The Trade: Elswyth

A tall, slender man stood then, his hair long and black and seeming to swirl around him as he moved. His black billowy pants seemed to catch a breeze no one else felt. A slight girl stood next to him, almost as short as Elswyth. Her black hair was shorter than the mans and she looked more shy than Dawn as she stared hard at the ground. "I am Erebus," the man whispered, but the whisper seemed to invade everywhere, pervasive and uncomfortable. "She is Zillah. The man who harms her will never know a moment's peace, there is no peace to be had in the shadows where I will wait for you."

He sat and for some reason, that threat was taken more seriously than Apollo's. Everyone shifted and looked around nervously.

The girl with the cherry blossom hair stood and behind her the scarred boy. "I am Fleur!" she announced haughtily.

"And I am Florian. I don't need to make threats, Fleur can handle herself."

He sat down and Fleur bowed slightly before sitting next to him.

The feather boy stood then and Elswyth looked up at him on the other side of Ranger. He was beautiful.

"I am Wren and this is Branwen. I do not know her well, I am a handler and she is a keeper, but I would hope no one here would ever harm the one they are bound to."

Elswyth watched him sit down, her eyes wide. She'd never even glanced at the girl. Ranger stood and she moved so she could see the boy again, then realized Ranger had stood. It was their turn!

"I am Ranger and this is..."

"Don't you dare speak for me! I am NO ONE to you and that is all I will ever be!"

Ranger blushed and looked away. "I am Ranger," he shrugged, then threw himself back to the bench.

Elswyth stood there for a moment, frozen and feeling like an idiot, but she forced herself to stand up straight. "I am Elswyth and I am one of three of our kind left with tree speak. It is my hope that I will end up somewhere with trees so that my magic will not waste away and..."

"You may not make a plea on where to go or try and sway a mind," the Keeper spoke up.

"I'm not! I'm just saying I like trees and want trees! You old goat," she snapped, sitting down.

She heard chuckles and it fueled her ire as she sat steaming.

"Oh, I think I like her," Apollo said, just loud enough she knew she was supposed to hear.

"I am Ford? And this is Brooke?" A man said softly. Fearfully.

Elswyth turned as they sat and looked at them. The man was small and he looked very normal, but the girl was a mermaid, like all females from their line.

Past them, the next two stood and they were both slight little things, barely taller than Elswyth. They had dark gray skin and black hair and their eyes glowed blue and orange in the dim firelight. "Kieran and Charra, we are darkness," was all the boy said as they sat again.

Two tall blondes stood next, her with a staff with a lightning bolt and him smirking as electric arcs jumped between his fingers.

"Gale," he smiled.

"Zephyr," she announced.

As they sat, the two on the very end stood. Both pale, both dressed in unrelieved black and both with pure white hair. They both had it cut short and he wore no sleeves with black gloves up to his elbows while she wore a cloak of black with a black staff.

"Lilith," she called out, like a challenge, "and my baby brother Azazel."

Death.

Elswyth hardly had time to look as the Keepers stepped up. "Now there will be a repast set out and chairs for all of you. We invite you to sit and speak, or do not. It is not required. We will return here when it is time to rest. We will wake the men in the morning for the contest, for the women, we ask you to be ready by noon to meet back here to await the winners."

They stepped back and there was a bit of milling, but Elswith noticed several people leaving.

Luna, Hyperion, Kieran, Charra, Lilith, Azazel and Brooke.

Everyone else moved to the middle to sit and talk. Elswyth went to sit and Ranger started to sit with her, but she jumped up and moved around the table to sit next to Olympia who grinned at her.

"No love lost there, eh?"

"None," she agreed. She looked around and watched, hoping Wren would sit near her, but it was Jack who sat in the chair next to hers, turned and speaking to Anil. Wren did sit almost across from her, over one with Branwen sitting directly across from her. She was a pretty girl with a long blonde braid and a bow poking over her shoulder. She looked like she liked to smile.

Wren was speaking to Ford, but Branwen looked a little lost. Elswyth sat up. "Hi, Branwen, right?"

"Wen, yes. Hello. Ummm..?"

"Elswyth but most people call me El."

"You are forest! Who did you come with?"

"Ranger, down there," she pointed.

