Justin Arnold > Quotes

“You don’t pay me to think,” Raul responded without blinking. “You pay me to rough people up and light things on fire.”
― Arnold, Justin, The Prince and the Puppet Thief

“The beginning and the end,” they said. “But what about the middle?”
― Arnold, Justin, The Prince and the Puppet Thief

“Reading is a myth, perpetuated by rival kingdoms”
― Arnold, Justin, The Prince and the Puppet Thief

“Well heavens, if I'm to be wanted for a crime, you should at least let me commit it first.”
― Arnold, Justin, The Prince and the Puppet Thief

“when one is lost in the wilderness without any sort of direction, it is often a small familiar thing that makes you better.”
― Justin Arnold, The Prince and the Puppet Thief

“Once, in a kingdom neither here nor there, lived a young thief whose only weapon was a book. The book, so he had heard, would tell him everything he needed to know in order to live a long and happy life. It promised to reveal to him the meaning of a mysterious thing called “ever after.”
― Justin Arnold, The Prince and the Puppet Thief

“Bloody fingers!" Outside the cannon, Simon could practically see the theatrical bow his father must be making. "Thief of hearts and gold, brute of the forest, the most feared villain in the kingdom of Incantus!"

"Second most," the second guard said.

"Do what now?" Bloody Fingers asked.”
― Arnold, Justin, The Prince and the Puppet Thief

“What”
― Justin Arnold, Wicked Little Things

“Hey, Prince Eric,” Hannah says to him, “kiss Ariel later. We need to bind this demon now.”
― Justin Arnold, Wicked Little Things

“Everyone deserves a story for themselves, I think.”
― Arnold, Justin, The Prince and the Puppet Thief

“He escaped, sire. In the night. No one knows how, and all that’s left in the dungeon is an old book of tales and some old man who is teaching the rats how to tap dance.”
― Justin Arnold, The Prince and the Puppet Thief

“Get the damsel, have the happiness. Wasn’t that how it was supposed to work?”
― Arnold, Justin, The Prince and the Puppet Thief

“It always unnerves me a little, to see the devil’s bride going into Pioneer Woman mode, but we all have our hobbies, I guess.”
― Justin Arnold, Wicked Little Things

“What do we do?” Marco asked with offense. “We . . . well, we . . . you know. We, um . . . we quest!” “We quest, sire?” “Yes of course. Anyone knows that you quest on a quest.” “I suppose, sire, that I don’t understand what questing is.” “It’s when you go on a quest.”
― Justin Arnold, The Prince and the Puppet Thief

“Simon knew it would be the polite thing to step forward and introduce himself, but he also knew that one shouldn’t be polite with someone who most likely meant to harm him.”
― Arnold, Justin, The Prince and the Puppet Thief

“This isn’t a murder factory, it’s Tinker Bell’s Nightmare Sorority.”
― Justin Arnold, Wicked Little Things

“Not another word!” Simon frantically tried to think of things he’d heard his father say to hostages. “Or I shall have Humphrey cut out your tongue and string me a new necklace!”

The prince stopped fighting for a moment and looked up at Simon. “That’s disgusting.”
― Arnold, Justin, The Prince and the Puppet Thief

“Aunt Bella comes at me, sweeping me into a giant hug and cutting off my retort. “Daney-Waney-Yuletide,” she coos. Damn it. Whoever let my mother give me that middle name needs their ass kicked. Yuletide. As though I’m Santa’s favorite elf, destined to save Christmas in vivid Claymation.”
― Justin Arnold, Wicked Little Things

“Yes, of course. Anyone knows that you quest on a quest.”
― Arnold, Justin, The Prince and the Puppet Thief

“If you had to choose, would you rather one bird die, or an entire group of dwarfs?”
“Neither!”
“No, you have to choose one. That’s the game.”
“I don’t like this game.”
― Arnold, Justin, The Prince and the Puppet Thief

“So.” I give a half grin. “What are we playing? Spin the bottle? Seven minutes in heaven? Drink the Kool-Aid?”
― Justin Arnold, Wicked Little Things

“Hold on,” the prince, put a hand on the king’s shoul‐ der. “I’ve got to see how this ends.”
― Arnold, Justin, The Prince and the Puppet Thief

“Calm down, I think. Just a fucking adorable raccoon. The raccoon makes its clicking sound again, and I swear it actually just said, “Watch your tongue, young man. And thank you.”
― Justin Arnold, Wicked Little Things

“Hold on,” the prince, put a hand on the king’s shoulder. “I’ve got to see how this ends.”
― Arnold, Justin, The Prince and the Puppet Thief

“Sire, should we really be dabbling in magic?” Hans whispered, “One of my uncles dabbled in it once, and now his right hand cannot stop making shadow puppets. It’s entertaining, but his hand is always cramped, and I couldn’t bear eternal hand cramps.”
― Justin Arnold, The Prince and the Puppet Thief

“The reverend—or pastor—shaman?—I don’t know what he is, says a lot of words about god and heaven. Plans and paths. Tooth fairies and wizards in emerald cities. Okay, I have no clue what he’s talking about. My family was never religious, so I can’t tell you why he’s even here.”
― Justin Arnold, Wicked Little Things

“Dane can’t come to the podium right now. He’s too busy digging a hole to crawl into.”
― Justin Arnold, Wicked Little Things

“Mom comes wide-eyed into the kitchen. When she sees me, she pales. I hold up Aloysius by the scruff of the neck. “It’s talking to me!” I shout. “Care to explain that?” Mom stares at the raccoon and paints on a tight-lipped smile. “Raccoons don’t talk. I think you’re just confused and tired.” “Robyn.” Aunt Bella sighs. “Don’t gaslight your child.”
― Justin Arnold, Wicked Little Things

“Marco tilted his head back farther, sniffed even deeper. His eyes lit up and he grinned. “Also . . . I smell . . . grog!” He moved quickly ahead, following the scent. Simon looked to Isobel. “He can smell alcohol in the distance?” Flora rolled her eyes. “Some are like dogs that way.”
― Justin Arnold, The Prince and the Puppet Thief

“Now,” I say, “let’s get queso and be wicked.”
― Justin Arnold, Wicked Little Things