Chapter Text
The first time they are alone together, it is on top of the forge.
A small plateau had formed due to the tremors that happened when Bismuth and her fellow Gems were hastily constructing their first version of the forge in the dead of night. Part of the mountain had collapsed, and although it had been an alarming setback, a quick check of the mountain showed it still maintained enough structural integrity for them to continue.
The mountain now housed three separate forging facilities, all crudely made, but large enough to properly outfit their growing numbers. And were their numbers growing in spades! The shiver of pride Bismuth felt as she climbed up the side of the sheer cliff face made her want to leap and spin for joy.
"It was already worth the effort of building a forge in the dead of night," Rose Quartz had said earlier that day. "The other bismuth you recruited are already training some of the newer recruits - I hear Jade is picking up the craft much faster than even she believed she could!" And Bismuth had laughed and whooped alongside Rose at the thought - a jade, learning to be a blacksmith? How exciting--
Her thoughts were interrupted when she found she wasn't alone on the tree-lined plateau. As she hopped over the edge, wading through the saplings Rose had planted, she saw her.
The pearl. Rose Quartz's pearl.
The pearl was standing near one of the saplings, feet planted firmly in the loose topsoil, bent at an odd angle. Clasped between her dainty hands was the hilt of a two-handed longsword, blade-down, it's tip buried. Her shoulders were hunched up by her ears and her entire body seemed to be trembling with the effort of using the weapon. Bismuth stopped, and realized the pearl hadn't noticed her approach, too focused in her hands as she was.
Did any pearl ever even want to fight? Bismuth wondered. As low-class as she was, it was infrequent that she even so much as spoke to a pearl. Bismuth had always been under the impression that pearls didn't have many practical skills; sure, they could dance (and dance very well), and sing, and move quickly, she supposed, but fighting? With a sword? A sword that was more than half her height?
Just as Bismuth was wondering if she should approach the pearl, she dropped the sword to the ground and fell to her knees. The pearl bowed her head, looking at her hands, and Bismuth could see the welts from her spot in the trees. Her form was rubbed raw, most likely from the sheer weight of the sword itself. The pearl sighed, re-positioning the tiered taffeta skirt that circled her waist. She was dressed in light blues and whites, herself a pale cream. Her hair was in what was considered a popular style these days on Homeworld, a slight forward ruffle, shorn short to her chin, pale pink in color. Her gem was set on her forehead, glinting in the dying sunlight that rippled through the baby trees.
Stars, she is beautiful, Bismuth found herself thinking as she took a tentative step forward. The gentle snap of the sapling's lowermost branch broke the silence, and the pearl stiffened and turned in one sharp burst.
"Oh!" she squeaked, and quickly scurried backwards in the dirt, her high-society skirt dragging under her. Bismuth put out her hands in a show of friendship, biting her lower lip.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" she said, unsure of what to do. The pearl was turned fully towards her, chest heaving. The sun dappled onto her form, and her skirts and frills sparkled with minute crystals that had been woven into the fabric. Bismuth's eyes widened a fraction and she stilled, simply staring. The pearl looked up in apprehension.
"No, I-I'm sorry," she said softly, her voice gentle and soothing. "I borrowed a sword from your forge without asking. I should be the one apologizing, not you." Bismuth said nothing, her hands still raised, still completely taken with just how... beautiful felt too cheap a word. Radiant. Luminous.
All praises reserved for Diamonds.
"I didn't mean to startle you," Bismuth finally said as she snapped out of her reverie. "I didn't realize anyone else would be up here." The pearl finally smiled and stood, dusting off her skirts.
"Rose and I come up here to train sometimes," she explained. She glanced to her left, where the longsword still sat in the dust. "I'm afraid I'm not very good on my own, though."
"Well, that might be because this sword is too heavy for you," Bismuth offered, finally lowering her arms. She carefully stepped forwards (she wasn't sure how she was supposed to act around a pearl when her owner wasn't around) and walked over to where the sword lay. "I was watching you before you dropped it, and, if I may, I think you'd be better off with something like a cutlass." Bismuth lifted the longsword with ease, gently dusting off the blade and surveying the hilt. "Besides, this sword wasn't made very well at all - it's already going to be a heavy weapon for you, but this one is even heavier at the hilt." The pearl chuckled and flushed a bright blue that Bismuth found beyond endearing.
"I believe that's because Rose picked it out," she admitted. "And Rose is, of course, much stronger than myself."
"I'll let her know my recommendation," Bismuth said, tucking the sword under her arm. "Definitely a cutlass, I think. I can even make you own tomorrow, if you'd like." The pearl beamed.
"Oh, I think I'd love that," she replied.
---
It was soon afterwards that Bismuth discovered the pearl was not, in fact, Rose Quartz's. She was absolutely, positively ownerless. Emancipated from her court of service, she hadn't had the energy or time to reform to shed herself of White Diamond's colors or design. She also did not appreciate being called "beautiful" or any variation thereof, something an innocent agate learned very quickly a few days later. Bismuth was silently grateful she didn't voice any of her opinions out loud, and silently disparaged on herself for assuming she belonged to Rose.
The leader of the rebellion against Homeworld would certainly not own a pearl, she had thought as she worked on the promised cutlass. Although she had found out more information from Jade regarding Pearl, she found herself endlessly curious about who she used to serve.
"I heard she was White Diamond's pearl," Jade had offered as she wiped down one of the stone slabs in the center of the room. "One of the newly dissented Clear Quartzes from Yellow Diamond's court told me she'd seen her."
"A Diamond's pearl would never get away with rebelling," another Bismuth, Curly, had replied, rolling her eyes. "She'd sooner be shattered. Besides, wouldn't it have gotten out if a Diamond's pearl rebelled? Wouldn't there be a, I don't know, pearl uprising?" Jade scoffed.
"Pearls wouldn't have a coup if that's what you're suggesting," she said. "They'd do it in secret, stealthily. That's what Pearl's specialty is - stealth missions, y'know? She's in and out like lightening." Curly gave a short 'hmm' in response.
"Pearls aren't strong - they could also all get swept up and sent to the Refinery," she said in a low voice. "Homeworld can produce new ones in no time. After a few days, no one would even remember the difference. Stars above, I'd hate to be a pearl."
Bismuth decided to spend extra time on the cutlass's blade to make sure Pearl could slice with as much efficiency as possible.