Part 3: Interference (Act I: "Our Lady, full of grace")
You walk through walls
Set off the smoke alarms
I feel your arms wrapping around me
Your aura almost drowns me
Like a deathly perfume
Pink Smoke
I'm choking on your memory
It fills my chest
I lose my breath thinking about you
I'm trying to get by without you
But the air is full of ash
Pink Smoke
Pink smoke gets stuck in my throat
Pink smoke gets stuck in my throat
When I say your name my heart goes up in flames
It smells so very strange
Like grenadine and gasoline
Pink Smoke
-The Scary Jokes
….
First she was not there.
Then she was.
And then, one day, she was no more, and for all intents and purposes, that should have meant no more than a return to the previous state that had persisted for ages and ages before her arrival – but even for beings as efficient and unfading as the Diamonds, there could never truly be such a thing as a reversible reaction.
Entropy always found the means to extract its pound of flesh, even from creatures that had no meat to speak of.
…
The four of them were submerged in the pool, with nothing to do but to be here and no excuse not to kill the time.
The resounding echoes of their songs were legend among the elites that stood guard outside these chambers.
In hushed whispers, the statues and wall gems would tell their neighbors further out of these most divine of sounds.
A mere couple of corridors further out, the word was that when all four joined in a chorus, anyone within earshot would catch an exclusive preview of what it might feel like to be turned to dust, that the unearthly harmony of their voices was like anything and everything at all.
And none of these things were strictly speaking lies or even exaggerations, but they were colored by a particular point of view – for the inhabitants of this world, it should be no surprise that they should see it this way: These were their gods in their secret place, playing among themselves in the glory of their Olympus, secluded behind their walls where the the secrets of life took place.
But even the Pebbles and Pearls that attended to them directly in all the banality, routine and squabbling that their everyday lives sometimes contained couldn't have seen it quite this same way, so how could be any more true for the pantheon themselves?
The secrets of life were the last things on their minds, for life plated their walls, and life might damn well dribble off their toenails and spill everywhere if they were not careful, and flowers on their footsteps were just weeds they would have to have pull out from their gardens – metaphorically speaking, of course.
(Nothing could grow on this fractured, barren world.)
The wonder and the miracles of the act had long become buried in the guise of a minor chore they were casually, even mindlessly attending to – more than anything else, they were glad for the excuse to gather in one place without anything else to attend to, so that they might see each other and take some brief respite from the packed schedules of their never-ending, interlocking days.
None of them could ever afford to 'unwind', but this was the closest they would come:
Even the great All-Mother of the gem homeworld was a different beast when she was doubling as the universes' shiniest pool lamp. The long, translucent hairpins that usually sustained her spectacular star-shaped hairdo had been left by the side of the basin – all perfectly lined up of course – leaving her damp tresses to frame her high forehead and petite features. Undone and soaked, the pure alabaster strands were longer than she was tall and neither as straight as Blue's nor as curly as Pink's.
The bits of it that did not trail across the waters hung down outside of it, almost touching the floor of the chamber.
Her long, elegant arms were leaning against the edges of the pool, framing a good third of it as if to encompass all of them in her arms as she did the whole world in all those paintings of her – and it was truly all the same to her, her world, her kin, her arms, or just the narrow enclose of her thoughts within her gem – all of them were one.
Naturally, Yellow and Blue occupied their opposite corners, and while Pink could not really have filled up her own, that was probably a fortunate matter, as it allowed her the freedom of moving and splashing about and afforded White somewhere to park her legs.
The others were not so bold as to touch her, but keeping to their corners, they were surely animated – Pink was almost always in motion. For her, a break might have been more about releasing pent-up energy than pausing to regain it.
Sitting at the rim while splashing her feet, dancing above the surface or busying herself below it, she rarely ever stood still, and when she did, her mouth usually took over the perpetual motion, whether she would be recounting some silly occurrence from her day as if it were the world's most exciting even in all the cosmos, or prodding the others with questions just to be just as rapt with their replies.
Apart from her, Yellow was probably the one with the most to talk about, with how her duties often took her out to the far reaches of the cosmos. She'd speak of places where pellets of glass railed from the skies, rivers of liquid air and worlds that did not spin, but harbored a thin strip of black vegetation soaking up the lights of their dim red stars in the small ring of twilight between the blazing heat and eternal cold.
She spoke of a great many others things too, things whose implications went above Pink's head at the time and had been meant more for Blue and White to begin with, but not to be left out, the littlest Diamond made sure to cheer at all the impressive-sounding parts.
Blue didn't say quite as much, but she seemed to love listening, and when she ventured something, it was often either heartfelt or insightful.
White largely contented herself with watching them from the sidelines, and interceding with a blithe but insistent correction whenever she believed any of them to have said anything incorrect– when spoken to, she unfailingly responded, but it was always clear what she would say once she had made her decision about what she determined the matter to be.
After all those years, Yellow and Blue could have mouthed half the words along with her, both from how much they had heard them, and from all the times they had repeated something along those same lines to Pink while scolding or disciplining her.
Having spent their long lives in fear and awe of her, they gave more fearsome epithets to what an outside observer might have classed as an undercurrent of stilted politeness.
But where the repertoire of her responses had genuinely been small, they would, in later, leaner years, recall the pale tint of caring apricity, however much of a vague, indistinct, half-formed thing it may have been.
Their talks were drivel to her, but it was one rare instance of drivel that she could excuse, and not all too unpleasant as such.
She often stayed until the waters were slick with the oily rainbows of their essence, each of their contributions mixing and melting into each other in iridescent swirls of power and possibility – and between the four of them, there were only very few wonders that they could not work.
