For the pernicious sin of gluttony I, as thou seest, am battered by this rain. – Inferno, Canto VI, The Gluttonous.
"Where am I?" she asked, getting off the rock and looking around. There wasn't much to the scene, just a vast red dessert, with one lonely black door seemingly suspended a few meters away. A man stood by it, dressed neatly in an usher's red uniform. He was gesturing to the door, and she walked towards it, putting her hand on the door knob.
"Do I go through?"
"Yes, Santana."
She pushed the door open, surprised (but not really) to find a banquet hall behind. Nodding at the Portman (or portdemon) she stepped through, closing the door behind her and walking towards the table in the centre. Laden with food, it seemed to be a paradise of every glutton's dream…
And then she remembered the name of the Circle.
"Gluttony."
"That's right!" she heard, and turned around rapidly to meet the chef walking towards her, his hands filled with small blue jelly-like cubes. He placed them on the table before her and gave her a hearty laugh. He was a middle-aged man, obviously a demon disguised, but he looked so harmless it was almost impossible to believe. His hands were covered by black gloves, and his eyes were twinkling at her in a manner she had come to know well in her own eyes.
Mischief.
"Sit down, princess. The feast begins now that you are here!"
"What feast?"
"Ah, the Glutton's Feast, of course! For today you will taste the most amazing food in existence, and you will never be able to turn back!"
She snorted, licking her lips and sitting down. "I doubt it."
"You have met a better cook than me?"
"My girlfriend."
"Open wide."
"Aaaaa-oh God Brittany this is delicious! What is it!"
"Veal cooked with mushrooms and pasta."
"More!"
"She cooks?"
"She used to. And she was damn good at it!" Somehow this felt right, this talking about Brittany as if she was still there, as if she hadn't died in that horrible way…
"Well, I assure you, she is nothing compare to me." He gestured at the table and winked at her as he pointed at the plate in front of her, already filled with soup. "Tomato soup?"
"Ugh…hate those things…"
"Well then how about we move to pasta?"
"Are you really trying to tempt me here? I'm not hungry, OK?" She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest, giving him her best witty smile. "I just need to know what it is I have to do to get out of this Circle alive, OK? I have a Beatrice to save."
He gave her a small frown before placing a plate of shrimp before her. "You must resist temptation."
"Well, I think I'm doing a pretty good job of that."
"Are you sure?"
"Santana here, take one."
"What is it?"
"Shrimp. I tried something with it, soaked them in garlic and-"
"Oh, wow. Britt you should go into cooking!"
"Think so?"
"Let me put it this way: you can't get out of here unless you eat something. OK, princess?"
"Why didn't you say so?" she laughed, taking a shrimp from the plate and popping it into her mouth, chewing delicately on it. "But hey, not bad. Actually pretty good."
"Well, I'll leave you to it then. If you can resist temptation, then that door over there will open." He pointed at the door on the other side of the room, a red thing with a large black 'X' emblazoned on it. "Good luck."
"Thanks."
"Call me if you need anything."
"I doubt you'll hear from me again."
He shrugged, exiting from the way he had come, the door she herself had entered from, and she took one long look at the table, trying to pick what to taste first.
"This is the Circle of Gluttony, right?" she asked herself, whispering softly as her hand reached out for a chicken wing. "Meaning I just have to not eat that much…"
For the next few minutes, it was just her tasting food alone in the room, poking random fruits and meats into her mouths, not even trying to decipher what they were. Most of the tastes were spicy, some even burnt, very few mild, but her mind was elsewhere, definitely not here…
"So what are we doing this Valentine's Day?"
"I'm cooking for you."
"B, you don't have to…"
"I want to, San. Just let me, please?"
"Fine…"
Brittany looked away from the hot chocolate she was stirring to wink at her briefly before returning her attention to the mug, whistling merrily as she did.
"What are you going to cook?"
"The best thing you'll ever taste."
"Urm, Mister Chef guy?"
He appeared again, smiling at her as he stepped towards her. "Yes?"
"What are those blue things?"
"Those?"
"Yeah. They look like jelly."
He grabbed one in his hand, balancing it carefully on his palm, holding it out to her and leaning down to level his eyes with hers.
"This, Santana, is the best thing you will ever taste."
Her eyes trained on the blue cube, and her right hand reached out to it, grabbing it gingerly around the edges. It was just as squishy as it looked, but much lighter than she expected. It seemed to be vibrating slightly, glowing even, but without a second thought she popped it into her mouth, closing her eyes as she did.
When she bit down, it felt like an explosion of sugar had just gone off in her mouth. The cube immediately dissolved, and slid down her throat with ease.
And then it was Valentine's Day before Brittany died again, in her kitchen with her eyes closed as she tasted her girlfriend's latest creation…
"Oh God! What is this?"
"Chicken, wrapped in bacon, cheese in between, and some spinach inside the chicken. Some Italian recipe."
"OH wow."
"Like it?"
"Give me more."
"More."
"I'm afraid not."
She opened her eyes rapidly, glaring at him.
"What do you mean no? I saw you walk into this room with your arms full of them before! I want more!"
"I'm afraid you can't have more. There's none left."
She turned her eyes back to the table and frowned, knowing full well that there had been a pile of the blue cubes before just sitting in the centre of the table. "What happened to them?"
"Does it matter?"
"I want more."
"Becoming a glutton, I see?"
"You don't understand!" she yelled, getting up so quickly that the chair fell backwards with a loud clang, reverberating around the room. "I need more! I have to have more!"
"Give me one good reason why." His voice was different now, darker and silkier, almost like the illusion was starting to fail…
"Because it's the last thing my girlfriend ever made for me before she died! I need more of them, I just do! Please, just give me more!"
"Are you really doing this to keep her memory alive?"
She froze. There it was again, the voice that seemed to want to haunt her throughout, the voice from the whorehouse…
"What-"
"Are you sure you're not just a greedy little bitch you wants more than she can have? Selfish, conceited little princess who always got what she wanted from Mummy and Daddy, hmm?"
"That's not it at all…" she whispered meekly at the voice as it came out from the man's closed mouth, as his eyes took on a terrifying black shade, rendering her totally unable to movie.
"Are you sure? Think about it. You were never denied anything in your life and when it was something you really wanted you threw a fit as soon as it wasn't yours. You're a glutton. You always have been. You're not worthy to pass through here. You're not worthy for your Beatrice at all. All you'll ever do is demand and demand and demand…"
"I won't."
"Prove it. Walk through that door, don't come back for more. Never look back and keep walking."
"Mrs Pierce?"
"Santana, hi, come on in."
She entered the kitchen and smiled at her girlfriend's mother, watching her bustle around the kitchen with her face hidden from the girl.
"I just wanted to come by and bring you some things that were hers…"
"That's alright, Santana, you can keep them."
"Are you sure?" Santana put the box in her hands on the kitchen table and sighed. "You are her mother."
"But she gave them to you. You deserve them."
Santana had actually been hoping for that.
"I miss her too, you know."
Mrs Pierce turned to her, smiling at her through watery eyes, nodding.
"I know."