Chapter II

The reflection of the mirror showed a young man of slight frame and tall stature, there was just the lightest evidence of fading baby fat suggesting that the guy wasn't much older than at most twenty. With vibrant red hair, like strands of ruby, cut in a Short-sided and long topped hairdo that left quite a mop on the top of his head hanging to just cover his eyes in his messy bed-head. And then, that face! As drop-dead gorgeous as an angel on a Sunday. With drooping amber eyes that had a reddish hue coupled with delicate eyelashes that accentuated the delicate nature of the face.

The boy stood before the mirror in shock as his appearance was fully documented into his mind.

'Well there's the epitome of delicate beauty! My land, is that really me though?' He waved a hand at the mirror and watched as the beauty in the mirror waved back. 'I've never had red hair before though, and I've never been this tall before either, what in the world happened to me?' Looking down at his hand, he studied it, twisting it to look at both sides of his hands.

'If I didn't know any better, I'd say these were the hands of a guy… Even though they're quite long and thin, the nails are filed shorter than a lady would typically have them, and the knuckles seem just a tad wider than the base for a lady's hands.' With these thoughts, the boy then takes a closer look at the mirror and leaned forward to study the face a bit before making a shocked face and looking down the front of his sleepwear by pulling the shirt forwards.

'I'm a… boy?'

'I think I'm gonna pass out-' he said as he stumbled back, bumping into the bathtub and falling in with a splash.

He popped back up to the surface sputtering with indignation at the very unprofessional landing. Looking back at the mirror with a calmer mind after that 'refreshing' dip, the boy takes a moment to think as he studies the boy in the mirror that was now soaking wet and peeking out from a huge bathtub.

'Let's organize the facts. That older guy from earlier, called me "young master" which really should've been the first tip off on something being up, it also suggests him being of lower standing than this 'young master. Which also explains his willingness to leave the room to fetch a glass of water, my granddad would never go as far as to leave the room he's in to fetch something for me. He actually referred to himself in the third person too, "Ron" wasn't it? Why does that name ring a bell… hmmm a servant named Ron…'

"Achoo!" With a sniff the boy looks down at himself and decides to dry off and find something to change into.

Carefully finger combing the red locks as he walked out of the washroom in an extravagantly embroidered bathrobe, he frowns lightly. 'What exactly is the name of this young master? There must be a hint somewhere in this room. I still can't seem to remember where I've heard the name, "Ron" for whatever reason I feel like the term servant doesn't suit it.'

The boy's face goes from a frown to an expression of disgust when he opens the second side door of the room and finds a walk-in closet with the most garish of garments hanging everywhere. With a curl in his upper lip, he then starts rooting through the clothes looking for anything passable as 'normal' in the closet as he pushes aside noxiously colored tops and finds in a far corner a long-sleeve, ruffled collared top that was a warm white that he took out and threw onto the bed before going back in to root around for more garments.

After a bit he had just found a pair of nice loafers, that looked worn just enough to be broken-in and comfy, when a knock came from the door of the room.

Poking his head out from the closet, a body then followed as he walked toward the bed with the loafers in hand and called, "Who is it."

"This Ron has just returned with the drink you requested, young master." came a muffled voice from the other side of the door, matching the voice of the gentleman that had been in the room earlier.

For a moment the boy looked down at the bathrobe before shrugging, 'Probably some sort of noble or of rich standing, can't be too weird for a servant.' "Come in."

He called ending with a suppressed wince, 'that was gruffer than I had intended.' Before watching as the door opened and the man, Ron came holding a teacup on a saucer that rested on an ornate silver platter. 'How is that tea ware not rattling?' The red-head pondered, staring at the platter as the elder walked smoothly into the room, closing the door behind him without a sound as he then walked into the room and rested the platter onto the table left of the bed and next to the window from which a forest could be seen.

Upon resting the platter on the table, Ron then stepped back from it and pulled out the chair before looking at the red-head who was already looking at him mutedly from his position, standing by the bed holding a loafer in each hand. After a few moments, the boy who got the message, dropped the shoes beside the bed and meandered over to the chair, sitting down and resting his head on his left hand as he casually glanced out of the window, grabbing the teacup and bringing it to his lips without looking at it.

***

A crease between the young man's eyebrows and downturn of the corners of his mouth made a small smile appear on the servant that stood behind his young liege before looking over to where the lad had been standing looking like a lost puppy with a loafer in each of his hands.

'How odd that my little charge actually tried to clothe himself.' Ron thought to himself as he walked over to the bed and noted that the clothes his charge had chosen were actually quite simple in comparison to his usual garb. Looking back to the table, Ron saw the displeased look had not left the boy's face as he now was glaring at the cup in his hand. Feeling a flutter of joy in his chest, the servant then paused and returned to his professional expression and folded the clothes neatly in a row ready to be worn and then set the loafers neatly next to each other beside the bed. Afterwards, Ron turned back to the occupant of the room and returned to his side.