And so perhaps that made this a magical place after all, a paradisiac sanctuary for the secret of their laughter –
But like any other creatures to be gifted with self-awareness and discernment, they could not stay in their Eden forever.
Yellow was usually the first to leave, and Blue was always the last to linger.
White was rarely either of those things, but when she decided that it was time for them all to leave, or to come and assemble, her word was law.
The exact points in time where chosen in a whimsical manner, but the relative frequency of her attendance was fairly regular in those days, too often for her to always have her words prepared and laid out. Sometimes, one might look at her and feel that she had not quite the feverish glow of her dazzling, eye-catching appearances at official functions nor the blinding terror of her curt dismissals and starry, tar black rages.
But what she was instead was not easy to determine, not when it was her nature to have no nature at all, when every part of her was like the blank, untouched canvas, the origin point for a million stories and imagines in their primordial, unparted state where Ying had not yet split from Yang, chaos and order at once where such distinctions held no meaning.
They knew she was not like them, and that they could not hope to grasp her mysterious ways.
Perhaps, she was simply being in the room with them, in what ways she knew how.
It involved a lot of silence, which may have been why she did not usually found this worth bothering with, and also significant amounts of reprimands, but when the stars aligned, their frozen hostess would even grace them with a little of her affection – stale, scripted and wooden it may sometimes have been, it was gladly given and not altogether fake.
….
When she suddenly jumped up from her ornate chair and leaped across the room to the window, Pink Diamond never stopped to consider what sort of conundrum she had just unwittingly inflicted on the unsuspecting Montana Agate who had been supposed to educate her on matters of wartime strategy.
The stocky overseer gem had been tasked with the high honors of serving as one of the little Diamond's governesses and had sworn to her own superiors on the pain of death that she would never disappoint them – But none of that changed that she lacked both the authority and power to reprimand and restrain a Diamond twice her size, especially not when she was whirling around on her heels to make a beeline for the door, running right past her with all the vigor of a young goddess.
The only time she made any show of stopping was when she briefly paused in the door arch after having somehow paradoxically allowed the doors themselves to profane her own palms, and looked around briefly for the small pink gem that had been waiting outside the hall.
"Pearl!" she beamed excitedly, lapsing right into another flagrant breach of protocol when she grabbed the confused little servant by the hand.
"Yellow's back! Yellow's back!" Thus explaining her agitation, more to her companion than the distraught Agate, she darted off right away with Pink Pearl in tow, skipping more than she was running.
She was past the corner when some distant afterthought compelled her to blurt out a blithe "Sorry, Montana!" that did not really restore propriety in any way, and then she was out the building, running through the hallways and taking daunting jumps where she should have taken her Palanquin and a decent-sized entourage.
Sure, it was highly unlikely that anything could happen to her in the broad daylight of the capital, and as a Diamond, she was technically a lot more durable than any flock of minions could hope to be, but it was the principle of the thing.
It was all the more remarkable that the little Pearl wasn't dropped down some precipice during the whole escape, but she had probably had enough time to get accustomed to the curious whims of her mistress – But she'd been right about one thing:
Yellow Diamond's arm ship was unmistakable, even without the rest of the fleet trailing behind it – but to Montana Agate, this was no more likely to be a boon than it was to prove her undoing.
Had she been assigned any lesser honor, she would have been grumbling about the big parade she was going to miss on the occasion of her Diamond's return.
Legions of her fellow military gems were set to be marching in the central plaza – and now, there was a pair of very excitable pink gems set to crash right into them before anyone could stop them, least of all that poor, poor Agate, who for all her considerable prowess which, after all, had been enough to earn her this position, could not have hoped to outrun Pink Diamond even if she had any right to do so.
What was she supposed to do? Yell for her to stop as she would with a common quartz?
Discipline her, perchance? Only her peers could do that – and as it stood, they would find out long before Agate had any need to worry about how she might explain this whole mishap...
She could only hope that her Diamond would be too occupied with her new conquests to recall where exactly her younger companion was supposed to have been at this time.
But she would certainly know that Pink was not supposed to be on the great plaza, running into half a dozen saluting Garnets, knocking a Topaz into an Emerald and just barely managing to keep her balance after stumbling over a mildly distracting Ruby.
In rows, the soldier gems would gruffly turn around to chew out whoever had been so careless as to break formation right as Yellow Diamond was due to arrive, but they all grew silent the moment they spotted the gemstone embedded in the troublemaker's stomach.
She was a good deal... 'fluffier' in person than she was depicted in the jagged art style of her murals, and not quite as towering, but most of the highly decorated officers recalled seeing her at official functions, ever the apple of her fellow Diamonds' eyes -
And when the Rubies and Quartzes saw their fearsome superiors backing away in fear, most of them thought it wise to do the same.
But the gems back on the ship had yet to realize that anything was out of order.
Yellow Diamond marched out the main hatch just as she planned, flanked by parading Hessonites on both sides and her praetorian guard of Topazes following on all sides, and they had been prepared for many things, from technical failures to surprise ambushes.
What they did not expect was a frilly, fluffy space princess barging right through them to make an admirable show of tackling their empress to the ground with a hug, even if she only got as far as her knee.
"Yelloooooow!"
The Hessonites and Topazes were largely flabbergasted, unsure of what the correct protocol for this situation demanded.
Mindful of the fact that White had her ship parked on this very same plaza and would be found inside more often than not, the commotion's intended recipient grit her teeth before the rose-colored interloper even made contact with her.
But if she had picked up on the chromate salt colored glare that had been directed her way, she was making a deliberate point to ignore it.
