Christian opened his eyes. His familiar palace room greeted him.
"Good morning, Your Highness. Finally getting up out of bed, are you?" Keith said nearby, as he took a sip from his flask.
"Keith? What happened to your morning coffee?" Christian asked.
"Coffee?..Did you mean Toffee? Your Highness is joking again, I see. I don't eat sweets this early in the morning." Keith replied with a chuckle.
"No, not toffee: Coffee; it's a drink." Christian explained.
"Huh. Never had it before." Keith shrugged.
"What? Didn't you always get some from your nephew, Robin?" Christian asked.
"Nephew?" Keith looked at Christian, deadpan. Then he laughed. Christian also chuckled along. Keith had just been joking, right?
"Good one, good one. You almost had me fooled. But how could the prince know about something that even I have no idea about? It isn't like you can leave the castle unnoticed without my help."
Keith took another swig from his flask. "If you're talking about Robin the page boy, then he was sent to jail last week for stealing from the kitchen."
"What?" Christian asked, dumbfounded. "No, no, not the page boy. The hero! Hero Robin!"
"You must be still half asleep." Keith eyed Christian with a measuring gaze. "The Hero has been gone for night on over fifteen years now. And his name most certainly was not Robin."
Christian scowled. "Very funny Keith." He said as he got out of bed and headed down the hallway.
He opened the doorway to Robin's rooms.
"Robin-" Christian paused. The rooms were as if they had never been used.
Christian suddenly felt a tinge of panic seize him he hurried over to the kitchens.
"Hahahah, what did I tell ya? These pot-a-toes are nothing good! They're only good for filling the stomachs of peasants like you, kid." A voice belted out from the Prince's kitchens.
"I still think that they're a good ingredient! I just haven't found the right way to cook them is all!" Ponzu declared stoutly. "Is this your kitchen or mine, right now?"
"It might as well be my kitchen, heheheh. If you can't find out a way to use that ingredient, then you might as well hand it over to a more experienced chef like me!" A tall brawny chef from the knights kitchens grinned wickedly down at Ponzu.
"That is up to my decision." Christian said from the doorway.
"Er…your highness!" Both Ponzu and the Knights chef stood to attention. Ponzu looked down at the floor, biting his lip, fretfully.
"I don't recall the knights chef being allowed to enter the Prince's kitchens." Christian said sternly. "See that you close the door on your way out, before I have half a mind to report you."
The knight chef closed his mouth with a sour expression on his face as he could only leave the kitchens. Ponzu remained behind, hanging his head as if he had done something shameful.
"What's wrong, Ponzu?" Christian asked.
"I feel ashamed. I claimed that I would be able to discover how to use this ingredient first, but I still haven't been able to yet." Ponzu replied.
"What are you talking about? Didn't you handle potatoes fine under Robin's instructions?" Christian asked.
"Who's Robin?" Ponzu tilted his head. "...ah the expelled page boy? Why would he know how to cook potatoes?"
Christian felt his blood run cold. Was it possible…that Robin didn't exist in this world?
~~~
Christian started awake only to find himself in a typical inn bedroom. After recalling his dream, Christian sighed with relief. Thank goodness it was just a dream!
It was apparent at the Breakfast table that two individuals were completely absentminded. Christian was absentmindedly staring at Robin. And Robin was absentmindedly spaced out.
"Oh come now, sister. You've hardly touched your breakfast. Your chef will be upset if you don't eat it." Briar reminded about halfway through the meal.
"Oh?...oh." Robin started eating, but you could tell her mind really wasn't on the food.
"You say that, but look, one of our guards won't eat if you're not eating." Briar pointed to Christian.
Christian emerged from his thoughts, realizing people at the table were staring at him. "Er…right. Eat up, milady." Christian urged. There was no way he was going to let Robin starve. Even if Robin was feeling down having to wear a woman's disguise, he should still properly eat!
Briar looked between the two and pondered what she was going to do next.
