Dreaming of Heaven (FrUK)

Chapter twelve

"So this is the place Antonio gave us?" Matthew asked. "Yes, this is it," Alfred said, a bit unsettled. "Why would papa come here? Antonio did not say why?" Matthew asked. I continued to watch them intensely. "Well, let's get to it; every clue we get is a clue closer to where papa is" Alfred pulled Matthew inside, and they looked around the scenery, scared. "Hello?" Alfred called. They walked into the building slowly and looked at the red curtain that covered the hallway. "Ahhh! I was wondering when the two of you would show up. Alfred and Matthew, right?"

The two of them jumped at the woman's words as they turned to look at her. She was sitting in shadows in her chair. "Wow, you look a lot like your dad Matthew; I assume Alfred got his looks from Arthur?" She asked laughing. "You saw our father those months ago; tell us what happened to him," Alfred demanded. The two of them walked closer to the lady. "Please, take a seat; I can help the two of you with whatever you need," she smiled. My boys sat down in the seat and looked at her nervously. I hope they will be safe.

"So he did come here! Tell us what happened, "Matthew spoke up seriously. "You seek guidance to what happened to your father. I have answers, and they are simple," she started. "Well go in with it,"  Alfred said impatiently. "He came here seeking answers with two of his friends, Antonio and Gilbert." She answered. However, they looked confused. "He came asking for answers about his marriage. To be frank.... he thought Arthur, your father, wanted a divorce. They had not been in the best position recently; I am sure you have realized that"

Alfred and Matthew froze up at her words. "Our dad said he would never divorce him, though," Matthew said slowly. "Yes, I know, but Francis did not know that. He wanted a way to figure out what was wrong with Arthur and how to....revive the marriage of sorts" the lady placed her chin on her palm, staring at them with a wide smirk. "So what happened?" Alfred asked. "I gave him some advice...of the sorts. Riddles that he needed to figure out to guide his...Future" Matthew started to look uneasy at the situation. "What did you do to him?"

Alfred looked good; Matthew stared at her keenly. I had never seen him this angry before. "I simply placed him in the path to where the answers were. It is fate for him to go down this path until he figures it out," the lady lifted a finger up and pointed to the clock. "What? What does that mean?" Alfred asked, confused. However, Matthews's eyes widened in shock. "So you're the smart one. You must get that from Arthur," she laughed looking at him. "Hey!!! I am right here, you know," Alfred said, hurt.

Matthew looked at the woman and glared. "Mattie, do you know what happened to him?" Alfred asked. Matthew nodded and turned to Alfred. "He was sent back in time," Matthew slowly said. "Ahhh!!! He figured it out!!! How interesting," the lady smirked. Alfred's eyes grew terrified as she looked back at the woman. "He did disappear...from this timeline. Where is he!!! You need to tell us where you sent him," Alfred said, scared. "As I said, he is looking for answers in the past, the loop will continue unless he figures it out," she tried to explain, but the boys were confused.

"So you are saying....that he..." Alfred started but tried to figure out what to say. "He...W-Went" the lady and Alfred said simultaneously. She was giving him the answer. "B-back... I-In T...T-Time ...to ....W-When," they continued as Matthew stared at Alfred oddly. "A-Arthur a..and Fra-Francis...Never....w-Were to...together."
They finished. "Huh!!!! He went back to when they were not together!" Alfred repeated. The lady sat back in her chair, annoyed as Matthew looked at him, defeated. "I wonder how you figured that out," Matthew said.

"Well! How does he come back?" Matthew asked. The lady laughed at him as she held a smile. "You see.... time repeats itself. Once something happens, the flow of time changes forever. There is a past and present time along with a future. This is not your papa's first time leaving back in time." She tried to explain, but even I was confused. "Let me explain it this way. Say I drop this pencil that is now the past. However, I can keep going back to that point in time with time travel... are you following me?" She asked.

The two nodded as she continued. "On multiple timelines, your father came to me, each time being sent back to the past. However, he does not come back. He stays then forever because of his decisions. Growing older and starting life again. Until the point where he comes back to his "future time," sees me again, and is sent back. Does this make sense so far?" She asked. However, the boys looked at her, extremely shocked. "How long has this loop been going on?" Matthew asked. "Oh...maybe a few thousand years, but your father does not realize it or remember it."

My eyes widened as I stepped back. For a thousand years and I have kept making mistakes. "This time, I am trying something new, where he gets visions of what's going on in the future...hoping he might change some things. I would not be surprised if he were watching us right now," the lady added, and I could see shivers go down Alfred's spine. "That is mad creepy," Alfred said. "So...he can hear and see us? Does that mean he can see dad? And how much he is struggling?" Matthew asked. The lady just nodded at him.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Thanks for reading so far ❤️