This trip would not be a happy one. I've known that for a decade now. Although it's not like there's been much happiness in my life since the end of the war.

I hate having to reminisce.

Unfortunately, I can't think of anything else while staring at the endless expanse of stars and incidentally, the shrinking SDF Deep Space Terminal, behind thick pressurized glass.

Haah…

Placing my hand on it, I gazed at my reflection instead.

A slim and tall woman of twenty-seven years, posing elegantly in her four-inch, ankle strap boots. She was dressed in the finest maroon silk dress, with sheer lace resembling snake scales that gave glimpses of her unblemished fair skin.

Blonde hair like strands of gold, flowed in the breeze and shimmered in the light.

Accentuated by exquisite sharp eyebrows and soft eyelashes, were piercing, almond-shaped ruby eyes that made the many gemstones adorning her, pale in comparison.

Full, red lips and pink cheeks coupled with her unnatural beauty, meant that her smile could freeze people in place.

That woman was not me. Those eyes weren't mine. Nor were those lips. Neither were those breasts puffing out from my tight dress and those hips.

She was the first wife of the Imperial Count Dahl.

Guila Celine Dahl.

The woman I had to become to please my powerful husband. However, despite her beauty and prominent position, she was still the object of ridicule.

"There she goes again, wandering unaccompanied." A graceful-looking woman in her 30s said with her face behind her folding fan. "Hasn't it been ten years already?"

"A Federation tramp could never learn modesty, even if it was a hundred years." The man beside her added mockingly. "Even the most basic duty of a woman is beyond her."

There wasn't even an attempt to hide their voices and why would there be? This was a small viewing deck in Serenity's Imperial section, after all. There was no one here to defend me. Not like anybody in the galaxy would.

I betrayed the Federation to make a name for myself, only to be betrayed too, and reduced to nothing more than… this thing in the reflection.

A traitor and a failure.

However, I still had my pride.

I did my best despite the circumstances. I worked hard and endured so much to get this far. Still, I was fine with never being accepted by the Empire. To forever be a pariah.

But you.

I wanted you, who I've supported loyally and… even learned to love… to at least be loyal, as well.

So why?! Why?! Why?! WHY?!

"Mistress…" A voice suddenly called out to me, so I turned around. Even with tears clouding my vision, there was no way I could mistake those ears. "...Master said for us to meet him at the Apiary for dinner."

Vulpine ears atop a head of long, shimmering magenta hair - as if to challenge me. Meekly staring at me with soft round eyes of the same color, which contrasted my resting glare. Even wearing an expression of shock.

"M-Mistress, did I do something wrong?"

This petite but toned, bronze-skinned girl wearing a short-skirt dress and pumps with a similar style to mine was…

Guila Dahl's replacement.

"... Is that why you ran-" I slapped her with my palm. So hard that she nearly fell over.

I didn't care if there were people watching.

This thing which didn't even look twenty - with her ears and tail straightened in shock…This abomination was staring at me, wide eyed and trembling.

"M-mistress… I…"

I slapped her sobbing, mewling face for a second time, with the back of my hand. So what if my rings bruised her? I should be afforded this much leeway, shouldn't I?

"... I'm sorry…! I… I don't know what I did wro-!?"

She flinched, terrified when I raised my hand again. This time she finally shut up.

"I don't want to hear you speak."

I was surprised by how cold my own trembling voice was. Anger? Regret? Despair? What was it? I didn't know.

But I knew I had to take it out on her.

I had to!

How else was I supposed to see him again, unless I did this?! Unless I…

Unless I…

Tears ran down her cheeks, and so did mine.

She didn't understand why I was hurting her. She came here because my husband told her to. He must've thought that it would be good for us to walk together! Didn't even think twice about it!

And now, she's fallen on her knees. Quivering like a newborn foal. She must be beyond terrified. After all, the woman she was supposed to serve was beating her and yet crying while doing so.

But I wasn't feeling guilty.

I'm justified in doing this.

I am…!

I am!

I clenched my hands into fists and dug my nails into my palms. She held her head down, sobbing - trying to be quiet, but failing.

"... I'm sorry… I'm sorry… I won't do it again…"

I… I really am a disgusting tramp, aren't I? Is that why you never had a child with me? Then I don't blame you. I can't.

But what now? I can't bring her to my husband with a swollen face.

I glanced at my periphery and a map appeared in my vision. There was a clinic on the way to the Apiary.

"Come on. Let's go." My cold, trembling voice still hadn't gone away. But, even as she flinched, she did get up. Although, she hung her head low, slouched her back and took small steps behind me.

When I glanced back and saw her like that, I got irritated again.

Look at her.

Submissive and obedient. Yet also athletic. Not only that, but despite being just a few inches shorter, she seemed exactly like a frightened child. She was clearly the complete opposite of me.

Custom made.

That was the explanation. The only one. And that just made me even angrier.

After making sure that nobody was watching, I grabbed her hair and forced her to look up.

I saw a face that didn’t want to be near mine and eyes that darted away to stare at anything that wasn’t me. But even though I was hurting her again, she pursed her lips tightly.

“You’re a toy!” I growled with hate and pulled even harder. “My husband had you made to do nothing but satisfy him, so you better do that as best as you can! Because I refuse you from the bottom of my heart. A test tube abomination like you, deserves nothing more than that! Is that understood, doll!?”

