When Pearl got home, Ophelia was still out with Mrs. Rose, for another 'scholarly assignment', she had a lot of those nowadays. Pearl picked up the book and decided to give it a try, it was a journal alright. Grocery lists, personal appointments, those sorts of things. Did this belong to another librarian? What was she supposed to learn here?
As she read with disinterest, she stumbled upon a section describing a strange event in the author's life. His description and shock reminded Pearl of her first encounter with Mrs. Rose. Realization clicked. Could this be the reason why she was told to volunteer for the library? Did Mrs. Harry know something about people like Mrs. Rose? People like her?
Ophelia walked in, putting an abrupt end to her stream of thoughts. She was so happy that Pearl was a bit jealous. Pearl had to read a long, boring library book, prepare for tests, clean out catacombs and fight a 'healer' which only meant fighting someone who could beat her up as much as she wanted to, justifying her actions by her ability to fix her up immediately afterwards and Ophelia was busy having the time of her life.
'Where did you go today?' Pearl asked.
'The other side of the woods' Ophelia replied.
That meant the forest on the other side of the clear river that ran alongside the road they usually trekked. Ophelia loved strolls, but it had been awhile since any of them had gone that way.
'That's nice' Pearl was distant again, she had to be. She avoided Ophelia the rest of the day, not like Ophelia even cared and went to bed early. She was tired enough.
Amber came later, and knocked on their door, stirring Pearl who had just started sleeping. Ophelia answered, while Pearl struggled to get back to sleep.
'Do you know where we kept the chess board?' Amber asked. Apparently, Suzy, who was an avid chess fan had convinced Amber to get theirs for her.
'Sure' Ophelia led the way and they both left Pearl in the room.
Alone, in the fading light of dusk, Pearl could finally get some much needed sleep.
The night passed without incident. Mrs. Rose didn't come, and it was a good thing too. Pearl now had only days till her big test. She was, however, unable to continue reading her book or even go back to the library.
Pearl had other appointments that kept her very busy, namely the yearly drawing lessons that she had saved up and paid for much before the entire affair she now had to endure had even started.
For this reason, she took an excuse from Benjamin.
'I'm sorry, I won't be able to work the rest of this week'
'Why?' He had asked, looking quite disturbed.
'I have those drawing lessons'
'Oh' he knew about them, then he looked around, as though deep in thought. Finally, he said what disturbed him.
'Will Amber be coming?' He blushed, realizing how he sounded 'I mean, in your place' then gave a small self satisfied nod, as though internally justifying the question.
'No, I'm sorry' Pearl smiled sadly.
'Of course' he stuttered.
Suzy wasn't around when she informed Benjamin so he would have to tell her. Pearl ended up spending most of her time that week drawing and hardly any reading. On the eve of the test, she finally got out the blue-backed journal and rushed over it. Its contents stunned her, the realization Mrs. Harry was Mr. Guilever's wife left a lot of questions buzzing in her head and these materialized themselves in her dreams.
The dreams were not altogether pleasant, so she was relieved to find they had just been dreams when she was shaken awake by Mrs. Rose, who had finally come after days of absence.
'Have you read all the books?' Was her whispered question to a groggy Pearl.
'No' Pearl's first reply was honest. Then she recovered herself. 'Yes' she quickly lied.
'It can't be both, '' Mrs Rose said, sitting at the side of the bed.
'I have, I have, I mean I don't think I am ready for the test because I haven't read them multiple times' Pearl thought as quickly as the clearing fog of sleep would let her.
'In that case, do you have anything you would like to ask?' Mrs. Rose added, looking expectantly at her.
'Umm' Pearl felt she was being tested, perhaps Mrs. Rose was trying to figure out if she had really read the books. Pearl panicked and almost slipped up, but just then Ophelia stirred, the sunlight had creeped up the bed and now shone full in her face. Mrs. Rose quickly vanished into the mirror without another word.
Pearl heaved a sigh of relief and thanked a puzzled Ophelia profusely when she woke up.
