Chapter 47: Extra: Aurora & Isla, Past & Future (Part 1)

“You promised!!!”

“I told you, someone else already completed the mission.”

“You told me you’d save it for me as long as I was able to find this plant for you!” She threw a green and yellow plant on the table. “How can you go back on your word?!”

A young girl of 18 years old stood in front of a man yelling at the top of her lungs. The girl, who was so thin that one could almost see her bones, would have been what one would call an exquisite beauty. But it was buried underneath the Princess she once was.

A malnourished body was all she had left.

A bony appearance, hollow cheeks, black nails, thick hair, and skin discoloration. Even though she tried her best to look clean, she was a former shell of the person she used to be.

“My word?” The man raised his eyebrows with a chuckle. “Who do you think you are? A princess? A noble?” The other customers behind her laughed, causing her further humiliation.

“You…!!”

The man frowned. “You’re holding up business. Now scram, before I throw you out.” He said, pointing to a large man standing in the back.

Without seeing anything more, she turned away and pushed her way through the crowd. She didn't notice that one of them purposely stuck their foot out.

The girl was dazed as though she wasn’t there at all, and because of that she didn’t see the foot at all and fell face down on the ground. She looked up at the person who tripped her, blood running down her nose.

It was a woman wearing revealing shorts and half a shirt.

“Haha, look at that, the princess fell!”

“AHAHAHAHA!!”

The others also laughed, finding amusement in the homeless girl without a shred of dignity left.

The girl tried to stand up, only to be pushed back down.

“Hey, Princess.” The woman leaned down in her chair and called out with a smirk. “If you wanna leave, you have to crawl.”

Shivering, the girl didn’t say anything and quickly crawled her way out.

The people inside mocked her. Calling her shameless.

"Crawl back to your Mother!"

"HAHAHA!"

She didn’t understand how things came to this. She was only trying to survive. Was it so bad that she’d do anything to live?

In the corner, a woman with short green hair and dark green eyes, stood there watching the little girl with a complicated expression.

“What’s wrong?” Her friend called out to her.

“Ah? Ohh…” The woman pointed her hand towards the hand. “I think I forgot something back at the inn. I’ll see you tomorrow.” Before her friend could ask her anything more, she ran out of the shop.

That beautiful woman’s name was Isla. She was a hidden Witch who spent the past eight years as a mercenary.

While keeping her hand on the wall as she walked out of the shop, she soon found her way two blocks away and came upon the girl from earlier hunched on the floor.

“Hey.”

When Isla called out for the girl, she looked up and blinked her eyes. The girl wasn’t surprised at all to see her because of her ability to see the future. Still, she was cautious and didn’t speak at all.

Isla squatted in front of the girl. “What’s your name?”

The little girl observed the woman in front of her with awe. She was around her early thirties. If she had let her hair grow, she would have been considered a beauty, enough to make the noblemen want to court her.

Not only was her hair roughly cut short, but she also wore clothes meant for low-born men. Pants, boots, a black tank-top, elbow pads, and gloves.

“Hey!! I asked you a question!”

The girl flinched back in fear. “S-sorry.”

Isla lowered her head and sighed. “Where did your earlier spunk go? Then…your name?”

“D-d-arcia.”

"Hmmm..is that so?"

The girl nodded her head, avoiding Isla's eyes.

Of course, that wasn't her name.

That’s right, it was Aurora one year after she killed Harrison at 17 years old. The girl from that night whose eyes shined bright with resolve was nowhere to be seen. She had completely lost her former glory and did everything she could to live day to day.

“Darcia, is it? Fine, Darcia it is. You’re a Witch, right? And a former noble?”

When the woman asked her this, Aurora started to visibly tremble. She wondered what she did wrong for her identity to be found out. Her appearance was completely different from before.

“Don’t worry.” The woman grinned at her. “I’m a Witch like you too.”

“Eh?” Aurora’s eyes widened at this.

“My name is Isla. I have hindsight, the ability to see a person's past, which is the complete opposite of your foresight. I was also the daughter of a noble, although a poor one. It’s nice to meet you.”

After that Isla took Aurora to get something to eat at a nearby restaurant. The owner was someone who knew Isla and gave her a private booth. She didn't ask about her name, even though she knew it was fake. And Aurora didn't mention it, even though she was aware that Isla already knew her real name.

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“I saw what happened earlier at the shop.”

While stuffing her face with food, Aurora asked between gulps. “Hw…did…yu fnd…me?” Translation: How did you find me?

