Fear was the only thing she could feel in that silver glass prison that was no longer so restrictive. A fear of being noticed by the pink colored gem, a fear of being broken again, fear that the relief of her pains was only a form of torture in which she was given false hopes that everything would end with a good conclusion.
But contrary to what she believed would happen to her, nothing of the sort occurred. While she had not been noticed as such, she could see that through that Rose Quartz she was still in "her possession" as just another object or as a prisoner. Fear and anger, along with all the unjust acts toward her, clouded her judgment about what was really happening, but certain things betrayed that this gem holding her was not dangerous: the careful way she held her, how she left her resting on something soft with a view of the sea. The distant yet close body of water barely responded to her powers no matter how hard she tried.
The days passed with a new slowness created by the fact of being able to think with enough clarity. The voices of the Rose Quartz were like a companion for her loneliness when she appeared. She spoke as if she were not there at all, perhaps truly not knowing that or simply ignoring her; in either case, she could do nothing.
As she lived more with that pink gem, she learned certain things about her captor. She called herself "Nora," a strange name for a gem so similar to a Rose Quartz. She learned how this "Nora" acted when she carried her as a mere accessory; she also felt the repairing touch again more than once during all that time.
She did not know how to feel about it. Seeing it all, maybe she has a hope of being free, but when has her life ever been that simple? It never has been. Even if this being called "Adrian" was nothing more than a product of her already broken mind, she silently thanked his care.
Without her knowing, words were intermingling with the pure light in the crystal without yet being a representation of her, so distant from normal words but so understandable for those who were willing to hear the silence. And there was only one of those two beings who understood where those ghostly voices came from while the other enchanted herself in a lie built by her own hand.
But certainly one thing was happening: the being she recognized as her savior did not give her the repairing touch she expected on her last visit. He simply mentioned words beyond her understanding accompanied by a distant smile, as if in some part she was not able to understand, her savior recognized her pain as his own. His gaze remained etched in her thoughts during the following days, waiting again to see him in her reflection.
Perhaps her thoughts reached places where they should not as she immersed herself in the memory of that look. Perhaps because of all that, she spoke in warning to that pink gem about the danger of the metal vehicle coming toward them both. Perhaps it was those thoughts of hope that allowed her to laugh at herself for the first time because of the foolish thing she did. Perhaps the "Nora" was not so bad if her cry of amazement was recorded by her. Perhaps that was why, while strolling with her acting as an enchanted object, she felt free even in her prison. Perhaps that was why she felt at peace while giving her thanks to that strange savior who repaired her with such dedication.
Her words, though not properly her true voice, scraped the air in what she could only admit was joy, yes, perhaps a joy very dimmed under the torment of all the pain that still haunted her even if she knew it was no longer real.
"Thank you"
The gazes of the two beings settled on her. As the hand of that savior touched the large crack that contained her, she felt the cold of hot metal adhering to her form. For a moment she felt pain, believing that everything was an illusion, but with the sting of budding betrayal, she realized she felt nothing. The buzzing outside her mind that had accompanied her since they broke her was gone. Her mind recomposed itself almost as fast as the burning was dissipated. She was "almost" complete. She was undoubtedly incomplete, as if missing something utterly fundamental. But at the same time, she was joined gently by something so alien yet so comforting that it made her want to embrace that sensation of cold metal freshly out of the forge.
But like a piece of glass piercing through her form of light, she saw them: the Crystal Gems standing in their trembling forms but still prepared for anything. For a moment I disconnected from everything while the mirror that was once my prison finished melting like the very metal that is now part of me. I felt the flow while the light of my form pulled like a rope trying to wrap around me. I felt panic, I felt peace, I felt everything I could ever experience along with new things. My savior, waiting expectantly for what I would do, directed a smile at me while the pink gem at his side gave me a puzzled look mixed with many emotions but none hostile.
When I finally finished forming, I looked at my own hands. Five thousand years without feeling anything but the cold touch of glass, of feeling nothing but dust, of feeling the weight of being trapped under pure scrap metal. Five thousand years of going crazy in solitude. Five thousand years of only hearing my own distorted voice haunting me in that prison.
The Crystal Gems lunged at the pink gem to pull her toward them with fear on their faces. Perhaps it was not her whom I held in highest esteem of those two, but the rage already intensified by thousands of years of madness triggered. The sea water extended in a tentacle that separated them.
"LET HER GO!!" More than out of rage, it was pure instinct. As I shouted, the water moved between the forms imprisoning them, but I did not expect that the gaze of the gem Nora would not be of gratitude but of deep fear.
I felt a hand rest on my shoulder. The soft but firm touch was so etched in my mind that I knew who was behind me without even looking. My eyes clouded for a brief moment while my physical form shuddered for some reason beyond my knowledge. I ignored the out of place screams of everyone else while I captured every detail of his form.
The words in my mouth would not come out no matter how much they were on the tip of my tongue. I could only thank him with my gaze while he withdrew his hand from my shoulder. I felt that familiar warmth leave me, and for an instant I almost screamed in protest, but what he showed me was more than enlightening as his voice buzzed like a discordant melody.
"I think words of encouragement after everything you have lived through will be useless, let alone ones that make you reflect, but I suppose I should try, right?" he spoke with his eyes closing while a slight sincere smile formed on his face. "Tell me, oh prisoner of the mirror, will you choose to be the jailer, continuing the cycle of pain, or will you choose the sweet freedom of being truly free?" he finished while pointing with his gaze at the still imprisoned Crystal Gems.
"Or maybe you will simply decide something else" he added, almost as if he had forgotten it at the last minute.
She observed her own actions while feeling the weight of the water extending over the forms of the Crystal Gems. Rage, but also disappointment in herself, was what she could feel upon seeing that look of fear on the pink gem. She released a sigh while her eyes, like mirrors, looked directly at Adrian, perhaps waiting for an answer to all her problems, perhaps something else. She really did not know what she wanted, so for the first time in so long, she could at least consider escaping.
"Everything was too good to be true" was the only thing she could say to him before withdrawing the water prison that restricted the group of three gems before directing a look at those two, not knowing whether to continue with what she would say. "... thank you again" she finished as she felt the cold and salty water of this world cover her form until she was lost in the dark depths of the sea.