(Greetings everyone!
Sorry I've slowed down so much with writing, University is hell. Anyway, here's the first chapter of my new story! Please do let me know if there's any way I can improve. Also, the name of this story is a work in progress, if you can think of a good name, please let me know!)
The grey clouds choked all colour from the world. It stretched across the sky, like a second sea. The once colourful town of Beach City was now a grey, wet, and miserable place. Ships of all shapes and sizes lined the sides of the town, docked, and safe from the dangerous weathers that were sure to be upon them soon. If you'd ever seen a pirates movie before, you've seen this town. The buildings, the style, everything. It was really average for its time. In the centre of town, there was a clearing of buildings. It had a fancy name, but the people always called it "The hanging place". Pressed against the back wall of the town hall, which faced away from the hanging place, like an ashamed leader, was a raise wooden platform. Here there were four hangman's nooses, evenly spaced, easily seen by crowds below as they came and went. It had been built a long time ago, as something to keep the masses entertained, and oblivious to their new masters.
Today, the hanging place was crowded. It was a sea of people, stretching from the poorest at the front, with nothing but the muddy clothes on their backs, to the rich and wealthy sitting on a raised private seating area at the back. But this was no normal hanging. Sitting in their heavily decorated thrones, were three women. The Four Queens were here today, well, three of them were, at least. Each of them wore the most elegant dresses anyone had ever seen. Each had a colour theme, something to distinguish them and those that worked for them from the others. No one knew their real names, so their colours became their names, and they didn't argue with it. There was the White Queen, the eldest of the four. She wore dresses that would make any bride weep with sorrow and envy. She kept to herself, hiding away in her palace, so not much was known about her, and the speculation was wild. Then, there was the Yellow Queen. She preferred to wear more armoured clothes, ditching the dresses, and going for a more elegant Spanish general's uniform. She was the more aggressive of the four, always out in the field, leading the charge for new lands and taking the fight to their enemies. The final present queen was the Blue Queen. She wore more Arabian style clothes, heavily styled off a Henna Dress, but made of much richer and darker blues. She wore a dark blue veil, as she tried hard not to let anyone see her crying. Finally, there was the Pink Queen, the youngest of the four. She was not with the others on that day, though no one was surprised. Corpses never usually turned up to hangings. Her throne was empty, and everyone knew why, they just didn't talk about it. She was dead. Why she was dead though, no one could tell. There were rumours of her love for the common man, and her sympathy for the poor, and her sisters had her killed, but no one had any real evidence to support it.
The mayor of the Beach City stood on the raised wooden platform with four other figures. One was the executioner, and three where unknown, with bags over their heads and nooses around their necks. The Mayor, who was tall, thin, rather well dressed, and looked like the most spineless weasel of a man you'd ever seen, stood at the front, as he began to give his speech like he always did. He always made the same speech, of villainy and justice, of chaos and the law of the four queens. When the queens first came to Beach City, the mayor was the first to bow to them. No hesitation, not an ounce of resistance. He fell to their feet immediately, showering them in praise and offerings of wealth. Ever since then he'd tried his hardest to claw back his reputation in the eyes of the people, but no one saw him the same again. Today, his speech was rushed. He made mistakes. He kept glancing at the queens for brief moments, then stuttering hard. By the time he was done, the crowd was silent, looking around for anything that could fill their bored minds. With a cough, the mayor stands aside, a signal for the execution to get underway. The crowd began to light up again, excitement covering their faces, at the thought of seeing criminals being hung. The figures with bags over their heads and nooses around their necks squirmed a little, sensing their imminent doom. The executioner removed the bags, as the Mayor introduced them.
"Our first criminal has truly burnt her way into the minds of everyone here. Who can forget the siege of '43? Or the bank heist of '44? This rebellious servant has truly been a menace to our society for far too long!" The executioner pulled the bag off the first criminal, and Pearl glared at the crowd. She had cuts and bruises, and a black eye, all of which did nothing to reduce just how dangerous she looked. She looked at the Queens, her eyes rarely blinking, her face never changing from its scowl. The mayor and the executioner moved on to the next.
"Next, I wouldn't blame you for not recognising this one, she's new to this treacherous group. She's smaller than them, in more ways than one, but her ferocity and hatred is far too high to let live. So, she shall die." The bag is pulled from Amethyst's face. She's been crying hard, and it shows. She looks out at the crowd, and weeps quietly, her broken jaw stopping her from making those snarky remarks she was known for.
"Finally, my dear towns people, I give to you the most evil, most barbaric of these pirates. You've all seen the remains of the Four Queen's fleet wash up on our shores time and time again, you've all seen in the fog, their ships haunting our waters like the curse they are. I give to you their leader, the infamous, Garnet!" *The final bag is removed, showing Garnet's battered face. Her shades have been smashed, leaving cuts and glass shards around her eyes. On her forehead, the tattoo of a third eye has an old scar wound, splitting it in half. Her eyes show no fear, they instead show sadness, as she stares at the wooden platform beneath her. The crowd are in uproar over seeing her, many cries for her blood, others cry for her head. The Queens stay silent, and unmoving, the sight of their greatest enemies seemed to unfazed them to the untrained eye, but the more perceptive could see, they seemed just a tad tenser, and angrier, especially at the sight of Pearl.
"Today, their reign of chaos ends! Today, we break the necks of the thorns in our Four Queens sides. Today, the Crystal Gems shall die!" The crowd howls, and the executioner prepares to do their job.