Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands Quotes

“Assassins are a monstrous breed. Either they attack when you are at your worst, or they are having a go at you on your birthday. I have never known a more dishonourable profession.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“The problem is not the packing, I admit; I simply dislike travelling. Why people wish to wander to and fro when they could simply remain at home is something I will never understand. Everything is the way I like it here.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“Rose asked me why I was not more surprised by your feat. He does not understand you as I do, Em, but as you seem to consider him a friend now, I told him the truth: in order to be surprised, I could not have known already that you are capable of anything.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“Can’t you sense what enchantments are stored in the stones?” I demanded. “No!” I threw my hands up in frustration. “Then why do you keep on breaking them?” “Because you told me to, you lunatic!”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“There is nothing trivial about good coffee.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“Would you prefer to wait?”
In answer, he kissed me—much more slowly than the kiss I had given him, and more skillfully too, I’m afraid. Afterwards he didn’t lean back as I expected, but trailed his lips down my neck, sending a shiver skittering through me.
“You can begin by removing your clothes,” I said. “If you would like to. To clarify, this is a suggestion, not a demand.”
“Oh, Em,” he said, laughing softly against my neck. I had my hands in his hair, which was now quite mussed, something that made me absurdly happy.
“I’m sorry,” I said, self-conscious now. “Perhaps I shouldn’t talk.”
“Whyever not?” He drew back, examining me with a perplexed smile. “I like the way you talk. And everything else about you, in fact. Is that not clear by now?”
I felt laughter bubble up inside me, but I hid it behind a mock-serious expression. “I’m not sure.”
His smile changed, and he trailed his hand down the side of my neck. “Let me show you.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“Where the bloody hell did you hide my things, you imp?” he demanded. Ariadne gave him a weary but victorious grin. “Your cloak is in the closet inside Dr. Rose’s spare one, which I turned inside out. You looked right past it. As for the boots, one is in the flower box outside and the other is in plain view in my bedroom, which you hate to look at because of the mess.” “Good Lord,” Wendell muttered. “You have your aunt’s devious mind.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“I’m afraid I have not gotten over my resentment of him for saving me from the snow king’s court in Ljosland earlier this year, and have made a solemn vow to myself that I shall be the one to rescue him from whatever faerie trouble we next find ourselves in. Yes, I realize this is illogical, given that it requires Wendell to end up in some dire circumstance, which would ideally best be avoided, but there it is. I’m quite determined.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“Yes, I wanted to remain here in Faerie, with Wendell. Yes, I knew it went against reason and common sense--- ordinarily two of my strengths. My arguments with Rose had been nonsense all along, because the truth was that I agreed with him. Of course it wasn't a sane decision to befriend a monarch of the Folk, let alone marry one, particularly if he reigned over the Silva Lupi. Nor did I think Wendell was different from other Folk, particularly--- kinder, less enigmatic, or somehow more human. I simply didn't care. I loved him, and I suspected that I would grow to love this beautiful, horrifying place if given the chance. I wanted the chance. I wanted Faerie, its every secret and its every door.
If there was danger in my decision--- and I knew there was--- then so be it. I would accept danger, if it meant I could have this.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“Wendell half sat, half crouched in a hollow in the mountainside, one hand over his eyes, showing no interest whatsoever in our impossible surroundings, and I realized what was happening: somehow the poison had curdled the magic inside him, and any use of enchantment pained him.
I knelt at his side and wrapped my arms around his shoulders. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Yes,” he murmured. “Say that you’ll marry me.”
“God.” So he was well enough to tease me, at least—that was some relief. “Perhaps I will refuse you here and now. Disappointment in love may provide a welcome distraction from the poison.”
“Only you, Em, would refer to heartbreak as a distraction. I think I would have a more sympathetic response if I asked to marry a bookcase.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“I knew you were the real threat. Mortals always are, aren’t they? If you read the stories. The arrogant faerie prince who can make gold from straw is always undone by the humble miller’s daughter, not some powerful rival of his own stature.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“I drew my cardigan more tightly about me—it was the chill of the air, I told myself, not Rose’s words. “I appreciate your advice, Farris. Genuinely. But I know Wendell.” “Emily.” He pointed up at the beech tree boughs, which waved to and fro, scattering more leaves about us. “Do you know the wind?” And with that gloomy koan, he left me.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“Em, I must confess—I am in awe of you. I believe I am also a little frightened.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“I realized that part of me had been waiting for Wendell to make a miraculous recovery. To rescue us all, as well as himself, just when we needed him most. It would fit the pattern of innumerable stories.
But perhaps Wendell wasn't part of his kingdom's story anymore. Or he was, but merely as a footnote, a trial for his stepmother to overcome as she rose from powerful to unstoppable-- to irrevocably weave herself into the fabric of her world, as the king of Ljosland had.
And if he was a footnote, what did that make me?
I leaned close, breathing in the smell of his hair--- the salt of sweat; smoke from the fire; and the distant smell of green leaves that never left him.
"My answer is yes," I whispered in his ear.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“Don’t bother,” I said drily. “I don’t expect you to comprehend a guilty conscience. You’re going to strain something.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“Like me, he appeared relieved by the interruption—both of us, it seemed, would rather confront a supernatural intruder than fumble our way out of an emotional exchange.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“Other women snore, or talk in their sleep. I don't recall ever being woken up by the sound of vigorous pencil scratching."
