Chapter 1: Rosa Kamel
God, it's black. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info
The sound of roaring explosions kept ringing in my ears, and billowing smoke kept rising from all around, with a pungent smell of fireworks. The earth trembled, and as far as the eye could see, there were patches of rubble and traces of the artillery attack.
The cold wind blew into the house through the broken windows, making me shiver. I don't know how long it took, but the roar of artillery fire outside the window finally gradually subsided.
"Brother Rosa, I'm fine, Pei'er is not hungry at all." Pei'er lay weakly in my arms, but comforted me sensibly.
I looked at Pelle's emaciated face and bony body. The eye sockets couldn't help but pantothenic, and tears couldn't help but roll in the eyes, "Pei'er, don't be afraid." The war is coming to an end, and I'm going to go out right now to get you something to eat. ”
"Brother, don't! It's dangerous outside right now, you don't go out...... Brother Rosa, tell me a story, Pell wants to listen to the story. "As if worried that I'm leaving, Pell struggles to find a topic to distract me. She trembled and pointed to the dim sky and said, "Tell me the story of Adelan!" ”
I looked up at the place Perl was pointing, the only place that shone in the dim sky—the Floating Continent of Adeland.
Somehow, my nose was sore, and I suddenly felt the urge to cry, but in the end I held back. I took a deep breath to calm myself down, and began to tell the story that had been repeated a thousand times: "Pe'er, look at the continent of Adelan, floating in the sky, where the gods who protect us live. The scenery is very beautiful, the seasons are like spring, there is no hunger, no darkness......"
I don't know how long later, Pell fell asleep in my arms, breathing very weakly. I carefully laid her on the bed, touched her cold hands, and then took off my coat and gently covered her.
After settling Peel, I grabbed the hat I usually wore and fastened it to my head, got up and walked out the door. The air outside was even colder than inside the house, and my hands were a little frozen. I couldn't help but let out a sigh and rub my hands together, trying to make myself feel a little better.
At this time, Barrow grabbed me and said anxiously: "Rosa, it's not dawn yet, what are you doing standing here?" ”
"I'll go to the city and get something to eat."
"No! Now that Sarandya's army had just captured the city around Motil, there was chaos everywhere in the city...... What's more, the people in the city now are all battle-hardened Sarandya soldiers, and if they are caught, it will definitely be a dead end! Let's wait a few days for the situation in the city to stabilize before going! Barrow said to me in an almost pleading tone.
I glanced back at him, a boy of twelve or thirteen, with dirty brown curly hair, freckles on his face that were a little noticeable by the flush of his face, and his emaciated body shivering in the cold wind. Behind him is an abandoned orphanage that has been half blown away, where we have lived all these years.
I, Rosa Kammer, have been an orphan since I was a child.
I never knew who my parents were, or where I came from. When I was only a few months old, I was spotted by a lonely, elderly logger deep in the forest. When he saw that I was pitiful, he took me in. After that, I have been living with the old loggers, and then I gradually grew up, although the life is hard, but it is also happy.
It's a pity that he is too old. Not long after he picked me up, he died. It was winter, and that year, I was six years old.
He came from the mountains and forests, and he should return to the mountains and forests. After spending two full days burying him in the deep forest, I stepped out into the outside world for the first time in my life. Even if he's gone, I'm going to try to live. And the only thing I took with me was the surname Kamle.
After leaving the mountains, I could only wander all the way between cities, stumbling, and doing all the things that were deceived and abducted, and in the end it was just to have something to eat and be able to live. But at that time, I was so young that it was difficult to even do such a thing as living. I've lost count of the beatings I've been beaten and the eyes of people along the way. It wasn't until I came here, the orphanage in this border city, that life was a little better. Although life is still poor, at least I have a place to live, and other children to keep me company, so that I will not be too lonely.
In a trance, I came back to my senses, a little sad, how could I remember the past again?
It was colder, and snowflakes were falling in the air.
Thinking that there were still a dozen young children in the orphanage who were starving and cold, I felt that I couldn't just wait for nothing to be done. I pushed Barrow's hand away and said to him, "It's because Salandya's army has just entered the city that I'm going out. Only by taking advantage of the chaos did I have a chance to find something to eat from those military masters...... The war has lasted long enough, and ordinary people are not having a good time...... You take care of everyone, I'll be back soon. ”
Probably persuaded by me, Barrow didn't dissuade me again this time, but just whispered: "Be careful all the way." ”
I nodded, got up and walked in the direction of the city. The horizon has gradually revealed a glimmer of light.
It's already dawn.
The sunlight shining on the floating continent of Adelan reflected a multicolored light, and it looked so sacred and solemn, it was a place that people longed for. But all this was so glaring to me, that the gods there did not favor us poor people, but only allowed their sorrow to flow on the poor.
No matter how pious people prayed, none of the "gods" who inhabited Arandel reached out to help, at least, never around us. As soon as the war took place, the countryside became sensitive, and artillery often fell into it, damaging large areas of buildings and fields. The people who used to live here left one after another, and even the nuns in the orphanage were gone. But what about us orphans?
We don't have money, we have nowhere to go.
We had to stay here and occasionally go into town to find something to eat. Over time, this area became ruins, and even the smell of gunpowder smoke that had been filling the air was suffocating from the cold at night.
I stumbled past the rubble and saw a new flag with a bright yellow griffin motif set up outside the city. I know, that's the flag of the Duchy of Sarandel.
When the flag of Salander was also raised in Motil, the southernmost city of the Principality of the Mudland, I understood that from this day on, the Mudran would cease to exist forever.
But I don't care about all this, the Duchy of Mudland is just a place to live for me, and I have never felt the slightest sense of belonging to it, even the city of Motil, where I have lived for six years, is just a title in my eyes. Poor people like us don't care who the rulers are, as long as we can live.
