14 The Slave Girl And The Princess

[Isla, do you ever wonder why we look so strikingly similar?]

"Huh? I-I..."

[Oh, dear. Do you perhaps possess any inkling on the matter?]

"A-Ava... I..."

[So, is it a secret? How intriguing. When we first met, there was certainly a resemblance, but not as much as now, didn't we?]

"T-that's because... Ava... p-please don't hate me..."

[Why would I hate you? I could never.]

"Really?"

[Well, it couldn't be your fault, right?]

"It is..."

[Huh?]

"...you see, actually..."

***

The first memory Isla could remember was how she was cast away by a group of fairies. She remembered she was still very small and called them 'Older Sisters'.

She begged them to bring her back with them, but they just sneered and left her alone in the woods near the Capital of the Holy Empire.

She was weak, and she knew nothing about the world.

Eventually, she was caught by the worst people imaginable. The slave traders.