Princess Of The Midnight Ball Quotes
"Exhausted almost beyond the point of thought, Galen nevertheless kept moving forward, alone in the middle of the dusty road."
"Left, left, left, left, left my wife and children too! Did I do right, right, right, right, right?"
"He had seen his first battle when he was seven years old, had helped his mother care for the wounded and watched her wash enemy blood out of his father’s uniform afterward. To Galen, war was a disease, something to be avoided, not something he wanted to talk about with other afflicted men over the campfire."
"All around him were fields that had lain fallow for years."
"Galen told people what he could, making light of the conditions the soldiers had lived in and celebrating with them over the end of the war."
"His mother, the daughter of a soldier herself, had packed up Galen and his baby sister and joined the supply train."
"Galen’s father made sergeant, and then lost his life to an Analousian bullet one morning when Galen was fifteen."
"Those days were past, God be praised, and Galen hoped to never kill another man."
"Galen didn’t hesitate. He unwrapped one of the scarves around his neck and offered it to her. It was blue wool, and very warm. 'Here, granny, take this.'"
"Rose bit her lip as she stood before her father. King Gregor was not happy."
"'You must not worry, Father,' Hyacinth said gravely. She stepped out of line—King Gregor insisted that his daughters line up like soldiers to take their punishments—and held out her hands to their father."
"Rose went out of the long gallery where she and her sisters had been assembled, down a flight of steps, and through the tall doors that led to her mother’s garden."
"King Gregor sighed, 'What am I to do, Wilhelm?' he moaned."
"Rose closed her eyes and prayed for strength. Poppy wasn’t stammering from fright, but from the effort of not laughing aloud."
"Dr. Kelling put his physician’s bag on the king’s desk and sat in one of the large leather chairs opposite. His father had been the prime minister during the reign of Gregor’s father, and the two had been boys together."
"But consider, Gregor," Dr. Kelling said, hesitant. "If this all began with Maude, do we really want the archbishop to send someone snooping around?"
"Galen learned about the Spanian prince’s assignment from Princess Poppy."
"Prince Bastien barely spared a moment on the younger girls after the introductions were made. He pulled a chair up to Rose’s sofa and proceeded to regale her with the story of his journey from La Belge to Bruch."
"In case one of us forms a tendre for him and tells him the secret, is my guess."
"The bow looks better at the back. Now stop primping."
"You are, too. You always hum when you do your hair. It’s annoying."
"I sometimes felt guilty that her father spent so much money on the gardens, especially on heating and watering the hothouses, but right now it all seemed worth it."
"She’s right, you know. You hum when you do your hair, and just before you fall asleep."
"Why do you think he sent them? Do you suppose he got permission first?"
"I’m not sure how many more princes they can find."
"Princess Rose has been ill for three months."
"Greta told me the new under-gardener brought them."
"I’m sorry that you are grieved at the loss of your friend, Your Highnesses."
"The others are dead as well. All the princes who have come here have died."
"We are cursed. You should leave; find work elsewhere before something happens to you, too."
"The archbishop is threatening to excommunicate Father and the twelve of us."
"I think you can guess which one, can’t you?"
"I thought I heard footsteps. Heavy footsteps."
"Ahead of them Galen now saw lights glimmering in the blackness."
"The golden boats scraped on more gritty black sand, and at last Galen could see the source of the strange light."
"One by one the princesses were helped out of the boats."
"Galen remembered how Pansy had burst into tears earlier when he had offered her a 'ball.'"
"All hail the King Under Stone," one of the footmen shouted."
"Skin as white as paper, taller and thinner than anyone Galen had ever seen, the king of the underground palace surveyed his court."
"Rose and her sisters were prisoners of the King Under Stone."
"What young girl wouldn't love to dance away her nights in this splendid castle, in the arms of a handsome suitor?"
"But why? Who was forcing them to come here?"
What will we do now?" Violet collapsed rather than sat next to Rose. "We're trapped here forever!
Galen's going to die," Rose said softly. "And we're going to marry the princes.
Except for the one who has to die as punishment," Poppy pointed out. "I hope it's Blathen.
He'll just have another son," Rose said softly, having truly seen into the king's mind. "With another unfortunate woman. And then you'll be married to a baby.
"Twelve of us. And twelve princes. That's so many…."
There were twelve magicians who imprisoned the king here," Rose said. "And if we each have one child, there will be twelve part-human, part-witch children for the king to use.
"We have to get out of here," Rose announced.
There's no way to get across the lake," Poppy shook her head. "We're going to have to marry them, sooner rather than later.
"But not where he wants to be," Rose said.
"The princes can leave at night, so I'll invite them to meet Father. We'll just have to find a way to stay behind when they leave at dawn."
"But it’s a risk that we must take, if we want to see Father again. If we want to see the sun again!"
"Oh! I'm sorry: did you want to marry Tirolian?" Poppy asked.
"We don't want to marry anyone, ever," Orchid announced for them all.
Then I'll give us two days to figure that out," said Rose. "But then, unless anyone has a better idea, I'm inviting Under Stone's sons to take tea with Father.
You! Where are you?" the pale king screamed, searching for the source of Galen’s voice. "I can almost see you!
"It's all over now, don't you worry," Galen said, stroking Pansy's hair.
"We're never going back, and no one can come after us."
"A boat? What boat? And what about my sisters?"