For what seemed like the 100th time, she let her mind fly. Fearsome images appeared before her: a roaring dragon, a graceful man with tapered ears alongside the dragon, a heavyset expression on his face as they marched. And only then did she see the massive army behind them...

She opened her eyes. The familiar streets and sidewalks slowly moved by in the glass, and for a few minutes, she was captivated. But before long, her discomfort began to make itself known. Her neck was slumped forward, her legs were stiff from being crossed, and her water bottle was pressing into her forearm. She knew it was inevitable, so she stirred and stretched.

"About time," his nasally voice said. As she did most bus rides, she'd pretended to be asleep, and had imagined what the siege of Dras-Leona would look like. Every time she did so, she added something new to the vision, while trying to keep everything she'd already imagined in place. It was challenging, but she welcomed it, as it was restful and stimulating. She pulled open her curtain, mentally resigning herself to talking with him.

Vincent was only a 10-year-old kid, but still, he was annoying. A dominator of conversations, he bragged about mostly everything. Normally she wasn't in the mood to talk, but when she was, no purchase could be found to grasp upon in their topics. Possibly because most of what he talked about involved comics and action figures. Nodding her head and giving affirmatives was about all she wanted to do, but even when she pulled the curtain over her head, he continued to speak to her until she got annoyed enough to stop responding and he realized she was "asleep".

Seeing the slightly worried expression on his face, she was surprised. He never looked that way...

And that was when she realized the bus had stopped.

I know... Not good yet! But this chapter was necessary.. The good part comes soon!