Increasing His Immersion

"The grandfather used to have a history of assault and battery before Miss Lily moved in to live with him three years ago after her parents died in a plane crash. It was said that he had anger issues that he would release on the women he used to visit in illegal brothels."

"She has had a history of clinic visits for small cuts and bruises. She had two hospitalizations for fever and had a couple of recorded incidents of broken bones."

"Miss Lily has never stayed any longer than a day at her friends house and no longer than two days at the neighbors house. None of the homes that she has visited have noted any bruising or reactions due to abuse from Miss Lily."

"The grandfather is seen as an upstanding member of society ever since Miss Lily came to live with him according to the neighborhood. He helps out the people in his area and donates food when he can. None of the people that were questioned had a negative thing to say about the grandfather aside from one person who commented that sometimes he would appear in the middle of the night and be 'antsy' during the days he's out at night."

Lucario reads over the written version of his men's report with an eerie quietness. "I already knew that he was scum for not paying me back my money the past six years, but he had the balls to use a child as his stress reliever as long as he managed to keep her quiet."

"Lily probably doesn't understand what's happening to her," Billy mentions as he keeps reading the report. "Since this has most likely been happening to her for such a long time, Lily might be thinking that the abuse is normal."

"He's probably saying how he's doing it out of love as he beats her," Ryan adds in. "I can imagine someone as twisted as him saying that in order to brainwash Miss Lily."

Clearing his throat, Lucario stands up from behind his desk and turns to Ryan. "We only have four more days to convince the child to stay here. How are your preparations going?"

Ryan straightens up and answers, "The newly renovated room is ready for use. I have taken into consideration the safety measures as Miss Lily is still small; however, I have made it so that the room can be adjusted as Miss Lily grows up."

Lucario nods his head then switches his attention to Billy. "How is the scum doing with gathering the money needed to pay me back?"

"He has not progressed at all; however, we have been doing our best to deduct it from his bank account while still leaving enough for him to feed himself as you have ordered," Billy responds.

Heading for the door, Lucario makes one last comment before leaving. "In these last four days, all men are hereby to treat Lily with the utmost respect although I'm assuming that you have already been doing that. She will become the princess of the Buenavista Family and your next leader, so you must treat her as such. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes, Father Lucario!" the men in the room shout.

"You're dismissed. Good night, everyone."

—

"Where are we going?" Lily asks as Ryan carries out of the dining room after breakfast.

"Mr. Lucario has a surprise for you," Ryan answers, pointing to a decorated door down the hallway. "He has been preparing it for the last two days."

"A surprise… for me?" Lily nervously grabs at the end of her new dress as she smiles to herself.

Ryan notices this and couldn't help but smile as well. "Mr. Lucario wants you to have as much fun as possible while you stay here, so he hopes that you like it." Standing in front of the door, Ryan sets a hand on the door handle and glances over at Lily. "Are you ready to see the surprise?"

Lily nods her head, so Ryan turns the handle and swings open the door. The sudden bright light causes Lily to close her eyes, but once she's able to open them again, a colorful room warmly welcomes her. A small indoor playground. A miniature library that holds the children's books from Lucario's office. A desk with coloring supplies. A chalk wall with messages from the men in the manor. And a small door just big enough for her to walk through.

"What's that?" Lily asks as she points to the small door.

"That door leads to the boss's lounge where only he is allowed to enter."

"Won't I get in trouble if I go in there then?"

Ryan shakes his head as he squats down near the door. "The boss said that from now on, you are allowed to enter there whenever you want. He wanted to make sure only you can get in, so he ordered for the door to be as tall as you. Why don't you try it out?"

Setting Lily down, Ryan lightly pushes her over to the door. Lily hesitantly waddles until she's right in front of the door and looks back at Ryan. He gives her a thumbs up to let her know that it's okay, so Lily opens the door to find Lucario waiting on the other side. Shocked at first, Lily instantly closes the door which makes Ryan laugh.

"He's in there," Lily whispers to Ryan as she points to the door.

"I know. He's waiting for you, so don't be scared."

Regaining her courage, Lily opens the door again and walks through, surprised that it's actually her size. She stands on the other side of the door, unsure of what to do, so she does her best to look up at Lucario who is sitting on the floor in front of her.

"Come here, Lily," Lucario gently says as he stretches out a hand to her.

Nervous, Lily slowly waddles to Lucario but stops short of the tips of his fingers. She stares at his large hand for a minute then sets her ant-sized hand on top of his. This allows for Lucario to guide the little girl over to him.

"Do you like your surprise?" Lucario asks, still holding on to Lily's hand. Like usual, Lily doesn't say anything but nods to his question. "You can play there whenever you want from now on. When you want to take a break from playing and sleep, you can come in here and sleep. No one will bother you here."

Lily observes the room quietly for a moment. She notices that it doesn't have a door out to the hallway, but there is a door on the other side. "Where does that door go?" she asks softly.

Lucario looks at where she's pointing the turns so that they can both see the door. "That door leads to my room where I sleep. There's no door to the hallway because I wanted a private room that no one can go in but me. However, I'm going to share it with you because I don't want you to be scared of me anymore."

"I'm not scared of you, though," Lily whispers to herself.

"What did you say, Lily?" Lucario asks as he turns his attention back to the little girl. Lily shakes her head, so Lucario doesn't question any further to keep her from getting scared. Very gently, Lucario picks Lily up and sets her on his lap. "Listen, Lily, there is something that I want you to know. As long as you are in the Buenavista Manor, there is no one here that will hurt you. You are safe. No one will hit you anymore. No one will yell at you. You can just live as a child."

Not knowing how to respond, Lily simply doesn't react but looks at Lucario. Staring back at her, Lucario can see her eyes soften just a bit as if she has let down one of her many walls. He takes it as a sign of approval then cradles her in his arms as he stands up. "Would you like to play in your new playroom now?" To his surprise, Lily shakes her head no. "Then where would you like to go?"

"Your office," she answers, now with an ever so slightly louder voice.

Honestly overjoyed, Lucario hides his excitement in his head. "Why my office? It's really boring there, and I'm just going to be reading a lot of boring papers."

Breaking eye contact, Lily watches her hands as she fiddles with her fingers. "You look sad when you're in there alone."

Lucario gazes at Lily in amazement. He marvels at the fact that despite her young age, she can pick up on people's emotions. "Okay, you can come with me to the office. I'll have Ryan bring you some milk and cookies to snack on. Is there anything that you want to bring with you?"

Lily shakes her head before resting it on Lucario's shoulder. "Milk and cookies are okay with me."