From that day forth, Elazul remained at my house as well. We both felt it was too dangerous to go outside much. The jewel hunter was after Pearl, wouldn't think twice about taking Elazul's core, and knew who I was by now. She'd probably kill me.
Elazul wanted to tell Pearl about Esmeralda and Diana, and what had happened in Geo, but he couldn't bring himself to do so. Pearl was just so happy! Some days, when it was time to harvest, I'd wake up and go out to the orchard, only to find that Pearl had already completed half the job.
Bud and Lisa now knew all about Elazul and Pearl, and that they were Jumi. Although Elazul was still pretending to be a lot tougher (emotionally speaking) than he really was, he still got on fine with the little twins. I sent them to town at one point to buy a few extra clothes for Elazul and Pearl; while they didn't display their cores in the typical Jumi fashion, it was much safer.
Now that there were five people in my house, sleeping became a bit more difficult. I managed to find another old, dusty mattress in my shed, and made a bed for Elazul. I put this in Pearl's partition; and cut that area in half again with another sheet from the ceiling, so they'd have some privacy.
I redrew the chart of who did what chores when; Elazul and Pearl were more than happy to help out. One night, as we were preparing dinner, Pearl dropped the hint that she'd like to go out.
"Elazul and I...have a few things to do," she told me. "Business to take care of, he says..."
"You're saying you want to go out," I said, finishing her thought. I paused, leaving my spiny carrot only half-chopped. "Are you sure that's safe?"
"Elazul said it might be a risk we'd have to take..." Pearl said, blushing.
I nodded, and resolved to bring it up at the dinner table later.
"Yes, that's right," Elazul told me, when asked about it. "We've got to go out and do a few things. I wanted to go investigate in Gato, and Pearl's going to Domina."
"Is it safe to go out alone?" I asked him, alarmed.
Elazul sighed. "I'm sure it isn't, but we can't go with anyone. No, not even you, Leora."
"Well," I told him, "I disapprove. I'm totally against it. However, I can't stop you."
Pearl blushed, and bit her lip. "I'm sorry," Elazul told me, "but it has to be done. We've got to take care of this business."
By morning, they'd already left. I was very unhappy that they'd worn their normal clothes; clothes that exposed their cores. I moped around the house all day, too worried for their safety to do much, physically. Finally, I just decided to leave the door open, so I'd hear one of them coming back, if possible.
It was mid-afternoon when I heard heavy footsteps coming up the front walk. That was funny. It was obviously Elazul, but Pearl should have been back first. I stepped out the door.
"Did Pearl come?" he asked me.
I shook my head. "Not yet."
"So then, this note..!"
I froze, as Elazul handed me a crumpled piece of stationery. It was the same that Sandra always used.
"Dammit!" Elazul swore. "The jewel hunter has kidnapped her!"
"Let's find her," I told him, all ready to go.
"I am grateful..." he said. "But we have no clues... Let's check outside."
We left my house after I grabbed my sword, and looked about.
"There are footprints here," I commented, "but not that many. Maybe if we could trace some from Domina..."
"But so many people go in and out of there," Elazul protested.
"True..." I agreed. Then I studied the dirt on the ground again. "Look," I said. "These are my footprints, and those are yours." I pointed to two different sets. "The little ones belong to Bud and Lisa... Pearl's shoes make a pretty unique print."
"And the jewel hunter wears heeled boots... Leora, I really have to hand it to you," Elazul said, impressed.
We walked to the outskirts of Domina and were careful not to disturb anything. Sure enough, we found the set of prints we wanted heading towards the south.
"South of here is Mekiv Caverns," I mused. "I guess they could have gone there." Following the prints, it turned out I was right. We entered the caves.
A mad mallard sat on a rock, smoking a cigarette. I was surprised. I'd heard of these docile monsters, but this was the first time I'd seen one. He blew smoke in my face, and I coughed, waving it away.
"What are you two up to?" he asked, suspiciously.
"We are looking for a friend," Elazul said. "Have you seen her? Speak the truth, or else."
"Don't threaten me!" the duck shot back, irritated. "You're talking about an innocent little girl, right? She was with some lady."
Elazul gazed at the duck intently. "A lady with orange flowers?"
"Yeah, her!" the mallard said, blowing smoke out its mouth. "She was wearing a green skirt, and her legs were just fantastic!"
"So, which way did they go?"
"They took the path on the upper right!"
"Pearl!" Elazul said, his core resonating. "We must hurry!" he told me.
I didn't have to be told twice. We raced through the caverns, not stopping until we reached a Sproutling... it was the same one we'd run into our first time in here.
"People don't come here often," it remarked, "but I saw two girls go by just a second ago. They went straight..." it moved, and walked to one of the paths off of the fork that was before us. "...this way."
We thanked it and moved on. At one point, though, Elazul stopped running and clutched at his core. "My core... getting cloudy..." he gasped. "Pearl... where could she be..?"
I looked around the room, and was startled to see a hunched-over creature standing in the corner. He looked humanoid; his face was covered in whiskers, his arms were long and gangly, and his back was covered simply in burlap. He also wore a few necklaces around his neck, none of which seemed to match.
"I saw the stone here," he said, his voice deep and scratchy. "A tiny stone, giving off beautiful light. It was like starts in the night sky." He then bowed to Elazul and I. "Well, what is it you seek?" he asked.
"Have you seen a girl with Pearls go by here?" I asked him.
"Are you two friends? Then you'd better hurry." His face remained, for the most part, unchanged as he spoke. It was eerie.
"I know!" Elazul shot back, impatient. "Which way did they take her?"
"They took Pearl straight through this middle path," he said.
I began to dash down it, but Elazul called "Wait!" after me.
