It was when the helpless dying Mobian in front of Lindsay was lying on the ground in agony had Lindsay decided she wanted to study law. At the age of eight, Lindsay was expected to outgrow this ambition out of her system whilst she was still young from her parents, but Lindsay had secretly kept that ambition pure in her heart. She remembered the day very well: Lindsay and her mother had walked into town to buy some groceries for the family when she heard a gunshot. Bang. Then came the groans of a brown hedgehog who staggered, around clutching his chest and was in desperate need of help. By the time the amublance came he was gone. Lindsay's mother reacted horrified, like others at the scene, and desperately dragged her daughter away from the sight.

"Come along, Linds. Oh dear, what a day!", she groaned, not daring to look back. Lindsay looked back at the deceased body being carried onto a stretcher. A sudden thought came into the little girl's head.

"Mummy, what is law?"

"Law, my dear, is when the state has a set of rules to follow in order to make a community better for everybody. Whatever made you think this?"

"Did the bad man who killed that man break the law?"

"I expect so, darling"

"Will the bad man be caught?"

"No Darling, he was too quick for the police to catch him", replied the mother uncertainly.

There was an awkward silence between the hedgehogs. Lindsay felt saddened, naturally, of witnessing a killing right in front of her. Why did nobody stop the bad man? Where is law when you need it the most? Who encourages law to take place?

Sudden inspiration came to Lindsay. She eagerly tugged at her mother's overall sleeve and piped up -

"Mummy, I want to be a lawyer!"

Her mother laughed cruelly. Lindsay was upset by this.

"Why are you laughing at me?", she demanded to know. Her mother fixed her a cold stare.

"Lindsay, you must accept your role in life! You simply cannot be a lawyer, it would bring shame to our family"

The conversation ended.

Five years had passed, and despite many changes in society regarding technology and sociology, sexism regarding jobs and roles remained the same. Men were expected to provide for their families and be the controller of the household, whilst women were expected to be married and bear children. This role, unfortunately, applied to Lindsay. She realised that if she were to get a job and even gain a little amount of power, it would bring shame to her family. She was expected to know her place in life and accept it.

Despite so, Lindsay still studied law in her spare time and became more aware of the powers of judges and district attorneys and happily studied the rights of many people that were in the books. She still managed to remain friends with Amy, Tails, and Sonic etc., but half her time she stayed at home and eagerly studied law.

By this time, any girls who were at least 13-15 years of age were to learn their roles in life and prepare for motherhood. In addition, they learned that Sonic was to be married at any rate according to the royal family honour. Because he was a prince, soon to be crowned King, he was expected to take his role seriously however he spent his time travelling around the world and seeing sights. However, he could not avoid his arranged marraige. He was to choose a bride who was prepared to obey the laws of marraige and bring honour to his family by doing so. Sonic was not ready for this commitment, however he did have thoughts about marrying his old friend Lindsay, who he secretly loved but never admitted his feelings and therefore lost her as Lindsay became interested in law. If only, he frequently thought to himself.

Naturally, Lindsay was so caught up in studying law and rights in society, she barely looked at her notes in which she was meant to study by the day of the matchmaking, which covered topics in her expected role in life - housewife and mother. So imagine how she felt on the day where Sonic was to choose his future wife and she was not at all prepared! Lindsay knew that not studying her roles and settling down would upset her family deeply and would result in Lindsay being frowned upon in the town.

So, early that morning, Lindsay was sitting on her bed eating a fruit salad, and at the same time scribbling notes from her sexist studies onto her arms.

"A woman must be... graceful...obedient... calm...", Lindsay paused to take a bite of an apple,"... loyal to her husband... and elegant in her husband's presence... and must meet her chores with pride... and respect"

Lindsay looked happily at her scribbled notes up and down her arms. The notes blurred and spiralled in her eyesight, as though to make her confused.

"Arrgh!", Lindsay cried with frustration whilst falling backwards into her pillow,"It's hopeless! I'll never know all of this! If only I didn't have to go through this!". Lindsay had decided that the only way to avoid this was to attend the audition which took place at the palace, fail poorly enough not to be chosen to be Sonic's wife, and continue to focus on her ambitions. It was so crazy it could easily work. Simple. Yeah. Besides, the other girls were desperate to be chosen as the bride, it would be unfair to steal their dream from them.

Lindsay was so caught up in her thoughts that she jumped when the clock struck 10am and the donging echoed in the empty house.

