There was a moment of silence. White Diamond looked down at her, expression unreadable.

In those few seconds, Amethyst felt another tug, a drive, a compulsion. A sudden rush and tangling of impulses to move - her arms, more notably, wouldn't stay still. Every facet in her cracked gem was screaming at her to do that salute-thingy she'd seen Steven and the others do before, but she kept her arms rooted where they were, hands clasped firmly over her chest, both out of spite and the fear of doing it wrong. God, she felt like she was going to poof any second now. Her form was going to give out and it would be both a blessing and a curse. She didn't want to do that now, to leave herself so completely and utterly defenseless when Pearl wasn't there, when Ruby and Sapphire wasn't there, when Garnet wasn't there. She wanted Garnet right then, in that moment, than she ever had. This was a fucking terrifying situation.

Even more terrifying was the realization that she had absolutely no idea why the hell White Diamond had even wanted her in the first place, and why she couldn't have just used that Pearl to talk to her like she had before, why she wanted to see her in person, face to face. Why now?

She didn't like the direction her mind was turning in instinctively. She also didn't like the blank stare White Diamond had fixed on her, eyes darting across her body slowly, taking her all in.

Of course, she wasn't expecting the gem to light up, suddenly animated, suddenly ecstatic.

"Ooh… my darling little Amethyst! Oh just look at her Chevron, isn't she just perfect?" Amethyst stiffened, leaning back a little on her feet as White Diamond stepped toward her - oh god she was so fucking big, too fucking big, she could crush her under her heel with one step and then she was completely done for and wait what the fuck did she say 'perfect'? - and crouched down low, extending a long, large hand toward the little Quartz, who sucked in a shaky gasp through her teeth and stilled completely. "I knew it would be much better face to face. Now I can get a proper look at my sweet little gem," White Diamond crooned, and Amethyst stared up at her, pupils shrinking as she flicked her gaze across the taller gem's face, as another rush of pain split straight through her gem and managed to force out a whimper through clenched teeth.

Fear and infatuation battled in her chest, each one strong enough to shatter her on the spot. She was surprised by how stable she was right then, how those cracks hadn't spread like fire across her gemstone yet - actually, she was kind of scared to look and see what it looked like. Her chest shuddered as she breathed in again, hands pressed firmly over her gem, and cracked her mouth open soundlessly for a few seconds, unable to tear her gaze away from White at all.

White Diamond only smiled, thin, black lips curving upwards at the corners. Amethyst nearly screamed when she suddenly wrapped a hand around her, lifting her completely up off her feet; it took everything she had not to, clenching her teeth harder and lifting one of her hands from her chest to cover her mouth instead. She didn't like what she was feeling right then, not one bit. The adoration in itself was scary as it was, but she couldn't even begin to describe how much terror had flushed itself through her system all in one fell swoop the moment her eyes had met the larger gem's. She was going to crack, it was going to get worse, she needed a distraction-

"Chevron Amethyst, darling," White hummed, glancing back. "Take care of things here, yes?"

"Of course, my Diamond!"

Chevron Amethyst. Chevron Amethyst? Amethyst felt her throat tighten a little despite herself, but she still couldn't move her gaze from White's face. She'd thought Chevron was just a nickname - which honestly spoke about how little she knew about Homeworld and other gems in general if she was being completely honest but that particular debate could wait until later - but if she was just a completely different kind of Amethyst in general, a different kind of Quartz in general… the purple gem shuddered, finally managing to squeeze her eyes shut, which gave her just a little bit of clarity. Okay, she needed to calm down. She needed to calm down and think. She couldn't let herself get like this. Letting herself get like this was dangerous for her. Especially now, when she was already so close to cracking and breaking apart as it was. That little crack on her gem had spread, she'd felt it, but she didn't know how big it was and it didn't really matter, because even that tiny little 'surface scratch' had been far too big for comfort.

"I do apologize if I interrupted something," White said suddenly, and Amethyst dared to crack an eye open and look up at her again. The sight of the gem managed to steal her breath away as if it were the first time she was seeing her all over again. "But we needed a chance to talk! I've been absolutely dying to see you properly, you know." She grinned down at the small Quartz, and Amethyst sucked in another sharp breath through her teeth, staring numbly for a moment.

She was still in her hand. The purple gem glanced down, briefly peering toward the ground. She wasn't scared of heights (that was probably the least scariest thing about this situation actually) but she still couldn't help but cringe at how high up she was, if only because it really, really emphasized just exactly how tall White Diamond was, and, again, how easily she could kill her. Unconsciously, she curled her fingers against White's hand below her, and tried not to tense up too much when she felt the larger gem's fingers wrap around her a little tighter, almost… gentle.

