The fire crackled and popped, jolting Connie out of her dazed state. Out of reflex, she jumped to her feet, her sword drawn, heart pounding as her eyes darted around. Empty woods. Dark trees. The large boulder that sat to the north of their tiny camp…Everything was calm, unthreatening.
Stupid…lazy…could've cost him his life…don't you want him to live?
Connie of the Maheswaran tribe watched the landscape carefully, mentally berating herself all the way. She held her sword tightly, her free hand keeping her cloak free from the radius of her weapon. It took about three minutes before she settled back down, assured that her brief lapse in watchfulness hadn't done any damage.
She slowly sat at her post on the log, sliding her blade back into its sheath. Everything was quiet. And cold. She folded her arms tighter around her, wishing she had a blanket of some kind. As loose and comfy as her green tunic and cottony breeches were, they were built for combat, not surviving early spring in these woods. The night air had sharpened considerably in the past hour, cold stealing into her bones and shivering across her skin. Only the fire and her thin cloak kept her from freezing.
Connie curled herself up tighter, wishing she'd had the foresight to wear her hooded cape for today. "For a first solo mission, this is pretty tough."
They hadn't even allowed her a flint this time out. You would think that based on who she was protecting, they'd at least give her some survival gear. But no, it was scavenge for dinner, clean it with her sword, start a fire with sticks, and assemble a quick shelter to keep her charge safe. You can bet the Gem trainees didn't have a mission like this one this early in their training. Nope, just the human.
"What are you still doing up?" She jumped again as a loud voice called from behind her, sword already half-drawn. Connie turned and was greeted with the sight of her charge rubbing his eyes and yawning.
Relaxing, she slid her sword away. "I have to stay up Prince Steven," she replied respectfully, bowing slightly to him as she spoke. "To protect you. And please keep your voice down my Prince, we don't want to be discovered."
The heir to the throne blinked at her, confused. His black curls, tousled by his short bout of sleep, stuck out at odd angles from his head. A thick blanket was pulled tightly over his shoulders. "But we're only a mile from the palace, and Pearl said some of the Guards would be keeping an eye on us the whole time…who would discover us?"
Connie sat back down, pulling her cloak back over her shoulders to ward off the chill. "That's not the point of this exercise Prince Steven." Connie replied, turning away from him to continue her surveillance. The spy could easily be hiding behind that boulder... "This is training for both of us." Connie continued not pausing for a moment in her scanning. "I'm training to keep you safe and you're learning how to travel through the woods."
"I know." The Prince replied, stepping closer to her and stretching his hands towards the fire. The dying light flickered against his hands and made his dark eyes shine. "It's really cool out here. I've never had an open fire before. Pearl put up grates over our fireplaces ever since Amethyst convinced me to try to make torches out of my tunics for exploring the cellars."
Connie was silent, keeping her eyes trained on the woods beyond, mostly ignoring the Prince's tired ramblings. She was running through all the places where the Guards might be posted, watching them. She wished she knew if they were within earshot. A small sound had her turning her head but nothing greeted her. Her brow furrowed in irritation. They'd probably sent Beryl. She'd never be able to spot her in the dark.
Movement at the edge of her vision caught her attention and she stiffened, but it was just Prince Steven moving to stand next to her. The prince was looking at her curiously, his previous sleepiness gone. "What's your name?" He asked her as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
Well, to someone at the top of society it probably was. "…Connie." She replied after a second's hesitation. "…of the Maheswaran tribe."
He smiled at her, all of his teeth showing. "Hi Connie! My name's Steven!"
Connie couldn't help her small smile at his innocent introduction. "I know your name, my prince." She reminded him with a slight bow of her head.
The boy was undeterred. "Yeah, but we've never officially met." He stuck out his hand to her. Connie took it and raised it to her lips, pressing a respectful kiss to the back of it as she had been taught. Steven looked confused but shook her hand enthusiastically anyway. "I know about you though. Garnet says you're the only human the Guards have ever taken on."
Connie felt herself grimace reflexively and she dropped the Prince's hand. "That's correct." She folded her arms tightly around herself again, shivering.
Steven nodded. "Right! Well, I've seen you around a lot…when you're training with the others." He quieted suddenly and rubbed the back of his neck. "I uhh…I've wanted to say hi before but…you always seemed busy."
"It takes a lot of work to become a knight of the Guard," Connie replied, trying hard to focus on the landscape and not on how vulnerable that statement sounded coming from someone she'd been taught to revere. "Being a knight means being true to your cause, loyal to your liege, and disciplined in your training." Those were the words of the Commander and she sought to live by them. All the Guards did.
Steven was silent for a long time and Connie almost felt bad. It was hardly his fault that her training was so difficult. He was just curious.
The prince sat on the log beside her, swinging his feet in contemplation. "Connie?" Steven began softly, as if he feared another completely professional response from her.
She turned her head slightly. "Yes, my prince?" She tried to make her voice gentler.
