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Jessie and Ava were orphaned at a young age when both of their parents died of plague. At the time, Ava was so little that she hardly knew her parents. Their death was of no great significance at the time. Even later on in her life she could never really grasp the feeling of grief and pain that come from losing a loved one. Jessie, on the other hand, was a different story.
The woman who raised them was their Aunt, named Eden Ledd. She was a loving, gentle woman. Willing to give up her own dinner so that the girls could eat. She provided for them until Ava was twelve and they were both ready to be sent to a school. There were numerous academies in the area that accepted orphans for no tuition price. Sure, they were crammed, but Eden couldn't pay for anything. She hardly had enough to feed them. And so, on one cold Autumn morning they packed the little they had and moved to the school. They would share a room, and all their classes.
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"It's going to be so much fun!" Ava said for perhaps the fifth time the evening of the Festival. She was standing behind Jessie, brushing the girls long brown hair up into an elegant updo. Jessie rolled her eyes and wished that her sister would hurry. It was growing dark outside. The room was dimly lit with several candles that Ava made in her spare hours. She'd already brushed her hair up into a loose and messy chignon- an age-old hairstyle that she'd learned about from a friend. Tiny blond curls hung down around her face. The golden candle light cast a warm glow on her cheeks. She was beautiful.
"Perhaps you could hurry up?" Jessie said quietly, examining her nail cuticles. They were both already dressed in their dancing dresses. Ava had made them both herself. They were nearly matching with several minute differences. The younger girl's was made with gold fabric and had many neat pleats sewn in so that her skirt would sway when she was swung. The sleeves were slightly puffed, made to rest on the end of her shoulder blade. It had a bodice-style vest to go over the front. Jessie's dress was very similar, but it was a shade of light blue and had slightly longer sleeves.
