The wind was blowing gently and cooling my skin.

The willows were swaying

as if they were mourning. The sun was shining brightly in the blue and cloudless sky.
The grass looked especially green and soft. The fields in the distance were almost
ready to be harvested. The river sparkled in the sun. The birds were tweeting their
happy melodies. It was as close to perfect as a place could get. Then I heard a
terrified scream.
I ran over to my families living quarters in the castle and found my little
brother sitting in the corner shivering. My older brother had been closer to our
home and had reached it before me.
The, the river is going to flood, my little brother screeched. Swng! Death,
death will come, and great tragedy will come with it! Must undertake something!
We have to save the village, my older brother gasped, but, how will we
save the village, we are the only people here, everybody else is gone to war and to
build the wall, and there is no natural barrier here. He looked worried.
I have an idea, if there are no natural barriers, we can make man-made
barriers, we have the recourses and we have enough people! I exclaimed
True, but we only have two men. Despaired my little brother who had just
stopped sobbing.
If you count as a man, so do I, I protested to my twelve year old brother I
am four years older than you! I got up and started gathering wood; mud, dried
bushes, and anything else that could you could make a dam with. My brothers
quickly got up and started working on our barrier, and according to my little
brother, we had five days and we would have to work ten hours a day.
Its so heavy! my little brother complained.
We are almost done, man up, Im doing better than you and I am a girl. I
teased. We had been working for four days and we were all tired. The dam was
almost finished and all of our spirits were crushed.
Finally were almost done! my older brother exclaimed. There were only a
few more places we had to patch up and then the wall would be finished, but if we
didnt finish, we would loose all of our food and resources.
The sun was setting; tomorrow would be the day that the flood came. I heard
the river in the distance and fell asleep to the whistling of the wind.
I awoke to the river acting up, the banks were already starting to flood. I was
really nervous, if the wall didnt hold the flood, we would probably die and our
farms would be no more. I ran into the lush green forest hoping that I was safe. All I
heard was the roar of raging water as the flood hit our dam. I hid behind a tree and
hoped that if the water made it past our barrier that the tree would stop it from
carrying me away. I flinched and pressed my back closer to the tree.
Jn, where are you, its over! Hao, my older brother franticly yelled, trying to
find me.
Here, I replied in a small voice, Were is Xinzh? This was not good. My
little brother would either be lost or he could have drowned. Whatever happened to
my little brother, it could only mean trouble, he was mischievous and you would
never know what kind of messes he would get into.
We went to the wall that surrounded our village and climbed onto it to
search for our little brother. We stayed up there for most of the day, but when I
finally found him, he was lying among a mass of clay and water, frozen.
Hao, hes here. Ihes not moving. I despaired. We hopped over the wall
and sloshed our way over to Xinzh, trying to move in the hardening clay. We pried
him out of the mass of clay; our eyes filled to the brim with tears.
He isnt dead, He cant be dead, I wont believe it. He cant leave us now. He
wasnt old enough to die. He isnt dead. I tried convincing myself, but I feared the
worst.
My brother and I both didnt want to accept the fact that we had just lost
Xinzh, so we tried to hear his heartbeat again, or hear another breath, but it was
useless, he was gone forever.
We carried him back to our home and dug a hole inside the palace walls,
which was forbidden, but he was our brother, and we wanted him near us and with
us. We wrapped him in silk and covered his homemade grave perfectly. I was
sobbing silently and my brother was holding back his tears, we sat there and
mourned for what seemed like forever, and I couldnt help thinking that he deserved
better than what we had given him. I thought back to the last words I had said to
him, and I wished I could tell him that I loved him and that he would be in our hearts
forever. I felt like I hadnt showed him that I had cared for him. I heard a knock on
the door to our room. My brother and I ran into our room and I answered the door,
my cheeks stained with tears.
Who is it? I asked as I looked out of the hole in the door. I saw a brown
chariot embroidered with gold with an umbrella and I knew it was an imperial
soldier from the Forbidden City. I held my breath as I opened the door. Were we in
trouble? Would we be praised?
