gemora | a short story

IN WHICH ELIZABETH WITNESSES A BATTLE

"THE ANNUAL BATTLE is no laughing matter, my dears." These were the words of Quartz's prestigious mother, who, at the first sight of Elizabeth, called the Guard on her.

"It is all our traditions that we uphold jumbled into one glorious event." The dreamy look on Opal, Quartz's mother, was one of pure ignorance. Elizabeth immediately thought of 'ignorance is bliss', the way her own mother would always tell it to her as a child. But she knew nothing sinister was arising.

She grinned as she finally was allowed to leave the room in which she was being held in by the Guard. They had given her the ugliest dress possible, but thanks to her keen crafting skills and handy kit she kept with her in her boots - yes, that's right - she had fixed it up, with the help of her boot-pockets that her mother crafted for her in case of emergencies. It may have been a tad too much, but in this moment it was handy.

"Elizabeth?" It was Quartz, poking her head through the doorway. Her jaw dropped at the sight of the dress her new friend was working on. The entire dress had been stitched with gemstones she'd found lying around.

"Are those... shards?"

Elizabeth looked up, standing back slightly to admire her work.

"Yes, I should think they are." She took a moment to understand what the question meant. "Oh! Is that... not allowed?"

Quartz smiled. "If you found them here, they are, but don't pick up a purposely-shattered gem's shards."

Elizabeth smiled back, feeling over each rough and smooth shard of stone. She could identify seventeen exactly, based on what Quartz had told her in the Gemorian crash course, and they were beautiful; two rubies, five emeralds, one topaz, two amethysts, two sapphires, one peridot, one olivine, two onyx, and in the center, one large pearl.

She had yet to meet each individual with such a name, she thought.

THE GRAND BATTLE was nothing short of what Elizabeth had imagined- overcrowded, bright and very, very loud. Quartz, on her right, was looking enthusiastic, saying a few words that Elizabeth couldn't hear or understand. She made a mental note to ask Quartz to explain them later.

As they passed a row of people, Quartz smiled at one of the yellow-skinned children sitting with their parents. "Topaz!" She grinned, twirling the girl in her arms. "How are you?" As she set her down, the girl, called Topaz, grinned as well. "I'm very good. Are you here to watch the Battle?"

Topaz's parents looked towards Elizabeth in the meantime. "So, she's the human everyone's blabbering about?" He pushed at her knuckles, taking his hand in hers. Elizabeth had begun to feel uncomfortable when every Gemorian started to do that motion, so she thought she'd try to stay far behind next time. "Yes, she is. This is Elizabeth." Quartz turned her friend towards her, to show her to the young girl's parents. "Ah. Enjoy the game, Quartz." Topaz's mother smiled, grabbing Quartz's hand in her own, pushing at her knuckles.

When they finally reached their seats, Elizabeth asked Quartz, "Why do they do this," She paused, doing the motion she'd seen the Gemorians do to both her and each other. "To each other?"

Quartz smiled, turning away for a split second to observe some commotion below.

"Amethyst." She sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. "That boy'll kill me, some day."

She rapidly turned towards Elizabeth. "It's a greeting. That's all."

With that, she shoved her way down into the crowd below, leaving Elizabeth sitting alone in a crowd of strangers.

She turned her head, looking at the multicoloured people around her. One who sat near her, smiled.

This woman had the palest skin Elizabeth had ever seen, and found it amusing how this woman was practically shining. "Hello." The woman stuck her hand out.

"I'm Pearl." She took the woman's hand. "Elizabeth." Pearl didn't seem to find this as odd as all the others had. "Oh, human, I see."

The man next to Pearl grumbled. "Pearl, don't talk to strangers." She looked annoyed, but it was replaced with a smile. "Enjoy the Battle, Elizabeth."

ELIZABETH HAD NEVER seen such a crowd. There were millions of Gemorians, all seated and cheering as a few others below filed into an enormous stadium. Quartz had appeared after sorting out with her brother - this was a new fact to Elizabeth - Amethyst, with snacks in the shape of gemstones.

As the cheering died down, Quartz handed Elizabeth three things: a purple iced drink, a packet of yellow sharp-looking chips, and a small chocolate.

The sound of a microphone being turned on startled Elizabeth. She hadn't thought they'd have technology here.

"Please, please, quiet down."

Quartz rolled her eyes, and then Elizabeth realized why. Down in the stadium was her mother, speaking to the crowd. "As you all know, today is our biggest event in Gemora. The Grand Battle!" This earned millions of cheers and screams from the crowds. "So I have the honor to present to you the contestants who will be fighting for the ultimate reward!"

Quartz looked annoyed. She turned to Elizabeth. "I'm not favorable, but I've been wanting to compete for years." Elizabeth grinned. "You will. One day." She nudged Quartz with her elbow.

Quartz just smiled, turning away to the scene in the stadium.

"The Heart of Gemora!"

A whisper from the side said, "That's the biggest rank in Gemora, by the way." Elizabeth turned to the voice, and to her surprise saw Pearl, smiling. "Thanks." Pearl also handed her a cup of juice.

"Here are our contestants; Emerald," A dark green-skinned woman came out, waving and curtsying. "Onyx!" A large, fridge-built man waved and blew kisses to adoring females at the bottom, causing Quartz and Elizabeth to snicker. "Kyanite!"

A blue-skinned, long-haired woman came out, smiling and waving. She looked straight at Quartz, who grinned.

"You a fan?"

Quartz smiled. "She's actually my best friend. We grew up together."

"And finally, Ametrine!" Elizabeth looked down to see none other than the superior of her new friend, waving at everyone as she came in. Quartz rolled her eyes. Again.

"Let the Battle commence!" Two Gemorians, the one Elizabeth recognized to be Emerald, and Onyx, were set in place. A bell was rung, and the two contestants shoved themselves towards the other. Elizabeth heard the bell ring again, and wondered how it'd gone by so fast. "And now, Ametrine and Kyanite!" Quartz looked shocked, and her jaw almost dropped. "What?!"

Elizabeth turned to her friend. "What do you mean, what? Are you worried about them?"

"Them? No. I'm worried about Ametrine killing my friend!"

She pointed down to the man who had a long spear thrust in his chest. "Wait. They kill each other?"

Quartz nodded, meekly. "What do we do?"

"I can't do much."

Quartz looked like she was thinking, hard. "I know!"

Elizabeth turned to her, listening. "I'll fight Ametrine myself."