"On behalf of my mistress, I welcome all of you to the Citadel."
The lean, rather imperious-looking green Gem stared down her nose at the tributes. Her icy tone and bearing were anything but welcoming. Striding down the great stone steps towards the group, she gazed upon them all with pursed lips before she bowed at the waist.
"I am Peridot Pallasite, prime attendant and aide to the Haivon. And as of today, you are now her servants as well. Now, if you will follow me?" With a curt nod, she turned sharpy on her heel, expecting the group of twenty-four Gems to follow.
A harsh, frosty breeze from the north followed after the attendant, as if the Citadel itself commanded the others to enter. The whole structure was situated high upon the west side of the pass, and the sky was grey with the wintery promise of snow. Carved out of the living rock, the Citadel rose high above them and went back deep into the mountain. It was the sentinel of north, the guardian of the infamous Gateway of the Fallen, and home to the Haivon herself.
Lapis Lazuli shivered from her place at the end of a sad-looking line, the biting chill creeping up her skirt and along her exposed skin. Outcasts, lonely and forgotten, the lot of them. It was no surprise that their lives had brought them together here. No one wanted them around; it was only fitting that they find a form of companionship literally at their demise's front door.
"You! Do not fall behind," Peridot spoke sharply.
This Peridot character was of a different sort. Her cold demeanor fit right in with the scenery though, Lapis thought dryly. As the group of tributes fell into line, fear keeping them from jumbling together, the blue gem lingered at the end, hoping for one more glimpse of clear sky before she was locked away for eternity. Just as the clouds on the horizon seemed to hear her wish, parting to allow a glimmer of sunlight through, the barked order startled her forward. The doors shut with a resounding, final boom behind her.
The inside of the Citadel was scarcely warmer than the outside, and it was as dark as the artic in deep winter. Only white, crystalline sconces lit from within by fire illuminated the passageways, heavy wooden doors and deep shadows obscuring everything else from view. Peridot led them down the long halls, up flight after flight of stone steps. A silent eternity seemed to pass before they finally stopped.
The stone floor and walls should have echoed their footsteps throughout the barren halls, but the suffocating shadows swallowed the sounds before they could begin. Crossing her arms over her midriff, the blue gem hunched her shoulders up, wishing for a cloak of some kind to cover her gem with; why did it have to be so exposed on her back?
They emerged in a great room with vaulting ceilings and great, flaming braziers. Like the rest of the Citadel the rest of the room was thrown into dark shadow, and there was not a single window to allow the sunlight in. The deepest shadows, however, lay like a cloak around the dais on the center of the back wall. And upon the dais on a throne-like chair sat the bulky figure of the Haivon herself. Glowing yellow eyes watched them as they entered.
"My lady," Peridot greeted, stepping up to the dais, and dropping to bow on one knee with her arms crossed over her chest in the customary salute. "I bring the tributes for your inspection."
Entering the cavern-like room at the back of the line, Lapis tried to remain hidden from the piercing view, remaining a half step behind the gem next to her as they were lined up for inspection. The Haivon, wrapped in her shadow's embrace, watched them all with piercing yellow eyes. They were hypnotic, in a dark, yet ...beautiful, sort of way.
"Step forward," the Haivon rumbled, her rough voice echoing through the chamber. She did not move from where she sat, and Peridot bid with a flick of her fingers for the tributes to do as her mistress commanded. The great Gem's eyes scanned over the lot of them as she silently inspected them. Her gaze met Lapis' for the briefest moment, narrowing before moving on.
"You have been given to me as tribute by the Empire." The Haivon's words fell heavy with all the authority and finality due her rank. She held their figurative chains tight, their fate in her hands alone.
"Your lives are mine to do with as I please. You are dead to the Diamond Authority, your comrades, and all who knew you before. I care neither about your past nor the circumstances that brought you to my domain; they have no bearing here."
Standing up from her seat but not quite stepping out of the shadows, her tone took a sharp steel's edge of warning. Even in the darkness where only her silhouette could be seen, her inclined head and clenched fists brooked no argument.
"Do not mistake me, however: I am your master now. My word is law in these lands. Insubordination will be punished without hesitation, and treason will be met with death. Remain loyal to me and you will be rewarded; disobey me and you will wish you had never been born."
A shiver went through Lapis' gem and down her back. That voice... She could understand how it struck terror in the hearts of her enemies, and absolute obedience from her underlings. Trying not to look like she was cowering behind the Gem next to her, she stiffened as that near-omnipresent gaze locked on her for a chilling moment.
Crossing her hands behind her back, she stared down at her feet where her toes curled with her nerves. These words were not new to her; she was nothing, she meant nothing, she was to follow orders or her life was void. As if it was not already.
