Chapter 173 - An intense night (2)

"I will take Aleksis to sleep..." Finland said after dinner. Lauriel cleared the table and Jean offered to wash the dishes. The two men nodded toward Finland simultaneously.

In the bedroom, Finland read a fairy tale to Aleksis from a book Lauriel brought and a moment later the little girl had fallen asleep. After making sure Aleksis slept soundly, Finland left her room and entered the living room. He found Lauriel and Jean having a serious conversation.

"What are you two talking about?" she asked curiously.

"I told Jean about the Alchemist community and some of the people in it. He just learned that some important people in Hollywood are part of the Alchemist clan," Lauriel said with a smile.

Jean nodded. "You won't believe this..."

He mentioned the name of a very famous actor who was often given the nickname 'highlander' by the media because his appearance remained young for decades. Finland covered her mouth in surprise.

"Is that true?" she asked in a tone of disbelief.

"That's right. People think he looks really young because he had plastic surgeries... Obviously he managed to survive in the entertainment industry for almost 40 years without changing his identity. I advised Jean to start making such a plan, because his face won't get old over the next several decades and he will certainly make people suspicious... " Lauriel said again. "In 15 years, you can start spreading plastic surgery gossip to the media..."

"Ahahaha... I don't know if I still want to be an actor for another 15 years..." Jean shrugged. "We'll see. Maybe I'll enjoy the process like you guys, hide my identity and travel the world..."

"As you wish..." Lauriel said. He got up and went to the kitchen then boiled some water in the pan. "I will prepare your medication now. You will be able to drink it like tea, but after drinking, it you must meditate and gather your thoughts. Do you know how to meditate?"

Jean looked offended at Lauriel's words, "Of course."

"Good."

Half an hour later the tea Lauriel referred to was ready and Jean drank it slowly. The smell was a bit strange, but he forced himself to gulp it all down. Instantly a warm sensation coursed throughout his body.

"Now meditate and gather your thoughts. You may hallucinate, and memories from your childhood that you have forgotten may come back. Past traumas will also emerge... Don't be affected. All of that is in the past. You need your memories, but don't let them control you."

Jean obeyed Lauriel's words and started meditating. Finland could only watch from a distance. Her face looked worried because she did not know whether Lauriel's treatment would work or not.

***

Caspar was sitting on his Victorian couch facing the Singapore Flyer. He was deep in thought. He immediately went to Singapore when he found out that Alexei's men had met Lauriel there. He suspected that Alexei must be in Singapore and brought Sophia with him. Unfortunately, he had to swallow his disappointment because when he arrived, it turned out that Alexei had again disappeared.

"Uncle..." Jadeith entered after knocking on the door twice. "I found their tracks. It turns out that Alexei and Miss Katia just left Singapore this morning. They headed for England."

"No trace of Sophia?" Caspar asked. He again thought of the many times Sophia begged to meet him last week and he refused. Now he felt guilty because the girl had disappeared, possibly caught by Alexei. When Sophia came to him two years ago to betray the Meier family, he had promised to protect her.

"Nothing... Do you want me to follow Alexei?"

"Hm... I need you here. Send Ivan and his team to follow Alexei." Caspar tapped his fingers as he took a deep breath. He felt very tired and alone. At times like these he wished that Aldebar was by his side, but his younger brother was hiding himself in his experiments in an unknown place. This was just his third year. Seven more years to go…

***

For several hours Finland and Lauriel sat watching Jean who meditated after he drank the medicine from Lauriel. The man's face looked tense and many times he sighed as if he was seeing hallucinations.

"Is the process really like this?" Finland asked in a whisper.

"Yeah... Calm down, I won't harm your friend..." Lauriel said.

"That's not what I meant..." said Finland, "I'm just worried."

"I understand, but worrying now is of no use. You should rest. If Jean recovers tomorrow, we will leave immediately. Our journey will be long."

"Didn't you say three days?" Finland asked in amazement.

"A maximum of three days... it can be faster. Judging from Jean's progress now, maybe tomorrow he can recover."

"Oh... I'm glad to hear that."

Lauriel took Finland's hand and looked at her closely. It made the girl somewhat uncomfortable.

"Finland... if you have to choose, between Caspar and Aleksis..." Lauriel's tone was so serious that made Finland shiver.

"What... what do you mean? Why should I choose?" she stammered.

"If you could only save Aleksis OR Caspar... who would you save?" Lauriel asked again.

Finland looked at Lauriel with widened eyes. She shook her head and tears slowly flowed from her pair of brown eyes.

"W... what's up, Rory...? Are you keeping something from me? Why have you been acting so mysterious all day? Did something happen to Caspar?" asked Finland as she tried hard to hold back her sobs so as not to interfere with Jean's meditation.

Lauriel held Finland's hand more tightly and shook it, "Tell me, who do you want to save?"

"Why can't I save them both? Why should I choose? If someone has to die, let it be me... As long as Caspar and Aleksis are safe, I will sacrifice myself..." whispered Finland. "Please... tell me what's up?"

Lauriel took a deep breath, "Katia and Alexei kidnapped Aleksis yesterday and poisoned her to force me to follow their wishes. I didn't expect they would be so mean to an innocent child just out of spite..."