yarrr, ye scurvy boy-king, halt ye whinin'

“Only the most rare and valuable things are ever given free," he was saying. "Most things cost something you can give up, but they aren't worth anything—not really, not in the end. But some things ... some have to be given free, because if you had to put a price on them, their true value would be too great for any one person to afford. Do you understand?”

from The Boneshaker by Kate Milford