"And my first order is this: demonstrate your worth and show me your weapon." The Haivon's eyes lcoked with Lapis' again. "Staring with you, blue one."
With a stifled sigh of resentment, she glanced up in time to meet those powerful yellow eyes again. Lapis stepped forward at Peridot's impatient gesture. Standing alone, the room's attention riveted upon her slim form, the blue gem let out a calming breath.
Think of the ocean and its waves… in and out… in and out…
A flash of blue and two watery wings sprung from her back. Arching to the sides and above her head, they seemed to drip but left no trace on the floor around her. She flapped once, enough to hover off the ground for the Haivon's viewing pleasure, awaiting her sentence.
The Haivon's eyes narrowed in appraisal of the Gem, never glancing away from that deep blue gaze. It had been quite some time since she had seen a member from the Lazuli Clan. To her knowledge they resided primarily on the coasts of the Blue Diamond Province, far and away to the south. This one was a long distance from home indeed.
Hovering before the Haivon, Lapis Lazuli fought not to hunch her posture over self-consciously. Her wings were not a standard gem weapon, she knew, and she could only hope they did not condemn her to a dark fate. That constant stare was did nothing to alleviate her fears either. Just what did the shadow cloaked Haivon look like? And why was she so riveted on Lapis?
It did not take the Haivon long to decide the recruit's fate. She saw no potential in this one as a skirmisher or as a member of the border patrol, but those wings would perhaps serve well in reconnaissance. Not to mention they were in need of a new courier and messenger between the wilderlands and the Citadel.
"Hm, you'll do decently enough as a scout," she rumbled as she nodded, making her judgement. "Although I doubt you've had any sort of training... Blue Jade! "
Slowly letting her feet touch down again, she gasped with wide eyes. A scout? She wasn't going to be tortured for eternity?
From a doorway to the left a dusky blue Gem with a shock of short, white hair emerged. Clad in time-softened, cerulean leathers, frost still clung to the grey wolfpelt mantle thrown over her shoulders. Silvery eyes closed as she sunk to one knee before the Haivon.
"You called me, mistress?"
"Jade, escort this one to your quarters and see to it that she is made aware of how things are done here. You will oversee her scouting training personally."
"As you command, mistress," Blue Jade replied, nodding her head as she rose to her feet again. When she glanced at Lapis, a gentle smile curled on her slim lips. "If you'll come with me, please?"
She left her wings free, curled over her shoulders like a cape in a subconsciously defensive display. This Blue Jade, though elegant and seemingly kinder than her mistress and Peridot, was still an unknown. One hand crossed over her chest to hold onto the opposing arm. Forcing herself to calm enough to allow her wings to dissipate again, she followed after the other blue Gem.
As she reached the doorway, Lapis could not resist looking back over her shoulder. The Haivon's piercing yellow eyes stared back. Shivering, she hurried out of the room.
"Easy there," Blue Jade soothed the newcomer as soon as they were out of earshot from the receiving room. She turned to Lapis, her bright eyes open and sympathetic. Offering her hand to shake, she tilted her head one side. "You can breathe a little easier now. Sorry your welcome wasn't all that warm, so to speak. Don't worry - I'm not as snappy as Peridot or the boss mistress.
"Your name is Lapis Lazuli, right? Sorry, it's been a couple centuries since I've been down south, and you like a Lazuli. I come from the Jade Clan myself. You can call me Blue, though, if you like."
Lapis snapped her head back around to the other gem as she was addressed, mentally kicking herself for taking her focus off a potential threat. What she received was not the aggression she was expecting, however. Understanding and kindness were reflected in those silver eyes. Her gaze flicked down from them, to the outstretched hand, and back again before she hesitantly extended her own, grasping the other's hand in a brief shake.
Relieved this Blue Jade seemed to be true to her word so far, nowhere near as cold as the pair they had left behind in the throne room, Lapis fell into step with the other blue Gem.
"Yes, I am Lapis Lazuli. I am glad to find a friendly face in such a dark place. This has been my first experience leaving the south; these lands are strange... I cannot sense the ocean outside these walls..." The sensation unnerved her, being so far from her element of strength.
Blue felt a pang of empathy for the newcomer. It was not so many decades ago that Blue had been in the other Gem's shoes, after all. Blue remembered how frightening and disorienting it had been to be brought to this land of ice and snow and howling winds, so far from the birdsong forests and rolling hills she had called home in the Blue Province. She squeezed Lapis' hand in reassurance before she let go.
"I'm afraid the nearest ocean is about five hundred miles north, and it's all frozen over in this time of year. But Lazulis practice hydrokinesis, don't they? The lady has put me in charge of you for the time being, so I might be able to arrange something for you so you're not so far from your element at least. Right now, though, we had better get you settled in and rested. The mistress will have both of us up early tomorrow for training."
