Scurrying in the cramped staff corridors of the Five Seasons, Nellie Hearst had no time to adopt to the urged manners of the luxurious hotel. As the week continued, more and more guests arrived at the only hotel of Riverdale. Each of the new visitors was more wealthy than the previous one. 

The reason for their presence in Riverdale was the reason Nellie could not count on Hiram's protection. Veronica Lodge. And so the day arrived where the wicked and divine of Riverdale all found themselves beneath God's roof. But the only question that is left: who's wicked and who's divine?

+ + + + 

Nellie folded up another one of the thick and soft towels and placed in the glass cabinet of the opulent bathroom. She caught her image in the spotless mirror. Her black and white uniform was slightly creased from the work. She stroked the collar of her short sleeved shirt flat on the black top of the dress that reached half way her thigh. 

Staring vacantly at her reflection, she tucked away a strand of her short hair. When she was younger, Nellie had always thought she looked so much like her father. The impeccable Hiram Lodge. The man who granted her and her mother a visit every Friday afternoon when she came back from school. Before he left. Before he returned home to his family.

She shouldn't have been missing him when he didn't turn up one day. She shouldn't have felt heartbroken when the news of his imprisonment reached her mother. She shouldn't have her heart broken when she had witnessed him admiring his daughter. The one he considered his only daughter.

It was Veronica's confirmation in the afternoon. Nellie's father would be seated in the church, watching as Veronica walked towards the aisle in a without doubt beautiful and expensive dress. 

Nellie huffed at the thought of her father in church. The man had no morals, she thought to herself. He cheated on his wife with one of his employees. He didn't even have the decency to break with any of the two women. Instead, he wanted the best of both. Even worse, he expected the best of both. 

When she was done, she left the room and returned to the staff corridor, her arms packed with dirty laundry. The corridor was small and dusty, nothing like the magnificent corridors meant for guests. She nearly had to press herself against the wall when another maid came thundering through. The maid threw her a dirty glare before disappearing in the opposite direction.

When Nellie arrived in the washing room, it was eerily silent. Looking around she found no one in sight. The laundry was dropped into one of the massive baskets. Quickly, she glanced at her phone that was tucked in one of the pockets of her apron. Ignoring the message of Poppy, her eyes scanned over the grant numbers indicating the hour. The ceremony had already begun. 

Biting her lip, Nellie fought the idea that had popped up on her way to the laundry room. It being completely empty only made it more tempting. It was a bad idea. She knew that it would probably hurt her. Her hand had already wrapped itself around the fabric of her sweater. If she hurried she could still witness the last minutes of the ceremony.

Without logging out, she left the washing room behind through the back door. The fresh air, immediately made her cheeks rosy as she pulled the sweater over her head. The skirt of her dress was still visible. Her toes wiggled inside the plain black flats. 

Before she could change her mind, Nellie's legs brought her to the street from where she only had to follow until she reached the church of Riverdale. Passing the main entrance, she first took a glance through one of the windows. Standing on her tiptoes, her fingers clasped on the edge of the windowsill. 

She was so focused on catching a glimpse of the ceremony, Nellie didn't hear the sound of an engine cut off. 

"Eager to confess your sins?" a voice called her out. 

Feeling busted, she immediately fell back onto the ground. Her head snapped towards the intruder. Still straddling his motorcycle, Sweet Pea grinned at her. 

"I'd never thought you to be the religious kind of gal," he said, easily swaying his leg from his bike and striding towards Nellie. 

"I am not," she immediately bit back. Sweet Pea tucked his hands in his pockets, shrugging as he did. 

"If it's not God's attention you seek, then what do you need? Aren't you supposed to be at work?" he remarked, squinting his eyes ever so slightly.

Nellie huffed and turned her head away from the Serpent. "I can do whatever I want."

Sweet Pea chuckled. "Well, if you're so eager to witness the ceremony, then perhaps we should get inside, no?" He said as he stalked towards the door, not looking back at Nellie.

"If we go through the main entrance, we'll capture the attention," Nellie admitted. Her voice was faint and she felt defeated. It had never been her intention to go inside, but now that it was mentioned, her curious heart wanted to see what kind of girl Hiram Lodge preferred over her. 

