The Seven Sins

5. Sloth

Sloth called it a house; I called it a castle. How can you even call it a house if it has two towers? After Leon and I came back from my flat, Sloth informed me that I was going to stay at his place for the first month. Which I was happy about, because at least I had a conversation with him, and Leon would be there. I couldn't help but look between him and Envy trying to see if they would steal a glance or something. But Leon kept his eyes on me or Sloth, and Envy was leaning back in his throne picking at his nails.

The three of us stepped through the portal together and my breath hitched.

The world around me was covered in an almost pink sort of light. Searching for the source, I glanced upwards. The sun in the sky was a dusty red colour. The clouds in the sky were a mixture of grey and pink. I always thought about the Underworld as bleak and burned out, but nothing could be further from the truth. Sloth's castle was in a large forest. The trees were over four meters high, filled with green leaves. The castle walls had vines climbing upwards, reaching for the sun. This place looked more like a land of fairies instead of the Underworld.

"Wow." I breathed out once I took it all in. "If you call this a house, I wonder what you call a castle."

Sloth grinned a little before walking up the steps. I had my arm still around Leon's and he guided me to the castle.

"It's early in the morning." Sloth said once we reached the large double front doors. "Leon will show you to your room. Get some sleep, there will be breakfast ready when you wake up."

Before I got a chance to reply, he opened the door and slipped in. When Leon and I followed, he was already gone. The hallway was dark, just a few candles lit a pathway up the stairs. I couldn't see much. Leon walked me to my room.

"Goodnight, L -" He stopped himself with a smile. "Ava. Goodnight, Ava." He kissed my hand softly.

"Goodnight, Leon." I smiled. When he left, I closed the door and turned around. I wanted to explore the room, but fatigue hit me hard. I scrambled to the bed and the second my head found the pillow, I fell asleep, still in the large, heavy dress.

When I woke up, I sat up in bed. My dress rumpled from sleep was spread out over the bed. The pink glow of the sun was still there but brighter. The room Sloth had arranged for me was large. It had a sitting area near a large window. On the other side was a enormous wardrobe that reminded me a lot of the one from Narnia. This room alone was nearly as big as my one-bedroom flat.

I rolled out of bed. I had no other choice with the large dress. When I managed to get out, I went to check what was behind the door on the other side of the room. It was a bathroom. I had a private bathroom! It didn't have a shower but a large tub with golden clawfoots keeping it up. The whole bathroom was a combination of white and gold. It had old and new elements and I wondered if Leon helped decorate it. I stepped out of the bathroom again and opened my bag to hang up my things. When I opened the wardrobe, it was already filled with clothes. Long dresses in every colour. On the far left were two linen trousers, a pair of knee-high boots and a few shirts. I pursed my lips and hung my stuff next to it. All jeans and trousers. It's not like I didn't have dresses or skirts, I did. But I preferred jeans, easier to move around in, not afraid of exposure when there was a bit of wind. I mostly only wore dresses when it was too hot outside, and not like the big, puffy ones like the ones in the wardrobe.

I went back to the bathroom and turned on the faucet. I placed my clothes on the chair and when I turned back around, the tub was full, bubbles covering the surface.