The Alchemists

Alaric nodded at his wife's words. Yes, time flew by so fast. Maybe people were right when they said that when people were happy, time would seem to pass by so quickly. He could see it now.

He had been reunited with his family for almost seven years, and it seemed that the incident only happened yesterday. The years had gone by so fast, and there had been so many things happening.

He could be with the only woman he loved. He could raise their children together. He considered them a gift because he never expected to have any children from Aleksis when they were first married.

Now he also experienced that the process of being a father from the beginning when Ireland and Scotland were born. Everything felt very pleasant.

His life with Aleksis was so perfect that sometimes a little fear crept into his mind because.. perfection should not exist.

He had to pinch himself often and realized that his life was not a dream. This was indeed real. He did not want to go back to his old self. The old him was negative and was always ready for bad things to happen.

For that, he must forever thank Aleksis, who had entered his life ... ah, actually she forced her way in, many moons ago and knocked down his wall that he was finally willing to open his heart.

That was the best decision he had ever made in life. And since then, his life had changed. He was finally happy. And though that fear still lurked in his heart, Alaric tried to get rid of it and did not tell anyone. He just wanted to love his family as well as possible and be the best man for them.

He nodded, confirmed Aleksis's words, and then kissed her forehead. "Too fast. Sometimes I feel we must hold on so as not to be dragged by the flow of time."

"Soon, they will become a.d.u.l.ts ..." Aleksis added.

"I'm afraid to imagine them growing up and leaving home," Alaric commented honestly. "Hopefully, they don't quickly fall in love and get married."

"I hope the same."

***

The French language club had many members because French was very popular at George Washington High School. However, there were only 26 students taking part in the study trip. Everyone knew each other well, and along the way, they all had fun taking photos with each other, uploading videos, and excitedly updating social media.

Two teachers came with the students on this study trip. They were the young and cool French teacher, Mr. Pierre Rhieu, and the Biology teacher who volunteered to accompany him, Ms. Stacy Lund.

Although the two were dating, the young teachers were known to be very disciplined and professional. They did their job well in supervising the students, and the kids liked them.

"You will have free time to go out and explore on your own after dinner. However, from morning to evening, we must follow the schedule," Mr Rhieu said with a smile as he announced the distribution of accommodation for the students when they all arrived at the hotel lobby. They were booked in a small hotel in the center of Paris, called Amarylis Hotel. "We have an odd number for the male and female participants is odd. We have 13 boys and 13 girls. Because Altair and Vega are siblings, they can share a room, so we will have even numbers for the other rooms. Other students, please wait for your names to be called to receive the keys."

The two teachers seemed very understanding. They deliberately paired close friends in one room so that no one protested. Altair and Vega were siblings and were not fussy when they were asked to share a room together.

As children from a very wealthy family, this was actually their first time sharing a room. The last time they shared space like this was when they were little and liked sleeping in their parents' room. However, both Altair and Vega didn't mind it at all. Altair and Vega were not spoiled, and they just couldn't wait to experience traveling like ordinary people.

After the room was arranged and each student got a key, they were immediately told to bring their suitcases to their respective bedrooms. They would stay in France for ten days. For the first five days, they would explore Paris, and the rest they would visit Bordeaux.

In Bordeaux, they would explore vineyards and chateaus. They would also learn how to make the famous French cheese and wine. They were very excited about everything that they would experience there.

Tatiana has even prepared a video series to doc.u.ment their adventures while in France to be shared through her social media account. She had millions of followers in Splitz. Vega's friend had been very active on social media since three years ago, and now she had even managed to earn money because of her many followers. They all enjoyed her videos.

Tatiana was especially eager to share videos on how to make cheese, baguettes, and wine, as well as, of course, the views of iconic places in France.

"You may rest and unpack your stuff. Later, we will meet in the lobby to go for dinner. We will relax for a bit on our first day. After dinner, you can enjoy free hours. Tomorrow, we will start our adventure," said Ms. Lund.

She and Mr. Rhieu got their own room, and both also rested after experiencing a long flight from New York

***

When Altair and Vega entered their room, they immediately explored the inside and checked its condition. Actually, this was their first time staying at a hotel without their parents.

Both of them just found out how a standard hotel room looked. The size was only 2x3 meters, or 6m2, with two small beds, completely different from any hotel room they had occupied before.

Because their mother's family had a hotel chain and many other properties throughout the world, Altair and Vega always stayed in the most luxurious suites or even in penthouses. The sizes were usually enormous, up to hundreds of square meters in size, with many rooms which were luxuriously designed.

Now, seeing how small and simple their room was, they subconsciously looked at each other.

"Not bad," commented Altair. He placed his suitcase on the right side of the bed, then went to the window and tried to open it. "The window can't be opened. This place doesn't have a balcony."

Vega just laughed while nodding. "If I hadn't experienced it myself, I wouldn't have believed there was such a small room in a hotel. This is like a broom storage."

She then placed her suitcase on the left side of the bed and then laid her body on the mattress. "Ahhh ... Flying in coach for six hours is sooo tiring. I want to sleep first. Please, wake me up when you want to have dinner."

Altair nodded and set the alarm. He then sat on the edge of his bed and sent a message to his parents that they had arrived at the hotel and checked in, and were now preparing to rest.

He deliberately always told them what happened, so they wouldn't be worried. Altair knew this was the first time they left home alone without their parents, and he wanted this first try to be successful so that they would be allowed to go again later.

[We've already checked in at the Amarylis Hotel. The place is pretty decent. Now we are resting and will have dinner in two hours. Tomorrow we are going to explore the city.]

[Have fun.] A reply from Nicolae came immediately.

[Be careful, and have a nice vacation.] Alaric also sent a text shortly after.