The grass waved lazily in the breeze. The sun was setting, shooting splashes of magenta and orange across the sky. A large silhouette of a castle stood out against the horizon. A bird fluttered gently onto a branch on a young tree and started to sing.
There was a disturbance, and the bird ruffled its feathers in frustration. There was a slithering sound, and the bird flew away quickly. A lone figure dragged themselves towards the tree, and collapsed against its heavy trunk. It was a young girl. Her dainty figure was obscured by a baggy shirt and torn pants. Her greasy hair flew about in the breeze that was growing in speed. A few drops of blood were spattered on her hands. Her thin, gaunt face lit up when she saw the tree underneath her bony hand.
She pulled her hand off the tree. She instead held it near, palm facing forward, and closed her eyes in concentration. After a minute or two, she grinned even wider and pulled her hand away, opening sparkling pink eyes. She closed her hand, her fingers curling into claw-like forms. Her fingers pressed onto the trunk of the tree. There was a flurry of movement, then she pulled her hand away. She had scratched a small symbol into the bark.
Her eyes suddenly rolled up in her head, and she collapsed backwards. Her arms fell limp at her sides, and her hands relaxed. The wind suddenly grew much stronger, as if nature was furious that she had fainted. In the violent wind, the collar of her shirt fanned outwards, revealing a thing stream of blood dripping from under something around her neck. She twitched, and there was a clinking sound. The thing around her neck was suddenly blown outwards too, and then it was revealed what it was. It was a leather collar around her neck, and the clinking sound was a long, broken chain coming from it.