Yelena Quotes

Anyway, the odds were against you. Most lost big, while only a few - " Rand paused dramatically " - won big."

"Since you're here, I suppose you won big."

He smiled. "Yelena, I'm always going to bet on you. You're like one of the Commander's terriers. A tiny, yappy dog you wouldn't look at twice, but once it grabs your pant leg, it won't let go."

"Poison the dog's meat and it won't bother you anymore. ~ Maria V. Snyder

I shook my head at Janco. "I've got the situation under control. Go back to the Keep, I'll meet you there."
Janco stared at me in astonished silence. Ari, though, trusted me. "Come on, she doesn't need our help." Ari sheathed his sword. Janco recovered. He flashed me one of his mischievous grins. "I'll bet you a copper that she'll be free in five minutes," he said to Ari.
Ari grunted in amusement. "A silver on ten minutes," he countered.
"I'll bet you both a gold coin that she kills him," Valek said
from behind them. They moved aside and he entered, still dressed in his Adviser Ilom disguise. "The only way to take care of your problem. Right, love? ~ Maria V. Snyder

Just as there are no little people or unimportant lives, there is no insignificant work. ~ Yelena Bonner

Valek coalesced from the shadows and wrapped me in his long lean arms. I soaked in his musky smell, listening to his heart beat. Strong and steady. No indication that he had been sneaking around. ~ Maria V. Snyder

Unfortunately, diplomacy was a dance I needed to learn. ~ Maria V. Snyder

Your mother sounds like a formidable woman," Valek said into the silence.
"You have no idea," Leif replied with a sigh.
"Well, if she's anything like Yelena, my deepest sympathies," Valek teased.
"Hey!"
Leif laughed and the tense moment dissipated.
Valek handed Leif his machete. "Do you know how to use it?"
"Of course. I chopped Yelena's bow into firewood," Leif joked. ~ Maria V. Snyder

As far as threats went, Yelena couldn't be outdone. ~ Maria V. Snyder

Before Kiki and I headed toward the Keep, I thanked my friends.
"For what? We didn't do anything," Janco grumbled.
"For caring enough to follow my guards. And the next time, I might need the help."
"There better not be a next time," Ari said, giving me a stern look.
"How touching," Janco said, pretending to wipe his eyes.
"Get going, Yelena. I don't want you to see me cry." He faked a sniffle.
"I'm sure your ego can handle it," I said. "Or will you need to beat up some trainees to feel like a man again?"
"Very funny," he said. ~ Maria V. Snyder

Sneaks, spies, defenders, heroes, masterminds, tenacious bastards - it doesn't matter what you call us. We're the ones who will do whatever it takes to stop those who believe they're entitled to wealth and power at the expense of others."
"The family business," Yelena said, smiling. ~ Maria V. Snyder

No." She gawked. Her arms seized me and turned me to face her. "You didn't!" She screeched, her jaw dropped. I pulled myself from her hold.

"Nothing happened." I muttered.

"Liar! I can see it all over your face!"

I groaned.

"Tell me everything!" Her eyes had lit up like this was the most exciting news she had ever heard. ~ Yelena Lugin

I signaled when Owen's wife was linked to him, who was linked to Yelena. Valek paused, marveling at the intricacies of magical communication. Ixia really needed to find a way to keep up. ~ Maria V. Snyder

Run," he whispered. "Run."
"No, Rand," I said, brushing the dirt from his face. "I'm tired of running."
"Forgive me, please." He clutched my hand as his eyes beseeched me through tears of pain.
"You're forgiven."
He sighed once, then stopped breathing. The shine in his brown eyes dulled. I pulled his hood over his head. ~ Maria V. Snyder

Leif: Getting killed would have been easier. No guilt. No worries. No fear. Caring for someone is terrible and wonderful. I don't know if I have the strength to do it for another. How do you deal with it?
Yelena: I focus on the wonderful parts and suffer through the terrible parts, knowing it will end eventually. ~ Maria V. Snyder