Prince Steven pulled his feet up onto the log, hugging his knees to his chest. "What made you want to be a knight?" He looked up at her, wide-eyed with wonder and amazement.
Her jaw clenched. "I'm not a knight." Not yet.
"I know, but why'd the Gems agree to train you when you're a human?" He yawned widely. "Like me?"
She rested one hand on the borrowed sword at her waist. "I…don't know." Connie admitted. She had always dreamed of a life of adventure and danger but it had never been more than a dream until a year ago. "The Captain sought me out personally when the Guards visited my village on a routine training mission. She brought me back here and then after the Commander tested me, they decided I was worth training."
Her elongated response seemed to hearten the prince. "So how'd you get assigned to protect me?" Steven asked, his head lifting slightly.
Connie watched the woods, picking out the shape of an owl among the high branches of a tree. She stared intently at it but it didn't seem to be looking at them. "The Captain assigned me to you. She said it was imperative."
Steven's chin dropped to his knees. "Oh…" He pouted.
Connie turned to him fully, her vigil momentarily forgotten. "What is it?"
The prince seemed bashful. "it's just…I thought maybe you picked me…" He played with the dirt with his foot.
"That's not up to me Prince Steven." Connie replied, adjusting her grip on her sheathed sword. "I'm merely a soldier here to protect you, even at the expense of my own life. The Commander and the Captain dictate where I go and what I do."
The Prince's face fell, making him the absolute picture of misery, he seemed to be sinking into himself. "…Right." He whispered. Silence descended between them, broken only by the occasional pops and cracks as wood burned on the fire and the screeches of night birds in the woods around them.
Connie tried to keep her vigil but found that her attention kept wavering towards the boy next to her. The prince looked so small curled in on himself as he was. Prince Steven was barely twelve years old but he looked closer to ten. Short, round, and soft, there was nothing immediately about him that spoke of his title or his distinct place in Earth history. But he always carried himself with explosive character, a genuine heart that Connie had heard made even the Captain smile. There were stories that his mother had been similar. Of course, she had been the founder of Quartz Kingdom and a ferocious Gem warrior of ancient lineage. Those were enormous shoes for any Gem to fill, let alone a half-human Gem.
Steven sniffed and wiped his nose with a finger, watching the fire as if it held a clue to his future. Connie couldn't help but feel drawn to the prince. She'd been trained since day one to revere him, to put his safety above everything else, even at the risk of her own life. Her commander's voice was always in her ear and stalking her dreams, so much so that she'd forgotten what her own inner voice sounded like. It was always protect the prince or die for the prince. To see him like this was...jolting.
It was hard to grasp without seeing it up close like this but she couldn't deny it. He wasn't some mythical ruler like his mother had been, he was just a kid. A kid younger than she was and shouldered with more responsibility and expectation than she had weighing on her.
And yet in spite of all that, every time she saw him wandering around the palace, he seemed to be smiling.
She had a pretty good idea why.
"Do you want to be a knight, my prince?"
Steven looked up, surprised to hear Connie addressing him without being spoken to first. But instead of being miffed like most of the upper class would be, he seemed thrilled.
"I want to be able to help out on missions." He began, one foot sliding back to the ground. "Pearl always says I can go once I learn to control my gem powers but…" He trailed off, his foot dragging in the dirt. "Yeah, I think it would be really cool to be a knight. A warrior, like my mom."
Connie smiled, a plan forming in her mind. "Can I tell you a secret?" She whispered.
The Prince perked up immediately. He whispered back at a volume barely considered a stage whisper. "What? What?"
Connie leaned down, placing her lips near his ear. "Being a knight…" she paused, waiting until he began fidgeting with impatience and intrigue. She smirked. "...Is AWESOME."
Steven giggled conspiratorially, as if they were sharing a secret in a room full of crowded people. A secret only they would ever know.
"We could be knights together!" Steven exclaimed, throwing his arms wide, his eyes shining with stars.
Caught up in his enthusiasm, Connie couldn't bring herself to lie to his face and tell him that, with him being the prince and her being...her, they would probably never fight together.
But instead, she played along, if only to see him smile like that a little longer. Connie took his hand again but this time, she shook it as she might a comrade's. "Very good then, my prince. Together we shall vanquish evil and protect the meek!" They shook firmly, their hands lingering in each other's grips. Steven was trying very hard to look serious but the corners of his mouth kept turning up in a smile. A warm feeling started to glow deep in Connie's chest as she looked at him. There was the smile he needed. The smile that was so…him.
A soft pink light enveloped them, seeming to originate from the space between them. Connie glanced down and her eyes widened.
"Prince Steven…"
His stomach was glowing right at belly button level. "Huh?" He didn't seem to feel any different but he followed her gaze. His eyes doubled in size.
Steven pulled up his shirt to reveal the Rose Quartz Gem: all that remained of the fearless Queen Rose.
