Oh, I remember that story! It was really good and I was disappointed that you never finished it. I'm glad you're restarting it!

Also, how'd you get the link on the 'here?' Did you ask the Admins to do it for you?

Just in summary, (because it was a while since I posted Chapter 19) Amethyst and her family are getting ready for Leader Ruby's party. Ame messaged Topaz wondering about what the Priceless' plan was, which led to a mini-argument over their comms, which led to Topaz showing up at her house, Ame climbing down her window, and the two of them going off to talk. Finally, right as Ame was about to go back inside, Topaz pulled out an old version of one of his plans, which ends up seeming like it'll work and so they plan to use it at the party. So. Anyways. 

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Chapter Twenty

Amethyst was exhausted.

Besides the fact that she didn't fall asleep until an unhealthy hour of the morning, she had been woken up at 07:00 by her little sisters talking to each other excitedly in their rooms. They were obviously enthusiastic and excited about the party later that day, but Amethyst didn't really care. She needed her sleep. It was all she could do to slog through her morning routine without brushing her hair with her toothbrush and putting toothpaste on her hairbrush. Or falling flat on her face in the middle of her room.

Amethyst somehow made it through getting dressed without too much difficulty --though her shirt was inside out at first and she had put her jeans on backward-- and started heading down the hall in the direction of the kitchen, which meant breakfast. That was as far as her brain was thinking that morning: when her next meal was. On her way there, she passed the open doorways to her sister's bedrooms, where she caught a glance of Eudie and Opal standing in the middle of Eudie's room, doing something. Whatever it was, Amethyst didn't stop to find out.

She continued to make her way down the stairs and into the kitchen without further ado.

∞ * ∞ * ∞ * ∞

Later that day, in the evening, Amethyst stood in front of her bedroom mirror, preparing for the party. She had donned her purple dress and sandals and was now attending to her hair while she waited for the onslaught of excited little girls that would happen in about 0.2 seconds.

Eudie and Opal burst into the room in a flurry of outfits that were supposedly "not at all formal". Opal was wearing a pink button-up shirt with a short knit skirt and little boots, and Eudie was dressed in an aqua-blue, sleeveless dress with ruffles covering every inch of the fabric. Amethyst almost had to shield her eyes from all their brightly-colored glory.

"Can you do our hair, Ame? Please?" Eudie gazed at her with sad puppy eyes.

Heaving a dramatic sigh that would've won her an award had she gone into acting as a career, Amethyst told her sisters, "Fine."

They both sat down on the edge of her bed and waited patiently while Amethyst put the last finishing touches on her own hair, then started brushing out their own. As usual, the twins put up quite the fuss at having their hair brushed, saying that "it hurts!" and all other manner of complaints. “If you guys want healthy, tangle-free hair, then it has to be brushed everyday,” Amethyst reminded them.

Amethyst did, in fact, envy her sisters for their hair. She would gladly exchange her own tangled, curly, and barely manageable mop at any given moment for a chance at Eudie or Opal's hair. Eudie had sleek, raven-black hair that reached her about mid-waist. And Opal was a platinum blonde, but her’s was a bit shorter than her twin's.

After about fifteen minutes, Amethyst was finished styling her sisters’ hair. Eudie's hair was in a thick pancake braid down the middle of her back, and Opal's was styled into a messy bun. Amethyst's own hair was pinned up and away from her face at the front, and twisted into a rose-shaped bun on the back of her head, with all the rest of her hair splayed out around her shoulders.

Standing back to let them look in the mirror, Amethyst told them, "There. What d'you think?"

"Ooh!" said Opal.

"I love it!" cried Eudie, running her hand down her braid with a flourish.

"Thank you, Ame!" they both told Amethyst, running up and hugging her, then racing from the bedroom to go show their mother.

Amethyst grinned in satisfaction. Then, glancing at her own reflection in the mirror, she stuck one more bobby pin into her hair and then followed her sisters down the stairs.

Their parents were waiting in the living room, admiring the twin's hair, when Amethyst walked in. Sera smiled at her, and Howlite scrutinized Amethyst up and down. Then he told her, giving a thumbs-up with a grin, "Go knock 'em dead, sweetheart."

“Who?” Amethyst asked with a confused laugh. “I don’t have any friends, much less a love interest.”

Her father merely gave her a sly look. “You never know, you might meet someone.”

The family walked out the door and stepped outside, where their transportation to the party was waiting for them. In order to make it easier and convenient for all citizens to attend, the Leaders had commissioned the city taxi company to chauffeur all the guests to and from the party. Most people living in Mineria did not own a car; gasoline was so costly and scarce nowadays that only people like the Leaders or a rich taxi company could afford to drive around the city in an actual car. People were lucky to get to ride in a car more than a handful of times in their lifetime.

The taxi that Amethyst and her family got into was mustard-yellow in color, most likely once a bright banana yellow, but the dirt and grime of the streets had long ago stained it a darker color. The interior of the car had leather cushions that were ripped in places, but at least this particular vehicle didn't have an odor. Amethyst had been in a car that had had a stench before. As they situated themselves in their seats, the little window near the front of the car slid open and their driver's face appeared.

It was a man with a clean-shaven face, who wore a sleek black tux with a black cap. His eyes were two pools of inky blackness, making Amethyst slightly uncomfortable for some reason. He spoke in a rumbling voice. "Hello and good evening. I am your driver, Tektite, but you may call me Tek. I am in charge of making your excursion to our fair Leader Ruby's party pleasurable." Tek said everything in a dramatic voice, but he obviously had rehearsed quite a bit beforehand what to say. Sitting beside Amethyst, Howlite opened his mouth as if to speak, but Tek quickly slid the window shut again without another word.

