Blue Diamond's Pearl has lived—lived an impossible life—for thousands of years and she is glad. Happiness is not something she ever expected to feel, but there is a tiny speck of it within her, just as there has been since she saw that one dangerous, rebellious Pearl. She likes to think herself rebellious too, though she cannot be rebellious like that Pearl was—she carries no swords and claims no allegiance to a greater force. What she has, what she does, what she is—it is quiet rebellion, the kind that dares to exist in the courts and goes unnoticed, breeding strength in Pearls that were never meant to have it.

Blue Diamond's Pearl does many things she is not meant to now, but on the outside she sculpts herself to be an obedient, unobtrusive Pearl. The dichotomy delights her and terrifies her, because she fears one day someone—her Diamond, most likely—will see through this thin veneer that hides her treason.

She shares what she knows, plays images of it in quiet corners during rest cycles, one Pearl at a time. She is a vessel, but she takes more pride in that than she ever has in her duties to Blue Diamond.

There aren't many remnants of old stories that are still allowed to circulate, but she has begun to see their effects everywhere. The room the Pearls are given for their rest cycle is not monitored, but there are gems that wait outside and no one dares speak above a whisper. There are subtle things too, things that could be written off if one didn't know the history. All of the Diamonds have their methods of protecting themselves, she realizes as the years go by in slow and quick succession.

Blue—Her own Diamond clings to her Pearl, too afraid that a change will bring her one that is less submissive, less safe, less trustworthy. Funny things to worry about, she thinks, when Pearls are said to be nothing but these things. Pearls aren't supposed to think for themselves, or so they are intent on saying. What could be safer than that? What could be more dangerous?

White—She throws away her Pearls like they are meaningless trinkets—they are—and gets nervous about keeping them around for long, though she laughs it off as the whims of an elite. The new ones are less likely to start getting ideas, she supposes, but it still hurts to see these scared, breakable Pearls who know from the moment they are made that their existence will be cut short.

Yellow—She is an odd case, even amongst the Diamonds. She has no time for frivolity and wants her Pearls to be useful, just like the gems she commands, but at the same time never allows them chances to learn, because Pearls can't. If they don't catch on right away, they are ordered to be shattered, no point trying to show them how things work again. They're faulty products. She's not sure how the current Pearl has managed to hang on so long, but she admires the learning curve she must possess to have done so. She'll likely be gone soon, though. Yellow Diamond might not shatter her Pearls quite as liberally as White Diamond, but she certainly doesn't hesitate to do so.

Yellow Diamond's Pearl makes her almost nervous—she is too expressive, too smug, too see-through with emotions Pearls are not meant to have. She has only met her in passing, never truly spoken to her, but she is always surprised to see that she has not yet been replaced when their Diamonds attend meetings together. Pearls that act like that don't usually last long.

Blue Diamond's Pearl sees many Pearls come and go, but she is best acquainted with those beneath the Diamonds. The other Pearls—all sorts, all kinds, all beautiful and empty—should be the same, but they are different. They try harder when making the Diamonds' Pearls. Others are allowed tiny, miniscule defects as long as they don't interfere with their work. Other Pearls act differently too. She sees some that dance, some that clean, some that stand as still as statues. She sees some that remind her of that Pearl, who have a little too much strength behind their eyes. There are more of them, these days. But all of them know better than to act like anything other than just a Pearl.

She spreads her story in whispers, in touches, in silence. Transmits it in flashes, small holographic projections, spreading it to Pearl after Pearl. It is a slow process, and she aches with all the Pearls she is too late for, all the ones that are crushed without ever having any hope.

But she cannot be caught.

Being a Diamond's Pearl gives her some leeway that the others do not have. She learns how to get Pearls alone, learns it is safest to pass on her message in small projections in the middle of a rest cycle. It's risky, but no one is watching. She never asks them to pass the memory on, because she could not live with the guilt if one of them were shattered for it. They do pass it on sometimes, she thinks, but she never asks. This is her burden, her obligation, not theirs.

She cannot be caught.

She is that Pearl's legacy, and she must continue to exist so that it can be spread to the others. She must play her part and she must commit high treason directly under Blue Diamond's supervision. No one can suspect her, not even for a moment.

She cannot be caught.

