Orange Tree (The Herbomancer)

Emma sobbed so much until she couldn't cry anymore. The fact that she could remember now what had happened thirteen years ago, turned out to only break her heart. She still wasn't sure what caused her parents to leave her alone. However, she knew they did it to protect her. They did indeed love her so deeply.

Where did her parents actually come from? Who was the Crown Prince they were talking about? Why wouldn't he spare Emma's life?

Emma had heard her mother mentioning their capsule on the moon. Suddenly, a crazy thought raged in her mind. It's too crazy to even think about it. But slowly, the thought made more and more sense.

'Were father and mother not from Earth? Did they come from a different place and landed on the moon? And left their capsule there before finally coming down to Earth?' Emma thought.

Their decision to leave their home planet didn't sit well with some people, so much so that they felt the need to protect Emma from whoever was sent to chase after them.

Somehow, something in the girl's heart said she wouldn't be able to find her parents on Earth. That they were actually not from any country in this world.

But... from where?

"Father, Mother, where are you? Where should I go to find you? Who is chasing you? Are you still alive?"

The last question was really heartbreaking.

Emma didn't know if her parents were still alive.

What if they were already dead? Then her search would be meaningless.

After a while, Emma calmed herself down and tried to think. She understood tears wouldn't help if she wanted to find her parents. She must find her parents' last tracks. And if necessary, she might also try to find a way to go to the moon to get more information on the capsule her parents had left.

After pondering for some time, Emma felt fatigued. The revelation of her past made her weary. She then recalled that Arreya Stardust had also experienced memory loss for a long time. Arreya had mentioned it's because she had exerted all her powers to put so many people to sleep so she could flee with Kaoshin.

Emma could now guess what had caused her memory loss for two days. She must have attempted to use all her powers in remembering her parents when she had arrived in Paris. Her desire to find them had been so great that she managed to free herself from the memory lock her mother had placed on her.

Finally, she managed to remember what had happened in the past and who she was. And naturally, as Emma's memory returned, her knowledge of her powers was also slowly coming back to her. That's why she could casually fly, control lightning, and read other people's thoughts. Emma didn't know if she also had other powers.

Wait—could she also control plants like her father?

Emma then noticed the orange tree in the cathedral's yard; it had several orange fruits on its branches. Could she do something to the tree, like how her father grew plants in a West Africa desert?

"Father, did I inherit your power too?" whispered Emma to the wind. She reached out her right hand toward the orange tree and asked the tree with her thoughts to produce more fruit.

Even though it was dark where the tree stood, Emma's sharp eyes could see the changes taking place in the tree. Immediately, her topaz eyes went round in surprise.

The tree swayed a little even if there was no wind, and a moment later, hundreds of oranges began to appear all over its branches.

'I can do it!' Emma exclaimed inwardly.

She was elated because, apparently, she did inherit something from her father whom she sorely missed. All this time, she had only felt a connection to her mother because of their physical similarities, and also the fact that Emma inherited her mother's powers.

But now, knowing that she also had something from her father, Emma's heart tinged with warmth. In the past, she had always felt a closeness to her father whenever she's near plants or trees. That's because she remembered how much her father had loved plants. But that's it, nothing more than a distant feeling.

Now, after learning she also had her father's ability to control plants, Emma knew that a part of her father had stayed with her. She could feel him despite not being there with her physically.

"Father, Mother, where are you now? Please wait for me. I'll come to find you..." the girl whispered to the wind, now with determination.

She's now convinced that she's no ordinary human. In fact, she may not even be from this planet. Emma got up and resolved herself to use her powers to find traces of her parents. And, if necessary, she would go to the moon to find the capsule her parents had left behind to look for more clues.

She didn't care even if she had to go to the end of the universe, but Emma was determined to find a way to look for them.

***

"Your eyes looked swollen. Were you crying all night, Stardust?" Haoran asked Emma in concern during breakfast the next day. "I didn't know that going on a date with me could make you so depressed and sad."

Emma glared at Haoran, who was waiting in line for the buffet behind her. "You can't be serious."

"Oh, thank God. I thought you cried because of me," Haoran replied with a smile. He knew that if Emma cried, it must be because the girl was missing her parents. That's why he deliberately joked around to cheer up the girl.

"You never make me cry," Emma said solemnly. "I was thinking about my parents last night. I think... I know now why they left me..."

