When no one was around, Peridot felt the tears slip down her cheeks, trickling then pouring like a bursting dam of emotion. Luckily, she was not alone very often. If it was not Sapphire or Pearl, Lapis was always there. She rarely left Peridot's side unless it was to fetch something for her or bathe and she was never gone long. Peridot was conflicted about how she felt about Lapis. The nymph was trying to make amends but, Peridot felt nothing could compensate for her loss. She allowed Lapis to help; however, their exchanges were awkward and strained at best.

Peridot tried to focus her attention on tinkering with some electronics that Steven had brought her to keep her occupied. Her fingers diligently worked to figure out what was wrong and how she would fix the items. Whenever her eyes trailed to the bandaged stump, it would catch her off guard, forgetting her leg was gone. She felt the lump in her throat and the swell of tears in her eyes. Once she grew so frustrated, Peridot violently tossed the mechanism across the room and sobbed into her hands. Lapis found her but stayed her distance, hesitant and uncertain. Peridot growled a few obscenities at her, and Lapis faded back into the hall

The pain was tolerable and surprisingly the least of her concerns. Sapphire managed it with medicine, ironically, from the herbs that they had collected before sailing. Peridot was surprised how quickly she recovered. Almost immediately, Sapphire helped with basic exercise and how to do things that Peridot realized she took for granted like rolling in bed or changing positions. Sapphire taught Lapis how to tend to her bandages, clean her wound, apply compression to prevent swelling, and various exercises that allowed Lapis to help Peridot recover. It is hard to have to rely on Lapis. She had protested the arrangement, but it made the most sense and Peridot had to begrudgingly accept. Lapis did her job with quiet, grim determination.

Peridot was not completely immobile, but the structure of the temple made it hard for her to get around like before. She had to maneuver a makeshift pair of crutches and her one leg down the rocky terrain. Pearl promised to make her a prosthetic as soon as they found suitable material. Peridot was intrigued by this enhancer, but it still did not replace her leg. It was just another device she would need to master. Peridot looked at the covered curves of Lapis on the cot by her bed. She let out a shaky breath through her nose, the tight heat gripping her chest. Her eyes fell to the litter of parts on sheets draped over her lap. She scowled at them and shoved them onto the floor in a shower of clanking metal.

Lapis bolted up from her cot. Her blue hair stuck wildly around her face, and her half hooded eyes searched around the room. She muttered something that Peridot did not catch and shuffled out of bed. Mechanically, she picked up the pieces that Peridot had thrown on the ground. Peridot watched her coolly as she gathered everything and placed them back on Peridot's lap. She knew it was childish and petty, but she did not care. It gave her some satisfaction. Lapis asked if she needed anything else. She looked tired, barely keeping her eyes open. Peridot shook her head, and Lapis trudged back to her cot, collapsing.

She is trying hard, Peridot thought, trying to be diplomatic. Well, she should be, another heated voice argued. Look what her recklessness did! This was true; Peridot could not deny this, and she never tried to counter. It always outweighed her pity and empathy for the water nymph. She can't give you a new leg, the voice continued, single-mindedly. You will always be disfigured because of her. Who cares if she lost her home? You lost your leg! All reasonable arguments. Peridot started working with her project until she could not fight her eyes anymore. Her lids drooped, blocking her vision for a moment, and her head fell. She would jerk up, surprised by the persistent sleep trying to seize her. Defeated, Peridot set her project aside, removed her glasses and settled into bed. Her stump rubbed against her good leg and the tears welled in her eyes again.

Peridot never slept for long; just enough to keep exhaustion away. She woke up a couple of hours later. Lapis was sitting on her cot, her knees drawn to her chest and her head resting on her knees. She was asleep. Peridot scooted into a sitting position and put her glasses on. She noticed the pieces of the device had been placed on the table next to her. Her bandages had been changed, and she was covered by a second blanket. There was a chill in the room she had not noticed before she went to bed. A dim light streamed from the crack in the ceiling. Peridot cleared her throat and Lapis lazily looked up at her. Her eyes were rimmed with red and dark shadows gathered underneath her lids.

"Peridot," she inquired, hoarsely.

"I need water," she replied, shortly. Lapis nodded, yawning and uncurling from her little ball. She disappeared out of the room, leaving Peridot alone. Peridot stared, unblinking, at the wall. Her mind was numb with only the slightest buzz of static. The lack of sleep did a number on in her head. Before she knew it, Lapis handed her a cup of water. Peridot took it and eagerly drank. Lapis sat down on her cot, folded her hands in her lap and looked at the ground. Silence enveloped them, neither daring to break the fragile stillness. Peridot grabbed the parts and started working until it was time to do her exercises. Neither girl said anything to each other once the alarm went off, moving routinely to their positions.

Peridot laid down on her bed, her feet, and stump over the edge. Lapis held her amputated limb while Peridot lifted her good leg toward her chest. She felt self-conscious and aggravated to have Lapis's hands on her remnant, fighting the seething fury in her chest and the dull heat in her cheeks. Lapis held her stub down onto the bed, her lips moving wordlessly as she counted. Her fingers were firm and warm against her skin; her eyes focusing on anything but Peridot's reddened face. Peridot timed her rhythm with Lapis and relaxed after twenty. Thankfully, this was the only exercise where they had to make any contact. Peridot could complete the rest on her own with Lapis as a supervisor. The water nymph sat and watched until she was finished. A few minutes later, Steven brought them lunch and asked Peridot about the progress with the gadget. Peridot shrugged and showed him the mess. Everything was dull and monotonous and not worth the effort.

"Peridot?" Lapis spoke up several days later. Peridot hummed a reply as she flipped another page of her book. "Do you hate me?"

