“If there’s no such thing as a king, why such a fuss?... Silence would have helped her to forget, but each protest made her wish all the more: If only there really were a king!”

“They were offered the choice between becoming kings or the couriers of kings. The way children would, they all wanted to be couriers. Therefore there are only couriers who hurry about the world, shouting to each other - since there are no kings - messages that have become meaningless. They would like to put an end to this miserable life of theirs but they dare not because of their oaths of service. ”

“In the old times, when it was still of some use to wish for the thing one wanted, there lived a King whose daughters were all handsome, but the youngest was so beautiful that the sun himself, who had seen so much, wondered each time he shone over her because of her beauty.”

“What about King Tut’s tomb?” I protested.“That boy king?” Zia rolled her eyes. “Boring. You should see some of the good tombs.”

“Mac reflected on the Unseelie King and his concubine:He’d loved her for all timeAfter he’d believed she was goneSunshine to his ice.Frost to her fever. I wished them forever.You, too, beautiful girl. The Unseelie King was gone.”

“If wishes were horses, paupers would ride. If the queen had balls, she'd be king. If I didn't have to WORK, I'd write stories all day.”