The Outlaws of Sherwood Quotes

“She poured the water, arranged some bread near enough the embers to scorch but not catch fire, and looked up at Little John. She was so accustomed to his step, to his bulk, that it took a moment to notice his face; and when she did . . . It was, she thought, rather like the moment it took to realize one had cut one's finger as one stared dumbly at the first drop of blood on the knife-blade. You know it is going to hurt quite a lot in a minute.”
― Robin McKinley, The Outlaws of Sherwood

“One keeps searching for ease, she did not say, and not finding it, till the memories of no-pain seem only like daydreams.”
― Robin McKinley, The Outlaws of Sherwood

“...and again she wished for Sherwood, and the dappled roof of leaves that never weighed upon her. She pulled her scarf closer around her and thought, I would rather live in a hut in the woods; a hut like the one of my first memories, with a clean-swept dirt floor, and a brown-eyed boy watching me from behind his mother's skirts as I watched him from behind mine.”
― Robin McKinley, The Outlaws of Sherwood

“She fell asleep, leaning on his chest, and he edged her a little off a particularly painful bruise, leaned his head back against the tree he had propped them up against, and closed his own eyes. ”
― Robin McKinley, The Outlaws of Sherwood

“Her betrothed is a lout, her father is a boor; and now her brother is trailing around looking like a thunderstorm about to burst. Men are not sensible creatures.'

'Thank you,' said Robin.”
― Robin McKinley, The Outlaws of Sherwood

“Oh,' she said, too bone-weary to pretend: 'I would far rather that I love you as I saw yesterday I do than that I had gone on worshiping you as I did not long since.' And she turned away hastily, and did not see that Little John would reach out to her; and half-running, went to Tuck's cottage, where she could pull on her half-dry clothes, and become a proper outlaw again. At least, she thought, fighting back tears, like this I am Cecil, with a place among friends, and a task to do. I am someone. I wonder if perhaps if I am no longer Cecil, I am no one at all.”
― Robin McKinley, The Outlaws of Sherwood

“Little John, watching her standing next to her brother, half-glowering in the old Cecil manner and half-comforted by Robin's words, saw for a moment what it had been like for her as Will's litter sister. Some of what she was good at, and some of what she was bad at, as his pupil, came clear to him in that moment; and something else came clear to him too, but he set it aside so quickly that he allowed himself not to recognize it for what it was.”
― Robin McKinley, The Outlaws of Sherwood

“Robin: Golden arrow? And what would we do with a golden arrow? Give it to Alan for a lute string? I could hang it around my neck on a chain, perhaps, and let it stab me in the ribs when I tried to sit.
Marian: And your honour as an outlaw?
Robin: My honour as an outlaw concerns staying alive; and presenting my neck anywhere near the Sheriff of Notingham, who feels it wants lengthening, runs directly counter to that honour.
Marian: The sheriff will be gravely disappointed.
Robin: That's the best news I've heard all week.”
― Robin McKinley, The Outlaws of Sherwood

“I have a mastery of the art of worrying that is a burden to me if I may not use it.”
― Robin McKinley, The Outlaws of Sherwood

“I don't remember this earlier,' said Tuck.

'No?' said Robin in a neutral voice, and Tuck was too busy to pursue it, but merely bound it up and told him it was time for him, too, to try to sleep. Robin never had to tell anyone of his meeting, weaponless and with an armful of dead branches to break up for firewood, with one of Guy's men. The next day, when the burying began, no one questioned the body of another mercenary.”
― Robin McKinley, The Outlaws of Sherwood

“Tales are as much the necessary fabric of our lives as our bodies are.”
― Robin McKinley, The Outlaws of Sherwood

“The man paused and added with a grin, "He also wishes your porter's head on a silver plate for not opening the gate at once upon his herald's declaration of his visit. This tale of threatening brigands is all very well, but can't I see he's the sheriff?”
― Robin McKinley, The Outlaws of Sherwood

“Robin: I'm sure you've learnt to bake, but you have not learned to handle Much. The phrases that you need my lady, are "No", "No you can't", and "No, get out of here before I throw something at you".”
― Robin McKinley, The Outlaws of Sherwood

“Golden arrow? And what would we do with a golden arrow? Give it to Alan for a lute string? I could hang it around my neck on a chain, perhaps, and let it stab me in the ribs when I tried to sit.”
― Robin McKinley, The Outlaws of Sherwood

“This is why we need you,” said Much comfortably. “You’re a pessimist and a good planner.”
― Robin McKinley, The Outlaws of Sherwood

“Her words flew like butterflies through the vibrant air of the hall; and the company was quiet, as if watching them.”
― Robin McKinley, The Outlaws of Sherwood

“Little John: I would come too. He might want knocking in a stream to cool his anger.
Much: I will come too, to fish him out again, and to reassure him that not all of us have this queer craving for hurling folks in water.”
― Robin McKinley, The Outlaws of Sherwood

“The king will catch us if the sheriff should fail to and then the Saxon race can be symbolically and romantically hung by the neck till dead.”
― Robin McKinley, The Outlaws of Sherwood

“And we might have been less bullying out-of-doors if he had been less bullying indoors.”
― Robin McKinley, The Outlaws of Sherwood

“For I have been often wrong, and whilst the training of the Church has taught me to admit it, somehow I have never learnt not to be wrong in the first place.”
― Robin McKinley, The Outlaws of Sherwood

“Let us not gallop to meet future difficulties,” said Robin. “A walking pace is enough.”
― Robin McKinley, The Outlaws of Sherwood

“A crying child’s voice will carry half across England. Is there still no news?”
― Robin McKinley, The Outlaws of Sherwood

“Just promise us—for this evening—that you won’t try to sacrifice yourself to your stubborn idea of justice to a Norman king. No sacrifices till you’ve had at least one good night’s sleep, and something to eat.”
― Robin McKinley, The Outlaws of Sherwood

“Marian... turned her face at last; there were tear marks on it, and Robin felt a pricking behind his own eyes, that Marian should cry over him.”
― Robin McKinley, The Outlaws of Sherwood

“He ran till he was blind with running, till he thought he had lived his entire life running, one foot pounding down in front of the other endlessly, till his bones were on fire with it, and every time either foot struck the ground his whole body cried out against the jolt. He set his teeth and ran on.”
― Robin McKinley, The Outlaws of Sherwood

“Sir Richard ignored this, staring at Robin, who was staring at his feet. "I love her, you see," he said at last, indistinctly.
Sir Richard grimaced. "A fine way you have of showing it."
"A fine thing I should love her at all, do you not think?" Robin said, looking up.”
― Robin McKinley, The Outlaws of Sherwood