The question caught her off guard. She glanced up at Lapis who was staring at her with a solemn expression. Did she hate Lapis? Hate seemed too strong to describe how she felt. It did not quite touch the turmoil of emotions that Peridot felt for Lapis.

"I don't hate you," Peridot replied, carefully. "I am angry at you. It pisses me off that all I did was help you and this is what happens! I almost lost my life...I…" Lapis winced at the venom in Peridot's voice. Suddenly, Peridot did not care. All the emotion bubbling below the surface were erupting. She had tried to mute them. Tried to ignore them. Tried to tone them down. Yet, the simple question set Peridot off. She slammed her book shut, turning her body and throw off her covers to reveal her bandaged leg. Dramatically she swept her hands over the missing body part. "I lost my fucking leg. I will never be whole again. You are intact and whole and beautiful and powerful while I look like some…some…I don't fucking know! A freak. No. I don't hate you. I just don't know why you are still here!"

"I—I," Lapis stammered. Her eyes fell to her fingers. "I needed to make sure you were well and recovered. I owe you. And you've been so good to me. I know my emotions can get out of control. They have before, and I paid dearly for it. I…"

"I don't care. I'm fine. I'm recovering. I found your home, and you aren't welcome here anymore," Peridot interrupted. Lapis opened her mouth then shut it. A voice was screaming inside Peridot's mind, but she ignored it. Lapis bowed her head, hiding her face.

"If you want." Her voice cracked. Peridot realized she was crying. In the distance, Peridot could hear the clamor of voices. Pearl, Sapphire, Steven, Amethyst and Ruby entered the room, discussing something in low, serious voice. Lapis took advantage of the commotion to slip away. Steven was the only one to notice Lapis rush off. He gave Peridot a questioning look. Peridot rolled her eyes, shrugged and grabbed her crutches.

"What do you guys want," she asked.

"Damn. What is wrong with you," Amethyst replied, sitting on the bed.

"You've recovered enough. We have some matter to talk about," Pearl interrupted, disregarding Peridot's attitude.

"Where did Lapis go? This involves her too." Steven looked around for the water nymph.

"I told her to leave."

"Did you need something," Sapphire asked.

"No. She overstayed her welcome. We found her home. We kept our end of the bargain," Peridot explained, harshly. Everyone shared a similar expression of surprise. Amethyst mouth gaped; Pearl scowled; Sapphire looked empathetic; Ruby furrowed her brow; Steven pursed his lips.

"That might not have been a good idea," Sapphire said.

"What? Why? You guys have wanted to get rid of her since day one!"

"Yes. Well, things have changed."

"What do you mean 'things have changed'"

"Well, besides her kind of growing on us, we have a theory," Amethyst said.

"Theory?"

"After you came back, I started thinking about Jasper and Lapis," Pearl explained, giving Amethyst as sharp look. "I am pretty sure that Jasper had a hand in destroying her home. But, why go through all that trouble?"

"That's true," Peridot agreed. It was a good point. She had not even suspected that Jasper was the one who destroyed Lapis's home. Her mind was too preoccupied. If that was the case, Jasper knew that Lapis had no home. Not only that but she had a hand in it's destruction. Yet, she held that promise in front of her; she manipulated Lapis into doing her bidding. Heat coiled in Peridot's belly, and a thought tugged at her mind.

"Of course. Since Lapis has been gone, Jasper has been using the Fire Witch to find Rose. Again, why? Why is this omniscient being relying on lowly nymphs to do her work? It was always something that bugged me. Jasper could crush us with her power, yet she had Lapis and the other nymphs destroy our homes. Why would she need to have all these nymphs under her control? Why is she so adamant to find Rose if she has all the power? Unless..." Peridot's eyes widened. A light flashed in her head.

"Wait? Are you saying…" Peridot looked at everyone. They nodded eagerly. Peridot huffed, her mouth parted slightly. "Jasper might not have powers?"

"Precisely. It makes sense, right? It is best to have the few magical beings working with you than against you. That is why she flipped when Lapis left. That is why we only see nymphs using their powers," Pearl rambled, excitedly. Her blue eyes glimmered, her pale lips curling into a smile.

"Holy fuck." So, Jasper could actually be powerless. It made perfect sense. And it seemed so obvious. Peridot scowled. The thought was clawing at her brain, trying to break through the muddled cloud. "So, if it is possible Jasper destroyed Lapis's home, why? She must have had a reason. Maybe...what if-if that gave Lapis nowhere to go. By chance, she did escape or something and managed to find it. Then...then..."

"Pearl point," Pearl beamed, catching her trailing thought and tapping her sharp nose. The thought broke free and guilt and realization flooded in. Peridot's face shifted into an expression of remorse and horror, the color draining. She had been consumed with her own misery, she had not considered Lapis. She lost her home. She was manipulated and abused for centuries on a promise that could never be kept. Now, she had just sent Lapis away. Where would she go? Where could she go? She could not take care of herself; she was still learning about the world; she could not survive. Lapis would go back to Jasper. That had always been Jasper's backup plan, wasn't it? If Lapis had nowhere to go, she would go back to what was familiar. She would go back to Jasper, and she would punish her. Or worse. She did not have to keep up that charade of returning Lapis home. Jasper had Lapis so submissive and lost that she would not fight back.

"I need to stop Lapis," Peridot shouted, grabbing her crutches and pushing herself onto her foot. Everyone else jumped up with her. Peridot swung her body forward, moving the crutches. Steven tried to help, but she swatted him away. She had to find Lapis. She had to stop Lapis. She could not let anything happen to Lapis. If anything happened to Lapis