Speaking the Mothertongue

Travelling the inner plains, the vastness of the grazing plain there was a herd of goats where a herder was watching over them accompanied by a young apprentice. Their clothing was unfamiliar to her; from a distance it seemed like they simply wore robes that were mainly made of cotton and leather and a pair of boots that were seemingly made of animal hide. But, on closer inspection, their inner clothing and personal adornments were surprisingly complex and colorful. Fangsu needed to restock on her supplies and decided to approach them, "Uncle! Little brother! Is there any nearby shop where I can restock my supplies?" She waved at the two shepherds from afar.

However, the pair had confused expressions on their faces but they waved her down, welcoming her. They led her to their temporary settlement where they placed their hands in front of themselves seemingly wanting her to stay in at that spot. The shepherd whispered in the boy's ears something before he rushed over somewhere else. The boy was then accompanied by someone who looked like they were of middle aged, "You need something?" The man spoke in broken Chinese which was hard for Fangsu to understand.

Fangsu nodded at the man, "I need food, water and food for horses," She tried to respond using words that were easy to understand. The man nodded his head as he ordered people to fetch water and food for Fangsu and her horses. The same boy took the reins of Fangsu's horses and led them to a place where they could rest and eat. The sharpers that led her to the settlement returned back to his duties whilst Fangsu was led by a woman who went to lead her to the biggest tent following the middle aged man.

As Fangsu was walking through the settlement, villagers began observing from the sideline, a young man dressed in clothing that was not their own. But, the more intriguing feature of the young man was that they donned a white mask with no engraving and their shiny ash grey hair that resembled the ashes of the people they mourned for. Fangsu tried to listen in the conversation, however the numerous people speaking at once made it difficult to distinguish the language. Nevertheless, she followed the woman into the tent where the middle aged man just entered. Lifting the flaps, the interior was cozy as beautifully crafted intricate embroidered woven woolen pieces hung from the wooden posts that held the structure of the tent. Judging from the people's interactions with the middle aged man Fangsu could tell that he was the leader figure of this settlement, "My people give food to you horses and you rest my home today," Despite his speaking ability to converse with Fangsu was very basic it was enough for Fangsu to understand. The leader was very welcoming to Fangsu offering accommodation to her despite being complete strangers. Fangsu agreed with the accommodation knowing that she would be free from sleeping on the rough ground just for the night.

Another man much younger in terms of age rushed into the tent, placing his right hand on the left of his chest before bowing. He spoke very fast as if in a situation of high urgency. The middle aged man was composed and listened to the young man's words before his eyes widened sending out an order to get a doctor to attend a daughter. Surprisingly, Fangsu was listening to the words and she could understand most of the words. The language was quite similar to how her mother spoke at home with her, her mother tongue. But, Fangsu's infrequent use made it hard for her to speak and a few of the words that the people were using she had no idea of the meaning.

Fangsu turned to the woman that was assisted to care for her during her stay, "What is going on?" Her pronunciation was shaky but enough for the woman to understand who was visibly shocked to see that Fangsu was able to speak and understand their language which was often only spoken within a few tribe that were similar to their own, "Is someone sick?" Her accent was thick but the woman was able to understand.

The woman nodded, "The chieftain's daughter has not been eating and the village doctor don't know why," The woman saw that Fangsu had a hard time understanding some parts of the language and began using hand gestures along with simpler words, "She take medicine but that don't work and she doesn't eat much," She has a directed her hand from her other hand to her mouth, a gesture that was meant to eating or food. Her simplified explanation made it easier for Fangsu to understand the severity of the situation.

Fangsu tilted her head seeing that she knew that some medicine could alter the taste of certain foods or it could sometimes heighten a person's sense of taste, "Is the chieftain's daughter a picky eater?" Speculations began forming in Fangsu's mind as there are many reasons for people not eating. There were simply too many possibilities without a diagnosis but Fangsu herself was not a trained doctor.

The woman slumped her shoulders whilst shaking her head, "No the chieftain's daughter always had a healthy appetite," Placing a hand on her cheek showing her concern for the chieftain's daughter, "Come! Come! You and chieftain daughter are same in age!" Thinking that Fangsu was of a similar age with the chieftain's daughter would help the situation. Being dragged to a nearby tent that was much more intricate in terms of embroidery and decorations adorning the walls.

The nonsensical chatting of the people was hard for Fangsu to listen into the conversation to understand the situation. There were too many people talking at once. On the floor, a young girl dressed in clothing that was typical of a nomadic tribe with a long dress garment that reached her ankles. The colourful threads decorated the entirety of the garment with various bright colours that Fangsu would have never seen anywhere else. The girl wore an embroidered headdress that covered her hair and forehead but some braids fell loosely around her body, framing her beautiful face, emphasising on her facial feature that many females in the capital do not possess. Piercing bright chestnut brown eyes, well defined nose that sat perfectly on her face, thick eyebrows that were shaped like a blade and beautifully shaped lips that nestled under her prominent cupid bow.

The chieftain was crouched to the ground surrounded by a plethora of food, holding a plate of food in front of the girl trying to coax her to eat, "Daughter, please eat something," The chieftain helplessly tried to convince the girl to eat something. The girl stared at the food with longing but quickly shook her head away from the delicious aroma, "You are breaking your daddy's heart. It's your favourite dish, Sweet Potato Paste with Gingko." The woman explained to Fangsu that the dish was mainly made of sweet potato that was steamed and fried with white sugar and gingko which was usually served as dessert.

Seeing that this conversation was going nowhere Fangsu quietly waddled up to the chieftain, "Can I talk with your daughter?" The chieftain helplessly agreed as he stood up to leave his daughter's tent along with his attendants and subordinates. Leaving Fangsu alone with the girl but her maid servants were still in the tent, "Can I ask you to have your maidservants leave for a bit?" The girl had a hard time understanding Fangsu's pronunciation but she could get the gist of her words, sending away her maidservants.