Valek's thoughts returned to Yelena. An icy finger of loneliness touched the emptiness inside him. She was in Sitia, where she needed to be to learn about her magical powers, but she had taken his heart with her. ~ Maria V. Snyder

I left Kiki in the yard, and fetched my pick and brushes.
She lifted her leg and I dislodged the stone then pulled the shedding blade through her copper hair. After a while, I removed my cloak. When I finished, clumps of horse hair clung to my sweaty clothes.
You're beautiful and I need a bath, I said to her. Pasture or stall?
Stall. Nap time.
And what about your snooze before I groomed you?
Pre nap. ~ Maria V. Snyder

Pretty stupid," I called after his retreating form. "To give up before all possible solutions have been tried. ~ Maria V. Snyder

To Yelena, our newest food taster. May you last longer than your predecessor. ~ Maria V. Snyder

He was the sun and I was just a speck of dust, existing on his horizon. Eventually I would burn up and the sun would continue to shine. ~ Yelena Lugin

As an entrepreneur and mother, I support the need to put women at the center, recognizing their crucial impact on social development and their important role of balancing family and professional responsibilities. ~ Yelena Baturina

Do you know how hard it is to find someone who can reciprocate your feelings? ~ Yelena Black

You look like hell,' he said to me in a low voice.
'Gee, Dax, don't coat it with honey. Tell me what you really think,' I said. ~ Maria V. Snyder

I was among one of the first entrepreneurs to start building their own private enterprise when Perestroika began in Russia and the state initiated its first market-oriented reforms. ~ Yelena Baturina

I am interested in classic building development, such as hotels and residential homes, rather than commercial properties. ~ Yelena Baturina

I wanted to dissolve into the floor, mixing myself with the hard stone. A stone had a single purpose: to be. No complicated promises, no worries and no feelings. ~ Maria V. Snyder

When you are in an unpleasant environment that makes you feel uncomfortable, one of the key ways to improve that situation is through design. That's why I think it is so important to help develop and showcase young designers, as they are our future. ~ Yelena Baturina

Yelena, you've driven me crazy. You've caused me considerable trouble and I've contemplated ending your life twice since I've known you." Valek's warm breath in my ear sent a shiver down my spine.
"But you've slipped under my skin, invaded my blood and seized my heart."
"That sounds more like a poison than a person," was all I could say. His confession had both shocked and thrilled me.
"Exactly," Valek replied. "You have poisoned me. ~ Maria V. Snyder

It's a dirty way to fight, but I'm late for lunch.
- Valek to Yelena ~ Maria V. Snyder

... Yelena? Hello?" Leif poked my arm.
"I'm here."
"What are we going to do?" Leif asked me.
"It's too late to go anywhere else. Kiki and the horses will watch the outside of the building and alert me if anyone approaches."
"Ooh, guard horses. How quaint. ~ Maria V. Snyder

One thing a Soviet upbringing taught you was to pay attention. ~ Yelena Akhtiorskaya

I think Yelena Akhtiorskaya is a genius. What she manages to do, linguistically and emotionally, in the span of a single sentence, is astonishing. ~ Keith Gessen

On the one hand, I am a businesswoman - on the other, a wife and a mother. Like many women, I have had to distribute time and attention between business and family. It is not at all easy to find that balance. ~ Yelena Baturina

And what did you give him in return?"..."My heart. ~ Maria V. Snyder

Valek leaned back in his chair and said to me, "I don't think I would have made it past the audition,Yelena. I probably would have set my hair on fire by this point."
"What's a singed head for the sake of art?" I teased. He laughed. ~ Maria V. Snyder

In the mid-1990s, when Russia was undergoing a construction boom, I entered the real estate development market. ~ Yelena Baturina

Good food, fresh water, and an occasional sweet and someone to care for. That's what everyone should have. A simplistic and unrealistic view I knew, but it soothed me. ~ Maria V. Snyder

