Red Snow (The Shadows bk.3)

Chapter 3: A Queen's Tears

The soft light of the moon illuminated the Queen of the Valar as she looked down on Middle-Earth. She had observed so much change over the course of the past seven years and not all of it was good; she watched with growing sadness as Sairene's mind became warped and twisted by the seductive pull of power. Varda believed she had done the right thing in sending her a tutor, someone to teach her and to gain some semblance of control over the vast potential the young Queen had. Varda now knew that she should have warned Êlon about Sairene's desire to protect her people; she knew that if Sairene be taught the aggressive as well as the defensive, her desire to protect her people would eventually transform into the need to protect herself and the secrets she held.

Varda had kept a close eye on the young Queen. From the moment she had first met Êlon right up until she had left Mirkwood. She remembered the pure joy on Sairene's face when she had managed to hold a successful glamour and she felt her heart swell with pride. It was only when Sairene asked Êlon to teach her that which would help her people, that Varda began to worry. She watched with baited breath as the young royal practiced and grew stronger each time. To say she was horrified when Sairene murdered the elven prisoner would be a severe understatement. She witnessed a change in the young monarch, a change she did not wish to see. Varda came to notice, upon a closer look, that all the mirrors and anything that cast a reflection had been removed from Sairene's palace in Irrelia; curious as to why this was, she watched Sairene in Mirkwood and came to see that she avoided anything with a reflective surface and began to wander why. It was only the night before Sairene left the Woodland Realm that Varda discovered the true reason. It was then that she truly began to fear for the young Queen. She watched with a heavy heart as the events of the following years unfolded; madness had begun to creep into the mind of the Queen, Varda saw how she used her new-found power on all those who stood against her, even her own people suffered!

Seeing nothing but pain and suffering, the Queen of the Valar turned away from Middle-Earth and went over to her mirror. Briefly waving her hand, Varda summoned a figure into the mirror's surface. Sairene's reflection gazed back at her; her eyes were softer and sadder than Sairene's, she wore no smile, only a weary and downtrodden expression.

Not speaking right away, Varda observed the figure before her and waited until the reflection met her eyes. "My Lady?" The reflection spoke hesitantly, as though expecting an outburst. Varda smiled reassuringly, "yes. You no doubt are wandering why I have brought you here?" The reflection nodded and so she continued, "as much as I know, you are the reason that Sairene has forbidden anything with a reflection to be in the palace." Once again the reflection confirmed this with a silent nod. "I know she does not like you, but who are you exactly?" Cocking her head to the side, Varda narrowed her eyes, trying to come up with an answer. "To say that she does not like me is being rather nice," the reflection spoke a little louder this time, "she despises me, hates me even. Even that though is understating things." Varda moved a little closer to the mirror, "why is that?" Sighing heavily, the reflection folded her hands in front of her and directed her eyes towards them, "I am who she used to be. I am the one that feels guilty and weighed down by everything she has done. I am the one that questions her motives and actions." Eyes widening a little, Varda stepped back, "you are her conscience?! Is that correct?" The reflection nodded, "yes My Lady it is. Although," she paused a little, as though in thought, "I do not understand why she has taken that young man Einarr under her wing and all but made him her second in charge!" Varda wordlessly shook her head and thought about what had just been said.

Hours passed by in silence and having dismissed the reflection some time ago, Varda now leant against one of the marble pillars and let the cool night air caress her cheek. For the first time in centuries, she felt utterly helpless and how she hated it! She wanted to help Sairene welcome back the side of her that her people knew and loved; she had seen the growing distance between the Queen and her subjects and she was most surprised that Sairene had made no move to change it. Unshed tears sparkled in her eyes like the stars above her and closing her eyes, the Queen of the Valar wept, not for what had happened but rather for what she could have prevented.