Beth Fantaskey Quotes & Sayings

I knew that most people would consider us too young to talk about lifelong commitments or marriage, but I couldn't imagine taking her to bed without that promise. Even if it meant never being with her, I didn't want to have one desperate, hurried, hidden night. I wanted to put a ring on her finger. I wanted a future - or nothing. I knew, in her heart, that she would want that, too — Beth Fantaskey

Apparently I need shoes with a 'swoosh' on the side if I'm to continue playing basketball. ~ Lucius Vladescu — Beth Fantaskey

Where do you. come from?" Frank challenged, puffing his chest, a little bolder now that he could breathe. "Some of us are starting to wonder."
"I come from civilization," Lucius retorted. "You wouldn't be familiar with the territory. Now pick up the books. — Beth Fantaskey

My greatest friend is truth. — Beth Fantaskey

But some things are just too dangerous to live, I suppose. — Beth Fantaskey

One should never confuse fashionable with beautiful — Beth Fantaskey

P.S. What the hell. Why not sign off with the traditional American greeting? "Merry Christmas," Uncle Vasile. "Happy holidays to you."
P.P.S. Really
"counseling"! — Beth Fantaskey

On the stage Tristen bent over the piano, his fingers swift and sure, his blond hair gleaming under the spotlight. I glanced around at the audience, watching their faces, gratified that they were as captivated as I was by the dark, thunderous song that Tristen conjured. — Beth Fantaskey

I wanted to die. Die right there. I wanted to run to the knife drawer, grab the biggest blade I could find, and plunge it into my heart. To be exposed as never even being kissed ... it was
almost worse than being a vampire princess. The vampire thing was a ridiculous fantasy, but my total lack of experience ... that was real. "Mom! That is so embarrassing! Did you have to tell him that?"
Well, Jessica, it's true. I don't want Lucius thinking you're some sort of experienced young woman, ready for marriage. — Beth Fantaskey

I like pink."
Lucius sniffed. "It's just red's sorry, weak cousin. — Beth Fantaskey

I'd been unable to stop questioning if I knew what I was doing, even just kissing, and I'd sort of sheepishly apologized for my inexperience. Lucius had drawn back, a strange look in his eyes and a half smile on his lips as he'd said, 'I don't think I could allow another man who'd touched you to continue walking this earth. The only reason Zinn survives is the debt that I owe him.' He'd smiled a little more broadly, joking, 'Your inexperience saves lives, Antanasia. — Beth Fantaskey

I almost wish that I could replace their hideous flok dolls, as a gesture of my gratitude. Could you, perhaps, have one of the local women fashion a crude poppet out of, say, a wooden spool and some scraps of wool? Nothing fancy. Aesthetic standars for this particular collection were not high, believe me. "Ugly" and "ill-crafted" seem to be part of the key criteria. — Beth Fantaskey

Why do humans always look at these things from the wrong perspective? Predators deserve our sympathy, too. — Beth Fantaskey

I didn't just want to be just Mrs. Lucius Vladescu, or a princess, even. I wanted to be a queen. — Beth Fantaskey

I did all that i could to have my way-to keep you safe from me and our kind-but you would have your own way, like a true princess.
I wanted you,Lucius. I had to have my way. — Beth Fantaskey

No, Lucius is harmless,' I fibbed. If you don't count the fact that he thinks he's a warrior prince representing a semi-cannibalistic race of undead bat people. — Beth Fantaskey

December is celebrated quite heartily here in the United States. Aggresively, one might say. Every conceivable space is corseted with strands of twinkle lights, buildings are smothered beneath greenery, and a mass mania for erecting oversized, inflatable, waving "snowmen" in front of homes erupts amid the populace. It's quite a hysteria- and the evergreen trees are not just a myth, Vasile. People really do purchase them, in abundance. They are for sale everywhere. Imagine paying for the privilege of dragging a filthy piece of forest into your living area for the purpose of bedecking it with glass balls and staring at it.
Why a tree? If one needed to display glass balls-and I highly discorage it-why not just a case of some sort? A rack? — Beth Fantaskey

(Honestly, Raniero, are we the only noble-born Vladescus who would know, for certain, that Bluetooth is not some dread, vampire-specific disorder involving lack of oxygen to the gums? I fear it is true.) — Beth Fantaskey

