Getting ready, Morganite had darkened her lips and added frills to the bottom of an informal gown. Some strands of her wavy hair curled; I watched her work in the mirror as they coiled by her will. I had considered straightening mine at some point, but couldn't imagine my face bordered by another texture.

Like My Lady, I had undergone the same treatment. My skirts had grown new sections like additional petals of a flower, and my face popped with color. These weren't changes I had willingly made, but ones she had requested. I was ready to go on this date of theirs looking as I always did, now with wrinkled skirts and extra knots in my uncooperative hair, but for some reason she insisted we both look nice for Jasper. I didn't bother putting up a fight and decorated my face as she asked me to.

That day, Jasper rang the bell despite not needing to, and before I could drag myself from the couch to answer, Morganite bounced over from a cloud of perfume and allowed her in. I adjusted my posture so she wouldn't see me slouching.

"You look nice." I witnessed My Lady nearly gape at her bodyguard, whose rough white hair had been brushed and whose piercing eyes wore a border of liner and extended lashes. I wondered if she had a Pearl to help her.

"So do you," Jasper replied. "Are you ready to go?"

"Just about. I wanted to bring some tea—" Morganite went into the kitchen and left Jasper to stand there and stare at me. I stood up, thinking she might have wanted to say something, but she remained silent and I didn't greet her. We both lingered in place, looking at one another, until Morganite returned with an almost comically large thermos cradled in her arms. She looked at both of us and touched Jasper's hand.

"Pearl, are you ready to go?"

"Yes, My Lady."

"And Jasper, are you ready to go?"

"I got here, didn't I?"

Morganite laughed. "I suppose you did. Well, let's head out."

Before we left, Jasper looked from me to Morganite, and more specifically—her thermos. I'm sure she wondered why I wasn't carrying it. I even wondered why My Lady hadn't asked me to fill it for her and suddenly felt like the last link of a slow chain as we moved towards the warp pads.

Leading both of us, Morganite kept up a decent pace, but Jasper still followed with slow footsteps for her long stride. I came after her, keeping what I thought to be a good speed, but I didn't know. In order to see Morganite at all, I would have needed to look around Jasper, and I already felt stupid, thermos-less, and extra—going on a romantic outing where I clearly wasn't needed.

I might have been happier at home, sleeping or masturbating between the pages of a book, but I'll admit, I was looking forward to going out. The planet we would visit, Epsilon 5, was a gift from Blue Diamond to White, but since the old woman didn't go anywhere unless she absolutely needed to, it was now open to nobles during free days. Epsilon 5 didn't have many resources, but most of its exterior was covered in flowers that varied in color with the seasons, which is why it had made a nice gift for White Diamond. Like the unending shimmering of her radiant gem, it reflected all colors in its seasons, not only representing her, but gemkind itself, dependent in her reliable arms.

I intended on tearing a few flowers out by the roots.

Upon approaching the warp, Morganite, Jasper, and I boarded at the same time. If we each tried to go separately, the process wouldn't have worked, because the vouchers were assigned to Morganite's cut and number. If either Jasper or I tried to follow, we wouldn't be able to warp off the planet. Only nobles could move willingly between courts even on Homeworld itself, so we all piled onto the pad, Morganite and I close to Jasper's wide hips, not yet touching, but very near. Thankfully, before anyone could witness how awkward we all must have looked, Morganite activated the warp and we disappeared inside the blue light.

I couldn't tell for certain, but I was sure she took Jasper's hand the moment we left Homeworld. When we arrived, they stepped from the warp connected, with two of Jasper's big fingers in Morganite's little grasp. We landed in a short clearing, surrounded by fields of peachy flowers and a grey sky by virtue of several puffy clouds huddled together, whispering secrets.

Morganite, thermos in one arm, hand still occupied by Jasper's, turned to me. "Pearl, you're welcome to go where you like; just don't wander too far out. We'll probably leave when the sky begins getting dark, and if you can't find us for some reason, try to make your way to the warp pad."

