Black Diamond and Pearl entered the forest and didn't turn back. Black would slow occasionally to dry her eyes, but they only stopped if she wished to sleep, and Pearl followed in loyal silence.
Occasionally, a question would boil inside Pearl's mouth. She kept it and stewed upon it and pushed it around with her tongue as if trying to make it into meringue. When she finally did turn it to paste, she swallowed her inquiry whole and kept it amongst the whispers of the wind and the trees and the solemn footsteps of her downtrodden lady.
They came to a village of Amethysts, who bowed as they walked into town. Many of them stopped exactly where they stood upon meeting Black Diamond's silhouette and set themselves into the dust. They didn't notice her passing until lifting their heads to looked at her, but none had the courage to chase after her.
Dressed in their rags, Black Diamond and Pearl traveled through towns and villages silently and slowly as though death were passing through. Sometimes they ran into life-sized statues of White Diamond, standing proud amongst the gems who bowed in the streets.
The gems in these villages offered to her their goods, gold, fabrics, wine, weapons, anything they could, but Black Diamond and Pearl only took enough to sustain themselves. They never slept anywhere but in the wilderness and spoke only of necessity.
Eventually, the dense forest grew sparse, where the trees became less congested. At a certain point, they disappeared altogether for long stretches of sand and the sun baking overhead.
The birds circled as they cast their shadows.
Finally, Black Diamond stopped.
"My Lady?"
She kept her quiet while a crow cried above them.
Pearl knit her fingers together, but didn't speak. A bead of sweat rolled along her face as her lips coiled and her stomach curled. "My lady," she managed quietly, "Are we going home?"
Black Diamond turned to look at Pearl. Her body shook as though subjected to an earthquake and she covered her face with her hands. Pearl wrapped her arms around her lady's legs immediately and held tightly.
Black Diamond carried on about a minute before stopping to speak. "I abandoned them—" She gasped. "I kept hoping if we went out far enough, we'd eventually come to a place where they didn't know, but every time, they just start bowing before I even speak—" she dried her eyes. "I know of one other village out that way. If the gems there already know my identity, I'm not sure what we'll do. But just maybe…"
Pearl continued her embrace, but knit her brows. "Will we live there if they don't know?"
Black Diamond didn't answer.
Pearl pulled away. "My Lady, I need to say something."
Black's somber eyes granted Pearl their full attention.
"I've made a promise that I'll stay by your side no matter what, and that's still true, but this is killing me. We've been wandering for so long, and you're still unhappy. If the gems in the next village don't know who you are, we'll have to stay here, right? But what if they find out? Everyone else has."
"What are you getting at?"
Pearl gulped. "Maybe we should go back and stay with White Diamond."
"What?"
"She didn't seem like she wanted to force you to be a queen, and she had food and beds and plenty of resources—"
"Stop."
They looked at one another.
"If we stay with White, you'll probably be forced to behave like all of the other Pearls at her palace. It won't be like the last time. Perhaps she doesn't want me to be a queen, but she wants something from me, I'm sure of it. I doubt she's really invited us out of kindness." Black Diamond sighed. "I'm sorry, Pearl. Let's just keep moving."
"Madame, I don't think you're going to find happiness over there. Maybe it's time…"
"Time to what?"
Pearl looked at the hot sand beneath her feet, "Time to accept that you're a Diamond."
Black stared at her a long time, but Pearl didn't bother reciprocating. After a gulp, however, she elaborated while picking her nails. "It just seems like living in White's palace is the best-case scenario. Whatever she wants from you, ruling her empire probably isn't it. I doubt you'll be any more miserable than you are right now, and at least in that scenario you would have food and a place to sleep."
Black Diamond turned to stare into the distance.
"Aren't you tired?"
"I'm definitely tired" Black began to walk again. Her supplies weighed upon her shoulders, and Pearl followed within the boundaries of her lady's shadow.
They continued through the desert and the outlines the birds cast grew larger. The sun declined from its position overhead and those long shapes seemed to dull around their sharp edges. It was only when Pearl made out the shadow of an arm had she looked up and saw the silhouette of a winged woman.
"Madame—"
Black caught the figure as she flew away.
"What was that?" Pearl stopped but her Diamond continued.
"A gem, I imagine."
As the pair made tracks in the sand, the silhouettes kept circling overhead, two of them, and then three. Their shadows moved faster each time and soon revealed the outlines of swords and shields.