I don't know how to dress girls, I know how to dress women — Beth Fantaskey

Lucius paused, turning on his heel to face me. "I grow weary of your ignorance." He moved closer to me, leaning down and peering into my eyes. "Because your parents refuse to inform you, I will deliver the news myself,and I shall make this simple for you." He pointed to his chest and announced, as though talking to a child, "I am a vampire." He pointed to my chest. "You are a vampire. And we are to be married, the moment you come of age. This has been decreed since our births."
I couldn't even process the "getting married" part, or the thing about "decreed." He'd lost me at "vampire."
Nuts. Lucius Vladescu is completely nuts. And I'm alone with him, in an empty barn.
So I did what any sane person would do. I jammed the pitchfork in the general direction of his foot and ran like hell for the house, ignoring his yowl of pain. — Beth Fantaskey

I must endure, fighting the temptation simply to become slack-jawed like most of my school 'peers' (they wish!), who will themselves into a collective, vacant, trancelike state for the duration of each class. (Although I sometimes secretly envy their ability to empty their minds completely for a full fifty minutes, reanimating only at the sound of a bell, like Pavlov's dogs ... ) — Beth Fantaskey

Everybody should have a librarian. — Beth Fantaskey

You will not address me as if I'm not even here - unless you want to join Lucius in the dungeons. And then we'll see how long you last without blood, because you are two hundred years older and nowhere near as strong as my husband. — Beth Fantaskey

Ranerio wrapped his hand around mine, guiding my fingers like Lucius had done when he'd shown me the latch behind the dressing-room door mirror. But while the warrior I loved had been offering me an escape route, the pacifist was trying to show me how to fight. — Beth Fantaskey

Lucius smiled a little. "You do have a will of your own." The smile faded. "This is not the time to use it. — Beth Fantaskey

And as we kissed, really kissed, something inside me was smashed, like a splitting atom, erupting with all the force of a shattering nucleus. And yet I was strangely at peace, too. It was like I'd found my place in the universe, in the chaos, and Lucius and I could go along locked together throughout time without end, like pi, existing infinitely, irrationally, spinning through time. — Beth Fantaskey

This is eternity, Antanasia," he said, both warning and imploring. "Eternity. — Beth Fantaskey

Is she not beautiful? Is she not powerful? Is she not regal? Is she not YOU? — Beth Fantaskey

Yes. It's so much better to be stalked by a tall European than an American of average height. — Beth Fantaskey

If I were a vampire, I'd want to bite someone. I'd be thirsty for blood," I said in a last ditch attempt to interject reason into a discussion that had devolved into the absurd.
"You will come into your true nature," Lucius promised. "You are coming of age right now. And when I bite you for the first time, then you will be a vampire. I've brought you a book - a guide, so to speak - which will explain everything - "
I stood up so fast my chair tipped over, smashing to the floor. "He is not going to bite me," I interrupted, pointing a shaky finger at Lucius. "And I'm not going to Romania and marrying him! I don't care what kind of 'betrothal ceremony' they had!"
"You will all honor the pact," Lucius growled. It wasn't a suggestion. — Beth Fantaskey

With a deep sigh, Lucius resumed pacing. "Honestly, I can't stand this going around anymore. The story is quite simple. You, Antanasia, are the last of a long line of powerful vampires. The Dragomirs. Vampire royalty."
Now that made me laugh, a squeaky, kind of hysterical laugh. "Vampire royalty. Right."
Yes. Royalty. And that is the last part of the story, which your parents still seem reluctant to relate." Lucius leaned over the table across from me, bracing his arms, staring me down. "You
are a vampire princess - the heir to the Dragomir leadership. I am a vampire prince. The heir to an equally powerful clan, the Vladescus. More powerful, I would say, but that's not the point. We
were pledged to each other in an engagement ceremony shortly after our births. — Beth Fantaskey

Were you even aware that one could rent clothes, Vasile? Does it not seem a bit ... cringe inducing? — Beth Fantaskey

It is beautiful, isn't it?"
"YOU are beautiful," Mindy corrected. "The dress just lets the rest of us know. — Beth Fantaskey

The lentil is perhaps the world's most versatile, indestructible food. One can eat the lentil unadorned; marry it off to its first cousin, the oafish "bulgur"; or attempt to drown it in harsh vinegar for a "vegan salad." But the lentil, alas, will always survive. Indeed, at the Packwood house, the tenacious little legume will forcibly resurrect, as free of anything resembling taste as ever, and insinuate its indefatigable, pelletlike self onto yet another dinner plate, expecting to be eaten. Again, and again, and again. — Beth Fantaskey