"Yes, Ma'am."

Jasper had her focus on me, which felt far more abrasive than the sweet dark brown of My Lady's eyes. Even so, both of them staring made my stomach turn, and I was ready for them to walk away.

"Lovely. We'll see you later."

"Understood, Madame."

Even in walking away, Jasper's gaze lingered moments longer than I would have liked. She and Morganite entered the sea of flowers and after a few moments, I did too, albeit pointed in a different direction.

Coming to that planet, I had supposed we might encounter a few other gems, but I found nothing but the long expanse of blooms whose green stems and peachy petals eventually disappeared into an orange pall. Towards my immediate vision, I found a few flowers that were pinker or yellower, but most of them kept to the same sherbet color, brighter and happier than they had reason to be. Not only that, but they stood tall, and tickled my knees whenever I moved.

Eventually, I had gone far enough away from Morganite and Jasper, but still found them in the distance, blending in with the field. Even from where I stood, I could see My Lady leaning against her bodyguard, arms interlocked as they sat and spoke. She had found a place for her cheek somewhere against Jasper's arm as loud laughter sometimes broke out and made its way toward me. Aside from the mumbled and incoherent nature of their voices, I couldn't hear them and eventually sat down.

The flowers covered my chest and tickled my skin as the wind blew through them. Something about it felt like a caress or a series of light kisses every time the petals brushed past.

True to my intentions, I plucked a few of them and began arranging them into a crown, despite the stiffness of the stems. Thick and stubborn, I snapped a few by accident until I found the best way to shape my hands and make a decent crown, even though it threatened to fall apart any time I shifted.

I wished I could have made a flower crown for My Diamond. She would have loved these, and I think their peachy, pink-orange color would have looked nice on her. Earth flowers weren't so different, and I remember a few hours picking pink flowers and trying to shape them into jewelry.

Towards the end, she wouldn't try herself anymore. Eyes drooping and leaning back in her throne, she would watch me, and I would turn my work in to her, having made a crown for my head or a ring for her little finger.

I uprooted another flower and looked to Morganite and Jasper, who appeared picturesque as they sat in their section of the field. I could still hear their far-away voices, talking about something, and I tore away the petals.

I don't like the part of myself that wanted to listen to them. Even then, I knew whatever they were saying—and it could have been anything—didn't matter, but she told me to be honest and I wanted to know.

Despite my intense staring from my patch of uprooted flowers and disembodied petals, neither noticed. I heard and watched them for full minutes but not one of them turned to catch me.

I especially don't like the part of myself that thought to lie flat on my stomach, so the flowers would obscure me, and that if I moved slowly enough, neither Morganite nor Jasper would find me coming closer. This was more than just a hypothesis, because every time the wind picked up, and the blooms rustled, I drew closer to their voices.

I don't know where exactly I ended up, but I was near enough to hear what they were saying. I had stopped approaching during a quiet spell, but didn't wait long before Morganite started speaking again.

"I think about you a lot." Her voice seemed to come out of one side of her mouth, meaning she still must have leaned against Jasper's arm.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah," Morganite paused. "I want you to be happy."

"I'm happy right now."

"Well, I know that, but sometimes you feel so…"

"So what?"

"So…troubled."

Jasper paused and answered in a voice calmer than usual. "You should leave the worrying to me. Which one of us is the bodyguard?"

Morganite sighed. "I want to be there for you too. I wish there was more I could do, but it would look suspicious to shower you in gifts and send you love letters." The wind blew for a moment. "Sometimes I wonder if you would still be my bodyguard in Pink Diamond's court. I would hope so. Most Quartzes are gorgeous, but I'd hate to think of having anyone else. You make me look forward to those damn visions."

A long silence followed. "Do you really mean that?"

"Of course I do, especially the part about the love letters." I heard Morganite breathe in. "Why don't you believe me?"

"No one writes love letters to soldiers."

