A Twisted Tale Anthology Quotes

“You raised me to be brave, and to make smart choices. I'll make you proud. You'll see."
"I am always proud of you.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“Belle had learned to love the idea of having a small special corner of the world to return to, of having relationships to maintain.
Through her parents, her books, and her neighbors, she found her path onward, the most rewarding journey of all--- the journey home.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“Her most difficult choice had been which book to bring. She couldn't decide between something she'd never read before and one of her favorites.
So, of course, she'd packed two: a pirate adventure story she'd borrowed from the bookseller just the day before and the beloved book of short stories her mother used to read to her when she was a child.
A warm smile stretched across Belle's lips at the thought of her mother and the love of reading she'd instilled in her only daughter. She'd also nurtured Belle's sense of adventure.
"I'm finally going on one of my own, Mama," Belle whispered. "A true adventure.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“All her life, she'd tried to find ways to sneak out of the castle. Ironically, only last year, she'd discovered the best way to sneak out was to actually pay attention to her lessons. Her magic lessons, that was.
"Rays of sunshine," she whispered, "align!"
As soon as she spoke the words, a powerful ray of light shone upon Aurora, concealing her from the guards' views. It wouldn't last long, so she hastily clambered over the castle wall.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“The two deer ran for the sheer joy of running, flashes of sunlight gleaming on their flanks and their white tails, the otherwise invisible and dark shapes moving at unbelievable speed through the forest. Smaller animals dashed and dipped out of their way. A still-sleepy bear, the only creature in the forest close to them in size, watched them go and wondered at the calories they were expending for no reason. Small foraging flocks of birds exploded up out of trees as they passed, chickadees and nuthatches and titmice exclaiming in irritation and amusement.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“Instead of diving into the shadows of the forest, he was a tawny lightning bolt striking the edge of a clearing that would eventually be filled with bright purple blossoms. Violets first, then lupines that would make little crowns across the sweet-smelling milkweed, the summer ending with mounds of aster.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“The troutberry trees had already bloomed and gone; on the forest floor, delicate white petals of starflowers and goldthread and Carolina springbeauty sparkled when a stray beam of sunshine caught them. Wild onions were the only plant that had fully leafed out, brilliant bright green under maple and elm and birch and oak whose own leaves were still pregnant thoughts.
All of nature was just waking up, fulling, becoming large and new.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“I can't imagine anyone messing with you, Meg." Hercules caressed her cheek. "You're the strongest person I know."
"I think that's you," Meg murmured, running her fingers through his hair. "Literally."
Hercules grinned. "Tied for first place, then?"
Meg agreed with a long, lingering kiss.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“Are you accusing a god spying on you, Megara?" Hera asked.
"Accusing? No," Meg said. "Guessing? Yes. It's what I would be doing if I had a son who almost renounced his heritage to date a mortal. I'd want to know if she was worth all the fuss." Meg shrugged. "Call it a hunch.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“I guess this is what I get for agreeing to give a woman a job like this."
Meg placed her hands on her hips. "Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't realize that as a man, you were making such good headway on your own without me.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“Hey... is there a tiny bow and arrow etched on this coin?"
Meg smiled. "Yes. It's to remind you that your aim is true and to always trust your instincts," she said softly. "They've never steered you wrong before." Including about her. Even when she'd been conflicted, he'd seen the trueness of her heart. She'd saved him, then he'd saved her, and now they were ready to start something new together.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“No one is better suited for solving crimes."
Meg cocked her head to one side, her fiery-red ponytail swaying in the light breeze. "If you consider the scheming I did for Hades crime work, then maybe. But let's not get ahead of ourselves. This is one small gig." A gig that would barely pay the rent, but she couldn't be choosy. There wasn't a large market for women who'd recently been freed from the Underworld, and she needed to make money.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“The same people who'd mocked her for her love of reading, and gossiped about her father, now cozied up with a good book while enjoying a fire fueled by wood cut with her father's wood-chopping machine. Many minds had been changed those past few years.