Huffing, Howlite muttered, "Friendly guy."

Sera elbowed him in the ribs and he let out an "Oof!" noise. Eudie and Opal giggled.

Before long, the car came to a slow stop and the Semi-Precious 020 family got out. The front window rolled down and Tek's head reappeared. "You're welcome," he told them. Then he drove off without another word.

Amethyst rolled her eyes.

The auditorium where the party was to be held was exactly smack-dab in the middle of the city, surrounded by lush gardens and a fountain on one side. The building itself was made completely of glass and stretched up several feet into the air, towering over Amethyst as she gazed up in wonder. The surface area that the auditorium actually covered was not very much, but it made up for width with height. Amethyst remembered hearing from somewhere that there were 15 floors throughout the entire building.

Imagine all those stairs, thought Amethyst. But then she remembered that this was a classy, fancy building meant for the more precious Classifications. Of course, there would be no stairs, only elevators. Elevators filled with lots of people. Amethyst was already wishing she could go home.

But instead, she put on a brave face, smiled at her parents, linked arms with her sisters, and walked through the door of the auditorium.

∞ * ∞ * ∞ * ∞

Topaz was hiding.

Well, when you say it like that, it sounds worse than it actually is. In his mind, he was "observing from a safe vantage point”.

He had tried to tell Larima that she could just go to the party as a normal citizen, and not do like he was and sneak in and hide, but she had insisted that she come with him. They had arrived at the auditorium much earlier in the day than all the party-goers, and made a quick scout of the perimeter and its security, then had hidden on the balcony on the second floor that overlooked the first floor, since it was a secure place to observe the party-goers as they arrived. Well, really, the scout of the perimeter was anything but quick, because the auditorium had 15 stinking floors. But all that didn't really matter.

The guests had started arriving at dusk. First, many of the pompous Rares had strolled in, studded with jewelry that bore the same name as them. Topaz tried to avert his focus from the glittering wealth draped around the necks, wrists, and ears of the Rares; so much easy money could be made in only a few short moments. But he finally forced himself to get rid of the idea of any petty theft right now. Later, maybe there would be time for that. But not now.

Close behind the Rares came the Semi-Precious. Topaz couldn't help the slightly excited feeling that swept over him as he searched the throng of arriving Semi-Precious for Amethyst. And her family, of course, since he was interested in who they were and what they were like, but he was actually looking forward to talking with her again.

After last night, he'd sensed a shift in their friendship. First, before the conversation over the comms, they had been mere acquaintances, really. They had met each other twice under odd circumstances, Amethyst had joined the Priceless, and they hadn't had a chance to actually... talk. Of course, Topaz conceded, they didn't really talk last night, either. He had mostly whined about things. But now, after they got all his complaining out of the way, there could be chances to get to know each other better. For Topaz to get to know Amethyst better…

And there she was. She was dressed in a stylish purple dress, her hair done up all fancy, and her arms linked with two little girls who must be her sisters. The little girls were cute, though. They must be twins, because they looked so close in age. The one on the left of Amethyst had blonde hair and light pink eyes, and the one on the right had dark hair and dark pink eyes. The adults accompanying Amethyst and the girls must be their parents.

The man, no doubt Amethyst's father, was tall and gangly, with grey eyes and the hair to match. His wife had dark eyes and plain brown hair, who darted her eyes around the room nervously, as if anticipating black-cloaked assassins to drop from the ceiling rafters at any moment.

Topaz returned his attention back to the other Semi-Precious, waiting to see any sign of the other Priceless members who were also in that Classification. Sure enough, a few moments later, Carnie waltzed in, accompanied by his own parents and older brother. Sugi came next, but because he was older than many of the other members and was already living on his own and working a job, he didn't come with any family members.

The Gems arrived next, and across the balcony, hiding in her own hiding spot, Topaz saw Larima watching intently. She was a Gem herself, after all. Cassy and Kyan walked through the door arm-in-arm --which made Topaz wonder if they were “together”. He thought he had caught sly glances at each other and even possibly glimpsed them holding hands at one point, but he dismissed those thoughts as something to figure out later. Sphene slipped in behind them, unnoticed, and just at the last second, Bloodstone stepped through the doorway.

Topaz had been hoping she would show up. Bloodstone hadn't given a straight answer about whether or not she really was going to come and take part in their "plan". But it seemed that she had made up her mind.

And at the bottom of everything, entering with her fellow Commons --who were dressed in clothes that could be considered rags-- was Lolite. If Topaz had arrived at the party as a normal citizen, he would have been Classified and been in the same group as Lolite, for he himself was a Common. Despite her less-than-easy life at home and in society, Lolite never failed to be cheerful and uplifting to the others around her.

Shifting in his hiding place, Topaz waited for the guaranteed grand entrance of the Leaders, which would happen next, because all the Classifications had already made their appearance.

Trumpets squeaked out their triumphant tune from some far reaches of the room, and inches away from Topaz, the balcony doors were dramatically flung open.

Ooh, this is so good! I haven't read the earlier chapters, but I'm very intrigued and will try and do that if I have time. Your world feels very well-developed, and the descriptions are really well written and engaging.

One question: How do you pronounce "Ame"? Is like Amy, or AH-meh?

Yussss, it’s back! I can’t wait to find out what happens next! I agree with Kitten—Topathyst is definitely beginning to set sail. :3

Also, like Abi, I’ve been wondering how to pronounce Ame. I always imagined it as ‘aim’, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I’m totally wrong. :P 

Yay, it makes me so happy that people enjoy reading my book! 

