The Maiden Ship Quotes

“Do you know why wildflowers are the most beautiful blossoms of all, my son?”

Dain shook his little head.

Soft waxen curls blew forward in the breeze as she lifted her storm-gray eyes to gaze out over the sea of petals. “Wildflowers are the loveliest of all because they grow in uncultivated soil, in those hard, rugged places where no one expects them to flourish. They are resilient in ways a garden bloom could never be. People are the same, son—the most exquisite souls are those who survive where others cannot. They root themselves, along with their companions, wherever they are, and they thrive.”
― Micheline Ryckman, The Maiden Ship

“...it’s fear and fear alone that binds a man from living.”
― Micheline Ryckman, The Maiden Ship

“Dain couldn’t resist reaching out to brush away the tear that had now reached her chin. “Mo always says, ‘What’s done is done. Start where yer at, and do what ye can with what ye have left. Regret never moves a man forward.’”
Sable smiled. “You’re terrible at accents, you know.”
― Micheline Ryckman, The Maiden Ship

“Life is a constant series of lessons, Dain Alloway, and they are often wrought through failure. Inevitably, leaders will have the lion’s share of it—I, above all, should know. The most important thing is not how you feel about those failures, but what you do with them afterward. Failure has a way of preparing us for victory.”
― Micheline Ryckman, The Maiden Ship

“Dying may be the way of all things flesh, but living is too. Never let death shroud life with fear. Live beyond it, lad. Only then can the memory of those ye’ve loved and lost be rightly honored.”
― Micheline Ryckman, The Maiden Ship

“The first mate leaned his massive form toward Dain. “I’m convinced that there’s never any harm in a little something to believe in.”
― Micheline Ryckman, The Maiden Ship

“And even honorable men keep secrets for the safety of those they love.”
― Micheline Ryckman, The Maiden Ship

“Remember lad, there’s no coffin in yer heart. Those feelings inside of you will never perish. They’ll only stay hidden from sight until they ruin ye, or find themselves a nasty way out.”
― Micheline Ryckman, The Maiden Ship

“Wealth can procure many things in this world, but Elden was the first person in my life to give real meaning to the things it cannot buy.”
― Micheline Ryckman, The Maiden Ship

“This time it was Dain’s turn to give Mo a mischievous look, and he added a wink through his hair for good measure. “I think you’d find her a formidable match.”
Mo’s deep baritone filled with further mirth. “Are ye trying to set me up, lad?”
Dain crossed his arms over his chest. “Me? Play matchmaker? I know nothing of courtship, sir.”
Mo clapped Dain on the back, following his gaze. “Never a truer word was spoken.”
Dain tried to look insulted, but he couldn’t commit. Mo’s statement was truer than true—he had no experience with women.”
― Micheline Ryckman, The Maiden Ship

“The kiss sent a wave of heat through Dain’s frame, a sensation that made him feel inadequate and brazen all at the same time.”
― Micheline Ryckman, The Maiden Ship

“Casper stood on the threshold. He was soaked to the bone, but the sodden look somehow only served to make him look more attractive. It seemed almost a kind of magic in its right.”
― Micheline Ryckman, The Maiden Ship

“The princess was dressed in one of the girl’s modest gray frocks, a leather belt secured snugly at her waist. Somehow, the lady managed to make even the simple garment look regal.”
― Micheline Ryckman, The Maiden Ship

“The wind tousled his hair, and Dain’s chest loosed a little as his gaze broke from the wooden maid to follow a breeze-blown gull toward the horizon. The distant salmon skies dipped over the rim of the sea, and for the first time since boarding, he wondered where the waves might take him.”
― Micheline Ryckman, The Maiden Ship