She stood by the sliding glass door peering into the vast expanse of her garden with a glass of wine in hand. She could see no rustling of leaves, no animals scurrying in the shadows of the trees and bushes. The night was quiet. Perhaps too quiet.

Raising the glass to her eyes, she swirled its contents and watched as deep crimson kissed the inside of the crystal. Her face partially reflected in the glass was frozen in a cold stare. It'd been awhile since she'd send out the dark witch after the doctor, had told her to bring with her one of the Wakwak maids so she could quickly send word should things 'change'. She of course was the only one who knew about her own suspicions. But to question her was something her blind followers wouldn't do. Too scared of her they were. And while she was grateful at certain moments much like the present for such loyalty, she still thought they were too gullible, their brains tiny dead weights inside their heads.

She emptied the contents of her glass, the slightly sour and bitter taste offering a familiar comfort to her simmering annoyance as it coated her tongue and down to her throat. Were smart and capable creatures really too much to ask? What did a powerful woman such as herself have to do to get results when she needed them?

Suppressing a sigh she walked towards the long glass table behind her, setting the empty glass down with an audible 'clink' that echoed in the otherwise empty mansion. A single lamp offered her a dim orange light but the darkness didn't scare her.She was one with it. No creature, not even Elementals, could ever claim they were free of it. Did they not live in the shadows of the human race? There could only be darkness where they hid. Only pits of endless blackness where they chose to deny what they were and what they were capable of.

She sat herself at one of the table, resting her shoulder blades on the high backrest of the mahogany chair. There was no room for such pointless musings, she thought, not when she was a hair away from getting her hands on some answers. It could only be good news, she was sure, there was no point in nursing any worries. She'd gotten word of the girl from a reliable source, one that would prick the ego of those damned Alliance Leaders if they knew. One reckless remark from that person had set off alarm bells in her head. There could be no mistaking it - the doctor was the one she'd been looking for. All she needed was confirmation.

"M-Madam."

The woman turned her head to the right at the sound of the nervous whisper, dark curls slightly obscuring her view. She eyed the fidgeting maid in unflattering common clothes, annoyance fraying her emotions again.

"What?" she said sharply, which made the younger woman flinch. They were all genuinely afraid of her, she thought, even those under her direct employ. Perhaps even more than the others for they usually got the worst of her foul moods.

"I-I got word from the witch j-just now." She watched her wring her hands in front of her, her eyes darting everywhere, never meeting her gaze.

Her eyes widened a fraction, glinting with subtle excitement. There it was finally, some news. She doubted she could muster another ounce of patience. If her pathetic minion had made her wait another hour she would've surely found herself responsible for another dead body.

"Well?" she said, her tone still even, though inside she could feel a touch of restlessness. If only the idiot standing in front of her could speak a lot faster. Most of her maids were lowly Wakwaks and the girl was no different. Why she kept plenty of them with her was for their ability to communicate with each other from miles away. A telepathic bond she'd always been envious of. The deeper their relationship between two of their kind, the longer the distance they could maintain contact. The girl's sister, in that particular case, was the one who'd gone with the witch to cover the long distance between her abode and the hospital in the capital.

The young maid then went on relaying information and with every word the older woman's face seemed to brightened. Something changed in her expression, however subtle. Perhaps it was a slight upturning of her red lips, or the fact that her dark eyes had started to glimmer with something akin to anticipation, the girl couldn't tell. She held her tongue when she finally finished, finding herself wanting to ask. But it wouldn't do her any good if she did, that much she understood. Their mistress' thoughts were but her own and to ask was to pry, something the older woman was sure to take offense to.

"Very well," the woman said, and gave the girl orders for her to relay to the dark witch. She then dismissed her with a wave of her hand, but not before she told her to have another maid fetch her a bottle of her finest Sauvignon.

Leaning over the table she reached for her empty glass, letting it slide across the clean surface as she pulled it towards her. Her fingers tapped rhythmically on its base as finally a cynical smile crept on her face.

She was right. Of course she was! Finally she would get what she wanted. Twenty five years had indeed been too long, but the waiting would end soon, she knew it would. There would be nothing to get in her way, not anymore, and her power surged in her blood in response to the delightful thought.

A different maid in a similarly despicable set of clothes shuffled into the room. In her arms she cradled the bottle their mistress had sent for, which she placed on the table as gentle as she could with her shaking hands.

The woman darted her eyes to the new girl, who flinched harder than the previous one when she made the mistake of meeting the sharp gaze. The girl didn't move to depart though, seemingly expecting to be given another task, which only brought back a bit of the annoyance in the woman who raised an eyebrow at the petrified expression.

She watched the girl scamper back to whatever depressing part of the mansion she'd come from and shook her head. She told herself to remember the reasons she had to endure such torture of surrounding herself with useless creatures to push the ill feelings back. She needed to relax. It wouldn't be long before she could reap what she'd sowed.

Getting back her better mood came easier as the smell of expensive wine wafted in the air the moment she pulled off the loosened cork. At least they remembered to uncork the thing before they gave it to her. But she should stop with such thoughts, there were greater and more important things to ponder on.

A soft laugh escaped her lips as she relished in the feeling of accomplishment heightened by the wonderful taste of sour grapes. She knew there were still many things to plan, so much intricacies she needed to consider. But at the moment she somehow felt the need to celebrate first. The planning could wait for one more night. She'd already waited years. Surely no harm could come out of it.

For a second time that night, the woman let herself smile.

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A/N: Been to distracted by many things and life in general. Haha. Hope you guys liked this one. 
It's simply meant to give a glimpse of what's happening 'on the other side' (so to speak). :)