Of course I was afraid. But I had learned to fear other things more: being despised, whittled down one small… — Naomi Novik
Of course I was afraid. But I had learned to fear other things more: being despised, whittled down one small piece of myself at a time, smirked at and taken advantage of. I put my chin up and said, as cold as I could be in answer, “And what will you give me in return?
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But I had not known that I was strong enough to do any of those things until they were over and I had done them. I had to do the work first, not knowing.
The only thing that had ever done me any good in my father’s house was thinking: no one had cared what I wanted, or whether I was happy. I’d had to find my own way to anything I wanted. I’d never been grateful for that before now, when what I wanted was my life.
A power claimed and challenged and thrice carried out is true
