Chapter One: Amethyst
A woman put a hand on the child's shoulder. Sarah turned her head and upper body to see a woman with a rich, black velvet cloak fastened by black strings. Her face was obscured by the hood of her cape and locks of coal-black hair spilt out. She wore a long, royal purple skirt and a matching blouse that tightened around the wrist; a laced black corset covered her torso.
Almost immediately, Sarah felt self-conscious about her plain, faded jade-green dress that was frayed at the ends and stopped shortly before her knees and her brown cloak made from leftover feed bags. Her feet were dirty and bare, her hands, knees, and elbows cracked and dirty, her face streaked with mud, tears, and blood. The woman had clear, flawless skin and wore expensive-looking lace-up boots.
She motioned for Sarah to follow her. Sarah wordlessly complied. The strange woman led Sarah through the woods to a dirt road where and elegant carriage waited.
As they rode along, Sarah took a good look at her rescuer. The woman was obviously noble, as she looked like a Gothic princess. The stranger reached into her cloak and pulled out the most beautiful thing Sarah had ever seen.
It was a necklace.
A beautiful, clear ice crystal attached to a delicate silver chain. The crystal shone with an inner light and the woman handed it to her. As Sarah's hand brushed against the lovely crystal, Sarah felt a tidal wave of feelings and emotions flood through her.
Relief
Obsession
Caring
Kindness
And…Love.
Pure, simple, unbiased love.
Five words flitted through Sarah's mind, spoken by a boy.
"I'm just…glad you're okay."
"Sarah," the woman spoke, her voice snapping Sarah from her trance, "a halfa made this long ago for the woman he loved. That woman was your mother. So, this pendant rightfully belongs to you, her first and only child." Sarah clasped the necklace around her neck and looked up at the woman.
She lowered her hood and revealed deathly pale flesh framed by locks of silky, shiny hair. Two narrowed, dulled eyes looked at the young girl. Sarah gasped softly as realization hit her.
"Your mother's eyes looked like two amethysts set into ivory…"Eleanor's words echoed through Sarah's mind as she stared into the amethyst eyes of a woman she thought she would never see.
Mother…The carriage stopped and the door opened. The woman gave a tired, ghost-of-a-smile and the footman helped Sarah out of the carriage. A dark, threatening castle loomed in the dark, misty skies. Sarah clutched at her cloak and whimpered slightly.
"Your father lies within. Find him. Tell him you saw me. Tell him I'll wait for him at Heaven's gate. Tell him I have no regrets about bearing his seed. Remember, you are my daughter. Remain hopeful, strong, and be wise. I love you Sarah. I always have and I always will. Until we meet again, my little Sarah."
The carriage door shut and the carriage drove away until it was obscured by the mists. Sarah looked at where the carriage disappeared and sighed. "Mother…" Putting a hand to her head, Sarah began to feel dizzy and fell down. As the darkness closed in, she heard a female voice cry out:
"Oh, no! Poor thing, and so lovely too…"
Sarah woke up and shielded her eyes from the light. She looked around and saw not the familiar woods, but a room with nothing more than a small bed, a rickety chair, and a small desk. The only light came from a small window.
"Oh, good. You're awake."
Sarah turned to see a pretty woman with coal black hair and eyes bluer than the skies.
"You gave us quite a scare. We were terrified you weren't going to make it."
"Um, excuse me," Sarah said, her naturally sweet, quiet voice taking effect, "but, who are you? Where am I?"
"Why, my dear, I'm Danielle. You're in the servants' quarters. My room, anyways. Who are you? What were you doing outside the castle gates?"
Sarah blinked and looked at herself; suddenly aware she couldn't feel the normal scratch of her cloak or the soft rubbing of her cloth dress. Her skin was so sparkling clean that she assumed she had been bathed while unconscious, and she wore a fresh, modest maid's outfit, only it was a deep blue where it should've been black.
"Um…"
"Oh. Sorry, I'm just…a little jumpy. My name is Sarah. My grandmother was executed yesterday for crimes she did not commit. The only crime she did commit was having her own opinion." Sarah heard her voice crack with the last sentence. She buried her head into Danielle's chest and sobbed, each one racking her body violently.
