She was seven years old when Sabine lost her footing on the world. A strong, handsome family was stripped of its foundation. But the world continued, and the family flourished after the tragedy.
It was a cool summer night. Sabine's father worked with a theatrical group, so he always left the house in a particular hooded costume. He would kiss his wife, one arm hug his son, and pick Sabine up and spin in a circle before setting her down and kissing her forehead.
As he headed for the door, he called for his son to follow him to discuss something. As requested, the son trailed outside. Sabine would not have any secrets without her knowing, so she ran out the back door, and hid in some nearby bushes as she approached the front of the house.
She saw her father and son talking quietly. Every once and awhile, they would fall silent. Their conversation must have been a pretty serious one. But after about 5 minutes, Sabine's father glanced over to her hideout and gave a wink. Sabine remain motionless. How did he know where she was? He is so far away!
Within moments of the wink, a loud crashing sound startled the two, and Sabine let out a small yelp. Two men came running from the other side of the house, grabbed Sabina's father, and pulled him to the ground.
That's when the brawl started. Fists made contact with faces, yelling, screaming, and then the sound of a sword unsheathing.
Sabina screamed in terror as she saw her dad pull what looked like a small knife from his sleeve and thrust it at an attacker. Her brother had been knocked to the ground by the other. A sword was aimed at his throat.
Sabine's father slammed the blade into one pursuer and shoved the body away as he grabbed the man who had his son pinned down.
Before Sabine could stand to escape, her brother ran to the bushes where she hid and grabbed her around the waist. He ran to the house with her and slammed the door loudly behind him, locking it and all the windows.
Sabine's mother came frantically to his aid. Struggles could be heard from outside.
Sabine ran upstairs and peaked out of her window curtains. She saw the man with the sword had her father laying helplessly on the ground. He raised his sword and-
Sabine was quickly pulled away from the window as she heard a scream of agony. Tears filled her eyes as she knew her father had been slain. Her brother held her tightly, and she curled up into a ball as she sobbed. Her mother could be heard from downstairs, also reducing to tears.
That was the night that her brother, Volkard, age 15, became the head of the house. The year was 1352, and Germany was falling under a terrible rule.
Sabine would grow much more before she could learn the truth about that fateful night. It would be many years before she would understand the sacrifice that her father had performed.
Sabine didn't know what she really was. Nor would she for over 10 years.