@Abigail and Leeli- Haha well, originally Ame was supposed to be pronounced like "Am-eh". (Like try saying just "amethyst" but leave out the "thyst"; that's what it was supposed to be like.) But I keep saying it in my head like "Am-ay", with a long "a" sound at the end, and I actually like it better that way, to be honest. So Ame = Am-ay. 

∞ ∞ ∞ ∞ ∞

Chapter Twenty-One

Topaz almost snorted out loud.

Onto the balcony strode Ruby, her person draped in all manner of things that were most definitely not considered "casual clothing". Rings in all different shades of red covered each and every one of her fingers, an elaborate headpiece that reminded Topaz of a gigantic red cherry sat on the top of her head, and the rest of her body was draped in a flowing red toga. Topaz wondered if she would be able to walk at all, since her wore 5-inch heels on her feet. But she took a graceful step forward, her bedazzled hand resting gently on the balcony, and gazed out at the crowd, who were oohing and ahhing at her.

Emerald and Diamond entered the balcony through the doors behind Ruby and took their places on either side of her. Emerald was dressed in an expensive-looking tuxedo in a shade of forest green and with a dark green tie to match his eyes. Diamond wore a lace bandage dress in a light cream color, with some sort of poor animal's feather stuck into one side of her elaborate hairdo.

Ruby addressed the crowd: "Thank you for coming."

After a few moments of silence, Topaz blinked. Was that all she was going to say? He had known that Ruby wasn't the most talkative person, but this was her own party, after all.

The people gathered seemed to realize that she wasn't going to say anything more too, and started talking amongst themselves. Amongst themselves, as in talking to each other within their Classification, of course. And the multiple elevators that were scattered throughout the building were specifically marked with the name of each Classification as well.

The Rares had their own section of the room marked in glittering calligraphy, and a large table filled with what seemed to Topaz to be a seven-course meal with a towering cake in the center. Ruby, Emerald, and Diamond glided down the stairway from the balcony and joined their fellow Rares in their celebration. The Semi-Precious were a little ways away with their own section of the room and a table full of food and a cake that was considerably smaller than what the Rares had. Topaz could see Amethyst, her sisters, and her parents move toward the table of food, no doubt going to get a bite to eat. The Gems and Commons had also been placed a considerable distance away from each other, but they were more inclined to mingle with each other and share their tiny, tasteless cakes together. Until the Authorities, dressed in bright red for the occasion, intervened, that is. They gruffly forced the Commons and Gem back into their sections and let them off with a warning.

Annoyed, Topaz shook his head. The Authorities, handpicked by the Leaders themselves and from chosen all different Classifications, never failed to aggravate him. They were bullies. And Topaz didn't tolerate bullies. Second in line to wanting to end the reign of the Leaders, Topaz wanted the Authorities disbanded and exiled to the Mineral Colonies.

But that was something to contemplate for later. Right now, they had to concentrate on the task at hand.

Shifting in his seat once again, Topaz adjusted the itchy blonde wig that was atop his head. He had been so caught up in trying to figure out a plan that when the time came to start getting prepared for the party, Topaz realized that it had completely slipped his mind to try and figure out a disguise for himself. Luckily, Larima had anticipated this happening and had put together a disguise for him as a backup.

Currently, Topaz was dressed as an overweight, mustached white fellow whose name was supposedly "Serpentine", and had the ugly green eyes to match. The tinted contacts that Larima had given him were digging into his eyeballs, and the white skin-colored face paint on his face felt like a wax mask. Serpentine was in the in-between spot between Classifications; neither Gem nor Common. But Topaz had chosen to call himself a Common, since Commons were usually ignored for the most part.

Larima had turned into a yellow-eyed brunette with glasses who wore too much makeup. Topaz didn't know what Larima was calling herself, but he knew that she was pretending to be a Semi-Precious.

The rest of the Priceless did not have their disguises on yet. Topaz had told them to wait until they put their plan into action, since surely somebody would notice if their normal selves --meaning Cassy, Kyan, Amethyst, Carnie, Bloodstone, Lolite, etc.-- did not make an appearance at the party. So instead they would be themselves for a bit, then go off to find their disguise in the specified meeting place on a certain floor of the auditorium.

Ugh. Topaz's leg was falling asleep. The kind of falling asleep that actually hurt if you tried to even move it a millimeter. He longed to get up and move around, but he knew he shouldn't risk it. They had already chanced their luck by trying to hide in plain sight, and it would do no good to stand up just because he was uncomfortable and completely blow his cover.

Gazing out at the throng below him, Topaz watched Amethyst. She cut herself a slice of cake and sat down at the small table where her family was seated. Her father was laughing and talking with someone next to him, and her mother was saying something to her younger daughters. Amethyst seemed to look out across the room, her gaze sliding off the members of the Priceless without any recognition, which was good. Topaz had told everyone over the comms this morning to pretend like they had never met each other, and even to talk to each other cordially as if meeting for the first time, if they had the opportunity. She stared at the Leaders, particularly Ruby, over at the Rare's section, then turned her gaze up towards to balcony.

Their gazes locked, her eyes widening ever-so-slightly. Topaz gave a little shake of his head to indicate for her to look away and pretend nothing happened, and she did just that. Amethyst focused her attention back to her cake, which made Topaz hungry just looking at it.

Upon further consideration, Topaz told thought to himself, She must either have really great facial recognition, or my disguise must be completely terrible if she recognized me so quickly…

After a few seconds of nonchalance, Amethyst returned her gaze to the balcony again, no doubt looking for any other members of the Priceless who were hidden up there. She must have found Larima, because she darted her gaze away a few seconds later and stuffed a bite of cake in her mouth, chewing quickly.

