Once Upon a Dream Quotes

“It’s not bravery if you don’t feel fear, right? If you’re not afraid, then you’re not really forcing yourself to do something brave.”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“He first saw her in a ray of sunshine. She was dancing and singing in a forest clearing, her golden hair sparkling as it swirled around her. Her voice was the very essence of a happy, sunny day distilled into song. She was as weightless on her toes as golden motes in a drowsy beam, floating their way up to the ceiling.”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“Her eyes were full of hate. Full. And... at the same time, empty. Soulless. Like those horrible creatures she keeps around her. The dragon was frightening... but Maleficent, she was bone-chilling.”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“You don't get it. They gave me beauty and song, and then I was left in the woods to grow up for sixteen years before being handed over to you. I don't know anything about ruling. I don't even really know what taxes are. I was in the woods in the real world. In the dreamworld, I hid like a mouse and then organized balls and parties.”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“What do you need me to do to prove it? I’ll do anything, my lady! Send me on whatever quest you will! Wouldst thou have me fetch thee the prettiest rose from the farthest reaches of the east? I shall! Bring thee an ancient sparkling treasure from cursed ruins? Absolutely! Slay a dragon? Oh, wait, did that one already….”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“The path remained steady for a time before dwindling down to dusty silt. The sky opened above as trees fell away on either side. To their right, the land dipped down into a tiny, almost impossibly beautiful valley. A stream ran through its lowest point, its bank lined in pink lupine. Before that, tall, dark green grass sparkled with white flashes in the sunlight. Late season dandelions and breathy, tiny white flowers on slender stems were avoided by bees, while purple thistles and asters thronged with them.
"I could do with a little bit of a break," she said, looking longingly at the soft, moss-covered braes above the tinkling water.
The prince made a big show of cautiously surveying the scene. Aurora Rose hid a smile. Nothing seemed harmful. "All right," he finally said. "My face could definitely do with a wash. Feels all dusty."
They stepped down into the quiet valley that smelled like all of summer crushed into a single flower.”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“And then... she heard voices. Her aunt's voice... 'Your daughter?' Maleficent asked, her voice rising in dramatic surprise. 'Really? What kind of loving mother hands her daughter off to the fairies for sixteen years?'... Maleficent swung around, arching her arms and fingers like an animal, lowering her yellow eyes to their level.”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“If she actually had friends, maybe she wouldn't have turned out so nasty and evil.”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“Wishes are powerful and dangerous things.”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“The magicked dress danced over to the princess. Despite her misgivings, she stood up to receive it- it would have been rude not to. The dress easily smoothed itself over her. Dark green velvet skirts, full and soft, twirled around down to her ankles. Golden buttons fastened themselves up the placket on the bodice and over the elegant, tight sleeves. From her elbows, wisps of dark green mist flowed to the ground for tippets. A collar around her neck drifted out into a cape of the same material.
"Truly, you are the most beautiful princess in the world," a fairy breathed.
Aurora Rose looked at herself in the mirror of dewdrops. She was indeed the most beautiful thing she had ever seen. Long neck, golden hair, wide violet eyes, narrow waist, lips perfectly pink and rosy.
She turned, just a little bit, to see how her figure looked from a different angle. The green velvet flowed softly and majestically, making delicious little noises when its folds rippled. As talented as the castle seamstresses were, the princess had never worn anything as elegant or perfect as this.”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“She thought about their adventures together. How he had never given up on her. How he had forced her on. How he had constantly, annoyingly remained cheerful and upbeat in any situation. How he had killed demons and always talked about his stupid horse and ate porridge that he hated.
No, she hadn't fallen in love with him on sight the second time around.
It had taken a few days.”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“The woods were definitely changing. Aurora and Phillip could no longer see the sky at all because of the ancient tall trees that stretched far overhead. Pines and other shaggy-barked species shot a hundred feet straight up on massive trunks, some of which were as thick around as a small house. The canopies that spread out at their tops blocked out most of the sun; only a rare dappled shaft made it through. But it didn't feel claustrophobic. The absence of light kept the underbrush low: moss on ancient fallen logs, puddles of shade flowers, mushrooms and tiny lilies. It was airy and endless like the largest cathedral ever imagined.”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“I knew I was going to die or sleep forever and I was completely fine with that”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“Rose. Briar Rose. She was named after a flower that was thorny and green and strong and beautiful, with moments of unbelievable softness in white and pink.”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“The princess found herself being gently prodded and pushed and combed and magicked, and her hair felt weird. When she was spun around to face the mirror again, she was in a yellow dress, waves of sunshine spilling down from her bodice to her toes. Her shoulders were bare, which was a little strange, but they were pale and perfect and delicate. 'Swanlike,' she could hear the minstrel saying. Her hair was loosely braided over one shoulder, a yellow ribbon tying it off.
