Ordinary life did not stop just because kings rose and fell, Mosca realized. People adapted. If the world turned upside down, everyone ran and hid in their houses, but a very short while later, if all seemed quiet, they came out again and started selling each other potatoes.
Frances HardingeWords were dangerous when loosed. They were more powerful than cannon and more unpredictable than storms. They could turn menโs heads inside out and warp their destinies. They could pick up kingdoms and shake them until they rattled.
Frances HardingeMy child, you have a flawed grasp of the nature of myth-making. I am a poet and storyteller, a creator of ballads and sagas. Pray do not confuse the exercise of the imagination with mere mendacity. I am a master of the mysteries of words, their meanings and music and mellifluous magic.
Frances HardingeMosca said nothing. The word โdamselโ rankled with her. She suddenly thought of the clawed girl from the night before, jumping the filch on an icy street. Much the same age and build as Beamabeth, and far more beleaguered. What made a girl a โdamsel in distressโ? Were they not allowed claws? Mosca had a hunch that if all damsels had claws they would spend a lot less time โin distressโ.
Frances HardingeI find it hard to believe that a lady like...โ Pertellis hesitated, and coughed. โThere is something elevated in the female spirit that will always hold a woman back from the coldest and most vicious forms of villainy.โ โNo, there isnโt,โ Miss Kitely said kindly but firmly, as she set a dish in his hand. โDrink your chocolate, Mr Pertellis.
Frances Hardinge