Feather and Flame Quotes

“There’s a balance here of yin and yang, a dance between aggression and gentleness that creates real strength in any warrior. Attack, and fall back. Thrust and parry. It’s beautiful, really.”
Mulan thrust her sword forward and then skipped back. “A balance of yin and yang,” she repeated. “I don't have to turn myself into a man to fight or rule. And I don't have to be a docile woman like my ministers expect me to be. I can be gentle and strong as circumstances requires.”
― Livia Blackburne, Feather and Flame

“China is indeed favored by the gods to have such a lovely blossom grace its throne.”
Out of the corner of her eye, Mulan saw Shang’s expression darken. She too heard the insult in those words. Flowers were beautiful and delicate. Ornamental.
She bared her teeth in a thin smile. “I’m quite fond of flowers myself. After your’e settled in the state guesthouses, you must tour the imperial gardens. There’s a particular variety called snow lace, a white blossom with rose-tinged petals. I collected it myself from the Tung-Shao Pass. Are you familiar with that region?”
The ambassador’s smirk froze on his face. The Tung-Shao Pass was where Mulan’s regiment had defeated Shan Yu’s men. There were already multiple ballads commemorating how Mulan used a rocket to trigger the avalanche that buried his entire army. “Yes, I am familiar with that pass.”
“I’m glad,” said Mulan. “It’s the mark of a good ambassador to know his host nation’s land and history, and I’m sure you are one of the very best.”
― Livia Blackburne, Feather and Flame

“As the coronation guests took their place, the kitchen staff brought in an array of culinary wonders: roast duck with skin crisped to caramelized perfection; turtle soup and roast bear paw; crab apples in honey; dumplings stuffed with everything from meat, to wild greens, to sweetened lotus paste, and molded to resemble goldfish, butterflies, and flowers.”
― Livia Blackburne, Feather and Flame

“What I need,” Mulan said quietly, “is someone who will stand by my side. Someone who will support me in my role.” She looked at him, willing her heart into her eyes. “Someone who loves me, and whom I love in return.”
As Shang gazed back at her, everything around them became blurred, muffled. Finally, she spoke the terrifying, hopeful words.
“I want you to marry me, Shang.”
In that moment, Mulan could hear nothing but her heart beating in her ears. For what seemed like an eternity, silence hung between them.
Shang let out a shaky breath. His expression wasn’t a clear yes, and Mulan’s soul froze. “Mulan,” he said. “Heavens know I want nothing more, but I worry I’ll be holding you back.”
Relief flooded through her at his words. She took his hands. “Shang, we’ve led China to victory now, not once but twice. You don't hold me back. Your love makes me stronger.”
― Livia Blackburne, Feather and Flame

“You say that hens should not announce the dawn.” She spoke powerfully enough for all to hear. “And yet it has happened every morning since the day I was crowned. You presumed to know Heaven’s will, claiming that the five falling stars at my coronation were Heaven’s disapproval of me, rather than indictments of your own treachery. But the spirits have spoken. I am the rightful empress of China, chosen by my predecessor and given the Mandate of Heaven. And I will remain empress of China until the gods, not you, decide otherwise.”
― Livia Blackburne, Feather and Flame

“Mulan was proud of these women. Proud of their calm preparations, proud of the ease with which they strapped on their weapons, their gentle yet firm touch with their horses. And she was proud, most of all, of the banner that flew over their heads. It was mud yellow rather than the rich gold of palace silks, since mud yellow was the only shade Ruolan could manage with the herbs at hand. The dragon and phoenix pictured on it were bare outlines. But Ruolan and Wenling had stayed up all night to embroider them, and Mulan could see the heart that had gone into every stitch. Now they would put down their needles and wield their swords with no less skill.”
― Livia Blackburne, Feather and Flame

“Make me a banner of gold and red. I want an emblem of a dragon and a phoenix, and it must be completed tonight.” Dragon for emperor, phoenix for empress. Dragon for power and authority. Phoenix, that symbol of yin-yang harmony, because she was a woman and unashamed to be one.”
― Livia Blackburne, Feather and Flame

“The first female empress in history is hardly everyday politics. You must have some thoughts about her qualifications.”
“There’s more to ruling than ability,” said Mulan, unable to fully disguise the bitterness in her voice. “The most competent man in the world will drive a country to ruin if he wields his power for his own gain. A ruler needs to be honest and honorable, to rule with the good of the country in mind.”
― Livia Blackburne, Feather and Flame

“”What was the symbol, now? Something like this?” She fanned her fingers and then placed both fists together in an exact imitation of what Mulan had seen.
“Yes, that’s it!”
Grandmother fanned out her fingers. “A fan, covering the face. A coy maiden, if you will, with secrets. And this”—-she put her fists together—-“is the maiden holding a sword. A symbol for the warrior queen. Hidden strength.””
― Livia Blackburne, Feather and Flame

“Most women don’t have the option to say no to men or refuse their orders. You are the empress. You have the strength of the spirits, of women who came before you and who will come after you. Why let your decisions be made for you?”
― Livia Blackburne, Feather and Flame

