The Alchemists

"What do you know about me?" Aleksis asked quietly. She looked at Alaric questioningly.

She was not sure that Alaric knew she was the biological daughter of the owner of the Schneider Group, and she would one day inherit one of the largest corporate groups in the world. Nonetheless, she was interested in knowing what Alaric knew about her.

Alaric did not want to embarrass Aleksis by discussing her status as Kurt Van Der Ven's bastard. He refused to discuss the information he learned from Pavel.

"Can we talk about something else?" Alaric asked. "I don't want to ruin our last night together before I go to London by discussing work."

Aleksis looked down. She knew it was in vain to convince Alaric to cancel his partnership with the Meier Group unless she opened herself to him and told him what had happened 17 years ago; that Alexei Meier had poisoned her and almost killed her when she was just over 2 years old.

She couldn't do it.

The clan's interest must always take precedence. However much Aleksis loved Alaric, as long as this man had not been accepted into their clan by her family, she could not reveal the secrets of her people to Alaric. She still had to use her common sense.

"Very well ... I will not discuss it again," Aleksis said quietly. She took a sip of wine and thought for a while. "It seems that we are both still covering our true identities from each other. Maybe it's time for us to open ourselves up a little? What do you think? You remind me of my father ... He also loves privacy, so I'm not too fussy about your attitude being so closed and private, because I'm used to it. I can imagine that other women might find this situation annoying, if she can't even know where her boyfriend lives ..."

Alaric nodded, "You're right. You're not like other women. To be honest, I like the fact that you aren't fussy about this and that. It is always very easy and fun to be with you ..."

"I really want to know you more deeply ..." said Aleksis, "Because I also want you to know me. I want to know more than what is visible on the surface. I want to someday bring you to my family ..."

She wanted to slowly open up, so Alaric knew who she really was ... so that the man would want to open up to her and one day the two of them could truly unite in marriage, with the blessings of her family.

Alaric thought that Aleksis wanted to tell him about her status as Kurt Van Der Ven's illegitimate child. He did not need that information, and to be honest, he did not care about the girl's background.

He loved and accepted Aleksis as she was, before he even knew that the girl's ugly appearance was only a disguise to avoid unwanted attention from men.

"What do you want to know about me?" Alaric asked. "It looks like you've kept the question long enough."

Aleksis nodded shyly, "Ah ... I want to know what your childhood was like ... Let's start from there, so that slowly we can get to know each other better. I want to know what made you join the Rhionen Assassins. You said the leader of the Rhionen Assassins had withdrawn from worldly life. I want to know how did you ended up joining the group ... Later I will tell you about my father ..."

"My childhood?" Alaric stared at Aleksis for a long time. He did not know how much he could share with her.

"I know you took Takeshi and Mischa from the orphanage and treated them as your foster children, along with several other children," Aleksis spoke very carefully because she understood how sensitive this topic was to Alaric.

"I think you did that because you used to be in the same boat. You were very kind to me when I was little, and you said, you were only paying forward the kindness of the people who helped you ... So I assume, that your childhood was very difficult."

Alaric did not answer. However, the way he looked at Aleksis confirmed all her assumptions.

The girl grasped Alaric's hand with her hand and continued speaking in a very soft voice, "Were you adopted and trained to be a killer by the Rhionen Assassins leader?"

Finally, Alaric shook his head.

"You are indeed very intelligent, Aleksis. You can guess many things correctly with just a little information." Alaric's eyes now looked sad. "But your guess is not entirely true. My foster father was not a good person. He took me off the streets to help him steal.

He was a monster when he was drunk and one time he almost killed my foster sister, his own biological child. My sister killed him and we had to run away to avoid the authorities. Since then there was only me and Claudia, looking after each other. Claudia is now dead and I have no one else in this world."

"Oh ... I'm sorry about Claudia," Aleksis said. He squeezed Alaric's hand lovingly, "I'm sad to hear about your bad childhood ... Have you never met your parents? Did they pass away?"

"I never knew them. My mother died while giving birth to me," Alaric said.

He seemed to think of something, and then pulled out a leather string he wore around his neck. On the necklace hung a silver pendant that could be opened. He touched the pendant with his left fingers and sighed.

"The midwife who helped my birth cut a bit of my mother's hair as a memento. My mother begged with all her might that the midwife gave me her hair if she died. This is the only thing that I have from my parents ...

I grew up in an orphanage and I never experienced love from my parents nor family. I was adopted several times, but it usually didn't last long ... They said I was a difficult child. Finally, at the age of 8, I ran away and never came back. I lived on the streets and survived alone, until one day I met Claudia and her father. After that, you know what happened."

Aleksis tried to hold back her tears when Alaric finally opened himself to her. Their childhood was really different, like heaven and hell. She experienced outpouring love and an abundance of affection from her parents, uncles, and brothers who loved her very much.

Moreover, she was the only daughter so she naturally became the jewel of her family. Aleksis was very spoiled and protected. She had never experienced any grief in her life.

"If I could replace all the sadness you experienced as a child, I would love for us to switch positions ..." said Aleksis quietly. "I'm very sad to hear that you experienced so much pain in your life."

"The past is what makes us what we are now, Honey. If I hadn't experienced it all, maybe I would have been a totally different person. You can't accept someone without accepting his past," Alaric said. "Now I'm fine."

"But ... your past made you hate all humans ..." said Aleksis.

"Not all." Alaric pulled Aleksis' face close to his face and looked at the girl lovingly, "I don't hate you."

Then, he kissed Aleksis very gently.

"You make me feel like there is hope for humans ..." he whispered softly.