AN: Something I wrote for my writer's group, very short. But I rather liked how it turned out.
Disclaimer—I do not own any of the characters.
"What is it that you want?"
Jadis of Charn, Queen of Narnia, user of the Deplorable Word stared at the looking glass. What utter presumption.
"What do I want?" Her voice rang out, clear and terrible as midnight church bells. "Power, fool. I wish the power to conquer this new world. I deserve it and it should belong to me."
"Power?" the looking glass repeated softly. "If it is power you wish, I can give you all you want. However, if you tell a falsehood to your reflection in my mirror, it will turn against you. You must ask for what you truly want…"
"What else could I possibly want?" Jadis scoffed.
"What else?" The looking glass's depths shimmered like a splash on a pond. Images began to form, images that seemed to surface from the depths of Jadis' mind. Memories. Jadis' proud hard face did not soften.
Lost girl…cold woman…daughter of Lilith and the giants, unwanted, rejected, disdained.
One must take control to be free…
Killing her sister…her affair with the Erlkonig…the wasted result…being enchanted in Charn, frozen over for so long…
Her terror of that Golden Lion.
"Why do you show me these things, vile mirror?" She said icily.
The images slowed. "Jadis…perhaps what you truly want is to be loved…loved for your beauty, your strength, loved for your weakness and fear…if you ask for it, He will come."
Aslan's face stared back at hers, his eyes inscrutable. He watched her, knowing her. She began to shake.
"He will forgive. He will love."
For a moment, Jadis was still. Her lips trembled, and were she not alone, people would wonder at how tired and worn she looked. Less like a monarch, more like a hopeless being who was simply exhausted.
But as quickly as the moment came, it passed. All the vulnerability disappeared like a blast of winter wind, immediately replaced with pride and anger.
"How dare you presume to know my desires!" She laughed scornfully. "Love? To be forgiven? Forgiven for what? Aslan believes he can conquer me through guile, the old fool! Enough of this farce! Give me power! That is all I want!"
"As you wish," The looking glass replied. "Because of your coldness, I will grant you the power over winter. Reach into my depths and pull out the source of your new power."
Jadis put her hand to the mirror, thrusting it within. She pulled out a spectacularly beautiful crystal wand, with a deadly sharp point. She flexed it, flicking it idly, and the entire room was covered in ice. The ceiling above began to snow. She laughed in cruel delight. This was how she would bind Narnia.
"Let us hope it is what you truly want, oh newly born White Witch…" The looking glass said mournfully.
The White Witch's wand flashed and the Looking Glass of Heart's Desire was turned to stone.