Red Diamond (English Version)

RD - 08: Strong as ruby

Pearl kept reading.

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One of my tasks as a diamond was fighting at the arenas, however, sometimes I only had to be there and watch the fights, which I confess was way less interesting than participating in them, but one was different.

I was at the audience with the other diamonds, White at my right side and Yellow at my left, when gems brought a cage to the arena, it contained a creature, some kind of native animal from a colony.

The animal had a big mouth full of lines of teeth, six pawns with sharp claws, a tail with spikes at the tip, five eyes (two at each side of the head and one at the center directed to the front) and his drool had a gooey and corrosive aspect, as if it was toxic.

Later they brought a ruby, small and red as the rubies are. Her gem was located at her forehead and she was terrified. They put her inside a small cage them left the place. A fence rose around the arena isolating it from the audience then the cages opened, first the top, then each side, as if they were boxes.

"What's going on, White?" I asked confused.

"Didn't you read the notification we sent?" She asked.

"I still read slowly, I couldn't finish it before coming."

"This is a punishment." She explained. "This ruby went to one of our colonies as a body-guard of her master, but when they were attacked by an animal like that one, she ran instead of fighting."

"She was afraid, what's wrong with it?" I asked.

"You are too understandable." Yellow said. "The sapphire this ruby was supposed to protect had her form destroyed and almost got shattered. Even being afraid, that useless one should have fought and suffered in the place of her master."

"How did you end up knowing about the incident?" I asked.

"The ruby turned herself in and told us what happened." Said White.

"So, somehow she survived and took her master somewhere safe." I said.

"Of course she survived! She ran away!" Yellow said.

I still thought something wasn't right on that story, anyway, I started watching what was happening at the arena.

Ruby was paralyzed, she didn't move a finger. However, the beast was very agitated, pacing or turning around, but not really leaving far from where the cage opened. It would look everywhere its eyes allowed. Seemed to me it was looking for a way out or somewhere to hide.

As none of them seemed like moving soon, the gems from the audience started screaming to provoke the beast, which appeared to get more agitated with it and ruby more frightened until the fear was too great and she started running to the fence.

The beast saw it and started running at her direction. When ruby got to the fence, she noticed it was electrified; she wouldn't be able to climb. It was then that she saw the animal coming at her and she started running circulating the arena.

"Rubies should be able to run that much?" I asked White.

"I don't think so." She said.

It was the first time I would see her in doubt of something. The issue was that at the same time she noticed something different about that ruby, she didn't care about knowing more.

Inside the arena, there were a few small pillars exactly to be used during the fights; ruby ran towards one of them but instead of hiding as was expected, she carved her hands on the stone and lifted from the ground.

"Leave me alone!" She yelled at the beast as she threw the stone block at its direction, however, she used such strength that the pillar passed by the animal and soon would go beyond the fence and hit the audience.