Young Elites Quotes

I laugh at him, and behind us, several Inquisitors stir in surprise at the sound. Only Magiano can coax joy out of me so easily. ~ Marie Lu

You think me cruel."
"No." Magiano hesitates for a long moment. "Maybe a little."
"I'm not branding them because I am cruel," I say calmly. "I'm doing it as a reminder of what they've done to us. To the marked. You're so quick to forget."
"I never forget," Magiano replies. This time, there is a slight sharpness to his tone. His hand hovers near his side, where his childhood wound continues to plague him. "But branding the unmarked with your crest will not make them any more loyal to you."
"It makes them fear me."
"Fear works best with some love," Magiano says. "Show them that you can be terrifying, yet generous." The gold bands in his braids clink. "Let the people love you a little, mi Adelinetta. ~ Marie Lu

That's another thing to love about me. I steal. ~ Marie Lu

The gods gave us powers, Adelina, because we are born to rule. ~ Marie Lu

If I've learned anything from my past and my present, it's the power of fear. You can give your subjects all the generosity in the world, and still they will demand more. But those who are afraid don't fight back. I know this well enough. ~ Marie Lu

We were never meant to exist, Adelina," he says. "And we will never exist again. But we cannot take the entire world with us." He meets my gaze. "No matter how it has wronged us. ~ Marie Lu

I saw her, once.

"She passed through our village, through fields littered with dead soldiers after her forces overwhelmed the nation of Dumor. Her other Elites followed and then rows of white-robed Inquisitors, wielding the white-and-silver banners of the White Wolf. Where they went, the sky dimmed and the ground cracked - the clouds gathered behind the army as if a creature alive, black and churning in fury. As if the goddess of Death herself had come.

"She paused to look down at one of our dying soldiers. He trembled on the ground, but his eyes stayed on her. He spat something at her. She only stared back at him. I don't know what he saw in her expression, but his muscles tightened, his legs pushing against the dirt as he tried in vain to get away from her. Then the man started to scream. It is a sound I shall never forget as long as I live. She nodded to her Rainmaker, and he descended from his horse to plunge a sword through the dying soldier. Her face did not change at all. She simply rode on.

"I never saw her again. But even now, as an old man, I remember her as clearly as if she were standing before me. She was ice personified. There was once a time when darkness shrouded the world, and the darkness had a queen."

- A witness's account of Queen Adelina's siege on the nation of Dumor

The Village of Pon-de-Terre

28 Marzien, 1402 ~ Marie Lu

Yes - at the cost of a third of your army. What will happen when you try to seize what remains of Tamoura? When the Beldish strike at you again? Queen Maeve is watching you, I'm sure." He takes a deep breath. "Adelina, you're Queen of the Sealands now. You've annexed Domacca and northern Tamoura in the Sunlands. At some point, your goal should be not to conquer more territories but to keep order in the territories you do have. And you won't achieve that by ordering your Inquisitors to drag unmarked civilians out into the streets and brand them with a hot iron. ~ Marie Lu

No matter the opinion, everyone knew their names. The Reaper. Magiano. The Windwalker. The Alchemist.
The Young Elites. ~ Marie Lu

Don't forget one weapon just because of another," he says. A flicker of approval flashes in his eyes. "Or you'll find yourself skewered in no time."
"Then maybe you should know which weapons are real. ~ Marie Lu

As you can see, I keep my word," I call to the rest of the crowd. "Do not take advantage of my generosity, and I will not take advantage of your weakness. ~ Marie Lu

You cannot harden your heart to the future just because of your past. You cannot use cruelty against yourself to justify cruelty to others. ~ Marie Lu

Everyone knows that to openly show any disrespect for Magiano means instant death at my hands. ~ Marie Lu

You want us to fear you," she growls at me, speaking now in accented Kenettran. "You think that you can come here and destroy our homes, kill our loved ones - then make us grovel at your feet. You think we will sell you our souls for a few coins." She lifts her chin. "But I am not afraid of you."
"Is that so?" I tilt my head at her curiously. "You should be."
She challenges me with a smile. "You can't even bring yourself to spill our blood." She nods in the direction of Sergio, who has already started to draw his sword. "You have one of your lackeys do it for you. You're a coward queen, hiding behind your army. But you cannot crush our spirits beneath your Roses' heels - you cannot win. ~ Marie Lu

I am the nightmare. ~ Marie Lu

If you cast me out of the Dagger Society, then I will form my own. I am tired of losing. I am tired of being used, hurt and tossed aside.
It is my turn to use. My turn to hurt.
My turn. ~ Marie Lu

I will need to root out these insurgents before they can become a real threat. I will need to make a harsher example of their deaths. I will need to be more ruthless.
This is my life now. ~ Marie Lu

The only way to clamp down on my energy is to erase my emotions, and so I fold them each away, one by one. My sorrow turns to anger, then to ice-cold fury. My soul curls in one itself in defense. I am gone. I am truly gone.
I am not sorry. ~ Marie Lu

You are so full of light," I say after a moment. "You align with joy, and I with fear and fury. If you could see into my thoughts, you would surely turn away. So why would you stay with me, even if return to Kenettra and resume our lives?"

