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

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.

Maybe all young men who love us become knights in shining armor when we love them back.

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.

...to be unkind because you are thoughtless is the worst kind of blindness.

Over and over, we start our own tales, compose our own stories, whether our lives are short or long. Until at last all our beginnings come down to just one end, and the tale of who we are is done.