Temperance

Temperance

                You five have been chosen. You represent virtue and the light; and you must fight the darkness. Keep your vows; Charity, Celibacy, Temperance, Patience, and Humility.

                “Oh, my, goodness!” said Anna – a brown-haired girl with quite ridiculous hair, seated at the head of a table absolutely covered with food. Her family had won a competition held by a local restaurant – and the prize was a massive, all-you-can-eat special meal. Every member of the family had gone hungry all day to ensure they could enjoy the feast as much as possible; and Anna was starving.

                Still, at the back of her mind a little niggling voice reminded her of her vow. Temperance. It meant moderation in many things – including eating. But it doesn’t mean I can’t eat until I’m full, she thought to herself. She knew it was okay to do that – even to indulge a little. Her vow hadn’t broken yet, despite the occasional push at the boundaries. The light spirit didn’t approve, but... She understood that Anna had trouble keeping her vow.

                They all did. Chastity with her boyfriend, Patience with her life, Charity had trouble sharing what little she was given, and Victoria – actually, Anna had no clue how Victoria had kept her vow of humility given how up herself she usually was. Still, it was nothing on Secrecy – the unknown member of their group. Secrecy had ranted at them many times about how they should know who she was. She’d even given clues, but they’d never managed to figure it out.

                The light spirit assured them that the difficulty they had was the point. If the vow was easy to keep, they could draw no power from it. They’d be powerful, but nowhere near as strong as they were. Secrecy actually keeping her secret – her identity – was the reason she was the strongest of them all.

                “Well kids, dig in!” said Anna’s father happily. “Oh, I’ve ordered you some wine as well, Anna, since you’re eighteen now,” he added.

                “Thanks dad,” replied Anna with a smile. Along with the rest of her family – a brother, a sister, and her parents – she began to amass a huge pile of food on her plate. The restaurant was one of her favourites, and she took ample helpings of all the dishes she loved.

                The wine arrived quickly – a glassful of white; but also with the bottle. “Go nuts, honey,” said her father.

                Anna looked to her mother, who gave her father a look. After a moment she shook her head and said, “You can drink it if you’d like to, dear.”

                Anna grinned and took a swig of the wine. It was very sweet, and tasted delicious. Her younger siblings eyed her enviously, so she stuck her tongue out at them. A short battle of pulled faces – entirely beneath the notice of her parents – unfolded between the three of them, but it quickly petered out as they became more interested in devouring the food on their plates.

                Jamming a sizeable chunk of crab into her mouth, Anna savoured the taste for a moment. She loved crabmeat, though she rarely had a chance to eat any. She had piled more on her plate than was present in an ordinary serving – still not particularly much, but there were many other delights to fit.

                And I can grab some more later if I want, she thought, softly chewing. She swallowed the crab and took another gulp of the sweet wine. This wine is fantastic, I’ll have to remember the brand. Anna set her glass down, and dug into her meal.

                Anna had been completely famished when she arrived, but she quickly filled herself gorging on delicious food. She managed to squeeze down the entirety of her plate – and even a little more crab – as well as a couple of glasses of wine. Incredibly full and satisfied, she let herself relax into her chair and sighed, idly swirling her third glass of wine.

                “Alright! Time for dessert!” her father said suddenly. Her siblings cheered, but Anna groaned. Why’d I forget about dessert! My favourite… but I can’t fit anything else in, she thought to herself.

                “Too full are we, dear?” asked her mother, grinning.

                “I have room for some tea cake,” replied Anna. She didn’t really, but she’d at least taste it. The tea cake this restaurant made was simply to die for.

                The waiters cleared away the food on the table, and brought out the desserts. Temptation after temptation was placed before Anna, and she dearly wished she had eaten no food – except perhaps the crab – so she had room to try everything, and to fit everything she’d had before and loved.

                Instead she tried to convince her body to empty her stomach into intestines futilely, and took two slices of teacake after one was placed on the table. I can do this, she thought, looking at the teacake. These slices are tiny.

                She popped one of the slices in her mouth – it was small enough to fit easily. Mmmmmm, she thought, caught up in the delicious taste. Cinnamon, sugar, cake, and some apple. It was amazing.

                She swallowed it down, savoured it, and then took a gulp of wine; not even noticing the soft crack her necklace made as her vow was broken. She ate the second piece as well, enjoying every moment. She smiled at a waiter who popped by to fill up her wine, not even noticing when he slipped something into the glass.

                Without anyone to talk to – everyone else was busy gobbling down food – Anna savoured the last taste of the teacake, swirled her glass again, and drank some. A couple of minutes later she began to feel sleepy, and started blinking a lot.

                “What’s the matter?” asked her father, a spoonful of ice-cream halfway to his mouth.

                “I’m feeling a little tired I think,” replied Anna, muttering the last few words. She rubbed her face, but then – unable to keep herself conscious – she collapsed face-first onto the table. The last thing she heard as she faded away was her mother screaming for someone to call triple 0.