The Alchemists

The car carrying Alaric and Sophia arrived in front of a very magnificent and beautiful castle. Alaric could only wonder whom they were going to meet.

He had heard the names of Ned and Portia from Sophia, but although he sought information through all the data sources he could access, he still could not find out who the two people were.

The car entered the castle grounds and stopped in front of the elegant entrance.

"They are expecting us," Sophia whispered as she got out of the car. Alaric looked around and admired the castle environment. This castle must belong to a very influential and wealthy family, he thought, but surprisingly, he could not find out who they were.

When the two set foot on the castle grounds, an aristocratic-looking butler greeted them at the door and respectfully led them inside.

Alaric was  a very wealthy man, but the grandeur of this castle still amazed him. There must be so much history stored in this place. All the decorations and arrangements looked very old and antique.

There were various paintings of people that seemed to have lived in the ancient times adorned the various walls of the castle passageways. He felt as if he had entered a time tunnel and arrived in the past.

"We have arrived," Sophia said. They stopped in front of a large wooden door. The butler opened the door and invited them inside.

The room was very grand and contained chairs covered in gold and furniture that looked very luxurious. Alaric felt as if he were in the living room fit for a king. In the middle of the room was a large, majestic seating and there sat a young man and a young woman who looked very attractive.

The man had short hair with shades of red and a very handsome face, while the woman had very long hair with a beautiful purplish color. Alaric had never seen a woman as beautiful as her before. The woman reminded him of the elf queen from the fairy tales.

"Welcome, Sophia." Portia stood up and hugged her niece warmly. "Have you been well?"

Sophia held Portia's hug for a long time, trying to keep herself from becoming emotional. "Uhmm ... I am trying hard to survive, but you know, living alone is very hard. I miss my brother often ..."

Portia was silent. Ned's face also seemed to harden as he tried to hold his anger. Alexei was his friend and they still had family ties. Seventeen years ago, out of the blue, they got word from Sophia that Alexei was convicted by Caspar and Lauriel with Death and was also given Memory potion. He was thereafter just thrown out of the clan.

From then on Ned and Portia could only harbor anger for losing a friend and nephew in such a way. As members of the Honorary Council of The Five Families, they felt that they were not involved in making such an important decision.

"You know we feel angry, too," said Ned, clenching his jaws in anger. He looked away so as not to appear to be emotional in front of their new guest.

Portia then let go of her hug from Sophia and turned to Alaric.

"Then, who is this ...?" Portia stared at the young man's face, then turned to Sophia. "Who ... who is he?"

Her chest immediately felt tight because Alaric's face brought back so many memories for her. She covered her lips when she saw the young man's face up close clearly. That face was very similar to the face of someone she loved and was now gone.

"This is Alaric, Princess Portia ... He is an Alchemist who does not know his origins." Sophia held Alaric's hand and brought him closer to Portia who subconsciously raised her hand to touch Alaric's cheek. "He was born in Romania at the end of World War 2 ... His mother died while giving birth to him ..."

Tears suddenly fell on Portia's cheeks as she rubbed Alaric's face. She did not need to ask for explanations or evidence ... In her heart, she knew immediately that this young man was the son of her dear cousin, Princess Luna.

Those pair of brilliant purple eyes, and the delicate lines on Alaric's face that made him look like a woman, were very similar to his mother's.

"You ... are you Luna's child?" She whispered in a hoarse voice. Ned looked surprised at what was happening. He walked over and approached the two. He then looked at Alaric's face carefully.

"Luna ... didn't she die before giving birth?" he asked, astonished.

Sophia shook her head, "Princess Luna disappeared from the mansion during an allied attack. We managed to find her trace to Romania, but thereafter we could not find out what had happened to her. We thought that she had died with her child in her womb ... But apparently, she managed to give birth before she finally died ..."

Before she could finish her words, Portia hugged Alaric very tightly. The thought of the past made Portia very sad and she rubbed the young man's back lovingly.

"Luna's child is still alive ... Oh God ... your child is still alive, my dear Luna ... I'm so happy ..." Portia cried nonstop.

Alaric felt awkward, because he had no idea who Portia was and why she hugged him so tightly and lovingly. Even though she looked physically the same age as him, for the first time in his life, Alaric felt as if he was being hugged by his biological mother.

Suddenly his heart felt so light. He realized that he had never felt the love of his mother before because she had died while giving birth to him. He never knew what it was like to have parents.

When he was embraced by Portia in such a warm and graceful way, deep down in his heart he half hoped Portia to be his mother.

"Oh ... my child ... you must have suffered a great deal in your life all this time ... I can imagine that for a hundred years you didn't know anything about yourself ... You didn't have anyone ..." whispered Portia in a sad voice. Without hesitation she kissed Alaric's cheeks, head and hands, as if he were her own child.