On an ordinary Sunday afternoon, seven-year-old Jude is at home with her twin sister, Taryn, and their older sister, Vivienne. Their mother cooks in the kitchen, and their father works outside at his forge. A tall man in a dark coat appears at the door without seeming to arrive by any normal means.

Jude answers the door, and her mother immediately recognizes the visitor with fear. The man reveals that Jude's mother was once his wife and that he believed she and his unborn child had died in a fire. He accuses her of breaking her vows and hiding from him in the mortal world.

Jude's father enters with an axe and attacks, but the blow misses. The man draws a sword and kills him. When Jude's mother tries to flee, the man kills her too, leaving Jude, Taryn, and Vivienne screaming in the house.

The man turns his attention to Vivienne and declares that she was stolen from him, that he is her father, and that he has come to take her home to Elfhame. Vivienne refuses and vows to hate him forever, but the man insists she must obey him. When Vivienne tries to protect Jude and Taryn, he claims responsibility for them as the children of his wife.

In shock, the sisters pack or are packed, though Jude later cannot remember the details. Before dark, the man places Jude, Taryn, and Vivienne on a black horse and takes them away. The girls cry as they are carried from their murdered parents' home toward Faerieland.