The Queen of the Prairie and I

When I opened my eyes, the eldest sister told me to follow the team.

Under the boundless Baishan Mountains, the female mercenaries of the matrilineal An people rode in armor and escorted the caravan across the wilderness.Each of them is strong and tall, and each of them is named An.

I just remembered that I was just a little girl from the inland who was captured by nomadic northern soldiers and sold everywhere. I seemed to have a very long dream, a developed and reasonable world.It was completely different from my memory, no need to be slaves, no torture, no armies that killed people and set fire to them, no inferiority.

I don't know how many times I have been resold since I was a child, and I don't know whether I am a person.The master's face has changed one after another, and he has done so many decent jobs and lowly jobs, as if in a lifetime, but now he hasn't even learned how to ride a horse, so he can only walk behind the team.

"Li Zi, why don't you go faster?"

Because a few blisters on the soles of my feet burst, every step was painful, and at the same time, I was puzzled by that long dream.I looked up at the Anzu cavalrymen who came to me on horseback, tightened the big luggage on my back, and showed a flattering smile as usual.As long as I have this smile, I won't be beaten. It's already an instinct for me.

But I was wrong, very wrong.The warriors of the An tribe are all bloodthirsty female warriors. I actually forgot the ghost story of "Po An" that my mother told me when I was a child on a small boat by the river. A barbarian tribe dominated by women, who live by war, women are not like women, and men are not like men.

Now the female Anzu warrior is right in front of me, but I am perfunctory to her with a manly smile.The tall woman took out her riding whip and beat me across the head and face.

"You still dare to laugh! You still dare to laugh! You still have a face to smile after being dragged down!"

After being resold outside the customs for seven or eight years, I have already mastered the language of the barbarians, but I haven't really understood their way of survival.

"Sister, I was wrong, don't hit me, please!"

I exclaimed, I deserve this beating, because the long dream just now made me forget who my eldest sister is.The eldest sister is the little leader of the cavalry, because I once had nothing to do to wrap the hooves of her injured horse with cloth, so I got to know her.The An people don't like people touching their horses, and I got punched and kicked for that.But then the elder sister's horse got better, and her attitude towards me changed.But that was not a relationship I could get used to. The women of the An ethnic group were unrestrained and unrestrained, fighting each other at every turn.The eldest sister attaches great importance to this itinerary. I not only dragged my feet, but also smiled, which insulted her.

"What are you looking at, do you want to be beaten!" The male laborers looked back at me and smiled. After being scolded by the elder sister, they hurried away with their luggage on their backs without looking back.

That whip left red marks on my arms and face, and made me fall from the sky. The big basket behind me was like a turtle shell, making me unable to get up.

Arm slaves are like this, they are cheaper than mules and horses, they are used as mules and horses, and they are thrown away when they die.How on earth did I get to this point?If you think about it, it would be much more comfortable to serve others as a tent slave.Looking at the deep blue sky, it might be a lot more comfortable to die like this.

A pair of strong hands grabbed my shoulders, and I was pulled to sit up when I recovered.The eldest sister looked at me with wide eyes, making sure that I was not exhausted like the slaves who fell on the road.A pinch of brown bangs is exposed under the spliced ​​leather helmet...is it called bangs in the dream?For the first time, I thought that my eldest sister's hair would be so beautiful.

"Do your job well, the road is not far away." She said, the elder sister's voice was still so sweet, sweet and reliable.She hugged me suddenly, and then quickly let me go like a thief. She was afraid that others would see her, and pulled me to stand up.I was so tired that I managed to get back on my feet, finding the right posture for carrying a heavy load like a hunchback.At this time, the eldest sister had already mounted her horse and galloped to the front of the team.

I don't know why, but I feel very warm in my heart.Although it was already very hot, and the dry wind from the desert in the northwest of the mainland was about to blow me into dry meat, I still felt very warm, a warmth that was different from scorching heat.Although the An people get along rough, they are affectionate and righteous.

Come to think of it, it was my eldest sister who saved me.Because I was in the tent of my last master, the son of the Baishan tribe in the northwest desert, because of his crazy hobby, I kicked his lower body.

