Snowstorm in Zalambra (1)

"The only emerald on the winter snow..." When the girl read this sentence, she suddenly laughed.

The thick green tweed curtains blocked out the light, and she could only read through the tiny gap in the curtains.

The light swayed with the curtains, gently drifting onto the girl's face, illuminating her pale pink pupils. Her hair fell down, the same color as the flawless snow outside the window, and the skin on her face and arms was like the roses by the wall, white with a hint of pink, and even her thin eyebrows were an eerie white.

The maid who came to the window with the bed sheet saw this scene, frowned, and said coldly: "Go away."

Ninifer picked up the book, took a few steps back, and quickly shrank back into the bed.

There were also heavy blackout curtains over the bed.

The maid Vera rudely pulled open the curtain with both hands, and the sunlight splashed all over the floor.

Ninifer hid behind the bed curtain, looking at her with sparkling eyes.

Another short maid came over with a sweeping tool and saw the half-exposed face of the little girl, with an expression of disdain that she did not conceal.

"How could there be such a child? Not only does he look like this, but he also has such a strange personality." She muttered in dialect.

While mopping the floor perfunctorily, she said to Vera, "Sister, when do you think I can go back to the Queen's Hall? No one comes here, there's no banquet, it's so boring! And there's only so much food, we don't even have enough to eat, and we still have to give it to this guy."

Vera laid out the sheets and slapped them hard with a long pine board, which raised a cloud of dust in the sunlight. If you ignore the fact that it was some mites plus human secretions or dead skin, it would be a very poetic picture.

Seeing that she didn't answer, the short maid felt bored and stopped talking.

Vera tidied the windows, allowing air to circulate in the room and allowing in more light, changing the gloomy atmosphere.

She threw the basket from the table onto Nineveh's bed.

Ninif flipped through the box and found cold, hard black bread and a few cans of food with cheap dairy products labeled "gg".

Vera walked out without even looking at her.

The short maid casually mopped the floor and left work. Rather than facing this weird and strange child, she preferred to chat and peel pine nuts with other maids under the tall pine tree.

Ninifer picked up the remaining mop, the weight of which was bearable for her.

After mopping up the remaining moisture on the ground, she took a dozen potted plants from the corner and pushed them one by one into the sunlight with her feet.

Then she went out and looked at every window to make sure no one was watching her, and put her little hands on a seedling.

After a while, a light green light appeared in the palm of her hand. The light green light expanded and enveloped every plant.

On the branches and in the soil of the pot, within a few breaths, sprouts began to emerge at an incredible speed, and new leaves unfolded. Soon, its color settled and turned into dark green, and then flowers bloomed and fruits were produced. Purple, yellow, red, and all kinds of fruits instantly hung on the branches.

Ninif smiled joyfully, made a gesture of praying to the goddess, and whispered: "Sarah... praise the goddess..."

Then she carefully picked the fruits and put them in the basket.

On normal days, she would sit on a small stool and read a book while eating fruit.

But now she's preparing for an expedition.

Ninifu knew she was precocious.

She could understand the books her mother brought her, and she knew they were not for ordinary children.

She could sense the contempt and disgust of the maids from their undisguised words, and she could also get information about the palace from the gossip they talked about when they were idle.

For example, she knew that her biological father, the Emperor of Zalambra, loved to hold banquets, was fond of women and young girls, was not restrained in sex, and would also rape his own children.

So even though her mother never told her, she knew the reason why her mother locked her in the room and didn't let her go out since she was a child. She just didn't say anything and behaved like a weird child.

My mother is a gentle person. A gentle person cannot bear to hurt others, so she can only hurt herself.

When Ninifer watched her mother jump from the window, she thought she was as beautiful as the archangel described in the book.

She thought her mother had gotten the happiness she wanted and she was happy for her mother.

But she wanted to go see her mother later.

In the twelve years since she came to this world, she could only see a small corner of the world through books and windows. She wanted to go out and take a look. This was her biggest dream at the moment.

The road to the castle, which is a tiring journey for others, is a long journey for Ninif.

She had been preparing for this for a long time.

She took out the map from her bag. Even though she knew it by heart, she checked it one last time out of habit.

She wore glasses without prescription and blackened with ink, just enough to see clearly. She had a wide-brimmed hat on her head that was a little too big for her, but it didn't matter, the rope was tied tightly. She had a basket on her arm with water and food in it, and a shoulder bag with necessary props in it. She had a set of clothes and pants that were easy to move in and a pair of shoes that were convenient for walking and running.

