Dream Arts

"Queen Grandma! You must make the wedding happen sooner, if not I might lose my new mother." Lord William said while running over to the Queen the moment he reached her inner chambers. Duke Kensington was following closely behind and bowed when he reached her.

Queen Serina was puzzled. This little fireball was chattering non stop about Lady Melissa the moment he saw her today. What's going on? She looked up with a questioning look at Duke Kensington, hoping he could explain.

"Your Majesty, my son and I visited Lady Melissa few days ago. They became best friends." With just these two sentences, Queen Serina understood everything. She smiled while holding Lord William in her arms.

"Do you like Lady Melissa, William?" She asked the young boy.

"Yes, of course! She's so beautiful and kind. She even baked me cookies herself. She will be the best mother ever! Can she live with me anytime soon? Please Queen Grandma." Lord William asked with both his hands clasped together, begging the Queen to agree to his request.

"Haha! Seemed like I picked the right choice then. Why don't you go to the kitchen and see what cookies are there? I'm sure you'll find delicious ones." With that Queen Serina instructed one of the maids to bring Lord William to the kitchen, leaving her and Duke Kensington alone.

"How about you? Do you also like this girl?" Queen Serina asked, her eyes was looking intently at Duke Kensington's face.

"William likes her, Your Majesty. So that is enough for me. I have no objection." Duke Kensington tactfully replied.

Queen Serina sighed. This stubborn young man had always been like this. She could never get a straight answer when it came to such matter.

"Zachary, it's good that she gets along well with William. But she is going to be your wife. You must've some opinions about her. I heard she was a stunning girl. Is that true?" Queen Serina asked with a cheeky glint in her eyes.

Duke Kensington was taken aback by the Queen's question. Well, Lady Melissa was beautiful, in fact he had never met anyone as beautiful as her. He still remembered the first time he saw her, with her clear violet eyes and her long black hair.

"Yes, she is." Unknowingly, a small smile appeared on his face when he said this, which did not go unnoticed by the Queen.

She was estatic! Finally, this stone cold man was melting. Lady Melissa was indeed the perfect choice. She had never seen Duke Kensington showed any emotion towards any woman, even to his deceased wife. But he actually smiled at the mention of her. Not wanting to give herself away, she coughed twice and said, "Well, that's good, at least she's pleasing to the eye even if you don't love her. Let's settle the wedding in two weeks. William was right, there's no point dragging it out. I will inform the Knights, you should get everything prepared. The wedding will take place at the castle."

Two weeks? So soon? But Duke Kensington knew better than to challenge the Queen's decision. He merely nodded and replied, "As you wish, Your Majesty. I will get everything ready."

"And Zachary, bring her to meet me before the wedding. I'd like to meet this young lady who has snatched my grandson's heart." 'And possibly my son's heart too!' Queen Serina instructed.

"What?! Two weeks?! Father, is that even doable? To hold a wedding in such a short time?" Melissa looked at her father in shock.

"That's what the Queen insisted. We don't have to do anything. Duke Kensington and the palace will manage everything, even your wedding dress will be prepared by the palace. A royal tailor will come and take your measurements this evening. If you have any preference for a particular design, you may instruct the tailor. The Kensington's Estate colours are sapphire blue and silver. So your gown will be in that shade." Duke Malcom explained to his daughter. As much as he wanted to keep his daughter longer with the family, he knew this day would come and therefore was prepared mentally for it.

"Will Melvin be back in time for the wedding?" Melissa asked. Lord Melvin had gone out of the capital city a few days ago to purchase some lands in the countryside. He had decided to rare horses and therefore needed a vast area of lands for that. Melissa was worried that this kind man would not be able to make it to the wedding.

"Yes, I have sent news to him. If I know him well, he should be rushing back as soon as he gets the information. In fact, he might be furious too." Duke Malcom could already see his son putting up a storm when this news leaked to him.

Melissa was silent for a moment before she spoke, "Father, I'd like to visit the town and purchase some things today. May I go?"

"The town? Is there anything you need? We can ask the servants to get them for you. You don't have to trouble yourself." Duke Malcom answered, wary of his daughter's request. She had not stepped out of the house for two years and he feared something bad would happen to her.

"Don't worry Father. I want to choose it myself. It's just some arts materials." Melissa explained.

"Alright then, take Sir Andrew with you. Be careful." Duke Malcom instructed, finally agreeing to the request. Maybe going out would do her good, since she had stayed in the mansion without going anywhere for so long. 

In fact, when Duke Malcom mentioned the wedding dress, Melissa was surprised to know that the Kensington Estate's colours were sapphire blue. That was the colour she loved most and in fact, before she died in the real life, she had purchased a sapphire dress. She loved the design of the dress and wanted to replicate it. To do that, she needed some sketching materials and colours. As the original Lady Melissa didn't paint, there was no arts materials at home for her to use.