"I'm not going to drop you," White assured, her voice even softer now, even fonder, and Amethyst's mind whirled dangerously as she looked back up at her. "I wouldn't dream of it."

"Thank you," Amethyst breathed without her permission, and tensed up all over again. White only huffed out a laugh and smiled as she walked, sparing her a startlingly affectionate look, and the small Quartz clenched her teeth and swallowed as she tried to make sense of the situation.

"Unfortunately, we're gonna have to cut this a little short," White continued, letting out a quiet hum and curling her lips into a brief frown. Amethyst took another breath and let it out in a soft huff as her fear suddenly diminished and slipped away, leaving her only with that warm feeling spreading through every inch of her form. She wasn't sure she preferred that infatuation to the terror, but she certainly wasn't about to complain about the loss of one of the two emotions that could break her apart if she let that pressure building up in her gem get any stronger now. "I would have done this sooner, but I've been rather busy… and I'm certainly going to be even busier once the repairs actually start. And you're going to be rather busy yourself, I assume, because I'm sure you're going to be spending a lot more time in the tower with our dear Pink." She paused, and Amethyst startled a little, looking back up at her. "Well… Pinks, I suppose."

"Yeah," Amethyst mumbled, steadying herself and shaking her head to clear it. "About that-"

"I know," White hummed, and Amethyst briefly snapped her gaze away as they entered the palace. She blinked, gazing ahead at the thrones for a moment, eyes lifting up to the tallest one - the white one, hah, of course - before looking back at the Diamond. "Don't worry, little gem-"

("Don't worry, little gem." Garnet pressed a finger against her gem, warm and soothing, and Amethyst gazed up at her, wide-eyed with awe and excitement. "Everything will be alright.")

"-I'll see to it that you have as much access to go back and forth as you please," White was saying, and Amethyst blinked a few times as she focused again, rapidly readjusting to the present as she tilted her head back to look back up at the taller gem in surprise. "After all, someone's got to make sure they're well taken care of - they're being punished, of course, but that's certainly no reason to neglect their well-being." A slightly sour look crossed her face suddenly, and Amethyst furrowed her eyebrows. "It's not as if I want to hurt them, after all." Amethyst took a deep breath, sweeping her gaze around as they came to a stop. She looked down as both of White's hands curled underneath her now, lifting her up a little, face to face. "Contrary to popular belief, my darling Amethyst, I'm not as cruel as others think."

Amethyst hesitated, silent for a moment. She hated that a part of her, even the smallest part, wanted to agree with that. Hell, she wasn't torturing them, was she? All things considered, it could be much worse than being locked away in a tower. At least they were eating and drinking and sleeping. At least White was providing them with the things they needed. And yet, still…

… she wasn't stupid. She knew what manipulation looked like.

And this had manipulation written all over it.

"At least, not as cruel as Blue," White muttered. "I wouldn't lock them up and leave them completely alone without the necessities they need to be able to survive and function."

Amethyst stared at her, stomach seizing and twisting violently. "What?"

White let out a quiet hum, crossing the room to sit down on her throne. She kept Amethyst steady in one hand still, lifted up to be able to look her in the eyes without tilting her head back. "Oh, yes, Blue's punishments, I've heard, were much worse. She'd leave Pink alone for weeks, both then and now. Just throw her into the tower, or whatever room was convenient for her, and cage her like some human in the zoo." She rolled her eyes, and Amethyst just stared, appalled. "Of course, I punished her myself all those years ago, but I never left her all alone. Well… maybe for a day. But never for weeks and months. Stars, I could never bring myself to just turn and leave her by herself without checking on her every now and again. She never took well to…" She stopped, pausing, and glanced down at the small Quartz, eyebrows furrowing slightly. "Well, regardless. I'm going to be busy, and I know they're both rather fond of you, so I don't see any reason not to allow you to go in and care for them for the remainder of their punishment."

Amethyst didn't say anything immediately. She opened and closed her mouth, her mind struggling to form the words she wanted to say. Even now, she realized with a harsh ache in her gem, even now, there were things about Steven's time on Homeworld she still didn't know. They'd locked him up? Left him alone? Even when they'd had to go on missions and leave him in the house, Amethyst knew there was an entire town beyond the beach to keep him company. The city was right there whenever he wanted to venture into it, and Greg was never far away.

