Astra opened her eyes, confused as to how was she still alive. Sitting up a sharp pain went down her back, a coldness and wet feeling. Reaching backwards with her hand she touched her back and flinched in more pain. Retracting her hand forward she saw blood, looking back she saw the green grass around her was covered in dried blood.
The night before Astra sat with her family around a small campfire, singing and playing their instruments. Their family traveled town to town putting on a show for coin, making enough to keep them fed until the next town. The night was like many previously, her brothers played thier Lute and drum, her Father sat with a map plotting the next town. Her and her Mother danced and sang together around the fire. The sky was clear with no moon in sight, but then the sound of horses approaching silenced their merry camp. They had no good intentions, "Run!" Was all Astra could remember hearing before she bolted with her Mother into the woods ending up here.
She tried standing but the pain was emencely painful, looking around she found a make shift walking stick. Gritting through the pain she forced herself to stand up, and glance backward the way she had come from. Slowly she tried walking trying to recall how to get back, hopefully her family had been more lucky. As she walked memories from the night before kept flashing back, the men attacking them without warning. Them calling out for her and her mother to give up running.
Nomadic life and travel was dangerous, however over the years they'd been able to avoid it.. That was till now, Astra stopped resting her body on her side against a tree. The blood loss began to make her eyes blur, she was losing consciousness. "I have to make it back.." she said pushing off the tree back towards a familiar flower meadow. They had chosen to camp here due to the pretty flowers in the meadow, and it had a small creek running through it.
The traveling wagon was burned mainly white ash and smoking pile of embers. She froze seeing a body in the ashes, tear weld in her eyes. She could not tell who it was due to them being burnt black and no clothes. However looking around she didn't need to guess. Her two older brothers and father had been killed. Her father body was laid not to far from where he had been sitting. Cut to many times, her other brother Roy pinned to a tree. Meaning the body in the ashes was Wes.. Collapsing to the ground Astra sobbed barely able to breathe or even have the strength to stand. As she sat sobbing she did not hear the sound of something approaching….