Violet Made of Thorns

If I must be a villain, I will be one of my own making.

Sometimes I want to kiss him and sometimes I want to ruin him, but most of the time, I want those actions to be one and the same.

My curse, my ruin, my Violet - my heart is yours. It was always yours. Take it.

I believe in wolves—in con men and crowned men who wear wickedness as if it were a talent. Who don’t ask for judgment before devouring what’s theirs. They know the future is no better than a roll of rigged dice, so they may as well do the rigging.

Prince Charming fooling around with the local witch. We're a diplomatic nightmare.

For the longest time, I wanted to grow up and be taken seriously. But now that I am grown - all my height and teeth accounted for - I miss being reckless without care.

We stare at each other. We both sound witless, but at least I have an excuse: What do I say to a prince who kissed me, then told me to get the hell out of his kingdom, then protected me from a beast, before getting engaged overnight?

In dates or death, go out in style.

If the Fates control our future, I don’t understand to what end. Here in Auveny, the belief is that the Fates judge us. That if we are generous, honest, not too chatty, placable, forgiving, they might twist our threads so we find love and earn our heart’s weight in gold. Everyone has heard of the miller’s kind daughter who marries richly, of the maid who coaxes the man out of a beast, of faithful girls in locked towers waiting for their knights. But I don’t believe in anything that supposes it knows me better than I know myself.

All the tale needs is the villain, and the line between revered and reviled is as thin as an accusation.

He kisses me like nothing else matters, and I kiss him like I believe it.

If I had a better idea than listening to voices in my head, I'd be doing it.

There are no love stories found upon the throne. Only secrets and schemes and spider-fingered kings.

I don't believe in anything that supposes it knows me better than I know myself.

What are you doing?" "Eating three slices of cake and five slices of regret, what does it look like I'm doing?

You wouldn't hesitate to ruin me

It's so easy to take a life - just the single swing of a blade, done in anger. Flesh gives way so effortlessly. It should be more difficult to do something to monumental.

To be remembered as someone good, you have to do good. To be remembered as someone great, you have to get elbow-deep in bullshit and come out looking spotless.

I learned at last what it took to make a kingdom prosperous, and it had nothing to do with goodness.

Don’t look at me like that.” “Like what?” “Like I matter to you.

I've always known that the queen beside me would be better made of ice than flesh. That it would be cruel to love anyone less resilient. But I didn't expect to find myself so willing.

If I am to be a villain, I will be one of my own making,

We don't fit together without a fight. But body against body, we're like matches finally struck.

Our entanglement wasn't inevitable in the way of the stars, but in the way you can only toss so many lit matches at a powder keg before one catches - and I should have stopped tossing matches.

Sometimes, you just want someone to complain with.

The best part about being Seer isn't the tower or the amenities or the access to the King. It's how easily everyone believes what you say.

The Fates don't walk this earth - beasts and witches do. No matter what the gods know, no matter what they threaten, they aren't here.

We don't realize the scope of what we don't know. What lies on the deep-sea floor or in the in-between stars? Even the heart of Fairywood, so close to us, remains uncharted.

I don’t regret the lies I’ve told, nor following his father’s orders, nor keeping that thorn tucked away for so long before I burned it. But I regret this moment, stolen from a different thread of us where we’re oblivious and happy. I should’ve never heard him laugh like that.

If he only knew that he's still alive due to my continued disobedience of their wishes. I deserve at least another thank-you note for that, but will I get one? Doubtful.