The myriad of jaunty chatter that echoed from the void came to a sudden stop when Lucy stepped into the dark. The quiet room, combined with six pairs of glowing yellow eyes focusing on her, had made the girl sweat internally.

“Howdy neighbor!”

The silence was broken by a voice echoing back. Lucy couldn’t make out any features of the sound’s owner, but could at least distinguish it coming from a teenage boy, notably with an accent she’d never heard of.

“Name’s Clyde. I take it you’re the one we’ve been waiting for?”

Lucy quirked her eyebrows at the question.

“The one you’ve been waiting for?”

“Yeah, we’ve been waiting for Envy. Since people don’t just wander on in, I’m guessing you were brought here by Jade.”

Hazy memories of the night prior had lit up in the girl’s mind as she tried to recall if Jade had mentioned it. “All I remember is absorbing some orb into my chest.”

“That sounds about right. I guess that makes you one of us then” another boy’s voice called out from the shadows, a far lower baritone than the first.

“Who are you? I can’t see you in the dark.”

“Oh? Jade must be extraordinarily preoccupied to feed you to the sharks.” A female voice mockingly answered her, tone regal and condescending.

“Well Hayley, since you sound so eager about our guest, you can show her around.”

“Excuse me?!” The girl’s cold demeanor transformed into shock. “No! I was just-“

Before she could answer, the others chimed in agreement.

“As long as I don’t have to do it.”

“Y’all talk shit, you get hit…with responsibilities.”

“Maybe you shouldn’t open your mouth next time.”

“Let this be a lesson that such taunting is unbecoming of a ‘princess’ such as yourself.”

“…”

One by one, the sins began to leave the room, Lucy trying her best to analyze the features of each one, but it was too dark to garner any more than a sketchy assumption of what each figure adorned; all she could see were vague outlines, some tall, some closer to her own height.

“New girl!” A tiny girl shouted as she approached from the shadows. Her appearance was that of a monarch, a top made of comfy black and red fabric and a bell-shaped skirt expanding from her waist until it hit the floor. Even though she couldn’t see them, Lucy could visualize the high heels under the dress from the “clacks” they were making as they struck the concrete floor.

“Lucy,” she corrected her.

“New girl! Listen, since you’re the newest one here, it has fallen on me to fulfill the prestigious role of mentor and tour guide.”

“Who are you and where are we?”

“Me? Me?!” She scoffed, holding her arm limply to her face. “I am Hailey Martina, princess of this tower! I rule over these fools, I am their leader and the prettiest of them all. And before you ask, this tower is located near a big town named Branton.”

“I don’t know where that is.”

For a second, the princess was winded from the ignorance on display, but in the next second she shot back up.

“You will soon enough. For now...” the host trailed off, signaling Lucy to follow back into the brighter hall, “that’s the bedroom.”

Following the girl into a room filled with 7 beds, Lucy’s eyes drifted toward the heads, a different symbol engraved on each one. As her gaze drifted, she became fixated on the picture of a tree sprouting roots that reached all around it.

“That’s yours,” Hayley chimed in, “you luckily get to sleep on the end with the quiet people. I get the side that sounds like the building is coming down.”

Guiding her to the second floor, the monarch had a chuckle when her follower visibly jumped as the entrance violently shook.

“Xandir and Westin must be beating each other to death again. An uncouth thought, but entertaining.”

Reaching the next floor, Hayley had grabbed the taller girl by the arm, dragging her toward another set of unmarked doors in a hall with three sets. Looking around in a panic, Lucy could see the stairs had come to an end and the exit across the hall led to the outside.

“We’re finally here! Now we can get you out of this…trash” the small girl’s face contorted into disgust and anguish.

“What’s wrong with what I’m wearing?” Lucy looked down at her green t-shirt and blue shorts.

“Ugly! Plain! Simple, but not in an endearing way. I can make you anything. Fantastic colors, brilliant patterns, or at least a design that didn’t crawl out of the grave. Besides…” when the girl smashed opened the barriers to the room, a sea of clothes filled the duos eyes, “you don’t have any clothes besides the ones on your back.”

“How do you know?”

“We all ended up the same. Just a shabby set of clothes, hope in our heart, dreams abound.”

Lucy began rummaging through the stacks of clothes, unsure of what she was even doing and beginning to question her life choices. Before she her mind wrapped itself in a knot, an unknown object assailed her noggin.

“Here, you’ll need this.”

“What’s this?” she inspected the strange bit of lace with lumps jutting out and complexed straps dangling about.

“Oh my Lumina, do you not know what a bra is? Were you raised in a barn?”

