Yours, Until Needed
Chapter 22: Snow White

Chapter 22: Snow White

LILY

My legs hurt.But there’s no way I’ll tell them.Why would they place the doorbell so high? Lily complained internally as she took a bite of her pancakes.

At least she had that much sense. She found it a shame to eat an image of Mr. Rabbit, but there must be no hesitation in times of crisis.

The journey was difficult for a little girl in hiding, but she vowed to find out her brother’s secrets. At age four, she had long known that her big brother was one of the best, if not the best. So why did he have to marry this girl?

She was pretty, with short black hair and light gray eyes. She looks like Snow White. But Snow White wasn’t so smart. She easily believed the witch. Why would Big Brother want someone like Snow White?

After finishing her food, Lily curled up to Chester, wanting to find something familiar. She’d only been here once when she was younger, and now the place already looked different, with more things that his Brother wouldn’t usually use.

Everything felt unfamiliar, and even Big Brother kept things from her. Everyone’s keeping secrets.

The little girl’s crisis started about four days ago when she overheard the maids at the mansion talking about her Big Brother. They kept saying that he married someone after returning to their home country.

This greatly shocked Lily, who wasn’t supposed to find out about Lucian’s marriage.

Upon hearing the maids’ chatter, she confronted them, but they insisted they were talking about a different person. Then Lily realized that no one wanted to tell her anything. They were all keeping secrets.

Maybe only Mr. Rabbit remained honest in their house.

That night, Lily stayed up late, waiting for his Grandpa to come home, planning to get to the bottom of it.

But even after waiting two hours past her bedtime, her Grandpa didn’t show up, and the hero had no choice but to nap.

The following day, she finally managed to corner her Grandpa, demanding answers and wanting to fly back home immediately.

Her Grandpa didn’t say anything, only saying that her Big Brother wanted it to be a surprise but promised they’d fly back tomorrow if she managed to finish her duties (studies) today.

As a Sinclair and protector of our family, I must rescue my Big Brother if he is being threatened! With this determination, Lily did her best to finish everything on her list.

She initially thought that she’d be able to see her Big Brother right away, but she was disappointed because only her parents picked her up.

So, Lily decided to go on an adventure, even choosing to part with Mr. Rabbit and only settling with her bag, Mini Rabbit. But instead of recognizing her sacrifices, her Big Brother even scolded her!

She’s now in enemy territory and vowed to observe Snow White, prepared to serve justice if she tries anything bad. But being a hero was truly a tough job.

Lily tried to observe Eliana keenly while she tidied up her utensils and the kitchen, but she failed to resist her greatest enemy, sleep.

The little girl of barely five cuddled against Chester, dreaming about capturing evil witches with Mr. Rabbit.

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ELIANA

The vigilant child succumbed to sleep after about half an hour, as expected of a child who had eaten after running around so much.

When Lucian returned from informing everyone about Lily the Little Stowaway, he saw me covering her with a blanket. I thought of moving her earlier but decided that she might react violently to being hauled by me.

We decided to speak inside the room, leaving her with Chester.

"What alarmed her so bad that she had to sneak in like that?" I had to ask Lucian for which child would perform such a feat for nothing.

Sighing at the situation’s absurdity, Lucian explained, "Because she overheard the maids talking about it, but with no one wanting to explain anything, she came up with her own conclusions."

"I figured because she looked like she was ready to dissect me. In fact, if I didn’t know, I’d assume that she thinks I’ve kidnapped you or something similar." Recalling how Lily glared the whole time. Thankfully, kids are still protected against wrinkles.

"She’s probably thinking something along the lines of that." Lucian leaned against the wall, exasperated.

"Are they going to pick her up soon?"

"They can’t yet. Well, It’s more like picking her up isn’t the problem. Only the helpers are at home. The rest went to the main office for the meeting, which I have to attend too."

"Maybe she can just come with you to the meeting? She’s a Sinclair, after all."

"She’s too willful to sit and remain silent in one spot."

"Then I guess I’ll babysit her while you’re all in the meeting. But we’ll both have to come with you because I feel she won’t let herself be left behind."

Lucian looked a little less tense, so I started preparing for today’s babysitting duties without bothering to wait for his reply.

I ended up packing snacks and some art materials. We don’t really have children’s toys at home, so I had to make do.

Lucian managed to carry Lily into the car without disturbing her sleep, so when she woke up, she was suddenly scared at the change of scenery.

"Where are we going?!" Suddenly, asked the alarmed Lily.

"To the main office. There’s an important meeting today. I’m only bringing you because Eli promised to watch you while we’re busy." Lucian looked at Lily like he meant business.

"I don’t want her to watch me! I’m a big girl now!" Boasted the angry little kitten.

"Sure. It’s okay if she doesn’t I’ll just have the driver send you home instead."

"No! Why would you send me home, Big Brother?!" Lily was indignant, and her eyes started watering again.

If this continues, we’ll be dragging in a crying child, not exactly the best first impression. So, let’s try a different approach.

"I’m only here to monitor your progress. You seem to have run away from today’s duties before coming over, so I’m here to serve as a witness. I would have to do it since everyone else would have to be at the meeting."

I took a chance. When we were kids, we all had daily "duties." Most were related to our studies but included daily exercise or other required activities such as music and art. As a Sinclair, she’s most likely to be subjected to this too.

True enough. At the mention of duties, Lily suddenly stiffened, which earned me an eyebrow raise from Lucian.

"So I won’t interfere with you outside of supervising your duties." I made sure to reassure her.

"Big Brother, is she qualified? Isn’t Snow White a bit problematic?" Lily tried whispering to Lucian, even covering her mouth with her little hand.

I heard that. But as an adult, patience must be my virtue. And at least Snow White is pretty, just a tad bit dull.

So, I decided to pull out the PowerPoint presentation prepared by Lucian’s fans. As I handed it to her, I wondered why it felt like giving a resume to a prospective employer.

Lily’s face contorted—surprise, doubt, curiosity, and competitiveness. Children really are pretty honest.

Clearing her throat while straightening her posture, she says, "Well, at least she’s a smarter Snow White."

So much for all my academic achievements and hard-fought tournaments; at least I’m a smarter version.

"I’m Eliana. You can call me Eli. Let’s work well today." I even extended my hand properly. She’s a child, yet she responds better when treated as an adult.

"I’m Lily," she replied, extending her small hand while peeking at me from Lucian’s shoulder.

Due to Lily’s arrival, Lucian barely had time to situate us. Knowing his schedule, I offered to figure it out ourselves with Oliver’s help.

Lucian gave Oliver last-minute orders, which included having me registered as family.

Because of this, we decided to use the underground entrance instead. Entering via the main lobby might create unnecessary chaos since I’d have to get clearance or be stuck outside.

Lucian hurried off, looking at us before going, probably uncertain how long this superficial peace would last.

"Ma’am, young miss, this way, please." Oliver brought us to the top floor, then into Lucian’s office.

With Oliver leaving us, Lily returned to her guarded state. Even positioning her rabbit behind as if protecting her bag.

"I’d like to know your learning level to ensure we’re not wasting time. But we’ll have to start first with the warm-up exercises."

Lily seemed shocked that I knew about the warm-up exercises. I even motioned to stand behind her, starting to stretch accordingly. Years of doing this daily have already made it a habit.

My jumping broke her contemplation. Then, she reluctantly started with the warm-up.

Anybody seeing us would probably laugh at how one small and one big person kept leaping and stretching inside the Vice President’s office.