The Rose and the Sword Quotes

“Icy pillars of serenity, spun from airy mist, entered my quiet vision in echoes of worlds unknown.”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“Can a rose survive in winter?”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“A girl locked in a tower with no life experience. But, you know, Rebecca . . . this isn’t a fairy tale. Your tower will never protect you from the darkness outside.”

“And your tower will always be a prison,” I said softly.”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“It is the littlest of flowers that fly the farthest . . . That have the courage to fly the farthest.”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“It is the littlest of flowers that fly the farthest . . . That have the courage to fly the farthest.”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“And the shower of roses spun around me, inviting me to take part in their ever-present waltz.”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“. . . for a moment, perhaps an hour, they would wait, wait for something, and when that waiting was over, it was simply dismissed, goodbyes stated, reading materials closed, a momentary pause in the day that did not hold up to whatever came next.

Waiting was often a resented gift, imparted to those who accepted it grudgingly in the hopes that something better would come along when the gift was tossed aside, boxed away for the next recipient.”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“The luminescent flow of a sunbathed garden— illuminating the shifting colors of its inhabitants— echoed in my memory as I opened the antique bookstore door in the shaft of window light.

The books, like the flowers of the garden, awaited me with the thrill of a new mystery.”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“I told my imagination to discontinue communication with my thoughts.”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“It mingles in seas of carousels
It becomes the past and knows it not.”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“Then I guess,” she said, “you like to be vexed.”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“They whirled around in the light dance of a duchess entering a ball—majestic yet understated—a spiraling splash of purity of color that took shape under nature’s watch. A newly-sculpted garden burst forth, glistening in an afternoon sun. It welcomed the dusty pink rose, who stood beside its fellows, basked themselves in their own serenity of white, triumphant red, or cheery yellow. It swayed in the breath of a wind, caressing each and becoming more. It was a mixture of quiet and thunderous, light and dark, shyness and boldness. It was a mixture of the quiet strength and overwhelming courage that the human soul might wish to one day possess.”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“Battle scars were not a commodity that I was accustomed to selling, least of all to myself.”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“The starry night sky echoed across my thoughts, the expanse of my own void filtered in its quiet solitude.”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“It’s more than a feeling,” I whispered to the darkness of my room, “and . . . even more than a choice. It is a conviction. And a mystery. A beautiful, beautiful mystery.”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“At the intermission,” I whispered, “we must leave.”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“The Eternal Smiler strode forth, handing her one, as well. I considered the psychology behind her smile and formed the conclusion that, despite its obvious coating of pleasantry, it was an understandable psychological decision.”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“That,” Adriana said, “is a puzzling mystery that must be solved.”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“Caution: Danger ahead. Do not refer to Adriana as little in regards to either her age or stature. If you happen to disregard this most basic of laws, approach with caution. Much, much caution.”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“St. Catherine of Siena once said, ‘If you are what you should be, you will set the whole world ablaze.’ But,” I turned to him urgently, “how can I even light a single candle if someone blocks off the first step?”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“Two years could change so much under the facade of changing nothing at all.”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“It was a gaze that held the comfort of familiarity. There was no mystery, no enigmatic depth, but unrestrained length, the length of years—the laughter of childhood games and Christmas carols of home— lining its pathways with simple, yet easily overlooked, understanding.”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“Parking complexes are like modern-day dungeons.”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“My mother once told me as a child that you can tell who is coming by the mere sound of their footsteps. I remember looking at her incredulously, my short curls bouncing in agreement with my dissent. Yet, upon her departure, I heard in her footsteps the essence of Mom. Ever since, I would know who was approaching down the hall of our home without prior visual identification.

And the footsteps I heard at the entrance of the bookstore carried the vague echo of a memory that promised dread.”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“Yes, it is,” I whispered, “and one day the spell will not cause you to forget it.”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“I stared back at her, my eyes leveled with hers in inscrutable certainty. For a moment, our eyes remained engaged, unflinching and impenetrable, as the shrill, steady call of a siren ran across the street outside, mixing with the effervescent glow of traffic lights and a steady pitter-patter of pedestrian feet sauntering across the street in wakeful gait.”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“There is a host of angels surrounding you, Rebecca. Not figuratively. Literally. With wings spread far to encompass you, protect you with their Light. Remember that they are with you—see them with your heart and soul—whenever you are forced to engage in battle with forces that seek and have become, through their own will, evil.”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“Rebecca, we live in a world where darkness seems, in the minds of many, something banished to the world of fairy tales and superhero movies. How surprising it then becomes—even for those of us who believe otherwise—that it may appear in our own lives, in our own battles. To face an opponent that is more than the average ‘jerk,’ who has made a deadly choice, is, let us admit it, nothing that we expect to experience.”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“Like dandelions they flew across the expanse
Of desert calm without advance
They filtered through the stilled “become”
Returning to the land they knew.
They knew no more than where they flew.
And so they gathered, one and all,
And scattered it throughout their path.
Only golden-shafted majesty could still their might.
And so they flew onward, without a path.”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword

“Knowledge can be powerful. But it can only be beautiful if there is more to it. If it is guided by something greater than the simple desire to enhance the potency of the mind.”
― Gina Marinello-Sweeney, The Rose and the Sword