Disturbed by the constant tapping on her window, Sara opened her sleepy eyes and stared at the darkness around her. she did try to ignore the annoying sound and go back to sleep but it was futile as it only grew louder, dragging her forcefully and completely out of her sweet dreams' land.
Sitting up with an annoyed sigh, Sara wrapped the covers around her body before walking to her window, the room was dark but she was perfectly able to find the right footing without stumbling or bumping into any furniture. she knew the place like her own palm, every flagstone and every brick. It was her own beautiful, personal, comfortable cell where she had spent the last twelve years.
Standing by the window, Sara stared at the colored glass and the beautiful little patterns the water droplets made while sliding on the other side. However, her eyes couldn't see beyond that as the glass was too thick and obscure, it was the thing she hated most about her room and even asked her father on several occasions to replace it with normal translucent glass, which he refused, like he does with most of her requests that doesn't include a material grant.
Shaking the negative thoughts out of her head, Sara reminded herself of how lucky she was with her current life, and how futile it was to keep on wishing for impossible things. such as a normal life? An inner voice mocked her, who was she to ask for what everyone else had and took for granted?
She was but the king's illegitimate daughter, that was the bitter answer she knew. History books rarely mentioned any royal bastards, and when they did it was never in kind words, the Yoren dynasty have always been glorious and sanctified as they were the Gods' blessed soldiers. however, such loftiness came in a single pack with the unspoken moral constraint of virtue and chastity, and a child born outside the wedlock -like herself- was never accepted as it was the lewd infringement to that sanctification. These children were a living disgrace to the parent, and in her case, that parent was her father, King Edard Yoren the tenth.
Lighting up a candle, Sara took a seat at her large desk, telling herself to look at the bright side of her situation, she might have been confined in the holy tower with the priests, away from the capital where her father lived, but at least, her father loved her, he might have not acknowledge her to the kingdom but he did to her and in a way, it was enough, she was also blessed with a luxurious life, her room, which was actually the tower's attic, was very large and well maintained, she had a big comfortable bed with warm covers, a wardrobe with many beautiful dresses made out of the best fabrics, boxes filled with jewelry, a small library where she kept her private books as well as the ones she borrowed from the tower's library, she had many dolls and toys that she stopped playing with long ago but still kept for decoration or remembrance, her life was not that bad, Sara consoled herself, she had a nice roof, good food, nice clothes, warm bed, plenty of books and a father who loved her and visited her at least twice a month, sometimes more, many times less. It was the best possible life for someone like her, from what she heard bastards, the ones kept alive at least, were not even allowed to address their parents with anything but their formal titles, she couldn't even imagine how her life would have been without her father's love, greyer than it already was.
Lonelier...
Opening one of the taxes registers, Sara started doing her calculations, verifying every single line for any possible forgery or embezzlement, it was a little task her father gave her to kill time since she was very good with numbers, and she loved how it made her feel of use to her father. However, she was done with it in no time and was left with nothing else to do, it was an hour before dawn, the doors to her room were not going to be unlocked any time soon so she couldn't even borrow any new books to read, she couldn't go back to sleep either, not with the heavy rain, Sara was never fond of rain, the rainy seasons were those when her father visited the less if not at all.
Looking around, Sara spotted her small tub, thinking about it a little, she decided it wouldn't hurt to take a good long bath, better yet a scented bath, opening the hot water faucet, she let the tub be filled with hot water while dropping some Jasmine essence in it, her absolute favorite. she inhaled deeply, already feeling relaxed, taking off her pink nightgown, she walked toward her wardrobe where her big mirror was placed and stared at her reflection in the dim light, observing her body, the silver hair which was both long and silky, the flawless porcelain skin, the feminine way her body was built, with the right curves and harmonic proportions, her breasts were round and firm, only big enough to fit in her small palms, her legs were long and slim with a round prominent buttock, but what she loved the most were her eyes, her father always complemented her eyes, telling her how pure and unique their color was. unique was indeed a fitting word for her as she never met anyone with the same hair or eye color, however, Sara never really met too many people as she was not allowed to leave the holy tower.