Yelena." I halted in the doorway, looking back over my shoulder.
"You once said I wasn't ready to believe your reason for killing Reyad. I'll believe you now."
"But I'm not ready to tell you," I said and left the room. ~ Maria V. Snyder

Valek: You know a death sentence hasn't kept us apart before.
Yelena: Is that an order Valek?
Valek: No, it's a promise! ~ Maria V. Snyder

Your path is clear," said Moon Man. "You need to find it."
And the best way to find something you had lost was to return to the last place you remembered having it. In my case, I needed to start at the very beginning. ~ Maria V. Snyder

Ghost?" I asked.
Moon Man pointed to Valek. "Kiki's name for him. It makes sense," he said, seeing the look of confusion on my face. "To magical beings, we see the world through our magic. We see him with our eyes, but cannot see him with our magic. So he is like a ghost to us."
Valek listened to Moon Man. Although expressionless, I could tell by the rigid set to Valek's shoulders that he was prepared to strike.
"Another relative?" Valek asked.
A broad smile stretched Moon Man's lips. "Yes. I am her mother's uncle's wife's third cousin. ~ Maria V. Snyder

Don't feel ashamed for having those feelings and those memories. What happened in the past can't be changed, but they can be a guide for what happens in the future. ~ Maria V. Snyder

Remember you have just one mother, said Marina. Better not rush her to the grave! Though Marina had grown up with such reminders from her own mother, she could never get the tone quite right herself. ~ Yelena Akhtiorskaya

I'd better get going or Valek will be wondering where I am."
"Yes, by all means go. I noticed you and Valek have become close. Tell him, for me, not to kill anybody, will you?" Sarcasm rendered Rand's voice sharp.
I lost control and slammed the oven door shut. It echoed in the quiet kitchen. "At least Valek has the decency to inform me when he's poisoning me, ~ Maria V. Snyder

Valek was liquid in motion. As i watched him, one word came to mind: beautiful. ~ Maria V. Snyder

THAT'S PATHETIC, YELENA," Dax complained. "An all-powerful Soulfinder who isn't all-powerful. Where's the fun in that?" He threw up his long thin arms in mock frustration.

"Sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not the one who attached the 'all-powerful' to the title. ~ Maria V. Snyder

Our souls bonded. His pleasure was my ecstasy. My blood pumped in his heart. ~ Maria V. Snyder

It's your fault. I was defending you!" I blurted.
He paused. "In protecting my honor, you exposed months of work. I should be flattered? ~ Maria V. Snyder

We'll stick close together, but make no sign we are acquainted. The girls should go ahead so that they get through first. We'll follow close behind to be there for any trouble."

"Don't worry, my dears," said the professor gallantly, "I'll rescue you from any difficulties."

Yelena laughed and kissed the old man on the cheek. "Of course you will. I don't know why we bother with these other men, do you, Tashi?"

"But they are decorative, aren't they?" the Princess replied archly. It was fun to have a girl with whom she could gang up against the boys--she'd never had a friend like that before. "They give us something to look at on the boring stretches of the road." She let her eyes linger on Ramil, who appeared very warm all of a sudden.

Yelena swung herself into the saddle. "My, my, Princess, I didn't know you could flirt."

"I'm learning from a master--or should I say mistress--of that art," Tashi said with a bow. ~ Julia Golding

Besides, thinking kind thoughts about Valek could be extremely dangerous. I could admire his skills, and be relieved when he was on my side in a fight. But for a rat to like the cat? That scenario ended only one way. With one dead rat. ~ Maria V. Snyder

Anything else you want to tell me?" I asked Valek as we stopped a few feet short of the castle's south entrance. "Did Ari and Janco set me up for Nix's attack? Do you have another test of loyalty for me up your sleeve? Maybe the next time, I'll actually fail. A prospect that seems appealing!" I pushed away Valek's supporting arm. "When you warned me that you would test me from time to time, I thought you meant spiking my food. But it seems there is more than one way to poison a person's heart, and it doesn't even require a meal. ~ Maria V. Snyder

