I awoke to searing pain, like a lance had gone through my head, my eyes were red and blurred with pain and my entire body ached.
But worst of all, I couldn't talk. I tried to move my lips but they wouldn't make a sound, as I tried to push myself up I couldn't even groan. It was gone, my individuality, my identity, my voice.

I connected with the world through stories. Spinning tales to tell people and seeing them smile and laugh was one of the reasons I lived, but Hera had taken that away from me.

Utter despair entwined itself with my soul and I collapsed back to the ground. My entire life had changed course in a matter of minutes. The small amount of happiness that I had managed to attain was gone in the snap of a finger.

But I am a doer, I know I can't just lie around all day. Aika and Ayana are both mad at me so they won't be by anytime soon.

For the first time I take a moment to look at my surroundings, and I realize I'm in my meadow. That means that I haven't been banished from the immortal realm, only Olympus. It also means that I still have access to the olive springs, so if somehow I can get there it can heal my body. I also realize that there is blood dripping from my head wound, seeping into the grass, so I take the time to stop the blood flow with some clothe.

The need for water over rides all else and I find my self staggering in the general direction of the olive springs. After 20 painstaking minutes I finally make it to the springs and my body gives way as I collapse into the water and sink to the bottom.

********************

I can't breath. The air is thick and snow is falling heavily. My feet are stinging and I look down to see that they are dripping in blood. My blood.

I hold out my hand and I realize in horror that it isn't snow falling from the sky, it's ashes. They fall all around me, thicker and thicker, catching in my hair and choking me.

I struggle to breath and it gets harder and harder by the second, finally I collapse to the ground fighting for my last breathes.

I look around me and I realize finally that I'm on Olympus, but everything is wrong, the throne room has been shattered, it's glass ceiling desiccated, and I realize that the ash that is choking me was once the royal palace.

I stopped moving, I had no fight left. But before I slipped into the abyss I looked around me and saw nymphs, dryads, centaurs and mortals all dying around me, the throne room splattered with their blood, and I realized with world shattering clarity, that I had caused this, I had let them down and they were here dying in this gods forsaken place, because of me.

                    ***********************
My eyes snapped open and I stared blearily up at the dancing dots that appeared to be naiads playing in the springs.

Though I knew I was awake and it was only a dream, a feeling of dread still lingered with me.

I had to talk to someone, I felt like dying and part of me wanted to. But Aika and Ayana were still mad at me and I doubted that Artemis would take me in after Hera condemned me.

Narcissus. He would listen to me. My only problem is figuring out how to get to the mortal realm, and how to get a message to Narcissus. Luckily Hermès owes me a favor and he can probably help me with both of those problems.

I silently sighed, kicked off the bottom of the springs and swam to the surface. As my head broke the water, my wet hair clung to the sides of my face and the naiads screamed and ran away from me. Naiads are world class cowards.

My body was healed of any physical ailment but I had a feeling like a gray cloud hanging over me, a sense of impending doom. I shoved these thoughts to the back of my mind, and summoned Hermès in my head.

Gods can hear it when people reach out to them in their heads. Hermès didn't pick up so I left him a message saying, "Hey, it's Echo, I'm sure you've heard by now what Hera did. I need you to get me to the mortal realm, and leave a message with a man named Narcissus, tell him to meet me at Mirrors Edge. Please, I have no one else to go to."

Now I all I can do is sit and wait, and since Heaven has condemned I will pray to hell.

About an agonizing hour later, Hermès showed up in a whirl of feathers (idk why, don't ask me). He didn't say anything, assumably he knew about my curse and didn't want to be engaged in a pointless shouting match.

He pulled out a quill and a sheet of papyrus from his bag, and handed them to me.

"Did you send the message?" I wrote.

He nodded and wrote, "I told him to meet you at Mirror's Edge an hour ago, so we need to go now."

"But how? I've been banned from Olympus and that's where the portal is." I scribbled quickly.

Hermès chuckled, "Do you really think the gods would make only one entrance to the mortal realm?" I rolled my eyes at him in annoyance as I was forced to repeat his sentence.

He put his hand over his mouth like he had just remembered who he was talking to. Then he mouthed a very cheesy, so-rry.

I handed him the pencil and papyrus, he scribbled for 0.2 seconds and then gave it back to me. It read, "Let me show you."

I shrugged, and wrote back, "fine."  I stood up but before I could walk two steps he had swooped me up and we were 100 feet in the air.

If I could've screamed, I would've been screaming, instead I settled for writing, Aaaaaaaaaaah, on the papyrus and holding it up to Hermès.

He snatched the papyrus from my hands and put it back in his bag.

Now that I had no way to show my mild annoyance at being 300 feet off the ground, I sit back and wait for us to land.

So, it's been 10 minutes, and we are only getting higher, and now I'm starting to wonder if Hermès is kidnapping me. But just as my boredom goes to all new heights, we land abruptly in the pink mist orchards.

I don't know sign language and Hermès is refusing to give me back the papyrus, so now I'm just blindly following the god of thieves and murderers into the woods, great plan.

My confusion grows by the step. He's taking me to the front entrance, but nobody ever uses the front entrance to the pink mist orchards, that's where the hydra is. But it dawns on me as the gate comes into sight, that no one knows where the front entrance leads to, and the whole reason the hydra is there is to protect the orchard from mortals, which can only mean one thing, the front entrance is a portal to the mortal realm.

