Shadow Apprentice

A girl stood on the edge of the Lethe. She was pretty, with strands of wavy black-brown hair framing her face. She wore scratched and torn silver clothes that looked as if they were made of moonlight itself, and in her hands, she clutched a silver moon, which she had picked up in a graveyard before she had died. Her eyes were dark brown, determined, as if made of steel itself.

"You can't control me!" She shouted into the abyss in front of her. "You want me to be reborn? Forget it! I'm not gonna do it if all you want to do is use me like a pawn!" She crossed her arms stubbornly, and turned on her heel, marching away back to the land of Elysium.

"Are you so sure?" A hissing voice called. "This might be your only chance to see your brother again…" The girl stopped. "You don't want to spend the rest of your life living in the Underworld, do you?"

The girl's eyes flashed. "How dare you use my brother like that?" She hissed. "My brother is happy where he is! And I'm perfectly happy with where I am! My brother deserves to live his life in peace, after what he's been through!"

"Are you so sure?" The voice hissed. "After all, you haven't seen him in a while…"

"Stop trying to manipulate me!" The girl screamed, clutching her head. "Nico is perfectly fine where he is!" She clenched her fists. "I know him better than anyone! Better than our mother, father, and maybe even himself!" She pointed a shaking finger. "I've seen his dreams, I've seen his torment, and although I can't be physically there, I have been sending him messages, or at least trying to!"

The hissing voice chuckled. "Trying? My dear, you know very well that just trying, is not enough." The girl paled. "You know that no matter how hard you try, you can never cover up the shadows of the past." The girl paled even more, shaking uncontrollably. "You know that no matter how hard you try, you can't undo your previous mistakes, or your death, or the fact that your brother is now alone in the world, fending for himself."

"SHUT UP!" The girl screamed, as the tears ran freely down her face. "I KNOW WHAT I DID WRONG! THAT'S WHY I MADE UP FOR MY MISTAKES!"

The voice continued as if it hadn't heard. "You also know that no one in the mortal world loves him, and yet you don't do anything about it, not even bothering to check on him. Yes, Bianca," the voice paused, allowing what it said to sink in. "Your brother is alone, and here you are, standing around sulking, not even bothering to help him or advise him." The voice paused again, before hissing: "You're pathet-"

"ENOUGH!" Bianca screamed, sending masses of shadows fleeting across the cavern, sweeping the space of life. "I'll do it."

The owner of the voice seemed to smile at the silence that followed. "Good. Now say the words."

Bianca took a deep breath, reconsidering the options. Then she opened them. "I, Bianca, daughter of Hades, sister of the Ghost King, announce my return to the mortal world in my second chance."

She drew a dagger from her sleeve, cutting off her lock of hair, completing the ritual, before she freefell into the River Lethe, cleansing her of her memories.

The last thing she remembered was a laugh, before pain exploded across her mind, and she blacked out.

-0-0-0-0- (A/N: Btw this is a line break)

"Did she do it?" A scaly flickering voice hissed.

The same voice from before seemed to smile, as it's form solidified, into a woman wreathed with shadows. "Why, of course she did. The first step has been completed."

"She will be my Shadow Apprentice."