“Are you okay? You’ve been acting kinda funny since yesterday.”
Lucy didn’t know how to respond to the question. She knew Elizabeth was right, that no matter how she tried to separate herself from it, the fact that her brother was to return soon had her mind racing all day and all night.
“I-“ the sin attempted to find a response, but just trailed off into the abyss. The silence between the two was deafening, the brunette sneaking away when she felt her friend’s attention drift from the brunette back to the garden.
Even though she hadn’t wanted to address her friend, she couldn’t help but be fascinated by the redhead. Lucy wanted to thank the shy girl the day prior, but was swept up by an intense game of blackjack. Needless to say, the sin had as much luck as she did mana.
Before Lucy could reach Alex’s door, she couldn’t help but overhear a conversation taking place in the room opposite.
“What’s got you down, chum? Steal a bit more than you can carry?”
The sin was confused. The voice was from Xandir, yet she never heard him speak in a patronizing manner before.
“Put a shop outta business.”
“Just the typical aftermath of a thief.”
“C’mon Xandir, you know I don’t wanna do any damage.”
“Tell that to the people you’ve ruined.”
Without realizing it, the sin of envy was standing before the two arguing teens. It only occurred to her that she was no longer invisible when the conversation came to an abrupt end and both eyes were on her.
“Do not mind us Lucy! We are merely discussing the problematic nature of our ‘friend’.”
The girl held her breath and tilted her head in the vain hope it’d help her think. As she tapped her temple, she watched Westin shrink further into a corner. Shuffling in place and cursing under her breath, the words refused to come to her aid.
“We needed to steal though!”
“To what end? We needed the food, yes, but could we not have hunted for it?”
“We needed other stuff though. Cleaning supplies, fabrics, and more.”
“We could do without. We can’t let others know we’re here.”
“Why not?!” Lucy finally barked out.
“Westin told me you were chased. If that woman found us -and if she were truly powerful- we may not survive. Should the world learn of us and want us gone, how long would we last?”
The sin of envy inhaled as she began to speak, but all that came from her lips was hot air. At this point, Westin was now indistinguishable from graffiti.
“Do what you will, just remember that what you do affects us all.”
With nothing else to say, Xandir attended his weapon rack, pulling off a giant claymore that would likely break someone of Lucy’s size in half with a single, mighty swing. Breaking away from the scene, the girl realized she was alone in the room.
“You know, I wish I could trust that guy.”
The knight had stood in front of Lucy now, his figure imposing yet grand as he supported himself using his sword, the point stabbing the tile.
“You can! He only wants to help.”
“I know he is. The problem isn’t his intention, it’s his competence; even if he’s the world’s greatest thief, what happens when he meets the world world’s best detective? He gets us all caught! And then who knows what will happen to Hayley, Clyde, or you.”
Xandir picked up his sword, slashing at the air beside him, letting the sword land with enough force to crack the tile.
“That’s why I get on to him about it. That’s why I train. That’s why I want others to train. We must always be prepared to fight. Though if the rest of the world knows about us, we will all perish. That said, I need to fix the tile now, so feel free to go about your day.”
Burying her hands into her pockets and abandoning the man quickly as to hide her chuckle, she found herself running head first into Westin. The sin of greed was staring at the training room before turning his attention to his assailant, tipping his hat and leaving her to her business.
Several thumps later, the girl was face-to-face with Alex, whom she hadn’t really addressed after their departure.
“Hey Alex, thanks for helping Elizabeth the other day. She was super happy you could help.”
Instead of a response, she was ushered into the room. Inside, the area was organized and tidy, shelves neatly aligned, no small objects amiss, and paintings hung perfectly along the wall.
“I’m glad I could help, but may I ask a question?”
“Sure.” Lucy shrugged her shoulders.
“Why do you care about her?”
“What?!” The sin was taken aback by the bluntness.
“She asked us that question the other day. She doesn’t seem to care about you that much, so why do you care about her?”
“She’s my friend, I think. Even after what’s happened, I guess I still can’t think of her as anything else.”
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“Do you have any special feelings for her? She said you were two were to marry.”
Lucy bit on her lower lip softly using her front teeth while viciously tapping her arm and foot. Her face began to glow a soft red.
“No. I don’t know why she keeps bringing that up!”
“I see you are mad at her now. Have you changed your mind about her?”
The sin stopped the tapping, now tilting her head while the color drained from her face.
“She’s still my friend if that’s what you’re asking. I mean, I get mad at her all the time, but that doesn’t make us not friends.”
Alex seemed perplexed by the notion, resting her chin on her palm.
For a moment, nothing was said. Another moment, Lucy watched as she was analyzed by the sin of lust. Taking the opportunity to return the favor, the sin of envy realized her opponent had green painted nails and on her leg was a picture of a fairy.
Several moments later, nothing had changed, the room was still silent, yet now many words were exchanged.
“Okay, since I answered your question, it’s only fair you answer mine.”
Lucy had grown impatient with the silent treatment, her aggravation pushing aside the awkwardness of the silence.
“Is it about talking to the others?”
The girl raised her eyebrows, as if to say yes without realizing it.
“Well, it’s more like a request.”
Now the artist was curious, but at the same time concerned.
“Would you like to talk to the others? I could help you do that.”
“Princess?”
Elizabeth was starstruck to see the seamstress among mountains of clothes that eclipsed the tiny worker. At the same time, the girl scoffed at the interruption.
“Can’t you see I’m working here?” Hayley’s head slowly panned back to her small desk amid a gulf of shirts. “Well okay, I’m actually just stumped on where to go next.”
“Would you like to join me in the garden?”
“Hah!” Hayley stood up from her chair to mock the princess to her face. “Why would I do that?”
