The Alchemists

Marion was shaken by Lauriel's presence in the helicopter and by Alaric who was walking briskly toward her. Alaric must have accelerated his pace due to the sudden appearance of the helicopter, thinking that she was in danger.

"Alaric ... don't come here!" Marion screamed on top of her lungs.

She tried to make Lauriel leave by waving her hand at him, but the helicopter grew closer instead, and now even circling above her. The dimness of the night which was only illuminated by the moonlight rendered Lauriel unable to read Marion's lips. Due to this, he failed to grasp that she was trying to drive them away.

"Someone's following Marion!" Petra, who was controlling the helicopter cried in panic. "What should we do now, Lauriel?"

"At the moment, our priority is Marion," Lauriel replied firmly. "Once  that person did anything to endanger her, don't hesitate to shoot him down!"

Alaric ran after Marion who was still attempting to reach the top of the cliff. He was very scared, thinking 'Aleksis' had panicked too much and now wanted to kill herself. He had also seen the arrival of the foreign helicopter and then became more worried as their presence could make 'Aleksis' even more agitated.

"Aleksis, stop ... don't go there! Below there is a gorge... It's dangerous there !!" He cried out many times. With all his strength he ran toward Aleksis, ignoring the presence of the enemies watching him within the helicopter that was hovering in the air.

"Mischa, we have intruders! You must secure our place!!" Alaric called Mischa on his cellphone before jumping on the big rock and using that as a springboard so he could get to the top of the cliff quickly.

As he was only a short distance away from Marion, he could see her standing tense at the top of the cliff, wearing an anxious expression. The girl's hands were raised, trying to signal Alaric to stop and not chase her.

But it was all in vain, the young man arrived in front of her, panting, "Don't be afraid ... I'm here. I will protect you..."

Marion was amazed as she realized that Alaric was chasing her because he was thinking that the helicopter had frightened her. This man was really willing to do anything for his wife, not even caring about his own safety ...

"He got Marion!" Petra exclaimed in a muffled voice when he saw Alaric reach Marion. Out of reflex, he pushed the fire button from the steering wheel and fired at Alaric to save his friend.

The sound of gunfire rang several times and almost deafened Marion. For a moment, she could not hear anything ... Her mind went blank and her eyes widened after she realized that Alaric was hit by the bullets.

The young man also looked at her, wide-eyed using his pair of bright purple eyes. He also felt deafened. The name he heard kept playing in his mind.

In that instance, he seemed to have finally understood what had really transpired. At the last second, Alaric realized that the girl in front of him was not the real Aleksis. He was deceived. This woman was not the one he loved with all his heart.

The purple eyes closed as the owner of the body first collapsed in Marion's arms before gradually touching the ground. Blood gushed out of his chest and back.

"Aaaahhhhh!!!!!!!!!" Marion screamed uncontrollably. She did not expect the situation to change so badly in such a short period of time.

No…!!

Nooooooooo …!!!!

Lauriel had just killed his own son... Marion's mind became so chaotic when she felt the ground around her collapsed as if there was an earthquake.

Marion held the necklace around her neck in a panic.

Alaric Rhionen was Princess Luna's son... He was Lauriel's child with Princess Luna, and they just killed him...

Like someone on the verge of losing her mind, Marion immediately pulled off the necklace and hid it inside her clothes.

This necklace must not be found. Lauriel must not know that he just killed his own son...

While in tears, Marion examined Alaric's body to see his condition.

She felt no pulse on his wrist. This young man was really dead.

Marion did not dare picture in her head how devastated Lauriel would be if he learned what really happened ...

It could even be more painful than when he lost his girlfriend.

Marion could not imagine how much guilt Lauriel would bear ...

The helicopter moved slightly away to find flat ground to land upon. Marion knew she had to act fast. Soon Lauriel would arrive here and see what Alaric Rhionen really looked like. He would definitely wonder who the young man was ...

And then he would find out that this was his biological child ...

She did not have the heart to imagine it ...

"I'm sorry ..." Marion whispered in a poignant voice. "I'm so sorry... Alaric ... These mistakes cannot be undone ... Please forgive us ..."

She rose slowly from the ground and with Alaric's body in her arms, she inched closer to the edge of the cliff ... After that, with all her strength, she threw the young man down the ravine.

She could hear her heart breaking into pieces as she watched the body disappear into the dark chasm below. Her tears were flowing incessantly.

If they didn't find the body, Lauriel would never find out who Alaric really was ... He wouldn't feel hurt.

She no longer loved Lauriel, but deep in her heart, she still respected and treated him as a friend. She did not want to see him drowning in deep sorrow, blaming himself for not recognizing his biological child ... and even causing this child's death.

If she didn't dispose of Alaric's body, she knew they would use DNA testing to find out who he was ... and then all the secrets would be revealed.

Let her be the one to keep all of these secrets ... This would be a secret she would carry with her to her grave.

"Marion!! Are you all right ??" Lauriel and Esso came down running towards the girl. She was just sitting there limply, staring at them with a blank look on her face and tears in her eyes. She looked too agitated.

"Alaric ... he's dead." That was the only thing that came out of Marion's lips. She then looked away as she absolutely did not want to answer any of Lauriel's questions. The latter finally concluded that the young man chasing her had died and fell into a ravine, at least based on the traces of blood on the ground.

Marion appeared devastated. When Lauriel carried her to the helicopter, she cried nonstop, yet she refused to say anything. Lauriel suspected that something had traumatized the woman but he just could not figure out what it was.

He immediately felt very guilty. He assumed that Marion was abused when she was held captive by Rhionen Assassins. Suddenly, in his heart, he felt very angry at the group.

***

While Alaric's pair of purple eyes closed, in Grindelwald, Aleksis actually opened her eyes. She took a long time to realize where she was and how she ended up here.

She easily recognized her room in their home in Switzerland. Hmm ... But as she recalled, before falling into a long sleep, she was still in Singapore. What happened to me? Why am I here?

She tried to move her body, but it was not cooperating well with her. Only after exerting all her strength did Aleksis managed to move her hands. Hmm ... what happened? Why was it so hard for me to move? she wondered.

Her intelligent mind immediately guess filled in the details for her. Most likely, she got injured and then went into a coma. She had to lie down in bed for a fairly long time, making her body stiff and difficult to control.

Ugh ...

She heard someone approaching. His voice was very familiar. It seemed like that person was talking on the phone. Aleksis looked towards the door trying to find out who the other person was.

Nicolae was on the phone with Lauriel, asking him what took place in Romania. He had just made tea from the kitchen and was on his way back to Aleksis' room, planning to check her condition before going to sleep.