"She looked at the sky as the rain pounded against her face.
"Rain my only friend in this terrible world..." Her body shook as fresh tears mixed with the rain falling on her face.
"I feel so heavy, why did they have to take them?" Her bleeding arms and legs pounded the muddy stone ground covering her face and body with mud and blood.
She looked at her shattered bow. "Even my bow is gone...What do I do now?"
"AAAAAARRRRRGGGGHHHH!"
She screamed at the sky pounded her fists again onto the ground. She touched her chest. "My body feels so heavy." She looked at the clouds as fresh tears fell leaving tracks on her mud-covered face. "Even the rain feels sad..."
"Why should I eat? Especially when they are gone." She touched her stomach and ignored its growls.
She wrapped her arms around her legs. "Take me away rain... Why did they take them, and not me?"
"Arrrrrgh!"
She kicked and punched the ground around her in frustration."Why does no one want to fight me or hit me... I won't fight back. I want to be with them… Please!" She cried out loudly.
"What can I do, where can I go, I have nothing left, only this heavy pain in my heart." She started to punch herself in the chest and watched as blood from the cuts she had made on her arms and legs continue to bleed. She watched the rain mix with her blood.
"Why should I still be alive!" She headbutted the stone ground cutting her head open and letting more blood flow.
"I feel dizzy… At least it is not the pain of being alone."
"Arrgh!" She screamed out softly as she laid back and stared at the sky above her.
She saw shadows and cloudy images block her view and she ignored them. She felt something warm on her head.
"…..."
She watched as more shadows appeared around her, and she felt her bleeding arms and legs being bandaged.
"I want to die… Let me be" She said softly.
She closed her eyes. "The rain stopped." She opened her eyes again and noticed shadows and blurry images looking over her.
"Death, you are here, come and take me away, and take this pain away from me... I don't want to feel anymore."
She closed her eyes again and heard a voice come from above her.
"Yes, what you saw was terrible, and the loss of both of them is going to be a terrible loss not only the circus, but all of Athlos."
She ignored the voice and just stared into nothingness. "I want to feel nothing..."
Fresh tears fell.
She lifted her head and headbutted the stony ground with the back of her head repeatedly. She felt a large shadow cover her body preventing her from moving. She struggled and fought back against the shadow
"Let me go!"
"Let...me...gooooo!" She cried out her voice becoming softer as her eyes closed.
Darkness took over.
"..."
Where am I?" She opened her eyes and found herself in the arms of a circus member holding her tightly.
"Let me go... Let me go please?" She cried out as fresh tears fell.
"AAAARRGH!" She screamed and started to fight back against the circus member. She kicked and punched them.
"LET ME GOOOOO!"
She looked around, "Why are we back inside? I want to be out in the rain, that's where I belong… Is anyone listening to me? I WANT TO BE OUTSIDE IN THE RAIN!"
She watched with sadness that those around her were ignoring her pleas. They stopped and looked at her dorm room.
"They won't be able to get in without my key..." She watched as an elderly acrobat easily unlocked her door opening it wide. Her eyes fluttered in shock. "How did she do that?" She mumbled quietly.
A moment later she found herself in her bed with her arms and legs tied to the bed. "I can't move..." She struggled against her bonds. The elderly acrobat looked at her sadly. "That's the idea child."
She stared at the elderly woman as they wiped her face with a hot cloth and hummed softly. Star's eyes and voice were filled with rage.
"Why are you doing this? I should be dead with them." She demanded for an answer from the elderly woman.
"..."
Finally, the elderly acrobat spoke while checking the wounds that Star had given herself.
"You've seen death, and it was the death of someone close to you. However, that does not mean you also need to die." She stared at the elderly acrobat as they pulled a small chair closer to her bed.
"Child, I've been a part of this circus as an acrobat since you were only a twinkle in your ma's eyes. I've also seen the harsh world in all its worst, but also its beauty."
She looked at her in angry silence, yet the elderly woman ignored her glare and continued. "Your life isn't yours to end. If you want to die now, you'll never know who killed them, and you'll never know what will happen to them."
Star looked at her legs in silence listening to the acrobat's words.
"If you die now, what did Red and Agnia do for you all those years ago. If it wasn't for them, you wouldn't be who you are today. All you want is to destroy all the work and years they spent in raising you and teaching you about life."
She looked up at the elderly woman staring at her with tears in her eyes.
"If you keep doing what you're doing now, you're showing them that they were nothing to you. All you're doing right now is dishonoring their memory."
She opened her mouth looking at the elderly woman.
"It hurts...This pain... I can't stop the pain, how to hold this pain without wanting to die?"
The elderly acrobat wiped her face again."Child, you're the result of their hard work. It should be you who searches for their killer and bring them to justice."
A light of focused rage flashed through Star's eyes.
"Justice isn't enough, they need to feel my wrath and the pain I feel."
She stared at her legs in anger while the elderly acrobat sighed loudly.
"Child, vengeance won't ease your pain. There are things you never knew about them. Maybe as you search for their killer, you'll find the truth not just about what happened to them, but also who they truly were."
She nodded slightly and let out a long breath as she looked at her clothes and bandages.
"Sorry Red, Agnia. I should be finding the ones who did this to you instead of wanting to join you."
She looked at the elderly woman.
"It's just that my heart hurts a lot and I really want it to stop hurting."
The elderly acrobat nodded her head and started humming again, while cleaning Star's face and checking the wounds on her arms and legs.
"Peaceful...Relaxing humming...My eyes feel heavy…" She fell into a deep sleep.
