I understand at once her orders to look happy, to forget that the man I love is dead and tumbled into an unmarked grave, to forge the future of my family by hammering myself into marriage with his enemy.
-- Elizabeth of York (Sheriff Hutton Castle, Yorkshire, Autumn 1485 paragraph 2)

Importance: This quote is important because it establishes the entirety of the plot. Elizabeth is on her way to marry a man who killed her husband. She knows it is her duty. The use of the word hammering tells the reader that she is not happy with the arrangement. Yet, she is a York Princess and, therefore, is bound by duty to marry Henry Tudor.

Everyone says that this reign has started with death and won't last. He has brought death with him. We'll all die of his ambition.
-- Elizabeth (Westminster Palace, London, Autumn 1485 paragraph 1)

Importance: This quote is important because it shows how much the people dislike Henry after the war. They blame him for the sweating sickness...