"Hey, what's wrong? Your face looks pale. Are you sick?" Haoran asked Emma out of concern, seeing her restless. He hurriedly took out a bottled drink from his bag and handed it to Emma. "Have a drink first, you'll feel calmer."
Emma nodded weakly and drank Haoran's water. "Thank you."
"All right, we'll go through another entrance." Madame Delaval nodded slightly to the cathedral's staff and signaled her students to follow her. "Kids, we're going through the other entrance. We must stay together."
"Do you want to rest here? I'll wait for you," Haoran said. "Madame Delaval won't know we've disappeared. Alex will keep her and Monsieur Thomas busy."
"Hmm... thank you. I want to go back to the shuttle bus," Emma said. She didn't dare risk showing herself around the cathedral at the moment. If the police arrived and somehow recognized her, she might get arrested and she wouldn't want that.
She couldn't be caught! She still had to find clues about her parents.
Haoran seemed to understand something must have happened to Emma. Turning pale all of a sudden wasn't normal for this girl.
Haoran found Alex and whispered something. Alex nodded and gave Haoran an OK sign by making a circle with his index finger and thumb with the other three fingers lifted. Shortly afterward, Alex and David had approached Madame Delaval. They bombarded their French teacher with so many questions about Notre Dame Cathedral that she didn't notice that two of her students slipped away.
Meanwhile, Haoran pulled Emma back to their shuttle bus, which was parked at the next block. Emma's still trembling even after she sat in the bus' seat. She's scared at the thought of the police out there looking for her.
Haoran didn't ask anything when they arrived at the bus. He knew Emma would have told him herself what had happened if she wanted to. So, he didn't want to guess or force her to open up to him.
"Haoran, you can leave me now. I'm fine," Emma said a moment later. "You'll miss touring Notre Dame. I heard the church was magnificent."
Haoran shrugged.
"I've actually been to Notre Dame," Haoran answered casually. "I've already seen the inside and climbed the tower at the top of the cathedral. So I won't miss out on much."
Emma looked at Haoran with rounded eyes. "You've been here before?"
Haoran simply smiled and Emma let out a short sigh. Ah, she should have known the question was unnecessary. People as wealthy as the Lee family must be used to traveling abroad and visiting famous cities throughout the world. For them, it's just like a wave of a hand to travel to Paris.
"All right, then," Emma nodded.
"Do you want to tell me what happened?" Haoran asked her finally. He looked at Emma with a gaze that's neither judgmental nor nosy; nevertheless, that made Emma uncomfortable to try and keep a secret from him. So, she decided to tell him the truth.
"I'll tell you what happened, but not now. Can you wait?" Emma asked quietly.
Haoran nodded. "Of course."
"Thank you," Emma said. She closed her eyes and massaged her forehead. Her chest was still pounding. It'd be terrifying if the police knew she's the person responsible for the orange tree's unusual behavior.
If they caught her, what would they do to Emma? Will they take her to a laboratory and study her?
Of course, she couldn't let that happen. From now on, Emma decided to be more cautious when using her powers. Last night's event of making the tree bore fruit was totally unnecessary. Next time, she would test her powers of controlling the plants only when she's in a remote place, that way she wouldn't have to worry about someone seeing her.
YOU ARE READING
Finding Stardust (Princess Of Akkadia)
Fantasy#This novel has several male leads and they will shine in their own time. "A man should have a bucket list, don't you think? It'd be nice to see 24 sunsets with you one day." - Haoran Lee "Do you want to see how I would light up the sky for you?"...
