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.

Elianna smiled wide, "Sorry, Daddy!" She wiggled in his arms with excitement, "You said pancakes!!"

The man laughed and nodded, "That's right." He carried her out of the closet and closed the door.

They walked into Elianna's bedroom, which was a large room with gray wooden flooring and light pink walls with white flowers and butterflies painted on the walls for decor. White furniture, which consisted of a bed, dresser, and nightstand, filled the room. There were three doors inside the bedroom, one which led to the closet that Elianna was just in, another to her bathroom, and the last to the hallway.

"The staff decided to make pancakes this morning," The man smiled and poked Elianna on the nose, getting another giggle from her. "So I came to wake you up." He smiled playfully at her, "But it seems you were already awake and decided to play hide and seek, my little munchkin."

"Lord Lucian," A male voice called out from the hallway.

Hearing his name, Lucian and Elianna looked at the open door to the hallway curiously, and Lucian called out, "In here!"

A moment later, an older-looking human with black and gray hair and brown eyes peeked his head in. He smiled as his eyes fell on Lucain and Elianna, who was in his arms. The man entered and gave a slight bow, revealing he was wearing a nice black and white suit, "Good morning, My Lord."

Lucian returned the man's smile, who he knew as his head butler, "You may rise, Augustus." Augustus stood straight, and Lucian looked at him curiously, "What is it?"

"I came to tell you that breakfast is ready," Augustus informed.

"Perfect!" Lucian said and looked at Elianna. "We were just discussing breakfast, actually."

Elianna nodded excitedly at Augustus, "Daddy said there will be pancakes!"

This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

Augustus smiled warmly at Elianna, "That's correct, My Lady."

Elianna wiggled happily, "I love pancakes!"

Augustus and Lucian both laughed, and Augustus followed Lucian as he exited Elianna's room. They entered a light yellow hallway with gray wooden flooring and paintings of different landscapes hung on the walls.

As they made their way down the hallway, Lucian looked over his shoulder at Augustus, "Was my wife already notified?"

Augustus nodded, "Yes, Lady Katarina was entering the dining room when I left to find you."

"Good," Lucain said as he looked forward, and they exited the hallway.

They entered the large, elegant, and beautiful entrance hall of their mansion. The entrance hall was white with gold trim and a sizeable crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. There was a dual grand staircase with gray wooden steps and gray wooden handrails. Statues and pottery were laid throughout the room, and paintings were hung on the walls. While the top floor had gray flooring, the bottom had spotless white marble flooring.

Lucian and Augustus descended the right grand staircase before they approached and entered the dining area. The dining area was lavish, with paintings hanging on the light blue walls and statues placed in the corner for decor. A significantly large brown wooden table was set up in the middle of the room, with silver candle sticks on top for decor.

At the end of the table, sitting on the right side of the end seat, was a beautiful woman with flawless skin, glimmering silver hair that she had tied back in a ponytail, and bright sky-blue eyes who looked to be in her early-thirties. She was wearing a long-sleeved blue shirt with a black vest, fingerless black bracers, black pants, shin-high black boots, and a half-skirt that had an open front and fell to her knees. She sat elegantly in her chair, her right leg crossed over her left, as she read over the papers in her hand.

Elianna smiled brightly as her eyes fell on the woman, "Mommy!"

Katarina looked up from her papers and smiled warmly when she saw her husband walk in with their daughter in his arms. "Good morning, you two."

Lucian placed Elianna on the ground, and she quickly ran to her mom. Katarina smiled the entire time as she watched Elianna run around the table and approach her. Katarina scooted her chair out, swiftly picked up Elianna, and placed her in her lap as they shared a hug.

Lucian smiled lovingly at his wife and daughter before he looked at his head butler, "Augustus."

Augustus, who was standing there smiling as he watched Elianna and Katarina, looked at Lucian curiously, "Yes, My Lord?"

Lucian gestured to the double brown doors leading to the kitchen, "Could you please inform the staff to serve the breakfast?"

Augustus nodded, "Of course."

"Thank you," Lucian said as Augustus walked off.

Lucian looked back at his daughter and wife and approached them. Katarina was straightening out Elianna's hair, which was jumbled up from bedhead, when she looked up and smiled affectionately at Lucian.

Lucian leaned down, gave his wife a kiss, and smiled, "Good morning, my love."

Katarina hummed and returned his smile, "Good morning."

"Ewwww," Elianna said over dramatically, her nose scrunching in disgust.

