Behind the Curtain

Deep in the bowels of the castle, where nobody would ever wander unintentionally, Scarlet let herself into her office and made sure the door was properly closed before allowing her facade to fall away. The cocky smile slipped from her face. Her eyes dimmed. Her shoulders sagged.

The opening ceremony had been a lot of fun to plan, and a lot of fun in the moment too, but it had also been exhausting even for someone with Scarlet’s supernatural energy. There was so much going on, with so many background details to keep track of. Very specific wording to use in certain places, to set up for later reveals. Managing nine conflicting egos to stoke the drama, but not so much drama that it caused any long term problems. Always having to be ready with a quip at the optimal moment, to keep things entertaining. It was draining, even for someone who enjoyed it.

“How's that for ‘interesting’, you faceless bastard?” she spat rhetorically, knowing her Producer could hear but not particularly caring about any response.

Scarlet had no memories of any of her own previous seasons, but she still knew about other Hosts and what they were up to. Maybe this new season might not be up there with the best of the best, but it was at least as good as some of the decent ones. Probably. Hopefully. Whatever the case, if that whole mess wasn’t ‘interesting’ enough to avoid being unmade then she should probably just accept she was no good at hosting anyway.

Taking a deep breath and perking up slightly, the phoenix wandered through the endless bookshelves to her desk, then sat down heavily into the black chair. A single leatherbound book, titled Harem Hotel: Storytelling Edition, was front and centre on the desktop, and she opened it cautiously to begin reading at the first page.

A prologue about Scarlet’s meeting with the Producer took up the first chapter, which annoyed her slightly. It wouldn’t have been her choice of ways to begin the story, but at least it served as a bit of an intro to her as a Host, and to the concept of the season itself. The cast introductions came next. Lots of good drama there, catching them all at a low point in their lives. Seeing the first hints of the second chances they would need to earn. They were a varied bunch, but had a surprising amount in common under the surface. It might take them a while to find those commonalities though.

The rules explanations had gone well, and the Host read and reread her own words to make extra sure she had got everything correct; even the bits she had deliberately avoided saying. The popularity poll, well she couldn’t have chosen better results for that if she’d tried, and it had generated some really fun roommate combinations.

The transformation ceremony had been Scarlet’s favourite bit, but also the most difficult. It was the part where she got to really show off as a Host, but also for this cast it was the part where she’d needed to start focusing hard on the individual approaches needed for each person.

Matt was probably the easiest. Just a bit of poking and prodding, keeping him from being too passive. Setting his protectiveness against his possessiveness; the core conflict he’d have to struggle with, and the one that would ultimately determine whether the season got lighter or darker over time.

Sarah, and the Audience, had fallen right into the trap. Her new body wasn’t a fix for her problems, and it probably wouldn’t be long until she figured that out. She was incredibly thankful to Scarlet for now, but would that hold when she realised that there was a world of difference between what she wanted and what she needed?

Max was risky. If she was allowed to just throw herself at Matt then she’d quickly end up with an insurmountable lead, but there were a couple of factors that should hopefully prevent that: Matt’s personality, and Max’s opinion of herself.

Eleanor would need to get used to not getting what she wanted if she was going to get anywhere in this competition. Then, if she learned that lesson in time, she’d get the chance to get used to getting too much of what she wanted.

Emma was the furthest along in her arc at this early point. She already knew what her problem was, especially after all of Scarlet’s mocking insults. She even knew what to do about it. The only step left was the most difficult one: actually making the change she knew she needed, and sticking to it in the long-term.

Poppy had the hardest job, aside from Scarlet herself, filling multiple roles simultaneously. She was there to nudge Emma along in her development, to **** Matt to do some introspection, and to give Chrissy a dose of humility. If she played those roles well, then the only uncertainty was whether anyone would figure out how to protect her from elimination before it was too late.

Grace was a tightrope act. Scarlet had to be the villain for her, more than any of the others, because if she wasn’t angry at the Host then she could end up being terrified of her Master instead. She had to be taunted with reminders of her trauma so she didn’t fall prey to it. So that, hopefully, she could begin to grow past it.

April was another risk. She’d be slower to get started than Max, but her VP score could accelerate very quickly once she got comfortable with herself and her varied desires. It would probably take a while before that happened though, and hopefully by the time she got there she’d be able to drag some of the others along with her enthusiasm.

Finally, there was Chrissy. What a mess. Scarlet had known that the bully had further to go to earn her second chance than any of the others, but to show up and almost immediately begin hurling slurs around? Insulting the Master and the Harem? Physically attacking the Host after being warned that there would be consequences? Admittedly, she’d been deliberately taunted into the last one, but she still made for a hell of a redemption story. Maybe too much of a redemption story, though that was ultimately up to Chrissy herself.

