As the Stew Simmers
Chapter II
Well looking back on it, ending the chapter mid-sentence was a terrible idea! Now the pacing feels off, it's just something to learn from I suppose. Also for those of you reading this thank you very much! Never thought this would get any attention. Lastly thank you for pointing out the mistake I made with Steven's age in the first chapter! To clarify he is seven not ten in this story. Originally he was going to be ten, however I ended up changing it later on to fit the time line a bit better, and when I said that video game was a gift from his tenth b-day that was a hold over from the first draft. Oh well, time for me to stop babbling and for you to get onto the second chapter!
"Your Mother and I had just completed a mission when we found a group of human's running to the temple in a panic." Steven glanced at her with wide eyes absorbing every word. He then glanced over to the stew which was steaming before he looked back to Pearl who was still telling her tale. "Now the humans came to us with an urgent plea. They had believed that someone was raiding one of their sacred burial ground, however they could not figure out exactly what was happening..." Pearl's gem started to glow for a moment before a hologram appeared on the table "The site was known as the mountain of the burning heart. For generations these people had buried their dead on this cliff face to be closer to those who they had worshiped as their gods." Steven blinks and states "Whoa... Wait what? Burial ground? That's terrible!"
Pearl went silent for a moment before she stated with hint of sadness in her voice "According to their legends the gods had fought a war against demon's coming down from the sky. Many of these 'gods' were slain in the battles which followed. In order to memorialize their sacrifice the people had them buried at the site where they believed the battle took place. They found a sapling and placed it at the top of the mountain, and for millennium this tree stood, reminding the people of the gods who had protected them so long ago."
The hologram shifted and twisted until it showed the image of a massive tree. The tree was so large that it's branches poured out over the mountainside, and it's roots could be seen curling around the base of the mountain as if it were a snake who slept, curled around itself to preserve it's warmth. On the other side of the mountain one could see hundreds upon hundreds of holes carved into it's side all of which were human shaped.
Pearl then stated harshly "The legend was foolish, nothing more than a child's tale however it was so ingrained into the people's culture by that point that to try and disprove it would have simply done no one any good. Your mother of course wanted to look into it, she wanted to call the gem's together in case the threat was anything more than what the locals seemed to think it was." She shifted uncomfortably and continued "However I insisted that I could deal with it on my own." She let out a laugh and stirred the pot "After all back..." She stops herself before she had revealed to Steven anything which might have given away their old age. Steven didn't need to know about that yet. Pearl prayed that he hadn't noticed. She glances back in his direction, but he was just staring at the unfinished stew, content to listen to her story. She lets out a sigh of relief and then goes rigid as Steven says "Pearl?" She stutters once and states "Yes Steven?" Steven blinks and states with a confused tone "Why'd ya stop?"
She blinks and then nods "Right! Right! Where were we again?" Steven glances over to her "You were just telling me about how you were going to go help those people with their mountain thingy." He twiddled his thumbs and waits for Pearl to continue. Pearl removes the lid from the pot and gives it a stir before she starts again "Yes, so for twelve days and twelve nights I traveled with the humans to their famed tree. When we got there the humans returned to their village, and I continued up the side of the mountain. When I reached the top I came to discover that I had bitten off more than I could chew."
She waves her hands in an exaggerated manner and her pearl activates again causing the hologram of the tree to reform. However now it looked sick as if there was some sort of fungus growing along its side. She did a quick spin lifting her leg and shoving it through the hologram to cause it to dissipate as Steven clapped his hands in pleasure. Pearl grinned at him before she returned her attention to the stew and the story. "But yes, upon realizing that there was more going on than I originally had been lead to believe, I decided that I should to go back to the human village for more information." She lifted the pot's lid and glanced down at it before she went to one of the cabinets. She proceeded to pull out a bowl and a spoon for Steven. She then grabs a ladle and fills the bowl with the stew and offers it to Steven.
The young boy shakes his head and states with his usual cheerful demeanor "Come on...Dinner can wait. I want to hear the rest of this story!" Pearl chuckles and states "I'll tell you the rest after we have dinner alright." Steven's mouth drops and he grins excitedly at Pearl "You never want to have dinner with me Pearl! I'll see you at the table!" her eyes widen as she realizes the mistake she made with her words. She never told Steven that she would eat with him. She always used the excuse that she would eat later on after she finished cleaning to avoid the meal, or that she simply was not hungry and she would have her meal later. Of course she could have just told him then and there that she didn't want to eat, but the boy was so excited, and she hated to disappoint him when he got like this.
The worst part of this was that she had never told Steven that as a gem she did not have to eat. If she had then she would not be in this dreadful situation. If she had shared that fact with him then she would have to explain other things about the gems. Which...She would prefer to avoid. The boy grins excitedly at her before he picks up her carefully crafted meal and runs off to the other room. Pearl's eye twitches and she glances down at the stew. She whispers to herself "I suppose that there are worse things in the world..."
She grabs the ladle and fills a bowl for herself before she carefully straightens out her skirt. She then calmly walks into the other room following Steven. The boy looks at her and grins happily before he takes a seat and starts eating. She fills her spoon with the liquid and she thinks to herself 'You are a gem... You have lived for thousands of years...' She then lifts the eating implement up to her mouth as her hand starts to shake and she forces it in. After a moment of disgust, her eyes start to water and she smiles back at Steven.
Well the soup might be done, but our story sure isn't! Although I suppose it will be soon. This was never meant to be a long epic after all, I just wanted to dip my toes into a bit of short story writing.