Chapter Text
Pearl pulled her hood down, looking up at the rising dawn. Her shoes dragged through the sand as Tilly padded along beside her. She sighed to herself, happy to feel the sun on her skin once more.
“Exile probably means forever, right?” She asked. Tilly tilted her head intently. She was nearing the edge of the desert, the border of the kingdom. Ren’s kingdom. And if she wanted to avoid the chance of being burned alive, this was a dumb idea. But someone had to stop Ren, and if she didn’t, who would?
Pearl took one last glance at the desert behind her, the place where she spent so many days and so many nights… She laughed to herself. As she turned around to face the rocky outcrop where the sand met the grass, she exhaled.
Then she took a step.
She crossed the border.
After freezing for a moment, she ran ahead, feeling so freed. She giggled. She hadn’t felt grass under her feet for what… a year?
“C’mon, Tilly! You’re good!” Pearl cried. Tilly whined, then switched paws, seemingly trying to get the confidence up to take a step. “Come on, baby! You got it!” Pearl encouraged. Finally, Tilly broke free and ran to Pearl.
Pearl crouched down to catch her wolf friend. She was almost knocked over by Tilly’s weight zooming into her. She laughed for a few moments, taking in the feeling of the grass and the trees in the distance… the green, honestly, was refreshing itself.
After taking a rest, Pearl stood and continued.
“Alright. Now we just need to-“
“Hrruph!” A cold, unusual voice grunted, as Pearl scarcely dodged an arrow. Pearl looked up, startled. Sure enough, three Pillagers stood before her. Why are they attacking me?! She wondered. Then it clicked. The Jewel! They want the Jewel!
Quickly, Pearl took her axe off her back and threw it at the first Pillager. After it fell, she dodged an arrow and slammed her axe into the second Pillager. Taking its crossbow, she rolled to dodge the blow then shot the third Pillager. Out of breath, she slowly stood, recollecting her gear. She hadn’t fought anything other than Husks and Spiders for a good while. But now that the fight was over…
Hruphg!
Pearl looked up, only to hear a sharp sound and feel a jolt in her chest. Pain shot through her body, and everything went black. She tried to move but… couldn’t.
That was the last she remembered.
Pearl woke inside of a dark shed. After a moment, she tried to realize where she was, but panicked when she couldn’t. All she felt were her wings pressed up against a cot and a blanket covering her. “Where am I?!” She asked out loud.
“Oh, good. You’re awake.”
Pearl looked to see… what appeared to be a cervitaur… on the other side of the room, sharpening a sword. Pearl realized there was a sparkly, dark green Jewel placed on her chest. “What’s this?!” She asked just as frantically. The cervitaur looked up. She had curly red hair, huge antlers, and a bow and quiver mounted on the back of her leather bodice. She was indeed a cervitaur, a half-deer, half-human creature.
“May just be a gemstone. Could be the actual Jewel of Healing. I’d say it’s the ladder if it saved your life after you were shot in the heart by a Pillager Captain.”
Pearl was taken aback. She picked up the Jewel, and almost seemed to feel her body weaken as she did. “This is the second Jewel?” Pearl asked.
“You’ve seen another Jewel?” The cervitaur asked. “Ya, and I have it in my bag. That’s why the Pillagers attacked me.” Pearl explained. “Ohhhhhhhh,” the cervitaur said, but then looked up as if she just realized the other part to what Pearl said. “Wait. YOU HAVE THE OTHER JEWEL?!”
“…Yes,” Pearl began cautiously. “It’s the red one. The Jewel of Loyalty. I’ve been trying to collect all of them to put in The Crown so that-“
“The evil king will be overthrown?” The cervitaur finished.
Pearl blinked. “Yes.”
The cervitaur shuffled about, re-arranging. “If you want some help…”
“Yes, please! I’ll need it!” Pearl answered.
“It’s a good cause and I’m happy to fight for it.” the cervitaur declared. “Thank you. I can’t overthrow him alone.”
The cervitaur nodded. “Let me guess, he hurt you, too?”
Pearl felt almost uncomfortable to talk about this, but this deer-person was clearly trustworthy enough by the fact that she saved Pearl’s life before she even knew she had a Jewel.
“I went through some… stuff, so I befriended a pack of wolves. They took me in, and I fed them and played with them. The king thought I was a witch because I tamed them. I ran away before he could kill me.”
Pearl explained. The cervitaur’s eyes widened. “…wow, you had it worse than me, I think.” She began. “I’m really sorry about that. I did see a wolf where you were shot, and I put her outside. Let me go get her and see if she’s okay.”
Pearl’s heartbeat quickened. She hadn’t had time to wonder what happened to Tilly, and now she felt anxiety rise in her chest.
Alas, the door opened to a little white wolf who barreled in and jumped on Pearl, licking her face. “Tilly!!!” Pearl exclaimed happily. “You’re okay!”
The cervitaur smiled. “You said pack,” she began. “Do you know where the others are?”
Pearl’s heart sank as she sat up from her cot, keeping the Jewel on her chest. “When… someone… framed me as a witch,” Pearl started. “Me and Tilly were the only two who escaped. The king’s soldiers… they… they killed the others,” Pearl stuttered, holding back emotion.
The cervitaur looked down. “That must have been horrible.”
After a moment of petting Tilly, Pearl looked back to the cervitaur. “What happened to you?”
“Well…” the cervitaur began. “One of King Ren’s tax collectors was my best friend. When I was unable to pay one month, he immediately snitched me to the king, and I lost my home. I lost everything. So I built this shed. It’s not much, but at least the king can’t take it!” She finished in a half-hurt, half-joking tone. “But you clearly had it worse.” She finished. Pearl looked away. “I think we both were treated unfairly, and there are those treated even worse. If we don’t do anything, this will only continue.”
The cervitaur nodded. “I agree. And you won’t be alone.”
“I know others who crave vengeance just as much.”
Almost startled by the realization of how many people King Ren had treated unjustly, Pearl stood and gave the Jewel of Healing back to Gem. She felt almost completely healed now. “Thanks for helping me,” Pearl began quietly.
“Of course,” the cervitaur began. “The name’s Gem, by the way.”
“Pearl,” she replied, smiling.
“We can leave at dawn.” Gem decided. Pearl nodded.