Pearl had a hard time avoiding Mrs. Rose throughout that day, she almost dove into the water fountain in her school once when she caught sight of her and actually dove into some bushes. But she succeeded and managed to spend the entire day without speaking to her. She rushed over to the library for her test when she was done with her classes. Unfortunately, the Maths Professor had been in good spirits and ended up giving philosophical talks on the importance of education in the development of society or something like that and although Pearl usually enjoyed his talks, today was an exception and she was late because of him.
Pearl thought she would have time to read the last journal. Her confidence stemmed from the brevity of the first, but he had dashed her hopes and now she had to run to the library, entering just in time to see Suzy walk out of her test.
Suzy was a nerve wreck. Pearl wanted to ask about the rules, or the questions or something to prepare her but it was too late. Mrs. Harry caught sight of her and called her in.
Pearl followed her into what seemed to be a large dining room, hung about were portraits of various people, former occupants of the house she thought. There was the old librarian, much younger, with raven black hair and purple eyes, she sat with her husband, Mr. Harry and beside them stood Becky and John she was sure, from the letter. When Pearl recognised the children, she saw that their portraits were all around on the walls, but there was still one more portrait. A much older one that drew Pearl's attention. She walked towards it, reaching out to feel its ancient frame. Pearl saw painted on it a small girl with an impish smile and violet eyes, she sat on the lap of her mother, a silver haired woman with cold blue eyes, her father beside her with eyes the same hue as her mother's.
Pearl glanced up at the librarian, whose violet eyes betrayed her identity as the young girl.
Old Ann smiled, amidst the cracks and crevices on her face, Pearl could see that she was the same person, she was the little girl on her mother's lap. The house belonged to her? Well, that explained her attachment to it.
'Yes, I am the little girl in that portrait, and yes, this is my house' A thousand questions swarm through Pearl's head, not the least of them being as to the age of this ancient lady.
'There will be time to speak of myself, but I know you are in haste, as you said, Rose sent you, didn't she?'
'You do know her!' Pearl exclaimed, eyes wide in shock. The librarian chuckled.
'Of course, I taught her many things and … well, but that was a long time ago' the librarian stopped as though the memory was a painful one to recollect.
'What about the test?' Pearl's practical nature spoke up.
'That was a ruse, I just wanted to hand over the books that you needed without arousing any suspicion, and I wanted you to treat them with severity, I knew that mentioning a test would motivate you'
'But it would seem you slacked off in your reading, despite my efforts'
'How did you know?' Pearl asked, her voice nearly coherent.
'That's unimportant. Now, as you already know, there is no test, but there will be answers. Sit.'
Pearl took a seat next to the librarian, who was already seated at the head of the table.
'You have questions don't you?' The librarian asked.
'Yes' Pearl responded, trying to collect her thoughts.
'What am I?' Pearl had already surmised from her most recent experiences that there was more to herself than she knew, she felt that her efforts should be directed first at understanding her peculiar predicament.
'That question is not an easy one to answer' the librarian looked upwards and sighed a heavy sigh.
'Well, I will give you a brief answer. You are a faerie… er of sorts' the librarian added feeling the term 'faerie' insufficient.
'Your kin came to this town long ago and settled here. Some of you who realize your identity are able to travel, or journey back home. That is why some people suddenly disappear in this town.'
'Alright, why am I just finding out now that I am one?'
'Some faeries never find out their identity and live as mere men, you should be grateful that you did'.
'No, I mean, why does it suddenly matter that I am one. I have been one all my life, why am I suddenly in danger because of this reality?'
'It is because of your ability. Each one of your kin has a unique ability, no two are exactly alike although they can be similar. Yours must be a very special one. Whenever someone with a special gift is discovered, they are always sent for' Mrs. Harry paused so as to let the gravity of her next words sink in 'There are those who want the gifted one for good purposes and others want to use the gift and the gifted one for their own selfish gain' Mrs. Harry glanced at Pearl's face to take in her reaction to her precarious position, but Pearl had already summed up her position so her reaction was controlled.