“Please do.”
― Livia Blackburne, Feather and Flame

“Mulan found it easier to face the morning by pretending that her clothes were armor. The stiff coronation robe Ting was smoothing down over her shoulders? She imagined it woven with threads of spun gold, the embroidered phoenixes stitched with blazing-red iron. Her sash, hanging loose down her back, was a shoulder guard of blue iron, and the phoenixes on her shoes were spikes and spurs.
“Please keep your head forward, Empress.”
A handmaiden gripped a handful of hair, pulling it taut enough to make Mulan’s eyes water. The hair, at least, was easy to imagine as a helmet. By the time the maid finished wrapping it around multiple combs and adorning the layered buns with everything from flowers to jade to tiny golden bells, Mulan’s coiffure would stop arrows far better than anything the imperial blacksmiths could craft.
The maid inserted one last pin and stepped back. “All done.”
She pulled the train of Mulan’s robe out as Mulan stepped in front of a full-length mirror. Mulan’s reflection was warped and metallic on the coppery finish, but she could see that she was made up as intricately as the finest ladies of court, her face powdered white, her eyes lined with charcoal, and her lips painted red as her sash. Her eyebrows had been shaved and drawn back in with blue-black pigment. Tiny silver beads adorned her yellow-tinted forehead, and three flowers had been painted on her right cheek.
“Armor,” Mulan said under her breath.
“Your Majesty?”
“Nothing, just talking to myself.”
― Livia Blackburne, Feather and Flame

“I heard the story of how you dressed up as a man to join the army, and I was awestruck at your act of rebellion. I mean, I had long given up on behaving as a virtuous woman should, but what you did was something else altogether.” She took a large sip of wine. “It was only after I met you that I realized you were one of the biggest rule followers in existence.”
Mulan didn’t think “rule follower” was quite the right term, but she understood what Liwen meant. Mulan felt the binds of duty strongly. It was no rebellious streak that had sent her into the army, but her love for her father. Her absolute refusal to let him die a senseless death.”
― Livia Blackburne, Feather and Flame

“This is phoenix embroidery.”
“Yes, Your Majesty. That is the traditional symbol for an empress.”
“I thought it would be a dragon.” That was what the old emperor had worn on his ceremonial robes. It was also the animal carved on the ceiling of the imperial audience hall and on the throne.
“The dragon symbolizes the emperor. The phoenix symbolizes the empress. Both are majestic creatures, and both convey great authority.”
― Livia Blackburne, Feather and Flame

“You are the hero whose quick thinking saved our country. You are the warrior who risked great personal loss and dishonor to protect your family and, by extension, all of China.”
It was absurd, the disconnect between the emperor’s words and Mulan’s own conception of herself. Yes, she supposed she had done these things, but she was also just Mulan, Fa Hsu’s daughter, who tripped over chickens and stole sweet buns from the kitchen.”
― Livia Blackburne, Feather and Flame

“Don’t you realize you’re a hero?” said Shang. “Your legend grows by the year. Fa Mulan, fearless warrior and savior of China. The one who buried Shan Yu’s armies under a mountaintop of ice.”
“It was just a well-aimed rocket.” Mulan remembered the crack of ice, the avalanche cascading down.
“The warrior who came to the emperor’s aid when Shan Yu took him hostage. Who fought and defeated Shan Yu in mortal combat atop a palace roof, saving the emperor and restoring China to its rightful ruler. All while wearing a dress.”
― Livia Blackburne, Feather and Flame

“If I’ve shifted anything, it’s only because you, Mama, and Nai Nai lent me your strength.”
As Mulan out a long breath, a spark leapt from one of the incense sticks. As it floated downward, it seemed inexplicably to multiply, over and over until there were hundreds of sparks floating in the air of the temple.
“Baba,” Mulan whispered.
The sparks rearranged themselves, clustering, expanding, and re-forming, until they became a dragon that soared through the air. Next to it, a fiery bird flapped its wings. They cavorted together, chasing each other in dizzying circles, until, suddenly, they scattered again into ash. The glowing sparks floated slowly to the ground and winked out one by one.”
― Livia Blackburne, Feather and Flame

“From up here she had a clear view of the garden below. Just next to the wall was the worn bench where Mulan had so often sat with Grandmother, helping her sort vegetables as Nai Nai told fantastic stories of the monkey king, the zodiac animals, the thunder god's wife, and the woman on the moon. When Mulan expressed awe at those adventures, Grandmother told her about the adventures in store for her.
"See how wide your forehead is?" Grandmother would say. "That means you'll travel far and bring back good fortune."
"I will?" Mulan responded, rapt.
"Yes, but it will not be easy," Nai Nai said, and she'd point to a scar on Mulan's temple from a childhood fall. "That scar means you'll struggle and face hardship, but if you persevere, you will overcome it."
How right Grandmother been. During long cold nights in the army, when the ground sent icicles through her hopes, Mulan had clung to Grandmother's words.”
― Livia Blackburne, Feather and Flame

“The soft pit-pat of her footfalls echoed through dark hallways as she tiptoed toward the courtyard. Outside, the evening air was crisp. The fragrance of sweet osmanthus wafted across her path as crickets chirped near the burbling stream. Mulan followed a stone walkway over a bridge and under a round archway that took her out of their inner yard. A small red pagoda sat atop the hill beyond.”
― Livia Blackburne, Feather and Flame

“Looking at Mulan, the soldier felt pride, but also compassion. Mulan had mastered the art of war, but there remained obstacles ahead, dangers more nuanced than a simple exchange of swords. She was close to fulfilling her destiny, but first, she'd have to learn the way of the spirits, to use their strength as her own. And she would know pain. Because the fenghuang, the phoenix, that guardian of imperial harmony, does not grant its blessing to everyone. Only the most honest, loyal, and selfless. The one who is brave against encroaching darkness.”
― Livia Blackburne, Feather and Flame