"You paint me as a saint," he murmurs. "But I aligned with greed solely to prevent that."

Even now, he can make my lips twitch with a smile. "I'm serious, Magiano."

"As am I. None of us are saints. I have seen your darkness, yes, and know your struggle. I won't deny it." He touches my chin with one hand. At this gesture, the whispers seem to settle, pushed away where I can't hear them. "But you are also passionate and ambitious and loyal. You are a thousand things, mi Adelinetta, not just one. Do not reduce yourself to that. ~ Marie Lu

Every bone in my body yearns to keep this boy safe, always. ~ Marie Lu

No one ever gives my their kindness without hoping for something in exchange.
Are they any different? Are they all the same? They all want to use you, use you, use you until they get what they want, and then they will toss you aside. ~ Marie Lu

They were the flash of light in a stormy sky, the fleeting darkness before dawn. Never have they existed before, nor shall they ever exist again. ~ Marie Lu

The day will come when we strike you down," she's saying. "Mark my words. We will haunt your nightmares."

I clench my fists and fling an illusion of pain across her body. "I am the nightmare. ~ Marie Lu

They were the best of friends as long as they did not know they were supposed to be enemies. The truth would do its damage soon enough.
- Brothers in Fire, by Jedtare ~ Marie Lu

His words remind me of the strange whispers that have accompanied my illusions - something dark and vengeful, tempting and powerful. A weight presses on my chest. I am afraid. Intrigued. ~ Marie Lu

I will wake a hundred times, lost in the madness of this nightmare, until the sunlight streaming through my windows finally burns the scene away. Even then, hours later, I cannot be sure I am not still in my dream.
I am afraid that, one night, I will never wake. I will be doomed to rush to that door over and over again, running from a nightmare in which I am always, forever, lost. ~ Marie Lu

Dear bullies, see that young boy you made fun of for crying? Last night his best friend committed suicide. See the girl you called fat? She's starving herself. See the old man you just made fun of cause of the ugly scars? He fought for our country. Post this if you're against bullying. I bet 95% of you won't. ~ Marija Not Sure If She Penned It But I Snagged It From Her I Love It

I conclude, at the beginning of the day, it is all about the choices I make. It is about what I am willing to sacrifice - one thing I do know, I am not willing, and I do not want to sacrifice my life for anyone, not even for you."
~Love is respect ♥~ ~ Charlena E. Jackson

I was born 50 years after slavery, in 1913. I was allowed to read. My mother, who was a teacher, taught me when I was a very young child. The first school I attended was a small building that went from first to sixth grade. There was one teacher for all of the students. There could be anywhere from 50 to 60 students of all different ages. ~ Rosa Parks

There was once a merchant. An eager, industrious young man. His business ... required him to rise early and thus to bed early. But one evening ... he stayed awake past his usual hour ... and in so doing he heard the wondrous singing of something he'd never heard before: a nightbird. The next night, he managed to stay awake later ... to hear more of the bird's song. And the following night. He became so ... so intoxicated with the nightbird's voice that he thought only of it during the day. Came the time when he spent all the night listening to that song. Could not carry out his business during the sunlit hours. Soon he turned his back altogether on the day, and gave himself over to the nightbird's beautiful voice ... much to the sad end of his career, his health ... eventually his life. ~ Anonymous

I thought you were supposed to be the champion of your people,' I said.
I live because I need to do that. For anyone who is left.'
Don't you see? No one will be left. Protect them now or there will be no one to protect!'
This is a battle that goes on and on. It never ends. You're too young to understand.
No! You're too much of a coward to fight.'
I was sick of lies and secrets and of battles so old we had to erase who we were to fight back. And still we lost. Still we were tied to posts. ~ Alice Hoffman

So young a child ought to know which way she's going, even if she doesn't know her own name! ~ Lewis Carroll

