Something unexpected.

Griffith was quaking in Yellow Diamond's massive hand, unable to muster the strength to pry at the fingers around him, but still defiant in his words, "You… you won't break me."

Yellow Diamond ignored his breathy promise. Her frigid eyes examined his nude body extensively, surveying the bruises on his wrists and pelvis, the chapped lips signifying dehydration, and the raw redness of his punished cock; this was not the human's condition when he'd appeared before her in court, and she was taken aback.

For a moment, the malice melted from the Diamond's scowling visage, and she asked, "Did Blue do this? She should know how fragile Organics are." Gritting her teeth due to twinges of envy and resentment, Yellow said, "This shall not do."

From this distance, Griffith could recognize that the bizarre golden 'hair' bordering the dictator's beautiful countenance was actually a helmet. Too exhausted to keep pace with his surroundings beyond that observation, the debased prisoner said, "Huh? Where are you taking me?"

"You're in serious condition, Human; I'd prefer if you weren't." Yellow stated as she strode, steely-faced, into another segment of her chambers.

Griffith's eyes went wide as his captor's grip adjusted around him—like her counterpart dictator—the Diamond was shifting size in an iridescent halo of light and changing the hold she had on him until it required both her arms. Carrying the attractive, injured man in a way she didn't know was called 'bridal style', the glowering lady passed through a threshold into a vibrant garden filled with shimmering pools, fountains, and ponds.

Griffith gawked at the gorgeous architecture that surrounded them while he was carried deeper into the chamber.

Fully clothed, Yellow waded into a most extravagant pool at the garden's center, settling the Adonis in her arms into its gentle tides. Within the pristine body of water, Griffith could feel his aches abating—if only slightly—and he looked toward the austere woman as she fastidiously studied his bruises. Griffith wanted to hide his cock from the beautiful Diamond, but didn't find the strength, blushing under her scrutiny.

Her brow furrowed as his injuries remained; the healing water wasn't working on him.

"Listen, I do not like using this power, but I'll make an exception here." She looked at every spot of the pond besides Griffith, then, without warning, planted her luscious lips into his— leaving a little coruscation of power behind on his mouth when she pulled away.

"Whoa." He was stunned, blushing and confused; his body started to go limp, "What was that—"

"—A healing kiss. Your body will use its own reserves of stamina to repair." Ignoring how it need not be a kiss on the lips, she plucked him out of the pond, "It's best not to do so in water, and I'd appreciate a break myself."

The Diamond laid Griffith down on a cushioned surface near the fountain, then doffed her gilded helmet as she reclined in soft grass, letting a mass of platinum blonde hair fall around her jawline while she relaxed for the first time in days. A simple peace overtook her; respites from work were infrequent for an intergalactic dictator, so she'd make the most of this.

But, she felt her chest tighten when she became the center of that gorgeous man's attention, all the fear had left Griffith's handsome face and he regarded her with admiration— not the blind fealty with which her subjects regarded her, but a genuine gratitude, like he liked her.

Yellow cleared her throat, trying not to look at this alluring man's kind, weary eyes, sexy body, or large, exposed penis. Donning her gilt helmet in a reflexive motion, she rose to her high-heeled feet, attempting to reject the thoughts clouding her head: There is no way I find this human 'alluring'. Ignore his attractive composure under duress, ignore that kind way he looks at me; my only concern is that he's okay.

Damn it all.

Griffith tried to stand along with the Diamond, but as he struggled to rise, she told him, "Just lie there, Human. Gems need not eat, but I know you do." Turning away to hide a slight blush, and grappling with her inexplicable lust, Yellow said, "There's a synthesizer nearby; I'll bring you some sustenance."

"Thank you. Thank you so much." Griffith said, disbelieving that this woman was the abominable Yellow Diamond he'd been hearing such awful things about.

She fed him a hot meal, brought him water and repaired his injuries, nursing him not tenderly, but with ample compassion. As the flaxen lady held Griffith against her chest, his cheeks heated up with a realization: Yellow Diamond—of all people—is the first woman to be kind to me since I left the Dominant. She's so pretty, and a great person… And I might…

I might have a crush on her.

Upon being given a second healing kiss that drained the last of his energy, Griffith slipped unconscious in the monarch's care. Yellow took a moment to admire the Human's beauty and strength, stroking a hand across his peacefully slumbering face before leaving to attend her many awaiting duties.

Griffith would sleep for nineteen straight hours, and as the spaceman rested, his dreams shifted from recent nightmares into pleasant memories.