Nehemia took Celaena's hand in her warm, dry one. Celaena opened her eyes, but stared at the wall across the room.
Nehemia squeezed her hand. "You're my dearest friend, Celaena. It hurt me -hurt me more than I realized it would- to have things become so cold between us. To see you look at me with such distrust in your eyes. And I don't want to ever see you look at me like that again. So I wish to give you what I have given to few before." Her dark eyes shone. "Names are not important. It's what lies inside of you that matters. I know what you went through in Endovier. I know what my people endure there, day after day. But you did not let the mines harden you; you did not let it shame your soul into cruelty."
The princess traced a mark on her hand, her finger pressing into Celaena's skin. "You bear many names, and so I shall name you as well." Her hand rose to Celaena's forehead and he drew an invisible mark. "I name you Elentiya." She kissed the assassin's brow. "I give you this name to use with honour, to use when other name grow too heavy. I name you Elentiya. 'Spirit That Could Not Be Broken'."
Dorian went to Celaena's chambers the day after Yulemans' ball, and woke her up, at one in the afternoon. The puppy, a gift of the day before, was on her bed with her.
"Have you named her yet?" he asked- casual, calm, collected. Was he acting that way for show, or was the kiss just not that important to him?
"No," she said, keeping her face neutral, even though she wanted to scream from the awkwardness. "I can't think of anything appropriate."
"What about," he said, tapping his chin, "Gold...ie?"
"That's the stupidest name I've ever heard."
"Can you think of something better?"
She picked up one of the dog's legs and examined the soft paws. She squished the padded foot beneath her thumb. "Fleetfoot." It was a perfect name. In fact, it felt as if the name had existed all along, and she'd finally been clairvoyant enough to stumble across it. "Yes, Fleetfoot it is."
"Does it mean anything?" he asked, and the dog raised her head to look at him.
"It'll mean something when she outruns all of your purebreds" Celaena scooped the dog into her arms and kissed her head.
And just like that, the absolute favourite character of the series, got her name.
She sat up with a jolt, the world bright and foggy. Several lesser nobles in her pew laughed silently. She gave Chaol an apologetic look and turned her gaze to the altar. The High Priestess had finished her sermon, and the songs of Yulemas were over. She only had to sit through the procession of the gods, and then she would be free.
"How long was I asleep?" she whispered. He didn't respond. "How long was I asleep?" she asked again, and noticed a hint of red in his cheeks. "You were asleep, too?"
"Until you began drooling on my shoulder."
"Such a self-righteous young man," she cooed, and he poked her leg.
"Pay attention."
That sums up quite well my reaction to that bit. I just can't stop laughing at Chaol falling asleep, too.
Before the Yulemas' temple service, Celaena had woken up to a bag of candies. She ate A LOT of them, and now her teeth are red. After dressing up, she receives Dorian's visit:
"Are you my present, or is there something in that basket at your feet?" she asked.
"If you'd like to unwrap me," he said, lifting the large wicker basket onto the table, "we still have an hour until the temple service."
"Happy Yulemas, Dorian."
"And to you as well. I can see that I- Are your teeth red?"
She clamped her mouth shut, shaking her head in violent protestation.
He grabbed her nose and pinched it closed, and try as she might, she could not dislodge his fingers. She opened her mouth, and he burst into laughter. "Been eating candies, have you?"
"You sent those?" She kept her mouth closed as much as possible.
"Of course." He picked up the brown bag of candy on the table. "What's your..." He trailed off as he weighed the bag in his hands. "Didn't I give you three pounds of candy?"
She smiled impishly.
"You ate half the bag!"
"Was I supposed to save it?"
"I would have liked some!"
"You never told me that."
"Because I didn't expect you to consume all of it before breakfast!"
She snatched the bag from him and put it on the table. "Well, that just shows poor judgment on your part, doesn't it?"
Chaotic is the word I would use to describe this scene. And ADORABLE. They are just too cute. I want more scenes of just them having normal life conversations. Laughing about the most stupid and trivial things.
This is a long scene, so I cut a bit from it. Celaena is having her first period after everything that happened. She is resting in her room and Chaol comes:
The door to her bedroom opened, and someone approached.
"I heard about Nehemia." It was Chaol.
"What are you- isn't it late for you to be here?" she asked, pulling the blankets tight.
"I- are you sick?"
"I'm indisposed."
"Because of what happened to those rebels?"
Didn't he get it? Celaena grimaced. "No. I'm truly feeling unwell."
"It makes me sick, too,"
(... Chaol talking...)
She would have replied were it not for the deep pain that wrapped around her lower spine, and the sudden churning in her stomach.