"Everyone! Yellow's back!" she declared, fairly unhelpfully.
The towering commander-in-chief could be seen far and wide and most of the gems in attendance had already been expecting her – she would have done better to announce herself or better yet, have her Pearl do that, but alas, the poor thing had not succeeded in dodging that one distracted Ruby and was currently picking herself off the floor, though she at least had the sense to look apologetic, which was more than what could be said for her tone-deaf, starry-eyed master:
"Did you see some cool planets? Did you meet any aliens? Did you get in any space fights?
TELL! ME! EVERYTHING!"
In any more private location, Yellow would have snapped at her already, but each and every reason that made the reprimand so very necessary also forbade any course of action that might have exacerbated this undignified display – if they should be so lucky, White might not have been looking their way (with any of the large number of ways she had to be looking) and they could still hope to sweep this under the rug if only they could all summon up some semblance of composure.
"Pink, decorum!" she hissed between her teeth.
That did seem to get the younger Diamond's attention, and, in her defense, she did straighten up and take a few steps backward, even going so far as to curtsy while holding on to the frilly bits of her appearance modifiers with her gloved fingers.
The smaller Diamond made an effort to speak more formally, but it didn't help her case as much as one might have expected – She came off as if she were playing pretend, acting out a part in some kind of game while trying her best not to giggle, very far from the regal countenance of someone at home in their own element:
"Greetings, Yellow Diamond! In the name of everyone on the homeworld, I bid thee welcome!"
It was a mildly garbled version of a phrase she must have picked up from Blue.
"I trust that you and your forces have returned victorious from glorious conquest?"
Only the stars could know if Pink had any clue of what any of those words actually meant, but if nothing else, this was an opportunity to get the procession back on track:
"Indeed, we have.", she declared, a loud, booming statement intended for the crows rather than for Pink. "Half a dozen new worlds have been captured for the empire!"
The assembled soldiers and officers wisely took that as a sign to resume their usual routine of chanting, marching and saluting, and through some miracle, the parade resumed as intended, with the only distinction that there were now two Diamonds at its center, which many of the onlookers might have considered an even grander display – not that Pink was really 'marching' insomuch that she was just strolling alongside Yellow, observing the various onlookers as much as the military gems as they made it outside the great central plaza and made it onto the capital's central streets, filling it with the thundering of their boots.
Under normal circumstances, it would have been cramped with a vast multitude of gems, some on foot and others in various capsules, arranged on the various lanes and passageways according to their ranks and sizes, but on this momentous occasion, most of the enormous boulevard was essentially reserved for the parade.
Even so, Yellow and her entourage of Hessonites, Emeralds and Topazes kept to the the large, elevated strip in the center of the road which was, of course, reserved for elites.
Further out, legions of Quartzes flanked them like a war, with the Agate overseers placed slightly closer to the officers. And finally, on the sidelines, came the Ruby infantry, at times interspersed with some Pearl belonging to one of the officers, all of them mindful to keep pace with their respective masters so as to be lines up just a few steps behind them even if they were a good deal away from the inner lanes.
Pink spotted Yellow's Pearl striding proudly before all the other Pearls assigned to the fleet's commanders, just a little ahead of her own, who had probably thought it best to just tag along with her peers.
Separated by almost half the breadth of the procession, Pink sourly bemoaned that she would not get another chance to talk to them until all of this was over.
But her thoughts couldn't dwell there for long, for it wasn't often that she got to see these streets up close, and much less the many different gems of all types and colors that had come out of their dwellings and workplaces to witness the great spectacle
Usually, she'd only see them from afar, looking out the windows of the spires and high rises, from where all the busy gems would look hardly larger than tiny specks of dust, and inevitably, she would wonder what it might be like to wander the streets as one of them and just walk up and talk to them without any of that salute nonsense.
But for now, it was at least nice to be getting a closer look at them in all their different shapes and colors – At least, she was allowed to wave at them, so she did so enthusedly, entertaining half a fantasy about how maybe, one day, she might run into them under different circumstances, and how she might say, 'remember me from the parade?' if such an improbable thing might ever come to pass.
She pictured how any of the gems they were passing might have told her about their lives and their work, though well aware that she would not be allowed to talk to most of them unless it was for ordering them around.
Looking at the Rubies and Quartzes marching at their sides, Pink found herself envying them somewhat – there were so many of them, and they were often deployed in groups, so they would always be around someone they were actually allowed to socialize with, whereas there were only four Diamonds in all of the empire, and the other three were always so busy.
They were supposed to be the very rarest and the most important, but the notion did not quite make sense to her even then – weren't all types of gems important, if they were doing tasks that were required to maintain the empire? Even if they were meant to be better at anything than anyone else, Pink didn't think that the four of them could have done all the necessary work on their own.
Would Yellow and Blue even be able to keep track of all their many appointments if they didn't have their Pearls to help them out?
And yet Pearls were supposedly not important, so much so that Pink Pearl wasn't considered a suitable friend for her, even though the smaller gem was meant to follow her all the time – if they had to be together anyways, shouldn't that make it more suitable for them to be friends?
Sometimes she really thought that being a more common sort of gem would be a lot better. Not that she would want to leave the others behind, but, if they could all be a platoon of Rubies instead or something like that, and go on cool space adventures together, she thought that would be nice.
Of course, that was long before she would come to realize what the act of conquest actually entailed, or that the lives of these soldier gems were not nearly as comfortable or cherished as her own had been.
One day that knowledge would enrage her, but for now, she was still blissfully oblivious, trying her best to be the great inspiration she was expected to be and, in her own way, to show her subjects the appreciation she wasn't allowed to give them in person, still hanging on to the hope that she might yet find a place for herself on this world (or any other) without having to change who she was.