No one's making any decisions today," Mom translated. "It's late, and we're all tired and a little overwhelmed. Besides, Lucius, Jessica is not ready to contemplate marriage. She hasn't even kissed a boy yet, for goodness' sake."
Lucius smirked at me, raising one eyebrow. "Really? No suitors? How shocking. I would have thought your pitchfork skills would be attractive to certain bachelors here in farm country. — Beth Fantaskey

Someday, Jessica, he says quietly, you will stand before me in this very room, as we prepare for some function which
we both dread, for we have been to so many in our years together, and you will smile and reach up to adjust my crooked tie, as you always do. And one of our children - perhaps our first son - will tug at your dress, demanding our attention. Then I will kiss you, and reach down to lift our child, thinking, How did I come to be so happy? — Beth Fantaskey

You're a wrestler, right, Jake?" Dad asked, passing Jake more saag. My parents were in an Indian food phase. The evening's entree consisted of limp spinach. God forbid we'd throw a few burgers on the grill and just have a barbecue when guests came over.
Jake gave the bright green, mushy contents a wary glance but accepted the bowl. "Yeah. I wrestle. I'm captain this year."
"How Greco-Roman of you," Lucius said dryly, lifting a glob of spinach and letting it drip, slowly, from his fork. "Grappling about on mats. — Beth Fantaskey

Nice. Now that's an overrated quality — Beth Fantaskey

Must we vampires always resort to violence so quickly? Could we not just all sit down over a "refreshing Bud Light" and "just chill," as my television and my teammates relentlessly urge me to do? — Beth Fantaskey

Jessica. For god's sake," he said. "Allow me to do at least one common courtesy for you. In spite ow what 'women's lib' teaches you, chivalry does not imply that women are powerless. On the contrary, chivalry is an admission of women's superiority. An acknowledgment of your power over us. This is the only form of servitude a Vladescu ever practices, and I perform it gladly for you. You, in turn, are obligated to accept graciously. — Beth Fantaskey

Lucius smiled. I'll tell my tailor his work is 'rockin' and 'supercool.' I'm sure he'll be gratified to learn that he can compete with the Gap. — Beth Fantaskey

She, of all people, knew the sacred trust that word
"librarian"
implied. Because a librarian was supposed to to be a spiritual, intellectual mentor who kept your secrets and didn't give you a funny look when you checked out a book on the care and feeding of pythons ... A librarian opened up new doors for you, intellectually, too, without shoving you through them.
A librarian was important. — Beth Fantaskey

Stupid Romanian bloodsucker. He was lucky I hadn't bestowed another exalted scar on his imperial body. — Beth Fantaskey

What is love if not a form of alchemy? — Beth Fantaskey

I blame the lentils. — Beth Fantaskey

I was wrong to insult you, and not only because you are my hosts. I am afraid that I mistook kindness for weakness. My apologies. I stand - only with your aid - profoundly corrected. — Beth Fantaskey

Jessica: If we only have daughters?
Lucius: If we have only daughters, I will be the happiest vampire alive. For I have come to learn
from you
that a princess can be as powerful as a prince. — Beth Fantaskey

So I did what any sane person would do. I jammed the pitchfork in the general direction of his foot and ran like hell for the house ... — Beth Fantaskey

We sealed my father's grave on a day of stark contrasts, of black against white, and it was the last time I'd ever find myself in a place of such extremes. Because in the months after the dirt fell on the coffin, my life began to shift to shades of gray, almost like the universe had taken a big stick and stirred up the whole scene at that cemetery, mixing up everything and repainting my world. — Beth Fantaskey

As you wish, of course." Lucius lowered the volume on an old record player, which spun a warped vinyl disk that wailed unfamiliar music, scratchy and whiny, like cats fighting. Or a coffin with rusty hinges opening and closing over and over again in a deserted mausoleum. "Do you like Croatian folk?" heasked, seeing my interest. "It reminds me of home."
"I prefer normal music."
"Ah, yes, your MTV with all the bumping and grinding. Like a shot of raging adolescent hormones administered via television. I'm not averse. — Beth Fantaskey

But Lucius was staring at the beamed ceiling of the barn, pacing around, hands clasped behind
his back, muttering to himself. "This is not going well. Not going well at all. I advised the Elders
that you should have been summoned back to Romania years ago, that you would never be a
suitable bride ... "
Whoa, there. "Bride? — Beth Fantaskey

Gentlemen don't ask women impertinent questions about delicate subjects ... ... And they never, ever use crude expressions in mixed company. Not unless they're ready to face the consequences. — Beth Fantaskey