Star woke to the sound of water being drawn and watched as the elderly woman walked from the bathroom and smiled at Star.
"You've finally woken. Excellent. There is fresh water here for you, come let me help you get into the bath before you get sick."
She sat in silence as the acrobat came and untied her. Then with a hidden strength easily helped Star onto her feet as they slowly walked into the bathroom.
She stood there in silence as the elderly woman quickly undressed her and helped her slip into the beautiful stone bath. She sat in the bath tracing the engravings with her finger and looked up watching the elderly woman grabbing a stool.
Star let the elderly woman wash her hair and listened to her humming.
"What's the song you are humming?
She felt the elderly woman move from her hair to her shoulders and arms. "This is a song I sing to the little ones before they sleep."
She looked at the face of the acrobat turn serious.
"These wounds are going to scar and will probably make it hard for you to use a bow." The elderly woman looked into Star's eyes while washing the wound carefully.
"Let these wounds be a memory for you that you need to live, and what you have to do now."
Star looked at the wounds on her arms and nodded in agreement.
"Yes... You are right. Red and Agnia's killer needs to be found and dealt with."
She looked at the elderly woman, "were there any clues or anything where I can begin to go looking for them?"
The elderly woman moved to her other arm. "No, that's the question you need to ask yourself, since you were there did you see anything unusual?" She shook her head in thought, then she looked up at the elderly woman.
"Yes. There was someone else there, someone who saw the whole thing as I wasn't able to see through the dark cloud."
The elderly woman looked at her.
"Who was it, do you remember?" Star shook her head, "I don't remember who, but they did say something important. I can't remember what they said."
"AArrgh!" She yelled in frustration, as the elderly woman looked on.
She tapped her fingers on her head trying to remember what that man said to her. She slid under the surface of the water and looked up from under the water. She sat back up and leaned against the smooth surface of the bath letting the acrobat tend to her legs.
She surfaced and took a deep breath and sat in silence listening to the elderly woman's humming.
"What did he say?" Star turned her head and watched the acrobat clean the wounds of mud on her legs. The acrobat looked at her sadly.
"These wounds were almost fatal, when they heal, you'll be walking with a limp. Also, probably they'll ache with constant pain when you're cold and lock up when you become old and gray like me."
Star looked at the elderly woman seriously.
"This pain will help me remember my path." She said with her voice full of determination and vengeance.
She looked at the elderly woman who looked at her and sighed and shook her head.
"One day you'll realize that path leads to only death, but you'll have to walk it to realize that yourself."
Star ignored her warning, as she slipped below the surface of the water letting the hot water seep into her bones. She closed her eyes and just floated under the surface.
"Stormy Mountain... Eyes like mine."
She grabbed the sides of the stone bath with both hands and quickly sat up to the surprise of the elderly acrobat.
"The person who also saw had eyes like mine, and they said go to the Stormy Mountain."
Star looked at the acrobat surprised, who returned a calm gaze to Star.
"Did they say anything else? Do you know how vast the Stormy Mountain region is?"
Star looked at her closing her eyes imaging the map that she would stare at for hours.
She nodded.
"Yes. The Stormy Mountain range is very long which begins not far from here where it turns into a valley system around the grass plains far to the north."
She watched the elderly place her arms along the side of the bath looking at her.
"So, if you were told to go there, where exactly do you need to go?"
She thought for a moment staring at the map in her mind.
"Red gave me a map that is a copy of the one he has in his office. I'm positive the answer is on there."
She looked at the acrobat with hope in her eyes.
"It's on the table. Can you help me out of the bath so we can go have a look at it?"
She looked on silently as the elderly woman nodded, picking up a nearby towel and thick bath robe as she slowly climbed out of the bath.
"Argh, ouch so much pain..." She winced.
She stood as the acrobat quickly dried her and wrapped the thick bath robe around her.
Together, they walked out of the bathroom and back into the small room. The acrobat helped her sit at the table placing the map in front of her as a tear fell from her eyes while she looked at the map.
"Red's final gift to me... This is what will lead me to find out what happened to them."
Star moved on the chair to reduce the pain in her legs as the acrobat pointed to the Stormy Mountain range.
"Here is the range, see how long it is. Where exactly did they say for you to go?"
Star looked at her and pointed at the map. "There's only one part of the range that is called the Stormy Mountain."
The acrobat nodded in agreement.
"That's true. With your body in its current shape you need to rest and recover before you even attempt to climb those mountain ranges… Also don't forget you destroyed your bow giving you those wounds." The elderly woman pointed at Star's legs.
Star looked at the acrobat sadly.
"Before I go to the mountain, I need to get stronger and find myself a new bow." she looked at the map.
She lifted her head and watched as the elderly woman went to the door and talked to the person standing outside, who then ran off. The elderly woman then turned to Star pointing to the bed.
"You get back to bed and rest, we'll get some food for you to eat, and I'll make sure your wounds will heal quickly."
Star nodded and with the help of the elderly woman she slowly made her way to the bed. As she sat on the bed she noticed the elderly woman was frowning.
"What is it?" She asked. The elderly woman looked at her.
"Your bow, not sure if we can fix the one you used, as it was custom made in the capital."
Star nodded sadly.
"Falcon has helped me all my life from the moment I entered this circus, and its life has ended as part of the circus in a fit of rage."
She looked at the acrobat.
"I need a new bow, a bow that has the same desire as me, to find its masters killer."
"You mean you'll take Agnia's bow?" The elderly woman asked.
Star nodded. "It's a strong bow, with a strong personality, it too will want to find them, and return the favor."
Star's eyes gleamed with cold vengeance.