We have come from the forbidden city to tell you that you have been chosen
to be Noble Foremen at the construction of The Great Wall. The man said.
Why me? Why now? What have I done to deserve this? Is this for real? I thought
as I stared at the soldier. He was wearing his armor, had an angular, white face, and
had a scroll that he was reading from.
My brother and I were hurried into one of the chariots, away from my
brother grave. We had no choice other than to do what we were told; we had to
remain in control of ourselves. Soon we would have to keep track of about two
thousand men working on the wall, making sure that they were doing what they
were supposed to. I felt trapped although in a soon I would be standing with my
brother on the wall with the wind blowing past us and no boundaries or limits to
what we could do.
When will we be at the wall? I asked. I felt important, but I also thought that
this whole wall project was a waste of time and money. I knew that this would
probably be the hardest thing that I had ever done.
We will be at the wall in approximately five days. The man replied,
determined to sound as official as possible. I knew it would be no use trying to start
a conversation. He would just try to be mature and be as quiet as a stone.
I despaired at the thought of no food or water for five days, but decided that I
needed some sleep, because I doubted that I would get much at the wall.
I woke up to the sound of horses and whips and groaned to myself, we were
still in the chariot. It was already the next day, but we still had four days in a chariot.
My whole body already ached from the harsh wood.
***
The man instructed us to get into our uniforms and get to the wall as quickly
as possible and to make sure that the men knew that we are in charge. The uniforms
were beautiful, but nothing compared to what we were used to.
There was too much smoke in the air and I fell into a coughing fit. The kilns
were emitting too much heat and the general atmosphere was stuffy and tired.
As we went up the wall we got dirty looks from every man we passed, they
seemed to know that we were the bosses of them and they didnt like it. We reached
our outpost and every person stopped, it was like they were expecting us to do
something. We told them to get back to work and that they would working thirteen
hours a day to get the wall done, we also told them that the harder and more
efficient they worked the more food they would get at the end of the long day. They
had to get up at five and work until eight. My brother and I knew how important it
was to get the wall done, and if we failed we would be punished, severely.
It was early in the morning and I didnt feel like getting up to yell at the lazy,
unmotivated workers, I would have sent a complaint about my workers in, but
sending one to the imperial city, would take a really long time and I couldnt spare a
single soul. I grabbed two pots and started banging them together, loudly, Alright,
everybody up, its time to work on the wall you slow pokes! I hollered across the
sleeping grounds while banging the pots together as hard as I could. This was my
least favorite part of the day, and I hated the rest of the day too. My brother had
joined me by then and started ordering men around, it was chaos, men running
everywhere, trying to get to their part of the wall. It seemed like twenty minutes
until everybody was where he was supposed to be, this was going to be a long day,
for all of us.
Many people were sick and dying of being overworked and starvation and
dehydration. We had already lost too many people, and the death rates werent
going down. I couldnt help but think of the children and wives who were losing so
many of their loved ones.
We were running out of time to build the wall, we started with five years,
now we had one, and every day has been exactly the same, the most progress we
had made in a day was half a mile. Other groups were in touch with us through
scrolls, and they were completing half a mile of more per day. They tried to give us
advice, but there was little time for communication. I feared that we were doomed.
The day felt different, there was not the usual air of tiredness, and it felt kind
of lively. Everybody was singing a song as they worked and it helped them make
more progress, and you could tell that the people working on the wall knew that it
was working, they would sing, and they would finish the wall.
The next day I went outside to get all the men to work, and to my surprise
they had been working for two hours already. The wall was almost done, a few
more days and it would be finished, we would make the deadline. I was ecstatic,
today was going to be a lot easier and better for everybody. My brother stood at the
top of the wall looking very satisfied.
The emperor is coming! I heard one of my fastest workers, Xns t, say.