On 20 November, front-line troops got 500 grams of bread per day, factory workers received 250, and everyone else 125 (that is, two slices). 'Twigs were collected and stewed,' records an historian of the siege. 'Peat shavings, cottonseed cake, bonemeal was pressed into use. Pine sawdust was processed and added to the bread. Mouldy grain was dredged from sunken barges and scraped out of the holds of ships. Soon Leningrad bread was containing 10% cottonseed cake that had been processed to remove poisons. Household pets, shoe leather, fir bark and insects were consumed, as was wallpaper paste which was reputed to be made with potato flour. Guinea pigs, white mice and rabbits were saved from vivisection in the city's laboratories for a more immediately practical fate. 'Today it is so simple to die,' wrote one resident, Yelena Skryabina, in her diary. 'You just begin to lose interest, then you lie on your bed and you never get up again. Yet some people were willing to go to any lengths in order to survive: 226 people were arrested for cannibalism during the siege. 'Human meat is being sold in the markets,' concluded one secret NKVD report, 'while in the cemeteries bodies pile up like carcasses, without coffins. ~ Andrew Roberts

A little present from my run-in with a sword. Or should I say from when the sword had a run-in with me?" His eyes lit up.
"Want to see the scar? It's cool." He started pulling his shirt out of his pants.
"Janco," Ari warned. "We're not supposed to be fraternizing with the Sitians."
"But she's not Sitian. Right, Yelena? You haven't gone south on us, have you?" Janco's voice held mock horror.
"Because if you have I can't give you your present."
I took my switchblade out, showing the inscription to Janco. "What about 'Sieges weathered, fight together, friends forever'? Does that change if I become an official southerner?"
Janco rubbed the hair on his chin, considering.
"No," Ari said. "You could change into a goat and it would still apply. ~ Maria V. Snyder

Don't think that this conversation is over." Kat eyed the two of us.
"I'll make sure no hellion harms a hair on her head until we get the full story." Nikki smiled.
"I am never stealing fruit for the two of you ever again." I begrudgingly replied.
"Oh I really doubt that it was stolen." Nikki beamed.
"You're just as bad as Barakiel."
"I guess he's been bound to rub off on me some, but I am way prettier." She spoke as I moved past her towards the door, yanking it open. ~ Yelena Lugin

The Garden of Wonders project encompasses the knowledge that Be Open has accumulated over the years of work on different continents and different spheres. ~ Yelena Baturina

I'm glad you're here. We've had some ... interesting developments." Leif groaned. "That's Yelena-speak for life-threatening danger. ~ Maria V. Snyder

I demand a lot from myself and reflect this attitude upon others: I consider it to be an important quality for a leader. I also think it is impossible to achieve success without persistence. ~ Yelena Baturina

Why is she convinced Ambrose is out to get her" Leif asked
"Ambrose?" Yelena raised a slender eyebrow. She carried a tray of tea and fruit. "You're on a first name basis with the Commander now?"
"I usually call him Amby, but not in mixed company. ~ Maria V. Snyder

In keeping with his cryptic nature, all your Story Weaver said was 'The horses know where to go.' It's certainly not a military strategy I would use, but I've learned that the south uses its own strategy. And, strangely enough, it works. ~ Maria V. Snyder

Design can successfully bind the ancient nomadic cultures with today's global marketplace, ensuring the preservation of traditions and knowledge for further generations. This aspect of research is obviously rich in its business potential as well. ~ Yelena Baturina

What have I earned from you, Valek? Loyalty? Respect? Trust?"
"You have my attention. But give me what I want, and you can have everything. ~ Maria V. Snyder

Janco stepped between us. "Let's see if I have this right," he said to Cahil. "Yelena beats you, so you want a rematch, but you think she'll use her magic instead of her fighting skills to win. That's quite the quandary." Janco pulled at his goatee. "Since I taught her everything she knows, and I don't have any magic, thank fate, how about you fight me? Your long sword against my bow."
" You taught her everything?" Ari asked.
Janco waved away his comment. "Details, details. I'm thinking big picture here, Ari. ~ Maria V. Snyder

