Legend of the Jumi Part II, Chapter 2
Blue Groom
By The Mana Priestess
PART II: FLORINA
“Blue Gloom” is the name of the tune that plays during Florina’s dream as well as some other parts of the Jumi story.
The cold blue December dusk spilled across the city, flowing between the silent buildings, then paling and dissipating into nothing as it clashed sullenly against the brilliant glow of the jewels set into the pavements of the narrow, circular streets. There was no escape, no rest from the constant light within the city’s premises. But as the city sunk into its lower sectors, inhibited by the commoner Jumi— that nameless, faceless mass of people whose core quality was not as rare and fine as the cores of the Lucidia nobility, and half-Lucidia middle-class— the light of the jewels dimmed a little, they became rare, and their glow could no longer battle the night as effectively.
In a silent, neglected part of these lower sectors, Alex stood leaning against a partially ruined wall with his arms folded across his chest, gazing absently at the pale remnants of the day that flickered in the sky. His eyes, bright in the lingering sunlight, sought the faint pinpoints of stars, but they were too far away, too obscured by the restless glow of the towering city heights, and he could detect nothing except that ever-present halo that brightened the sky into a dim blue color.
Down in these lower sectors, however, the night managed to overcome the light. The Clarius Knight was surrounded by silent buildings, their closed windows dark and opaque against a thickening dusk. It was eerily quiet here; there was no sign of life, no human voices sounded from within the cramped, tiny houses. Before the latest tides of the core-related plagues had hit the city this sector had been the slum area of lower sectors. It was populated by the poorest people of the Jumi society, those who could not afford to move into the higher, safer areas. Even for low-class Jumi this dwelling area was considered bad. For, as in any society, the lower classes, in absence of the tight regulations imposed upon the city above, had created a subsection of community that followed rules entirely of its own devising; and most of the basest and most corrupt activities concentrated in these low-level eastern slums. The policing authorities never frequented this part of the city. The criminal activities festering in the slums did not truly provide a great amount of trouble to the ruling classes, and consequently remained largely ignored by the ruling authorities, who were entirely occupied with ever-increasing tides of trouble plaguing the higher sectors.
Of late, however, even this part of the city had quieted down. The desolation haunting the city as its population was slowly decimated into a mere two thousand has become woefully apparent everywhere. The main cause of this was Core Waning, one of the various core-related illnesses that has been pervading the city for over three hundred years.
Core Waning was an illness characterized by a sudden loss of energy. Victims of the illness would suddenly become weak for no apparent reason; the first loss of energy was usually followed by fever, and the sick person would have bad dreams and delusions before they succumbed to a slow process of dying that involves a general apathy and, eventually, a lack of recognition of one’s surrounding. The illness was always associated with a dimming of the core and an eventual extinguishing of its light. When the light was completely quenched, the Jumi would die.
The process of the Core Waning and its variation had been thoroughly researched and described in many volumes by Jumi medical scholars; what none of them could clearly identify was its source. It was a centuries-old sickness that has become worse in the last three hundred years, and some attributed it to the slow-accumulating after-effect of the Jumi’s drying cores; but no one could prove for certain whether the theory was correct. The Core Waning was the primary reason why Elazul found the city population reduced upon his return, and why Florina’s strength had been sapped quickly compared to previous Clarius. She was a relatively young Clarius, and normally she shouldn’t have been in such a bad condition relative to the few years she had served; but the more recent outbreaks of Core Waning caused her energy to be sapped with frightening speed.
The Jumi royalty gave precedence to the sick of the upper classes, and largely abandoned the lower classes as the number of people inflicted with various core-related illnesses increased and the pressure on the Clarius and other Jumi healers mounted. The commoner Jumi thus lost a large percentage of their population in the various tides of Core Waning that plagued the city.
Diana, whose initial ascent to power has been largely achieved because she bestowed the low-class Jumi with voting rights, had made, at first, some attempts to dispatch aid to the commoners during times of trouble. But as the problems increased her attempts gradually grew half-hearted, until she abandoned them completely, and left the commoners to manage the best they could with their own handful of healers.
The significant reduction in population caused the commoner Jumi to abandon the lower city and ascend to its better upper parts; and only the most base of people now hibernated in the slums lying beneath the spiraling avenues. Even Elazul, who hated the constant light of the upper sectors, and had nothing to fear from anyone, never liked to frequent these desolated, dark places. While well-acquainted with vice, that he frequently encountered in his travels among the humans, his ascetic tastes were revolted from it when he met it in his own kind; as if— despite his unvoiced belief in this fact— the confirmation that Jumi were still very much alike humans even in their depravity and impurities jarred to him.
Alex, standing among the destitute and deadly silent houses, knew of all of this. He did not worry much about the prospect of encountering the disreputable Jumi inhibiting the slums; but his particular interest did not lie with those Jumi. The silence and ruins were, for him, mute witnesses to the corruption to which this city, the city that he wholeheartedly hated sometimes, had sunk to.