~~~
Later that morning, the carriage pulled up to the most famous of beauty salons, Arabesque. Briar and Robin emerged, stepping down from the carriage onto the street.
"Phew! Thank goodness! I don't like riding in carriages." Briar stretched, then turned to the carriage driver.
"It should only take an hour or so. You should go find somewhere to park the carriage for the time being." She informed, and then brought Robin with her over to the large building. Before entering, her long ear twitched, and she turned to wink at Keith.
"... Christian." Keith understood her signal. "Look. Watch the entrance over there."
"Hmm?" Christian asked, glancing towards the entrance of 'Arabesque Beauty Salon'. After glancing at a few of the ladies entering, he noticed a familiar face heading into the salon.
"Wait, isn't that…." Christian realized. "We've been followed this whole time?"
"Yes. It's the lady knight who stopped us at the kingdom entrance." Keith nodded. "You see now why we had to follow through with our business?"
Christian nodded quietly. "I see…but wait, Robin's in there-"
"Do not panic over Robin. My niece has Briar on her side to help her." Keith interrupted. "You would do well to believe in her."
Christian was impressed that Keith could say things so well, when he was still stumbling over 'milady'. Meanwhile, Keith was holding back a mischievous smile. He didn't have to fake it. Robin truly was a lady. And he would make sure that Christian treated her with proper respect.
~~~
Inside the salon, Robin looked around at the building. This wasn't a salon. This was a top class womans' care resort. Wherever she looked she could see doors with the names of treatments for various issues for skin, hair, and nails. There was a swimming pool and a dance hall for exercise; a dining hall with food courses targetting specific issues; a relaxation hall for skin rubs, facial treatments, and massage therapy; and lastly a medical hall, where women could be treated for some more serious underlying issues. It was a comprehensive complete care package under the simple name of 'Arabesque Beauty Salon'.
"Impressive, right?" Briar asked.
"Indeed." Robin agreed. "Your friend has quite the business."
"Hers is the only one that I will admit to." Briar chuckled. "I tend to be rather ticklish, and usually react badly to the hands on experience."
"Oh?" Robin asked. Briar didn't seem the type to be ticklish. Briar knew what Robin was thinking and pantomimed throwing people.
"Ah." Robin finally understood. Briar was bad with people touching her, and had somewhat violent reactions.
"Isn't that a bit dangerous for the masseuse?" Robin asked.
"They have massage chambers which focus upon relaxing the muscles without the hands on experience here." Briar explained. "Something I can appreciate."
Briar walked up to the information counter in the back of the salon.
"And? What sort of treatment are you looking for today?" An attendant asked from behind the counter.
"We're looking for Arielle. This one is in need of her facial treatments for freckles." Briar explained.
"Are you sure? Arielle is currently with a client at the moment. If it is urgent business, then we do have others who are skilled in this treatment if you would rather not wait." The attendant said, glancing at a nearby chart.
"Unfortunately, I don't know any of the others. I only trust Arielle." Briar said. "We are willing to wait."
"In that case, it'll be another 15 minutes until she is finished." The attendant informed. "There is a waiting room off to your right. What is the name of the patient?"
"Robin." Briar said.
"Understood." The attendant gave Robin a numbered slip and the two went to the waiting room to wait. Slipping in behind them was the lady knight, who sat in a location where she could see them, but they couldn't see her without turning their heads visibly.
"This Arielle person must be really impressive." Robin noted.
"You might recognize her, actually. She's from your homeland after all." Briar chuckled as she picked up a brochure. "There's something about your lands in which people end up in these parts after deathly experiences."
Robin laughed, thinking Briar was joking. But then what she said finally sunk in. "Wait, MY homeland? By design or by accident?"
"Nothing is accidental. Everything is under the view and Providence of the Father Almighty…. however, in answer to your question, it was
not due to a request for help. She is now a natural person of this land." Briar smiled. "And she happens to be my good friend."