Sweet Pea looked calculating. "God's house has more than one door, I assume,"

Nellie followed the tall boy to the side of the church where they found another door indeed. Sweet Pea held open the door and stuck out his chin in its direction "After you," 

Nellie walked through the door, afraid that she would decide against it should she hesitate for one second. Hidden in the shadows, the odd duo made their way down the side of the church. The end of a song had the entire crowd silent. They were too mesmerized by the girl standing in front of the aisle to notice the Serpent and the Other Daughter. 

"Looks like we've run into a private party," Sweet Pea whispered, suddenly closer to Nellie than she had anticipated. Her gaze was fixed on the beautiful girl in white. She looked so innocent, so untainted. Jealousy blossomed inside her chest. It could've been her standing there in a designer dress should her father have had the decency to actually care for her mother and her. 

Nellie was too involved in the ceremony to really notice the Serpent sitting next to her. His eye caught the nervous wiggling of her leg as her eyes scanned the crowd for the face of one man. Without thinking, Sweet Pea placed his hand on her thigh to keep it from moving. The warmth of his hand on her bare skin jolted Nellie back into reality. She gasped from surprise but the movement went unnoticed by Sweet Pea who already retrieved his hand as soon as Nellie stopped jumping it.

Awoken from her daze, Nellie returned her gaze to the girl in the front. Veronica was everything Nellie was not. Beautiful and rich. Confident and loved. Nellie had lost the only one who ever truly loved her. Veronica was surrounded by friends and family, Nellie was all alone. After the ceremony, Veronica would return to her palace in the Pembrooke. Nellie would return to the hotel, and after work she would go to Sunnyside Trailer Park. 

The ceremony was coming to an end. Her half-sister was beaming as she made her promise to the church. Nellie had to close her eyes for the feeling of being powerless was too overwhelming. The priest recited the words and suddenly Nellie recalled the last moments she had seen her mother. Once her mind thought of the simple coffin, her will broke down and the memories flooded over.

A simple coffin for a simple woman. A woman who desired nothing in life and worked with what she got. Dhalia Hearst had no family. The only one present at her burial was her daughter and the priest. No parents, no siblings. No friends, no neighbors. Nobody but her only pride. 

The hospital had made certain Dhalia Hearst would have a decent ceremony and had a priest arranged. They had relied on the nineteen year old Nellie to spread the word of her mother's passing. But with no one to inform, the young girl stood alone. It had been surprisingly sunny that day. Much like Dhalia's attitude to life. It was then that Nellie had acknowledged her loneliness. Her mother was gone. The only person she ever truly loved was being buried underneath the ground and she was staying. Alone. 

The applaus of the audience brought Nellie back to the church for another kind of ceremony. "You okay?" she heard Sweet Pea whisper. She had forgotten the boy to be sitting next to her.

"Let's go," she whispered in return, already standing up. Without saying a word, he led her out, watching over his shoulder from time to time. But Nellie did not see that. She was focused on her flats tapping on the tiled floor, longing to be gone before Hiram would notice her.

Back outside, Nellie took a deep breath and closed her eyes. She leaned against the bricks of the church, unaware of her spectator.

"So," Sweet Pea called out, tucking his hands in the pockets of his leather jacket. "Was it worth skipping work?" He tried to mock but his instinct told him not to push the subject. Whatever crossed Nellie's mind inside, it was consuming her altogether outside. 

"It wasn't." the girl bit back as she straightened. "Church is overrated, if you ask me," she said stalking away from the building. 

Her heart was stammering in her chest. She wanted to be gone. Disappear. Just like her mother did. 

"Let me give you a ride to the Four Seasons," Sweet Pea said, stalking towards his motorcycle. He held out his helmet for her to take. Nellie looked at her morphed reflection in the surface of it. 

"I actually want to go home," she said. Her big brown eyes looked up at Sweet Pea. Defeat was clearly displayed. 

"Hop on," Sweet Pea replied, swinging his leg over his seat. Without looking back, Nellie put on the helmet and sat behind the Serpent. Her arms snaked around his waist as he removed the support and started the engine. 

They shot forwards as the crowd left the church.