The Alchemists

Rune thought, the more he talked with Rose, the more mysteries he found. However, it only piqued his interest more!     

"How about you? Where did you go to school?" asked Rose, changing the subject. "I heard that you used to work as a teacher, but now you're writing a book. Sounds interesting. What are you writing now?"     

Rune coughed at Rose's question. His nephews and niece were smart. They made his profile so flexible and ambiguous, that Rune could be anything in front of Rose.     

Indeed, a teacher who was now a writer was a job that looked more respectable than an 'unemployed dude who enjoyed researching weird stuff'.     

"I was homeschooled in Stuttgart. Nothing interesting, unlike you," said Rune evasively. "I was a teacher for several years, and then I took a break to see the world. A friend of mine needed an assistant to accompany him to research some tropical rainforest plants that have medicinal properties. I spent two weeks with him on the Amazon."     

"Wow! Amazon! It's so cool ..." Rose exclaimed enthusiastically.     

Rune felt very happy when he heard Rose's words that said he was cool.     

Uh, wait a minute. Who was cool? Was it him, or was it Lauriel who invited him to Amazon?     

"We spent two weeks on Amazon, but I don't feel enough. I wish we stayed there longer. It's a beautiful place," Rune added. "If you are a nature type of person, you'd enjoy going there."     

Rose nodded excitedly. "You sound like an adventurer. Very impressive. "     

"If you want to go on adventures, I can take you to the Amazon sometime. I just came from there a few days ago. So I still remember all the good routes and exciting places to visit. Oh, they have pink dolphins! I think you'd love it!"     

Rune assumed that pink might be Rose's favorite color since her gun and wallet were both pink.     

"How nice! Well, maybe we can go to the Amazon sometimes," Rose said, smiling broadly. Seeing the sweet smile on the girl's beautiful face, Rune's mind drifted to the future.     

He badly wanted to just buy plane tickets to take Rose to Brazil and show her the Amazon interior. He could not wait to bring Rose saw pink dolphins in the river, took her with a boat along the river, and also witness the meeting of waters.     

Ahh ... it would be so romantic.     

Those beautiful thoughts made Rune's face lit up. Meanwhile, Rose shook her head when she saw the dreamy expression on Rune's face.     

Ahh .. This Rune is too cute, thought Rose.      

"Hey, what are you thinking about?" asked Rose, waving her hand in front of Rune's face. The young man shook his head shyly and said, "Ahahaha. I'm just imagining how we will go on adventures on the Amazon. It will be fun. Whenever you want to go there, just tell me. I'll take you anytime."     

"Uh, are you real?" Asked Rose with a chuckle." Isn't it expensive to travel to Brazil. "Do you have the money?"     

"I do. I can take you on adventures in the Amazon," said Rune quickly.     

"There is no need to force yourself. I don't want you to get buried in debt just because you want to impress me," said Rose, shaking her head. She looked at Rune's very ordinary and cheap outfit and sighed.     

Her attitude made the young man realize that his disguise as a poor man had worked. At first, he deliberately disguised himself as a poor person because he didn't want to intimidate Rose with his wealth. He thought Rose was an ordinary girl.     

However, now that he knew that Rose was actually the daughter of an affluent family, Rune wondered if he should continue disguising himself as a poor guy or should he tell the girl that he also came from a family with money?     

This was quite confusing.     

After thinking for a moment, he finally decided to keep all his secrets first. Later, at the right time, then he would reveal his secrets as needed.     

In the end, Rune only answered with ambiguous excuses. "I have little savings and I also know some important people who can help me travel for free to Amazon."     

Now Rose looked impressed. "Wow, then it's great! That means you know important people, huh?"     

"I am just lucky," Rune replied modestly.     

"Hmm ... alright. I'll think about it." Rose nodded. She seemed to like the idea of ​​traveling with Rune. "Maybe we could go to the Amazon after I take you to meet my family. I guess we should start traveling as a couple too and take lots of photos to show people."     

Ahh.. the mystery. Why did Rose need them to take lots of photos to show people? Who's they?     

"Well I can't wait," said Rune, trying to get rid of that thoughts. He took another sip of tea with a happy expression.     

It was such a nice day outside and he felt happy, just sitting there at the terrace with Rose, drinking tea. He never knew that happiness could be this simple.     

Well, it looked like this was the right moment to get to know each other better, Rune thought. Finally, he decided to ask more about Rose. Even though she still didn't want to mention her last name or who her family was, at least the girl was open to talking about her friends.     

Therefore, Rune decided to ask about Rose's friends and her school. Ah.. she loved talking about her friends. She had three best friends from school. George, Helene, and Peter.      

"I'll take you to meet them in a few days. Helene is coming to New York and we will meet for dinner," Rose said. "She lives in Paris and will meet her fiance's family next week. So, we decided to have a little reunion."     

"Oh.. that would be lovely!"      

Rune was really excited to hear that. People said that to know someone better, you have to see their friends. He was hoping he could get to know Rose better through her friends.     

"How will you introduce me to your friend?" Rune asked. "Do they know you were looking for a fake boyfriend?"     

Rose shook her head. "No. Please don't tell them anything. I trust you, so I am willing to take a chance. If you tell my friend that you are only my fake boyfriend.. I'm gonna kill you."     

Her words rendered Rune speechless. He stared at the beautiful girl, trying to see signs that she was joking.     

He didn't find it.     

"A-are you serious?" He asked in a stammer.     

Rose smiled mysteriously. She only shrugged. "You do know I have a gun and I can use it."     

GULP.     

She was definitely one of a kind, Rune thought. He decided to change the subject.     

"You said you got a medal in the shooting championship. Since when did you learn to shoot?" asked Rune, trying to find out more about his "girlfriend."     

Rose frowned trying to remember. "If I'm not mistaken, I started learning how to shoot since I was five years old. Incidentally, my father was good at shooting and this is one of his favorite sports. So I learned to shoot as well as horse riding."     

"Shooting and riding? Wow..." Rune's admiration for Rose grew even more.     

"Yeah, right. You definitely won't believe that I was such a tomboy before," said Rose with a chuckle. "If I leave the house wearing a shirt and jeans like a man, people will think I'm a guy. A handsome one.. hahaha."     

"Really? I can't believe it," said Rune.     

Seriously. Rose was so beautiful and so graceful ... How could anyone think she was a guy?     

.     

>>>>>     

From the author:     

I know you must be wondering who is this girl! I actually wrote a full story about Rose around 20 years ago. I know the rough draft and how the story would end, but I haven't had the time to finish the book.     

And suddenly, when I was re-reading the draft, I realize, she is the perfect girl for Rune! So, finally, I imported her from her own story and combined it into this story. Maybe someday, if I have the luxury of time, I will write her separate story BEFORE she met Rune.     

One thing for sure, this girl is quite special. Don't worry! She is not a villainess of some sort. She is really a nice girl, but her back story is a bit sad.