Topaz's stomach growled. Boy, he could really go for a piece of that cake right about now.

He forced himself to stop thinking about food, because that would just make him more hungry. He checked his comm, which had a digital clock as one of its many features. It was 19:13, which meant about fifteen more minutes until "The Plan" began.

Honestly, Topaz was almost having second thoughts. Their so-called "great" plan wasn't actually all that great. It was a plan, but the details were sparse concerning what he and the Priceless actually hoped to accomplish tonight. It seemed like "causing a distraction" was Topaz's only motive nowadays.

But he told himself that it was too late now. It was almost time.

Chapter Twenty-Two

Peri jumped down from his comfortable seat on the lid of the Waste Compartment, where he had been spying through the window of the big girl's house. It seemed like neither she nor the fun little girls were home; the house was completely dark and silent. Peri missed the big girl and the little girls. It had been a long while since he had been petted or played with. And the man wasn't in his hiding hole, either, which was odd. The man was always there. But tonight, for some reason, he wasn't.

Sitting back on his haunches, Peri sneezed dejectedly.

Peri was lonely. He had gotten used to the feeling of loneliness as a kitten, out wandering the streets. But since he had found Topaz, and the big girl had chanced upon him, Peri was used to being out and about and visiting people and having love lavished upon him. He never really had any other cat friends to hang out with; stray cats just weren't all that common anymore, what with the Authorities so hell-bent on hunting them down according to the Leader's wishes. Peri's own mother had long-ago abandoned him and left him to fend for himself.

Just then, he caught the faint sound of an animal; a soft mew, to his surprise. Perking up, he held still as he waited for the creature to come closer. The creature, whatever it was, moved slowly and seemed to bump into objects as it went by. It let out a continuous stream of "mew"s as it went, which excited Peri. The only animals that he knew of who mewed were cats. And here he had been just a few seconds before, contemplating on how few stray cats there were left in the city.

Presently, the meowing cat stopped right below where Peri was sitting. It had a shaggy coat of fur that was so tangled and dirty that it was hard to make out the cat's face. The cat's fur pattern was black with white splotches randomly placed about their body, with the tip of its bushy tail being white, and all four feet being covered in pristine white socks.

Then again, thought Peri, pristine was probably the wrong word, because the cat was very dirty.

Shoving its nose in the air to sniff at Peri, the cat asked him, "Who are you?"

"Peri," said Peri proudly, letting the strange cat sniff. From the cat's voice, he could tell it was female.

The cat continued to smell him, lifting up her front paws to reach higher. Only then did Peri look into her marble-white eyes and realize with a start that she must be blind. "Peri is a human name," the cat told him. "What is your feline name?"

"Peri is the only name I've ever had," Peri told her.

The cat stopped sniffing and sat back on her haunches. She looks very tired, thought Peri.

"I had a human name, once. I never liked it," said she.

Leaning forward slightly, Peri asked, "What was it?"

"Moonstone. Apparently, even before I was blinded my eyes were white."

Peri was intrigued. "Moonstone is a very pretty name," he told her, hopping down from his perch and circling her, slowly.

Moonstone sniffed the air again, sensing that he had moved. "What are you doing?"

Peri stopped circling her, and stood so they were face-to-face, where he examined her eyes. "Nothing." He leaned in closer, touching noses.

Moonstone backed away shyly. "It doesn't seem like nothing."

"Well, it's just that there aren't a lot of cats around here. I don't really have any friends," he added a touch of despondency to the tone of his meow so Moonstone could understand that he was sad.

Staring out over Peri's left shoulder and trying to probably look him in the eyes, Moonstone said slowly, "I could be your friend."

Peri cocked his head to pretend to look skeptical, then remembered that Moonstone couldn't see him. "Well. Only if you want to."

Moonstone gave a soft purr. "I do. But I need so much more than a friend, Peri. I feel so lost and alone without being able to see anything."

"I will be your friend, and your guide! Come with me, Moonstone," he told her. "Just follow my voice. I know a place near here that has lots of food."

Tentatively, Moonstone followed him off into the night.

∞ * ∞ * ∞ * ∞

Amethyst was, in all honesty, bored.

And jittery.

Every simple movement that the nearby Authorities made, from merely talking to each other, to looking at certain people intently, to following people around sent her on high alert, fearing that they would suddenly see Topaz and Larima hiding in the balcony, or recognize her and the other members of the Priceless and arrest them on the spot. She could just imagine the expressions of triumph and glee on the Leader's faces if that were to happen. The very criminals that they had sought after for so long, caught like a mouse in a trap at their own party.

Amethyst focused her gaze at said Leaders in their cozy Rare's section. Diamond, in her ridiculously tight dress, was chatting up a storm with a handsome young man who had light blue eyes. Beside her, Emerald was taking small bites of a slice of cake that sat before him. Ruby was glancing around the room with her ever-perfect smile plastered on her face.

For a moment, their eyes met. But Ruby, not recognizing Amethyst, just inclined her head in Amethyst's direction as a sort of greeting, she guessed, and looked the other way.

It took all of Amethyst's willpower not to glare daggers at Ruby and her cohorts all night long.

But she forced herself not to, asking, Why do I feel such hatred towards them? What did they ever do to me?

She told herself that it was their style of government that she was fighting, not them personally. Sure, the Leaders had to be corrupted in some form in order to think up the Classifications in the first place, but she still blamed them for every wrong-doing she had ever witnessed in her life. It was prejudice, plain and simple, and she knew it.

