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I don’t want to be saved by some knight in shining armor. I’d like to be the one in the armor, and I’d like to be the one doing the saving.
“Happiness is a bonus, Sophia. You’re not entitled to it, and the sooner you accept that, the easier your life will be.”
“Have you ever heard of a man marrying another man? A woman being in love with another woman? Of people who find their hearts lie somewhere in the middle or with neither?”
“The palace underestimates the resourcefulness of women forced into a dark and dangerous place.”
“I think we need to burn the whole thing to the ground and start over. The entire system, the ideals that have been woven into this society. It all has to go.”
I’ve never been very good at making myself small, and with Constance maybe I don’t have to.
“If my life could serve a purpose,” the woman begins, raising her head a little and looking directly at the king, “then let this be it. I would die to give even just one person the chance to be free from you.”
Constance wields her power like a sword, a power that I didn’t even know we could have. I’m in awe of her.
“It’s risky,” says Constance, reading my expression. “But sometimes that’s the only way to get things done. Take the risk, light the fuse. Onward.”
“When the leader of this kingdom treats women as property, it sets an awful precedent. People think it’s okay to do the same.”
“A prison is still a prison no matter how pretty the decor,”
“Nudity is optional,” says Amina. “But from what I can tell, we all have the same bits and pieces. And even if you don’t, there’s nothing to be ashamed of, dearie. I’ve seen my fair share of tallywhackers as well.”
“I think we sometimes make the mistake of thinking monsters are abhorrent aberrations, lurking in the darkest recesses, when the truth is far more disturbing. The most monstrous of men are those who sit in plain sight, daring you to challenge them. He’s calculating and manipulative, and believe me when I say he will not stop until he finds you.”
“Not even you, with all your wishful thinking, can change things. You’re not special, Sophia. You’re just a silly girl like the rest of us.”
“Maybe don’t try to stab every man you see,” Amina shoots back. Constance looks to me and shrugs. “It’s a habit.”
“Only tyrants deal in the sale of human beings.”
Understand that what King Manford, in all his incarnations, feared the most was the will of the people he so desperately wanted to control. Do not be silent. Raise your voice. Be a light in the dark.