This city changed me, he thought, and the smile that stole to his lips was bitter, acidic. Nothing used to disturb me before I came to this accursed place, nothing marred my serene belief in the inevitable, nothing altered my deeply-ingrained dislike towards all of humanity. So I could see people dying, bodies slashed apart brutally, and I accepted these things without question, nay, with detachment, and with very little remorse for the dying. I had the power to heal them, and if they died, the chance I had given them was wasted. It was fate.
This was before I met them, who finally made me care about someone other than myself.
Damn you Florina. Damn you, Elazul.
And strangely, Alex reflected with the cynicism deeply ingrained in his nature, this love that I now feel increases my hatred towards everyone else twicefold, makes me wish to destroy this city, that uses one person mercilessly, with the same coldness that I myself would have approved of had it been anyone else but either of THEM.
Yes, I myself would have approved of these cold-hearted policies of theirs, Alex thought, and the green eyes suddenly widened with the strange, almost dazing realization. I could have run this city with the same relentless efficiency that SHE does. Perhaps this is yet another reason why loath her so much. In her, I see my mirror image; I have to witness it every day, have to bear with it as it wounds those I love; that heartless, brutal part of me.
Alex gave up the vain quest to look for the stars and turned towards the grey, broken wall, watching the darkness of the desolated slums.
Damn you… damn you, Black Pearl.
It was a night in early December. Elazul, on palace duty, wandered about its wide corridors. Chancing to pass near the stairway leading to the luxurious top floor, that consisted of the spacious suits reserved for the palace dwellers, he recalled that Florina had been unwell for the last two or three days, and decided to pay a visit and see how she was faring.
He was not surprised to discover Alex sitting on a chair just outside the door of Florina’s room. The Clarius Knight’s head was supported by his hand, that rested against the arm of the deep velvet chair, and his eyes were closed. Elazul paused for a moment, and observed that the Alex’s face was very white, and that lines of weariness marred the narrow countenance. He approached quietly, but Alex, ever-alert, immediately opened his eyes and glanced at him. A weary smile welcomed Elazul, but Alex did not say anything for a moment.
“Can I see Florina?” asked Elazul as he came to stand before Alex.
“I think that you can,” answered Alex. “She has been sleeping for the last few hours, but she woke up an hour ago and took her supper.”
“Why are you outside?” Elazul asked, leaning against the wall at the chair’s side with his hands behind his back, and glancing at Alex.
“Florina ordered me out,” answered Alex. He yawned profusely and crossed his arms behind his neck, shifting his body in the chair. “She claims that I make her feel morbid, and threw me out with an injunction to come back when I cheer up.”
Elazul raised an eyebrow at this, but said nothing. Alex discerned this expression and uttered a short laugh that Elazul privately considered a little harsh. “Oh, you know how insufferable I can be! Anyway, I’ve had maybe five hours’ worth of sleep in the last two days and I’m pretty much an unstrung wreck, and I can’t seem to fall asleep either. But can you imagine the ungratefulness of that woman?”
“Well, you can be rather intolerable, Alex,” answered Elazul severely. “I have no idea why I myself still put up with you.”
Alex gave a small laugh and stretched carelessly. “Thank you, Lapis Lazuli,” he answered. “I like you too. And though I acknowledge this damning judgement on your part, I still happen to like me very well.” He considered his answer for a moment, his eyes on the ceiling, then yawned again and added, “Of course, if anyone else was like me I would have to kill them.”
Elazul made no answer; after a pause he said, “I am glad that Florina is better.”
“I am too,” agreed Alex. Elazul noted that his tone was curiously detached, and he reflected that Alex did not seem himself; but as he attributed it to the accumulation of fatigue he made no comment upon this behavior. He perceived that Alex had lowered his head a little and leant back in the chair, his weariness seeming to overtake him. Lingering, he glanced at him; but Alex remained silent, his eyes closed. After yet another moment he was breathing softly and regularly.
“Alex,” said Elazul quietly. He received no reply and Elazul reasoned that he was asleep. He observed the Clarius knight, whose face, relaxed in that childlike repose, appeared deceptively angelic, and a smile edged his mouth. Then he turned and knocked on the door of Florina’s room.
Florina’s soft voice greeted him, and he pushed the door open and entered the spacious suit. The only light in the suit was from a small lamp burning by Florina’s bed, whose wavering glow created soft, moving shadows. The Clarius’ thin body was concealed under her thick blankets, but discerning Elazul she immediately straightened and motioned him to come closer. In the huge old-fashioned bed with the heavy, rippling blue covers the frail young woman appeared like a small, lost figure inside a vast pool of water.