And, in the back of her mind, she also blamed them for taking her one and only childhood friend, Beryl, away from her. What if Beryl had not gone away? she often wondered. Beryl had been quite the social butterfly back then, and Amethyst half-hoped that if they had continued their friendship, maybe her life would be different than what it was today.

Meaning, that she actually had a life. And friends who weren't trying to overrun the government in their spare time.

Heaving an unconscious sigh, Amethyst shoved those thoughts into the far recesses of her mind, where most of the perplexing thoughts and ideas her brain came up with were kept nowadays.

Sera, sitting next to Amethyst, heard her daughter sigh and asked, "Is everything alright, Ame?"

Shaking out of her stupor, Amethyst said, "Yeah-- I mean, yes, everything's fine."

Her mother still looked skeptical, but Amethyst went back to eating her cake, attempting to end the conversation.

Eudie and Opal had kept up a nonstop stream of chatter ever since they had stepped through the doorway into the auditorium. Admiring people's clothes, raving about the food, and staring in awe at everyone sitting in the Rare's section. Particularly the Leaders.

"Whoa, Mom, look at that lady over there with the white eyes!" cried Eudie, tugging on her mother's sleeve.

"Yes, Honey. That's Leader Diamond," replied Sera.

"It looks like she's rolling her eyes up into her head, so only the whites are showing, you know? Kinda creepy."

"Eudie, please keep your voice down, darling."

"Yes, Mom." Then Eudie gasped. "Look at that person with the red eyes! Wow!"

Eudie's exclamation of surprise echoed off the room's vaulted ceiling, earning glares from some of the nearby guests. Sera smiled at the glaring people sweetly, then whispered something in Eudie's ear about keeping her voice down once again.

To keep the twins --though mostly Eudie-- occupied for a bit, Opal and Eudie were digging into huge slices of cake that sat before them. Sera had suggested that they eat some of the "real food" set out to enjoy before having dessert, but Amethyst wasn't waiting, so of course neither were they.

Howlite was talking to one of his friends in the merchant business, Apatite, who he had chanced upon. A comment that passed between them piqued Amethyst's interest.

"...still have added taxes on foreign trade. It's crazy!" said Apatite, her blue eyes bright. Amethyst continued to stare around the room, straining to hear what her father and his friend were saying.

Howlite shook his head. "That it is. Almost as crazy as how flavorful this cake is!" He stuck his fork in the slice of said cake sitting in front of him and took a bite. If Amethyst knew her father at all, this was a sign that he wanted to change to conversation subject. But Apatite seemed insistent.

"But it just amazes me, you know? How the Leaders can think that they can control or decide such things-- why, I'll bet they've never even set foot in a Merchant Gathering, let alone know how to make a decision regarding trade!"

Clearing his throat, Howlite said, "You probably should keep it down, Apa." He cast a nervous glance at a pair of Authorities standing about a hairsbreadth away, who were glaring intently at Apatite.

Apatite, as if just realizing she was being observed, swallowed hard didn't say anything else.

Amethyst breathed a silent sigh of relief, grateful that things had not gotten out of hand. But then she stopped herself, realizing that she was also curious as to how different the events might have been if Howlite had not uttered his warning. After all, the whole reason she was here tonight (besides being forced to attend, of course) was to infiltrate the Leader's party and make them feel vulnerable because they had been attacked by their own supposedly "loyal" citizens.

Well, too late now, she told herself. Apatite seemed contented to go back into her doubtless boring and uneventful life as a Semi-Precious merchant, and keep her so-called "rebellious" ideas about the trade tax to herself. Amethyst would just have to hold her horses and wait until it was time for Topaz's plan to be put into action.

She discreetly glanced at her comm to figure out what time it was; 19:22. Which meant less than ten minutes until Topaz would comm everyone to start doing their "jobs". Amethyst had put her comm on its vibration setting, so that she wouldn't startle her parents or other people around her with its beeping noise. Now she just had to come up with an excuse to get away from her family.

Amethyst couldn't fake a bathroom emergency; one of the twins might suddenly have to go as well and Sera would ask Amethyst to take them with her. Saying she was going to get more cake or other food wouldn't work either because someone from their table might ask her to bring them back something.

She was flummoxed.

So Amethyst sat in her seat, chewing her bottom lip and trying not to look suspicious while waiting for her comm to vibrate. Finally, it did. She glanced down and saw: Now.

On a spur of the moment, Amethyst stood and told her parents, "I need some fresh air." And before they could ask if she was alright, and before they could tell her to take one of her sisters with her, Amethyst headed off in the direction of the exit.

Just at the last second, however, before she was about to push open the doors and step outside, Amethyst turned sharply to the left and made her way to the Semi-Precious elevator. She had to crouch a few times behind people on her way there to make sure that her parents didn't see her, but she finally got into the elevator and pushed the button for the fifth floor.

Amethyst took a deep breath as the elevator door closed in front of her without a sound.

Chapter Twenty-Three

The elevator door dinged as it reached its specified floor and Amethyst stepped out of it with a look of pure nonchalance plastered on her face. She was supposed to be here, she was doing nothing wrong. Just exploring, like so many of the other guests were doing. She was, of course, not meeting up with other members of a gang she was a part of to try and cause chaos at Leader Ruby's party. Why, not at all.

She tried drilling those thoughts over and over in her head, as if thinking about it for long enough would make it come true.

Amethyst began walking down the hall, pretending to be studying the decorated walls. She really didn't need to pretend to be doing anything because nobody was on floor five, but she continued her studying anyway.