The fairies gasped.
"You are 'sooooo' beautiful!"
Even 'more' beautiful!"
"Can it be possible?"
"Look at 'this'," a fairy commanded. With a serious look and a wave of her wand, she transformed the princess again. This time her hair was piled high on her head in an elegant chignon, a simple ribbon holding it back. A light blue dress puffed out around her softly, like a cloud. The finest gloves she had ever worn covered her bare arms up to her shoulders. Funny little tinkling shoes felt chilly on her feet.
She put her hands on the skirt and twisted this way and that; what a dress to dance in! She would look like a fairy herself.
Or a bride.”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“She no longer wore the meringue-like light blue ridiculous thing. It was instead a strange mix of her outfit when she had lived in the forest and what she had escaped the Thorn Castle in. An old brownish skirt and black corset top- but with a golden shirt that flowed under the corset and over her hips like a tunic. The skirts were all ripped and in tatters.
And her shoes were once again gone.
She shrugged.
"It's 'my' dream, isn't it?”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“I want porridge!" she said, exasperated. "That's all. I wanted a bunny before and 'it' appeared, and now I want porridge. The way my aunts used to make it on cold mornings. Warm and buttery, with rich toasted acorns in it."
"Acorns? Really? That sounds... um... I mean, it's an interesting gastronomic choice."
She rolled her eyes. "We lived in the middle of a 'forest,' Royal Prince. It was what we had. And a real treat in the middle of winter."
Then she proceeded to ignore him.
She closed her eyes and cupped her hands. She prayed and wished and imagined and begged.
Phillip stayed politely silent- though he did look around, sigh a little, and do all sorts of other things to obviously fret over the passage of time.
She tried to call up the feel of the wooden bowl in her hands: it warmed almost like flesh where the wood was thin and the heat of her fingers and the hot porridge mingled. She summoned the smell, a mix of dairy and things of the earth and the tall green grass and the woods. Sometimes there was even a dollop of honey on top.
She thought so hard she felt like she had to go to the privy.
Her concentration faltered for a moment when she distractedly wondered if that ever happened to Maleficent when she was performing an incantation. But after a few seconds she was back in her dream of porridge.
Time passed...
"GOOD LORD!"
The smell in her head was giving to a real scent in her nose now, with even that faint, almost 'un'tasty burnt smell the acorns sometimes gave off.
She smiled and opened her eyes.
In her hands was a cracked wooden bowl full of porridge, just like she remembered.”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“Grace- the fairies' gift, according to his story- seemed to pertain to her running as well as dancing. She might not have been as fast as he, but she was nimble and fleet and didn't need to look at her feet to avoid stumbling.”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“If I ever have a daughter, you can be sure I will keep her close, and teach her well, and school her in the ways of magic, and make her strong and powerful enough to protect herself, and I would never let anything come between us.”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“Sometimes concentrating on one lovely thing about each memory helped her remain upright. Like the foxes... she had 'hunted' with 'foxes'! Beautiful red-coated beasts who sometimes tangled under her feet like cats and let her scratch their throats. That had really happened. Focusing on their beauty kept her walking- shakily- and kept her stomach from reeling.”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“It's a difficult path to who you really are.”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“Everything was insane.”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“My true gifts," she said. "Returned to me."
"Truly useless gifts," Maleficent said. "What good are grace and song and beauty- especially to a dead girl?"
"Not those gifts. Those were bestowed upon me by 'others.' These are my true, natural gifts. Intelligence. Bravery. Compassion.
"Those three you 'killed' weren't actual fairies at all- they were parts of me. My true self. Hidden from me by you. Dampened. Darkened. Just like everything else in this wretched realm. Just as I myself was hidden away from the world, first in the woods, and then in a dream.”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“I am not. A silly. Little. Princess. I am Aurora Rose, rightful queen of this kingdom and your judge and executioner, you silly little fairy.”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“Aurora looked into the mirror and smiled. She was pretty. She was a royal princess. There was about to be a ball. These were things she could, once in a while, allow herself to be happy about.”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“[...] my tragedy doesn't diminish yours”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“harridan.”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“This was her quest. This was her duty”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“Lianna Felt blessed that she was simply still alive; anything she did now was a joyful celebration of that.”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream

“I'm staying with you. Princes kill dragons. That's what we're all about.”
― Liz Braswell, Once Upon a Dream