My 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 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 HardingeEvery time I do what you say I tumble a bit farther down this well of darkness, an' this here is a drop too deep an' too dark for me. I have to stop falling while I can still see a bit of the sky.
Frances HardingeTruth is dangerous. It topples palaces and kills kings. It stirs gentle men to rage and bids them take up arms. It wakes old grievances and opens forgotten wounds. It is the mother of the sleepless night and the hag-ridden day. And yet there is one thing that is more dangerous than Truth. Those who would silence Truthโs voice are more destructive by far. It is most perilous to be a speaker of Truth. Sometimes one must choose to be silent, or be silenced. But if a truth cannot be spoken, it must at least be known. Even if you dare not speak truth to others, never lie to yourself.
Frances Hardinge