Stars and Diamonds

Chapter 44: Observations

Pearl was quiet as she moved down the stairs, arms clasped in front of her as she normally had them, not in much of a rush at all, even though her Diamond had ordered her to check up on Orange Diamond. Her Diamond was busy organizing and overseeing the kindergartens and terraforming efforts, and the younger Diamond had taken the opportunity to retreat away from them today, slinking off for time by herself, which Blue Diamond hadn't objected to. Pearl could tell her Diamond's patience was running more thin than normal, not that Orange was making it easy. One moment Orange would attempt to assert her interest in something, only to give into her Diamond's wishes the next when it was deemed dangerous or beneath her, rarely pushing back, and every time she did push, Pearl watched as Orange pull back just a little bit more into herself when Blue Diamond would become irritable. That genuine smile she had arrived with becoming something much more forced than Pearl thought should be there on such a normally happy gem.

But Orange wasn't the same gem she had last seen, she supposed. She had witnessed Orange Diamond shattering her own Pearl, had seen the hollow look in her eyes as she traveled with Blue Diamond as she and Yellow Diamond escorted her back to Homeworld, not seeming to really be present as Blue held her and eventually had to be forced by Yellow to give her to White. She had been by her Diamond's side as she broke down at having to send Orange to White Diamond, and the relief when Orange had finally called. She could clearly remember the alarming off-color look of the young gem's face when she had called two weeks before she had arrived. Pearl had been around for a long time, had served Blue Diamond for far too long to know what a gem looked like that had something taken from her that would never be returned. Something had been changed in the Orange Diamond that she knew, but she had yet to determine if it was for the best or not.

Not many gems worked in Blue Diamond's moon base spire, and thus it was quite silent inside the building itself, with little risk to actually be bothered by anyone the Diamond's hadn't already deemed important enough to be inside. The only real sound came from the light taps of her feet as she made her way to the second level of the spire where she knew Orange would still be. Her Diamond hadn't outright forbid Orange Diamond from going down to the colony, but it had been clear she would never approve it, and while Blue Diamond seemed to be mostly oblivious to Orange's changing mood, Pearl, as a bystander, could clearly see the forced smile the younger Diamond had been wearing every time something related to the subject came up. But while she may observe such things, it was not her place to comment on it, or to inform her Diamond. Orange did not speak up, so Pearl would not say anything either. She had witnessed Orange growing more and more restless as the days went on, and the euphoria of being here began to fade. The initial excitement to be back with Blue Diamond had kept her fellow gem content to remain in the spire, and her Diamond believed things would be returning back to how they were before the whole incident on Pink Diamond's station.

But Pearl had already seen how Orange Diamond was no longer content to remain inside, and no longer satisfied to live vicariously through the observation orbs and through her imagination and second hand stories. Pearl could remember long days of simply interacting with the observation orb to entertain the young diamond, until she had figured out how to do it herself, and then Pearl had simply become company instead of a helper. She could recall the warm feeling that had taken her when Orange had looked at her as more than a servant, in those small moments when she wasn't just Blue Diamond's Pearl, she was also Pearl, Orange Diamond's friend. She wondered if that might have changed too. Orange and she hadn't had much time to interact alone, and when they did have time, Pearl could read the tired line of her body, the way she wanted nothing more than to retreat to her room to be away from it all. Pearl would simply act as quiet company then, light conversation when it seemed appropriate, but it was mostly wanting to be locked away, until she would come back recharged the next day. But Pearl could see it in her eyes, the clenching of her hands when she didn't think anyone else was looking, the quick intake and exhale of breath, the tensing of her jaw. She was pushing her emotions down, and Pearl didn't believe she would last long before she exploded, and she simply wondered if it would be Blue Diamond or an unwitting gem on the compound that would be at the end of that pointed wrath when it did finally spill over.