Elazul seated himself on a chair at her side and examined Florina. She was pale, but after he expressed his satisfaction at seeing her well again she answered in a strong enough voice, her sweet smile illuminating her features: “I am so glad that you came to see me, Elazul.”
“It’s my pleasure,” answered Elazul warmly. Florina then inquired for news, which Elazul supplied her to his best knowledge; but as he was not the best source for gossip, the subject lasted for a very short duration. After it concluded, Elazul said: “Alex fell asleep on the chair outside. I wonder if you’ll mind sharing your bed tonight, Florina?”
An unholy light entered Florina’s eyes. “At last, my dear! Do feel free to share this bed with me.” She patted the blanket besides her invitingly, adding, “As you can see, there’s plenty of room.”
“I can tell that you’re feeling better, Florina,” Elazul remarked dryly. “What would Alex say if I comply to this interesting offer?”
“Alex is asleep and will never know,” answered Florina wickedly. “And serves Alex right for all those vile medicines that I am forced to drink.”
“Vile medicines for a vile woman, Florina,” Alex’s voice said from the door. He strode into the room with a quick step and immediately threw himself on the bed, pulling one of the heavy blankets off Florina and wrapping it around himself. “I am going to sleep now,” he announced testily. “And I would appreciate no further interruptions. Good night.”
Elazul smiled wryly and rose to his feet. “I guess that I’ll leave now.”
Florina sighed. “So soon?” she asked. “Just as I was feeling happy again.”
Alex, for his part, opened one eye and measured Elazul speculatively. “Are you still here, Elazul?” he asked warningly. “Out, I said. Out, out, out!” He yawned, adding, “You can join us later if you wish to.” And upon this conclusion he rolled onto his back and pulled the cover over his head until he was completely concealed from view.
Florina stifled a laugh but nodded her head towards the door; and Elazul obeyed, closing the door quietly. After a pause Florina said softly: “Alex!”
There was no reply. Florina pulled back the blanket and discovered that Alex had fallen asleep. A smile trembled on her lips, and she arranged the blankets around Alex’s body. “Dear Alex,” she sighed.
The next morning Florina woke up to find Alex sitting on the chair by the window and staring outside into the morning skies. He was supporting his chin with his delicate hand and his dark eyes, illuminated by the sunlight, appeared a lucid green. Florina studied the sharp, fine profile silently, and suddenly wondered how long Alex will be able to stay in the city. Not for long, she suddenly reasoned, feeling a sadness stealing over her for Alex, who in the last few months had become like the dearly beloved sibling that she never had.
Alex finally perceived that Florina was awake and glanced at her. “You look much healthier today, Florina,” he observed, turning in the chair.
“Good,” she replied. “It’s a little exasperating to always look like a haggard, sad spectacle and have people ask you after your health, as if this is what you were constantly thinking about!”
“Personally, I can’t see how you can endure it,” Alex said tartly. “Anyway, I can see that my new concoction helped. I was worried that it might not have, but it seems pretty effective after all.”
Florina bestowed a smile of genuine gratefulness on him. “Indeed it had! You’ve a true talent for medication, Alex.”
He gave a derisive smile and shrugged with an indifferent air. “Perhaps, I don’t know. As long as it helps you I’m glad. Otherwise, it’s not that important.”
“It saved more than one life,” Florina pointed out gently. “And one of them was very important to you, as I know.”
“Hm,” was all that Alex replied.
Florina leant against her pillow, looking down for a moment with a meditative gaze; then she said slowly: “Alex, I was thinking of suggesting that you use your medications on Jumi who experience Core Waning.”
Alex did not answer her for a moment, and a dark, abstracted look stole into his bright eyes. “I don’t think that I wish you to do that,” he finally answered.
Florina examined Alex’s countenance. “Why not?” she asked quietly.
“Because I don’t wish to help those who advocate the way that you are used,” Alex answered moodily, his eyes fixed on some indefinite point in the chaste skies of the morning.
This was not the first time such a comment surfaced. Florina heaved a secret sigh, but said softly, “It will help to relieve their suffering, Alex.”
He made no answer, but his expression was morose now. Florina, perceiving this, offered no further remark. She leant back against the bed and closed her eyes, feeling the weariness of several days’ illness pervading her body again; and Alex remained likewise silent, mulling Florina’s suggestion in his mind. But, his mouth thinning, he said with sudden, quiet fury: “No, no, no! I shall not.”
Lately Florina had been often called to tend Jumi afflicted with Core Waning, and her attacks of illness increased with alarming frequently; and every time she took to bed again Alex seemed angrier, a direct opposition to his generally easygoing, level-headed manner. His mood, of late strangely changeable, became autocratic, and his uncivil tongue lashed out brutally at anyone unlucky enough to cross him. The only people he would tolerate at those times were Florina herself and Elazul, who would never allow Alex to sustain such behavior towards himself.
