Snatching a Witty Queen

Women's Belief

"This is so fustrating?" A heap of snow flew up from her kick and slowly withdrew, expanding into several snow flakes, just like tiny sizes of cloud falling from above. It was a beautiful side to behold, but Audrey who was sulking didn't feel that it was beautiful at all. She came out during the cold chilly weather in order to search for some food for her sister, but after toiling for a whole two hours their efforts seemed to be vain.

She really wanted to vent her anger, but when she saw Lacy's weak body trembling while she was digging beside a tree trunk, her anger couldn't evolve any further. The girl in front of her was dressed in a long white gown that had been white washed, above her gown she wore a two thick woolen sweaters, but it was unknown if the sweaters were warm enough to protect her from the cold. Her natural pink cherry lips were now slightly purple and her face was pale. Her fair white skin even became whiter, revealing her blood vessels, as if her body didn't contain much blood. However, despite her pale face she didn't stop digging, to the point that her hands were red and cold. Audrey's heart suddenly ached for her weak sister, so she walked over to her side.

"Sis, let me do it, your body is already weak, if this continues you would agrevate your health condition."

"Alright."

Lacy didn't stand on ceremony, she knew her body well enough, she might not faint from using much more energy, however she was weaker than her peers. Right from birth, her health had never been good, it was probably a miracle that she was able to survive till date, but her health had never been good, and it was even worst in winter. She hated her weak body, but there was nothing else she could do about it. People said she wouldn't achieve much in her life because of her weak body, but her grandmother reminded her to always think positive and give priority to her health. It hadn't been easy to raise her to this age, so ofcourse she would do her best to live long and certainly make achievements.

Stepping side, she gave up her space for Audrey who squatted down and started digging, while digging she thought of their current situation and felt even more fustrated.

She had no idea why Lacy insisted on digging this spot, there was nothing else but snow, even if they dug right to the grown, she didn't believe they could actually find food here. Winter was the harshest season of the year, not only was it cold to the point of freezing one's bone, it was a time when there was scarcity of food. For most rich families, they already had their food stored in bans. Though their family wasn't considered wealthy, they weren't poor either, but their life style was poor compared to that of their father's second wife. Last season's harvest was all done by their mother, but because their father favoured his second wife, the key to the ban was kept by her, even the family's finance were in her hands. As for they, children to the first wife, they could only live a life of poverty.

"It's really unfair."

Lacy heard Audrey's aggrieved tone, though her words were unclear, she more or less understood what she meant. However, she choose to keep quiet, not showing the slightest hint of interest to what her sister was complainining about. Her expression was indifferent, calm and collected, as if nothing in this world mattered.

Audrey didn't get angry at her silence but continued digging the ground with an aggrieved expression.

"Mum is obviously the first wife, and she made most of the contribution in the house hold. However, just because she couldn't give birth to a son for dad, another woman replaced her in her court yard and she was forced to stay with us in that dilapidated court yard."

What even made her more aggrieved was that her father's so called wife was a widow who married in with a son and a daughter. They were not biologically related, but their father treated them as treasure. Amara was also a girl, then why was their father so biased. She had never understood why, but thinking of that woman who now pregnant for a so called son, she some how realise how much value boys had in their community.

"Is it that important to have a boy nowadays in order to be considered a valuable wife?"

Audrey asked, but her hand didn't pause for a second, she didn't hear Lacy comment on it either. Just when she gave up getting an opinion from Lacy, her low angelic voice reverberated.

"What do you think?", Her reply was cassual, but it said a lot, as if reminding Audrey of what she already knew but refused to admit.

Boys were indeed more important, while girls were nothing compared to them. A woman had no value without a man, whereas a woman was nothing without a man. But this was exactly the question that bothered her the most. In her opinion women should be considered equal, after all they all had their merits. Thinking of some stupid prodigal sons that she had beaten lately she dared to say women could do better than men. Which of them could compare in intelligence and wittiness than her little sister. Not forgetting that her eldest sister was more talented than those stupid men, yet they still dared to say they stand above them. She would never let a man stand above her, if any one dared to suppress her, if she isn't the one to suppress him, then her name wouldn't be Audrey James.

"It doesn't make sense, are women really unable to live without men's support, can't we be independent."

Her reply was once again another silence, but she didn't mind and obediently continued to dig, while trying to figure out the situation.

Men took advantage of their position as the husband and head of the family to turn women into slaves and have an affair outside, while they became their baby making machine at home. And if this baby manufacturing machine didn't bear a male child, then they become useless in their eyes, regardless of whether they agreed or not, they give up their position to the second wife and even to the third and fourth. But no matter the number they had inside, the number outside never decreased for the other reason.

She had seen countless women neglect their health in order to produce male children for their husband. Regardless of whether their health had recovered from the previous child birth, it really didn't matter. But it was a pity that men were still greedy and selfish in their nature. They weren't grateful neither did they have any sympathy, so women's efforts were considered vain.

It was even strange that no woman had ever initiated a divorce, but men did and a divorced woman was unable to live on, as if her life line had been broken the moment she had been abandoned by her husband.

Was it really as she had thought, women were nothing without men? She didn't believe it, but what she witnessed told her the contrary. The more she thought about it, the more fustrated she was. While her mind was in mess, she suddenly paused and looked at the opened ground with astonishment.

'This, how was it possible ?'

She wasn't hopeful when she decided to dig this spot for her sister, she only decided to help her sister, but not once had she expected to come upon radishes stuck in the ground. They were fat and looked yummy, though a little frozen.

"So have you figured it out?", Audrey was startled by Lacy's sudden appraoch, but what stunned her even more wasn't that this sister who had been quiet all these while had suddenly spoken. Audrey gazed wide eye at Lacy's basket that seemed to be filled with some type of mushrooms and other ingredients which she wasn't sure about. But it was definitely not useless if her sister had picked them. One had to note that her sister had grown up by their grandmother's side. She learned from her mother that their grandmother was quite proficient in many things, so she impacted her knowlegde into her grand daughter whom she raised.

But now, the question was, when did her sister get to fill her basket.

But before she could ask, Lacy leaned over and started picking the raddish, leaving Audrey dumbfounded for a while. When she finally came back to her senses, she quickly caught Lacy's delicate hand, not letting her continue. However the moment she caught her hand, she was stunned. Her sister's hand were already a little bony and cold due to chilly weather, but now they were now covered with bruises.

"Lacy."

Lacy didn't let her finish and gently withdrew her hand. Audrey didn't resist either, Lacy's hand were so small that she was always scared of crushing them if she put just a little more pressure.

On the other hand, Lacy didn't seem to mind.

"It's alright, it won't kill me. Besides, I'll apply something on it when we get back."

What else could Audrey possibly say, even if she wanted to do anything, she had neither the strength, nor the power.

"Women's life isn't really dependable of men, they just have that belief."

Lacy was stunned by her sister's comment but her eyes were glistening, but after some thoughts, she frowned, as if not convinced. Lacy didn't mind her lack of comprehension, but picked a r****h from her basket and stared at it.

"Didn't you believe that we would never get to find any food because it was winter."

Audrey rubbed her nose with a sheepish smile, she looked a little embrassed.

"Well, not everyone believes that food can be found in a frozen place."

Lacy nodded, but she didn't explain further, she didn't like to speak much. Anyway she had already said so much, Audrey could figure out the rest by herself.

In the mean time, Audrey who had finally figured out her question was in good mood. Together with their harvest, she couldn't be any happier.

Her sister was right afterall, people's believes sometimes made them unable to see the reality.

Women weren't completely dependable of men, it was just a belief impressed in them.