The sun was shining brightly in the clear blue sky as Lucian, Katarina, and Elianna stepped out the front door of their mansion.

Their mansion was elegant and beautiful. It was made of white stone, with a gray tile roof and large brown wooden double doors on the front. The driveway was made of red brick with a large fountain in the middle. The driveway was surrounded by the beautiful front yard that was full of potted plants, bushes, nicely trimmed hedges, and trees scattered throughout. On the right side of the mansion was a small stable with two carriages out front and two caretakers outside, maintaining the area.

Katarina smiled warmly at Elianna and knelt in front of her. She ensured Elianna's small pink tennis shoes were tied and straightened her sundress. She moved to make the final adjustments to Elianna's hair when she looked at Lucian curiously.

"Are the carriages not ready yet?" Katarina asked.

Lucian, who was watching his wife and daughter lovingly, looked toward the stables. He sighed, seeing staff members currently getting horses harnessed to the carriage. "No," Lucian said, sounding irritated. "It seems that they aren't. They're still harnessing the horses."

Katarina smiled a little humorously, knowing how impatient her husband can be, "I'm sure they will be done soon."

"Still," Lucain grumbled as he crossed his arms and watched the stable staff members like a hawk. "They should know better by now."

"Well, staring at them is not going to make them move any faster," Katarina jested. Katarina stood up and reached out to Elianna, who gleefully took her hand. "I'll go ahead and walk Elianna to Isabelle's. Just have my carriage driver meet me at her residence."

Without taking his eyes off the stable workers, Lucian nodded. Katarina chuckled at her husband before giving him a light kiss on the cheek. Lucian looked at her and smiled affectionately, watching her walk off with Elianna.

Katarina held onto Elianna's hand as they left the front yard of their mansion and entered the large cul-de-sac where they lived. At the edge of their property, to the side of the entrance, was a sign with their mansion address and their last name, "Vail residence," written on it.

The cul-de-sac was large, with the Vail's mansion at the end of it. Nine Mansions that housed nobility were built all along the cul-de-sac, with one mansion on either side of the Vail residence and six more mansions going down the cul-de-sac road, three on each side of the road, until the cul-de-sac merged onto the main thoroughfare. The road itself was made of smooth gray cobblestone.

Making a left turn out of their residential property, Katarina smiled at Elianna, "Are you excited to see your friends, sweetie?"

Elianna nodded energetically, "Yeah!" She smiled competitively, "I hope we play tag again. This time, I will get Tyler and win."

Katarina looked at Elianna humorously, knowing she could be a little aggressive when it came to playing games, as she didn't like to lose. "Well, try not to get your dress dirty. Last time, you were covered in dirt."

Elianna looked to the side and pouted, "I fell. Then stupid Tyler tagged me."

Katarina's lips curved down as she tried not to laugh, "Ah. So that's why you were so sour yesterday."

Elianna looked at her mom inquisitively, tilting her head slightly to the right, "Sour?"

"It means you were in a bad mood," Katarina informed.

Elianna hummed, looking down, and mouthed 'sour' at herself. Katarina laughed lightheartedly as she watched her daughter, and they continued their way down the cul-de-sac. They walked for some time, making their way past the first two mansions on the left, and approached the middle mansion.

At the mansion's entrance was a sign with the address and words "Pooglia residence" written on it. The driveway and front yard were similar to the Vail's mansion, with red brick covering the ground and potted plants scattered throughout the yard. However, instead of a fountain in the middle of the driveway, a large, beautiful green tree grew from a small patch of grass. The mansion was made of white brick, had a black tiled roof, and gray front double doors.

Katarina and Elianna approached the mansion's double doors when Katarina turned around, hearing the sound of a horse's hooves. Elianna looked at her mother, wondering why she stopped and followed her gaze. Their eyes fell on two black carriages with gold trim, being pulled by two horses each, coming up the driveway. The coachman of the first carriage was a young human male with brown hair, while the coachman of the second carriage was a middle-aged male elf with green hair.

Recognizing the carriages, Elianna smiled with excitement, "Daddy's here!"

Katarina smiled and nodded, "Yes, he is."

The first carriage rolled up and stopped in front of the mansion's front steps, while the second carriage stopped behind the first. The door to the first carriage opened, and Lucian smiled warmly at his family as he hopped out and approached them.

