Voyage Of The Villainess

While they keep following the white lady it led them into an unfamiliar place where there was a small boat and there was another man wearing a white cloak as well. He was standing at the top of the boat holding a huge scythe.

'What kind of place is this?  I have never seen this before. Is this really a way to hell?' Malaya didn't move an inch to where she was standing. 'The ferryman?'

Malaya blinked for a second, 'The ferryman was wearing a white cloak? Wait, I thought it was supposed to be black? Will we be going to the underworld and meeting Hades? Or maybe it's a different thing. Yeah, that must be it. The Fate of the Stars though it has a medieval set up the gods and goddesses were made up and never based on any mythology. Or wait, perhaps am I wrong? This place still has an underworld. Just what is this island for this place to have such things?' 

"Excuse me, can I ask something? Where will this boat lead us?" Malaya asked which earned the look of both the ferryman and the white lady. Well, Malaya couldn't see their eyes due to their cloaks but the way they moved their heads in her direction showed it. There was a brief moment of silence but when Malaya thought that no one would answer her, the white lady spoke out.

"To the city of my king." She said, then gestured to the boat. "Please, come and step in the boat now. The ferryman will take you to the city of my king."

Six gold coins appeared in her hand then gave it to the ferryman. Then she looked back at both Malaya and Kayden.

"City of the king?" Malaya asked.

"You will know soon about that, chosen champions of the ancient gods. Please proceed now to the boat," the white lady gestured once again.

"I will go first," Kayden said as he stepped first in the boat. When he saw that nothing was wrong or any suspicious inside the both, he gestured his right hand to Malaya. "You can take a step here, now." 

'hmm?' Malaya was once again surprised by his gesture, but it would be rude for her to not accept his hands. 

'Why out of nowhere he turned into a gentleman? Hmm.' Malaya raised her right eyebrows in a brief one second before she decided to take his hands. When she accepts his offer and when their hands touch together, it sent a strange sensation inside Malaya. Also, there was one thing that she noticed as well. 'D*rn. His hands are smoother than mine.' Malaya cried internally.

"How long are you going to hold my hands?" 

Malaya didn't realize that she was just holding Kayden's hands despite being in the boat already.

"Let me hold for one more minute," Malaya said shamelessly. Somewhat since she remembered how she needed to leap and got burns from the dark fire that blocked her, she wanted to see Kayden more annoyed and teased him more. And when she thought Kayden would reprimand or yank his hands away, to Malaya's surprise he leaned closer to her. His face was just an inch away from her.

"Is my hand really that nice to hold?" He said in a seductively, deep voice. His red ruby eyes glued on Malaya's eyes. "If you want, you can touch them forever." 

Malaya was startled, she immediately let go of his hands and moved a distance away from Kayden. "Yes, it is. Ah, no need! Thank you!" she said meekly. Her heart was still pounding hard. 'No, why am I thanking him. What wait?!' Her mind was panicking. Then she didn't dare to look back at Kayden.

'The plan operation to tease Kayden a bit completely backfired to me. He just usually frowns when I say such things but why is he acting strange now. His personality is one of the hardest things I need to study.' Malaya calmed her palpating heart. 'Calm down you dimwit, he just asks you a question in such a very sexy manner. No, wait. Why am I saying it is sexy to that. What are you even thinking! Ah, I'm going crazy now. I'm really going nuts. This guy is making me nuts!' Malaya rubbed her hair multiple times. Then she tapped her chest to calm her heart that was still beating fast. She took a few deep breaths. 'Ah, I wish there is some ground, I can bury myself with.'

Amidst her inner turmoil, Malaya failed to see the grin on Kayden's face once again as his eyes continued to observe the flustered woman. If she certainly sees this, well, she will be the one who will be completely annoyed to death.

The ferryman and the white lady who seemed forgotten by the two, simply nod with each other, seeing that their two passengers were already sitting in the boat. Then the ferryman started to row the boat.

Malaya stopped from her inner turmoil and looked at the boat when she heard the engine indicating that it started moving, well she was still avoiding Kayden's gaze. And she could completely feel that he was looking at her. 'I will not look back at him. I will not look. I will not look." She kept mumbling in her mind. "Just focus on the destination."

Strangely, the boat was emitting a faint white light, serving as a light on their way. Though Malaya couldn't see everything completely rather than the water that boat was crossing and the boat itself. Everything else was completely dark and she could not hear a single sound aside from the rustling of the water.

More minutes had passed and she could feel already that her neck was getting stiff. All of a sudden the boat suddenly rocked. And her gaze landed, no matter how she tried to not look in his direction, her gaze still shifted to his side.

But when she saw that both of his eyes were now close, she wanted to cry internally. 'My neck almost got stiff for nothing.'

She waved her right hand in front of Kayden. 'He seems to be sleeping?' She just stared at his face and a wry smile formed on her lips. 'How carefree and annoying, after doing all of that to me. Back at the dungeon, your eyes are full of hatred and contempt looking at me. And now at least, you are able to sleep like this, like you have nothing to worry about. Good for you.'

Malaya let out a big yawn. Now seeing someone sleeping next to her, her body could feel the tiredness within the whole day. She didn't know what time it was, but now that she remembered, aside from the short breaks she took from walking in the forest, so many things had already happened from the laughing monsters, climbing and falling down the cliff. Her eyes were starting to get heavier. She shifted her gaze back at the ferryman. 

'I should not sleep yet.' Malaya shook her head. 'I'm still not certain where we are going or if it is already safe. Besides, until now I don't trust these three people in front of us.' She tried to fight her sleepiness. But her vision was getting blurry as well due to the sleepiness. 'Maybe a little nap won't hurt. And I deserve this since I know I've been through a lot, my body needs some rest. There is nothing wrong if I choose self-love first, right?' Malaya tucked both her knees and leaned her head on them. In the end, she couldn't stop herself from falling asleep. 

Kayden opened his eyes when he heard the soft snores behind him. 'So in the end, she falls asleep.' He shook his head. 'Really careless.'

He could see that Malaya's face was crinkling. 'Is she not comfortable with her position?' Kayden gently touched Malaya's head. He was very careful to not wake her or cause any disturbance, so he gently placed them on his right shoulder.

Malaya's face started to look comfortable when she leaned on Kayden's shoulders. In her dream, a very soft and fluffy black cat appeared in her arms. 

'Fluffy cat!' She cuddled her in her arms. 

Back in reality, Kayden stiffened when Malaya hugged his arms and cuddled them while still sleeping. She then murmured, 'fluffy cat,' then giggled.

'This woman, seriously.' He just let her be since she looked very comfortable in her sleep right now. 

Then he glanced back to the ferryman who just kept rowing the boat. They all look serious doing their own thing, they don't even give them a single glance. Not in the very least, did he let his guard down. And he could feel a much sinister presence he couldn't explain in this ferryman than the white lady from before.

'She said that I should just wait for things. Let's just see where we will be ended by this. And I must be prepared for anything that could happen.. I must be prepared.'