"What's happening here?"
The doctors came for a show. But there's nothing interesting for us to show them. After my family left, it must have felt like paradise to step in as someone so 'unfortunate' as they were. But they are my doctors, so it would be rude not to let them help me.
"Starglaze! What did I tell you about not scrubbing dust around the floor?" Ms. Adele stopped him.
"What? It makes the room cleaner! Surely Pearl didn't want to have her house ransacked by a beggar like Glum!" Starglaze continues spraying the house with stardust. Now it's gleaming and not glumming.
There's a beauty in everything in this kitchen. Sure, it may look different than what it was before, but who couldn't appreciate some pristine inside? Moreover, I would like to have more pink ribbons hanging on the kitchen by the time I'm done.
Speaking of myself, I just had a terrible nightmare, and nobody helped me? Ugh, I couldn't rely on a single human in this household? It's no wonder I was struggling through the entire day. And my body shouldn't be on the floor with this messy, meaningless rug.
"Uhm...ugh...?"
My vision felt different. I don't know what, but I can feel it. Something about me is not right, but there's nothing wrong with me. The shame endures even in my weakest time, only to ridicule me for how pathetic I have always been.
"H-hello...? Hey...?"
"Are you there...?" I ask.
The voice disappears, or perhaps it left me for a while. Whatever happened before was not a dream, and I am confident about it from the way her speech was muttered. But if it wasn't Sebastian who lingered there, then who was it? How long has she been there before? It seems that an empty thought only makes a new guest every day.
"Oh, good...just good..."
"Everyone's leaving me? Nobody's staying. What's the purpose of this trip anyway if I coudn't get what I wanted?"
"Am I not worth anything evenf ro a stare? What does it take to make a pearl as valuable as Doorwell...?"
Doorwell. I'm thinking of her again. I've always been thinking of her ever since we parted ways with a resolution. Somehow, I still couldn't get her out of my head even after I told her everything. But I never understood why she chose to stay silent about it. She could've told everyone what a horrendous woman I was to her.
———————————————————————————————————
[6 years ago]
It was dark. Red shimmers on my face as the stage comes to an end. It's Joyling's time to sleep, and I was the only one awake for my nightly performance. But today, I had one thing to do and that was to keep my name in the spotlight.
*Creak*
How did I get here? Doorwell left her door unlocked again, and she let a few Joylings slips out a secret for me. If only I could have gotten her face earlier, so I could have known the pain she felt from the edge of my knife. It would be a colourful day on my face, too.
"Doorwell...such a pity princess..." I whispered as I watched the bed creaking slightly. She was sleeping hard.
"I never thought we would meet like this before. A backstage staff should have never gotten this far with viewers before..."
The peaceful Doorwell slumbered through time without a thought. Always the oblivious fairy she was, until a dagger could finally find a spot where she wouldn't be on a stage anymore.
"There we go...just get close enough for a show..." I raised the knife. "I wonder how much it'll took to put her to sleep forever..."
My knife was up in the air, ready to drop on her chest and crumble her for once. Jealousy got the best of me, and there was nothing but darkness filling my head when I saw her sleeping innocently. It was a perfect way to end her reign of love once and for all, if not for one thing.
*Creak*
"Eugh!"
"Huh?"
My shell joint couldn't be too quiet. The crack was small, but it made a loud bluster enough to wake the princess from her beauty sleep. I was frozen, trapped in the darkness, when Doorwell couldn't see me well. But when she reached for the table lamp and turned it on, I was suddenly caught by the wrong spotlight in an unfortunate way.
"Eek!" I panicked.
"Ms. Pristine...?"
It was horrifying. Two stars meeting in a gaze of an abyss, where only one of them was the real Joyling. I did not deserve the mercy on her face when she looked upon me, oblivious and wondering at a friend like me. She thought I was here for a meeting with another star, but I was too heartless for that.
"Hello there...you must be Pristine Pearl, right?" She approached me.
"Y-yeah...? And you were...D-Doorwell?"
"Yep! And I can't believe I get to see Pristine Pearl the Screenshow host herself!"
"Actually, I'm a ballet now. I was demoted out of poor performance."