"My gem is glowing!" He exclaimed, overjoyed. "It's…never done this before…" He turned to her, frightened and suddenly seeming smaller. "Connie, what do I do?"
Connie was still holding his hand, staring at his glowing gem. "I…I…"
Steven was panicking now. He squeezed her arm tightly, drawing her even closer. "The Gems said they'd be here when this happened, what do I do?" He was sweating and shaking, looking like he wanted to both throw up and faint. Even watching him was making her feel an empathetic discomfort. But she had no idea what to do. Any of the other trainees would have had something to tell him. But she was the only one without a gem. The only one who would be useless in this situation.
The prince whimpered and Connie reacted instinctively. "Steven!" She grabbed him by the shoulders, shaking him slightly. "Relax, breathe!"
He didn't respond, his face growing redder and his gem only glowing brighter. Connie briefly considered smacking him but she knew that would probably only make it worse.
She gently grasped his chin and turned his face to hers. "Look at me." She commanded him softly. He met her eyes and she saw his fear, his uncertainty like reflections of her own inner demons.
Memories of her mother came to mind. "Deep breath," she told him. "With me." She inhaled long and deep, pulling the air deep into her stomach and chest. She held it for several seconds, then slowly released it again.
The prince just stared at her. Connie gripped him a little tighter. "With me, Steven." He copied her this time, drawing a shuddering breath that Connie felt as he trembled. They exhaled together, the expelled air twisting and mingling between their bodies. Steven visibly relaxed in Connie's grip, practically sagging with the release of tension from his small body. The soft pink light faded slightly as they inhaled again but glowed all the brighter as they exhaled, like an ember slowly becoming a flame.
Connie could feel the soft light in the darkness enveloping her, wrapping around her like a cloud, pulling her closer to the prince. The light from the fire seemed dim compared to the gentle glow of the Prince's gem. His light was all at once warm and calm, like sitting in a cloud that smelled of roses and potential.
Steven closed his eyes but still breathed along with her. Inhale deep into the belly….hold…exhale slowly…
Connie felt her eyelids begin to droop, her thoughts fading into the light and the rhythm of the ritual. Her and Steven inhaled simultaneously, exhaling deeply several seconds later. "This is helping." Connie thought and the Prince smiled softly in response, his features as serene as she felt.
It was like they shared a consciousness, breathing as one, their minds coming closer together as the light sunk into their form…
The fire popped loudly, jolting Connie out of the meditative trance. She released him as if he were burning her and backed away, the feeling of drifting into his mind peeling away from her slowly. Steven flinched as she ceased the breathing technique and opened his eyes.
"Connie..?"
She was silent, determined to look anywhere but at him. She blinked hard, remembering who she was, her memories of home, her purpose here: guide, protect, die if necessary.
The gem glow slowly faded, leaving behind nothing but the imprint of its brief light on their eyes.
"What? No…no!" Steven grabbed at his stomach, shaking it up and down as if he could jostle the light back into being. But his gem had gone dark, refusing to so much as sparkle. The prince sagged off of the log, collapsing in the dirt next to the fire. He lay sprawled like that for a few seconds before slowly rolling onto his side and sitting up to lean against the log.
"I…I'm sorry I freaked out like that." Steven apologized, not looking at Connie. "I just…the Gems have been waiting for my gem to show any signs of magic and…and I blew it the first time." Connie felt her eyes twitch, just slightly at the hint of tears in his voice. "I was really hoping I would summon my weapon this time…"
She glanced back at him, her heart clenching when she saw him sitting with his knees pulled up to his chest again. "You're probably just tired my prince." Connie replied, trying to sound gentle. Her fingers twitched but she made no move towards him or her weapon. "You really should get some rest. We must be off at dawn."
Steven glanced up at her as settled determinedly back into her vigil. But he said nothing and after a few seconds, he stood and walked back towards his shelter.
Connie rubbed her arms, the warmth from Steven's gem glow fading from her rapidly. Even though it was barely any help, she pulled her cloak tight about her again. Hopefully she wouldn't freeze before dawn. Or fall asleep.
A thick blanket fell over her shoulders, warming her instantly. She turned to see the prince offering her one of those enormous smiles, standing behind her. "Go back to sleep, my prince." She told him, even as she burrowed instinctively into the blanket. The prince only walked around the log again to stand before her. "We must rise early to return to the Castle." Connie reminded him.
Steven just blinked at her. "But you're not sleeping at all." He pointed out.
"Because I have to protect you." She returned, smirking at his concern for her.
"You might get lonely." He replied, plopping himself down next to her. He didn't seem to be bothered by the cold at all. "I'll keep you company."
Connie couldn't bite back a smile and wriggled deeper inside the blanket. "That's really nice of you Prince Steven, but it's not necessary…"
He would not be dissuaded. Nevertheless, several minutes later found him fast asleep against her shoulder, snoring softly as he dozed.
And even though he was impeding her ability to draw her weapon, Connie found she didn't mind at all.