"Aaahh!!", screamed Lindsay. She was meant to be in town 2 whole hours ago! And the auditions began at noon sharp. Her mother would kill her if she forgot to attend. Lindsay immediately jumped out of bed and pulled on an old t-shirt and faded jeans. She threw a handful of seeds to the chickens in the back garden and ran out of the house - only to return to put on some shoes.

Lindsay's mother stood anxiously outside the small workshops near the palace, awaiting the arrival of her daughter. She noticed other mothers in the workshops with their daughters - but where was hers?

"Of all days to be late!", she cried frustratingly through her hands up in despair. An old fox woman came out of one of the workshops, peering at the exasperated woman.

"Angela, is your daughter here yet?", the old woman asked despairingly,"The matchmaker is not a patient person", and went back inside. Angela shook her head sadly but noticed a young pink hedgehog wearing awful clothes and untidy hair running towards her quickly. Her Daughter. Lindsay screeched to a halt, exhausted.

"I'm here!", Lindsay said reassuringly, but then noticed her mother glaring at her, "What?... But Mom, I had to -"

"Enough excuses!", cried Angela and dragged Lindsay to the building behind her,"Now let's get you ready!".

The two women went inside the small shack only to be greeted by the old fox. The old fox examined Lindsay's long hair and physique and said loudly, "This is what you give me to work with? I assure you, Angela, I've had much more challenging jobs.", the old fox pulled Lindsay behind a curtain, stripped Lindsay from her clothes and dunked Lindsay into an ice-cold bathtub,"I will turn this raggamuffin into a princess"

"AAHHH!!! IT'S FREEZING!", screamed Lindsay, shivering like crazy. Angela was nowhere near sympathetic. Instead she glared at her daughter and picked up a sponge to clean Lindsay's arms.

"It would have been warm if you were here on time!", Angela snapped. She began to scrub Lindsay's arm but then noticed black ink on Lindsay's skin.

"Lindsay, what on earth is this?", she asked suspiciously. Lindsay looked agonised and embarrassed. She stole her arm away and looked innocently at her mother.

"Well, I'm sorta sketchy on some of the notes and such, and I wrote some notes just incase", she replied innocently. Angela rolled her eyes; she was too tired to argue. The old fox poured lotions into Lindsay's hair and rubbed it in vigorously.

"Relax, child and enjoy this day, this should be the happiest day of your life!"

Lindsay had been bathed, had her hair combed and styled, and dressed in a tratidional kimono. She felt polished and pristine whilst she listened to her mother and the other women constantly telling her to proudly show her beauty, to be poise, to have good taste and good breeding skills and to bring honour to her mother and family. The words buzzed around in Lindsay's brain like angry wasps, deliberately stinging her mind with forgetful tips. There was no point - Lindsay had forgotten to study her notes anyway.
When her make-up was finished, Anglea produced a beautiful freesia hairclip and placed it in Lindsay's head.

"There, you're ready", said Angela softly. The old fox appeared.

"Not quite yet; a pendant for balance and an apple for serenity!", she exclaimed producing the items. Angela took off her jade bracelet and fastened it around Lindsay's wrist,"They're meant to bring you beauty and good luck", she added, which reassured Lindsay. However, this did not stop Lindsay praying to God to not to become the chosen bride. She slowly made her way to the palace, only to find the other girls were miles ahead of her, ready for the auditions. Lindsay panicked, grabbed her umbrella and ran to kepp up with the other girls.

Sonic, however, watched the pristine girls approach the palace feeling gloomy, knowing he was stuck in such a situation. He then noticed another pristine girl running behind the other girls to keep up with them, looking scared and flustered.

"...Lindsay?", he asked to himself.

The girls positioned themselves outside the huge doors, putting up their umbrellas and hiding behind them as planned. The doors suddenly opened and the matchmaker stood there with a clipboard and pen.

"Lindsay Taylor?", he asked in a monotone voice. Lindsay immnediately stood up.

"Present!", she called to annouce her presence. The matchmaker shook his head in a disgusted manner.

"Speaking without permission?", he asked sarcastically, deliberately humiliating Lindsay with her lack of knowledge of her expected future. Lindsay felt humiliated. She could feel her mother glaring at her from behind and other girls whispering astonishingly - how could a girl speak without permission from a man? The matchmaker beckoned Lindsay to go inside the palace and into the meeting room and shut the world out the palace completely.

