Dropping her eyes, Pearl flinches barely perceptibly at Rose's touch. She keeps her gaze furiously fixed on her hands, fingers winding and unwinding tightly around each other. Her cheeks burn with deep blue. She should take another step back, apologise, acknowledge the inappropriateness of that display. All this time, she's followed Rose's lead. That's her place, isn't it? It's what she was born to do, and it's what she's utterly good at. No human could ever compare.

But she's a long way from where she was born, strayed so far from her original purpose, and...

She wraps her fingers tightly around Rose's wrist. Then she raises her head and leans in, keeping her eyes fixed firmly on a point below Rose's left cheekbone so she doesn't have to meet her eyes.