"Oh," the girl looked disappointed. "He seems... a bit proud of himself, yes? And he thinks himself very pretty. He does not look very strong, I do not think he will be among the first, but perhaps I will last until then... we will see. You though. Look at you, you may be among the first to go!"

"If Bray wins she will be!" Olympia laughed. "She is a clear favorite for him."

"Yes, I see this. Beacon as well, he keeps looking at her like he wishes a kiss from her lips."

"Ranger... he used to be a lot worse than he is now," Elswyth cut in. "He made me miserable when we were kids and I refused to forgive him for it when we got older and he got nicer. He is now. Nicer. Still a bit of a prig, but he would be good to you."

"It is Apollonia he has his eye on."

"And she will be gone as soon as El is. They will be the first two gone, depending on who wins. If it's fire, it will be El."

"No," Celeste leaned forward. "Fire made an unending oath when water broke their pact that they would always take a water queen from them, always. If fire wins, Brooke will be the first to go."

"I heard that as well," Elswyth agreed.

"That is sad," Branwen sighed.

"What is sad?" Wren asked, turning to look at his fellow.

"We were speaking. Wren, these are my new friends. Elswyth, she is forest. Olympia and Celeste. Elswyth says friends may call her El."

"El, it is lovely to meet you," Wren said, cocking his head as he looked her over. "You are a slight thing, aren't you? And you fly, your wings are actually lovely. Not burdensome like some I have seen. Your anger with your fellow? Is he an old lover?"

"No! No, not at all. We knew each other well growing up, we are basically cousins and he tormented me. We don't get on. I... I'd like to say I'm not normally like that, but for my kind I do have a temper. My dad used to tease that I had fire in me somewhere."

"This is where I butt in with a crude joke, right?" Apollo asked, his smile dangerous.

Elswyth swallowed hard, then chose to ignore him. "You said you and Branwen did not know each other? Is it so large, where you are from?"

"Oh, no. I am a handler, I can speak to animals. Specifically birds. She is a protector, she keeps poachers and hunters away from the animals that come to us. We lived different places, did different things. We knew of each other and saw each other a few times, but that was all. Do you think you would like to see it? Where we are from?"

Elswyth blushed again and smiled slightly. "I would love to see many places, but yes, I would be glad to see your home. Are there trees?"

"Yes. Not a forest like you are used to, but there are many trees. My home is in one."

Elswyth perked up, her eyes wide. "IN a tree?!? Like a nest?"

He chuckled. "A house, but built up in the branches."

"You have no wings, how?"

"There's a ladder that drops down, but like Anil, I have a pet who I ride in the air. Her nest is above my home, higher in the tree."

"That sounds lovely!" she breathed, her heart aching as she looked at the handsome boy. She hoped he was among the first and he picked her!

"The mountain where I live," Bray said, leaning around his sister. "There are trees among the foothills and some on the slopes."

"That sounds lovely," she smiled at him politely. He was sweet, and handsome in a very alien way.

"We have trees," Jack said loudly, snagging her attention as she turned to look up at him. He grinned down at her, his eyes shining with mischief. "Evergreens all, but trees are trees, right? You are adorable, aren't you? And those lips... A man could give up a lot for those lips and that face..."

"Now, I think we all know a girl like her is best suited to me," Florian grinned, moving to lean on the chair behind Branwen who leaned away from him. "Trees, flowers, plants, almost the same thing, right? We are a match meant to be!"

Elswyth saw Wren blushing, spots of angry color on his cheeks. Fighting was forbidden, as was laying hands on another person, but anyone could see Branwen was in distress.

"No," Elswyth hissed at him. "We were not. Step away from her and stop inserting yourself where you aren't wanted! Go!"

Florian arched an eyebrow and stepped back, but his eyes held menacing promises. She wasn't worried, he was weak and she would be gone before he could get his hands on her.

"Thank you," Branwen whispered, tears on her cheeks. "I fear he means to take me."

"I will speak to Ranger. We don't get on, but he truly would be good to you and you would love the forest. If you want me to, I mean."

She gave a slight nod and a tremulous smile and Wren looked at Elswyth then with another look. A calculating look. "You have a quick temper, but a good heart I think. Would you mind if I told you that you are my first choice of those I have spoken to?"

Elswyth smiled and blushed and shook her head. "I will hold out hope that you win then, it is my wish for it to be you."

