Voyage Of The Villainess

Malaya quickly opened her eyes. Just now she was just acting like she had fallen asleep. She took a deep breath as she gently removed the blanket that Kayden fixed for her.

She clutched her heart that's still beating fast. 'This is dangerous.'

She took a deep breath once again and did it multiple times before she finally calmed down. That was the time she observed her surroundings. Compared to it from before, the normal strength of her body finally returned. She didn't feel any sluggish feeling like she used to.

'Hmm cool, I thought it would take me a week before I get back all my strength but it looks like I'm completely fine now,' she moved her hands in open and close movements and did some stretching left and right. "I really owe him a lot now." Malaya sighed in weariness. 

Just when she finished her contemplations, the first thing she noticed was the dark flames surrounding her.

'This fire. Why did he put these dark flames here? Oh, maybe he put it there to see to it that I will not go anywhere? To trap me here?' Malaya's held her head as if it was aching. Then she decided to pick up a small stone that was near her. She quickly threw it towards the fire.

*Burst!*

To her surprise, all the flames surrounding her shot up towards the ceiling of the cave. Leaving nothing to escape at and completely blocking every bit of path. It was like it became a complete wall of fire.

'D*mn what a hellish wall of fire! Nice so now I'm completely trapped. That guy...' A helpless smile escaped her lips. 'He doesn't really want me to escape and he wants me to just stay here. But why? Why does he keep doing these things to me? Is there any reason behind all of these acts, Kayden?'

Malaya tucked both her knees. 'The truth is he doesn't need to do this. No, let's not assume that he is doing this for me. He must have some motives and I don't need to know what that is. And besides, since I have my strength back now, I can take care of myself completely and it's just fine if I leave this place with or without his approval.' She buried her head towards her knees. 'To begin with, why do I even need to follow him?'

Then with a firm determination, she stood up. 'Yes, right. This flame is not going to stop me. I will not let everyone take my freedom to do what I want even this d*mn fire. Besides, even though I have no magic, I'm not that weak to wait here like some damsel in distress.  It's suck being here and doing nothing just like in any Disney Princess where they wait for their Prince Charming to save them. I just happened to let my guard down with that unknown creepy woman. And it's not like I didn't meet a woman like her already and she died already. If possible, let's avoid anymore crazy woman.' Malaya looked at the dark flames that were surrounding her. She observed the place and fell in deep contemplation.

'I am pretty sure that there must be a way to get out from this.'

'Now that I think about it there can only be one way to get away from these flames.' Malaya picked up the blanket and rolled it to become a ball. With one strong motion, she threw the blanket with full force towards the fire. "There is it! Keep it up! let it pass!" Her scream echoed through the whole forest.

The blanket at a fast feed passed above the flames and as expected the flames burst up towards the ceiling. But this time a huge grin emerged from Malaya's lips.

'I see.'

Her line of sight was fixated on one thing. It was the blanket that she threw towards the fire. Although there were slight burns on it and other parts that were still on fire, it successfully went through the dark flames. 'Just as I expected.' Malaya's grin grew even wider. 'This is the only way.'

Then she positioned herself to prepare like she was going to run in some marathon race. She waited for a few more minutes before it returned to normal from bursting towards the ceiling.

"You can do this, Malaya." She whispered to herself and took one deep breath. Now her attention and focus were now concentrated in one direction. She could also feel sweat trickling at the back of her neck. "Go!" She yelled.

Then with one quick motion, she dashed towards the flames in front of her, as her life depended on it. She crossed both her arms as she passed through the flames like a fast wind.

When she landed on the other side she winced when there were some light burns in her arms. There were also some flames that caught her clothes. She immediately rolled on the ground to remove the fire.

"Aw! aw! Aw! It's hot! Hot! Hot!" She kept hissing in pain as she rolled down since it also hit some of the burns she had on the other parts of her body. When the fire was already gone from her clothes, that was the time Malaya finally stopped moving.

She just stayed in her position motionless, lying on the ground with her back facing the ceiling, for a few minutes. There were visible plenty of smokes coming out from her. After a few more moments of just staying still, Malaya finally stood up with a huge grin on her fish.

"I got out!" She raised both her right hand in the air, doing a victory post. "I really made it out, hahaha!" She laughed heartily. But it change right away to wincing when some of her burns throbbed. 'She looked at her arms that had slight nasty burns.

'I should heal this or this will cause some scar.' She then returned her gaze to the dark flames that returned to normal once they burst out to the ceiling earlier.

'I'm sorry Kayden but I'm not the type of person who stays still because someone just tells me to stay. I am not born to be a princess hiding in the castle walls. Well, Malaya was one since she is still a duke's daughter, but my soul is that of an adventurer.' She looked around for anything she could use until she spotted a certain familiar bag. No, it was not just a bag but her real bag. She immediately ran towards the left side of the cave and grabbed her bag. She checked all its contents. And everything was still in there.

She immediately picked a healing potion and drank it. All her burns instantly faded and recovered.

'You did so much for me and I really owe you a lot now, Kayden.' Malaya glanced back to the dark flames. 'And I don't want that to keep increasing. This is the time we will really depart from each other. I really hated the idea of owing a debt to someone but I will repay this someday.'

Malaya turned her gaze away from the dark flames and took a long stride towards the opening of the cave. Malaya winced at the sudden penetration of the sunlight in her eyes. When her eyes finally adjusted from the light outside the cave, she gave one last glance to the inside of the cave.

"When we meet again, I will repay everything you've done for me. I promise." The wind gently blew, then she started walking away from the cave towards the thick forest. Since she had already taught Kiana a lesson, there was nothing to do back at that village. Plus that unknown woman, her entire persona was screaming danger and trouble. 

Malaya was wise enough not to pursue things that she couldn't handle. On her mind, there was only one thing now. Now that she was completely free from everything, the next thing she needed to do and put all her attention right now is to focus on how she will get out from this island.

And for her to do that, her plan at this moment was to look at the other three tribes that Kiana mentioned to her.

She might find clues or some valuable materials that can help her escape on this island.

"Ah wait, I almost forgot!" Malaya picked up a teleportation talisman inside her bag and tore it right away. But after a few more moments, there was just a soft breeze of the wind and nothing happened. She didn't teleport to the intended place she wanted to go. And that was outside of this island.

'So even this is not effective.' Malaya felt a surging dread forming inside her but she immediately pushed it back away. "Hah," she released a wry chuckle. "Then looking for info and materials is really the only option I have right now."

Malaya continued to walk towards the forest, completely forming herself to do the plan she had set for herself.