The squeeze eased Lapis' nerves a little. Maybe she did not have to be so alone anymore. Almost lamenting their parting, the contact bringing a warmth in this barren palace, Lapis nodded as they made their way through the halls.
"We do, yes. I am capable of manipulating many forms of water, but the ocean has always called to me like home. I was raised on its shores, among the waves and the sea creatures..."
Falling silent, she hung her head. She missed her home.
Heading further away from the receiving room, they entered a long corridor of doors. The passageways were brighter here than the rest of the Citadel, and some of the tension and cold seemed to fall away here.
Blue stopped at one door, pushing it open to reveal a small room with two beds on either side. On the left was a bed covered in soft furs. Volumes lined a small bookshelf at the foot of the bed, and long staffs lined the wall on the remaining space. On the right was a similar set up, though the bed was plainer and the shelf empty.
"Looks like you'll be rooming with me. What do you think?"
The brightening of the halls had lifted Lapis' despair by a flicker, her fighting spirit refusing to be caved. Many hardships she had survived thus far; she would come victoriously through this one, too.
Stepping into the room, the younger Gem danced about the small space. It was cozy, lived in. Lapis found she rather liked it.
"As long as you don't snore, I think this arrangement will be just fine with me," she hummed with a small smile, padding over to sit on the empty bed. Hands twisting her skirt, she gave a self conscious shrug. "I don't exactly have a lot with me though…" She had not been allowed to pack before being shipped off to this cold, northern world.
"Well, to be fair most of this I didn't bring with me, either," Blue replied, nodding in understanding. "Most of these I've either gotten as gifts from the others here or through the human merchants that come here every spring. Anything else we either need to make for ourselves around here. It's too cold to keep human servants alive and fed this far north."
Lapis looked around her new roommate's side of their space as Blue spoke, taking in the small display of belongings. It made her ache for her small beach house with its shelves of beachcombed treasures and her snow globes. The blue gem felt a hitch in her chest. All of her beautiful little spheres of dreams and magic... She hoped the enforcers who had taken her away to this place had not destroyed her home, too. Maybe one day she would be allowed to return briefly to retrieve them.
Blue came to stand in front of her new roommate, chin in her hand and her head tilted to one side. Blue "hmm"-ed to herself before she spoke again.
"That's a beautiful dress you've got, but considering the - well, climate - you might want to generate slightly warmer attire. And something that can stand up to a bit of wear-and-tear, too. You'll be traveling a lot as a scout."
Shaking herself from her melancholy, Lapis looked down at her attire, holding her arms out to the sides slightly.
"I've always worn dresses," she murmured before sighing in resignation. Blue was right, though. Whatever was in store for her tomorrow was going to be tough and she needed to be prepared for it. "What would you recommend? You've been through this before, you must know what I should expect tomorrow." Shifting back, she crossed her legs, smoothing out a wrinkle in her skirt, and looked up at the other gem expectantly.
"Well, you'll want something you can move freely in," Blue replied, nodding. "We may be scouts, but we'll run into our share of brawls out there, too. Can't get your skirt caught up in the claws of a gem-beast, after all, or there may be no getting out.
"Personally I'd recommend breeches, boots, and a shirt of some sort, as warm and snug as you can generate. You'll be given furs and pelts as you need them. Think you can manage that?"
Running her fingers absently through her hair as she listened, Lapis nodded, a slow dip of her chin. It all seemed a little overkill to her, to be quite honest. The cold up here surely was not that bad. She was positive it could be nothing worse than the chill and press of the ocean depths around her when she scavenged far below the surface.
"I'll think on it tonight, and get your opinion in the morning. I may be from the south, but I'm tougher than I look." Sitting up straighter, she attempted to make her delicately curved body appear larger than she actually was. This Haivon, with her hypnotic eyes, would not be able to break her.
"I know you are," Blue replied, that gentle smile on her lips again. "Some of the best Gems we have are from the south; our own mistress was one of them, once upon a time." She appreciated her protégé putting on a brave face. She could only hope that courage was not skin-deep, or the Haivon would eat the both of them alive.
"You should sleep now," she murmured, giving Lapis' shoulder another pat. "Nothing's expected of you today, but it's going to be a trial for every new recruit tomorrow. And it won't hurt your luck to get some rest. You'll be grateful for every minute of it come sunrise."
"Everything is ready, Haivon. We only await the recruits and your command to release the captured Gem-beasts."
"Good. Peridot, gather up all the newcomers and bring them to the ring. Keep the beasts alert – and hungry – in the meantime. Otherwise we will have gone to all the trouble of setting up this little welcome for nothing."
A/N: A collaborative work between me and gurrgler with creative assistance from avatariax. I hope you all will enjoy reading this as much as we enjoy putting it together!