S I U A N S A N C H E
Daughter of the river. Clever as a pike. Strong as the tides.
Maybe it’s been mentioned before, but I haven’t seen it yet and it’s such a Thing™ for me.
Yes, these are Siaun’s father’s words. The first person who knew her fully, the first who knew her power and who made a deeply painful sacrifice to protect her and give her more agency and power than she could even imagine at that point.
And yes, we have seen, at this point, that Moiraine is physically and emotionally intimate with her, in a way that probably no one else is currently (and maybe ever has been).
BUT HERE, RIGHT HERE, we see just how deep that emotional intimacy is. Because at some point, Siuan had to tell Moiraine the story of how she came to the White Tower. At some point, she quoted the last words her father probably ever said to her.
And for all these years, Moiraine has remembered. Word for word. One of the most formative and deeply personal moments of Siuan’s life, and the woman who loves her (whom she loves just as deeply) remembers it, as clearly as if it is her own memory now. And she quotes it back to her, in the moment she needs it most.
It’s more than just a veiled marriage vow. It’s “I see you, I love you, and I will always do whatever is necessary to protect you, to give you agency and power.” It’s a (maybe final) reminder of “I love you, more than anything, I love YOU, not your power or your prestige, and I have always seen YOU, underneath your masks and political intrigues, and it is always for you, only for you. You are my family. I remember who you are (and who you are to me), and I always will.” It’s a reassurance, a reminder of Siuane’s strength, a comfort for the grief she’s feeling (which Moiraine feels too), and a tiny love letter of “Everything you have ever held dear, so have I. What’s mine is yours, my life, my memory, my heart.”
And…fuck, man. I will never recover from that.
