While Amethyst told Lapis about what she and Peridot did in the room, the blonde decided to leave and get herself some breakfast.
She stood made her way to the kitchen, which was behind a door connected to the dining hall. That way, the food was always as fresh as could possibly be. Of course, she was going to eat the dinner which Lapis left in the fridge last night. Knowing the maid, it was probably going to be a filet mignon steak.
As Peridot opened the midnight black door, she found that her assumptions were correct. She took the plate from the fridge, placing it in the microwave on the counter beside the fridge. Her foster mother wasn't all too thrilled when her adopted daughter asked for a microwave.. but the blonde felt more at home with such an appliance in the mansion.
Setting the time and starting the microwave, Peridot turned and leaned her back against the counter, eyes scanning the kitchen.
Like everything else in the house, it was huge. There was a long counter in the middle of the floor, the top completely covered with multiple burners. It was like an extra large stove. Though Lapis was the only maid and cook in the entire mansion, Yellow Diamond thoroughly enjoyed living extravagantly.. as if that weren't evident in itself.
Peridot's mind wandered to Amethyst and the previous night.. The silver haired girl was so gentle, even if she did get a little rough with her teeth. The blonde's fingers absentmindedly traced across her neck, remembering the feeling. Her lips, her tongue, her hands.. they felt so far away now.
She shivered, closing her eyes. Amethyst was so.. sensual. She was more than beautiful, more than kind.. She was a being of pure benevolence.
Even in her little job, Amethyst never shied away from being frugal. She gave to people in a lesser situation than she was in, and she never asked for anything in return. She was always like this, even in the orphanage.
Peridot remembered back then.. it was a happy time, despite the circumstances.
A young girl wearing a green sundress was lead up to the big double doors of a building. The woman holding her hands explained that this building was called an 'orphanage'. It was where children went when they didn't have parents. But Peridot did have parents..
Her mother and father were lovely people. Her mother always had a bottle in her hand, and from time to time, let Peridot have a sip from it. It was bitter, but always gave the little girl a bubbly feeling. She was happy.
She just didn't understand why her mother would break the bottle when her father confronted her on her 'drinking problem'.
Peridot remembered hiding behind a wall, watching as her mother waved the broken bottle at her father, cutting his arm. He pulled something from his back pocket, and there was a loud bang that forced Peridot to cover her little ears. Her mother had fallen asleep. Then her father pointed the object to himself. Another bang. He slept as well.
Peridot just didn't understand why she was taken away from her parents.. they had only fallen asleep, right? Why did the police have to cover their faces? Why were they taken to this.. 'morgue'?
She had asked the lady that picked her up if she'd ever see her parents again. She didn't answer.
The blonde was lead through the double doors and was told to sit on the bench in the lobby. She did as she was told while the lady did paperwork with another lady at the desk. What were they talking about?
Swinging her legs back and forth, Peridot waited.. and waited.. It seemed like hours before the lady that had brought her here began to leave. When Peridot got up to follow her, she was stopped by the other lady that was at the desk.
"Hold on there, sweety.." She spoke, a calm, but sad tone to her voice. "You're gonna be living here from now on.."
"But I have a home.." Peridot argued, though her expression was indifferent.
"Oh, honey.." The lady wrapped her arms around the little girl, holding her closely.
Peridot usually liked hugs, but this.. she didn't like this. She wanted to get away from this woman, she wanted to just go home.
"Please let go.." Peridot pleaded, gently pushing the lady's shoulders. "My dad said to never let strangers touch me.."
Slowly, the lady obliged, pulling away from the little girl. She smiled, but she also had tears in her eyes.. Why was she crying?
"You're daddy was a good, smart man.."
"You mean he is a good, smart man.. don't you?"
The lady couldn't bear to hear these words from such an innocent little girl. She stood up, gently taking Peridot's hand in hers as she wiped her tears away.
"Come on.. I'll introduce you to everyone."
The lady lead Peridot through another set of doors.
Looking around, she saw other girls besides herself. There were three taller, older girls and three younger girls, now four, including herself. The taller girls were in the middle of the floor, playing what seemed to be a game of Ninja. One of the three smaller girls was also partaking in the fun. The other shorter girls were in the floor by the window, coloring on paper with red and blue color pencils separately.
"Everyone.." The lady spoke, catching everyone's attention. The three older girls and the small one among them stopped their game, and the other small girls looked up from their drawings.
"Wassup, Alex?" One of the tall girls asked, hands on her hips. Her hair was wild, unkempt, and she seemed to be rather plump for her size. Peridot guessed she was the 'leader' of this group.
"We have a newcomer.. Her name is Peridot."
"Hey, you can't give her a nickname without us." One of the smaller girls by the window seemed to get angry, but was told to calm down by her companion. Alex just chuckled, shaking her head.
"No, her actual name is Peridot. She doesn't need a nickname."
"So she's just like Amethyst.." Another one of the taller girls spoke up, though a lot more calmly than the others. Her ponytail was long, and her composure just screamed elegant. But somehow, Peridot got the feeling she could be fun when she wanted to be.
"Yes, and I'd like you all to treat her very kindly." The lady, or Alex, gently nudged Peridot forward, smiling kindly when the young girl looked back at her. "Go on and introduce yourself to everyone.." She then addressed the whole room again. "If you need me, I'll be at the front desk. Please don't hesitate to come and get me." And then she left.
Peridot looked at the group of girls all staring at her.. she suddenly felt self conscious, holding her arm. One of the taller girl was the first to walk forward. This girl was rather flamboyant, as if trying too hard to be likable. But even then, Peridot found her.. charming.
"Hello.. I'm Sardonyx." A British accent? That was unusual in America. "My real name is Sam, but we all have our lil' nicknames."
