Empire

Chapter one

   The leaves crackle loudly underneath my feet.
   It's almost spring but still cold enough for frost. It's not my favourite time to hunt but it's that or starve. I'd rather not starve.
  The group of deer I've been tracking thankfully didn't hear me. The grass they're eating is making more noise than I am. Everything is covered in frost, making every movement dangerous.
    I grip my spear tighter, preparing to throw. A head shot would be best but also the most difficult. I aim there anyway because I don't have the strength for a long chase that a shot to the heart could mean. Last winter was harder than usual and our food stores have been dwindling for awhile.
    I straighten up slowly and throw my spear. It hits the small buck I wanted and the other deer scatter. The buck falls to the ground dead, my spear protruding from its head.
    I walk up to it and remove my spear then take out my knife and skin it. I start cutting it up, choosing the best parts first. My older brother, Stefan, emerges from the trees on the other side  of this patch of grass. His empty hands tells me that I had better luck than he did.
    "Good job Susan." He smiles.
    He helps me finish up then picks up the biggest portion of the buck. I take the rest including the guts and wrap it in the skin. I heft it over my shoulder and we begin the long walk back to our village. Everything is slick with ice making it difficult to go fast. I use my spear like a walking stick and manage to not fall.
   The trees are beautiful in ice and even though I wish it was warmer I can't help enjoying the wintery landscape. Everything sparkles in the sun and the birds seem to be happy about it.
    We reach home and the sight of the smoke rising into the air from our longhouses adds to the beauty. Seeing it reminds me that I am cold and my fingers start to burn with it. We are greeted enthusiastically by our mother who is happy to have food to cook.
    We will all eat well tonight.
    She takes the meat from us and starts to prepare it for everyone. Technically we don't have to share it but the rest of the village is hungry too and it's best to not have any of the deer left tomorrow.
    Tomorrow, when the government officials from Emor come. They come once a month to check on us, collect "taxes", and generally show us they are in charge. We have to give them half of everything we produce, or at least what the know we produce. Most of our fields and our hunting are kept secret.
    We live in The Empire, in the province of Germany. The Empire, which consists of the entire world, has apparently achieved world peace and prosperity. The Emperor claims that he has "taken the best part of every ancient civilization and blended them to creat the perfect world".
    I wonder if anyone believes that.
    The government doesn't care as much about the northern countries, like us. Which is actually a blessing in disguise because they don't force their ridiculous laws with as much enthusiasm. One said ridiculous law is that you can't hunt in the Emperor's forest. But it's that or die. He never uses them anyways.
    I enter our house and lay down on my bed for a few minutes. I feel more tired than usual and I won't go to bed until late. Today we are celebrating the first day of spring. It will be worth the late night.
     "Susan, can you get me my knife?" My mom calls from outside the house.
     I stand up and go to my parent's bed. They keep their treasures under there along with our dishes and knives. I bring her the knife and then help with supper. A few of my aunts show up as well and the meal is ready in no time. We carry the food to the centre of the village where a giant fire is blazing.
     A table is set beside it with potatoes and carrots from last year. Some other hunters brought two turkeys and we add our venison to the small feast.
    Our village isn't very big, about twenty families, but we like it that way. Most of us live in simple longhouses although the chief's is a little more elaborate. I've known the people around this table all my life. There's Chief Bren and his family who represent us in the city and settle disputes. Beside me are my parents, grandparents, sibling, aunts and uncles, and cousins. The rest of the people aren't family but they may as well be.
    The Chief prays for the meal and we all start eating. When we are finished and everything is cleaned up we gather around the fire.
    Chief Bren takes out his bible and starts reading. We used to only have one, but after painstaking copy work every family in the village now has one and we're working on more.
    "In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Each person in his family reads a verse. The ones who can't read repeat after their parents.
    Then the next family reads, and it goes around through the story of creation. The men read in deep, rich voices and the women read in soft, light ones. The children who are learning to read stumble through their verses and the ones who can't cheerfully repeat theirs.
    It is beautiful.
    We read until chapter four and then after reading about the fall of man we turn to John thirteen and read about Christ's redemption of the human race. After reading about Jesus's resurrection we go to bed with full and happy hearts.