"I've never seen Pervue's temple," Lulu complained.
Lulu was born with the gift. The very first time she held a pencil, she was a year old. She held the pencil in her tiny hands, twirled it around, studying it curiously, and then, ten minutes later, she held it the way a pencil should be held. And she wouldn't let go. Through the ages of one and two, the pencil was many things to her. A wand. A weapon. A toy. Whatever it was, it never left her hand. Six months after her third birthday, she drew her first picture. She had scribbled before, but this was the first conscious drawing. That day, all of us knew as well as she. Lulu was born an artist. She had drawn the inside of my room, with all of us. It was abstract, but clear enough to leave no confusion.
Knowing how good she was, I knew she didn't need to see to draw. It was an excuse. And it wasn't difficult to see what it was an excuse for.
"You want me to describe it, don't you?" I asked.
She had never been shy. She nodded vigorously, her bushy hair braided behind her head swaying as if in the winds of a storm. She loved the feeling of her hair dancing as much as she did smiling at me.
"I'll do one better."
I was excited too. I just remembered Sasha's code, and was struck with the realisation that it was perfect for Lulu and me.
"Come," I said, as I dragged her along to Jessie's.
Jessie was Jerry's assistant and the second in command. While Jerry had other responsibilities, Jessie was solely and wholly responsible for the Faery research at Phylin and at Karsworp. There were several temporary team members, but the other permanent members were Ashu and Arav. And now, the twins and I.
The first thing Jerry and Jessie did on arriving was rent the cottage a walking distance from the temple, which they bought within a year. The cottage was far too big and had far too many rooms to be a cottage, but Jessie wouldn't stand to call it anything else. Primarily because the cottage was built mostly of wood. And by her definition, a house built mostly of wood could only be a cottage.
One half of the cottage was quickly turned into a research facility. The other half, spared, was the bedrooms. The women, Jessie and Ashu shared a bedroom. The men, Arav and Jerry shared another. The third was left for guests, which was us for now. The room was enough for the twins and me. With Lulu here, it was going to be a problem. I didn't think long over it, though.
The twins had visited before. They weren't strangers to the people or the cottage. Dia was sitting between Jessie and Ashu, pouring over a document. Pratt was in the kitchen. As we walked in, heads turned our way. Before they could smile at me, everyone saw Lulu who beamed and waved at them. There was surprise on the faces, and question, and a very faint trace of recognition that quickly dissolved into the question.
Jessie was the first to her feet. She came over, to welcome Lulu.
"Hello, I'm Jessie."
Lulu shook Jessie's hand without hesitation. She was the littlest among all present. But that didn't show in her bearing. It was undoubtedly the effect of the environment she grew up in and the people she grew up with.
"I'm Lulu. I'm dear Dean's sweet little wife," she said, pausing for the words to sink in. As the shock erupted on the faces, she beamed, and continued. "Well, we're not married yet. So, I should be saying fiancé. We're engaged."
The last two words sounded a lot like a warning. I saw the flash of numbness on Jessie's face, the kind that shows up when one falls suddenly under a frightening cold. It was quickly gone though, leaving Jessie questioning herself momentarily about how much of it was real and how much her imagination.
Jessie laughed as she nodded. And led Lulu in. After learning our relationship, everyone wanted to be closer to Lulu. They all had many questions they wanted answered.
While they were engaged with Lulu, I rushed to the kitchen, to Pratt.
"Really?" He asked, looking at me strangely.
"Yeah," I answered, returning his gaze calmly.
He was quiet a minute, letting the information permeate into all of his head. Then, nodding, he looked at me.
"So, you want something."
"Yes," I answered, nodding the exact same. "I need Sasha's code."
"What for?"
"I need it to pull up Pervue's temple."
"Pervue?"
He was confused. I wasn't surprised. Vikari wasn't the most popular. Pervue's temple even less. I explained briefly about how Lulu helped me arrive at the conclusion, as he washed his hands.
We walked back to the hall that was converted into the study.
"Excuse me everyone," Pratt said, clearing the smaller table in the side.
No one paid much attention. They had the bigger table, which was the primary study table. And they had Lulu. Recognising Sasha's code, Dia came over to join us.
Pratt pulled up Sasha's code. Pulled up Pervue's temple. Pervue's temple was preserved much better in time than most other temples. It certainly helped that the temple was carved from a natural cave in a mountain. Squeezing Pervue's temple to one half, we pulled up the Faery temple in the other half.
By now, all heads were facing our way. I looked at Lulu and she came over hopping. Behind her, the rest followed too.
"What do you think?" I asked.
Lulu didn't answer immediately. She looked closely at the two temples a long while.
"Okay. Honestly? I don't see it."
I smiled, rubbing her head fondly.
"You're not seeing."
She understood. She nodded, and looked harder at the temples.
I was looking just as closely at her face. I didn't miss the minute changes. Then, I spoke for her.
"You don't see it, yet. But you see something. And that's all the evidence. Don't you think so?"
"What do you mean?"
This time she was confused, as she ought to be.
"You've heard me talk so much. Especially about the Vikari and their temples."
And she understood.
"Okay. Got it. Shall we get started?"
"Yeah," I agreed.
Lulu turned to the others.
"I need paper."
They were confused. But there was something about Lulu. They simply couldn't refuse her.
Arav got her a small bunch of papers. Lulu thanked him as she took the papers, but the words didn't feel like hers truly. That was something only I understood, of course.
"Shall we?" She asked me.
"What are you doing?" Arav asked before I could answer.
"Some time. You'll see. You'll understand," Lulu answered without even turning her eyes.
I smiled an apology in place of Lulu.
"Sure," I told her.
And I began.