She Meets with Oracle

"Why did I let you wear what you wanted? Now everyone is going to look at us strangely!" Jasmine bemoaned Robin's sense of fashion. Robin was dressed in the clothes she had worn when she arrived.

"You can't go back on your words." Robin pointed out, as she adjusted her plaid newsboy cap. "You already agreed to it."

"And I am already regretting it!" Jasmine sniffed plaintively in the carriage.

"Oh? If that is the case, then you can just stay in the carriage. No need to come with us." Christian grinned, revelling in Jasmine's sour expression.

Jasmine glared icily at Christian. "There's no way I'm letting two walking trouble magnets enter the palace by yourselves!"

Robin looked hard in thought as she mischievously said. "I know that Christian is the first troublemaker, but as for the second...is it Keith, perhaps?" She tilted her head to the side, an innocent expression on her face.

"I was talking about you!" Jasmine raised her hand to playfully smack Robin on the head.

"Ouch-doesn't hurt?" Robin said, surprised. Were her pain receptors suddenly deadened by her near death experience several days ago?

Robin glanced at Jasmine to see the offending hand had been caught fast by Gerard.

"Stop! There's a fairy on Robin's head!" Gerard said, pointing at Robin.

"Eh?" Robin lifted a hand to reach up to her head. She didn't feel anything but the hat on her head. Yet, a fluttering sound and a tiny giggle gave away her small, stealthy stowaway.

"Awww! I was discovered! Heehee! Looks like you found me!" A green-haired tiny beauty fluttered in sight of everyone.

"Huh?"

"When did she..." Robin murmured in surprise. She truly hadn't felt anything extra like a fairy's weight on her head.

"Sorry. I didn't notice until Jasmine started talking about troublemakers." Gerard apologized, releasing Jasmine's hand. While that hand might have been harmless for Robin, if it had descended upon the fairy, then she might have been seriously injured, or broken a wing.

"You're...a wind fairy, right?" Robin asked. Fairies were easily told apart by the color of their hair.

"Correct!" The fairy replied. "Wind fairy Elise at your service!"

Robin nodded. "Charmed, I'm sure...but, for what reason were you hiding away on my hat?"

"That's because it isn't fair!" The tiny fairy's cheeks puffed out as she pouted. "I only wanted to take a peek at this Oracle person everyone's talking about, but I'm not allowed inside without an invitation! So I tried catching a glimpse once he comes outside, but he doesn't even so much as peek his head out the window!" The tiny fairy flailing her arms about angrily was very cute.

"And so, then I thought, if he's not coming out, then I'll just go in with someone who does have an invitation!" She smiled gleefully.

"And here you are!" She said, excitedly.

"In other words, you stowed away on Robin's hat just to get inside the palace." Jasmine summarized, bluntly.

"Geh! Saying it like that sounds illegal!" Elise disagreed.

"It IS illegal!" Jasmine pointed out. "Attaching yourself to a party without their consent is very illegal, even if you don't mean any harm by it!" She said, pointedly.

"Guh!" The little fairy's eyes started to tear up.

"Well, while I can understand malicious entities, why is it illegal to bring a tag along?" Robin asked. "Surely, it's not that bad, right?"

Jasmine sighed. "If it were a normal party, then yes. But this is the protectorate's palace we are talking about. If anything bad happens to one of them, then you are instantly barred from visiting any of the others."

"And extra people, whose motives are uncertain, are the ones most likely to cause such a fuss!" Jasmine pointed at Elise with a sharp, penetrating stare.

"Uguuh!" Elise clutched at her heart and drifted down to the tea table behind a tea cup, looking as if she had been pierced through.

Small sobbing sounds could be heard from the tea set.

"Bu- sniff- But I diiden meean iiiit! Hic! I jus wanted to see the great Oracle that everyone's always admiring, Boohoohoohoo!"

"Jasmine, wouldn't it be fine-" Robin was interrupted.

"Don't! You don't know if those are fake tears, after all! I don't believe them!" Jasmine replied adamantly. She had learned all about mischievous fairy tricks from her fairy secretary and close friend, Delia. Thwre was no way she was going to fall for something like fake tears.

Robin still thought it was going a bit too far, so, she thought for a bit.

"I know, how about a magic contract?" Robin replied, remembering the deal she had signed with Jasmine.

"You must be joking, right?" Jasmine replied, looking at Robin in open disbelief.

"Well, why not? If Elise is only trying to get in to look, then a magic contract should be able to make sure that she's not entering for more sinister reasons. Moreover, it will make sure that she doesn't break her word once she's inside." Robin reasoned.

Jasmine pinched her forehead, between the eyebrows. "Magic contracts don't work like that. It has to be a trade of equal exchange!" Jasmine replied, holding back her frustrations. "In order to sign a magic contract, Elise needs to bring out something that you think is worth bringing her inside."

"Is that how it works?" Robin asked.

"Yes, that's how it works! Besides you still need to use magic to form the contract, so a magic contract is out of the question for you, right now!" Jasmine affirmed.

"Well, that may be true for me, but that doesn't prevent any of you from signing the contract in my place, does it?" Robin pointed out. She glanced around the carriage room.

"Gerard, can you sign the contract in my place?" Robin asked.

"Me?" Gerard asked, incredulously.

"Well, you ARE a wind magic genius, after all. Don't think I don't know about your wind magic training while I was unconscious."

"Of course he can sign, but the real question is, what can Elise offer that is worth her signing a contract with us?" Jasmine interjected.

"Hmmm.....Ah! I have an idea!" Robin then explained.

"We will allow her to accompany us if she..."

--------

The palace was situated at the highest point of the hill overlooking Port Oracle. While it wasn't as big as the castle in Ekkinshire, the size was large enough to be a rather well to do mansion. It was covered from top to bottom in a green coat of ivy leaves, which was impressive in itself. Only the sight of the guards prevented her from thinking she was mistaken or that they had come to the wrong house.

Elise sat obediently on Robin's shoulder, having learned her lesson, last time. As they were led into the audience room, Robin was confronted by a voice.

"That is quite the outfit you are wearing. Is it a new trend of fashion?"

Robin glanced around.

"No need to look about, young man, I am right. here." A rather pretty youth with dark green hair sat upon a chair made of coral at the end of the hall. Oddly enough, there was no sign of a nose on his face.

"Protectorate Oracle?" Robin asked in confirmation.

"It is I." Came the reply.

"Please forgive me for not knowing your face." Robin bowed her head.

"That is fine. I do not normally show my face to my people. But you have not answered my question. Why do you wear these clothes?"

"I thought it would be rude not to greet you in the clothing of my homeland." Robin replied. "Since I wished to speak truthfully with you concerning a certain delicate circumstance."

"Oh? And your homeland is? Who are you?" The youth asked. "And what have you come here to speak with me about?"

Robin took out her winners medal from inside her jacket.

"During my brief stay here, I have come to be known as 'Grand Chef Robin', but that is not all who I am..."

"Robin, what are you thinking about-" Christian asked confused.

Robin suddenly took a familiar object out of her jacket pocket, and looped it behind the ears, before lifting her face.

"Robin, don't be rash!" Jasmine warned, altogether too late.

"Before that I am also known as Hero Robin, from another world." Robin announced.

"Oh no, it's the Hero!"

"Protect the Protectorate!!"

"Don't even think about making a move!"

The audience hall guards surrounded Robin's group, aiming their sharp spears at everyone.

"Eep!" Elise shivered, and shrunk back on Robin's shoulder, as she eyed the gleaming spear point not even an inch away from Robin's throat. Robin neither flinched nor moved, looking calmly at the youth upon his coral throne.