A Visit
The door slammed behind Pearl, and she jumped. Ushered in by both Blue and Yellow, still cradling her arm to her chest, Pearl slowly sank into a plush chair. She looked down at her hand; bruises, dark and bold against her pale skin, formed a thick bracelet around her wrist.
Blue was fussing over Pearl, running fingers through Pearl's hair and gingerly examining Pearl's wrist. Yellow had set off in the background, going on about 'authorized shows', shattering, and the Diamonds. Pearl hardly registered any of it, nor the cool brush of fingers against her forehead. “Let's take this off,” Blue said gently, a cool cloth already removing Pearl's makeup.
Pearl released a shuddering breath. Had she really been holding it that long? Stars, her wrist hurt.
Blue was methodical and gentle, her fingers occasionally brushing against Pearl's skin, but she avoided touching Pearl's gem. It was highly intimate, and forbidden; a privilege only awarded to the Diamonds. “That Jasper certainly saved you,” Blue remarked offhandedly.
“I don't want to talk about that Jasper,” Pearl snapped, and Blue withdrew. Yellow was still droning on in the background. Blue paused for a minute, watching Pearl, then moved back in close, removing the last traces of makeup. Her movements were stiff, and Pearl let out a sigh. “Blue. Blue, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to be rude, it's been a long night...” Pearl trailed off, looking up at Blue.
“It has been,” Blue replied. A barrier had come down between them, and Pearl frowned, looking down. She flexed her fingers again, carefully, and sucked air between her teeth. How was she to explain this to her Diamond? To the Diamonds?
“Don't worry about it for now,” Blue said, before moving away, chiffon flowing behind her like an afterthought of her movements. Yellow had finally shut up, a small grace for which Pearl was grateful. Moving closer to her mirror, Pearl examined her face. Blue was thorough as always; only a small rim of shimmer was visible around Pearl's gem, which was easily taken care of.
Pearl closed her eyes, withdrawing into herself. It really had been a long night, and she needed rest. A hand clapped down on Pearl's shoulder, and her eyes flew open, but it was only Yellow. Meeting her eyes through the mirror, Pearl quirked a brow.
“The Diamonds will have something to say about this,” Yellow said. She left her hand, resting heavy, on Pearl's shoulder.
Pearl nodded. “I know,” she said, letting her own fingertips ghost across Yellow's. In her own way, Yellow was scared. Pearl felt it too, felt the cold seep into her bones, the heavy weight on her shoulders – and it wasn't just Yellow, leaning heavily now.
“They'll notice the bruises,” Yellow said, her hand tightening on Pearl's shoulder ever so slightly.
“I know,” Pearl repeated, reaching up again to Yellow's hand. Yellow laced their fingers together, mouth tightening as she fell silent.
For once, Yellow was silent, and so was Pearl. They sat there, three Pearls, in a mutual silence.
-----
Pearl's eyes snapped open at precisely dawn. She had fallen dormant for a few hours, although she was already wide awake. Dormancy was like that; restful and in a deep, trance-like state one moment, wide awake the next. At least for Pearl it was. For Blue and Yellow, not so much. Yellow took far too much time to wake up properly, in Pearl's opinion, and Blue liked to sleep in. She was, however, wide awake as well when she woke.
Sitting up, Pearl looked around at her room. It was clean and orderly, nothing out of place. In other words, perfect. Polished. Pristine. Pearl allowed herself a small smile at that, rising off of her bunk. There were no pillows, blankets, or sheets; Pearl had no need of those things. Those were luxuries not afforded to her. Well, they could be, but Pearl was picky about her small comforts. Material things were more to Yellow's tastes, and even Blue had a cozy nest for herself.
No, Pearl's small comforts were in art. She had, rather like the stage, chiffon decorating the ceiling of her room. It looped to the walls, hanging in graceful curves, before flowing to the floor. Once a week, Pearl made sure to clean it throughly. Chiffon had a bad habit of getting dusty.