(And she'd still felt bad when they had to leave, even knowing, logically, he was never alone.)

White peered down at her, eyebrows furrowed. "Are you alright?"

"I-" Amethyst paused, jaw working for a moment, and shook her head a little. "I'm just…"

Processing. Oh, all of this was impossible to process. First, whatever the hell was going on with her and White. White calling her hers. Her darling little Amethyst. Her precious little gem. That alone, she'd struggled not to give too much thought to because she knew it was dangerous. This was dangerous. Thinking about whatever Homeworld had done to Steven was dangerous.

Being this close to White Diamond, feeling all of these emotions and finding out all of these things, it was dangerous. The Quartz swallowed, covering her gem, and shook her head again.

"Oh!" White lit up again, eyes widening slightly with a realization, and reached a finger up to her. Amethyst gasped a little as a long, sharp, black nail pressed against her chest, pupils shrinking as she glanced downwards, as a rush of fear that didn't really feel like her own enveloped her. "Of course, silly me, I got so distracted. I can be so forgetful. This is why I wanted to see you. This…" She tugged Amethyst's shirt down a little, and the only thing keeping the smaller gem from scooting herself backwards was the fact that White's other hand was curled around her, keeping her from moving too much. Gentle, but restricting. That alone made her tense again.

"I- um-"

"It's alright, dear," White shushed her, eyes glittering. "I'm your Diamond. You can trust me."

The words stole her breath away, horrified as she lifted her gaze up to the taller gem, feeling like someone had grabbed her by the throat and was squeezing as tight as they could. Her gem ached and buzzed and hummed, warped and distorted and nothing like the usually gentle chime that it often sang, and she felt her form retract and flicker as another crack of pain rolled through her. White merely reached another finger out, pressing the tip against her gem, and frowned. "Goodness, this is bad… I imagine it hurts quite a bit, you poor thing. But, no matter…"

Amethyst looked down, not to see the gem, but just to see what White was doing, why she was even touching her gem to begin with. She didn't like it. She couldn't explain what it felt like, but it was all wrong. This was all wrong. It was warm, and gentle, and so, so fucking uncomfortable.

White's finger glowed, a gentle, steady flicker, like a white flame. Heat seared through her gem, seeping through the cracks, and the Quartz sucked in a gasp, feeling them mend themselves.

"Good as new," White murmured, and it was.

Stars above, it was.

She stared down for a moment, even long after White had pulled her hand back. Her mind whirled for a second, staring at her gem; the crack that had spread up from the bottom, a quick, clear cut, it was gone. Her gem sparkled and glittered as brightly as if it had never been cracked, and that warm feeling continued to linger as her form stabilized completely, as the tension holding her body taut finally faded, as the pain that had spread through every inch of her finally fizzled away into nothingness. The bliss she felt in response was enough to make her body fall slack completely, sinking back against White's hand with a quiet, slow exhale of relief.

White giggled, pressing a finger against her cheek, stroking like one would pet an animal. The contact felt off, but it felt warm, and it was comforting and terrifying and breathtaking all at once. "Oh, I know, my poor, precious little gem. You're alright now. Doesn't that feel much better?"

"My Diamond," Amethyst mumbled, swallowing, and breathed in. "You said you were my-"

"Mmhm." White grinned down at her, teeth glinting as they reflected the light above them, as Amethyst stared up at her. "I am your Diamond, dear. I've always been your Diamond. You were created just for me - my perfect little gift-" She raised a finger, pressing it against Amethyst's nose, and the small Quartz jerked a little at the touch, "-from my dearest little Pink, herself."

She stiffened, a mixture of emotions swirling in her chest - confusion, pain, horror, betrayal? - and she struggled against them all for a moment. She didn't want to crack again. She couldn't-

From Pink?

From Rose?

"Now, then…" White looked past her, toward the door, and a sad smile suddenly crossed her face, a longing look flickering through her eyes briefly, before she rooted her gaze back to Amethyst again. "I do believe it's time to get back to work. We've both got much to do now." She lowered her hand, depositing Amethyst carefully on the arm of the throne, and the small Quartz briefly looked down to make sure she was steady and stable before she lifted her gaze again.

White smiled, tapping her head gently with her pinkie finger, and cooed, "until we meet again."

Amethyst stared until the bubble wrapped around her, and she couldn't see her anymore, and silently pressed the back of her hand against her mouth, pupils shrinking as she looked down.

White Diamond was…

Royal.

Amazing.

Extraordinary.

Marvelous.

her Diamond.