Do you think I am a fool, Masha? All this time, and you speak to me as though I were a flighty pinprick of a girl. I am a magician! Did you never think, even once, that I loved lipstick and rouge for more than their color alone? I am a student of their lore, and it is arcane and hermetic beyond the dreams of alchemists. Did you never wonder why I gave you so many pots, so many creams, so much perfume?
Catherynne M. ValenteSeptember had never been betrayed before. She did not even know what to call the feeling in her chest, so bitter and sour. Poor child. There is always a first time, and it is never the last time.
Catherynne M. ValenteBecause Iโm a cat. A big one, the Panther of Rough Storms, in fact. But still a cat. If thereโs a saucer of milk to spill, Iโd rather spill it than let it lie. If my mistress grows absent-minded and leaves a ball of yarn about, Iโll bat it between my paws, and unravel it. Because itโs fun. Because itโs what cats do best.
Catherynne M. ValenteDo you know, we're right underneath Springtime Parish? This place is the opposite of springtime. Everything past prime, boarded up for the season. Just above us, the light shines golden on daffodils full of rainwine and heartgrass and a terrible, wicked, sad girl I can't get back to. I don't even know if I want to. Do I want to be her again? Or do I want to be free? I come here to think about that. To be near her and consider it. I think I shall never be free. I think I traded my freedom for a better story. It was a better story, even if the ending needed work.
Catherynne M. ValenteHer fatherโs shadow looked sadly down at her. โYou can never forget what you do in a war, September my love. No one can. You wonโt forget your war either.
Catherynne M. Valente