Chapter 4: Formulating a Plan
Back inside the castle, Pearl, Amethyst, and Steven had decided to move the production of Lapis' new dress to one of the castle's former sewing rooms. This was to ensure that they would not be disturbed whilst they worked. While progress was going smoothly, especially for Pearl, Steven had begun to feel slightly concerned about giving his friend a new dress as a present. He quietly went up to the ivory fairy to express his feelings.
"Pearl, are you sure that a new dress is the ideal birthday gift for Lapis?" the fairy prince asked. "Don't you think it seems a bit too grand for someone like her?"
Pearl turned around to look at Steven and gave him a small chuckle. "Oh Steven, you do make a good point," she responded. "But, I feel that for a special occasion such as this, Lapis should be given a new dress to wear, one that is truly fit for a princess such as herself."
Amethyst, who had been organising and assessing the various fabrics, heard the conservation and decided to share her thoughts on the idea.
"Yeah, a new dress is great and all Pearl, but why did you ask us to gather white fabrics?" the lavender fairy questioned. "She's not getting married you know."
The ivory fairy could only sigh with annoyance in response to her colleague's question. "Now Amethyst, that colour is only temporary," explained Pearl. "We will decide the dress's colour using magic later, but for now, the colour shall symbolise Lapis' purity as well as her coming of age."
Whilst Steven could somewhat understand where Pearl was coming from, Amethyst just groaned as she went to fetch the next piece of fabric that was needed for the dress.
"She's most likely going to keep it white even after it's finished," she muttered under her breath.
A worried Steven, who heard Amethyst's grumbling, could tell that making a new dress for his friend was not going to be an easy task, especially if it involved dealing with Amethyst and Pearl's constant bickering.
Meanwhile, on the far outskirts of the kingdom, there stood a dark menacing castle. Nobody dared to venture there for within this dreary place lived none other than White Diamond, along with her various servants. The wicked fairy had been impatiently waiting for the fated day of her curse to come true, and now that day was in plain sight. White Diamond herself was sitting on her dark cold throne, with a wicked expression on her face. She knew that her curse would be ending soon and was thinking of a way in which she could lure Lapis to the forgotten tower room, without anyone in the castle knowing.
"Soon, whatever birthday party is planned for the princess, will eventually become her royal funeral," White Diamond cackled to herself, not knowing that Rose Quartz had altered her curse to spare Lapis' life.
Suddenly, a figure entered White Diamond's throne room. It was Jasper, a buff guard with orange skin and wings, who was one of the wicked fairy's most trustful servants. She came to check on her mistress, as she was getting tired of hearing her constant rambling about fulfilling the curse.
"With all due respect, Your Excellency, why couldn't you have cursed the princess to die earlier?" the powerful orange guard questioned. "Surely that would have made your job easier."
"Because, my dear Jasper," replied the wicked fairy. "What would be a better way to punish the queen, than by having her beloved daughter die when she is to become of age, now that is what I call a tragedy."
Jasper was left confused, not able to see the reasoning behind her mistress' choices.
Just then, two other minions, Aquamarine and Ruby appeared in White Diamond's presence. Both were quite small and had wings, though the former had light blue skin, whilst the latter had a red complexion along with an eyepatch, giving her the nickname 'Eyeball'. They both came to hear of their mistress' plan and if they were needed to play any part.
"What do you intend to do, Your Excellency?" asked Aquamarine. "Do you plan to capture the princess and force her to touch the spindle?"
"No," replied the wicked fairy firmly. "Her cries for help will certainly grab someone's attention, and besides I feel that it is best if curiosity leads to her fated demise."
Aquamarine began to sulk, for she of all servants, hated both the kingdom as well as Rose Quartz's fairies and everything they stood for, possibly more so than her mistress.
All was silent for a few moments, with the three minions wondering what their mistress was planning. To clear her head, White Diamond lifted herself from her throne and went to look out from the nearest window, hoping to get some inspiration. Suddenly she caught a glimpse of Blue Diamond's castle from a far distance, with its flags gently blowing in the wind. This gave White Diamond an idea, the perfect idea that would help her to decide how she could lure Lapis into her grasp.
"Jasper, Eyeball, Aquamarine," she instructed her minions, who all came forward and knelt in front of their mistress.
"Yes, Your Excellency," they responded.
"I would like you three to fly over to Blue Diamond's castle without being noticed and keep an eye on her precious daughter," the wicked fairy instructed. "Then report back to me so I can formulate my final scheme to be rid of that foolish girl."
White Diamond gave out a menacing laugh, to which her minions, sans Jasper, joined in.
"We won't let you down, Your Excellency," cackled Aquamarine.
"Good," replied White Diamond. "Now go, my curse must be fulfilled by tonight."
So, without hesitation, the three minions spread out their wings and took off to make their way to the palace, without being aware that the princess wasn't currently there.