He grinned and sat back in his chair, watching her blush. "I do wish I could speak with you more... more privately. Tomorrow will have to be soon enough. I have made my choice and now I will go and get the rest I will need to win this tomorrow. Sleep well, little El. By this time tomorrow, I will be showing you our home on the tree." He grinned as he stood up and left, giving her a parting wink.

"Ahh. I will still hold out hope that I beat him," Bray laughed. "And hope you will not be too upset with me if I steal you away first!"

Elswyth gave him a smile and stood up, moving around to the table and sitting next to Ranger in her original seat. Erebus was sitting on the other side of her, turned and speaking to Zephyr. "Ranger?" she asked softly.

"Yes little one?" he asked congenially, smiling at her with a sardonic smile.

"You see Branwen down there? Long blonde braid?"

"Yes?"

"She is beautiful, isn't she?"

"She is ok. She is no you, or Apollonia. I would rate her fifth or sixth."

"She likes you, she thinks you're handsome and she is Fauna. She needs a place like the forest. She would be good to you and you two would be happy, I know it."

"I see. A favor for her? A favor for me? What is your angle?"

"For her. She likes you and I know you will be nice to her."

"I see. Alright, little one. For you I will choose her first if she is among those left when I finish. For the kiss that I will spend the rest of my days dreaming of," he smiled. "I do wish things were different, but if I cannot prove to you that I can make you happy as your husband, then I will make you happy in another way."

"Thank you..." Elswyth answered softly, a little confused and a bit sad. He really did seem to have feelings for her that went beyond liking how she looked.

"You are the little viper," a man's voice announced.

She turned to Erebus. He was very tall and slender and his hair moved around him, brushing against her now. She brushed it off, but it came back like it was caught in the wind. "I..."

"He is teasin," Anil told her from across the table. "That is nice, what you did for your friend. Making it so she will be in a happy place, perhaps."

"It seems at odds with what I assumed was your nature," Erebus told her.

"I know I snapped, but... I had reasons!" she said defensively.

"She didn't know about the Trade," Ranger told them. "Her mother just packed her up and brought her without telling her and she found out when we were almost here."

"What a wicked thing to do! Why would she do this?!?" Zephyr asked.

"Elly is the last female left in the royal line among our kind and everyone knew one thing. If Elly knew the Trade was summoned, she would have gone to ground for a year. No one would have found her. No one was allowed to tell her at all, not that she would speak to me anyway. I TRIED to get her to bond with me more than once and she refused me over and over again. Even her mother tried to convince her to bond me short of telling her it was the only way she would be allowed to stay."

"This is very much a dismay!" Zephyr said sadly. "We have all known for months! We have had time to prepare and say our goodbyes! But you, you will never get this? No? It is much a dismay!"

"It will be well, Zephyr," Gale said gently. "Do not get so upset. I am sure whoever takes her with them tomorrow will be good to her. Ahh, see the blush? She has a man in mind already! I am thinking Beacon?"

"Oh, he is beautiful!" Fleur laughed wickedly. "I am sure he thinks to catch her hand, but I think Bray may beat him to his prize. Or even Jack. Have you seen the muscles on that boy?"

"Perhaps the contest will not be strength," Erebus said, his tone light. "No one knows what it will be, it is different every time. Once it was nothing but puzzles. Another time a footrace, no wings allowed. Last time it was three things. A race through water, a race on foot and a test of strength, breaking through an ice wall with nothing but rocks. It is said that one took all day, the first bride being claimed at night. It is said Fire only won that one by a hair, beating Mountain and only because his fire helped him move the ice. He was so far behind after the water race, but caught up and made it through the ice faster than everyone else. He even tried to say it was cheating to put water as an obstacle when his kind cannot tolerate it."

"It was cheating," Apollo snarled. "And they well know it. We still won, just like I will win tomorrow and have my prize." He looked Elswyth over and fear crept into her heart as he looked at her covetously. "You will be safe for whoever comes in second," he growled, then got up and left angrily. Apollonia followed him, a sway in her round hips that almost every man watched.

"He does not like that one bit, that he is forced to take water," Anil said softly.

"Would you like it?" Ranger asked.

"Yeah, she was pretty awful looking," Anil agreed.