Lucius shrugged. "Perhaps in time you will find it useful."
"Sure. I'll keep it on my shelf right next to The Idiot's Guide to Becoming a Mythical Creature.'
Lucius actually laughed. "Very funny. I didn't know you made jokes."
"I'm a funny person," I defended myself. "And by the way - I don't snore."
"You do snore. And you mumble, too."
My blood froze. The dream ... "What? What did you hear?"
"Nothing too intelligible. But it must have been a rather pleasant dream. You sounded ecstatic. — Beth Fantaskey

And maybe I was a little intense. But not as much as the princess who marched into that court in a very unprofessional pair of jeans and a T-shirt, looking like she had gone to hell and back
and was about to drag the rest of us back there with her, just like I kinda planned to do.
I knew it in a split second
and everybody else knew it too, even old Fabio
that we weren't just seeing a princess standing there in a pair of jeans and boots.
We were all getting our first glimpse of the next queen. — Beth Fantaskey

Princess ... He honestly thinks I'm a vampire princess ... The strange, almost pleasurable, sensation I'd felt when he'd brushed my cheek was forgotten as reality hit me again. Lucius Vladescu was a lunatic. — Beth Fantaskey

One's perception of time was relative to one's desire for its passage. — Beth Fantaskey

Fear is the worst kind of grave, because it buries one alive. — Beth Fantaskey

I also need you to "spread the word," quietly, that if any harm should come to Antanasia during my imprisonment, I will not only tear down these walls stone by stone, but
once freed
shatter the rule of law and destroy, with great satisfaction, anyone who arouses in me even the slightest suspicion. Indeed, if so much as one hair on my wife's head is disturbed while I cannot protect her, this kingdom will see retribution that will go down in the history books
to be read by the very few who remain standing.
- Lucius — Beth Fantaskey

Just remember, girls: The young male vampire is a predator by nature. Some boys may look at you not only as a romantic interest, but as prey ... — Beth Fantaskey

Chivalry does not imply that women are powerless. On the contrary, chivalry is an admission of women's superiority. — Beth Fantaskey

Sugared cheese?" I was skeptical. - "I ate the vegan birthday cake," Dorin noted. "Trust me, this will be a treat by any comparison. — Beth Fantaskey

I shook my head. "You're going to get killed"Lucius shot me a conspiratorial look. "You, of all people, should know that's unlikely. Animals can't use tools. — Beth Fantaskey

American women. Why do you all want to be nearly invisible? Why not have a physical presence in the world? Women should have curves, not angles ... One should never confuse fashionable with beautiful ... Eat. Be happy to have curves. A presence. — Beth Fantaskey

She had little patience with people who got intellectually lazy when faced with a difficult concept. — Beth Fantaskey

Where is the stupid bus? And why did my dad have to be so big on mass transit, anyhow? Why couldn't I I own a car, like practically every other senior? But no, i had to 'share the ride' to save the environment. When I'm abducted by the menacing guy under the tree, Dad will probably insist my face only appear on recycled milk cartons ... — Beth Fantaskey

Why?"
"Because ... because he's so tall," Mindy explained, like height was proof of good character. "And did I mention European?"
"Yes. It's so much better to be stalked by a tall European that an American of average height. — Beth Fantaskey

As you know, I have always been curious about our immortality ... how it feels to live on and on through time ... I need speculate no longer, I have sampled eternity in Miss Campbell's fifth period "social studies" class. Three days on the concept of "manifest destiny," Vasile. THREE DAYS. I yearned to stand up, rip her lecture notes from her pallid hands, and scream, 'Yes, America expanded westward! Is that not logical, given that Europeans settled on the Eastern shore? What else were they to do? Advance vainly into the sea? — Beth Fantaskey

Enduring pain is like causing pain. — Beth Fantaskey

I shan't take advantage,' Lucius promised seriously. 'And she can't be forced into a marriage, of course. It is a new century. Unfortunately. But I am afraid that I am compelled to pursue this courtship until Antanasia realizes her place at my side. As she will.'
'I will not. — Beth Fantaskey

Lucius needs you. He mourns you. He loves you. It's very unusual for a vampire to truly love. Some hold that real love between vampires is a myth. That we are too vicious by nature.But Lucius does. He loves you
as you love him. — Beth Fantaskey

You are a vampire princess. Your destiny is not entirely your own. — Beth Fantaskey

Why did I sign up for this?'
'Because we grow by challenging ourselves. — Beth Fantaskey