June 3rd, Second Day of the Competition, Seven Hours After Maria's death

Hana storms into Otto's office, with a trail of papers in her wake. "Otto, numbers are starting to fall. If we let the competition go on for too long, we're not going to have anyone watching this. I think that it's time to stir up the pot and bring in some of those plans that we have in store. We need drama for this competition. We need drama, we need excitement, we need the bulls."

"I think a hundred thousand soldiers with guns will do just fine, Hana," Otto replies. He's signing something that Hana can't see, but assumes that it's some useless treaty with one of the countries that he's taken over. "We don't need to use the bulls this early, especially if they're sequestered in only one portion of the maze. Who's that going to affect? Just the Slavs, the girl from Afrikka, and that little girl from Iberia. I'm sure that they'll create their own action, and we can herd them towards the bulls afterwards."

Hana slams papers down onto Otto's desks. "It's not the empire itself that we have to worry about - it's Germany. They aren't being forced to watch, and if we don't grab them by the eyes they won't watch at all. I have proof that only six out of every ten Germans are actually watching the competition at this point, and after that initial buzz about Maria - there was the usual controversy from the religious circles, but there always will be - the night has left them bored. It's time to stir up the pot, Otto. Are you ready?"

"But it's so soon, and there's so much time for the lottery winners who are left..." Otto rubs at his temples, his eyes still weary from staying up late the night before. He feels like a crumpled piece of paper at this point, looking worn out from all of these long nights and waking up too early to get any decent sleep. He's a mess. Yet, Hana looks as fresh as the day she was born, with an annoyed expression on her face to boot. She won't let him go until she gets what she wants, will she? "I… fine. If you want to bring the bulls in, bring them in. If people complain that it's a bad idea, you can take the fall."

Hana grins back at her husband. "Thank you. If we're going to finish by the end of day three in the labyrinth, we're going to have to stir up conflict this way."

"And if nothing happens as a result?"

"You know what else we have in store, Otto. We'll be able to stir up conflict aplenty with this."

And then away Hana disappears, off to play with her own devices at the arena.

Otto groans, then goes back to signing papers.

Yet, he keeps an eye on the large television set in the corner of the office. When it does happen, he wants to be the first to see.

Yes, it's quite short but I promise it's worth the wait.

Anyways, I hope you enjoyed this little interlude and that you aren't too upset by the fact that it isn't another lengthy chapter - we have plenty in store, do not worry. I'll see you tomorrow, when we really get into the chaos. It's all downhill from here, folks!

Enjoy. Until next time, TheAmazingJAJ