Marigold did not leave the grand chamber. She did not even leave Adora. Even when the goddess had made it clear that she was not going to help a blemished. She had refused her father because she had convinced him she had people to bade farewell to. But that was far from the truth and Lord Birley had been right even when Marigold refused to acknowledge it. She had no one to say goodbye to. She could not even bear to face Sister Julianne. It would hurt even more, because after crying for hours in front of the marble depiction of the merciful Adora. Marigold had gotten a rude awakening. The goddess had her favorites and Marigold Renold was not one of them.
"Cheer up," A familiar voice cooed just beside her. Marigold turned to her side and took a good look at the green bird. What was it? A spirit? A demon? She could not tell. All she knew was that its presence was a reminder that she was not normal.
"Why should I? Things just keep getting worse for me. There is nothing good about being alive." Marigold sighed, burying her face into the already moist feet of the stone figure. "Are you really a divine spirit Ten?"
"What makes you doubt my divinity, my sweet Marigold?" The creature asked.
"Because you told me… You told me when you appeared to me that I would have a good life. You told me I was destined for greatness. This is not greatness. I feel alone Ten. I have always felt this way. But I have never felt helpless. I feel like I cannot escape it. The blasted blemish on my back. It follows me everywhere like the stain that it is. You lied to me Ten. I can never be destined for greatness. I am just a worthless Arcan."
There was a pause between the two creatures. Arcan and spirit. The silence of the spirit that had promised to guide Marigold caused the doubt in her heart to morph from a ripple into a tidal wave. Silence could be a confession to the accusation too. Marigold wanted to be wrong. Though it did not look like it, she really needed the reassurance of Ten. She did not even care if it happened to be a lie. She just had to hear it. If Adora was going to fail her, the words of a being that did not belong to the mortal realm would placate her.
"You are not worthless," Ten assured her, waddling closer in a manner that almost made Marigold chuckle. "And I did not lie. Sweetheart, you are indeed destined for greatness. Destiny has its turbulence. It is never a smooth ride. So I urge you to see things in that bright light like you always have."
"It is hard to see things in that bright light Ten. The way I see it, I was just a cow being fattened. I am fat enough to be led into the slaughterhouse and be killed now."
"You seem to have developed a penchant for selective memory, sweetheart. Have you forgotten the only reason you made it your life mission to become a sister?'
Marigold sat up and looked at the creature. She remembered it quite well. As an indentured of the temple, they owed the fold their everyday breath and the church did not want the devoted indentured inside the fold to get carried away by the wiles of the world. No one left the four corners of the temple. Everything that was needed was always within the confines of the temple. Becoming a sister of the temple had its privileges. One of them happened to be freedom. It had been enough for Marigold. An opportunity to satiate the temple and her curiosity about what the outside world was like.
"I wanted freedom," Marigold replied. "Marriage does not sound like freedom Ten. It is just another cage."
"I disagree," Ten squawked, unfolding its wing and perching on Marigold's shoulder. "You have never been able to leave this temple since your father brought you here. You might believe that marriage is just another cage. But at least you will be free. You will be able to explore the world that has always seemed elusive to you and you do not have to swear your entire life in devotion to a goddess that despises you."
"Hush!" Marigold chastised. "You cannot say such blasphemy."
"It is not blasphemy if it is the hard truth."
A smile found its way to Marigold's mouth. She felt better already and Ten was right. She needed to see things in a positive light. If she saw things from a grim point of view. What was the point? It was not going to change much. The odds were against her. She was a woman and she was an Arcan. If there was a status worse than a second-class citizen. Only then would she piece perfectly into society.
"Just wait, Marigold. This world has a lot of wonders. Maybe even new ones I never got to see after the end of my old life."
"Old life?" Marigold quizzed. "You have never told me about your old life?"
"I do not want to bore you with stories. What I want is for you to experience it, Marigold."
"That is if my husband is not cruel," Marigold continued. "I hear the prayers of some women in the temple. Their husbands beat them. Their husbands do not love them. What if that is a fate that befalls me? I would rather be a Sister of the fold. At least… At least, I would have my freedom." There was a pause between the two unlike creatures. It lasted for a good minute before Marigold broke it. "Were you married in your old life?"
"I was married. He was a Lord and it was love at first sight." The parrot mused and for a brief yet fleeting moment, Marigold could see the woman the spirit once was. But Marigold could also tell there was more. Parts of the story that would not be fairytale-like. She was tempted to let Ten stop her tale there. But the parrot was long gone into fonder memories. "He didn't care that I did not have a title. You see I was just a simple girl. He promised to take care of me all my life and I believed him. I still do. In this story, I was the one who hurt him, and let us just say; love cannot fix everything."
"What did you do Ten? It couldn't have been that bad?"
"I dared to dream, sweet child. I dared to change the hands of fate to bend to my will. The goddess Adora reminded me that fate is not in our hands to change. But all of that must have still been fate because I am here with you."
Marigold sighed. Ten was a strange creature. Marigold filled in the gaps. The goddess loved everyone. Everyone except the blemished. She deduced that Ten was an Arcan too even if the bird did not spill its secret. Her marriage must have failed when her husband learned she was an Arcan. The rest was an overstretch but Marigold had reason to believe that Ten could not handle the betrayal so she took her own life and now she was here. Tethered to a stranger. A fate like that was cruel. Marigold could not imagine it. She had to concede. Ten was indeed a strange creature. She was a guardian angel.
"I hope you can still see the world with me Ten," Marigold whispered, watching the bird slowly lose corporeal form.
"You should start getting your things and saying your goodbyes, Sweetheart. Dawn is upon us." Ten vanished completely once those words were uttered.
Yet, Marigold remained rooted on the floor. Because all she had to her name were the rags she scavenged and an old wooden bucket. There was more though. If she was being honest with herself, there was really no one to say goodbye to. So all she could do was wait and silently pray to the goddess who made and yet despised her that the choice she made wouldn't mar her.