“Fair greetings. I hope this letter finds you well. I have been counting every minute of every day we have been apart. And on every morning when I awake, the first thought I have is of you. In all my life, I never thought that I would find anyone like you. Someone who makes me laugh even when I no longer have strength even to smile. All I have to do is think of you and my heart is instantly gladded. Indeed, I keep every one of your smiles stored especially there in my heart and in my mind. You’ll never know how truly sorry I am that fate would not see us united. That things couldn’t have been different between you and me. But then there is much in my life that I regret. I hope this note finds you well and that you will smile when you think of me and not be saddened as I am saddened. I would never wish to be the source of your unhappiness. Instead, I hope you have all you desire and that someday, should things be different, you might again welcome me into your arms. Ever yours, Stryder.
-A letter to Rowena”
“Marriage. ’Tis an unholy union between two people, and for what purpose? To make them both miserable. (Stryder)
I don’t believe is has to be that way. Imagine a marriage where the man and woman respect each other. Where they are partners and allies. (Rowena)
You are sober and speak more foolishness than I do while drunk. (Stryder)”
“I will tell no one what I know of the two of you. But I would ask one small price for my silence. (Damien)
And that is? (Rowena)
If you still believe in God, then say a prayer for me. He turned a deaf ear to my pleas long ago. (Damien)”
“Trust me, Stryder, there is no greater pain than to let the one you love leave your side. Knowing they are out there, alone, and always wondering if they are healthy and happy. (Zenobia)”
“The only way to peace is to lay aside weapons. (Rowena)
And the bloodiest of wars are often fought not with weapons, but rather with tongues. A man can heal an external wound a thousand times faster than he can heal even a small one dealt to his heart. You are a warrior, milady. You just choose a different forum for your battles, but you battle nonetheless. Like the men you hate so much, you hurt and wound. Have you given thought to why you fight the wars you do? (Zenobia)”
“What do you mean? (Fatima)
There’s so much evil out there to protect him and others from. How can I fight for that and keep him safe simultaneously? (Stryder)
I still do not understand, milord. You are but one man with one sword to fight all the world. This is indeed a good thing. But when you are gone so too is your sword. So it seems to me that while it is important to fight the bad man, it is just as equally important to raise a good one. Raising more than one would be even better. That way when you are gone, you will leave a whole generation behind who will fight for what is right. (Fatima)”
“Love really did conquer all–even two headstrong people who were bound to breed even more obstinate children for the future. But that was all right by her. After all, the world needed heroes who could wield both swords and words with equal skill.”
“Nay," she said stubbornly. "I have just been told that the only chance I have for freedom is in your hands and by all that is holy, you will deliver me my freedom or I shall see to it that you live out the rest of your life in merciless misery."
He gaped at her. On any other man such an expression would have looked foolish, but to credit Lord Stryder, even when taken by surprise, he still managed to carry off an air of supreme authority and handsomeness. "I beg your pardon? Have you gone completely mad?"
"Not I, but rather the king you love so well. It appears he would see us marry."
"My hairy arse."
She gave him a droll stare. "That is much more information about your person, Lord Stryder, than I care to know.”
“We all survive. We all go home. We are brothers unto the end. (Brotherhood Creed)”
“The last time I told one of your would-be paramours nay on your behalf, she damn near unmanned me. This time I wish protection when I deliver the news. ’Tis not amusing. You think what you do is dangerous? I defy you to be in my boots for one moment when I face the great Ovarian Horde in your stead. (Kit)”
“Put you weapon away. (Rowena)
Why should I when I have half a mind to make good use of it on you? (Stryder)
So you admit to having only half a mind, then? (Rowena)”
“They travel through the night on the wings of heavenly stallions bringing hope and new faith to those left behind. Even though they are free, they never forget their past and spend their lives trying to bring peace to others. (Brotherhood Chanson)”
“(Will unsheathed his sword.)