Occasionally, one would dive down like a hawk scooping up prey only to rocket back into the sky a moment later. Her wings caused an upset that blew the travelers around, and through that wind came glimpses of blue that nearly matched the sky.
Pearl kept closer to her Diamond each time one of the harpies came nearer.
Eventually, the entire group of three swept down and landed before the pair. They kept hands on swords they had yet to draw and allowed their water wings to drop into the sand.
"You two are headed awfully close to our village."
"What sort of gem are you and what is your purpose?"
Black Diamond put up her hands. "I'm Coal and this is my Pearl. We're travelers in search of a place to stay."
"If you're a Coal, why don't you live with your people?"
"What crime did you commit?"
"And why are you so far out?"
The trio glared, turned up their noses and sneered, awaiting her answer.
"I haven't committed any crime and I prefer to travel. Neither my Pearl nor myself want to cause trouble, but we do need food and a place to sleep. We would be willing to work around town for both of these accommodations—"
"What skills do either of you have?"
"We're healers."
"Healers?"
"Prove it." One of them pulled out her sword and cut the end of her finger. Unfazed, she sheathed her weapon and held out her hand while dark blue blood leaked into the sand.
Black Diamond gasped and covered the wound with her fingers. For a cut that small, she merely needed to focus, and after a few seconds, the lesion sealed completely and its owner's eyes widened in shock. The other two took steps back.
"We'll tell Lady Lapis of your powers."
"I'm sure she'll have some use for you."
The three of them flew away while Black Diamond and Pearl continued walking. Even after the encounter, they didn't speak. They glanced up occasionally, met with the dizzying brightness of the sun, but saw no further sign of the Lapises again. Dragging their feet through the sand, they kept on until hours had passed and the village had finally come into sight, at first appearing to them like a mirage.
The Lapises had carved holes into one of the mountains, made doors and set up dwellings. While approaching, Black Diamond and Pearl watched as some came out and swooped to the ground like birds only to go about their shopping in the center of town. To the left of the mountain awaited a medium-sized palace they had built from wood and plaster, standing at two generous stories.
As Black Diamond came closer, the inhabitants gathered outside the market in anticipation of their guest. They all arrived looking about the same, but wearing many different outfits in an array of colors. Before them stood a Lapis wearing a crown and long, golden robes like the freckles upon her cheeks and speckles across her chest-set gem.
Lady Lapis had crossed her arms and somehow managed to look down at Black Diamond, despite being shorter than Pearl. She narrowed her fierce eyes and opened her voice came out all business, "My girls told me you had healing powers. Is that true?"
"We do."
She scoffed. "I wish you would have been here during the war, then. We might have won."
"I'm sorry." Black Diamond bowed her head.
But Lady Lapis had already moved on. "You said you're a Coal? Why aren't you in your own village?"
"I enjoy travelling, Madame."
She narrowed her eyes. "You must know that seems awfully suspicious, don't you? Our village is a long way out to just wander here and it's odd that you're dressed in tatters, yet you have a Pearl." Lady Lapis chewed on one side of her mouth in staring them down. "However, if you truly do have healing powers, I regret to admit that I need your help. Not only are many of my subjects recovering, but my wife is sick with child. If you can help us, I don't particularly care what crimes you've committed that would make you run away. I'll feed and house you personally, but I need to see it."
She motioned with her arm and a Lapis with a wounded leg flew forward, "How are you with broken bones?"
"I can fix them. She just needs to lie down."
The crowd stared.
"How long will it take?"
"Perhaps ten minutes. It depends on the severity."
"Very well. Show us your abilities."
Black Diamond and Pearl began their procedure once their patient had lain flat upon the ground. Pearl removed her bandages carefully to replace with their own once she had produced the mixture and the gauze. Black helped to set the bones and placed her hands flat over the leg while her palms made heat and magic. The crowd gasped and closed in as the smoke began to rise. Indeed, within about twelve minutes, the mixture had burned off, the spent bandages cracked like weak papier-mâché, and the Lapis could walk again. She stood with little effort.
Lady Lapis had covered her mouth with an open hand, and the others remained quiet. Only when one began to clap did they all follow suit.
"Come back with me," Lady Lapis turned to the modest mansion and motioned to her guests to follow. "We need your help."
"Of course, Madame."
They left the others in the center of town and entered the Lady's home.
Upon entering, a clean floor and a tall ceiling greeted them, with long stretching tiles and a grand staircase that led to the upper level, but where there should have been furniture and paintings was only blank space. Certain sections of wall wore indents from paintings that used to hang up on it, leaving behind only scratches and a little gold dust from the missing frames.