Katarina looked at her husband happily but also genuinely surprised, "I thought you'd be on your way to the garrison by now."

Lucian shook his head, "Not yet." He approached Elianna and gently patted her head, getting a gleeful laugh from her. "I wanted to say bye to this stinker first."

Katarina, Lucian, and Elianna all looked at the double doors as they suddenly opened. A woman in her early thirties with orange hair and blue eyes exited the mansion wearing a casual-looking short-sleeved red dress. She gave Katarina and Lucian a friendly smile.

"Good morning, Lucian, Katarina," The female greeted. Her eyes flicked to Elianna, "And good morning to you as well, Elianna."

"Good morning!" Elianna chirped with a grin.

Katarina returned the lady's smile, "Good morning, Isabelle."

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Lucian gave Isabelle a friendly nod, "Good morning, how're you?"

While Isabelle was Lucian and Katarina's neighbor, they also considered her a good friend. Isabelle got along well with all her neighbors in the cul-de-sac and would watch their kids for them while they had to work or just when their kids wanted to hang out together and have fun.

"I'm good, thank you," Isabelle replied. "I saw your carriages rolling up through the window, so I came to greet you."

"We would've been here earlier," Lucian grumbled and shot the coachman a narrowed-eyed glare. "But the carriages weren't ready yet when we were about to leave."

Katarina rolled his eyes and looked at Isabelle with a deadpan look. Isabelle chuckled as Katarina had told her on multiple occasions how impatient her husband was.

"Oh, the horror," Isabelle jested, and Katarina laughed alongside her.

Lucian raised a brow, his eyes flicking between Isabelle and Katarina before he grumbled something under his breath.

"Are the others here?!" Elianna blurted suddenly. She was looking at Isabelle with anticipation, as she was growing restless just standing there while the adults spoke.

Isabelle looked at Elianna and smiled, "Yes, they're in the backyard right now." Isabelle looked behind her into the mansion. "Maryann!"

Footsteps sounded from inside the mansion, and a young human, blonde-haired, brown-eyed maid appeared and bowed. "Yes, My Lady."

Isabelle gestured to Elianna, "Elianna wishes to go play with the others. Can you please escort her to the backyard?"

Maryann nodded, "Of course, My Lady." Maryann stood straight and held her hand out to Elianna, "Come with me, Lady Elianna."

Elianna nodded energetically and took a step forward when a hand suddenly grabbed her shoulder. Elianna stopped and looked behind her curiously, seeing her mother grabbing her.

Katarina smiled warmly at Elianna, "Are you forgetting something?"

Elianna looked at her mother, confused, "What?"

Katarina chuckled, knelt in front of Elianna, and pulled her into a hug. "A hug goodbye. Have a good day, sweetie."

Elianna smiled and returned her mother's hug, "I will, Mom!" They broke the hug, and Elianna looked at her dad and approached him. "Bye, Daddy!"

Lucian smiled lovingly at his daughter, knelt down, and they shared a hug. "Goodbye munchkin. I'll see you later."

Elianna and her father broke their hug, and Katarina and Lucian chuckled humorously and warmly as Elianna ran into the mansion excitedly, and Maryann escorted her to the backyard.

"They grow up quick," Isabelle said, watching Elianna as she walked off. Katarina and Lucian nodded. Isabelle looked back at Luciana and Katarina. "Is she excited for her birthday next week?"

Lucian chuckled and nodded, "Very."

"She hasn't stopped talking about it," Katarina laughed.

"Good. Jensen and I will be there. Tyler is also excited," Isabelle said.

"Looking forward to seeing you there," Lucian smiled before he gestured to the carriage. "I should be going."

"Same here," Katarina nodded and looked at Isabelle appreciatively. "Thank you for watching Elianna again."

"Of course," Isabelle said, giving Lucian and Katarina a friendly wave as they walked off. "She's always welcome here."

***

Elianna was practically jumping with excitement as Maryann escorted her through the mansion. She loved spending time and playing games with her friends.

They exited the mansion's back doors and entered a large backyard. The backyard opened up to a large grassy area that contained several trees and bushes, and behind that was a fenced-off garden.

Three individuals stood near a tree in the grassy area, making Elianna smile.

The first individual was a young boy who Elianna recognized as Tyler. Tyler was two years older than Elianna and was slightly taller than her. He had short blonde hair and dark eyes.

