Keep what you hold in your heart safe and strong.

All of us show many faces to the world. No one shows her true face all of the time. To do that would be dangerous, for what is seen can also be known.

How did you explain a thing it had not occurred to you to question? A thing you just knew, clear through to your soul?

In spite of myself, I gave a snort. "Just once, I'd like to hear a simple, straightforward prophecy.

True love comes when it will, not when it's called.

Sometimes, pushing against change only makes it push back twice as hard. But even the most bitter fruit may contain something sweet at its core. A taste you would never have encountered if you had not been willing to endure the bitter first.

In the weeks since I had made the decision to leave my father's house, I had grown up. And I had learned that not every battle can be fought by firing an arrow from a bow. But I would have to face whatever new challenges came my way as bravely as I had faced the Huns. I could not wallow in self-pity, thinking about what might have been. I had to do my duty. It was the only way to stay true to myself.