"Whoa, poor thing. So young. Don't you have a mother or father?" Sarah shook her head.
"My mother died not too long after I was born, and I've never met my father."
A saddened look danced across Danielle's face and she whispered, "Poor girl. Far to young to be without a family. Tell you what. The palace maids could always use an extra hand or two. Would you like to help out?"
Sarah looked up at her and nodded, "Ah-huh."
"Well then, you're already dressed for it. Now, go up the stairs and the room you need to go to is the third one on the right. A lady named Asoyria will help you. Do everything she says, alright?"
Sarah nodded and headed for the room in which Asoyria dwelled. Soon, she came to the door and knocked. Once, twice, it opened. An old woman who had silver hair with streaks of coal black and eyes as black as coal stood before the child.
"And to what do I own this visit?"
Sarah backed up slightly at the bitter, angry tone in the woman's voice. She felt a sense of fear towards Asoyria.
"Are you Asoyria?"
"What of it?"
"Danielle sent me. I'm going to be a maid?"
"Oh. Well, come in, then. Don't wait for the grass to grow. Humph, not that you'll ever see it."
Sarah felt a rush of fear flow through her.
Never see the grass again?Such a thought was unimaginable for Sarah. She had been brought up in a two-room shack hidden deep in the woods.
Not hidden, Sarah reminded herself, just placed there.
But Sarah's heart said otherwise.
It had been three months since Sarah had entered the palace as a maid. She spent her days running errands, delivering messages, and learning other maid tasks. To her, it was incredibly boring, but Sarah never once complained. All of the running helped her keep her thoughts from straying to how she ended up here. She spent her nights with Asoyria and rarely saw Danielle. As the weeks drew on, Sarah found it hard to believe she was once ever afraid of Asoyria.
The constant running, as Sarah knew it would, eventually slowed down as the world fell into its cold, annual sleep. And of course, more time to herself meant more time to explore the castle.
Sarah, who was hiding in the shadow of a suit of armor, had to resist the urge to jump when a noise from the kitchen (the entrance to it was just kitty-corner from her hiding spot) startled her.
"Stay out here, boy. And no causing trouble." A mean old man, who somewhat reminded Sarah of her first impression of Asoyria, snarled at a boy with messy brown hair. The chef then slammed the door in the boy's face and he did the unthinkable. The boy snarled at the door and held up his middle finger at it. Sarah knew what the crude sign meant; her grandmother had not worked very hard to shelter her from the darker, crueler parts of society.
"What did you do?" Sarah asked, stepping out from her hiding place.
He turned around, "Nothing much, just caused chaos. That's my hobby. You're that new maid, right?"
Sarah nodded, "I'm Sarah. Who are you?"
"I'm Logan. Nice ta met'cha, Sarah." Logan held out his hand and Sarah took it and shook it.
"Walk with me?"
Sarah nodded, "Sure."
Sarah decided that Logan was a very interesting person. Turns out, his parents both worked in a small town (a small town turned out to be another name for a big village) until they died from influenza when he was 5. Logan was then sent to live with his aunt and uncle, who, desperate for money, sold Logan for 30 pieces of silver. Logan than ended up at the palace as a kitchen boy. He was now 7 years old.
"What's your story?"
"Huh?"
"I said, what's your story? Sure, there've been rumors flying around, but you know how gossip is."
Sarah looked down at her skirt.
"My mother died not too long after my birth and I never knew my father. My grandmother raised me. We lived in an old shack in the woods outside of the De'ler village."
"Oh, so you're the granddaughter of that old crone that bought it a few months ago. Sorry, didn't mean to offend you. It's just that in family, if one goes, most often times so does everyone else. How'd you get dragged here?"
"It may sound stupid, but my mother's ghost led me here."
"That ain't stupid. I've heard about that; it usually happens with little kids who never knew their parents."
Sarah smiled. "Thank you."
The two continued to talk until they had to part.