“Will you carry a message for me?” the queen asked. “I can hardly decline, Your Majesty,” answered the prisoner. … “Tell your queen that I will not return her Thief a second time.” The prisoner just looked up at her dully. She couldn’t know how much he understood. How hard had the lieutenant kicked him? “What remains of his life, he spends with me, do you understand, messenger?” “I believe so, Your Majesty.”
“She thought of the hardness and the coldness she had cultivated over those years and wondered if they were the mask she wore or if the mask had become her self. If the longing inside her for kindness, for warmth, for compassion, was the last seed of hope for her, she didn’t know how to nurture it or if it could live.”
“You have a choice now,” the Thief was saying. “Conscious or unconscious, you can go into the water. I have the boat pole to make certain you don’t come out again.” He nudged the pole lying at his feet. It rattled against the centerboard case, and hearing it, Attolia glanced down. The boat pole was five or six feet long and had two small hooks at the end. The hooks she could easily imagine catching in the folds of her clothes as Eugenides leaned on the pole to force her farther and farther under the surface.
She looked back at Eugenides impassively. She thought he had brought her a long way to drown her, but she knew that in his own field he was meticulous and supposed he wanted to be entirely sure of his results. He made no move but instead spoke again. “Or you can offer me something I want more than I want to hold your head underwater until the last of your air is gone.” Attolia had thought her choice was to be conscious or unconscious when she breathed in the black water that would kill her; she couldn’t imagine what Eugenides might want more than that. It was all she would have dreamed of in his place.
“I want to be king of Attolia,” he said.
Attolia blinked. She looked around the tiny harbor and had to clear her throat with a cough before she spoke. “You’ve brought me to a place rather spare of witnesses if you want me to declare you my heir before I die.”
“I wasn’t proposing to become your heir,” said the Thief. “Then what?” asked Attolia. “There’s an easier way for a man to become king,” said Eugenides, and waited for her to realize what he proposed. Attolia stared at him. “You think I would marry you?” she asked in disbelief. “If you object to marrying a man with one hand, you’ve only yourself to blame.” “And when did you grow into a man?” asked Attolia, lifting her eyebrow, her voice tinged with sarcasm. Eugenides didn’t rise to her bait.
“It’s your choice, Your Majesty,” he said quietly.
“He could tell her he loved her. He ached to shout it out loud for the gods and everyone to hear. Little good it would do. Better to trust in the moon’s promises than in the word of the Theif of Eddis. He was famous in three countries for his lies”
- Megan Whalen Turner, The Queen of Attolia
I know this quote doesn’t match up with the scene but it’s so sweet and one of my favorite lines from this book which is truly one of my favorite books and I have read more times than I can count!
I’m loving these mini B&W portraits….I have just recently been introduced to sketching on toned paper, and I am loving it. These characters are inspired by one of the best book series of all time, the Queen’s Thief. More portraits to come in this series. #meganwhalenturner #queensthief #queensthiefseries #thethief #epicbooks #fiction #attolia #eugenides #annacastro #annacastroart #tonedgreypaper #charcoal #graphite #prismacolorwhite #drawing #portrait #rimlighting #fineart #handdrawn #pencilart #artist #artistsoninstagram #instaart #booklover
Just like the chess piece, the Queen of Attolia moves in any direction she chooses.
(Of course, in this analogy, Gen would be the figurehead king that appears to be useless. He’d like that. Relius would be Queen side bishop, closest advisor to the Queen, and Teleus queens side knight)
Queen’s Thief Appreciation, Day 2: The Queen of Attolia – the books/characters as things my friends and I have said
One of the major twists for me was the complete transformation of my opinion of Attolia Irene. I started rooting for her ever since we got her background story, and by the time “Diplomacy, in my own name” rolled around, I was fully infatuated.
Part 2/2 of the one-two punch that is every scene written by miss Megan Whalen Turner… the Window scene, in this case. I just LOVE tonal shifts, and she writes hers so flawlessly – subtle yet striking. I love it and I want to hug Pheris and I am so happy that now he has several parents now who love him. Also, I’m endlessly in love with the depictions of this scene by Emily and Sheb and you should DEFINITELY check them out
It’s got all your basic moving parts: Gen and Irene heading up to the crenellations,
Phresine loving on baby Hector while baby Eugenia drops a stolen earring that matches her dad’s (with her mountain goat plushie nearby),
Helen and Sophos just being stupid cute with their wee heir, while the Magus still studies his map and Pol’s sword leans on the wall beneath the three countries’ banners,
Your pantheon of deities, with the Great Goddess at the center,
Teleus and Relius enjoying each other’s company while Pheris (now with mobility aid!) ignores them (also there’s a pigeon),
Costis and bespectacled Kamet with a plate of nut cakes, and a familiar author in the background with her stack of six books,
And, finally, our long-awaited elephant, while two of Gen’s attendants search for their king.
Queen’s Thief Appreciation, Day 2: The Queen of Attolia – the books/characters as things my friends and I have said
One of the major twists for me was the complete transformation of my opinion of Attolia Irene. I started rooting for her ever since we got her background story, and by the time “Diplomacy, in my own name” rolled around, I was fully infatuated.
