How we cite our quotes: (Chapter.Paragraph)
Quote #7
"If I but had my true youth again […] why, in the dawn of the world I could transform mountains into seas and clouds into palaces. I could populate cities with the pebbles on the shingle. If I were young again […]" (6.59)
The witch-queen delivers this little monologue while she's trying to transform her cart/chariot thing into an inn. The point of this is to entice the star inside, make her comfy, and cut out her heart. But the witch-queen runs into trouble when her age makes it tough to perform the necessary magic. We're not exactly sure what the connection between youth and magic is, but it definitely exists.
Quote #8
"Look at you!" said the second of the Lilim. "You took the last of the youth we had saved […] From the looks of you, you've squandered most of the youth already." (8.52)
The stay-at-home Lilim aren't happy with their eldest sister when they talk via unicorn-blood-phone. It's obvious from looking at her that she's been using up youth left and right, and that there's not much of it left. We get the feeling that youth is a precious commodity, not just because it's hard to come by the heart of a fallen star, but because it's inherently valuable.
Quote #9
"Good day, sister. What happened to your house?" asked Madame Semele.
"Young people today. One of them thought it would be good sport to fire the house of a poor old woman who had never harmed a soul." (9.26-27)
To hear the witch-queen tell her side of things, you'd think she was this sweet old lady who had to fight off horrible young hooligans who attacked her without any reason. Um, not quite—Septimus was trying to take revenge for the murder of his brother. Then again, it's not like Septimus is an innocent young guy either; he's killed three of his brothers in his pursuit of the throne. Moral of the story? Old or young, everybody's got their faults.