Just start, Argus thought to himself. Just put a color on there. 

The blank canvas grew and loomed before him as the anxiety rooted itself deep into his chest, growing tendrils to knot around his stomach and creep up his throat. Beyond the canvas his subject sat patiently, a maid posed in the gown of her mistress and glad to be excused from her daily chores. The girl was plain and obviously not used to wearing such expensive gowns and he could see her imagination running wild in the blank stare of her eyes as she daydreamed what a high class life could be for her. 

Argus shook his head and sat his tools down on the small table next to him. He dismissed the maid, telling her they would resume in the afternoon. For the moment he wanted to wander around the estates and try to clear his head. 

He had made hundreds of portraits, but the status of Lord Nicolai was daunting. Being asked to paint the portrait of his newlywed wife, Lilliana, was a great honor for a common man, an orphan at that. Still, the pressure of the task felt like being kicked in the chest by a mule. Argus wished he could have turned down the offer, but it was unwise to refuse Lord Nicolai and if he was being honest, he really did want the job. 

He had heard so much about Lilliana, the feral child raised in the forest, blessed by nymphs, and named a Princess of Ruun. She was an oddity who had been discovered by his lordship and invited to live at his estate as a diplomat between his subjects and the forest people who had raised her, the Mildians. The opportunity to make her portrait was coveted by many artists and Argus knew he should be feeling blessed to have been chosen. 

Unfortunately the honor did not relieve his anxiety. His boots echoing on the stone floors as he wandered aimlessly through the manor, hoping to lessen the stress upon his shoulders. The occasional staff gave polite nods to him as he passed, and eventually Argus found himself entering the front courtyard of the manor. 

A fountain splashed in the center of the colorful mosaic tiles. Ivy creeped around the columns set at the edge of the court yard to support the balconies above, and between them were raised beds of flowers. Somewhere nearby the tinkling of windchimes could be heard. 

At the edge of the fountain sat a lady, perhaps in her mid-twenties, with a golden halo of hair flowing freely around her shoulders in soft waves as she leaned over the edge to feed the fish in the pool. On her lap a small grey kitten sat and watched the movements of the courtyard with bright blue eyes. 

Argus felt his anxiety melt. He stopped a passing servant and asked him to identify the lady sitting at the fountain. He then asked the same servant to fetch him paper and coal with all haste.