"Of course!" Rose's voice, low and rich with approval, sends Pearl's chest aflutter. Inhaling through a sliver of a smile, she springs onto her feet, joining her side in two broad, beaming steps.

"What image will you have me project--?" she begins, hands clasped tightly behind her rigid back. Your Majesty teeters on the edge of her tongue, uncertain; Rose had specifically asked her to discard such formalities, but the stifling tension in the air begs otherwise.

In the end, though, there's nothing that can override Rose Diamond's words -- and so Pearl swallows the words down, letting the question hang in the air as it is.