Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“I’m back!” Gem shouted down the narrow hallway as she closed the door behind her. She fumbled with the faulty lock, struggling to get it to work right. Once her attempts succeeded she shrugged off her dark cloak, hanging it up on a nail in the wall by the door. “Martyn?” She called once again, peering down the hall to try to catch a glimpse of where Martyn usually sat.

Gem turned back to face the wall that had her cloak hung on it, realizing now that Martyn’s usual jacket was not there. He must have gone out unexpectedly, not a wildly uncommon act when it came to him. She reached to her belt, taking out a knife to set on the makeshift weaponry that was their entryway table. As she set the first knife down, she caught movement down the hall out of the corner of her eye. Another knife was in her now outstretched hand in less than a second. It pointed straight at the man before her.

“Woah! Woah—“ he said, lifting his hands to show they were empty. Trying to tell her he was not a threat without using as many words. Gem, of course, did not trust that one bit. This man may not actively have a weapon in his hands, but that said nothing of possible powers he possessed, and it did not account for weapons he could still have on him. 

Her eyes studied him, scanning over his face and clothing to not only try to discern who he was, but if he had any weapons or any indication of ill intent. He wore a loose white button up, unbuttoned more than necessary. The type Martyn might bring around, she thought sourly to herself. Pushed up on his forehead were dark sunglasses. They kept loose dark curls sort of out of his face. He had dog-like ears that were at full attention. His eyes were locked on her, wide and nearly fearful. He had some small scars scattered around his face, and seemingly his arms and hands as well. His stature was strong, that of someone who actively trained, and a blue and gold colored fabric was tied around his waist. Not just a colored fabric, a flag , Gem realized. She quickly recognized who he was after that.

“Oh,” she sneered, annoyed now that she had had to have made such a fuss. “Where’s Martyn? You better not have said something dumb and made him run off,” she scolded in preparation for the worst. Gem did not want to have to console Martyn over another stupid man tonight.

“No,” he cleared his throat. “No, I would never,” Ren responded. “Mumbo sent for him. Said it was something urgent and important. Martyn told me that he would not be too long and that I should stay. Wait for him here.”

“I see,” Gem fastened the knife she held back into her belt, keeping it still easily accessible. Just in case. “Usually he tells me before he has one of his…” she looked at Ren deadpan. “Friends, over.”

She pushed past Ren and calmly walked into the living room.

“Oh,” he responded, seeming rather surprised by such a simple statement. After Gem turned to look at him he hesitantly followed her out of the hallway. “I really had not been planning on staying too long—“

“That’s what they all say,” Gem mumbled, shaking her head and sighing. Sitting down on one of the couches she raised her eyebrows at Ren, motioning for him to sit across from her.

He complied. Sitting down on the couch and crossing his arms uncomfortably. He looked… vaguely out of place. It was not that he was extremely proper, but more that even at his casual Gem could tell he was palace folk. And sure, Gem used to be the same way, but now she was used to the way the people around her now acted. Maybe she herself fell into old habits at times, but she hoped she never looked as uptight as the man in front of her.

“If you would like me to leave I can—“ he started to say.

“No,” Gem cut him off, bringing her hand up to silence him. “It’s fine,” she paused. She took a moment to make eye contact with him, staring and furrowing her eyebrows. “You do know who I am, yeah?”

Ren looked to be startled for a moment. He tripped over his words, struggling to put them together. His eyes were wide.

“Gem,” he got out, almost seeming out of breath from how much he was stumbling with his words. “Gem, right?”

“So she has mentioned me by name?” Gem sat up more, leaning forward. She was mostly joking with the comment, but she could not lie and say she was not a little curious. Though, either way he would likely know her by name. Given… everything.

“I— what?” Ren looked a little caught off guard, tilting his head.

She gave him a knowing look. He was not fooling anyone, let alone Gem. “I know who you are, Ren. Don’t play dumb.”

He fell quiet at that, looking away and to the window to avoid Gem’s watching eyes. She was a bit surprised by him being out at this time of day. Sure, leaving the palace at night was not that odd, but mid afternoon? Not typical. Strange, even. A thought danced in her mind about whether he was here for the reasons he stated.

“I should not be here,” Ren hung his head in shame, still not meeting Gem’s eyes.

“Nope! You shouldn’t!” Gem replied in a mocking cheeriness. “But void knows that doesn’t stop you and the others from the palace.”

He finally looked at her, slightly confused.

“Oh, don’t tell me you’re clueless enough to not know,” she raised her eyebrows. If he did not know how many people from the palace hung out with not only Martyn but others in town, then Ren must be truly helpless.

“No— no, I know, I just did not think you were the type they hung out around,” Ren pushed some of his falling hair out of his face, adjusting his sunglasses to better keep his hair contained.

“Okay, ouch. But, I’m not. They hang out with Martyn and others, I’m just here,” she shrugged, looking out the window and to the street below.

“You have never been here before when I’ve visited,” something in his tone had changed slightly. It was almost accusatory, or interrogating. It was an odd thing to fuss over, whether or not Gem had been there when he visited.

“Yeah, because every time before Martyn gave me a heads up,” Gem responded simply. Though, the sentence did make her wonder. Why had Martyn not given her a warning? “He does talk about you quite a lot,” she continued, grinning slightly at Ren.

Ren’s face went slightly pink, but he shook his head trying to act unfazed, “Oh? How so?”

“Well, you know. He’s always going on and on about how caring you are, how loyal you are, and how dedicated you are. I’m always hearing your name days before and days after you two even just have one conversation,” Gem rolled her eyes. “It’s quite annoying. To be honest, I thought I’d never get to meet you.”

Except maybe under poor circumstances, she thought to herself.

He cleared his throat, adjusting himself to sit more upright, “Why?”

Gem nearly snorted, “Well, Martyn always tells me to leave prior to you coming over. By my request, may I add. So seeing you here should’ve been out of the picture. And then I haven’t been allowed near the Queen since—“ she cut herself off sharply. She was starting to get snappy and act dumb, and she knew she needed to stop herself. It was not something she needed to dig up and get into. Especially not with Ren.

The silence between them extended longer than Gem found comfortable. When she looked over to Ren he was looking at her intently. Intensely, more so. She shifted uncomfortably. His expression was strange. It only made Gem further question his motives for being there.

“Pearl misses you,” the three words came abruptly.

Gem felt the way the words cut her deeper than she thought they would if ever spoken. The use of her name caught her off guard the most. She would not expect someone as high ranking as him to not call her Queen outside of palace walls. Someone like Scott who was friends first with Pearl, sure. But the personal Knight of the Queen? It nearly shocked Gem.

“I don’t think it’s very professional for you to be telling me that information about the Queen,” she tried to smile at Ren, attempting a false mocking innocence. The sentence was true, however. He should not be telling her that information. 

“You don’t miss her, then?” He asked, assuming the worst as his voice dropped any previous mask of different intention. 

Gem paused. It was clear to her now that whatever this was was Ren’s actual reason for being in her and Martyn’s flat. She needed to now tread carefully. This man was a top ranking guard. People listened to him, and if she messed up he could make her life hell. She locked eyes with Ren.

“I did not say that,” Gem said clearly, but harshly. “You and I both know I cannot step a foot near that palace without being killed on sight. Even here, you would be fully within your right to kill me now, as well. So, even if I do miss her, why does it matter to you?”

Ren stared her down for a long moment. His eyes were fierce with what looked to be anger, maybe resentment. He was clenching his hands in fists hard, and his expression made him look tougher than Gem knew he was. Intimidation had always been what Ren excelled in, according to Scott and the others. Gem knew some of his faults. Inside knowledge and a half decent memory comes in handy, at times. But Gem was not certain if Ren knew much about her. It was now clear to her that to some extent, Pearl had talked of her. Not knowing that extent was what caused her to feel on edge. 

“I could get you in there,” Ren leaned forward, his voice quiet.

Gem scoffed. Still, his reason for being there had not fully taken shape in her mind. She could not fathom that this man who was sending clear signs of hatred her way, would want to actually help her. 

“Sounds like you want me dead,” she responded, matching his tone.

“Listen— Gem, did you stop for a moment to think maybe Martyn did not tell you I was coming by because I wanted to talk to you?” Ren dropped his voice lower, leaning forward once again.

Gem froze. He was on to her suspicions, and her suspicions were correct. Ren did have an ulterior motive for being there. But still, what did he want? What was his real reason? Did he want her dead? Or was he genuinely trying to get her to see Pearl? Even worse, was it some stupid secret third thing?

“Ren. I can’t do whatever you are asking of me right now. Do I need to remind you of what happened? How I was very nearly exiled? How— legally— this place I am in right now is technically too close to the palace?” She wished she had not mentioned the last bit, but did hope it got her point across. Her hands were digging into the fabric of the couch under her.

“I remember what happened, Gem!” Ren growled, closing his eyes tightly for a moment before opening them again. “I was assigned to be her personal Knight right after! I remember her panic attacks at the sight of fire and the smell of gunpowder! Even the smell of simple burnt food could send her down a spiral! Her flashbacks! Gem, I dealt with the aftermath that you never saw. Do you know that? And I can’t possibly understand how she can still miss you after everything. I am only here under her request.”

Gem stared at him coldly. She only knew vaguely of the aftermath. It would have been too much for her to ask Scott or the others about what happened. But she had heard whispers. She was not clueless.

His intentions were now clear, however. If he was telling the truth. Which Gem let herself trust unless anything went on to disprove her trust.

“It was a mistake, Ren. I got fully blamed for it, Ren . Scott was there. Impulse was there. Void— even Bdubs and Cleo were there! Yet I got the blame. I didn’t understand then. I don’t understand, not fully. But I took it. I took it to make sure no one else had to deal with it once I found out all the risks at play. I could handle all of that. Better me than them. I—“ she shook her head, stopping herself before she said that it was better for Pearl. Better than… who she suspected the true blame was to be revealed. 

She still vividly remembered the day. The smell of burning flesh. The panic that had overwhelmed her entire being. The guilt . Every single second of it. She remembered well. All of the lasting pains and emotions. Pearl was not the only one who had been scared of fire— or even loud sounds after.

“If you feel your trial had unfair circumstances you can request a retry,” Ren articulated every word, a flat rehearsal of how things at the palace worked.

Gem scoffed at him, rolling her eyes. “If your Queen really asked you to try to get me to go with you, or whatever, you’re really not making a good case for it.” She crossed her arms, gritting her teeth.

Ren sighed, opening and closing his mouth without saying any words. He looked away from Gem, clearly struggling with phrasing what he wanted to say next. Or figuring out what he wanted to say in the first place.

“She cannot officially order you to her because of the trial’s outcome. But she wants to see you, Gem,” he had dropped his voice quiet again, looking back at her. He at the very least sounded genuine saying those words, but Gem was not going to immediately forget that he sounded plenty convincing at the beginning of their conversation despite the fact he was lying.

“If Pearl wants to see me she can tell me herself—“ Gem started, absentmindedly saying Pearl’s name.

“ Don’t you even dare speak her name now,” Ren looked at her sharply, nearly growling the words. He looked like he would pick a fight with her if she showed resistance to what he said. Gem put her hand on the hilt of a knife in her belt, showing that she would defend herself. It made her feel safer, as well. When he noticed her hand he backed off with his defensive demeanor.

“ You did. You spoke your venerated Queen’s name,” Gem mocked. She scowled at him, crossing her arms once again. Her mind was spinning with insults and arguments she could get into with this man, but she knew it was more responsible to hold her tongue.

“I— that—“ he stuttered. His eyes went wide as he realized that he had in fact used Pearl’s name earlier in the conversation. He shut his mouth and seemed to grit his teeth, staring at Gem with no defense at hand. Maybe he had become too accustomed to relying on looking intimidating and now when he was faced with someone as stubborn as Gem, he was blanking on what to do. 

“I am not going with you, Ren,” she stated in a matter of fact tone. If he was not going to make a case for her to go with, she would not go. 

“She will ask me to come back,” he insisted, still standing up to leave anyway. 

“Don’t disobey your Queen, then,” Gem smiled mockingly. Ren looked at her as if she was crazy. She supposed her reasoning for not going may be crazy. But if Ren did not want to bring her, why should she go with? Yes, she wanted to see Pearl. She also wanted to figure out what Ren’s deal was.

Ren put back on his sunglasses, allowing his hair to fall down and partially into his face. He did not seem to care or notice, as he left it that way. As Gem watched him, she noted how much he did fit the stereotypical knight look. She could understand why so many fell for his intimidation over his genuine battle skill. If she was honest, she was curious to have a controlled fight with him. Test who is the better fighter. Sure, she believed that she was, but she could not be certain. 

He turned away from her, falling into a certain pondering silence. Gem felt she was picking up on the way he acted quickly, and yes, it was partly because of previous information she had received about him. But… It seemed most of the time he wore his heart on his sleeve. That was dangerous in a position like that. If she could pick up on it, she was sure others had as well. He would not be too difficult to manipulate, as much as it concerned her to think that.

“If you keep her waiting too long she will seek you out herself,” he said, taking a single step towards the door. He seemed to be testing if Gem was actually going to not leave with him. She guessed it would not be an amazing look if he came back without her, but she did not care.

“I’ll be waiting, then,” she replied. For a moment there was a pause that almost made Gem think he would respond. But he did not. Instead, he shook his head and exited the flat swiftly, leaving Gem in that pause of uncomfortable silence.

She stood up quickly once the door was closed, pacing back and forth in the small living space immediately. According to Ren, Pearl wanted to see her. Pearl wanted to see her. She did not hate her. She did not prevent Gem’s exile out of pity. She was not content with never seeing Gem again. Gem was not quite shocked, but it was still difficult for her to genuinely believe that Pearl wanted to see her. Sure, maybe Ren was lying, but Martyn would not have let him ask her if he did not trust that Ren was telling the truth. Unless Ren had lied to Martyn about his reasonings for being there. But, Gem liked to believe Martyn would be able to see through something like that. Either way, she gritted her teeth at the thought of talking to Martyn. The man was idiotic at best for allowing a clearly resentful or just disrespectful knight into their flat to try to convince Gem of something he clearly did not want to happen himself. Her thoughts were spinning with insults she could hurl at him, though she would try to go for something calmer. Maybe.

She heard the flat door open again and Martyn called out. Gem rolled her eyes. Her feet carried her to the entryway before she could stop herself. Martyn looked casual, as if it was any other normal day. 

“So, Martyn, what was that all about?” She placed her hands on her hips and glared at the man in front of her.

Martyn put his hands up in a clear attempt at false ignorance. Not only did he let Ren talk to Gem, but now he was playing dumb? Gem nearly scoffed.

“What?” His voice pitched up in a clear lying tone.

“Ren being over here. Don’t you even try to fake not knowing, I will punch you,” Gem raised her eyebrows, staring Martyn down to try to get across she was serious. Martyn seemed to squirm, probably trying to figure out whether lying was worth it.

“Gem, I don’t know what you’re—“

She hit him in the gut and he gripped his stomach, dropping to his knees as he lost his balance. Gem just stared down coldly at him. He knew where lying to her when she specifically told him not to would get him, yet he attempted it anyway. This was far from the first time she had made a similar promise when he lied. She supposed he did not lie often because of that, which she was grateful for. Gem did not lie often to him either, she was vague at times sure, but not often an outright lie. They had been living and occasionally working together for years, they did have to have some level of trust.

“Fine! Fine—“ Martyn said through gritted teeth. His voice was strained from the temporary pain and he glanced up at Gem in annoyance.

“Come on. Living room, now,” she calmly walked over and sat down. She gave Martyn all the time he needed to get up and over to the room. Gem was patient, at times.

It took a long moment, but Martyn did find his way over to the couch opposite Gem. He was still staring at her with a look of annoyance, though she knew he would get over it or they could talk it out.

“He asked me for a favor and I said yes. That was all,” he said, as if the simple statement was enough to dismiss him of Gem’s scolding.

“How much did you know of what he was going to ask of me,” she crossed her arms. Her eyes scanned Martyn’s face for any signs that he was about to lie. She did not see any, but she kept close attention on him.

“I— everything, I guess. I don’t know. He said he was going to ask you to go to the palace to see the Queen. And, I mean, he was under Queen’s orders you know—“ Martyn attempted to play off the words casually.

“Nope,” Gem quickly corrected. “Not officially. He quite literally cannot be officially under Queen’s orders to get me unless like— my life is in danger or I am being brought for crimes or trial.”

She watched the way he rolled his eyes dismissively. It made her clench her fists, digging crescent moon nail marks into her palms.

“Fine, then. Still, he just wanted to follow what the Queen asked of him,” Martyn shrugged, his face still twisted in annoyance.

“I cannot believe you are sitting here acting like you know nothing about any of this,” Gem stared at him, open mouthed and baffled.

“What?! I told you about the Ren stuff—“ he started to throw his hands up in an attempt to motion that he did not know what Gem wanted from him.

“No, Martyn,” she scoffed. “You are sitting here acting like he is reasonable! Have you suddenly gotten amnesia about what happened, Martyn? Do you not remember why I live here? Why I am not currently in the palace as a knight? As her Knight?”

“I remember, Gem. Really—“ he tried to cut in.

“Martyn, shut up!” Gem yelled. “If it makes you happy then let him come back and try all he wants, okay? I don’t care. I just need you to confirm that you still understand why I am here. That you understand why I am so offended that you fully knew his intentions and probably the fact he seems to not like me but still let him here. I need you to say that you remember all that really happened.”

Martyn was wide eyed, the annoyance on his face gone. He looked to be processing what Gem said. Possibly realizing Gem’s point. He opened his mouth to speak and then shut it.

“I remember. I remember, Gem. I understand,” he looked to mean it. A slightly apologetic expression on his face. “And I’m sorry.”

Gem stared at him coldly. Letting him sit in his own apology. Yes, she would forgive him. Yes, she knew he remembered. But he needed a reminder of right and wrong here. He needed to not be mixed up in what priorities he had. Mixed up with who Ren was and what danger he could put Gem in. Martyn needed to be forced to think about his actions. And yes, Gem would allow Ren back because she did trust Martyn’s judgment of if he was sent by the Queen. But if anything happened, if Ren ended up harming Gem in any way, she wanted Martyn to remember it was because of his own mistakes. Harsh, but needed to Gem.

“Good,” she finally responded, nodding simply.

~

Pearl was pacing her room waiting for Ren— and hopefully Gem— to enter. Her mind had been racing since the second Ren had set off. At first, Pearl had tried to distract herself. Doing duties and checking in with people. Though, after a certain point she had resorted to going back to her room and walking back and forth. Mindlessly, she had taken to tracing the lines of the burn scars on her hands while she paced. It was a common nervous habit she had gotten into. As she walked she took note of every noise in the hall, and hoped each one to be Gem and Ren. At that point there was nothing she could do or think of that would distract her.

She had never wanted Gem to go away. She prevented her exile, but was not able to talk to her before or after the trial. Especially given she had pretty much disappeared. Pearl did not blame her for the accident. Even if she did do it and was fully guilty, Pearl could not let herself blame Gem. There was an explanation that she would get at some point. She would understand eventually. And she guessed she would not blame Gem once the truth came to light, either. Not when she was the first to rush to her side, giving her mimicking scars on her palms if Pearl remembered correctly.

A knock on the door startled her, and she quickly walked towards it.

“Come in,” she spoke the words before she could think to ask who it was.

Ren opened the door.

Alone.

Pearl froze in her steps. She stared at him like a deer in headlights. Subconsciously she supposed she was waiting for Ren to answer, but consciously all she felt was a sinking pit in her stomach.

“She refused to join me,” Ren put simply, an unreadable expression on his face.

“You will ask again,” she resumed her pacing, now gnawing on her lip in nervous thought. “How did it go?” 

“She said that if you want to see her you should tell her yourself,” Ren relayed, swaying slightly on his feet as he watched Pearl pace.

“I will go, then. As soon as I can—“ Pearl started to say, plans already filling her mind.

“Pearl. No,” Ren shut the door to Pearl’s room, turning back to walk further in. His brows were furrowed and he looked almost annoyed. “I will go back and ask again. If it really comes to it— maybe you can go. But not now. You have a kingdom to rule, my Queen.”

“Ren,” she responded, nearly begging. She was looking at him desperately, hoping he would understand where she was coming from.

“I believe I can convince her Pearl, truly. Let me try before you put yourself at risk,” he advised.

At risk?

A twinge of doubt struck Pearl, but she shook it off. She stared at him, observing the way his expression was.

“Alright,” Pearl agreed hesitantly, looking to the floor. “But allow me to write her a letter.”

“Of course,” Ren nodded, a comforting smile appearing on his face.

Pearl walked over and flopped face down on her bed, sighing loudly and annoyedly. She buried her face in the covers below her, only turning her head to the side once she needed some air and wanted to speak.

“I wish I could reverse the fact she is banned from being near here— near me,” she mumbled, closing her eyes tightly.

She often imagined what everything would be like if the accident had not occurred.

“Pearl…” Ren replied. She knew that voice he was using. The slightly scolding but closer to pitying type of tone. Not quite warning her or feeling bad for her. Just telling her that she knew better, she supposed. “She tried to kill you.”

Pearl’s eyes flickered open and she rolled them. “Ugh— No, she did not—! I cannot believe that. I cannot comprehend that! I just— No, that is not what happened, Ren,” she shook her head the best she could, closing her eyes again.

“What else was that then?” Ren’s voice started to lean into a stricter tone. “Do people just blow others up for fun?”

He had always been defensive on her behalf about the accident. It was sort of understandable given he saw first hand how badly she had it after. But still. If she wanted to be defensive about the accident, she would. She did not need Ren treating her like she did not know anything about her own experience.

“She— she did not know I was going to be there!” Pearl reasoned back, a genuine point in favor of Gem.

This was a common argument the two got into, never really resolved by either of them. Pearl did not think Ren wanted to prevent her from seeing Gem. She hoped, at least. More so she was fairly certain Ren just was wanting to keep her safe. As was his duty.

“Sure,” he said, fully unconvinced of her words.

Pearl opened her eyes and rolled herself over to be sitting on the bed. Her wings flared out before adjusting to the sitting position. She made herself dizzy from sitting up and took a moment to breathe and stop the room from spinning.

“We were friends for years before it happened, Ren. You never saw that, but we were. If that had not happened I am sure she would have become my Knight instead of you,” Pearl looked at Ren, her voice almost threatening. She loved Ren as her personal Knight. But she would always have wished it had been Gem. They would have protected each other. Not just this feeling of a knight protecting a Queen, but a mutual same level of respect. A caring that had been crafted for years upon years.

“What if she has changed? What if now she does want to kill you? Then what?” Ren sternly asked, walking to look out the window. His jaw was set. She knew she could not change his opinions, like always.

“Did she seem like that when you talked to her?” She asked simply, raising her eyebrows.

“ No— But she had a lot of knives and weapons. And you know she’s a mercenary now, she does whatever pays her well enough,” Ren turned back to her. Pearl nearly laughed at the fact that Ren just sounded like he was gossiping. Similar to how Cleo, Scott, Impulse, and Bdubs would. It was… Almost funny.

“Ren, that is hypocritical. You are quite literally in love with Martyn, you know, a mercenary. If you are saying all mercenaries are dangerous, then stop seeing Martyn,” Pearl stared at him with a flat expression on her face.

Ren huffed and turned away once again. Sometimes Pearl felt like she was babysitting the man when they got into fights. She knew he had his reasons, but moon above, he was stubborn. 

“Whenever she and I do get to see each other again, which we will if it is the last thing I do, I promise you can be there. If she attacks me, then fine. You were right. But I know her, Ren. A lot better than you do. A lot better than how you think you know her,” Pearl motioned for him to walk over and he complied. She took his hand in hers. “Trust me. Trust me as I trust you.”

His shoulders relaxed slightly and he sighed, closing his eyes. He took a deep breath and squeezed Pearl’s hand

“I trust you, Pearl.”

“Thank you.”

Chapter Text

Ren really had not wanted to go back and try to convince Gem again. She had made it plenty clear to him that she was not going with him. For whatever reason. But of course, he had to go. Martyn had once again let him in with a slight bit more hesitation, he noticed, and they chatted for a few minutes before Martyn left the flat. He discussed briefly the ways that Martyn would go about convincing Gem if he were in Ren’s position, though Ren did not know if he would actually use any of the tips. He did not want Gem near Pearl. Ren did not want to actually try and get Gem to go with him, so if he could do the bare minimum of seeming like he was trying to convince her, he would. He could not tell whether or not Martyn knew he was not trying.

The letter Pearl wrote was firmly tucked away in his trouser pocket and he would not be giving it to Gem under any circumstance. The risk of Gem hurting Pearl was too high, and the risk of her going with him because of the letter was even higher. He could not comprehend how a person could accidentally blow someone else up. If she set the explosives, there was clear intention of damage behind it. No excuses.

He heard the sound of the flat door open. Gem called out for Martyn, already sounding annoyed.

“No Martyn, just me,” Ren quickly shouted back. If he could prevent it, he did not really want to have a knife pointed at him today.

Gem seemed to say some not so kind words under her breath and reluctantly walked into the living room where Ren was. She stared at him with an annoyed look on her face. Her arms were crossed and she was glaring at Ren.

“She really sent you again, huh?” Gem crossed her arms and sat down. Ren stayed standing and stared at Gem. She mockingly smiled at him.

“Yes,” Ren answered flatly. “The Queen wants you to come with me.”

Gem rested her head back against the back of the couch, sighing loudly. “That’s not happening today. Come on Ren, you’re not even giving an attempt at convincing me.”

Ren stayed silent. He turned his head away from Gem, staring at a wall. He knew that giving her a chance was reasonable. But he just… he could not bring himself to yet. He was loyal to the Queen. Ren knew he had to do everything she said, but… if he had realistic doubt that what she wanted him to do would harm her, could he not disobey? Though, he did know that if he went back now, without Gem, Pearl would figure he did not try very hard. So he had to stay around for a little bit.

“What was P— the Queen , like when you knew her?” He asked, his voice quiet and attempting to not seem too curious. It was a simple question, yet its answer should give him some more information to whether Gem would be safe to let around Pearl. He hoped, at least.

She was quiet for a long moment, and when Ren looked over to her she was staring at him with a look that seemed to be trying to decipher what Ren had said.

“In one word, kind,” Gem’s expression changed to something more reserved. “She was the most honest, trustworthy, amazing girl I knew. Whenever I was struggling she was there to bring me back. Do you know she gives the best hugs? Like— The Best , with her wings and all. She was smart and skilled. We worked together like we were made just to do so. I… she loved staying out under the moon on long summer days,” The look on her face indicated that she might be remembering something more specific, though Ren would not push. Not now, at least.

Pieces were starting to click into place in Ren’s mind about what Pearl and Gem’s dynamic used to be. But it was still just that. That was what they used to be.

“Has she changed much?” Gem asked, startling Ren. He stumbled to process the words and the response he wanted to give.

He gave a short, reminiscing smile after a moment, “I can’t say for certain. Yes, a bit, I believe. She is shyer. More distant to most now, based on how you described her. Almost like she’s lost quite often. But, she is still kind as you said. She… she doesn’t train very often anymore, she told me that herself. At least not with others. And she does like to sit under the moon, usually alone.”

Ren was starting to process what parts of Pearl had changed given Gem’s description. All of them could be blamed and reasoned away with the trauma of the explosion. However, somewhere within Ren he was starting to stir to different conclusions. He quickly shook it off, reminding himself that Gem was a dangerous person.

“She used to be very social,” Gem added in response to what Ren had said. Her eyes looked remorseful.

He nodded just slightly. Ren really did not want to give Gem too much information about how much Pearl still cared for her. But… something in him felt the need to.

“She talks about you a lot,” Ren said before he could hold his tongue.

Gem was silent. She was not looking at Ren, despite probably noticing him staring at her. Her eyebrows had furrowed and she slowly shook her head. Ren could not quite place the expression on her face. Her hands were digging into the fabric of the couch underneath her.

“I’m sure she does,” she responded weakly, despite the clear intention of the words to be snappy.

Ren decided to not respond. He would say no more of Pearl to Gem, not now. There was enough of an attempt on his part that he felt justified in leaving without saying any more.

“Well,” he cleared his throat, shaking his head slightly. “Are you coming with me? Because if not I will be on my way now.”

Gem snorted, “Nope. Go run back to your Queen.”

“She will order me back again,” Ren made his way to the door. He knew the words would not work.

“I’ll be seeing you, then!” Gem shouted mockingly as Ren exited the flat.

He huffed as he made his way to the stairs down and out of the building. Gem was not seeming like the person that Ren thought she was. The person that would hurt Pearl. But… no. Nope. She must just be a good actor, Ren thought. Gem was dangerous. Ren knew that. No matter what Pearl tried to convince him of. He had seen the weapons that Gem carried on her on a daily basis. He had heard talk from some others of what she was like. Pearl had quite literally told him that Gem was one of the best fighters in the city. Better than him, probably. She was dangerous. Full stop.

When he got outside he remembered the letter that was tucked away in his pocket. He dipped into a back alley and looked around, taking out the letter along with a matchbox. Hesitantly, he struck a match, holding it near to the letter. Quickly he shook his head and pulled the letter away from the flame. He blew out the match.

He could not do it.

He would just hide it. Hide it until… until he got a better first hand read on Gem. The letter was mostly unharmed, just a minor amount of charring on the bottom right corner. He put it away once again, and dropped the put out match. Then he quickly made his way back to the palace. Once he was back inside and to his room he hid away the letter under a loose floorboard of his, luckily private, room. He would have to anticipate the conversation he would have to have with Pearl. But he could do that. He could handle that.

My dearest, Gem

I have sent Ren once again to get you and I hope with all of might that you will comply. Long hours I have spent dwelling over your absence, and I do not feel complete without you. Our time apart has left me lost, and I am unable to do normal activities without my thoughts drifting to you. Vacant halls have left me wandering, looking for some semblance of you. Erie nights under the moon without you let me truly feel the emptiness of you not being here. You must feel this loss as well, as I know we have always viewed things in similar ways. Oh, my dearest, you have to come back. Ultimately I pray to the moon every night for your safe return, and we can figure out together how to reverse the court orders.

Yours truly,

Pearl

~

“He was around again,” Gem shouted when she heard the flat door open and close. She knew she would not have to say who she was referring to.

Martyn sighed loud enough for Gem to hear, “I know.”

“You gonna keep letting him in?” She asked, setting down the knife she had been sharpening.

“Yeah? I… don’t know. He’s— it’s the least I can do,” Martyn set down the bag he had and went over to the cupboards. He seemed to be grabbing bandages, presumably to rewrap his arm injury. Gem was not certain what specifically had happened, but she had asked him about it earlier in the day. It sounded like Martyn had done something stupid— during a job or not Gem did not know— and he did not want to admit it.

“Uhuh,” she responded, feeling and probably looking unimpressed.

“Don’t— ugh, Gem, you have to get where he is coming from, right?” Martyn turned to look at her, clearly frustrated.

“I do! But I don’t think he gets it. He has put zero effort into convincing me. He does not seem like he wants to convince me,” she shook her head. It was annoying. The whole thing was annoying. Gem looked out the small window that flooded the room with light.

“So, you’re pretty much saying if he was just a bit more genuine, you’d go with him?” He asked, removing the old bandage on his upper arm. The cut did not look too bad from what Gem could see. It was sharp, likely from an actual weapon rather than something in the environment.

Gem sighed, “Honestly? Yes.”

Martyn stayed silent for a while, dealing with his injured arm and likely thinking. It was his right arm, non-dominant, so at least if he got in a fight he would be able to handle it okay. Gem herself had been trained to know how to fight with either arm. It was a fallback in case one arm became indisposed in some way or another. It was a useful skill, one she had not yet needed to use and hoped that she would continue to not need to. She occasionally used it to dual wield weapons, though she had found that was not usually the most convenient strategy. 

“He thinks you’re dangerous, you know?” Martyn said, only slightly startling Gem by the sudden words.

“I am dangerous,” Gem responded sharply. “And yeah, I assumed as much. Why else would he not let me around his precious Queen,” she mocked.

“You know what I mean, Gem,” Martyn put away the bandages and walked back over to his bag. “And don’t… do that. We both know you care about her too,” he gave her a look and then added quietly, “Probably more than Ren.”

“I do. And it is stupid the way he talks about her. All proper and making me— of all people— address her with the proper title,” Gem complained, getting a slightly sympathetic look from Martyn.

He dug in his bag for a moment before standing up, throwing something in her direction, “I saw your gloves were getting worn out. Bought you some new ones.”

She picked them up smiling at him. “You didn’t need to, Martyn, I was fine with the ones I had.”

“I can tell you like them,” he smiled back, sitting down across from her. “I think he just wants some proof that you won't be a danger to her.”

Her smile faded.

“And how should I prove it? I’ve been talking about how much I lo— care about her— and he doesn’t seem very receptive to it. It almost feels like the opposite,” Gem shook her head.

Martyn nodded, not saying anymore.

~

It was a few more days before Gem found Ren in the flat once again. She could first tell from the unexpected silence that she was met with when she opened the flat door. Martyn had not said he would be out at any point, so there was no reason the flat should be so dead silent.

“Martyn?” She called, still giving him some benefit of the doubt in case he was just really silent. When the lack of response set in she spoke again, “Ren?”

“I’m here, I’m here,” Ren called back, sounding almost impressed by Gem calling his name.

Gem rolled her eyes. She set down the axe she had been holding against the wall, removing the dark cloak she had put on after as well. Her hands felt sweaty from the new gloves she was wearing and breaking in, so she slipped them off, setting them on the entryway table. She really did not want to have the same conversation that went in the same circles again.

“So,” she walked into the living room, observing Ren sitting on one of the couches. “Have you come to actually convince me this time?”

Ren huffed in response, turning his head away in a quite prissy way.

“Are you ready to be convinced?” He countered, sounding pretty unconvincing.

“Oh, I’ve been ready,” Gem replied quickly, sitting herself down across from Ren. “You just have not made a good attempt.”

“If you seem so ready to be convinced into going with me to Pearl, then why are you not already convinced to go?” He crossed his arms, sitting back and looking vaguely smug.

“Because I really don’t think you want me to go with you, Ren. So, ask me questions, tell me stories, do whatever you need to not be all huffy like you are right now,” Gem responded. Seeing Ren’s face of surprise was quite satisfying.

“I—“ Ren looked to be at a loss for words. He stared at her, thinking, it seemed. Gem stared back, showing she was not about to back down on this. “Fine. I… what’s your favorite memory with P— The Queen,” he asked, finally relenting to do a bare minimum.

“Can’t pick,” Gem said simply and purposefully. She did deserve to piss off Ren a little bit.

“Wh— can you work with me here?” Ren threw his hands up to the sides, his voice frustrated.

“Well, there were many nights where we would sit out under the stars and moon, I mean, you know how dedicated she is to the moon—“ Gem started.

“Are you as dedicated to the moon? Do you pray to the moon?” He cut her off. He was clearly interrogating her with malice intent behind the questions.  

She let a silence stand between them. Seeing if Ren would become more pushy. He did not, at least not in the time Gem made him wait.

“Yes, I am dedicated to the moon. Probably not as much as the Queen— because I don’t think anyone is as dedicated as her— but, I do pray to the moon when I can. I learned the habit from her, for void’s sake,” Gem stared off, thinking back to how, no matter what, they would always have had to drop everything once the sun was nearly set so Pearl could go to the Celestial Church. She would stand in front of the mural and water, staring out the window or closing her eyes, and say her words.

Ren watched her as she explained and went quiet to think. He did not say a word, just waiting for her to go on.

“Anyway,” Gem shook her head to bring herself back to the moment. “There was one night where she requested me to braid her hair, and there were some flowers in the grass nearby that had just bloomed, so I braided them into her hair. She hadn’t realized until we got back to her room that I’d done it, and once she realized she hugged me so hard I thought I was actually going to not be able to breathe. I didn’t even think much of it when I did it, but she adored it. Her smile kept me happy for weeks after that,” Gem smiled to herself. “Even now I still… I love her smile.”

Gem left out the part of the story about their very extended conversation sitting under the moonlight in the grass. The unspoken cautious, nervous closeness that had not quite started that night but definitely became more obvious to her that night.

“She still likes her hair being braided,” Ren’s voice was quiet, and it almost sounded kind. “Won’t wear it out ever, but if we’re talking late into the evening I’ll braid her hair.”

“There was another time where we were training and I could tell she was not giving full effort, essentially letting me win. I was convinced if she did fully try I could still beat her. So, I told her to, and she did. I obviously got absolutely destroyed and–” she turned her arm so that Ren could see. “That is how I got this scar. She immediately felt super bad about actually cutting me this deeply, but it was alright. I was humbled real quick, and it was very deserved,” she smiled, tracing the scar.

