Finding Stardust: Princess Of Akkadia (Free)

Chapter 20 - Happy Birthday, Stardust

"Your parents really look like that?" Haoran asked in amazement once he laid eyes on the initial sketches made by Mr. Neville after Emma explained in detail how her mother and father looked like. The girl said that her mother's hair color was platinum, similar to hers, and their eyes were both light blue in hue, like a dazzling topaz.

She mentioned that her father was handsome and tall with short silver hair and a unique pair of eyes, each of which had blue and green colors. Mr. Neville's hand quickly worked with his pencil, line by line drawing onto the canvas curves that later formed two faces that Emma had been dearly missing.

"Are you sure your memory is accurate?" asked Haoran again. "I mean, the last time you saw them was... How long ago was that again? Twelve years ago? Or even longer?"

Emma shook her head. "I don't know how to explain it to you, but last night I suddenly dreamed of my parents. They felt so close to me, so there's no way I will ever forget my mother and father's faces again. I have longed for them for a dozen years. I can't be wrong."

In the end, the young man nodded. He looked back to the sketch in Mr. Neville's hands and frowned.

He knew that Emma would not lie to him. What for? After all, there was no reason for the girl to lie about her parents' appearances.

From her explanation to Mr. Neville, Haoran could imagine what Emma's father and mother looked like. He guessed that her mother had a very similar appearance to the girl. They both have beautiful, platinum-colored long hair and a pair of light blue eyes. This showed that Emma's physical characteristics were inherited from her parents.

Before today, Haoran had thought Emma had a genetic disorder that made her appear different from most humans. He had assumed that she had lower melanin levels than average people.

But now he could see that Emma's appearance was a genetic inheritance from her mother. Haoran could only accept, albeit almost unscientifically, that she and her mother have such a unique look. The mother's side might have experienced a genetic disorder before that persisted even today.

Yet, this notion was overthrown when he saw that the father also had an unusual face. Haoran's little heart began to tingle. He felt that it was too much of a coincidence for two unique people like Emma's father and mother to meet, fall in love and then get married.

"Do you know which country your parents are from?" Haoran asked her again.

Emma shrugged. "No. I don't know. What is clear is that we once lived in a rural area in France."

"Oh, I see .." he could only nod. The idea to create a picture of the girl's parents was a good one. With that picture, he would be able to pay people to track down Emma's mother and father around the world using face recognition technology.

Mr. Neville did live up to his reputation as the best portrait painter in Paris. Within an hour, Haoran and Emma were already staring at an almost finished sketch. Closely following the girl's instructions, the two beautiful faces had now transformed into a lifelike black-and-white portrait.

The shape of the eyes, noses, and eyebrows ... everything was drawn so accurately. Even though the sketch was still in black and white and had not been added with colors to make them appear more real, people could already see how the two mysterious people looked.

Kaoshin Stardust had short silver hair framing his perfect face. His expression looked so calm, but his gaze made him seem like an aloof man with a thousand secrets.

His face was very handsome with a pair of deep eyes, each of which had two colors: blue and green. Arreya Stardust was very much like her daughter, just that she the more mature version. Another difference was that she had a pair of eyes that radiate happiness, unlike Emma's, which were tinged with sadness.

As Haoran examined the portraits, he felt like he was looking at some illustrations in a novel about elves. The young man nudged Emma softly and whispered into her ear. "You don't look like a human. You and your parents look like beautiful elves..."

Elves? She frowned. She knew what Haoran meant. The young man just used the word elves carelessly. Of course, he meant to say that she looked different from ordinary humans.

The young guy had no idea that Emma also possessed powers that regular humans did not have in general.

This fact made the girl nervous. Even now, Haoran could see that she was different, and he was right. Because no regular human would be able to read minds and fly in the air.

'So, who am I actually?'

'Why did my mother and father deliberately leave me here alone?'

"All right ... Since Mr. Neville had successfully drawn the sketch for us, we can let him work on the rest and come back here tomorrow," Haoran said later. "Now, we both need to eat."

Emma nodded.

"Wait a minute ..." She pulled up her cellphone and took a picture of the sketches before placing her cellphone back into her pocket. "I just want to see my mother and father again tonight..."

"Of course. Don't worry, tomorrow afternoon, we will come back here again and take the finished paintings." Haoran nodded.

"Thank you," Emma said to him. The girl then bowed slightly to Mr. Neville. "Merci beaucoup, Monsieur[1]."

Mr. Neville nodded and smiled. "De rien, Mademoiselle[2]."

***

With the first mission accomplished, it was now time for Haoran to take Emma to dinner as planned. They took a taxi to the Eiffel Tower where Haoran then led Emma to the restaurant at the top of the tower.

"Dinner here is very special because we can see the beautiful city of Paris from the heights," Haoran said with a proud smile. "I wanted to book this whole place just for the two of us... but it was too over the top for two teenagers to do that. I don't wanna attract too much attention to us. So, let's just eat with other people for now... Later, in a few years, once we come back here, I will book the entire Eiffel Tower just for you."

Emma looked at Haoran with an astonished face. She knew the young man was from a very wealthy background and could do whatever he said earlier. Booking the entire Eiffel tower for a date just for the two of them? Piece of cake!

But Haoran deliberately did not do that, and she felt grateful. She did not like to attract unnecessary attention.

They sat at one of the best tables in the restaurant. A waiter immediately approached them to get their orders.

"Uhm ... we don't drink alcoholic drinks, so there's no need for the wine list," said the young man as he returned the wine list menu that the waiter placed in front of him.

Emma frowned at Haoran. She knew that the legal drinking age limit in Singapore and France was 18 years. This meant that Haoran could already drink wine. He was two years older than Emma after all.

"You're already 19 years old. So, you can already drink, right?" the girl said in puzzlement. "You're not like David, Dinh, Eric, and Alex, who have to fake their age to be able to buy wine."

He looked at her with an amused expression on his face. "Ssh ... Don't speak too loudly about my age. Yes, I am of legal age to drink, but you're still 17 years old. You still can't drink wine. I don't want to drink by myself. What if I got drunk and you then take advantage of me? I can't take the risk..."

"Eh? What did you just say? Did you really think I would want to get you drunk and take advantage of you??? Are you for real!??" Emma hit the young man's shoulder exasperatedly. Haoran just laughed at her reaction.

"Haha.. why not? I'm a good catch. If you take advantage of me, you will get a handsome boyfriend who could give you whatever you want in life due to his massive wealth..." He was laughing and smiling at Emma's expense so the girl kept hitting his shoulder. "Ouch... why are you beating up on me? I am only stating a fact..."

"You...!"

"Sshh ... I'm just kidding." The young man finally caught her right hand, which had been hitting his shoulder. He held it with both hands before smiling sweetly and kissing it gently. "Happy birthday, Stardust."

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[1] Merci beaucoup, Monsieur = Thank you, Sir (French)

[2] De rien, Mademoiselle = No problem, Miss (French)