The trouble with thinking about life outside the temple was that once you started doing it, it was kind of difficult to stop.
Marlene didn't really use to entertain those thoughts before, not at lenght. Not the way she started doing it since they returned from their task in the port. She knew it was stupid, of course, with more than a decade of service still left, but once she heard Lily speak wistfully about faraway lands, it was really hard to not engage in some daydreaming. Hard to not start looking for opportunities.
Despite all that, Marlene wasn't stupid. She knew that leaving the temple - now or in twelve years' time - would require a massive amount of preparation. Not to mention money. Connections. Clothing. Some other stuff she couldn't really think of, because Lily made a face during the morning rites, and it was such a pretty face, and it was so easy for Marlene to get distracted these days.
Okay, so maybe leaving forever would require a lot, but... What if they disappeared for just a day? It was theoretically very forbidden, but then, a lot of things were, and people got away with them all the time if they got lucky. They'd have to leave a note so that the older priestesses wouldn't start a search party, because that would make everything very public and worse. So yes, note was definitely a yes. For money, Marlene could manage. She was pretty sure she didn't have enough to build a new life, but an outing should be fine. How much could a theater ticket be, Caius? Ten silver?
Granted, she still had to convince Lily, but... It wasn't usually so hard to convince Lily to do fun things.
And this is how they found themselves here. In a theater, waiting for a riveting day of scandalous Greek plays. Marlene was sure the tragedies were especially tragic, all three of them, the comedy at the end especially rowdy, and the whole thing all around delightful. Their common people clothes might be a bit rough and chafing, and food from one of the theater vendors smelled a bit suspicious, but it didn't matter. They did it. They snuck out. They were having an adventure.
"Oooh, look there," she whispered, pointing out to something by the door on the other end of their row of seats. "I think they're about to get into a fight! Do you think they'll just go ahead with the play if there is a fight in the audience?"
Vestal virgins continued!
Marlene didn't really use to entertain those thoughts before, not at lenght. Not the way she started doing it since they returned from their task in the port. She knew it was stupid, of course, with more than a decade of service still left, but once she heard Lily speak wistfully about faraway lands, it was really hard to not engage in some daydreaming. Hard to not start looking for opportunities.
Despite all that, Marlene wasn't stupid. She knew that leaving the temple - now or in twelve years' time - would require a massive amount of preparation. Not to mention money. Connections. Clothing. Some other stuff she couldn't really think of, because Lily made a face during the morning rites, and it was such a pretty face, and it was so easy for Marlene to get distracted these days.
Okay, so maybe leaving forever would require a lot, but... What if they disappeared for just a day? It was theoretically very forbidden, but then, a lot of things were, and people got away with them all the time if they got lucky. They'd have to leave a note so that the older priestesses wouldn't start a search party, because that would make everything very public and worse. So yes, note was definitely a yes. For money, Marlene could manage. She was pretty sure she didn't have enough to build a new life, but an outing should be fine. How much could a theater ticket be, Caius? Ten silver?
Granted, she still had to convince Lily, but... It wasn't usually so hard to convince Lily to do fun things.
And this is how they found themselves here. In a theater, waiting for a riveting day of scandalous Greek plays. Marlene was sure the tragedies were especially tragic, all three of them, the comedy at the end especially rowdy, and the whole thing all around delightful. Their common people clothes might be a bit rough and chafing, and food from one of the theater vendors smelled a bit suspicious, but it didn't matter. They did it. They snuck out. They were having an adventure.
"Oooh, look there," she whispered, pointing out to something by the door on the other end of their row of seats. "I think they're about to get into a fight! Do you think they'll just go ahead with the play if there is a fight in the audience?"