Steven Universe-RUBY X SAPPHIRE-AU

Chapter 1:Two Separate Lives

(At Quartz Palace)

(P. Sapphire's POV)

It is a bright summer's day, though the clouds hung low across the city streets. The sun is almost a perfect semi-circle, lighting up the clouds with the most beautiful light. Everything seems perfect that morning. Everything except my mother's fashion sense.

"I think it will look lovely on you." she says in a sweet manner. She is 8 ft tall, with a mass of pink curly hair that is intricately decorated down her back. Queen Rose Quartz. And also my mother.

"Are you serious? It's hideous!" I exclaim. The horror before me is a sickly green dress with even more sickly yellow lace. Its waist is so padded, I would look pregnant in it (safety first, of course), and worst of all was the stupid frilly hat it was accompanied with. I look it up and down in horror. "I am 15 years old and should be able to make my own decisions! There's now way I am wearing that to the garden party."

"There are plenty of ways, my child-and some ways are more punishing than others. I order you, as Queen of the land, to wear this perfectly attractive dress to the garden party. No matter how putrid you presume it to be." my mother announces. I hate it when she uses her status to get her own way like that. But she is my mother, and the Queen after all. Reluctantly, I lift my arms up as the green monster swallows me. It is unsurprisingly uncomfortable. One of my maids goes for the hat, and I give her a pleading look. This is met with a sympathetic expression as she returns the hat to the table.

"And the hat, please. It would be a shame not to finish off the overall outfit."

"I'd like to finish it off by throwing it in a tip. Why can't I wear something from back home?"

"Your home is here, Sapphire. The sooner you accept that, the more comfortable you will feel here at Quartz Palace. And a dress from your father's country would be so inappropriate for an event such as this."

My father is King Kunzite of Sapphiero. Sapphiero is a country most different to Chalcedon. My father named me after the country he loved so dearly, which was probably why he stayed over there most of the time. He is still legally with my mother, but they don't see each other much. If I'm honest, I would want to be back home as much as he is. The reason I say back home is because it was until 2 years ago, but I have always been able to speak Chalsish as well as Sapphian. I miss it so much-the flamboyant Sapphian Dancing and their beautiful language, it all seems so much more familiar, even though I'm half and half. The womanly gems of Chalcedon are known for their full lips, curly hair and lighter skin; my mother is the perfect example. Sapphian ladies are usually darker in colour, with long and elegant limbs despite their generally short height.

So I have the best of both worlds. Though I prefer one world to the other. It sounds insulting, but it's their own fault. Chalcedon music is bland, and their is no flavour to their dancing. My father was just like this when he came to this country to marry my mother. "A country without fun is a country without flavour" he would say. He is a handsome gem; chiselled and intuitive, his face a gentle lavender, and his gem positioned so fittingly on his heart. He is always sending letters to me (in Sapphian, of course), asking me to come home. My mother asked what it says, and I make up something random, usually poetic and dramatic, like his personality. I write to him back, saying how much I miss him and how much I miss home. I'd say I'd come home soon, but I'm not certain that I will and I don't want to get his hopes up.

"Thank you for the dress, Mother. I'll make sure it doesn't get damaged." I say in my sweetest voice,

"Thank you, dear" she replies, just the same.

(At Bloodstone Alley)

(Ruby's POV)

"C'mon, Ruby, dance with us! It's our birthday!"

"I don't feel like dancing. I hear the ballroom dances at the centre of Quartz Palace are amazing." My name is Ruby, just like all my other sisters. Though I'm the only one who sticks by that name.

(These are all the other rubies we have seen so far, including the two that were with blue diamond, which i'm calling Shoulder and Backhand. Then the other five rubies-Army, Navy, Leggy, Eyeball and Doc.)

Our mom died when she gave birth to us all-Doc was first, and Leggy was last. We were left to an orphanage, as our Pa was some random guy who did my mom in the night and never came back. But we were so worthless and bad behaved that we were thrown out onto the streets. We all just turned 14, and we're celebrating. Well, they are.

"I just feel like we're missing out, you know?" I say dramatically. "Up there in the palace, that's where the party is at-they're probably having one right now." I'm not looking but I can feel all my sisters roll their eyes. 

"You want to go to a crummy ballroom?" says Doc.

"With so many rules? says Shoulder and Backhand-they're the most troublesome. 

"And dresses that squish your stomach?" says Navy, placing both hands on her navel gem and shuddering. 

"Not all that. The dancing is so...elegant!"

"One, what do you know about elegant?"says Backhand.

"And two, what do they know about elegant? They're always so stiff!" says Shoulder, and with that, the two sisters start to dance hand in hand like statues, barely moving a muscle. To be honest, this is the most still I've seen them. And as if it were like that!

The rest of the rubies laugh and dance, while Leggy just looks confused. Doc sits on her junkyard throne and pretends to be Queen Rose, making the occasional royal wave and fake smile. Eyeball, the most rebellious yet serious of us all, speaks up. She's the second oldest.

"You wanna go to Quartz so bad? Then lets go." she says. Just like that. The rest of the rubies stop playing around, and Doc looks up from her throne. "Listen, we've got enough stolen cash here to get us all pimped up. After we get pimped, we get in with the servants, and bingo, we're in."

There is a murmur of persuaded voices.

"it would be nice to go to a ball"

"Just to see what its like inside"

"Maybe we could teach the palace our own dancing!"

"Woah woah woah! Are we seriously gonna spend our hard stolen dough on some fancy suits?"

This causes some dispute.

"That's true"

"Did take a while to steal all that cash."

"I'm with Doc."

"Guys!" I say, in my loudest voice. "Listen up! Get this: if we get in as servants, we will never have to steal again! We will be living at Quartz Palace-think of it! Mint tea and strawberries every morning, we won't have to worry about making ends meet! A home, better than any place in Chalcedon!"

There is a silence, as the rubies contemplate.

"Huh?" Leggy announces. Everyone sighs.

"We're with you, Ruby. But if this plan bunks, Eyeball, we're stuck with no money."Doc says with a hint of regret. She's quite fond of money.

"We can just steal some more, right?"

"Yeah, that would be easy."

I just don't want to let them down.