'And what is this ability?'
'I don't know, all I know is, it must be very desirable. Didn't Rose tell you? No matter, you will find out in due time.'
Pearl paused, pensive, then asked the next question that bothered her.
'Who are you?'
Mrs. Harry smiled mysteriously then gave an evasive answer,
'I'm the librarian, of course'
'That's not what I mean. I mean, what is your connection to all this? Why are you involved in this?'
'You will know, when the time is right' Came the librarian's answer, her wise eyes twinkled.
Pearl was worn out by the librarian's roundabout way of answering. She decided to give up on these kinds of questions for now and direct her attention to more pressing matters.
'What is your 'first joy'?' The librarian smiled, pleased at the question. It seemed she had gotten the hint.
The hint of course refers to the room where they had shared their first joy in Harry's letter to her. The baby's room.
'Our first joy, that was just his way of referring to our children.' Mrs. Harry smiled fondly at the memory of her husband's mannerisms.
'So it's the baby's room then? I have been there and it didn't seem strange in any way'
'I'll explain. That room is the doorway to a portal' Her eyebrows furrowed as she tried to find the words to piece together the true meaning of a portal to one who had never seen one.
'A portal is like a station, you can get to wherever you're going from there. In your case, you can find the way to your true country from there'
'Like the big blue hall in my mirror?'
'You have been in the portal hall?' Mrs. Harry was shocked for the first time.
'Yes, Mrs. Rose took me there.'
'The doorway through that room is different though, it takes you through the fastest way to the other country.'
'Legandanl' Pearl spoke the name in the ancient tongue.
'Yes, your true home' Old Ann completed. 'But I must warn you, whenever you decide to go through. It is forbidden to take a human with you. Disobey this law and you will have to face the judgment of the portal Lords. I advise you to go when no one else is watching'
'Of course' Pearl responded, understanding her predicament a little better and mentally making up her mind to go as soon as possible.
'When you're ready to use the portal, close the door and reopen it, it should open to the portal hall. Goodluck'
Pearl left after that conversation and met Suzy outside the library trying to focus on the book before her but she was visibly shaking, now and again she would glance at the entrance. Poor thing, if only she knew the entire test thing was just a ruse.
Amber walked in at that moment and Suzy was so relieved to see her that she actually hugged Amber. This was because chess always calmed her down so she wanted to play a game of chess to relax. Suzy was about to play against Amber, when Benjamin walked up and bragged about Pearl's chess feats which included little more than beating him, but as he thought of himself as a pretty good player, he couldn't help magnifying her skills so he wouldn't look bad for losing against her.
Suzy completely believed his exaggeration and ended up asking Pearl to play her instead of Amber who was very disappointed at this turn of events.
Just moments into the game and Pearl was already sweating, Suzy was no joke, and Pearl could feel the tension in the air. Suzy was seriously competing. Perhaps it was to compensate for how she felt after the test, to prove to herself that she was better. Whatever her reasons, she was putting in her all. The game was tense and everyone watched with bated breath.
Suzy had the upper hand and quickly cornered Pearl. Pearl saw herself in a tight spot and knew no way out, she was about to forfeit the game when all of a sudden, a light shone and she had an idea. There was no way she could describe it, moment after moment, move after move, she kept getting ideas and seeing the chess board and pieces in ways she hadn't seen before, she could see the weak spots in Suzy's strategy and before ten minutes had passed, she checked Suzy.
Suzy, who thought the game was in the bag only moments ago went from elation and delight to fear, despondency and anger in the last minutes of the game. She flew in a rage and knocked all the pieces over with a loud screech, stunning everyone to silence. Then, recovering herself, apologized for her behaviour.
Everyone was pleased when Pearl won, everyone except poor Suzy, she had wanted to prove a point and now she had lost at a game she was evidently very confident in. It wrecked her nerves even more. Suzy left the library soon after that, although she was on duty that day. No one dared to stop her and Amber helped her get the door, she was thanked with a sad smile and watched Suzy walk home, head hung in defeat.
