Juliet Marillier

“There is no truth on this island of yours. Rather, there are as many truths as there are stars in the sky; and every one of them different.”

“And as I watched him, I knew that in every dark night there was, somewhere, a small light burning that could never be quenched.”

“This is a long goodbye, yet not time enough. I have no aptitude for this. I cannot learn this. I would hold on, and hold on, until my hands clutch at emptiness.”

“Don't you long for something different to happen, something so exciting and new it carries you along with it like a great tide, something that lets your life blaze and burn so the whole world can see it?”

“You know not, yet, the sort of love that strikes like a lightning bolt; that clutches hold of you by the heart, as irrevocably as death; that becomes the lodestar by which you steer the rest of your life. I would not wish such a love on anyone, man or woman, for it can make your life a paradise, or it can destroy you utterly.”

“My world was changing, and I was not ready for it.”

“All that he had of her was his memory, where he held every moment, every single moment that she had been his. That was all he had, to keep out the loneliness.”

“Perhaps he could still weave together the broken threads of his life. And yet, I wanted him here now. I needed him here. In the darkness, if I sat very still, I could almost feel his presence by me, quite near, but not too near. Didn't I promise to keep you safe, he would say softly. I have never broken a promise. Don't look so worried, Jenny. And yet, he would be careful. Careful not to move too close. Careful not to frighten me. Waiting still. I am your shelter. Don't be afraid.”

“Perhaps this is what the stories meant when they called somebody heartsick. Your heart and your stomach and your whole insides felt hollow and empty and aching.”

“Bran dissera, uma vez, que a confiança era um conceito sem qualquer significado. Mas, se não podíamos confiar, ficávamos sós, porque nem a amizade, nem a sociedade, nem a família, nem a aliança, podiam existir sem confiança. Sem ela ficávamos dispersos, à mercê dos quatro ventos, sem nada a que nos agarrarmos.”

“You cannot poison what is between us with your foul words. She is my light in the darkness and Johnny is my pathway ahead.”

“I know it's hard for you to trust me. If I ever find the man who did this to you, who made you so frightened, I'll kill him with my bare hands. But you can trust me.”

“More like some small, fierce bird of prey, something with a sharp bite. An owl perhaps, that speaks only when the rest of the world sleeps. Jenny will do well enough.”

“My daughter," I said blankly. "I see. Correct me if I am wrong, but I thoughtit took a man, as well as a woman, to make a child. Is this infant's father tobe a crab, or a seagull maybe? Or were you planning to shipwreck some likelysailor on my doorstep, so I can make convenient use of him?”

“A dream is the key that unlocks the mysteries of the waking world...”

“You thought you’d never give up your vocation, a voice whispered inside me. You thought you’d never even consider it. But you’ve met the one man who could change your mind. He is your perfect complement. He is Cathal to your Clodagh; he is Bran to your Liadan. No wonder you conjured up those images. No wonder they make you weep.”

“a tree is never just a tree, it is bigger and deeper and wiser than a girl like you will ever be.”

“I have listened to many tales in my life, and told a few of my own. If this has taught me anything, it is that there aresome occurrences that change the course of things, that make an alteration far beyond their own apparent magnitude. Itis like the throwing of a tiny pebble into a pool, how it makes an ever-expanding circle of ripples, spreading rightacross the water's surface.”

“I wish- I wish I could dry these tears, I wish I could make this better for you. But I don't know how.”

“I like the truth, even when it does trouble me.”

“Even in that time of utter darkness, somewhere deep inside me the memory of love and goodness had stayed alive.”

“.... So Cu Chulainn asked and he asked, and at length he learned that the best teacher of the arts of war was a woman, Scathach, a strange creature who lived on a tiny island off the coast of Alba.""A woman?" someone echoed scornfully. "How could that be?""Ah, well, this was no ordinary woman, as our hero soon found out for himself. When he came to the wild shore of Alba and looked across the raging waters to the island where she lived with her warrior women, he saw that there could be a difficulty before he even set foot there. For the only way across was by means of a high, narrow bridge, just wide enough for one man to walk on. And the instant he set his foot upon its span, the bridge began to shake and flex and bounce up and down, all along its considerable length, so that anyone foolish enough to venture farther along it would straightaway be tossed down onto the knife-sharp rocks or into the boiling surf.""Why didn't he use a boat?" asked Spider with a perplexed frown."Didn't you hear what Liadan said?" Gull responded with derision. "Raging waters? Boiling surf? No boat could have crossed that sea, I'd wager.”

“If a man truly loves,....He does not consider the obstacles, the restrictions, the reasons why his choice may be flawed or impratical. He gives no heed to what others may think. His heart has no room for that, for it is filled to the brim with the unutterable truth of his feelings.”

“Water and stoneFlesh and boneNight and mornRose and thornTree and windHeart and mind”

“Stronger than iron crueler than deathsweeter than springtimeit lives beyond breath”

“My feet will tread soft as a deer in the forest.... My mind will be clear as water from the sacred well. My heart will be strong as a great oak. My spirit will spread an eagle's wings, and fly forth. This is the way of truth.”

“Our strength comes from that magic, from the earth and the sky, from the fire and the water. Fly high, swim deep, give back to the earth what she gives you...”

“So you do believe in... true love? she whispered.I took a deep breath, I think I have to, I said, blinking back tears. Without it, we're all going nowhere.”