The Alchemists

When Aleksis finished bathing, she was surprised to see her two children awake and chatting with Nicolae.

"You ...? Didn't you guys already sleep? Why are you two suddenly awake?"

Subconsciously, she tied the robe she had been wearing carelessly. Gosh ... She forgot that there was another man in the room. Over the years, she became accustomed to being alone with her two children, so every time she came out of the bathroom, she would just wrap herself in a towel or her robe would not properly be tied.

Nicolae turned and gasped upon seeing Aleksis who looked so charming with her hair still wet. Her long legs glowed in the moonlight spilling over from the large window beside her.

Oh, God ... Aleksis is getting more and more beautiful, Nicolae thought.

"Uncle Nic ... hey .." Altair waved his hand in front of Nicolae who was still stunned. "Why are you frozen, uncle?"

Nicolae repeatedly blinked before turning to him, "Uh ... right, sorry, I am just caught off-guard. Your mother is very beautiful."

He scolded himself for not being able to act cool in front of the children. He also could not hide his feelings at all. Why was he so weak? Why didn't he just say that he was daydreaming and was not aware of his surroundings?

His face was red when he nodded towards Aleksis.

"Uhm ... the kids woke up and was looking for you. I was telling them a story to entertain them," he replied, scratching his head that wasn't really itchy. "I'll get going now. Good night, kids. Remember, we'll be going for a walk tomorrow, okay?"

He hurriedly got out of the bedroom and excused himself. Aleksis, Altair, and Vega stared at his departing figure with differing emotions. Aleksis felt guilty, while Altair and Vega had that yearning look in their eyes.

"Alright, now you two, go to sleep. Mummy will have her clothes washed first. Tomorrow we will all go home."

She kissed her two children before rushing out to find a maid to wash her dirty clothes. Earlier, she had resorted to finding white wine to remove the red wine stains.

***

The next day, when Aleksis woke up, she immediately realized that her two children had disappeared from the room.

"Gosh ... where are those two kids?" she grumbled as she searched frantically for Altair and Vega. She looked behind the cupboard, in the bathroom, and all around her bedroom. When Aleksis left the room she saw that her clothes had been neatly folded in the small cabinet by the door. She quickly changed into those and looked for her children outside the castle.

"Madame, are you looking for the young master and young miss?" asked a passing servant who saw the antsy mother. "They went hiking on that hill behind the castle to catch butterflies. They will soon be back for breakfast."

"Oh, is that so? Thank you for letting me know." Aleksis nodded. Her heart began to calm down. I better enjoy a cup of hot tea to calm down, she thought.

With calm steps, she headed towards the large dining room located in the middle of the castle. The place was overlooking a very beautiful artificial garden surrounded by walls enclosing two towers. Lauriel would usually spend the morning there whenever he was staying here.

"Good morning, Uncle Rory," Aleksis greeted him as she kissed her godfather's cheek. She then took a seat beside him. "The kids and Nic are out for a walk, aren't they?"

"That's right. They came out very early. They will be home soon."

Lauriel had just finished his sentence when from one end of the hallway, Nicolae appeared carrying Vega. Altair was walking beside him. They all looked so high in spirit.

"Mummyyyy .... I was stung by a bee !!" Vega immediately complained when she saw her mother.

"Gosh .. are you alright?" Aleksis asked, standing up and taking Vega away from Nicolae's arms. She saw her daughter's hand that had turned swollen from the bee sting and immediately stroked it.

"I will give her medicine for insect bites. It should help for now," Nicolae said. He disappeared and when he returned five minutes later, a small ointment bottle was in his hand. After cleaning the bite wound on Vega's, he gently applied the ointment. In the process, he didn't forget to coax the girl so she would forget the pain.

With a grateful expression, Aleksis watched him apply the ointment. She could see how much Nicolae loved her children even though they had just met.

"Are you a doctor? You look so cool, like a real doctor!" exclaimed Altair who had been watching how calmly Nicolae treated his sister.

Nicolae nodded, "Indeed, I am a doctor, but I am no longer working as one. I will only be a doctor for you, if you get bitten by insects or fall from a tree, you can count on me to treat you..."

"Wahhh ... so cool !! We already have a family doctor at home, but he is not at all fun, unlike you. Doctor Parker is old and boring ..." complained Altair. He then turned to his mother, "Mom, let's just replace Doctor Parker, I want Uncle Nic to be our family doctor ... Can we do that ??"

"I also want Uncle Nic, to be our family doctor." Vega held her mother's hand and begged like Altair.

Aleksis felt pressured. "Uh ... we can't, Uncle Nic is very busy. He has been traveling around the world for years. He was too busy to even go home. If you ask him to stay and be our doctor, I will feel bad for him. You shouldn't ask weird things. Please. "

The two kids frowned.

"Will you go on an adventure again and leave us, Uncle Nic?" Vega asked with tears in her eyes.

"I will be very sad if you leave." Altair softly added.

Nicolae was dumbfounded seeing how much the two children liked him so much that they became sad when they heard he would be leaving. He could not bear seeing the adorable kids looking at him with sad eyes akin to the eyes of sad puppies.

"Uhm ... if your mum asks Uncle Nic to stay, then I will not go again." Finally, in an earnest manner, Nicolae answered. "I will only leave if Mummy Aleksis wants me to go."

He looked at Aleksis with a smile and nodded. He was determined to stay. He wanted to be there for Aleksis once her heart recovered and could love again. Of course, the decision was in the girl's hands. Nicolae would not force himself to stay if Aleksis did not welcome him.

Everything was now for Aleksis to decide.