Entwined Family Quotes

Azalea is a member of a really large family, and has eleven younger sisters—she's probably an expert in the care and feeding of younger sisters by now.

Those are some pretty harsh words, Azalea. But they reflect how she feels after the King leaves for war without even saying goodbye to his daughters. And, stuck at the palace without any way to dance, the girls begin to hate him for imposing mourning on them and not even being around to help them through it.

Keeper says this to Azalea when she's thinking about how her life might be different if she weren't the firstborn, and thus obligated to marry someone who has the potential to be a good future king. And… it's true. Azalea does care a lot for her sisters, and she would be willing to accept burdens in life in order to keep them from suffering. That's what family members do for each other, right?

It looks like the stubborn gene runs strong in the royal family. The girls are annoyed at their dad for leaving without saying goodbye, so they don't write to him; while their dad is probably too busy with the war (and grieving for his dead wife) to write to his daughters. When both sides are convinced that they're right, how do you break the standoff? Fairweller's dry comment—that their family is very interesting—is probably a way for him to not have to say anything condemning any single party in the conflict.

Clover's statement to the King might stand a chance at placating him, since Clover is so sweet and loveable that she hardly ever gets in trouble. But even this doesn't work, since the King can't stand to be reminded of his dead wife. Avoidance is one way of processing grief, sure, but it seems to be having a pretty negative effect on this family.

After Mr. Bradford spends the evening being tortured by Azalea's younger sisters, who hold him accountable for stopping the tower clock they all loved, he… actually doesn't seem to mind it. Azalea attributes this to the fact that he was just at war, so even a hectic meal with a hostile family must seem nice in comparison. But let's be honest, sometimes a family feud can seem like a war, right?

We've all been in family situations where you have to act happy and like nothing's wrong at some big event, whether a wedding or Thanksgiving dinner, despite the family drama seething under the surface—and this is exactly what's going on with Azalea's family here. The King really wants to present a nice image of their family for the visitors (who will include Azalea's suitors), so everyone has to make nice for the time being.

Clover speaks the truth: in most cultures, weddings are a family event (even the cultures in made-up fairy-tale novels, apparently). And here we see Clover really sticking to her guns, and wanting her match with Fairweller to be accepted by her family even though he's unpopular and not very well liked. Go Clover.

Azalea's mom sets things right by making Azalea promise to include the whole family under her care and protection. This promise, somehow made magical, is what gets Azalea access to the silver handkerchief again, which in turn lets her save her sisters from certain death inside the palace mirrors. The take-home message here seems to be that caring for your family can be powerful mojo.

We can tell that Azalea's feelings toward her dad have changed over the course of the book, because here, near the end, she is horrified and appalled to realize that she ever spoke those words (but she totally did, earlier on). And words like these can sure hurt—both the person they're being said to, and the person saying them. We're glad to see that Azalea no longer hates or resents her dad, since uniting as a family helps heal them as individuals and as the royal family.