“Love!' said the princess. She stamped her foot. 'Why must everyone always speak of love?”

“Once there was a princess who was very beautiful. She shone bright as the stars on a moonless night. But what difference did it make that she was beautiful? None. No difference."Why did it make no difference?" asked Abilene.Because," said Pellegrina, "She was a princess who loved no one and cared nothing for love, even though there were many who loved her.”

“Do you love her?' she asked him.'Always have,' he said.'Then why in the world would you leave her alone?”

“When she stamped her foot, it made a strange thud on the desolate beach. Like a heartbeat.”

“She is your treasure, she must have a husband;I must dance bare-foot on her wedding dayAnd for your love to her lead apes in hell.Talk not to me: I will go sit and weepTill I can find occasion of revenge.”

“Sophie said to me once that she was glad she had been scarred. She said that whoever loved her now would love her true self, and not her pretty face. This is your true self, Tessa. This power is who you are. Whoever loves you now--and you must also love yourself--will love the truth of you.”