I balled my hands into tight fists to keep them from wrapping around Mr. I-Know-Everything's superior neck. ~ Maria V. Snyder

Reviewing our fight, I asked Janco, Why do you rhyme when you fight? ~ Maria V. Snyder

The whole stage was only for me. It was so cool. ~ Yelena Isinbayeva

I gave him a bored look. I had been threatened many times before and had learned that the men who didn't make verbal threats were the most dangerous. ~ Maria V. Snyder

One snake wasn't enough. Time for Perl's suggestion. I handed everyone two capsules and a pin. "Get as close to the guards as you can. Poke a small hole in the capsule and squirt the liquid near them. Don't get it on you," I instructed.
"Why not?" Leif asked.
"You'll have a necklace snake trying to mate with you."
"Gee, Yelena. I'm so glad you're home," Leif grumbled. "It's good to know Mother is doing something useful with her time."
"I thought your mother madeperfumes," Moon Man said.
"It all depends on how you look at it ~ Maria V. Snyder

I'm surprised you didn't go after him." And glad.
"I wanted to, but Ari stopped me."
"Did he sit on you?" I teased. That earned me a smile.
"No. He used logic."
"Yay for logic."
"I better go and tell them you're safe. They're waiting with the guards."
"The guards?"
"Yes, I insisted they remain there. It was difficult since Ari and Janco won't let me go anywhere on my own."
"That's good. Stronger together, remember?"
He hesitated for a second, then said, "I need to tell Ari he was right."
"It could be worse."
Valek waited.
"It could be Janco who was right."
"Ah, yes. That would be worse. ~ Maria V. Snyder

You're right. And so was my snake."
Snake?"
He pulled my arm out to expose my bracelet. "When I carved this my thoughts were on you, love. Your life is like this snake's coils. No matter how many turns it makes, you'll end up back where you belong. With me. ~ Maria V. Snyder

...the personal and the political are often hard to disentangle. ~ Yelena Baraz

Yelena. What a lovely day! ... Not to hot either.
Voynitski. It would even be pleasant to hang oneself on a day like this. ~ Anton Chekhov

On hearing the jingle of harness behind them, they turned. Melletin and Yelena were fast catching up, both grinning broadly.

"How did it go?" Ramil called.

"Would you believe it: he threatened to lock me up in his mother's house if I didn't behave!" exclaimed Yelena, sticking her tongue out at Melletin. "I threw a roll at him and he clipped me around the ear. The soldiers were all about to beat him up when I burst into tears and begged his forgiveness. We had a passionate reconciliation and went on our way with their good wishes for our marital harmony."

Melletin rubbed his lips. "Where's the next checkpoint, Yelena? I can't wait to do that again."

"Watch it, sir: I'll report you," Yelena threatened, but she looked very pleased all the same. ~ Julia Golding

I never laugh at a beautiful woman. I'd much rather laugh and dance with her. ~ Maria V. Snyder

If you don't come back to the Keep, then I'll be right. And every time you see me, I'll be insufferably smug."
"And how's that different from now?" He laughed and I could see the young carefree boy he had been in his eyes. "You've only had a small glimpse of how insufferable and annoying I can be. As the older brother, it's my birthright. ~ Maria V. Snyder

Yelena?"
"Hmm?"
"I'd like you to stay with me while we figure out how to unblock your magic. We're stronger together."
"All right."
He laughed. "I thought I'd have more of a fight."
"I'm too tired to argue."
"Then I should take advantage of the situation."
I cracked one eye open. "And?"
"I'd like you to stay with me forever. ~ Maria V. Snyder

Why did Mother ask you to help me rescue Gelsi?" I asked Leif.
"She thought I could assist you in some way. Instead, I had tried to-"
"Kill me? You can join the 'I Want to Kill Yelena Guild.' I hear they have six
members in good standing.
Valek is president since he had wanted to kill me twice."
Yelena to Leif ~ Maria V. Snyder