A young woman bounded lightly down the trail. Her face was untouched by age and her silver eyes glittered with her apparent youth. She smiled gleefully as she danced to the tune in her head and her long blonde tresses danced with her. The young woman was called Gabrielle and she was headed back to her home.
Gabrielle jerked to a sudden stop as she starred at a fork in the road before her. A frown came to her previously blissful face. That could not be right, the path had not forked before. Her eyes first traveled to the familiar path that would lead her straight home and to her mother. However, her curiosity pulled her gaze over to the unfamiliar path. It wound off to the east, twisting and turning so that she could not see its end. Gabrielle hesitated for a moment, her gaze flashed back to the trail that would take her home; her mother might worry. However, her mother was not home right now, she was in town treating people for the plague. Gabrielle shook her head at her thoughts, she always got so worried when she thought about her mother treating all of those ill people. She shook her head again to clear her troubled thoughts and her feet found the path that was not familiar to her.
Gabrielle was more cautious than she had been coming down the trail she had been familiar to. Her muscles were tense as she walked. The air was tight and she couldn't see the sky through the thick trees. Off to her left, Gabrielle heard a group of birds fly off of a tree. A troubled look came to her face, she was thinking of her mother. She sat down and leaned on a wide tree. There were days that Gabrielle was sure that her mother truly didn't care. She never gave her straight answers, not even when she was young.
A tiny girl with braided pig tails entered the cottage and was met by a rather portly woman. There were crows feet at her kindly blue eyes and her short brown hair was parted by gray. Her lips were full but badly chapped from lack of care. Her cheeks sagged a bit and she had bags under her eyes. "Where have you been?" Gertrude asked sternly. "You had me very worried."
"I'm sorry mama." Gabriel said softly. "I was looking for marigolds." She explained, pulling a fistful of the tiny flowers out of her apron and handing them to her mother.
"They're lovely." Gertrude said mildly. "Go and put them in a vase."
Gabriel didn't move save for twisting her hands nervously. "The boys were teasing me today." She whispered. "They say the meanest things about my ears, mama! Why are my ears pointed instead of round like everyone else?"
"You were born that way." Gertrude snapped. "Now go put your flowers away."
Gabriel could remember many instances such as that one.
Gabrielle walked down the street on the arm of a young man who was no more than a year older than her. He had ebony hair and crystal blue eyes. Gabrielle laughed at something he said but froze when she saw her mother at the end of the street.
The fierce woman stomped towards Gabrielle and grabbed her arm. Gabrielle was yanked away from the young man and dragged down the street. "What have I told you?" Gertrude snapped irritably. "You are not to be courting any male in this or any other village!"
"Why, mother?" Gabrielle asked with a glare, trying to yank her arm away. "I am of age to be married and yet you say I can not even court!"
"Gabrielle, you will do as you are told." Gertrude said with a mild glare. "I do not need to explain myself to you."
Gabrielle let out a sigh. Her mother could be so odd sometimes. She stood and stretched out her muscles. She continued to walk down the trail as another memory surfaced.
Gabrielle was working in the kitchen when she looked down and saw the familiar scar on the top of her hand by her thumb. "Where did this scar on my hand come from?" She asked as she kneaded the bread.
Gertrude looked up from her knitting and rubbed at her weary eyes. "I don't know, Gabrielle." She said softly.
"How do you not know?" Gabrielle asked, putting the bread on a board to be put into the oven.
"I have been lying to you, Gabrielle." Gertrude said slowly as she watched her daughter put the bread into the oven. "You are not my daughter by birth."
Gabrielle snapped up and stared at Gertrude with wide eyes. "What?" She asked breathlessly.
"I'm sorry, Gabrielle." Gertrude said softly. She pulled a locket from her apron pocket. "This belongs to you."
Gabrielle took the locket nervously before her eyes grew furious. "Is that even my name?" She snapped. She didn't wait for a response before fleeing the cottage in favor of the woods.
Gabrielle had turned to spending most of her times in the woods. The high trees made her feel more secure.
Gabrielle jumped away with shock when a group of five men appeared from within the trees. Three of them had hair that curled to their shoulders and the other two had extremely long, straight hair. However under the long hair, Gabrielle could see partially hidden pointed ears just like hers.
"I never thought that you would come this far." One of the men with the pointed ears said with a smirk. "Pity you won't remember it."
"What are you talking about?" Gabrielle snapped, recoiling to a defensive position. "Who are you?"
The dark-haired man with pointed ears nodded to the three shorter-haired men. They moved behind Gabrielle who tensed and tried to flee but one of the men wrapped his arms around her to restrain her arms.
Gabrielle flailed around and tried to jerk away but one of the other men grabbed her chin to hold her head still while the third man poured a bitter liquid down her throat, rubbing her throat roughly to force her to swallow. Gabrielle began to feel her body slacken and her vision began to swim and blur. She collapsed to the ground.
Well there it is, the first chapter of the rewrite, I really need the reviews