“Hear, hear," said the Dog, raising her head. "It's always better to be doing, Prince. Besides, you don't smell like a coward, so you can't be one.”

“It's always better to be doing.”

“I wish I had adventures like you do,” Leaf said as she traced her finger over the writing on the invitation.“They didn’t feel like adventures,” said Arthur.”

“This? It's a feather-coin. I made it.''What is it for?''It isn't for anything. It's a toy.''It's for annoying people,' said Mogget from Sam's pack. 'If you don't put it away, I shall eat it.”

“Who or what are you? Besides insufferably rude?”

“Well met, Mistress Lirael. This ragamuffin, as your servant so aptly described him, is His Highness Prince Sameth, the Abhorsen-in-Waiting. Hence the bells. But on to more serious matters. Could you please rescue us? Prince Sameth's personal vessel is not quite what I'm used to, and he is eager to catch me a fish before my morning nap.”

“If only Sam could have stayed just like the Dog, she thought. A comforting friend without the complication of romantic interest.There had to be something she could do to completely discourage him, short of throwing up, or making herself totally unattractive. "I'm thirty-five," she said at last.”