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.

"We know," Lucian said. "But what happened before really scared us." His eyes narrowed slightly, but he kept his composure as he said, "And Isabelle was scared as well. You passed out, and we just want to make sure you will be fine when you go outside again."

Elianna's eyes fell, seeing her parents weren't going to let her out of the mansion again. She slowly nodded, not looking up.

Lucian sighed, seeing his daughter sad and disappointed. He hated seeing her like this, and it made him even more angry with Isabelle for not only speaking to his daughter in such a way but also making her sad.

"Tell you what," Katarina said gently, giving Elianna a reassuring pat on her head. "Once I come home, you and I can watch an illusionaire of your choice."

Elianna's eyes flicked up slightly, her mother piquing her interest. Elianna loved watching illusionaires. When her parents first showed her one, she was mesmerized by the little crystal-like balls that produced images and noise.

Elianna's lips curved slightly, "Anyone I want?"

Katarina smiled wholesomely, "As long as it's appropriate."

Elianna looked at her mother curiously, "Appropriate?"

Lucian chuckled, "One that you can watch."

Elianna hummed, "Wendy's adventure?"

Katarina and Lucian shared a humorous glance and smiled, knowing that was her favorite.

Katarina nodded, "Yes. We can watch that one."

Elianna smiled brightly and nodded energetically, "Okay!"

"But you need to do one thing first," Lucian said, and Elianna looked at him curiously. "You need to complete your learning with Justine."

Elianna's smile faded, and she grumbled. Lucian smiled humorously, knowing Elianna wasn't a fan of learning. However, after he and Katarina received Isabelle's note, they contacted Justine, Elianna's tutor, asking if she could come over more frequently and keep Elianna company.

Katarina laughed a little and kissed Elianna on the head before she stood up. "Complete your learning. Then, when I get home, you and I can watch the illusionaire."

Elianna nodded, "Okay."

Lucian kissed Elianna's forehead and smiled, "Love you, munchkin."

Elianna smiled, "Love you, Daddy." She looked at her mom, "And Mommy."

Lucian and Katarina smiled at their daughter, giving her one last goodbye before they left and walked out the front door. Elianna looked back out the window and watched her parents as they approached the driveway where their two carriages were waiting. They shared a quick kiss before entering their respective carriages and riding off.

Elianna felt lonely watching her parents leave. They had been with her for the last three days, and now, she was alone at the mansion with the staff and couldn't see her friends.

"Lady Elianna."

Elianna turned around and saw an older human female with graying hair and brown eyes standing in the doorway, smiling warmly at her. Elianna recognized her as Justine, the private tutor her parents had recently hired.

Elianna turned to face Justine, not excited for her learning. However, she did what her parents taught her and respectfully greeted her, "Good morning, Teacher."

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Justine reached out to Elianna with her hand. "Ready for today?"

Mentally sulking, Elianna nodded and walked up to Justine. Elianna took Justine's hand and followed her to the mansion's library. The library was vast and beautiful. Dark gray carpet made up the flooring, and mahogany bookshelves were lined up across the walls. In the middle of the library were multiple mahogany tables and chairs. On top of one table were several blocks and cards.

Elianna and Justine approached the table with the items on top, and Justine pulled a unique toddler chair out for Elianna and sat her in it before sitting in her own chair across from her.

"Now," Justine said with a warm smile and picked up the cards. "Let's start with numbers."

Elianna mentally grumbled and watched Justine as she showed her the cards individually. Each card had a color, number, or object on it, and Elianna had to identify it. After some time of going over the cards, Justine moved on to shapes. Justine placed several shapes in front of Elianna, and she needed to identify them and make them fit into a box with the shapes cut out of them.

After some time passed, Justine smiled at Elianna, "Well done, Lady Elianna. Let's go ahead and take a break. I'll let you know when we will start again."

Elianna nodded excitedly, seeing they were done for now, "Okay!"

Justine chuckled as she watched Elianna jump down from her chair and run out of the library. Elianna didn't have a specific destination in mind and ran through the mansion. She found herself back at the front door and peered out the window. Her eyes widened in surprise, seeing her friends outside in the cul-de-sac playing with a frisbee. Seeing her friends outside, smiling, and having fun, Elianna felt incredibly lonely, just cooped up in the mansion.

