The maids were making the finishing touches, the mesh sleeves were a very fine touch to the dress, but so far she could still see judgment in the eyes of the people around her from how exposed she was. "I know in the novel he avoids her at all costs during the wedding, as well as on the altar he avoids touching her directly by making sure to wear gloves." Lilith thought as the count grabbed her arm and started to walk to the doors that lead to the ceremonial hall. The doors opened and she could hear a lovely piano medley playing in the background. Vincent's eyes widened in agonizing horror as he saw her dress. She wasn't one to feel embarrassed, but she felt humiliated by being looked at like that. Especially as many of the men in the room ogled at her pervertedly, the women looked at her in disgust and she could almost hear them calling her a tramp in their thoughts. When she finally made it next to Vincent he didn't even want to turn to look at her, and she could see how hard he was clenching his teeth. Lilith just sighed as the speech went on, the pastor kept looking at her in disapproval as he spoke. When it came to the rings the flower girl and flower boy stepped up with the wedding rings on a cushion. She thought they were so adorable, the little girl tripped on the last step because of her dress and fell on her face. If she had been with her friends they would have bursted it out laughing but keeping in mind where she was she leaned down to help the girl up. Lilith got a handkerchief and wiped some of the girls tears and snot, she was only 5 years old and was feeling very embarrassed. The boy looked concerned since the girls nose had gotten very red, Lilith patted the girls back and tried to make her feel better but she was still sniffing a bit. "Maybe if i kiss her boo boo?" She thought as she pecked the tip of the girls nose. The child seemed to calm down a bit smiling softly at Lilith. The girl then held up the cushion to them and Vincent grabbed her ring after putting on thick gloves. She wanted to roll her eyes but she kept a neutral face to not cause any commotion. He put it on her avoiding touching her skin, and when she reached to grab his ring he contorted his face. She felt a vein pop out on her forehead as she gritted her teeth, she used her nails to pick it up and put it on his ring finger, then dusted her hand off and wiped it on her dress. She heard him take a sharp breath as he faced the pastor and she felt like she won the pettiness against him and she finally smiled in satisfaction. The pastor watched with a tired look on his face and didn't even bother to tell them to kiss so he just announced their union. They went to the ballroom and were receiving their food at the "couples" table. They were quiet and tense as the food was served, she was doing her best to eat slow and politely considering how hungry she was. He barely touched his food and stood to talk to some young men his age when people started to dance. Lilith scanned the room to see if she could find anyone to talk to, and her eyes fell on a young lady sitting by herself at another table. She smiled and walked over, "Hi...nice to meet you...did you enjoy the food?" The young lady turned to look at her a bit confused. "Oh..hello Lady Grim- I mean Lady Allard, it is pleasant to finally formally meet you, My name is Odette Millard." The young lady said bowing her head. Lilith smiled brightly since the Young lady seemed friendly, "May i sit with you?" She asked. Lady Millard smiled. "Of course Lady Allard." Lilith sat down and sighed. "Please just call me Lilith, I hope to be good friends with you." She said happily. A soft giggle was heard from Lady Millard, "Of course, thank you Lady Lilith." She said. Lilith suddenly noticed the small dog sitting on Lady Millards lap. A white fluffy Pomeranian, eating a treat at a time, the same treats she accidentally ate just a few hours ago. Lady Millard noticed her staring. "Oh his name is Dilly, he's 3 years old." She said proudly. "He's lovely." Lilith said smiling at the dog. Lady Millard blushed and took out her fan, lightly fluttering it to her face. "My husband got him for me when he was courting me.." she said shyly. Lilith giggled. "That is so sweet! He's so calm and polite, like a little gentlemen." Lady Millard laughed. "Yes he is quite a treat to have around. And well...my husband worked very hard for my affection." She said blushing again. Lilith flinched a bit at the word treat in embarrassment from eating one of them earlier. "Well you are such a beautiful Lady, you also seem so nice and comfortable to be around, there is no wonder he worked hard." Lilith said. Lady Millard blushed pretty hard as she laughed heartily. "You flatter me.." she said hiding behind her fan. Lilith watched the couples dancing, some of them looked happy, but most of them looked bitter. "Guess im not the only forced marriage here." She thought. "Say...Lady Millard would you like to have a dance with me?" Lilith asked. Lady Millard looked confused by her proposal, but she nodded shyly. "I don't see anything wrong about it...." She said as she stood letting Dilly sit on the empty chair next to her. Now that they stood Lilith saw that Lady Millard was quite a bit shorter than her, even though she was wearing heels, "she's so adorable." She thought. They stood at the dance floor. " Thank god Liliths body can dance well, i just need to follow its instincts." She thought as she lead Lady Millard in the dance not noticing the many eyes looking at her in disbelief. After hours of them dancing together they sat at the table again, but this time a young man with chocolate brown hair and light brown eyes was sitting next to Dilly. "You had fun