All of these events left me so confused that I could hardly sleep for days. Bud and Lisa bought the story that I was ill and ran the market for me on those days. I lay around on my bed, staring into space. Pearl was now with Elazul again (or so I hoped) and they were probably far, far away. I worried about Pearl's safety. The jewel hunter was after her, and Elazul could only protect her so much. A Jumi himself, all she had to do to kill him was take his core away. I shuddered at the thought. Though Elazul was very blunt and Pearl so shy, I felt like they were almost my friends.
Bud and Lisa came back one day with a fortune from Meimei, the fruit lady in Domina. I smiled, and thanked them. Meimei's fortunes are usually pretty correct, so I accepted.
"We asked her what would make you feel better," Lisa explained. "Here's the fortune."
She handed me a piece of paper. It read: "Patience, and you'll find the resolution where it's always been."
"Thank you, Lisa," I said. "and Bud. I think I'll go into town today, after all, and see what I can do."
The little twins smiled, and I was grateful that they'd helped.
I went into Domina, and checked around everywhere. I didn't see Elazul or Pearl. Oh well. Meimei's fortune had told me to be patient. I went to the library instead, and found an extensive book on the Jumi. I borrowed this nonchalantly, and began to read it on a fixed schedule.
In the morning, I would get up, fix breakfast, then go lie on my bed until noon, reading the book. After that, I'd make lunch, go into town if need be, come home, make dinner, and read a bit after that until I fell asleep. I learned a lot of things about the Jumi.
First of all, they always work in pairs; guardian and knight. The knight fights, while the guardian heals. Each without the other is considered useless in their culture. Something didn't make sense to me, though. Pearl had never once healed me or herself in the tower. Perhaps there was something wrong.
Reading on, I learned of strata, a bit of a ranking system based on the makeup of their cores. The highest strata, the Clarius, is occupied by only one in the culture; he or she carries great responsibilities. The next rank is Lucidia, then half-Lucidia, and finally, Clod. Sandra had called Pearl a clod, but I doubted that. Her core was beautiful… maybe it was just an insult.
When I finally read about the tears, though, I began to think. The tears of a Jumi contain the most precious thing: life. They can heal almost anything, and as long as a Jumi's core still contains magic, the body can be restored through tears. However, because they were hunted, the Jumi all became unable to cry, with the exception of the Clarius. I recalled how Mr. Rubens had said he couldn't cry… I wondered if the jewel thief knew of this fact. She had probably just been asking for tears to fulfill her own desire for some cruel entertainment. This was probably also why Pearl hadn't done any healing. With this development to the race, the guardians must be completely useless!
When I finished the book, I returned it to the library and went to the pub to grab a snack. It figures, I wasn't even looking for him, and there Elazul was, standing in the corner, casting glances around.
I approached him immediately. "Where's Pearl?" I asked.
Elazul sighed. "She's left again. I only lost her about a half-hour ago…"
"Let's go," I told him. "We've still got time."
"I'm grateful, I really am," Elazul said, "but I meant it when I said you should stay away from us…"
"Come on," I told him, and was about to drag him out of the pub, when the doors slammed shut. It was Pearl! I was so relieved! She hadn't really gotten lost again after all.
"Aaa!" she cried, in relief. "You! Elazul!"
"Where have you been?" Elazul asked.
"I…um…" Pearl said. "I didn't want you to…leave me…so I ran off to the park for awhile…"
"What?" Elazul looked utterly confused.
"Oh, I just felt like I might get left behind. Are you going somewhere?"
Elazul nodded, shortly. "Yeah…"
Pearl gulped. "Should I stay here?"
"Yeah," Elazul told her again.
"That's not fair," Pearl said, looking sad.
Elazul looked at her seriously. "You must! Outside is perilous. Right Leora?"
"Yes," I said, "but so is this place."
"Perhaps you're right…" Elazul said, looking deep in thought.
I spoke up. "Pearl can stay at my house. There's no safer place in the world, I guarantee it."
Pearl's eyes lit up. "Thank you!" she said.
We walked back to my house, Pearl a few paces ahead of Elazul and I. "She is in need of things," Elazul confessed to me. "like a home… a family…"
"I hope she'll be happy at my house," I said. "It's a lively place."
"I'll come in and help her get settled," he said. "If it's all right."
I nodded. "Of course."
"You have no idea how much I appreciate this," Elazul said to me. "Because the guardians have--lost their place--" he paused, but I didn't question him as I already knew why. "It becomes increasingly more difficult to protect her. And Pearl's always wandering off…"
"She doesn't know her own past," I mused. "I wonder why…"
Elazul clammed up on that, so I changed the subject.
"Where do you think you'll find allies?" I asked.
Elazul shrugged. "I'm going to check all the cities that I can. See who I can find."
"Be careful," I told him.
Elazul nodded, and our eyes met. Silently, I knew we'd just declared a truce of trust.
We arrived at my home shortly after.
"Oh!" Pearl breathed. "This is so wonderful, Leora!"
I smiled. "I'm glad you like it, Pearl. Come inside, we'll get you settled and I'll show you around."
I opened the door up, and my two companions followed me in. "I have two apprentices," I explained. "Bud and Lisa. They're elf twins. I think they're out back right now."
"What are they like?" Pearl asked, cautiously.
"Friendly, very friendly," I told her. "Sometimes to the point of being obnoxious. But they are very loyal."
This seemed to make both Jumi relax. I knew Bud and Lisa wouldn't do anything to hurt them.
"What's in here?" Pearl asked, opening a door. I looked in, and winced.
"My library," I replied. "It's messy, I know."
"Where'd you get so many books?" Elazul asked.
I shrugged. "Been collecting for awhile. Here, come upstairs, and I'll set up a place for Pearl."
My bedroom is very large, and there's a portion of it that I never use, so I hung a sheet from the ceiling to make her a partition.
"I have another mattress," I said to Pearl, "but I'll have to get it out later." I opened my trunk of bedding and pulled out a sheet and two blankets, as well as a pillow. "In the meantime, we'll just put these here."
"You don't have to do all this," Pearl said, blushing.
"I want you to be comfortable," I replied. "Don't you agree, Elazul?"
He nodded affirmatively. "You can't worry at all here, Pearl. Feel as safe as possible."
After we set that up, I took her around the house. First we visited my monster corral, where she met Bud and Lisa (they took to her immediately) as well as my pets. Then I showed her my workshops, and finally the orchard, where she was just enchanted. Finally, I had everyone in for tea before Elazul had to leave.
"It's so warm," Pearl murmured, watching the fire from my table. "Elazul, why don't you stay, too..?"
Elazul smiled. "I've got to find allies, Pearl. It's the only way we'll survive out there."
"Where are you going to go?"
"Around," he replied. "Lots of places. Anywhere I can find Jumi. If I can possibly do so, I'll bring them to meet you." Elazul stood up. "I've got to go now, at any rate. It's getting late."
"Elazul…" Pearl looked up at him.
"Don't worry, Pearl," he said. "Leora will protect you, and she's just as good of a knight as I am."
I walked Elazul just outside the door. "I'll be in Geo for awhile," he told me. "Take care of Pearl for me."
I nodded. "Of course. She'll be fine here."
"And please don't tell her where I am," he said. "I don't want her out looking for me with the jewel hunter about."
"I promise I won't," I said. "Good luck, Elazul."
And with that, he was gone.