The Wind of the Khazars by Marek Halter

Attex pushed her foot deeper into the mud. She lifted it suddenly with a plop, leaving a perfect imprint. It only took a few seconds for the mark to fill with water and disappear. Frowning, Attex lifted her foot as high as possible and crashed it down with even more force into the soft earth of the riverbank. The imprint was much clearer, much deeper. But the water filled it even more quickly and wiped it away without a trace. The little pockets of water began to ripple in the breeze. Attex raised her eyes from the river. Just beyond the bay where she was standing surrounded by thickets of wild roses, happy laughter broke out. On the bank, servants were washing wool in huge wooden tubs. The oldest of them had lifted up her skirts and tucked them into her belt, displaying her fleshy thighs. She entered the water and stretched out her hand to the young girl.
"Princess Attex! If you go too far into the river, it will carry you away!"
"If the river carries me away," replied Attex in a mocking tone, "my father will chop off your head!"
"Exactly!" the servant sputtered. "And I don't fancy that! My head does very well where it is, thank you!"
Attex heard a shout; in the cherry orchard bordering the river and running up to the hill, her brother Joseph was training for combat with the greatest of the Khazar warriors, the worthy Borouh. As he was only thirteen, his horse was smaller than Borouh's and his sword shorter. Attex was full of pride to see how secure he was in the saddle, galloping between the trees with as much agility as the warrior.
"Attania," she asked, slipping her fingers into the servant's large hand, "why can't I go to the synagogue with Joseph tomorrow?"
Attania sighed, shaking her head. "I have already told you, Princess. Tomorrow is the day your brother becomes a Bar Mitzvah, the day Prince Joseph becomes a man. Only men have the right to enter the synagogue on that day, not little girls…"
"It's not fair!"
Attania smiled. "That's life! You are a princess and I am a servant. You are beautiful and I am already an old hag with no teeth. That's how things are, fair or not!"
Attex studied Attania's large and tender features. She wasn't as old as all that, and she was only missing two teeth. Huge gold earrings dangled from her ears, and her eyes sparkled with kindness. She had a mouth made for eating cakes and giving kisses.
"It is true you are not very beautiful," she teased, to anger Attania. "When I grow up, I will be very beautiful. The most beautiful woman in the world!"
But Attania was not angered. Full of sweetness, she slid her fingers through Attex's red curls. "Yes, I am sure you will be."
Disappointed, Attex withdrew her hand and made the water splash out from under her feet as she ran up the edge of the riverbank, jumping like a goat.
"I am a princess, I am the most beautiful princess, and I am bored!" she cried. "I want to be thirteen like my brother and go to the synagogue!"
Attania and the other servants burst out laughing. Attex also burst out laughing. She wasn't really bored, she was never bored. But she really wanted to see what was going to happen to Joseph in the synagogue the next day! She sat down on the bank to dry herself in the sun. Behind the crest of the hill, she could see the tall towers of the fortress of Sarkel, and a little bit to one side, a long caravan of camels approaching the town.
As she brought her gaze back to the river she noticed strange bundles of leafy branches, coming from up river. They were floating gently in the current. The branches did not appear dead; on the contrary, they still carried all their leaves, as if they had just been cut. These bundles of floating greenery were not in the center of the river, but appeared to be carefully following the meandering shape of the bank. Attex stood up to get a better view. There were about fifteen of them. In the middle of one of the branches she was sure she could see a horse's nostril and the yellow reflection of its teeth.
"Attania!" she shouted, pointing at the river, "Attania! Look!"