Illusions

You might notice that this is chapter 1 of G of S...yes, but I rewrote it up a bit. :) enjoy

Chapter One
The group halted at the stone gateway a ways outside the village. The four tall men wore long, grey cloaks and rode tall white horses. Elendra saw them from the window at the west end of her room. From the bed at the northeast corner came a small girl's voice:
“Lennie, come back to bed. What are you doing there so late?”
Elendra returned to the bed and climbed in beside a pale girl with long, golden braids and sparkling green eyes.
“Snuggle up, then, and I'll tell you about the night faeries.”
The younger girl complied, and Elendra was about to start on her tale when a fierce, thunderous pounding came from below. Elendra sat up again and strained to hear what was happening. She tried to ignore the terrified and wriggling child beside her, but her sister continued to try to dive under the covers.
“Hush, Alana. I'm trying to listen. No, they are not bandits; these people have horses.”
In the land where Elendra and Alana lived, only the rich or soldiers had horses, with the exception of one or two farm plugs that had been the steeds of noblemen and women in their hey day.
Although Alana had settled down at her sister's reprimand, Elendra could not hear a thing other than murmurs. She crept out to the hall next to the wooden stairs where she was met by her twin brothers James and Jadewell. Tall and muscular, the two blondes were hard to tell apart, but Elendra, being particularly close with James, always knew which boy was which. When he saw Lennie creeping quietly toward them, James scooted over to give his favorite sister some room. None of the three said a word as they listened to the exchange occurring downstairs.
“It has been ten years, Johnmenthus. Give us our payment.”
The voice was rough, as if the speaker had swallowed gravel. Elendra's father's bass wobbled as he replied, which unnerved the eavesdroppers. Father was usually so sure of himself.
“I do not know what you are here to claim. The price was not stated in any certain terms. What does the Shadow Lord wish from me?”
The gravelly voice started to reply, but was interrupted by a soothing baritone.
“Enough, Ranger, hold your peace. Sir, when you sought the help of our master ten years ago, the price he required of you was the fairest thing in your possession. To the Shadow Lord, the price is exactly what it was then: we have come for the girl.”
Lennie did the math quickly. If the transaction had taken place ten years ago, she would have been the only girl in the family. Alana was only six years old, and her mother had died shortly after Alana was born.
The gravelly voice spoke again. “Come, man. We will not harm your daughter, but she is what we have come for.”
Knowing he had lost the battle with these men, Johnmenthus resignedly said, “Will you promise that she will have the choice to come back if she so desires? She is sixteen and the most willful girl I have ever met, so like her mother.”
“I cannot promise that which is my master's place to determine, but I can and will promise that she will be well cared for and want for nothing,” the soothing voice sounded almost apologetic.
“Very well. Return at dawn, and she will leave with you then.”
“I am afraid we must leave tonight if we are to return by my master's deadline. It took longer to find you than the Shadow Lord counted on.”
James, Jadewell, and Elendra scampered back to their rooms when they heard the chairs scrape against the stone floor of the kitchen and a foot start on the bottom step. Alana looked at her sister in alarm and begged her to what was going on. A knock on the bedroom door put an end to the child's queries, and she ducked back under the covers like a startled rabbit.
Elendra opened the door and two grey-clad men walked in. One was tall and appeared thin, but the other one was short, and even in the bad lighting, one could see his muscles. The former spoke first, and life was given to the fair voice.
“Hello. You must be Elendra. I am afraid that you will be going on a journey with us. You won't need much as some clothes will be provided where we are going. How long will you need to pack your things?”
Before she could reply, the other man broke in impatiently, “You have one hour. We leave at the stroke of midnight.” With that he turned on his heel and departed, soon followed by the tall man.
Lennie was sure that if she made a fuss, at least the tall man with the fair voice who seemed to be in charge would have qualms about carrying her off, but at sixteen she was ready to have an adventure. She set about packing a bundle. James and Jadewell appeared and sat on the bed. Alana curled up in Jadewell's arms, but still watched her sister solemnly. After a while James broke the silence.
“Are you going with these men then?”
Elendra nodded and continued packing. She only owned three dresses: her everyday dress was a coarse, tan-colored chemise and a a dark brown skirt which came to her ankles and was usually topped with a white apron. Her Sunday dress was a dark blue chemise that tightened at the waist by a tan-colored vest that tied in front. The third dress she owned had been her mother's wedding gown. Made of the finest satin, the white dress had an empire waist and long, translucent, flowing sleeves. The skirt extended to the floor and had an overlay that split down the middle made of the same transparent material as the sleeves. The plain neckline was low and square and had a single small, cloth rosette in the center. A circlet of cloth roses was attached to the floor-length veil made of the finest netting. This dress and its accessories made up Elendra's dowry. Lennie debated with herself whether she should take the gown as it was so delicate and decided that she would. Although the man had said that she would receive clothes when she arrived, she had no idea how long it would be until she arrived at her destination nor if the clothes they were giving her would fit, so she packed all three dresses. Then, knowing that pants were more practical when one was traveling, she turned to her brother and asked, “Jamie, may I have your old trousers?”
James did not look surprised at the request. Instead, he nodded and went to retrieve his patched, brown pants.
Once she finished packing, Elendra made her way into the kitchen, followed by her brothers and sister. She added a loaf of coarse brown bread and a hunk of cheese to her pack and filled her canteen with water from the spring a few yards from the house. She changed into the trousers and wrapped herself into the heavy traveling cloak before the hour was three-quarters of the way past and made her way back into the kitchen. Her father still sat at the table as if in a trance. She kissed his strong and wrinkled forehead and said, “I love you, Papa. I'll come back some day.” She hugged Alana and then Jadewell. James walked her to the door, and when she embraced him tightly, her eyes shone with the gathering tears.
“I'll miss you, Jamie. Take care of Papa.”
“I will. And Lennie, when you get lonely, look at the stars and know that I'm looking at the same ones.”
Elendra looked at her family one last time. The boys were both crying quietly. Jadewell had his arm around Alana. Johnmenthus sat still and looked like a lost man. Finally, Lennie turned to go. Alana broke away from Jadewell and wrapped her little arms around Elendra's knees.
“Lennie, don't go! Please don't leave me.”
The child's sobs seemed to go unnoticed as the elder girl extracted herself from her arms and gently put her in Jadewell's waiting arms. The young woman walked slowly out the door of her home of sixteen years, and no one saw the single silver tear she shed.