Karyn walked about her lamp and fluffed pillows and straightened it out. Of course, she could fix everything with a twirl of her hair, but physically cleaning was more relaxing. Jon lay in a large white bed at the center of the lamp. He slept soundly, but then Karyn realized he probably didn't get much sleep last night while thinking about the stone.
He started to wake, however, and Karyn knelt down beside him. He looked around her bronze lamp, obviously confused. "Where am I?" Jon asked.
"You're in my lamp, Jon-boy. A Genie's most private sanctum." Jon sat up and looked at Karyn. His eyes lingered on her long, elf-like ears.
"You're not a genie anymore, remember? I gave you free will."
Karyn shrugged, "I've still got a lamp. I still grant wishes. I still have funny slippers. I'm still a Genie, just a slightly different kind."
"I don't get it."
"I think it's like this, Jon." Karyn said, materializing her book about Genies. She held up the large tome. "This whole book was "“ everything. I had no choice but to obey. Now, this book is more like a set of guidelines than a set of rules. I can choose to obey or disobey any of them. But, my first instinct will be to obey. My first instinct will be to obey and protect whoever holds this lamp. Understand?"
Jon nodded his head and thought about Karyn's words. Then, he reached into his pocket, "Maybe I can fix that problem."
Karyn shook her head, "It's not a problem, Jon. I'll be fine."
Jon's eyebrows furrowed. "Where's the stone?"
"What?"
"I can't find the stone." Karyn and Jon quickly stood up, and Karyn blinked away all the furniture.
"I can't affect the stone, Jon." She looked around her lamp, "So my guess is that it's still outside this lamp."
"Oh god. How long was I out?"
"Three hours." The two feared the worst as they burst into sand and left the lamp. Who knows who had the stone, and what had happened to the world while they were away . . .