The next time Suzy came to the library was two days after that, she wasn't on duty. She had come to apologise properly so she baked a number of cakes including a strawberry cake with a congratulations message on it. It was the day the results for the test would be announced.
Suzy was on her best behaviour that day, she smiled and tried to garner favour from all she saw. It was one of the few times when the library was actually busy, as they were entertaining tourists. Of course, Benjamin was in charge of the tours and explaining every historical detail of the ancient place. It had quite some antiquities. Suzy, on the other hand busied herself attending to the children, gave free cake slices, asking questions and ensuring none strayed or got lost.
Pearl didn't come but Amber did. She had expected Pearl to come due to the gravity of the occasion. The occasion was handled with the utmost professionalism and when the tourists left, the three younger occupants decided to have a party.
Mrs. Harry came down soon after and caught them in the midst of their fun.
'Where's Pearl' she asked and they immediately straightened. A balloon was tossed. Some items were hidden behind backs and some ducked underneath nearby shelves.
'She isn't here yet' Benjamin, unaware that he had a face full of cake, answered.
'That's alright'. The librarian replied. 'Here is your test result, and give this to Pearl' she handed Suzy hers and gave Amber another to give Pearl.
Suzy's hands were shaky and she decided to open hers when she got home. The party sobered down and they all soon left after that.
Amber brought the sealed envelope home but Pearl was sound asleep when she got there. She left it on the dresser, with a mirror, opposite her bed.
Pearl started reading the last journal soon after her meeting with the librarian, suspecting there might be discoveries in it that would be of importance to her. She came less to the library, feeling she had obtained the information she needed from the librarian and spending most of her time, focusing on school work and the last journal, which was very revealing.
The next time she came to the library was about a week later and when she got there, she saw Benjamin and Mrs. Harry outside, locking the library.
'What's going on?' She asked
'The play, at Suzy's school, we're all going, so the library will be locked' Benjamin responded.
Oh right, she had completely forgotten about the play. Pearl thought it reasonable to first apologise for ignoring her duties and so she promptly did.
'I'm sorry for not coming since then' she said, not really meaning it. She didn't feel flippant about her role, but she knew that there was always someone to cover her and no one really came to the library so, she couldn't feel as sorry as she meant to.
'Oh, it's alright' Mrs. Harry flashed a smile that made her look years younger and without saying another word, led the way to Suzy's school.
When they got in, the play was just about to start, and Suzy herself welcomed them and led them to seats of honour where they sat, not without some discomfort in the very front, besides some very excited parents.
The story they told was about a man who travelled with his wife and child on orders of the King to a faraway land in the outskirts of the King's jurisdiction where some miscreants had taken refuge. There, they fought down the opposition and built a great house and a commercial roadway between their kingdom and the town. They then left this roadway in charge of their daughter who had grown up, to protect, while they both went back to the Kingdom.
Although acting was lacking, the miscreants were too nice and the kid playing the king was so carried away with the applause of the crowd that he nearly forgot his lines. The storyline of the play was quite interesting. Once or twice an excited parent would clap above the crowd when their child was on stage, but that was to be expected. At the end the credits of the play were ascribed to Mrs. Harry, the elderly librarian, who got up and bowed to the ovation of the crowd.
After the play, Pearl thought about its contents and correctly concluded that the play had some meaning. She wondered what the play had to do with Mrs. Harry and how to go about asking. Was she the child? Of course, the child who was left behind to guard the commercial roadway, the portal. These were the thoughts in her head and she intended to ask Mrs. Harry about all this when they were alone. She stole a glance at the unassuming elder as she patted and complimented the actors.
. . . . . . . . . . . . .
Present day
Ophelia's slow breathing told Pearl that it was time to stop. She had fallen asleep. For the past few hours, Ophelia had read the journal while Pearl filled in the gaps but it seemed that Ophelia had reached her limit. They would have to continue the story another time. So Pearl fluttered out the dresser mirror with her book in hand and left Ophelia to rest.