Wanting to see her friends, Elianna mischievously looked over her shoulder, seeing no one was watching her. She moved to the front door, reached up, grabbed the door handle, and opened the door slightly. She slipped out the front door and blinked from the bright sun beaming on her.

Elianna let her eyes adjust before she smiled and ran off toward her friends. Trevor laughed and smiled as he tossed the frisbee to Dylan. Dylan caught the frisbee with a cheer before throwing it to Sarah. Sarah laughed gleefully as she grabbed the frisbee and was about to toss it to Tyler when she froze with surprise, going wide-eyed, seeing Elianna running toward them.

Tyler and Dylan's smiles faded, and they turned to see what she was looking at. Their eyes widened when they noticed Elianna.

"Hey, everyone!" Elianna said excitedly, giving them a happy wave. She stopped, breathing hard from running to them, with a bright smile. But her smile faded slightly when she saw her friends back up a little, giving her cautious looks. "A-Are you okay?" Elianna inquired, her voice soft.

"Why are you here?" Dylan asked, sounding rude.

A jolt ran through Elianna, her stomach dropping, as her friends had never spoken to her like that before.

"W-What do you m-mean?" Elianna stuttered. Elianna looked at Sarah, but Sarah just looked away.

"Watch out, she might blow up again," Dylan laughed.

"I-" Elianna didn't know what to say and looked at Tyler.

Tyler backed away a step, "My mom said what you did was weird. She doesn't want you near us."

Dylan laughed again, "My Dad said it was freaky! Elianna, the freak!"

"Freak..?" Elianna's voice cracked, and her eyes began to water. "I-"

Tyler narrowed his eyes on Elianna, "Go away. We don't want to play with you."

Elianna's lips wobbled, and her eyes flicked to Sarah again. Sarah said nothing and kept looking down.

"Ha, she's crying!" Dylan yelled, pointing at Elianna.

"Shut up!" Elianna snapped, her voice cracking and tears streaming down her face.

"Elianna!!" Justine's voice called out.

Elianna whirled around, seeing Justine walking out of the mansion and looking at Elianna wide-eyed. Elianna didn't say anything else to her friends and ran away, heading straight to the mansion.

Justine called out to Elianna as she ran past her, but Elianna ran straight into the mansion, up the stairs, and to her room. Seeking the comfort of her bed, she climbed into it, crying, and shoved her head into her pillow. Elianna heard Justine call out to her from behind her closed bedroom door, but Elianna didn't answer. She continued to remain in bed, crying until she eventually cried herself to sleep.

***

Elianna breathed rhythmically in her bed, sound asleep. Her pillow, wet from her tears, had dried, and Elianna looked so peaceful as a figure sat beside her on her bed. Elianna stirred slightly as a hand gently moved a few strands of her silvery-white hair out of her face.

Slowly, Elianna's eyes fluttered open, and her eyes fell on her father, who was sitting beside her, smiling warmly at her.

"Hey, munchkin," Lucian said softly.

Elianna smiled at her Dad, "Hey, Daddy. You're home."

Lucian nodded, "Yep. You've been asleep for a while."

Elianna's smile faded, and she looked to the side, remembering what happened just before she fell asleep.

Elianna's eyes became watery again, and her lips wobbled, "They were mean to me."

"Your friends?" Lucian inquired, and Elianna nodded. Lucian sighed, "Justine told me what she saw. What happened?"

Elianna sat up and stared at her bed as she explained to her father what had happened with her friends. Lucian remained quiet as Elianna spoke, making sure not to let his anger show. He was already furious when he came to check on Elianna after Justine told him she had come into the mansion, crying after she had snuck out and seen her friends. He wasn't mad at his daughter but at her friends and Isabelle.

When Elianna finished telling her father what had happened, she sniffled, "I don't know why they were mean."

Lucian looked at his daughter sympathetically, "They don't understand, Elianna. Your friends are just listening to their parents. And their parents are scared for no reason, just because you awakened."

