Chapter 2 ~ Beauty
Sarah was a young girl when she and her father moved to the little village, just after her mother had died. When she was twelve, her father remarried and her new stepmother had a baby soon after. She became more and more enamored with her books. Reading became her passion. When she was sixteen she found a book that told her of a Fae King who had angered a beautiful enchantress, she fell in love with it. Tasked with keeping track of her new sibling, she was often left at home alone while her father traveled to keep food on the family table and her stepmother socialized with the local gentry.
Toby, the youngest child of the family slept a peaceful sleep in the sunshine while Sarah wandered the field reciting lines from the book she had all but memorized. Suddenly his bassinet was overthrown and he rolled into the flowers.
The plaintive cries of the boy drew her immediate attention. Dropping the book, Sarah lifted her skirt and ran to her sibling's aid. "Oh Toby! What happened?" Lifting the struggling child from the long grass, she noticed a red rash appearing on his face and arms. "Bother and damn! Karen is going to kill me!" Returning to her place, she swiped the book from the grass and stomped into the house. "All right, all right! I don't know what happened, but let's get you cleaned up before your mother gets home!" She took a soft cloth and dipped it into some cool water from the well. Rubbing it on a small cake of soap, she proceeded to clean the small child's exposed skin. As the rash faded, she put some soothing salve on it. "There, there little man. Are you hungry?" Taking a small bladder of milk that had been left for her sibling, she fed him and rocked him in the chair that had been her mother's. When he was asleep again, she laid him in his crib and went out to retrieve his bassinet. Bringing the damaged item inside, she soon set it to rights and put it by the wall.
Karen swept into the house as the sun was setting. "Why aren't the candles lit yet!"
Sarah growled softly. "Shh! I was just about to light them! I am almost done stirring the soup. Why don't you sit down and make yourself comfortable, Karen? I will see to it." Without waiting for a reply, she set down the ladle she had been stirring with and set to lighting the candles. "Did you have a good time today?"
Karen gave her stepdaughter an indifferent look. "As if you would understand, but yes. The mayor's wife asked me to tea tomorrow. I think I'm going to wear my new rose-colored dress. You of course will do my hair. Something up, perhaps."
"Yes, Karen. Would you like some of the wonderful chicken I baked and the soup?" She heard her brother crying. "I also made homemade bread. I'll be happy to cut you some as soon as I get Toby."
"Tobias, Sarah. How many times do I have to tell you his name is Tobias not Toby?"
"Sorry." Leaving the room she took care of her brother. Returning with a changed and clean baby, she set him in the small chair her father had built for him. "Now master Tobias, are you ready for your supper?" Pinning a cloth around his top she set a small bowl of porridge on the table before him and gave him a spoon. "Let's show your mommy what you learned today, shall we?"
Karen glared at her stepdaughter. "Really Sarah. Talk to him like he understands you? He's only two. He isn't even old enough to say his first word yet!"
The dark-haired girl smiled. "Really?" Looking down at the boy, she smiled. "Toby?"
The baby gurgled and banged his spoon on the table. "Sasa… sasa…"
The girl beamed and looked at her stepmother. "He says more. Toby, say mama…Ma…ma…"
"M…ma…ma…mmmm…ma!"
Karen rolled her eyes and glared at the girl as her stomach roiled. "Tricks! Nothing more! I'm going to clean up! Your father should be home tonight. Perhaps you can entertain him with your parlor tricks."
Crest-fallen, the girl settled at the table and helped the boy scoop food from his dish into his own mouth until he got the hang of it. Once he was going on his own, she turned to the pot of soup and stirred it again. Hearing horses outside, she looked out the window to see her father's wagon pulling up. "Karen! Daddy is home!" Rushing out to meet her father, she was worried when she saw how weary he was. "Oh, Daddy! You are exhausted! Come inside and warm yourself by the fire. I have supper ready and a fine nut brown ale that you will enjoy."
Robert smiled gratefully and tried to hide his wince as he climbed down from the wagon. "Thank you daughter."
"Father, you are injured."
"I will be fine, Sarah. I am simply tired and hungry. I have brought you a gift."
She shook her head. "Daddy, you know that I don't require anything from your trips. All I want is you to come home to us."
He patted her cheek and settled into a chair before the fire. "Where is your mother?"
The words trapped behind her teeth as she fought to keep the snide response at bay, Sarah breathed through her nose. "I will see what is keeping her. Pausing by the table, she wiped the baby's face with her apron. "Toby, Daddy is home."
"Dadda, ome!"
Robert smiled. "Did you teach him that, my girl?"
She nodded tears of pride in her eyes. "He says a few words, and can feed himself porridge as you can see."
"I bet your mother is proud."
Sarah shrugged. "I'll go find out what is keeping Karen." Trudging up the stairs, she rapped on her parent's door. "Karen? Father is home and is asking for you."
"Tell him I am unwell."
Sarah heard the sounds of retching from inside the room. Opening the door, she stepped hesitantly inside. "Karen, are you all right?"
"Oh," the blonde woman groaned, "perfect! I'm with child, you twit!"
Sarah grinned. "That's wonderful news isn't it?"
"How would you know? Have you ever been with child? Carrying a cannonball in your stomach? It's terrible! The marks left on your body! No matter how you try, no man will ever look at you the same." The blonde woman sneered. "Well in your case dear, no man will ever look anyway."
Sarah fought back tears. "I think it is lovely that you are going to have another child, and I believe that Daddy will be happy to be a father again. I'm sorry that you aren't feeling well. Would you like me to tell father that you are lying down and will see him in the morning?"
Karen shook her head. "No! I better go down and see him. You'll probably just make a mess of things and tell him. I can't trust you to keep this a secret anyway."
Sarah fisted her hands at her sides. "Why should it be secret? Forgive me for not being a 'proper lady'! I'm just ever so popular. Like you! I have so many friends all alone here on the farm! What with all of the chickens and pigs and cows to keep me company! I barely eat… I barely sleep! The only person I see is Toby, and he's only two. Heaven forbid I actually enjoy anything! I cook and slave for you Karen, so you don't have to! I hate you!" Turning on her heel, she stormed down the stairs and ran out the front door into the darkness. Unhitching the horses, she led them into the stables, rubbed them down and fed them. She was still standing in the barn hours later when her father came to her.
"Sarah, it is late, come inside to bed."
"I'm not tired, Daddy."
"Come on, honey. I heard the argument you had with your mother…"
"She isn't my mother! When you are gone, she is never here. I take care of the house, the farm, Toby. I hate her! She doesn't care about anyone but herself… and now you're going to be a daddy again… I'm going to matter even less." She sobbed into his shoulder.
Robert held his daughter close. "Shh… I'm so sorry Sarah. I didn't know it was so bad. Come inside. Tomorrow we will talk about this as a family and we will make some changes."
She nodded reluctantly and allowed him to lead her inside to bed.