A/N: I love Rhodonite and I want to see more of her. Still waiting for the real story to come out… why the hiatus?! Why?! Also, this is gonna be a two-parter, cause this is way longer than I remembered. So, enjoy part one!
Pearl's perspective.
"Pearl. Fetch the papers."
"Yes, my Morganite." That's all I ever say. Always agreeing, never disobeying. I walk carefully, evenly across the room to pick up the stack of papers sitting on Morganite's desk, then bring them back to her. She takes them without looking at me, and continues her work. Another gem is sitting beside her, and they're practically buried in screens and papers. I take my usual place by the wall, waiting in case she needs me again.
Morganite has an entire entourage of gems with her at all times, but the only ones left in this room are me and a single ruby. I wonder briefly why they'd let a ruby in, but then I remember they are notoriously stupid. What's more, this ruby isn't a normal red, but black. She stands beside the door, waiting, as I do.
I remember this ruby. She does a remarkable job of blending in, for one destined to stand out. She has been in Morganite's entourage for many cycles now, almost as long as me, and I've been here from the very beginning. Morganites are very important gems, so of course she was given a pearl from the start. Morganite is an important researcher, inventing new technologies and improving old ones.
Suddenly, I feel her eyes on me, and I carefully look towards her, not making eye contact. She glances at the gem beside her, an emerald.
"Pearl. Ruby. Leave us," she says calmly. I dutifully follow the ruby out the door, waiting for it to close behind us.
"Wonder what they're doing in there." It takes me a moment to realise who spoke, but when I do I look down at the ruby with incredulousness. She looks right at me and smiles. "What? Did you think I never talked?"
"You're not supposed to," is all I can say. She laughs.
"Those doors are soundproofed to keep anyone from overhearing their top-secret plans. It works both ways."
I look around us. We're standing in the antechamber of Morganite's quarters, a room not much larger than an airlock, with another set of door separating us from the main corridor. "I suppose," I say. "I hardly ever get a chance to talk."
"Well of course not," she says. "You're a Pearl. Constantly watched, standing pretty… blech. I'd hate having all those eyes on me."
"You stand out more than I do," I remark carelessly. She doesn't take offense.
"I suppose, but I've gotten good at blending in."
I hear the door opening, and I quickly straighten and stand against the wall as I'm supposed to. Ruby does the same.
"-perfect construction, must start production immediately," the emerald is saying as both gems exit Morganite's quarters.
"I'm glad you approve," my master says formally. I move to open the door for the emerald at the slightest gesture from Morganite, and she leaves with a promise to start production on her work, whatever that may be.
"C'mon, you lot," Morganite says, poking her head out the door. The rest of her entourage comes flowing in, having been made to wait all the way outside during the meeting. I feel rather privileged, having been allowed to listen to part of it. We return to the inner workshop, and morganite's work begins anew.
Life returns to normal, for a time. Morganite takes a problem that needs fixing and engineers a solution, all her entourage acting as the manual labor. Except me, of course. I merely stand off to the side, looking pretty.
Perhaps a week in to the project, during a particularly noisy stage of production, Morganite leaves the workshop and instructs us all to remain. I do not question her- such a thing would be unthinkable- but a part of me wonders what she's doing, all alone. The peridots continue working on the current stage, uninterrupted.
And then that Ruby is by my side again, smiling up at me and pulling back her afro. "Well, wonder what the master's up to now, eh?"
"I try not to," I say. "Asking questions can get you shattered."
"Shame, isn't it?" she looks out at the peridots working, the other rubies lined up against the opposite wall. "There's so much we could know, but we can only listen, and piece it together from what we can."
"You're pretty smart, for a ruby."
"You're pretty bold, for a pearl," she replies. For some reason that makes me blush, and look away. She giggles. "Shy, too. Who knew." I look down at her, filled with wonder, and she smiles. I can't help but smile back.
Here on homeworld, everything is strict. There is no going past the boundaries, no leeway to make mistakes. And among the many things forbidden is to touch a gem of another class.
That's why I'm so surprised when Ruby reaches up and takes my hand. She's blushing against her dark skin, and so am I, but I don't pull away. We stand there like that, hand in hand, until Morganite returns, and she blends in with the other rubies once more.
I silently perform my duties for Morganite, but my mind keeps straying to thoughts of the Ruby. Each day I pray for Morganite to take another outing, to have a meeting where she'll send me out, anything to give me a moment with her. I know these thoughts are silly, of course. I try to stay focused on my duties, and for the most part I succeed. Then something horrifying happens.
I'm waiting beside the door as Morganite inspects the work of the peridots, looking over her latest invention. I don't really know what it is by looking, but I've been listening more lately, and I heard Morganite say something about an energy shield.
"You ignorant clod!" Morganite screams at the peridot, who flinches. "I said 70%, not 75%! Now the whole thing has to be scrapped, thanks to your incompetence!" And she slaps the peridot across the cheek, causing the green gem to stagger backwards. Morganite returns to her desk and sits as though nothing happened. "Restart the process, and get it right this time," she says without looking up. I share a brief glance with Ruby, fear evident in both our gazes.
Each day, Morganite gets worse and worse. First she's constantly berating the peridots, then she's finding issues with the rubies, and each day I pray it won't be me. But, inevitably, the day comes.
It's a tiny slip, really. I drop a paper as I'm carrying the stack across the room, but before I can retrieve it, it lands in a pool of spilled liquid acid, disintegrating the sheet. Morganite sees this, as she sees everything, and stands menacingly.
"My apologies, Master," I say, keeping my voice even. She stays still, watching, as I set down the rest of the papers on the desk, then move to clean up the spill. That is when she strikes.
"Incompetent fool!" she shouts at me, shoving me to the ground. I curl up protectively, trying not to cry. "First them, now you! You're all destroying my work!" A punch lands on my arm, and then my knee. I bite my tongue to keep from crying out. Beyond her, I see Ruby standing against the wall, trembling, trying not to move. I send her a desperate message with my eyes- save yourself.
I take another blow, and then another. I'm desperate to release my form, but I don't, I refuse to. Eventually the blows stop, and I'm curled up against the wall, Morganite's form facing away from me. The peridots haven't stopped working, afraid of what she might do. The rubies stand at attention, as always, including my ruby, the black ruby among the red, who despite all her poise still locks eyes with me, desperation etched across her face. I pull myself to my feet and lean against the wall, trying to seem unfazed.
It doesn't work.