Mariva

“I would have thought he would be uncertain - a Cassiline, and celibate - but he came to it with wonder, taking all that I offered with a kind of reverent awe.”
― Jacqueline Carey, Kushiel's Dart

“Bottles have a habit of breaking under pressure. I have found that people make poor bottles.”
― Cindy L Sell, Embers Rising

“To fail and persevere is a harder test than any you will meet on the practice-field. Keep your sword. I cannot afford its loss.”
― Jacqueline Carey, Kushiel's Dart

“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