hell’s color is black velvet
prompt: black velvet as the seven deadly sins
by: @_everpink
Hell wasn’t all Rosie expected it to be.
Well, sure, there was the fire and the brimstone and the screams of agony and pain in the background, but she didn’t expect to be sitting in a posh office that’s air conditioned in front of a bubbly and smiling blonde woman with a hint of fabric conditioner in the air.
Is that lavender? It smells like lavender.
“It’s lavender.” The nice woman tells her.
Did the woman read her mind? Did she say that out loud?
Seconds pass and Rosie looks around. The office was tastefully designed and very chic - the furniture looked like they were expensive pieces especially-designed to suit a certain taste. “It smells very nice.” She says. “And your office looks very nice as well.” She adds with a polite smile.
The nice woman nods, as if pleased with the compliment.
“Oh, Greed, Pride, Lust and Envy had all of this designed and made. It was quite easy when most of the artists that were ever born into the world end up in hell.” The woman explains, as if it was the most trivial thing.
“What?” Rosie asks, brows knitted in confusion.
Is that why she was here in hell? Because she was an artist?
“Oh, yes. Most artists definitely do end up in hell. You’ll probably come across Da Vinci sometime, or Virgil, or Dante.” The blonde woman answers. She speaks with a very clear voice but so fast and animatedly that Rosie has trouble keeping up.
It wasn’t that Rosie couldn’t understand English - she was born, bred, and ultimately expired in Australia after all.
No, it was just that everything was overwhelming. One moment she was painting in her apartment and the next she was down here in a beautiful and fragrant office overlooking the mountains of crushed souls of hell.
And she wasn’t even sure who the woman she’s talking to is.
The woman in question reaches out and takes both of her hands and holds them gently.
“I’m sure this is all very overwhelming for you.” The nice woman says in empathy. “I’m Wendy, by the way.” She smiles. “And I know your name is Rosie and you were a painter. I’ll be helping you through this ordeal.”
Rosie smiles back, grateful for the kindness.
“Thank you.” The painter says, and then she registers the last word the woman said in her brain. “Ordeal?”
“Yes, well, we think there has been a mistake in transporting your soul. See, you weren’t in the registry when I checked…” The woman bites her upper lip. “So we think you should have gone to heaven.”
Rosie’s brain freezes and panic rises in her chest. What?
“I know, I know.” Wendy rubs soothing circles with her thumbs on the back of Rosie’s hands, comforting her. It kind of does the trick for the painter. “It’s very worrying.” Wendy sighs again, looks up at her with kind eyes. “That’s not all there is to the problem, though, and I don’t know how else to break this to you, so I’ll just say it, okay?”
Rosie gulps and braces herself for the rest of it. She nods meekly for the woman to continue.
“So after that we had heaven check for your name and it wasn’t there also.”
“And then while the queens of hell were deciding what to do with you and while looking at your life, the queens of hell, also known as the Seven Deadly Sins, started fighting over who gets to keep you.”
“Well, it started with Lust the moment she saw you…” recounts Wendy, and then as if suddenly remembering something, she snaps her fingers. “I can tell you. Or I can show you.” Wendy winks.
Images start floating in front of Rosie showing herself seemingly asleep and surrounded by eight women. Rosie recognizes Wendy among them, tiny and still bright although looking worried. Then her eyes spot two tall ones with dark hair and bangs - one is slender and decorated with jewelry (gems on the numerous piercings on her ears, rings or gold with sparkling stones, too, on each finger, and the most expensive-looking diamond watch sat on her left wrist) while the other in curvaceous and in a corset and leather pants that hugged her body perfectly.
“This is Greed.” Wendy points to the slender one with lots of bling. “And this is Lust.” The nice woman points to the other in a corset and leather pants.
Rosie figured out that the sexy one would be Lust. Greed surprised her, though. She imagined someone looking more like an ugly, sleazy-looking, rich man.
Not that she had Yang Hyun Suk (her old boss on earth when she’d been working in corporate) in mind.
Okay, she definitely had Yang Hyun Suk in mind.
The images continue moving, like a movie before her. At the center of it all, she was sitting down on air and unconscious. She is perfectly still, as if a lifeless and frozen mannequin, with nothing to prop her up.
She guesses the laws of physics don’t really work in hell.
“I want her.” Lust walks around her slowly, circling her sleeping form like a predator, eyeing her up and down like her next meal. The Sin reaches out and runs fingers across the hair falling down Rosie’s back. Then she moves her touch to Rosie’s shoulders.
