AN: I'm apologizing for my hiatuses by trying to post a new chapter every two days! :D
Rose shook her head. "Wait a second, Gems." She waved a hand at Ruby, Amethyst, and Sapphire.
She noticed the smaller Gems nod.
Rose advanced on Tiger's Eye. "What was that all about?"
There was another flash of light, just like the one a few seconds before. Peridot had just retreated into her Gem.
"I was training them, my Diamond. They weren't fast enough."
Rose looked at the white Gemstone clattering on the floor. "You're not dealing with Quartzes, you're dealing with average Gems. You have to be…" Rose leaned down and picked up Pearl's Gem from the floor. "Gentle."
Tiger's Eye raised a brow. "Why would I do that? No disrespect of course, my Diamond."
Rose sighed. She tucked Pearl's Gem into her sash and reached down for Peridot's. She rubbed some dust that had already settled onto her Gem off and tucked it into the other side of her sash. "You would do it so that they become confident. Pearls and Peridots are highly cerebral. Their abilities are based off of their mindset." She turned to Tiger's Eye, her toes digging into the carpet. "And breaking their hands and legs before they can even fight doesn't exactly put them in a good mindset."
Tiger's Eye shrugged. "They weren't fast enough. Like I said."
Rose remembered exactly why she was promoted. Normal Quartzes were idiots! "You still don't get it, do you? All Gems are different. They've all got different ways to learn."
She nodded. "I've got that. I do it without a thought and that Peridot there did it through fear." She pointed to Peridot's Gem and then to Pearl's. "Stars know what caused the Pearl to summon hers, though."
Rose quickly went through her memory. Pearl didn't look like she was doing anything that could summon her weapon before she fell. But when she rolled, it looked like Pearl was doing it rhythmically. It was almost like a dance.
"She was focusing," Rose said.
"Pearls don't focus. Have you seen them?"
Rose lowered her brows at her. "This one did."
Tiger's Eye nodded and pet the spiky braid at the back of her head. "It's safe to assume that she's the first, then, my Diamond." She lowered her gaze to Rose's feet.
"No need to do that," Rose said. She pushed Tiger's Eye's chin up-wards. "An apology is fine."
Tiger's Eye stiffened. "Sorry, Pink Diamond."
She was getting better. Rose still felt a twinge of guilt that Tiger's Eye was only doing it out of obedience, though. "It's alright." Rose put her weight on her other foot and noticed the jab of Pearl's gemstone in her side. She should get onto that. But she wasn't feeling ready to cry. She was more angry, and even then she was cooling down from that.
Rose noticed the cracked floorboards close to the two Quartzes. She got an idea. She 'wandered' in the direction of the floorboards, keeping a close eye on her human. He didn't seem to move. She took cautious steps until she felt one of the boards creak underneath her weight. She leaned extra hard on it, breaking it. She fell through painfully.
Okay, bad idea. Very bad idea. Rose picked herself up painfully. Her waist had collided with the other floorboards, which turned out not to be so weak. She brushed ancient sawdust off her dress and winced whenever she put pressure on her hips. "Shouldn't have done that," Rose said. She felt her eyes water. Perfect. She wiped her hands on her eyes, accidentally getting wood dust in them.
She blinked it out of her eyes, causing them to water harder. She pressed one hand, wet with tears, on Peridot's Gemstone. Immediately the triangular gem started to glow. Rose her hands out and let her gem rise. She looked like a Earthen cat being held from its stomach. Her hair sprouted out quickly and she fell to the ground even faster. She jumped up and dusted her uniform.
"Ow!" she shouted. "Or… not…" She waved her hand around. "What just happened?" She turned to Rose, and she gave a knowing grin.
Realization dawned on her face. "Oh! You have healing powers!"
Rose nodded. She rubbed Pearl's gem with her wet hand tenderly. Her gem flashed white, but dimmed down and didn't respond.
"Pearl?" Rose asked, dumbfounded.
There was no response, as she should have known.
"May I ask a question?" the human asked, raising a hand. Rose turned to him, gripping Pearl's gemstone tighter than she should.
Why should she let a human engage in these conversations? Rose stiffened, debating whether to let him speak or not. She was training them in case those Quartzes were hostile to Earth. But she was training the human too. She decided to let him speak. "Sure. Ask away, human."
"Greg, ma'am." He stopped and winced like he was expecting Rose to act hostilely to the correction. She wasn't. If the human was called Greg, she'd call him that. "Well, why isn't she reforming? Peridot did when you healed her…"
Rose looked down at her face reflected in Pearl's gem. "I don't… know…" She looked at Peridot. "Peridot, has this happened before?"
Peridot ran across the floor and picked up her right arm's enhancer. She slipped it on her arm. Her screen flickered on, and she stared through multiple screens before calling, "Nope!" to Rose.
Rose drew in a deep breath. If this wasn't normal, it had to because of Pearl's defectiveness. "Maybe I didn't heal her…"
Greg raised a hand again. "Maybe she doesn't want to come out?"
What a stupid idea! Rose laughed. "Why would she do that?"
Greg shrugged.
"Exactly," Tiger's Eye interrupted. "There's something wrong with her. I say we sha—"
"No!" Rose said, holding Pearl's Gem to her breast. Crud. She said that out loud. "No. I say what happens on this planet, and shattering Pearl would be a waste of time."
"Waste of time?" Tiger's Eye said. "I'd just punch her Gem. It'd only take one second and she'd be dead."
Rose shook her head. "No. We'll give her time to heal, just in case I didn't." The image of Pearl's remains on the floor terrified her. She only half-hoped it didn't show. "No," she sighed. She glanced out of the massive windows at the north end of the dining room. Bright midday sunlight shone through. She took another deep breath to calm her down.
Pearl was fine, she knew it. Rose turned to the Gems and human. "Training session dismissed." She turned around at Amethyst, Ruby, and Sapphire. "Training session dismissed! We'll continue tomorrow at dawn!"
