Florisha rode at the back of Charles on the horse's back. She had been on it for quite a while now, already out of the underground tunnels. She didn't know how long she had been riding, neither her final destination.
Her pent-up emotions had already dialed down by now, making her reasoning clearer.
She was long since out of civilization, already on the outskirts of the village. All she could see was trees and bushes with small to medium sized critters crawling around vegetations. The critters scurried off every time the white mare approached them.
Florisha was about to inquire about their destination when the horse stopped rather abruptly.
Charles proceeded to get off the horse's back. He motioned Florisha to get off the horse.
Florisha took a look at the vicinity around her and she frowned. She got into a defensive stance immediately she got off the mare. At the drop of a hat, she scaled a few meters away from Charles. She wanted to put as much distance between herself and Charles.
The scenery was a place surrounded by stone, statues and broken pieces of statues riddled on the floor. That wasn't the cause of her fear though. She was perplexed that, even though she was attentive for a good part of the journey, she couldn't lay a finger on how she got here.
Suddenly, a wave of nausea hit her. Her head felt a pang of headache. Her emotions jumbled up together, but one was strangely apparent and potent: Envy.
She didn't know why, but she was filled with so much jealousy.
'Charles, so perfect, strong and elegant. A member of the Council, even. Can have everything he ever wanted. Compared to him, I'm nothing but garbage. Tossed by the side of the road with no one's care, such is my life.... I envy you. With your long black hair and kept appearance. How can I begin to compare? When can I begin to compare?' Self-deprecating thoughts filled Florisha's mind.
She began to doubt her worth or wonder if she had any in the first place whilst comparing herself with other people, she had interacted with in the time past.
Her head throbbed as she felt blood gurgled at the back of her throat, the metallic taste apparent at the back of her tongue.
She wanted to be Inno, unwavering and endearing. She wanted to be the children she took care of, carefree and innocent. She wanted to be Charles; strong and unfathomable. She wanted to be everything they were and wanted everything they had. Florisha spited them for having what she couldn't have and being what she couldn't be.
She fell to her knees, her eyes bloodshot and her breathing frantic and uneven.
Envy!
ENVY!
ENVY!
Her fingers shook and her breath rasped.
In that state, her thinking and reasoning were disoriented. The one thing she could clearly understand was... envy: every nook and cranny of it.
"Green with envy, I see," a voice hovered above her. She looked up to find a figure staring her down, the figure's eyes filled with... nothing. They were blank with no thread of emotion in them. The only thing she could see in those eyes was nonchalance, which weirdly complemented the green robe the figure had on.
Immediately her brain reregistered his presence, she struck. She drew out one of her dual blades, her hand feeble but stiff. She swung it upwards going straight for those soulless eyes of the figure, Charles.
"Envy can drive people to commit murder. It has done so in the past and so it's no surprise." Charles spoke, his voice overbearing. He didn't flinch, even as he saw the blade approach.
SNAP!
Her blade broke, the remnants falling to the ground. The sound of breaking was in unison with the sound of a snap of a finger.
Florisha's vision faded. The last thing she saw before losing consciousness was rather astonishing.
She saw his blank; emotionless look turn into pity.
"You've just arrived. Get ready for your departure. Once was dreams, now is reality." Charles said. Right after that, Florisha lost consciousness.
* * *
*Gasp*
A woman's eyes burst open. In front of her was a large expanse of arid land that seems to have no end. She was lain on the sand, clothed in a white robe.
She stood up, her white robe neither disheveled nor dirty. In her hand was a sealed scroll.
The woman's eyes moved to the sealed scroll and then faced the lifeless expanse of arid land before her.
She took a step and that was the start of her journey.