"You could always ask one of those other women to marry you," I said. "Though it may not be easy to find one who is quite so tolerant of faerie assassins and strange quests as I am.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“But the reality is that one would have to be an utter idiot to marry one of the Folk. There are perhaps a handful of stories in which such a union ends well and a mountain of them in which it ends in madness or an untimely and unpleasant death.
I am also, of course, constantly aware of the ridiculousness of my being the object of a marriage offering by a faerie monarch.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“We have a few items to discuss before we turn to that,” I said. I wrote St. Liesl on the board—not for any particular reason, but because, in truth, he was right about me: I enjoyed writing things on blackboards”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“Dear Emily,” he said as I sat down, not troubling to lift his head from his hand but smiling at me slantwise. “You look as if you’ve come from a wrestling match with one of your books. May I ask who won?”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“The foot would not fit in my briefcase, so I wrapped it in cloth and wrestled it into an old knapsack I sometimes carry with me on expeditions.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“When I finally found her, I do not think it was through any skill of mine, but rather because the creature decided that she would not mind being found. During what was at least my third search of a sunny chamber I had begun to think of as the dressing room, due to the presence of several large, empty wardrobes that looked like the hollowed trunks of old trees, my gaze happened to snag on the wardrobe closest to the window. Again, I had searched this wardrobe several times. Yet now, perched atop it with one black paw dangling lazily over the side, there was a cat.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“What other symptoms do you have?”
“None.” He stopped and thought. “I am a little tired much of the time.”
“And you didn’t think to tell me you were still suffering from the poison,” I scolded. Wasn’t it just like him, to make a to-do about getting enough sugar in his coffee, but not a thing like this.
“I didn’t want to worry you,” he said.
“You failed miserably.”
“Miserably?” He looked so delighted that I pushed him over.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“That was a to-do, I thought, grateful that the moment was over. Yet I found myself returning to the memory throughout the day, as a person might absently touch a favoured piece of jewelry”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“Naturally, Wendell's apartments are absurdly comfortable, and somehow there is the atmosphere of a forest about them, though I know this makes little sense. The ceilings are very high, rather like the canopy of an ancient grove--- I suspect he has enchanted them somehow--- and always there is the sound of rustling leaves, though this abruptly ceases if you listen too closely. I would have expected a lot of luxurious frippery from faerie royalty, but his furnishings are simple--- a scattering of sofas, impossible soft; a huge oak table; three magnificent inglenook fireplaces; and a great deal of empty floor through which an impossible little breeze is always stirring, smelling of moss. For decoration there is the mirror from Hrafnsvik with the forest reflected inside it and a few silver baubles, sculptures and vases and the like, which catch the light in unexpected ways, but that's it. And, of course, the place is so clean one feels one may sully it by breathing too hard.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“Pillows made of stones, Bed of old kings’ bones, Quilt of moss and earth, Deep beneath the turf, Sleeps the faerie child, Dreaming of the wild, Hidden and unknown. —From “Now the Faeries Sleep,” a nursery rhyme originating in Kent, c. 1700.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“Toss me one of your pencils!"
"Have you gone mad?" I cried even as I removed the pencil from my cloak pocket and threw it at his head.
It began to transform before it even reached him, elongating and flashing through the shadows--- a sword. I regretted aiming for his head then, but Wendell caught it with the grace of a trained swordsman, which of course he was.
Watching Wendell with a sword is like watching a bird leap from a branch--- there is something thoughtless about it, innate. One has the sense that he is less himself without a sword, that wielding it returns him to the element most natural to him.
He drove the sword into the nearest sheerie, and before it had fallen he had spun round to slash at the one behind him, slicing it open like overripe fruit. The other three fell just as easily.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“Throw the offerings!"
Agnes and her husband had returned--- I could just make them out, clambering unsteadily down the hillside with their lanterns raised. In an act of ill-advised and entirely undeserved kindness, they had gathered up a handful of villagers to ride to the rescue of the idiot scholars who had tangled with the most fearsome of the local Folk, despite their warnings. A strangled sound escaped me, something between a sob and laugh.
"Get back!" Eichorn shouted at the villagers. Rose was clambering to his feet, wheezing, for the fauns had released him to snatch at the "offerings" tossed their way by the villagers. I would have expected bloody hunks of meat, but instead, ludicrously, they seemed to be throwing vegetables--- carrots and onions, predominantly.
How did it happen? The scene is a blur of noise and movement, to my memory. I believe I was laughing at the time--- yes, laughing. The image of those nightmarish beasts appeased by a hail of carrots was too much for my frayed composure, and for a moment it seemed this would become another story I told at conferences or to rouse a laugh from my students. For the Folk are terrible indeed, monsters or tyrants or both, but are they not also ridiculous? Whether they be violent beasts distracted by vegetables, or creatures powerful enough to spin straw into gold, which they will happily exchange for a simple necklace, or a great king overthrown by his own cloak, there is a thread of the absurd weaving through all faerie stories, to which the Folk themselves are utterly oblivious.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“Bloody winter Folk,” Wendell said, brushing ceramic shards from his cloak. “Winter Folk?” I repeated. “Guardians of the seasons—or anyway, that is how they see themselves,” he said sourly. “Really I think they just want a romantic excuse to go about blasting people with frost and zephyrs and such.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands

“One of the guiding principles of dryadology,” I said, “is this: do not cross the sort of Folk who make collections of human body parts.”
― Heather Fawcett, Emily Wilde’s Map of the Otherlands