“My brother was the only person to really care for me.”

“Well you can figure out that disaster on your own. What is your favorite color?”

Lucy shrugged, “Green I guess.”

“Please tell me it’s not the same vomit green as your shirt.” The girl sighed to herself.

“Maybe a darker green, like trees.”

“That’s a little better; go find clothes that fit you and figure out how underwear works while you’re at it. By the time you're done, it will be time for dinner.“

Lucy had spent a troubling amount of time trying on clothes; whenever she believed she was done, Hayley assured her she needed more. Discovering her size was a matter of trial-and-error, but figuring out this ‘bra’ was the same for her as learning combat: infuriating, depressing, and wholly confusing. After discovering the joys of being double jointed, she had finally managed to equip this new piece of armor, only to discover it was too small.

After too much deliberation, she finally gained the princess’ approval, but only because said royal highness finished her sowing. Her reward was a green hoodie, surprisingly matching her size and height, fitting her to the letter.

“How did you know my size?”

“Let’s just say I have an eye for identifying size without silly measurements. I knew from the beginning, really.”

“Wait, if you knew-“

“Anyways, you should take your clothes back to the bedroom; you can put them in the drawer next to your bed.”

Just as Lucy was about to pickup her clothes, a tall figure burst into the room. Bolstering gleaming silver armor, a no-nonsense expression, and a jawline that could slice a mountain into bite size cubes, the man towered over the girls.

“It looks like you’ve met Hayley and acquired your outfits. Hayley can put those where they belong, you will accompany me to the fighting chamber.”

“B-b-but”

“I am ecstatic to hear your eagerness to follow through with this task young lady. Come new girl, let me show you the way.”

As Lucy followed the hulking figure out of the room, she had given the despondent girl one glance as a cry for help before disappearing through the doors and up the stairs.

“I must beg your pardon for my rudeness.”

A silence fell atop Lucy as she waited for him to continue, only to realize he was waiting too.

“Oh, uh…you’re forgiven?”

“Wonderful! Then let me introduce myself: I am Xandir, the sin of Wrath. You have no doubt met Hayley, the sin of pride; has she told you about the rest of us?”

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“No, I don’t think so.”

“Nevermind that. What is your name again?”

“Lucy.”

“Ah, a name that will surely strike fear into the hearts, minds, and souls of thine enemies!”

The man’s gusto had made the girl feel uneasy, even more so with the surrounding weapons.

“Your inability to see your fellow sins in the darkness is telling. It is telling me and the rest that you had only just acquired your powers and are thus too weak to transverse this world. Rest assured, I am prepared to do everything in my power to bring out your inner strength!”

“Uh, okay. What do I do first?”

“Show me your weapon.”

In a snap, Lucy had recalled the spear she summoned the other night. Concentrating on the weapon, it suddenly appeared in her right hand. As she opened her eyes, she gazed at the spear, a dark brown handle that became engulfed in a jungle green bush near the top before giving way to an equally dark green diamond spearhead.

“Impressive, you already have the weapon summoning down. Now, ready your spear.”

Doing as asked, the girl wrapped herself around the spear as if her arm was a snake and the handle was a branch.

“Wrong! I know not about spears, but I have witnessed some wielders. Keep your arm off the spear, instead grasp it in the middle and let your shoulder balance the blunt end.”

Doing as instructed, the weapon now looked as if it were about to launched at the man.

“Right, now throw it at me with all your strength!”

Without thinking, she launched the spear forward, the head piercing Xandir’s armor and forcing him backward.

“I’m sorry,” Lucy rushed over to the now bleeding knight.

“Do not worry, I have suffered substantially worse; this wound shall heal in no time flat. Moreover, do not show such mercy to your enemies. If you need to hurt someone, do not fear for their life in the same breath.”

With those words, Xandir grabbed the spear, forcefully dislodged it from his chest, and let it drop to the ground. Picking himself back up, he lent a hand to his opponent.

“You already have a powerful throw. Next I want you to summon your weapon back to your hand.”

Lucy had instinctually bent back down to grab the spear, but her instructor stopped her. Realizing what he meant, she concentrated again, the spear appearing back in her hand.

“This is crazy. Yesterday I couldn’t hurt a fly, but now I can do all this!”

“Haha! I too was incapable until I met Jade. Now it’s time for you to start tapping into your inner strength.”

“I haven’t done that yet?”

“No, this is the surface of your strength from the inside, but your truth strength if far greater and more unique. Concentrate on your sin, what it means.”

“Envy?”

“Yes, jealousy, malice, a sense of wanting what others have.”

