"Pearl."
Ruby didn't have any reason in particular to call her newly crafted servant, but she was still adjusting to the feeling of having her very own pearl. She actually did end up getting a pearl, just like she had mentioned in the bubble.
Ruby's pearl luckily didn't share the same gem placement as her, on one of her eyes; the slender gem's gemstone was located just below it. Her hair looked at bit like Ruby's, but it was a shade lighter.
Her pearl saluted. "Yes?" She was nervous, unsure, fresh-out-of-the ground-new, and probably not the best quality, but she followed orders.
"Oh, errr... never mind," mumbled Ruby, dismissing her with a wave of her hand, then added, "That will be all," because she rarely got to say that. Giggling, she bounced up from her chair and walked over to the small computer sitting on a desk. Sure, it was a very simple computer, only able to connect to their online database and sent messages, but it was hers.
On the screen was a news report with that headline:
Rose Quartz Shattered!
For some reason, the Era One gems were told not to tell the Era Two gems about the rebellion or Rose Quartz. It was probably to keep them loyal and not give them any ideas... So of course this information was censored in many parts of Homeworld and its colonies.
Ruby sat down at the desk at the desk and was going to type something, when she suddenly smelled something.
Why is that stench still lingering? she thought in annoyance. A metallic scent clung to her hands, and while she tried to wash it off, there must have been some about about that made it stick to her. Groaning to herself and shaking her head, she called, "Pearl!"
"Yes." The pearl said from the corner of the room, beginning to walk over to her.
"I can still smell that weird metallic red liquid," Ruby complained, holding out her hands.
Her pearl inhaled. "I smell nothing."
"Well..." she grumbled, sniffing her hands again, the scent still strong. "I can still smell it."
"Pardon, but I still smell nothing." The pearl seemed nervous about contradicting her.
"Your nose is bad; you can't smell stuff good!"
Her pearl was silent.
"Clean my hands," she ordered.
"Yes..." Her pearl reached up to her face, her gem glowing, and pulled out a rag. The servant began to carefully clean her hands, pausing once to use a soap. Once she was done, Ruby sniffed her hands. Nothing changed about their smell,but she dismissed her servant anyway.
This continued for about twelve more days, with Ruby smelling the metallic scent and her pearl not. Once, she asked a fellow ruby, and she had said that she couldn't smell anything either.
Ruby was puzzled.
Sometimes, she even heard someone screaming in the distance, a plead for mercy...