His name meant swift rabbit. This was important, and all of a sudden we all had a lot
more strength and we all worked more efficiently. Men fighting stopped and had a
friendly competition about who could work the fastest, we were at double our
normal speed, and we only needed fifteen feet of wall made. We had five days.
Hopefully the emperor was going to be happy with our progress.
I heard music, and music was very royal; the emperor was here. He stepped
out of his chariot, which was pure gold, was embroidered with silk, and had a
thatched roof attacked to it, much prettier than the imperial soldiers chariot that we
had been escorted in years before.
Lines! Go! Move it! I yelled at the workers to show that my brother and I
had everything under control. The men ran down from the wall, lined up, and bowed
so low that their heads touched the floor. My brother and I bowed shortly after
them.
It looks, like you have made good progress, and you seem to have control
over your men. The emperor observed.
Thank you emperor Hungsh de yng. I said, relieved, and happy that I had
not forgotten his name. His name meant royal hawk. He was very important being
emperor and all, and I didnt want to make a fool out of myself.
The emperor gave a packet to the soldier who brought us here and left, it was
a very short visit, but it meant the world to my men that the emperor was not
disappointed in our work.
We were still in good spirits and we finished the wall that day, no more work
the next day, one day off, everyone was looking forward to it. The men were happy
to rest and get more food, and my brother and I were happy we didnt have to boss
everyone around anymore.
I woke up with a start as I heard a loud crash, I ran outside of my tent and the
wall we had worked on so hard was demolished, lying in pieces. What happened to
the wall, how and why did it explode? Workers filed out and started putting the
bricks back, they would have to fix the rest in the morning, but for now, it was to
dark to work. We saw a huge round shape in the midst of the rubble.
It was sunset and the wall wasnt completely finished, we were all standing
on the wall, sad, we had failed the emperor, even if it wasnt our fault, the emperor
would find out sooner or later.
I saw something in the distance, it was the emperors shiny chariot, easily
seen as the sun set behind the mountains.
He handed us a scroll and left without saying anything, we hoped he wasnt
mad, but that was just wishful thinking.
I opened the scroll and it said that the Mongols had been spotted near our
section of the wall, then I saw smoke signals, then it hit me, the Mongols had
destroyed the still drying wall, and they were coming, fast. To survive we had to
become makeshift soldiers, I was paralyzed; at least I was good at combat.
As the Mongols came closer I could see the millions of horses and foot
soldiers, but worst of all, I could smell them. They smelled like rotten eggs and raw
meat and sweat, I was utterly disgusted. The man who had brought us to the wall
was the general of this makeshift army.
Attack! I heard our general yell, he seamed much more confident than
before. I released my arrow, and heard the other two hundred and fifty thousand
arrows fly through the air toward their target.
Hundreds of men fell, but there were too many Mongols for us to stop them
with arrows, we had to become foot soldiers. This was the most dangerous job you
could have. We were all given a sword and dagger, and we went off to fight. Before
we entered the battlefield my brother and I made a promise that we would protect
each other no mater what happened.
The stench of the Mongols, and the blood all over me was overwhelming. I
heard one paralyzing scream after another. I heard the millions of swords clanging
as they hit. My arm was tired and I was bleeding in several areas, but I wasnt
heavily wounded. There were no Mongols attacking me at the moment so I looked
for my brother who I saw lying on the ground trying to fight off two Mongols.
My brother was wounded much more severely than me and he was fighting
as hard as he could, but I saw that he wouldnt last much longer. I had made a
promise to him and I never broke my promises, I ran over to him, and tried to save
him, he was the only family I had left and I wouldnt let him go without a fight. As I
fought off the Mongols with help from my brother, I saw how pale he was; he really
couldnt last much longer, he was putting all of his energy into this one fight for his
life. One of the Mongols was getting ready to deliver a deathblow to my brother, I
yanked my brother out of the way, and the Mongols sword was stuck deep in the
ground. I grabbed my brother and dragged him off the battlefield and into the dense
forest. I had no choice other than to retreat, one of the greatest dishonors in a battle.