There was also a fondness for small pieces of furniture; a vanity, with her makeup essentials, although nothing as fancy as when she danced; a small table with three chairs, highly functional although not too uncomfortable; an armoire, replete with mirror inside and a few drawers below the closet portion. Pearl had the largest room as she was first of the Pearls. Blue and Yellow, manufactured together, had arrived together, although they could not have been more different.
Taking a deep breath, Pearl moved from her room into the common area shared by the Pearls. There were a few unused rooms, although they had not been filled or used yet. Altogether, there were five rooms. Three of them nested together at one end of the common area. The other two were placed almost as an afterthought. There was a small staircase of three steps that led down to were they were located. Although unused, each had a small table, chair, and bed, ready for new occupants, but otherwise kept barren.
In the common room, there was a bookshelf. A rarity, that; Blue had petitioned for it early on, and the Diamonds had surprisingly acquiesced. The books of course were rather droll. Excerpts on gem makings, Homeworld's history and conquests, other planets and their denizens. Nevertheless, both Pearl and Blue had read all of the books ravenously. The common room also housed a few colorful rugs, squishy, overstuffed chairs, a table with eight seating arrangements (although the chairs were mismatched), and a broadcasting screen complete with a communicator. It had been the first of its kind, but now the technology was aging, and the signal didn't come through too clearly anymore.
The room was hideous, and Pearl wouldn't have traded it for the world. It had touches of all the Pearls, as well as the Diamonds.
Pearl curled up in a corner of the sofa, waiting for Blue and Yellow. Turning on the broadcaster, Pearl allowed her mind to go quiet. Homeworld was, to her, this small apartment and Radiance down below. But through the broadcaster, she could see Homeworld to its fullest. Sometimes there were even pictures of other planets, but those were mostly violent and ugly with the worst bits censored out.
The picture was dull, and colors were a muted grey-blue. Occasionally there would be a burst of static, distorting the image. It was certainly an old item – a far cry from the glass screens of the past – but it did its job well. Perhaps Pearl would ask for a new one, make a request instead of a new outfit or piece of art. The Diamonds wouldn't mind, surely; they did communicate with the Pearls through the broadcaster while they were away and oftentimes it would be cut short through malfunction. A new broadcaster would certainly fix that. And there would be color.
Sometimes other gems would point Pearl out, note her as being “defective” for her myriad of colors. She didn't fit a scheme, didn't match a Diamond. She was different, and that stood out. But White Diamond had stopped them, once. She had said that Pearl, as all Pearls should be, were reflections of their owners. And in her clarity, in her radiance, was an rainbow of color. Pearl was her reflection.
The thought made Pearl smile. She felt her cheeks color, hugging herself.
There was a knock on the door. A quick glance out of the nearby window revealed that it was not even noon yet; hardly time for a show. Why would one of the agates bother them? Standing and adjusting her uniform, Pearl took a deep breath before moving to the door. Surely there wouldn't be a repeat of last night. Her bruises were still highly visible on her wrist; after that fiasco, there wouldn't be another private show. Not for a long time.
When Pearl opened the door, she had to steel herself. The look of shock must have registered, though, because the Jasper – Pink Diamond's Jasper, Pearl reminded herself – stepped back. Pearl folded her arms, holding the door open with her hip halfway. “Yes? What do you want?”
“A thanks would be nice,” Jasper – the Jasper – said, looking down at Pearl through narrowed eyes.
“Thank you,” Pearl said slowly, drawing out the 'you'. “But I don't see why this is necessary. You shouldn't even be here.”
The Jasper rolled her eyes and heaved a sigh. “Yeah, well, I am. Not like you can do anything, Pearl.” Pearl felt herself flushing, and opened her mouth to speak, but the Jasper cut her off. “I'm not here to chit-chat. Look.”
The Jasper heaved another sigh, ran a thick hand through equally thick – obscenely thick – white hair. “I'm here to ask you if you want to go out. Get out of this dump.”