The second individual was a young girl who Elianna recognized as Sarah. Sarah was the same age as Elianna, being a little shorter than her. She had pink hair that was tied back into a ponytail and light blue eyes.

The third individual was another young boy, Dylan, who Elianna knew. Dylan was Tyler's age and the same height as Elianna. He had medium-length black hair and green eyes.

Maryann let go of Elianna's hand and smiled at her, "Have fun, My Lady."

"Thank you!" Elianna chirped as she ran off toward her three friends. "Hey, everyone!" Elianna waved as she neared them.

The three of them looked toward Elianna, smiled, and waved at her as she approached.

"Hey, Elle!" Sarah said, happy to see her.

"About time you showed up," Dylan jested.

"I'm Sorry, my parents were talking forever," Elianna complained before she excitedly smiled at her friends. "So what were you guys doing? Were you playing a game?"

Sarah shook her head, "Not yet. We didn't know what to play."

"What about tag?" Elianna suggested.

"Again?" Dylan said with a small sigh. "But we played that so much yesterday."

"Who knows," Tyler said, giving Elianna a competitive smile. "Maybe she just wants to lose again."

Elianna's eyes narrowed on Tyler in a challenge, "You're the one who is going to lose. You won't tag me this time!"

Tyler laughed unbelievingly, "We'll see about that."

"I guess we're playing tag," Sarah shrugged.

Dylan sighed, "Fine." He looked between his friends, "So, who will be it?"

"Elianna," Tyler quickly suggested. "Since she was it last time."

Elianna pouted and huffed, "Fine."

"Okay, remember the rules!" Sarah said, pointing to the tree. "Keep your hand on the tree and count to three. Then you can chase us!"

"I know," Elianna said competitively as she approached the tree and placed her palm flat against it.

Seeing her palm flat against the tree, Dylan yelled, "Go!"

Dylan, Sarah, and Tyler quickly ran off, heading in different directions.

"One," Elianna began, her eyes laser-locked on Tyler as he ran. "Two." She got into a running stance, getting ready to run like a lion preparing to hunt their prey. "Three!"

Elianna dashed off the tree, heading directly toward Tyler. Tyler was quick, but Elianna was fast for her age.

Tyler ran as fast as he could, believing Elianna would be targeting him. He looked over his shoulder, and his eyes widened in shock as he was right. With a determined gaze, Elianna ran after Tyler and was closing in on him.

Sarah stopped and laughed, seeing Elianna going directly for Tyler and catching up to him. "You better hurry, Tyler!"

Dylan laughed as well and yelled, "Looks like Elianna won't be it for long!"

Elianna smiled victoriously as she quickly closed in on Tyler. Her heart was beating fast, and she was beginning to sweat profusely.

Tyler quickly made a right-hand turn, heading toward a tree to use it as a shield against Elianna and prevent himself from being tagged.

Elianna quickly adjusted her course, seeing Tyler heading for the tree, and quickened her pace, running as fast as she could. She could feel her heart beating fast, and she started to sweat more as her body began to feel hot. She stumbled a little as a sudden tightness hit her chest, but she ignored it, seeing she was almost an arm's length away from Tyler.

Elianna knew she needed to push herself, tag Tyler, and make him pay for tagging her last time. She ran as fast as she possibly could, feeling her body becoming red hot. The tightness in her chest began to increase, feeling a pressure building inside her. Elianna continued to ignore the pressure and reached out to Tyler.

She was so close now, mere inches from tagging Tyler. She put all her energy into running, closing in, and just when she was about to tag Tyler, the world around Elianna exploded.

A shockwave shot out from Elianna, knocking Tyler several feet forward. He landed harshly on the grass, sliding to a halt. The shockwave shot out in all directions, passing over Sarah and Dylan harmlessly as they stood several feet away. When the shockwave hit the mansion, the windows slightly rattled.

A few moments later, the back doors to the mansion flew open, and Isabelle ran out in a panic, feeling the shockwave from inside the mansion.

"What happened?!" Isabelle yelled, then froze as she surveyed the backyard.

Sarah and Dylan stood still, almost in a daze. Tyler grumbled in pain as he slowly pushed himself up. But it was Elianna who Isabelle was staring at, wide-eyed and in shock. Elianna lay on her back, unconscious, with a shimmering white barrier around her.

In a tone of disbelief, Isabelle whispered, "Impossible."