"I might-" he started, looking at the window. "I might have been wrong." The world began to spin and tilt, and Celaena closed her eyes. She'd always had horrible cramping, usually accompanied by nausea. But she wouldn't vomit. Not right now.
"Chaol," she began, putting a hand over her mouth as nausea swelled and took control.
"It's just that I take great pride in my job," he continued.
"Chaol," she said again. Oh, she was going to vomit.
"And you're Adarlan's Assassin. But I was wondering if- if you wanted to-"
"Chaol," she warned. As he pivoted, Celaena vomited all over the floor.
He made a disgusted noise, jumping back a foot. Tears sprang up as the bitter, sharp taste filled her mouth. She hung over her knees, letting drool and bile spill on the floor.
"Are you- by the Wyrd, you're really sick, aren't you?" He called for a servant, helping her from the char. The world was clearer now. What had he been asking? "Come on. Let's get you into bed."
"I'm not ill like that," she groaned. He sat her on the bed, peeling back the blanket. A servant entered, frowning at the mess on the floor, and shouted for help.
"Then in what way?"
"I, uh..." Her face was so hot she thought it would melt onto the floor. Oh, you idiot! "My monthly cycle finally came back."
His face suddenly matched hers and he stepped away, dragging a hand through his short brown hair. "I-if... Then I'll take my leave," he stammered, and bowed. Celaena raised an eyebrow and then, despite herself, smiled as he left the room as quickly as his feet could go without running, tripping slightly in the doorway as he staggered into the rooms beyond.
This scene lives rent-free in my mind. It makes me laugh a lot every time I remember it. Just picturing the Captain of the Guard, Chaol Westfall, flustered, confused and half panicking, not knowing what to do... It's hilarious.
He'd seen how the duke used his size and title to win allies on the king's council and keep opponents from challenging him. But it wasn't his maneuvering that had captured the interest of the Captain of the Guard tonight. Rather, it was the moments between the grinds and laughter, when a shadow passed across the duke's face. It wasn't an expression of anger or of disgust, but a shade that clouded his eyes. It was so strange that when Chaol first seen it, he'd extended his dinner just to see if it happened again.
A few moments later, it did. Perrington's eyes became dark and his face cleared, as if he saw everything in the world for what it was and found no joy or amusement in it. Chaol leaned back in his chair, sipping his water.
If you know, you know. It astonishes me the amount of information, small clues or sentences that may seem random, but that you understand completely after the first read.
Celaena and Dorian are in her chambers talking, he asked her something, and now she asked him about the reason why he is not married yet:
(...)
His sapphire eyes flashed. "You marry the person you love- and none other," he said, and she laughed. "You're mocking me! You're laughing in my face!"
"You deserve to be laughed at for such foolish thoughts! I spoke from my soul; you speak only from selfishness."
"You're remarkably judgmental."
"What's the point in having a mind if you don't use it to make judgments?"
"What's the point in having a heart if you don't use it to spare others from the harsh judgments of your mind?"
"Oh, well said, Your Highness!"
The teasing in their conversations gets me all the time. But I loved both statements they made. We should all keep them in mind: judge everything in this world full of information, but keep the judgments to ourselves. They both have clever tongues.
Chaol stood with Dorian in the shadows atop the mezzanine, staring down at the assassin as she punched at the dummy situated in the center of the floor. She'd sent him a message saying she was going to train for a few hours after dinner, and he'd invited Dorian to come along to watch. Perhaps Dorian would now see why she was such a threat to him. To everyone.
Celaena grunted, throwing punch after punch, left-right-left-left-right. On and on, as if she had something burning inside of her that she couldn't quite get out.
The last sentence. It can perfectly refer to anger, since in the scene Celaena was angry and trying to get it out through training. But at the same time, I started making theories. Is it referring to something more...?
It was after, Samhuinn's ball. Both Dorian and Chaol went to Celaena's room after the ball. Dorian gets there first and sees her sleeping on the bed. The next bit we get of his thoughts are precious:
Dorian's POV:
He knew her somehow. And he knew she wouldn't harm him. It made little sense. When they talked, as sharp as her words usually were, he felt at ease, as if he could say anything.
It's incredibly cute how Dorian talks about Celaena. You can tell he is really in love with her.
After, Chaol enters the room and meets with the prince. He rapidly makes Dorian leave the room. But he stays, and we get a cute scene:
Chaol's POV:
He shook his head and walked into the bedroom.
At the sound of his step, she opened an eye. "It's not morning," she grumbled, and rolled over.
"I brought you a present." He felt immensely foolish, and for a moment considered running from her rooms.
"A present?" she said more clearly, turning towards him and blinking.
"It's nothing; they were giving them out at the party. Just give me your hand." It was a lie - sort of. (...)
"Let me see it." She lazily extended an arm.
He fished in his pockets and puled out the gift. "Here." He placed it in her palm.
