the unsung.

plum blossoms. - introduction

   

"He thought of Jiayi and the plum blossoms — he'd pick one for her and the rest in the bunch would cascade gently downwards as she laughed from below, rolling her eyes, whispering, If only you could flutter down to my place without fearing a crash, my love."

.    .    .
2025

    Hazel slammed her foot against the pedal, likely burning the rubber off the wheels of her newly-minted Mclaren. Oops.

    It was immaterial — she'd handle it in the morning. For now, there were far more pressing concerns racing through her mind as she herself raced home.

    Her heart pounded against her chest so forcefully that she had to steady herself against the steering wheel, even as it shook from sheer speed. She drove onwards with fervor, her seatbelt securely fastened, her eyes glowing with Aura, reflecting angrily back at her against the windshield.

    She pulled over into the manor driveway with a harsh screech, and expertly marched through the gravel in her Louboutins, clutching an assortment of work files in her left arm. The footmen hauled the heavy front doors as hurriedly as they could without her having to say a word, the lines on Hazel's forehead were a known signal to get out of her way.

    Her husband would be in his office towards the far end of the east wing, if he wasn't already bragging to his friends at the gentleman's club aroung Geylang about his latest accomplishment. It was this which kept Hazel seething to the brim, filled with a hatred and anger unlike anything else.

    She threw the papers she carried straight at his porcelain face the second she saw him.

    "What the fu-"

    "Get out." She ordered, cold and calm. She was terrifying like this.

    He chuckled, "Babe, what is this about?"

    She almost laughed in a fit of rage, but held her composure. "I know it was you and your gold digging parents, you demon spawn."

    He looked up at her for a moment, jaw slack, eyes wide. His response took a moment too long.

    "I have no idea what you're talking about."

    "Save it for the judge — the day after your deceitful uncle gets a seat on the board, my parents suddenly die?"

    It was the first time Hazel had said it out loud. The blood pounded in her ears but she willed herself to remain steadfast.

    "You hired their driver. You organized their evening. And now you have the majority vote of all shareholders."

    "You're fucking crazy." He laughed, a little too easily.

    Hazel's eyes narrowed. "And you're a terrible liar, Tony. You always have been. My parents trusted you, but I never have. And I never will."

    He steepled his forefingers, seemingly deep in thought, then smirked, softly shaking his head. In an instant, he'd decided it was pointless to "You don't want me as an enemy, babe, think about it — "

    Suddenly he stood, chair creaking ominously behind him, "It's time to give it up."

    Arm outstretched, Tony made the grave mistake of reaching for Hazel's face — tracing her lips, expertly, with an illusion of longing — a mistake he immediately regretted as she swept him backwards with a wave of her hand and a cloud of ginger Aura, bright and blinding. The magic wrapped about him and pinned him up against the wall in a fluid, powerful moment — shattering the windows on either side. In came the wind, appearing to fuel Hazel's rage, sending her hair flying backwards as her eyes remained aglow, filled with the same Auric amber that balled up in her hands like fire.

    "Huian!" Tony boomed, the name reserved for her family, and family only.

    "You do not get to call me that anymore." She spat, getting up in his face and grabbing him by the collar.

    "I'll..." he sputtered. It might've been pitiful if he wasn't so deplorable. "I'll tell everyone that you're a fucking witch."

    "You're a Registered Aware, Tony — the MagiCourt will apprehend you before the word ever leaves your mouth."

    Still, his Awareness surpassed the Magical. Tony Goh had known too much for far too long.

    "Ms. Lee — " Hazel called towards the Head Housekeeper who was always watching, keeping guard from afar, "Tony here was just leaving. Please prepare his belongings. Just necessities. We'll send him the rest within the week."

    "Good." Ms. Lee nodded, unable to help a smile.

    "You're going to regret this." Tony coughed out, as Hazel let him crash onto the floor with a thud.

    "I'm sure you'll try to make it so." She walked off, without sparing another glance behind her. "And I'm sure I'll see you bright and early at HQ, making some sort of case for chairmanship."

    "You'll lose." He growled, as she left, "You have no allies left, you've said it yourself. You're outnumbered!"

    Hazel closed her eyes, willing her husband's mocking to dissolve into irrelevance. But Tony was right — with her parents gone, she now needed the majority vote of the partners to secure her role at the helm of the family company, the role which she'd been raised for.

    Which meant that now, more than ever, she had no other choice.

    She worked tirelessly, flipping the place upside-down. She hauled over every piece of furniture, tore open every cabinet, ripped apart every wall fixture in search of one very specific device.

    She found it, under her father's desk chair in the east wing — secured beneath a secluded compartment which only Hazel could have unearthed. A small, black, years-old burner phone, about the size of her palm, with only two buttons — a green one to send a message, a red one to self destruct.

    For so long it had been untouched. Her only link to her sorely-missed brother.

    Hurriedly, she stuffed herself into the nearest bookcase, in fear of being overheard. The line had to be safe, it had to be untraceable. With a deep sigh, she pushed at the green button and whispered, desperately, just once —

    "Plum blossoms."

    Only to be met with radio silence. She could only hope the wind would carry the flower home.