Shannon Hale

“Poor gosling. It hurts to be lost. And worse to be home with no kind of homecoming...I'll be lucky if I can do as well as you when all this's done, just a bit out of breath, a bit bruised and scratched, a bit wiser and sadder for it all.”

“We know it's all just daydreaming...But sometimes, it'd be nice just to hold something real in your hands that felt like a measure of your worth.”

“Really, becoming a writer sounds more like a mental illness than a professional choice.”

“What should I say? That I like him so much it hurts?”

“Truth is when your mind and your gut agree.”

“Khan Tegas never looked at me. I'm a mucker maid. I guess I needed to be reminded of that. So, good. Fine. Sometimes my fancy gets to floating inside me, threatening to carry me away like a leaf on a wind. Better to be a stone.”

“...all things speak, in their way, don't they?”

“Many times I have learned that, you never judge a book by its cover. Like people, it is the inside that counts.”

“He did a very good impression of a stone column.”

“I'm Razo, a member of Bayern's Own," he said, stopping himself from adding "Loafing is just a hobby of mine.""Bayern's Own? But you're a child." Razo looked up to the sky. "I'm not a child, I'm just short.”

“I'm sorry Finn. I'm a wooden-headed dummy.' Don't be so hard on yourself,' said Finn. 'You're just a straw-brained scarecrow.”

“Razo knew he was best at nothing, except maybe cramming two cherries into a single nostril.”

“And Isi always listened, never told Enna she had been foolish, never said hollow things like 'You'll be all right.' . . . Isi saw Enna's struggle and her sadness, and she understood.”

“He'd followed Dasha once before and remembered which door was hers. He knocked, peered inside, then jumped in and shut the door, quiet as brushing two feathers together. He smiled at his own stealth, then swaggered right into a chair, banging it against the wall.You oaf. He cut short his swagger and begin to move with exaggerated sneakiness. There was a certain pleasure in that, too.”

“Razo wasn't good at anything except maybe cramming two cherries up one nostril.”

“There you go...let it all slide out. Unhappiness can't stick in a person's soul when it's slick with tears.”

“Throwing herself into learning helped Miri ignore the painful chill of solitude around her.”

“She dismounted, grabbed Enna's hand so tightly that she drew blood with her fingernails, walked straight into the nearest cottage, and plopped down on a bed. Enna nodded to the startled cottage dwellers.It's the queen, you see," said Enna. "She's going to have a baby in your house. You don't mind?”

“But the hoping, that's what really hurts.”

“Smell is the voice of the soul...”

“I hate them," Enna said. "Whoever is responsible for making me sleep outside without pillows, I hate them."Mmm-hmmm...," Dasha said. Rin had noticed that the Tiran girl often had trouble remembering how to speak in the morning. If Finn were here," Enna continued to mumble as she rewrapped her head cloth, "he'd let me rest my head on his chest at night. Or leg. Or arm. And then he'd find whoever was responsible for the whole sleeping outside with no pillows situation and hold him while I kicked him in the shins.”

“Wait, I want more green. I hope I did not imply I only wanted your colors. We can't turn a cold shoulder to green, and blue, and purple, for the sake of all ordered things, how can you dismiss purple? Celi, call Nom back and tell him of my need for purple!”

“Go on, son, you're not doing me any good by bleeding.”

“I, Geric-Sinath of Gerhard, declare that you're beautiful and you're perfect and I'll slay any man who tries to take you from my side. Goose girl, may I kiss you?”

“Years ago, before this estate was generously and unwillingly turned over to the crown, the lord here was a genuine dimwit. He had a minister stashed behind his throne to whisper clever things to say.”

“You saw my leg?""How can a man help what he sees?" he said. "And, if I could add, you possess a very fine leg.”

“She touched the healthy folds of skin around the baby's neck, wrists, and thighs, the dark lines crying for life made in his forehead, and thought how people start with wrinkles and end with wrinkles, grow into their skin and then live to grow out of it again.”

“I can see that one can never pay back Gilsa for the fear that she will give again.”

“I'm sorry about these two," Mike told the waitress. "Just so you know, I'll be embarrassed with you.""It's just that we haven't seen each other since summmer camp," Becky said."And we'd formed such a bond playing wily tricks on our camp counselors," Felix said."Remember how you replaced Miss Pepper's shampoo with liquid Jell-O and turned her hair green?""It was sheer genius when you stretched cling film over all the toilet seats.""Oh." The waitress turned to Mike, as if to address the only sane member of the group. "So, are ya'll ready to eat now, or are you waiting for your date to arrive?"Mike played with the menu. "Actually, she's my date." "These are my two husbands," Becky said. "We're from Utah. You know, Mormom.”

“His brothers could tease him about his height or the number of scars he was collecting on his body. He could take the joke when they said he would die having never won a fair wrestling match. But the topic of Bettin still smarted too much. He'd imagined being with her always. Now when he closed his eyes, he had trouble imagining anything else.”

