How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #1
Whenever I looked at Nizam, he glanced away. Yet I often felt his gaze on my back. In many ways he was like an older brother, protecting me from dangers I was too young to discover. Though Nizam was her slave, Mother treated him sometimes as if he were my sibling. (2.34)
Nizam would have been a much better older brother than Aurangzeb. Or ours. At least he never gave Jahanara wedgies and threatened to put boogers in her ears.
Quote #2
"So, does it ever…has it occurred to you," I whispered, "that when Father dies, Aurangzeb will claim the Peacock Throne?"
Dara dropped a grape. "Really, Jahanara, since when did you start thinking about such things?"
"Mother wants me—"
"To speak of nonsense?"
"You think it's nonsense," I asked, "that Aurangzeb might want the throne? Sometimes, when Father speaks of giving it to you, I see how angry it makes him. He tries to hide it but can't. Aurangzeb has always known that you're Father's favorite, and that no matter how much he excelled, the throne would be yours. How do you think that makes him feel? How would you feel if Father loved you less than Aurangzeb, and everyone knew?"
"But I can't—"
"It would hurt, Dara. And I think it hurts Aurangzeb so dreadfully that he didn't mind watching me die. So dreadfully that he might fight you for the throne."
My brother swiped halfheartedly at a troublesome fly. "I've never tried to hurt him. And I never will." He paused, watching the fly settle on the trunk of a nearby pomegranate tree. "I want to be his friend as much as you do. But he knows the Emperor has the right to choose his successor. It's always been so."
"True. But just because Father intends that you take his place doesn't mean that you shall."
"Aurangzeb won't fight me." (3.39-49)
This is one reason why many kingdoms have the firstborn = next in line rule. Can you imagine what it was like for Aurangzeb to know that the throne could be his, if only his dad liked him better? Aren't parents supposed to avoid favoritism for this very reason? On the other hand, sometimes the firstborn is a real dud, and that creates problems of its own. No system's perfect.
Quote #3
She hugged me tight, and I smelled a trace of musk on her skin. "How I missed you, Jahanara."
My eyes teared, but I sought to remain composed. "Why did you leave for so long?" I asked, abruptly vulnerable to the memories of the past weeks, biting my lip so that I wouldn't cry.
"Father isn't the only one who needs you." I felt childish to speak so, but my love for my mother was like a cub that constantly requires meat, and she had been gone when I longed for her most. (5.34)
No matter how old you get or how grown up you feel, there will be times when you just need your mom. It doesn't matter what your relationship is, or whether that lady is dead or alive. You'll just need her. And that's what makes moms so special.