Dasha

“But in all fairness, when I first met you, I thought you were-"
"A dried-up old stick of a Cassiline Brother," he finished, shooting me an amused glance. "I remember. I remember it very well."
"No." I gave his hair a sharp tug and smiled at him. "That was before I met you. Once I did, I thought you were a smug, self-satisfied young prig of a Cassiline Brother."
He laughed at that, a real laugh. "You were right. I was."
"No, I was wrong. The man I thought you were would have given up and died of humiliation in Gunter's kennels. You kept fighting, and stayed true to yourself.”
― Jacqueline Carey, Kushiel's Dart

“When I was twenty, I knew everything about my future. Now, I know nothing.”
― Lois McMaster Bujold, Horizon

“By your left hand, I’d say you’d had a sweet and true love in your short life. A love that ended only in your death. Yet here in your right hand, I see a love that wends its way in and out of your many years. That faithful heart has been absent for a time, but soon to return to you again.”
― Robin Hobb, Fool's Errand

“I offer you an honorable new beginning. I do not guarantee its ending. Attempts fail, but not as certainly as tasks never attempted.”
― Lois McMaster Bujold, Paladin of Souls