Lust’s fingertips skim across Rosie’s collarbones as she keeps circling, keeps checking out the little anomaly that fell into hell’s lap. The Sin stops suddenly, standing behind Rosie’s sleeping form. Then Lust’s arms slither down around the human’s neck and she leans down close against Rosie’s ear.
Lust presses her nose against the spot on Rosie’s neck and breathes the human’s scent in.
Then a tongue pokes out of the Sin’s mouth and she licks it, dragging her tongue up to Rosie’s ear.
“And she tastes even better. I want to have her soul.”
Rosie gulps as she watches, feeling sparks in her chest that starts a small fire in her lower stomach.
Wendy looks at the human. Rosie squirms and blushes.
“Yeah, she tends to have that effect on you.” Wendy explains.
Rosie just clears her throat and tries to smother her body’s reactions.
In front of her, Lust continues being a little too intimate with her. Until the Sin she’s come to know as Greed interrupts.
“Why should you have her, Joy?” Greed speaks up.
“Joy?” Rosie asks Wendy, confused.
“Oh, they have human names they like to use sometimes. Lust goes by Joy when she feels like playing a promiscuous little fox, or goes by Sooyoung if she wants to play innocent.” Wendy explains. “Greed goes by Lisa.”
They turn back to what they were watching. The images continue moving.
Lust leans back and crosses her arms in front of her, raises a challenging eyebrow at her fellow hell queen.
The fact that Greed addressed her by her ‘human’ name didn’t fly over her head. She was being insulted.
“And what makes you say that, Lisa?”
“You’ll just turn her into our little sex slave.” Greed or Lisa says. “She’s a special little oddity. Nothing like this has ever happened before.” The Sin approaches Rosie. “If I have her, I’ll take better care of her.”
Greed tucks a stray strand of Rosie’s blonde hair behind her ear, then runs a finger down the side of her face in a gentle caress.
“She’s too pretty to be used,” adds Greed.
“Her life profile says ‘artist’.” One of the others speaks. Rosie looks at her kind face and pretty monolid eyes. “I want her, too!”
“That’s Gluttony.” Wendy introduces. “Or Seulgi. Sometimes we affectionately refer to her as Seulbear.” Wendy smiles.
Rosie’s eyes crinkle as she smiles.
“That’s cute.” The human comments.
“It is.” Wendy laughs. “She likes dancing and singing and drawing. One wouldn’t think she’s a Sin or a queen of hell.”
They turn back to the images and it continues moving.
“Why?” Lust challenges. “So you’d have a friend to draw with?” The Sin mocks the other Sin.
Gluttony is unbothered, however, and just nods happily.
“Mhmm!” She agrees. “And to eat with, and to play with. She dances and sings, too. Maybe we could do fun videos together!”
Lust and Greed scoff. A Sin that Rosie hasn’t met yet laughs and walks forward.
Rosie is floored at her beauty. This woman is probably the most beautiful woman Rosie has ever seen - a face perfectly sculpted. And that’s saying something since all of the women were all painfully attractive.
If Rosie hadn’t known that these were the hell queens and Wendy gathered around her, then she would have thought she’s a goddess.
“That’s Pride,” explains Wendy. “Her other name is Irene.”
The movie before them continues.
“You’re all covetting her for the dumbest reasons.” Pride says. “We all know that I’m the only hell queen who deserves to have her.”
An angry groan interrupts her.
“Of course, cause you think you’re better and above all of us.” The unknown Sin complains.
“That’s Wrath.” Wendy explains again. “Or-”
“Why, of course, Yerimmie.” Pride coos, condescendingly.
Wrath just glares at her.
Rosie thinks Wrath looks too young to be a hell queen - Wrath looked nothing more than a petulant child upset that she isn’t getting her way.
Another Sin steps forward, face cat-like and movements sleek.
“Well, now that you all want her, I can’t help but want her, too.” The hell queen shrugs, crossing arms in front of her.
“Pretty sure you can tell that’s-,” Wendy starts, but it interrupted by Rosie’s-
“Envy.” The human chuckles. Wendy joins in.
“Ugh, when will all this be over?” The hell queen who was slouching on the couch a few feet away groans. “Can one of you just grab her and go or just settle this by combat or whatever. Ugh.” She groans again, head falling back against the backrest of the sofa. “I’d rather go back to my room and sleep or play games.”
“Or as we sometimes call her, Jisoo.”
The bickering amongst the hell queens continue.
“Fine, I’ll take her then,” declares Lust. The Sin snaps her finger and there are shackles around Rosie’s feet and pink fuzzy handcuffs bind her hands. Her eyes are covered by a black, silk sleep mask and there’s a ball-chain gagging her mouth.