I heard nothing as the light drowned from the scene, and I fell asleep in a
patch of grass hidden from the battle.
I woke up and found thousands of eyes staring at my brother and I, waiting
for us to do something. As my vision cleared I saw that all the eyes belonged to
people.
Hi, sorry if we startled you, we dont usually get visitors. We are a group of
people that rebel against the government. They dont treat us fairly, so we will not
cooperate with them. One of them explained, her voice as cold and sharp as ice. She
seemed to be the leader of the rebellion. My name is Xu, it means snow.
Nice to meet you, I answered cautiously, I didnt know what they could do
to us, and then I realized my brother was gone.
I see you worry about your brother, well, you wont see him unless you join
us, if you run away and try to save him, you can be sure you will never see him
again, or at least not alive. She commented.
You really dont sugarcoat anything, do you? I asked, anger boiling inside of
me, waiting for the right moment, the moment to explode.
Your right, I despise men, pigs, that is what they are, but you, I could use.
You will be my huntress. she purred, she tapped her foot waiting for an answer and
I knew that I had no choice.
Fine, Ill join you and your demented group! I spat, hoping to make the right
choice.
My vision went black once again as I blindfold was forced around my eyes,
like a sleep that I would never wake up from and pain slithered through my body as
I fought them with all of my strength. I felt something digging into my wrists and
mouth, and I realized that I was handcuffed and gaged.
Where are you taking me, and why am I handcuffed! I screamed through
my gag.
Aw, did our little prisoner decide to pipe up, snow smirked, I thought you
would never.
What are you doing to me, I thought I was going to help you, and that would
be the extent of this! I snarled, barely understanding myself through the gag.
Well, what can I say sweetheart, I am just that kind of person, you should
have known better than to trust me, She taunted, Oh, and about your brother, good
luck with any plans you may come up with to save him, it is already much too late.
She said, her voice was almost too silky.
You arrogant, self-centered, cantankerous freak, I screamed. Fighting for
my life, I struggled for five minutes straight, but I couldnt win. Let me go! I can help
you, you ignorant, belligerent, greedy bitch! I dont break my promises, unlike you!
Why thank you, I take pride in all of those, so nice that somebody notices.
She grinned. She drank from a canteen; it was filled with a thick liquid that I
recognized immediately, medicine. I knew I could never win without help, the only
way out was to fight, but first I had to get to my brother. I would switch the
medicine in the canteen with another liquid to make her weaker.
Okay! Fine! I will work with you, I promise, teach me to be like you and I will
be your faithful servant. I will bring you your food and take care of you. I
whispered to her. Her weakness was pride, and I wanted that to go against her.
How sweet of you to give in. She said casually.
Where should the lessons take place? I havent been a huntress before, so I
will need them. I commented, hoping for a very particular spot, the spot where my
brother was being held.
We could go to the infirmary, nobody ever uses it, and your proud brother
could see you learn from his miniscule window. She decided, my stomach turned, I
was nervous and exited and scared and I had no clue how long I would have to stay
with her to free my brother and escape.
Later that day I had my first lesson. The infirmary was a big dirty-white tent
with lots of beds, and on the opposite side of the tent, were three prison-cells. I
could see that my brother inhabited the middle cell. I sat down on one of the beds
farthest away from the cells with my back facing my brother. Snow walked in
proudly in a dress that must have been stolen from somewhere imperial. I held back
a gasp as I realized that it was mine. She was testing me in all areas.
Nice dress. I comment with a fake yet knowing smile. I waited for her to
reply, but she sat down in silence and handed me a bow.
Use it. She ordered, not giving any specific directions or information.
Where, do you have a target, or should I go hunt an animal? I ask, confused,
looking around the infirmary.
Shoot the arrow through the hole that your brother can look through. If he is
there or you miss, he will die. This will be your first test to see if I can trust you. She
laughed, obviously enjoying the fact that my brother was probably going to die.