After that was the tour. A few more bits of very precise wording. A few hints of what might be coming up. The mind goblins, and Eleanor walking so perfectly face-first into the joke. The bedrooms, with some extremely interesting assignments given the hidden effects of those rooms. The effects were subtle, but as Scarlet read on through the first night she could already see some early signs. Hopefully the Audience would take a while to figure them out. Hopefully the Contestants would take even longer.

Scarlet turned a page, then her yellow eyes went wide and her freckled cheeks went pale. “Oh no...” she muttered as she read about herself entering the office. “No no no!” She stood to lean over the book, skimming frantically ahead as her thoughts were laid out in bare ink. “This wasn’t supposed to make it into the story! The Audience weren’t supposed to know all that already! Why is this...” She blinked, and stared off into the distance at nothing in particular. “This is because I called you a faceless bastard, isn't it?” she surmised, entirely correctly, then looked back down.

Seeing the answer to her question appear on the page, Scarlet sat back with a heavy sigh, pinching the bridge of her nose, thinking hard even though there was no possible way that someone like her could outsmart her Producer. After a moment of useless contemplation, she sat forward again to continue reading.

“Who says I’m trying to outsmart you? I’m just trying to come up with a plan for damage control now you’ve spoiled a bunch of stuff for the Audience,” she said petulantly.

Again, Scarlet’s eyes tracked the words as they filled in across the page.

“Petulantly?” she cried out, throwing a childish tantrum, “Tantrum?! I...” She took a deep breath and tried to calm herself down. “Look, maybe it’s not so bad, okay? They only saw some vague outlines. There’s no major spoilers. I can get the story back on track, and we can consider it foreshadowing. But you can’t keep making me look incompetent like this!” she said idiotically, against all evidence to the contrary.

The insults continued to flow and the rude and unprofessional Scarlet wisely shut her mouth, considering her next words very carefully.

“I’m sorry I called you a faceless bastard,” she said through gritted teeth as she finally got the point, “Now please stop interfering in my season.”

The Host grabbed her quill and drew a horizontal line across the page, ending the scene immediately.

The bedroom of the Master suite was empty, and silent aside from the sounds of running water and rapid hyperventilation that drifted through from the bathroom. Matt had only intended to splash some water on his face, but had ended up white-knuckle-gripping the edges of the sink and red-eyed-staring at his reflection as he struggled against the tightness in his chest and the circular thoughts spinning chaotically through his mind. He hadn’t shed a tear, though maybe it would have been better if he could.

“Oh for fuck’s sake!” Scarlet exclaimed, loud and frustrated, gesticulating wildly as she walked through the doorway, “If it isn't one problem it's another. I specifically asked for a Master without trauma! There’s enough trauma in your harem already.”

“Well if I wasn’t traumatised before then I am now!” Matt snapped, too focused on his own reflection to be surprised by the short but brightly-coloured woman appearing out of nowhere.

Scarlet paused. Narrowed her eyes. Pointed her quill at the Master through the mirror. “What do you mean you are now?”

“You... You’ve put me in a situation where I... need to get eight women to sleep with me... or they’ll get twisted beyond recognition,” he ground out between panting breaths, his arms shaking as he squeezed down until he felt like he was bruising his own fingers, “Eight! Not to mention one hates me and one’s gay. How the fuck am I going to manage anything consensual with them?” His grip slowly loosened, though the shaking continued. When he continued it was in a low mumble, barely audible beyond his gasping. “I could barely even manage it with the woman I married. Not for the last five years.”

The Host looked on with a faint smile fixed on her face, though the quill betrayed the feelings below the mask as it twitched anxiously in her grip. She let Matt slump, his breathing slowing slightly as the panic attack faded into depression.

“Nobody said it had to be consensual,” she pointed out with deliberate timing.

Matt’s breath hitched. His shoulders tensed. The shaking intensified as yet more adrenaline flooded his system. “Well I’m saying it!” he said in a dangerous growl, then lifted his head to glare at the smiling Host.

“There’s the dragon,” she said, nodding with soft approval, “Hold onto that feeling, you’ll need it. Now sit yourself down before you collapse.”

A blank stare was the only response she got. Matt just stood there, still shaking with overstimulated nerves and misfiring muscles.

“Go on, take a seat,” Scarlet prompted again, “You want to sit on the toilet, or do you think you can make it to the bed?”

“What do you want from me?” Matt croaked out, instead of doing either of those things.

