A few days before the festival, Black Diamond and Pearl stood within the field of syrup trees, having asked to help with beverage production. Dressed in cotton gowns as to not ruin their finer clothes, Black and Pearl surveyed the rows of trees and their buckets, picking up the ones that had filled with sap. Pearl couldn't quite lift a full bucket, but pointed them out to her Diamond, who came to assist, gold cheeks and gem sparkling when she moved.
The eldest Coal stood on the sidelines as well, overseeing both Black Diamond and syrup production. She watched as seriously as ever, eyes never straying from the field and arms crossed behind her back. Her long, symmetrical braid blew in the breeze that sometimes upset a few pink petals and sent them across the field.
All the trees were blooming—a fact mirrored by both the copious amounts of petals gathering into every corner of the city, as well as many of the Coals dressed head to foot in pink. The workers in the grove blended in with the trees, as the dark branches of their long and elegant arms complemented the delicate pink of their outfits.
It was as Black brought a bucket of syrup to the owner of the trees that someone ran toward them, announcing an accident had happened in the mines. She had come to tell the elder Coal, but even from her spot within the field, Black Diamond heard and no sooner followed.
Apparently, there had been a cave in, and while the townspeople were able to pull everyone out, quite a few were injured—some severely so. All the village healers had come, except for the eldest Coal, and Black Diamond, and Pearl.
"I suppose you'd like to help?" The eldest asked, and after a moment added, "My Diamond?"
"Yes. I want to do whatever I can," Black answered, and they arrived on the scene.
"My Diamond—" One of the civilians went to Black immediately, inspiring a look from the the eldest. "Her gem—"
The crowd had made a clearing for the injured, festively dressed gems standing still in a circle, as still as the trees they imitated. Some had helped to clear the rubble and wore dirt in addition to their rosy clothes, but could do nothing more than watch as the healers fixed broken arms and legs. Yet, none approached the one with the damaged gem.
She lay in the sand, unconscious with her mouth open, eyes blank as the wind washed apathetically over her. As it brushed particles of sand and the occasional petal past, it also brought with it rumors of Black Diamond resurrecting the 'dead' crow. No one spoke that particular myth too loudly. She was, after all, standing right there, but there were certain iterations that had warped. One version in particular stated that Black had brought a bird to life from stone. Another stated she had pulled it from the earth.
Black spoke before the breeze could tell any more lies. "What's the procedure for a cracked gem?"
The elder answered, "There really is no procedure. They almost always die."
The wind stopped whispering then, and Black Diamond fell onto her knees before the coming corpse. "At least let me try…" With Pearl at her side, she set her hands over the broken gem, situated above the Coal's heart.
"Of course," said the eldest, and again added, "My Diamond. Let me know you need anything."
Since the incident with the crow, swirling right overhead, Black and Pearl had began studying the healing arts. At least once a week, amongst town meetings, observation, and assisting with events, the eldest Coal would come and teach them about herbs, and which ones to use and which ones not to use, and about redirecting negative energy, and about clearing their minds of poisonous worry.
She instructed them that it was like a cleansing, where their hands could draw out the pain by grasping it and gently tugging, even though at first it would seem slippery and impossible to get a hold of.
It was like that. Black in particular could practically see and feel the pain, as if she were standing in the middle of a garden with the leaves of some root vegetable brushing against her feet. Yet, trying to tear them out was like going at it with hands covered in grease. Her fingers, coated and anxious, couldn't grasp the leaves and pull out the goddamned carrot. They slipped and tore at the stem, breaking it, making it impossible to remove.
"You're doing fine," The eldest Coal told her. "You're just too eager. Calm down, and try focusing on where you're pulling it out. You'll get that goddamned carrot. Just give it time. Not like that one—"
At that point, both of them looked to Pearl, who was attempting to treat a pregnant woman by whooshing her hands around over her bulbous stomach. Her eyes entirely wide, Pearl looked up but didn't stop the slow-moving fan of her hands. "You mean I'm not helping?"
The mother patted her upon the head. "You're making me smile."
Pearl was better at potion mixing anyway and left the energy manipulation to her Diamond, but there wasn't one potion or spell either of them learned for a cracked gem. Black just closed her eyes, and with the sweat mixing into her gold powder, did her best.
This pain was different than the bodily pains Black had dealt with before. These were more like the ink leaking out of an ocean trench, and she had to remove the trauma before sealing both sides back together. With her own hands, she took the ache as if she were erasing the incident itself, and the procedure left Black's body cold and a little hollow, but she absorbed the pain and came to sweat it out moments later.
After a minute when she pulled her hand away, the crowd gasped and Pearl held more tightly to her Diamond's arm. While her gem wasn't entirely mended, pieces of it adhered more closely together. Deep trenches that sectioned it apart had become shallower and the edges of the cracks drew more closely to one another. The Coal, whose breath came so quietly and infrequently, began to inhale and exhale normally.
Taking one step forward, the elder said, "Keep going!" as the crowd, and the wind, watched in silence.
Her gold smeared, she injected her life and power into the cracks. With each passing minute, the injured Coal held onto her, slowly coming back, and finally opened her eyes after a long hour beneath Black's hands.
She awoke with a violent breath and a perfect gem. Black nearly collapsed as the Coal sat up, uninhibited and lively.
"My Diamond—" She scrambled to her feet before taking steps away and bowing low. Her face nearly made contact with the sand in showing her reverence, and everyone else, ceasing their applause, came to do the same.
It didn't matter that their Diamond could hardly stand, or that the sweat had smudged her face and ran the glitter down her cheeks. It didn't matter that she was shaking, nearly crying and holding Pearl like a woman strangling a pillow on a birthing bed. They had witnessed her power and buried themselves in the dirt.
When Black finally stood, she turned to find the eldest on the ground as well. She didn't cower as much as the others, but lowered her head so her perfect braid swept at the dirt.
Black attempted to raise her voice over the resounding silence. The wind and the crowd and everything between had gone mute. The crows watching perpetually overhead didn't speak over the stillness with even a whisper. Black Diamond herself had no voice left and walked home without a word uttered to Pearl.
Surely, within a few minutes, even—the wind would pick up again and carry bloated and exaggerated rumors for those not present for the resurrection, though Black Diamond would tell them it wasn't a resurrection at all if she could.