Gilded Quotes
"All right. I will tell you the tale, how it happened in truth."
"The first thing you ought to know is that it wasn’t my father’s fault."
"And I want to be clear that it wasn’t entirely my fault, either."
"Our story began on the winter solstice nineteen years ago, during a rare Endless Moon."
"This is the only night when the great gods are forced to take their beastly forms."
"But if you should be lucky enough, or skilled enough, to capture such a prize, the god will be forced to grant a wish."
"Having been blessed by such a godparent, the child was forever marked with untrustworthy eyes."
"The wheel of fate and fortune, which, if you are wise, you know is the greatest deception of all."
"A most despicable liar, which everyone knows is nearly as bad as being a murderer."
"Once my pupil, always my pupil, Miss Moller."
"The world was full of small enchantments, when one was willing to look for them."
"And just why were you all waiting to ambush me?"
"We were waiting for you to finish the story."
"I’m done telling tales. Starting today, you’ll get nothing but boring news and the most trivial of facts."
"My stories take our dull existence and transform it into something special."
"Serilda’s stories are sort of like spinning, too. Because it’s like you’re making something beautiful out of nothing."
"The night of the Snow Moon became increasingly adventurous, and more and more surreal."
"The honor of your presence has been requested by His Grim, Erlkönig, the Alder King."
"One cannot say no to a summons from the Erlking."
"The Erlking believed that she could spin straw into gold."
"Travelers rarely ventured into the Aschen Wood unless they had no other choice."
"I have heard tales of gold-spinners, blessed by Hulda."
"Finish your work," said the king. "And clean up the body."
"You are not responsible for this incident," he said to the top of her bowed head.
"Thank you, Your Grim," murmured the woman. "I will ensure it does not happen again."
"The hounds are rarely treated to the flesh of humans."
"Your Ma—Your Grim," she said, with only a bit of a waver. "What a great honor it is to be once again in your presence."
"So you do know who I am," he said almost mockingly.
"My home is haunted with memories I have no wish to relive, so I spend little time there."
"This is not Gravenstone Castle. My home is Adalheid."
"By all means, take your time. I am quite fond of being looked down upon by human children."
"Part of the brilliance of irony, I feel, is that it so often makes fools of others, without them being any the wiser."
"It was only when the moon had set that I thought—why would a human girl, who can succumb so easily to the frost, be gathering straw in the snow without so much as a pair of gloves?"
"If such is the case, it will be your head that takes a place on my wall."
"I’ve always found it to be satisfying, I suppose. It calms me some."
"Gold has caused as many problems as it has ever solved."
"It’s a seduction of sorts, the call of the hunt."
"You can’t end it there. Tell me the prince gets revenge, at least?"
"Not every story has a happy ending. Life isn’t like that, you know."
"Once His Darkness has you, he does not like to let you go."
"I had wondered if I might have been beautiful."
"I would ask that you keep any fits of displeasure to yourself, for this spinning wheel is original to the castle. I would hate to see it broken."
"If I have to come looking for you again, I will not be so generous."
"It’s easy to be generous in a town like Adalheid. We’ve all got more than we need."
"All right," she breathed. "You win. I’ll leave."
"I’m not sure it much matters what I am. I can go anywhere in this castle, but I can never leave it."
"They’re coming! Quick, to the king and queen! We must save the—"
"It’s just that—Remember when I told you that I’ve never met any mortals before? At least, that I know of."
"I can’t," he said. "But I haven’t much choice."
"I would say we have, maybe, half an hour before sunrise. Is there … more to the story?"
"I’ve watched you spin straw into gold. You are a sorcerer. You cannot convince me otherwise."
"I thought maybe you’d like to help." She sent him a cheeky grin, and his frown returned.
"I didn’t just come here to see that room," she said.
"I can imagine how hard this has been for you," she said softly.
"I don’t think it’s superstition that they’re afraid of," he said.
"It’s been a long time since I lived in proper society," he said.
"I regretted it the moment I left you. I am sorry."
"I don’t think it’s a terrible idea to cross paths with a drude. I avoid them whenever I can, and you should, too."
"Despite your apparent disdain for this poetry, I think you’re a romantic."
"You’re the storyteller," he said. "You tell me."
"You think we do all this to be good neighbors?"
"Of course I’m afraid of them! Everyone should be."
"I suspect a few of these pieces will go toward paying off the feast he’s enjoying right now."
"It’s difficult for me to keep track of time. Sixteen years … I suppose she could be here."
"He means to keep me as a prisoner, a servant—perhaps for the rest of my life."
"I don’t know if whatever that is can help me, but I do know that if I do nothing, then someday he will kill me."
"I’ll become just one more ghost haunting those walls."
"There must be something. But—great gods, Serilda. What about next time? And after that?"
"I cannot take a kiss, though I wish I could."
"The air was still damp and chilled, and great globs of rainwater fell from the branches."
"It was the smell of earth and fungi. Of that damp, sodden smell after a good rain."
"You alone can break this curse. You can set me free. All it takes is a dance."
"You understand the repercussions should Erlkönig amass enough golden chains to capture a god, do you not?"
"This boy, the one who spun the gold. What is his name?"
"There is magic in plants, and I am quite good with them."
"He had no idea. He couldn’t remember any of it."
"The massacre that happened here was so horrific that it tore a hole into the veil that had long separated the dark ones from the world of the living."
"With tightened fists, she stepped through the tear in the veil."
"I managed to convince him that I cannot spin gold anymore."
"I am no longer a gold-spinner, because that magic now belongs to my unborn child."