I turned around and looked at him expectantly. "No..." he said, after a moment. "It's nothing."
I began down the path again, but stopped. "How do you know Pearl's name?" I asked the creature.
"She is a Jumi, is she not?" he said. "There is a legend... that whoever sheds tears for a Jumi shall turn to stone. This is to forbid contact between the Jumi and others. I think I know why..."
I shivered. He was warning me, too. I didn't know whether or not to believe the legend.
Elazul approached me and squeezed my shoulder. "I have a bad feeling about this..." he confessed. "My core has never clouded so much before..."
We continued through the tunnel, Elazul looking a bit gray, until we heard voices.
"Pearl..." he whispered.
"Well?" came Sandra's voice. "Have you remembered your true purpose?"
As we emerged into the clearing, I saw Pearl respond with frustration. "How many times are you going to ask me?" she said, her voice high and strained. "I have no idea what you're talking about!"
"Why, you..!!" Sandra said, glaring at Pearl.
"Get away from Pearl!" Elazul yelled.
"Elazul!" Pearl cried.
Sandra grinned. "Hehe, I've been waiting," she told Elazul.
"Hand Pearl over, now!" the Jumi knight ordered.
Sandra raised an eyebrow. "Do I look like a woman who would listen to you?" she asked, condescendingly.
It all happened in just a few seconds.
"I'll make you listen with this sword!" Elazul screamed.
"Too late!" Sandra said. In an instant, she had something shiny in her hand, and threw it at Elazul's chest. It went straight through him, and a crack appeared in his core. Elazul gave a cry of acute pain, and fell to his knees.
"Elazul!!!" cried Pearl.
I knelt beside Elazul, and examined his core. It was intact, but there was still a large crack running through it. He was gasping in pain and had one hand to his chest. His breaths came in gulps. I glared at Sandra.
"Pearl," she said in her silky voice, "Your dear Elazul's core is scratched!"
"Pearl..." Elazul choked.
"What now, my pretty?" Sandra continued. "Will you not save your night with tears of compassion?"
What was it with her and tears?
"Don't listen...to her..." Elazul whispered.
"Elazul..." Pearl said, her face sad.
"Sandra," came another voice. "Stop that." I turned my head and saw the strange creature from before waddle in.
Sandra's eyes widened. "The king..." she said, in awe.
"It's pointless to hurt each other," he told her.
"I cannot stand this girl!" Sandra cried, her face furious. "and all the Jumi! Why do you not cry? Answer me, Pearl!"
Pearl shook her head, helpless. "No matter how said... I cannot shed tears. We can't cry!"
"You are incapable of healing!" Sandra spat. "You are just a princess!"
"That's right," Pearl said, sadly. "We Jumi lost our tears many ages ago..."
Sandra sneered. "The Jumi did lose something, but tears it was not... Listen to what your core tells you!" Pearl said nothing, so she continued. "Still you fail to understand. Even you, heiress to the memories of antiquity... Jaded stones who lost their power! Elazul the knight and Pearl the guardian! Both your cores are now mine!"
I leapt to my feet, completely ready to kill her. However, Sandra hesitated and Pearl was whispering to herself... "I don't need the power to heal... Just give me the power to fight!" she looked up at Sandra, her face full of anguish. Then, suddenly, Pearl's whole body lit up, so bright I couldn't bear to look. When the light died, Pearl was not standing there anymore... the woman there was a completely different person...
The woman from the tower... from the room of fate... the woman from Pearl's past wasn't related to Pearl, she was Pearl!
"Blackpearl!" gasped the jewel hunter.
"Do you really wish to battle with me, Sandra?" asked the one called Blackpearl.
"No! I would never do such a..." Sandra panicked and ran to the next room. I followed her, and found that Blackpearl was close behind me.
Sandra, afraid, threw yet another of her jewel beasts at us. It was the same as the others... not as powerful as the one in Geo, but stronger than the one in Leires. I, however, had nothing to worry about. Blackpearl wielded an axe that was bigger than she was! I had time in the fight to study the woman. Was she really Pearl? She had to be... but her core was black...pitch black.
When the beast had been defeated, Sandra ran back into the other room, where Blackpearl cornered her. She looked at the rest of us and said, "I cannot believe she would just throw away someone who is like a sister to her."
"Is Florina alive?" Blackpearl asked, calmly.
"Didn't she always say," Sandra replied, smiling shakily, "'Always find the answer yourself'?"
"I remember..."Blackpearl said, thoughtfully.
"I'll be going now," Sandra said, walking away. "We'll meet again, Jumi knight."
Her eyes locked with Elazul's, and I couldn't look. The pain in his eyes was too great.
"Pearl..." he whispered.
Blackpearl turned towards the downed knight. "Pearl is gone. You are now free, Lapis knight. I am sorry for the pain I caused you." With that, she, too, exited the caverns.
"We must not let this beautiful stone die..." murmured the creature that Sandra had called king. Then he, too, was gone.
"Elazul...come on. I'll get you back to my home," I told him, gently.
He groaned, but managed to get his arms around my neck. Together, we staggered out of the caverns.
It was the middle of the night when we reached home. Knowing his makeshift mattress wasn't very comfortable, I put him on my bed. He was beginning to run a fever, so I put a wet towel over his forehead. Though it brought his fever down, the fact remained that his core had been damaged.
Please don't die, I thought. I sat by his side all night, fearing the worst. When morning came, Bud and Lisa came upstairs and were horrified at the sight.
"I'll go get some medicine!" Lisa said.
"That won't help," he brother told her.
Lisa looked hurt. "How come?" she asked.
"This guy's a Jumi. Medicine doesn't work on them."
"But..." Lisa protested.
Elazul groaned and shifted his weight on my bed. "Pearl..." he murmured.