Choosing her outfit for the next day, a warm purple dress with matching undergarments, Sara placed it on the chair next to her before stepping into the hot water, feeling the heat doing magic tricks to her body as she instantly relaxed, the jasmine scent filled her nostrils, making her sigh in delight. she loved her hot baths nearly as much as she loved her father's visits, it was the time when she allowed herself to simply lay back and not worry about a thing, after all, life in the holy tower wasn't the easiest for a girl as it was not a place for a girl to begin with, the holy tower was a sacred establishment to teach and train young men, exclusively men, in order to turn them into priests.
The priests were vital for the Taghit kingdom as they were the men of Gods, their main task was to spread the Gods wisdom and teaching, advise those in need, guide those who have lost the way, the holy tower, headed by the holy council, represented the religious authority in the kingdom which had an unquestionable contribution in the kingdom's decision making.
Sara had no idea why was she confined in the holly tower of all places, all she knew was that she came to live there since she was five. no one but the high priests were allowed to talk to her, the young priests in training avoided her like a plague, she did try several times to befriend some of them but it always ended in the same way, her crying on her bed, scolded and friendless, she was also never allowed to leave the tower, unlike it name indicated, the holy tower was actually a big castle with multiple sections and vast gardens for medical herbs, however, she was rarely allowed to leave her section which she shared with the elite priests, and never during the night time. according to the priests and her father, the night had its creatures that fed on darkness and shadows as well as wondering souls, Sara knew what they meant by the night creatures, Demons, the bane of their world.
Feeling a shiver ran down her spine as she thought about the cursed creatures, Sara hugged her knees, she barely remembered anything about her life before the tower but she had these fragments of memories about a dark night and a shadow with red eyes that bit her small hand, She didn't remember the accident to be particularly frightening or painful but her father was raging because of it, and since that day, he moved her to the tower, saying it was the safest place possible.
Taking the little bottle by her side, Sara poured some of the thick liquid on her fingers, rubbing it a little between her palms before applying it on her hair, she gently massaged her scalp with the jasmine scented foam. Suddenly, the lock on her door clicked, Sara jumped up, surprised and alarmed, the sudden motion causing the foam to inter her eyes, the burning sensation made her shut her eyes involuntarily. not seeing where she was stepping, she lost her balance while she was trying to step out of the tub, and fell on the floor, with her body exposed and her eyes forcibly closed.
Sara heard the door open then close again quickly, not quick enough though as the intruder whoever it was stayed for few seconds. Sadly, she couldn't see who it was until she washed her eyes and the intruder was already gone.
Disturbed, Sara flushed her hair and body urgently before putting on a thick bathrobe, she didn't need a clock to know it was earlier than her usual rouse time, no one was supposed to unlock her door at this hour, she frowned, alarmed by the unexpected visit, and the way the intruder -who had to be a priest or a priest in training- ran away before she could even see him.
Cleaning up the mess she caused, Sara couldn't shake the uneasiness off her mind, she felt exposed and naked to the eye. Her father always insisted that she sticks to a conservative dress code as he couldn't guarantee the priests' pureness. She knew he would be very upset if he knew, and he always deprived her of leaving her room or of his visits whenever she made him upset. Sara wondered; did she really have to tell him?
Hearing the unlocking of the door, Sara -properly dressed this time- stood up from her chair and headed toward the door to take her breakfast. opening the door, she was met with Patrick's friendly face, the mid aged priest in the long hooded grey robe wasn't one of the twelve high priests that formed the holy council, but still had quite the reputability due to his amiable character and friendly behavior, even towards her. he didn't act as repulsive and disturbed by her presence like the other priests, but rather polite and patient all while keeping his distance.''Good morning, Young Lady. Here is your breakfast.'', Sara stared at the stuffed plate with barely any interest. Even though it contained all her favorites, the scrambled eggs, the fruit salad with heavy cream, the red tea and the buttered bun. she just didn't have any
Sara breathed calmly, careful not to made any sounds that might alarm anyone. the corridors were actually deserted, but their silent emptiness only amplified the sound of her breaths and steps. she, who chose to go barefoot for the mission in order to minimize the noise she might make, wondered if it wasn't just her fear of being caught that was playing tricks on her mind for she knew she was not supposed nor allowed to be in that section of the tower. blood was rushing in her veins with both eeriness and excitement. she never did anything like this before, and a big part, the sane rational part of her mind told her to stop this nonsense and go back to her room before it was too late, while a smaller part, a rebellious one she didn't even know about until now, was telling her that if she wanted answers, then she better look out for them herself.