The pony tailed girl walked to stand beside Sardonyx.
"I'm Hope, but you can call me Opal."
"That's pretty ironic.." Peridot commented, causing the taller girls to laugh. The other taller girl came to stand on Sardonyx's other side, resting her arm on her shoulder.
"You're funny.. I like you. Name's Nicky, but call me Sugilite."
The other girls introduced themselves to Peridot in this same fashion. A tomboy looking girl was named Sarah, but everyone called her Ruby. The girl who was sitting beside Ruby had half of her face covered by her hair, and she quietly introduced herself as Sapphire. Her real name is Rebecca.
Amethyst was the last to introduce herself. Her hair is short, and a dark brown color. She was all too excited to see a new person.
"So your name is Peridot, huh?" Amethyst asked, hands in the pockets of her shorts.
"Yeah.. and you're Amethyst?"
"Yup. Seems like we're the only ones with actual names of gems." Peridot smiled, rubbing the back of her head.
"Heh.. yeah. It's um.. nice to meet you and all, but.. when can I go home?"
All of the girls except for Amethyst got this somber look on their faces.. Sugilite turned away, dragging Sardonyx and Opal to continue their game of Ninja. Ruby and Sapphire silently went back to their drawings. They always let Amethyst handle the bad news. Still smiling, she answered the blonde girl.
"This is your home now, dude.."
"But.. what about my parents?" Peridot felt scared, yet at the same time, she felt.. calm. Was it Amethyst's naturally high spirit that did it.
"They're gone, Peri.." Amethyst used this nickname to distract the blonde, to soften the blow. "Either they didn't want you, or they died.. like a pet goldfish. You used to have a goldfish, right?" Peridot nodded. She did have a goldfish.. Every child did, really.
"So.. my parents aren't in their bodies anymore.." Peridot was starting to put two and two together. She felt herself shaking as she spoke. "They.. they told me that when my fish floated.. he left his body and went somewhere else.. That's what my mom and dad did?"
"Yeah.. but it's okay."
Peridot felt herself getting mad.. How was it okay? Her parents were gone! She was about to go off on the other girl, but she was interrupted.
"It's okay because you still have them.. in your head, you know?"
Peridot stopped herself, giving Amethyst a confused look.
"What do you mean?"
Amethyst came to stand at Peridot's side, wrapping an arm around her shoulder. She pointed to Ruby and Sapphire.
"Ruby there wet her bed three weeks ago. Sapphire was the first one to help take the sheets to Alex. Ruby cried the whole time, but Sapphire helped get her to sleep again."
She then pointed to the three girls who were in the midst of their game, trying their hardest to get each other 'out'.
"They told me that when they were younger, Sardonyx got bullied by Sugilite for her accent. Opal stood up to her, and there was this huge fight. They're the best of friends, now."
"Why are you telling me this?"
"When they get adopted.." Amethyst said, her voice quieter, sadder. "They won't be able to see each other anymore.. but they'll still remember each other."
The brunette let go of Peridot, turning to face her again.
"Sugilite will remember that she doesn't regret bullying Sardonyx because if she didn't, then the three of them would never have been friends. Ruby will remember that Sapphire was always there to help her, and it'll be the other way around too."
Amethyst took Peridot's hands in hers, her smile bright once more.
"And you'll remember every time your parents played with you, how they helped you with your homework, how they were just.. there for you. That's all that matters, isn't it?"
Peridot couldn't believe what this girl in front of her was saying.. Her words were so.. mature, so sophisticated. Before the blonde girl knew it, she was smiling, wiping a tear from her eye.
"Y-yeah.. you're right."
Amethyst laughed, lightly punching Peridot's arm.
"Always am. You wanna play Ninja with us?"
Peridot nodded. As Amethyst lead her to the group, she felt happy.. For the first time since she was taken from her house, she wasn't sad or confused. She was going to take Amethyst's advice and keep her parents in her memories.. while making new ones.
The beeping of the microwave brought Peridot from her thoughts. Her food was ready..
She turned and took the plate out of the microwave. She grabbed a fork from a kitchen drawer and began making her way back to the dining hall.
Lapis and Amethyst were finishing their little.. conversation.
"I'm glad you let her control things, at the very least.." Lapis said, playing with her thumbs on the table. "I thought most prostitutes would try to do their job forcefully if they had to."
"Yeah, most of us would.. but I'm not like most hookers." Amethyst said this before noticing Peridot sit across from her. "Oh hey, Peri. Watcha eating?"
"Steak.." She answered quietly, digging her fork in the side of the meat to cut it. She would have gotten a knife, but.. she felt too lazy.
"Looks good.. Anyway, I was wondering if you wanted to get out of the mansion today, maybe take a walk around town. I gotta visit my friends downtown anyway."
"Yeah, of course." Peridot agreed quickly, almost too eager at the thought of spending time with Amethyst. "I can get Jasper to drive us.. Would you like to join us, Lapis?"
"No thank you.." Lapis refused the offer, standing from the table. "I need to clean around the house today.. I'm always finding dust somewhere.. I wish your Madam Diamond didn't need to feel so.. fancy."
"Tell me about it.." Peridot replied, taking a bit of her steak. Lapis laughed and made her way out of the room.
"Well you two have fun. And no sex in the car."
Peridot nearly choked on her food while Amethyst laughed wiping a tear from her eye.
When Peridot got her coughing fit under control, she couldn't help but smile. This was nice.. even if their time together was limited, even if Amethyst didn't remember her.. Peridot did. She was prepared for this. All she had to do was keep in mind that memories are what mattered. And the new memories that she was going to create with her silver haired friend, well.. she planned to cherish them for a very long time.