Ruby and the Seven Sins

Once upon a time, there was a young woman named Ruby who lived under some rather average circumstances.  She was not a princess, and she did not have the ability to speak to animals or call them to do her cleaning. Her family lived in the suburbs, not a castle, and she hated her stepmom with a passion.  To be fair, her stepmom hated Ruby as well.  Even though Ruby did not possess any unique skills, boast above average intelligence, or act very kindly, she was beautiful with long hair the color of a flickering flame and wicked green eyes.  And in the realm of fairy tales, where love happens at first sight, looks are everything.

I wish that I could say that what happens to Ruby after she turns eighteen is a happy tale, but I would never want to be branded a liar.  Her stepmom did not try to kill her with a poisoned apple, but she did insist (with her husband's consent) that her stepdaughter go to college, start paying rent or get the hell out.  Suffering under the delusion that there would be a prince charming to sweep her off her feet and save her from her stepmother's evil agenda, Ruby left her childhood home to find her royal love.  She did not have a job nor savings nor even a car, but she did have a high school diploma and her looks.

Ruby traveled on foot from the suburbs into the heart of the city, carrying a single suitcase full of clothes and her favorite book, stories of princes and their damsels in distress turned princesses.  As nightfall approached, she started to wonder where she would lay her head that night.  A kind, elderly couple sitting on their porch called out to her as she passed offering her a place to stay.  Looking at their humble little house, Ruby's pride swelled in her chest, and she shot their offer down, continuing on.  Her prince was still coming, she could feel it!  And like a sign, there it was...the Court, a hotel slash club deep in one of the most notorious parts of the city.

Entering the lobby, Ruby was amazed by the splendor of both hotel and patrons.  Everything shimmered from the chandeliers overhead to the diamonds glittering on many an ear, like it was straight from a royal ball.  Deep in her heart, she envied these people for what they had, not seeing it for what it really was.  These were not kind people, and they loved to prey on the naive, especially the pretty ones.  

A man as wide as he was tall offered Ruby a place at his table in the lobby's cafe.  She could glut herself on anything she desired if she just took a seat and stayed a while.  She sat down and was ravenous in her appetite.  He offered her a job and a room at his hotel, and she took those too.  She grew as lazy and frivolous as the others in the Court, giving into sloth and shirking duty.

Months passed and Ruby thought she had finally met her prince.  He was gorgeous and strong with a great singing voice that made ladies swoon off their feet.  What she thought was love at first sight was in fact just lust.  Our naive little Ruby welcomed him into heart, home and bed.  She honestly thought she had her happy ever after.  Little did she know. 

Ruby's fairy tale lover was not a faithful man as soon she found out.  Filled with wrath, she attacked the man she thought had been her prince that night.  She toppled onto him, forcing him down onto the bed he had cheated on her in.  Oh, how Ruby wanted to hit him, wanted to make him pay for the pain she was in.  She grabbed the closest heavy object, her beloved book of fairy tales, off of the night stand and brought it down on her fake prince's head.  Again and again, she struck him with her heavy and bound childhood dreams.  Finally, Ruby's anger lessened, and her hands lowered to her sides.  Everything in the room was still, as if waiting with baited breath.  Even he was still, too still.

Ruby finally opened her eyes and saw the world without her fairy tale glasses.  There was no prince charming coming to give her true love's kiss and wake her from this nightmare.  She had given in to the seven deadly sins and committed a grievous act.  Pride, envy, gluttony, greed, sloth, lust and wrath had each taken their toll.  For the next forty years, Ruby would be wearing prison garb as orange as her hair.