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The situation in the city was much as I expected, and the roads were full of soldiers in groups of twos and threes. Some of them are camping in pairs, some are clearing the rubble...... They occasionally interacted with the people here, but more often than not, only rude orders. But it is undeniable that they are replanning the order of the city, and in this way, Motil looks much more orderly than before. I pulled my scarf up to cover my face, leaving only my eyes exposed, making myself look more inconspicuous, while constantly looking for suitable prey.
I have to admit that the strength of the Duchy of Salandel is not without reason, the soldiers are not only strong, but also sensitive and alert, and at the same time very disciplined, not easy to start. I couldn't imagine what would happen if I was caught, but the pain in my stomach reminded me of how uncomfortable it was to be hungry. Come to think of it, I haven't eaten for three or four days, and even I, who have always been physically strong, are hungry and panicked, not to mention the other weak friends in the orphanage. Thinking of this, my wavering heart gradually calmed down again: I must find something to eat!
I was walking around looking for a target, when I suddenly saw an empty truck passing through the front door of the plaza, with faint traces of fresh dirt on it. One thought crossed my mind: potatoes!
Judging from the direction of the car and the wetness of the soil, the car must have just unloaded the potatoes not long ago, so those unloaded potatoes should be not far from the square. I hurriedly followed the tracks of the wheels, and after walking a short distance, I found a small group of soldiers stationed. It seems that those potatoes are supplies for these soldiers.
I looked around at the terrain, and in addition to the dilapidated buildings, there were also military tents stationed here, and there were still many small open spaces between the military tents, and those potatoes must be somewhere here.
I straightened my hat and took a deep breath. Then he trotted all the way to the blind spot of the patrol soldiers' field of vision, and snaked into the barracks. Over the years, I have been crawling at the bottom of the ladder to give me a faster speed than the average adult, and with my small size, no one even noticed the intrusion of my uninvited guest for a while. Since I didn't know where the food was stored, I had to wander around like a headless fly. Several times he almost ran into the patrol on duty, but due to the cover of snowflakes, he was not even discovered.
But all in vain.
I searched every tent, but I still couldn't find anything to satisfy my hunger. I'm starting to get a little restless, what are they going to do if they continue like this?
Just then, through the snowflakes, I saw a figure in the small clearing in front of the tent. I subconsciously hurried to hide in the corner of the ruins, afraid that he would find out. But after a while, nothing happened. I breathed a sigh of relief, turned sideways and looked back, and this time I saw clearly that it was a girl. Judging by her height and size, she should be about the same age as me, but she looks like she is twelve or thirteen years old. Since she was standing with her back to me, I could not see her appearance clearly, but I could only vaguely see that she had long blonde hair and was dressed in gorgeous clothes, and she was supposed to be a child of a noble family. It's just that why does a young lady like her appear on the front line of the battlefield? I was a little surprised, and I couldn't help but look at it a few more times.
In front of her was an abandoned piece of scorched wood, on which several war crows were perched, reluctant to leave. And the reason why these war crows refuse to leave is because of her feeding. Only then did I realize that she was still holding a bowl of bread in her hand.
She was feeding the crows with bread.
Looking at the scene in front of me, I suddenly felt very sad, and I couldn't help but think of Pei'er again, obviously she was about the same age, just because of her different backgrounds, she could be dressed in fine clothes and food, and feed her with fine bread for pleasure, while Pei'er could only suffer from cold and starvation...... At the thought of this, I couldn't help but feel a little resentful and agitated in my heart, and I was overwhelmed by hunger, and at this time a bold thought had taken over my thoughts: I was going to snatch the food from her hand! With it, at least Pell has the strength to hold on a little longer.
At this time, I no longer want to think about how her noble status will cause me trouble, and all I have in mind is what the probability of my success will be. She's about the same age as me, and she's a girl with little strength, so as long as I move fast enough to grab and run, I'm confident that I'll be able to get out of the way.
After making up my mind, I slowly approached her step by step, the snow was the best cover, completely burying the sound of my footsteps. She never found out I existed. When I got close enough, I grabbed her hand and snatched the bread and stuffed it into my pocket. She looked at me in surprise, and I quickly covered her mouth with my other hand, for fear that she would scream.
But who knows, her strength is so terrifying that she broke free of my hand and tripped me to the ground with a sweep of her legs. In a hurry, I reached out and grabbed her wrist, and she fell with me on the snow. I was anxious to leave, so I hurriedly got up, but she turned over again and pressed me to the ground, and for a moment the two of us scuffled together, and it was difficult to separate. The loud noise immediately attracted the others, who saw the girl, looked surprised, and threw me to the ground. I only felt a sharp pain in my internal organs, and struggled to get up, but another soldier kicked me hard in the knee, and I heard the sound of bone cracking, and I only felt a tingling pain, and then I lost feeling in my right leg, and I fell to my knees for a long time and could not get up. I didn't know who kicked me in the back of the head, and I fell to the ground, my face was covered with abrasions, and a fishy smell welled up in my throat, and my throat was very uncomfortable.
I lay on the ground panting, my eyes glancing at the girl, apparently she didn't expect things to turn out like this, her eyes were full of horror. A white-bearded old man in battle armor led a group of men and horses to her side, and the soldiers and non-commissioned officers who were originally arrogant and domineering to me all showed sincere and frightened expressions, it seemed that the old man should be the leader of this group.
A guy who looked like a soldier pulled my hair and lifted my head, he looked at me with great disdain, and cursed in his mouth: "Little bastard, don't you look at yourself? This is also where you can come? See if I don't kill you! Then another storm of punches and kicks fell on me, and I felt only the pain of my head bursting, and then my consciousness began to blur......
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