"Oh? I'll write you a love letter right now. Your eyes are the color of the purest sunset and the heart of Yellow Diamond's gem. Your stripes are as rich as the deepest crimson and occupy the most pleasing face I've ever seen!" Despite her kind words, Morganite was shouting, as if admonishing Jasper. "You're as tall as a goddess and shaped like one too, and I long to be in your gorgeous banded arms! You're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen and my thoughts swarm with your image every time we part!" Her voice became even louder. "Words cannot describe how much I adore you! Signed your Beloved—"

But her voice muffled in what I assumed to be Jasper's hand. Both of them were laughing.

"Would you stop?"

"What?" My Lady had trouble speaking. "That's what I would write in a letter to you. What would you write to me?"

"I don't know how to write a love letter."

"Yeah, but what would you say?"

Jasper paused for a moment. "You're really…"

"Uh-huh. Really what?"

"You're really…pink."

"Gee, thanks!" The laughter erupted again. "I never noticed. Is that all? 'You're really pink. Love, Jasper?'"

"Now that you mention it, that sounds pretty good."

"Oh my stars."

"I would add that you're pretty cute, I guess."

"'Dear Morganite, you're really pink. Love, Jasper. P.S—You're pretty cute, I guess.' Wow, Jasper—" She caught her breath. "I don't know why they didn't make you a poet."

"'P.S, your eyebrows are bushy.'"

I think I heard Morganite's mouth drop. "I like my eyebrows!"

"I like them too. That's why I would put it in a love letter, dipshit."

Through her joy, Morganite got out, "Fuck you."

"Fuck you too, you little moron." I heard Jasper's lips make contact with her, and Morganite almost snorted. I wished I could have gotten a look at them.

"You're so dumb."

"Jasper, stop—" Morganite sounded like she was crying and I heard the sound of another kiss.

"Why? Because you're dumb?"

"Stop—" Another kiss. "Stop…"

They settled, and through the light shining onto the blooms before me, I could tell that the sun had begun to set. The atmosphere around us matched the color of the petals the sky would soon turn a warm orange.

"Where did your Pearl go?"

I felt my throat contract, but remained still.

"Oh, I'm not sure where she went, but I wouldn't worry too much about her."

A few moments passed where neither spoke and I stopped breathing. The stems tickled me again, but I remained like a stone between them. I didn't want to imagine the trouble I would be in if Jasper caught me. In hindsight, I'm sure Morganite wouldn't have allowed her to grind me to dust, but in that silence and under that question, I didn't trust her not to hurt me.

My Lady's voice rose above the breeze. "Jasper, you have to stop worrying about her. I've told you already that she hasn't been sent to spy on me, and even if she had, I would be able to take care of it."

I grew just as cold as the stone I pretended to be.

"Just trust me."

Between the moment she disabled the guard and that day, I had settled into a comfortable lie to keep myself from fearing her—that maybe Morganite wouldn't use her powers in such a way on me, but I couldn't even prove that she already hadn't. Perhaps I had somehow seen something worse, something worth reporting, but My Lady had kept me silent.

I wanted to run, but the logical parts of my mind convinced my body otherwise.

"I don't like the way she looks at you, or at me. She seems like she's up to something."

"Oh, Jasper. Could you even blame her? She's been through a lot." I heard Morganite stand. Her legs cracked and popped from maintaining the same position for so long. "Well, shall we go looking for her?"

Jasper stood too. "We might as well. It'll be time to head back soon anyway."

Hiding inside that enormous bouquet, I let them search until I couldn't hear them calling me any longer. Their voices faded with the glow in the sky, and in relative darkness, covered with pollen and petals, I ran to the warp pad and waited for them to check there. I tried to calm my anxiety, but I'm sure it showed, and I was also sure Morganite would read it on me the moment we returned home. Her curious hands never strayed from me too long anymore.

I was quivering to myself when they finally returned, Morganite with a relieved, "There you are!" We all headed back, not touching, not talking, and I had the metallic aftertaste in my mouth that I had done something very wrong.