She spent four hundred years in the Kindergarten.
Four hundred years of quiet loneliness. Four hundred years wishing she weren't alive.
What use is an exsitence if it's never meant to live outside the confines of towering stone walls?
It was always dark in the Kindergarten. Dark and cold. Citrine always felt frustrated but a little bit proud that she was the only bright thing there. That she was the only living thing there for that matter. It made her a little sad, actually.
Occasionally, though, Citrine would smile. Every once in a long while, the sun would position itself just right and a crack of light would seep through onto the barren, dusty ground. It was that tiny fraction of sunlight that gave Citrine hope. It happened very rarely, but when it did, she would rush over to that small leak of light. She'd place her left hand on the floor and the light refracted just perfectly off of her tiny, tear-shaped gem.
Citrine did not know where the light was coming from. She didn't know how to reach it. She didn't know anything, really. But she did know she was determined to find that light.
Citrine wanted to see the sun.
~~~
It was one of those rare, beautiful days. Citrine had been sitting, staring vacantly at the heavy stone walls around her when she saw the split in the clouds, that familiar warmth on her skin. Her eyes lit up as the pale light spread across the shadowy gorge. Gingerly, she touched her left palm to the cold ground as light spilled over it. The gem on the back of her hand shone vibrantly, and it made her heart swell with joy.
She loved to admire the perfectly cut orange jewel that adorned her left hand. Oftentimes, she would sit for hours, proudly staring at each perfectly crystalline edge. It was the one thing she liked about herself.
The moment ended as abruptly as it began. The clouds shifted once again and everything was back to the chilly dimness it had been before. The tiny Gem sighed softly and stared up at the sky. What was up there? Would she ever know? From where she was, all she saw were dark gray clouds and intimidatingly sheer cliffsides that seemed to stretch on forever. Citrine curled up on the cool ground, suddenly wishing she wasn't so very small.
Hours passed. Citrine was still curled on the ground. It's not like there was any point in getting up any time soon. The Kindergarten wasn't going anywhere, and neither was she. At least, that's what she thought.
"I don't like this place."
Citrine shot up.
"Don't worry, nothing's been alive here for hundreds of years."
Who said that?
Citrine dove behind a rock. It wasn't very big, but neither was she. It hid her well.
"If anything is alive, it won't be for long."
No. No. No.
"The sooner we destroy this place, the better."
Citrine was shaking now. Terrified, she peered out from her hiding spot. Three figures were walking towards her. She stifled a gasp and ducked back down.
"Wait."
"What?"
"I thought I saw something..."
The little Gem curled up in a ball, willing them to go away. All her life she'd dreamed of meeting other Gems, like her. But now... 'please leave,' she thought, tears welling up in her soft amber eyes.
Citrine had only ever cried once before.
It was when a wounded bird had fallen into the gorge. It was the only other living thing she had ever seen. She had picked it up and held it close to her. "Don't die," she had whispered to it. "Don't die."
Citrine gazed across the clearing, where a circle of pebbles surrounded a mound of dirt. Her vision blurred.
"I just want to be left alone."
Oops.
She hadn't meant to say that out loud.
And uncomfortable silence followed.
"Is someone there?"
Citrine froze. Her heart thrummed in her chest.
"Is someone there?" the voice repeated.
"Don't hurt me." Citrine managed to choke out three words, trembling. 'Please, don't hurt me.'
"Come out," a different voice said.
Citrine did nothing.
"Please come out," it tried again.
"Don't hurt me." Citrine croaked again. Tears slid down her cheeks.
The voice paused. "We want to help." it answered.
Reluctantly, Citrine slipped out from behind her boulder. Her legs were shaking so much she had to lean against the rock to stay upright. "I don't need help." she whispered.
"By the Diamonds!" the exclamation came from a tall pale blue Gem. X was almost three times her height, and it made Citrine nervous. She recognised x's voice as the second one
The Gem behind x was small and pink, and pale red and white stripes swirled across his face. He looked tired and she could sense a distinct sadness in him.
The third was a dark blue Gem. He had soft gold hair and he bore a concerned expression. Citrine liked his eyes, and the way he carried himself despite his faint limp.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
