Amethyst

Chapter 2 - A New Life

Ben and I descend the brown, rickety steps of my basement, a place in the house I've never been before. The stairs creak under our weight and when I'm worried they'll break because of how old they are; the lights come on, Ben at the bottom of the basement, standing next to a light switch.

He waits for me to get to the bottom step before moving aside to show me what's here. I was expecting something normal: an ironing board, a washer and dryer combo, maybe even some kids toys. but I'm not at all prepared for the sight in front of me. Straight ahead of me is a beautiful, purple shining door with purple birds, leaves and not yet bloomed flowers. Vines of deepest purple twist around the sides of the door, making it, besides the necklace, the most beautiful thing I've ever seen. I walk up to it and touch it, my fingertips experiencing an unknown sense of familiarity I don't know.

"Beautiful, isn't it?" I pull my fingers away and look at Ben, see him leaning against a wall, a bittersweet smile of a memory in his eyes.

"Yeah. it is. So this is how we get there?"

"Yep. so, are you ready to see where you came from?" Ben looks at me questioningly. Before answering him, I say,

"Hold on. Just what exactly should I expect to walk into here? Isn't it kinda important to know first? You seem to know exactly what to prepare for yourself."

"Well, not much, honestly. I guess just be ready to see mountains and experience a chill air, since the Amethyst Court is in the North. plus, we'll be passing through a town called Sweetwood. so, because it seems we might be in Liliya for a good while, It might be good for you to see how towns and stuff work."

"Sure, I guess so. Anything else?"

"Hmm, oh, that's right. I feel like I should explain how each Court works."

I nod, and Ben and I stand next to the gorgeous door while he explains.

"Ok, let me start in my preferred order. Amethyst, Sapphire, Rose Quartz, Jade, Ruby and Moonstone. Amethyst, our Court, is in the North. our power allows us to use Night and Shadow. our wealth comes from mining. any gemstones we find in the mountains that aren't Amethyst, we hand over to the designated courts. Blue is Sapphire, Pink is Rose Quartz and so forth. Unfortunately, that also means whatever red gemstones we find go to the Ruby Court. moving on, Sapphire is in the west of Liliya, closest to the sea; which leads me to my next point: the Sapphire Court makes its wealth from fishing; as well as having tailors and dyers. They're basically the Court that makes clothing for everyone. Their power, which probably seems obvious, is water.

As for the Rose Quartz Court, they're in the south of Liliya. their wealth comes from jewelers and perfume makers. The best jewelry in all of Liliya comes from them, same with the perfume. While others from different Courts have tried to copy them and make both even better, it still hasn't happened. Another interesting fact about the Rose Quartz Court is that they only grow flowers. The fauna and vegetation from the land won't respond to them; it only responds to people from the Jade Court; but you're the exception. No one knows why they can only grow flowers, though scholars and history buffs have spent years trying to figure out why. They also are gifted with the talent of music. Out of all the courts, they make the most beautiful melodies. Moving on,

The Jade Court is also in the south of Liliya. they're more of an amazon jungle type terrain. They make their wealth through Farming. as for their power, they are the carers of Fauna and Vegetation. The Jade Court is also known for having exceptionally talented healers. Any creatures that are sick or injured come to that Court. As for the Ruby Court," Ben says this with a sudden bitter taste in his mouth,

"They're in the East of Liliya. I'm guessing from your vision, you already know the appearance of the terrain so I won't explain it. Their power, obviously, is fire. Their wealth comes from glass blowing. I'm surprised anyone buys from them but their rumored to be quite something, though I've never bought from them myself. And finally, for the Moonstone Court. They, like the Amethyst Court, are in the North. their terrain is home to snowy mountain just like ours, but very few trees and greenery. Their wealth is soothsaying & providing answers, while their ability, and your ability as well, I guess, is the power of vast and unlimited knowledge. I'm surprised that was the first power that surfaced, and not Amethyst since that's the Court we were born in. but I know your other powers will come into play soon. So, after everything I explained, how are you feeling?"

I stand there, pondering, thinking. I'm still processing whatever emotions I'm feeling like Ben told me to. Still upset at him and my parents for hiding this from me. But the hurt still mostly goes to them, since they couldn't trust me enough to tell me. When it comes to Ben, I guess part of me is slowly hacking away at the anger, making me understand his reasoning. But I still wish he told me regardless. Yet, I recall his earlier statement about the Moonstone Court. That's the part that doesn't really make sense to me, seeing as how I'm not one of those special intellectually gifted children. I'm just barely passing my classes. So I say to him,

"I'll let you know when my emotions feel more in check. But there is one part of what you said that confused me. You've seen the marks on my report cards. You know I'm just barely passing. So how the hell could I possibly have access to 'vast and unlimited knowledge'?" I make air quotes with my fingers as I say this.

"Well, you are born with a power from each of the Courts, which makes you a powerfully unique individual. My point is, maybe you do have vast and unlimited knowledge, just on one thing. Maybe the knowledge on said one thing will manifest into something you enjoy or something you're good at, like a hobby or a certain skill. Or maybe because you've lived a life without the use of your powers, the whole 'Vast and Unlimited Knowledge' thing will come to you in parts, like you'll slowly gain knowledge on things you never even started researching or earning. But who knows how that power will come into play? Also, fair enough when it comes to how your emotions on how you're handling all of this. Like I said, process all of this however you feel you need to. Hate me, don't speak to me, ask me hundreds, if not thousands, of questions. Just feel however you want. So, are you ready to see Liliya?"

"I...guess so?"

"Alright. then, I'll give you the honor of opening the door. Just open it like you would a regular one."

I just approach the door slowly, not sure how to feel while looking at it. But as my hand gravitates closer and closer to the door, this overwhelming sense of familiarity seep into my bones; that quiet little voice in the back of my head saying to me,

'open it. it's okay, open it. this is your home.' listening to the voice, my hand firmly grasps the handle, slowly pulls it towards me and I see in front of me a swirling purple light, which then fades into another world. a dirt path, snow capped mountains, pine trees with a vibrant green. I gaze at this new scene before me, a wanderlust sense filling my bones.

"Ready?" I look to my right and see Ben standing next to me; his gaze open and friendly, familiar. I look behind me at the grey walled basement of my home. or at least, the place that I believed to be my home for so many years. then I turn my gaze back to the door, to the vastly different scene in front of me. and finally, I look at Ben. I take a deep breath, inhale a nervous breath and say,

"Ok." I move aside as Ben nods, moves in front of me and walks through the door. I turn on my heel to look back at the grey walled basement. but, knowing that my parents are in this other world, that there's a completely different side of me I had no knowledge of, I also step through the door. my eyes meet white light, not knowing what to expect as I hear the door close behind me and I leave myself in a new, unfamiliar world.