LINEAGE

Chapter 1

She kept telling herself she had to be quiet. Sitting in the corner of a lavish, walk-in closet filled with little girl clothes was a four-year-old girl. The girl had silvery-white hair that flowed down freely and celestial blue eyes, and her most notable feature was her pointed elven ears. She was wearing a white long-sleeved dress with a pink floral design on the front.

Sitting in the corner of the dark closet, the girl gripped the hem of her dress and pressed her lips together. Her eyes were locked on the bottom of the closed closet door, watching the small amount of light flutter into the dark room. She remained incredibly still, not wanting to make a noise, even though the white carpet flooring would possibly silence her movements.

She stiffened at the sound of footsteps, and her heartbeat quickened. The footsteps grew closer and closer until she knew the person she was hearing entered the room.

She could hear a male hum from outside her door, and a deep voice called out, "Strange. I thought she would be in here."

The footsteps sounded again, and a shadow passed under the doorway from the person walking in front of the closet. The girl quickly cupped her hands around her mouth, not daring to make a peep. She could hear the man outside the closet stop walking, knowing he wasn't directly in front of the closet.

"I wonder," the man called out in a pondering tone. "Could she be hiding?" A quick shuffle sounded outside the closet, like the man falling to his knees. "Could she be under the bed?"

The girl could hear the man outside the closet lift the bedframe cover and, a second later, the sound of him standing up.

"I suppose not," The man called out. A light chuckle escaped from him, "Maybe she's in here."

The footsteps sounded again, becoming louder, and the shadows of someone's shoes could be seen under the door. The girl's eyes were wide, locked on the door hand of her closet. The knob began to turn, and she closed her eyes tightly, thinking maybe he wouldn't see her.

She jumped at the sound of the closet door flying open, and she could see the light pour into her dark closet behind her eyelids.

The man stepped into the closet and smiled humorously, seeing the little girl sitting in the corner with her mouth covered and eyes closed. She was in the open corner, concealed by nothing.

The man was tall and muscular, with long white hair, dark green eyes, pointed elf ears, and a chiseled jaw. He looked to be in his early-thirties and full of youth. He wore a formal military-style uniform consisting of a black long-sleeve shirt that buttoned up diagonally to the right with a gold trim, black pants with a golden stripe running down its sides, and black shin-high black leather boots. He had on a black and gold trimmed waist belt; two gold epaulets were adorned on his shoulders; several medals were pinned on the left side of his shirt; a gold braided cord was attached to his left epaulet, which ran under his left armpit, and four golden stars were embroidered on the man's collar, showing his rank.

He clasped his hands to the small of his back, tilted his head to the right slightly, and smiled warmly at the little girl. "Oh, Elianna!" He called out, saying her name, pretending not to see her. Elianna stiffened, pressing her lips closer together. He mentally chuckled, "I guess she's not in here either." He let out a dramatic sigh, "Too bad. Pancakes are her favorite."

Elianna practically jumped with glee upon hearing the word pancakes. She dropped the hands from her eyes and looked at the man with a belated expression, "There's pancakes?!"

The man pretended to jump back in shock, placing his hand over his sternum, "Oh! There you are!" He smiled at her, "You scared me."

Elianna giggled, stood up, and ran to the man. The man let out a chuckle as he reached down and picked her up, giving her a small kiss on the cheek.