She had nothing to wear!! She would start with practice next week and all the clothes she had were unsuitable. After much debate and reluctance, her brother had agreed to let her practice with him in swordsmanship and physical fitness he had arranged suitable clothes for her to start lessons. There was simply no problems apart from the fact that the outfit wasn't to her liking.
The attire was beautiful yes but she wouldn't feel comfortable in it as she would feel in a Gi. She had to think of something so that she would feel more comfortable during lessons and her brother won't think of her as a klutz. After a while she came up with a solution.
" Martha, prepare some garments and fabrics with a sewing machine, bring it to my room, I'll need sewing materials as well please ", she said stunning the maid for a second, what was the young lady planning this time?
" Y- yes lady Abigail ", she knew it was useless to ask as the young lady would probably surprise her again and she already had enough of those. Not long after, everything was prepared and set up in her room. She rolled up her sleeves and got to work immediately, she had asked Martha to take her measurements since she wasn't able to do so herself. She first began to modify the Hanfu dress then she went on to do so to her other dresses while she was at it. She understood that all of the former Abigail's dresses were worn and wasn't paid attention to like the other ladies in the household and so she often repeated dresses. It was absurd for the legitimate daughter of the Archduke to be treated so poorly in her own home, Not like she had seen this place as her home.
On another note, fashion designing was one of her main hobbies in her previous life. Most of what she wore then was made by herself except for her formal wear which she bought from exclusive brands, she couldn't have possibly worn a no- named brand to any event as it could cause rumors to spread. For the next three days, she had spent most of her time in her room, redesigning and altercating her entire wardrobe.
She turned to Martha who had been with her through out this period, bringing her food and water when she needed, " How do they look? ".
Martha remained silent for a while before staring intently at her lady, "My lady, forgive me for being rude but I must ask, have you been brainwashed?" Martha asked bluntly, Abigail's smile faltered at the out of nowhere question. When did this maid become so bold? She thought.
But she couldn't blame her, anyone would ask questions when someone they know all too well starts acting out of character for no apparent reason. The former Abigail had never picked up a needle in her life or even boiled an egg, even being nice to anyone was a total 180 degrees turn for her. She may have gotten a little carried away and hadn't considered the impact of her drastic change. She didn't think she needed to explain herself but she would soon grow weary of the countless questions that would be thrown at her in the future, a good excuse now would help her a lot.
She sighed and looked at Martha with a serious expression causing the latter to be startled, "I know I have been acting strange lately, I myself cannot explain my actions. I just feel different. It started after the accident and i haven't been myself since then. The truth is, while I was near death i saw something in the river I had fallen into. The spirit of a beautiful lady who seemed to be calling out to me, I reached out my hand as I was desperate not to die, she saved me. When I woke up, my mind was filled all sorts of foreign thoughts that weren't mine. But I did know, I wanted to be better in some way. That was probably that spirit's wish for herself as well", she decided to say half of the truth in a very twisted way.
Saying, 'Hey, I'm a transmigrator but I guess I'm also a parasite in your lady's body. I have no idea how I got her', she was sure she would be killed in seconds.
Martha on the other hand was shocked, "Could it have been a water spirit? There's a tale at sea that says they usually appear when someone is about to die and grants them their hearts desire, a wish", everything began to make sense to her, a lady's behavior now had a valid explanation.
Abigail on the other hand was very confused but it didn't matter since her excuse made sense in a bizarre way, "That may be it but please now that I'd like to keep what I told you here a secret, I won't want anyone finding out about this. People only know I requested for sewing materials and I've been locked in my room for three days and nothing more, say that I invited a seamstress to fix my clothes, no one would bother to verify this and believe what you have told them is the truth", Abigail reasoned.
Martha contemplated over what she said and saw that it was indeed a plausible idea and was impressed by her lady's logical thinking. She smiled and was happy that her lady was growing up and was so talented as well, she silently thanked the water spirit that helped her lady. She would be shocked if she found out she was actually praying to the witch Lauren.
It had already been four days since she appeared in this world and she was already getting used to life like this as it wasn't really different from her past life.
Unknown to her that someone was already planning against her, Helen knew that Abigail hadn't come out from her room for days now which made her feel panicked but this was a good opportunity to reduce the favor of the Duke and Duchess towards Abigail. They were said to be arriving the day after so she had to prepare her daughter to welcome them and already had a plan of what to do.
****
Abigail felt her stomach growl after a while, she was hungry!! Just as she was about to leave Martha stopped her and told her it would be wise to freshen up before leaving the room. After a relaxing bath, Martha began to help her dress. Soon she wore a newly designed dress and sat at the dresser to get her hair done by Martha. She looked casually at the mirror for the first time since coming here and was stunned, her hands touch her face gingerly. She had long black hair that flowed all the way to her waist and cold but mesmerizing grey eyes with equally rosy lips. Her facial features were profound and delicate and her skin tender. She was already a peerless beauty at the age of fourteen!! This was crazy!! She had never actually seen her face before since she her transmigration and was very pleased with what she saw. She then remembered the other day when she wished she was as pretty as her brother and immediately blushed out of embarrassment.
Martha noticed how she touched her face from the mirror and smiled, " My lady looks stunning these days, after your accident you've been in a good mood and you smile very often unlike the scowl and look of resentment you always had on your face, now your true beauty is evident. I hope our lady will smile more ".
Abigail blushed more at the sudden words, her face in the mirror surprising her. When did she start to blush like this? Even in her past life, if she was complimented she didn't really care but still showed appreciation but why was she suddenly so flustered? The feeling wasn't a bad one for her, she thought as a genuine smile had crossed her face.
Martha was soon done with her hair which she packed into a semi crown braid. She then applied little blush to her cheeks and color to her lips. She put on some hair pins and matching jewelry. She looked very beautiful and adorable at the same time and the dress and new shoes made it even better. Her lady was now really talented with making clothes, she thought as she looked at Abigail in admiration. "Your new talent is extraordinary my Lady", she complimented.
" Thank you ", Abigail's faint but sweet voice could be heard as her big eyes stared happily at Martha making her gush over her even more .
" My lady is so cute ", she smiled back at her. Soon after the two left the room to have lunch.