In a large, extravagant room with bright pink curtains, and gilded furniture, a young woman sat leaning against a chair.
There was a knock on the door.
"Come in."
The door opened slightly and a thin man scurried over to the woman.
"Madame."
"Is it done?" the woman asked, anticipation filling her voice.
"Not yet."
"Did you see YanLi there?"
The man smiled. "No, Madame."
The woman laughed. "So she does fear for her life! Good!"
"In fact, the security guard said that Ms Grover threw the Application Letter away."
"Threw it away?" the woman asked with a laugh. "So Andrew would have no one to even represent him this year? Oh! Strigus, what a piece of good news!"
The man nodded.
The woman leaned back, twirling her hair on her fingers.
"Madame...what if Mr Bailey brings in a substitute?"
The woman raised an eyebrow. "Strigus, YanLi threw away her Letter. It was the only way to get someone else to apply for the post. Strigus, am I not smart?"
He nodded. "You are Madame."
She smiled coyly. "Aren't I."
Strigus nodded and then bowed. "If you will excuse me, Madame. I will go see how the young Miss is doing."
The woman waved him away.
She watched him walk away and sighed.
She grabbed a pillow from the bed and petted the hem. "Strigus...my lovely Strigus...why can't you see my heart? How are you different from Andrew if you keep ignoring me?"
She pressed the pillow to her breasts, a manic look in her eyes. "If you dare betray me, I will personally burn you to ashes Strigus."
The man leaning against the door on the outside suppressed a shiver.
There were certain things he didn't want to go through...
His eyes fell on the pale yellow ring that hung near his heart. "I tolerate for you, Richelle. Only for you."
The ring shined in the midday sun.
He walked away from the heavy double door with a soft smile, feeding the birds.
In a far off distant city, with four golden towers, a blonde woman sat in a luxurious garden.
"YanLi," a deep voice called.
The woman stilled.
"Is it true?"
The woman looked up.
The man had a long face and sharp eyes, his hair a fiery red.
"Mr Bailey."
The man gave her a mocking smile. "So it's Bailey now."
She sighed. "I did what I had to."
The man snorted. "Fine."
He turned to leave.
"Andrew, I hope you can forgive me....and stop making powerful enemies."
He turned back and gave her a mocking smile. "Go to hell!"
He stormed off.
YanLi closed her eyes. Tears fell.
Andrew walked fast out of the large gate.
There was a flash. A magic circle appeared in front of him.
A man stepped out from it.
"Strigus."
The man smiled. "Mr Bailey."
Andrew sighed. "What do you want?"
"Your form was registered."
Andrew looked at him in shock.
"A girl named Freya Wang."
"How?"
Strigus shrugged. "Fate...luck...who knows. But I don't know about her chance of success."
Andrew smiled. "I know how to give her a chance for it."
He took a copper card out of its pocket and supplied the magic circles drawn in it with power.
The card flashed and disappeared.
"So what if YanLi refused," Andrew said. "Fate has given me a substitute."
Strigus nodded.