I swallowed hard and hoped my brother had overheard and moved. I held up
the bow and aimed at the hole. The hole was one inch wide and one inch high. It
took a highly skilled archer and luck to hit something like that. I let my arrow fly
with a flourish. I closed my eyes, not wanting to see my brothers fate, as I slowly
allowed myself to look I saw that I had made the shot, my brother was not dead, nor
would he be until at least the second test.
After the lesson ended I asked snow if I could talk to my brother for a minute,
and to my relief I was given exactly a minute, no more.
Why are you taking lessons with her, why are you friends with that witch?
My brother cried, he looked considerably thinner, too thin.
I am not friends with her, the only reason I am taking lessons with her is
because I am going to beat her at her own game, and save both of our lives. I
insisted, wanting him to understand more than anything.
I need to tell you something, important, she is trying to make me like her,
she has a gift when it comes to persuading people, and I despise her very soul, what
do I do? Help me, my life is turning into a mess, and the thought of her getting
through to me gives me nightmares, I am not who I used to be anymore. I am going
to die. He despaired, he started to sob, quietly, hiding his face, something I had
never seen him do before; I was shocked, but at the same time I wanted to help him.
Your minute is up, Xu shouted, I hope you got reacquainted. She was
wearing her normal blank expression. I had to leave, but I would sneak back at
night, when all was quiet, and I would bring him food.
I watched the path to the big white tent, tensely waiting for the right moment
to sneak out and visit my brother. I ran across the rough ground and hurried inside
the tent.
Hao, its me, are you here? I cautiously asked. I hoped that he was still here
and that we could catch up even more.
Jn, youre here, I thought you wouldnt come, or something had happened,
but you shouldnt be here, if you get caught you will be executed. My brother
whispered. I gave him the food and we talked through the entire night. I was
shocked at the effort that snow had put into all of this. The next thing I heard was
that somebody had entered the room. I froze, I couldnt get caught, it would be the
end for me.
I have been watching the horrible things Xu has been doing, and I dont
want you two to experience what has happened to all the other people who came
across her path, allow me to introduce myself, I am Jli, my name means fierce. He
stepped into the light I could see his worn clothes, and his sharp features. I relaxed
as I heard what he said.
Do you know him? I whispered to my brother. A smile spread across his
face, I guessed that he recognized him.
Jlithe guy who used to climb over the castle walls and spy on us. my
brother remembered, it was like a family reunion, sort of.
Yes, that was I. He chuckled, his face lighting up. I had gotten the feeling
that we could trust him
We need your help escaping, could you help us? I asked, really hoping that
he would, it could save our lives.
I would love to help, but how? he worried. I could see his expression
change, although he tried to hide his concern. I told him the plan, and if snow
cooperated than we were going to be out of here in a matter of weeks.
The next day I asked snow if I could hunt for her, luckily she wasnt in the
mood for hunting and sent me off knowing that I could not escape, what she didnt
know was that I could skirt the boundaries.
Jli and I agreed that I would come daily, learn more fighting techniques, and
then we could attack the camp when it was least guarded along with my brother,
who would be nursed back to health with the help of fierce.
I came back to camp with dinner for everyone, we had a big feast, but it didnt
seem happy, the air was really tense.
Alright, everybody who doesnt already know, we are going to war
tomorrow. We will reach the city by nighttime and we will attack then. All prisoners
will be foot soldiers, everybody else will be cavalry and archers. snow announced.
This explained everything, my plan wasnt going to work, and we were going to die,
unless a miracle happened.
Unhand me, you careless freak! I heard a familiar voice scream, it was
fierce. I had messed everything up. The one thing that puzzled me was that when we
saw each other he smiled, a sad, but happy at the same time smile.
This was bad, very bad. I had made this whole mess, and there was no way I
could mend it. I caused so much trouble, but didnt mean to, I had just wanted to
escape and go back to life the way it used to be back in the castle, or maybe even on
a farm, anything would have been better than this, we were going to die.