Pearl watched the Jasper's eyes look past her and into the Pearls' small apartments. She took a deep breath, quelling her rage, although her voice seethed with barely constrained anger. “No,” she said shortly, “No, that's illegal. Maybe not to Homeworld, but to the Diamonds? Very much so. I'm not leaving here, not without their express permi--”
The Jasper, infuriatingly, cut her off again. “I'm not asking, I'm telling,” she said, looking down at Pearl and taking a step closer. Stars, she was big. Pearl felt herself shift backwards, and the Jasper's mouth quirked upwards in a psuedo-smile before fading just as quickly. “Sapphire, Blue Diamond's Sapphire, saw that they were coming back. She also saw the bruises, and this place getting shut down. Now, we all know how much... business, our little club here attracts. Having it shut down is not good for the Authority.”
The Jasper took a step back, cracked her neck, rolled her shoulders, squared her feet as if getting ready for a fight. Pearl knitted her brows together. As if anyone would be able to fight here. No one would be that stupi-- unless, the Jasper was expecting to fight her? The Jasper couldn't be that stupid. Pearl wasn't going to resist. It would be useless in the face of such a huge gem. A warrior.
“Anyway,” the Jasper continued, “Sapphire saw the Diamonds return. Tonight. She also knows a healer. And we're going to see her. That's an order.”
Pearl grit her teeth. It would do no good to shout. It might work with the Agates, sometimes, but Pearl knew that she was little more than a Pearl. Her status as a Diamond's Pearl would help her in Radiance, but not here. Not now. Even then, she wasn't used to having orders barked at her, literally.
But this was Pink Diamond's Jasper. Her lieutenant. She would be used to barking orders at literally any gem. Her status was also elevated, which meant that Pearl was also beneath her. Just another rank-and-file gem to be ordered around.
“Fine,” Pearl hissed, and then she promptly closed the door in the Jasper's face.
Pearl turned from the door and allowed herself a small smile. Being here, being at Radiance and belonging to a Diamond, allowed her small freedoms. She was aware of that, but all the same it was a jarring reminder that she was a lucky Pearl, that not all Pearls were awarded freedoms like her.
It was quiet for a moment, and Pearl allowed herself to think of the shocked expression on the Jasper's face. How satisfying. Then, the knocking began. Hurried, but quiet. Pearl frowned and grumbled, making her way to the bookshelf and looking for a certain book.
The knocking increased in volume, and Pearl shot a withering glace to the door. Didn't Jaspers know the meaning of restraint? She continued her search for the book, picking through shelves. It had been awhile since Pearl and Blue had used the code – the book would be hidden... aha! There it was, tucked behind a neat stack of Homeworld's Conquest magazines. A small book, it was worn down and immensely personal. A book that had once belonged to an alien race, humans, it detailed the flora and fauna of the Earth, and was filled to the brim of notes. It had been handwritten by a human, but the last fifty pages or so had been left blank; some studious gem had translated the writing in those last pages.
It meant different things based on where it was located. For now, being left on the table, it meant that whoever was absent was giving a private show. Pearl hoped that Blue would understand.
The door opened – slammed open, really – and Pearl whirled around, coming close to the Jasper without regard for her own safety. “There are dormant gems here,” she hissed, waving a finger in the Jasper's face, “and I would appreciate it if you showed some restraint!”
The Jasper looked mollified, but then her face split into a wide grin. She looked positively predatory. “Listen, little Pearl, no one gives me orders. Now, we're leaving. Let's go.” The Jasper grabbed Pearl's wrist roughly and pulled her along, making for the door. Her voice, however, was lowered from a dull roar to a low rumble.
“That hurts!” Pearl gasped, face drawn up in pain.
The Jasper stopped, looked down at Pearl, and the rolled her eyes. “Stars, you're more fragile than chalk, aren't you?” She let go of Pearl, and Pearl stumbled, clutching at her wrist. Her eyes were watering, but she wouldn't cry in front of this Jasper.
“Lead the way then,” Pearl said primly, looking firmly ahead of her and avoiding eye contact with the Jasper.
The Jasper chuckled low, stepping behind Pearl and gently pushing her out of the door. Pearl looked back behind her into her apartments. The last thing she saw was the human book sitting on the table before the door closed.