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"This way, Pearl! Don't dawdle!"
"Ms. Quartz," Pearl said, lagging behind,"Are you absolutely certain about this?"
"Dead certain! The Lost City of Gold is just through this brush!" the adventurer shouted boisterously "I can feel it in my bones!"
This. This seemed to be the prestige of Rose Quartz: intrepid explorer, discoverer of the forgotten, notorious womanizer
"Right..."
"You know," Pearl huffed, "This is quite the hike. Are you certain we shouldn't have woken our porter?"
"Relax, Pearl, Garnet's had a hard day. I can't imagine how hard it must be to lug all that weight through an entire jungle. Let her sleep, we'll wake her and the rest when we find the City."
"So sure you'll find it, eh, Ms. Quartz?"
"Two things," Rose said, stopping in her tracks to look at Pearl,"First off: call me Rose, 'Ms. Quartz' is so impersonal. Next: I am positively certain I will find it. Have some faith, Pearl! Our journey was not in vain!"
As much as Pearl would have liked to believe her, she had the oddest gut feeling that Ms. Diamond had blown a considerable amount of her money on some wild goose chase. Not only that, but put Pearl's life in jeopardy, which had only recently dawned on her. Rose did have a very confident, comforting quality to her though, so at least she wouldn't take the full blow if worse came to worst.
"Well, if your reputation is any indicator," Pearl spoke tentatively,"I guess I can trust you...Rose."
"I can assure you that your trust is not misplaced, my dear Pearl."
Dear Pearl...it sounded so much better when it wasn't spewed from the mouths of horrendously sycophantic suitors that sook out to court her. She never took a fancy to those gentlemen, or any gentleman for that matter. But she would be spreading mistruth if she claimed she didn't see anything in Rose.
"Rose...I-"
The paler woman was cut off when she had tripped over what seemed to be an unnaturally cube-shaped rock.
"Careful Pearl," Rose said, walking to help Pearl up, "Being so close to these ruins and the rise of the brush means you need to watch your step! Especially with your choice of apparel, beautiful as it is."
When the explorer grabbed onto her own elegant gloved hand, Pearl truly began to feel something unlike anything she had ever felt before. This is what it felt like to be embraced by another woman. Rose's grip was firm, but not overbearing, which was extremely surprising for someone of her vocation.
Once Rose had helped her off the ground, they both took a moment to gaze at each other, as if they both sensed the mutual attraction. She grabbed on to Pearl's other hand, gripping it firmly and staring deeper into her beautiful, delicate face.
"Pearl..."
She would have continued if a horrendously large glare didn't catch her off guard. This struck them both as unusual, as they began to search for what could be causing it. What they found was much better than they both had hoped.
Large clay temples and ruined streets and homes populated the clearing. But, what distinguished it from other ancient ruins was the blinding amount of gold that studded almost every foot of the city. Both women had a pretty good idea of lie in this gargantuan valley.
"We've found it! The Fabled Lost City of Gold," The relic hunter yelled with boisterous surprise.
"Oh Rose! We-we..."
Unable to finish, Pearl leaped at Rose, kissing her deeply.
While she was surprised, Rose didn't make an effort to push her away, instead wrapping both of her strong arms around Pearl to bring her closer. However, the slender woman had to break off upon truly realizing what she had done.
"Oh...I'm so sorry, Rose! I-"
"My Pearl, don't worry, I would love to make your acquaintance."
"R-really-" Pearl spluttered out.
"I mean, if my lady will have me," the explorer bowed in fake curtsey as she extended a hand.
Somehow concealed joy filled Pearl as she took Rose's hand.
They stood there for a second, lost in each others presence. So much so, it took them a good two minutes before either them had actually remembered they had discovered the Fabled Lost City of Gold.
"Should we go get the others," Pearl asked, breaking the silence,"they would definitely love to see this."
"Not right now," Rose chuckled,"the best part of being an explorer is enjoying your treasures before others get involved."
They both smiled at each other, confident in the fact that they had both discovered a treasure even more valuable than an entire city of gold and the millions of dollars that would follow.