Villainess

2.6

Ashes swirled among the weary feet of a young girl. She raised her satin-clad elbow, delivering a hoarse cough into her arms. She moved her arm away as blood continued to drip down from a scar on her left ring finger.

Pulling up the skirts of her gown, she pulled herself up onto a concrete platform, breathing heavily for a moment. She glanced to the side to see the bus slow down at the makeshift station.

The doors creaked open, and the bus driver gave the girl an expecting look.

"Swipe your card, my lady," Amelia says, gesturing to the platform. The girl steps onto the bus and presses her card into the slot, before she turns to the bus seats.

She started walking to the back, sitting in between two people. Her satin blue gown puffed up around her, but she paid it no mind.

"You were almost late, peaches," the woman next to her says, staring straight forward.

"I know, mom," the girl responds.

"If you were late, we wouldn't make it to Uncle Bobby's house on time," the man next to her says, gazing straight forward. The girl laughs lightly at this. "He wouldn't care. He's always late himself."

The two people next to the girl stalely laugh in unison at this, before suddenly stopping. The girl looks up from her dress and straight out in front. Out the windshield, she could see that the bus driver was driving straight towards a raging fire in a village.

"Stop the bus," she shouts. The bus driver ignored her, continuing to drive forward.

"Stop the bus!" the girl screeches, lunging out of her seat to get to the bus driver. Yet, it seems as if she couldn't reach the bus driver. 

A hand clamps down on the girl's shoulder, oozing blood onto the satin. The girl whips around, but only sees a void of black around her. The world around her rattled, and a sharp pain spiked through her eyes, and-

Shi Zixin jolts awake, heart beating a mile a minute. She lifts a shaking hand to her chest, attempting to slow her breathing.

This is the 15th time in the past three weeks I've had that dream...and the rest of them were just as bad.

'Would you like to purchase something from the virtual store to soothe your nerves and help you sleep?'

Shi Zixin shakes her head, swinging her legs off the cot. 'No, if I do that, then that'll eventually become the only way I can sleep.' 

I have to beat these demons on my own, even if it's my own creation.

Shi Zixin stands up and cracks her back lightly, before putting on her cloak and shoes and going outside. Sighing, a puff of cold air escapes her lips. Drawing the cloak closer to herself, her boots crunch through the snow as she heads for the edge of the camp. Nestling down, she looks up at the skyline and attempts to clear her mind.

"Who's there?!"

Shi Zixin turns around, seeing a figure in the dark and recognizing their voice.

"Your commander, Fu Junjie. What are you doing out so late?"

The figure stills, before drawing closer. The pale face of the girl looks down at Shi Zixin with pure curiosity.

"I trained a bit more. The archery stuff is kind of tricky," she says with a sheepish laugh. Shi Zixin laughs lightly.

"I understand," Shi Zixin says. Fu Junjie remains standing. 

"What are you doing out, Commander Shi, if I may ask."