Chapter: 2
"She's on fire!" Redhead yelled, but nobody at all batted an eye. "What the hell is wrong with these people?" she asked. That's when nobody decided to help; she took matters into her own hands.
"Need help? I can put the fire out!" Sienna heard, but it was the last thing Sienna needed to hear. She grimaced at the voice of an unfamiliar person who wasn't Mary.
"Here, let me-" Redhead started while summoning a fairly large Orb of cool water.
"NO." Sienna rejected
"Why not!?" Redhead questioned. "Does it not hurt?"
"It hurts alright," Sienna looked up at the lady, blood slowly rolling down her chin and green eyes which looked like they would have dulled a long time ago. "It hurts, but it doesn't harm my skin. If you put that water on me, it will only grow more."
"I see… then what?" Redhead asked
"I can put it out…" said Mary, who was putting up a fake smile on the ceramic ground, trying to help Sienna."
"Please…" Replied Sienna.
Mary's smile hastily switched into a face that tried to hide it, but though she was trying to hide it, she was clearly in an unfair amount of pain compared to Sienna.
Then the flame was quenched.
In the light of the cold subway station, Sienna sat against the wall with her arm still faintly smoldering, the last ember of Mary's Immortal flame. She smiled faintly at the redhead across from her like nothing was wrong, like her nose wasn't dripping with blood, like she wasn't subtly scratching her neck and forearm raw.
"Then you didn't need help," Redhead believed. "But why was nobody reacting? You were clearly on fire. You collapsed. Why was everyone just walking past?"
Meanwhile, Lustbrand was paying attention to his surroundings. That's when he realized something: there was some kind of screen between them and everyone else. Lustbrand, Puzzled, instantly rolled up his sleeves as if some kind of habit.
Sienna, blood still trickling down her nose, body twitching subtly with small spasms, nails scratching against her neck as to keep herself grounded, said, "They can't see it, it's an illusion barrier, an inherited family gift. What you saw wasn't what they saw."
RedHead questioned, "An illusion barrier?"
"Yes, it's a visual distortion; anyone caught inside the barrier is granted their privacy from the outside world. To anybody outside the barrier, it just looks like we are having a normal conversation." Sienna replied.
"So… Since I was caught inside the barrier, I'm the only one able to see what's going on?"
"That's correct."
"So it's a Soul crucible?" Redhead questioned, but that's exactly what it shouldn't be. On the pillar behind Redhead, there were many missing posters, but there was also a poster that stated, "No Soul Crucible Zone."
"No!" Sienna started, then softened her tone. "It doesn't drain souls… It doesn't drain your spirit or willpower, just mine because it's dense." She left out how the dome's origins were nearly identical. Left out the bleed through, it could cause. Left out the legacy of those who had died within its radius.
"Is that why only your nose is bleeding?" Redhead asked. Yet that's when Sienna remembered about her dripping nose, quickly wiping her nose on her sleeve. "You should disable this zone before you pass—"
"You're not going to tell anyone about this, right?" Sienna cut in.
"I shall not. I can see you aren't trying to draw attention to your friend and yourself. Secondly, you're already half crazy; you could kill me any moment now if I don't play my cards right…" Redhead assured
Sienna paused for a moment, staring deep into Redhead's eyes. "Good. Then there's no reason for anything to be misunderstood."
But Sienna messed up; she didn't realize there was someone else in the illusion barrier with them, Lustbrand.
Sienna raised her hand, and the illusion zone cracked like glass breaking in reverse.. Shards crumbling inwards and vanishing with a sigh of spiritual static.
Mary stood behind her with her eyes fixed on the subway floor out of guilt. Her fists clenched.
Sienna looked back over her shoulder, "Mary," She said softly, "It's alright." Mary flinched but didn't respond. "If we keep standing around, we will miss our ride!" Sienna hurried to the subway.
"R-Right!" Mary responded. After a bit, Mary rushed after her.
As Sienna ran in her eyes locked with Redhead once more as if she was letting Redhead know she would remember her face.
Her thoughts whispered coldly, 'I guess Mary Vale is just going to have to live in the shadow of another man who abandoned her.'