Ninif checked three times, stood in front of the door, and put her hand on the door handle that was just within reach.

It's no wonder she couldn't make a decision for so long.

Because from the time she was born until now, she had only moved around in this room for twelve years. When her mother was still alive, she had bound her with tenderness and tears. Vera usually controlled her very strictly.

Of course, she could tell that Vera was a softhearted woman. Otherwise, why would Vera stay when the other maids around her had been replaced one after another? If they really didn't care about her, why would they clean her room, feed her, and not let her go out?

Ninifer knew that they were all doing this for her own good, so even though she wanted to go out, she never mentioned it.

But this time, she's going to make an exception.

Others think she is a child, but in fact she understands everything.

Tomorrow is the Spring Festival, so even the maids in the "Cold Palace" have been recruited to work. There are really not enough people, including the gate knights here.

Even though the doorman knights of this room usually sleep or chat, they are at least sitting at the door. Now they are not here, as they need to patrol the Queen's Hall and the King's Hall.

This made it easier for her to go out.

The emperor has ten sons and twelve daughters. Some are illegitimate, some are legal. It all depends on the emperor's decision.

For example, Nineveh was officially the twelfth princess because the emperor found the color of her eyes interesting and gave her the title without thinking.

But she has not been treated like a princess so far, and even needs to rely on maids for food, clothing and other expenses.

Thanks to her mother's efforts, she successfully faded from the sight of most people in the palace.

No one would care if an insignificant princess ran away.

Ninif took a breath and turned the doorknob.

It was empty outside the door and eerily quiet.

Ninifer shivered twice in the cold wind, but she felt her clothes were warm enough. Her blood began to heat up and her heart began to beat fast.

She opened her legs and froze.

Her thoughts were elsewhere.

The country she was from was called Zarambra, which was also her last name, but she had no idea what it was.

She is from Izumlu, the capital of Zalambra, but she only recently learned the meaning of this name. In ancient Saray, it means the only emerald on the winter snow.

Not many people probably know this story. She read it in an ancient book.

The ancestors of the founding of Zalambula were the Sara people, an ice-hunting nation in the east. The total territory of Zalambula was larger than that of Cune and Livil, but unfortunately most of the eastern part was an icy wasteland that was not suitable for human habitation. They migrated from the east to the fertile land in the west, conquered the indigenous people there by force, and established an empire that has continued to this day.

Ironically, in this country where two-thirds of the year is in winter, the palace where the royal family lives is called Spring Palace, which is meant to make people feel the spring in the midst of ice and snow.

The design of the Spring Palace is based on green as the main tone. The walls of different palaces are different shades of green. For example, the side hall of Ninif is a lighter bean green.

It is said that the Queen's Palace and the King's Palace are emerald green, and the walls are covered with century-old ivy that never withers in winter.

But she had lived here for so long and had never seen him once.

This time she went out, in addition to taking a look at the palace she was in and the world outside the room, she also wanted to find someone.

After thinking about this, Ninifu finally made up her mind, stepped out of the threshold.

That small step took her many years.

She trotted forward a few steps, then quickened her pace without looking back at her room.

"Damn you *Sarambula swear* for coming out at this hour!"

"What a bunch of bastards! If His Majesty knew about this, I wonder how crazy he would be!"

"If you have time to curse, why don't you go find it back! Don't you want the head anymore?!"

Four or five guards were searching frantically in the corridor.

One of them pushed aside the bushes beside the palace and pulled out a person.

The teenage girl screamed.

The guard grabbed her hair, threw her to the ground and kicked her hard twice: "*Salambula swears* Run, run, run! Can you get away?"

Another guard found the shivering girl hiding in a cargo box in a small kitchen in a side hall.

He dragged her out, pressed her to the ground, and tore her clothes.

The other people in the kitchen either ran away, watched coldly, or turned a deaf ear and went about their own business.

Ninifer, who had just walked around the corner to the window and stuck her head out to witness the scene, covered her mouth and squatted down, hidden by the bushes beside the wall.

She pursed her lips tightly and clenched her fists.

She didn't feel much fear, only anger.

But with this anger came a sense of powerlessness; she had no ability to do anything.

She risked another look.

Passing through the door, in the corridor, another girl was dragged away by the guards’ arms. Her clothes and skin were torn, and there was only despair in her eyes.

She recognized that face; it was her blood sister whom she had only met once.

A tear rolled down Ninif's face.

(This chapter is in Zarambula)