Underworld's Daughter

Echo

My name is Echo, and I was named after the sound of the empty chambers of the halls I was born in make. I am known by other names – Imperial Mistress of the Night, and sometimes they refer to me as Daughter of the Underworld.

I do not know my father. There are rumours that I haven't got one, and my mother conceived me by herself. Which version is true? I don't know. Not many people challenge my mother, let alone asks her questions. I see her very rarely, her shadow passes me by occasionally but she 's not the kind to hug her offspring or ask about her day.

My mother is a lady of the Underworld, just like me. She holds a greater dominion than mine though. Mention her name and the heart of the mightiest of men will start to quiver with fear.

My mother's name is Death. Our home is the Underworld – A vast cave of never-ending darkness that matches the colour of my mother's favourite dress. Black is her favourite colour.

People who end up here never returns. I face a much darker predicament. It is written in my fate never to walk in the Upper World. The Underworld is my prison.

Today, there's a celebration in my mother's honour. It gives me a perfect opportunity to do something that is forbidden.

If only my mother knew what I am about to do, she would be really angry. I feel nervous. Screw it, I thought. I have always been the obedient daughter. Now, it's time for my own celebration.

I look around, making sure that no one is following me. I wait for a long time but it is important that I'm not caught.

Then I take a key out of my pocket and insert it into the lock. The door creaks as I open it.

I enter my study. In contrast to the rest of the Underworld, it is very bright. The blue colours of the walls sparkles.

"Echo, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be celebrating?"

I smile at my friend, Anna. "I've come to check the mirror."

Anna and I share the same hair colour – brown with a hint of red. However, her hair is straight and long while mine is curly and short. I am also significantly darker than her. One of the thing that attracted me to her was her big heart, although she does joke that mine is bigger.

"I've been checking it. Except of the unreast in the Kingdom of Neloa, there's nothing interesting-"

"Unrest?" I say.

"The King hasn't been buried yet and his sons are already squabbling for the throne."

"All of his sons?" I ask.

"Well, the ones that are still in the castle. One has already left and doesn't want anything to do with power," Anna replies.

I sit down and part the drapes that cover the mirror.

"Neloa, seemed... How do I say it? Peaceful" I say.

"I remember it faintly when I was alive," says Anna, "But that was an awfully long time ago."

Anna died when she was a teenager. At the age of sixteen years to be exact.

Our paths crossed on the river of the Underworld. Something about her spirit caught my eyes, so I took her away from the ferryman's boat. I made the ferryman take a solemn vow of secrecy for what I'd done. Since I was Death's daughter, he agreed. Besides, it wasn't the first time I'd done it. You can say that I have a habit of stealing spirits, especially if they're interesting. I find poets to be the best. I suppose being the Imperial Mistress of the Night has its perks sometimes.