From there, life moved forward. Red did her job; Pearl began to help. There were times when the Noble's heart would break. But the wall was fixed and Yellow Diamond's portrait was hung back up, and time continued regardless of subjective things like emotion.
But sometimes, Pearl could hear her mistress crying from behind the walls. The sound might come from the office, or the leisure room, and always happened quietly, like a poisonous gas sneaking out from the cracks beneath the door. She never intruded during these moments, but Pearl might come close and tuck herself against the surface as her face made tight expressions and her fingers curled into hooks.
Red still had visions.
When she did, Pearl still took her hand.
One day, a while after the aristocrat took the loose thread and pulled the entire sweater into a pile of unhappy yarn, Pearl was reading on the left side of the couch and Red sat on the right, staring into Yellow Diamond's all-seeing eyes upon the wall.
Every few lines of text, the servant interjected a thought.
Maybe I'll never be as good as her first Pearl.
A set of syllables of unrhymed poetry. She didn't retain them.
I should probably still try, but I might be happier if I just accept it.
What about my goals? I can't just give up.
But maybe it really is hopeless. She'll never stop missing her—
"Pearl."
"Yes, Madame?" The slave turned to her master with furrowed brows and lips folding in.
"Where's all this coming from? There's no reason you can't be just as good as my first Pearl." But even just mentioning her caused Red to look downward at her crossed fingers. "You're different, but I'm not disappointed in you." Pause. "You've been doing a fine job. Just keep up the good work."
Both gems looked to one another.
"So…Do you…"
"I do love you. Please don't worry about it."
"Oh." Something blossomed inside of her. It was like an enormous pink flower with a saccharine scent. Yet, it wilted so quickly in the miasma of curiosity. The servant's stomach drowned in static while her tongue collected unspoken words and unasked questions.
But Red answered them anyway. "She was very sweet, and intelligent, and loyal. Even when she was irritated with me, she never really let on. In a way, we kind of grew up together. Yellow Diamond gave her to me when I was extremely young…" Her dark lashes clasped together while she drew in a breath between sharp teeth. "You would have liked her. Both of you have a lot in common. Though, I think you're a little more determined."
"Really, Madame?"
"Yes, really. I wish Yellow Diamond wouldn't have—" The lump in her throat made it impossible to speak. "It was my fault, but—" Despite the pain, Red pushed through and tore out her own nails. "But I'm glad I have you. I think if you were exactly the same as she was, I would be even more heart broken. I'm happy you are the way you are."
"Oh, Madame." Pearl adopted an enormous gasp and those big grey eyes got even bigger. "Thank you." She fanned her face with her slender fingers. "I still hope to be the best Pearl."
"I think you might be able to."
The servant clenched her fists in determination. A few of her tears escaped.
The noble laughed. And through an impulse that began in Pearl and ended in Red, they embraced and ended up sharing the limited space of the fainting couch.
With those crimson arms around her, all the sting of Pearl's curiosity went away and her light pink flowers bloomed without interruption into a lovely garden, fed by plenty of sunshine and attention.
Red closed her eyes. Her servant's gem pressed ever so slightly into her chest, near her very own. It was a familiar feeling. Perhaps all Pearls felt about the same against the skin, but there were the contents of her heart as well. For long expanses of time, there were uninterrupted moments of peace. The servant relaxed against her master and her master relaxed into the couch, until neither of them really moved and that little slave fell asleep.
Though she could feel Red Beryl's nails against her back, Pearl did not stir, even though those newly sharpened points pricked her occasionally on accident.
Red drank up her tranquility and held it inside herself.
For a lengthily amount of time, neither of them moved. And that aristocratic fool too, went gently into the arms of temporary unconsciousness.
