the moment she felt it, marigold hated herself for it. she would later lie awake questioning why her first reaction as the chaos erupted around her had been to search for duchess ambrose. "mother?" she called quietly, eyes flickering from one face to another as she walked through the crowd of people, knowing that even if she did spot her mother then she would not recognise her and neither would her mother recognise her. maybe it was due to her young age, or perhaps she had grown so dependent in her gilded cage that she was unable to stand on her own two feet, but she was desperately seeking out all she had ever known. the only constant in her life was her mother, and while that was mostly the problem, it was also a crutch she had always used when she was scared of the unknown. her home might have always felt like a prison, but at least it was familiar and safe. then she came across someone whose eyes seemed to linger on her. "mother?" marigold asked tentatively, this time directed at the stranger in front of her — and for the first time in her life, she was actually hoping it truly was the duchess ambrose.