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?"
crawls to this a thousand years later, my head hung in shame
That stolen afternoon at the portside market had taken up a good deal more of her thoughts than Lily would have admitted to anyone but Marlene - though she was rather glad her friend hadn’t asked. Naturally, she would have been honest if pressed, but Lily wasn’t certain she was quite ready to confess how many hours she had spent dwelling on the day they had shared.
It wasn’t just getting to see what life was like outside of the temples and away from their holy routines - though that had certainly been a part of it. For years now she had been captivated by the thought of life beyond the temple, and getting to see it firsthand - people living their lives, bustling around without being burdened by the divine - it had changed things The world just wasn’t the same size anymore, and instead of an unapproachable mystery beyond the temple gates all Lily had begun to see was potential.
Above it all, there was Marlene - with her pale hair in the bright afternoon sun, silhouetted against the rich blue sky, watching the ships pull into the harbor with as much enjoyment on her face as Lily had felt in that moment. Marlene was without a doubt the only part of the life she had here that she would want to bring with her anywhere.
Whenever she thought about life beyond the temple, Marlene tied so heavily into those daydreams that it was impossible to untangle one concept from the other. There were complications, namely that they would be living without a means, and these were problems that had unclear solutions.
Dreaming was free even though living was far from it, and when Marlene presented the chance to get away again it did not take much more than a moment to process the invitation for Lily to agree. While leaving the temple forever was a complicated issue, a day away with Marlene sounded like something close to paradise.
The theater was something Lily had theoretical knowledge of, but within a minute of the first play that begun the retinue, she was captivated by it. The pageantry and the drama were so far removed from the way things were it was difficult to not be enthralled, and she remained still in her seat until Marlene spoke.
Lily turned in the direction her friend had gestured, her arm unconsciously reaching across Marlene’s lap almost protectively as she studied the pair that her friend had pointed out.
“Goodness, I hope so. Wouldn’t that be dramatic?” Lily looked back to Marlene with wide eyes and grinned before realizing herself and sheepishly pulling her arm back.
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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?"
crawls to this a thousand years later, my head hung in shame
It wasn’t just getting to see what life was like outside of the temples and away from their holy routines - though that had certainly been a part of it. For years now she had been captivated by the thought of life beyond the temple, and getting to see it firsthand - people living their lives, bustling around without being burdened by the divine - it had changed things The world just wasn’t the same size anymore, and instead of an unapproachable mystery beyond the temple gates all Lily had begun to see was potential.
Above it all, there was Marlene - with her pale hair in the bright afternoon sun, silhouetted against the rich blue sky, watching the ships pull into the harbor with as much enjoyment on her face as Lily had felt in that moment. Marlene was without a doubt the only part of the life she had here that she would want to bring with her anywhere.
Whenever she thought about life beyond the temple, Marlene tied so heavily into those daydreams that it was impossible to untangle one concept from the other. There were complications, namely that they would be living without a means, and these were problems that had unclear solutions.
Dreaming was free even though living was far from it, and when Marlene presented the chance to get away again it did not take much more than a moment to process the invitation for Lily to agree. While leaving the temple forever was a complicated issue, a day away with Marlene sounded like something close to paradise.
The theater was something Lily had theoretical knowledge of, but within a minute of the first play that begun the retinue, she was captivated by it. The pageantry and the drama were so far removed from the way things were it was difficult to not be enthralled, and she remained still in her seat until Marlene spoke.
Lily turned in the direction her friend had gestured, her arm unconsciously reaching across Marlene’s lap almost protectively as she studied the pair that her friend had pointed out.
“Goodness, I hope so. Wouldn’t that be dramatic?” Lily looked back to Marlene with wide eyes and grinned before realizing herself and sheepishly pulling her arm back.