Now Ren looked to be really, truly thinking. It was only half intentional that Gem told that story in particular. She did enjoy the memory given they later talked it all through. Pearl bandaged up her arm and they shared a moment that Gem would regard as sweet.

“I need to go,” Ren stood up so quickly Gem thought he would fall over, and he did stumble.

“See you again soon!” Gem called mockingly after him as he rushed out the door.

Gem knew he was likely doubting his own reasoning of disliking and not trusting her. Not that he was actually on any type of time restriction. He would have seemed a lot happier if he had been on a time restriction. She would let him sit in his denial as long as he could bear it.

~

He hid the second letter from Pearl as well. Ren had opened this one, and it was… it would convince Gem. There was no doubt in his mind of that. He needed more time to think. She still… she could still be dangerous.

My dearest, Gem

Currently I am writing this only under the light of the moon and a candle, so I apologize if it is messy. Originally I had planned to write it in the daytime, but I couldn’t find the will to. My heart is the most tied to yours once the moon rises, and I hope you understand that. Even without you being here I still see the world as if you are, and my thoughts wander to what you would say if you were here. But you are not, and I do hope for that to change. After all, I will not cease these attempts until I can get through to you. Certainly you understand, right? Keeping myself from seeking you out has been difficult, but I trust Ren will convince you eventually.

Yours truly,

Pearl

~

Ren had entered her room once again without Gem. It was the third time, and it was starting to seem intentional. Pearl was growing restless. Sure, she had spent years without Gem, but now that she had been able to figure out where she was, and send Ren there to try and get her, Pearl could not tear her mind away from the idea of having her back.

If Gem did not come with Ren soon, Pearl would seek her out. Most likely without Ren. She was truly starting to suspect he was not giving his full effort into convincing Gem. Ren was strongly opinionated and protective. Pearl could not blame him. But, she wished she could convince him that Gem was not someone she needed to be kept from. That Gem was not a danger to her. 

Gem had never attempted to cause any level of harm to Pearl before the accident. She had never even accidentally hurt Pearl while training with her. Really, she did not even have any reason to hurt Pearl either. Pearl had seen her face when the explosives had gone off, the absolute panic, the immediate sprinting toward her, all of it she had seen.

If Ren wanted to be stubborn he could be; it was fine with Pearl. She would just have to start making plans around him.

Chapter Text

Ren reluctantly went back up the cramped staircase of the building Gem and Martyn’s flat was located in. This visit, Martyn had left before Ren had got there, but he left the door unlocked so that he could still get in. When he was inside, he locked the door behind him; he did not need Gem suspecting he was there before she even entered the flat. After a moment of lingering in the entryway he moved to take his place on the couch for a while.

Then a thought came to him.

It would not hurt to look around a little bit, right?

He stood back up from where he was seated, turning and walking over to the kitchen area. All of the cabinets he opened seemed to have normal things inside them. He moved to the drawers and they were the same. It did not feed any of Ren’s hopeful suspicions. He walked over to a bookshelf structure placed up against a wall near the door to Martyn’s room. The structure was pretty empty, only containing a few books and trinkets. He briefly picked a few things up, setting them down and looking more.

When he glanced over at the door to Martyn’s room he realized the one opposite it must be to Gem’s room. He started to place down the carved decoration he had in his hand when the lock on the door clicked and the door to the flat opened. Gem’s eyes immediately locked with Ren’s and he processed his huge lapse in judgment when it came to what was a good idea. It was extremely obvious he had been snooping around, and his mind went blank with any excuses he could possibly make.

“Are you going through our stuff?!” Gem’s jaw dropped and she slammed the door behind her hard enough to rattle the entryway table.

“I—“ Ren knew him speaking was a failing effort even before he opened his mouth.

“Nothing on that is even mine! That’s all Martyn’s— oh my,” she walked quickly to be fully in the living room. Gem glanced at the door to her room and swiftly back to Ren. “Did you go into my room?”

Ren stood up from where he was crouched, putting his hands out to hopefully look reassuring, “No, no. I promise I did not.”

But he had definitely thought of it.

Gem stared daggers at him, still suspicious but seemingly taking his word as truth.

“This doesn’t help your cause, you know?” She said, going back to the entryway hall to set down the bag she had slung across her shoulder. Ren tried to look like he was not attempting to peer into the bag, though the further glare that Gem sent him made him assume he failed.

“I didn’t— I just— Sorry,” Ren sheepishly said, turning his head away.

“I’m sure you are,” Gem responded in a mocking tone. “What were you looking for? Gem’s evil plans against the Queen? Huh? Weapons? I can be an open book, Ren. Just ask,” she moved to sit down on the couch, crossing her arms and huffing a sigh.

Ren walked over and leaned against the back of the opposite couch. His eyes focused on his hands and nails, avoiding paying attention to Gem.

“Alright,” he finally said, looking at Gem. “Okay, what weapons do you have? When do you use them? What jobs do you do?” He asked, not really expecting proper answers. Maybe she would give some half responses. But he doubted them to be answered thoroughly.

“Mostly knives. An axe or two. Some swords are stored away in my room from my knight days. I’ve tested out some more… original… weapons Mumbo has made before, but I don’t have any on hand. I use them for threatening people and self defense, mostly. I won’t comment on whether I’ve stabbed someone unprompted before. I take a wide variety of jobs, and I really wouldn’t be able to pin down anything specific. Partially for the privacy of my clients,” Gem explained rather simply. She raised her eyebrows at Ren, “Like I said, open book.”

Ren rolled his eyes. To her credit, she did mostly answer the questions. The answers just were not… Ren supposed it would be stupid to think the answers were not what he was looking for. Maybe Gem was not dangerous to Pearl. But… he still could not quite accept that as an answer. If he let Gem into the palace and Pearl ended up getting hurt by her, he would take the blame. Not just from others, but from himself. The guilt would be too much.

“You said the other day that the Queen beat you in a practice duel, but everyone I’ve talked to— including the Queen— have referred to you as an extremely skilled fighter,” Ren walked around and sat down on the couch. He was genuinely curious about the question. Was Gem just over-hyped? Or did she make up a lie to make herself seem less dangerous?

“Are you thinking that just because I am regarded as ‘extremely skilled’ that the Queen couldn’t be more skilled than me?” Gem nearly sounded accusatory, though she did seem slightly joking.

“Well, no, but—“ he started, feeling slight panic set in.

“Relax. I’m kidding. The story I told the other day was from when me and her were quite a bit younger. I improved a lot over a short period of time, and have only gotten better from doing jobs over the past few years. Pe— The Queen , also probably overestimates my skill because of fondness. She’s likely still at close fighting skill to me. Well, you did say she doesn’t train as much with others but— I’d guess she’s still good,” Gem explained.

Ren nodded slightly, looking away and thinking. He was doubting himself. He did not want to be, but he was.

“Why did you become a mercenary?” Ren asked, keeping his gaze away from Gem.

“Martyn, money, convenience. I’ve been staying with Martyn ever since I left the palace. I knew what he did and I asked him to help me get started doing the same. Sure, I could’ve learned another job, but that would’ve been a hassle. I already had the skills to be a mercenary. The money isn’t always outstanding, but it’s better than quite a lot. It was just the easiest option,” Gem got up, going over to the kitchen counter and taking some of the knives she had fastened on her off.

Easiest option. Yeah right . Harming people being easy for her made Ren’s doubts lessen swiftly.

“Why should I believe that you will not— in the near or far future— hurt the Queen?” He locked eyes with Gem, lowering his eyebrows and looking at her intently.

“What in void would be my motivation?” She nearly sounded as if she was going to start laughing.

“The trial. Money. I don’t know— whatever caused you to set up those explosives in the first place!” He crossed his arms tightly.

“The trial and accident are not valid reasons. I chose to take full blame in the trial. Even though it wasn’t what actually happened during the accident. And— I would never hurt Pearl for money. That’s so stupid and I cannot even imagine anyone hurting her for money,” Gem had spun around to face Ren with her hands on her hips.

Ren decided it was best to let her use of Pearl’s name slide.

“What happened during the accident, then? Tell me the truth and maybe I will trust you!” Ren reasoned back, mimicking Gem by placing his own hands on his hips.

Gem was silent, turning back around without a word.

“Not so much of an open book then, huh?” He mumbled, more to himself than her.

“Get out,” she growled, gripping a knife tightly in her hand and glaring at him. “Get out now or I’ll make you.”

“Fine,” Ren stood up and left, huffing and sending a mean glance back at Gem.

His hand slipped over the letter in his pocket. He knew that he would once again hide the message scrawled on it away.

My dearest, Gem

Poetry has never been my specialty, Gem. Linking words together nicely was never easy for me. Even as I was taught by some of the best, I still couldn’t find the inspiration. Always I would stare at walls waiting for any ideas to show themselves. Staying safely within the creative lines I would write simple words, that was until I would start to think of you. Every thought I have of you is like art being constantly transformed. My mind can connect a million words to describe you. You who I miss oh so dearly. Lately my missing you has only increased. Ordinarily I would think of you daily, but now it is hourly. Vulnerability has only ever come natural around you, and I have noticed how I closed myself off to everyone after you had gone. Each action that previously came naturally with you around has become so strange.

Yours truly,

Pearl

~

When Ren got back this time he seemed… angry, to say the very least. He was clearly making an attempt at hiding his frustration, but he was failing. His tone of voice was slightly different than normal, more agitated. While he was talking, the same thing he had said the past times, Pearl cut him off. 

“Clearly something happened this time, because you are not happy,” she crossed her arms.

“I’m just fine,” Ren dismissed, giving a tight smile that said the exact opposite of his words.

“What happened, Ren?” Pearl raised her eyebrows, not planning on letting it go.

“Nothing, my Queen,” he once again dismissed. He turned away and started pacing, a more annoyed expression on his face.

“Ren,” she warned, her voice still quiet.

“I said it’s nothing, Pearl!” He yelled back.

Pearl flinched.

Ren stopped dead in his tracks, looking shocked at himself. He pursed his lips and shook his head. For a moment he glanced at Pearl with an apologetic look on his face. Something had happened. Not much got this under Ren’s skin. He got angry sometimes, sure, but not like this.

“She threatened me, Pearl,” Ren finally said.

Pearl could not find it in her to feel sorry for him.

“Did you deserve it?” The question was serious. Gem was not often the type to threaten people unprompted. She was a protector, somewhat like Ren if Pearl was honest.

“ What ?” Ren nearly growled the words back.

Pearl stayed firmly confident in her question, “Did you deserve it?”

“I—“ he glared toward Pearl. “She was disrespecting you— not using your title— and then she wasn’t being truthful, so all I did was use her words against her— It wasn’t— I was just asking for the truth from her.”

“Moon and sun above, Ren, you’re making her call me ‘Queen’?” She stood up from where she was sitting on her bed, shaking her head. “Ren, I need you to know that I have known her for far longer than I have known you. She can, and should , call me Pearl.”

“Well—“

“And what was she not being truthful about? Give me context, Ren,” Pearl walked over and looked out the window. Her eyes scanned over the hills and forests. 

Ren was silent.

“How even did she threaten you?” She asked, keeping her gaze away from him.

“She told me to get out while holding a knife,” he huffed. Pearl turned her head and raised her eyebrows. “Fine. She had already been taking out her knives to put away— But still, Pearl—“

“You are dismissed, Ren,” Pearl looked back out of the window, focusing her eyes on a willow tree near to the castle.

“Pearl, I…” he started to say, but clearly caught himself. There was no point in the argument. He sighed and she could hear him walking. “Yes, my Queen.”

The door opened and closed with a slight squeak of the hinges. Pearl walked over to her desk, pulling out the wooden chair and sitting down. She pulled out some paper and a writing quill to write one last letter to Gem.

Chapter Text

Gem was limping home because of a frankly stupid mistake she had made during a job. She had underestimated the distance of the platform she was on and the ground below her. It may or may not have been because she had been distracted by staring at the palace looming over the town, and once she had to jump down she did not have as much time to properly gauge the distance. But whatever way, it had happened. She now likely had a sprained ankle that was going to be extremely annoying for the next however long period of time.

When she opened the flat door to a loud unexpected silence, she groaned in further annoyance. 

“Ren?” She called, not even bothering to question if Martyn was there.

“I’m here,” he said back, seeming to be sitting in the living room.

She limped into the living room, grabbing the bandages Martyn had left out on the table to use as a makeshift brace. Ren watched her in curiosity as to why she required the bandages. She shoved off the boot she was wearing and already noticed the light swelling and bruising forming.

“You going to actually try to convince me this time?” Gem glanced toward Ren.

He mumbled something noncommittal in response. “Do you need a medic for that?” Ren asked, actually seeming a little concerned, for some reason.

Gem snorted and shook her head, “Why are you pretending to care?”

“I’m not pre—“ he scoffed, rolling his eyes. “I’m being genuine, Gem. What happened?”

“I fell wrong. Nothing more than that. Me and Martyn deal with our own injuries all the time. No need to act all concerned,” Gem explained, tightly wrapping her ankle.

He looked to take offense again at Gem implying he did not really care, but did not mention it. “I know you two do but… what if it doesn’t heal correctly?” Ren asked.

“I’ll deal with it then. I can adjust,” Gem shrugged, tying off the bandage quickly.

Rem stayed quiet. The way his brow furrowed made Gem think he was debating something with himself.

“How far would you go for Pearl? What would you do to protect her?” He asked rather suddenly.

Gem put her boot back on, loosening the laces. She sat back against the couch and crossed her arms.

“I would put myself in front of a blade for her, Ren,” she spoke coldly, not giving him the anger he seemed to enjoy getting from her.

“I don’t know if I believe that,” Ren said with uncertainty, not looking anything like he believed his own words.

Gem felt something in her crack. He was so pushy and annoying and if he wanted information, she was going to give him some.

“Ren, do you know I started running up to her when the explosions were still going off? Practically as they started, actually. Do you know that I have burn scars from doing that and putting out the flames that were on the ground with my bare hands?” She shoved out her hands, clearly showing the scars covering her palms to Ren. “In any situation I would let myself be killed if it meant she lived. Void, I would die by her blade if she wanted it. I would lay down my life to protect her even if I never crossed her mind ever again,” she stared daggers at Ren. He stared back, his mind clearly working through what Gem had said. “Do you need any more proof?” She nearly yelled the words, her voice stepping into the territory of manic. 

Gem pulled out a knife she had secured in her belt, shoving the hilt into Ren’s hands.

“Cut the skin on my arm, for your Dearest Queen, ” her tone as sharp as the blade now in Ren’s hand. She held out her bare arm for him, breathing shakily as she stared at him.

He just looked at her. Ren squeezed the knife in his hand. His eyes flickered to Gem’s arm.

“Do it,” she growled.

Ren’s eyebrows furrowed. He shook his head swiftly and threw the knife to the side. It clattered on the floor, breaking the silence that had enveloped the room. He stood up and stormed out of the flat. After the door slammed shut Gem fell back against the couch.

Tears ran down her face and she yelled out in pure frustration and disbelief. She covered her face, roughly wiping the tears off of her cheeks. Her head was in her hands and she could feel the room spinning around her. Every breath she took was short and sharp, and she knew she was getting light headed.

He wanted proof, yet would not take it when offered. Did he believe her? Did he finally believe her? What did he want from her? The entire reason he was supposed to be coming there was to convince Gem, but for some reason she had to convince him she was worthy. He would have taken her even if she had not tried to prove herself, but that was not right. Gem believed that Ren needed to know she was not a danger. Otherwise— well… she had a gut feeling he would be dangerous to her.

She felt a hand on her shoulder and she moved back, startled. It was only Martyn in front of her.

“Hey, hey, it’s just me. It’s me, Gem,” Martyn said, not reaching out again quite yet.

“Does he believe me?” She asked, grabbing Martyn’s arm. She did not know why she assumed Martyn would know, but she did.

“What? No— I haven’t spoken with Ren— I don’t know,” he sat down next to her and she removed her hand from his arm.

“What does he want from me?!” She yelled, seeming to slightly startle Martyn. “What do either of them want from me! I want to see Pearl but Ren clearly doesn’t want to take me. Pearl wants to see me but she hasn’t even written or anything!?”

“Gem,” Martyn tilted his head, sending her a look that was nearly pitying. “Come on?” He put out his arms and Gem accepted the hug, leaning against him. “We can talk once you calm down, you’re clearly not alright right now.”

“Fine,” Gem mumbled 

~

Ren decided he would give Gem the letters next time.

He had been stupid, foolish. Gem had never been a threat to Pearl. At least not in the recent past and not now. That was obvious enough. She was willing to injure herself at the drop of a hat for Pearl.

The letter in his pocket was the fourth letter Pearl had written. He had read one, the second one. After he did he realized how big of an invasion of privacy and trust that was.

His limbs nearly felt numb, he was just moving toward the castle, not taking anything in. In his mind he kept replaying the previous moments, physically wincing at how desperate for him to believe her Gem had been. Ren should have believed her earlier. He should have just swallowed his pride and accepted he was wrong.

But he was stubborn. Far too stubborn than he knew he should be.

My dearest, Gem

I apologize that this will be the last letter I will send. My best judgment is that these letters are either not effective or you are not receiving them. I will be visiting you soon. Sorry for the short notice, but it may even take me a bit. Scott will hopefully be assisting me in getting to you. You can expect Ren back even after this, because I will not be telling him I am going. Oh, my dearest, I will see you soon. Unfortunately, I have started to lose faith in Ren. 

Yours truly,

Pearl

~

Pearl was pacing the length of her room, awaiting Ren’s return. When he opened the door Pearl would know what she would do next.

She had not gone to Scott quite yet. But she would, she was almost certain of it, given the very low chance of Ren returning with Gem. Scott was the only one she was completely sure knew Martyn, outside of Ren of course. She was aware there definitely were others who had interacted with Martyn, and probably knew him well enough, but Pearl knew Scott would keep everything under wraps.

Pearl heard the knock come on her door.

“Come in, Ren,” she said, averting her gaze from the door. 

“She didn’t come with—“ Ren started to say.

“I suspected as much,” Pearl cut him off sharply and quickly, not seeing a reason to draw the discussion on any longer than it needed to be.

“I’ll go back again soon,” Ren sounded more determined for a moment, and Pearl wondered for a brief second if something had changed. 

“Okay, Ren,” She kept staring away from him, even as he started moving.

“Pearl?” He sounded like he had taken a step toward her.

“You are dismissed, Ren,” Pearl answered.

There was a long pause of silence. From what Pearl could tell Ren had frozen in place, possibly questioning if Pearl was mad at him. Was she mad at him? She did not know. She hated that he clearly did not give genuine effort to getting Gem, but she could not be really mad at him. He was trying to protect her, despite her thorough insistence that Gem was not dangerous to her.

“Yes, my Queen,” Ren finally spoke quietly. He left immediately.

Pearl rushed over to the door to listen for when she could not hear Ren’s footsteps any longer. She waited a few more seconds— just to be safe— and then took a deep breath. Slowly, she opened the door, checking the hall to see if Ren was still near. It would not matter too much if anyone else saw her, though she would still be careful. 

She walked quickly toward the palace library. It was beginning to creep into early evening but she knew it was the time that Scott, among others, would be at the library. Luckily, the walk from her room to the library was relatively quick, and did not take her past any places where she risked seeing Ren.

When she walked through the doors and scanned the front area of the library, she spotted Scott quickly. She booked it toward him, standing on the other side of the table he was sitting at and momentarily putting her hands on her hips. He was reading a book, it looked unrelated to his work. She took it from him, keeping the page of course— she was not cruel, and he looked up at her, making an annoyed noise.

“Come with me,” Pearl said in a quite loud whisper, though no one looked over. “Now.”

Scott looked slightly pissed and slightly confused.

“Give me a minute,” he took the book back from Pearl, marking his page quickly and shoving it into his bag.

He put a few other papers and books he had scattered around into his bag and then slung it over his shoulder. Then, he nodded to Pearl while rolling his eyes and she led him back to talk in her room.

Once she closed the door Scott spoke again, “What’s going on?” He set down his bag, leaning against the wall and crossing his arms.

“You know Martyn, correct?” Pearl asked, pacing her room.

“Yes?” He looked at her curiously, tilting his head.

“Can you get a message to him— or even better, get me to him without Gem— or Ren, knowing?” She glanced over to Scott, catching the concern and confusion in his eyes.

“I’m going over to his tonight and Gem’s not supposed to be back for at least the first half. Me and Martyn might go out. Why?” Pearl did appreciate his quick acceptance of whatever she was doing even though he had not a lot of context yet.

“You know I’ve been sending Ren to try to fetch Gem. But I don’t believe he’s properly been trying. So I want to go there. I’m going to see her whether he likes it or not,” Pearl sternly said, pausing her pacing.

“Alright. How will you get out of here without Ren knowing?” Scott asked.

She walked over to where her dresser was located and motioned for Scott to help her move it. He complied and once it was moved a bit she pointed to the distinct outline of a trap door in the floor and looked at Scott.

“That leads out into the city,” she stated.

“Oh,” Scott looked pleasantly surprised. “Okay then, you’ll come with me? We can both use this way.”

“Sounds good. When are you leaving?” Pearl crossed her arms, leaning against the wall.

“I just have to get ready— stored some stuff in the Knights’ area so I don’t have to go back to my place— then we can go,” Scott nodded, walking toward the door and picking back up his bag.

It was about 30 minutes until Pearl got a knock on her door. In the meantime she had done her prayers, narrowly avoiding Ren while walking back to her room.

“Who is it?” She called, fastening on her red cloak.

“Scott,” he responded.

Pearl walked over and opened the door, shutting it quickly behind him and locking it. She made sure to check that her cloak was firmly secured, then stepped over to near the trap door.

“Ready? Pearl asked.

“Ready,” Scott nodded.

She opened the trap door and climbed down the slightly unstable ladder that was there. It was dusty and had cobwebs, obviously, but she had used the tunnels before and knew they were pretty safe. Scott came down after her and they set off down the narrow stone hall. They descended a few different staircases along the way, taking plenty of strange turns. Overall, it did not take too much time to get to the exit. The exit consisted of a door covered with vines and greenery. Pearl opened it only slightly to listen for anyone nearby, not really hearing anyone. Then, she opened the door fully, stepping out and motioning for Scott to follow her.

Pearl pulled her hood up, glancing over to Scott.

“Can you get to Martyn’s from here?” She asked.

He looked around for a moment, trying to get his bearings of where he was. Then, he looked to recognize the area.

“Yeah, I know the way,” Scott said, taking the lead.

Luckily, it was only a short walk. When they got to the building Martyn and Gem’s flat was located in, Scott explained that he would knock first and to leave it to him to explain anything to Martyn. They had to go up some stairs, but Scott soon led them into a hall with a few different doors. He glanced back to Pearl, giving her a look that said, are you sure ? And she was. She nodded. He knocked lightly on the door. Pearl was standing fairly close to him, her hood still shadowing her face.

Martyn started to open the door and paused when his eyes locked on Pearl

“Martyn,” Scott spoke quietly.

“Who is…?” He continued to stare at Pearl.

“Pearl,” Scott whispered.

“Oh,” Martyn’s eyes widened, realization setting in. “Are you… are you here for Gem? She’s not in right now—“

“I know, Martyn,” Pearl nodded.

The three stood in silence for another moment before Martyn fully opened the door and allowed them both in.

Pearl looked around the short entryway hall and saw slightly into the living room area. It did not look like too bad of a place. That fact did make her a bit more comforted, knowing Gem was living in a nice place.

Martyn was staring at Pearl still as she looked around, and she could practically feel his eyes tracking her. She let her hood down, thinking maybe that was making him uneasy, but he continued watching, even as Scott was talking to him. Pearl could not really tell if he was staring in anger or astonishment. She did not really know how Gem would have spoken of her, and how Martyn would perceive her. When Scott and Martyn’s conversation fell quiet Pearl looked properly at Martyn.

“Do you need something?” She asked, slightly accusatory.

“No— no, sorry. Just,” he sighed. “Fair warning that Gem isn’t… she isn’t doing the best right now.”

“In what way?” Pearl crossed her arms, curiosity starting to stir within her.

“Well— for one she rolled her ankle so she’s limping around currently. And other than that… her interaction with Ren today wasn’t… good,” he said cautiously.

“You don’t say,” Now she was truly curious. “Tell me more.”

“I don’t— I don’t know much, I mean I wasn’t there, I just know that Gem was getting desperate to prove to him that she wasn’t dangerous. I don’t, I don’t know, I’m sorry,” Martyn hastily explained.

“Prove to him that she isn’t dangerous? Is Ren asking her to do that?” Pearl placed her hands on her hips.

“No— no, it’s something Gem has taken upon herself, I think,” Martyn answered.

Pearl nodded, “I see.”

“We’re going to head out, Pearl,” Scott changed the topic.

“Gem will be here later, I am uncertain of what job she’s doing right now, but I don’t think it’s supposed to take too long,” Martyn added.

“Alright,” Pearl turned to walk toward the living room. She heard the door open and close, Scott and Martyn’s voices fading away. The flat was eerily quiet once they were gone.

~

As Ren stepped out of Pearl’s room he noticed Lizzie down the hall. He was already heading that way to go back to his room, so he decided it would not hurt to talk some things over with Lizzie. She had given him guidance before, and he knew she generally shared the same opinions about the accident as him. Well, she was the one to explain the whole situation to him.

“Hey! Lizzie?” He called and she turned, slightly frightened by the sudden noise.

“Oh, hi Ren. Do you need something?” She asked, walking back toward him.

“Can I… can I talk something through with you?” Ren awkwardly stood awaiting an answer. He had no clue if she was busy or not.

“Of course! What is it?” Lizzie cheerily replied.

“It’s something… here, can we go to my room to discuss?” He motioned to his door, not too far down the hall. The doors in the hall they were in consisted of Royals and then top Knights.

She nodded, turning to walk to the room with Ren. He followed quickly and shut the door behind the two of them once they were in.

“You can’t tell this to anyone,” Ren said.

“Understood,” Lizzie nodded.

“Pearl’s been having me go visit Gem to try and get her to come and see Pearl,” he admitted, immediately feeling less tense just by saying the words. He would not say it to anyone else. But he trusted Lizzie. Lizzie was the person who guided him for years. He knew she was trustworthy.

“Gem as in…” her eyes were wide, surprised by the words.

“Gem as in that Gem, yes,” he paused, shaking his head. “And I’ve been hesitant the whole time. I wanted to make sure Gem wouldn’t hurt Pearl if I brought her here. I haven’t been giving her the letters that Pearl had been writing her. But… I think I misjudged her character. Today she walked in, already limping from an injury, and I asked if she would risk her life for Pearl. She had this whole… moment where she handed me a knife and told me to cut her arm. It scared me. But now… I think I know she would do anything for Pearl. I don’t know what to do, Lizzie.”

She had tilted her head to the side, listening intently and thinking about what Ren had been thinking.

“You should go back and give the letters to her,” Lizzie said quickly.

“I know,” Ren sighed.

“And you should really get her here to see Pearl,” she smiled slightly, though Ren could not quite tell if it was genuine.

Ren looked at her, slightly confused. “I thought you… I thought you thought Gem was dangerous?”

“I do. But I trust your judgment, Ren,” she assured him.

He smiled, “Thank you.”

~

Gem had struggled, to say the least, finding the location of where the potential client wanted to meet. She was supposed to talk with them about the possible job they wanted her to do, but of course it had to be in some spooky back alley! Because that definitely did not get her on edge!

It did not matter too much. All it did was make her slightly more aware than usual about any dangers, but even then she could not fully find it in her to care given the throbbing pain in her ankle.

When she did finally find the alley, she saw no one at first. No note, no person, nothing. If she had come out there for nothing she was going to be a little pissed off. She limped farther into the alley, seeing sudden movement in the shadows. Gem paused.

“Who’s there,” she asked quietly, leaning on her good foot.

“Only me,” the person responded, stepping out of the shadows that had been concealing them.

Gem quickly observed how they looked. Feminine based off of her voice and stance. A dark hooded cloak covered her face. Generally she looked… taller? Than Gem? Except, it was almost like her height was shifting. Strange.

“Are you…” Gem let the question hang in the air, waiting to see what the woman would respond with.

“Yes, I am the one who asked you here,” she said, her height and general presence seeming to shift constantly. She was less of a permanent being and far closer to what Gem imagined an illusion would look like. Which, for a moment, Gem did question if that was what she could be, but the woman was too stable for that, she thought.

“Alright,” Gem responded, stepping forward. “What do you want me to do, then? When? What are the risks? What’s the pay?”

The girl stepped forward, within arms reach of Gem, and her cloak shifted oddly.

“We have never made a deal before, have we?” She asked, continuing to walk by circling around Gem. At this point Gem almost felt like she was prey that had walked straight into a predator’s trap.

“No… uh, I don’t remember so,” Gem was starting to realize this may have been one of the worst days to injure her ankle.

“Mm,” she hummed. She had paused in front of Gem again, but Gem still could not see her face.

Then, suddenly and swiftly the woman grabbed Gem’s arm tightly, with a grasp far beyond what Gem would expect from a form seemingly that unstable. She pulled her forward, and Gem gasped, struggling against the hand tight around her arm. She could not help but notice how odd the hand felt, despite the form it did not feel like how it looked. Her hand felt smaller than how it appeared… and it felt normal?

“My job for you is to kill the Queen, yes?” She spoke the words simply, as if she was just telling Gem to walk away, and her hand shifted its grip on Gem’s arm.

Before Gem could break the woman’s grip on her arm, the woman started digging her nail into Gem’s skin. Gem cried out in pain, her balance was majorly off set and her head was sent spinning from not only the pain but the request she had said.

“The pay,” she paused, continuing to drag her nail through Gem’s skin like it was nothing. “Will be good. More than you can even imagine,” she once again paused for a beat. “This can be done whenever, now or in the future. But I’ll check in with you soon enough.”

The woman spent a moment more digging into Gem’s skin before she let Gem drop to the ground. Gem heard her footsteps get quieter as she walked out of the alley.

Her arm was bleeding a lot. She gripped the wound with her other hand and struggled to force herself to actually breathe. Thinking properly was even more difficult, but she attempted it. Someone was wanting her to kill Pearl. Why would someone want her, of all people? She was a fairly skilled fighter, sure, but not particularly known for stealth. Or anything else required that came with assassinating the literal Queen.

She shook the thoughts off, deciding those were later things to process. Removing her hand from the wound she tore a part of her cloak off and wrapped it tightly around the wound. She looked around, trying to see if there were any better possible materials nearby. There really seemed to be nothing, but she dipped her blood covered hand in a puddle of water, also splashing off the blood that was running down her other arm. Then she pushed herself to stand up.

Everything was spinning once she was standing. She felt distant from the world around her but tried her best to push past it. All she had to do was succeed in getting home. Then she could figure out what in void just happened. She stumbled out of the alley— remembering that she was unluckily pretty far from the flat.

It was starting to get dark and she prayed to the moon above that nothing else would go wrong on the way back to the flat. No concerned civilians. No more dangers. Nothing. She was still limping, likely looking extremely disheveled now. The tied off wound was not visible to anyone looking at her given her cloak, but her limp was becoming more obvious the more she used her leg.

Despite the distance she had been from the flat, the walk was quick. That was probably because she only felt like she was half aware of anything going on around her, but still. When she got to the door to the stairs of the building she paused. For a moment, she rested her ankle and checked to make sure her arm was not dripping blood. She did not need questions from neighbors if she accidentally left a trail of blood from her arm. After she was fairly certain it was not dripping blood, she went inside and up the stairs.

She was fairly certain that Martyn was out with Scott, but she could not be bothered with properly thinking about it. When she opened the door she got her answer from the silence. He would probably fuss over her too much anyway. As that was what they both did, fuss over the other when they were injured but refuse to take the help when they themselves were hurt. The injury probably was not that bad, anyway. She shut the door gently, leaning back against it and closing her eyes to try to calm herself. Her heart rate was quite quick and she attempted to breathe deeply to try and calm it.

When she opened her eyes she realized that there was someone in the hallway before her. It was not Martyn. Nor was it Scott. Not even Ren. The person wore a red cloak, the hood pulled up, and fastened with a crescent moon. They were taller than Gem and looked to have long brown hair. Gem’s mind was too fuzzy to process any more details.

They removed their hood.

Pearl.

Gem’s breath hitched and she could feel herself swaying, unsteady and uncertain on her own feet. She tried to say something but her voice just broke.

Pearl was there in front of her.

“Hi… Gem,” Pearl said, almost as if she too was in disbelief.

Gem quickly stepped forward and pulled her into a hug. She buried her face in Pearl’s shoulder, already feeling tears well up in her eyes. Pearl was holding her tightly, mumbling something that sounded comforting. Gem just pulled her in tighter. Pearl’s wings wrapped around the two, calming Gem.

Everything was so slow and distant. Every second ticking by like they were hours. It felt unreal. Gem’s mind went back over everything that had happened over the day and how quickly it had all progressed. That caused her to briefly remember the conversation she had minutes ago. It made her aware of the knives in her belt and on her wrists, and how close she was to Pearl.

But she would never do it. Never in a million years.

Pearl was still mumbling to Gem about something, but Gem was not paying attention. She was just focused on Pearl being there and her wings around them. Gem allowed herself to sob until her head ached. 

At some point she became aware of Pearl moving the both of them. She looked up at her, questioning.

“Don’t worry, just moving so you don’t have to stay standing on your hurt ankle,” Pearl assured, dragging Gem into the living room. She laid down on the couch and Gem quickly complied with cuddling up to her, Pearl’s wings once again wrapping around them both.

“Did Martyn tell you about that then?” Gem asked quietly, tears still rolling down her face.

“Mhm,” Pearl hummed, combing a hand through Gem’s hair.

Gem rested her head against Pearl and closed her eyes, just letting herself exist, for once.

She did not even realize she was drifting to sleep.

~

Ren realized he needed to apologize about the letters to Pearl. He knocked on Pearl’s door lightly, and after a moment he tried the door. Locked. Well, he supposed that was fair enough. He would check in tomorrow, they would hopefully both have clearer minds then.

He walked down the hall and toward where the common room for the Lunar Knights was located. When he was nearly there Lizzie was rushing down the hall and she nearly ran straight into him. She quickly stumbled back, sending an apologetic look to Ren with a weak smile.

“Sorry!” She called back quickly.

“Woah— hey— you alright? Why are you in such a rush?” Ren asked.

Lizzie paused her walking, “Sorry, sorry, I forgot something in my room and had been down in the library and I want to make sure no one steals my seat or thinks I have abandoned my things,” she explained quickly.

Ren nodded and motioned for her to continue on. She looked quite thankful and rushed along. He did question for a moment what she was wearing, it did not look usual to what she typically wore. But he just shrugged to himself and continued walking.

Once he was at the Knight commons he entered, observing the room. Jimmy was sitting in there and Grian also happened to be there. Etho was sharpening a sword and Skizz was talking loudly to Bigb. It was not uncommon for non-knights to hang out in the commons, given they all knew each other anyway.

Skizz stood up from where he was sitting, putting his arms out to the side and motioning dramatically.

“Ren! My guy, can you settle this debate we’ve been having?” Skizz patted Ren’s shoulder and looked at the rest of the room.

“Uh… maybe? What’s it about?” Ren asked, tilting his head.

“I’m saying that Bigb would’ve made an amazing Knight, if he’d chosen the path, but B doesn’t agree! Jimmy says he would, but Grian is siding with B,” Skizz gave an eye roll at that. “And Etho won’t comment!” He explained. “So, what’s your stance?”

He smiled slightly, “I think B would make a perfect Knight.”

“See! That’s what I’m saying!” He looked back at Bigb.

Ren felt more relaxed now surrounded by people he enjoyed.

Chapter Text

Scott and Martyn were heading back to the flat. It was earlier than they usually would, but they were both ready to check on Gem and Pearl. Scott was not necessarily nervous about them. But… he could not not think about how the first interaction in years would be between the two. Sure he trusted Gem but he… no. He trusted Gem. Full stop.

Martyn held the door to the stairs open for Scott, motioning him in. When they were both up the stairs and to the door they could hear the distinct silence from the other side of the door. Scott glanced at Martyn in concern. Martyn sighed and shook his head, gripping the handle and opening the door.

“Gem? Pearl?” Martyn called.

Scott could hear a quick, rushed, “Shhhhh!” From a voice that seemed to be Pearl.

Martyn glanced at him and Scott shrugged. Once they closed the door they walked into the living room. Pearl was laying on the couch with a very asleep Gem wrapped in her wings.

