This Villainess Will Not Die!

“I'm… Oh, wait! I remember now!” I exclaimed, turning away from him, hoping to prevent any further inspection of my appearance.

Why did this body’s appearance have to be so appealing? It’s such a pain in the ass that people remember it.

I would much have preferred one resembling my original body.

One could say that my plain expression was dull, or that my short brown hair and deep-set green eyes rendered my appearance less feminine than what was conventionally accepted, but I loved how seamless I could be when I so wished to be.

“It’s there,” I pointed at a random point. “I saw smoke emitting from over there, last night. I believe it might indeed be your destination, good sir.” I nodded.

"Really?"

I quickly looked at the meadow over which the sun was hanging, nearly risen all the way.

“Shit, I’m late.” The knight muttered, once he, too, acknowledged the sun’s current positioning. “Alright, I must be off before people realize I left…” He yawned again.

Given his messy hair, the leaves stuck to his back and head, his incomplete armor, his puffy face, and his words, I can only conclude that he must have skipped night watch to go sleep in the woods.

Sounds like they don’t pay him well.

Pinning that thought somewhere within my collapsing mind, I took in a deep breath in preparation for my next step.

“Well, then,” I said, looking up at the man who was fixing his slanting shoulder gear. “I shall be on my way.” I nodded, giving him a clumsy courtesy, and then my back.

“Alright, thank you!” He exclaimed behind me, making me let a smooth breath out as I strutted away in victory.

This was scarily easy.

I threw a look back after walking a few steps and couldn't help but grin like an idiot, seeing as he, too, was walking away, towards something that was approaching.

I turned around, giddy as I located my checkpoint again.

I took a couple of steps, getting back in the mood when something dawned upon me, making my grin drop flat.

Something's approaching?

“WE FOUND HER!!” A distant cry made every bone in my body shudder.

“WE FOUND HER!!” A distant cry made every bone in my body shudder.

I threw a hasty look back, gritting my teeth at the sight of four horses ridden by fully armored riders galloping up the muddy road, diverging the air and directly coming at me.

“THERE SHE IS!!” They roared

“I’m so dead.” I bit my lips, grabbing my skirt like a bundle against my belly, feeling the chilly breeze on my calves and lower knees.

Between trying to convince the handful of angry muscular men that I was totally not trying to escape and making a run for it, the second option sadly was much more plausible.

I lifted a leg, preparing for a sprint up the road, eyes set on my destination.

But I hadn't moved another inch before I caught a silhouette to my right, a presence that speechlessly threatened to harm me the moment I made any move.

“I thought you looked suspicious.” The golden-eyed knight said through gritted teeth.

He set a firm hand on my shoulder, forcefully spinning me to face the galloping knights only a few yards away.

“Come up with an excuse for the both of us." He ordered, speaking lowly and motionlessly, standing next to me.

“Huh?” I turned to look up at him. His gaze was fixated on his distant colleagues, a neutral look on his features.

"If you manage it, I shall lie for you.”

I simply blinked at him, then turned back to look at the knights, who were seconds away from joining us.

“You weren’t trying to run away. We were on our way back just now. That is your context.”

“Oh-Okay.” I nodded, looking around us as quickly as I could. What in the world kind of excuse am I supposed to come up with?!

An affair? No, we'll both be hanged.

I need something simpler. Something dumb, but plausible. What about...

“You insolent bitch!” The leader of the bunch, with tan skin and coy hair, roared as soon as they had halted in their approach. He dismounted from his horse in a single motion and strode towards me, fist curled up.

The knight beside me took a semi-step forward, opening his mouth to speak. But before he could utter a word, the man raised a firm palm, eyes bloodshot and eyebrows furrowed.

I took a step back, looking up at the two in fearful realization, eyes wide as I anticipated what his body language signified for me.

He threw his shoulder back. “HOW FUCKING DARE YOU!”

Before I could even blink, the man's chest was in front of my face, and a hurled fist had come in contact with my lower right cheek. He had landed an uppercut on my jaw.

At first impact, and for a split moment, my consciousness slipped away from my grasp.

I had lost control over my body as everything became black. My teeth bit at my tongue and my jaw snapped and dislocated before I landed on the ground. A warm liquid ponded within my mouth and trickled down my nose.

I blinked up at the bunch through teary, unfocused eyes, leaning back on an arm while the other held my face which was in sharp, throbbing pain.

The scenery hadn't changed much from earlier, the sky’s bitter blue color was only a tad lighter, the tree trunks seemed shorter now that I was sitting on the ground, and fronting it all were four horses, three mounted by other stranger knights. Closer than the horses were was the commander’s vague silhouette.

With a few blinks, ears momentarily unresponsive, the portrait was clearer.

His glare was still fixated upon me, shoulders slumping forward as he held his fist in his hand, his shrunk pupils communicating to me his urge to throw himself onto me and beat me dead.

Even closer to me than the commander was the stranger, who had his back against me, standing in between the two of us.

“Sir, is there a problem?” The golden-eyed knight asked, his tone chillingly calm as he stepped closer to his commander.

“HOW DARE you try and fucking ESCAPE! What is your purpose!? Huh?!” The commander bumped against the golden-eyed knight’s shoulder as he closed in on me, shaking an accusative index down at me. “Are you trying to have us BURN AT THE STAKE!? HUUH!??” His eyes were bloodshot, droplets of sweat sitting on his roughly shaved beard.

The man’s voice echoed across the meadow behind me, even after his lips had fallen shut. He breathed heavily, thinking of what to say next.