The girl closed her eyes, echoing back the words she just heard in a dull murmur. Without trying, her mind began wandering back to Lumina, recalling the days spent hearing about her brother’s achievements.

'Your brother is quickly building a name for himself. When will you do the same?’ The sound of her father's voice immanated from within her mind, so precisely replicated his tone and attitude that she immediately opened her eyes. Looking around, she was still in the tower, still surrounded by the same dull gray walls.

"Why did you stop?"

"I thought I heard my dad, but it was just my imagination."

"Do not let these distractions get the best of you."

Closing eyes and focusing again, the words of her father once again echoed in her mind.

'Matthew, I cannot bring anything out in your brother. Please, you must be the one to do so.'

This time, she was sure her father wasn't around, but that was not why she stopped concentrating. A force in her body had caused her to wake from the dreamy state, a fulfilling sensation.

“Lucy?”

Opening her eyes, the girl’s body felt heavier and even less familiar. The man in front of her was closer to her height now, her body felt male again, and she could see her body was covered in armor. In a panic, the girl blinked, holding her eyes shut for an extra second, and suddenly her body returned to normal.

“What happened?”

“It appears as though you changed shape, if only briefly.”

The realization on what happened hit the girl like a ton of bricks.

“You seem to understand it. We can practice more tomorrow, but for now, let us go back up and meet Clyde, see if he’s done cooking for yet.”

As the pair made their way back up, they stopped upon seeing a girl leaning against the wall across from the kitchen doors. With long black hair and a glare that pierced the soul, her attentioned rest souly on the younger girl.

“Who is that?”

“Alexandria. Do not waste your time on her, she will not waste hers on you.”

Alex had seemed to mutter under her breath, but neither could catch it.

Returning to the dark room, Lucy was surprised to see the faint glow of a table surrounded by chairs.

“Did someone turn on the lights?”

“No, your ability to see in the dark has begun developing. Come, take a seat” Xandir signaled to a seat at the end of the table.

Across from her, at the other end, was a slender boy slumped over, deep in slumber.

“That’s Dustin, the sin of sloth. When he’s not asleep, he’s generally too busy pitying himself to care about others.”

“Well howdy again new girl” snapping her gaze to the new voice, the person was more rotund than the others she encountered thus far and wore a funny looking hat. “I see Xandir finally found someone he can communicate with.”

“Can it, fat boy.”

Lucy tried her best not to laugh, but it hurt inside holding back her giggling at the sudden insult.

“Fiesty as usual. Lucy was it? Could you go bring the others here? You’ll get an extra helping if ya do.”

“She doesn’t need to-“

“I’ll do it” Lucy cut the knight off, subconsciously recalling her friend who was likely starving at this point.

Getting up from her chair, she scurried out of the room, only to find the silent girl still leaning against the wall. Instinctually she stared, getting a stare back as a reward.

“Hello? Clyde told me tell everyone that lunch is ready.”

The strange girl quirked her head sideways, as if inspecting Lucy. In the next second, Alex approached, embracing the envious girl before letting go and making her way to the dining room.

Making her way to the bedroom, Lucy's thoughts were interrupted before she could question what had just happened.

“Yeah yeah, I heard. I was just busy putting away the last of your stupid clothes.” Hayley had been grumbling, holding a pair of high heels in one hand as she stomped into the dining room.

Counting in her head, she realized there was still one person missing. After checking the second floor and moving to the ground floor, it hit her that there was one area left unchecked. Taking a peak inside revealed a plethora of neatly organized containers of every color and various shapes. Aside from the boxes, the area was bereft of object or person.

“WELL WHAT CAN I DO FOR YOU?!”

If gravity hadn’t restrained her, Lucy would have clung to the ceiling like a stalagtite. Spinning around instantly, the terrified teen saw the culprit was a man in a sparkling silver suit. The vest he was wearing was impossible for her to look at for more than a split second as any attempt to do so was thwarted by a blast of light from the sun -peaking from the windows outside- reflecting off the obnoxious decorations.

“My apologies little lady,” the man’s voice was now so quiet the girl could barely hear it, but she didn't dare come any closer. “I saw an opportunity and grabbed it. I have a hunch you were sent down here to find little old me, is that correct?”

Lucy nodded, still visibly shaken.

“My name is Westin, I have a feeling we’ll be getting to know each other real soon” his smile turned into a devilish grin as he made his way to the dining room.

Sinking to the ground, thoughts swirled around her head. After her mind began to collect itself, she returned to the others.