“She fell asleep,” Pearl whispered.

“Ah. I can see that,” Martyn responded, moving to sit on the opposite couch. Scott followed quickly.

“Did… did you two talk at all?” Scott quietly asked.

Pearl shook her head no, briefly looking away and then back.

“She seemed really out of it. I was just telling her it’s okay. When she started falling asleep I heard her mumbling, ‘I’m sorry,’” she almost looked hurt by the words, her expression sorrowful for a moment.

There was silence in the room. The three of them were all looking at Gem, who was mostly covered by Pearl’s wings around her. Scott wondered if the way the two were positioned was uncomfortable to Pearl, though he knew Pearl probably could not care less about comfort in that moment.

“Martyn?” Pearl seemed to speak cautiously, still quiet.

“Yeah?” He responded.

“Do you… how much do you know about what happened during the accident?” She asked. It was clear to Scott that she was going to try to get more information out about it, even though Scott was almost certain Martyn knew nothing.

“If you think that I know what truly happened, I don’t. Gem didn’t tell me too much. Just the fact it wasn’t actually her fault,” Martyn looked over at Scott. Scott and Martyn both knew that Scott had nearly all of the context of what happened. There were just a few unclear pieces, and things that Gem had never specifically told him had happened, even if he could assume. But Gem had told him to never say a word, because it was apparently safer this way. He trusted her judgment.

“I think everyone knows as much,” Pearl bit her lip, thinking. “What was she like after it happened?”

“Distraught… distant… I don’t know how to describe it. Lost, maybe?” He looked apologetic, and Scott could tell he genuinely wished he could say more.

“Did she get my letters?” Pearl changed the topic slightly, tilting her head to the side.

“What?” Martyn looked confused.

Pearl’s expression changed sharply, her eyebrows pinched together and her posture became more rigid. 

“The letters I wrote and that were supposed to be given to her by Ren?” She sounded accusatory, likely toward Ren if Scott was interpreting the situation correctly. Which, he assumed he was, given he did often piece things together quickly.

“I never heard of any letters. Neither Gem nor Ren said anything,” Martyn put simply. “I think Gem would’ve told me if there were any,” he added.

“I see,” Pearl’s voice was quiet and reflecting. Scott assumed, given Pearl’s expression, that Ren must have really messed up by not giving the letters to Gem. He felt slightly bad for him but he also fully understood Pearl’s perspective.

“Pearl…?” Scott said.

“Yes?” She turned her gaze to Scott.

“You do remember that there were others… present at the accident?” Scott was cautious with his wording. He knew Gem did not want to share what happened but… if he told his own experience maybe… “Me, Cleo, Impulse, Bdubs, and…”

“Scott,” she looked at him intensely. “Do you have something I need to know?”

“I—“

Then they all noticed Gem was starting to stir and awaken. Pearl removed her wings slightly and Gem opened her eyes, looking surprised to see Martyn and Scott there. She looked at Pearl and smiled weakly.

“Hey,” Pearl said to her, a smile forming on her lips as well.

“Hi,” she replied, shifting to sit up a little more and untangle herself from Pearl.

But Scott quickly noticed something that was concerning to say the very least.

“Is someone bleeding?” He asked and Gem looked at him a little confused for a moment.

Her eyes then widened and she moved her cloak to reveal a section of her arm that had a ripped bit of fabric tied around it, soaked in blood.

“Moon and sun above, Gem! Why did you not mention that earlier?” Pearl looked very clearly frightened and gently grabbed Gem’s arm.

Martyn stood up, likely going to grab bandages and such.

“Well— I kind of… forgot,” Gem sheepishly responded, averting anyone’s gaze. 

“Stars, Gem—“ Scott shook his head. “What happened?”

“Uh… I was discussing a job with someone and she just dug her nail into my arm, I don’t know,” Gem shrugged as if it was no big deal and Scott immediately could clock that something more was going on.

Martyn handed Scott a wet cloth and he walked over to remove the bloodied fabric and wipe down the wound, along with the blood staining her arm around it. The wound seemed to not be bleeding a ton now, but as Scott cleaned Gem’s arm he noticed how strange the injury looked.

“Who were you talking with?” He asked, shifting where he was standing to get a different look at it.

“I don’t know. She didn’t give a name or anything, I didn’t even see her face. Honestly, not 100% sure it was a girl,” Gem explained, not catching on to the way that Scott was observing the wound.

Scott’s eyes widened as he processed what was carved into Gem’s arm.

“Gem,” his voice showed his worry clearly.

“What?” She looked at him, still confused.

“She carved letters into your arm,” Scott said, wiping away any blood that was still there so the letters were clear. “An S… and a R?”

“What in void…” Gem muttered, looking at her arm.

Martyn walked over with bandages and looked at the wound, seeing what Scott was talking about. Pearl was also staring at the letters, very concerned.

“What was she asking of you, Gem?” Pearl asked, holding the hand of Gem’s that was not the wounded arm.

Gem was silent. Dead silent.

“I don’t remember,” she responded. “I was distracted by the pain and my mind was already a bit hazy.”

Scott did not believe her at all. He doubted Martyn believed her either. Pearl… she might have. Less of actually believing her and more of trusting Gem to tell the truth.

Martyn motioned for Scott to move and he complied, still staying near but allowing Martyn to move in and start wrapping her arm in bandages.

“How’s your ankle?” Martyn asked her.

“‘S alright, ish,” Gem responded, half shrugging. “Just overusing it.”

Scott watched Martyn nod in response, probably a conversation similar to plenty they have had before. Then his gaze shifted to Pearl, she was biting her lip and clearly trying to resist saying anything. It was obvious she wanted to offer for Gem to be seen by palace medics. But she knew better. She knew that, at least today, Gem would refuse.

Martyn quickly tied off the bandage on Gem’s arm and stepped back, sitting on the couch with Scott quickly doing the same. Both Gem and Pearl had shifted to being sitting next to each other, still holding hands, Scott noticed. He thought about maybe mentioning it to Martyn about it later, or even possibly teasing Pearl about it. Though, he did not know if that was the best idea.

“Um, Gem, would it be alright if I talked to you real quick— without Martyn and Pearl?” Scott asked, shifting in his seat.

Pearl looked at him curiously.

“That’s fine, yeah,” she stood up putting all her weight on her uninjured foot.

When she seemed to be a little unsteady Pearl stood up with her, giving her balance. Scott did not miss the glance that Gem gave Pearl. They were so obvious but Scott would bet a lot of money that one, if not both of them, were clueless.

“Talk in my room?” Gem offered.

Scott nodded, quickly moving to Gem’s room, opening the door so that Pearl could assist Gem in. Once Pearl had left and shut the door, Scott sighed, looking away.

“SR,” he started. “Those letters.”

“What about them?” She had sat down on her bed, stretching out her legs and watching him.

“I’ve heard… whispers, Gem,” he shook his head. “About… whatever SR is.”

“And…?” Gem prompted him to go on.

“It stands for Solar Resistance, I think. I don’t know any specifics, but I have been sort of trying to figure out what it could be. And if— well if you..” his words trailed off.

“You want me to tell you what the girl asked me to do,” Gem sighed, understanding what Scott was meaning to ask.

“Or if you knew more about what she looked like. I’m not picky, I’ll take either,” Scott added.

“Her form wasn’t stable. She could’ve been taller or shorter than me, stronger or weaker than me, and I would not really know. I genuinely don’t have a clue who she could’ve been,” she explained. “And as for the job,” she shook her head. “It is something I’ll never do. That is all I’ll say.”

“Thank you. Genuinely, Gem,” he nodded.

Scott offered her help up, which she hesitantly accepted, and assisted her back to the living room. The four caught up about unrelated topics for a while longer before Pearl had to go back to the palace. Scott had decided to go with her just to make sure she was able to get in the way they exited from alright.

“You sure you don’t want to come with?” Pearl asked Gem as they were leaving. The two were standing face to face with their hands interlocked.

“Not tonight,” Gem smiled, seeming to grip Pearl’s hands tighter. “Maybe another time.”

Then the two left and successfully made it back to the palace. It seemed like no one even noticed Pearl was gone, which was both relieving and concerning. 

Chapter Text

Ren would go again. With the letters this time. Pearl seemed to have purposefully distanced herself from Ren, given she was not more busy with papers than usual but was not having Ren accompany her. So he doubted he would even get the orders to go again… which he did realize meant Pearl was likely going through other paths to try and see Gem. That did not particularly make Ren feel good about her safety. But it did not matter, he would go get Gem. Truly, this time.

He pulled up the floorboard in his room, putting all four letters into the small bag he wore. Then, he left the palace without question from anyone and went to Martyn and Gem’s flat. He did not even know if either of them were there, but he knocked firmly on the door, hoping he did not come across as aggressive.

Martyn opened it, looking Ren up and down with confusion.

“Uh— Ren, can I… help you?” He asked, seeming to search for any signs of distress from Ren that would explain him being there.

“Is Gem here?” Ren pushed into the hallway, leaving Martyn closing the door behind him.

“She’s resting. In her room,” Martyn responded cautiously, following Ren.

“Because of her ankle?” He continued walking toward her door, speaking a little quieter than before.

“And… a wound on her arm,” Martyn added.

Ren looked at him concerned, “It didn’t have anything to do with me, did it?” he asked, genuinely worried given their last conversation. He would have felt horrible if he had caused this girl to hurt herself for a cause he should have believed weeks ago.

“No, no. Unrelated on-job injury,” he said, staring at Ren lingering near Gem’s door. “I think she’s awake. Just resting,” Martyn nodded. “I don’t think she’ll be happy to see you, though.”

“When is anyone, these days,” Ren mumbled.

“I am,” Martyn replied with a soft smile.

Ren gave a weak smile to the attempt. Then he turned to the door and sighed, knocking at the door.

“Come in,” he heard from inside.

He went in and shut the door behind him, clearing his throat to alert Gem of his presence there. She was lying on her side with her back to him.

“Hi Ren,” she acknowledged.

“I have to give you something,” Ren’s words were sheepish in tone and he felt like a dog with its tail between its legs, literally.

Gem rolled over to look at him flatly.

“And that is?” Gem asked.

“Letters. From Pearl. I… I was supposed to give them sooner but… my misjudgment of your character interfered with my decision making,” he said, attempting to make it sound less like he was just an idiot trying to make things right.

She sat up, swinging her legs off the bed and motioning Ren over. He opened his bag as he walked the short distance, sitting on the stool from the small desk next to her bed.

Ren handed her the first letter.

It took her a moment to read it and Ren attempted to understand her expression, but she kept it pretty neutral.

“Did you read any of these?” She asked, more matter of fact than accusatory.

Ren sighed, “The second one, yes.”

She looked almost what he would call impressed, and then put out her hand, motioning for him to give her the second letter. He complied. Again, Gem looked over the letter. Then looked toward Ren, motioning for the next one. He gave her the last two letters and she read them quickly.

“Pearl was starting to realize you might have not been giving these to me,” Gem said, looking at a line in the last letter.

“Oh,” Ren shifted uncomfortably on the seat. “Can I see?”

Gem pulled the letter close to her, away from Ren. Then, hesitantly she looked at the letter again.

“It says: My best judgment is that these letters are either not effective or you are not receiving them ,” she explained, clearly not wanting to actually show Ren the letter. That was fair enough, though it did only make Ren more curious.

“I am sorry, for not giving you the letters sooner,” Ren bowed his head in shame.

Gem silently stared at him, keeping her neutral expression.

“Truly, Gem. I have made a severe lapse in judgement. I will seek to prove my regret where I can. I see now who you are, and how much you and Pearl deserve to see each other once again,” he watched for any change on Gem’s face, though he did not immediately find one.

She sighed.

“I’ll go with you,” she moved to stand up, setting aside the letters on her desk.

“Are you capable with your injury?” He asked, standing up as she limped to the door out of her room and opened it.

“Ugh! I’m fine, I can walk! It’s alright,” Ren followed her out of the room, slinging his bag back over his shoulder.

He glanced at Martyn while Gem was looking away. Martyn clearly mouthed the words, ‘help her’. Ren was already planning to. Gem had put on her cloak and was tying her boots, still glaring slightly at Ren.

“Uh, Pearl didn’t… she doesn’t… uhm, know I went down here this time?” Ren sheepishly added, remembering the fact.

Gem laughed almost cruelly at his words, shaking her head.

“How did you ever become a personal guard for her,” she muttered, getting up and limping toward the door.

Ren decided to ignore that comment.

“You ready?” He asked cautiously.

“Mhm,” she hummed, gripping the door handle and waiting for Ren to follow her.

After Gem opened the door and they had both walked out, but before they had left the building, Ren stopped her.

“Listen, Gem, you are clearly still quite injured. No denying that. Can I just— can I help you in any way? Let you lean on me? Anything?” He asked, desperate now for her to not deny the help.

Gem glared at him, rolling her eyes.

“I’ll tell you if I need a break from walking,” she said. “And maybe I’ll take your support if it does get bad,” she mumbled after.

Ren nodded. That would be good.

Their walk through the city and to one of the more secluded entrances into the palace was surprisingly quick. Ren was regularly checking in on Gem, and they did pause a few times, despite Gem’s annoyance. But overall it went quickly.

When they got to the entrance of the palace, Gem put her hood up and started leaning on Ren for assistance. Ren guided her into the palace with no questions from anyone due to his high ranking authority, and he led her through some less populated hallways to the door to Pearl’s room.

Ren took a deep breath and stared at Pearl’s door before them.

~

Gem was nervous. Even though she had already seen Pearl, Ren was here now. She did not know whether to act as if this was still her first time seeing Pearl again, or if Pearl was going to tell Ren. Gem supposed she could wait for a guide from Pearl, but she would still have to momentarily choose how to act before Pearl gave that guidance.

They were stood right in front of Pearl’s door, completely in silence. Gem noticed that Ren also seemed nervous. She surprisingly felt a little comforted by that, weirdly.

“Take your hood off,” Ren whispered.

Gem complied, not seeing much reason to argue.

Ren knocked on the door lightly, a distinctly different knock than what Gem had heard when he knocked on the flat door.

“My Queen?” He spoke loud enough that it would be heard inside.

“One moment, Ren,” Pearl said from inside.

After some sounds of shuffling around, the door opened. Pearl stood there, looking over Ren and Gem. She was not giving a big reaction so Gem followed her lead, though even outside of trying to control her reactions she felt herself naturally smile and relax at Pearl’s presence.

“Come in, both of you,” Pearl opened the door more, allowing them in.

She quickly pulled Gem into a hug. Gem leaned into her, feeling how she was shaking slightly. Had she been shaking the other day as well? Gem did not remember. When they both pulled away from the hug, Pearl motioned Gem to stand to her side, even slightly behind her.

Ren was still near the now closed door, standing awkwardly— and slightly guiltily. He knew he had messed up.

“Ren,” Pearl’s voice was cold.

“Yes, my Queen?” He responded, jumping to attention.

“I know you did not give her my letters,” she said.

“Uh… I—“ Ren stuttered, his eyes going wide.

“It is extremely clear to me that you did not give her my letters,” Pearl’s wings flared out slightly, guarding Gem. She paused for a moment, then expanded upon her words, “I got Scott to ask Martyn if she had been getting them.”

It surprised Gem that Pearl would twist the truth like that to Ren, though she did understand that Pearl likely did not feel like getting into a whole discussion with Ren right then.

“I am sorry, my Queen,” Ren bowed his head. “I was not thinking.”

“No, you were not,” she snapped. “I am open to having conversations about my choices, Ren. But you are loyal to me and to this kingdom. I may have not been able to order you to get Gem, but I sure did order you to deliver those letters. Ren, I do not want to bring your loyalties into question, really, but if this happens again I will have to,” Pearl paused. Gem noticed a change in her posture, a break in her steady confidence. When she spoke again her voice was weaker, like anybody else would be when they were emotionally hurt by someone, “I thought you understood, Ren. Even if we disagreed I thought you could see I need her.”

Ren did not respond at first, staring at the ground and, from what Gem could see, looking hurt by the words.

“Have I made myself clear?” Her tone was back to something more professional. She tilted her chin up, looking down at him. He still did not respond. “Ren?”

Gem reached out to Pearl, her hand grazing Pearl’s shoulder.

“Pearl… he did give me the letters today—“ she tried to help. She did not know why she was making any attempt. Gem did not particularly like Ren. But, it was clear he was genuinely sorry. And Gem would be hypocritical to not believe someone showing genuine remorse.

“That does not matter here, Gem,” Pearl replied, softer than her tone to Ren, but still rough.

“I understand, my Queen,” Ren finally said, drawing Pearl’s attention back to him.

“Good. You are dismissed,” she looked at the door.

“Wait— but—“ he tried, looking slightly confused.

“Ren, you are dismissed,” Pearl repeated.

Ren complied, though Gem could see actual hurt in his expression. He left the room quick enough.

Pearl turned to Gem, her hands shaking. She looked as if she was going to cry, though the moment before Gem was not able to hear it in her voice at all. Her hair was put up in a mess of a bun on her head and she looked like she had not slept.

“Hey, hey,” Gem tried to comfort, grabbing Pearl’s arms to steady her. “I’m here. What do you need? Maybe you should sit down here.”

She moved the two to sit on Pearl’s bed, still holding Pearl’s arms.

“Pearl, what do you need?” She asked again, making proper eye contact with her

“You,” she responded, hugging Gem tightly.

Gem smiled weakly, hugging back. She could do that. She could just be there and appreciate the moment. Gently, she took Pearl’s hair out of the bun it was in and combed through it with her fingers. Pearl hummed, leaning into Gem’s touch. Gem continued combing her hair softly, feeling Pearl relax under her touch.

Then, slowly Pearl pulled away from her, wiping away the tears that were on her face.

“Sorry. I did not mean for that to happen,” she looked away, her wings going out and up slightly in automatic defense.

“It’s alright sunshine,” Gem said, defaulting to the old nickname to see if Pearl would be comforted by it.

She seemed to be, glancing back over to Gem and smiling.

“Thank you, moonlight,” she responded, returning the nickname.

Gem smiled brightly, almost giggling.

“You are so adorable, you know that?” Pearl tilted her head, shoving Gem’s shoulder playfully.

“Me!?” Gem gasped dramatically. “You’re the adorable one here!” She laughed, feeling the deflection make her definitely blush at least a little bit, though she would not admit it.

“Okay, sure sure. If you say so!” Pearl mocked, clearly not believing her.

Gem decided to stand up for extra dramatic effect. 

“Whatever will I do!?” She motioned wildly. “My dearest Pearl doesn’t believe that she’s adorable!”

Pearl laughed, tilting her head and giving Gem a big grin.

“Fine, fine! I’ll admit it! I’m adorable, but— so are you!” She stood up, walking over to Gem. Gem crossed her arms in defiance, looking up at Pearl.

“Is that so?” She asked smugly.

“It is!” Pearl responded, scooping Gem up in her arms before Gem could even process it.

She squealed and giggled, throwing her arms around Pearl’s neck to stabilize herself. Pearl walked around the room, not putting Gem down and just giggling.

“Admit it!” She laughed.

Gem went into a laughing fit again, struggling to get any words out.

“Fine—“ she said between laughs. “I’m adorable! Is that all?”

“Yup!” Pearl responded, setting Gem down on her bed and sitting next to her.

Gem stared at her, not sitting fully up quite yet, instead just propped up on her elbows.

“Void, I missed the way you look at me,” Gem said quietly, staring into Pearl’s eyes. Her eyes were light blue, but the type of light blue that reminded her of crystals, not vibrant but still pretty.

Pearl brushed hair out of Gem’s face.

“I missed looking at you,” she smiled softly, adoringly.

Gem’s face felt warm and she sat up, intending to stand up and pace.

“Ah— no standing,” Pearl grabbed her arm pulling her back down from already being half up.

“What—? Why?” Gem pouted.

“From the little I have seen you walk I can see your limp is bad,” she gave a look to Gem. “And I know you don’t want me to get a medic for you… even though it would help.”

Gem looked back at Pearl, uncomfortable shifting how she was sitting.

“I just don’t want… they’d know who I am,” she reasoned.

“What if I got Lizzie? She’s partially trained for medic stuff, and she knows you past just what happened, I believe,” Pearl smiled at Gem.

She looked at the ground and sighed. She did not want to agree. But… for Pearl…

“Alright,” Gem agreed. 

Pearl stood up, walking toward the door.

“If anyone knocks, don’t answer. Besides maybe like— Ren or Scott,” Pearl quickly exited the room after that.

Gem sat on her bed, looking around from where she was and observing how the room had changed. It was slightly simpler than she last remembered. But it still felt like Pearl’s. There was moon decor all around and the windows had dramatic draping blue curtains. Some of the decor that Gem had remembered had been taken down. She did briefly wonder if she had taken down the sun decor she had had on one wall because of Gem’s absence, though she quickly pushed the thought away. Gem doubted she would take down a whole decoration just given her absence.

She waited impatiently for Pearl and Lizzie. Honestly, she did not want the help. But she could take it for Pearl. She could bear the overall weirdness of having someone tend to her injury if it let Pearl have more peace of mind. Gem herself had a level of understanding for medic work, but she had not used potions in a few years. It would be alright.

The door opened and Gem startled to attention. Pearl entered first, chatting casually with Lizzie.

“Not a word to anyone about this, alright?” Pearl said to Lizzie once she had shut the door. Her demeanor was kind but serious.

Lizzie nodded, walking over to sit next to her.

“You’re a full Knight now, right?” Gem asked her, curious given the last they had spoken, Lizzie was a few months away from being in the Lunar Knights.

“Yup,” she set down her bag, pulling out bandages and potion bottles. She gently grabbed Gem’s arm and she squirmed at the touch. Gem did not know she was also going to be working on her arm injury, but she guessed it made sense.

Pearl sat on the opposite side of Gem, grabbing her hand and squeezing it. Gem could feel her presence and her watching Lizzie start to go through her process.

Lizzie pulled off the bandages on Gem’s arm and observed the wound. “What is this from?” She asked, her brows furrowing.

“Uh…” Gem looked to Pearl, trying to know if she should tell the actual reason. Pearl nodded to her, reassuring her. “I was going to a take through of a job and the girl cut me with her nail. SR is what it says.” 

“Strange,” Lizzie responded. Turning her arm to study it. “Did you catch her? Do you know who it was?” Gem got a strange feeling from how she asked the questions, but shook it off.

Gem shook her head. “No, she was hooded and… weird. I don’t know, she didn’t seem solid.”

“Shapeshifter?” Lizzie asked, looking at Gem with strange intensity.

“I thought shapeshifters took more solid forms?” Gem squeezed Pearl’s hand nervously.

“Usually,” she responded. “I used to be a shapeshifter and it… I wouldn’t trust that they always stay solid,” Lizzie looked off distantly for a moment. Reminiscing, possibly.

“Used to be?” Gem asked, trying to move her arm to get Lizzie’s grip to loosen.

“Oh— I chose to be in some testing and it destroyed my shapeshifting skills. Most I can do is something like changing my hair color,” she motioned to her light pink hair.

Gem nodded, semi-understanding. She was not a hybrid or a non-human herself, but she was surrounded by others who were. When she thought about it, herself and Martyn might be the only two human people she knew well.

Lizzie had been working on Gem’s arm all while she was thinking, and when she looked down the wound was mostly scabbed over. It looked nearly healed. Potions worked in ways Gem would never fully understand.

“I’m going to put some more bandages over it so the scab doesn’t come off before it heals,” Lizzie explained. “But I think it should be healed by tomorrow night. One of the potions I put on is slow healing, so it should continue to work. However, there will be a pretty significant scar.”

“I assumed so,” Gem nodded, happy that Lizzie’s hand was off of her arm momentarily before she put the bandages on.

“And then, you have an injured ankle as well?” Lizzie asked, digging in her bag. Gem hummed a yes. “Okay,” she handed her a vial of a potion. “Put this on it and it should help. If it doesn’t… you might want to see a proper medic if you’re able to,” Lizzie looked apologetic.

“Alright,” Gem felt Pearl squeeze her hand. “Thank you, truly.”

“Of course,” Lizzie responded cheerily, smiling. 

She packed up her bag and left the room quickly. Gem and Pearl stared at the door for a while, in silence and holding hands. As they sat there Gem assumed that Pearl also had gotten a slightly odd feeling from being around Lizzie, though she could not confirm it.

“I didn’t know she was a shapeshifter at one point,” Gem said.

“She’s not too open about it,” Pearl explained. “I’m… surprised she told you.”

Pearl rested her head on Gem’s shoulder.

“Are there any other shapeshifters that I don’t know of? If— if you know they’d be okay with you telling,” Gem rested her head on Pearl’s.

“Cleo is,” she quickly replied. “I don’t know of any others.”

Gem nodded slightly. She shut her eyes, letting the silence envelop the room. 

For once she felt safe.

For once she felt home.

Home with her dearest friend.

Home with her own emotions.

Home.

Chapter Text

Pearl barely realized Gem had fallen asleep until she herself started moving and caused Gem to awaken.

“Oh— sorry Gem, didn’t know you’d fallen asleep,” Pearl quickly said.

Gem rubbed her eyes, taking a moment to process Pearl’s words. She looked exhausted, which was to be expected. Sometimes healing potions could completely suck away someone’s energy. Pearl could definitely speak from experience.

“Mhm,” she hummed.

“Are you going to stay over tonight?” Pearl asked, hopeful but not expectant.

“If— if that is alright then yes, maybe have Ren— or Scott, tell Martyn so he doesn’t worry. I’m a big girl and can handle myself but sheesh, that man worries. I’ve beat him in duels countless times but still!” She rolled her eyes, seeming to properly wake up.

Pearl giggled. Gem’s little rambling was just… nice. It was comforting. Normal. A normalcy that Pearl had not known in a long time. Sometimes she would find the normalcy when around Jimmy, or the other Lunar Knights, but often she would not go very long without thinking of Gem.

“Yeah, I can get one of them to tell Martyn,” she smiled at Gem.

They both paused. Maybe they both knew what Pearl would ask, or maybe Pearl just incorrectly assumed so.

“Gem?” Pearl started cautiously.

“Yes?” Gem looked at Pearl.

“Can you… can you tell me about… what happened…?” She asked.

Gem stayed silent, staring away from Pearl. She could have been remembering something, or just trying to think of how to change the topic, Pearl could not tell. Gem was sometimes a hard person to read, and Pearl wondered if she was because of the same reasoning as Pearl. After the accident Pearl had had to act normal even when everything was not normal. So, she wondered if Gem had taken on being less easy to read as a way of acting normal and okay.

“Pearl,” her voice was shaky. “You know… I can’t.” She was hesitant even saying those few words.

“Why, Gem? Why?” Pearl wished she could just get Gem to tell her. 

“I… I can’t. I can’t because it would hurt you to know,” she said. “Trust me Pearl, I know you don’t want to know.”

“Gem, I trust you with my life. I trust you with everything I have. I trust you with my kingdom. I have trusted you for years. Gem, can you trust me in knowing that I need to know. Especially for the wellbeing of this kingdom.” She took Gem’s hand in hers.

Gem opened her mouth to talk but no words came out. Her eyes were teary and she gripped Pearl’s hand tightly. 

“I… I’m sorry, I—“ she choked out, her voice quiet. Pearl squeezed her hand, reassuring. She took a shaky breath. “If I tell you… it would change… a lot. And I don’t think— I don’t think it would be for the good of either of us.”

She pulled her hand away from Pearl’s, turning away slightly and rubbing the bandage on her arm.

“But why—?” Pearl started to ask.

A knock came at the door.

“Who is it?” She called.

“Scott,” he replied.

Pearl stood up and walked over to the door, opening it slightly, and put on a falsely happy smile.

“Ren told me Gem’s here, I wanted to check in on her,” Scott said. Pearl’s expression dropped.

“Not—“ Pearl turned to look at Gem, then back. “Not right now, sorry Scott. She’s… better, I think, but I’d prefer to just have… direct conversations with her right now.” She paused and bit her lip. “Oh— could you tell Martyn that she’s staying here for the night?” 

“Yeah— yeah, that’s all good, I will. See you tomorrow, Pearl,” he nodded, turning and walking off. It was clear he did not fully take her word, picking up something was off.

Pearl closed the door, sighing heavily.

“I could’ve talked to him,” Gem said, not angry but definitely stern.

“I know but— I’ve missed you, Gem. Can I not have you for myself just for now?” She smiled weakly.

“I suppose,” Gem smiled back, her features softening.

She walked back over to the bed and hugged Gem tightly.

“I missed you too, sunshine,” Gem mumbled.

~

Gem woke up the next morning lying next to Pearl, sun flooding in and shining on Pearl’s pale skin. They had talked for hours into the night before, only breaking apart once so that Pearl could go pray to the moon. Gem was trying to not move in an attempt to not awaken Pearl, though she was not certain how successful she was being. She watched Pearl’s face, her hair falling prettily on her skin, and a light pinkish tint on her cheeks. Pearl looked pretty. Really pretty. Gem turned over and away from Pearl to stop thinking about how nice she looked.

After a moment of being turned away she felt a cold hand on her shoulder, pulling her back slightly.

“Gem? You alright?” Pearl said sleepily, yawning after speaking.

She turned her head back slightly so she could catch Pearl’s eyes— why did they have to look so pretty in the sunlight?— and nodded.

“I’m okay,” she responded, smiling. “G’ morning, sunshine.”

Pearl moved closer to Gem, almost laughing slightly.

“Morning,” she moved her hand to hold Gem’s and Gem accepted it.

Gem’s mind was hazy and flustered given she had only woken up a few minutes ago. But she was content to lay there. Even though she knew that later she would have to get up and go home, that was for later.

~

Martyn took his morning slow without Gem there. He did not necessarily rush his mornings when she was there, but he did not have her jokingly judging his every move so he could sort of relax. Not really, though, given he was worrying quite a bit about Gem. It felt strange. He had found comfort in the comments Gem would make on random pointless things.

Selfishly, he hoped she would not be with Pearl every day and night. He wondered when she would return. Scott and him had chatted the night before and he had been informed she was staying over with Pearl, along with Scott taking the opportunity to gossip, but he had not been given much more information than that. More so, Scott had not had any more information than that.

Of course he worried about Gem. She had been living in his flat for the past however many years and had taught him more life lessons than he actually felt he needed to know. He had not been close to her back in their younger school years, not only because he was older by a few years than her, but also because he did not think they would have gotten on very well anyway.

He heard footsteps outside the flat door and he perked up quickly, looking at the door intently. There was a fumbling with the lock and then the door opened, Gem stepping in. Martyn only tried to pretend for a brief moment that he had not been watching the door, though he gave up when she smiled and nodded to him.

“Hey Gem,” Martyn nodded back. “How’d it all go?”

“Good,” she responded. He noticed she was putting weight on her injured ankle. Gem must have seen him staring as she went on, “Pearl got Lizzie to come in and help with my injuries.

She showed the clean bandages on her arm and the weight she was putting on both legs. Martyn was very happy she had taken the help, even though he knew she likely did not enjoy it.

“That’s great!” He got up, walking toward the kitchen. “You want tea?”

“Oh, sure, yeah,” she sat down on the couch, having a slightly distracted look in her eye that Martyn only noticed then.

Something had happened. Or changed. Martyn could tell. It did not seem to be bad, so he would not push for information, but there was something up with her.

He went through the motions of making tea, handing a mug to her once he was done. She quickly thanked him and continued to look distant. Her hand was tracing circles around the rim of the mug, and she had a slight smile on her face. Maybe Scott’s gossip had been correct…

Martyn walked back to the kitchen to clean a bit, racking his brain for what might have happened while Gem was gone that would make her act this… off.

When he walked back over, Gem gave no indication of noticing him. He placed his hands on his hips and stared at her, waiting. She still did not notice him.

“Okay, what happened?” He finally asked, squinting his eyes at Gem.

Gem startled, turning and looking at Martyn suddenly.

“Holy stars— you can’t just sneak up on me like that, Martyn!” She scolded.

“I’ve been standing here for a whole minute,” he said flatly.

“Oh,” Gem averted her gaze for a moment. “And nothing happened. What do you mean?”

“You’re acting different. Something changed,” he folded his arms. They both stared in a locked state of silence before Martyn started thinking. Gem was not just acting differently… maybe… she was just acting like herself? Like herself before the accident?

“Nothing is different,” she said plainly, and like she believed it.

He decided to let it go. Martyn had work to do anyway, and Gem had a right to privacy. Especially when it came to anything related to the accident or Pearl.

“If you say so,” he turned to go to his room, his mind still turning over thoughts about what changed.

For now, he would not push.

Chapter Text

Gem felt that her mind was more all over the place than usual. She was attempting to balance the life she had made for herself with planning to see Pearl again. But it was kind of a mess that left her feeling exhausted more than half the time.

After a few days she had finally gotten a plan set in place to go back to the palace, escorted by Ren so no questions were asked, and she would stay overnight again.

Once she had set foot in the palace for the second time in the last week she felt her shoulders relax. Ren led her in silence to Pearl’s room. Gem did not mind the silence, though it did seem slightly uncharacteristic for Ren. She hoped Pearl had not punished him or told him off any further for not giving Gem the letters.

Gem hated to say it, but she genuinely felt bad for Ren.

When she was in Pearl’s room again she felt herself truly smile. Pearl had been pacing when she had opened the door, and stopped to turn quickly to Gem. She hugged her and they started chatting immediately.

“Heads up that Scott, Cleo, and Impulse are all coming to hang out later. Usually Bdubs would as well but he apparently has a conflict in schedule this time,” Pearl gave Gem a look that told her everything she needed to know.

“I assume the conflict is a certain white-haired Knight of yours,” Gem laughed, remembering how rampant the gossip between everyone used to be. It probably still was, if she was honest.

“Bdubs will not confirm or deny but we all assume so, yes,” she nodded, a smirk on her lips.

“How late is that hang out?” Gem asked, wondering how much of her time with Pearl it would take up.

“After dark,” Pearl replied. “You know, after sunset so I don’t have to leave in the middle of it.”

“Mhm,” she knew that Pearl meant her usual routine of going to the celestial church hall to say her prayers to the moon.

“You could come with me, if you would like. Like old times,” she smiled at Gem and Gem felt her heart ache.

“Isn’t… isn’t that too dangerous?” Gem looked at Pearl apologetically.

She would love to go with Pearl like the two used to. The minutes of silence they shared in that quiet hall, sunlight fading in from the window.

Pearl sighed, “Yes, probably.”

Gem gave her a weak smile, taking her hand gently.

“At some point,” she promised.

“At some point,” Pearl agreed, reaching forward to move some of Gem’s hair out of her face. She giggled slightly at the action, and Pearl gave her a bemused look. “What?”

“My hair was tickling my face when you did that,” Gem swept some of her hair away with her own hand.

Pearl laughed at her, dragging her over to sit on the bed with her.

“You laugh at the smallest things,” Pearl teased her.

“No I do not!” Gem crossed her arms, trying to look like she was not going to start laughing at any moment.

“Gem,” she sent her a telling look. “Yes you do.”

Gem huffed jokingly. “Prove it.”

Pearl smirked at that, “Alright.”

Then, she started to get quite close to Gem’s face, just hovering there and watching her carefully. Gem felt her face warm and she hoped it was not too obvious to Pearl.

“Boo,” Pearl finally said, moving away and laughing at the way Gem had started nervously giggling.

After a minute they had both divulged into uncontrollable giggling at each other and Gem had thoroughly proven Pearl’s point correct.

“Ugh,” Gem over-dramatically said once she had been able to stop herself from laughing. “Why are you always right,” she rolled her eyes, jokingly turning her back to Pearl.

“Awh, Gem, it’s okay, I’m not always right,” Pearl started, setting her hand on Gem’s shoulder. “Just most of the time,” she could hear the smile in Pearl’s voice.

“You’re the worst,” Gem turned back to Pearl and she was smirking at her. Gem returned an eye roll and smiled.

“Sure, but you love me for it,” Pearl said.

Gem’s heart fluttered in a way it had not before in the times they had used the word love. For some reason it felt different now, even when they were still the same friends they had always been.

“I do,” Gem grinned, trying to hide the fact she was mildly flustered.

She threw her arms around Pearl and hugged her tight. Pearl made a slightly surprised noise before hugging her back, wrapping her wings around Gem. Her hand combed Gem’s hair and Gem could hear Pearl’s heartbeat as she rested her head against her. She sighed and squeezed her arms around Pearl.

“I don’t wanna move,” Gem mumbled, slightly sorrowfully. 

Pearl laughed, “You don’t have to, moonlight.”

“Mmm,” she hummed. “But I will, when you go at sunset,” Gem noted.

