Chapter Two: Sara

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?