We had gotten closer after Gluttony's death. More open. And with the tranquility of the beach, we had all calmed down quite a bit. It was safe to say that everyone thought of Greed as our 'leader,' even Pride. Of course, in Greed's eyes, there was no leader as we all worked together to solve problems. This is what we liked most about Greed, and what made him such a good leader.

It was also what Pride liked most. With Greed's thinking, Pride could pitch in ideas as well. I think that's why he tolerates it, and it also shows him growing as a person, beginning to overcome his sin.

And that's what we're here for, isn't it? Or was this just a way for that lady to get revenge on us? One of us had already died. She has no mercy. Isn't that a sin of its own?

"What are you thinking about, Sloth?" Wrath asked as we walked through the brush towards the Ring.

"Just...stuff," I replied.

"How interesting," Wrath said with a roll of his eyes.

"Sorry," I said as I laughed.

All six of us emerged from the foliage to come across the lady standing in the middle of the Ring. She held a stern look on her face that instilled fear in me. I wanted to know where she went when she disappeared into the trees. I wanted to know if she was hiding in a safe place that had food and clean water, because I was parched and hungry. The only water we had was the ocean, and I sure am not drinking that.

"Welcome," she said sharply. Her hands were behind her back and her bun seemed tighter than it had been the other day. She still wore the same outfit, that was still free of any grains of sand or twigs. I wanted to call bullcrap on that magic. "To your torches, please. You are not here to waste my time."

"Waste your time? You brought us here, you're the one who's wasting our time! I have much better things to do than this, you—"

"Silence, Wrath. You are here to overcome your sin, not use it. Now to your torches."

Submissively, we each walked to our torches. It felt a little cold on my one side but I forced myself not to think about it too much.

She stood with her arms behind her, fingers intertwined, head held high, like a boot camp leader. Her face was stone cold. It reminded me of one of my elementary teachers. She waited for everyone to stand at their torch before clearing her throat.

"Everyone is here. Except for Gluttony. Tsk tsk," she said with a click of her tongue. "A waste, really. However, this leaves us with an even number now, doesn't it? It's too bad Gluttony could not resist. Anyway." She smiled, and I wanted to spit at her. "I suppose now I must feed you..."

"As long as you haven't poisoned it," Wrath said, his eyebrows turned down to give him a slightly menacing look, despite his baby face.

She scoffed. "Everything that happens in the Ring under my grounded supervision is harmless. There will not be any tests here while I am here, in the centre, giving you instruction. That would just be cruel."

I wanted so bad to yell obscenities at her.

"However, as soon as I leave the Ring, you must be prepared for the next test. Each of you will individually collect your meal. Beginning with Envy. Come forward."

Envy nervously walked into the centre of the Ring. The lady walked to the edge of the ring, directly across from Pride, where there were no torches, and picked up a plate of smoked ham, toasted coconut, some vegetables, and a glass of what looked like coconut water. She handed the plate to Envy, who thanked her and went back to her torch to eat.

She sat on the ground and picked up the glass to take a drink, as I'm sure she's as thirsty as I am, when the lady said in a voice ringing with authority, “Do not eat until I leave the ring.”

Greed was called next, and he received the same thing. Everyone else, including myself, got called forward, and we all received the same dish that Envy had received. After I returned to my torch, Gluttony's torch went out. It got even colder on my left side, which I didn't think was fair.

"Now, I don't have to repeat the rules again do I?"

"No," I said, "but I would like to know why we're all here."

"You're on a need to know basis," she said quickly, before clearing her throat and maintaining her formal, poised manner. That single request had flustered her, and I think it's safe to say that caught everyone off guard, including her.

"How about if the hog was poisoned? Huh? Anything that has a life or death impact on us is our business! You're merciless! You need to give us more information on these tests!"

She glared at me and I felt my soul descend into the 9th circle of hell.

But I pushed on.

"Why are we here?"

The lady took a deep breath and said, "I brought you here to overcome your sins. You each have a test, and if you pass it there will be another test for you."

"So we can never go home? All we can do is fail? What kind of--"

"You will have as many tests as it takes to overcome your sin. Begin." She disappeared into the bushes before any of us could say another word, and for sure we were scared. We were scared because this time we had no inclination whatsoever whose test would be next.

And that frightened me so bad I couldn't think about anything except for the meeting we had, analyzing every detail of what she said and who she talked to and the tones of voice she used. I abandoned my plate and paced around the circle while everyone else ate up, not hearing a word of what the others were saying, until I finally came up with a clue.

"Waste time," I whispered to myself. "Waste time!" I grabbed onto the person closest to me, which happened to be Wrath. "Waste time!"

He looked at me with concern. "Are you ok--"

"I'm next! I figured it out! It's me!" I yelled excitedly into Wrath’s face. “My test is next!” All 5 of the others just stared at me, and Wrath wiped some spit off his face.

“Are you sure?” Lust asked, eyebrows furrowed. “I think it could be any one of us...and that really scares me.” Pride wrapped his arm around her in a side hug.

“I’m sure we’ll figure it out, Lust,” he said as he squeezed her arm.

Lust started to sniffle. “What if we find out when it’s too late? It could be Envy since she was called first, or you, Sloth, because you were last. Or there could be another hint to someone else’s test, or maybe there was no hint at all!”

I sat back down at my unlit torch and started eating my meal. “That’s true,” I muttered through a bite of toasted coconut. “It could be any one of us...hey Greed, what do you think? Any ideas?”

He seemed caught off guard. “Uhh, yeah, I can’t really say for sure if she gave us a clue or not.” He sat beside me as I finished the last of my food.

Just then, the torches caught fire again, and from somewhere high in the canopy the lady swung down into the centre of the Ring. She rested a hand on her hip and looked at us with a blank stare. Somehow, her clothes were still spotless. I just sat there with my freshly empty plate as I realized she would have heard everything we were saying.

“Uhhh--” I started, but she cut me off.

“To your torches.”

We each walked back to our torches, looks of confusion spread over our faces. Once we were all standing at our torches, she cleared her throat.

“Congratulations, Greed. You passed your test.”

Even more confusion spread over our faces, but mostly Greed’s.

“What was the test?” he asked, eyebrows furrowed, fiddling with his shirt.

“It was a test of your ability to eat less than the others.”

“Whoa, whoa, whoa,” I butted in. “He had the exact same amount as the rest of us.”

“Think again, Sloth.” She opened her palm to show a large chunk of toasted coconut. “Each plate had two large pieces of toasted coconut, excluding Greed’s.”

“Wait, you guys had two pieces?” Greed asked.

“You didn’t?” Envy asked back.

The lady’s jaw twitched. “Anyway, Greed, because you passed your first test, I shall reward you with the rest of your toasted coconut, as well as a hint for the next test, as you all seem to be searching for them in every word I say. However, only Greed will hear the hint. Whether he shares it with any of you is up to him. Come forward, Greed.” Greed walked up to the center of the Ring, where the Lady whispered in his ear. He then walked back to his torch. I noticed he looked a bit pale, and that worried me. “Continue on. The next test begins once I leave the Ring.”

She wrapped the vine around her hand and climbed up it, and the torches went out, and I felt very, very afraid.