Particularly when word of her father's prize-winning invention had spread and Monsieur René le Prince, an entrepreneur (a new profession, funnily enough, born out of the word adventurer,) proposed a partnership. With Monsieur le Prince's resources, Maurice's knack for machinery, and Belle's cleverness, they had formed a formidable team. They traveled to other fairs and looked for new innovations to support, Belle often finding successes in the inventors no one else would take a chance on.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“After years of yearning to see beyond the borders of her provincial little town, the thought of journeying someplace new, even if it was only to show her father's invention at a neighboring village's fair, made her heart race.
Maybe she would encounter a merry theater troupe on their way to perform the latest play. Or maybe merchants traveling with their wares to trade on the Silk Road. Oh, wouldn't it be wonderful to meet a newly married couple heading to Paris or Verona to celebrate their honeymoon? Who knew what types of adventures awaited her!”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“Time for breakfast, lads!" Hamish crowed, smiling at the massive glass bowl layered with raspberries, toasted oatmeal, crowdie, and honey. It was easy to see why Dad and the cook might be mad. This dessert was a work of art.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“That's the Southern Railway line. It goes right through Mobile, and directly to the port... if I'm not mistaken."
"How can we be sure?" Naveen asked.
"Well, I guess you'll just have to trust me. Unless you have a better idea."
"I think it's safe to say you have all the good ideas," Naveen said.
Tiana smiled despite herself.
"But, Tia, I don't think that's a passenger train," Charlotte said, peering over.
"It isn't," Tiana said. She grabbed the handle with both hands and pulled. The door opened to reveal tightly wound bales of hay. "But at least it'll be a comfortable ride. Who's up for an adventure?"
"Me! Definitely me," Naveen said. Tiana marveled. She had never seen someone so in the moment, despite whatever outside stress he must have been wrestling with. It was kind of refreshing.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“Tiana thought about the money stored in coffee cans in her chifforobe. Years of tips she'd collected while waiting tables at Duke's Cafe and working the night shift at Cal's Restaurant. As of now, she had enough for a down payment, but she would need more than that to buy kitchen equipment, tableware, provisions, etc., not to mention start making rent.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“Tiana balanced a stack of flapjacks, two bowls of grits, and five orders of pillowy-soft beignets on a serving tray. She squeezed through the narrow paths between the tables, carefully dodging pointy elbows and protruding feet. The café was packed to the gills with hungry, bleary-eyed customers who'd spent the night either kicking up their heels in the taverns or working the overnight shift in one of the factories in the French Quarter.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“All at once the fairies burst from their corner, lit brighter than a galaxy. The elders darted straight to the captives. But the younger pixies, led by Tinker Bell, zipped and darted around the pirates, sprinkling enough pixie dust to spark.
Enough pixie dust, that was, to burn.
"We're on fire!" Smee shouted. "Run for the water!"
"The boy will escape!" Hook snarled. "You'll all be staying right here!"
The pirate crew wanted to obey their captain, of course--- but the fairies were relentless. And their dust rained down like acid. Tink found that the unease that came from always trying to contain her outsized feelings was greatly alleviated with this opportunity to expend some of that wild, raw emotion. It was thrilling. She threw her head back, laughing as the crew retreated.
Then it was just Tink, Hook, and Peter. The Darlings and Lost Boys had been released by the elders. Peter was still strung up, bobbing in his restraints like a kite. Amid the chaos he looked at Tinker Bell with amusement.
"Came back for us, did ya?" His eyes twinkled.
I came back... for me.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“At last, Tink realized, she did have a mission. One born of her own passion. It would involve magic--- fiery, perhaps more concentrated, more ripened than the standard fairy fare. Not dark, as such. But tinted, stained, perhaps. She'd have to find a way to persuade the elders that the moment required such measures.
