Princess of the Sands

Saphira POV     Today was the day. I turn 16 today, and so will be presented to his royal highness to be told if I will become a part of the eldest prince's royal harem. The one thing I have dreaded my whole life.     It is tradition in the Kingdom of Negev that all girls that have turned 16 will be presented to the crown prince at the end of the month to decide if  any girls would be lucky enough to enter the royal harem. However what used to be a great honor is now every girls worst nightmare. Prince Hijiki was said to be the most cruel prince in all of Negev history.     Rumors say that any new girl that enters his harem is tested for her strength. It is said that he whips them, cuts them, and then brands the girls until they finally pass out from the pain. Only those who can endure all of it without passing out are fully accepted, those who fail become his servants of the lowest  ranks.     Sadly today is both my 16th birthday, and the end of the month. Not even an opportunity to hide myself before the soldiers come to collect us for the presentation. The tzahal came in to our home and grabbed me by the arm, the pure look of disgust on  his face to touch someone so filthy apparent on his face.     I liked to keep my body dirty, hair untamed, and always cast my eyes to the ground. I had always been told to keep myself "ugly" so I would never be chosen, but when I was clean my father would tell me I was as beautiful as a sapphire.     He always loved to tell me that my name came from the stone my mother loved most in the world. Sadly she died shorty after I was born. Father always says that I am her spitting image, long curly hair as black as the ravens feather, full pink lips , a dainty button nose, and a petite hourglass figure. My eyes though, shine as blue as sapphires themselves.     My father begged the tzahal to release me as I was his only family left, to spare me and he would give the tzahal everything we had saved in exchange for my freedom. The tzahal laughed menacingly as he kicked my father down "If you thing this bribery will save this filthy thing you call a daughter then his highness would not have any women in his harem" his voice was like poison and struck my father like the fangs of a cobra.     The tzahal pulled me out of our hut, my father crying in pain physically and emotionally. I could see the other 8 girls in line to be presented. All of them were from merchant families of higher status than my father. It was clear that they would be more appealing to his majesty as they all looked clean and well dressed. They each stood out in their own way, although anyone stands out to you when you are only 5 foot 2 inches.     We could all hear our families crying out for their children.Mother praying that  their daughters would be mercifully saved. Fathers cursing at the tzahals for their cruel grasps on their children. Siblings crying for they were too young to understand that their older sister could be leaving them for good.     The people became quite, and only whispers could be heard as the caravan approached.  The crown prince never did like to show his face, and today seemed to be no different. He always wore a mask to conceal himself from the outside world.     Slowly he inspected us before he began to point "you there, the girl in the pink. you shall make your family proud today" the blond haired girl was pulled away by a tzahal as the prince continued. He stopped in front of me and frowned "who allowed this filth to be in line, she will never make it in the harem." he said the words laced with disgust     He tried to lower himself to my level as he was much taller than me, 6 foot 4 inch maybe? As he crouched down to see my face I turned to look away which only made him angrier. He stood and pulled my face up by my chin to look straight into his piercing gold eyes. If the world stopped I think I would be ok now, his eyes held this great mystery behind them and I wanted to solve it.     Feeling uncomfortable as he continued to search my facial features I tried to escape his hold.He thankfully released me and pointed at me "we will take her too" I quickly gazed back at the prince, begging him with my eyes to let me stay. With the smirk on his face I knew that I would get no such luck.     Father quickly jumped in begging the prince upon his knees to release me. Trying every bribe he could think of to prevent him from taking me. The prince began to raise his leg, I knew he was about to kick my father and so I jumped in between them before he killed him.     My lungs lost their air faster than the oomph sound escaped my lips. I crumpled to the floor silently, refusing to give the prince the satisfaction that he had inflicted pain upon me. He laughed in his maniacal way "you truly are an interesting girl, I look forward to the trials" with that he mounted his horse and rode off to the palace.     The blond and I, who I learned is named Myra, were the only ones picked this month. The tzahals dragged us to the palace without allowing us to bid our families goodbye as we were sure we would never see them again. If we did not walk fast enough they would lash at us threatening to increase the trials that were in store for us.     We arrived at the palace, and were quickly welcomed by chamber maids. The prince approached us and pulled a bit of my hair, leaning in close to my ear he whispered "I cannot wait to find out what you look like under all the filth." and with that we were dragged again but this time by maids who wished to bathe us.     I was pushed into the large basin to be welcomed by freezing cold water. Was this part of the trials to become part of the harem? If so it sucks! Myra did not look fazed by her entry into the basin on the other side of the room.     It was obvious that the maids had already decided who they believed would be more likely to enter the harem, and it was not me. I could smell the sweet scent of orange and rose, and knew it was being used on Myra. I was glad they were treating her better than me, I have lived in worse conditions than this so I would become accustom to this quickly.     A large bucket of water was dumped over me, it smelled of fresh clay which wasn't terrible. The maids laid out gowns for Myra and I to wear, and you could see the difference in levels of social standing. Myra's dress was a beautiful peach colored gown that reached the floor, flowing like the Jordan River. It was sleeveless and had gorgeous jewel embellishments all along the bodice.     Mine looked like it could have been one of the maids formal wear for a banquet. A simple floor length tan colored dress with no adornments. It was still more than anything I had ever worn before. We both slipped into our dresses, and the maids quickly began to work on Myra's hair. I was left to manage my own, to which I grabbed a small bit of leather to pull my hair over into a loose braid draping over my shoulder.     Since it was clear that Myra would get plenty of help from the maids I decided to take matters into my own hands. I found a pair of scissors and began to cut the front of my dress, cutting the front of the dress to be just above the knee and leaving the back long. I then proceeded to cut off one sleeve of the dress to reveal some skin from my shoulder. Using the scraps of fabric I had cut I fashioned a simple boy at the end of my braid, and then a sash fashioned with a matching bow off of my hip.     The maids were so involved with Myra that they didn't even notice the changes I had made until I was finished. They insisted that I change into something else, but I refused. With solemn looks on all of their faces we were escorted to the court yard.     "You look amazing" I told Myra as she blushed at the compliment. "You look amazing as well, I never would have the guts to change the dress I was given." I laughed at her then gave her hand a small reassuring squeeze.     Then Prince Hijiki walked in sitting upon his small throne at the center of the court yard as he announced "Let the trials begin!"