Troubled Diamonds

41 Giftie

"What kind of assignment is it again?"

A group of gems strode through the hallways in a hurry.

It was a very... unusual party. Consisting of a peridot, two amethysts, bismuth, azurite and violet labradorite – a composition which made absolutely no sense. Those gem types had no particular connection with each other, and rarely worked together unless it was necessary. This time however, the gems were joined in a unit, because of the one common trait they all had, aside from being made for Blue Diamond – they were... less than ideal (to call it lightly). Some of them came out slightly faulty, the rest started displaying their flaws already after being given a position. Either way, they weren't fully appropriate to work on their purpose.

But their defects weren't considered as severe. Quite the contrary – they were small and sometimes even unnoticeable. Still, it was easier, and safer for everyone for them to be under supervision. And the most effective way of enabling that was to keep them together.

There were actually many groups of this kind, from all courts. Not every gem fits where it should belong, but the Authority couldn't just disregard them, or get rid of them for such trivial reasons. That's why these gems were officially allowed to function and work, but simply on things not too important and usually differing from what they were originally supposed to be doing.

At the beginning of the group walked Amber Agate, a manager who was put in charge of a few groups, including this one, about seven thousand years ago. Because of her unusual colour, she belonged to yellow court. Her hue actually wasn't faulty, it was simply rare, because Yellow Diamond usually doesn't create agates, while Blue Diamond favours them in shades of blue. The latter however decided to create this particular one resembling her counterpart's court members more, so she could've later present it to her as a gift.

Which was done. The Agate presented herself proudly, and she was taken in right away. She was a fully appropriate gem, and her extraordinary feature gave her a lot of advantage among court members. She quickly got the higher positions, eventually becoming an elite manager and a head of gem resources in no time.

Most of the gems usually used to look at her with awe, being surprised and curious about her gem type. Needless to say, it gave her a confidence boost of a millenia. There were times however, when her colour brought nothing but pain. Even though Amber Agate was a high class individual, there were still a lot of gems who were above her, or at least on the same level. And they were ruthless... Not all of them of course, but just enough to feel it in her core. Some gems liked to establish their dominance in the field by worst ways possible in public. The reason behind it wasn't even her colour... It was the fact that she was given to a Diamond as a present. And it was a great target for some gems to throw their insults, bully and mock her. Worst part of it was a nickname spread among the higher ups – 'Giftie'.

Even though Amber Agate never showed any emotional reaction towards these acts other than indifferency, they always hurt her greatly. It hurt her so much because she was proud of how she was made and what for. She never forgot the way in which her gemstone nearly burst out in euphoria when Yellow Diamond smiled her way and thanked Blue Diamond for enriching her court with such an interesting specimen. It truly was one of the happiest ways a gem's life could start.

Amber Agate was not one to spare discipline. It was part of her duties to treat insubordinate gems with her chain whip that ends with a baton full of thorns. But she couldn't use it on those of higher level. These and their behaviour had to be endured, and only if lucky – ignored.

This group she's been in charge of for the past few thousand years, consisted of gems truly... strange. Never once did they try to insult her, and frankly, even though their status differed greatly – they related to her as one of them. They were friendly and that was already a surprise for the Agate, because she knew she was not a very pleasant person. She couldn't quite understand them, perhaps because they belonged to a different court, but she got used to it after a while.