She found herself more than up to the task.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“It's always one's passion that ends up one's undoing." He leaned toward her. "Remember that, my tempestuous fairy."
Tinker Bell gestured at his hook. Really, Captain? Is it I who needs to remember?”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“I can think of no one better than Ariel to find a bridge between our two worlds."
Ariel smiled back at him shyly.
"It'll be a cultural exchange, too." Sebastian raised his claws in delight. "There's nothing that shows off Atlantica better than our music. Shall we have a concert to introduce this young merman to our kingdom?"
"You can play your snarfblatt," said Ariel, still smiling. Then she took Eric's hand, and together they dove--- two worlds meeting, just as the sky meets the sea.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“Ariel learned why humans wore shoes and boots on their feet, how many seasons there were in a year, what telescopes did, and how to spit out the olive seeds from the salad Eric had brought. And in turn, she taught Eric how to read a fish's face for emotion, why Atlantica had been kept a secret from humans, and the best tactics for evading sharks.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“Back in Atlantica, Ariel couldn't contain the whirlwind of emotions that coursed through her. She had saved a human! The most beautiful and kind and wonderful human she had ever seen. And she'd spoken to him.
"Eric," she whispered, her stomach fluttering like butterfly fish. "When am I going to see you again?"
She plucked a flower from one of the reef beds and rolled onto her back as she giggled to herself.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“Ariel touched his cheek again. He was peacefully asleep, and she knew she ought to leave before he saw her. But a part of her wanted him to remember something about her, even if he never saw her face or learned her name.
A song bubbled up to her throat, a melody she sang to herself whenever she yearned to explore more of the world that wasn't hers. Going by the party she'd watched on Eric's ship, it seemed they liked music on land, too. Perhaps it was something a mermaid and a human might have in common.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“The tastes didn't so much blend as overlap, one flavor after another--- salty, sweet, briny--- combining into a magnificent pièce de résistance: sparkling citrus fireworks right before she swallowed. It was like nothing Auguste Gusteau had ever made--- at least, not outside of his own kitchen late at night. It was something else. A very delicious something else.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“So many different kinds of fruit and vegetables! Eggplants of all sizes, in every shade of purple, white, and black! Dozens of onion-scented things that weren't the traditional farmhouse variety: leeks, scallions, long green onions, calçots, chives... Ten different kinds of peaches! Remi felt drunk on the sweet, sugary smells that wafted up from the fruit as the sunlight hit it.
He almost fell to the ground when he came to the fromageries.
The combination of fine cheeses being sold from those booths was too much for his refined nose, which was already a thousand times more sensitive than a normal rat nose. It was like he was eating by breathing, like he was swimming through an ocean of fromage.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“I didn't want to be an advisor in the first place."
"You didn't want to be a soldier, either," Shang reminded her. "But you turned out to be pretty good at it."
"Only pretty good?"
Shang smiled, and Mulan did, too. "You'll make a great advisor. You know how I know? Because you have the courage to do what you know is right rather than what others have told you to.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“It's hard to be interested in what men have to say when all you think we should do is bear sons."
The advisors gasped collectively.
But the Emperor smiled. "Then tell us, Fa Mulan. What should a woman do?"
Mulan lifted her chin. "A woman is equal to a man," she said firmly. "She should have the chance to be educated as a man, and she should be able to speak her mind and be heard and listened to."
One of the advisors snorted. "Next you'll be saying that women should be able to own land and take the civil exams!"
The men laughed.
"Well, why not?" Mulan challenged. "Or are you afraid that we'll surpass you all?"
Their laughter died.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology

“The chamber was possibly the grandest she'd ever entered. The ceilings were impossibly high, held up by slender red pillars with gilded dragons snaking along the sides. On every wall hung tenets from every emperor in the dynasty in the most elegant calligraphy, and statues of China's greatest sages stood in long lines, a reminder of the room's commitment to loyalty, justice, harmony, and peace.”
― Elizabeth Lim, A Twisted Tale Anthology