Steven couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned in his bed, the emptiness was suffocating him without a single finger around his throat.

Grunting in his faux anger to mask the crushing sadness he threw the covers off of him and arose from his bed and made his way onto his balcony to gain some fresh air.

Glancing across the town below, the ever growing bustle of gems and humans combined with their ignorant happiness made him scowl. How can anyone be happy when his Connie was missing?!

"Hey Steven..."

The hybrid looked up at the sound, seeing that Oliver had joined him on the balcony railing. The full moon shone bright over the night sky, but seemed brighter when Oliver appeared beside him.

"Thinking about her?"

"Yeah...I'm not used to sleeping without her. How do you do it?" Steven saw Oliver glance up at the sky, and the golden ring around his neck for a split second shone before fading into its original color.

"I have hope he's out there, somewhere. Our rings bind us to each other, as they signify our soul-bond. As long as I'm alive, I have hope he is too."

"Heh," Steven crossed his arms together and leaned against the railing. "A real soulmate."

"If you're into that stuff, yeah. What I'm trying to say is don't lose hope kid, because if you do, you'll lose her in the process." Steven glanced over at him, and smiled.

"Thanks, that means a lot."

"We'll find her Steven. Don't worry."

The two sit in the peaceful atmosphere of the night, watching the Moon across the sky.

~~~

Connie sat in her room, looking towards the barred window as the light streamed through. Two days, that's how long she'd been in this tower. She didn't even want to know how bad she looked.

Her hair was frizzy and unkempt, her body was slightly malnourished and bruises littered her skin. The pain in her shoulder had numbed, and her foot ached from incorrect blood circulation.

The door to her "room" opened and she didn't have to acknowledge the figure entering as she knew exactly who it was.

"Greetings, I trust you slept well?"

She huffed at him, and was met with his hand gripping her hair and jerking her head back to face him.

"I don't appreciate rude behavior. You speak when spoken to. I'll ask again; Did you sleep well?"

Connie winced in pain, and stared at him with hate laced pain in her black eyes. "I'll sleep well when you're defeated and I'm back with My Partner."

"Now now My Dear, You'll see your Precious Steven soon enough." Black Onyx ran their fingers through her hair and down her face as they reached her throat.

"Wha-What do you want from me then? To torture me more?"

"Ah Ah- that was me testing him. Seeing if he truly cared for your wellbeing. He put on quite the show! So this will be my way of rewarding you for your...cooperation."

Black Onyx returned to her hair and played with it, weaving the ebony locks between their fingers. "I figured since you're his Princess, why not treat you like one? I'll order my pearls to make sure you look proper for attending my meeting later on."

Connie pulled away, but didn't respond as Black Onyx released their grip on her hair only to press themselves against her back and sniff in the scent. The scent of fear, sweat, dried tears and the burning anger still blazing beneath her skin.

"Let. Go."

"No." Black Onyx did let go, and left her alone in the tower once again with her thoughts. She thought of Steven, and how worried he must've been.

Steven...where are you?

~~~

It was some time later when sounds emitted from outside the door of the top of the tower and soon several pearls entered, all clad in delicate black silk and lacy outfits with a white circle around every one of their left eyes.

Black Onyx's Pearls.

They surround her and she reaches for a sword no longer there and resigns herself to their whims. They strip her clothes from her body and she doesn't feel the shame one would normally expect, she keeps that feeling buried beneath her anger at this gem.

The pearls brush and oil her hair, braiding the mess into an intricate braid that cascaded down her back in lovely ebony waves. She feels decorative jewelry in silvery colors being stuck into the braid and she was beginning to hate the color.

While her ankle was unchained, a collar made of a thin silver lining and heavy metal was locked around her neck. A sentence was engraved into the material, and she visibly winced at the sight.

Property of Lotus Diamond.

Property. Like she was a mere object instead of the living breathing person she was. Steven knew that, the collar was another tactic to rile him up, to anger him.

A garment made of thin black silk was draped over her body and pinned to the collar. She hated this, the fact that she was getting all dressed up for her captor of all things. A trope straight out of a fantasy novel.

Fancy sliver bracelets are placed on her biceps and her ankles. Her wounds are carefully covered with makeup and she hates everything about this moment as more and more silver jewelry is added to her body. Dangling earrings are placed in her ears and her bangs are brushed from her face, the ends tucked behind her ears.

A silver chain is clasped around the collar as a Pearl grabs the end of it. They drag her from the tower, and Connie stumbles every few steps down the massive structure as she passes by guards upon guards. She memorizes every section she passes through, gaining a mental layout of her prison.

Connie is dragging into a large throne room, where many gems she didn't recognize stood freely and all with malice in their eyes as they see her being led down the dreaded walkway towards the four thrones in an identical manner to the Diamond Palace throne room.

Black Onyx sat where White Diamond would have sat, and grinned down upon her. Two others sat where Blue and Yellow would sit and the one representing Steven's throne remained empty.

Connie was forced to her knees as the Pearl bowed to the leader. "My Onyx. May I present Her Fortitude; Kahanni Maheswaran of The Lotus Asteria Court, Right Hand to Lotus Diamond himself."

Connie stared him down, as if to remind him who she was. She was The High Guard of Lotus Diamond, a force of be reckoned with, and not a Damsel in Distress by any means. Yes she was held captive but she was not helpless.

"My Comrades in Arms! Today we gain a victory over the Evil Diamond Authority! We have here their weapon, a weapon that is very precious to their Lotus. Lotus will come for her, and only then is when we strike against the Empire! If they stole our Beloved Black Scourge from us, just when we'd given our Quartz hope to see her again, then we steal their Lotus from them permanently!"

Connie was left mouth agape at the proclamation. They were going to kill Steven!

"No!"

All eyes fell upon her, and she steeled herself against them as she glared up at him.

"I will not allow it! I am The High Guard of Lotus Diamond! That means you are not going to lay a hand on him whilst I'm still breathing! If you wish him to die; then kill me first."

Black Onyx stood up, and cocked an eyebrow at her. "You wish to die alongside him?"

"I have nothing to live for without him in my life."

Black Onyx stares her down and grins as he walks down to face her directly. "In that case, I believe we should speed up the plan. Fetch me a Diamond Broadcast Line! We're sending Lotus a message."

~~~