In the end, me and Doorwell ended up talking for the rest of the night about our show. The rage I built from her presence was lost within a second, replaced with annoyance as we talked through the time. It was nice hearing the rush she had for every star here, unlike many stars I ended up having a 'crush' on.
"That was sad. But don't worry, I can help you with anything you want! Just say it and I'll be yours!" She said.
"This pesky little cookie..."
"If only I could have been swift on that crumble of yours..."
Something about Doorwell made me even darker than dark. How nice was she to be this evil in my head, yet I persist in trying to put her down every day and then. It's almost like everything was dark within me, and there's no light at all. Because on that day, it wasn't just the beginning of our friendship. It's also the one-sided rivalry I have.
Maybe I was being punished for being so blinded. ———————————————————————————————————
I am weakened but conscious, perhaps the absurd fatigue I have ever had, but at least I have no crack. But when I returned downstairs to see the commotion, I found the kitchen nowhere near where I left it. It was even better than I expected Starsy would give!
"Hey, Pearl! What do you think?" He drops one last touch.
"Whoa..."
Dazzling as it looks. The whole place is pink and shiny with sparkles, just as my old room. Never doubt what Starglaze would give for a princess like me. But did I ever doubt him? Maybe, but not now and not here. I wonder why the humans couldn't pick up this colour when they chose to paint all over those 'acetone' substances.
"Looking good, right?"
"Starglaze..." I shed a tear of happiness.
"No need to cry, P. I know that happy tears are too precious to fall now." He humbles himself with a piece of cake on the table.
"How come I'm not? You're the best friend I'll ever have! Thank you for doing this for me! I didn't know what to do without you!"
"Aww...stop flattering me, P! I'm too small to accept such big gift!"
———————————————————————————————————
[Outside]
The air here was fresh after a hard day's work given by my father. We made the kitchen even look better, and still they were in disbelief with us? I could laugh knowing that. Humans are such an erratic and unexplainable creature.
"Oh, come on, Adele! It's your time!"
"I can't trust you to keep the carriage alone! Last time, you tore it when you were holding the switch when I told you not to!"
"It was one time! I was curious!"
Between me and Starglaze, we're the only ones with a hard bond here. The doctors aren't even good with each other, and I'm no Doorwell for this mess. We've always been more than friends, unlike what the void told me. Starglaze would always stay with me until the end of our show—our life of a show.
"I doubt that."
"Huh? You're...back?"
"Pearl? Are you okay? Who's back?"
I was shocked. Right before Starglaze's presence, the voice returned to me again with a doubtful tone. It was heartless as it always had been, muttering my friend's name with such bitterness and cold. My body quickly froze in place as I heard the unsettling hums.
"The voice! It's back! It's...wait, you can't hear it?"
The voice—nobody heard it. I tried asking Starglaze about it, but even he said it was sullen here, except for my raised voice. The doctors also looked strangely at me, yet they were deaf to the voice. I was the only one who could hear it. It was weird.
"Pearl, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I don't hear anything here."
They thought I was insane! First, they didn't believe Glum was here, and now they were in disbelief with the voice, too? Is there nobody in this house who could help me for once? Everything in this mansion attacked me every day without a reason, and I could only stay here doing nothing.
I was alone, and everyone was growing distant from me. How can I be treated so unjustly as someone worth trillions? They act like I would've lied to them and made them do this for my own pleasure. But there's nothing pleasant in this house to feel before! Everything is horrendous.
"I swear there's a voice here! You believe in me, right?" I reason.
"Well, Pearl. We do believe you!" Daniel blinks at me. That blink was not a trustworthy one.
I was alone—again. The doctors only gave me a fake smile, leaving before their so-called "duty", while Starglaze stands here doing less damage to my hope with his silence. Still, it hurts me that nobody would ever trust me.
Starglaze came to me with a face full of concern. He was wondering if I was unwell, perhaps by the sickness I had yesterday with my head and that human girl. I told him I was fine, but even he was still in disbelief. He thinks it might have been the reason I've seen things.
"Starglaze, come on..."
"Hey, I'm your friend, right? I'm helping as best as I could, but I'm not a nurse."
"Well, you have to trust me, can you?"
"I do! I trusted your entire health..."
"AUGH!"