And at least, it would seem that many of the smaller gems in the crowd were waving right back, so her intent must be counting for something, right? As long as she didn't explicitly step out of her allotted lane, even Yellow couldn't possibly mind, right?
In all honesty, she didn't seem to be paying the younger Diamond at her side any mind, with had all her attention consigned to the procession which her smaller companion had not been meant to take part in.
The route was always the same as it had been on any of her victorious returns – There had been repairs and changes to the city throughout the ages, but of course they would always be scheduled so as not to coincide with any function or event that would have been significant enough to involve the Diamonds.
They would proceed from the central plaza and then make their way to the capital's main temple, an ancient, elegant construction of tall, slender columns and a multitude of arcades and alcoves and countless winding spiral walkways connecting innumerable round halls and gazebos in ways that did not always seem entirely compatible with gravity.
None of it was new, but neither was it all equally old – its catacombs reached far down to the old foundations of the capital, and it was rumored that in its dephts, one could have found a few walls that dated back to the days before gemkind had left its star system, whereas the newest structures had been added in honor of Pink Diamond's emergence – but although it had been built by innumerable gems over timespans that were daunting even to the likes of them, the most remarkable thing about it that all the structures nonetheless maintained a consistent look and feel.
Though it was composed of eclectic structures of many different sizes and ages, its architects had taken great pains to ensure that its parts would still come together to form a consistent whole, a monument to continuity and permanence stretching up into the skies, meeting the boulevard and the procession along it with much of it protruding above it and even more sprawling out below.
Most of it was comprised of glossy, ivory materials, tending toward open architecture near the outer premises and incorporating many large windows – as a result, the entire structure was awash with light. If one proceeded too far inside for homeworld's dim sun to shine inside, or if night were to fall, a corps of wall gems would take over the illumination with the light from their gemstones – for that purpose, they had been placed amid the numerous regular carvings, so that it was not always immediately clear which was which.
Along its walls, statues, paintings and inscriptions told numerous tales and parables, ordered in such a way to convey a lesson to any gems that would walk the stairs and passageways as they were supposed to.
The various differing halls were meant not only for gems of different types, but also as the dwelling and workplace of the gems that staffed and tended to the temple – Hematite Philosophers, Moonstone Scholars, Ulexite Loremasters, Howlite Priests, Jade Courtiers, Sapphire Mystics, the odd Bismuth in charge of structural maintenance, and even a flock of Pearls meant to provide for the needs and wishes of the visitors, serve the thinker gems inside (whom they ultimately belonged to), and, frankly put, as part of the decorations.
The great spire connected to the streets connected through a long, broad flight of stairs (with steps accommodating for gems of various sizes and ranks, splitting off from the corresponding lanes in the streets and sidewalks.)
Had any of the Rubies wished to visit here after the Parade was done, they would have had to follow a demarcated path to the corresponding parts of the structure, which contained several shrines and monuments intended to honor the fallen – but they were rather symbolic, collective affairs, speaking of sacrifice and abnegation in general. Nowhere in this place would you ever have found the serial numbers of individual Rubies who had been shattered in line of duty.
Accomplishment may have been rewarded and remembered, but there was no acknowledgment for simply having existed when danger was a typical part of their intended purpose.
But if one followed the direct path from the road, one would have been led to a sizable square tiled with precious materials, from where tree large portals led into the interior, the one in the center being the most massive one.
This part of the massive temple was known as the 'Royal Cathedral', 'royal' because only the most elite gems would be permitted entry, and because it had been build under White Diamond's explicit patronage, for what little involvement she had with the actual process of building and designing it.
That was also why most of the statues inside depicted the moon goddess with White's facial features.
Yellow had been around for its construction – back then, White had actually shown up for the dedication, but that was before she'd started to leave most of the events related to homeworld's cultural leadership and development to Blue Diamond, and, insofar as one could count her various diversions as such, to Pink as well.
It was fitting then that this was where Blue chose to meet them, though her entrance was in many ways the exact opposite of Pink's haphazard arrival: She had waited patiently right where the procession was supposed to end, having floated onto the square before the great doors in her Palanquin. Her Pearl was right beside her throne, and so was a suitable entourage of various higher-ranking gems in numerous shades of blue and teal.
Neither her feet nor the seams of her long robes had ever touched the dirt on the road and she sat there, serenely, quietly, holding out a hand in greeting, a veiled, mystical figure hidden away from the glances of the lowly Rubies who would not have been able to make out much more than her fingertips – only Yellow could have noted the subtle twitch of her lips when she spotted Pink right next to the great conqueror's boots.
Pink Diamond herself most certainly didn't, or she might have reconsidered all the overly excited jumping and waving she was currently engaged in – for Blue was well aware that the unruly princess ought to have been attending to her studies at this moment.
But even so, it was not entirely a bad thing that she had come – it was, after all, something of a special occasion.
And it wasn't a bad visual, either, to have the three of them standing together on that platform in unity once Yellow and Pink had proceeded up the stairs - Blue's entourage naturally scampered out of their way just as their Diamond had risen from her seat to welcome the others.
Unfazed, she continued with the ceremony: "On behalf of all of us, I big you most welcome. We have prayed many nights for your safe return."
They had most certainly not; This phrase was simply a routine part of the proceedings, and Yellow's neverending crusades were routine enough that none of them ever worried unless there had actually been some dire news from the front, which was not often.
Pink did not understand the severity of war yet, and Blue was too occupied with all her various appointments to spent that much time in honest, quiet contemplation. Even on occasions where she was expected to make a show of such, the affairs of government would occupy her mind whenever the turbulent streams of her own inner life did not.
