Red Snow (The Shadows bk.3)

Chapter 4: An Unexpected Guest

Having learnt of what Sairene had done, Êlon decided that it was high time to pay her a visit.

Stories had reached him of a small human kingdom in the north that seemed to be in the grips of a very early winter. He did not have to guess which kingdom it was and he began to wander just how powerful his former student had become.

Without informing the King of his plans, the former star gathered together a small number of his belongings and made his way to the stables. While one of the stable hands saddled his horse, Êlon thought about what exactly he was going to say and do once he came face to face with Sairene.

~ Irrelia ~

It was not as if the sun no longer shone, it was just weaker. The unusually early winter was now in its third month and the improvements to the palace had long since been completed. The palace itself was magnificent; six white spires pierced the clouds above, each of these spires had a balcony from which the Queen could sometimes be seen.

It was from one of these balconies that Sairene now looked over her kingdom. She had always loved winter more than the other seasons; as a child she had wished on numerous occasions that winter would last longer than the three months that it was assigned.

Now that she had the means to make it last as long as she wanted, that was precisely what Sairene was going to do.

Turning back towards the palace, the young monarch made her way back inside. The flights of stairs in each of the towers were long and winding and the wind could often be heard whistling down them. Reaching the bottom, Sairene pulled the tower door open and made her way to the throne room; it was the coldest room in the entire palace for it housed the Queen's morbid collection of ice 'statues'. So far the collection consisted of the former Head Councillour as well the guards and servants that had dared to question her. Sairene kept this collection on display as a way of warning those who thought to rebel against her. She was also fascinated by them; their different facial expressions and the frozen positions their bodies were in were a constant source of interest for the young Queen.

She was met by few; most seemed to avoid her, with the exception of Einarr. He was always there precisely when she needed him and not once did she regret appointing him her 'one-man council' and advisor. Sairene would often smile to herself at the thought of how the council and palace staff must have reacted when they learnt of Einarr's new rank. Her smile would soon fade as anger boiled up inside her as she recalled his words to her in the throne room all those months ago; it was beyond high time for her to teach those few the lesson she believed they needed to learn. Sairene had already made an example of a small number and since then, the palace had been quieter than a cemetery.

Sending one of the servants to call Einarr to the throne room, Sairene pushed the doors open and breathed in the cold air. While she waited for Einarr to arrive, she began to look over her 'collection' for what could have been the hundredth time. It was then that a knock on the throne room doors startled her out of her inspection. Believing it to be Einarr, she simply gestured the guards at the door to let him in.

Êlon was struck almost speechless as he was led through the palace; everything was white and cold, there were no torches or lamps that hung along the walls at intervals. He could not deny the beauty of the palace, while it lacked warmth, the elegance and craftsmanship was undeniable. The servant that escorted him was a young man who had introduced himself as Halion. Êlon had been a little taken aback at the look of fear on the servant's face at the mention of meeting privately with the Queen.

Êlon noticed that, the further he was led into the palace, the colder it became. It became so cold that he could see every exhalation and his teeth began to chatter slightly.

He had begun to wander why the young Queen had made it so cold when, the throne room doors were opened and Halion stepped aside to allow his entrance. If he thought he was cold before, he was all but freezing now. The throne room itself was much like the rest of the palace, breathtakingly beautiful. It was by no means small either, rows of white marble columns stretched out on either side of the room and stopped a few feet from the throne. Each column had intricate carvings of dragons on them and the throne itself was mounted on a dias, five wide steps leading up to it. Looking up, the former star saw a beautiful crystal candle holder hang from the roof, there were seven candles and each burnt with a familiar blue flame.

Movement from the left side caused Êlon to look down and that was when he saw her; a young woman stood by a pale figure and seemed to be inspecting it. Her long pale blonde hair flowed down her back in thick, silky waves and Êlon could only guess who she was. She was dressed in a pale blue and white winter gown that swept along the pristine floor as though it were water.

Hearing the doors open and close, Sairene expected to hear Einarr's customary greeting. When silence greeted her expectant ears, she paused in her examination and turned around. The person who stood a few feet away from her was someone she almost given up on ever seeing again. "Êlon?"

Her voice jolted the star back to reality. Bowing respectfully, he looked up and met her eyes. He had remembered them to be almost a sapphire blue, now they were much paler, almost icy; just a mere glance at them caused a chill to run down his spine. "Yes My Lady. It is I," smiling briefly, his eyes wandered over to the figures behind the Queen and unconsciously moved towards them.

Sairene watched with an amused sparkle in her eyes. She could not believe it! He was here, just like he had promised! She watched as he moved closer to the statues with something like pride in her eyes.

Approaching the nearest one, Êlon's eyes widened slightly with horror as he realised what they were. Before him stood what looked like to be around ten frozen human beings, each with different expressions of fear and desperation on their faces. Turning back to the Queen, he saw her smiling at him, "any thoughts?" Blinking, Êlon struggled to comprehend her words, she wanted his opinion on this horror behind him?! "My Lady! These, these are your people!" He gestured behind him to illustrate his point but she seemed anything but disturbed. "Technically speaking my dear Êlon, they used to be my people. That is," she moved over to one of them, a young woman, "until they got it into their heads to question my decisions." Sairene gently stroked the back of her hand along the young woman's frozen cheek. Turning back to her visitor, she sighed, "they brought it upon themselves. I can hardly be held accountable," with those words, she gestured for him to follow her, "come, there is someone I think you should meet."

Following close behind, Êlon stole one last glance at the frozen forms of those poor unfortunate souls who proved that even a Queen was incapable of keeping her promises.

Music Credit:

I Want You To Trust Me (TVD soundtrack 4x18) - Michael Suby