I fleetingly feel like an idiot for not realizing this sooner, but it is overcome by a sense of success that I have finally found a way into the mortal realm, well I guess Hermès found the way, but we don't need to talk about that.

I turn to Hermès and say thank you with my eyes and a smile, because somebody won't let me have the goddamn papyrus.

He smiles too, but thankfully doesn't say anything, and before I can take a step towards the gate he has disappeared in a flash of light.

I walked quickly towards the gate, eager to make it to the mortal realm and see Narcissus.

I pass through and give a nod to the hydra who snorts in annoyance at me. I roll my eyes, hydras are known for their sarcastic and sardonic personalities. My bet is that they're bitter from years of being forced to guard random things and places that the gods want protected, this poor fellow has been in the pink mist orchards for the past thousand years.

I continue on through the gate and in a whirl of light I am transported exactly where I want to go.

I step out of the portal, onto the bank of mirrors edge lake. It's drizzling in the mortal realm and gray storm clouds hang heavily over me. The drops of water splash into the lake, creating a dazzling panorama, but I don't notice it. Narcissus isn't here.

It's ok though, he could be late.

**********

He wasn't late, I sat there for another three hours, hoping that the love of my life would come to me in the moment that my entire existence had been destroyed.

Three agonizing hours, as it became darker and darker and dusk set in. The rain still fell gently, like a soft whisper around me, a moment of comfort for my forlorn soul.

When I realized he wasn't coming, I stood up from where I had been sitting, my body quivered but I stilled myself. I dragged myself through the mud, my eyes never leaving the ground. The icy rain began pouring and soaking me to the bone, but I hardly noticed it, I just kept trudging numbly through the wind.

When Hermès appeared in front of me I didn't notice until he touched my hand. He pulled the papyrus out and it read, "There's something you need to see."

He picked me up again and we flew in a flash of light, immediately we were transported to right outside of a small town.

"Go to the bar in town, but first you might want to look in a mirror," he said and then disappeared.

"Go to the bar in town, but first you might want to look in a mirror," I repeated grimly.

I walked into the town, remembering Hermès' words, I glanced down into a puddle of water. I was an atrocious sight, my hair had fallen out of its tight coif and was wet as it hung limply down my back, my dress was ripped and torn and there was mud clinging to the hem, but my face was what shocked me most of all, my mascara was running down my cheeks and lipstick was smudged across my face. My make up was coming off.

But that was when I realized, I didn't look horrible, or hideous, I just looked different. It had been a long time since I had been without makeup and my hair had seldom been out of a style, it had been a long time since I had been anybody other than who they told me to be.

The girl staring up at me was not a ghost of my past, she was me, and no layers of make up or fancy hair-dos can ever hide her again.

The moon came out and bathed the world in silver light, illuminating my reflection, until it slowly faded away. I smiled and sent a silent thank you to Artemis for her sign.

I stood and walked to the tavern. I'm sure Narcissus had a good reason for not coming, all that remains is for us to talk about it.

I swung open the door and stepped into dimly lit tavern. My nostrils were immediately assaulted with the heavy smell of wine and depravity.

No sign, or reflection in a puddle could ever have prepared me for what I saw next. He was there, sitting on a bench, downing one glass of wine after another. But that wasn't the worst part, there was a decked out whore sitting on his lap, kissing him whenever he could drag his lips away from his wine cup.

My whole body turned to stone and my face hardened. The world froze for a moment, but it all came crashing down in a feeling of absolute fury. I picked up the closest wine glass and hurled it at his head, I missed, but I had everybody's attention.

"Echo," he said emotionlessly. "What do you want?"

I stared at him with a look of incredulity, "What do I want?!" I screamed. "How could you do this to me?"

"Look honey, it's nothing personal, I needed an in with the gods and you were friends with Hera. Now that you've fallen out of favor I no longer have any use for you."

"Nothing personal," I whispered. I threw another wine glass, and this time I didn't miss.

He exclaimed in pain and tenderly touched the mark on his forehead. He looked up at me, "bitch," he spat out.

I made a false sound of sympathy, "That's going to scar isn't? And you can't have anything ruining your perfect face," I said icily. "I'm going to leave here and never think of you again, but you will never forget me," and with that I turned and ran from the tavern, I couldn't fight the tears spilling down my face any longer.

I ran and I ran, sobbing softly. I lied, I would never forget Narcissus and right now I didn't want to live anymore. My rage energy wore off soon and I collapsed onto the ground, my tears falling and mingling with the dirt. That was when I felt something sharp in my robe, I reached in and pulled out a shard of Adamantite, Hermès must've left it there.

I grabbed the Adamantite and cut my wrist with it and in a flash of light I was transported to the olive springs.

I looked into the deep, cool water and in that moment I didn't care if I lived or died. I fell into the water and sunk slowly to the bottom, I didn't want to wake up soon, I wanted to sleep for a hundred years.

[ I hope you guys liked today's chapter! All credit for the title goes to Lemony Snicker :) remember to comment and vote! Only people who have been paying attention know why Echo was able to talk ;)]