Yellow briskly took her place beside her, hands folded together, chin turned upward.
Pink at very least understood that they were supposed to make a show for the crowds, and waved at them slightly with a broad grin, standing between the other two.
Of course, they maintained a dignified distance, carefully chosen poses as an artist might have chosen them: A royal dynasty. A holy family.
It was not even all too unwelcome if Pink thought too introduce a bit of tenderness into the imagery, but never too much, never at the cost of composure or strength, and certainly not at the risk of creating the impression that they could be just like everyone else.
Their subjects cheered -
There were chants, applause, and coordinated stomping.
At last, Yellow stepped forward to present a carefully prepared speech.
Pink soon grew bored of it and skittered over to Blue, who allowed her to hold onto the skirts of her robe but skillfully avoided giving her any further attention apart from a subtle gesture of her hand and a quietly whispered "Later.".
The speech involved a great deal of rehearsed formulaic platitudes that were usually more suited to Blue's area of expertise, which was why Yellow usually left the proclamations to her and invested her time in actual work, but this had been her campaign, and thus called it for her to conclude it. She spoke before their subjects very often, at least as often as Blue did, but generally on occasions in which there was actually something to say, such as when there was a new policy to present, orders to dispense or innovations to announce.
Her firm, utilitarian style was legendary across the empire.
But even on an occasion somewhat less suited to it, she performed faithfully, even if she would much rather be doing a broad variety of other things.
She had long grown disenchanted with the sparkling, admiring eyes of their many, many followers – She wasn't even looking their way during their drawn-out competition as to who could keep the cheers and praise going the longest after she was done speaking.
Instead, she used the moment to step imperceptibly closer to Blue and speak to her in a hushed voice while her eyes peered toward the large portal behind them:
"Is White waiting inside?"
(For when she participated in such events, she would rarely permit the common gems on the street to see more than her radiant outline in the windows and just generally enjoyed making a spectacle out of showing up last)
Never one to be discreet, Pink perked up at the mention, glancing up at Blue's face.
But alas, Blue Diamond had to staunch their hopes: "Alas, she couldn't make it."
Exposed as they were, Yellow merely acknowledged this with a nod to compensate for Pink visibly deflating. They didn't know how much longer her lapses might be written off as endearing just because she was young. But she had good chances to escape her scolding for today, as her elders had other things on their minds, and Yellow in particular had not seen enough of her lately to have grown weary of her incorrigible ways.
The three of them eventually proceeded inside, after the Topazes did them the honor of throwing the heavy doors open – a pair of them stayed outside to stand guard, as did their Pearls, who were quite simply not allowed inside this particular sanctum.
Blue's Pearl gently greeted the others. Yellow's stood attention as befitted this formal occasion, though she may have been grinning just a little too much for the premises of a holy place. Pink Pearl's eyes trailed after their masters until the three of them were not quite joined by the Pearls belonging to all the high-ranking officers who assembled nearby but did not quite dare to speak to them.
As adjuncts to Yellow Diamond's top brass of officers, they largely glittered in various citrus hues, ranging anywhere from lime green to light orange.
The Emeralds and Hessonites they belonged to followed their mistress into the chapel, though they were of course relegated to the two smaller entrances at the sides.
As for Blue Diamond's entourage, whoever among them was permitted to do so did much the same.
The interior of the sanctum glittered like a sky full of stars.
Shining, reflective mosaics lined the walls and ceilings.
Pink glanced up at them with wide, impressionable eyes, craning her neck as far as it would go until it took some effort to keep her balance.
To the others, it had long lost any special allure it might have had. Coming here was practically a matter of drudgery.
Countless gems had made the coruscating frescoes their life's work, imbuing every tile and carving with their devoted adoration (or their desperation to justify their existence) but their sovereigns could only have gazed at their work so many times before it all just blurred together as just another room – sure, they might have rediscovered its charms if they had the time to do so, but generally, they were not so fortunate.
The decor was intended to resemble something like a mountain grotto where one would expect to find simple, naturally occurring crystals; The pillars were fashioned to resemble the sort of sinter columns one might find in a limestone cave, but they also served to divide up the space, forming arcades and elevated pulpits that served various purposes. One of them held a couple of wall gems that provided music and illumination during particular ceremonies. Others surrounded massive shelves full of old codices, data rods and miscellaneous artifacts.
The opposite end of the central chamber was punctuated with an enormous, ornate dome topped off with a skylight that resembled the disk of the moon, casting a halo of light into the area beneath it and the relief of statues on the wall at its end, chief among which was a massive piece that loosely resembled White Diamond.
Her features seemed out of place there, the image did not really capture anything of her pharaonic majesty. The sculptors made her look too gentle, to befit a figure in a myth that was younger than she was and had diverged far from the inspiration behind it – generally, the sculptors were given a lot of leeway with the figure's outer form, since all that was transient and peripheral. What was truly important, however – her gem with the familiar shape of its facets – was never allowed to diverge.
Nonetheless, it was that same round segment at the end of the room to which the three of them were expected to proceed while the officers and aristocrat gems dispersed to other parts of the hall, not daring to disturb their sovereigns in the inner sanctum.
Only then did Blue Diamond pull back her veil and allow a mild, placid smile to take possession of her features, ensuring, of course, that she was standing with her back to the rest of the greater part of the chamber.
She took a hold of Yellow Diamond's hand, firmly squeezing the groves of her palm against the fabric of her companion's gloves.
"It's good to see you." she spoke, her voice barely above a whisper but all the more drenched in a tired, bittersweet joy that was subdued but sincere.