The sight of food on the table was pleasing, more so because the platters in front of her were filled with familiar delectables, from hamburgers to hotdogs to chicken and even many meats she was unfamiliar with. For an instant, she questioned the lack of vegetables, but that thought was kicked to the curb by the monstrous eating habits of her fellows sins.

From the seemingly posh warrior to the haughty princess and even the sparkly jerk, they all ate like animals that had been starved for several days, picking at the food with their barehands, scarfing it down as if another person would pull out from under those or between their fingers.

Lucy had tried her best to ignore the others, even the quiet girl who was gorging herself; it took all her strength to pay them no heed, but she managed until the end. Despite how excruciating the experience was, the reality was that their time spent eating was less than ten minutes. After finishing, they had all systematically returned to their routines.

“Hard time adjusting?”

Lucy nodded. “I was also wondering if you had anything extra I could give to my friend.”

“Your friend? What friend? I wasn’t aware there was an eight sin; that kind of goes against the title!”

“Jade had me kidnap my friend, and I don’t think she’s eaten since yesterday.” Saying this aloud, the girl felt sick to her stomach and grief run down her back.

“Oh right, Jade did mention we had a special guest, but he never elaborated on it. We figured they were in the upstairs. We’re not supposed to go upstairs, according to Jade.

“He didn’t say anything to me. Actually, I haven’t seen him since last night.”

“We haven’t seen him in a couple days, but we don’t dare make him upset.”

“I have to at least make sure she’s alright. I feel awful for getting into this.”

“Well heck, I’ll whip up something real fast. Just sit tight and keep Dustin company.”

Lucy watched the man disappear into the kitchen before shifting her attention to the boy at the end of the table, his head buried in his arms. He appeared asleep, but once Clyde disappeared, he not only seemed to wake up, but stood up and walked over to her.

“I uh, didn’t mean to eavesdrop, but I heard you talking about feeling guilty.”

Now that he was standing up straight, she could see ‘Dustin’ was tall and stringy, a pair of wornout brown shoes, patchy blue jeans, and a black shirt with small holes hither and thither to complete the trifecta. His hair was so messy it was as if he spent the whole day getting out of bed, getting back in it, and then getting back out of it again.

Catching herself staring, Lucy nodded, remembering what the topic of the conversation was.

“Don’t beat yourself up over it. We all did bad things to get here, but we’re happier now.” His tone of voice betrayed his statement, sounding as if he couldn’t care less about his situation.

“Did everyone else have to kidnap someone they knew?”

“No, but some are pretty interesting. I here a lot of stories because people think I’m asleep. I uh,” his dreamy stupor was briefly halted as he hitched up his tone, before falling back into his dreary monotone, “don’t do it on purpose, I don’t even remember most of it, honest. All I remember is that they’re all interesting and different.”

Seemingly done with the conversation, he shuffled back to his chair, crossed his arms on the table, and planted his face into the depths of the abyss. Right on cue, Clyde had returned with food in hand.

“I presume the princess likes meat; if not, she’s in a world of trouble, because that’s all anyone eats here.”

“Don’t worry, I know she likes meat. Thank you.” With a bow, Lucy took the plate upstairs.

Back in the jail sell, Lucy could see that the princess was sitting against a wall, holding her head down.

“Elizabeth, are you okay?”

“Luke? Is that you?”

“Yeah, I was wondering if you were feeling better?”

“If you mean less angry, then yes.”

The brunette began to feel a pit form in her stomach, unable to stop herself from recalling her childhood friend’s horrific reaction.

“I’m trying to figure out the best time to get us out of here. In the meantime,” she opened the door and put the plate next to Elizabeth, ”here’s some food. Sorry it’s not much.”

“It’s fine, thanks.”

Just as she was about to turn around, the princess spoke once more.

“Luke.”

Immediately the girl felt a tug from somewhere, but she brushed it aside as she responded.

“Yes Elizabeth?”

“Could you get me a real bed? This thing,” she pointed to a bed hanging off the wall by way of iron chains, “is painful on my back.”

Lucy nodded before returning to the dinning room where Clyde was waiting.

“Your friend find the food alright?”

“I didn’t stick around long enough to ask, but I’m sure she loves it. Do you think we could get her a bed?”

“Unless ya want to give up yours, I can’t do nothing for you. I think Xandir might help.”

Sighing, Lucy made the journey to Xandir, explaining to him the situation she was in.

“I would love to!”

Lucy smiled at his gusto.

“But I cannot. We are lacking in wood.”

That smile collapsed into a frown.

“However, if you can find some on your hunt, I will make that bed for you pose-haste!”

“Hunt?”

“Ah yes, every sin must complete their initiation. Before you do that, however, we have to make sure you’re ready.”