"No!" Ranger scoffed, turning to him. "Being forced to take someone to torture them? Never having a real wife or love, only someone who you are destined to be miserable with?"

Elswyth stood up and hugged Ranger then, then kissed his cheek. She said nothing to him as he looked at her in stunned silence, just left and went to talk to Branwen who was waiting on her. "He says you are his first choice," she told her as she hugged her. "Good luck! I will be rooting for him and you and he really is a good guy. You will be happy. Goodnight everyone, it was nice meeting most all of you," she smiled, then went to find her bed.

The keepers showed her to a single small room under the main floor and left her with a candle. Her bags were already inside the small room and the door locked when she was shut in. She laid down, but didn't go to sleep right away. She lay thinking about Wren and a house in a tree and even about Ranger and how horrid she had been to him after he had changed. She thought of the others she had met and even of the ones she hadn't met. The ones who had slipped away before the meal. She assumed Darkness and Moon and Shadows all sort of stuck together. Probably Death too, though she had seen Erebus talking to Zephyr. Shadows and Storms. The others though, perhaps they had an arrangement to stick to their own kind? Darkness and Moon and Shadow and Death. Was Death part of that group? Not really, but the way they had dressed in black and not really spoken, leaving right away, it made her think of them that way.

She drifted off and dreamed of Wren and a house in a tree.

She woke to knocking and she wondered what time it was. They were told they didn't have to be ready before noon?

"Come in?" she called.

A female Keeper opened the door. "Dress and come above with all of your things," she told her quickly, then shut the door.

Elswyth frowned. There was no way it was noon already! None! She always woke at sunrise whether she could see the sun or not and it was just now sunrise! Their competition had to have just started!

Still, she got up and got dressed, wondering if there was some ritual the girls had to perform before the men returned. She wore her finest (and only) dress and did her hair for once, then hauled her bags up the stairs and handed them off to one of the servants as she went into the main hall. There were already several girls there and she hurried to Bronwen with a smile, but the girl looked sick.

Elswyth followed her eyes to the single man in the room that she hadn't noticed until then, sitting at his ease and looking the girls over.

Death.

She couldn't remember his name, only what he was. Tall, slender, pale and in all black. His gloved hands were twirling long silver daggers in each, his long fingers moving too quickly for her to see. She felt sick too as she held on to Bronwen. His white hair stood out even against his pale skin as he looked all the girls over with a bored expression.

Apollonia was the last of the girls to arrive and when she did, a Keeper spoke up. "Line yourselves for the first choosing!"

Apollonia looked as shocked as everyone else, then her look turned grim when she saw who it was. She went from grim to resolved as she held her chin up. She knew he was going to choose her, she had no doubt in her mind.

Elswyth hugged Bronwen, slightly relieved as they stood in a row in front of the boy.

He finally stood, looking down the line of all of them, then stepping up. He didn't even look at Apollonia, he went straight passed her and took Elswyths face in his hand, tilting her face up to his. "This one I chose for mine," he said, his voice calm and quiet. He took hold of her shoulder and led her off the small dais and down to the row of chairs. He sat, but did not allow her to sit next to him. He pushed her to her knees in front of him and forced her to sit on the floor and held her back against his legs.

Elswyth looked around in a panic and all the women were watching her with horrified faces. Apollonia looked stunned and relieved.

The girls were forced to stand there for hours and Elswyth could only sit and try not to sob too openly. The man never spoke to her or even moved unless she shifted and he pulled her back against his legs.

The other women whispered and milled and mingled, but weren't allowed to sit until the competition was over and the last man showed up.

Surprisingly, it was Bray who rushed into the archway, grinning, then Wren a few seconds behind him looking upset. Both of their faces went confused as they looked over the line of girls.

Elswyth could see them from where she sat, but they were looking over the line of girls and not back at her.

"Where is Elswyth?" Bray demanded of the Keeper.

"You may choose among any of the women standing here," the Keeper answered, gesturing to the dais.

It was Olympia who pointed to Elswyth and both men turned and looked at her in dismay.

"How...? How did he beat us! We were in the lead the whole time! We never saw anyone pass either of us!" Bray demanded.

"Choose another!" Wren asked, appealing to the man with his hand on her shoulder. "She and I wish to be together! Our magic is compatible, yours will kill her!"