Yellow discreetly acknowledged this with a nod and perhaps the beginnings of a smile.
Pink, alas, was not so discerning; Perhaps she took their mildly relaxed demeanor as a sign to let loose completely, failing to appreciate that they were still not exactly behind closed doors, and in what was supposed to be holy place, where her loud, upbeat voice was out of place: "Yeah! It's great to have you back! We totally need to celebrate!"
Blue made half an attempt to silence her with some half-apologetic gestures, but Yellow had no reservations to make her displeasure known: "Pink! Be mindful of your surroundings. You've forgotten yourself quite enough for today!"
Pouting with quivering lips and tightly closed firsts held close to her sides, the smaller magenta gem was clearly not taking too well to being shot down like this – hoping to smooth the waters, Blue attempted to soften the blow: "Please, we must be quiet... But you know, the celebration is not a bad idea."
She had not actually believed this, but rather meant her words as more as an indulgence designed to shut her up, like a shiny bauble to play with – Accordingly, Yellow had far less reservations in confronting Pink with her actual thoughts: "Out of the question. These new planets might be ours, but the colonies won't finish themselves."
Unperturbed by the chastisement she had received moments ago, Pink gasped none too quietly: "Then you're going away again?"
"Not with the fleet. They should be installing the first galaxy warp as we speak, so should be able to come and go without delay within the cycle. But there's still no shortage of work to be done, even without some frivolous 'celebration' to take care off on top of it all..."
"But we have to!" Pink insisted. "You worked hard, right? You went to dangerous places. You did super cool space fightey stuff, and now we finally have you back with us.
We have to celebrate!", she argued, her impassioned little eyes twinkling as if this were a matter of life and death. "You don't have to do it – Me and Blue can take care of it! I mean, that wouldn't even make sense if you had to do the extra work, the party is supposed to be FOR you. Isn't that right Blue?"
"I suppose I can arrange it..." the veiled gem conceded with a mild, slightly apologetic smile angled in Yellow's direction. "After all, it's been a good while since we were all together... If we make sure to give her prior notice, even White might come... Besides, it will be a good opportunity for Pink to familiarize herself with the ways of the court."
Overjoyed at the prospect, Pink grinned broadly to herself, looking a lot prouder than she had any right to be. "See Yellow? It's gonna be great! You're gonna be super psyched to finish your next campaign so we can throw you another party!"
(And Yellow Diamond knew that it was not her purpose to expect thanks or recognition.
But to receive them anyways –
Well, it certainly could not leave her untouched. )
Which is why, when she finally caught up with her masters, Montana Agate found herself in luck. It couldn't be hard to track down their towering rulers, especially not when they were thundering through the city in the conspicuous company of an entire parade.
But with the main streets clogged and most structures along the path packed with spectators, the Agate turned ditched governess could not possibly have made it to the temple before her monarchs went inside.
On the streets, corridors and public transport infrastructure, most of the capital's denizens were obliged to scamper out of her way, but when it came to these holy halls, she was not fit to even peer past the windows, and so was forced to wait with the Pearls, who, to their credit, did an admirable job at backing away from the door to give her the expected berth, though she noted, with a raised eyebrow, that the pink one required a decided poke from one of her peers before the thought occurred to her.
As an Agate Overseer, she was above all tasked with keeping the order and would have taken both pride and pleasure in pointing out and correcting exactly these sorts of infractions, but for the moment, her thoughts were far too preoccupied with the prospect that she might soon receive some punishment of her own.
But she needn't have worried.
Her Diamond was far too preoccupied with her designs for her newest conquests, too relieved to be back in the company of her kindred, and she had more urgent things to remember than were exactly Pink Diamond was supposed to be at this particular moment – and while Blue most certainly knew, she did have a reputation for mercy.
Or perhaps, the busy monarchs were just glad for the opportunity to have their energetic young companion taken off their hands -
Yellow simply noted Montana's convenient presence and instructed Pink Diamond to go with her so that she and Blue might attend to their other duties, turning to leave with hasty strides as her Pearl hurried to follow after her.
….
"You know, Pink..." Blue Diamond would add at a later point in time when all business related to the parade was long since concluded. "Now that I think of it, that was actually not a bad idea..."
"Really?" the smaller gem perked up at this. "You think so?"
The two of them were instead sitting at a fountain in an ornate courtyard framed by high, slender columns.
It was as close to being a pleasure garden as it was possible for a place that contained exclusively artificial structures, with dead, polished gravel for earth and unchanging veins of gold creeping up the pillars and banisters in place of vines and roses.
They were sitting in a pavilion of patterned, mesh-like coverings that in no way constituted a functional roof, but what protection could they possibly have needed from the dim, purple rays of homeworld's fallow sun, and a sky too barren to ever produce precipitation?
The fountain itself constituted an ostentatious luxury in these climes, added as a gaudy afterthought since the substance was already required in other parts of the palace complex.
Pink Diamond couldn't say that she didn't enjoy the fresh, cleansed feeling in the air all around this, but like everything about this place, it seemed to her like distant echo of something lost and bygone, and, on some days, rather like a cage of gold.
At the same time she was positive that Blue must have seen something different when she looked around here, for this place suited her very much, as did all still, governed places that still managed to retain some starved, lugubrious beauty.
She had quite a collection of favorite places all of which she visited again and again, adding to the lore and significance that each of them held for her with every single visit.
Pink knew most of them – how could she not, when each of them was lathered in thick swatches of psychic residues, etched deep into the walls?
