It's very different, isn't it, my sister? So new, so… untarnished. You'll see to that, though.
"You are a fool." Fingers cold as ice and strong as stone gripped the arms of the throne convulsively. She grimaced at the faint sound of silver-bell laughter.
Oh, yes. Yes, I am. But so are you, sister.
She sighed and, with visible effort, relaxed her hands. "Even now you vex me."
All our old sins haunt us in the end. You remember me. Don't seek to cast blame onto me for your sense of guilt.
"What guilt do you expect me to feel?" Her voice was cold, even. "What I did was legitimate. You were weak. I… was not."
And your strength proved too much, no?
There was silence in the great hall, broken only by the sounds of even breathing and a slow heartbeat.
So, winter, my sister? Charn never had such a winter… you are being creative.
"Again, I say that you are a fool."
But then again, this winter you have created is just as desolate as Charn became. You are simply coming at it from the opposite direction. Will you destroy this one, too?
She raised one brow archly, not a trace of irritation revealing itself on her too calm face. "Perhaps."
Oh, sister! I will enjoy watching you try.
"Fool!" Jadis hissed, her icy composure momentarily splintered; but she was alone.
In the lonely stretches of Jadis' cavernous hall, silver-bell laughter echoed faintly.