It hadn't worked... I knew it. I could tell because I was still alive. I couldn't quite tell what exactly happened. I must've blacked out. My vision was slowly returning. I

saw many gems scrambling around like wild animals. I couldn't really make out what they were saying, but I could tell that they were panicking. I heard a faint voice

calling for me. I realized that the voice was my pearl's. I turned my head and saw her standing a few meters away from my face

"My diamond! Are you alright?! Is your gem damaged"?

I slowly sat up. I slowly moved my hand over my gem, I felt a small crack in the side of my gem. My pearl gasped; she must've noticed the damage done to my gem.

"M-my diamond..." pearl choked.

I wanted to tell her that it was fine... but it really wasn't. My gem wasn't supposed to be cracked, it was supposed to be shattered. I knew that I couldn't tell her that.

I couldn't tell anyone that. This was just between rose and I. I need to know what went wrong. Why was I not shattered?

"Pearl, tell me what happened"

I noticed that my entire entourage was staring at me. I decided to ignore it.

"I saw you walk out of your palanquin... and then all of a sudden, Rose Quartz lunged at your gem. I you didn't turn your body at the last moment... you would've

been shattered".

I thought for a moment. I then remembered. I backed out of the deal last minute. I remembered seeing rose flying towards me. I remembered thinking about all the

things that I would miss. I truly didn't want to die... but I knew that my shattering was the only thing that would convince my sisters that winning the war is not worth

all of the fighting. But none of that matters now. Once they find out that my gem was cracked by Rose, they will become even more ruthless. They would try even

harder to crush the rebels. But if I was shattered... they would see how much the war is taking from all of us.. At least I hoped they would see.

"My Diamond"? My Pearl said confused.

I quickly snapped out of my trance.

"Where is Rose"

Pearl looked up at me worried.

"S-she fled... many gems went after her, but there are no signs of her yet, I'm sorry I-"

I sighed and pushed my hair out of my face.

"It's fine Pearl, I just need to get back to my palace"

I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. I felt extremely weak and tired. I slowly crawled back into my palanquin. My entire body ached. I placed my head down on

the cold floor. I felt like I was asleep yet awake at the same time. I felt my palanquin start to move. I started to wonder when or even if my physical form was going

to glitch. I felt a frigid gust of wind hit my skin. My entire body shivered. It felt so cold for a sunny spring day. I couldn't tell how long I was in a trance-like state.

Everything just seemed to fade. I suddenly felt a hand touch my upper arm. I slowly opened my eyes to see my pearl again

"We have arrived my diamond".

I used all my strength to stand up. I stepped out of my palanquin. I saw that we had made it inside my palace. Even though I was inside, I still felt cold. I took a few

more steps and I placed my hand on the wall for support. I slowly and carefully started walking to my room. There was nothing I wanted more than sleep.

I finally made it to my door after what felt like hours of walking. My pearl opened the door and I walked inside. I walked to the back of the room and grabbed a shawl

from a shelf. I quickly wrapped it around myself to protect my body from the cold air. I trudged over to the other side of the room and sat down on my large bed. I

laid myself down and took a deep breath. I let all my worries fade as gradually drifted into an unconscious state.