As Lindsay stepped inside, she noticed Sonic watching nearby in the same room, obviously observing the audition. He noticed her presence and winked approvingly at her outfit. Lindsay went red and tried very hard to ignore him. The matchmaker observed Lindsay closely, studying her physique and face. He tutted and wrote sharply on his clipboard.

"Too skinny", he concluded,"Not good for bearing sons"

Those exact words created an image in Sonic's head of being married to Lindsay and having children too. He liked the idea, although still unsure with how many children he would like to have. Still, it was still to be decided, anyway. Lindsay had the exact same image in her head too, this made her shiver in response. She had witnessed the beatings her father gave her mother constantly and how the children kept appearing after every beating. Her father had never shown her mother respect. If that was the case, how much respect would Sonic likely to show her?

"Recite the final statement of women's roles", the matchmaker suddenly demanded. Lindsay jumped but then realised what he meant. Oh crap, she didn't know the final statement or the others. Then she realised - the notes on her arm! She was saved!
Lindsay nodded happily and pulled out her fan to fan herself as a cool subterfuge in order to read her notes, however the room was already quite cold.

"Fufill your duties with...", Lindsay peered at the blurred notes on her arm," Respect. Reflect before you sna- Act! This shall bring you glory", Lindsay fanned herself after being in such a sticky situation. The matchmaker immediately stole her fan and inspected it closely - no notes on the fan. He looked suspiciously at Lindsay, but she tried very hard to look innocent.

"Come along", he ordered, and dragged her along to a table with a pot of tea placed on top of it by her arm which had the blurred notes on it. The ink ran onto the matchmaker's hand.

"Now, pour the tea", he ordered. Lindsay stared at his hand helplessly but snapped into reality by pouring the tea into a cup. The matchmaker ran his fingers on his cheeks which created black marks and lines on his face. Sonic nearly burst into laughter, the matchmaker looked at him, wondering if he did anything wrong.

"Sorry...Just a sneeze", choked Sonic, trying to stay in control. Lindsay couldn't help but stare at the matchmaker helplessly. The matchmaker dismissed this unusual behaviour.

"Now, to please your future inlaws and your country, you must approach your duties with dignity..."

Lindsay decided to inform the matchmaker about the ink on his face, but by what way? It would be very rude to blurt it out! Imagine!Lindsay whispered,"Pardon me...?"

"And silently", the matchmaker emphasised on the word silently to humiliate Lindsay with her lack of knowledge considering domestic and social rights. This did make Lindsay uncomfortable. She did attempt to make his marked face aware to him by suddenly leaning over with a napkin to wipe the ink off his face - this could boost her respect for her family.

"Could I just wipe a mark off your face...? For a minute...?", she asked politely. However, the matchmaker dodged out of the way which made Lindsay lose her balance and falling on top of the table pouring scalding tea all over the matchmaker. He reacted shockingly, glaring it Lindsay. The matchmaker had not noticed that dodging backwards meant his jacket caught fire from the candle behind him, until he saw the smoke coming from him. He screamed, terrified.

"AHHHHH!!! AAAAHHH!!! Put it out!!! PUT IT OUT!!!!", he roared, running around in circles. Sonic simply laughed at Lindsay's misfortune, tears rolling down his cheeks. Lindsay desperately grabbed the pot of tea and threw the remains of the tea over the matchmaker. The matchmaker looked comical with tea all over his face.

"Uh oh", muttered Lindsay. She expected to do quite badly in the audition, but not this badly. Her mother would be furious.

Angela awaited eagerly outside for her daugher, desperate to see if Lindsay had impressed the matchmaker and would, hopefully, marry Sonic. She would be so happy if that was the case.

The doors suddenly burst open and Lindsay ran out of the palace, looking exasperated. The matchmaker followed near behind, literally breathing fire. He marched up to Lindsay.

"YOU ARE A DISGRACE! You may look like a perfect bride, but you'll NEVER bring our family honour!!!", He roared at her. Lindsay could feel the entire town staring at her with disbelief and shaking their heads and whispering disappointingly. The matchmaker marched back inside the palace doors.

Angela looked at Lindsay in a disappointed manner and put her arm around her. The mother and daughter left for home, whilst Sonic watched Lindsay behind the huge window sympathetically.

Sonic and other characters belong to Sega.

Lindsay created by moi (lol) no really she is an original character.

This chapter has been made by reference to Disney's Mulan - which belongs to Disney.

Thanks for reading.