I've committed a felony, and they were going to sew my mouth shut and saw off my skull to heal what the lord got from it.But on the night before the execution, I escaped from the gap in the felt tent where I was held, hoping to find another way to die.Leaving the nomadic tribe in the wasteland, he lived alone for a short time, either dying of thirst or starving, but it was better than being made into a medicine primer.On the way to escape, I saw a tied horse treading strangely, so I imitated what the old shepherd often did to bandage the horse's hooves.

The tents there belonged to the An mercenaries who were guests in this tribe.An An tribe saw me and immediately called out to my companions.The An people ran out, beat me up, and even cut off my hands.The eldest sister came out, and she looked at me a little strangely for the first time.I recognized her. When the son brought his female slave to meet the guests, she was the leader of the guests on the other side. At that time, she looked at me as if she had seen delicious food.But now, her eyes were full of disbelief and disappointment.

I knew what a heinous crime among these people the crime of horse stealing was, far worse than any I had committed before.She raised the whip, and looking at her figure, I thought she would beat me to death, but she accepted the method of death frankly.But the elder sister just slapped my face hard, then turned around and left.She walked quickly, as if she didn't want to stay for a second.

The An tribe saw me talking nonsense about not being able to lynch in other people's territory, so they handed me over to the tribal soldiers.The soldiers discussed whether they should just use me and kill me.This result is also better than being tortured and killed, and I am not unacceptable.But they happened to talk about the big punishment that I will suffer tomorrow, and they insisted on keeping me in tomorrow's big punishment for the effect of the medicine introduction.

The next day, after the shaman had finished dancing, a man with a saw and a needle came forward.Having been a tent slave for a long time, I can hardly bear the feeling of the dry wind directly hitting my naked body.

I fainted.Because I have seen the screams of people whose skulls were sawn alive.

But when I woke up, I was in Anzu's tent.Lying naked on the carpet, the surrounding An nationality women are all wearing leather armor.

"Sister, thank you very much for what you did to Yellow Tail." A female warrior said.

"We negotiated with the young master, and the young master admitted that you are also a horse thief who offended us, and agreed to hand you over to us." She continued.

"I...I'm not..." I said, my voice so husky that I couldn't believe it.I thought to myself that I was going to die anyway, so I didn't miss another beating.

"Don't say that, the young master won't hand you over to us." The "big sister" spoke, and she turned to look at me.Not as indifferent as other Anzu fighters, I heard a strange feeling. "If you want to survive, just follow us."

It's not a strange feeling, it's just that I don't recognize it after a long time.

That is caring.

"But..." The Anzu mercenaries escorted the caravan deep into the eastern grassland.But where can they use tent slaves, and people who do odd jobs in the office tent?

"Shut up, slave, you are a slave, and the An people don't use female slaves." The elder sister continued, and she shut up in fright as soon as she scolded me, and the idea that it's okay to die sooner or later, and it's okay to be beaten was immediately thrown into the clouds. "You want to change from slave to human, we have our own rules"

"But, big sister, even if she survives, why don't you find a slave..." an An tribe soldier said.She has straight black hair like running water, tied back like a ponytail, it doesn't look like real hair.

"An Xiche, that's my business." The eldest sister said to her, the soldier's name was An Xiche?What a strange name.Although An Xiche still had some dissatisfaction on her face, she no longer questioned the elder sister, and she could see how high the elder sister's status was among them.

"What's your name?" My sister asked me.

"I..." How long has it been since someone asked me that?Strangers, especially people who have me, usually call me by my name.

"Plum," I said, should that be my name?or something else?I can't remember either.

"Li Zi, if you want to become an adult, you have to do the last job of your slave. You are a horse thief, and a horse thief must be a slave. If you don't die, you can go back to your hometown. This is the law of our An tribe." The eldest sister said, "You It must be accepted."

i have to accept

She is forcing me, I don't feel it, forcing has always been a theme in my life.

Suddenly, the numb throat suddenly felt more painful.

"I have to... have to...accept it," I said, breaking out in tears.

At that moment, I understood why those Anzu fighters respected Eldest Sister so much.

She threw me a cloth and a pair of boots, probably from some dead slave, I don't know.

I put the fabric over my face, and when I took it off, there were two tear stains on it.

The sweetest compulsion, feeling it for the first time.