my love?" He asked Lady Millard. "Yes honey, Lady Lilith is such an excellent dancer, she should teach you some lessons." Lady Millard said as she teased her husband. "Thank you Lady Allard for dancing with my wife in my absence." He said bowing his head. The conversation continued and they talked together for hours, this was the first time in a while that Estella had been able to talk to people that actually liked her company, it was making her feel like she was back home. When everybody left she was led to the bridal chambers, where the maids took off her wedding gown and replaced it with lingerie. She waited for them to leave her alone and laid in bed knowing that Vincent wouldn't show up that night since in the novel he chases after Thalia and Cyrus, and they spent the night talking about how deplorable Lilith is. There was a knock at the door and without a second thought she told them to come in as she threw on a robe. "Hello...Lilith?" A sweet voice rang out. Lilith turned to look at the visitor. "Lady Thalia? What are you doing here so late?" "I just wanted to make sure you were feeling okay..." Thalia said with sad eyes. Looking at her attire it seemed like Thalia wanted to be the bride herself, wearing a pearl white dress that looked more bridal than her own. "What a pretty dress...the color suits your skin very well.." Lilith said as she inspected the dress. Thalia blushed, "Thank you...they picked it out for me..." she said as she put her hands on her soft cheeks. Lilith hummed, "They chose for her to wear a white dress to a wedding?" She thought. She shrugged it off since she didn't even care about the wedding to begin with. "Well i'm doing very well, i'm just a but tired from the dancing." She said. Thalia smiled. "I saw you dancing with Lady Millard, she's very kind isn't she.." The vibe was strange, Lilith couldn't point it out but something was off. "Well, thank you for checking on me but are you sure you want to stay in the bridal chambers?" Lilith said in a teasing voice. Thalia blushed, " I'll go...but seriously i'm very happy to have you as part of the family." After Thalia left Lilith started undressing, "I'm gonna put on a more comfortable night gown.." she thought kicking off the lingerie and letting her hair loose. She heard the door open again and figured it was the new maid, Natalie. Turning to look at her there was a different person standing there, Vincent, she standing fully naked in front of him and he frowned. She smirked as she walked towards him slyly, he took a few steps back. "You're just gonna stare~" she said slyly and placed her hands on his chest as she looked up at him through her eyelashes. He looked disgusted by her advances. "I was forced in here..." he said bluntly. She looked at him confused but just laughed. "Whatever im going to bed." She said as her hips moved smoothly walking away from him to sit on the edge of the bed. He looked at her strangely as he stood there like a statue, she sneered at him. "You won't join me? Husband?" She said. He shuddered, " I can't do this." He said as he rushed out. She laughed as he ran away, finding it funny how childish he was. He stood outside the door feeling goosebumps on his skin. "That woman is so hateful.." he thought. Cyrus and Thalia were sitting in the tea room when Vincent barged in to sit at the table with them. "Today was so stressful..." he said sighing. "You left her by herself ? She must be feeling lonely..." Thalia said sadly. Cyrus and Vincent instantly comforted her, they hated seeing her sad and always tried to make her feel better, no matter what they had to do. "She laughed when I left, I don't think she'll miss me." He said bitterly. They looked at him in shock. "I heard that woman was obsessed with you? She laughed when you left? How?" Cyrus asked. "She laughed like if she was teasing me, she is wicked, even though she stood naked in front of me she wasn't shy at all." Vincent said uncomfortably. Thalia was sad again, "she is super pretty, i often feel inferior..." she said making puppy eyes at them. "No you are a thousand times more beautiful than that snake, trust me..."Vincent said, Cyrus agreed and they kept complimenting her as she blushed a little acting innocent and sweet. The birds singing woke Lilith up, Natalie was already there preparing her clothes for the day, "My lady, let me help you get ready for breakfast." "Okay.." she said as she stood, her legs felt heavy and sore from the dancing yesterday. "Thank you..." Lilith said as Natalie gently brushed her hair. The entire time she had been at the counts house the maids would do everything so aggressively, many times hurting her or pulling out a bit of hair, but Natalies gentle hands made her feel comfortable. She finally felt safe, the warmth she felt from these gentle hands reminded her of her mother. When she looked at Natalie she had a blank face, like she was just doing her job, but that was also refreshing from the scorn on other maids faces from the counts home. Natalie lead her to the dining room to meet with the rest of the family. When she walked in the happy environment turned cold as the conversation stopped. The Duke looked up at her. "Lady Grimrose, take a seat." He said bothered. Someone pulled out a seat for her, "Good morning Father, Mother" she said politely as she took a seat. The duchess didn't look upset by Lilith calling her mother, but she did look a little uncomfortable. Thalia smiled "Good morning Lilith." Lilith looked up at her and smiled gently. "Good morning" Vincent was visibly upset by her presence and Cyrus was watching completely intrigued. "So..Lilith.. dear how did you enjoy the dancing last night." The duchess asked a bit awkward. Lilith blushed