Yellow had summoned her, down a long and confusing corridor to the control room. And this smallish Pearl, with her wild blue hair and ebony skin, walked desperately alone with her very own footsteps echoing from the empty halls back into her ears.

Occasionally, she would stop. Her whole body would cease in order to pull in a long, shallow breath that filled her chest but did not satisfy the quaking of her limbs.

Red Beryl had always come with her to meet Yellow Diamond. When the servant would get nervous, her master's crimson hand would come and wring all the nerves from her fingers in a confident grip.

Now Red's heart was broken and Pearl needed to be the strong one.

Occasionally, another gem would pass by and toss her an odd look. The curiosity in their eyes told stories of Pearls escaping their masters. But why then, would this one be headed in the unequivocal ruler's direction? Not one of them said a word to her, though she anticipated a violent interrogation each and every time.

Somehow, through loud steps and beads of warm sweat, she came to Yellow Diamond's door. The Queen's Pearl awaited her, and after a mildly confused look and a flip of golden hair, one servant led the other deep-deep-deeper into the rabbit hole.

In the middle of it all was Queen Mother of Everything, sparkling gently in the dull and calm light of the throne room. Even Yellow Diamond, who typically made such an intimidating pose upon that enormous chair, with one leg crossed sternly over the other and back at 90 degrees straight, had given up into the recesses of her seat. Her arms hung over the rests and her brows furrowed—plagued with empress kind of thoughts.

Those glittering eyes lazily captured Pearl, and she leaned forward.

"Come a little closer."

"Yes, My Diamond."

Yet, the two of them were still separated by miles. Pearl bent into the floor and groveled in respect.

This polite begging was met with an intense silence.

Yellow Diamond clicked her tongue against her perfect, hard teeth.

"Do you know why I called you here?"

With her face to the floor, Pearl answered. "Does it have anything to do with Red Beryl, Madame?"

"It does."

Another shift in that perfect figure. More silence.

"Pearl, stand up and come even closer. What I'm about to say is going to be difficult."

"Yes, Ma'am."

So the smaller one rose and moved four echoes nearer, until she was within arm's length of the Queen. But her deep blue eyes did not dare to meet hers, so they affixed themselves to the golden woman's high heels.

"I called you here because I intend to take your life."

Finally, the servant dared to look up. Her lips experienced a series of seismic waves, but she anchored her tongue in a single place.

"Red Beryl is so upset about losing her match that I'm not sure she'll ever be able to get over it. She'll blame herself for millennia, but I need her at work tomorrow."

Both gems, despite their grossly different castes, looked right at one another.

"I'm going to shift the pain to something that isn't her fault—to something I'm going to claim is an accident. Do you understand?"

Pearl was losing her breath. And her vision clouded over with an ocean of saline that simultaneously choked her out. Still, her voice rolled victoriously out from her bottom lip: "Yes Ma'am. I understand."

"Be strong, Pearl. You must know that even in dying you will do your master a great service. This is very much your destiny and what you were made to do. Even though you won't be alive any longer, you can at least rest assured that the gem you were made to serve can function well because of your sacrifice. I cannot think of a more honorable task for a Pearl, and your excellent deeds will not be forgotten."

One of those beautiful hands made its way out to catch those salty tears upon its gloved fingers. With her large prints, Yellow Diamond carefully stroked the valence of Pearl's face.

"I hardly ever have to destroy Pearls that are so well-behaved. Throughout the entirety of your short existence, you have been very good. Red loves you, and I know you love her back, which is precisely why this is really the only sensible solution. For that I apologize."

Pearl's eyes had shut completely. She stood relatively still and wept, so Yellow Diamond held her close within those slender goddess arms.

"I'll make it completely painless; you won't feel a thing. Is there anything you want to say, Pearl?"

"Madame, I—" Her lowly salt water was tarnishing Yellow Diamond's shoulder. Pearl tried to stop. She tried and tried to pull the storm ruling over her heart back into the cursed bottle from whence it came, but it was too late. The hurricane brought its havoc and could not be reasoned with. After moments of struggling, Pearl threw up her hands and anchored them around Yellow Diamond's neck. "Madame, what I want to say is—" But she broke down crying again.

"Be strong, Pearl."

"Yes, My Diamond—" The little servant grasped at breath. "Thank you for giving me to such an excellent master. If my death is to be the cause of her misery, please tell her that I love and will miss her dearly. I've seen some gems be cruel to their Pearls, but Red was always kind to me, even when I made a mistake. I was so fortunate to be paired with her—" She attempted to wipe the melancholy from her face, but her arms were not long enough to reach from their positions around the Queen. "May I request that you tell her, My Diamond?"

"I'll see to it that she knows."

"Thank you so much, Ma'am."

The servant wept and their embrace had ended. But then Yellow Diamond brought her even closer and placed her gorgeous lips upon the black Pearl affixed to the little slave's chest. With wild electricity cracking her limbs apart, Pearl fell into a painless heap onto the floor with the Queen looking down at her from that resplendent throne.

Their finger prints touched as the slave disappeared into a foamy cloud of neon blue.

And Yellow Diamond took her gently from the floor. The rainbow glaze of her gem shone softly in the mellow light.

Then those refined hands crushed Pearl into an ashy powder.

And the Queen walked away from the throne room to take Red Beryl's memories and convince her of her beloved servant's "accident."