By the time she went down the hall with the fountain picture, left by the flower vase, and took another left by the red closet door, Amethyst had arrived. The room Topaz had told them all to meet up in was a sort of janitor's closet, filled with all different kinds of chemical cleaning products. He had checked ahead of time and made sure that floor five and this closet was completely vacant of activity before choosing it. Amethyst supposed that was only to ensure their safety. But at the moment, she felt anything but safe.

She raised her hand and quietly knocked out the passcode on the door of the closet, and the door swung open. Larima's relieved face greeted her. Except, it didn't look like Larima. She had short brown hair, olive skin, and yellow eyes. Though behind all that, if one looked closely, Amethyst could just make out her the trademark little scar on Larima's right cheek, hardly noticeable.

"Oh, thank Heavens. You're here. We were getting worried." Larima kept her voice just above a whisper. Amethyst stepped into the room, the door shutting behind her softly, and saw that everybody else had already arrived. There was Carnie, Sphene, Sugi, Cassy, Kyan, Lolite, and even Chrys.

"We're only waiting for Topaz, now,” Larima told her.

"Wasn't he up on the balcony next to you?" said Amethyst.

"Yes, he was." Larima twiddled with her fingers. "He's probably just checking the perimeter one more time, to be safe. But either way, he said to start without him. Your disguise is over there," she gestured to the corner, where a pile of clothing sat.

Amethyst went over and dug through the pile, pulling out a blonde wig, a change of clothes, and a little box of what looked like tinted contacts. She stepped into the adjoining closet to use it as a changing room, and donned her disguise.

The wig felt like real hair, which unnerved Amethyst. Soft and yet coarse at the same time, with visible breakage. But she put it on anyway, tucking her natural hair underneath. Then she put on the outfit. It was a simple, blandly-colored tunic with slacks, no doubt something that a Gem or Common would wear. The contacts, however, she knew she would need assistance with.

Amethyst went back into the main part of the closet that everyone else was in, where she saw Larima adjusting her own wig in the mirror.

"I'm not quite sure how to put these on," said Amethyst, holding out the box of contacts.

"Ah, here." Larima took the box from her, opened it up, and removed the thin plastic covering that enclosed the two little grey circles. She picked one up with the tip of her finger and held it out to Amethyst. "If you were putting these on for real, there's some special chemical stuff you use to get the contact wet with. But for now, just stick it in your mouth, get it wet, then pop it onto your eye."

Slowly, her brow wrinkled, Amethyst used her own fingertip to pick up the contact and put it in her mouth. It felt strange and she felt strange doing it, knowing that everyone in the room was watching her, but she honestly didn’t care anymore. Amethyst could feel anticipation and pent-up emotions clawing at her throat like a wild beast. She did her best to ignore it, and got the contact wet with her saliva, then used her thumb and pointer finger to pick it up.

But she paused before she actually put it over her eye, since she wasn't sure she knew how to do it right. Larima, seeing her hesitation, picked up the slimy contact and gently pressed it into Amethyst's eyeball.

It was cold at first, and Amethyst had to blink several times to stop it from pinching her eyelid. Then she repeated the process with the other eye, applying the actual contact herself this time.

After she blinked once again, she stole a glance at herself in the mirror. An almost completely different person looked back at her. She was blonde, black-eyed, and wearing dumpy clothing. But underneath it all, she knew that she was still Amethyst.

Larima turned to face the members of the Priceless. "You all know what to do. Chrys, Sugi, and me are in charge of the Leader's personal bodyguards. Cassy, Kyan, and Topaz -- whenever he gets here-- are going to be causing as much chaos as possible. Amethyst and Bloodstone, here are the blueprints for the security cameras." Larima pulled a rolled-up piece of paper out of the folds of her shirt and handed it to Amethyst. "Get rid of all the cameras with the exception of this one," she gestured to a camera circled in red on the paper. "Leave that be. Topaz wants one recording of what will take place tonight, but all the others disabled. To make the Leaders feel vulnerable or something, I don't know. Snap to it, everybody! Chop chop!"

And within the span of two minutes, the room was empty, save for Bloodstone and Amethyst. Blinking, Amethyst watched Bloodstone study the blueprints of the security system in silence. She was trying hard not to stare at Bloodstone, because she too had donned a disguise. Her red eyes had turned green, her short hair had elongated, and she had on an expensive embroidered dress that covered her from head to toe.

Topaz had also still not arrived yet, which worried Amethyst slightly.

Bloodstone pointed to the circled camera, then to the 10 or more other cameras scattered all throughout the building, saying, "Should we split up to cover more ground?"

"Um, yeah, sure. Sounds good," said Amethyst.

Staring at Amethyst with an odd expression on her face, Bloodstone asked, "What? Is something wrong?"

"No, I--"

Just then, Topaz entered the room, looking slightly flustered. Amethyst was so relieved, she didn't quite know what to say. She opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. It was as if the very presence of Topaz and herself being in the same room turned her mind to mush. And she, in all honesty, hated it.

Glancing around the room, Topaz asked, "Where is everybody?"

"You didn't come, so they started without you," said Bloodstone, not giving Topaz a second glance.

Glancing up and down at him, Amethyst realized that she hardly recognized Topaz at all. He looked... old. Old enough to be her father, in fact, with odd green eyes and a pot belly. She almost wanted to laugh out loud because he looked so comical. From the balcony, she hadn’t been able to make out all of the features of his disguise.

Topaz let out a small sigh. "Well, then. Goodbye." He raised his hand in fake salute, and walked back out the door.

Amethyst waved after him, biting her lip and using up all of her mental willpower to still the soft fluttering of her heart. Now was not the time to be having these silly thoughts of hers.

"Right, Amethyst," said Bloodstone, drawing Amethyst's attention back to the matter at hand. "You get the cameras on the bottom six floors, with the exception of the one, and I'll get the top seven."