a little, "I loved dancing with Lady Millard, i'm so glad we could match each other so well." Cyrus watched Liliths reaction to his mothers question. "We had no idea you were so good at dancing.." he said curiously looking at her. Vincent was also watching her from the corner of his eye acting as if he wasn't even listening. The duke cleared his throat, "Well, I will be in my office, Lady Grimrose, sebastian will give you a tour of the mansion." He said as the young man stepped up. Lilith smiled at him brightly, " It's nice to meet you again." She said. He bowed his head respectfully but he didn't show much emotion. "If you could follow me my lady to start the tour." He said as he helped her up from the chair. As they walked away she paid more attention to his appearance, bright emerald green eyes and hair a pretty blue back, tied in a loose pony tail. His face was very delicate, his skin a pretty beige tone. He was handsome, and she was happy to have him as a tour guide. He showed her a lot of rooms, some were individual offices, some rooms for hobbies and practicing. Her favorite was when they entered an art gallery, it was enormous, filled with statues of the family and paintings, as well as some clothes marking special moments in their lives. The next place he was going to show her is the garden. While they walked on the balcony that lead to the garden they heard soft laughter, she turned and saw Vincent, Cyrus, and Thalia reading books by a willow tree. In Estellas body she always hung out with her friends like that too, they were a bit more rowdy since they were very comfortable together, but they also had peaceful moments like this. The sadness started eating at her heart again, she missed them so much it physically hurt. "I'm going to be so lonely...aren't I...." She half whispered to herself, not knowing Sebastian was watching her closely. "One day, soon i will be back with my friends." She thought as she turned to keep walking. The garden was beautiful with a path of wisteria trees, every kind of flower imaginable, she even saw some henna leaves. "Maybe i can make some henna..." she thought as she imagined how people would react to seeing her hands decorated with henna, they would probably start rumors about her being a criminal since many thieves got tattoos and the people wouldn't know the difference. They took a break by a small stream in the garden. "They even have a river..." she said. Sebastian looked at her confused. "It's just a stream, it occasionally has frogs or other small critters." He said. She laughed. "I'm sorry, i'm mostly taken aback, and i've been nervous all day, my mind isn't my own.." He kind of understood where she was coming from, a lot of people that visited always were impressed with the luxuries of the mansion. "Sebastian..thank you for being so patient today, your presence really puts me at ease..I hope we can get along well." She said smiling softly at him. He kept a serious face but she saw the tips of his ears get red. She wanted to tease him but she decided to stay quiet since she didn't want to ruin the mood. The sound of the water running, and the mourning doves calling, the fresh scent all around her. She remembered sometimes in the military when they were in forest areas that lead them to rivers where they would rest and refill on water and food. A couple times they would have fun when their sergeant would fall asleep and splash water at each other or tackle one another to see who was stronger. They stood in a comfortable silence for a few more minutes before they headed back to the mansion. "Natalie, what are popular hobbies recently?" "Well my Lady some men have taken a liking to archery, hunting, falconry and Ladies have taken liking to embroidery, reading, singing and dancing." Natalie said as she watched Lilith sit on the window bench to see everything outside. She had been locked in her room for a day now and she was itching to do something. "Back home i kept myself busy every hour with the gym,training studying, cooking, working, gardening, school, painting, or hanging out with my friends, even though its not my passion I was pretty good with fashion and styling, but here...I have absolutely nothing to do..." she thought, her family was known for being overachievers, both her parents had a multitude of hobbies, a recent one they picked was fishing. This morning she ate by herself since she didn't want to be around bad vibes first thing in the morning, she was also going to start working with Sebastian taking care of documents for the household. The count didn't trust her so he wanted Sebastian to keep an eye on her. "Natalie...is archery only for the men?" She asked. Natalie looked at her strangely. "Well...there is no rule for women no to do it..it's just never been done by a woman..my lady." Lilith hummed ," So technically theres nothing wrong with me taking up archery?" She said smiling. "That is true my lady." "As soon as im done working with Sebastian i would like to start." Lilith said happily. "Yes my lady." She finished getting dressed, this time she had asked Natalie to help her fix some dresses to make them more comfortable and moderate, she didn't like the revealing clothes and admittedly the new clothes looked so much more flattering to her body. Lilith walked a long distance to the office, she took a wrong turn earlier but thanks to a statue she saw during the tour she found her way back, there were two young maids whispering and looking through a crack in one of the rooms. They looked conflicted and froze when they saw Lilith, they bowed and Lilith took a peek in the door and saw the duke, the duchess, Cyrus, Vincent and Thalia posing in front of a painter that was making a