Rose knew it wouldn't take long until Amethyst started asking questions, but even centuries after taking her in, she still hadn't come up with a good list of answers.
"Rose, why did I pop out of the Kindergarten and you didn't?"
"Rose, how come when I was made, I was completely alone? Where did everyone else go?"
"Rose, why aren't there any more Gems on Earth except us?"
First, she had to explain what exactly Gems were and where they came from. Amethyst comprehended that quite well. But what was much more difficult to explain was why the Crystal Gems chose to abandon their Homeworld.
"What made our home so bad?" the young Gem would ask Rose.
"Even though Homeworld is filled with Gems like us, not all of them are as kind towards humanity like we are," Rose explained, pulling her young ward into her lap. "In fact, they despise this planet and we were forced to fight them in order to keep it safe."
Pearl was incredibly eager to tell the epic tales of the Rebellion, opting to explain to Amethyst about how brave and courageous she and Rose were, and regaled everything they did in a heroic light. As flattering as the stories Pearl told were, they were warped and twisted, erasing the more extreme and ruthless parts in favor of tinting everything with black and white shades and kept it all through one angle instead of varying the points of views. It was almost as if Pearl deliberately cut certain words out and replaced them with utter lies.
Rose wasn't sure if this was Pearl's way of gently handling the truth to Amethyst or this was truly how she saw the war.
Amethyst was much more eager to hear about how Ruby and Sapphire first fused. Garnet was all too happy to tell her story and didn't hesitate to add in how furious Homeworld was at their existence and that for a moment; the Rebellion was nearly halted early.
Even when Rose had to show her all the Crystal Gems who ended up falling during the war and being forced to name them all again, aching deep down inside with all the memories and wondering what could've been if they survived to meet Amethyst, the young Gem was enthralled to find out about all the former Crystal Gems and kept on asking what they were like.
"Wow, I really wish I could've met them!" she cried, glimmering with awe.
"I bet they would've loved you," Rose responded, ignoring the twitch of pain she felt after she made such a comment. Would they have really loved her or would they only see her how Homeworld viewed her? It was likely Amethyst was made just to fight them. Perhaps Rose was actually lucky to be one of the last few survivors if it meant she would've defended Amethyst from being punished for something that wasn't her fault.
Then came harder questions to answer . . . such as the purpose of Amethyst herself.
Rose gently explained the circumstances of her creation. The Kindergarten was made to breed many Gems, including Rose and Amethyst themselves ("That makes us sisters!" Amethyst squealed with glee) but in the process, it caused Earth much harm. Because of Homeworld, the Earth was slowly dying. If it wasn't for Rose's intervention and eventual outbreak of war, all life would've ceased to exist and the Earth would've become a colony.
Amethyst couldn't comprehend that quite as well as the other stories.
"Why were we made if we ended up hurting the Earth?" she asked, her usual upbeat mood suddenly shifting.
"Because Homeworld didn't care who they hurt in order to achieve their goals," Rose answered calmly. "All Gems end up hurting life at some point, Amethyst, whether they built Kindergartens or not, but the reason the Crystal Gems were formed was because we intended to subvert that and defend humanity rather than hurt them."
"Does that mean I hurt my own home?" Amethyst whispered.
That was even more difficult to answer.
"Amethyst, all Gems have damaged other lives in order to exist," Rose said gently. "It's not your fault that we are what we are. Being a Crystal Gems was always meant to change that."
"But the Earth is what we protect and I ended up damaging it, like everything else I end up breaking," the purple Gem said glumly, losing all the cheer that made Rose ever so fond of her.
She ended up wrapping her arms around Amethyst even tighter, nuzzling the thick silvery hair that Quartzes like them were known for.
"Amethyst, you have to understand that even if the Earth was damaged a little when you and I were made, all the Crystal Gems stopped it from continuing what the Kindergarten was made to do. You should never feel sorry for being here because I am just like you, Amethyst. If you did something wrong, then I did the exact same," Rose consoled her adopted ward.
That seemed to make Amethyst content for a while. She soon went back smiling and playing around, exploring the rest of the Crystal Gem territory and playfully getting on Pearl's nerves. It was so relaxing to finally see the young Gem smile again, after everything she learned about Homeworld and the true purpose behind how she was made.
But then several weeks after, Amethyst piped up with another difficult question, something that made Rose twitch again deep down.
"Rose, what would've happened if the Crystal Gems were never formed?"
It was time again to pull the small Quartz into her lap and wrap her arms around her, trying to cushion the response she was about to make.
"If we never fought for this planet, then the Earth would become another colony, another part of Homeworld's empire," Rose sighed. "Then Pearl and I would've never met and she would continue her duties and I would end up continuing mine. I told you what Pearls were made to do, right?"
Amethyst nodded. "She wouldn't have been happy like that."
Rose had to draw in another breath in order to continue. "And then Garnet would've never have been made and Ruby and Sapphire would've continued their purposes as well with absolutely no change. The two of them wouldn't even be allowed to have a private conversation, would you imagine? Homeworld is that strict about keeping Gems apart from each other."
"That would be horrible," Amethyst said solemnly. "But what I wanted to know is what would happen to you and me? What would I do if I was a Homeworld Gem?"
Rose was nearly on the verge of stopping the conversation right there. How would Amethyst react if she found out that she almost ended up a bloodthirsty warrior? But the purple Gem's wide eyes kept Rose from refraining from the truth.
"You and I would both be strong warriors," she continued. "We would serve under a Diamond, like I once explained to you. My Diamond . . . wasn't exactly someone I wholly agreed with, but attempting to argue with her would only get me shattered, so I forced myself to be quiet. You would most likely end up serving her as well, being that this was her colony at first. But she might not have accepted you into her army."
"Why not," Amethyst implored with a curious gaze. She was enraptured by everything she just heard, even though Rose had hoped she would stop being so interested in the topic if she gave out one answer.
Another heavy sigh escaped Rose's lips. She wondered if it was obvious that talking about Homeworld made her uncomfortable, but Amethyst remained oblivious, "Because they wouldn't accept Quartzes who are made too small."
Amethyst's mood significantly grew darker. "But you love me for being small!"
"Of course I do," Rose cooed softly, planting a kiss on the young Quartz's forehead. "But like I said, Homeworld thinks differently than we do. If you didn't fit the criteria how they think you should be, then you would immediately be cast out."
"But how could they do that?" Amethyst cried, Rose almost hearing a little sob in her voice. "Why wouldn't they like me for who I am?"
"Because they are cruel and narrow-minded," the pink-haired leader replied, slightly more bitter when she continued speaking. "The Diamond Authority never saw differences as being a good thing. They thought Garnet was unnatural. They thought Pearl was a mistake. They thought I possessed no free-thinking of my own. And they would never love you the way I love you. They would only see you as someone defective and nothing more."
Amethyst began to sniffle a little. Rose wiped away the tears that formed in the corner of her eyes. Finally, the purple Gem spoke again. "What was I supposed to look like? What would make them accept me?"
"They would have wanted you to be big and surly," Rose answered. "All broad shoulders and rippling muscles, and that's what all Quartzes are made out of, pure muscle only made to obey them."
"Does that mean I came out wrong then?" Amethyst whispered, burying her face in Rose's luxurious curls.
Rose vehemently shook her head, softly stroking her loved one's hair. "No, no, of course not, how could you ever think of such a thing? Remember, Amethyst, this is only what Homeworld wants you to be. Their opinion doesn't matter now that we're free. To me, you are absolutely perfect just the way you are."