“That’s only for a moment, Gem,” her smile was clear in her voice.

“A moment I can’t be with you,” she looked up at Pearl.

“We’ll have hundreds more,” Pearl reassured.

“You don’t know that,” Gem instantly regretted the words. It darkened the mood in a way that Gem disliked.

Pearl moved Gem so that she was no longer wrapped around her, but still leaning against her. She gently grabbed Gem’s chin and made her look right at her.

“Every moment I am away from you I am longing for you. As far as I can control I will be with you. I will find my way to you no matter what. You are my sun, Gem. My world and my life,” her voice was gentle and her smile beautiful.

“Stars, Pearl,” Gem’s voice was quiet with astonishment. “You can’t just… say stuff like that, I have no words.”

She laughed once again, letting go of Gem’s chin so she could once again rest against her. “You don’t have to have words,” she responded, shrugging.

They continued on talking for a few more hours, right up until sunset was beginning.

~

Pearl closed her door gently. She turned and walked down the long hallway, making her way to the celestial church hall. It was luckily connected to the palace, so it was easy to get to. She passed a few people on the way, though she did not pay too close attention. Pearl did want to get back to Gem as soon as possible.

Even if she knew better, she wished Gem could come with. Sure, most of the people in the palace would be fine with Gem being around, or at least would not tell anyone who would do something about it. But others… maids she did not know, people passing through, her own brothers— or at least one of them, they would all talk. If it got out that Gem was there, that could be dangerous to Gem’s life. So Pearl would not risk it.

She stepped onto the old tile of the celestial church hall. It was often empty. She could hold events there if she wanted, but she did not want to. The hall was more of a historical place than something that should be used. Gem being gone only slightly contributed to her hesitancy to hold events. The last big event she remembered was when she was crowned Queen. Years ago, after her parents had passed.

The sun could be seen through the far window of the hall, and the moon through the opposite window. She walked to the window where she could see the moon. Her hand danced across the edge of the pool of water in front of the window. The stone that held the water in was intricately decorated and carved, old patterns with unknowable meanings. Everything in the hall always felt like it had stories to tell but not the words to tell them. Deeper meanings that she would probably never learn.

As she stood centered in the window that towered above her, she stared into the clear night sky. She shut her eyes and traced the edge of the water below her, softly speaking words into the quiet air. It was almost an automatic process for her at this point, she had been taught the standard words of prayer since she was young. Prayers for the kingdom and the sky above.

Being assigned the moon as her celestial identity had once been a heavy weight on her shoulders, but she had taken it gracefully and had grown into it. She supposed Grian’s being the sun had probably been more stressful, as he was expected to speak and lead more than he seemed to like to. It was always interesting to her how the cards had been drawn, metaphorically speaking, in regard to who was assigned what. The two were twins, obviously, and Pearl was the older of the two. She was always destined to rule the kingdom. Yet she was assigned the moon, the arguably less important and less powerful of the moon and sun. While Grian was assigned the sun. His role in the kingdom was still important, sure, but it did not justify the weight of bearing the title of the sun. 

Gem was also assigned the sun, Pearl knew. Some people were more private than others about their celestial alignments, but Gem had told her. It made sense for Gem. She was the true sun in Pearl’s eyes. The only light she required to see and be. Pearl felt comforted by Gem being assigned the sun.

Her mind wandered to Jimmy, as well. Her younger brother. He had been assigned the stars. Jimmy did not have the same stress or pressure put on him by his alignment, though she knew that did not make him any less distanced and frightened as he was at times. It had almost come as a surprise to her when he accepted her invite to join her Lunar Knights. She had encouraged him to accept, as he had just turned 18 at the time and spent most of his teenage years studying rather than being social with people. Her Knights had taken him in quickly, even if the three kept to themselves in the first place. It was nice seeing him actually live, now.

Pearl’s attention was drawn back to her surroundings when she heard the light patter of footsteps on the stone floor. She did not turn immediately, having a vague assumption of who it was based off of how the walking sounded. But, she did open her eyes after a moment. Any sunlight that had previously filled the room was gone now, and the moon was clear ahead through the window. It was a comforting sight to her. Then, her eyes fell on the reflection in the water as the footsteps came to a halt a few steps behind her.

“Hello, Ren,” she said calmly. Her voice was quiet, honoring the space she was in. In the reflection she could see Ren squirm for a moment. Slowly she turned to look at him.

He bowed to her quickly, “My Queen.”

“What do you need?” Pearl watched his expression shift. His eyes widened slightly and he opened and closed his mouth, caught off guard by the bluntness.

“Can I not join my Queen in her evening endeavors for no reason than to be there?” He asked. Despite his words it was clear he did have something else to say.

“Ren,” she raised her eyebrows, waiting for him to get to the point.

“My Queen—“ he shook his head. “I have not seen you in the past days. We have not spoken,” Ren paused. He looked to be waiting for Pearl to answer his unspoken words. She did not. Instead, she left silence for him to continue. “I need to formally apologize for not bringing the letters to Gem. And… and for not giving genuine effort at getting Gem to come here.”

Pearl stared at him flatly. He looked fairly nervous. She could have this conversation here and now, or she could not. The room around them was quiet. Pearl pushed past Ren and started to walk toward the hallway.

“I have company to get back to,” she stated, trying to avoid putting much emotion in her voice.

“My Queen—?” Ren immediately started following her.

She ignored him, trying to also ignore how much she knew she needed to have this conversation.

“Listen, my Queen, please,” he begged, following her.

The exit to the hallway was close. Pearl could leave the room and she would not have to deal with Ren. She could push it off further until she actually needed to talk to Ren. It did not matter that he was supposed to be near her at most times. It did not matter that they had never been this divided. It did not matter that she missed him.

“Pearl,” his voice was quiet, almost sounding broken.

She stopped walking.

“I’m sorry— My Queen,” Ren said, returning to a more serious voice. “Please can you just—“

“I forgive you, Ren,” Pearl turned back to him. She was clenching her fists and gritting her teeth. Ren stared at her, his eyes were wide and his mouth was still open from the words he was going to say.

“Oh,” he whispered.

“Ren, do you think I was clueless when I gave you those letters?” She asked, staring at him. “Ren, do you think I was clueless when I sent you in the first place?”

“You…” his eyes were still wide, and she could practically see the dots connecting in his brain.

“I was hopeful, Ren. Not clueless,” she shook her head.

“You forgive me?” He quietly asked.

“I forgive you,” she confirmed.

They stood and stared at each other.

“You broke your promise,” Ren crossed his arms, but not defensively. Instead it was more like he was trying to comfort himself. “You didn’t let me be there when you first met with Gem.”

“That wasn’t the first time I met with Gem, Ren,” she confessed, shaking her head and sighing.

“What?” There was the pain of betrayal heavy in his eyes. 

“I snuck out the day before,” Pearl told him.

Ren stared at her silently.

“Am I even your personal knight at this point?” He asked.

“I’m sorry Ren,” she said simply, turning and walking away.

Her hands were shaking and her breathing was fast. She felt her steps moving her along though she was not thinking of it too hard. Everything felt so far away and she barely even noticed her name being called until there was a hand on her shoulder. She spooked and turned quickly, not even having half the mind to grab a weapon incase of a threat.

It was only Scott.

“Stars, Pearl— you alright?” He asked, grabbing her arms as she was still shaking.

“I’m fine, I am fine,” she nodded, taking a deep breath.

He gave her a look, “uh, wrong answer? What happened, Pearl? Come on, I was heading to your room anyway. Cleo and Impulse are already there.”

Scott let go of one of her arms and guided her to start walking. She complied, taking the hand on her other arm as something to ground her.

“It was really nothing,” she attempted to reassure.

“Pearl, I will not leave you alone until you tell me,” he responded plainly.

“I was just talking to Ren and— it wasn’t that important. Just a conversation that left me a little shaken up, alright?” Pearl looked at Scott.

He still looked unconvinced and rolled his eyes, “fine, Pearl. If you say so.”

She elbowed him playfully after a second, changing the dynamic.

“Hey, what was that for!” He shoved back and she laughed.

“You guys were supposed to wait for me to get back to my room!” She did not care that much, but it was what she had told the three.

“Okay, well, Impulse wanted to see Gem and so did Cleo, so… too bad!” He replied, shrugging over dramatically and grinning.

“Impulse? Really?” She tilted her head, she had not thought Impulse, or even Cleo, had that close of a friendship with Gem. So, it was surprising that the two were eager to see Gem.

“Pearl, you do know you weren’t the only one who was close with Gem,” he had an amused smirk on his face. It was almost the smirk he got when he knew some inside detail and was trying to communicate that, but Pearl did not know what he could be referencing.

“Well—“ she rolled her eyes. “Whatever, we’re here anyway.”

She nodded toward her door. Scott raised his eyebrows and hummed, reaching over to open the door for Pearl.

“After you,” he jokingly said, opening the door to a room with Gem sitting on Pearl’s bed and the other two standing. Pearl went inside.

~

Gem watched as Pearl walked into the room, ignoring the previous conversation she had been having. Pearl looked shaken up, and Gem noted that she should ask her about it later. Scott followed her in and closed the door behind the two.

“Hey, Gem,” Scott greeted, though Gem felt the least inclined to give him a big response compared to the others given she usually saw him at least once a week anyway. She supposed that she had also seen both Impulse and Cleo a few times outside of the palace, but still, she saw Scott far more.

“Hi, Scott,” she nodded back, then she turned to the rest of the group.

Impulse and Cleo greeted Pearl and they all settled down in a circle on the floor— apparently typical to their hangouts? Gem joined them quickly, and mostly stayed quiet, observing the conversation. At least at first.

“So, Bdubs not being here—“ Pearl could not even get a full sentence out before the others started snickering at the topic.

“He was so dodgy about it,” Cleo said. “But I asked Etho if he was busy tonight and he said he was, so I think that only enforces what we all already knew.”

“Why does he feel the need to be so sketchy about what’s going on?” Scott leaned back on his arms.

“I mean, him and Etho have been a total thing for way long now, I think Etho’s just a little shy about it,” Impulse laughed. “Or Bdubs is, who knows!”

“Bdubs knew we had this hangout— as we always do! And he still made plans, clearly if he didn’t want gossip he would’ve had better planning management,” Cleo rolled their eyes.

Gem watched Cleo for a moment, remembering what Pearl had said. Cleo was a shapeshifter. When it was pointed out, it was clear. She had not previously been sure what Cleo was a hybrid of, but shapeshifting made her appearance make more sense. It did make her wonder a little… but no. No.

“Maybe he wants to be gossiped about,” Scott shook his head.

“Would not surprise me,” Impulse nodded.

The conversation continued, and Gem noticed that Pearl moved closer to her side, probably noticing Gem’s silence. She reached out her hand toward Gem’s and Gem accepted the offer, squeezing her hand. 

It was strange being surrounded by people she used to be so used to. In some ways it felt like nothing had changed, in others, everything was different. She did not resent anyone for not taking part of the blame from the accident, she had advised them to let her take the blame for voids sake, but she did wonder if they ever felt as guilty as she did. 

Around her, the conversation had moved on to something to do with Scott and Cleo’s work. Pearl was engaged in the conversation as well, but Impulse seemed to be distracted from it. When Gem properly looked over to Impulse he shook his head and also looked at her.

“They always get like this,” he said, a little quietly so as to not fully disturb the other conversation. “Talking about history, architecture, and stuff, it’s not the most entertaining.”

Gem hummed, “It’s alright. I’m just adjusting to even being here.”

Impulse nodded. “It is good to see you, by the way, if I didn’t already say it earlier. Everyone around misses you.”

Gem smiled, it was good hearing that. Knowing that more people than not missed her. Even if Scott had already implied it in previous conversations, hearing it from someone else was nice.

“Well, I missed you too. I didn’t have anywhere to get advice, you know,” she half-joked. 

“Aw, Martyn’s not too bad with advice, is he?” He gave her a look.

“I think I’m the one giving any advice in that dynamic,” she rolled her eyes, though she continued, a fond tone in her voice, “But, yes, he isn’t the worst advice giver ever.”

“I think he’d take that as a compliment,” Impulse laughed.

“I’m sure he would,” Gem shook her head, almost wishing Martyn could be at this hangout with her. He enjoyed the people there, and if Gem remembered correctly he had invited Cleo over before, and Impulse, as well.

“Hey, uh, I’m sorry for not reaching out personally at all,” Impulse said, interrupting Gem’s thoughts.

Gem paused.

“It’s alright, I tried to stay away from most people at the palace for a while, and still even now, anyway. It’s safer,” she smiled weakly, hoping he would understand.

“Yeah, I get where you’re coming from. If you do ever need to chat, I’m here Gem,” he reassured.

“I know. I have Martyn as well, and trust me he’s heard plenty of talk from me,” she laughed slightly and shook her head. Impulse leaned forward slightly, listening intently. That sparked Gem to feel the need to go on, “I do care about him, though,” she did not know fully why she felt the need to clarify, but it just felt right. “He’s done a lot for me, and I’d hate to stay away for too long. That’s why I’ve only been over here for one night so far, this being the second.”

Impulse nodded, keenly listening.

“You’ve adjusted to having him in your daily life, I get it,” he replied.

“Yeah,” she smiled, looking away from Impulse. “Yeah.”

“And you care about him a lot,” he continued.

That sentence struck her as strange, but she did not question it too much. She had just said that fact, but maybe he was just clarifying.

“Yeah, I do. He took me in when I was struggling and I would do almost anything for him,” she agreed.

Impulse said no more, so Gem sat back and let herself take in the other conversation again. It was becoming less about work and more about the others in the library. Gossip about people they did not even know the names of. It seemed pretty typical.

The night continued that way, late into the evening until they had covered just about every topic they could. Then, Scott, Cleo, and Impulse left and Gem was once again alone with Pearl.

“So,” Pearl said after shutting the door. “Did you enjoy that?” She had a hopeful tone to her voice.

Gem smiled, “Of course I enjoyed it.”

“You seemed a bit distant,” she walked over and sat next to Gem on the bed.

“I’m alright,” Gem responded quickly.

Pearl stared at her for a while. She opened her mouth to say something then stopped. Her expression was serious, more serious than Gem would expect.

“Gem?” Pearl started carefully.

“Yes?” She tilted her head, curious about what Pearl would say.

“They were all at the accident as well, right?” Pearl asked.

Gem felt a twinge of panic hit herself. But she took a deep breath and tried to keep her thoughts clear.

“Yes, why?” Gem kept a neutral face.

“Can you please tell me what happened,” she asked quietly.

Gem looked away. She knew that Pearl would continue to ask.

“I’m sorry Pearl, I can’t” she did not look back to Pearl. If she caught her eyes she did not know if she would be able to resist Pearl’s begs for answers.

“Why?” Pearl questioned.

“I… can’t,” Gem shook her head.

Pearl did not question any further, though Gem knew she really wanted to. 

At some point or another Gem would probably have to tell Pearl. Especially with the lasting scar that was on her forearm, a mark that, in her opinion, was likely in relation to the actions she had been told to do all those years ago. She would have to tell her sometime, or Pearl would figure it out by her own far too determined means. But it could wait a little longer.

Chapter Text

The days after Gem’s hangout with Pearl and the others dragged on. Now that she had gotten the experience of being back there, she craved it anytime she was not keeping herself busy. She knew she would go back soon enough, but until then she was longing once again.

“I’m heading out, Martyn,” Gem called from the front hall, lacing up her boots and pushing herself to stand up.

“Alright! Proper job or what?” He asked, walking around the corner to be in her sight.

“Just a talk with someone, shouldn’t be too long. Is anyone coming over later?” She took her knives from the entryway table and put them in her belt, glancing briefly at Martyn, who she could already tell was nervous.

“Tango and Mumbo are, yeah. It’s supposed to be a not work related get together, but I suspect someone will bring up something and it’ll turn into a work related thing,” he rolled his eyes.

“My bets are on it being Mumbo,” Gem grabbed her cloak from the wall and fastened it on carefully.

“Mine as well. Hey, you be careful, alright? Last time you went to do something like this…” he looked at her arm and motioned at it, “That happened.”

“I’ll be okay, Martyn. I was off my game last time, I’m alright now. And besides, this isn’t the same person as last time,” she waved off his concerns, pretending she had not had a bit of worry as well. She thought it was a different person. It was different handwriting, but… she was not really sure.

When she looked back up at him before turning he had an expression of doubt on his face.

“I’ll be fine,” Gem spoke in a softer, more comforting tone. “See you later, Martyn.”

He relaxed a bit and nodded, turning to go back to whatever he had been doing. But Gem did not miss the slight glance he sent to her before he turned the corner. It was just Martyn worrying , she tried to reassure herself, It’ll be fine.

Gem exited the flat and building quickly. She looked at the paper that had the area mentioned where she would meet the person. 

The area may have been an alley… again, but she did not mention that to Martyn. She did not want to worry him too much. Gem had been in this job plenty long and was not about to ask Martyn to guard her when all she was doing was a simple talk about a job. It was going to be fine. She had been fine countless other times. A lot of people asked to meet in alleys. Sure, more people asked to meet in restaurants, or even their own businesses. But streets and outside areas were common as well. Gem was going to be alright.

The walk there was not bad. There were a lot of people on the street, but Gem made her way through easily. Most people moved out of her way given the dark attire and the determined attitude she walked with.

Once she was in the alley, the bad feeling settled properly in her gut. There were fewer people around, and when she took a step onto the street she was told to meet on, she got the overwhelming familiarity of what had happened last time. Her hand was on a knife and she cautiously walked forward.

“Hello?” She called quietly, if there were any regular passersby she did not want to frighten them.

“Hello again, little mercenary,” the woman’s voice spooked Gem.

She watched her walk from the shadows, the same as last time. Her frame was still unstable, and everything about her uncertain. It was like she was a shadow herself. Gem turned to go back but saw a tall, strong figure blocking the entrance to the alley. They had a hooded cloak as well, but were likely not a shapeshifter given the dark full face mask they wore. It looked to be carved of some type of stone, mocking features of eyes and a smile carved into it. She turned back to the woman in front of her and felt panic actually hit her.

“I’m not going to hurt you this time,” she said. Gem did not believe her. “I just don’t want you running anywhere before I’m done talking. Last time I didn’t have to worry about that, given your injury.”

Gem tried to focus her eyes on the moving figure in front of her, but the only thing that looked stable was the clasp that held her cloak together. It had the same symbol that was scarred into her arm. Whoever these people were, they were part of this Solar Resistance, as Scott had called it.

“What do you want,” Gem growled, the grip on the hilt of the knife in her belt tightening.

“No need for violence right now. You know what we want. I just would like to up the stakes. If you don’t kill the Queen, or give good evidence you’re trying to, in… let’s say the next week, then we’ll harm Martyn,” she sounded way too cheery at the idea. Familiar, almost, for a moment.

Gem felt all of her defenses freeze. They knew of Martyn. They were threatening him. The threat hit her in the core. It did not sound empty. She sounded dead serious.

“How do you…” her words trailed off. She stared at the figure in front of her. Confident, yet her form unclear.

“I know more about you than you could ever think to understand about me right now,” Gem could hear the smile in her voice, even though she could not see it.

Gem wanted to run. To escape this and not do any more risky talks with people. But the person behind her could likely give the girl enough time for the both of them to disarm Gem. It was too dangerous. What she was going to say was dangerous as well, but would hopefully be the right choice compared to running.

“I won’t kill her,” she held her head high, trying to pretend the threat was not getting to her.

“Alright then! I see how it is,” the girl backed up towards the shadows. “We’ll see how long it takes for you to change your mind.”

She pretty much disappeared into the shadows of the rest of the alley, and when Gem turned around the person who had guarded the entrance was gone. At the very least, she was glad the woman had stuck to her promise of not harming her.

Her legs moved her quickly back to the flat, barely even thinking about where she was going. If they did not already know where she lived and she was just leading them there now, she was going to feel like an idiot. But something about the way the girl had spoke had made her know that she was being honest. That this woman somehow knew her. It gave her chills.

When she opened the door to the flat she noticed Tango and Mumbo’s voices. It was not ideal to tell Martyn that he was actively in danger in front of two of his closest friends, but she would, because she had to. This could not wait for later. She shut the door behind her quickly and made her way to the living room. Martyn looked at her from his place on the couch and seemed to notice how frazzled she was.

“Woah, woah,” he stood up quickly, visibly looking over Gem for wounds. “You okay? What happened?”

“You need to get out of here— or something,” Gem quickly said.

“I— what?” He looked at her, confused.

“They threatened your life, Martyn. She knows things about me. I can tell. They are going to hurt you because I can’t kill—“ she had forgotten that she had not yet told Martyn what the Solar Resistance wanted from her.

“Gem,” Martyn said. “Slow down, explain it all.”

She looked over to where Tango and Mumbo were, they had both seemingly froze in place, staring at Gem. They did have the right to worry, but Gem did not want them knowing every single detail about what was going on.

“Martyn,” she spoke in a quieter tone. “It was the same girl. She said if I did not do the job they would harm you. You need to leave and go somewhere safe— or something.”

“Did they say me by name? Look Gem I just don’t know how—“ he started to try to wave off the concerns.

“Yes, Martyn. They said you by name. She also said ‘I know more about you than you could ever think to understand about me right now’ so don’t you dare dismiss my concerns like they’re nothing. Just because I’m not physically injured doesn’t mean you don’t have to worry about this,” Gem was starting to get frustrated with Martyn. He was not listening because it was only his own life in danger. Just great.

“Okay, okay. I understand,” he looked to Mumbo and Tango. “I mean, if they already know where we live then I don’t think it would be much help to leave. They could follow me or even already know where I would likely hide out. I could just stay here instead, and make sure I’m never alone here,” he suggested.

It was not the worst idea he had ever had, but it certainly was not great, in Gem’s opinion.

“Why can’t you just go somewhere secret and tell no one where it is? I don’t know how many people are working with this girl, I don’t want like— five of them to show up here while you’re just with one other person. I’m sorry, Martyn, but I don’t trust your fighting skills that much,” she crossed her arms.

“How do you know it’s any more than just this girl?” Martyn asked.

“There was a person with her this time— a man, I think. He was blocking the entrance to the alleyway,” she paused. Martyn clearly noticed that she wanted to say something more. He raised his eyebrows. “I think that she knew I was injured the first time— before she could even see me limping. This time, I think she knew I was fine and that’s why she brought someone else.”

“How does she know these things?” he asked, seeming to look less to Gem for an answer than just saying the question in general. Gem did answer anyway.

“I don’t know. And that’s what scares me. I don’t know where she’s getting this information from, Martyn,” she glanced over to Tango and Mumbo. Martyn followed where she was looking and immediately turned back to Gem.

“No. It’s not either of them,” he quickly said.

“Hey— we can both defend ourselves,” Tango piped up, walking over. “I still don’t even fully understand what is going on.”

Gem showed him her arm, “A bit ago I talked with this girl— who’s like, visibly and constantly changing. And she cut this into my arm with her nail. She wanted me to do a job I won’t do. Today, it was the same woman. This time she threatened Martyn’s life,” she looked at him annoyed. “You get it enough?”

“Yes, yes, thank you Gem I get it,” he said, partially mocking. 

“Here—“ Martyn said, drawing Gem’s attention back to him. “How about Mumbo and Tango just stay with me for a while? Tango’s got his whole fire powers, so that’ll be a good defense even if the girl brings more people.”

Gem huffed, “It’s a good temporary solution,” she shook her head. “I don’t know about long term, though.”

“Hey,” Martyn set his hand on Gem’s arm, trying to reassure her. “We’ll figure it out.”

“Martyn,” she said sharply. “I’m scared you’re not taking this seriously, just because it’s your own life doesn’t mean you don’t get to care about this.”

“I understand the risk, Gem,” he said.

She did not believe him. But she let it go.

Chapter Text

It had been a week since Gem had left her and Martyn’s flat. To Martyn’s displeasure, he had also not left the flat in a week. Gem was really trying to play it safe. She had gotten another two invitations to go to the palace, but she had declined them with false excuses. Unfortunately, she had not been able to stop Martyn from having Scott over, so she had to explain everything to him. 

Gem was starting to get a little frustrated with being inside all the time. Martyn kept reassuring her she could leave if she would like to, though Gem knew he was probably just trying to get her out so he could do whatever he wanted without her fussing over him. She was going to go for one night, though. It took some convincing from Martyn, Scott, and even Tango before she was only somewhat worried. 

Now that she was actually walking toward the palace, accompanied by Ren, she was starting to have doubts. She could not even talk to Ren about it, just… in case. If everyone knew that someone was threatening Martyn’s life, or if they knew how Gem was trying to keep Martyn safe, it could just make everything worse.

“You alright?” Ren asked quietly as they walked toward Pearl’s room.

“What?” Gem spooked. “Oh— yeah I’m fine.”

Ren was silent for a moment. “You sure?”

“It’s… nothing…” she paused for a moment. He was close to Martyn. It may be alright for him to know. “Ask Martyn about it if you really care.”

He looked at her oddly, but nodded, leaving once Gem was at Pearl’s door. The afternoon continued on pretty normally from there. Her and Pearl talked for a long while. It was all normal until Pearl left temporarily at sunset.

Gem was lying back on Pearl’s bed, staring at the constellations painted on her ceiling and letting her thoughts wander. Wondering if she should talk to Pearl about things. A sudden knock came at the door and the person did not wait for an answer. 

“Pearl— do you know where Tim is? He—“ Grian came walking through the door and paused when he realized that Gem was very much not Pearl. Gem had sat up quickly and looked at Grian with wide eyes.

She felt a spike of genuine fear at seeing him.

“Oh,” he stared flatly at her. “Does she know you’re here?” Grian asked, looking at her judgmentally.

“Yeah,” Gem said sheepishly. She really did not want to talk to him.

“I was just coming to ask if she knew where Timmy was,” he crossed his arms. “You wouldn’t know, would you?”

Gem shook her head in silence.

“Is this your first time back here?” He asked.

Once again, Gem shook her head no in silence.

Grian stared at her, observing how quiet she was and probably considering how long she had been talking to Pearl again. Maybe even considering if Gem had said… anything. After a moment he turned and left the room, shutting the door.

Gem relaxed once he was gone, though she did not lay back down, now frightened by the fact that really anyone could just walk in.

When Pearl opened the door, Gem nearly jumped out of her skin. It was clear Pearl noticed that fact as she immediately gave Gem a look. She could read her far too well.

“What happened?” She asked, walking over and sitting next to Gem.

“Uh… well, Grian walked in,” she said, pursing her lips and avoiding Pearl’s eyes.

“What?” Pearl’s voice was sharp.

“He thought you were in here and was asking about Jimmy,” Gem glanced back to Pearl. She had a look of confusion on her face.

“Gri knows that I go to the church every evening,” she said. “Did he seem upset by you being here?”

Gem shrugged. “He just asked if you knew I was here and if it was my first time back.”

Pearl went silent, looking at the floor with a look of almost anger on her face. Gem did not quite know why she would be angry, though she supposed it was quite odd that Grian would come around at just the time Pearl had left.

The conversation swiftly moved on, probably because they could both tell that the other did not want to continue it. As the night stretched on Gem got more nervous, worrying about Martyn and his safety. She knew Pearl was going to end up noticing her nervousness at some point. Though she hoped she would not.

“You seem off,” she finally said, making Gem wince at the words.

“I am a bit,” Gem admitted.

“What happened?” Pearl snapped to full attention immediately, sitting up straight.

“The… the girl who did this to my arm,” she motioned to the scar. “I talked with her again. Not willingly. But I did, and she threatened Martyn’s life,” Gem shook her head. “That’s why I’ve been hesitant to even leave the flat. I don’t want them to hurt him.”

“Oh, Gem, that’s horrible,” she moved an arm around Gem’s shoulder, comforting her.

“I don’t know if they’ll actually follow through, but it’s making me on edge,” she looked away, trying to not let the tears in her eyes win.

“Would you like me to send one of my Knights to help guard him?” Pearl asked.

“You— you don’t have to do that,” Gem laughed slightly. “Tango and Mumbo have been with him every day.”

“No, I insist. How about Jimmy? Him and Martyn are friends as well so it would be good,” she took one of Gem’s hands in hers.

Gem was about to deny again, but when she looked back to Pearl she could tell that whether or not Gem said yes did not matter, she would send him anyway. It worried Gem, but she would not be able to argue.

“Are you sure? Would it not be dangerous given he’s also a Prince?” She asked, trying to let Pearl know she could reconsider.

“He’ll be okay, I’m sure of it,” she nodded, confident in her statement.

“Alright then,” Gem nodded back. “Let’s do that.”

~

Pearl shut her door quietly as she stepped into the hall, feeling lucky to have gotten that far without waking Gem. It was not that Gem could not know where she was going, it was just that she would try to stop her, and Pearl knew she had to go and talk.

She could not ignore the strange feeling she had gotten when Gem told her Grian had been around.

Grian’s room was close by, along with their shared office. She started toward his room until her eyes caught on the soft light that was coming from under the door to the office. Pearl took a deep breath and walked in front of the door. Then, slowly she opened it, glancing over the messy room and seeing Grian scribbling in a notebook at the desk. He looked up, seeing it was Pearl. She closed the door behind her. He closed the notebook and moved other papers in front of him.

“You sought me out earlier?” She stated more than asked.

“Oh, Gem told you that?” He responded, saying Gem’s name cruelly.

“Yes,” she said, mimicking his tone. “She did.”

Her eyes wandered over the papers Grian was working on, important things that they had previously talked about.

“She said you were trying to find Jimmy?” Pearl walked nearer to the desk.

“I was,” he had gone back to writing, promptly trying to ignore Pearl.

“You knew where he was,” her voice was quiet, and he froze. “Just like you knew I was in the church, not my room.”

“I didn’t know,” he replied. “I’m handling a lot right now and I just forgot.”

It almost sounded rehearsed. Pearl shook her head.

“You knew Jimmy was with friends— with Scott and others, even if he hadn’t told you,” she said sharply. “Why did you go to my room, Gri?”

“I just forgot, Pearl. That’s all. Anyway, I don’t think he should be out that much in the first place,” he said the second part quieter, though it was still clear he intended for her to hear it.

“He’s a grown ass adult, Gri,” Pearl responded. “He’s not even that much younger than us. It’s better he’s out doing things than perched in his room, clueless of everything.” Like you, Pearl wanted to say.

Grian continued writing.

“It could be unsafe,” he mumbled.

Pearl brought her hand down on the desk, “Why did you go to my room, Grian?”

He froze once again, slowly looking up at her.

“I saw Ren bring someone in and I was just curious, okay?” It was understandable enough.

“You could’ve just asked me,” Pearl turned to the door.

“Like you would’ve answered truthfully,” he shot back.

Pearl was silent.

“Fair point,” she said no more, leaving the room quickly.

It was still strange of him. But not necessarily out of character. He had always had an odd way of doing things that even Pearl did not get sometimes. However, she was glad it was not anything bigger than curiosity.

~

Jimmy showed up at their flat the next day. According to Martyn, he had been there the night before just hanging out anyway. Gem did not necessarily approve of that, but she could not stop it.

The plan for him was that he would spend most of the time in the flat, except for evenings and if anything suspicious occurred. Gem had to admit she felt a little better with another person there. Though… it concerned her. The Solar Resistance was trying to get Pearl killed. If they knew that Jimmy was a Prince… it could be dangerous. She could not exactly explain all of that, though.

“Gem?” Martyn said softly, walking to where Gem was standing by the door. “You alright?”

Gem was only slightly startled by him, turning to him and smiling. She knew he had noticed her hesitation to letting Jimmy be there, and he was most definitely curious.

“I’m okay,” she nodded. “Hey, uh, can you make sure that Jimmy is careful?”

Martyn gave her a slightly confused look. “Why? He’s the one helping protect me,” he stepped a bit nearer to Gem, clearly noticing something was actively worrying her.

“Just— do? Please? The job that the girl wanted me to do— well,” she motioned vaguely, hoping Martyn would get the point and drop it.

“Gem,” he said quietly. “What was the job? Come on, can you just tell me?”

Gem stood uncomfortably, debating whether to tell him or not.

“I don’t… if I tell you, you can’t tell anyone else. You can’t imply it, even, to anyone else. Don’t even imply that you know what it is?” Her voice matched his quiet tone.

“Of course,” he responded quickly, nodding and looking eager to know the information.

Gem glanced over his shoulder and into the living room. Everyone seemed distracted. Her eyes fell back to Martyn.

“She wants me to kill Pearl,” she fidgeted with her hands, not quite looking at Martyn.

“Oh,” he replied softly. “Oh— and Jimmy is…” his words trailed off, now understanding Gem’s worry. “I’ll make sure he’s safe Gem.”

“Thank you,” Gem nodded. “Alright, I’m off for now.”

Martyn hummed, “See you later!”

She quickly left the flat and building, planning on meeting Ren just outside the palace. Everything went on like it had the past few times, with Ren leaving her side when Gem got to Pearl’s door.

Pearl’s smile was brighter than usual when she opened the door.

“You’re happy,” Gem laughed as she stepped into Pearl’s room.

“Well of course I am! I get to see you,” she responded, crossing her arms and leaning against the closed door.

Gem blushed and looked away, laughing slightly.

“Yes, yes. But I meant more than usual,” she started slowly pacing some of the room.

“I was just… I was looking forward to seeing you,” Pearl walked to Gem, taking one of her hands. “I want you to try and come to the celestial church with me, like old times.”

Gem looked at her wide eyed.

“That’s still dangerous—“ she squirmed slightly.

“Please, Gem. Scott will be outside the hall looking out in case anyone tries to come by,” she took her other hand, looking at her hopefully. Looking at her in a way that Gem just could not resist saying yes to. Pearl sometimes had a way about things that Gem fell for too easily. 

“Alright,” Gem smiled. “I’ll go with.”

Pearl pulled her into a hug, slightly surprising Gem. She giggled and then they pulled out of the hug. 

“It’s a start—“ Pearl nodded. “And eventually I will figure out how to get the orders reversed— so you can be here. Fully.”

Gem smiled widely.

“I’ll be awaiting the day,” she hugged Pearl again.

~

The two continued talking for a while. Pearl noticed Gem was still seeming slightly off. She had been the last time they were together and again this time. Her best guess was the threat on Martyn’s life, though it did seem somewhat deeper than that. Gem would occasionally get a distant look and turn away, then quickly play it off. Pearl paid attention to it each time, trying to find a pattern but not quite succeeding. 

It was during one of those moments that Ren opened the door quickly without knocking. Both Pearl and Gem startled, looking to Ren confused. Pearl was nearly about to tell him off for not knocking, but then he spoke.

“Jimmy’s injured,” he said, breathing heavily. 

Pearl stood up in an instant.

“What?” She looked to Gem briefly then back to Ren.

“It’s bad, he’s in a medical room,” he motioned out to the hall.

Gem stood up now, walking forward before Pearl did.

“Was it while he was guarding Martyn?” She asked, processing that that was where Jimmy was last before it crossed Pearl’s mind.

“Both of you come with me, I’ll explain the best I can on the way,” he nodded out of the room and turned to walk. 

Gem put up her hood and the two quickly caught up to Ren, walking on either side of him but not quite keeping up to the pace he set.

“According to Martyn, he was just outside the flat door because they’d heard something,” Ren walked quicker than Pearl and Gem, but seemed calmer. “Martyn told him not to, but he insisted. Then Martyn and the others heard him shout, and…” he paused, clearly not wanting to specify. That worried Pearl. She could handle a lot, and if Ren was not telling her something she had a decent reason to worry.

“Is he conscious?” Pearl asked.

“Yes. At least when I was there. Distant, but aware,” he nodded.

“Ren, what is the injury?” She questioned further, hoping he would actually say.

“It’s to his side, he should be okay. But it was done by someone skilled,” he glanced briefly back to the two.

She relaxed slightly at the specification, it meant it was likely not going to be fatal. If it had been to the chest, neck, or head Pearl would have expected him to stay vague.

“By whoever was threatening Martyn,” Gem sighed.

He nodded, someone must have told him of the threat at some point. Martyn himself, likely.

The group turned down the medic hall and everyone’s pace quickened. Then, all at once they came to a quiet stop in front of a door. Ren looked at the two for a second before knocking.

“Come in,” a voice called from inside.

Ren opened the door.

Inside the room Martyn was standing awkwardly in a corner of the room and a medic was tending to a gash in Jimmy’s side. He was not conscious now, though given the unconcerned attitude of the medic, Pearl assumed that was intentional. Pearl stepped forward to the side of the bed Jimmy was laying. She observed how he looked, not too poorly, but not well either.

“Is he going to be alright?” Pearl asked, looking over at the medic.