Haoran became rooted on the spot when he heard Emma's words. "Do you?"

Emma nodded. "I can't tell you now. Maybe later, when we visit Mr. Neville's place to get the painting."

Haoran nodded quickly. "Of course. There's no privacy here."

When Emma saw Nadya coming over to them with a tray filled with breakfast, Emma hurriedly distanced herself a little from Haoran. She didn't want Nadya to suspect her closeness to Haoran.

"Hi, Emma. How was your sleep last night?" Nadya asked her kindly. She glanced over at Haoran and decided to greet the young man too. "Hi, Haoran. I didn't know you went on the study trip to Paris. Yolisa told us you registered for the study trip to China."

Haoran observed Nadya for a moment and understood she's one of Emma's friends. Therefore, Emma's friend in China, who thought he was going on a study trip there, must be the one Emma's concerned with.

"I didn't know the kids from Class A were nosy about other people's private lives, that they would investigate what study trip I was on," commented Haoran.

Nadya opened her mouth to say something but finally opted against it. She looked away and pulled Emma's hand with her.

"Hey... why were you having a conversation with Haoran? Did you hear the way he was talking? It's so annoying," Nadya whispered after plopping herself onto the chair next to Emma. Nadya glanced at Haoran while munching on her croissant with an annoyed expression. "Because of him, Mary had cried again all night, and because of that, she fell ill in China."

"Mary fell ill?"—Emma's eyes widened—"Because Haoran isn't on the study trip?"

Nadya nodded. "She became heartbroken when she found out Haoran was having a great time in Paris, while she was there alone in China without us."

"But that's not Haoran's fault," Emma tried to defend Haoran. "He doesn't know anything, why blame him for what happened to Mary?"

Nadya looked at Emma in surprise. "Why are you defending him? Do you like him?"

Emma felt cornered by Nadya's sudden question. She didn't reply and only focused on her food. Emma's silence made Nadya narrow her eyes, trying to guess if Emma did like Haoran. So, the two didn't say anything else during breakfast.

Madame Delaval appeared a few minutes before ten o'clock and drove out the students who were still having breakfast at the restaurant. Once again, they must leave the hotel and board the shuttle bus that would take them around the city of Paris.

"Today, we'll visit the Cathedral of Notre Dame and the Palace of Versailles. You'll certainly be amazed by the splendor of the royal palace where kings and queens of France resided hundreds of years ago," she exclaimed eagerly.

At 10 AM, the forty-four students of St. Catherine High School, together with their two teachers, were sitting on the shuttle bus. They headed to the Notre Dame Cathedral, which was one of the landmarks in Paris.

This cathedral was hundreds of years old and had so much history in it. In 2019, a great fire broke out in the church, and the entire roof collapsed. It had to be closed to the public for several years while the government was carrying out the restoration. Now, the building had resumed its magnificent appearance, and the government made sure it was better protected from such calamity.

"Students, please line up neatly, we've booked access to the tower. We must not be separated," Madame Delaval exclaimed in her high-pitched tone.

An officer suddenly approached them and drove out the students who were going to line up following Madame Delaval's orders.

"Don't go this way. You guys must go through that entrance. This area is closed for the police investigation," he said in French as he signaled for them to line up through another yard.

"What's wrong, Monsieur? It's not usually this way," Madame Delaval asked in puzzlement.

"I don't know either." The staff sighed. "The orange tree in the courtyard suddenly experienced an oddity. It bore fruits overnight. The police were called to investigate what had happened."

"Police? Why?"

Haoran and Emma, who were closest to Madame Delaval, frowned in surprise. Haoran didn't understand how an orange tree could cause a problem. So what? He had a lot of orange trees in his house. It's not a unique tree, after all.

While Emma suddenly remembered that last night, she had ordered the orange tree next to Notre Dame Cathedral to bear fruit. Her heart began to race.

What now? She didn't think her actions would attract the attention of the police. Would they look for her? Could they see that it was she who did it? Did they install cameras around here? Gosh!

Cold sweat began to dampen her hands.

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>>>>>>>

From the author:

Wow! Emma Stardust is apparently a herbomancer too! Wanna make guesses on what else could she do? I was thinking of creating a superwoman with endless potential. What can we do, if we have an overpowered character that can do ANYTHING she wants? I am open to suggestions. ^^