Chapter Text
There would be no escape for her this time. Pearl was cornered.
She turned quickly to see the lavender behemoth barreling its way toward her, blind with berserker fury. Reflexively, she summoned her spear, holding it at the ready as she had countless times before in situations such as this one, but as realization dawned on her, she allowed it to fall limply to her side and then to the hard dirt with a metallic clank. The weapon would be useless if she couldn't bring herself to wield it, and she knew she would not - not against her.
Instead, she shut her eyes tightly, bracing for what would surely be a mortal impact. Time seemed to slow as she faced her demise, accepting but not unafraid. The rumbling beneath her feet increased, the sound almost deafening as the distance between them lessened.
How poetic, she thought, that after having lived for several thousand years, after having found the courage to finally break free from a life of blind servitude, after having fought and survived a war, she would finally meet her end at the hands of the one she was sure she didn't want to live without.
The worst part of it all? Amethyst would never know how she felt. She would never have a clue as to how deeply she was cared for. Pearl herself, had only just recently become aware that her feelings for the younger gem ran far deeper than she had ever dared admit to herself. That is, until she had been faced with the prospect of losing her.
And they had lost her. Amethyst was lost.
If she had only recognized her feelings for what they were sooner and been truthful, maybe Amethyst would have believed her. If she hadn't pushed her own insecurities onto her so often in the past, maybe Amethyst would have trusted her enough to just talk to her. If she had known how much she meant to her; to everyone, maybe she would have understood that they really did think she was perfect exactly the way she was - that she didn't need to be 'better'.
Pearl had replayed the scenarios over and over again in her mind - everything she should have said and done differently to make her stay. If she had just relinquished her pride and allowed herself to be honest when it was most needed, she would have stopped her. She would have held her, and apologized for every hurtful thing she'd ever said or done. She would have kissed her. She would never have let her walk away. She would have done everything in her power to save her, and if she were not able, at the very least, Amethyst would have known that she was wanted, that she was loved, that Pearl would gladly give her own life to spare her from this torment.
But it was too late now.
A single tear rolled down her cheek in silent mourning of all that could have been and all that never would be. With a final hope that Amethyst might someday find her light once again, Pearl resigned herself to her fate.