LINEAGE

Chapter 4

Elianna was bored as she stood in front of the window beside the front door of her family's mansion. The sun seeped through the window, making her slivery-white hair glimmer and her white dress glow in the light. She had her arms laid out on the windowsill and was using them as headrests. Elianna had been cooped up in her mansion for the past three days and was beginning to grow restless. Just yesterday, she asked her mom if she could go over to Isabelle's and play with her friends, but her mom said no.

While Elianna loved spending time with her parents, all she wanted was to see her friends again. She hadn't been able to spend any time with them ever since she passed out. Her parents had also been keeping a close eye on her, which she found a little annoying.

Elianna's eyes were locked on the cul-de-sac outside her window, wondering what her friends were up to, when she heard footsteps behind her.

"Ah, there you are, sweetie."

Elianna looked over her shoulder, seeing her mother approach her with a loving smile. She was wearing a gray shirt, black pants, black shin-high boots, and black leather gauntlets. Katarina knelt in front of her and brushed a few strands of Elianna's silvery-white hair behind her ear.

"What are you doing?" Katarina asked curiously. "You didn't eat all of your pancakes before you walked off. You love your pancakes."

Elianna shrugged, "I wasn't hungry." She looked back out the window. "Do you think I can see my friends today?"

Katarina's smile faded, and she looked at her daughter sympathetically. This wasn't the first time Elianna had asked to go see her friends, and Katarina knew it wouldn't be the last. But Katarina didn't have the heart to tell her daughter about the note Isabelle had left in the mailbox for her and Lucian.

The day after the incident, Lucian checked the mailbox in front of their mansion and found a letter addressed to them from Isabelle. Isabelle explained to them that Tyler was okay, but she didn't feel comfortable with Elianna coming over to her place anymore. She explained that what happened with Elianna was abnormal, and she had a right to be cautious about her.

After reading the letter, Lucian burned it in the palm of his hand with fire magic, saying she was just being narrow-minded. Katarina agreed, thinking that her daughter wasn't dangerous. However, that didn't prevent Katarina from still being worried about her daughter, despite Arch-Mage Matilda's words.

So, Lucian and Katarina had taken the past three days off of their respective jobs to be with Elianna. To Katarina's relief, nothing out of the ordinary happened to Elianna, and she has been acting like her usual self. The only problem was that Elianna was beginning to become bored and lonely, and Katarina didn't know how to fix it. Lucian and Katarina tried to reach out to Sarah and Dylan's parents, but they never responded. They could only assume Isabelle had already gotten to them and spread rumors about their daughter.

"Not today, munchkin."

Elianna and Katarina looked toward the voice and saw Lucian, adorned in his black and gold formal military attire, approaching them.

Elianna looked at her father disappointedly, "Why not? I always go play with my friends when you leave."

Lucian's smile faded, and he knelt before his daughter, looking into his eyes. "I know these past few days have been tough on you since you haven't seen your friends." Lucian paused, trying to come up with an explanation, seeing his daughter's disappointed, inquiring eyes on him.

"We just want to make sure that you're okay first," Katarina said, affectionately smiling at Elianna.

"But I feel fine," Elianna said softly.