for now. He doesn't need the rich idiot's money, he just wants it. He scans the ceiling. Cameras all over. Probably for the conceited ones who want their faces plastered on the advertisements for the Capitol's newest prestige event.

Can't have that. Nope. Princeton takes out his notepad and jots down a reminder to tell Holly to restrict camera angles toward his seating area.

For now, though, he orders a couple of avoxes on either side of him on the sofa. They will block the camera's view of his profile. "How grateful are you two to be in here rather than in there?" He lets out a laugh. He kicks his legs up atop the thighs of one avox and leans back on the other as support.

Player 002, eliminated.

Four down, fourteen to go. Despite the first game coming to a close, Princeton remains in his place, relaxing with the two gentlemen by his side. Harvey isn't expecting him back for another few hours, at least. Beyond that, there's bound to be more drama before the day's completion.

Princeton would love nothing more than to soak it all in.