Everybody we leave now, take the prisoners, go! She screamed.
We had no choice. We were thrown into a carriage and we were chained to the
sides. I felt a blow to the head, and then, nothing other than the bumping rumble of
the cart.
When I woke up we were at the Forbidden City. We were about to go to war.
My brother, myself, and fierce, accompanied by a dozen other prisoners were in the
most dangerous positions, we were going to die. We were foot soldiers.
We were given sword and daggers stolen from the wall fight, and we were
ordered to charge. If you refused you would be killed on the spot.
The sound of the war made even the cannons sound miniscule and
unimportant. I felt like we were still at the wall, fighting the Mongols, but this was
much more serious. I was attacking my home. If I was caught I was going to be killed.
I saw a Chinese soldier and I was forced to attack, I had no choice. I fought
like my life depended on it, and it did. Every time I killed a soldier I felt my blade cut
through the bone and flesh and I had to hold back the tears when I saw their faces
recognizing me before I was forced to slay them.
Once again I felt a sharp blow to the back of my head, and that was the last
thing I saw of the battle at my home. I was devoured by black and screamed, for my
brother and for my friend, I worried for them and hoped that they were okay.
When I woke up I was in a prison cell, and I was handcuffed, again. Then I
heard my brother and fierce, whispering, in the same cell as me. They looked in my
direction as I opened my eyes and groaned. I was covered in scars, proof of the
battles that I had fought in. I sat up quietly, nobody asked if I was okay, they could
see that I wasnt.
Im so sorry. I whispered, tears welling up in my eyes. I couldnt look at
either of them.
For what? my brother asked.
None of this was your fault. Fierce added.
I looked up at them with tear-stained cheeks and smiled, the same sad, but
happy smile that fierce had given me when we had gone off to battle.
The door to the cell opened with a bang and imperial soldiers yanked my
brother out. He was going to be executed, I couldnt look, I couldnt say anything,
and none of us could meet each others eyes as my brother told me that I had tried
my best and that he was proud of me.
I love you. I heard a whisper as my brother was yanked into an arena. I ran
forward to the bars, but a blade that cut into my skin stopped me. I yanked my arm
away and clutched my wrist, as I took my hand away it was covered in blood and my
wrist was gushing.
Fierce looked at me with concern in his eyes, but he didnt know what to do.
The door flew open again and Fierce fought to free himself, but he was powerless
against the huge, robust soldier. He looked up at me one last time with the same
smile that I had worn not five minutes ago and was pulled away.
It was my turn next and I was shaking in anticipation and fear for the
moment that the door would slam open again, and I would be yanked from the cell. I
imagined chants from the crowd, but it took me a little while to process what they
were saying, then it was clear, they were saying, rebels, kill them, they deserve no
mercy! I heard the arrows being pulled back, this was the end, I had messed this up,
bad, but I would get punished for the bad things I did, like always, but this time
there was no tomorrow. I heard the arrows being released, it sounded like a
whirlwind. As the arrows came closer, I winced and opened my eyes. The door had
slammed open again.
I felt the many distinct pains of my battle scars and let myself be dragged to
the arena. It was dead quiet, worse than jeering cheers, their royalty conspiring
against them. If only they knew the entire story, then they might let me live, but if I
survived, I would never be the same. I would rather have died at this point.
The archers pulled back their arrows on top of the wall, reminding me
painfully of our fight. They released their arrows in a whir of gray and brown and
the sound was so familiar that I closed my eyes and waited peacefully for impact, my
fear gone. The last thing I felt was the impact of thousands of arrows and the pain
that could only be caused by guilt, warfare and weapons combined. The fire of pain
spread through my body uncontrollably and then, stopped. I saw my brother and
Fierce walking towards me and beckoning for me to join them. I felt a smile creep
across my face as I walked with them and out of the amphitheater. No worries
anymore, it was okay now.
Its been too long. My brother says as we walk along the path. I swing my
arms around both of their shoulders and laugh. Free and happy.