“Most likely, your Majesty,” they responded, focused on what they were doing.

“Will he be awake again soon?” She gently put her hand on his arm.

“Yes,” they nodded. “In a few minutes. The numbing was not kicking in quick enough and he was becoming a bit unruly from the daze of the pain, your Majesty.”

Pearl hummed, observing the medic cleaning the wound. She studied the injury, but could not discern what weapon dealt it, as there was still a lot of blood around it.

“Can you tell what caused the injury?” She questioned.

“It was a sword,” Martyn piped up.

Pearl turned to him, her eyes snapping sharply to his. 

“How much do you know about what happened?” She crossed her arms, waiting for his answer.

Martyn sighed, “We heard a noise outside of the flat. I told him to not go out and guard alone. I told him that Tango should go out there with him. I had a really bad feeling. But he insisted and Tango and Mumbo convinced me it would be okay. Then… an hour later we heard a commotion and he yelled. When we found him outside the flat, a person in a cloak was disappearing down the stairs. I got Jimmy here and he explained a bit but— I think it would be better if he explained it to you first hand.”

“Martyn,” Gem said sharply.

“What?” He looked over at her, at first confused before realization set in that he was likely about to get told off by Gem, if Pearl knew the situation well enough.

“You should’ve had Tango or Mumbo take him here, not you. You know, the person whose life they actually threatened?” She walked over to stand next to Pearl.

“I was safe!” He argued back.

“Sure,” she rolled her eyes and turned to Ren. “Where’s Grian?”

It only struck Pearl then the fact that Grian was not there. When they had not knocked on his door she had assumed that he was already down in the room, and then her mind had blanked on it once they got there.

“I knocked on his door to his room and office but he did not answer either— even checked the library and Knight commons but I saw no sign of him,” Ren shrugged.

“Odd,” Pearl said quietly, more to herself than anyone.

“Probably training,” a, now awake, Jimmy commented.

“Oh my— moon and sun above, Jimmy! You scared me,” Pearl turned to him and took his hand. “How are you feeling?”

He groaned for a moment, “Like I got stabbed?”

Martyn laughed slightly at the comment, but a slight glare from Pearl shut him up.

“Has the numbing kicked in?” The medic asked.

Jimmy nodded and shifted how he was laying slightly. That only got him a sharp look from the medic. Pearl noticed how uncomfortable Jimmy looked with his wings awkwardly folded under him. She put out her hand for a moment, motioning the medic to stop.

“Can he be moved a bit?” She looked over at the medic. 

They just stared at her blankly and looked slightly annoyed.

“His wings,” she added, nodding her head to the yellow feathers to show her reasoning.

“Oh, yes of course,” they grabbed a pillow and carefully put it behind Jimmy’s back, allowing him to stretch out his wings slightly. 

“Jimmy,” Pearl started. “What happened?”

He rolled his eyes as if it was not that big of a deal. 

“There was an odd noise outside the flat,” he said. “I went out and just stood guard. Then… after a while… someone came up the stairs,” Jimmy paused, opening and closing his mouth for a moment. “They didn’t look like they expected me to be there. I couldn’t see their face, but the stance and the pause… they just seemed surprised. Then they lunged at me and we got into a fight. I hit them decently somewhere I think— but they, obviously, got me in the side. They ran off.”

“Were they hooded?” Pearl assumed so, given the way he described their face being unseeable.

“Yes,” he answered.

“So,” Martyn piped up. Pearl turned to him. He was looking at Gem. “We have the strange— uh, shadow of a girl? Person? That Gem originally met, then the tall masked guy from the other day— and now, this person, was it a dude or?”

“Yes I think so, based on how he moved. He was sort of short, though,” Jimmy added.

“Three so far then,” Gem said.

Pearl nodded, not going to question too much as she knew Gem did not want to talk about whoever these people were, and turned back to Jimmy, sighing. 

“I didn’t think you’d get hurt,” she spoke quietly, clearly directed solely to Jimmy.

“It’s okay,” he responded, similarly quiet. “I knew the risks.”

Pearl closed her eyes tightly while standing next to him, taking the moment to appreciate he was going to be alright.

Then, Ren cleared his throat, “My Queen?”

She looked over to him, he was standing in a partially opened door. Had he left the room? He must have, Pearl just had not noticed it.

“It’s sunset,” he continued, not needing to expound upon the statement.

“Thank you, Ren,” she brought her attention back to Jimmy. “I’m going to go for now, I’ll be back very soon. Let the medic fix you all up and rest, alright?”

Jimmy rolled his eyes but seemed to agree. She knew she was momentarily being a possibly over protective sister, but she also knew she needed to be. Whatever had happened was no small thing. It was not a training accident or a fall, it was an intentional stabbing of a royal.

“Uhuh,” he half nodded.

Pearl stepped away and looked at Gem. “Come with?” She asked, hoping Gem had not been too shaken up to not want to go.

Gem looked like she really wanted to deny, but then softly nodded her head and stepped to follow Pearl. She put her hood up and Ren held the door open as they stepped into the hall. Ren stayed put outside the door and the two walked away. That fact nearly made Pearl feel bad. She was used to Ren following her around. Technically, he was still supposed to, though she now was discouraging it. But, he had his own opinions about Gem. So Pearl was not about to let him follow while she was there.

Gently, Pearl grabbed Gem’s hand as they walked. She squeezed her hand and Pearl smiled. Walking through the quiet halls felt so much more comfortable and less dreadful alongside Gem.

When they got close to the entrance to the hall of the celestial church, Pearl spotted Scott outside of the archway and nodded towards him. She knew she would need to tell him— and any of the others as well, about Jimmy. But she would not do it now.

They exchanged a brief greeting with Scott before stepping into the hall. 

The sun was disappearing quickly. Pearl had the thought that it almost looked as if it was running away from the rest of the sky. As if it had done something wrong and was now going to hide beneath the horizon. She shook off her imagination, taking place in front of the window framing the moon. Next to her, she could see Gem’s hesitation. 

She turned to face Gem, reaching forward and putting down her hood. Gem looked surprised, but accepted the gesture.

“Stand here with me,” she asked, her voice quiet in the air. Gem nodded.

Pearl closed her eyes and started saying her prayers softly under her breath, holding Gem’s hand.

It felt right. 

It felt normal. 

It felt good.

Chapter Text

Martyn gently closed the door as he stepped out of the room beside Ren. The hall was mostly silent, Ren could only hear faint noises in the distance. Ren gave him a questioning look and Martyn sighed, leaning against the wall while crossing his arms.

“Medic wanted me out,” he said, kicking at the tile ground under him and keeping his eyes fixated on the ground.

“Making him laugh too much?” Ren asked, half joking. He had heard some sound within the room from the outside, though the rooms were supposed to be mostly sound proof.

“Maybe,” he smiled slightly and laughed, turning his head to the side, away from Ren.

Ren watched him for a moment, studying his half grin. He noticed how quickly the smile faded and worry set in on his face. Ren hated seeing him like that. Worrying over something he, for the most part, could not control.

“He’ll be alright,” Ren elbowed Martyn.

Martyn nodded, “I know. I just… I feel like it was my fault.”

“Hm?” Ren hummed, crossing his arms and tilting his head.

“Jimmy was trying to protect me,” he emphasized the last word, even pointing to himself slightly.

“He’s a Knight,” he moved a hand to grab Martyn’s and with that Martyn glanced over at him, his expression still troubled. “He knows what his job is.”

“He’s also a Prince,” Martyn added. “Gem was hesitant about him being the Knight that would temporarily guard me. For…” he sighed, looking like he knew he should not say what he was about to say. “For the reason of him being a Prince.”

Ren nodded, not fully grasping what Martyn meant by it, but going along with it.

“The violence inflicted by someone else is not your fault,” Ren told him.

Martyn squeezed his hand, sighing.

“Yeah,” he nearly whispered, his voice sounding broken.

Ren’s ears perked up when he started to hear footsteps down the hall quickly approaching. They sounded like they were coming from the entrance near the training buildings outside. He stood straight up, letting go of Martyn’s hand and peering down the hallway. 

It was Grian.

And he looked like he was limping.

Quickly, Ren ran to him, now nervous that there may have been multiple attacks. Maybe even more to come.

“Your Highness,” he bowed slightly, still trying to be polite and proper. “Are you alright? What happened?”

Grian looked at him oddly, as if he was not expecting such concern.

“Yeah—? I am just fine. I was training and did not follow proper sword practices. I swiped my leg accidentally,” he said, pushing past Ren. 

“Oh,” Ren’s voice was quiet. He stood still staring at Grian walking away before moving back to follow Grian. “Wait— Jimmy’s hurt.”

Grian spun back around and looked at him sharply. “He’s what?” 

“Side injury. He is okay but it is a bad injury,” Ren started quickly walking, motioning for Grian to follow.

He was silent in response, following.

Martyn was still standing awkwardly outside the door, looking between Ren and Grian. He avoided eye contact with either of them, and looked to be trying to be respectful.

“In here,” Ren motioned to the door and Grian entered the room.

Ren stayed outside, for privacy sake, and stood next to Martyn once again. Martyn looked to be worrying more again.

“Hey,” he nudged Martyn again. “Let’s go for a walk.”

Martyn nodded, agreeing with a slight smile as Ren grabbed his hand once more.

~

Pearl and Gem walked back toward the medical hall. Pearl felt almost nervous, hoping someone had stayed with him besides the medic. Even if Jimmy was going to be okay it stressed her out seeing and knowing how injured he was.

When she saw Grian exiting the room, slightly limping, she walked a lot faster.

“Where have you been?” She nearly shouted, completely disrespecting the usual guidelines of quiet followed in the hall but not caring at that point. 

“Pearl—“ he started, but she cut him off.

“Gem, go in the room,” Pearl reached to open the door, hoping to keep her out of the argument.

“He’s supposed to be trying to sleep,” Grian tried to reason.

“Gem. Go in the room,” Pearl said again, and Gem complied. 

When the door was closed, the hall was silent as Pearl and Grian stared at each other. There was mutual resentment in the stare between them. Cold and sharp resentment.

“Where were you?” She asked, her statement an accusation rather than a question.

“Training,” he answered simply.

“Why is your leg hurt?” Pearl crossed her arms.

“My own idiocy,” Grian mimicked her, crossing his arms.

She stared at him.

“I thought you did not train around this time,” she said.

“Change in schedule. Why are you interrogating me?” He asked.

“I’m just—“ Pearl shook her head, she could not deny the fact that she was essentially interrogating him. “What if something worse happened? What if he was on death’s front doorstep and you just were not around?”

“I could ask you why he was put in a place of that much danger in the first place?” Grian moved toward her slightly.

“Because he is a Lunar Knight and I requested him to be stationed to protect a friend of the palace,” Pearl argued.

“Maybe he shouldn’t be a Knight,” he retorted.

“What else would he do?!” She asked.

“Help with kingdom work that is not endangering his life?” He threw his arms out to the sides.

“He is a grown man,” she said. “He can decide what he wants to do.”

“Fine,” Grian responded.

He turned and walked away. Pearl ran a hand through her hair and let out a shaky breath. Their arguments had increased in the past few weeks, and Pearl did not enjoy it. She wanted back how they used to be, having arguments but not with genuine ill intent. Playful conversations and jokes against Jimmy, not tense disagreements and concerns for lives. She was sure they would push past it. They did after their parents passed and she knew that things were just changing now, after adjusting things would be back to normal.

~

Jimmy stared curiously at Gem as she awkwardly entered the room. The medic was not in the room any longer, and Jimmy’s abdomen was wrapped thoroughly with bandages. His wings were out to the side, still looking cramped up and uncomfortable, though he also looked like he would not be able to move very much.

“Hi,” Gem waved slightly.

“Hey?” He tilted his head.

Yelling started to be heard from outside the door and Gem winced.

“Ah,” he nodded. “They do this sometimes.”

“More than they used to?” Gem asked, walking over to be a bit closer to Jimmy.

He shrugged, “Yeah? I don’t really remember. I’m used to it.”

A silence lasted between them.

“Do you have any more information about what the person who attacked you looked like?” She asked, avoiding looking at him.

“Not really,” he shook his head. “He might have been an avian, I thought I saw feathers in the midst of everything, but also,” he moved his wing out slightly, though he winced at the movement, “I have feathers. Could’ve just been seeing my own. His sword was also— strange. It had a carving on the side of it in big letters. And it shone oddly.”

“Hm,” Gem hummed. “The shadow, the mask, and the sword,” she said, thinking of the three people she knew of so far in the Solar Resistance. She laughed to herself quietly. “They have quite the like for dramatics, I guess.”

Jimmy nodded, looking absolutely exhausted. Gem went quiet, deciding it was probably better to let him rest. She would just wait until Pearl got her or she heard silence outside the door, then she would go.

~

A few days later Gem went back again. Martyn had invited quite a few people over, so Gem felt a little more comfortable leaving. She was still nervous— still quite nervous. But she wanted to see Pearl again. At the thought of seeing her she could feel childish butterflies in her stomach again. She brushed off the feeling, though. Gem was often nervous to go anywhere now with the Solar Resistance as a threat, now. It did not mean anything… more. Definitely.

The meeting was later this time, after sunset. It was mostly because of the way that Gem’s schedule had ended up working out. She had done a job earlier that day, and Martyn’s friends were coming over late.

She knocked lightly on Pearl’s door and nearly fell in with how quickly Pearl opened the door.

“Hi Gem!” She smiled brightly, pulling Gem into the room and into a hug. Her wings wrapped fully around them and Gem laughed.

“You’re affectionate today,” she grinned and hugged her back.

“Mm— just happy to see you,” Pearl squeezed her arms around Gem tighter.

“I’m happy to see you too,” she mumbled back.

Then Pearl quickly pulled out of the hug, her hands on Gem’s arms keeping her in place.

“I was thinking,” she said, her eyes bright with hope and ideas. Her hands fell down to Gem’s and her fingers interlaced in hers as she stared at her intently. “We should go out to that willow tree, like we used to.”

Gem stared at her and sighed. “Pearl…” she tilted her head. She should not risk it. Not like last time, going to the church. Even if nothing bad happened something could have.

“Gem,” Pearl tucked a strand of hair behind Gem’s ear. “We can go check on Jimmy and take the pathway out at the end of the medic hallway.”

“Pearl,” Gem said again, her voice quiet in pity.

She knew she should not agree. But her heart longed to. She knew that, logically, it was a stupid idea but… when she tried to reason herself out of it the memories of how they used to be came rushing back to her. Desperately she did want to go with. The memories of staying up half the night just talking with Pearl overwhelmed her. She should not go. But…

“Gem,” Pearl raised her eyebrows.

“Okay,” she nodded, she could just play it safe while going out. No one would see her anyway. “Alright, let’s do it. Why not!”

Pearl giggled and hugged her again, but only for a moment. She pulled away and motioned Gem back to the door, a smile on her face.

“Come on, let’s go see Jimmy first,” she opened the door and Gem walked through.

They made their way to the medical hall quickly, and had a brief conversation with Jimmy. Due to the potions and the work done on the injury he was going to be able to leave very soon, and the wound looked nearly completely fine. Gem was happy to see him doing okay, the guilt she had from knowing he got injured protecting someone she had put in danger in the first place was lessening— though only slightly.

After they talked to Jimmy the two found their way outside and into the warm summer night. The sky was clear and the moon was bright. Gem smiled as they walked to the large willow that was on the edge of the hill. There were a few lanterns hung on the branches, something that Pearl and her had talked about putting up before.

“When did you put up the lanterns?” Gem asked, stepping in circles while looking up at them.

Pearl smiled weakly, “A year after.”

Gem nodded. 

“They look better than I imagined,” she searched them to see if there were any other sections she would have put one, but Pearl had done a thorough job of making the lanterns look perfect.

Turning away from the tree she could see the palace. It was not very far away at all, but there was enough distance that in the dark if someone was looking from the castle they would not be able to make out who Gem and Pearl were. It honestly gave Gem a little reassurance. She did not have to worry of anyone seeing her and bringing up concerns about it.

Pearl sat down on the grass cross-legged and closed her eyes, tipping her head back and taking a deep breath. Gem quickly sat next to her. Pearl laughed slightly and opened an eye to look over at Gem.

“You can sit closer than that, you know?” She smiled playfully.

Gem tilted her head and went wide eyed, “What?”

“I don’t bite, moonlight. You’re sitting awfully far away,” she opened her other eye and looked at her with a bright smile.

“Oh,” Gem said softly.

She really was not that far away. But she supposed she could be closer. She moved closer to her and Pearl grabbed her hand. In an instant Gem realized Pearl was going to ask again.

“I was wondering,” Pearl started. “You don’t have to say it all. But… could you just… explain a bit about the accident. Even if it’s small. Anything.”

Gem sighed and looked away. She looked at the forests and the hills. The stars and the sky. Anything but Pearl. She could tell Pearl… something, at least. With the Solar Resistance seeming to be making their presence known, and… him… probably being a part of the Solar Resistance, Gem wondered if maybe she should tell Pearl.

But…

She would say something.

Not a lot, but something.

“Someone told me to set up the TNT there,” she said softly, not looking at Pearl. “And…” she was nearly whispering. “And I think they knew you were going to be there.” She was certain he knew Pearl was going to be there.

Pearl was staring at her intensely, looking surprised but extremely interested that Gem had given her actual information.

“Was it one of the four that told you to set up the TNT?” She asked, clearly concerned.

Gem shook her head no.

“The person convinced me and the others it would be fun to blow up an old, unused building, that was all,” she only glanced back at Pearl for a moment.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone this? Why didn’t you say more?” Pearl asked.

Gem stayed silent.

Then, “I can’t,” her voice cracked as she said it.

She felt tears rushing to her eyes. 

“Hey, hey,” Pearl leaned towards her. “It’s okay. Let’s stop talking about this, alright?”

Gem nodded and Pearl wrapped her arms around her, hugging her once again. She cried for a while like that, slumped against Pearl under the willow tree.

“I missed you a lot,” she whispered.

“I missed you too,” Pearl said back.

“I love—“ Gem started before quickly cutting herself off. She did not need to get into that right then. “—Your hugs.”

Pearl laughed slightly, definitely confused by the way Gem had said it, “Thank you?”

Gem giggled and sat up slightly, “No, but— because of your wings and stuff your hugs are just really good!”

“Uhuh?” Pearl tilted her head and smiled at Gem. 

“Stop looking at me like that!” She laughed, covering her face as she was probably going a little red.

“Like what?” Pearl smirked at Gem as she peaked through her fingers covering her eyes.

Gem just leaned against Pearl’s side and hummed a non-committal answer. Pearl nudged her slightly, possibly wanting an actual answer. 

“Come on, Gem,” Pearl put her hand on Gem’s face and moved her to look up at her. Gem held her breath at the touch.

She felt how close their faces were. Gem could see how Pearl’s light blue eyes scanned over her face, and how her eyelashes fluttered softly. Pearl’s lips were parted slightly, a waiting question on her tongue. Gem felt her own face warm up immensely and wondered for a moment if Pearl was doing it on purpose. Though, probably not— no, probably, definitely, not. Right?

“Like that,” she answered, her voice only a whisper.

It looked to Gem that Pearl had possibly realized how close the two were. Her soft smile had turned to something more focused.

Gem leaned forward slightly.

Pearl did the same.

In a moment Gem felt herself get even more flustered than before, she could feel Pearl’s breath on her lips. They were so close together and—

“Hey Pearl? Gem?” Someone called from down the hill.

Gem nearly jumped back in surprise, quickly acting as if nothing had been happening, and when she glanced at Pearl she was doing the same. 

It was Impulse’s voice, she processed after a moment. He was coming up the hill and seemed completely oblivious to what the two had almost just done. Oblivious to the fact that Gem’s heart was beating extremely quickly and her skin felt like it was on fire. She looked over to Pearl, hoping it was discreet enough, and noticed she was mostly composed. Gem could still see the slight nervousness in her eyes and her fidgeting. She thought that maybe her eyes briefly flickered over to Gem, but she was not certain.

“Pearl— uh, Jimmy wants to get out of the medic room and stay in his own room tonight— but they need you or Grian to give the go ahead so,” he motioned back to the building. “If you weren’t too busy.”

She nodded slightly, glancing at Gem with a look that could almost be called confusion. “Yeah, I— I’m not too busy, I can do that.”

Gem felt her heart ache for a moment, but she did not dwell on it. It was not something she could dwell on. Being kind of in love with the Queen who is also your best friend is not really something you can put too much thought into without coming up with disaster solutions. So, she sat there as Pearl hesitantly got up and walked away back to the palace.

Chapter Text

When Gem woke up in her own bed the next morning she felt bad. She felt like she had been rejected and now she was going to have to deal with the shitty aftermath of feeling guilty— or something. In reality, she guessed she had not technically been rejected. She had not even consciously really addressed the fact she had feelings that could be rejected.

After Pearl left to help with Jimmy, Gem found Ren and went back to her and Martyn’s flat. It was easier. Pearl needed to have time with Jimmy and make sure he was doing okay. At least, that was what Gem told herself to feel better.

Of course when Gem walked into the living room— at about 12 in the afternoon— Martyn immediately clocked something was up.

“I thought you were gonna stay over at the palace again?” He asked, sorting through some papers as Tango sat on the kitchen counter drawing on a paper. Plans, maybe. Or just pointless doodles. Flip of a coin when it came to him, to be honest.

“Ugh— I was ,” she leaned against the back of the couch and put her head in her hands. “But stuff happened and I am— I’m just stupid!”

“Why?” Martyn slowly asked, clearly concerned that something serious might have happened.

“Not only did I partially tell her what actually happened during the accident— I also almost kissed her! The Queen! My best friend!” Gem started pacing and gesturing with her hands for more dramatic effect.

“Oh— you— ohh ,” he responded, nodding slightly. She was frustrated that he did not seem surprised at all.

“But she had to go help with Jimmy so I just left after that, because I don’t even know if she would’ve wanted to see me again,” she sighed and looked out the window.

“How is he doing, by the way?” Tango asked quietly.

Gem rolled her eyes, “He’s fine. Wanted to go back to his room so Pearl needed to help with things,” she shrugged and turned back to face the other two.

“She’ll want to see you again, you know,”  Martyn stood up, walking over and setting the papers he had near Tango. He leaned against the kitchen counter, crossing his arms.

“She— but what if it’s weird?!” She once again buried her head in her hands.

“Gem,” she heard the unspoken words of, don’t be dumb .

“I know, I know,” she mumbled. “I have to go— soon, I think,” she looked at the clock in the room.

“You think?” Martyn raised his eyebrows.

“I do, in a bit,” Gem corrected. 

Martyn stared at her for a while, a clear question in his mind.

“Where are you meeting them?” He asked.

“Don’t even— It’s not— No. I’ve worked with this person before, it’s not the— it’s not them,” she reasoned.

“So you’re doing a job, not just talking to someone today?” Martyn tilted his head.

“Well—“ Gem walked toward him slightly.

“So where are you meeting them?” He sighed heavily.

“An alley— but—“ she motioned with her hands. “The note was the person’s handwriting— and the area is near where they work.”

She tried to give him a reassuring look, but she knew it probably did not come across quite that way.

“I’m not going to stop you,” Martyn shook his head. “But Gem, you have to see that this could still be a trap of some sort.”

“I’ll be fine, Martyn,” she walked to her room to get ready.

“You’ve said that before and you haven’t been. You want me to be safe and then you go and put yourself in danger,” he said.

“I mean it this time, I’ll be okay,” Gem nodded.

Whether she believed herself was questionable.

~

She noticed as the streets got quieter the nearer to the location. Gem knew it was a bad idea to continue going, but she thought she would at least go a little farther. See if she could see the person as she got closer to the location, then it would be just fine. She had gotten a note with the handwriting of someone she had worked with before, and the place was near their work. Scar was his name and he was a fellow mercenary— along with owning a cat cafe. So, she should have had no reason to worry. But she still got a very bad feeling.

When she neared the alley before the one she was supposed to stop at, she felt something was off. She paused and stepped back slightly, preparing to turn around right there and then. Her hands fell on the knives in her belt.

“Hello?” She called, her voice loud in the nearly silent street. There was no one. It was strange, really strange.

In a moment she felt hands on her arms and a cloth being pushed against her mouth. Around her she could see someone with a dark mask, someone who was akin to a shadow, and someone who looked to be an avian— with a sword. His ear wings covered his eyes, but Gem could still see the slight recognizable smirk on his face. She tried to scream, really tried, but she was starting to get dizzy. Her arms were swinging, though she could not tell if the knives in them were hitting anything.

The last thing she could hear before passing out from whatever solution was on the cloth was the clattering of her knives against the stone ground.

~

Scott was walking to Pearl’s room. She had forgotten some papers she wanted to have with her while meeting with the public. It was clear to him that she was quite nervous— being on the throne and likely going to talk to a hundred, if not more, people.

He quickly found the papers once he was in Pearl’s room, and when he went to exit the room he noticed Grian down the hall. Scott slowly closed the door behind him and started walking toward Grian.

Grian had a dark cloak on— a bit odd since Scott thought he was already supposed to be down with Pearl in the throne room. He still had the slight limp he had had for the past few days. It was strange how he looked, distant yet focused.

“Hey, Grian,” Scott said casually as he got closer to him. He was not super close with him, but he knew Grian would not mind the informality of the greeting.

He startled and stared at Scott, his feathers fluffing out slightly.

“Hi,” his eyes were wide, making him look more owl-like than normal.

Scott just nodded and walked past him.

It was a weird interaction. Scott held the papers in his hand tighter and walked faster. His mind was wanting to wander to possibilities of what was going on, even if he knew a bit better.

While walking back to the throne room he thought of what Jimmy had said when Scott talked to him last about the person that had attacked him. 

Cloak.

Avian.

Sword.

Had Grian had a sword?

Scott looked back, but Grian had already gone into his room.

He felt uneasy the rest of the walk.

~

When Gem came back into consciousness she did not know where she was. All she could tell was that she was being dragged somewhere and there was something covering her head, therefore obstructing her sight. She started trying to struggle against the hands of the… possibly two people holding her. But her hands were tied firmly behind her back and there was a fabric tied around her head obstructing her speech. She still did squirm against them. The two dragging her did not budge.

“Ugh—“ she tried to make some type of loud noise, trying to do anything to get someone’s attention to help her.

“Don’t worry little mercenary, just a little farther,” The voice was the girl’s, not very loud and… different. Definitely different. It was more familiar. Gem racked her mind trying to figure out who she sounded like. It was someone recently familiar, but she could not quite place it. Still, it made her feel ill. The cheery tone that mocked her.

She assumed that it was the masked man and the shadow of a girl that were dragging her. From what she could tell, the avian, the sword, was nowhere around. Though, she could not see and he could just be very quiet. That did not seem… right, though. He was not there.

Gem did not know what she could do. She did not know where she was being taken but she could not exactly escape easily. Her mind was still hazy, and her head still dizzy, the best she would end up doing would be injuring herself. Which probably would not help her in any place she ended up.

After a minute of being carried along, very uncomfortably, the atmosphere changed. There were people. She could hear them quietly chatting. Gem started to struggle against her captors again, hoping someone would take notice and help her. But no one did. She was dragged up until a point and then she was dropped on the tile ground, her knees roughly grinding against the stone of the floor. Immediately, she tried to figure out how to undo any of the things restricting her.

Then, after a few seconds, someone removed the bag that had been covering her head. Gem stared up angrily at—

At… Lizzie.

She looked to the other side.

Impulse. 

They… oh .

Gem then looked forward.

The throne.

She was in the throne room. In front of Pearl. She was staring down at Gem. Her eyes were wide and Gem could tell she was breathing quickly. On her left side was Ren, and on the right Grian. Grian. His feathers still seemed ruffled as if he had been in a rush. Jimmy and Scott were also near. The rest of the room was silent, the citizens that had been there were staring in awe.

Gem struggled again against the fabric in her mouth.

“Who do we have before us?” Grian asked, as if he did not know, instead of the in shock Pearl and Ren asking.

Lizzie stepped forward, “Gemini Tay Stone. Under suspicion of plotting to kill the Queen.”

Gem looked at Lizzie, astonished by what she was saying. She was blaming her own actions on Gem.

“I—“ Pearl choked on her words, looking like she was going to cry.

She locked eyes with Gem and Gem tried to beg with her eyes that Lizzie was lying. That Pearl needed to get everything sorted out. Ren seemed to be looking at Pearl, as confused and concerned as she was.

In a moment Pearl stood up and rushed out of the room. Gem could tell everything was too much for her. The familiar place of Gem in front of the throne at the mercy of the royalty before her. Whispers stirred in the crowd and Gem hung her head. 

Ren cleared his throat, “I— In the event of the Queen being unable to make a decision the choice falls to the second in line and the top guard. Uhm— I…”

She got why Pearl left. She understood. 

But now she was at the mercy of a man who was involved with a plot against his own sister and a man who barely trusted her.

She looked to Ren with begging eyes. He just looked to Grian and Lizzie.

“Your Highness,” Lizzie bowed. “This woman has created extensive plans against the Queen. She has tried once before and wants to once again attempt to kill our Queen.”

Gem strained against her restraints, trying to yell at Ren that that was not the truth. Impulse grabbed her arm and she growled at him.

“Traitor,” she tried to say. It was the clearest word she had gotten out and it was clear from Impulse’s expression that he understood what she had said.

“She’s unruly,” Lizzie continued. “Your Highness, and Ren, I know you two already know how dangerous this woman is.”

Grian stepped forward. 

“Put her in the dungeon for now. She’s clearly dangerous,” he looked down upon her and she stared up at him, standing there with his arms crossed. She wanted to rip him to shreds. He had to have been the one who got her to this point.

Lizzie grabbed Gem and undid the ties on her hands. Gem immediately tried to get out of her grip but she held tightly with the assistance of Impulse. She moved one of Gem’s arms forward temporarily, rolling up her sleeve. Gem was confused until Lizzie pointed to the scar of the letters SR on her forearm.

“She even got the mark of her resistance’s name. Solar Resistance,” Lizzie said toward Ren.

Gem glared at her. The scar she had caused. The scar she had tended to. The scar she was now using against Gem.

Ren looked conflicted. He was going between looking at Lizzie and Gem. Gem stared at him with pleading eyes, still slightly struggling against the arms that held her. He looked at Lizzie.

“Come on Ren,” she spoke in a sickeningly cheery tone. “We both know who she is.”

“Uh— uhm,” he looked at Grian and sighed. “I— I agree with the Prince’s choice. Lizzie—“ he looked at her. “Knight Lizzie, and,” when he looked over to Impulse his brows furrowed slightly. Impulse was not a knight of any sort. There was no reason he should be there. Gem hoped Ren would see through it in that moment. “And… Impulse. Please take her to the secluded part of the dungeon.”

Gem yelled at Ren the best she could. He winced. Fully winced. Her anger and fear got to him, but he still did not stop them.

He said no more.

~

The two threw her in a secluded cell, putting her hands in full hand cover shackles.

“You could’ve joined us,” Lizzie said, looking upon her as Impulse finished adjusting her shackles. He removed the fabric from her mouth.

“I’d rather die,” she growled. “You lied.”

“I said the tests destroyed my shapeshifting. I feel that is an accurate description,” Lizzie looked at Impulse and then they both left, locking the jail cell on their way out.

Gem started trying to strain against the metal encasing her hands, but she could quickly tell it was not going to get her anywhere. From where she was she could see someone positioned outside of the door to the hall. It looked like Lizzie. She had lied to Gem’s face about no longer having shapeshifting abilities. Gem sat on the stone ground of the cell and breathed heavily. She did not know what she was going to do. What could she do?

The hall door opened and Gem startled. Ren stepped in looking apologetic yet determined.

“You’re a traitor just like them, aren’t you?” Gem struggled to get to her feet and eventually relented to sitting. She still felt light headed from whatever had been used to get her to pass out.

“I’m not— You’re the traitor here. I really thought you had changed,” he crossed his arms and looked down on her, she could see past it though. He was doubtful.

Gem laughed at him. A short, dry laugh that made his face twist in surprise.

“Did you believe what they said? That ‘mark’ on my arm, Lizzie did that. Remember when I had twisted my ankle? And then I got further injured? That was Lizzie,” she gritted her teeth.

“Why didn’t you tell anyone it was her, then?” Ren asked sharply.

“Because she was using her powers to disguise herself,” Gem explained, hoping she was clear enough.

“What are you talking about, Lizzie lost her shapeshifting abilities years ago,” he looked annoyed, and genuinely clueless.

Oh.

He did not even know.

“You’re part of their game and you don’t even know it,” she muttered, shaking her head and looking down. Then she looked back up sharply, “Why are you here Ren?”

“You’ll get three meals a day and be monitored while having them. If you need anything just shout. Someone will be out there at all times,” he said, adjusting himself to stand in a more professional manner. “Your trial will be held at some point in the coming months.”

“May I see the Queen?” She asked, trying to seem calm.

Ren hesitated, “…No.”

Gem sighed, “If the Queen requests to see me, will she be allowed?”

Ren looked uncertain and stayed quiet.

“If the Queen requests to—“ she started again, slightly more agitated.

“I don’t know!” Ren shouted. “I— I’m leaving,” he looked at her as if he expected her to stop him.

She did not.

So he left.

Chapter Text

Ren found Pearl in her room. It was clear she was crying. She had not bothered lighting a candle, and her curtains were closed tightly so the room was shadowed in darkness. It reminded him of a memory, a time he had been in a similar position, but he did not have the time to dwell on the past.

“Pearl?” He said quietly, keeping the door open so that the light shone in.

She got up from where she was, walking nearer to Ren. The fabric draping over her arms was wrinkled from however she had been sitting, and she looked a mess.

“I’m ready to go back out. To make the public decision,” she was still wiping away tears on her face.

“Oh—“ Ren felt panic spike within him. “It— that type of situation was an urgent decision… Pearl.”

Her expression changed.

“Ren?” She sounded more stern.

“It’s the rules, Pearl. Grian and I made the decision,” he tried to explain.

“What do you mean, Ren? What decision did you make?” Her eyes were wide and she sounded breathlessly panicked.

“In the event of…” his words trailed off, watching Pearl become more and more frightened. “You being unable to make a decision— well, the choice falls to the second in line and the top guard. Pearl, it’s the rules—“

“What was the outcome of your decision, Ren?” She grabbed his arm, pulling him toward her.

“She’s dangerous, Pearl. It was clear that what she was accused of was true—“ he tried to reason.

“Ren,” she stared at him, the clear feeling of betrayal coursing through her. “Why?” Her voice broke.

“It’s what’s best for the kingdom— if the accusation is true—“ he attempted to shake off her hand but she only tightened it.

“If nothing! Whatever this is, it is fabricated! You knew what I would have said if I was there, why did you not defend her? Why did you not argue the decision could wait for me? Ren, you do not trust me,” Pearl let go of his arm and he stepped back away from her, something close to fear sparking the movement.

“Pearl… I had to do what was best for this kingdom,” Ren meekly spoke the words, his eyes flickering over Pearl’s distraught expression.

“What about what’s best for me, Ren?” Her tone got quieter.

“Grian agreed—“ he got cut off.

“I don’t care what he thinks about Gem. Ren, I need you to get her out of there immediately,” she started pacing, her voice louder with frustration.

“I can’t,” he stared at her blankly.

“What do you mean,” she turned her head sharply to look at him.

“She will have to go to trial— the first decision has been made, Pearl,” Ren explained. He knew she knew this, he did not know why she was acting like this was new.

Her eyes were wide and her mouth open, though she did not say a word. The word heartbreak jumped to Ren’s mind when seeing her like that. A suspicion looming in the back of his mind likely fueled the description, though he found the word accurate nonetheless.

“Get out,” she nearly growled, her expression changing to something threatening.

“Pearl— you have to understand,” he acted calmly, hoping she would follow along.

“Now, Ren. You are no longer my personal guard,” She stood tall, looking at him with hatred. Pure, fiery hatred. It was not something she often expressed; Ren could not normally compare her to the fire and fury of the sun, but in this moment he could. There was something in her eyes beyond the usual reserved calmness that he recognized in her. It burned and wanted to destroy him, he assumed. But he was used to finding her upset, and knew he was often good at calming her back to her usual steady mind. In this moment, though, when he reached out he only found a sharp glare and a snarl on her face. He backed off.

“You can’t just do that,” Ren nearly laughed.

“Yes, I can,” she took a step near him.

“You— who will replace me?” He crossed his arms, sure this decision would not stick.

“Jimmy— or Etho, maybe Lizzie,” she looked dead serious.

“Pearl— No, you can’t just— Pearl,” he felt a panic surge inside him. 