Elazul’s equally merciless retorts to Alex’s malicious taunts ironically served to restore Alex to his usual good-humor; but the moment Elazul would be gone Alex would become restless again, and Florina, though she tried not to show it, felt greatly disturbed by this erratic behavior. Alex seemed to be mulling some ideas in his head, constantly cross-questioning her about the Tower of Leires and the angel legend again until Florina herself felt exhausted and tried by his frame of mind. Alex noticed this. “I am a great trial to you, aren’t I, my dear?” he asked her one day with a caustic smile. She made no answer and he left the room, vanishing for three whole days to some obscure corner of the city known only to himself. Florina called Elazul and begged him to find Alex and tell him that she asked for his forgiveness. She felt guilt-stricken for doing so, for she could perceive that Alex’s mood was affecting Elazul as well, and further aggravating Elazul’s recent habit of occasionally avoiding Alex; but she felt that she had no other choice, and told him so. Elazul took her hand and comforted her. “Don’t ever worry about coming for help to me, Florina,” he told her.
She looked at him with a tremulous smile. After he left she said to herself, for no apparent reason, “Poor Elazul.”
It took Elazul a little while to discover where Alex had gone to and burrow him out of his self-imposed solitude. But, following upon clues, he finally directed his steps towards the lower eastern slums.
When passing one of the sealed buildings in that hauntingly desolate district, he thought he could see the shadow of a person from inside, appearing as a silhouette that moved against the window. The slender figure and sharp profile were familiar to Elazul, and he immediately guessed it to be Alex. Approaching the house, he pushed the door open and entered.
He found Alex sitting crouched against the wall. Alex made no motion to rise even as Elazul approached him, but kept flipping something between his hands that looked like a dirty bundle of clothes. When Elazul finally paused and stood before him, he looked up and smiled, tossing the thing to him. Elazul caught it instinctively, and discovered it to be a semi-dismembered doll made largely out of spare rags. It must have been ugly even before it was mutilated, patched up clumsily by an uncertain hand; and after lying in the musty house for a long while, it was pitifully hideous.
“Must have belonged to some child,” Alex said, without waiting for Elazul to speak. “Just one of many who died here.”
Elazul said nothing but stood clutching the ugly thing, his eyes fixed on Alex.
Alex now rose to his feet and turned to the wall, supporting himself against it with his outstretched hands, his head hung low.
“I know what you came here for,” he said over his shoulder. “Tell Florina that I’m sorry, but I need some time alone.”
“I can’t do that,” answered Elazul evenly.
Alex said nothing, and Elazul continued: “I think you should go back and apologize to her, Alex.”
“Well,” replied Alex, the tone of his voice now acquiring that arrogant, dismissive quality that Elazul so disliked in him, “I am not going to; not yet. I’ll do it— but at my own time.”
Elazul, searching for an answer, struggled with conflicting feelings. His pity for Florina’s distress was enforced by his anger at Alex for that selfishness that he knew was ingrained in the Clarius Knight’s soul; but these emotions battled with that peculiar sympathy that Alex always elicited from him, the feeling that, as different as he and Alex were, they were also akin to each other in some deeply meaningful way. He longed to bestow a good verbal lashing on Alex, to shake the Alexandrite out of that self-serving, careless selfishness; but looking at Alex’s turned back and the rag doll in his hand he knew that, somehow, he could not.
Alex became aware of Elazul’s silence; and suddenly begun to speak.
“Do you know, Elazul, that I changed since I came to this city? I lost that indifference that made me so tranquil, that enabled me to accept life with detachment. I used to be able to face death without caring much about the fate of the people who suffered from it; but now I can’t watch one person die without feeling an anger that I had never thought possible in myself.”
Elazul remained silent. He knew that no reply was required.
Alex continued to speak with a peculiar tranquility that Elazul found disquieting, even a little eerie. “I hate this city, Elazul. This city is full of people who have all accepted a way of life that is based upon my own philosophy; they learned to cope with the cold hand of fate. They all accepted the logical rationale of deliberately killing one person for their own sake; they sealed their emotions and taught themselves not to care, because all they think of is themselves. And let me tell you this: it’s not pleasant to see your own reflection multiplied time and time again and applied to a whole frame of a society, and this society your own. It becomes a nightmare; a huge gaping mask, a monster staring at you with your own eyes. I hate it, and I hate myself because of it!”
Alex now uttered a short, angry laugh. “I always thought that I could accept my own cold-heartedness. But I found that I cannot accept it when it becomes the philosophy of a whole society, a society that I wished to go back to, believing it will provide me with a place of my own in the world. Instead I found the irony turned upon myself, the world becoming one single, vicious joke at my expense. But, Elazul, I am determined not to let it continue this way. A society that contains people like me surviving and people like Florina dying is a society that ought not to exist!”
“Don’t, Alex,” said Elazul suddenly. “Don’t talk this way.” And moving towards Alex, he touched the Clarius Knight’s shoulder. But Alex said sharply, “Stop!”
