Magic? Mind reading?

Chapter 31

The following morning, I travelled on a special pass that Luke had issued to me and arrived early in London. Since I was planning to sneak into the lab at night, I thought I would have a wander around the city centre and then go to see Beth.

As I walked along Regent Street, I was surrounded by the hustle and bustle of city life. The street was alive with activity; a street performer was entertaining passers by with his skilful display of juggling, and a group of musicians was filling the air with lively tunes.

I cast my mind back to only a month ago when Theo brought me to London for the first time. I had celebrated Valentine's Day with him in a bar, and we stood on London Bridge looking at the scenery on both sides of the Thames; we were like a pair of sweet lovers, but now he no longer belonged to me, and I was walking alone through the city.

When I thought of this, my nose hurt and I felt like weeping.

I told myself that I needed to buck out of it and forget about Theo. After the mission, I would be able to live in the human world and I would never have to see him again. Time will wash away everything, I told myself. I might even open a bubble tea store to make a living.

When I thought of bubble tea, I couldn't help myself and hurriedly took out my phone to search for a nearby bubble tea store.

"G'day Mate!" Now that was a very distinctive accent!

I looked up to see a young man in his early twenties standing in front of me. His luxurious black curly hair framed his striking face, adding a sense of playfulness to his features. His eyes were a piercing shade of blue, contrasting starkly against his dark hair, giving him a unique and charismatic aura. He was smiling and waving at me.

I was a bit surprised since I didn't know him. But he didn't mind my surprised expression, and he introduced himself, "I'm Alan, I'm a street performer, doing magic and mind reading. Do you want to give it a go? Let's see if I'm right."

Magic? Mind reading? Those are all tricks used to fool people. I thought would be a bit of fun and nodded. I wanted to see how embarrassed he would be when he got it wrong.

"What may I call you?" he asked me.

"Aiden," I replied.

"Is Aiden your real name?"

I was taken aback by this sudden question, and it took me a couple of seconds to regain my composure. "Of course I am," I said, trying to sound as sure as I could.

He smiled continued, "Aiden, did you just want some bubble tea?"

I stared at him in disbelief, how could he know? But then on second thoughts, he probably saw me searching for the bubble tea store on my phone when he called over to me.

I answered, "Yes."

He pulled out a pen and a sheet of white paper from his pocket and asked, "Write a random word on this paper, then fold it. I'll touch the paper and tell you what word you've written."

It sounded intriguing, so I took the pen and paper, inspected them carefully, and they seemed not to be anything out of the ordinary. So I turned my back to him and wrote 'Sophie' on the piece of paper before folding it twice.

I handed Alan the folded piece of paper, and he dramatically ran his hand over it while saying to himself, "I've got a sense."

I watched his every move closely in case he would play any tricks on me.

Then he said to me, "I can sense that you wrote the name of a person."

I was startled, but hopefully he had just got lucky, it was a good guess though. I tried to appear calm and not rise to the bait.

Then he put the piece of paper to his ear and rubbed it up, muttering, "I've got another sense."

Suddenly his eyes widened, and with an exaggerated expression as if he had found some priceless treasure, he looked at me and said, "This name is a girl's name!"

At this point my heart thumped and I held my breath, could any human being really read minds?

Next, he crumpled the paper into a ball, squeezed it tightly in his hand, closed his eyes firmly shut, and after about 5 seconds, he suddenly opened his eyes wide, exhaled and said, " You wrote the name 'Sophie', who is your closest friend. right?"

That was ridiculous! I couldn't believe it, this guy was too good! I gave him a £10 note. He smiled and took the money from me, and then he handed me a business card. "Here's my contact information. I'm an Aussie, you can contact me next time you're in Australia."

So he was from Australia, no wonder he spoke with such an odd accent compared to other people here in London. I'd never been to Australia, but I did know it's in another hemisphere, very far away from our werewolf world.

I was sure I wouldn't have much of a chance to go to Australia, but I politely said, "Thanks, I will."

"I've predicted that you will go to Australia next month," he said, staring fixedly at me.

I could only laugh on hearing such a ridiculous prediction.

But Alan then he lowered his voice and said to me, "Beautiful girl, I'll see you in Australia." He then winked at me and walked over to another pedestrian to demonstrate his magic tricks to him.

I stood still for a while to take in what I had just seen and heard, what the hell was he? Maybe he wasn't a human being, but a paranormal creature, but I couldn't smell his paranormal scent.

I glanced at my watch and it was already afternoon, so I bought a cup of bubble tea and drove to Beth's castle.

As I went through the gates of Beth's old castle, I was captivated by the breath-taking sight of tulips blooming in all their colourful glory. The castle grounds were adorned with a stunning display, showcasing a kaleidoscope of hues that painted the landscape with vibrant splendour.

I felt like I was entering a fairy tale wonderland, which was so different from when I came in the frosty February weather.

Just as my car stopped, a butler who was already waiting for me opened my door and respectfully led me to the Pavilion in the garden.

When Beth saw me, she rushed out of the Pavilion, hugged me, and kissed me affectionately on the cheek, "Sweetie, I'm so happy to see you again. "

She was wearing a yellow dress that seemed to be perfectly in harmony with the meadow of lush green grass, against a backdrop of a vivid blue sky, creating a scene that resembled a beautiful painting come to life.

"Beth, it's such a pleasure to meet you too. You look so beautiful." I praised her, and then pointed at my hoodie and jeans with a look of embarrassment, "I hope you don't blame me for coming to see you dressed like this, because I have a mission planned for this evening."

"Not at all, everything you wear glows, but..." Beth said while looking me up and down, "Sweetie, you look haggard, you've had troubles lately, haven't you?" Her tone was filled with the compassion of an elder relative.

Beth must have heard that Theo was in love with Princess Alaska. Although I wanted to air my grievances with her, I remembered that she was still Theo's great auntie, so how could she sympathize with my suffering?

So I forced a smile and said, "I'm fine, I've just been busy with my case lately."

"Then don't frown, it's easy to get wrinkles. Later I promise you'll feel much better." She gently nudged my forehead with her finger as she spoke.

"Yeah?" I was a little curious. Beth didn't answer me though, as apparently she wanted to surprise me later.

The housekeeper had already placed the food on the table in the Pavilion while we were talking. The table was laid with a crisp white embroidered cloth that complemented the delicate silver plates and tray stand laden with mouth-watering treats, such as sandwiches, scones, cakes and colourful pastries.

I gave a little "Wow" of praise, I didn't dare as much as touch these culinary delights sitting in front of me.

"It's such a beautiful day for us girls to enjoy an English afternoon tea together, and desserts can cure all troubles," Beth said as she poured me some tea. The fine tea set with gold trims was delicate and dainty, exuding an air of elegance.

I then noticed that there were three sets of cutlery on the table. "Are there any other guests?" I asked curiously.

"Well, there's a girl you might know." With that, her face turned to the outside of the Pavilion. I followed her eyes and looked out to see an elegant-looking young woman wearing a white dress walking towards us, and I immediately recognized her as Princess Alaska.

When Princess Alaska came and greeted us, I simply nodded at her and didn't know what to say to her. Beth gestured to Princess Alaska to sit down and then said to us, "Let's talk while we have tea, English afternoon tea is for gossip."

She then said to Princess Alaska, "Alaska, hurry up and tell Dory the truth about you! You see she has more wrinkles on her face than I do, this poor girl must have been crying a lot these days."