***

Casting a glance to the outside, the red-head started to ponder as he offhandedly picked up the water that the elder had brought for him. ' Looks like this is at least the third floor, if I need to get away, this window will probably be my best bet but I'd need something to act as a rope for clim-' With a frown, the boy looked down to the cup before him after tasting the drink. 'That's not water, that's lemonade! How revolting, its tart yet sweet flavor is an offense to taste buds worldwide, I've never liked lemonade made by people.' Hearing a quiet entertained huff from behind him the red-head connected the dots that whoever's body she had taken over hadn't liked lemonade either and that servant knew it, shooting a glance over to said servant the boy saw that he had folded the clothes and was now coming back over to him making the boy quickly look back down to the revolting drink in his hand.

"Young master, is the drink not to your liking?" the elder said as he came to a stop on the other side of the table where he stood attentive, with a passive smile on his face.

"It's lemonade."

"Yes, lemonade is said to be the perfect morning drink to wake oneself up, young master."

"Tsk." With a scowl, the youth turned his head to look back outside before broodingly drinking the blasted lemonade.

For a few minutes the red-head looked out the window as he drank the distasteful drink, thinking about what to do, while the butler stood perfectly still like a statue when a knock came from the door leading out of the bedroom. Ron looked to the door and then back to his charge, waiting for orders. With a grunt the boy waved his hand and said, "Go see what they want."

With a polite bowing of his head, Ron turned and walked to the door, opening it. From his place at the table the boy could hear, "...Count would like…Kale…join…" with a frown the boy sighed before standing up and walking over to the bed to get dressed, from what the boy heard he gathered that- whoever was eating kale wanted this body's original owner to join them.

Hearing the door click shut, the boy looked up and saw Ron turning back to him with his business smile as the boy put on the final part of his outfit, his shoes, getting one foot in, he reached down to grab the other shoe when a small cough had him looking back up at the elder who was now standing a few steps away holding… a pair of socks?

"This Ron does not wish to tell the young master what to do but would like to recommend wearing these socks as they suit those loafers quite well." The elder said with a straight face, moving onto a knee and offering the socks for approval. With a nod the red-head reached for the socks only for the elder to lower them from his reach and then said, "Please allow this Ron to assist the young master after having done such a wonderful job of dressing himself alone."

The red-headed lad mutedly nodded, "What was that about?" nodding in the direction of the doorway.

"The master would like to request your presence for lunch with the rest of the family."

"I see."

"What would the young master like to do?"

"Ch. Guess I'll go, since he asked." The redhead said as leaned back on the bed, looking at the ceiling and studying the intricate carvings that decorated it and surrounded an ornate chandelier that had many candles lit in it, lighting up the room. 'Whoever the "master" of this place is, asking for the presence of this "young master" base conjecture would lead me to believe that I'm now in the body of a noble's son. How much of a hottie is this hottie's dad I wonder? Hmm, or could this "young master" actually be a vassal of the master? Oh well, not really worth stressing until I have more information. I'll just have to be careful of how I act until I know how this son usually acts.'

With a nod of confirmation to himself, he looked down to Ron who was now standing up and spoke to the elder.

"Let's go."

With a nod, Ron turned and walked to the door, holding it open for the lad who then stopped and looked to the servant silently. Ron, taking the que, bowed to the boy and said, "Young master, if you would please follow this Ron." and led the boy down long hallways, passing a line of servants who all bowed as the two walked by, one of the servants bowing deeper than the rest seemed to be shaking in her boots like a trembling rabbit before a ferocious tiger.The red-head glanced at the slip of a girl for a moment before continuing along his way. After a few minutes of walking and passing through a grand entrance hall, Ron halted before a set of doors and turned to the lad before opening one of the doors, a nearby fellow servant opening the other, and the two slightly bowed to the boy as he walked through the doors and quickly analyzed the room for information.

Not unalike to the rest of the house he had been walking through, the dining hall was full of evidence alluding to the owner's grand wealth without being too tacky. As for the occupants, there were servants and a few guards standing along the walls and by the entrances, and at the table itself, there were four people, a man at the head of the table who stood upon making eye contact with the boy, a woman sitting to the right of the man, who glanced at him but quickly looked away upon making contact with his gaze, on the other side of the table sat two children, the older a boy who like the woman, peeked at the redhead but looked away the moment eye contact was made. The last one sitting at the table was a little girl who had big and wide eyes looked at the newcomer for a while before looking away after making eye contact showed to have no effect on the blank expression on the red-head's face.

Having taken just a few moments to gather information, the gear's in the red-head's mind started to whorl and the dots started to connect and make an image.