As a natural Cathode to her Anode, the younger Diamond could have sensed her presence anywhere on the planet's surface, a talent which she knew to employ both for hiding her various mischief whilst giving swift word of warning to any co-conspirator she may have acquired, and to seek out the others if she were so inclined.
Much later, an embittered, disillusioned rebel leader would come to the conclusion that Blue Diamond had simply been the most available of the three, and herself, a desperate fool for ever thinking otherwise;
It just so happened that Blue often conducted business in the capital, but was far more amenable to receiving unexpected visitors than White – though she rarely left the homeworld at all, she somehow managed to make herself even scarcer than Yellow who was so often away on business (and of all three, Pink usually came the closest to having any luck with her, not that she was necessarily aware of that)
- But at the time, it was a surprise to precisely no one that Blue and Pink Diamond were often found together. As the youngest and the gentlest (relatively speaking), it seemed only too natural that they would have forged a particularly close bond, if anything, it would have been seen as a strange thing if they hadn't.
None of the courtiers would have been surprised to see them arrive jointly or to meet them at the same location, and they often spoke about many things -
And as with many matters in this world, there were as many versions of this story as there had been participants, and all of them were somewhat disparate from the truth;
In Blue Diamond's recollections, she fancied herself the one person whom Pink Diamond told everything, a common misconception of which she would not be the last victim – The only consolation any of them could have was that no such person had ever existed.
But perhaps there had been a time when Blue could have been the subject of genuine admiration or even a reciprocation of her own wistful envy, when the reluctant princess still considered that Blue's measured regal elegance must be good for something, or that the world might have its place for her greater patience and sensitivity, much like she had sometimes coveted Yellow's success and the widespread respect she commanded – looking back, all she would see was humiliation rubbed in her face.
But that was a conclusion of a later time, weighted with things she could not have known back when she sat there in the atrium, eagerly bouncing her feet in anticipation yet anxious for any indication that she was finally finding the path laid out before her because she did not know of any other.
Neither of them did.
"What if Yellow doesn't like it, though?"
"Well, why wouldn't she?"
Of course Blue would say that, but Pink was already beginning to suspect that she was mostly being humored, a distinction that was easily determined whenever anything she did edged just past the limits of Blue's comfort zone only to find herself brusquely brushed back to her place – but how else was Pink going to find out what she really thought, if she was just going to be served some dismissive hogwash otherwise?
On some days, she could barely contain her frustration.
On others, she would look at Yellow and Blue, or even White, and consider that there must be some serious skill involved in being a 'proper Diamond', even if it wasn't one she possessed.
They were, after all, all part of some whole; They all made up the Great Diamond Authority.
Each of them was here for something, each contributed something of their own;
It just so happened that it was far easier to see what Blue, Yellow and White were supposed to be adding.
Even Pink herself didn't really know – sometimes she doubted that the others did.
Perhaps one seeks to become what they perceive to be needed in the world around them, uniquely defined by both the corner of the woods that they find themselves in, and one's own unique perception of it -
And while it may not have been her strongest suit, Pink could certainly see that there was need and lack and absence in the environment that surrounded her – but did it need her, and what little she might manage to give, or was she only ever serenading deaf ears?
Back in those days, she had yet to decide on one or the other.
She had a little something in mind, nothing thought-through or definitive, just the inklings of an impression, and an anxious, uneasy tension in her limbs when she tried to consider it outside its native territory in the heat of the moment.
"Well, I don't know... She's always working and everything. She's never around, and even when she is, she's always hurrying off as soon as she's arrived..."
Even in the most hopeful of Pink's blobby stick-figure drawings, the massive ochre gem was seldom depicted with much of a friendly expression.
White's absence was a baroque sonnet's worth of oxymorons; Yellows was just a regular old absence that left a gap where she should be, buried in her various going ons even when she could afford to be near.
Her impatient harshness alone sometimes managed to make the others look like – well, not quite like appreciative welcoming company, but at least like a relief.
(Despite their clashes, Yellow would not be the first that Pink would give up on) – yet for now, she was still wedged in between the growing need to be heard and the simple, honest desire to see them all happy and unified – and the need, or wish for that remained strong even when she doubted its feasibility:
"It's doesn't seem like she likes being with us very much. Or having fun. I'd like her to, but she usually just scolds us and says we should do more work..."
Even then Pink wasn't sure if she really believed that, or just felt like that sometimes – maybe she had wanted to be reassured of the contrary.
For one who knew nothing better, this might have been a comfort, just as they might have thought this place a garden...
None of that seemed to concern Blue very much – Indeed, if anything, it prompted her to smile and stifle half a chuckle lest she be caught indulging in something as unrefined as a full on giggle.
(And that, too, could be taken in quite a lot of ways, with no clear lines to demarcate where long-dismissal true knowing ended and dismissal of true knowledge began)
"Come oooon, what's so funny?!" the younger gem demanded to know, just as super-positioned between childish protestations, and something that they might have likened to the smell of mown grass and cut petals if either of them had been familiar with the stimulus.
It was perhaps not clear which path they were on at any given moment because the path was simply yet to be chosen, and only hindsight would string the brief, diffuse, ever-changing ambiguity of the present into one narrative or another.
Blue Diamond had certainly decided on what sets of labels to plaster on this moment, and perhaps in some things she would even be right -
(But it was all the others that would come back to haunt her. )
"You know Pink," she spoke, and to one who knew nothing better, as Pink did back then, then, she might have well seemed admirable, like she had beauty and wisdom and mildness, even gentleness and grace, the very quintessence of a regal, dark-veiled lady. "I can't say that I always understand her either, but at least, I can claim that I've known Yellow for a little longer than you have... She doesn't always know to give things their proper time, but that doesn't mean she doesn't care...She has a lot on her mind and a lot of responsibilities to attend to, as will you when the time is right, and maybe then you'll understand better you would from any explanation I could give right now..."