“Queen Pearl, to you. Leave, you no longer have the right to be here,” She crossed her arms, the burning hatred in her eyes gone, replaced by a much colder, much more sickening look of pure disdain.

He struggled for words for a moment longer, but Pearl looked like she would make Ren leave if he did not move. Ren turned and walked out, shock washing over him in waves. 

As he walked down the hall, his footsteps were the only thing he could hear– the sharp clack of his boots against the tile. He felt in a daze, confused and angry and almost terrified. His eyes glanced over and noticed he was passing Lizzie’s door. He paused, debating whether to knock or not. Ren knew he should probably go to Martyn’s to explain where Gem was, but… talking things through with Lizzie always helped.

He sighed, stepping over to the door and knocking softly.

“Who is it?” Lizzie called from inside.

“Ren,” he answered.

“Oh! Come in,” she said back kindly.

Ren opened the door and closed it behind him as he stepped in.

“Hi Ren?” She spoke cheerily. 

“Lizzie, I… Gem is guilty, right?” He asked, shifting on his feet uncomfortably and getting straight to the point.

“Yes. I’ve seen the evidence. The plans are extensive,” Lizzie told him, far too casual for Ren’s liking. Though, she seemed genuine.

Ren was silent for a moment, thinking over the words. How had they found this evidence? What did it contain? He was doubting her word. It made him sick that he was doubting her.

“You’re… you’re no longer a shapeshifter, yeah?” He crossed his arms, feeling as Lizzie’s eyes slipped over to watch him.

“Besides this,” she swiped her hand over a section of her pink hair and for a moment it went shadowy, then turned blonde. “No. I lost my powers during the testing. I’ve told you this before, Ren,” she laughed, turning the hair back to pink.

“I know, I know,” he gave a weak smile.

Lizzie seemed to keep her eyes on him for a while. She could definitely see his doubt.

“I’ll show you the evidence as soon as I can,” she nodded, looking away from him.

“Okay, yeah, thank you,” He felt a bit more comforted by that. He had not asked to see it, she had just offered it up. “Uhm…” his words trailed off. He knew he needed to tell her about Pearl making him no longer her Knight. Ren cleared his throat, “Queen Pearl has made the decision for me to no longer be her personal Knight.” His words were weaker than he would have liked. But Lizzie still heard him plenty well.

She turned her head sharply.

“Pearl did what?” Lizzie looked as if she had been struck, physically taken aback by the words.

“She thinks I am no longer fit for the job. The Queen… she thinks I no longer trust her,” he felt himself struggle with the words. For the past years he and Pearl had been extremely close, and now she was different. Too set in thinking Gem was… good.

“You are still under my order,” Lizzie stated. “She didn’t dismiss you fully, yes?” She asked.

“Just told me I’m no longer her guard,” Ren answered.

“Alright,” Lizzie nodded. She nodded once more, as if she was confirming something to herself. “You should rest, Ren. I’ll have you on guard duty for Gem’s cell sometime in the coming days.”

“Okay,” he replied. “Thank you, Lizzie.”

He turned to leave.

“Of course, Ren,” There was a smile in her voice. But it almost sounded cruel.

Ren looked back for a second. She was smiling kindly.

He left the room.

~

Gem was almost falling asleep when she heard the door open again. She was sitting on the floor, she could have laid down but she did not really feel like it. Her eyes wandered up as light flooded the room. The sun had gone down at some point.

Grian was outlined in the doorway.

“This is your doing,” she whispered.

Silence was the only response she received.

He walked over and entered her jail cell, she did not pay him too much mind.

“Food,” He set a tray on the ground, then moved to undo her shackles.

“This is cruel, you know,” She almost laughed at her own words.

She reached for the food and started eating as Grian stood, plain faced, watching her.

“She’ll find out at some point,” Gem said, looking away. They both knew what she meant. “Scott knows nearly as much as me what happened.”

“Scott is not a danger,” Grian huffed.

“Oh— I’m sure,” she rolled her eyes.

She was tempted to try and make an escape. Though, she could see Impulse, or someone, stationed out of the room.

“Have you seen her since this decision?” Gem asked, quietly, almost knowing and respectful of how much Pearl still valued Grian as a friend, peer, and brother. That would of course change at some point, but Gem felt sad at the thought of when Pearl would find out his true intentions.

Grian hesitated, “No.”

“Oh— are you scared of your older sister?” She spoke the words like poison on her tongue.

“We’re twins. She’s only a few minutes older,” Gem could tell that the minuscule , pointless comment had gotten under his skin. She supposed that was the best she could do while having to rot in a dungeon.

“Matters for the throne, though, doesn’t it?” She laughed.

“Are you done eating yet?” He said frustratedly.

Gem rolled her eyes, “Yeah sure, whatever.”

She pushed her tray away and Grian moved to put her hands away again.

If she was going to be stuck in this situation, she was at least going to be an annoyance when she could. Anytime someone would come to give her food, she would find a way to get under their skin, or even get information from them.

Make the best of a bad situation, right?

~

Martyn startled at the sound of a knock on his door. Tango quickly looked at him, raising his eyebrows, prompting him to talk.

“I’m not expecting anyone,” Martyn whispered.

Tango stood up and slowly approached the door. Martyn watched him, curious as to who was at the door. Sure, it could be someone dangerous, or it could be someone random. Maybe Gem locked herself out even— though she would have shouted if it was her. Tango glanced back at Martyn before opening the door.

“Oh,” Tango nodded and turned. “Just Ren,” he called.

Martyn let out the breath he was holding and stood up to walk over to the door. He nodded to Tango and Tango walked away, leaving Martyn and Ren to talk.

Ren stepped into the hall, closing the door behind him.

He looked nervous.

Martyn gave him a concerned look, “What’s up?”

“Gem’s in the palace jail,” he said quickly, ripping the bandaid off of what he clearly came to say.

“She’s what?!” Martyn felt panic surge inside him. Gem in the palace’s jail could be extremely dangerous for her. “What in void happened?”

“I… uh, she was accused of plotting to kill Pearl,” Ren answered.

“And how did she end up in jail?” He crossed his arms. Martyn was fairly certain the starting decision had to go through Pearl. Actually— he was entirely certain the starting decision had to go through Pearl.

“The Queen had… a moment of panic and ran out when the decision was supposed to be made,” Ren nodded. “Grian took authority to decide next,” Martyn got a strange feeling when Ren spoke the words. He shook it off quickly.

“Can I see Gem?” He asked.

“At some point— yes,” Ren replied.

“Void— I hope she’s gonna be okay. Can you check on her for me? Make sure she’s alright?” Martyn ran his hands through his hair. Panic was strengthening more and more inside him, but he knew he should not let it show. Gem could handle herself. He would make sure she was alright, but she always told him he was too fussy over her anyway.

“Of course,” Ren said slowly, looking hesitant.

“Is something else wrong, Ren?” Martyn asked, getting the feeling Ren was still nervous.

“No, no,” he smiled weakly. “Everything is alright.”

“Okay, you staying here for a bit or going right back?” He asked.

“Right back,” Ren stepped toward the door.

“Alright, I’ll see you. Love you,” he smiled at him.

“Love you too, Martyn,” Ren nodded and smiled, leaving the flat.

Martyn walked back into the living room and both Tango and Mumbo were staring wide eyed at him. They had definitely heard the full conversation.

“Gem’s in jail?” Tango asked, checking to make sure he had heard correctly.

Martyn sighed, “Yeah.”

“Oh my—“ Tango responded.

“She’ll be alright,” Martyn looked away. “She will be alright.”

Chapter Text

Gem woke up the next morning to Impulse opening the door to the dungeon room, and then to her cell. She had fallen asleep on the thin mattress that could barely be called a bed. She sat up quickly and moved to allow Impulse to undo her shackles, given he had a tray of food with him.

“You said you missed me,” Gem said as Impulse stepped away from her. She grabbed the tray of food and started eating, as if she had said nothing more than hello.

“What?” He looked startled.

“In Pearl’s room when we all hung out. You said you missed me. Was that a lie?” She asked. Gem did not even have it in her to sound accusatory. If she was honest, it was a genuine question.

Impulse stared at her, looking almost confused.

“You baited me into telling you about something— or someone I cared for. And then you let her–” Gem gestured to the hall where she assumed Lizzie was. “-threaten Martyn’s life. I thought you respected him, at the very least.”

“I… I… uh, I don’t— I can’t,” He tried to give her a look that seemed apologetic.

“Don’t play innocent here. Were you involved with the Solar Resistance back when the accident happened?” Gem crossed her arm momentarily. She had her own assumption about the question, but was curious to hear his answer.

“No,” he said sharply, shaking his head and tensing more.

“Alright, alright, you got involved with a plot to kill the Queen after you saw it almost happen. I see,” she had not quite yet gotten the response from him she was looking for. She needed to know why. Why he would help with all of this.

“I didn’t— no, that’s not, no,” he shook his head, turning away. He seemed offended by the suggestion, which made Gem think he may not be as much into the Solar Resistance as the others. The thought had already crossed her mind, but she had mostly written it off as wishful thinking.

“How’d it happen, then?” Gem asked, rolling her eyes. She did not expect she would get the answer at that moment. Impulse’s guard was still up, and she had clearly frightened him; but, this could be a good starting point to finding out his reasoning. 

He was silent in response, giving her a look of near pain. Gem pushed the tray away from her and motioned to her hands. He put the shackles back on her and grabbed the tray, exiting the cell.

Before he got to the door he paused. He sighed and looked at the floor, hesitating. Then he glanced back only a little over his shoulder.

“I did miss you, really,” he said.

To Gem’s surprise, it sounded completely genuine. Something in her wanted to trust him, to trust the sentiment, but she knew better than that. She had to keep her distance, not let her guard down, yet. He was still with the Solar Resistance.

She huffed and turned away from him.

~

Pearl only knocked once on Grian’s door before throwing it open and rushing in.

“What in the absolute stars were you thinking!” she shouted. She did not really bother with properly closing the door behind her, as it seemed pointless compared to the big issue at hand.

“Sun above— Pearl—“ Grian turned to her from where he was looking out the window.

“You knew what I would’ve said!” She placed her hands on her hips, her wings flaring out behind her for a moment. Pearl knew what she could look like with her wings flared out, at her full height. She did not often do it because it could frighten people, but in that moment she could not care less. And anyway, Grian did not often get scared of her.

“What are you talking about?” His eyebrows pinched together in painfully clear fake confusion. She knew he was not going to cooperate, he never liked to anymore.

“You know Gem is innocent,” Pearl said sharply.

“Do I?” He raised his voice, jumping into a full argument immediately. “How do you know?”

“I—“ she took a shaky breath. “She would never, under any moons, plot to kill me or dare to hurt me. You know her.”

Her heart fluttered remembering the last one on one interaction she had had with Gem. The willow tree. A previous evening, before Impulse brought her to get Jimmy out of the medical wing. Gem and her sitting there, near to each other. Their faces close and their gentle voices as they almost–

“We have evidence,” Grian crossed his arms, not quite smug but teetering on the edge of being it.

Pearl looked at him with wide eyes. She held her breath for a moment.

There was something almost cruel about the look on his face, though Pearl knew herself wrong to think that. He may not agree with her, but he was never intentionally cruel. She would not think that of him.

“Journals of evidence. Extensive plans,” he walked toward her slightly, his own wings stretching out for a moment.

“I do not believe you,” she responded flatly, trying to keep an expressionless face and likely failing.

“What’s not to believe? The journals go all the way back to when she first tried to kill you,” He paid no mind to the way Pearl flinched at the words, which genuinely hurt her to see. He used to be careful about the topic.

“That’s not true— she told me—“ She cut herself off, guessing it was maybe not the best idea to spill everything Gem had said immediately. She knew he knew she had talked to Gem, but she did not need to be telling him what their conversations had covered. “Show me the evidence.”

“It’s locked away,” Grian huffed, rather annoyed. “I would show the whole city otherwise.”

“Let me see her,” Pearl growled, knowing what his answer would be.

“She’s too dangerous,” he responded.

Pearl turned on her heel to leave, remembering then that she had left the door to the room wide open. Jimmy stood in the doorway, wide eyed and mouth open as if he was going to say something. She felt worry settle in her, as she did not like to have Jimmy around for arguments unless he had a point to add. Which in this particularly repeated argument, he did not.

“I heard yelling,” he said, stepping backward, looking apologetically at Pearl. “I thought someone was in danger.”

“No, everything’s alright,” Pearl sighed, glaring over her shoulder at Grian. Even if she had been the one to start the argument he had been the one to cause it.

She walked forward to leave, shutting the door behind her. Grian was standing in the room looking frustrated, but did not attempt to follow.

Jimmy still stood in the hall looking slightly stunned by the whole situation.

“Did Gem really tell you what happened?” He asked quietly.

“Not fully,” Pearl closed her eyes, shaking her head. “But it wasn’t her fault. Trust me on this, she has never had and never will have the intention to kill me,” she opened her eyes back up and looked at Jimmy.

“I know. I know, I believe you,” he nodded.

“Thank you,” Pearl turned to walk back to her room. “At least someone does.”

~

Scott was baffled. It had been not even a day since Gem was somehow put into the dungeons, yet it felt like it had been weeks. Everything was happening all at once. When Gem had been dragged into the throne room by Lizzie and Impulse, Scott had had a weird feeling. Impulse being there was weird. Even more so, Impulse now guarding the door to where Gem was being held was weird. He was not a knight, never had been.

“Let me see her,” Scott said as he walked up to Impulse. It was a calm statement, but he supposed he said it rather sternly. He assumed Impulse would allow it given they knew each other well.

Impulse seemed hesitant. He was looking around and did not seem to want to answer Scott.

“I don’t know if I can…” his words trailed off.

“Why are you even guarding her room? Me and Cleo had been wondering where you were,” Scott crossed his arms, getting a bad feeling about the way Impulse was acting.

He did not know how Grian had managed to get Gem to the jails, but he had. Scott did not know why he purely felt the need to blame Grian, but he did. When he spoke in the throne room Scott could tell how smug he was. Now Scott had to help Gem get out. Because he sure as void was not going to leave her there.

“Go in,” Impulse opened the door for him and shut it once Scott was inside.

Gem glanced up from where she had been sitting, and stood up when she processed Scott’s presence. She looked okay, at least, she did not look like she had been crying. Not like last time.

“Scott,” she said quickly, looking at the door. “Is he listening?” She asked, a lot quieter than before.

“No— why would he be?” Scott’s uneasy feeling started to grow. “Gem?”

She looked away for a moment, seeming to bite her tongue, but then some type of realization dawned on her. Her frightened energy got to Scott quickly, and he himself felt nervous.

“Scott, I need you to listen to me,” her tone changed to something sharper, intentional. He nodded and walked to be closer to the bars of the cell, loosely grabbing one. Gem also walked forward, as far as she could with her restraints. “The accident. If—“ she sighed and shook her head. “If I am not able to tell Pearl about it, for whatever reason, I need you to tell her everything.”

“Gem…” he gave her a concerned and confused look. 

“I’ll be okay, I just— just in case. Just in case anything happens or Pearl isn’t able to see me any time soon, tell her then,” Gem nodded. “You know most of what happened and— I can tell you the rest,” she looked to choke on the words.

Scott did know most of what had happened. Grian and how he might have…

“He knew she was gonna be there, Scott. I have zero doubt in that. And— I think he had been planning it for a while,” she shook her head.

That… it made sense. Scott did not like that it did, but it made sense. He liked to believe maybe Grian had been as clueless as the rest of them. But that was foolish.

“But why did he want to… do that?” He spoke slowly, cautiously, not sure if he actually wanted the answer.

“It has something to do with the Watchers, thing, he’s involved with. Some bad attempt at a grab for power— I don’t know,” she shook her head. “Along with that…” Gem seemed more hesitant. She bit her lip and glanced at the door.

“What is it?” Scott asked, recognizing whatever this must be was why Gem was the most nervous.

“The Solar Resistance,” she looked at him. “It’s Grian, Lizzie, and Impulse.”

Scott flinched back in surprise.

“Impulse? Lizzie?” He echoed, not quite believing the words he spoke.

“Yes. Shocked me too,” she closed her eyes, turning her head to the side.

He took a moment to think about it. It made some sense, but at the same time he could not help but grieve about the two being a part of the Solar Resistance. Lizzie was… she had been distant for a while, and as Scott thought of it more he supposed it made things make more sense. But Impulse? His involvement came as a complete shock. Impulse was… his friend. His peer. Someone he thought he could trust.

“Will you tell her, Scott? If you need to?” Gem had moved forward more, her hands behind her back as she strained against the shackles that restrained her to the wall.

“I will, Gem. But you’ll be able to tell her, I’ll get her down here. Or get you out,” Scott responded firmly, believing his own words fully.

“Okay,” was all Gem said. She was uncertain. “Another thing,” her eyes drifted away from him. “Ren. He’s not— I don’t think he’s part of the resistance. But keep an eye on him. If you can get him away from P—“

“Pearl dismissed him from being her Knight,” Scott interrupted, feeling that was probably relevant information.

“She did?” Gem’s eyes widened.

Scott nodded.

Gem was silent, debating. Calculating what to do next.

“Can you make sure Martyn knows I’m here?” She asked.

“He already knows— uh, Ren told him,” he watched as she looked slightly confused. “He’s coming to visit you soon I believe.”

Gem was quiet for a while, looking distant and thinking. Scott felt horrible for her. He wished she never had had to be there again, in the dungeons. He knew how hard it was for her the first time. 

“Make sure someone is protecting Pearl. Or multiple people. As long as the Solar Resistance is out there her life is in danger,” she did not look back to Scott. “You should leave now. I think it’s Grian’s shift soon— maybe Ren’s.”

“Will you be alright?” Scott asked.

“I’ll manage,” Gem responded.

~

It was another hour before Gem heard the door open.

Martyn.

That was who she saw stood in the doorway, with Ren closing the door slowly behind him. Ren… she would have to figure out how to handle him.

“Gem,” his voice was quiet.

“What did he tell you?” She asked immediately once the door was shut.

“What?” Martyn was clearly taken aback. 

“What did Ren tell you that you can still stand to look at him?” Gem asked again, almost laughing at how insane it was that Ren had been the one to tell Martyn where she was.

“Did Ren…” his eyes went wide. “What did Ren do?” He was clueless but he clearly realized some information had been tampered with along the way of getting to him.

“He’s half the reason I’m in here,” she told him. “I would even go as far as saying he’s the whole reason.”

“He said Grian made the decision,” Martyn said, very uncertain. 

“Pearl ran out from panic. The decision was left to not only Grian, but Ren,” Gem shuffled to her feet, standing as tall as she could in her disheveled state. 

There were a million reactions on Martyn’s face at once. It was clear his view of Ren had shattered.

“They showed the scar on my arm as ‘proof,’ and Ren believed it,” she looked to the side. “The fool is being puppeted around and he doesn’t even know it.”

“He…” Martyn was quiet. 

Gem did not realize how much of an effect on Martyn Ren’s involvement would have. She probably should have known, but she was so used to her own perception of Ren that she had forgotten how much of a skewed view Martyn had of him. In a moment she had likely destroyed that.

“They claim they have evidence against me,” She kicked at the stone floor. “I don’t know what.”

“Would you even have anything they could twist into their narrative?” He asked, shaking off his previous shock but still seeming out of it.

“No! I can’t think of anything,” she sighed. Gem had already thought of most things she owned or ever did, and she could not think of anything that could be taken out of context.

“Maybe they’ll fake evidence,” he laughed slightly, clearly meaning the comment as somewhat of a joke.

Though…

“Maybe,” she laughed with him.

They would not do that, would they?

“Are you doing… as okay as you can being here?” Martyn asked.

“I don’t know,” Gem answered. “It still hasn’t set in yet.”

“What even…” he did not finish the sentence but Gem knew what he was asking.

“When I was going to that job yesterday, I was just walking normally, and then all the sudden I’m ambushed by three people and kidnapped and dragged here,” she rolled her eyes.

She was properly comforted by Martyn being there. He was one of the few people she had been comfortable around since the accident.

“Wait so— the three people, was it the Solar Resistance or—“ he started to ask her.

“Ask Scott. Tell him I told you to ask,” She did not have the energy to explain again.

“Alright,” he nodded, not pushing any more. “Is there— Is there anything I can do?”

Gem sighed, “I don’t know. Stay in touch with people and—“ She looked away, hesitant. “Don’t stop talking to Ren. Please. He’s not evil. I may hate him right now, but I know he needs someone like you right now.”

Martyn looked resistant but nodded.

“If that is what you need me to do, then I will,” he looked away.

“Thank you,” Gem closed her eyes. “Thank you.”

~

Once the door was closed behind Martyn he stared at Ren. Ren must have known that Martyn would find out. He was staring forward, not paying any mind to Martyn. Martyn was seething. He could not deny that. Though, he knew yelling would not get across to Ren. So he calmed himself the best he could.

“She’s not guilty,” Martyn said, keeping a similar straightforward stare to Ren.

“The trial will prove whether—“ Ren started to say.

“No, Ren! This isn’t about what a stupid trial says. Ren,” he turned to him. “I would expect you to make a decision like this if it just impacted Gem. But… Ren, seeing her in there like that, it affects me as well. Going home and her not being there affects me. Can you consider the bigger picture here, Ren?”

Ren’s eyes had gone wide, looking at Martyn bewildered. He clearly had not expected the outburst from Martyn.

“I—“ his eyes moved over Martyn’s face, seemingly studying him. “I’m trying to protect this kingdom and my Queen.”

“Ren, please. Have you even talked with Pearl?” Martyn asked, he reached out a hand and placed it on Ren’s arm. Ren flinched slightly, but did not pull away.

“I have talked with the Queen,” he nodded.

Martyn stared at him for a moment. Ren was not saying something.

“Something happened,” Martyn stated. “What happened?”

Ren cleared his throat, “I am no longer the Queen’s personal guard.”

“Oh— Ren,” Martyn changed his tone into something more comforting. He could not not comfort Ren. It came to him far too naturally.

“I’m alright,” he insisted.

“Will you be over later— another day even?” Martyn asked, hoping he could talk further with him and convince him.

“I don’t know,” he looked away.

“I’ll be waiting for you,” Martyn grinned slightly, hoping it would lighten the tone.

Ren nodded, continuing to keep his gaze away from Martyn. Martyn sighed, pulling his hand away from Ren’s arm and starting to walk away.

“I love you,” Ren’s voice was close to a whisper.

Martyn stopped in his tracks and smiled to himself, “I love you too.”

Chapter Text

Pearl went down to visit Gem while Ren was on guard. She doubted anyone else would let her in. Even then, she doubted Ren would let her. But when she got there she did not have to say a word to him, he just opened the door for her. He did hesitate when closing it, but he still did close it. It pained her that she missed him.

Gem was sitting on the floor of the cell, staring at Pearl in what could almost be called awe. It was not awe, though, something closer to her expression when she was dropped down in front of the throne. Surprise? Shock?

“I’m so sorry,” Pearl immediately said. Walking up to the bars of the cell, she gripped them tightly and bit her lip as she waited for Gem’s response.

“It’s okay. I know you… weren’t able to handle it,” Gem responded, smiling weakly at Pearl. 

“I thought they would wait to make a decision,” Pearl shook her head. “I just… my mind went blank when I saw you like that again. It was like I was back after the accident, spying on the decision being made then and I couldn’t… I just… I’m sorry,” She closed her eyes, leaning her head against the bars and feeling the cold of it on her skin. She had been in the room less than a minute and she was already hating it. The only word she could find to describe it was gloomy. 

“I know. It’s okay, sunshine,” Gem did not sound certain of herself. Pearl wanted to tell her it was not okay, that she should have gotten over her panic and made the decision. She knew she would not have been able to do that, but she could still wish she would have.

“Are you okay?” Pearl asked, opening her eyes again. 

Gem laughed, “Everyone’s been asking that. What difference would it make if I wasn’t okay? I’m still stuck in here.”

“The difference is that I care and want to know how you’re doing,” Pearl stated firmly, and it was true. If Gem was not okay, she would worry every second of the day, and if she was okay, Pearl would likely only be able to put aside her worry to sleep.

After a moment Gem just sighed and looked at the ground. Pearl watched her, not wanting to just leave or stop the conversation that quickly. Gem almost looked like she wanted to say something more. There was a thought in Pearl’s mind that she might bring up their previous interaction and what… almost happened. Pearl did not know what she would say if Gem did bring it up. She did not want their dynamic to be weird because of it. And— almost kissing your best friend is pretty normal, right?

“I’m going to get you out of here, as soon as I can,” Pearl said, stepping away from the bars, letting her hand linger on one for only a moment.

“Pearl,” Gem said quietly, tentatively.

“Yes?” She stood up taller, more aware at the shift in Gem’s tone.

“Stay away from Grian,” she looked dead serious.

“What? Why— Gem, he’s my brother I can’t just—“ Pearl nearly laughed at the absurdity of the request.

“Pearl, listen to me, please,” Gem nearly pleaded the words, staring up at her with desperate eyes.

She looked at her, studying the genuine concern Gem seemed to have. Something was up. She did not know whether to question further or take Gem at her word. Pearl would trust her either way, but she was confused by what Gem was saying.

“Okay, okay, I hear you,” she nodded.

“Come back soon,” Gem said, looking at Pearl with an expression she could not place. Whatever it was, though, she shared it.

“As soon as I can,” Pearl responded.

Maybe they would address more next time.

Or maybe they would keep playing the game of shuffling around the real conversations they needed to have.

~

Ren knew he should not have let in Martyn or Pearl. But he had. He just had to hope no one else noticed. Ren could have denied them. He still cared about both of them, though. Even if they disagreed.

He nearly jumped when he heard footsteps down the hall again just after Pearl had left. Ren glanced over and saw Grian. Right. He was coming to do the next shift.

When Grian neared, Ren nodded to him.

“Your Highness,” he stepped away from the door. 

Grian took place quickly and silently.

“Lizzie said I could possibly see the evidence soon,” Ren said, nearly shy. “How soon could that be?”

“Ask her again,” He stared flatly at Ren. “She handles that more than me.”

Ren nodded and walked away, understanding that Grian was definitely done with the conversation, immediately he headed toward Lizzie’s room. For some reason he could hear his pulse in his ears, and something close to panic set in.

He… he did not want Gem to be guilty.

Really, he did not want her to be. He did not know if he did believe the scar on her arm was caused by Lizzie, but… something about the whole situation was so wrong. So very wrong.

He hesitated when he was in front of the door to Lizzie’s room. His hand hovered just away from the door, debating whether knocking and asking to see the evidence was a good idea. But he still moved his hand forward and knocked.

“It’s Ren,” he called.

“Come in!” Lizzie responded.

He opened and closed the door behind him.

“Can I see the evidence?” Ren asked quickly, walking forward into the room and glancing around. Lizzie looked like she had been reorganizing— or something. Opening up space to store things.

“Of course! I only have a few journals here, Grian has the others, but—“ she walked over and grabbed them, turned, and handed them to Ren. “Here you go.”

“Grian said you are handling all of the evidence,” he said, not accusing but definitely questioning the inconsistency.

“Well, I am, but Grian is storing some things and looking over some things for me,” she replied, a smile still on her face. “He comprehends the grand scheme of what— Gem, has planned better than me,” Lizzie stumbled over the sentence and seemed to glance at Ren oddly, though he did not question it too much.

Ren opened a journal.

It was covered in writing. He quickly recognized it as what must have been the plans for… the accident. Was not so much of an accident, he supposed.

He did not know what Gem’s handwriting looked like, but the writing on the paper did not seem like it would be far off from what he would have expected. Maybe he would take up Martyn on his offer for him to come over. He could try to see if he had anything with Gem’s handwriting on it.

“Void,” Ren murmured to himself, surprised by how extensive the writing was. He flipped through a few more pages, feeling almost sick to his stomach. “How did you acquire these?” He asked Lizzie, looking over to her.

“Oh— it wasn’t the most ethical way, to be honest,” she laughed. “I may have broken into Gem and Martyn’s flat to find them.”

Ren stared at her, quite concerned and sure it was showing on his face.

“Okay— moon and sun above— okay, then,” he nodded, out of breath and borderline shaking.

“I did what had to be done Ren,” she shrugged. “You know how it is.”

“I do, I do,” he sighed, trying to calm himself.

“So,” she started. “Do you understand how she is guilty now?”

Doubt was still solid within him. It was akin to just the embers of a fire, but he could feel the winds picking up. As he saw more from both sides he only found fire sparking. He did not know who to trust. In truth, he did not want to choose, but as everything was starting to go down he was finding himself still trying to balance loyalty to both sides. He wondered briefly if the fire that was doubt would consume him fully at some point.

But he did trust Lizzie, quite a lot, as she had been his mentor for a while. She guided him through training. Helped him at his lows and encouraged him at his highs. She was a trustworthy person, and she had just given him excessive evidence implying Gem’s guilt.

“Yes,” he nodded, closing the journal and handing it back to Lizzie. “I trusted you when you told me first she was guilty, and I trust you now.”

~

Jimmy had pushed Scott for information after he saw Pearl and Grian’s argument. Scott had let slip he knew more than he had— likely because of his visit with Gem. In that conversation, Scott also implied something that Jimmy found strange. He thought himself probably wrong with how he interpreted the implication but… he was uncertain, and he did not want to be uncertain.

Now Jimmy was going to visit Grian.

He… he had to ask.

Once the dots had been connected he could not just leave it be. He was not one to push away his curiosity, and maybe that was a fault of his. It had caused his injury when guarding Martyn, and he had found himself in trouble plenty other times as well. 

Jimmy pushed open the almost closed door to the office Grian and Pearl shared, suspecting it was Grian who was inside. As his eyes adjusted to the fairly dim room, he found his suspicion to be correct.

“Hey, Gri,” Jimmy closed the door mostly, not quite shutting it.

“What’s up, Tim?” He looked up from the notebooks he had been carefully studying.

“I was just wondering,” He did not move much closer to the desk, though he did move far enough so that he could glance and see that the notebooks on it were filled with writing. “Why have you been limping? How did you get hurt?”

“Swiped my leg while training,” he said casually.

“But you’re right handed,” Jimmy nodded at his hand. “The injury is to your left leg.”

“It was a weird angle, you know how it can be,” Grian closed the notebook he had directly in front of him, moving it to the side. Jimmy almost swore that the action was due to his own curiosity to see the notebooks, not out of any politeness from Grian.

Jimmy was silent, staring at him. He was trying to imagine how he would look in a dark cloak. Grian was the right height and build, and his movements…

“What are you trying to get at, Tim?” He smiled in a way that was nearly unsettling.

“Nothing, nothing. It’s nothing,” Jimmy nodded, stepping back, feeling his heart rate increase.

“Alright,” Grian kept his gaze hesitantly focused on Jimmy for a moment, before looking back down at his work.

Jimmy turned and left.

~

The time in which Lizzie guarded the Gem’s room came and passed, meaning Impulse was back again. The shifts had seemed shorter than the last times. Though, that could have been Gem getting used to the time. Impulse came into the room with a food tray, looking hesitant to even step near Gem.

“I don’t bite,” Gem shrugged. “No need to be afraid of me.”

“I have plenty to be afraid of you for,” he said, undoing her shackles. He did not sound genuine in the statement.

Gem just laughed.

“You know I’m innocent, right? Or do they have you fully tricked just like Ren,” she shook her head reaching for the food and starting to eat.

“No one’s tricked me here. I am here under my own decision,” he responded, clearly trying to sound not frustrated.

“Why are you here then? You want to kill her? You want Him to be in power? You want that strange following of whatever The Watchers are to win?” Gem could not really wrap her mind around what Impulse’s motives could even be. He had never shown interest in those types of things. 

“I— I don’t know!” He turned away.

Gem stared at him, continuing to eat.

He sighed, “They promised… my research could go further. Quicker and with more resources. They needed someone stronger. They’re both capable, but I’m intimidating. Gem, I don’t know if I believe in what they’re doing, but I can’t stop now.”

“Impulse,” she hissed. “All this over some research? You could’ve asked Pearl,” Gem crossed her arms. It did depend on what research he wanted to do, testing and such, but Pearl would have likely approved it.

“Pearl is distant these days, I couldn’t ask that favor,” he shook his head.

“So you’d rather her dead?” She gave him a look when he glanced at her.

“No, that’s not—“

“They’ve tricked you, Impulse. If you think their end goal is anything other than killing her, you’re wrong,” Gem pushed away the tray, shaking her head.

He was silent. Quickly, he locked her back in, seeming to be deep in thought. He only spoke once more when he was at the door.

“I’m not easily manipulated,” The words were said less to Gem and more to himself. “I’m not.”

Chapter Text

“Pearl?”

She opened her eyes, startled, and turned on her heel, but only saw Jimmy in the archway to the church hall. Pearl had been in deep thought, and it did quite scare her that she had not paid close enough attention to hear Jimmy walk up.

“Sorry, sorry,” he started to apologize. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“Jimmy, no, it’s alright,” she assured. More scared of her own mistake than him actually scaring her. “I was just focused on my thoughts, that's all.”

He walked over and stood near her. His face was etched with worry, almost plain fear.

“What’s wrong?” She asked quickly and quietly.

“Nothing—“ Jimmy said at first, but held his tongue after a moment. He looked out the window to the sky. It was cloudy out, the stars could not be seen and the moon was barely shining through. It had been cloudy the past few days, only clearing up in the daytime. “Pearl?” He spoke softer and slower now.

“Yes?” She answered, though she had a horrible feeling growing within her. Something was wrong and Jimmy knew. Something was wrong and she was about to find it out.

“I’ve been thinking,” he kept his eyes fixed away from her. “About the person who attacked me,” Jimmy motioned to his healed side.

“Go on,” Pearl stood up straighter, tensing up with the same worry she could see on Jimmy. She did not know how to prepare herself for whatever he would say next.

“The… the height, the build, the movements, the… wings, even the way the person wielded the sword. It all… I hit him with my sword Pearl. On the leg— left one I think. That all…” he looked suddenly at Pearl, as if he finally got the courage to confidently speak. “It was Gri, Pearl. It had to have been.”

There was something about feeling a world view shatter in a matter of seconds that felt so familiar and comfortable to Pearl. Her reality had been changed many times before. It was a painful comfort, at this point. The worst part was that she could not doubt what Jimmy said. It made sense. She did not have any argument against it.

What did it mean when a sister could not find a defense for her brother? How poor had their relationship become that she did not have the strength to grieve his betrayal? Pearl did not know when it had all changed, but it had.

“He…” her voice shook as she moved to lean against the edge of the pool of water in front of the window. Her fingertips brushed against the top of the freezing water, making her shiver and tense further. 

“I was talking to Scott, as well,” he looked away. “He talked to Gem and… the way he was referencing what she said about… the accident, along with other things, only makes me more sure it’s Grian.”

“Gem talked of the accident to Scott?” Pearl asked, wide eyed and hyper aware.

“I think so,” Jimmy nodded.

“I need to see her,” She walked forward, quickly pushing past Jimmy.

“Pearl—“

“No, I don’t want to hear it, I need to see her,” Pearl turned back only for a moment. She saw Jimmy resign and give up on stopping her. Out of the two of them, she was more persistent. Jimmy knew he would fail in stopping her.

She did not even know who was on shift down at the dungeons. If it was Grian she was going to have to bite back and resist the urge to just yell at him until he understood.

When she turned the corner of the hall she let out a sigh of relief. It was only Impulse. She could reason with him. He seemed to be staring intensely at the wall across from him, deep in thought.

“Impy,” she said, not loud nor quiet, as she walked up. 

He immediately jumped back in surprise.

“Void— your Majesty, you scared me,” He held his chest and looked at her with shock still on his face.

She looked at the door and raised her eyebrows.

“I am not supposed to—“

Pearl crossed her arms.

He went silent, then looked to the side. There was something close to fear on his face. She moved toward the door, motioning for him to open it. He complied, very hesitantly.

Gem glanced up when Pearl walked in.

“I understand what you meant now,” She did not meet Gem’s eyes, only speaking once the door had shut behind her.

“What do you mean?” Gem said rather sharply.

“Grian. He’s the one who hurt Jimmy,” Pearl held her arms around herself. “And you knew he was dangerous then, didn’t you? You let it happen, Gem.”

“Pearl— I didn’t let anything happen! I tried to warn you to not have Jimmy be there! I didn’t think they’d hurt him— really, but I knew he was in danger! I couldn’t tell you Pearl, how do you even know— you can’t do anything drastic, okay?” Gem sounded panicked.

“What do you mean, They ? Who? And why couldn’t I know, you’ve apparently talked to Scott about it?” Pearl felt nearly betrayed by that fact. She thought Gem trusted her. That she would tell her important information.