Lady Lapis took Black Diamond and Pearl upstairs, down a hallway, and through more empty space, where all three of them had entered one of the many rooms. Upon the bed in the center lay a lump covered by sheets. Black Diamond looked at the almost perfectly round bump near the middle, as well as the long expanse of dark blue hair belonging to a young child asleep upon the covers.
Lady Lapis came to her wife and sat delicately upon one bed corner to pull back the sheets. She revealed the sleeping gem's face—a woman with eyelashes like a baby doll's and plump lips—in order to kiss her upon the cheek. She shifted and showed her golden irises only when Lady Lapis had set her mouth upon her forehead.
"Darling, how are you feeling?"
She took a moment to shake off the haze. "I could be better, but I feel okay."
"I didn't want to wake you, but I found someone who might be able to help. I watched her heal a broken leg just a little while ago. Are you feeling up to talking to her?"
"Of course." Her striking eyes shifted to Black Diamond a moment before meeting up again with her wife's. "She's awfully large. Am I hallucinating?"
Lady Lapis laughed, but quietly, as not to wake the sleeping child. "No. She is very tall."
The pregnant woman giggled as well before twisting her lovely features. "This is the last baby we're going to have." The couple looked at one another. The Lapis with the golden eyes furrowed her brows. "I can't even laugh with you."
"I know. I'm sorry." Lady Lapis placed her hand upon her lover's middle, right at the apex of her belly. "I'll miss you being this round. You look so cute, even though I hate to see you sick."
"Only you would say that. I'm bigger than this house."
"That's not true. You still fit inside don't you? You might be as big as someone else's house, but that's neither here nor there."
"Shut up."
Both of them ended up laughing.
"If it makes you feel any better, you're the prettiest house I've ever seen."
"And you're the loveliest bitch." She smiled, but expelled a few tears from the pain. "Let me talk to your healer. I want to try and spend a few hours awake today."
"Of course," Lady Lapis set her serious stare onto the guests and summoned them forward with a motion of her hand. From there, she allowed Black Diamond to come nearer, but kept a close distance with her arms crossed and her attention unadulterated.
"Hello. I'm Coal. I'm certain I'll be able to help you, but can you tell me about your pain?"
She swallowed before speaking and expelled a few more tears. "Where do I even begin? I feel constantly nauseous and tired. My stomach aches. I'm so lopsided I can't even fly." She released a long sigh in lamentation and looked away.
"Have you been eating well?"
"Probably a little too well."
Black Diamond laughed. "I'm sure your baby is happy with that. Would you mind if I take a look?"
"Please."
Black lifted the blanket and exposed her round stomach, whose skin reflected gold as though someone had taken a brush and painted over her skin in patterns that resembled stars. Her gem held even thicker veins of pyrite than her wife's did, and from its placement upon her hip stretched a band that circled around her stomach.
Black Diamond asked, "Do you know if it's only one child?"
"I was about this big the last time."
"I see." Black rested her hand gently upon the mother's stomach. "Pearl, will you prepare an elixir for her pain? I'm going to soothe her for the time being."
Just as Black spoke, another wave of agony hit the woman, but her palm lifted from its position and boiled the ache away with the heat she made. Black closed her eyes and Pearl worked around her, going into various pockets to pull out herbs and oils that she mixed together. Her lady moved her hand in a steady circle all the while, removing the pain and bringing the blue woman back.
Pearl finished her potion and gave it to the Lapis to drink. She had sat up by herself, which caused her wife to gasp, and ingested every last drop of it with an arm covering the cloth around her breasts, brows crooked and tears prickling within the corners of her eyes.
"I feel so—" she covered her mouth and gathered her composure. "I feel so normal—" A gasp. "Thank you."
Lady Lapis immediately wrapped her arms around her wife, but looked at Black Diamond as her partner leaked tears of joy.
"Thank you, Coal." Lady Lapis set her lips upon her lover's. "Would you stay here for the night? We may need your help again."
"We would be happy to."
"Help me get dressed for dinner, Love—" the pregnant woman stood up on her own two feet. "I want to sit at the table tonight."
Black Diamond watched as the pair dried their eyes and held one another. Shortly after, she and Pearl left to allow them some privacy, but the silence still clung from the walk over. "Thank you for your help, Pearl," but Black Diamond's voice came out quietly.
"Of course, My Lady."
They waited for Lady Lapis to tell them what to do next, with stomachs full of words and no syllables to express them.