In the background of my other writing, I’ve gone and lost my mind and written a completely crazy vanity au where Charity is Hades and Vanessa is Persephone ...
I know, it sounds mad and ridiculous because in what world are these characters at all transferrable to a world like that, but bear with me, alright? I was writing this and then the magic that is @vanityfest appeared in our lives and I thought, perfect! I’ll save this and share it as part of the AU day.
To jump on board @thegirl20‘s marvellous sneak-peek idea with some of her bloody fantastic ideas (do yourself a favour and read them if you haven’t already), here’s my own little sneak peek from the very beginning.
“It’s not so bad down here, you know,” Charity says with a sigh, drumming her fingers, long nails painted blood red, over the armrests of the black throne that rises at her back.
She’s gorgeous, this Hades, Vanessa thinks. They call her Charity too, but that’s her true name, after all.
Vanessa has heard whispers, of her terror, of her beauty, but they pale in comparison to the creature seated in front of her. Charity’s gaze - hard but curious - follows Vanessa as she takes in her surroundings, and the queen in front of her. Charity’s hair is long and blonde, piled above her head, exposing the creamy line of her throat, down to the plunging neckline of her dress, full-length and long sleeved, blacker than the marble around them.
The two massive Dobermans stand as Vanessa takes step after cautious step further into the throne room. She wonders why it was even built, this room, it’s not exactly like the queen of the underworld needs to hold court.
“You’ll get used to the darkness after a while,” Charity offers casually, catching the way Vanessa squints when she looks around, raising her hand to inspect her nails. “You might even learn to hate the light after a time, like I do.”
“It’s really just you here?” Vanessa asks, her head swinging wide as she takes in the enormous room, lined completely with black marble, shot through with white streaks. “No one else?”
“No one else,” Charity confirms, and her voice rings cold through the room, bouncing off the gleaming stone. “You’re calm, love. Why? Don’t you hate me? For tricking you into coming here with me?”
“Is there any use in it?” Vanessa asks cynically, and Charity barks a laugh in response. “Will it change anything, my anger?”
“No, Vanessa,” Charity replies, shaking her head, and she sounds almost amused. “I suppose not. Why didn’t you run? You’re not a fool, are you? I know you’ve been suspicious of your father’s plan for a while. You could have escaped. You could have been in a different place entirely when I came. You knew of my arrival, didn’t you?”
“Maybe I didn’t want to?” Vanessa throws over her shoulder as she walks to run her palm down one of the walls. It’s warm under her touch, as she suspected. Not cold, like the tales suggest. “Run, that is. Escape.”
“And why on earth, wouldn’t you want to run?” Charity asks, cocking her head. “You’d rather be trapped down here instead, with me?”
“Trapped?” Vanessa clarifies, raising an eyebrow when she spins to face Charity again. “Did any part of you taking me away look unwilling to you? Did I cry? Did I scream? Did I run?”