"Seven?" squeaked Amethyst.

"It sounds like a lot, but if you haven't noticed, this building has more height to it than actual width. Each floor by itself is relatively small."

Bloodstone creased the blueprint in half, so one side showed the lower levels and the other showed the upper levels, then ripped the paper in half. She handed Amethyst her piece. "I wish you luck. And if everything goes well, we hope to be done with the cameras by 21:00 at the earliest, then we can go join Kyan, Topaz, and Cassy in the ballroom."

Amethyst said that she would do this, and then Bloodstone left. She stilled herself by taking a deep breath, then she walked out the door, map in hand.

∞ * ∞ * ∞ * ∞

Peri liked Moonstone. He liked her a lot.

She moved in fluid, graceful movements despite her blindness, which fascinated him. He kept peeking behind him as they made their way to the place with the food, taking advantage of Moonstone's blindness and stealing glances at her. But Peri forced himself to concentrate on the task at hand.

He led Moonstone over by the big tall tower, where the Waste Compartments always held delicious things to eat. If he was lucky, he occasionally found some fatty scraps of a roast or something like that. Those were satisfying enough, but Peri really loved veggies. He loved any kind of vegetable at all, which might make some other people think that he was an odd cat. But if Peri had learned anything in his years of living on the streets, he knew that when it came to food, you can't be picky. And, over time, he had grown to rather like vegetables.

So it was just his luck today that, as he was scrounging around the Waste Compartment with Moonstone sitting on the sidelines patiently, he came upon a slice of cucumber and a broccoli floret. Peri hopped out of the dumpster and went over to where Moonstone sat, dropping the vegetables at her feet.

Moonstone bent to sniff the veggies. "What is this?" she asked him.

"Something good. Trust me, you'll like them. Take a bite," said Peri.

Hesitantly, Moonstone closed her mouth around the piece of broccoli and took a bit. She chewed in silence for a moment, then grimaced and said, "Wonderful?" Her stomach audibly growled, and she glanced down at it.

"But you're probably hungry for somethin' more... substantial," said Peri, reconsidering. He jumped back into the Waste Compartment and continued to hunt for something to eat. After a while, he chanced upon what was left of a leg of lamb, and he picked it up in his mouth and set it down before Moonstone once more.

She only sniffed at it once this time before she hungrily dug in and started eating. When Moonstone had had her fill, she sat back on her haunches and licked her chops. And when she told him, "Thank you, Peri," he knew she meant it.

Peri beamed, happy to do anything to help her, his new friend. "Are you thirsty? Meat like that usually has a lot of saltiness to it. I know a place where there's this neverending puddle, if you want to come. It has good drinking water."

“Sure. I am thirsty,” Moonstone said, and Peri started off in the direction of the puddle. They traveled in relative silence once again, but Peri made sure to make some noise so that she could know where he was.

When they arrived, Peri crouched at the edge of the puddle and started lapping, since he was parched as well.

Moonstone copied his movements from the sounds he made and knelt to drink from the puddle. After a few minutes of lapping, she sat up. Moonstone swayed a bit, her eyes staring off into the distance again.

"Peri?" she asked.

"Yes, Moonstone?" Peri moved closer and touched noses again to let her know that he was near.

"I'm exhausted." From the tone of her voice, it was obvious that it was.

Peri thought for a moment, then told her, "I know a place where it's safe to rest, but it's a bit of a ways away. Can you make it that far?"

Moonstone seemed to steel herself. "How far is 'a bit of a ways away'?"

"Well... back where we started. Where we first met," Peri told her.

She opened her mouth as if to say something, but then thought better of it. "I can make it that far," Moonstone told him in the end.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes." She lifted her chin, sounding determined.

So Peri started off in the direction of the big girl's house, making sure to let Moonstone know where to follow him by keeping up a conversation the whole time.

"I'm sorry if this is a rude question," he began, “but how did you become blind? Because you weren't always, right?"

"Yes, I wasn't always. And I don't think it's rude, Peri. You're just curious," said Moonstone. Peri turned to look over his shoulder and thought he caught a smile on Moonstone's face. But then again, it could have been his imagination. He turned back around, concentrating on the direction they were going.

"I used to live with a family. They were respectable people and always followed the silly rules of their kind. But they were very poor. They found me as a kitten and took me in, but soon they became so destitute that they threw me out on the streets. I got lost trying to find my way back, and ended up wandering around the city." She paused to catch her breath.

"Then one day a person found me, picked me up, and took me to their home. I don't know what home it was, or who the person was. All I knew was that the person was very wealthy, and they had shiny, brightly colored eyes. I was well cared for in that person’s home. I was fed lots of rich foods. But then, after living there a while, the person soon began to ignore me. I spent my days sleeping on the plush couch, eating food, and wishing for somebody to come along and pet me. I was... rather lonely."

Peri understood what Moonstone meant very well. He had, after all, felt the same way only a few hours ago.

"One night, when it was dark out, I saw a light flashing outside the nearby window. I was curious, so I went over to find out what it was, and hopped up on the windowsill. Next thing I know, the light becomes a bright, pulsing orb and my eyes hurt." Moonstone looked at Peri, or, he assumed she meant to look at him, because she gazed at his general direction.

"That was the most pain I ever felt in my life. And the light was also the last thing I ever saw."

Peri was quiet for a long time after Moonstone finished speaking. He was amazed at her story. A bright light flashing in the window? What on earth could that have been? And how could it have been so powerful to make her blind?

"I am sorry, Moonstone," he said to her.

"Whatever for?"

"You have had a difficult life."