Sara felt her blood freeze inside her veins. she couldn't decide whether her heart was beating way too fast or beating at all. she stared at the man carefully as her knees shivered under her robe, wanting to believe that this was just a bad joke, a prank the priests were pulling to punish her for trespassing. but an inside voice told her it was all real, the man whom she thought was her friend was looking at her in a way that screamed danger, he reeked of evil and malignity, and she knew he meant his words, but there was also something else.''You look surprised.'', Patrick asked innocently while approaching her, his steps, unlike how they appeared, were not random nor careless, but perfectly studied, the girl in front of him looked as frail as a feather and knew nothing about the place she was in nor had any basic skills o
Not having anywhere to resort to as the red eyes surrounded her from each corner, Sara crouched into a protective position and closed her own, she squeezed them shut so hard all while covering her ears with her hands, She cried and shivered, feeling the stares on her like wicked touches, sickening and filthy, she felt herself being violated, as the touches kept on crawling on her naked self, each withholding a part of her while she crouched helplessly, she recited every single prayer she knew, begging the Gods to save her as she had no idea how to save herself, However, the Gods didn't respond, they never did to any of her former prayers, when she wished to see her mother, or when she wished to have friends, the Gods seemed to have forsaken her, yet here she was still begging them, hoping this one time they might listen...Too engrossed in her mind wrecking struggle, Sara was surprised by the sudden painful pair of grips that clutched at her shoulders like nippers, making her
''Your Majesty...'', A beautiful woman in her early forties approached the king who was standing next to a large mirror, busy dressing himself in casual clothes. He, however, didn't acknowledge her presence at all as he finished buttoning up his shirt...''It is late, Your Majesty, it is not a good idea to leave now as the sun...''''And whose fault is that? That I have to go out this late and risk being attacked by the night creatures?'' The king didn't turn to face his wife as he interrupted her sharply, ''Weren't you the one who refused to live with her under the same roof?''''Edard, I can't...'', The redheaded queen's voice quivered as she looked at him with
Sara stared at her leaving father with a bright smile, waving at him happily, while the early sun rays illuminated his body. The sight was truly majestic to the eye. The king waved at her as well, promising to come visit her sooner than expected, with plenty of gifts and savories. Sara was grateful for her father who couldn't bear to leave her upset. Those few extra minutes he spent with her, just hugging her and telling her how much he loved her. It brightened her morning and lifted the weight off her heart for a while, but once he took off and was out of sight, her smile fell off her face only to be replaced by a sour expression.Sara wished she could muster enough courage to tell her father she didn't want any gifts nor savories. That she was grateful for all his love and time and care but it wasn't enough. She, just like any
Surrounded by a white glow, Sara felt her numb body being pulled to the bottom of what seemed like a bottomless pit. Where an inhumanely beautiful woman stood with her arms stretched forward, as if waiting for Sara to fall into her embrace. She stared at her with heavy eyelids, noticing the familiar silver locks and pure eyes, The ones she saw every single day in her mirror. But unlike her soft features, the woman had rather sharper ones that that spoke volumes about her status and strength.The woman was saying something, Sara noted from her moving lips. However, the drowning girl wasn't able to hear a thing beside a dull whir in her ears. The burn in her lungs seemed to increase the closer she got to the woman who seemed aware of everything happening to her...''...Within...You...Trust...No...'', Sara wasn't able to distinguished any of the words as a painful pressure hit her chest repeatedly as if it was being hammered mercilessly. An excruciating pain erupted in he
‘’Another carriage was attacked yesterday, Your Highness, three bodies were found, while twelve are still missing”, Henry frowned while listening at the bald man across the round table. It wasn’t uncommon for the demons to attack humans as they were their main source of food. However, the numbers were alarmingly high, not to mention the locations and recurrence. Due to the curse on their kind, the demons were not able to walk in day light nor step too far into the human lands away from their exiles. Nevertheless, their latest attacks defined all the known facts.Pinpointing the location of the attack on the large map, Henry looked at it thoughtfully, his thick brown eyebrows knitted in a deep frown as tried to connect the knowledge he had with the data displayed in front of his eyes. Looking back at the generals, ready to share his conclusions without taking offense by their doubtful eyes. They watched every single one of his moves carefully as not all