Greed snaps and grabs Lust’s arm.
“Don’t you dare take her,” she threatens.
Lust shoots Greed a dark look.
“Is that a threat, Greed?”
Gluttony immediately walks to them and places a hand on their shoulders.
Greed sends Gluttony a glare.
Wrath stands up, concealed anger in her features.
“Don’t you dare speak to Gluttony that way,” she says in a growl.
“Look at all of you, hell queens, acting like children.”
“As if you aren’t, oh high and mighty, Pride.”
Pride clenches her jaw and closes her eyes. Gluttony panics.
“Okay, okay, let’s all not fight.”
Sloth groans and chimes in again.
“Just kill each other already.”
And it’s there that Wendy cuts in.
“Okay, my queens! That’s enough.”
All Sins turn to her suddenly. The nice blonde woman laughs nervously.
“We can’t have hell queens ripping each other apart and sending hell into further chaos than normal,” Wendy reasons. “So, how about we take her to my office and talk to her when she wakes up and let her decide?”
Pride looks at her in disbelief.
“Are you suggesting we let her exercise her free will?” The gorgeous Sin’s expression was incredulous, verging on offended. “Free will? In hell??” She asks for emphasis.
Wendy chuckles nervously again and fidgets.
“Well, you know, better that than having my queens arguing like this.” The nice blonde woman offers meekly.
“What she said. I agree.” Sloth says with a yawn.
“Yes, that’s a nice option.” Gluttony says, grinning and nodding. “I’ll offer her my art materials and food.”
Greed and Lust look at each other, eyes locking. Greed still has her hand on Lust’s arm, while Lust still had Rosie bound.
“Let go.” Lust demands from Greed.
“Let her go.” Greed demands back.
Lust snaps her fingers and the binds on Rosie disappear.
Wendy releases a breath of relief.
The images dissipate. Rosie finally turns to the Wendy who is sitting beside her.
“And that’s how we got to this point.”
Rosie nods, understanding.
“So, right now, all I have to do is choose which hell queen I want to belong to?” The human asks, a finger to her chin.
A few beats pass with Rosie still in deep thought.
“What about you, though? What’s your role here?” Rosie asks.
Wendy’s brows knit in confusion.
“Huh?” The nice blonde woman asks.
“If they were all queens of hell, then what are you and why were you in that meeting with them?” Rosie presse for more.
Wendy chuckles nervously.
“Me? Oh, I’m just their assistant here.” Wendy explains. “I just make sure things are all in order. Logistics and administrative stuff, y’know. Very boring work.”
Rosie nods in understanding.
“Well, then, would you like some help with your work?” The human asks.
“Huh?” Wendy asks in confusion. Her eyes widened in surprise.
“Well, I don’t think I can trust hell queens and sins.” Rosie explains. “And I’m not going to lie and say that the offers of the queens aren’t tempting.” The human blows out a breath. “Lust, Greed, and Gluttony especially.” Rosie bites her lip. “But, you’d been the nicest to me. And I feel like I troubled you all by dying because my name isn’t on any list.” She pouts.
Wendy smiles at her warmly.
“You’re too sweet for this place. But, I’d love to have your help. Are you sure?” Wendy asks.
“100%?” Wendy asks for further assurance.
“Yes.” Rosie takes one of Wendy’s hands and squeezes it. “Will the other hell queens mind?”
“I’m sure they won’t. They’ll still get to visit you here like they do to me. It’s just that instead of one Sin bothering you constantly for eternity, you’ll have all seven of them.” Wendy chuckles.
“That’s okay, I guess. I’ll have you, too, anyway.”
And then Rosie feels the room grow hot. She looks around in alarm. Then the grip on her hand tightens.
When Rosie looks back up at Wendy, the nice warm smile is gone and replaced with something sinister.
Wendy started chuckling lowly, evilly - her voice growing darker and lower until it turns satanic.
Rosie feels cold fear grip every part of her.
“You ask who I am, child?” Wendy speaks in a booming voice that sounds like it came from the deepest bowels of hell.
And then it clicks in Rosie’s brain who she’d been speaking to this entire time. Suddenly it made sense why it was as if Wendy could read her mind all this time.
She has many names. Rosie could list them all down from the Sundays she spent at Bible School.
The Angel Of The Abyss. The Destroyer. The Tempter. The Lord Of The Flies. The Serpent.
Wendy’s eyes bleed and turn to red. Horns sprout from the top of her head. Wings spread from behind her back.
“They call me many names, child. But you can call me-”
Claws dig into Rosie’s hand and the human screams in agony.
