Just a Pearl

"I'm sorry."

Rose sighed, it seemed like ever since she'd brought this one home, Pearl had done nothing but apologize.

Even when she'd done nothing exactly wrong, those were still the first words out of her mouth.

Rose set her not-quite-perfect cup of stimulant down and folded her hands patiently in front of her. "It's alright Pearl, just do better next time."

Pearl nodded stiffly, then rose from her crouch and hurried away to return to her cleaning.

Rose settled back at her desk, her curls ruffling her shoulders and the sides of her chair.

It had been almost a hundred years since she had walked away from that Pearl refinery with her new possession. And not once had she thought about sending her back. Not because she'd fixed the defective Pearl, far from it. Rather, it was because she had yet to find a way that succeeded.

Rose had tried everything: gentle reminders, written reminders, slightly-elevated-in-volume reminders…but still the Pearl was not improving.

Oh she did all her work flawlessly and on time. In fact, a little too flawlessly if Rose admitted it. Everything was lined up to a tee and organized by a binary schematic that not even she could have dreamed up. On top of that, Pearl was quick to obey Rose's commands and always waited patiently for the next one.

But she still did things she wasn't ordered to do. She hummed. She re-organized messes. She danced even when Rose was not there to watch. She would sometimes lose her polished exterior and snap at Rose or at a guest who was rude to her. Every time she recognized her mistake and apologized profusely. But she never learned to stop doing it.

"She never learns to behave…" Rose muttered to herself, sipping her stimulant and returning to her off-world reports. But she couldn't focus on the paperwork about newly discovered colonies or the production numbers from off-world Kindergartens. Not when the problem of Pearl was first in her mind.

"How can I reach her?" She murmured.

Two seconds later, there was a deafening cascade of crashing sounds reverberating through the walls.

Rose was on her feet in an instant, gliding down the hallways of the Rose Diamond palace to the source of the noise. It had come from within her workshop.

She flung open the door to reveal an unholy mess of various parts and scrap metal and Pearl's arm waving vaguely from the epicenter of it. Clearly, Pearl had been trying to clean the overstuffed workshop and one wrong move had set off an avalanche of old parts and garbage.

"Pearl!" Rose called, leaping into the air and landing weightlessly on a slab of metal next to where Pearl was buried. She pulled the smaller gem free, holding her up so she could examine her. "Are you alright? Are you hurt?"

Pearl's eyes were downcast, her gaze heavy. Rose slowly lowered her back to the floor but did not let go of the other gem's shoulders.

"You must be more careful, Pearl." Rose gently scolded her. "You could have gotten poofed or cracked your gem under all that…"

"You shouldn't have picked me," Pearl interrupted, her voice tearful. "I'm not good for anything."

"Don't say that Pearl…" Rose began softly, hoping Pearl would not cry. She never knew what to do when Pearl cried.

Pearl shook her head violently, her face contorting with self-hatred. "I argue, I'm disobedient and selfish, I cant carry out simple tasks…" She clenched her fists, clearly fighting the emotions welling up inside her. Pearls were not meant to have emotions. They were just possessions. They lived to serve and obey.

Rose chuckled. "Pearl…" She said, so gently that the other gem looked at her in surprise, her tense body loosening somewhat. "That is why I picked you. I'm going to fix you."

Apparently that was the wrong thing to say. Pearl's gaze clouded again. "Why bother?" She asked, turning away from Rose and starting to pick up the pieces of the mess around her. Rose started to answer but found that she had none. Why was she doing this? She had wasted 100 years on this Pearl and nothing had come from it.

Rose watched Pearl shift some of the larger pieces of the mess, straining to lift some of the pieces of scrap but refusing to ask for help. She sorted diligently, effectively, so that the mess visibly decreased in volume even as Rose silently watched. Pearl's grip on a slab of metal slipped and four of the ones she'd just stacked clattered to the floor again. Pearl merely sighed and began the process all over again.

Rose looked away. She was wasting her time.

But all the same, she felt like she could not give up on this poor defect. She could save her, if only she could figure out how…

Pearl was sorting gears by this point, carefully placing the correctly-sized ones into their boxes so that the teeth were lined up perfectly. Just like a well-trained technician would. She handled all the tools properly, even though she had never been made for such work. It was as if her fingers just knew what to do.

The thought struck Rose suddenly and without warning. I've been going about this all wrong…

"Pearl…wait."

Pearl froze, turning to stare at Rose Quartz.

"I have an idea." The bigger gem said. She gestured at the chair of the room's worktable, usually reserved for her technicians. "Sit down. I have a new task for you."

Pearl obeyed but hesitantly. "A new task?" She asked.

Rose nodded. Reaching into the set of gears Pearl had just organized, she placed a random handful in front of the other gem. "You are going to work with these pieces." She told Pearl. "Everyday. Until you can create something out of them. If you need more, just ask. If you don't understand something, figure it out."

Pearl looked at the pieces before her like they were bits of smashed gems. "But what will this accomplish?" She asked, prodding one with her finger until it flipped over.

"You're going to learn, Pearl." Rose told her. "You're going to discover."

Pearl gazed up at Rose in complete disbelief. "But…Pearls don't learn…" she stammered.

Rose covered one of Pearl's hands with her own. "You're not just a Pearl anymore." Rose told her sternly, but kindly. "You're my Pearl. And I said I was going to fix you. So now…" she straightened up, looked Pearl right in the eye and spoke a deliberate command. "Fix yourself, Pearl."

Pearl shivered. Her programmed response was to obey immediately but her defective form meant that she immediately recoiled from any stern commands. Rose watched the struggle impassively for a few moments, awaiting the decision.

"Yes…Rose."