Elazul paused, but said nothing, and withdrew his hand. Alex uttered another short laugh, passing his hand over his eyes. “Impossible, aren't I, Elazul? Tell Florina I’ll be back soon.”
But Elazul had caught a glimpse of his profile, and though he had not made a comment upon it, he had been shocked to see tears sliding down Alex’s face.
It was the habit of wealthy Jumi families of high rank to occasionally venture into the outside world as a special privilege. The license for visits outside the city had to be requested ahead and approved by the high council. On these occasions, the family would be required to be escorted by at least one member of the elite royal guard; and the more high-ranking the family, the more skilled the knight that the council obliged to accompany them.
It was almost the middle of December, several weeks after Elazul had met Sapphire. Elazul was informed that Rubens required his presence; and upon repairing to Rubens’ office, he was told by the councilor that he will be accompanying Sapphire’s family for a three-day visit to a nearby town.
“And as you know,” Rubens added, after conveying minute instructions to Elazul regarding his duties towards the family, “Sapphire, as the prospective future Clarius, requires a special attention.”
Elazul knew about the high honor and distinction this kind of a duty conferred upon a knight; but he didn’t feel particularly interested in it or grateful for it. His replies were dry and to the point.
“I’ll keep it in mind, Sir.”
Rubens regarded him with some attention; then, keeping his tone carefully neutral, he said: “I have noticed that you were talking to Sapphire at various times these last few weeks.”
“I did, Sir,” answered Elazul. “She is a friend of Emeralda’s.”
“And what do you think of her?” Rubens prompted.
He noticed that the young knight’s eyes glanced towards him with a guarded expression, and immediately wondered whether he should have approached the question less directly. But Elazul replied casually enough, “She’s a very nice girl. I like her very well.”
This comment, uttered in a noncommittal way, did not satisfy Rubens; but, familiar with Elazul’s reserved nature, and mindful of the need of approaching him cautiously, he refrained from responding to it directly. He said, returning to his authoritative, practical manner: “Well, then I am glad that you feel this way about Sapphire, and I am sure that you would guard her well. Her value is high for us, Elazul, and I want you to keep at her side at all times.”
Elazul privately considered this kind of a vigilance a trifle exaggerated for a mere three-day visit, but he accepted Rubens’ instructions without comment. He felt that going out into the world for a while and breathing some fresh air might serve to clear his mind a little; and as he liked Sapphire, he did not mind spending some time getting to know her better.
Two days later, Elazul met the family that he was supposed to escort to the outside world. He had already met the three girls of the family, and, as he did not particularly warm up to either Amethyst or Marina, he was not prepared to like their parents. He discovered that the father, brother to the former Clarius, was a pleasant-manned enough man; but his wife was a haughty woman full of self-importance and affectation. Elazul disliked her almost at once.
He could quickly perceive the position that Sapphire, the socially important but silent cousin, had in her family. The mother regarded her with disdain that stemmed, Elazul guessed, from jealousy of her consequence and high-quality jewel; and her daughters, as he had already observed, treated her with indifference that sometimes spilled over into careless hints of maliciousness. Her easy-going uncle, too insensitive to perceive this situation, did not bother to correct it.
Elazul could instantly discern that his dislike was returned by the lady of the family; and despite the covert glances flashed towards him by Amethyst, her mother seemed determined to distance both her and Marina from him as much as politeness would allow. Elazul quickly guessed that she knew about his ‘reputation’ and was determined to shield her daughters from his presence, but this made so little difference to him that he made no hint of objection, and no sign of being insulted. Rubens’ instructions served him better than he had foreseen, for he reflected that keeping close to Sapphire was a good excuse to escape affecting interest in her aunt and cousins.
But what drew Elazul’s attention was Sapphire’s greeting of him— or rather, her lack of it. She was suddenly closed up and quiet, and he could barely draw two words out of her; this was unlike her behavior during the last two weeks, in which she would greet him with shy familiarity and even a growing hint of friendliness. Recalling that she had conducted herself in much the same way when he first met her in her cousins’ presence, he put this behavior down to the disagreeable proximity of her family, and expected to draw her out of it soon enough.
He stayed by her side for the entire first day of travel with this intention; but, to his surprise and some chagrin, her silent treatment of him continued. Sapphire rarely opened her mouth except to answer remarks addressed towards her by any member of her family, and as these were rare, she spoke very little; and nothing that Elazul could say could draw her out of her sudden fit of silence. Elazul had the distinct impression that she seemed to derive very little gratification from his presence, and by being the specific object of his particular observance she furthermore became the target of the intense envy of her two cousins— each of whom seemed to be privately reflecting that had SHE the distinction of being endowed with personal attentions from this handsome knight of the royal guard, SHE wouldn’t have behaved with that insupportable dullness exhibited by their cousin.