“WANTED: DEAD OR ALIVE: RAPUNZELFor horse thieving, kidnapping, jail breaking, and using her hair in a manner other than nature intended!REWARD”

“What? Don't British women know how to use their knees?”

“Clearly she was expected to say something, but panic at having to speak stole the thoughts from her head.”

“The three girls were sitting and lying beside her, holding one another, weeping, their arms and legs and hair tangled like the roots of close trees, sobs shaking them like leaves in a high wind.”

“No one had ever called her wild before. She wanted to be wild now, for him. Wild seemed more enticing then a bowl of berries.”

“Hey, times are tough, and thirty gold coins can do a lot of good. But I guess you wouldn't know about needing money, since you grew up like a little princ..."(Rapunzel glares)"Prin... soner. I mean, prisoner! A prisoner in a tower, such a shame, that.”

“But when she turned her back to the lights, she saw that the night was so dark...She could not see the stars. The world felt as high as the depthless night sky and deeper than she could know. She understood, suddenly and keenly, that she was too small to run away, and she sat on the damp ground and cried.”

“How could you miss it? Just the sound of her voice makes my chest feel tight, my face gets hot and my mouth goes dry whenever she's near. It's getting so bad, all I have to do is see her and I'm already thinking, 'What does she want? What can I do for her?' She's got some power over me, there's no question, and what else could it be?~Razo”

“He smiled in a way that made me want to kiss him right on the spot. Or the lips. Whichever was closer.”

“If you were a woman, all I'd have to say is 'Colin Firth in a wet shirt' and you'd say 'Ah.”

“Finn leaped from his horse to greet Enna, and she entwined herself into him, their arms around each other, their faces close. Thoug they did not kiss, Rin thought that the way they looked at each other was even more intimate. 'Let's get married,' Enna was saying with yearning in her voice. 'Please, let's get married right now.' Finn put his face into her neck and whispered something that made her hum.”

“Does anyone smell roasting meat?' said Razo, 'Oh, wait, it's just Geric's face.”

“Enna leaned back her head and laughed at the sky. 'Of course he wasn't! Who could kill Razo?”

“Dasha!' Rin yelled, 'Dasha!'A face looked up, then two. They started walking toward her, then running. Dasha was in front, her eyes set on Razo, her face caught in an expression of desperate hope. 'Razo,' she said, .... 'Razo, it had better be you. If it just looks like you, I am going to kill you. It had better-' He'd reached her by then. They embraced, and he swung her around, her legs lifting in the air, her tunic swirling...Then Dasha was kissing Razo's face and crying and smiling and declaring all his perfections. 'Well, this isn't half-bad,' said Razo, 'I think I'll die more often.' Dasha embraced him again and squeezed until Razo had to admit he was injured. 'Love the lips, not the ribs,' he said, and pulled her into a long kiss.”

“She put a wedge beside my heartAnd then she brought the mallet downShe sang no song to guide her workI lost my heart without a sound”

“Get back in my cot, girl," said Gilsa. "You're sickly."No, I'm not," said Ani.Oh, no? Well, maybe stubbornness is a sickness, did you ever think of that?”

“The book smelled dusty and old but also carried a sweet tang, a hint of something inviting. She opened to the first page and started to read, pronouncing the words in a reverent whisper.”

“What are you doing?”Ya!” said Jane, whirling around, her hands held up menacingly.It was Mr. Nobley with coat, hat, and cane, watching her with wide eyes. Jane took several quick (but oh so casual) steps away from Martin’s window.Um, did I just say, ‘Ya’?”You just said ‘Ya,”’ he confirmed. “If I am not mistaken, it was a battle cry, warning that you were about to attack me.”I, uh. . .“ She stopped to laugh. “I wasn’t aware until this precise and awkward moment that when startled in a strange place, my instincts would have me pretend to be a ninja.”***Surely a young beauty like yourself is lonely, too. It can be part of the game, if you like.”Get off,” she said, thoroughly done with this.His answer was to lean in closer. So she kneed him in groin. As hard as she could.Aw, ow, dammit!” He doubled over and thudded onto knees.Jane brushed off her knee, feeling like it had touched son thing dirty. “Aw, ow, dammit indeed! What’re you thinking?”Jane heard hurried footsteps coming down the stairs. It Mr. Nobley.Miss Erstwhile!” He was barefoot in his breeches, his shirt untucked. He glanced down at the groaning man. “Sir Templeton!”Ow, she kicked me,” said Sir Templeton.Kneed him, I kneed him,” Jane said. “I don’t kick. Not even when 1m a ninja.”Mr. Nobley stood a moment in silence, looking over the scene. “I hope youremembered to shout ‘Ya’ when taking him down. I hear that is very effective.”I’m afraid I neglected that bit, but I’ll certainly ‘ya’ from here to London if he ever touches me again.”

“They laughed much harder than the memory was funny because it felt good to laugh.”

“Her eyes were distant, and she seemed to be listening to that voice that first told her the story, a mother, sister, or aunt. Then her voice, like her singing, cut through the crickets and crackling fire.”