Several days later, Rose caught Pearl watching her as she practiced with her sword in the courtyard.

She sighed. Pearl had been getting better about following orders when it meant she was allowed to learn in the workshop but she still sometimes did things Rose had not commanded her to.

Rose lowered her sword and called loudly. "I know you're here Pearl, please come out where I can see you!"

Pearl had emerged, blushing a deep blue from her hiding place among Rose's flower garden, her head lowered meekly.

"I…I know I'm supposed to be organizing your reports, madam…Rose. But I…I couldn't help but notice you out here in the yard…"

"What about your study?" Rose asked spinning her sword in a deft and complicated pattern.

"I've finished."

The sword faltered. "Finished?"

Pearl looked just as confused as Rose felt. "I…assembled the pieces…?" She replied, sounding unsure of herself.

Rose slid her blade into its waiting scabbard and dissipated her shield.

"Show me." She commanded. Pearl led her to the workshop, where the mess had magically vanished replaced instead with a haphazardly patched together Mark 2.4 Kindergarten injector that Rose had forgotten she had had the pieces to.

"I managed to get the frame in place by welding it." Pearl was saying quietly from behind Rose as the bigger gem examined the piece of reconstructed machinery. "I couldn't get it to look perfect but I did manage to get the gears re-aligned and repair the engine feeds…"

Rose whirled to face her, absolutely baffled. The engine feeds had been smashed beyond repair, even by her.

Pearl took a step back. "Was this…was it satisfactory?"

Rose actually laughed. "Satisfactory? Pearl, you took a machine that was smashed essentially to scrap and rebuilt an injector! This is more than satisfactory!"

Pearl ducked her head, blushing terribly. Rose walked around the drill several times, marveling at the feat. Although it was far from operational (that had been impossible from the pieces) this was still very impressive. If this was what she could do with scrap…

Perhaps I can get Pearl enrolled at the Yellow Diamond Academy…they're making new technicians there, I bet they'd love to see what she can…

"Rose?" Pearl called, interrupting her thoughts. "Shall I go clean up the courtyard now that my 'learning' is done?" She sounded dejected but resigned.

Rose stopped, staring at her possession. Her possession. Of course, how foolish of her

She would never make it in the Academies. She'd be laughed out or refused entry. Even if she did get in, her defects combined with her natural lower class of Gem would deny her so many opportunities, make everyday a living hell while she tried her best to succeed.

Pearl was still watching her, almost expectantly. She had approached this opportunity as an odd task and now…now it seemed she was actually displeased it was complete. Pearl had taken to the learning with relish after that first day, vanishing for hours into the workshop to continue her task. She showed the same devotion to her learning that she had previously to her obsessive organizing. Her disobedience hadn't markedly improved but she had snapped at Rose and others less often. And now she had taught herself basic repair skills. Perhaps…perhaps Pearl could learn other things too. Perhaps the learning could truly help her.

Maybe…Rose had found a way to 'fix' her.

"Pearl… how would you like to learn something else?" Rose asked her.

Pearl's eyes lit up, so much so that her Gem shone just a little. "There's more?" She sounded positively ecstatic.

Rose smiled. "Follow me."

She led her back to the courtyard, where the rack containing Rose's many blades hovered diligently in the air. Ignoring her enormous pink blade, Rose selected the smallest of her weapons and presented it to Pearl.

"Here."

Pearl stared at her as if she had just offered her a grenade.

"Go on." Rose urged her. "Take it."

Cautiously, Pearl wrapped her hand around the hilt, her fingers brushing Rose's slightly.

"Now," Rose began, moving around to stand behind Pearl but keeping her hand over the smaller gem's on the weapon. "I'm going to show you the very basics… spread your feet apart."

Pearl obeyed.

"Bend your knees." Rose told her, lifting the sword slightly. Pearl's arm was already trembling at the weight. "And now…position 1!" Rose thrust the sword forward, nearly sending Pearl stumbling at the suddenness of the move. "Position 2!" She swung the sword to the left in a parry, Pearl's body following the motion effortlessly this time.

They continued like this for some time, Rose guiding Pearl through some simple forms and stances. Eventually Rose extracted herself from her student and watched her move on her own. She giggled when Pearl finally noticed that she had left.

"Excellent!" Rose cheered as Pearl performed a flawless combination of parries.

Pearl blushed. "really?"

Rose nodded in approval. "Maybe one day you'll even be able to summon your own weapon!"

Pearl's face clouded. "No. No I cant." She lowered the sword, the tip falling to the dirt. "I wont even have one…Pearls…we don't have weapons…" The sword slipped from her trembling fingers and fell to the courtyard floor. She folded in on herself defensively, just like she did whenever she snapped at someone.

"You don't know that." Rose replied softly. After seeing Pearl so loose, so confident and free, she couldn't bear to see her go back.

"You have to work within your limitations, Pearl." She continued, not looking at Pearl but aware that she was watching her. "Turn them into strengths. That is how all Gems discover their weapons. You are very agile, fast, and precise…I could see you finding a sword within yourself…a sword just like this one." She stooped over and picked up the blade. Running her palm gently along the side of the blade, she addressed her student. "And you have an eye for detail and skill for innovation that would make a perfect tactical strategist. Who knows? Maybe you have a weapon waiting inside your Gem. We just have to find the right method to get it out."

Pearl was quiet, watching Rose with wide eyes again. Rose stood and replaced the sword on her floating rack alongside her pink blade.

One day perhaps. But not today.

For now, she would try to fix her Pearl by stimulating her intellectual prowess.

"What do you say I go get you a combat map from our last conquest and teach you how to read it?" Rose asked.

Pearl's smile was hesitant but for the first time, it was genuine.