Elianna looked at her father curiously. She had heard her mother say she had awakened previously. She tilted her head slightly, "Awakened? Like, wake up from my nap."

Lucian chuckled, smiling softly, and shook his head, "No, sweetie." Lucian sighed, seeing he was going to have to explain. He turned so he was fully facing Elianna. "Munchkin, I want you to do something. Can you close your eyes?"

Elianna looked confused but did as her father asked.

Lucian placed his hands on his daughter's shoulders and pushed a small amount of mana into her. Elianna stiffened a little, and her brows furrowed.

"Keep your eyes closed," Lucian instructed. "What you are feeling is a flow of pure mana."

"Mana?" Elianna said, confused.

"Yes, I'll explain," Lucian said. "I want you to focus on this feeling. Can you do that? You should see some light."

Elianna nodded and did as her father asked. She felt the warm, energetic feeling of mana in her shoulder, and behind her eyes, she began to see streams of radiant white light.

Elianna's brows raised, and she whispered, "Woah..."

"Do you see channels or lines of white light?" Lucian asked, and Eliana nodded. Lucian smiled and continued, "Good. That white light is pure mana. Mana is the raw power that is the root substance of all magical energy that exists in the atmosphere. It allows us to use magic and fuels magic items."

Elianna tilted her head in confusion, "Huh?"

Lucian chuckled, almost forgetting his daughter wasn't even five yet. "Never mind. Right now, I want you to focus on and follow the light."

"Follow it?" Elianna said, confused.

Lucian nodded, "Like a coloring book. Follow the lines."

Elianna fell silent and did as her father asked. It was difficult at first, trying to figure out how to follow the streams of light. But after a moment, Elianna's brows raised, and she gasped, seeing a beautiful, shimmering white light.

"What do you see?" Lucian asked. "Does it look like a star? Or a ball of light?"

"Yeah! I-It's so bright!" Elianna chirped.

Lucian chuckled and took his hands away, "You can open your eyes now."

Elianna opened her eyes and looked at her father excitedly, "It was so pretty!"

"That was your mana core," Lucian said, pointing to Elianna's heart. "It is in your heart."

Elianna tilted her head slightly to the right, "Mana core?"

Lucian nodded, "Yes. That is what awakened means. Your mana core has formed."

Elianna just blinked, and all she said was, "Why?"

Lucian's brows furrowed, and his eyes fell to the bed. "We aren't sure. Everyone has a mana core. However, people aren't supposed to awaken until around eight. Possibly seven with training."

"I'm almost five!" Elianna chirped.

Lucian looked at his daughter, smiled, and nodded. "Yes, you are. That's why people are scared. They don't understand why you have a mana core at so young."

Elianna's smile fell, and she spoke softly, "I-Is it because I'm a freak."

"No," Lucian snapped defensively, and Elianna flinched a little. Lucian sighed softly, looking at his daughter, "You are not a freak." He smiled at her lovingly, "You are and always will be special. Don't listen to your friends."

Elianna smiled slightly and nodded, "Okay."

"Do you want to go watch an illusionaire?"

Lucian and Elianna looked to the doorway and saw Katarina leaning against it, arms crossed and with a warm smile on her face. She had walked in earlier to check on Elianna but remained quiet in the doorway as Lucian explained her mana core to her.

"Mommy!" Elianna yelled in excitement.

Katarina was glad to see Elianna happy. She was worried when she arrived home, and Justine told her what happened.

"So? Do you want to watch an illusionaire now?"

Elianna nodded happily, but her smile faded, and she looked at her Dad, "But I didn't finish my learning."

Lucian shared a humourous smile with his wife. He stood up from the bed, picked up his daughter, and she giggled gleefully. "That's okay. Just finish it next time."

Elianna nodded belatedly and held onto her Dad tightly as he walked to the door. Katarina gave her daughter a small kiss on the forehead, and they all walked into the hallway.

"Can we also have snacks?" Elianna asked as they walked down the hallway.

"What kind of snacks?" Katarina asked.

Elianna hummed, thinking, "Cookies?"

Lucian and Katarina chuckled, sharing a glance, and nodded.

"Yes," Katarina said, giving her daughter a sweet smile. "We can have cookies."