———————————————————————————————————
Everything is messy here! But it doesn't matter. What matters is that tomorrow, Graham will be here, and my house will no longer be empty like before. Tomorrow, there will be a party, a celebration, and also an investigation to be made. It's all I needed to cheer myself up.
"Come on...come on..."
"Ms. Pristine? Is it you're calling?"
I heard his voice straight from the other side of the radio. He was bold, happy and still calls me politely. But I also heard something heavy and wriggling like metal, like inside a box. It's hard to listen to his voice there, but I am certain he was in the office again, doing human work.
"Hello, Graham. I see you are busy down there..."
"Oh, me? You know the deal, Ms. Pristine. The whole room was overworked from morning for the preparation for tomorrow, since doctors had to attend a public press to discuss about the release of Joylings."
Graham's schedule was tight lately, and I was disappointed to hear that he was trying to avoid calling me. He couldn't spare a moment with his mistress for once? Joyling like him doesn't even get busy in an office. Now he's starting to act like a human there.
"Sadly, I couldn't spread the news about the loose Frowling."
Some news is not good today. The loose Frowling case could not be muffled to the humans, and it made him angry. The humans 'protocol' was strict, knowing that if one beast was out of the cage during this special day, mayhem would wreak and Joylings would be all threatened. But Graham was persistently furious to hear their rejection.
He keeps chattering about how annoying it was and how one human almost became a victim of his rage. But before he could take this conversation to his benefit, I interrupted him softly with a warning. A warning that I could not tolerate from his time-wasting blabbering.
"Graham."
"Apology, Ms. Pristine. P-Please, elaborate what is in your head now..." He submitted gently. But I can hear gritting.
"Are you coming tomorrow to my mansion as I told you? I needed you to be here...now."
"Ah, yes. Usual visit—And since I'm about to leave this place, I am considering to schedule our visit somewhere after. How's that?"
His tone shows that he was hesitant, as if he didn't want to have fun with me. I couldn't tolerate that, and so I gave him one warning. I was bold, and I asked him about his attitude through the menacing host I've always been for the Joylings. But he knew that even if I was far from him, he couldn't ignore my punishment.
I heard his reason from the call, and he was slowly turning his anger into begging before me. He was busy with a trip, but would he rather sacrifice our business partnership for the sake of his recreational value? I simply mocked him for that.
"Graham. What did I say?"
How little do I care for what he has, knowing he'll never get it bigger than me. He never had a better life in the Threadknot house before, so who does he think he is? I warned him again, assuring him that WE could do it better than anyone. Nobody should ever think of 'rescheduling' my need.
"*Sigh* I'll be there, mistress. Tomorrow, and no schedule..."
"Good. And make sure to bring your book because you'll be on the main spotlight for this case."
"Hm." He nodded.
I praise him, giving him one last tap before reminding him that he'll have a treatment he needed in this mansion for an entire day. He sighed, I could hear an unwilling grunt, but I wouldn't correct him today. Then he ended the call and gave me a satisfying silence. Now I just need to invite more people after this.
"That was quick." Starglaze commented.
"Wow, the queen's back, everyone." Daniel teases. "Try not to rub on her bad side again okay, Adele?"
"Shut up..."
"Haa...Finally, I've been waiting for a Joyling to be here. Now, who should I invite further on this party after—ugh!"
Once again, I was befuddled. The surprise was too much for me, even calling back the voice in my head once more. My head was light, like I was in the sky, dancing my way through the stairway to heaven. Everything flickers in black before I can continue what I'm about to share with Graham.
I can hear her voice again, but there's something wrong. I couldn't hear anything outside my ears, and my body was shaking vigorously. I have no control over my body. I feel numb but not REALLY numbed. I just can't feel anything.
But then, I regain my senses and control with force. Struggling my way without moving a muscle had given me a moment of clarity to ease these pains away. Yet when I woke up from this awful stiffness, I could only wonder how I ended up gripping onto the carriage so tight.
"Pearl! Pearl!"
"Pearl? Pearl, are you okay?" Adele was calling me. It was a faint-turned scream to me.
"No! Get off—uh?" I woke up once again, and everyone was looking at me with such eyes. The voice is messing with me, telling me stuff that almost made me mad.
"Pearl? Something's got into you lately?"
"W-what? No! I'm just...uhm..." I pause briefly, looking at my grip and realize how wrinkled it is.