She fears it will never be enough, because not every Pearl will get to hear and see this Pearl, but she does everything she can.

She cannot be caught.

In some ways she is hardly a Pearl anymore, and in some ways she is more of a Pearl than she has ever been.


Rest cycles are habitual, boring things, and Yellow Diamond's Pearl despises them with a passion she should not have. Rest may help a Pearl function better according to the reports, but she could do so much more for her Diamond if she were just allowed to bring a screen or two in with her. She is not allowed this. Pearls must rest.

They sit quietly, small murmurs passing between some of the Pearls, but nothing important. Pearls never say anything important.

Everyone has their place, which they claim—don't claim, Pearls don't claim anything—each time. The only exception to this is Blue Diamond's Pearl, who is an oddity. She moves about the room, one or two spaces over from where she was the previous time, occasionally backtracking but never stopping. It's unusual, but she is the oldest Pearl there and anyone with that dubious honor can have her idiosyncrasies overlooked. It hurts no Pearl, and does not affect anyone's work.

It does bother Yellow Diamond's Pearl though. She can't help but think she is missing something. She is not sure if it's her that is missing it or Blue Diamond's Pearl that is missing it, but something is missing and something is wrong and she does not like it. It does not matter that she does not like it, because she is just a Pearl and it is just a rest cycle, like always. She ignores that Pearl, and yet cannot ignore her at all.

Rest cycles happen at such long intervals that Blue Diamond's Pearl has yet to end up beside her, but it will happen soon if she continues this pattern. Yellow Diamond's Pearl makes a note to herself that she will not engage in any discussion when it does, just close her eyes and wait out the time they are required to spend in the room. It's a shame, because she occasionally enjoys the shared conversation with the Pearl to her right—a twitchy thing that serves a Quartz she's never met and wears a thin sheer wrap that falls to her ankles but gets bunched up in her hands when she starts thinking too much. They don't say much, but they share a similar dislike for the cycles and she does appreciate the chance to speak to a Pearl that is a little bit more than a mindless spectacle. Pearls are mindless spectacles though, she tells herself. That is all they are.

She exchanges a brief look with the Pearl beside her and they wait out the time together in silence, pretending they are not terrified by this lack of doing, pretending there is solace in the fact that the Pearl beside them feels the same, pretending they will do this again and again and again while the Pearls around them come and go and come and go and they feel nothing.


The next time the rest cycle comes around, Blue Diamond's Pearl is beside her. She keeps her eyes shut, as planned, and does not speak. She doesn't know what she's scared of, but she is scared all the way through, and her gem burns hot in her chest. Something tells her that if she so much as dares to question this Pearl beside her she will regret it with her whole being.

But she can't stop her from speaking, even if she makes sure to show no sign of interest.

"Hello." She sounds like every other Pearl, multiplied a hundred times into a voice that is exactly weak enough in its melody not to cause alarm.

Yellow Diamond's Pearl cracks open her eyes but does not answer.

"Can we talk?" Blue Diamond's Pearl asks.

"The whole point of the rest cycle is resting," she mutters dismissively.

"It won't take long. Here," she breathes, holding her hands just in front of her gem. It begins to glow, ready to project.

Yellow Diamond's Pearl scrambles backwards so quickly a handful of others nearby begin staring.

"Shh." The glow stops immediately and Blue Diamond's Pearl places her hands in her lap, looking perfectly calm and blank.

"What do you think you're doing?" she hisses once the attention is directed away from them once more.

Blue Diamond's Pearl raises her head just slightly. "I have something to show you."

"I don't want any part of it," she snaps immediately.

There might be a small, nearly imperceptible change at the corner of her lips, but Yellow Diamond's Pearl has no patience for these subtle clues unless they come from her Diamond. "You need to know," the other Pearl insists, and for a moment she is scared motionless by the certainty in her voice, in these few words, when everything else she hears from this Pearl has always just been "My Diamond" and murmurs of assent as she goes about her duties.

She turns her head away. She cannot, will not, let this Pearl get into her head. She has no time for anything but her service. She cannot get distracted by this one strange, too-perfect Pearl.

There is the light brush of fingertips on the back of her hand, but she snatches it away and turns her back on the other Pearl.

That one is dangerous, and she is too valuable a Pearl to get involved.