She was quiet for a moment. "It only became difficult after I lost my sight, really. One doesn't realize how much one depends on their sight until it's gone."

Peri stopped walking and shrugged his cat shoulders. "I guess so."

They continued on, weaving in and out of cramped spaces and musty corridors, Peri content with letting the conversation drop. But Moonstone seemed to want otherwise.

"What about you?" she asked Peri.

"What about me?" he returned.

"How did you come to be out on the streets?" said she. "Did you have a family?"

"A family?" Peri asked. "No. I had a mother, once, a long time ago. But she soon left me to fend for myself, and I've been a stray ever since. Well, just recently actually, some people have found me. They are very kind."

"So then you do have a family?" asked Moonstone, her confusion evident.

"Well... no... not really. The man lives by himself, and the big girl and the two little girls live together. But I don't think the little girls and big girl know the man. At least, not the little girls. I've seen the big girl and the man together before, but they are not a family. Just friends, like you and me are." Peri cast a warm smile in Moonstone's direction, only to remember once more that she couldn't see him.

"Do you live with them?" Moonstone asked. "The girl and the man, I mean?"

"For part of the time. Sometimes, I stay with the man. And other times I stay with the little girls and the big girl. But they usually aren't home very often. We're going to the girls' house right now, actually," Peri told her.

"Oh," was all Moonstone said.

And by the time Peri thought of something else to say, they had turned the corner and out of the darkness loomed the girls’ house. "We're here!" called Peri cheerfully. He stopped near the doorway to his closet home and waited for Moonstone to catch up. Her steps were lagging heavily, almost as if her feet were stuck in something sticky that was dragging her down.

Peri nudged her with his nose, motioning towards the cat door. "Go in right through there. You'll find a bed where you can sleep on."

Moonstone shoved her fluffy body in through the small opening, grunting as her hips got stuck in the doorway for a second. After her tail disappeared, Peri followed her. The closet home was dark because the girls weren't there to turn on the light, but Peri's eyes soon adjusted to the dimness of the room. Moonstone found the bed without difficulty and had plopped down atop of it, her exhaustion evident. Peri knelt beside her, not caring that he had to sleep on the rough carpet if it meant that Moonstone was comfortable.

With her head curled in on herself so that she was a snug, round ball, Moonstone looked very peaceful. Just before she fell asleep, Peri heard her whisper, "Thank you."

Peri touched noses with her for a moment, then rested his head on his forepaws and watched her as she slept.

∞ * ∞ * ∞ * ∞

Her heart pounding in her chest, Amethyst crept around the corner. She had already disabled three of the security cameras marked on her sheet of paper, and was moving on to the next closest one. This camera was positioned right in the crook of one of a four-way crossing on the third floor. And in a rather open and vulnerable spot.

She stood on her tiptoes and reached out with the handy screwdriver that she had snatched from the janitor's closet before she left. Amethyst had just crammed the head of the screwdriver into the crack between the base of the camera and the wall, like she had done to disable all the other cameras, before she realized that there was a much easier way to do her job. Now she rammed the sharp part of the screwdriver into the glass part of the camera, breaking the glass, breaking the camera, and sounding an alarm in the process.

"Oh snap," she muttered under her breath. Amethyst raced down the hall, forgetting all attempts at trying to be stealthy. She skidded around the corner, casting a fevered glance over her shoulder. Not looking where she was going, Amethyst slammed face-first into a young Authority.

Both Amethyst and the Authority took a step backward, caught off balance from their collision. The Authority, a young man, looked at her with his eyes wide. "What the-- " he said.

"Sorry," Amethyst began, trying to collect herself. "I wasn't watching where I was going. I was just-- "

"Now hold on a minute," said the Authority. He glanced at her again, craned his neck to look down the hall where the alarm was blaring, and looked back at the screwdriver she had in her hand. The young man frowned.

"Come with me, Miss," he told her, grabbing her roughly by the wrist and dragging her in the direction of the blaring security camera.

Amethyst knew she was busted. But on the spur of the moment, she decided to try and take a last stand, adopting a terse nature right on the spot.

"Well excuse me, sir," she told the Authority indignantly. "Unhand me!" Amethyst tried to wrench her arm from his grasp, but the young man had a grip like iron bands.

"Sorry, Miss," said the Authority, sounding anything but apologetic. "Somebody had to set off that alarm down the hall, and the only person remotely near the scene, as far as I can tell, is you."

Amethyst huffed and went along with her ploy of innocence, pretending to be extremely annoyed. As the man gruffly dragged her along with him to the place where the broken camera was, Amethyst tried to discreetly set the screwdriver on the ground. But the Authority saw what she was trying to do and took the incriminating screwdriver from her hands, holding it tight in his own.

Amethyst grunted under her breath, frustrated.

They stopped in front of the broken camera, where Amethyst had stood just a few minutes ago. The Authority let go of her wrist reluctantly and clicked on his Lecs; shutting off the noisy alarm with the press of a button. He leaned closer to inspect the broken camera, and Amethyst saw her chance to escape.

But she didn't take it.

What was the point? Running away from a commanding officer would surely deem her a criminal. It was better to be suspected of a crime and try to talk your way out of it than to attempt an escape. And from what Amethyst had heard, most people who tried to run didn't make it very far.

However, the Authority took one glance at the smashed screen of the camera and cast a glance down at the screwdriver in his hand. And then Amethyst knew that no amount of sweet-talking would get her out of her current predicament. Especially when the Authority riffled through her tunic pockets and came up with the blueprints for the security layout.

She smiled sweetly at the Authority. "Oh, how did those get there?"

The young man was not amused. "You're going to have to come with me."