Elazul’s particular concern, however, was over Sapphire’s behavior; and though he still did not know her very well, he found that her estranged behavior disquieted him.
They reached the town in the evening, and lodged in the pre-prepared facilities inside a beautiful inn frequented by wealthy travelers. Elazul summoned the family on the next morning and recited the specific instructions about the proper clothing and behavior that will serve to conceal the fact that they are Jumi. He also laid out the strict schedule accorded to them by the council; they could wander out together, but had to report to him every three hours at the inn.
By the end of the lecture Marina was stifling a yawn, and Elazul immediately called her to attention. “Were you paying heed to anything I said?” he asked sternly.
She looked startled by this sudden inquiry, but answered with inconsequential lightness. “Oh, I did, certainly!”
“Then please repeat my instructions,” he told her.
Marina grimaced petulantly, but obeyed; and her performance, as Elazul expected, was far from confident. He listened to her in silence, and when she finished he said, “You missed a few crucial details. Please try again.”
He was rewarded with a disdainful stare from her mother, who apparently reflected that he was impertinent in transgressing his proper social boundaries; but she did not dare to object because she knew that the council would side with Elazul in any matter that regarded their safety. Marina, for her part, darted a look of resentment at him. She had never been taken with Elazul as much as her elder sister, and considered his present severity excessively mean-natured. But she suddenly discovered that she was also a little afraid of crossing the Lapis Lazuli knight, and she launched upon another half-hearted effort.
“You still forgot too many details,” Elazul informed her curtly when she finished. “Sapphire, tell me what you derived out of the instructions.”
Sapphire, startled at this sudden address, looked up at Elazul with an expression that appeared mildly bemused, displacing the vague air with which she had treated him the previous day; and Elazul was secretly pleased that he was able to disconcert her into this alteration. He directed a small smile towards her, but she fixed her eyes on the floor and, after a moment of hesitation, she begun to recount what she recalled from his lecture.
“You BOTH haven’t been listening to a word I said, have you?” asked Elazul dryly when Sapphire finished her uncertain recital. “Well, then, I will have to repeat my instructions again, per the council’s orders.”
Sapphire, who had been looking at a point past his shoulder with vague indifference, suddenly looked up as he spoke; and Elazul, who scrutinized her expression, was pleased to see the beginning of a smile flitting across her pale face. It vanished as soon as it begun, and she looked down and fixed her eyes on her shoes, but it left Elazul feeling cautiously reassured at the apparent change of her mood.
The rest of the family looked far from inclined to be amused as they were rewarded with another half-hour of minute instructions; and then Elazul, feeling weary himself of all this formality, released them. But he arrested Sapphire’s arm as she turned to go.
“You must pay attention, or I will be in trouble,” he told her. “You understand me, Sapphire?”
“Yes,” she answered quietly.
“What is wrong?” he asked her after a moment of silence, during which he was regarding her steadily. “Did something happen, Sapphire?”
She was standing with her eyes fixed on the floor, the corners of her tragic little mouth sloping downwards. Elazul suddenly begun to sense something else in her demeanor, a vague conveyance of disapproval, and it disturbed him slightly.
“Did I offend you in some way?” he asked her. “Please tell me.”
Sapphire startled at this direct question, the fingers of her delicate hands lacing nervously. “No— I— no,” she stammered with confusion. “It’s just that—“
But she became silent again, her eyes averted; and then she said, a faint color suddenly tainting her white face, “I— think that I wish to go into the town now, Elazul.” And, avoiding Elazul’s eyes, she begun to move towards the door.
This strange exchange increased Elazul’s unease, but he was disinclined to press his inquiry on Sapphire, with whom he had been acquainted, after all, for barely a month. For a fleeting moment he had the distinct impression that she had been about to say something important; and he was left with an apprehension that she knew something that he did not. He decided to keep at her side and to refrain from his attempt to heal the breach, reasoning that, if Sapphire wished it, she would do this herself.
His uneasy suspicions increased from a snatch of conversation that he caught carried on between Sapphire’s cousins on that very day, as Sapphire and himself were walking near them in the town square.
“Oh, I know why you don’t like it, Ami!” he heard Marina whisper.
“Be quiet, Marina,” Amethyst ordered with cold ire. “After all, we both know why it’s happening, and besides, I don’t believe for a moment that—“ But here she suddenly noticed Elazul and Sapphire and turned away abruptly. Marina, apparently unabashed, pressed her small hand to her mouth to conceal a giggle and darted an impudent glance at Elazul from beneath her long lashes.
Sapphire had said nothing, but another uncharacteristic wave of color tinged her cheeks, which plainly showed that she had heard this conversation and understood its import; and Elazul had noticed this reaction on her part.
