Yet even the brightest of sunrises must come to an end.

How much easier my life would be if I did not love you! I thought. How much less painful, but how much plainer. How much less color there would be in the world.

For surely a king is first a man. And so it must follow that a king does as all men do: the best he can.

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

There is a tale...It tells of the days when a blight hung over our land. Nothing prospered. Nothing flourished. Not even zucchini would grow.

My playing had called to another human being at last. Surely, she could be no other than my own true love. Slowly, I got to my feet. Speak to me, I thought. And as if she'd heard me, the young woman's lips parted and she spoke thus: Have you lost your mind?

Really believing in "once upon a time". Believing that it will draw you in, take you with me to a place you've never been before.