She examined it, smiling drowsily. "A ring" She put it on. "How pretty." (...) "Thank you," she said, her eyelids drooping.
"You're wearing your grown, Celaena," His blush refused to fade.
"I'll change in a moment." He knew she wouldn't. "I just need... to rest." Then she was asleep, a hand upon her breast, the ring hovering over her heart.
I just love their dynamic. They are the cutest of all. I still like how Dorian treats Celaena, and I like their conversations. It's just that Chaol and her are in another level.
After one of the climbing Test, Celaena and Chaol are having lunch, and they are talking:
(...)
"You still haven't apologized," she said, changing the subject before Chaol could inquire further.
"Apologized? For what?"
"For all the horrid things you said yesterday afternoon when I was sparring with Nehemia."
He narrowed his eyes, taking the bait. "I won't apologize for speaking the truth."
"The truth? You treated me like I'm a crazed criminal!"
"And you said that you hated me more than anyone alive."
"I meant every word of it." However, a smile began to tug at her lips - and she soon found it reflected on his face. He tossed a piece of bread at her, which she caught in one hand and threw back at him. He caught it with ease. "Idiot," she said, grinning now.
"Crazed criminal," he returned, grinning, too.
"I really do hate you."
"At least I didn't come in eighteenth place," he said. Celaena felt her nostrils flare, and it was all Chaol could do to duck the apple she chucked at his head.
(...)
Aren't they adorable? Re-reading their relationship get build from the beginning, it's being incredible. They have amazing chemistry.
This is going to be a long scene because it's beautiful. Some context to make it shorter: Celaena had been playing the pianoforte when Dorian interrupted her. They were now talking:
(...)
"Tell me about your life - how you learned to play the pianoforte so masterfully. And what was that piece? It was so sad; were you thinking about a secret lover?" He winked.
"I practiced". She stood, walking toward the door. "And yes," she snapped, "I was".
(...)
"Good night Sardothien." He looked around her rooms and grinned. "Tell me something before I leave: this mystery lover of yours... he doesn't live in the castle, does he?"
He instantly knew he'd said the wrong thing when some of the light vanished from her eyes. "Good night," she said a bit coldly.
Dorian shook his head. "I didn't mean to-"
She just waved him off, looking toward the fire. Understanding his dismissal, he strode to the door, each of his footsteps sounding in the now too-silent room. He was almost to the threshold when she spoke, her voice distant. "His name was Sam."
She was still staring at the fire. Was Sam... "What happened?"
She looked at him, smiling sadly. "He died."
"When?" he got out. He would have never teased her like that, never said a damn word if he'd known...
Her words were strangled as she said, "Thirteen months ago."
This scene hits way different after reading TAB. And it's one of the reasons I highly recommend reading in chronological order.
The first time I read it (without having read TAB) I just passed the pages as if nothing were happening. This time I had to stop to get a couple tissues since my sight was getting quite blurred, to say the less.
I literally reacted like Kristoff (GIFs for further explanation) when I read that simple sentence. Like girl, you have eight books written about you, I think you are still fated for great things.
A couple pages after, in the same chapter, we get this beautiful image from Dorian's POV:
Still, the image haunted his dreams throughout the night: a lovely girl gazing at the stars, and the stars who gazed back.
The King of Adarlan had outlawed it all –magic, Fae, faeries– and removed any trace so thoroughly that even those who had magic in their blood almost believed it had never really existed, Celaena herself being one of them.
(...)
It had been a while since she'd contemplated the gifts she'd lost, though the memory of her abilities haunted her dreams.
I didn't remember they explained that this early in the books. I am highly surprised. When I read it I was screaming, shocked and thinking how can I have forgotten such an important clue?
Mr. Popper Puppet here. This is my first post in Tumblr, and hopefully, first of a lot.
I wanted to start my small blog with the re-read of Throne of Glass series. I read it two years ago and LOVED IT. That caused that, recently, while searching for a new book to read and stumbled across them, I couldn't bring myself to not start this series again.
Actually, I started with The assassin's blade a couple of weeks ago. This was not a re-read since the first time I read the books, I just didn't notice this one until later while scrolling through fan posts.
If there is anybody thinking of starting the series and don't know when to read TAB, I would recommend it to be the first book. It introduces you to the world and explains better the whole settlement of the stories than starting with TOG. I should also say that I prefer reading in chronological order always, so it makes more sense for me to read TAB first.
Going back to the re-read, I'm going to be posting scenes or quotes I like. Firstly because I want to have them all collected in one place. And secondly because I want to share them with all of this beautiful community.
For more technical information: I'm reading in e-book and in English, but I'm not sure which version is it, so it can happen that some things are said in other ways from what I have.