What is it you do? (Stryder)
Remember when you told us you’d rather be dead than married? (Val)”
“I can hire someone to guard me. (Rowena)
Never trust a hired man. If they’ll serve you for one price, they’ll gladly serve another for a higher one. (Stryder)”
“Do all men kiss like that? (Rowena)
I know not since I have never kissed a man. (Stryder)”
“I could no more love a man of the sword than either of our mothers. So, tell me, Stryder. How do we get out of this? (Rowena)
I don’t know. Murder? (Stryder)”
“Because there is a time for all things. My people, like you, believe in peace. But sometimes, the only way to have peace is to fight for it. (Zenobia)”
“And yet you’re a knight. (Rowena)
Because I have seen the great evil that is done on this earth to those who can’t fight for themselves. The meek only inherit the grave while the strong go on until someone stronger stops them. (Stryder)”
“Better than being slave to a man who has no regard for me other than a broodmare for his children. (Rowena)
True. I should hate to be a broodmare for a man. (Stryder)”
“I am merely biding my time. (Stryder)
For what? (Rowena)
For the moment when I am out of this cell and am able to wreak havoc on the one who put me here. I’m going to pull out his innards through his nostrils and dance around his entrails. (Stryder)”
“You are beautiful. Definitely worth a few milksop words of dribble. (Stryder)”
“You can’t save the world, Stryder. (Rowena)
If I save one person, then I have saved their world. Homes are not built of one single slab, but rather they are made of hundreds of stones. If one stone is crushed, then the entire house is compromised, if not ruined. I might not save them all, but I have to save as many as I can. (Stryder)”
“How can we continue to have festivities after so many have died? (Rowena)
The same way we managed to laugh while we were in prison. You have to, otherwise you will go mad from the grief. Sometimes it helps to shout. Let the angels hear your rage. (Stryder)”
“Staring at the floor, she didn't even look up as the final contestant entered.
Not until she heard a deep, rich baritone that filled the hall with the most beautiful sound she had ever heard.
Her heart pounding, she looked up to see Stryder holding his mother's lute.
Only it wasn't a love song he sang.
More like a limerick, it was a song about a woman who fancied herself a goose.
And a man who gobbled her up.
Laughter and applause rang out as soon as he strummed the last note.
Breathe, breathe.
It was the only thing Rowena could think. And even that couldn't get her to take a breath as Stryder approached her.
He smoothed her hair and straightened her feathered crown. "Methinks my goose has molted."
Rowena laughed as more tears streaked down her face.”
“You know," she said, pulling back from his neck. "I've always been wrong about something."
"And that is?"
"I thought there was nothing in the world more seductive than a troubadour singing his observations about his lady love. But I was wrong."
She trailed her fingernail down his arm, raising chills in its wake. "The most incredible seduction is when a knight who is renowned for his strength speaks from his heart. Not as a knave out to woo a woman because he can, but as a man who wants only to give of himself." Her gaze seared him as she stared into his eyes and he saw her innermost sincerity. "I love you, Stryder. I always will."
-Stryder and Rowena”
“Not I, but rather the king you love so well. It appears he would see us marry. (Rowena)
My hairy arse. (Stryder)
That is much more information about your person, Lord Stryder, than I care to know. (Rowena)”
“Would you do me a favor milord? Be a boorish ass again. (Rowena)”
“You worthless excuse for a dung dealer. (Stryder)”
“Why are you telling me this? (Stryder)
Because too many of us let our minds deafen our hearts. (Zenobia)”
“It’s not easy to kill someone, Rowena. To stare at them, face to face, that moment when you both realize you’ve dealt them a mortal blow. There is something that passes between you. My father once told me it’s a part of their soul that creeps into you. A part that will haunt you all of your life. (Stryder)”
“But just because a person goes to Harvard doesn't mean he's balanced when he graduates, and just because a dog knows how to obey doesn't mean he's balanced, either.”
“His love was so intense, yet his soul held so much sorrow. I wondered if his hurt went so deep that he could never heal.”
“I loved your eyes first,” I told him , repeating his words from a few weeks ago back to him, because it was true, and because we were two halves of a whole—we had been all along, and he’d been so clever to know it right away. I used to think it was insanity, but now I was beginning to think that it was pure brilliance. “I see it, too, James. I see the other half of my soul in you.”
“The mind was a clay pot set out in the rain. A monk could empty it daily and still the old hopes and worries, the body’s meager strengths and perennial pains pattered against the bottom, trickled down the sides, filling it once more.”
“Her quickness of mind was like a hiss, a dart, a lethal bite. And there was nothing in her appearance that acted as a corrective.”
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