AN: This is just something I though up after watching a show on the history channel. It's kinda short. Hope you all like it! Remember, R+R

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The girl watched her bare feet as she walked up the well-trodden dirt path. Her long black hair, braided in hundreds of braids, brushed forward over her shoulders, hiding her face from the people gathered on either side of the path. Her small fists clenched and clutched the thick white fabric of her knee-length tunic.

The procession led her up the hill. They met another group of people. Several women approached the young woman. They had pails of lukewarm water and cloths to wash her. She knelt and the women washed her face and arms.

Afterwards, they pulled out pails of different colored pigments and drew designs of lines and small dots. The are accented her eyes and cheekbones. When they finished, the girl stood and held out her arms. They slipped on a cloak of white fox fur over her shoulders.

The procession continued up to another platform. There, a young warrior lifted her onto a donkey. The reins, he kept, and she was led up the path again.

They traveled for several hours up the mountain. Snow covered the ground and soon the entire landscape. Finally, at another platform, toward the center of the mountain and its top, they stopped. The girl dismounted and was led to kneel before a shaman.

As she knelt, he said several words over her, blessing her. He touched a hand to her bowed head. He spoke the ritual words. She twisted her fingers together and pressed them to her stomach to quell the butterflies that gathered there. Her teeth bit into her bottom lip and drew blood. Tears gathered in her eyes when she felt another's approach. Her eyes clenched shut tightly.

She never felt the blow to the back of her head.