Gem looked to hold her tongue for a moment. 

“Scott is a failsafe,” she said, looking like she did not even want to reveal that much.

“A failsafe for what? Gem— you’re not planning on getting yourself killed here, are you—“ Pearl shook her head, not understanding why this was all happening the way it was.

“I don’t know what’s going to happen! He’s a ‘just in case’. I want to tell you, Pearl, I really do,” Gem moved as forward as she could, her arms straining back with the chains clattering loudly.

“Then do it. Tell me,” she glared harshly at Gem, standing tall.

She seemed to struggle to speak. After a moment she closed her mouth and just stared at Pearl. Her eyes were wide and nearly teary. Pearl felt… bad. She wanted answers. But more than anything she just wanted her Gem back. Safe. With her. Before the dungeon their last conversation had been— well… it did not matter. It had been closer to how it had used to be.

“There is a group called the Solar Resistance,” Gem spoke quietly, glancing at the door. “It’s made up of Grian, Lizzie, and Impulse. Maybe more, but I doubt it. They want to overthrow you. They’re the ones who’ve threatened me and got me here.”

Pearl walked over to the bars of the cell.

“Why?” She asked, matching Gem’s volume.

“I don’t know,” Gem shook her head. It did not feel like the full truth, but Pearl would take it.

“How does this relate to the accident?” Pearl watched Gem flinch.

“I can’t say,” she mumbled. “Not now.”

“Gem— please, I am the Queen of this kingdom yet I’m in the dark on so much. I need to know,” Pearl begged, reaching an arm through the cell bars. It was barely out of reach of Gem.

“I will tell you soon, I promise. I just need a little more information first, Pearl. Please. And if… if something goes wrong and I can’t tell you, Scott will,” she looked off to the side.

“Okay, Gem. But I beg of you to work quickly. I know you don’t want to do anything drastic but— he hurt Jimmy, Gem,” she closed her eyes.

“Keep yourselves away from him, and keep someone with you, please,” she sounded desperate.

“Okay, I will. I will.”

~

Martyn heard the knock at the door and instantly perked up, looking over to the door. Mumbo and Tango were already over, like they had been for the past however many days, along with Scott. So, the knock could likely mean one of two things. Either he was about to be in danger— or Ren was at the door. Very different options that were honestly both plausible.

Scott sent a glance to Martyn, probably meaning to tell him to stay put. He got up and walked to the door, Martyn stood up and followed to stand in the hall and peek at the door. When Scott opened the door he sent a, slightly spiteful, knowing, glance back to Martyn. Ren stepped into the entryway and closed the door behind him. Scott walked back to Martyn and pulled him in by the arm.

“You know he put Gem in there,” he whispered to Martyn.

“Gem wants me to talk to him,” Martyn responded.

“Why?” Scott asked, concerned.

“Because he’s not as bad as… you know who, yet. And if we just abandon him he’s actually going to turn to them,” he shook his head.

Scott stepped away from Martyn, still looking hesitant, and Martyn turned to Ren. He ignored how Ren looked at Scott walking away confused.

“I’m glad to see you,” he smiled.

Ren laughed lightly and returned the smile.

“I couldn’t stand up your offer for coming over,” Ren walked farther into the hall and Martyn crossed his arms, leaning against the wall behind him. 

“Ohh, ‘stand up’ my offer? Did you think this was like a date?” Martyn joked, smirking and tilting his head up at Ren.

Ren rolled his eyes, “You know what I meant, Martyn.”

He did know. But poking fun of Ren was a good way to make sure the mood started off light.

Martyn nodded toward the living room where Scott and Tango had struck up a conversation. Ren followed him and sat down next to him.

“Really Tango, he’s alright, I’m sure of it,” Scott was saying. Martyn had not caught who they were talking about, but he assumed it was Jimmy.

“I know— and I trust the medic’s judgment, I’m just worried,” he was pacing, his hair not quite burning up but definitely sparking from whatever stress he had.

“You really took to him quickly, didn’t you?” Scott had a playful smile plastered on his face. Martyn knew the teasing look and was tempted to tell him to back off, knowing Scott could be a bit much about that stuff.

“Oh don’t you even start— I had talked to him before he was here to guard Martyn and you know that,” Tango went over and sat on the counter in the kitchen area.

“Hey— you’re the one who interpreted it like that!” Scott put his hands up in defense, as he always would. Martyn shook his head and smiled to himself.

“Sure,” Tango rolled his eyes.

“Are we talking about Jimmy?” Ren asked, looking confused.

Tango glared at Scott but quickly and sharply responded, “Yes, Ren.”

Ren nodded silently, looking quite distant. Tango and Scott continued chatting and Martyn turned to Ren. He was worried. He was glad Ren was there but, even if he kind of sort of really disliked what Ren did, he was worried. Ren seemed like he did when something went wrong. Whether what went wrong was serious or just perceived could depend on the situation.

“Ren,” Martyn said softly, brushing his hand over Ren’s arm.

He startled and looked at Martyn.

“Is something wrong?” Martyn asked.

“I don’t know, Martyn,” he looked conflicted. “I just—“ he stopped himself. “It’s nothing. I’m gonna grab myself some water.”

Ren stood up quickly and Martyn watched him as he walked the short distance to the kitchen. Tango was still sitting on the counter and paid no mind to Ren, besides maybe a spiteful flick of his tail in Ren’s direction. Martyn felt suspicion root in him when he saw the hesitation that Ren seemed to have. Ren had been over his flat countless times, gotten water countless times, but for some reason it looked nearly like Ren was looking around more than he usually would.

After a moment he seemed to glance over something and pick it up. The paper crinkled in his hand as he clearly gripped it tightly.

“Is this from Gem?” He asked Martyn over his shoulder, obviously trying to seem casual.

It was a note Gem had left a couple weeks ago saying something about food. Nothing significant. Nothing Ren would have reason to look at or pick up.

“Yes,” Martyn said hesitantly. “Why?”

Ren paused, not answering. Martyn felt suspicion pierce his mind.

“Ren, why?” He asked again, sharpening his tone like a blade and standing up. Martyn moved to be closer to the kitchen.

Tango and Scott’s conversation had ceased, both of their heads turned to watch whatever was about to go down. Even Mumbo looked up from the papers he had been silently working on, which was saying a lot given he had kept his head down during full blown arguments between Tango and Martyn before.

“I…” Ren sighed, not turning around but gripping the note tighter. “Lizzie showed me the evidence they have against Gem. Notebooks of planning. I was just… I wanted to see what Gem’s handwriting was like. It’s the same as the books, Martyn,” he spoke quietly, as if he was only in a conversation with Martyn.

“Ren,” Martyn said sharply. “I just can’t believe you on that. How did she get the notebooks?”

He paused for a long time. Martyn knew regret was setting in Ren. Ren had information he wanted to keep from Martyn. Really, wanted to keep from Martyn. If Martyn was understanding correctly.

“She broke in,” Ren said quietly.

“Void—“ Martyn shook his head, breathless at the statement. “And you’re gonna trust her just like that? I have never seen Gem write in a notebook— or see any type of notebook in her room, in the entirety of her time living here.”

“That doesn’t mean she never did,” he turned around.

“Ren,” Martyn warned.

“Let’s just drop it,” Ren shook his head.

“She doesn’t think you’re evil, Ren. Not like how you think she is,” Martyn dropped his voice to something quieter, walking forward a few more steps.

“Who has the notebooks, then?” Scott asked Ren.

Ren looked at Scott strangely, questioning his motives. Martyn did as well, though for different purposes. He wondered how well Ren knew Scott, if he could see the gears turning in Scott’s mind.

“Lizzie and Grian, from my knowledge,” he responded cautiously.

Scott nodded.

Martyn gave Scott a look. He would ask later. Scott was definitely planning something. Something bigger than the question he asked.

~

Scott only relaxed once Ren had completely and fully left the building. He had been on edge since the knock on the door and finally let go of the tension in his shoulders once he saw Ren walking on the street through the window. It was not that Ren had been particularly bothersome to Scott, he just made him more vigilant. Martyn had been the person Ren mainly talked to, given Scott and the others did not really want to say a word to Ren. Well, besides the question Scott had asked. When it came down to it, even if Gem had told Martyn to continue talking with Ren, Scott could not trust him. Ren was someone Scott would only let himself have a tentative relationship with, and he would never reveal vital information to him. He was just… not trustworthy. Ren was loyal, yes, but he was loyal to too many people, it made him a fault if information needed to be confidential.

“What was that earlier?” Martyn came to stand next to Scott while he was at the counter, staring and purely zoning out.

“Stars—“ Scott nearly jumped. “I don’t know. I just thought… Jimmy said in passing that Grian was writing in some notebooks when he, well… and I… I think I want to…”

“Scott,” Martyn gave him a half grin. “Are you going to try to get a peek at the notebooks?”

“I don’t know! Maybe,” Scott leaned against him slightly, trying to sort of convince him it was a good idea. “Should I?”

“Don’t get yourself hurt,” Martyn shook his head. He paused and went pale, “What if… they actually are faking evidence?”

“What?” Scott looked at him.

“I joked about it to Gem but— if Grian… if he had been planning in his own notebooks, and he got hold of Gem’s handwriting, he could fabricate the evidence,” Martyn explained. He looked back to the door to the flat. “And our lock doesn’t always work. It’s faulty. If he, or one of the others, came in and got something with Gem’s writing on it, he could mimic it. I know he’s quite skilled at writing.”

“And if I… if I were to sneak into his office— or room even, I could…” he bit his lip. “I could not just get a peak at their so-called evidence, but,” he grinned at Martyn, standing up straight and crossing his arms. “I could steal it.”

“Now you’re talking danger,” Martyn responded, but he did have a notable smile on his face.

“I can figure out when Grian is on shift, then I’ll just go in,” he stood up properly, the idea forming more solidly in his mind. “I don’t think he locks his door to his room— and the office is always open incase Pearl needs in.”

“What are you going to do with the notebooks?” Martyn asked, turning to face Scott rather than stand next to him. He seemed not fully confident in the idea, but like he would support Scott in it anyway.

“If I find some kind of original notebooks, I’m going to get them for evidence against the Solar Resistance. If I find the ones with Gem’s handwriting,” he looked off to the side. “I’m going to go grab Cleo and we’ll have a bonfire.”

Chapter Text

The next morning Gem woke up before anyone came in. It was a bit nice, not feeling completely scared and having to be on guard immediately. Of course it was not long before Lizzie came in to give Gem her tray of breakfast. It was the same thing as the day before, bread and some type of stew. They were both quiet for a while. Despite the silence, Gem could not find peace in it; previously, if she found silence in her and Martyn’s flat, she would almost always be calmed by it. But now, sitting in a dark and grimy dungeon she only resented the quiet. After a moment of observing Lizzie, Gem spoke.

“Why did you join them?” she asked quietly.

Lizzie looked down upon her, curiosity and resistance in her eyes.

“Why?” she replied, a slight smile playing on her lips.

“Humor me,” Gem shook her head, grumbling the words and hoping it was a good enough response.

She continued staring at her for a moment before smiling and nodding. 

“Well, after the testing of my powers, and them getting–-” she searched for the right word. “--broken, I wanted to see if they could get pushed further. This was… eh, couple months after you were gone. And I went to Grian after talking to a few people. He enlightened me to the concept of The Watchers, and that he didn’t mind the idea of working to push my powers further. Of course, then we recruited Impulse… though he still doesn’t know the full reason,” Lizzie tilted her head and smiled. “And you wouldn’t tell him, would you?” she mocked. “Wouldn’t matter either way anyway.”

“So, was Grian the one who told you to say you’ve fully lost your powers?” Gem asked, pushing away her tray. She had eaten a bit, enough to hopefully retain her strength, but she was not very hungry.

“It wasn’t only him, I decided that on my own accord as well,” She locked Gem back in the shackles.

“So, how does Ren play into this, then?” Gem asked quietly.

Lizzie looked at her with something more serious, threatening almost.

“He trusts me. Don’t think you can disrupt that. He’s been under my guidance for years, and he’s known for years you’re… bad,” She smirked and locked Gem back in.

Gem was satisfied. Even if Lizzie thought she was just giving pointless information, knowing her motives was very helpful.

~

Scott was able to get when Grian’s guard shift was out of Impulse. Impulse did not question it too much, probably just assumed Scott wanted to visit Gem again and needed to know when to not go. That was what he would prefer him to assume. Better than what he was actually doing.

He debated telling Pearl what he was going to do, but he figured it would be better for him to confirm any amount of suspicion before going to her.

While thinking over everything more, he did process just how dangerous going into Grian’s room would be for him. He made the decision to go into the shared office first, he could claim Pearl needed something if caught. And if Pearl caught him, well… he would just have to spill the truth. Or stretch the truth, he did not know. Before heading to the office, he grabbed a crossbody bag that had a lot of space for if he did find what he was searching for.

He was most nervous once he was in the hall where the doors were located. No one was around, it was getting into late afternoon, and Scott could hear no noise. Swiftly, he passed the door to the Knight’s commons, desperately hoping no one walked out. Then he came to the door between the ones to Pearl and Grian’s rooms. Their office. He had a thought for a moment that maybe Pearl could be in there, and he decided he would lie if she was.

His hand gripped the handle and twisted it. He looked inside and there was no one. Immediately, he went in and shut the door behind him. He relaxed slightly and started looking around. The office was pretty small for everything in it. Boxes of papers and books were scattered and piled on top of bookshelves. There was a singular window in the room and it was mostly blocked by curtains.

He scanned the room, eyeing a box directly next to the desk. Scott walked over and crouched down to the box, pulling out a notebook and opening it.

Gem’s handwriting.

But Scott could tell the discrepancies between the writing versus what Gem’s writing actually looked like. Though Scott had to give it to Grian, the books looked legit. If someone were to inspect it as evidence, it would likely be taken as believable.

He shoved the notebook in his bag and reached for some others. They were all in the false Gem handwriting. When he emptied that box, he moved to another nearby. Though, when he opened one of those notebooks, he processed a key detail very quickly. It was not Gem’s handwriting this time, but his own .

“Stars,” he said under his breath. 

Quickly, he grabbed all of those notebooks as well. His bag was getting full, but he could make it work. 

There were two more boxes by the desk. The next one he checked was unrelated. Then, the last, was someone’s handwriting who Scott did not recognize. It was not Grian’s, but it was not anyone’s who Scott knew of. He hesitated whether to take the books or not. Ultimately, he took them. Whoever it was did not need to be in any more danger than anyone else. He knew it would be better in the long run, and maybe someone back in the flat would know the handwriting. It was unlikely, but there was still a chance.

His bag was nearly full, yet he still did not see any notebooks that seemed to be Grian’s. He bit his lip and stood in the office, debating what to do. Scott could try and drop off the notebooks at Martyn’s and then come back and check Grian’s room. But that would take awfully long… and he knew Cleo was nearby…

He quickly made his way out of the office, thanking the stars that no one was in the hall. Then, he walked toward the Knight commons, once again feeling nerves in him spike.

Scott opened the door to the commons and glanced around, noticing Skizz and Ren chatting but no one else in there. He tensed at the sight of Ren, and he could tell Ren was avoiding looking over at him.

“Hey Smajor!” Skizz flashed a smile. “What’s up?”

“I thought Cleo was hanging with Etho?” Scott asked, glancing at one of the doors in the room.

“I can grab them for you,” Ren nodded, still not really looking at Scott, and walking over to the door to Etho’s room and knocking.

Cleo opened the door.

“You don’t need to knock, you know, I’m just braiding his hair,” she rolled her eyes, then noticed Scott.

“Scott needs you,” Ren motioned to him, not glancing back.

Cleo seemed to say something to Etho and then walked out and over to Scott. He motioned for her to come out in the hall.

“What’s going on?” they asked, looking very concerned.

“I need a favor,” Scott reached for his bag.

“Alright,” she nodded hesitantly. “What is it?”

“You know where Martyn’s place is?” He looked around to make sure no one was around.

“Yeah?” Cleo was looking more hesitant.

“Take these,” He handed her a good chunk of notebooks. Scott noticed she had a bag on her anyway. “Put them in there and take them to Martyn. Don’t look at them even once you’re there— don’t let Martyn look either. And stay there.”

“Oh you’re gonna owe me,” They shook their head and laughed. 

“I know,” he smiled. “Would some notebook burning suffice?” 

Cleo gave Scott a very questioning look.

“I’ll be there soon enough,” Scott said before turning around and walking to Grian’s room. He could hear Cleo walk away.

He looked both ways down the hall before quickly entering Grian’s room. It was cluttered, similar to the office, and Scott did not know where to start with looking around.

“If I were Grian…” he whispered to himself. “Where would I put these?”

He observed the whole room, not finding anything sticking out. When he thought about it more, he wondered if Grian would keep them a bit more hidden. Even if almost no one often came into his room, he probably was smart enough to know someone could think of trying to find them. He walked over and kneeled down next to Grian’s bed, reaching under it and—

“There we go,” he mumbled and pulled out a box.

It had notebooks.

He opened one, and it looked quite relevant. 

Another one, once again it looked relevant. He got them all in his bag and poked around a little more. The other boxes did not quite look as if they had anything useful. No more notebooks. 

That was until he got to the other side of the bed and noticed a stack of them. They looked recent. Scott did not even care if they were relevant, he took them all.

He knew it was not going to be subtle. But what could Grian say? ‘Oh, hey my plots to overthrow my sister have gone missing! Uh oh!’ Of course not, maybe he could try to search for the fake evidence, but even then, Scott was going to have them burned far quicker than Grian could notice them missing, let alone find them.

Scott got out of the room quickly and immediately rushed over to Martyn’s.

~

Grian was the one to come in and bring Gem her dinner tray. She rolled her eyes when she realized so. While she did try to keep herself grounded, she did still feel a little bit of fear when seeing him.

“How did you end up like this?” She asked him after a minute of eating her food.

He laughed.

“What a question,” Grian shook his head.

She continued eating and glanced up at him. He almost looked lost.

“Got involved with The Watchers, and I know better now,” he answered. It was a lot simpler of an answer than Lizzie or even Impulse gave.

“But— why do you want the throne?” Gem moved forward but stopped when she realized it could be taken as aggression.

“I don’t want the throne. But I don’t want her on the throne. She doesn’t listen to what I say about the Watchers,” he shrugged.

All of this— and he did not even want the throne for himself?

“What even are the Watchers— a cult?” She huffed.

Grian laughed, “You could say that.”

He did not say anymore.

~

Scott opened the door to Martyn’s flat, startling Tango who was nearby.

“Void— Scott! Should’ve knocked!” He said.

“Sorry! Sorry, in a hurry,” Scott shut the door and quickly walked into the living room.

He set down his bag on the table between the couches.

“Scott, what is going on?” Cleo asked, arms folded.

“What, Martyn didn’t tell you?” Scott looked over to Martyn who looked a little baffled.

“You told us to not go through the notebooks,” Cleo told him.

“Yeah— I know, I didn’t think you’d listen. Or I at least thought Martyn would get you up to speed,” Scott sighed, dumping out all of the notebooks and motioning Cleo to bring over her bag.

“Some of these notebooks are evidence being faked,” Scott explained. “Not just against Gem,” he looked over to Martyn. “But against me and someone else as well. I don’t know who’s handwriting this,” he shuffled to find a notebook with the correct writing. “This is,” he handed it to Martyn then turned back to Cleo. “And the rest of these that aren’t fake evidence are books of Grian plotting against Pearl— I believe.”

“Oh, stars,” Cleo shook her head, covering her mouth and glancing at all of the notebooks.

Scott looked casually back to Martyn but noticed he looked like he was in shock.

“Martyn?” Scott stood up, now concerned by how Martyn was acting.

“This…” his words trailed off.

Tango had come over to look at the pile of notebooks and walked over to look over Martyn’s shoulder. He shrugged at Scott, indicating he did not know whose writing it was either.

“Do you know whose it is, Martyn?” Scott asked.

“This is Ren’s handwriting,” he sounded out of breath.

Scott glanced over at Cleo, who also looked surprised. Overall, Scott had entirely spilled everything that was going on to Cleo. The Solar Resistance, all of it. So, when Martyn spoke Ren’s name in context to being the handwriting of some of the faked notebooks, they understood how big of a deal it was.

“They were planning on blaming not only Gem, but me and Ren? Damn,” Scott reached down to pick up a notebook. “We need to sort through these. If they’re mine, Gem, or Ren’s handwriting, put them in one pile. We’re burning those. If they’re Grian’s we’re keeping those to hopefully use against him.”

Tango raised his hand and spoke, “What if we don’t know the difference between handwritings?”

Scott rolled his eyes, “Come over here, I’ll show you.”

Chapter Text

Ren only had a brief exchange with Grian before he was stationed to guard until midnight. 

He could almost feel that someone was going to visit before it even happened. So when he heard the footsteps, he was not surprised. Ren made the quick— and accurate— guess that it would be Pearl. He was very tempted to refuse her entry to the room, but… something in him still begged to prove his loyalty to her. He was still a Knight to the kingdom, therefore he was still a Knight to Pearl.

She walked up to him and he opened the door to let her in. When he started to close the door he realized they had started talking immediately. He left the door open just barely for a moment, listening closely.

“I need you to tell me everything about the accident,” Pearl said, seeming to take place directly in front of Gem’s cell.

Ren heard Gem’s chains clatter, and he assumed she stood up.

“Pearl…” Gem seemed hesitant.

“Gem, no. You’re telling me now. I was talking to Jimmy and I— he encouraged me. You need to tell me. No more of this ‘Scott is a failsafe.’ No, I am here now and I can take it. Tell me the full story.” Ren was almost surprised by how harshly she had put her foot down about Gem telling her. Had she asked her before? It seemed so.

Ren was going to close the door, but he was too curious. A little more listening would not hurt, right?

Gem seemed to sigh heavily.

“It started as just me, Scott, Impulse, Cleo, and Bdubs hanging out by the stables— near that old training facility,” Gem started.

She paused for a long moment, and Ren wondered whether she would actually follow through with the rest of the explanation.

“And then…?” Pearl said, clearly trying to keep her talking.

“And then Grian came by. Everything was normal at first. We were chatting, laughing.” Gem’s tone changed slightly. “After a bit Grian said that he had something fun— and a bit dangerous that we could do.”

“Did you accept the offer right away or…?” Pearl asked.

“Not at all. I was thoroughly against it. He took at least 30 minutes to convince me. And the only thing that got me was that the building was abandoned and that it was going to be torn down soon anyway.” She paused in a way that made Ren think that she was shaking her head.

After a moment, she continued. “I didn’t want to go up there with him to get the TNT set up. But I’m… stars— in no world am I glad I went. However, I saw that on the stairs up to that hall, there were some very clear markings on the floor. At the time I thought it was purely coincidental, but now…”

“You think it was intentional.” Her tone was quieter, more grim.

“I know it was intentional,” Gem responded. “We set it up so that we could go far enough away to be safe. I think… I think you were already in the back part of that building at that point. And Grian knew. I— I can feel and I know that he knew.”

“I had…” Pearl’s words trailed off. “I had told him earlier that week I would be there.”

“Exactly. And he gave me the thing to ignite it— despite me not wanting any part in that. He told me when and I… well, I listened.” She sounded like she might be tearing up.

There was a long pause between the two. Ren knew he really should close the door.

“After… Grian immediately disappeared. I thought he had gone to get medics, but he hadn’t. Then he pretended he’d never been there. As if it was all me,” Gem explained.

“I didn’t… how could he?” Pearl sounded sad more than anything.

“I don’t know, sunshine,” Gem sighed.

“I still don’t understand why you took the blame.” She sounded like she was moving around now.

“I felt guilty. I may not have done anything intentionally, but void, did I feel guilty. And… in the end, I didn’t think he was trying to kill you at the time. I thought it would be worse if he took the blame— if anyone took the blame, but…” She seemed to shrug. “Here we are.”

Ren closed the door. It was luckily silent.

He was… he had a lot to think about.

If Gem was telling the truth, that changed a lot.

Grian being so eager to put Gem away again. Him helping do the guarding shifts. Him being partially responsible for the evidence.

The evidence…

What was it really?

It looked like Gem’s handwriting but…

Ren was conflicted. Very conflicted. He wanted to talk it through with anyone. Pearl… Martyn— even, possibly regretfully, Lizzie. But he had to think for himself. Look at everything he had provided to him and think.

He was going to struggle.

~

Gem had ended up explaining as much as she could bear to Pearl. The accident… obviously. More about the Solar Resistance. Their motivations. Her own worries. All that she could.

The next day, Impulse was the one to bring her lunch. Gem debated not saying anything at all to him, but the information Lizzie had given her… it only suited her point better.

“Have you figured out that they’re using you yet?” Gem asked before she started eating.

He turned away.

“I talked to Lizzie,” she continued despite him clearly trying to not listen. “They only recruited you to try and get her powers to be more.”

“I’ve told them that’s not what I’m after,” Impulse responded quickly.

“What are you after?” Gem asked, shaking her head.

“I just– my research… I want to make progress in fixing powers if they get damaged from other testing. Like how Lizzie’s are… yeah. I don’t want to help her make her powers unnaturally strong.” He said with a defeated sigh.

“They’re gonna find someone else then.” Gem started to eat.

Impulse kept looking away from her, staying silent for a while.

“Are they really going to kill Pearl?” He half-asked.

Gem laughed. Fully laughed at him. She could see him flinch back in surprise at the sharp sound, though she did not really care.

“Almost certainly,” she replied.

After a moment, she softened her tone, sighing.

“Impulse,” Gem shook her head. “Talk to Martyn, or Scott. You don’t have to stay with the Solar Resistance.”

She pushed away her tray, sitting back and watching him. He was silent as he turned around. Then, he took the tray and locked her back in. Even though he was trying to seem standoffish and uncaring, Gem saw the way that he glanced back at her. He had been listening.

~

Ren went back over to Martyn’s.

He felt guilty that the last time he had been over there was mostly under false pretenses and with the actual intention of finding Gem’s handwriting. Ren had never lied to Martyn like that before. He felt horrible.

More so now that he believed that Gem could be innocent.

He still trusted Lizzie more than Gem. But, he also trusted Pearl and Martyn. He knew he would have to try and make everything right somehow. Or at least get straight what was actually going on, which was a lot harder than it seemed. Everything that Ren thought was going on seemed to be false. Maybe it was just that some things he thought were going on were false— he did not know.

Ren knocked on the door to Martyn’s flat.

“It’s Ren,” he called, realizing he probably should have done it previous times as well.

Martyn opened the door.

“Hey.” He smiled warmly. “What are you doing here?”

Ren laughed, “I just wanted to see you. Which, now that I’m saying out loud seems… dumb, that I don't have any other reason.”

“I’m just that cool that you always want to see me,” Martyn half-joked, looking up at Ren with an expression that Ren could never get sick of.

“Yeah,” Ren said, a grin growing on his face.

“Well, come in,” Martyn opened the door the rest of the way, allowing Ren to follow him into the living room.

Compared to the last time Ren had been there, the living room looked oddly scattered, though there was no more clutter than before.

“Have you and the others been working on something?” He asked, tilting his head.

“What do you mean?” Martyn looked genuinely confused.

“This space just looks… more roughed up than last time I was here. I thought maybe you, Mumbo, and Tango were working on some project.” Ren shook his head.

“Kind of,” Martyn said after a moment, looking hesitant, then smiling. “Yeah, you can call it a project.”

Ren nodded in response, sitting down on a couch and watching Martyn walk over to sit next to him.

“Where are Tango and Mumbo, by the way?” Ren asked after a moment.

“Mumbo ran to his place to grab some things and Tango stayed up all night last night, so he’s crashing in my room,” Martyn replied quickly.

Ren nodded, looking over to Martyn and just watching him for a bit.

He had always found him so pretty. The way his hair fell over his headband. His light blue eyes and the way that they shone in direct sunlight. And his personality was just… pretty.

Martyn glanced over to Ren and caught him staring, but Ren did not look away. Ren leaned forward and cupped Martyn’s face with one of his hands.

“You’re so gorgeous.” He spoke the words quietly, as if it was just supposed to be a secret between the two of them.

“Look who’s talkin’.” He grinned, leaning into Ren’s touch.

Ren laughed softly, leaning in more toward Martyn. He also pushed forward, bumping his nose with Ren’s and laughing.

“May I kiss you?” Ren asked, already tilting his head to the side.

“Of course,” Martyn answered, moving forward and closing the small gap between them.

It was a gentle kiss, genuine but calm. Something that Ren needed. It almost felt grounding to him, like he had been lost for a while until that moment. He had kissed Martyn plenty of times before, but this time it felt special— for whatever reason.

When they pulled away, Martyn was grinning brightly.

“Love you.” He put his forehead against Ren’s.

“Love you more,” Ren responded.

~

Impulse had gone to Martyn’s place. And he was there a few days later when more people met at Martyn’s.

He had gotten pretty much placed at the center of the plan that had been forming. He was not mad about it, not at all.

He just needed to make sure there were no suspicions from the others before the plan was followed through with, which could be difficult. He was not the best liar.

But he would make it work.

He would help them as much as he could.

Chapter Text

Grian walked slowly in the silent morning halls. It felt like the air was frozen in time, the only disturbance being his footsteps that quietly fell on the tile ground. He passed many doors and turned corners, not bothering to pay them any more mind than just a quick glance. He could see the arched doorway at the end of the hall after he turned another corner. It made the smallest smile grace his lips. Despite being dedicated to the Watchers, he still prayed to the sun. The two went hand in hand, in his mind. If he lacked one, he would not be complete. He needed the comfort of the sun alongside the promise of the Watchers.

He stepped into the church hall and deeply envied the peace it had within it. The silent, pristine, respectable, peace it had. He ached to forever find that peace.

It was when he was younger that he had fallen to the Watchers. Years ago, when he still had the naivety of youth. Honestly, the conditions had been quite similar to the ones he was currently in. Standing before the window, the sun rising, silence echoing in his mind. He had closed his eyes on that day, like he had any other day. But that day, years ago, it was like his mind had been taken over. Infested. Controlled. Guided.

He had seen Them. Talked to Them, even.

And from there on he trusted Their guidance of his actions.

By no means did They ever control him, physically or mentally. Only gave him instructions. Some made that mistake occasionally, assuming he was some sort of go between to talk to the Watchers. It was a flawed way of assuming how the Watchers worked. They were always watching. There was no need of having a person to talk through, because They would know what someone was saying even if they just said it to dead air. Some more experienced people could have them watch their thoughts as well. And of course, Grian was one of those.

The Watchers chose wisely of who they wanted to know.

His wandering thinking subsided when the sun came above the horizon. The sunlight hit his skin kindly, warming him and making him smile. He almost felt he could breathe easier with the sun in the sky. It was bright today, possibly brighter than he usually felt it was, but it still felt like a soft glow above the horizon. His eyes observed that the sky was clear, and it was looking like another good day.

Everything could still go according to plan.

He whispered his words and left.

~

“Pearl?” 

After a moment she registered the voice to be Etho’s.

She turned from where she was standing. She had been staring over the main grand entryway to the palace, using the quiet to reflect and think many things through.

“Etho?” She tilted her head, questioning why he was there. “Is something wrong?”

“I need you to come with me,” he responded, half turning to start walking. His body language was rigid, nervous. Not uncommon for him, but not necessarily normal either. 

“Why?” She asked, starting to follow him.

“You’ll see,” he answered, hesitation clear in his voice.

While Pearl knew she should probably be more cautious, she really did not feel the need to. There was nothing malicious in his tone, instead there was something closer to fear. If she were to guess, something was going on and she was going to need to stay calm. She could do that. In times of panic she could stay calm. Most of the time, at least.

Etho led her through the halls, and she kept thinking she had figured out where they were going, though she never did. That was until they stood in front of her own bedroom door. He motioned for her to enter and she complied, with Etho following in quickly.

“What is going on?” Pearl asked again, a little more concerned and sharp in tone.

“You need to stay here,” Etho told her, partially blocking the door. Though, Pearl was pretty sure he would move if she requested so. 

“Why? Am I in danger?” She crossed her arms, standing tall.

“You may be, but that’s not the reason—“ he shook his head. “All I am allowed to say is you’ll see.”

“Allowed? Allowed by who?” Pearl put her hands on her hips, tilting her head to the side. She was more curious than fearful, though she did consider a quick course of action if she was in immediate danger.

Etho paused and looked to the side. “Scott and Martyn,” he nodded.

Pearl pursed her lips. What in the world were they planning? The two working together always meant trouble.

“I need to go get someone,” Etho looked back at Pearl. “Stay here. And— probably don’t let anyone in.”

After a moment Pearl hesitantly nodded. Etho turned and left, seeming to glance back to Pearl one more time.

Pearl was very confused by whatever was happening. She walked over and sat on her bed, supposing there was not much harm in listening to what Etho had said. Whatever Martyn and Scott were doing, she would find out soon enough. Fighting it would probably end worse than going along with it, from Pearl’s past experience.

It took a while for Etho to return. Pearl was glad she did not have anything planned for that day, because she was not sure if she was going to be able to leave her room anytime soon.

When he opened the door Pearl was slightly surprised to see Tango along with him. They both got into the room quickly.

“Are either of you going to tell me what is going on?” She asked, standing up again.

Tango looked to Etho, slightly wide eyed and his hair sparking with anxiety.

“We can’t,” he looked back at Pearl and sheepishly smiled.

“Because of Martyn and Scott?” She said, knowing now that she was likely not going to get an answer. Though, implying she had figured out more than she had probably would not hurt.

The two nodded hesitantly.

“So I can’t leave my room?” Pearl asked cautiously.

“Yes?” Tango answered almost as if he did not know the answer himself.

“Alright,” she put a hand over her eyes, trying to figure out what question she could ask that would get an answer. “Are Scott and Martyn doing something that could get them in trouble?”

There was a long pause and she ran her hand through her hair.

Etho nodded very slightly and Tango glanced at him.

“Would they be in trouble with me or someone else?” She could not think of what they would be doing that would require her to be safely out of the way.

“Someone else,” Tango said quietly.

“Are you supposed to be telling me any of this?” Pearl asked, laughing at the absurdity of the two nervously skirting around the topic of what was going on.

“No,” Etho answered.

“Okay, okay. I’ll stop for now. Actually— one last question,” she started. “Am I going to have to be in here all day?”

“Yes,” both Etho and Tango answered in unison.

Pearl shook her head slightly and sighed.

“Scott is going to hear it from me when I see him,” she mumbled to herself.

~

“Are you all clear on what to do?” Martyn asked, turning back to the room of seven some people— not really too many people, but enough that Martyn had struggled multiple times trying to get their attention. They were also a fairly rowdy lot, to be fair.

There was a murmur of agreement among everyone.

“Maybe go over just one more time—“ Skizz said, not really looking concerned about actually being reminded of what to do. Even if no one needed it, it would probably be good.

Martyn nodded and slightly smiled.

“Aright,” he sighed. “Skizz, B, you two are in the library distracting you know who. Cleo, Bdubs, you two try to find Lizzie and distract her, if you can’t find her just be on a general look out. Mumbo stays here. Jimmy, you head to Pearl’s room to prepare those few just before. And me and Scott,” he looked over to Scott. “Well we both know what’s up.”

There was another murmur of agreement and Martyn nodded. While he could feel his heart beating extremely fast, he was feeling confident. The others picked up conversation again, and Martyn focused on grounding himself in the space, taking a deep breath.

“It’ll go okay,” Scott said, standing next to Martyn.

“Yeah— yeah, I’m sure so as well. This has just all happened so quickly. One day we’re burning notebooks and now we’re…” he let his words trail off.

“We should all get going,” Scott turned to the others. “Skizz, Bigb, Jimmy, you three head out now,” he nodded toward the door.

Martyn took a deep breath.

This was happening.

~

Gem was sitting in her cell, just kicking at the stone floor and trying to not be bored to death by the silence. One of the most difficult parts of being in the dungeon was trying to keep herself sane and not let her thoughts overcome her. Which she was finding to be a little easier this time than the last one years ago. Counting was a useful strategy, sometimes, though other times it dragged on the time. 

She leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes, breathing slowly and focusing on those breaths.

When the door to the room started to be unlocked, she quickly opened her eyes and looked over. It was not around any time she should be getting food, so someone must be visiting.

But instead of just one person walking in— multiple people did. Impulse walked in with Scott and Martyn following quickly behind him.

“What in—“ Gem started to say before she was quickly shushed. She complied and watched them with extreme confusion and almost excitement. She would not get excited yet. It was not clear if what she thought was happening actually was happening.