Despite the fact that Elazul served as Sapphire’s constant bodyguard, the silence between them continued that whole day. Her mood in trailing the narrow streets of the town was, if nothing else, listless; and after a while, suddenly feeling that his presence was a burden on her, he agreed to let her go by herself if she reports to him every half-an-hour; and he was obliged to stay in the town square and amuse himself the best that he could. The strange schedule wearied him, and the days of the vacation were rapidly becoming an exercise in monotony, relieved only by his free evenings.
On that evening Elazul, staying up late, exited to breath some fresh winter air after his supper. It was ten o’clock, and the family had gone to sleep; and though he was required to watch over their door from midnight to five in the morning, he had two free hours between ten and twelve in which he could venture out into the town. He was preparing himself to take a stroll in the streets of the town, and made an exit towards the direction of the town square (though he was beginning to loath it by that point), when a figure of a girl traveling in the same direction arrested his eyes. The street-lamps allowed him to see that she was wearing a cloak that appeared dark blue in color, but he might not have thought this important had he not been prepared to pass her on the road; and, as chance had it, his eyes alighted on her face as he did so. He immediately paused in astonishment, his hand shooting out and grabbing her arm.
“What do you think you are doing, Sapphire?” he asked, turning her towards him with a quick motion of his hand.
She seemed in shock to be suddenly handled this way, and, immediately realizing who it was, she turned rather pale and stared at him without a word. Elazul was regarding her grimly, awaiting an explanation, but she remained silent, her eyes lowering before his stern expression.
“Answer me,” he ordered.
Sapphire opened her mouth. “I—“
Elazul, perceiving that she was upset, relented at once. “If you wished to go out, you should have told me,” he said, more gently now.
She remained silent. A little exasperated now, he continued: “Well, then, I’m afraid that I must escort you back to the inn. And,” he added, “I will have to warn you that the council strictly forbids this kind of a behavior, Sapphire. If they knew that you ventured out alone, they will not permit you to go out of the city again.“
“Please—” said Sapphire, in a low voice, “Please don’t—“
Elazul raised an eyebrow. “What?”
Sapphire looked up. “Don’t tell them— I —“
“I won’t, if you promise me not to do it again,” Elazul answered flatly.
She said nothing and Elazul, discerning that she was not going to speak, turned around and told her to follow him. She obeyed, and they reached the inn within a few minutes of walking. But instead of going inside, Elazul seated himself on a bench and indicated to Sapphire to sit likewise. Once again she followed his instructions, settling at his side with her eyes on the earth at her feet. The night was cold, the skies over their heads a deep velvet blue in which the pale moon floated aimlessly.
“Listen, Sapphire,” Elazul begun quietly. “I want you to explain to me what’s wrong.”
She remained silent. Elazul leant forward and peered into her face. “Look at me,” he said, his voice commanding, though a wry smile suddenly pulled at his mouth. “I can’t speak to people who won’t even look at me as if they were offended by the very sight of me.”
At this she raised her head. “No, no—“ she said softly. But then she suddenly paused and looked down again. “I—“ she stammered, “Elazul, you— you must— you must stop it. You— I didn’t think that you could— behave like— that.“
Elazul was taken a back for a moment. He didn’t understand this strange accusation or her manner of uttering it, and after a pause he said, very deliberately, “What do you mean?”
She lowered her eyes again, but Elazul suddenly leant towards her and caught her arm. “Sapphire,” he said abruptly, “I want to know what you meant when you criticized my behavior.”
“But— you— you know!” she said miserably, her white face flushed, her voice very low.
“No, I don’t,” Elazul replied. “What is it, Sapphire?”
She looked up again, and he could see that she was torn between anxiety and uncertainty. “You— you must know,” she stammered. “For my uncle and aunt told me that you do. The council decided to— to arrange this outing so that— we can get acquainted further. For they mean to make you my— my knight— soon— when I come of age at the end of the winter.”
Elazul could only stare at her at this announcement; and Sapphire continued with stumbling haste, her voice having a tinge of anguish now, “And I— I don’t like it, because I won’t— won’t have them— deciding for me. Except that my aunt told me that the Clarius has no decision in this matter anyway—but I— I don’t wish for a knight!” She looked up, but the expression on Elazul’s face frightened her a little, and she ceased a further attempt to speak. She watched the Lapis Lazuli, whose blue eyes were dark and brooding with a mixture of emotions, chief of whom was a simmering fury; and suddenly feeling chilled at his aspect, she faltered: “I am so sorry, Elazul! I did not mean to insult you! I like you very well, but I don’t— I don’t—“
Elazul looked towards her. To Sapphire it seemed that he had momentarily forgotten her presence, and only recalled her when she spoke; but as he beheld her pitiful aspect his expression softened.
“It’s all right, Sapphire,” he answered, and his voice was surprisingly calm. “You don’t have to— to—“ and he uttered a sudden laugh that surprised Sapphire. “To apologize! I am not at all insulted that you don’t wish to have me for your knight.”
