Homeworld's Little Prodigy

Chapter 6: Gem Idol

It's been a few days since Onyx attended the trial involving that defective Rutile gem. Rumors had spread like wildfire about the trial, but luckily none of it had reached the other Diamonds. Onyx was certain if Yellow or White had gotten hold of the information, she would get in big trouble.

She had also been acting very... "Strange"... around the palace lately. Well, she didn't think her behavior was strange, but the other high ranked gems thought so. Almost every time she passed by someone in the hall, be it a Sapphire, a Ruby guard, or the typical Quartz soldier, she would give them a gentle wave and a friendly smile. If the other high class gems were berating the commoners, she would step in to comfort said common gem if they began to think lowly of themselves.

For the most part, the Diamonds didn't really seem to care. Yellow Diamond did find her behavior a bit strange, Blue thought it was sweet how she put other gems before herself, and White... Well, she really didn't know what White Diamond thought about it.

Once again, the Garnets did not enjoy watching Onyx treat commoner gems as equals. No high class gem ever behaved that way, at least not in their minds. It was insulting that she even had to share the same living quarters with them, no matter if they shared rooms or not.

"Why do you act like that..?" Demantoid, shockingly, spoke up.

"Hmm..?" Onyx turned her attention to the Garnets, "I beg your pardon..?"

"She's saying why are you treating the commoners as equals... Though I don't see why you wouldn't." Pyrope stated, fanning herself, "You're just as pathetic as they are."

Onyx pretended to ignore Pyrope, but she couldn't ignore one particular Garnet, Hessonite. A while ago, she overheard a few Quartz Soldiers talking about Hessonite and her heroic part in the great Gem War about 5650 years ago. She was supposedly a master at swordplay.

"Cease your staring at once," Hessonite glared, "I'm no tourist attraction."

"Ack! F-Forgive me..." Onyx said, startled that she even noticed.

The three Garnets trekked off down the halls to take on their daily routines. Onyx sighed in relief that they were finally gone as she trekked back to her room. She couldn't help herself. She idolized Hessonite. The fact that she even had to share the same living space as her was a major burden heaving on her shoulders.

I am nothing to the likes of her...

That is all she ever told herself. The Garnets each had their own perks that made them useful to the Diamond Authority, but what did Onyx have? All she was good at was knowing what to say, be it the right or wrong time.

Suddenly, she heard some aggravated yelling down the halls that snapped her back to reality. That first voice sounded all too familiar.

"What do you mean, 'you still haven't found it'?!" Hessonite shrieked, "If you don't want to end up like those sorry Crystal Gems of some 5000 years ago, you better find it and find it NOW!"

"Y-Yes, commander!" shouted a frightened Peridot.

Onyx stayed out of sight and range of Hessonite sensing her presence as the orange Garnet sighed in annoyance.

"Aww, it'll be okay, Hessy," Pyrope coaxed, "I'm sure it's still somewhere on that planet..."

What are they talking about? Onyx asked herself. It was at that moment that Onyx noticed two strange floating Prisms next to Pyrope and Demantoid. They looked to be just regular floating objects, but something about them irked Onyx.

Before she could leave, however, Pyrope's Prism sensed the eavesdropper and flashed a ray of light in Onyx's direction, summoning a Light Monster.

Onyx shrieked in absolute terror. She was not expecting the Prism to do something like that. Unfortunately, her scream allowed the Garnets to catch sight of her before she could get away.