Isla chuckled at the girl. “Slow down, the food won’t go anywhere.” She leaned forward and wiped Aurora’s cheek that was stained with food.

Aurora blinked her eyes and blushed. This woman in front of her was different than Aurora. She was a true mature beautiful woman.

“I saw the future you saw by looking through the past,” Isla answered her question. “You didn’t notice it, but it seems like our abilities connected when we both had a vision at the same time.”

“How’s…that possible?” Aurora gulped the food in her mouth.

“It could be due to our abilities being of a similar nature. It has something to do with ‘time’.”

Aurora thought about it. Maybe their ability somehow synched? But she never heard of such a thing, even between those who have similar abilities.

Isla clasped her hands under her cheek and watched Aurora who was in deep thought. “So, you’re the fallen Princess everyone’s talking about?”

“Fallen Princess?” Aurora stopped eating.

Seeing the girl’s depressed expression, Isla cleared her throat. “That’s…I didn’t mean…”

“No. Those words couldn’t better describe me.” Aurora clenched her teeth and those bright eyes of hers returned, but only for a second. And then it went back to normal. Dark and gloomy.

Isla smiled. “Good. You need to learn to accept hearing such things from now on. Or you’ll never survive in this world.”

Aurora nodded her head.

She knew that well. Even back when she was a Princess, many rumors were criticizing her and her mother.

"Also! You!" Isla suddenly raised her voice.

"Y-yes!!" Aurora sat up straight. She felt as though she was about to get scolded.

"When dealing with mercenaries you need a formal contract!"

"A formal contract?" She asked, confused.

"Right, right!" Isla waived a finger around in a circle as she explained. "It's a contract where a neutral third party witnesses the signing of the contract. Without this, it's useless. A mercenary will never fulfill their promise without it. Understand?!"

Aurora nodded her head quickly.

“Good. Earlier, I said I had a vision, right?”

“Yes.”

“It was of you killing someone.” Isla lowered her voice.

“…Are you going to turn me in?” Aurora whispered.

“Heh, do you want me to?”

“It’s only obvious you do. I’m the Princess with a bounty on her head by the Emperor. It’s said whoever turns the Princess over, even if it’s a Witch, will get a hefty sum and will guarantee your safety. Not only that, but you can tell them I’m also the one who killed the heir of a Duke.”

“Oh? I didn’t know he was the heir to a Duke. Won’t that increase your bounty?”

Aurora squirmed when she heard this. But she couldn’t say anything back since she was the one who said. She looked as if she was about to cry at a moment’s notice.

Isla’s eyes sparkled in laughter. This girl was funny. Despite being raised as a Princess, she was naive. “I won’t turn you in.”

“But why? You’d get a lot of money. And you wouldn’t have to struggle for food anymore. You can live a good life while hiding your ability and have a family.”

“I lost the family I had. After the Emperor started hunting Witches, my husband thought I’d bring him and our daughter harm if I was found. He left a note on the table one morning and disappeared. I decided to never have another family again.”

“...I’m sorry.”

“Why are you apologizing?” Isla patted her head. “Besides, I'm already 32. Way past the time for dreaming of a family again. Fortunately, since I was a Knight before marrying, I was easily able to find my place as a mercenary." By the time Isla finished talking and patting her head, Aurora's hair became even messier than before.

Aurora hung her head low. 'Then...why do you look so sad when saying that?' She wanted to ask her, but felt that she, of all people, didn't have the right to.

"It’s good you know that all Witches can't be trusted. Never forget that and don’t reveal yourself so easily to them. I’ll teach you how to defend yourself at least. Don’t just rely on your ability all the time. Still, one day I hope that you can tell me your real name.”

"But you...already know..."

Isla pointed at Aurora's mouth. "I want to hear it directly from you."

For the next few months, Isla trained her how to throw knives. Aurora struggled with being able to hit accurately until Isla gifted her with specialized daggers made just for her.

"Women like us need special weapons to give us a boost, unlike men who train every single day. I'm sorry for hiding it. I wanted you to gain enough experience before giving this to you."

Isla said this to her while looking guilty. Even though she would always tell her not to trust others or herself so easily, she felt bad for making Aurora uselessly throw knives from morning to night for months.

Aurora was able to soon join Isla on missions in her mercenary group. Unknown to them, a member from their group was listening to their conversation one night and overheard something they shouldn't have.

Even though one can see the past, and the other can see the future, there wasn't a single thing either could do to stop what would happen next from occurring. 

[ To be continued ]

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