The Alchemists

When the two went down to the dining room, Aldebar, Flora and Louis were already waiting while enjoying their breakfast.

"Good morning, newlyweds," Flora said teasingly. She turned to her husband Louis, "Do you remember when we were just married?"

Louis nodded as he touched his wife's cheek lovingly. "I remember it like it happened yesterday. I really love you."

"How long have you known each other?" Finland asked, interested. She only knew that Flora was about 100 years younger than Caspar.

"Hmm... almost my whole life," Flora answered. "I was born in England. Our parents were lonely because Caspar started traveling with Lauriel so they decided to have more children, thus I was born. I grew up in the countryside and became friends with Louis when I was a child. I knew that someday we would have to move and leave him, because he could not know our identity as Alchemists, but when I was 16 I knew that I loved him and I didn't want us to part. Mother said I must be crazy... How could I know love at that age? But I was stubborn. I finally opened my secret to Louis and we decided to elope. "

"Really? Wow... I didn't know that story..." Finland was very impressed. Flora was now in her 300s, and she had spent the most of her life with Louis. It was really a very long time, but even today their love was visible to everyone present.

Was this how Alchemists loved their partners?

Finland glanced at Caspar and her heart warmed when she thought of how Caspar loved her all this while. He loved and treated her as sweetly as Louis and Flora loved each other.

"I was told that at that time you were not given the blessings by your parents, and therefore Louis became older while you still look like you are in your 20s. Before your parents finally accepted Louis and gave him the immortality potion after Alexandrite was born, were you ready to be separated by death?" Finland asked again.

Flora understood why Finland asked that question. She was weighing her own circumstances and tried to compare her situation with theirs in the past.

"Hmm... at that time we weren't thinking ahead. We just wanted to be together, no matter what. I really didn't care when Louis started to look older. To me he was still the Louis I knew when we were teenagers. But yes, we were indeed prepared to separate when he died... We had no other choice. But I was determined to live for our children in the future," Flora replied. "For me, it's better to be with Louis even though it's only for 50 years... rather than not live with him at all."

Finland nodded. Caspar squeezed her hand gently and smiled reassuringly.

"Aldebar has given us his immortality potion before he sleeps. You don't have to rush to decide. I'll wait whenever you are ready," he said soothingly.

Finland nodded again. Her heart became calmer.

"One thing you might not know," Flora said again, "We are usually very picky when it comes to our life partners, so my case is an exception. Most people from our clan only decide to get married after being with their partners for at least 10 years, when they have become very mature. When you reach the age of at least one century, your thoughts would be more mature and you start to really understand what you want. Most of the first- and second-generation Alchemists are married to fellow Alchemists, and only less than half are married to the commoners. That is why there are so few of us. We also don't do divorce. "

"Are you not allowed to divorce... or... there has just never been a case where a partner feels that there is no connection anymore?" Finland asked, increasingly curious.

Caspar's clan was indeed very interesting. They not only look physically perfect, but socially they also seem to have an ideal lifestyle.

Nobody got divorced? Wow! That seemed impossible, since divorce rates in many countries in Europe were over 30%. In some countries it was so bad that one in two marriages end in divorce.

This time Aldebar spoke up. "Never before has anyone fallen out of love with their partners and decide to divorce. All couples we have now are the result of a mature and calculated relationships. Even in the midst of their household dips, problems could usually be resolved by mutual understanding. I have never known any of our clan members split up. "

"You have a very perfect society," Finland commented. "How come you are now still single?"

Aldebar laughed at Finland's question, "I'm still very young. Last night I just celebrated my 200th birthday. My life is still long and there are still many people I will meet. I'm not in a hurry."

Finland suddenly had a hiccup when she heard Aldebar say his 200 years old self as young... Then what about her? She who would only celebrate her 24th birthday in two weeks! And she was already married… Wasn't she sooooo much younger than him?

All Alchemists had one thing in common, she thought later, they were not in a hurry. Caspar was an anomaly because he did not want to wait long in marrying Finland.

The thought made th girl smile. She was happy because Caspar made her feel special.

They continued their breakfast while talking about other things. Aldebar would soon leave for his research and Flora would spend one week in the castle for holiday. Caspar had prepared a honeymoon trip to Spain which, at that moment, had a warmer temperature than Germany.

"I would love to take you to Finland, but the temperature there is too cold and there is no sun. I do not want you to experience extreme winters in your first visit to Europe. We'd better explore cities in Spain and Portugal. These countries are also beautiful. We can return in the spring or summer to explore Scandinavian countries. Next winter we can come back to see aurora. "

"I'm going to Paris on the 16th. I have to know our route so I can book a ticket to Paris." said Finland.

Caspar looked at her in confusion, "Why buy a ticket? I'll take you there, of course."

"Oh..."

Finland knew she must get used to being Caspar's wife. After marriage, of course she should not hesitate to use her husband's facilities when needed. In the case of travelling, Caspar could take her wherever she wanted, she just needed to ask.

"Don't ever hesitate to ask me for anything." said Caspar in a very earnest voice. "If I can fulfill it, I will definitely give you whatever your heart desires. Your happiness is the purpose of my life."

Finland was very touched to hear that. She touched Caspar's cheek dan rubbed it softly, then nodded. "Thank you."

Caspar took her hand and kissed it lovingly. Finland could still not believe that this perfect man was now her husband, and that he loved her very much.

Caspar then cleared his throat and turned to Aldebar, "Before we part, I want to ask your input about Jean. What should we do with him?"

Badump!

Finland's heart was pounding right away...