“I want you to tell an interesting story,” she said, as though the answer was obvious, “But an interesting story does not involve you falling over and splitting your head open on the tiles because you can barely stand, and if I try and catch you we'll just both end up on the floor. Now: sitting down in here, or are you stable enough to get to bed?”

Another blank stare, but this time it ended with Matt slowly shuffling past the Host and making his way to the enormous bed in the other room. He sat down on the edge, heavier than his thin frame had any right to be, rested his elbows on his knees and cradled his head in his hands. As soon as he was safely out of sight, Scarlet grimaced at herself in the vacated mirror, narrowly avoided swearing out loud, then rubbed her hands over her face before following. By the time she sat casually beside the Master, she was the picture of calm confidence.

“So what’s up then?” she asked brightly, “Lay it on me, Matty.”

“Why do you even care?” he demanded back at her, not lifting his head or answering the question.

“Because you’re ruining my plans, Matt,” Scarlet sighed melodramatically, “The tension in this season was meant to come from whether you could successfully navigate your harem’s various issues, not whether or not you’d have a panic attack.”

“Well I’m sorry I didn’t live up to your expectations,” he spat, “I never do. If you really knew all about me like you claimed, then you’d know that already. You’d know that I can’t do this.”

Scarlet winced, but quickly set her face back into a gentle smile when Matt finally lifted his head to look at her. His expression was haunted. Hollow. The look of a man crumbling under the pressure.

“Of course you can do this,” she scoffed as her thoughts whirled behind the mask, “It wouldn’t be much of a story if I set you up to fail, would it?” Her voice turned slightly, unintentionally, pleading at the end of the question, and she cleared her throat before continuing. “Look, I’m the antagonist but I’m not your enemy.”

“What’s the difference?” Matt asked distrustfully.

“I’m here to make the story interesting,” she explained, picking her words with care and attention, “I’m not here to make you miserable, or to ruin people’s lives. I might make things difficult for you, but never impossible,” she paused, steeled herself, and sat forward, “...and just this once, I can give you a bit of help to get you on your way.”

“What kind of help?” The distrust was still there, but coloured with cautious interest. The odd direction of the conversation had at least broken him out of his downward spiral.

“Some hints,” Scarlet began, “Firstly, do some reading. You have access to every season of Harem Hotel ever written, and all the ones still in progress. They’re all different: some a bit lighter, some much darker, different story concepts and different methods of assigning points, but enough similarities that you can get an idea of how these things can go. There’s a few by the bed to get you started.” Scarlet gestured towards the nightstand, and watched Matt closely until she was sure the advice had sunk in.

“Okay, reading,” he nodded slowly, “I can do that. What else?”

Scarlet relaxed a little, her smile softening as it became clear that her ploy was working. “The other hint is that everyone here has the same two things in common, not including the whole second chances theme. One of those things is going to make it harder for you, but if you can figure it out then that knowledge will help you turn this into something beautiful. The other is going to make it easier, and when you figure that one out then you’ve pretty much won.”

“Things in common,” Matt muttered, his brow furrowing as he thought through everything he knew about the Contestants, “Where do I even start with that?”

“You’ve already started,” the Host said dismissively, “You just need to go through some character development first before you can recognise the signs for what they are. Don’t feel bad about it though; the Audience have been explicitly told one of those two things, and I bet they didn’t even notice.”

“How’s that supposed to help me then, if I can’t do anything about it yet?” Matt frowned, frustrated. Scarlet relaxed the rest of the way. Frustrated was fine. She could work with frustrated.

“Good luck figuring that out, Matty,” Scarlet gave a lopsided grin and sprang to her feet, “See you in the morning.”

The Host swaggered away, back towards the en suite, but when she stepped through the doorway it was her office that greeted her on the other side of it. She looked around, making sure she was on her own again (aside from the omnipresent Producer), before slumping backwards and letting the back of her head bang repeatedly against the closed door.

“Fuck me, that was close,” she muttered to herself tiredly.

When the Scarlet had read the paragraph about Matt’s panic attack she had nearly had one herself, and it was only now that she was realising just how badly the research team had underestimated his issues, and how precarious his mental state must have been after all the pressure she had been heaping on him since his arrival. She’d had to resort to revealing yet more things the Audience wasn’t supposed to know yet, but at least she had been able to manage it carefully and foreshadow rather than outright spoiling, though the foreshadowing was so dense by now it was practically a solar eclipse.

“Alright, that’s enough of this nonsense for tonight,” she grumbled, letting her eyes drift closed, “Let’s just skip to the morning.”

The Host snapped her fingers and ended the chapter.