Death is a distant rumor to the young. ~ Andy Rooney

The hardest part of growing old is remembering what it was like when you were young. Alvin in The Straight Story (movie) ~ Dan Carruthers

When I talk about unrequited love, most of you probably think about romantic love, but there are many other kinds of love that are not adequately returned, if they are returned at all. An angry adolescent may not love her mother back as her mother loves her; an abusive father doesn't return the innocent open love of his young child. But grief is the ultimate unrequieted love. However hard and however long we love someone who has died, they can never love us back. At least that is how it feels ... ~ Rosamund Lupton

One cannot wonder that so very fine a
young man, with family, fortune, everything in his favour, should
think highly of himself. If I may so express it, he has
a right to be proud. ~ Jane Austen

Well, we're all mortal...and the old must make way for the young, otherwise there would be no promotion. ~ Alexandre Dumas

With a mind as bright as yours you will want to find a proper school to continue your education ... You must continue the education your mother began. Young women must have an education. ~ Gloria Whelan

It's not just what Christian fiction lacks I appreciate - it's what it offers. The variety is vast: contemporary, historical, suspense, mysteries, adventure, young adult, romance, fantasy, science fiction. ~ Randy Alcorn

The first duty of the educator, whether he is involved with the newborn infant or the older child, is to recognize the human personality of the young being and respect it. ~ Maria Montessori

There is often no material difference between the enjoyment of the highest ranks and those of the rudest stages of society. If the life of many a young English nobleman, and an Iroquois in the forest, or an Arab in the desert are compared, it will be found that their real sources of happiness are nearly the same. ~ Sir Archibald Alison, 2nd Baronet

My father urged Alan [Lomax] not to repeat the mistakes of the European folklorists who, a century ago, had collected these peasant songs and then arranged them for part choir and accompanied them on piano, and then told the young people of their country, "Don't change a note, this is our sacred heritage." Father said, whether it's a fiddle tune or a gospel song, learn it right off the record from the people who grew up with it. Don't just learn it from a piece of paper. ~ Pete Seeger

Jennifer Lawrence is just the coolest girl. ~ Natalie Dormer

I was taught from a young age that many people would treat me as a second-class citizen because I was African-American and because I was female. ~ Queen Latifah

Some broad themes brought me where I am today. At a very young age, my hobby became thinking and finding connections. ~ Dean Kamen

We were the Colors of our dragons whether we lived or died. There were no other choices for us. ~ Sarah K.L. Wilson

And there is no trade or employment but the young man following it may become a hero. ~ Walt Whitman

To help the young soul, to add energy, inspire hope, and blow the coals into a useful flame; to redeem defeat by new thought and firm action, this, though not easy, is the work of divine men. ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

But ignorance is happiness,When young Hope is to show the way ~ Letitia Elizabeth Landon

Attitude plays a bigger role than you may imagine in determining your future success - bigger than talent, money, or popularity. ~ Beverly K. Bachel

I feel like I accomplished everything I wanted to accomplish in college. ~ Vince Young

Many older wealthy families have learned to instill a sense of public service in their offspring. But newly affluent middle-classparents have not acquired this skill. We are using our children as symbols of leisure-class standing without building in safeguards against an overweening sense of entitlement
a sense of entitlement that may incline some young people more toward the good life than toward the hard work that, for most of us, makes the good life possible. ~ David Elkind

It does seem, in other words, not only more difficult for a woman experimental writer to be accepted than for a woman writer (which corresponds to the male situation of experimental writer vs. writer), but also peculiarly more difficult for a woman experimental writer to be accepted than for a male experimental writer. She may, if young, get caught up in a "movement," like Djuna Barnes, like H.D., like Laura Riding, as someone's mistress, and then be forgotten, or if old, she maybe "admitted" into a group, under a label, but never quite as seriously considered as the men in that group. ~ Christine Brooke-Rose

My mother as a young girl went out with a young SS officer and she didn't really know what was going on - she just liked the uniform. When he told her about the things that he did, she was disgusted and broke up with him. ~ Michael Haneke

When I was young, I had no choice as to what I was eating. ~ Danny Meyer

I am my own remedy.

I am my only way out.

It starts with me. ~ Charlena E. Jackson

I remember I was walking through a store, and I saw clothes a 25-year-old would wear. And the conversation in my head was, 'I'm not young and fabulous anymore.' But, immediately, there was a voice that said, 'No, you can be older and fabulous.' In other words, still just as fabulous, but in a different way. ~ Marianne Williamson

Because I was young, I had this long hair, and people used to try to tip me with joints. ~ Fran Lebowitz