Lucian and Katarina chuckled at their daughter, and Lucian took his seat at the head of the table to Katarina's left.

Katarina looked at Lucain curiously as she continued to straighten Elianna's hair, "How did yesterday go? You got home pretty late." Lucian let out a long sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose. Katarina smiled humorously at him, "That good, huh?"

"The council meeting was going well in the beginning," Lucian began before he looked at his wife with a deadpan look. "But then the kings started to butt heads again."

Katarina chuckled, "Of course. What about this time?"

"The orcs," Lucian said, and Katarina's smile faded. "There's been some increased activity at the wall. And some adventurers encountered a band of orcs in Ehomire forest."

Katarina's hand froze midway through Elianna's hair, looking at Lucain, surprised. Elianna was twiddling her thumbs and humming to herself when she curiously looked up at her mom, feeling her stop straightening her hair.

"That's impossible," Katarina said in shock. "How did they get past the wall and the forces guarding Calignar's borders?"

Lucian shrugged, "They don't know. That's what the argument was about. They were all pointing fingers at each other, saying their defenses around the orc kingdom were lacking."

"And the orcs?" Katarina asked. "What happened to them? Were they questioned?"

Lucian shook his head, "No. The group of adventurers ki-" His eyes flicked to Elianna, who tilted her head slightly, looking at her dad with an inquisitive expression. Lucian cleared his throat, looked at Katarina, and continued, "The adventurers disposed of the orcs."

Katarina nodded, "I see." Katarina hummed and went back to straightening Elianna's hair. "So, no way for them to tell us, then."

Lucian shook his head. "Nope. In the end, the three kings decided to inspect the defenses around the orc kingdom to see if there were any weaknesses." He looked at the double doors and smiled, seeing his mansion staff walk out with the pancakes. "Anyway, It's no use worrying about it now."

Elianna smiled with excitement, seeing the pancakes, "Pancakes!"

Lucian and Katarina chuckled at Elianna as the mansion staff walked around the table to serve the breakfast. They placed a plate of pancakes in front of Lucian and Katarina, including another plate in front of the empty seat to Katarina's right.

A young brown-haired elven female with brown hair pulled out the chair, and Katarina thanked her as she placed Elianna into the chair. The maid pushed the chair back, and Elianna beamed with happiness at the pancakes in front of her. The staff then placed the sterling silver utensils, butter, pancakes, and drinks on the table before they bowed and left the room. Two of the staff members stayed behind to stand by in case Lucian, Katarina, or Elianna needed something.

Katarina grabbed the butter, smearing it over Elianna's pancakes before pouring syrup on them and then cutting them up for her.

"Thanks, Mommy!" Elianna said excitedly as she grabbed her fork. She took a bite of her pancakes, hummed contently, and said with her mouthful, "This is so good!"

Katarina chuckled and smiled at her daughter, "Don't speak with your mouth full, sweetie."

Elianna nodded and continued to eat her pancakes.

Lucian and Katarina then began to butter and pour syrup over their pancakes, seeing Elianna enjoying hers.

Taking a bite of his pancakes, Lucian looked at Katarina curiously, "Anything exciting happening at the academy today?"

Katarina took a bite of her food and shrugged, "Same as usual." Her eyes flicked to Lucian, and she smiled, "We're actually holding a little competition in my class today. A little gauntlet."

Lucian chuckled, knowing she always got excited when it came to her class. He loved seeing how passionate she was about teaching. He remembered how happy she was when she learned she was pregnant. But, after she gave birth to Elianna, she decided to leave the knight order, which she loved very much. When Elianna turned three, Katarina decided she wanted to start working again but didn't want to return to the knight order, as she didn't want to do anything dangerous, no matter how much she missed it. So, she decided to do something safe and as close to being a knight as possible. She ended up being accepted as the new combat tactics professor at the Tri-Union Academy and loved teaching the students and helping them excel.

"Well, let me know who wins. I could always use more knights," Lucian said.

Katarina smiled and jestfully saluted Lucian, "Yes, Commander."

Lucian lightheartedly narrowed his eyes on his wife. He knew she always loved teasing him about his rank, with him being the commander of the knight order for the Tri-Union forces.

Seeing her mother salute, Elianna followed suit and used her fork to salute, getting syrup on her eyebrow. "Yes, Commander," Elianna mimicked.

Lucian and Katrarina both laughed jovially, and the three of them continued their breakfast, enjoying their time as a family.