“How long have you been cooped up in here?”
“Why would you care?”
“Because I know what it’s like to be a stuck in one place too long. You go crazy and start treating everyone terribly.”
Elizabeth awaited a response, but the short seamstress stood adamant among the funky odors and gaudy mishmash that could create a carpet. The princess was growing nauseous from the strange aroma, not helped by the cold air and near blackness during the morning. As she left the stubborn girl to her devices, she couldn’t help but pity the sin of pride.
Still, the fresh air amongst her flowers had revitalized the monarch. Many days she had wondered if her gardening hobby was becoming an addiction, but being exposed to such foul conditions had restored confidence that regardless of the problematic time spent here, her garden kept her in good health both in body and mind.
“What a fabulous foliage!”
After holding her heart in her chest, Elizabeth had turned to see the seamstress standing behind her.
“Apologies, but after considering your request, I realized I required respite from my designing. I hadn’t meant to scare you, but I couldn’t resist marveling at the flowers.”
“Yeah, that’s about all I could do at home. At least, whenever Lucy wasn’t around.”
“Really? No ordering others? Deciding decisive matters? Controlling your kingdom?”
“No,” Elizabeth drooped her head, “just doing homework and staying in the castle like a ‘good girl’. Mom said I would get to do all that stuff when I got older, but I’d rather not.”
Hayley put her index finger to her lip, her eyes staring at Elizabeth.
“I had always wanted to know the joys of being a princess, but you act as if there are none.”
“I suppose it could be worse. I could be overworked and underappreciated.”
Elizabeth smiled wide at the seamstress, only for Hayley to respond confused by the gesture. It had taken the girl longer than she’d ever let known for her to understand who was overworked and underappreciated.
“Thank you,” Hayley had performed a curtsy in her ballroom dress, “but how did you know?”
“You may have brought it up a few times.” Elizabeth rolled her eyes.
“My Apologies. I can’t stop myself some days. The pains of being ignored by friends and family alike.”
“I wouldn’t know. My mom was busy, but she did pay attention when she wasn’t. And then Lucy always paid attention.”
“Lucky you. I had three younger brothers, all of which stole my parent’s attention.”
“I doubt that’s true! They probably were just super busy.”
“I had tried to get their attention often, making more and more beautiful dresses and amazing suits, comfortable coats and cozy slippers, but they never so much as commented on them.”
“That’s horrible! Did you at least have a friend who cared about you?”
“Not a one. Everyone had their own friends, even my brothers preferred to play with each other. Nothing I ever did impressed anyone, until I met Jade. He presented me the ability to wow everyone. I obviously didn’t believe him, I mean who would? But he just gave me the power of pride without question, strings attached, or any prerequisite. He didn’t tell me what it did, he just said to make the city beautiful, make it my own. So I did.”
“Woah, what did you do?”
“I made mirrors.”
Creating a mirror from thin air, the sin drank in the aghast expression of the princess.
“Well, I take glass and make shapes. It doesn’t have to be mirrors, but those are the simplest shape.”
Several mirrors combined and contorted to form a giant glass egg. With a flick of her wrist, the egg shattered to reveal a swan sculpture within.
“It’s beautiful!” The princess’ eyes shimmered as she inspected the bird of glass.
“I had made tons of beautiful sculptures of glass! But…”
“But?”
Hayley’s form was consumed by a black energy that departed to reveal Pride. The cloaked sin stepped forward, all five eyes glaring at Elizabeth while her hands were clenched.
“They saw me like this! I tried to tell them who I was, but they didn’t care. They attack! They chased me out! By the time I got away, Jade was waiting to greet me.”
The anger within Pride diminished, the eye on her forehead closing while the others unfurrowed their brows.
“He took me here, telling me I would be respected and not judged or feared. Safe to say, I don’t really make things out of glass anymore, unless I use them to fight.”
“That’s an impressive statue! Did you make that?”
Hayley was confused by the sound of the voice, but Elizabeth had recognized its owner. Lucy and Alex stood in front of the stairs, the latter preoccupied with the glass swan.
“She speaks?!” Hayley muttered under her breath, trying her best to collect her jaw before the others saw it on the ground.
Lucy had turned back to Alex, yanking her by the sleeve of her grey jacket. When she refused to move on her own, the pair moved in tandem toward the princesses.
“If you wouldn’t mind, Perhaps I could get to better know you, Hayley.”
“I know you’re impressed by my glass fowl, but you needn’t be so formal! That is my job as a princess.”
While Hayley had bowed in respect, Alex’s face had turned to a mix of expression of regret and anguish that Lucy never knew possible. Despite this, Alex had managed to usher Hayley downwards, leaving the other two to stand in the sunset.
The setting sun had cast long shadows and an eerie quiet sat amongst the two friends, their relationship now a curious balance between former and current. While Lucy wore confidence with Alex around, her face was now more solemn. As a cool breeze grazed the cheeks of the girls, brushing their hair as it dashed to parts unknown, Elizabeth could feel the tension stab straight through her.
“Are you okay? I know I asked before, but-”
“I’m fine.” Lucy pouted
“Are you sure? Ever since we came back from town, you’ve been really tense and aggravated.”
“Why do you care?!”
“Because! Because…I’m your friend. When I needed someone to stop me going crazy, you were there. I want to do the same for you.”
“I’m not going crazy! And unlike you, I have others to help me.”
“Please Lucy, I just want to help! Are you scared? Angry? Please just tell me.”
Elizabeth had grabbed the girl by the arm, only for it to be yanked back.
“I don’t need your help, I don’t want your help, and you would just get in the way.”
As the last bit of orange began to wane, so too did the sin’s patience. As the darkness overtook the light, she descended the tower, leaving Elizabeth to her contemplations.