When she was ready to leave, Lily gasped when she saw her. "My Lady, you can't go out like that. That dress was too simple for you! Let me dress you again."

In fact, Melissa didn't like the heavy and tacky gowns which noble ladies seemed to wear in this era. She preferred something light and easy to move around with. Hence, she had secretly altered some of her dresses and got rid of the fluffy, frilly and lacy stuffs on them. At first, Lily was shocked to see these modifications but soon got used to it when Melissa explained she needed simple dresses when at home. But now, Melissa was wearing one of those simple gowns to go out with. That couldn't do at all! She was a Lady, a Duke's daughter! Her status was so high and therefore she needed to maintain it no matter what. Wearing such a simple gown out, would not only embarrass herself but also the Duke's mansion.

"Lily, I've not been out and didn't meet anyone for the past two years. Do you think anyone would actually recognize me? Don't worry about it." Melissa knew what this girl was afraid of. Today, she had decided to wear a simple dark blue skirt with flower embroidered patterns, coupled with a long sleeves cream coloured top with a low neckline. Half of her hair had been made up into a simple bun while the rest was let loose. She truly embodied the sentiments of classic and simplicity, yet still appear charming and beautiful.

Sir Andrew was a young knight employed by the Duke's mansion and was a personal escort of Lady Melissa. When he received news that Lady Melissa would need escort to go to the town today, he was surprised. The young lady had not gone out for the past two years and all her needs was personally bought by him. Whatever she needed in the past, her personal maid would go out with him to purchase these items. He rarely saw her at the Mansion as well. She mostly kept herself indoors or spent time reading at her personal garden, which no one was allowed in. Sometimes he wondered what had happened to make his Mistress shut herself out from the public. Two years ago, he had escorted her to a gathering at the palace and she had gone back earlier than expected. He noticed her teary red eyes when she got into the carriage but didn't ask as it wasn't his position to be nosy about his Mistress.

When Melissa stepped out into the front yard, Sir Andrew was ready with the carriage. He was stunned when he saw her for the first time after two years. Lady Melissa was somewhat different from how she looked like before. She had blossomed into a very beautiful woman and her aura was also different. She seemed somewhat kinder and more graceful as well.

Melissa saw the young man stood staring at her, but she couldn't be bothered with any formalities. "Sir Andrew, is it? I need to buy some arts materials. Bring me to the best shop." With that she climbed into the carriage herself without waiting for Sir Andrew.

Sir Andrew snapped back to reality when he realized his Mistress had stepped into the carriage herself. He felt guilty and quickly replied, "Yes, My Lady. There's a shop called Dream Arts which sells arts supplies. We can go there." 

Melissa nodded when she heard that. Sir Andrew bowed slightly at her approval and proceeded to drive them to town without further delay. Seemed like his Mistress was impatient to get to town. Best he didn't delay her business lest he'd be reprimanded by Lord Melvin if he hear of it.

When she stepped into the big and spacious shop called "Dream Arts", Melissa was at awe. The shop was fully stocked with all the arts and crafts materials one could find. Melissa started going around to check everything out to familiarise herself with the shop's layout and materials sold there. She had a keen interest in arts since young and a self taught artist. When she first transmigrated here, she was fully engrossed with ways to overcome the marriage and getting used to her new world. However, now that the marriage was unavoidable, she needed to get back on her feet and organised her life one more time. Melissa figured she would start by doing the things she loved before, which included both painting and cooking. The original Lady Melissa was written as a good baker. Luckily Melissa knew how to cook and bake as well before she transmigrated.

While going around the shop, Melissa noticed Sir Andrew following her at a distance. She was surprised for a moment before realizing he was protecting her. Not used to be babysat like this, Melissa approached Sir Andrew and instructed him to wait for her outside the shop. At first, Sir Andrew was reluctant but after seeing her insistence, he bowed and left the shop.

Melissa found the colour paints section and was engrossed in choosing the colours that she needed. There were not many customers at that time so the shop was quite deserted. Suddenly a deep voice sounded above her head, startling her. "Lady Melissa, we meet again."

Melissa quickly looked up and saw the handsome face which she desperately wanted to avoid. 'Are you kidding me?? Even here?'

Melissa was actually in a strange position at the moment. The paints were organised at the lower levels of the shelves and therefore, one needed to bend in order to carefully choose a colour. However, after bending down for too long to look at the colours, Melissa felt like her waist would snapped if she carried on like this. Therefore, she finally decided to sit comfortably on the floor while taking her time to choose the shades she needed. She knew such act was frowned upon in this era as it was considered vulgar and crude for a girl to do so, especially in public. Her status as a Lady also barred her from committing such atrocious behaviour. However, being raised in the modern world, Melissa couldn't care less. She decided her health mattered most rather than these unrealistic customs. Morever, she was very sure no one would recognize her real identity, dressing up as she was right now.