Impulse unlocked the door to her cell and motioned for her to get up and show her restraints. She did, and he unlocked her. Gem looked at him and grinned, nearly laughing. Was he really about to help get her out?

Immediately Martyn pulled her into a hug that she willingly accepted. He held her tightly, as if she had been gone for months rather than just around a week.

Scott tapped them both, tipping his head toward the door.

Gem pulled back from Martyn and followed Scott and Impulse out of the room. Martyn closed the door behind all of them and Gem sighed. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. For at least this brief moment, she was safe.

She felt a hand on her arm and opened her eyes.

“I’m staying here,” Impulse said quietly. Gem nodded, understanding that meant that he might be putting himself in danger. Big danger. With the other two Solar Resistance. She mouthed the words ‘thank you.’ And she meant them.

Martyn and Scott looked at each other and then Gem, motioning for her to follow.

She glanced once more at Impulse and then followed. It was quickly clear to Gem that they must be going to Pearl’s room. Though, they were taking a longer, more secluded, route. Which made sense. She was technically an escaped criminal, even being innocent. At one point, Scott motioned for the other two to stop, closely listening momentarily, then waving them to continue. 

By the time that they were at Pearl’s door Gem had felt the adrenaline of the situation kick in. Scott looked back at her before opening the door, smiling genuinely, then turning the handle and pushing the door forward. Gem’s eyes met with Pearl’s in a moment and her face lit up. Quickly, Gem rushed into the room and hugged Pearl. Pearl’s wings flared out and she picked Gem up off the ground, spinning the two around.

“You’re here,” Pearl seemed to laugh in shock. She put Gem down and Gem laughed as well.

“I thought you planned this? Did you not know?” Gem said, Pearl set her down on the ground but the two were still holding tightly onto one another. She then looked over to the others in the room. Martyn, Scott, Jimmy, Tango, and Etho.

Martyn was smiling at Gem knowingly.

“When I told Impulse to talk to you—“ Gem said in realization. “I helped you without even knowing,” she was nearly giddy, the adrenaline in her fueling her joy. 

“Along with that,” Martyn glanced at Scott. “We got some things.”

Gem paused, her curiosity piqued. 

“Grian had been faking the evidence,” Scott said before Martyn got the chance to continue.

Pearl looked at Gem, and Gem could not really find it in herself to be surprised.

“And with finding that out, we also found evidence against him,” Martyn added. “Scott kind of broke into his room— long story.”

Gem laughed, “Void Scott, didn’t know you cared that much.”

He rolled his eyes. “The thing is,” he started. “I also went to his and Pearl’s office, and when I found the fake evidence against you, Gem, I found other things. Fake evidence against me,” then he looked at Pearl. “And Ren.”

Pearl looked surprised, her grip tightening on Gem’s arms.

“So…” she paused and bit her lip, panic starting to etch itself in her features. “They were going to turn on him.”

“It’s pretty likely, yes,” Scott agreed.

“Where is Ren right now?” Pearl asked.

Martyn looked at Scott.

“We… couldn’t trust him enough for this,” Martyn closed his eyes. It was clear he wanted to have trusted Ren. Gem knew how the two were. She noticed Pearl half nodded, understanding the feeling.

Scott cleared his throat, “We’re going to accuse Grian and Lizzie soon. And… we have to accuse Impulse as well but, Pearl, he helped us get Gem out.”

She nodded, looking distant, dazed even.

“We’ll discuss this more later,” she told him.

Pearl released Gem from her grip and instead reached for her hand and Gem accepted it, feeling her heart flutter slightly. She wondered if they would finally talk about… things … soon.

The door opened suddenly, Skizz and Bigb in the doorway. They visibly relaxed when they saw that Gem was there.

“We weren’t able to keep Grian in the library for very long,” Skizz quickly said, shutting the door behind the two.

Gem noticed how Pearl looked over to Scott and Martyn.

“How many people did you get in on this plan?” She asked, a slight smile on her lips.

“Eh— eleven including ourselves,” Martyn answered, shrugging.

Pearl shook her head, laughing gently.

“I’m assuming that means Cleo and Bdubs were in on it?” Pearl started walking over to sit on her bed, pulling Gem with her gently.

Scott nodded.

Gem was almost nervous by how many people were involved. Nothing had seemed to go wrong, but things still could.

“Void— I'm relieved and astonished all at once,” Pearl squeezed Gem’s hand.

“What should we do now?” Tango asked, stepping forward from where he had been leaning against a wall.

“Well, I think we should stay here until Cleo and Bdubs get back,” Scott looked over at Martyn, seeming to see if he had anything to add.

“I might go see Ren a bit later,” Pearl said, with a short smile that Gem knew meant she was worrying about something.

Everyone seemed to agree and the others started talking. The room soon became filled with life as people conversed and laughed. It was the brightest Gem had seen Pearl’s room in a long time. Then she turned more directly to Pearl.

“Are you okay?” Gem spoke quietly, as to not concern the others.

“Was… was Ren changing his opinions? Genuinely?” She did not look Gem in the eyes.

“I… I don’t know. I think he is trusting the Solar Resistance less. But I can’t know what he is thinking,” she answered.

“Did I push him away too much?” Pearl turned her head to look at Gem.

Yes.

Gem knew that was the answer. But… would that truth hurt Pearl too much? She hesitated for a long moment before sighing.

“Yeah… kind of. You didn’t know, though,” she tried to reassure, even if she knew it would not do much.

“I pushed him away when he needed me,” Pearl said quietly. “I should’ve showed him more that you were innocent— oh, my,” she almost choked on the words.

“Hey— hey,” Gem comforted, putting her arm around her. “You’ll be able to see him again, Pearl. You’ll be able to talk it through with him. It will be okay.“

~

Ren was walking to the Knight commons, surprised by the silence in the hall. He had not seen anyone around in a bit, and he was starting to border on the edge of being worried. But he reasoned they all likely were just hanging out. Without him. Still, they must just be hanging out.

He had been questioning himself a lot.

After a lot of thinking, he had decided he trusted Pearl and Martyn far more than Lizzie. Because, even though Lizzie had guided him for years, been someone he looked up to and respected, she had clearly fallen to the wrong side of things. Something had shifted at some point in the past years. He did not know when. It worried him. He still wanted the best for her.

Ren needed to talk to Pearl. He was delaying it, trying to figure out just what to say. Would he ever have the right words to say? He did not know. With Pearl he had to accept that at some point he had lost sight of his loyalty. It was never intentional, but through his actions he had shown to her that he was not as loyal as he wanted to be. Despite that, he did need to talk to Pearl soon.

That was half the reason he was heading to the commons, to see if he could possibly talk it over with anyone. He did not want to say the wrong things and mess things up any further.

When he was outside of the door to the commons he noticed the silence from behind it. It was unusual and made his stomach turn. He sighed and debated turning away, but maybe someone was in there and just had no one else. He opened the door to a dark room. No one. But he walked in anyway, it could be a good place to think things over more. Thinking could be as useful as talking with someone, on occasion.

He gently closed the door behind him and closed his eyes, just standing in the dark room. The silence sparked a memory he had nearly forgotten. He had been reminded of it previously after the decision to send Gem to the dungeon had been made, and now he actually had time to dwell on the memory.

The day he had been assigned to be a personal guard to Pearl, it was just as silent in her room when he entered. The curtains were mostly drawn, and no lights were lit. But in the minimal light he could see Pearl sitting on her bed, facing away from him. Most of her skin was covered with bandages. Her hair was down and clearly she had not had the energy to take care of it.

It was a couple of months before her parents had passed, and they had informed him of the fact that Pearl had not let anyone besides the occasional medic in her room in weeks. She had not even let Grian nor Jimmy in, which was told to him to be unusual.

He had cleared his throat softly to try and get her attention, though she seemed to give no reference to noticing him.

“Your Highness?” He spoke quietly.

She flinched and turned her head.

“I’m Ren,” he kept his voice quiet. “I have been assigned as your personal Knight.”

Pearl had stared at him with an expression he could not read. Looking back now he assumed the expression was curious, observant. He took a step farther into the room and got no protest from Pearl.

“How are you feeling?” Ren asked, trying to possibly lighten the mood.

“Bad,” she responded quietly, continuing to watch him.

“Oh— uh, is there anything I can do?” He took another step into the room.

Pearl was silent, but Ren did not read the expression as refusal. She was thinking, if he could see correctly. He stayed still while she thought. If he continued walking he felt he would have interrupted her thinking, especially if she had to speak to tell him she did not want him any nearer.

“Yes,” she said with a gentle nod. “Braid my hair, please.”

At the time, Ren had found the request bordering on odd. But looking back, he understood. 

He walked over and picked up a brush from her dresser, then sat behind her on the bed. Ren hesitated to start brushing her hair, but after a moment he did. She flinched at the first brush through, but then seemed to relax. Or come as close to relaxing as she could at the time. It took a while to first brush through her hair.

“Ren?” She barely spoke the words, but Ren paused immediately.

“Yes, your Highness?” He answered.

“Call me Pearl, please,” she glanced back over her shoulder.

“Yes, yo—“ he paused. “Yes, Pearl.”

Pearl nodded slightly and he resumed brushing her hair. Once he was done with that he braided her hair simply, tying it off with string at the bottom. She did not turn back to him once he was done braiding, but he felt she did not want him to leave quite yet.

His assumption was proved correct when she spoke again, “She used to braid my hair.” She paused for a long moment. At that time Ren was not certain who she spoke of, though quickly after he found it out to be Gem. “And now she’s gone,” Pearl turned her head to the side. Despite her wings blocking most of Ren’s view, he could see her bring her bandaged arm up to look at. “This is all the reminder I get of her now.”

Ren stopped thinking about the memory.

Even from that first day he could tell that Pearl loved Gem.

Yet, now he was here. Questioning if he was accidentally disloyal to her. If he stopped her from going back to Gem and getting her genuine joy back.

Ren was not sure how long he stood there in the commons, it was calming, in a strange, gut wrenching way. Then, quietly, he heard the door open. He did not turn at first, assuming the person would say something. After a moment, though, he felt the way the atmosphere changed. Something… was different.

He opened his eyes and turned, seeing in the dim light Lizzie standing there in front of the door. When she did not say anything for another moment he started to process that she was not in the room on positive terms. There was resentment in her stance and—

And a sword in her hand.

He processed what was going to be done in a matter of seconds.

It almost pained him that he realized so quickly.

“Oh,” was what he said in response.

Lizzie had previously been someone he had gone to with anything. But now she clearly knew he was not on her side as much as before. Or maybe this was an intentional betrayal, devoid of any knowledge of his doubts, he could not be sure. Well, to be honest, it was betrayal either way. All of their years of trust being built up must have meant nothing to her.

Ren knew he should fight back, get out of the room and make everything right.

But it seemed more deserved to resign to his fate. After everything, it seemed clear to let himself fall to this fate. He could die knowing that Pearl saw him as a villain, because he felt it was deserved. Keeping Gem and Pearl apart was his choice, and he knew he should accept the consequences. Ren had kept them away from one another, not due to fact but instead beliefs. Beliefs fed by the liar before him.

His last interaction with Martyn had, at the very least, been positive. Truthful and honest. Loving and calm. He could die with that. He believed that Martyn could live without him. He had so many loving people around him that he would be able to move on quickly, and Ren knew he was strong.

Ren was okay with dying to Lizzie’s sword. It was something he could handle. One of the few people he had trusted his life with was now going to be the one to take it. And he could accept that. Better to someone he knew that had fallen to a bad place than a person he had never said one word to. At least, that was how Ren thought of it.

Lizzie stepped forward toward Ren.

Despite her being far shorter than him, she had always been the more intimidating of the two. When she was there in front of him with that sword, he truly felt that. A fear of her that he had never had before. Something deeper than the knowledge of harm about to be dealt, instead a fear of the fact that she had full free will and yet decided to take this course of action.

Even in the last few seconds of Ren standing there, he trusted that Lizzie would make the death quick.

The sword was placed just under his chin and he closed his eyes.

He thought of Pearl for a moment.

Then the blade started to sink into his skin and he thought of Martyn.

Ren wished he would have been able to tell Martyn he loved him one last time.

Chapter Text

Lizzie did not have the time to wash off the blood on her hands before Grian came to get her to confront Impulse.

It had been a couple days since her and Grian discussed talking to him, and she guessed that Grian thought it was the perfect time to follow through. Whatever. It would be fine. Was not like she had anything better to do, she supposed.

The two made their way down to the dungeon area and spotted Impulse stationed as he was told to be outside of Gem’s room.

“Impulse,” Grian said when they stood in front of him.

He nodded to the two, “Your Highness. Lizzie.”

“We have a few questions for you,” Lizzie folded her arms, seeing Impulse notice the blood on her hands. His eyes clearly widened before he got a control of his expression.

“Go on,” he agreed.

“You don’t happen to know about our, evidence , going missing, do you? Listen, if you were worried about us blaming Scott along with Gem and Ren, you could’ve just told us. We would’ve blamed someone else,” Grian spoke in a calm manner but Lizzie knew he was fairly pissed. They only had very few fake evidence pieces left, and even less of Grian’s actual journals. It had forced a pause on most of their plans.

“I know nothing of evidence going missing,” Impulse answered, seemingly genuine.

“What about, you know, letting unauthorized visitors in to see her?” Grian asked.

Impulse clearly paused, setting his answer in stone before he even spoke.

“I have never let anyone else in,” he said, but it was clear he did not mean it.

Grian sighed annoyedly. Lizzie felt the same way, pissed off they would probably have to find another to fill Impulse’s role.

“We’ll discuss this more later,” Grian stated. “For now, continue on here and don’t let anyone unauthorized in, alright?”

Impulse nodded.

Lizzie rolled her eyes.

~

When the door opened suddenly, Gem knew it was going to be Cleo and Bdubs. What she was not expecting was for them to both be out of breath and incoherently shouting.

“And we need to get Impulse somewhere safe—“

“I think Lizzie had blood on her hands—“

“I thought they were gonna see us—“

“You two,” Pearl said sharply, making them both shut up. “One of you explain what happened, slowly.”

Cleo looked at Bdubs and he nodded.

“We couldn’t find Lizzie for most of the time we were out. But we thought that was good given that meant she wasn’t near the dungeons or Pearl’s room,” Cleo started. “Me and Bdubs were meeting back up and about to come up here, but then we noticed Grian and Lizzie heading somewhere. They went and talked to Impulse— and we heard it all. I don’t think they’re going to be too nice to Impulse pretty soon given they are fully aware of the evidence missing, and they think Impulse is to blame.”

“Damnit,” Scott shook his head.

“Here how about,” Pearl stepped forward, seeming to think quickly and take charge of the situation. “You two go get Impulse and take him back to Martyn’s flat— or one of your places.”

Martyn nodded, “I agree with Pearl. Mumbo is back at my flat, you can take him there, if you would like.”

Cleo nodded and nudged Bdubs slightly, “Let’s go now then.”

The two turned and left, and only then did Gem start to process everything that had just been said.

“Well that was something,” Gem mumbled, looking at Pearl.

“Yeah,” she nodded, then sighed. “I think we should go see Ren. I feel like he needs to know all that is going on.”

Everyone seemed to agree, Martyn already walking toward the door.

“Should anyone stay here?” Scott suggested.

Martyn turned back, “Well, we already know that Grian and Lizzie are probably plotting, I doubt either of them would hide out in here for an attack. And Pearl’s going to come back to her room with plenty of others anyway.”

More agreement amongst everyone.

Gem stood up, meeting Martyn at the door with the others. They all exited the room, and for some reason Gem ended up toward the front of the group, along with Martyn and Pearl. At first, they stopped at Ren’s room, but he was not there. Someone mentioned he may be in the commons and they all continued on that way.

When they got to the commons door, Gem was still at the front of the group, so she grabbed the handle and turned it.

The door opened upon a dark room, and at first Gem assumed that Ren must not be in there either. But the opening door brought more light into the room and she could see something on the floor, a deep red at first.

Blood.

Then her eyes scanned over the body.

Ren.

Pearl pushed past Gem, realizing a split second sooner than her and dropping to her knees by him.

“REN!” She shouted, shaking him. “Someone get a medic! REN!” 

Gem could hear someone run off to follow what Pearl had instructed.

“REN!” Pearl yelled again, trying to get him to wake up.

Once the initial shock passed over, Gem stepped forward to see how bad the wound was. Pearl had turned Ren’s body to be on his back and they both gasped. There was a substantial wound to his neck, looking to go straight through his throat, but not severing his head. Along with that, there was a wound to his chest, though it looked shallower, an afterthought even.

“No— No, no, no,” Pearl tried to put pressure on the chest wound, as if it would help at that point. Gem could tell she was crying and desperate.

Gem glanced back to Martyn, Tango by his side. He looked like he still had not processed properly what had happened. She debated going over and comforting him, but then Pearl yelled again.

“He can’t be gone— no— no, I need to talk to him— he can’t— he isn't–“ She was shaking and Gem did not know whether to reach out to her or stay the same distance. She kneeled down to Pearl’s level, wincing as she felt blood stain the knees of her trousers. 

Gem did not quite have the energy to cry. Both Martyn and Pearl knew Ren far better than she ever did, she felt that what she needed to do in the moment was support.

Then she heard someone yelling from behind them.

“Medic! Medic coming through,” They pushed past the crowd and went wide eyed when Pearl and Gem moved out of the way. “Oh…” they looked at Pearl. “He’s gone. No doubt.”

Pearl fell into Gem, hugging her and just sobbing. She was repeating ‘no’ over and over again.

The medic hovered over Ren’s body, seeming to be uncertain of what to do next. Gem glanced over to Martyn once more, now accompanied by Tango, Scott, and Jimmy. He had started crying, but still seemed silent. Gem was trying her best to comfort Pearl, but she knew they needed to get out of the room before Pearl would calm down. If she even could calm down. They were both covered in blood. 

She looked past Ren’s body and for the first time noticed a sword on the ground, likely the weapon used to kill Ren given the blood on it. Gem motioned over Jimmy to continue comforting Pearl, and she stood up and walked over to look closer at the sword.

The words Solar Resistance were etched clearly into it, and a note was left to the side. She picked up the note, noticing the bloody fingerprints on it. It read:

Give our journals back, or more will see death

She did not recognize it as Grian’s handwriting, so it had to be…

Lizzie’s.

Gem locked eyes with Scott and she felt that he was able to understand what had happened just by that moment.

Still, Gem spoke for the rest of the room to hear. “The Solar Resistance did this,” her voice cracked. “Lizzie did this.”

Chapter Text

The next few weeks flew by for Pearl.

Scott and Martyn had come forth with the evidence against Grian, Lizzie, and Impulse. Despite the shock from the kingdom, Pearl willingly sent Grian and Lizzie to the dungeons, with their trial being set very soon. Less willingly, she put away Impulse, though there were plenty of people who were willing to testify as witnesses that he was both a changed man now and was manipulated in the first place.

While she still could not legally allow Gem to be around the palace, Gem still visited as often as she could. Though, Gem was mostly focused on helping Martyn through grieving Ren. Jimmy was helping Pearl the most when it came to grief. They did not leave each other’s side very often anymore. It reminded her of after their parents had passed, even though the circumstances were very different. She was glad that Scott ended up handling all of the funeral arrangements. Neither Pearl nor Martyn were well enough to deal with all of that.

She did not visit Grian or Lizzie much. Actually, she only visited Grian once. And Lizzie; well, Pearl did not think she could stand to see her. When she did visit Grian she did not know what to say to him. Really, she did not know if she could fully hate him. It still felt weird to accept that he was trying to overthrow her. They fought sometimes, sure, but she never felt like he would ever cause her harm. She supposed that was why Gem had not told her sooner about his plans, she knew that Pearl would not take it well. Pearl definitely had not taken it too poorly, but not even processing it probably was not considerably taking it well. It both made sense and seemed nonsensical. Though, when she looked into Grian’s eyes she could see the lack of regret. The calm, cold lack of remorse. 

In the time between Lizzie being obviously removed as a Lunar Knight and her trial, Pearl made Skizz a Lunar Knight. She still had not appointed a new personal guard but… she would wait a bit longer before doing that. For a couple reasons.

Overall, Pearl was not doing too poor or too well. She was handling everything in a sort of half-numb state that probably was not actually good for her. But she was still standing and functioning, which was what she called a win.

And soon enough she would have Gem back. That was one thing she really kept her focus on. A future was to come, with Gem by her side.

~

Ren’s funeral came too soon for Martyn.

He was still losing his composure at any little thing that reminded him of Ren. Despite the comfort and help from everyone else around him, he still felt like a piece of him had been brutally ripped out and he was left there bleeding. He could not cope.

There was some hope in him that burying Ren would bring him some level of closure. Or seeing Lizzie be found guilty. But at the same time, those two things did not bring Ren back in any way. If anything, to Martyn they just pushed Ren’s death further away.

Martyn did not know if he could ever move on.

When the day of the funeral arrived, Gem accompanied him along with Tango and Mumbo. It was on palace grounds, so Gem did have to be slightly low profile, but she still comforted and stayed by Martyn’s side.

He was surprised he did not cry at the funeral. Martyn guessed it was because there was nothing to remind him of the positives he was missing, or at least he stayed away from any of them. It was closed casket, given Ren’s injuries, and Martyn did not know if that was better or worse. It meant that the last time he saw Ren’s face was on the floor of the Knight commons, still and expressionless. 

A lot of people were there, and Martyn talked to very few of them.

After it was done Pearl pulled Martyn aside.

“If you want to go and look through Ren’s room to see if there’s anything you would like to keep, you can,” she explained. He nodded vaguely, then went through the motions of walking into the palace and to Ren’s room.

When he opened the door he winced. The place felt duller. Even if it was not physically, it still felt that way.

He looked around slowly, walking over to where different things were scattered on top of Ren’s dresser. It was jewelry mostly. Martyn noticed a necklace he had given Ren and he immediately took it into his hands, observing it. The necklace was simple, a sword etched into it with an R & M on it. He stared at it for a while before putting it on. Tears were threatening to start falling, but he blinked them back, moving over to a little box on the edge of the dresser.

On the top of the box were the words For My Everything. Martyn hesitantly opened the box, curious as to what was inside. There was a folded piece of paper first, which he took and opened up. It was a letter of some sort.

When summer comes I’m reminded of us

Our love and our partnership

The blooming flowers I have brought to you

And the words you say in response 

So take this, my love

As a representation of how much time we have had together 

And how much more is to come

Your’s only, Ren

Martyn looked in the box and saw a ring. It was gold and the planet of Mars was engraved on it.

He started crying.

But he put on the ring, and, oh, it fit perfectly on his finger.

Maybe he did not need the closure of burying his lover or seeing a murderer get put away.

Maybe all he needed was the reminder that Ren had always been thinking of him, and Martyn could carry on his love by still keeping him in mind.

He could learn to live with the sadness. Because he still loved Ren, and he could still love all of the things that reminded him of Ren.

~

The trial dates had come, and all three of the trials had proceeded.

Grian: Guilty, to be executed.

Lizzie: Guilty, to be executed.

Impulse: Guilty, to be punished.

Pearl did still, as the current Queen, have to make the final decisions. And she agreed with the rulings. The two that were guilty and were to be executed, Pearl accepted. Even though her stomach instinctually twisted at it, she accepted it.

Impulse did not necessarily get away completely unimpaired, as he was dismissed from his research position in the palace. It was true that they found him guilty in assisting the other two.Pearl was alright with that, because Impulse accepted that decision easily and understood why it was done.

The day of execution Pearl did not attend. She actually did not even leave her room that day, instead staying with Jimmy and trying to not think about everything.

It was the day after that she went, alone, to Grian’s grave. 

She sat against a tree nearby, just staring and trying to understand. He had disagreed with many of her choices, but she thought he still agreed with the important ones. The ones that would have mattered if he had succeeded in overthrowing her. She still did not understand the concept of whatever The Watchers were, and Pearl did wonder if they had been something he possibly made up.

“I’ll miss you,” she sighed, speaking quietly.

There was the sound of leaves crunching and Pearl turned, seeing someone approaching. After a few seconds she identified them as Martyn. He paused when he spotted her.

“You here to pay your respects, too?” He asked her.

She nodded, turning back to look at the grave. He walked closer and sat down next to her.

“I didn't realize you two were recently good enough friends with him still to want to pay respects,” Pearl said quietly.

Martyn shrugged, “Used to be. Before he… got distant due to The… from Them.”

“You know about The Watchers, then?” She questioned.

There was a distinct pause that gave Pearl a far greater answer than anything Martyn could say.

“You could say that, yeah,” he eventually said.

Pearl nodded, understanding he did not seem to want to say any more. She had barely remembered the fact that Martyn and Grian used to be close. It was a long time ago, when Martyn still often visited the palace and worked with some of the researchers. He left a bit before the accident. 

“Did you ever love him?” She found herself asking, it may have been a bit bold of an assumption, but she did not think it was wrong. She had always wondered it back when she saw the two together.

“I’ve loved a lot of people,” he laughed, looking at the ground and smiling hesitantly. “But, yeah. I think I did. I don’t know if he ever loved me, though.”

Pearl leaned her head back against the tree. It was strange, knowing she would never see Grian again. Never talk to him again, and she could have stopped it. It was an odd feeling that she could not place a name to. She did not feel the same zero remorse that she saw in his eyes, but she did not feel guilty for allowing his execution to be seen to.

There was one thing that came with Grian’s death.

It meant that Pearl and Jimmy could reverse the order to ban Gem from being near Pearl. Since they both agreed, and they now did not need to get Grian’s approval, they would be able to reverse the order. Pearl had to work through the paperwork of it first, along with Jimmy. But once that was done, and the day had passed, she knew she would be able to not only allow Gem back in the palace, but give her a role that needed filling. It would be bittersweet for Pearl, an action showing a good future was to come.

Chapter Text

Gem could not lie, she was a little nervous.

Standing off to the side, leaning against a pillar and waiting for the crowd to quiet down for Pearl to make the announcements. She felt odd not having her cloak on, especially in the palace. Instead, she was covered in silver armor, that of a Lunar Knight’s. 

When Pearl stood up, people quieted quickly. Scott was standing near her, along with Jimmy. Her eyes glanced over to where Gem was, seeming to relax when Gem waved slightly. Pearl looked to sigh, and then looked over the rest of the crowd.

“As you all know,” she started. “Second in line to the throne, Prince Grian, my brother, has been executed for plotting to violently overthrow me,” she paused, collecting herself after a moment and continuing. “Following his execution, Prince Jimmy and I have made a decision I feel necessary to announce to you all.”

A murmur passed over the crowd, curiosity clear in the air.

“Quite a few years ago, one of my close— friends, Gem, was falsely accused and tried for attempting to murder me. Jimmy and I have come to the decision to excuse that ruling, something that Grian previously wouldn’t have agreed with, given it was him who set her up both then and recently to seem guilty,” Pearl nodded to herself, glancing over to Gem once more.

She let the chatter pick up for a moment again, allowing the civilians that were there to discuss the decision.

“And—“ continuing, she looked back out to the crowd. “You also all know of the unfortunate passing of my guard, Ren.” Even from where Gem was she could see Pearl get teary eyed. “So, I have come to the decision of making Gem a Lunar Knight, and my personal guard. I hope you all will respect this decision and be with me as we move forward.”

She turned slightly and motioned Gem to come before the throne.

It was an odd experience. Her only previous times being directly in front of the throne was when she was about to be thrown in the dungeons. But she stepped into the light of the grand hall and walked to be before Pearl.

Gem made eye contact with Pearl for a brief moment before bowing down. She could see Jimmy hand Pearl the sword and felt the gentle weight go from one of her shoulders to the other. Pearl said a few words and then requested Gem to stand.

“Here,” she said, quiet enough that likely no one in the crowd could hear. Gem reached to take the sword from Pearl and she paused when their hands touched while passing the sword. She met her eyes and the whole world was quiet for a moment.

In those seconds all she knew was Pearl. Her eyes set gently on Gem, their hands grazing over one another on the hilt of the sword. Pearl’s hair was put up back for once, something she had not done in a while. It was pretty. She was pretty. The light blush on her face made Gem want to grin at her.

Then, Pearl cleared her throat and Gem was once more aware of the eyes carefully watching the two. She took the sword and sheathed it in the scabbard on her hip.

Gem took her place by the side of the throne, watching as Pearl continued speaking. She could not pay attention to her words as all she could think of was that she could once again feel safe and free within the walls of the palace. And she could do what she loved to do, be around Pearl.

She felt nearly giddy, a small smile forming on her lips.

Later on, Gem went with Pearl at sunset to the celestial church. 

The actual sunset and Pearl’s prayers came and went, but the two sat in the room next to one another with their backs to the wall that contained the water before the window. Pearl had closed her eyes at one point, and Gem did the same, mimicking her in a comfortable silence.

She wondered if now was the time to finally address the one thing they had not yet spoken of. Gem opened her eyes and looked over at Pearl. 

Pearl looked peaceful. Her head was resting back against the wall, and her legs were slightly bent up, though not all the way to her chest. She had taken out her hair and it fell over her shoulder nicely. Her wings were closer to out to the sides of her so that she could better rest against the wall. Gem could see her breathing slowly, calmly. She smiled after a moment and opened one of her eyes to look at Gem.

“I can feel you staring,” Pearl opened her other eye and turned her head to properly look at Gem.

Gem looked away and tried to conceal her smile, “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Oh, come on now,” she laughed, reaching a hand out and taking Gem’s hand.

She turned her head to look back over to Pearl and could feel her face heating up slightly. Pearl ran her thumb over the scars on Gem’s palm, while keeping her eyes locked with Gem’s.

“Void—“ Gem sighed. 

“What?” Pearl asked, raising an eyebrow.

“It’s just— we never talked about… that night under the willow tree,” she lowered her voice to something quieter, testing the waters.

Pearl paused before saying anything, clearly thinking about what she wanted to say.

“We never had the proper chance to,” she mimicked Gem’s tone. “And… I kind of thought you wanted to ignore it.”

Gem smiled at her.

“I thought you wanted to ignore it,” Gem shifted how she was sitting.

“Well aren’t we both quite dumb then,” Pearl laughed, then bit her lip. “Unless you do want to ignore it?”

“Stars no—“ she quickly replied. “I just— I don’t know what to say about it.”

“Neither do I,” Pearl agreed.

Gem looked off to the side again, debating whether to leave the conversation there. But she could not— they needed to discuss, well, them , properly.

“Pearl, I like you,” she paused for a beat. “A lot,” she closed her eyes, not knowing what reaction to prepare for.

Pearl giggled, shifting her weight and seeming to lean forward, “I like you a lot, too.”

“No but like—“ Gem tried to clarify, opening her eyes.

“I know, Gem. I know what you meant,” Pearl nodded.

She waited for a minute, paying attention to Pearl’s hand in hers again.

“What are we, then?” Gem asked, turning herself to fully face Pearl.

“Do we have to be anything specific?” Pearl responded. “If we both know we are something, do we owe others a title?”

Gem thought for a moment, hearing how true Pearl’s words were. It hit her how she could love her, she could be hers, without having to explain that to others. Maybe one day they would be dating, be married even, but they did not need to be. They could just be each other’s.

“That… that makes sense,” she nodded, resting her head against the wall again. “I love you,” the words were barely audible, but she could see Pearl’s expression brighten.

“I love you too.”

~

Martyn was leaning against the kitchen counter waiting for Gem to show up. There were boxes on the ground all around, some being Tango’s and some being Gem’s. The process of moving Gem out and Tango in was a whole ordeal. Gem was still coming around to pick up more of her stuff often, and Tango was still getting things from his old place. Martyn was glad though that Tango was moving in. He knew he would be lonely without Gem there, and he still did not want the feeling of loneliness to creep in.

The door opened and he stood properly up, smiling at Gem as she walked in.

“Sorry— sorry for being late,” she sighed and put her hands on her hips. “It was a whole thing— Pearl was telling me I need to meet with her somewhere later and then I got caught up talking to Scott— but I’m here now!”

“No worries,” he smirked slightly and laughed to himself. “What was with Pearl telling you to meet her somewhere?”

Gem’s eyes lit up, “Oh! I need to tell you— me and Pearl talked and,” she grinned. “She likes me.”

“I know, Gem,” Martyn nodded, still smiling. “Scott told me.”

“How’d he find out?! That was just the other day?” She walked over and grabbed one of the boxes that was hers, moving it closer to the door.

“He’s observant.” Martyn paused. “Also he just asked Pearl,” he explained, smirking at her.

“Always ones to gossip,” Gem shook her head, smiling. She looked to the side for a moment and then back to Martyn. “Are you doing okay? By the way…”

Martyn looked down at the floor and twisted the ring on his finger.

“I think I’m doing alright,” he answered. “Better than I have been, at least.”

“That’s good,” Gem nodded. “And if you ever need anything, I’m always here to talk. You’re welcome in the palace.” She hesitated then went on, “I’ll also come here at the drop of a hat if you want me to. I’m here for you.”

“Thank you Gem,” he smiled. “I might take you up on that soon enough.”

She smiled back, picking up the box she had grabbed.

“I’ll be back in a minute for another one,” and she turned and left.

Martyn could get used to this new normal. Even if it was different. Even if he did not know where it would take him.

~

Scott may or may not have half-yelled ‘I knew it!’ When Pearl told him that Gem and her were more than friends now. But he felt it was a very reasonable response given he had pretty much predicted it years before the accident even. Pearl and Gem had always had an interesting dynamic and Scott could tell at one point it would become more than friendly.

He was quite excited to tell Cleo and others he was right, as well. Though, he did have to keep it limited to some extent, given Pearl did not want every person in the kingdom to know.

It was a bit weird to not have Impulse around. When Scott had thought about telling him he realized he would have to do it later in the day, and specifically seek out Impulse. It was not like he was not welcome in the palace, he just did not have a reason to really be there.

Scott did hope that he would be able to come back one day. He was skilled, to say the least, and Scott valued his opinions. But he also understood why he was not currently there.

The whole Solar Resistance thing had come to light so fast that Scott only really processed everything about it once two of the members were already executed. He did wish he could have had a bit more time to interrogate the two on thorough plans and reasoning. Though… he did still have access to the journals.

He and Cleo had burned the fakes and presented the real ones, but after the trial was over he was able to get hold of the journals again. It was not the worst idea, going through them.

But for now he would head out of the palace early to go chat with Impulse— and maybe Martyn again. He was glad he was able to walk out knowing Gem and Pearl were together. Both literally and relationship-wise.

~

Pearl was already out under the willow tree, and she watched Gem walk over.

“Could’ve waited for me?” Gem laughed as she approached.

“I’m a bit impatient,” Pearl smiled, getting up from where she was sitting.

The sun had set already, and the night was peaceful. Under the tree was plenty bright given the lanterns, and Pearl glanced down at some blue wildflowers scattered on the grass. She picked one and walked over to Gem, placing the flower behind her ear. Gem’s hand gravitated up toward it and then dropped back to her side.

She was staring up at Pearl in a way that made her heart soar. Kind, sweet, yet daring and dangerous in the best way possible. Pearl took a step closer to her and laughed gently.

Pearl moved to place a hand on Gem’s face, gently holding her. Gem put her hand over Pearl’s, keeping her hand there. Pearl’s other hand tucked a strand of hair behind Gem’s ear. She smiled at the small distance between them. After a moment of staying like that, she made proper eye contact with Gem and she felt butterflies in her stomach.

“May I kiss you?” Pearl asked, the question quiet and soft.

“Yeah,” Gem nodded lightly. “Please do.”

So she did. Moving forward to close the gap and feeling Gem’s other hand settle on the back of her neck, pulling her in.

The kiss was gentle, soft. And it really made Pearl think. Think about how much she loved her.

Pearl had never understood the warmth the sun could provide until she had gotten close to Gem. She had always preferred the quiet nights under the moon. The calming peace that was the night. But when she met Gem— when she came to truly know her— she finally had understood why the sun was so loved. 

Gem was bright and kind and what kept her happy. She was what living was supposed to be. Pearl envied her and cared for her and… loved her.

Before Gem, Pearl had only known how the sun could burn. How it could harm. When people would talk of the good parts she could not understand it. She was only shining in the light that the sun provided then, not basking in it. The moon was always framed as relying on the sun to shine, and Pearl had always felt she had been tied to that. Chained to it. Never working in constant change with the sun, but working by what he wanted.

But now. Now , she got it.

The moon should not have to need the sun. But she could still love the sun if that was what she wanted. And she did want it. Because the sun was no longer someone who caused her pain, the sun was now just a girl that showed her the warmth of daytime. A girl she had shown the comfort of night. Someone who she could trust and need under her own circumstances, not another’s.

The sun could be hers, as she could be Gem’s.