President Vispasian Ginger

"I'm sure you all know why I gathered you here today," I said to the group gathered in my room. It was a small group, consisting only of my most trusted friends and advisers. There was Marcelene, the interviewer who always respected me, Cordelia, who owed me her position, Marjoram, who was as happy as she could be to be a Gamemaker, Lumen, who owed me his life, and Draco, my Head Gamemaker. He mattered to me more than anyone else in the room, being the person who trusted me the most and who I could trust the most. All of them could be easily killed, though I didn't want to kill any of them. It would be an easy task to get done, but it would be emotionally destroying.

"Yeah. There's a murderer on the loose and we're all stuck here until someone figures out who it is," Marcelene said, draped over a chair. She was so calm, relaxing when everyone should have been in a time of great stress. I was perfectly composed as always, though I was waiting for a signal from everyone else that I could drop my guard. Marcelene was dropping hers thickly.

"I don't think we have to worry too much. We're safe in the building, no one will dare hurt us, and the Districts won't even care. We'll have to watch the Capitolites, because we don't want mass terror, but it's nothing terrible. We get brownie points for not getting a new tribute, too," Cordelia said, already in pajamas. I sagged after she spoke, ready to drop. There had been many sleepless nights and press conferences, leaving me constantly stuck with a plastered smile while being surrounded by scared citizens. These friends were safe. I could be myself around them.

"I can't imagine someone murdering a tribute, though. One, murderers aren't exactly common. Two, they're gonna die soon anyways. Did someone just really want to kill someone, and did they assume there'd be no repercussions?" Lumen asked, seeming confused and tense. Maybe he was worried someone would come after him, too. After all, he had been a tribute, and that was all we had to go off of.

"They probably assumed there'd only be minimal repercussions. Or perhaps they have a choice Victor, and there were worried Raven would get in the way. It's likely someone with ties to Seven who wanted Yvette to have a better chance," Draco said, serious and calm as ever. He rarely relaxed, though he was untensing a little as I did. I had ordered candies and cookies, though they remained untouched, and the drinks we had on the table were just as full as they had come.

"We have to stay on the lookout. Honestly, I'm not too worried about why it happened yet. I need to know how and who. You know how rarely I'm at a loss. I can't imagine any Capitolite being unhappy enough to kill a tribute for a thrill, except the few Hunters. I know it wasn't Icykill, because he's already been thoroughly investigated. His tracker shows he was nowhere near the Games Building at the time, and it shows no signs of having been tampered with," I said, trying to get conversation back on track. I could worry about why later. I had to get things fixed before I could look at the rest.

"I mean, let's sit back and look at this for a second. A tribute was murdered, but Raven wasn't going to live anyways. He was deathly ill even without the Games. Yes, murder is a big deal, but it's not an important one. I think we could all use a break, and I think we all need to calm down. Paise, with all due respect and all that, you haven't slept in days. You've chugged more caffeine this week than I've had in years. You're a mess. What if we relax for the night and meet back up together?" Marjoram said, making a series of fair points. She was so right.

"Come on, Vi. How about we talk about supply placements during the Games for a second? And I need to set up my toothbrush," Draco said, escorting me to the bathroom. He didn't care about supply placement and I knew it. He was just getting me alone.

The second I was in the bathroom, I collapsed into Draco's arms. We had always been totally platonic. I had never had a relationship, and to the best of my knowledge, I could have been a lesbian. I had never considered anything. I did know, though, that Draco was a good hugger. He wanted to get me alone so I could collapse and cry for a second without anyone other than my most trusted person in the world knowing about it. And he hugged me. He squeezed me tightly into his body and let me sob quietly, turning the fan on full power so no one could hear it.

"It's falling apart. This has never happened. Am I too lenient?" I finally asked, pulling away. I was crazy lenient for someone who did a murder game every year. I let tributes escape. I let tributes live. I quietly watched rebellions fizzle on their own. Should I have done more? Some people said it was necessary.

"No. You're not. Nobody could have seen a murder coming. The Districts haven't done anything about this. The Keats are annoyed, but they aren't trying to start anything. We're not worried at all, and you shouldn't be, either. Now, let's go back out there. You're going to be an idiot, we're going to eat way too much whipped cream, and you're going to look happy. Then I'm going to force you to get at least eight hours of sleep before tomorrow." Draco's words soothed me just a little. I knew he was telling me the truth. He wouldn't lie to relax me; I was the president. I had to know what was happening. I settled into his arms for one last hug before fixing my makeup and walking back into the living room.

"What say you we watch a comedy?" I asked the room, plopping down onto the couch. Draco and Lumen settled down beside me, Cordelia, Marcelene, and Marjoram sitting on a different couch. We ordered popcorn from an Avox, and I ignored the kissy faces Marcelene made at Draco and me while we waited. It didn't matter if I got teased. Draco and Lumen were two friends I would always trust.

Someone said we needed more view of the subplot, so here we gooooooooo! Just a little bit about how Ginger's handling all this madness.