However, her trusted maidservants who were her close friends were against leaving their beloved princess alone with a complete stranger, "Milady we cannot leave you alone with a stranger!" Protesting against the orders of the girl in an effort to protect the beloved daughter of the chieftain.

The girl released an annoyed breath, standing up from her chair, "Leave!" Her bright charming voice commanded her maidservants to leave the tent. As the maidservants left the tent, leaving behind Fangsu and the girl alone in the tent, "If you have any intention to harm me, I will not hesitate to retaliate," The girl gave cautionary advice to Fangsu giving off a wary disposition towards her.

Fangsu smiled behind her mask, "I don't know if I say this word right," She settles herself down on the floor in a position which would be easier for the girl to overpower if need be, "Ga Gi Nang," Those words were familiar yet so foreign to Fangsu who had never interacted with people outside her family who spoke the language. But, the girl seemed to realise that Fangsu was no threat but someone who belonged to one of the few tribes that spoke the language.

The girl sat in front of Fangsu knowing that Fangsu was one of their people, "What is your name? Mine is Sim Siu" The girl curiously asked, seeing that Fangsu was not from the tribe.

Fangsu was stumped with the question, "I don't know how to say my name," Fangsu embarrassingly confessed to Sim Siu who giggled at Fangsu's blunder.

Sim Siu settled herself on the ground in front of Fangsu placing a hand on her chin as if she was pondering over a thought, "Skinny Duck! That will be your name!" Gifting a silly nickname to Fangsu made it easier for the atmosphere surrounding them mellowed out, "You are so small and your funny walking is like a duck," Explaining the reasoning for the nickname that was Sim Siu had bestowed on Fangsu who was silent while the girl was talking.

Fangsu's reason for her silence was that she had forgotten that funny habit that had struck with her throughout her childhood. Walking like a duck. "I have always walked like this since I was a child," She never realised that she was walking like a duck since it happened so naturally.

Sim Siu grinned at her choice of the nickname as she stood up from the ground, "I feel like the aura you give off such gentleness and patient but it's also so sad," Approaching Fangsu's small figure, Sim Siu patted the ash grey hair that Fangsu possessed, smiling. She grabbed Fangsu's hand, dragging Fangsu out of the tent.

Fangsu followed Sim Siu to the goats showing her the young goats that were born from last spring. Pulling on Fangsu's small hands, "Our baby goats are cute aren't they?" Sim Siu took a roaming baby goat from the pasture that was going to be fed by one of the carers.

Allowing Fangsu to hold onto the cute baby goat that bleaked cutely, "The baby goat is so cute," the baby goat tried to squirm out of Fangsu's hand which she did let the baby goat run freely in the pasture, "I wish I could take one home so that grandpa and Xiao Cheng can have company," Underneath her mask, a smile blossomed on her face that went unnoticed to anyone.

A woman on the field was heating up goat milk, Fangsu never had goat milk, pouring a translucent liquid that was derived from previous cheesemaking which was called whey. Another person was boiling a plant that would make it sour. As the sour liquid was being poured into the boiled milk and as the woman was stirring the mixture so that it could be incorporated. The goat milk began curdling, as the whey and milk product that would be used to make cheese separated from each other.

Sim Siu ran up to the woman so that she could talk whereas Fangsu stood a distance away. However, Sim Siu waved Fangsu over and Fangsu waddled over to Sim Siu's side, "Eat this," As Fangsu went to squat next to Sim Siu who handed her a bowl with the whey and curds of milk mixed with some sugar, "It's yummy," Sim Siu also had a bowl of her own, eating the sweet soup. Fangsu perplexing stared at the bowl clearly fascinated by how cheese was made from goat milk.

Sim Siu was perplexed as to why Skinny Duck was wearing a mask, reaching for for Fangsu's mask, revealing a cute face that was emphasised by a bright smile that could wash away all the fatigue from anyone who saw her smile, "Why do you hide your pretty face?" Sim Siu awed at Fangsu's pearl-like and flawless skin that she envied.

Fangsu hadn't noticed that Sim Siu had taken off her mask since she was so focused on the milk curds in her bowl, "I travel on the road so I use the mask to protect myself," Spooning the milk curds that were bathing in the liquid. It was sweet which was expected from the sugar and the milk curds were creamy but mild in taste, completely different taste to cow's milk.

The girl ran to Sim Siu completely out of breath but she was talking completely too fast for Fangsu to understand completely but she got the main idea of the situation. It was something about a party. However, judging from Sim Siu's expression, Fangsu could only say that she didn't want to attend it. But, the girl was adamant that Sim Siu was to attend the meeting since they would be important people attending the party. However, Sim Siu protested saying that this party was a last-minute decision by the council to have marriages between the settlements. Sim Siu pouted, clearly upset, "I don't have any preparations for tonight, " Poking at Fangsu's cheek, Sim Siu find that it was surprisingly bouncy and soft to the touch, "How is your skin so soft and pretty?" No matter how much Sim Siu pinched and pulled at Fangsu's skin it would bounce back like freshly made dough. Pouting evniously at Fangsu's dewy skin.

Fangsu laughed at Sim Siu, knowing that any woman striving for beauty and wanting perfect skin. Prying off Sim Siu's pincer like finger, "You want to know?" Smirking with mischief laced in her eyes before dragging her to her cargo that she had travelled with, pulling out various bottles and boxes out of her bags, "Let me turn you into the most beautiful celestial fairy tonight," Setting out on a mission to transform Sim Siu into the most beautiful fairy that she could possibly do within a couple of hours.