She closed her eyes, hugged herself and sobbed again. But that wasn’t an answer.

So I yanked her hair again.

“Y-yes mistress…”

“Good.”

[We will commence the synchronized jump in 120 seconds. As a precaution, all viewing platforms will be closed to avoid blindness and nausea. Please do not be alarmed and continue as normal, there won’t be any effects on passengers and it will be over in a short while.]

“... Now let’s go. My husband will get tired of waiting.”

I know I’m being abusive. I do. I also know that I would’ve kept going had that PA announcement not come. If it hadn’t I… I don’t know if I would’ve been able to take it back.

Bah.

As if I could take back anything that I’ve done to this girl.

This was going to be how our relationship started. We’ll be living under the same roof, sharing the same room, the same man - and we’d have to keep up appearances in front of him and those around us.

But we were never going to be friends, much less sisters. My relationship with my husband is also going to be similarly strained. I only wish I was stupider. If I was, I wouldn’t be thinking of the future - I would just be doing everything at the heat of the moment, without any worry.

This is what I deserve, though. Nothing but further alienation. But I don’t have the luxury of feeling sorry for myself. Why should I?

“Hello! What seems to be the problem…” The nurse’s voice trailed off as he greeted us. His eyes then darted between me and the doll behind me.

“May I…?” He asked me, while gesturing to the doll with his left palm up.

“Go ahead.” I answered coldly, before turning towards it too. “Follow him and behave. Don’t make a fool of yourself.”

“...yes, mistress…” The nurse led her to the back where I could just barely peek through the curtains and see him leading her to a chair, before retrieving a medicine kit. Everything from first aid, to applying a cold compress and then finally, a bit of makeup to cover it all up.

That reminds me. She didn’t have make-up. But I did. I sighed before getting up to the bathroom.

I can hear them talking outside. I don’t care. It must be something like telling people about what she was experiencing. Trite words for those who actually can’t do anything about their situation, nothing more.

Then I looked at my face in the mirror - and saw my ugly self reflected in its entirety.

I turned on the water, took off my rings, and began washing it all off. But the makeup was stubborn, resulting only in even more black and cherry red streaks covering my face.

Why can't anything just go as I want it to!?

Flushed with anger, I grabbed the nearby soap and washed my face again, taking my dress into account by bending over the marble sink, so as to not wet it.

I furiously scratched away at my cheeks, the lids of my eyes, the plump of my lips, all to erase the resisting makeup that caked my face.

As the mascara, blush and lipstick slowly disappeared into the drain - the emptiness I felt only grew. When it was all gone - I stared at the mirror, once more.

It still wasn’t me. But it almost looked like me. The me that I can barely remember now.

Plip. Plip. Plip. It felt like I could hear the water dripping from my face and landing onto the sink.

Haah…

Knock. Knock.

The sound of the door rang loudly in my ears and snapped me out of my stupor.

“... m-mistress…” I could hear her voice on the other side. Soft and unsure of herself, but still trying. “... I have a towel… for you.”

I pursed my lips. Should I say thank you? Did the nurse tell her to do it or did she decide to do it on her own?

No.

No. I shouldn’t even think about something like that. I don’t want her, and needless to say, she doesn’t want to be with me, either. But that doesn’t mean that… I can’t at least act decent.

“Thank you, Ariel.” I don’t know how long I stood there in silence, but after I spoke, she opened the door and entered. She was still hanging her head, staring at the floor, but she passed me the towel with both hands.

Although the bathroom was wide, it was starting to feel cramped. Her right cheek was still swollen slightly, but it wasn’t discolored anymore. The wound on her lip was also covered up by lipstick. Then I took notice of her limp, bushy tail.

“You should go back outside. Your tail might get wet or dirty.”

“Yes… I will wait outside.”

I was already drying my face when I heard the door click behind me, then I heard the nurse’s voice again. So it really was his idea, then. Of course, it was. I put my rings back on, folded the towel and brought it out with me.

“Come, now.”

“Yes, mistress…”

After being so angry that I abused her, I'm just really tired now. I thanked the nurse and passed him the somewhat stained towel, before walking out with the doll wordlessly following two steps behind me. This is… better, I guess. At least with our positions clear, there wouldn’t be anything to worry about.

The small three-meter wide hall soon opened up to a gigantic atrium with a glass dome containing a small rainforest. It was one part of Serenity’s Multi-Biome Nature Reserve park. Flanked in every direction by all kinds of restaurants, malls and residential areas. I could even see the viewing deck where I was earlier, from here. However, my focus was on the high amount of people sprawled everywhere. There were just so many.

At least a thousand people were in my cone of vision at all times. However, I didn’t have to worry about getting lost. The Apiary that we were supposed to meet in, was a chain luxury restaurant in the middle of the park. At least, that’s what the map in my periphery and the digital map on the wall said it was.

“Follow me closely.” She didn’t give any confirmation this time, and just did as told. She was now diagonally behind me, hugging her elbows with her head still hanging low.

Damn it.

“Raise your head. I don’t want you bumping into someone and causing a scene.”

“Yes, mistress.” No sooner than I thought that I was tired of being confrontational, did I start getting annoyed by how she kept saying those words. But causing a scene myself was the last thing that I wanted to do.

Lucky you.