Or so they kept saying.
"But wanna know something?"
"What?" Pink exclaimed. She had been reaching the end of her patience for this all-too-familiar spiel about how everything would inevitably make sense once she finally saw reason though it never ever, ever did, but she was promptly disarmed by the sweet, conspiratory smile that made its way onto Blue's features.
"Yellow actually loves being told that she did a good job. More than anything in the world."
Between Blue's sugary tone and the scandalous proposal itself, Pink was quite efficiently distracted from her misgivings by the next wave of girlish excitement: "What? Really? Are we talking about the same Yellow Diamond here?"
Blue confirmed this with a dignified but decided nod.
The smaller gem blinked incredulously. "But she works all the time, even when no one tells her to."
"She works hard because she knows that her work is important. Because it's something she does for all our sakes. It's just her way of showing she cares about us... but that doesn't mean that she liked the grind any more than your or I do, or that she doesn't appreciate it when her efforts are recognized, just like everyone else does – if not a more.
It may not seem like it, but in some ways, she actually gets discouraged pretty easily..."
"Really? I can't imagine!"
"I think that's why she always spent most of her time on things doing the kinds of things where she can see the results right away – when she looks through her reports and sees how her colonies are exceeding gem production numbers, or how her armies have expended the borders of out territory on our star maps, she can see right away that she's accomplishing something..."
Blue herself, of course, had no such obvious source of satisfaction nor the illusion of it to chase after, which might have been the reason why her words became tinted with a little bit of melancholy toward the end – Or perhaps the two of them weren't really so different and all anyone in this universe ever really did was to find something to distract themselves from the futility of their plights as they spurned themselves on to make it through the motions.
But this here?
In this moment, in this place?
The two of them having this quiet little moment in the courtyard?
This wasn't so bad, as least if one didn't know anything better. (And Blue certainly didn't.)
"Believe me. If it wasn't for all the Hessonites and Emeralds around, she would have been grinning from ear to ear from the moment she heard your idea... I'm certain of it."
"Really really? You mean it?"
"I mean it." she turned toward Pink with a subtle, but genuine sparkle in her often tired eyes. "And don't you ever think that she doesn't like spending time with you – when the two of us are by ourselves, she speaks about you all the time..."
"Really? Really?"
Beholding the younger Diamond's glowing, starry-eyed face, Blue reconsidered if disclosing this particular nugget of information had really been the wisest decision – It might get to her head and Pink was unruly enough as it was; This might just be thrown back in their faces the next time they would inevitably have to lecture her.
But she supposed that she had always had a special weakness for the charms of homeworld's princess and the purity and enthusiasm in her smiles.
"Yes, really. I'm sure that she will love your party," and that might have been going a little to far, again more of an indulgence, considering all the things that could go wrong in the meantime ad the temperaments of the individuals involved, but it was said with good intentions.
(And Blue knew that it was not her purpose to be happy
But sometimes, she felt so anyway.
And when those rare moments came, she certainly treasured them. )
Thus began the work of planning and arranging, which, alas, fell squarely on Blue's experienced shoulders. In theory, this exercise was supposed to familiarize Pink with the proceedings so that she could one day run them by herself – but just from hearing her suggestions, Blue had to admit that that day was probably very far away. ("What if I sang the songs? Or, I could do some tricks. Pearl usually those-")
The younger gem seemed rather uninterested in learning anything and there often came a point where it was obvious that Blue could save everyone involved very much grief by taking over herself and taking the matter out of Pink's clumsy little hands into her own, experienced ones.
Practice or not, this was a chance to display their presence to their people, to inspire them all to continue giving it their best even when their crosses were difficult to bear – and as much as Pink liked the idea of that and had surely been known as well-liked, uplifting presence since her arrival on this world, she had no sense of tact or decorum whatsoever, which often grated on Blue's dainty sensibilities.
More than once, she may have cringed quite a bit more overtly than she had meant to.
She was trying very hard to make Pink understand that she was supposed to be the princess and not the court jester and that one day, she would have to be a queen.
...
White Diamond received the invitation of course – It was a blip on a screen somewhere, or a purely theoretical awareness, or, perhaps, a half-sensed thought she caught from some creature in the hallways.
There was no point in going really, or in bothering the whole tiresome affair in the first place, but as usual, Pink Diamond seemed intent on doing whatever she wanted.
White, as always, would do the same.
(Of course, White knew that she did not, must not, need anybody.
But there was nothing stopping her from being with them anyways,
And on this day, it just so happened that she decided to go. )
...
A/N:
At the risk of seeming tacky or repeating the follies of the helmet crowd, I shall confess that Updo! White has been a favorite concept of mine since I first came by such fanart.
At first I had planned for this to be a three-parter, if not a oneshot, with a simple logical structure like I:"distant past", II:"the younger diamonds", III_"the present day", but then it got long and the parts started taking on different flavors – Though we have WD's life story as the through line, the first one is big on spec fic while the second one turned out to be more like of greek tragedy about YD's and BD's descent into villainy and this one – first I meant to have more focus on the conflict between Pink and the others, but then I arrived the conclusion that the important point/aspect to look at here is the thesis in the first paragraph: PD was not there, then she was, and then she wasn't again, but things did not go back to the way they were before, because she made an impact. I wanted this chapter to be about Pink making that impact.
I was fully prepared for this to disintegrate into mindless fluff apart from the last few scenes, but in hindsight I feel that, perhaps naturally enough, there ended up being quite enough serious serious elements after all.