family portrait for them. Lilith felt a little sad, but she thought it was so sweet to see them giggling and cracking jokes that she didn't even notice Sebastian was behind her at first, "You are a lovely family my lord...however are you...sure...nobody is...missing..." the painter asked a bit scared. The duke glared, "This is a family portrait, the family is here I don't know who you could be referring to." He said firmly. Lilith felt her heart sting, and she felt someone presence behind which made her turn around quickly accidentally pushing the door open a little and a thick silence consummated the room. Her head slowly turned and she saw the horrified face of the duchess by being caught making a family portrait without her and disapproving looks from the men, the poor painter was sweating. "G-Good morning! I just wanted to let Father know i was going to start helping Sebastian today." She said bowing her head. Thalias eyes were wide, like a deer in-front of head lights. Lilith bowed again and started walking away, Sebastian followed after her uncomfortably thinking she was either crying or angry, but when he caught up to her there was no sadness on her face, instead she looked fine. "She's so weird.." he thought. They went into the office and she saw a new smaller desk and chair, they must have added it when they assigned her to help Sebastian. He showed her the basics and it wasn't hard she just had to make sure they stamped each page for approval when they made sure there were no errors. A maid came in and left a few snacks on the coffee table and Sebastian told her to have some. She smiled. "For a guy with such a cold exterior he must actually care a little bit." She thought. After 4 hours he started putting everything away, he had been very strict and would be correcting her every few minutes, but she never got upset and instead just fixed what she was doing and followed his instructions. He liked that about her, she was also a very quiet worker, she got focused and actually got a lot more done than anyone else that worked with him before. Natalie came in and bowed, "My lady, we set up the archery for you, please follow me to get changed." "Perfect! Thank you Natalie." She said happily and quickly put her things away. Sebastian looked confused. "My lady, you will be doing archery?" Lilith nodded her head, "yes, I need to have many hobbies or I suffer." She said. "May I join you?" He asked. "Yes, it could be fun.." Lilith followed Natalie out and Sebastian finished putting his things away. She had her hair in a high ponytail, her bangs loose, the archery uniform she was wearing was a mens but the maids had tampered with it to make it look more feminine. Sebastian had changed into his uniform as well and she thought they looked like a couple. They had brought two targets for them, and Sebastian was going to try to teach her but she positioned herself and let go of the string, her arrow hitting the bullseye. Natalie and Sebastian stared in shock, how could a lady who has never done archery before be so good at it. "My lady...you're a natural.." Natalie said impressed by Liliths natural talent. Some of the guards and the trainer whispered among themselves since they were surprised at how well she had positioned herself. When she was in military she had to learn how to use every kind of weapon known to man, even spears, she had very excellent aim and concentration. The next hour flew by for them and she shot her last arrow, she was proud of herself and heard a lot of whispering, she turned to look at the guards, and there was 2 more maids with them watching with sparkle's in their eyes. "Is there something wrong?" She asked the guards. The younger one bowed, "No my lady, we were just thinking about letting you know of the hunting ground, there you could shoot rabbits and small animals, we wouldn't let you go too far though since there are bears and many other predators." The young man said. She liked the idea a lot, that way she could eat the animals she hunted for more protein to help her strength. "What your name?" She asked the young man. "Richard my lady." He said. She smiled brightly, "Well sir Richard, you are officially my favorite knight." She said. He blushed and looked at the Knights as he puffed his chest. "I'm the favorite." He said proud of himself and the others groaned and rolled their eyes. They started heading back and the knights went back to their posts. "Natalie, in the morning please bring me a light breakfast, with orange juice." Lilith said, Natalie nodded. "Of course my lady." The sun was still up high so she started sorting out her dresses to see how she could modify them, the other ladies had dresses that were a little revealing but were still decent and pretty, so she was going to try and base herself off that. "Natalie please bring me cloths, ribbons, satin, and thread i really want to sew." Natalie bowed," I will bring my lady every kind of cloth and thread you desire." She said and stepped out. Lilith giggled in excitement and started writing down everything she could try to learn meanwhile she was in the mansion when she suddenly remembered her upcoming death in a year. Her frustration came back again and she pulled out the secret journal along with all the jewelry she could find in the counts home, she had even brought some decorative items that looked expensive. "Okay, first i need to figure out where i could runaway to, maybe with the money i get when i sell all this i can buy a small house far from here to hideout. I need to find a way to go back to my original body as well, i'll have to try dying here, maybe i'll return in my original body..." she thought, she had no other ideas but this was a good start.