A/N: Hi there! This is going to be a series of passages about the Lady's life, based on my own theories and headcanons about her experiences and character. I apologise for any possible OOT that might come from my headcanons and such, but I hope it's an enjoyable read nonetheless. This work is a stand-alone, separate from my other Little Nightmares story 'Children of the Maw.' It's not necessary to have read that one to understand this one, but if you have read both then you may pick up on some little links between the two.

Disclaimers and Such: I've included some historical elements from Japanese culture into these passages and I'm hoping I did them justice. I did my best but apologise for any inaccuracies. I'm not an expert or anything, just wanted to enrich the work with some traditional features to tie in with the Maw's Japanese-inspired themes. Also: I do not own Little Nightmares.

Warnings for this passage: Mother-to-daughter manipulation; implied brainwashing/hypnosis.

As always I'd love to read any and all feedback you're willing to give, and with all that stuff out of the way, please enjoy! ^-^

...oOo...

The Lady hadn't always been the Lady. There was a time when she was just Emiko: 'prosperous, beautiful child.' It was a name given to her by her mother. Emiko did not know her father.

"Your beauty sets you apart in this world, Emiko," her mother would say as she combed Emiko's long black hair in the mornings and evenings. "The world is full of ugliness, all around us. We mustn't let it taint us."

Emiko had always agreed with her mother, nodding obediently. Her beauty was something to be preserved, something that held her above others. It wasn't long before the child viewed herself as separate, superior.

"One day you will become Lady Emiko and you will be tasked with looking after this place," her mother said, gesturing widely to the expansive space. "You will be the leader of this ship and you will carry the family name."

"Will I have a child one day?"

"Yes, you will. A daughter."

"What about a son?"

Emiko's mother paused her brushing and made a sour expression in the mirror. "Only women can be geisha. If you have a son he will not be suitable."

Emiko's mother held out her hand expectantly and Emiko passed her an ornate ivory comb that was sitting on the vanity. Her mother deftly twirled it through Emiko's raven hair and pinned it in an elegant hairstyle.

"It is the highest honour to carry on our bloodline, Emiko. The feminine beauty, the magick. Do you understand?"

"I understand, mother."

"Good." Emiko's mother stood before Emiko's chair and tilted her daughter's head with a delicate hand, assessing every inch of her face in the mirror's surface. Emiko sat still, hands clasped delicately in her lap, waiting patiently for her mother to finish.

"Posture," Emiko's mother corrected, adjusting her daughter's shoulders with slender fingers. Emiko straightened herself and put on a calm, soft expression. Her mother moved around the chair, still focused on her daughter's powdered face and flawless hair. "Satisfactory," she announced. "Now for your studying."

Emiko slipped off the chair, the ornaments in her hair gently clinking. She followed her mother into the study, practicing her poised and elegant tread as the dark kimono trailed after her. She knelt on a velvet cushion, neatly smoothing the kimono as she did so, and opened the book on the table before her to resume her reading.

The book was about spells, magick - all the power that her bloodline carried. The pages whispered secrets of shadows and dark power to her, and Emiko loved it. She read for hours, her hands folded in her lap and her posture eternally straight, entranced as she pored over the pages and her mother hummed a repetitive three-note tune in the background. Someday she will have perfected that magick, and she would control the world as she wished, just as her mother did.

Emiko hardly noticed her mother leaning over her to close the book. She blinked, snapping out of her haze. Her mother gracefully extended a narrow hand down to her and Emiko took it, getting to her feet.

"Not so tight," her mother chided, adjusting Emiko's grip on her hand. "Delicate, delicate...You're a matriarch. You must be perfect - elegant and beautiful at all times. You do not wish to be like the rest of the world's ugly inhabitants, do you?"

"No, mother."

"Good. You must prove that you are different from them. You must be perfect. Walk with your head held high and show them that you are superior. Make them bow to you, Emiko."

"I shall, mother." And she meant it. That seedling of darkness her mother had planted inside her was growing. Growing, unfurling and corrupting. "I know I was born to rule, and the Maw shall know it too."

Emiko's mother nodded. A ghost of a smile played on her lips, the only indication that she was proud of her daughter. "Come now. Time for practice."

...oOo…

Honing her magick had always come naturally to Emiko. The darkness seeped out of her skin and swirled around her - oh so intoxicating, oh so hypnotic - and the more Emiko gave into it the stronger it became.

All the while, her mother looked on with a fraction of a smile, relishing the progress her apprentice was making. Emiko was obedient and talented. These were the two qualities that made a model student.

"I have no doubt you will be a perfect successor to me when the time comes, Emiko."

Emiko was gracefully manipulating the dark mist around her, forming it into small humanoid figures that walked on their own for a few seconds before stepping into the light and dissolving. She smiled softly in response to her mother's praise, a proud blush colouring her pallid cheeks.

"However, you must be wary of the light. Darkness is where your power and beauty thrive, and light is the embodiment of ugly and evil. Should there ever be anyone who wields light, they will overcome you."

"I know, mother. It is in the books I read."

Her mother came closer, standing over her. Emiko watched as her mother released her own black tendrils, letting them lazily swirl around the dim room. Emiko watched, enthralled.

"Stay close to the shadows, Emiko. They will protect you. Light must be squandered, do you understand? Light is ugliness, and ugliness is a tumour that will cause us and everything we work for to perish. The Maw will not tolerate the threat of light. You must protect the Maw with your magick once I have died."

Emiko closed her eyes and breathed in deeply, arms raised as she called her own darkness to re-enter her body. The tendrils flowed towards her, deliciously curling around her limbs one last time before they faded back under her skin. She opened her eyes. "I will grow stronger, mother. I will not disappoint you."

Her mother's tendrils were cascading back as well, swimming up her sleeves and vanishing under her skin. She took Emiko by the shoulders. "That's right," she drawled, her voice like honey. "You must not disappoint me."

- End of passage -

A/N: Thanks for reading! I'll upload more passages soon, so stay tuned!