“I am glad,” she said simply. “Please understand that I don’t wish for a knight, not one forced on me this way.”
“Is there anyone else that you wish to have for your knight, then?” asked Elazul, watching her closely. “Someone that you would accept in a different way?”
But Sapphire shook her head, a slight color rising to her cheek. “No, not at present. But—“ she cast down her eyes, her fingers clutching each other tightly— “I am afraid of what they could do and say, if I refuse!”
Elazul extended his hand suddenly, covering Sapphire’s small hand with his fingers. “You don’t have to worry, Sapphire,” he said grimly. “For I swear that I will not let them bully you into consenting to become my guardian.”
She glanced up. “Thank you,” she answered softly. Her color deepened and she said wistfully, “When I— when I do have a knight— I wish it to be someone that I love.”
“I understand very well,” replied Elazul quietly. “For I feel the same way.” He pressed her hand with a sudden, spontaneous smile. “Sapphire, I never had any siblings, and I lost my father a long time ago. But lately I felt that I have acquired a family again, here in the city. Lady Florina is like an older sister to me. And you, Sapphire, I feel almost as if you might be a younger sister, for you have a little of what I recall from my mother’s manner. She had dark hair and blue eyes, like you do; people say that I look like her.”
Sapphire watched him. “Thank you, Elazul,” she said, almost voicelessly. “I feel that you are someone I would have liked for a brother.” Her soft smile appeared, lighting her beautiful eyes, and she offered timidly, “And what about Alex?”
Elazul was surprised. He withdrew his hand and Sapphire noticed that a strange expression entered his eyes. But after a moment he looked up at her and a smile twisted his mouth.
“Alex,” he replied, “is my personal bane.”
Upon returning to the city, Elazul went to Rubens and informed him in no uncertain terms that he had discovered the council’s intent and that he had decided (choosing his words with careful civility, for he deeply respected the high councilor) to refuse the offer. Rubens listened silently and, upon Elazul’s concluding his speech, merely said that he would ask Elazul to think upon this matter, and that meanwhile he would not tell Diana of this turn of events. Elazul informed him that his mind was made up and took a concise, polite leave, not feeling very reassured upon the council’s intent, and trying not to think over what might happen next.
He resisted the urge to unburden this matter to Alex, whom he had no doubt had known about this long before Sapphire’s disclosure; but he decided against it, feeling disinclined to discuss such a matter with Alex for some reason. He could already imagine Alex telling him, in the usual derisive way, to accept the council’s gracious offer; and as he knew that the subject of Black Pearl would come up eventually during the conversation, he felt a strong urge to avoid it.
Alex heard about the whole event from Florina some days later, and guessed Elazul’s reasons for not discussing it; but he kept his thoughts to himself, plainly reading Elazul’s mind. He remembered his own prediction about Diana’s planned coercion, and, like Elazul, knew that this was not the end of the Sapphire matter yet.
Comment: Two polls, for I do like to know what my readers think:
Ever wonder what Alex from the Legend of the Jumi looks like? Due to the peculiar nature of the Japanese Alex, I actually discovered a wonderful LoM douj drawing that fits my Alex perfectly. Thanks goes to the maintainer of S*A*N*D*R*A for her permission to use it.
As a commentary for those who DO know about the differences between the Japanese and U.S. Alex: Alex in this story is based on the U.S. version, NOT the Japanese version. This generated some confusion in regards to how Alex will be paired up, so I felt a need to clarify it.
Here’s something I also need to mention: the Jumi, apparently, don't reproduce biologically (something I didn't know until chapter 3, and decided to ignore in my story— no biological reproduction, no sex, no sexual tension, meaning less fun, you know). Instead they somehow form around their respective cores, and can stay alive as long as the core is whole, hence the whole ending bit in LoM (again, in my story they die natural deaths, as if the core finally weakens, only having extended lives because of the cores).
I didn’t know all this because it’s never mentioned, and Esmeralda has ‘sisters’. In my story, the reproduction method is obviously biological, hence allowing for a human-Jumi mix of the girl in the prologue (another reason I ignored the ‘real’ Jumi reproduction pattern). Thus, Snow and Sapphire (and everyone else) have parents. I guess than in LoM this explains why there are so few Jumi, in addition to the fact that they were hunted; the number of Jumi stones is obviously limited.
And here’s something I should have added at the beginning of the story. The Angel legend is actually not of my own makings; it is included in the Legend of Mana history encyclopedia section. The gist of it was that 7 angels came to aid the faeries in their war against the human mages and that one of them came to the Jumi, and never returned to the heavens with the rest. I could immediately see the potential of this detail to replace that rather inane ‘Lord of Jewels’ monster plot of the original Jumi story, so I added the details of the angel actually being the one to teach the Jumi their healing tears, and added the Jumi legend about the angel’s coming back to heal them, which will obviously trigger the final event.
.
