“Curiosity killed the cat,” Fesgao remarked, his dark eyes unreadable.
Aly rolled her eyes. Why did everyone say that to her? “People always forget the rest of the saying,” she complained. “‘And satisfaction brought it back.”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Trickster's Choice
“If you've a story, make sure it's a whole one, with details close to hand. It's the difference between a good lie and getting caught.”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Trickster's Choice
“Most humans think the appearance of quiet is quiet. They do not see that sometimes the enemy is as quiet as the serpent. Only when it has stolen all of their eggs will they know bad walks in the quiet as well as the noisy.”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Trickster's Choice
“Why, I’m just as true and honest as dirt. And I’m even more charming than dirt.”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Trickster's Choice
“Marriage is for noblewomen with nothing else to do.”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Trickster's Choice
“A crow may put on human shape or crow shape, but we remain crows,” he replied firmly. “Hawks, too, are the same, whether they are born in human nests or hawk ones. The nestlings must always be protected. Since you have chosen to protect these, I and mine will protect you.”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Trickster's Choice
“We could mate. In a year our nestlings would be large enough to mob anyone we like...Should I begin to court you? Do you like grubs or ants better?...I will be here. In case you change your mind about mating.”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Trickster's Choice
“Raoul: Age and treachery!
Neal: Youth and skill!”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Trickster's Choice
“Have I mentioned that I hate it when you're right?", she asked instead.
Alanna shook her head. "No, I don't believe you have. As far as I could tell, you never thought I was right.”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Trickster's Choice
“A noble maiden must convey dignity and chastity without appearing to think about either one. Let common-born girls tussle in the hay with their loutish swains. The future of your family's bloodline and your future lord's bloodline should be your greatest concern. Let no man but one of your family embrace you. Let no man but your betrothed kiss any more than your fingertips; let your betrothed kiss you only on fingers, cheek, or forehead, lest he think you unchaste. And never allow yourself to be alone with a man, to safeguard the precious jewel of you reputation. No well-born maiden ever suffered from keeping her suitors at arm's length. Your chastity will make you a prize to you future husband's house and an honor to your own."
- form Advice to a Young Noblewoman, by Lady Fronia of Whitehall (in Maren) given to Ally on her twelfth birthday by her godmother, Queen Thayet”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Trickster's Choice
“We build up pretty pictures of men, when we want to be in love. We hate to have them ruined.”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Trickster's Choice
“Lokeij whistled. “Make the king’s warriors vanish if
they come. . . what a deceitful turtledove you are.”
Aly smiled at the sky. “Oh, don’t,”she replied in the
tones of a flirtatious court lady. “Stop, I insist. Your
flattery makes me blush.”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Trickster's Choice
“My dear, why send Aly to wait on us?” he wanted to know. “I know you were busy with your domestic arrangements, but surely one of the girls with experience waiting on the nobility would have served.”He smiled kindly at Aly. “Though you did a creditable job.”
“Aly isn’t used to Bronau as we are, my dear,” Winnamine explained. “She might see what would be hidden to us. And she has certain useful skills.”
“Useful?”Mequen asked, raising his brows at Aly.“I read lips, Your Grace,” Aly said meekly. “And I can tell you that the prince is telling the truth about why he came.”
“What? How could you possibly know that?” the
startled duke demanded.
“Liars blink more when they lie, or they look away while they answer,” Aly explained. She did not want
anyone to know about her Sight if she could help it.
Only a fool told all of her secrets. “The prince is frightened.” She looked at the duke. “Did you see he was sweating when he talked about the situation at court?”
Mequen raised his eyebrows. “All of us sweat when we think of the royal court,” he said drily. “I am so accustomed to it that I didn’t even notice. Truly, the
god blessed us when he sent you.”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Trickster's Choice
“They are sparkly,” Nawat said. “The griffins shed them. I thought if I brought you a present that was made of discarded things, no one would punish you for having them.”
― Tamora Pierce, quote from Trickster's Choice
“I'm not going to just break their rules this time. I'm going to shatter them.”
― Joelle Charbonneau, quote from Need
“The Tender Place
Your temples , where the hair crowded in ,
Were the tender place. Once to check
I dropped a file across the electrodes
of a twelve-volt battery -- it exploded
Like a grenade. Somebody wired you up.
Somebody pushed the lever. They crashed
The thunderbolt into your skull.
In their bleached coats, with blenched faces,
They hovered again
To see how you were, in your straps.
Whether your teeth were still whole .
The hand on the calibrated lever
Again feeling nothing
Except feeling nothing pushed to feel
Some squirm of sensation . Terror
Was the cloud of you
Waiting for these lightnings. I saw
An oak limb sheared at a bang.
You your Daddy's leg . How many seizures
Did you suffer this god to grab you
By the roots of the hair? The reports
Escaped back into clouds. What went up
Vaporized? Where lightning rods wept copper
And the nerve· threw off its skin
Like a burning child
Scampering out of the bomb-flash. They dropped you
A rigid bent bit of wire
Across the Boston City grid. The lights
In the Senate House dipped
As your voice dived inwards
Right through the bolt-hole basement.
Came up, years later,
Over-exposed, like an X-ray --
Brain-map still dark-patched
With the scorched-earth scars
Of your retreat . And your words ,
Faces reversed from the light ,
Holding in their entrails.”
― Ted Hughes, quote from Birthday Letters
“Consider the subtleness of the sea; how its most dreaded creatures glide under water, unapparent for the most part, and treacherously hidden beneath the loveliest tints of azure. Consider also the devilish brilliance and beauty of many of its most remorseless tribes, as the dainty embellished shape of many species of sharks. Consider, once more, the universal cannibalism of the sea; all whose creatures prey upon each other, carrying on eternal war since the world began.
Consider all this; and then turn to the green, gentle, and most docile earth; consider them both, the sea and the land; and do you not find a strange analogy to something in yourself? For as this appalling ocean surrounds the verdant land, so in the soul of man there lies one insular Tahiti, full of peace and joy, but encompassed by all the horrors of the half-known life. God keep thee! Push not off from that isle, thou canst never return!”
― Herman Melville, quote from Moby-Dick
“By and large, the poor do not want some small life. They don't want to game the system or eke out an existence; they want to thrive and contribute.”
― Matthew Desmond, quote from Evicted: Poverty and Profit in the American City
“23 I know, Lord, that a man’s way of life is not his own; no one who walks determines his own steps. ”
― quote from HCSB: Holman Christian Standard Bible
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