Tegryn's sister Mei had a job of her own to do. It was almost a week since Tegryn's surprise visit, and since then she'd been trying to find Pui Yin to talk to her, just as her brother had asked. Unfortunately, she had had no luck so far - Pui Yin was nowhere to be seen. Perhaps she had left the village for a while? After all, she was rather upset by the whole affair, so it wouldn't surprise her.
Mei was wrong.
Pui Yin had in fact been keeping tabs on Mei, shadowing her every move, trying to get some clues so she could find out where Tegryn was now living and what his real connection is with Musa and the other 'witches'.
But Mei was determined to find Pui Yin, and so had left her house half an hour early to wait patiently outside her door. Sure enough, no sooner had she arrived, Pui Yin stepped outside ready to carry out her own day's work.
"Pui Yin! I'm so glad I found you at last!"
Pui Yin gulped when she saw Mei walking towards her.
"Where have you been Pui? I've been trying to catch up with you all week. Have you been out of the village?"
"Erm, out of the village, yes. I, you know, just wanted some time away after what happened."
"That's actually what I need to talk to you about. I want to talk to you about my brother. I guess you still love him."
"I do, but I don't understand - why doesn't he love me any more?"
"He does love you as a friend..."
"No, I mean why doesn't he LOVE me? Why did he leave me for this Musa girl?"
"When he got lost all those years ago, he tried so hard to find his way back to you but he couldn't. After a year or two, he was on the other side of the world and he had given up all hope of ever seeing you again. It upset him greatly at first, but he accepted it reluctantly and moved on. Soon after that Musa saved his life, and they quickly fell in love."
"But we were so in love. How could he just turn his back on me? How could he hate me like this?"
"He doesn't hate you, he still wants to be friends - that's why he's asked me to talk with you. He hated having to fight you. He felt bad enough hurting you emotionally, the thought of hurting you physically as well made him feel sick. That's why he held back against you in the tournament. If he was facing anyone else, they would've been flat on their back in five seconds. Please, don't think that he hates you."
"So why is this 'Musa' girl so special? What's she got that I haven't?"
"She's a... no, you wouldn't believe me if I told you."
"Believe what? Come on, tell me. Is she a witc..."
But before Pui Yin could finish her question, the two girls were interrupted.
"Mei! Mei! Over here!"
They turned around to see who was shouting. Mei's eyes lit up when she saw who it was.
"Mirta!"
She ran forward and gave her a hug, before looking over at her companion - a grand, kind looking old lady with grey bouffant-style hair and round spectacles.
"Let me introduce you. Mei, this is Principal Faragonda, the head of the school we attend. Ms Faragonda, this is Teggy's sister Mei."
"Oh! Welcome to our village Principal Faragonda."
"Thank you. I'm very pleased to meet you dear, I've heard so much about you. I just wish I could be here in more pleasant circumstances."
"Oh? how do you mean?"
"There was an incident at the school yesterday, and both Musa and your brother were hurt."
Pui Yin gasped. "Tegryn's been hurt? Oh no!"
"And who might you be?"
"This is Pui Yin." Mirta said nervously. "Teggy's ex-girlfriend."
"Oh, so you're the one who gave him that black eye?"
Pui Yin blushed slightly.
"So what happened, Principal Faragonda?" Mei asked.
"Please, Ms Faragonda will do. I think it would be better if we discuss this indoors. Is your house nearby? I really should tell your grandmother about this too."
"Of course, it's just this way."
And so Mei led the way to her home. "Grandmother!" she called. "Please come, it's important!"
Jun walked into the room. "Mirta my dear!" she exclaimed happily when she saw her young witch friend. "You're looking well. Have you had the chance to use my present yet?"
"The Spirit Rod? Oh yes, it's awesome! I'll tell you about it later, but we have some news."
"News? I hope it's good."
"I'm afraid not." Faragonda replied. "As I was just telling your grand-daughter, there was an incident at the school yesterday, and Tegryn and Musa were both hurt quite badly."
"Oh my! What happened?"
"There was attack by a group of..."
But before she could finish, Mirta interrupted her.
"I'm sorry Principal, but I'm not sure if you can tell HER this." she said, pointing at Pui Yin.
"Doesn't she know about...?"
"No, only Mei and Jun know. In fact it was Jun who gave me this." she said, patting the Spirit Rod which she kept tucked in her belt.
"Tell me what?" Pui Yin pleaded. "Please, if Tegryn's been hurt, I have to know!"
Ms Faragonda looked thoughtfully at Pui Yin for a moment. "Young lady, I'm going to tell you something very important about us, and Tegryn, and our school... but first you must promise me that you'll never tell anyone about this, ever. The things I'm about to tell you must NEVER leave these four walls. Do I have your word on that?"
Pui Yin thought for a moment. It seems all her waiting was about to pay off - at last she was about to find out where Tegryn was living, and more importantly find out the truth about his new friends.
She nodded. "I promise. You have my word."
"Very well. I am the principal of the Alfea School for Fairies, where they learn all sorts of magical skills. Do you know what fairies are?"
"No. I've never heard of them."
"Perhaps not, but you have met them. The girls who came with Tegryn when he visited here last weekend are all fairies, except for Mirta here."
"But, they looked so ordinary - well, nothing special anyway. What IS a fairy anyway?"
"You'll see soon enough. Now then, yesterday the school was attacked by a group of witches."
"Witches?" Pui Yin gasped. 'I knew it - they're all involved in witchcraft! So perhaps Musa DID use magic on Tegryn to get him to love her... but why would witches attack other witches?' She was getting more and more confused by the second.
Jun's eyes widened. "The Coven?"
"No, it was actually their descendants... but how did you know about THEM?"
"It's a long story. Please... carry on."
"Well, most of the school was placed under a sleeping spell. Everybody was affected except for Mirta, Tegryn, and one other student who wasn't on campus at the time. They fought very bravely and eventually managed to win, but both Tegryn and Musa were badly hurt."
"Oh dear. How are they?"
"Oh, they'll live. Tegryn's very weak due to the effects of a spell that was used on him, and Musa has a couple of broken bones. I came here today to tell you this, and also to invite you to come and visit them."
"Yes, I'd very much like to see them both, and to see my Tegryn's new home." said Jun. "Is it far?"
Faragonda chuckled. "Not at all."
"But Ms Faragonda - how will they get into Alfea?" Mirta asked. "None of them know magic."
"Not to worry, I'd already planned for this." she said, holding out her hand. Three small glowing balls shot out of it and into Jun, Mei and Pui Yin, who seemed particularly frightened.
"What are you doing!" Pui Yin cried, unable to understand why this old lady would be attacking her.
"Perhaps I should explain - our school is protected by a barrier which prevent non-magical beings from entering. All I have done is give you each a tiny spark of magic to enable you to enter - it's a visitor's pass, so to speak. Don't worry, it isn't permanent, it'll wear off as soon as you come back to Earth. Now, if you're all ready, let us get going."
Faragonda waved her hand and a portal suddenly appeared. Pui Yin let out a tiny scream.
"Don't worry dear, it's perfectly harmless. Just follow me."
Pui Yin gulped as she stepped nervously into the portal. So this was it. She was about to see where her lover was now living, and where these witches come from - talk about walking straight into the lion's den! It'll be dangerous, but it'll be worth it.