What I think and what Iam prepared to say are entirely different things.

These will be my last moments of peace. . . . From now on, my love. . . will bring nothing but chaos.

That's because I've learned how to use it [smile], Woserit said. I don't pass it out like an old woman giving free milk to the village cats. It's something that must be controlled, and for you especially. You use it on anyone. You must learn to be more judicious.

You want it to feel like a surprise. You want to keep him guessing whether he'll make you smile entirely so that when you do, he will feel like he's been given a gift.

But we are all sorry when loss comes for us. The test of our character comes not in how many tears we shed but in how we act after those tears have dried.

After all, that's why we read historical fiction-to be transported to another time, and to be astonished at ancient people's lives and traditions, just as they would probably be astonished at ours.

And when that time comes, let's hope your friends outnumber your enemies.