Return of the Heir Chapter 6
Optimus couldn't believe his sire would allow him to bond to the Rodion Prince without another chance at the two courting and the way he mentioned the lost heir of Kaon made Optimus ponder on what the Iacon king was hiding about the Kaonite heir.
Hadeen rose slowly over the horizon, shining through the stained-glass window surrounding the balcony in Optimus's berthroom. The young Prince onlined his optics lazily and threw back the dark blue mesh-sheets. After cleaning himself off, he put his armor on and headed out towards the dinning room. By the time he got there his sire was already eating and proceeded to join him.
"Good morning my son, did you recharge well?"
"Yes sire, but I do want to know when exactly Prince Sentinel will be arriving here?"
"The earliest I was told was two solar-cycles from now. With that being said, I want your slave to clean the castle before night fall, well the public areas at least, and I also want him to clean your berthroom. Since Sentinel will obviously want to discuss how you want your bonding ceremony to take place."
Optimus felt appalled at the slight innuendo his father might be leading to, but surely the Rodion Prince had some degree of preservation. "Of course, sire."
"Good, now I must take my leave and give the head of the household his orders to prepare for the Prince's arrival." Watching his sire leave the dinning room made his spark sink; being forced to bond to someone he didn't love was starting to take its toll on the Prince of Iacon. Optimus finished his meal and went to find Novaton; he found him on the second floor near the red and blue mech's private chambers.
"Good morning Novaton, recharge well?"
"Yes, master; just cleaning the last of these statues."
Optimus looked around and down the hall finding that all five-hundred statues were gleaming in the morning light. "How long have you been working?"
Novaton was a little apprehensive of answering that, but given it was his master; he had to answer, "Since the dawn's first light."
Optimus figured that since Novaton just finished the last one. "I have some orders for you; actually, they are from my sire, he needs the castle public areas cleaned before night fall, plus he also wants you to clean my berthroom."
The white and blue mech stared at him and unknowingly squinted his optics. When he saw the puzzled look on his master's face the tension he didn't know was in his frame relaxed. "Yes, master."
Optimus didn't know what you think, Novaton hadn't done that to him ever in the short time he has been here. "Novaton, why did you squint your optics at me?"
"I don't know master, something else made me do it; I would never do that to you" he replied voice full of concern and concealed fear of being punished.
"Well, I'll give it that it was a funny look and I would strongly advice that you try not to do it around my sire or worse; the visiting Prince of Rodion."
"Of course, master I understand" Novaton replied with a chuckle.
"Novaton, there is no need to call me master when its just us; you can call me Optimus if you want?"
"If it is ok with you then I will call you Optimus."
The day progressed on and as the young Iacon Prince was making his way back to his quarters for the night-cycle, he saw Novaton walking down the hall from the opposite direction. The mech looked like he had taken a run around Iacon plus a training session with the captain of the guard Kup. "Are you alright?"
"Yes, Optimus; its amazing how hard it is to keep a castle this size clean."
"Yep, and the good thing about it is all the good hiding places for the sparkling game, seek-to-find."
Novaton could agree with that; back on the farm Copperheart and Starfire would hide in the mechanimals shelter while he was pretending to be the distrontium dragon trying to find them. The memory caused a coolant tear to escape his optic, but it didn't go unnoticed by Optimus. "You thinking about your old family?"
The white and blue mech's spark clenched at the mention of his family and nodded. The young prince could understand the other one's sorrow and gestured for him to follow; Novaton was shocked when Optimus led him into his personal quarters. "Optimus, don't you think your sire would kill me if he found me in here?"
"Relax Novaton, you'll be cleaning in here tomorrow anyway; so, I'll let you stay for one night as long as you don't try anything."
"I promise to keep my servos to myself."
The two moved into the washracks and took separate sides of the cleansing pool. "Then you'll be fine. Now then, I've been meaning to ask you this for a while; what was your previous home like?"
"Well, it was a small energon farm that produced only enough for the family to get by and still have some left over for ourselves. My master Timegazer was kind and fair like you, his Conjunx Endura Coalfire was sweet, also like you, and both loved their daughters and me like we were the only things in the world."
Optimus dunked his helm in the pool washing off the solvent, "They sound like they were the perfect creators."
Novaton, knew that he couldn't have possibly been their son since who in their right processor would have their own son as a slave. "I know they weren't, but they felt like they were since they raised me for as long as I can remember."
"Do you know who you real creators are?"
"No, far as I know I am orphan" he replied as he washed the last of the solvent off.
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be, for a slave I've turned out alright."
While Novaton had his back turned, Optimus crept forward and dumped a pitcher full of the cleansing pool solvent on him. Novaton wipe the solvent off with his servos; chuckling, "Very immature for a prince don't you think?"
"Oh, well I thought you could use some help since you are so tall."
"Wise-aft."
They both soon finished in the washracks and went back into the main room; Optimus went to his berth while Novaton took his spot in the corner. Optimus saw they way his slave was acting and shivering from the draft of the balcony doors, so he went over to the storage room and retrieved a blanket for the mech; immediately seeing the white mech calm down and fall into recharge. When he went back to his own berth, recharge soon claimed the red and blue prince.
Later that night; he was running, running from something he couldn't see, but only here. The wind was swirling around him, soon he came a cliffs edge and stopped just before he fell to his death. The noise grew louder and louder until suddenly it stopped. Everything became still and it frightened the mech even more. Then without warning hot, dry air filled the space around him and from the depths of the valley below came a Distrontium Dragon. The dragon was black, blue and some hints of purple and its optics was the color of pit fire. The voice that came from the beast didn't sound right, coming from something that should have ripped him limb from limb. "You can't run forever young one, some day you must return or darkness shall reign forever."
"Who are you?"
"My name shall be revealed in time and remember you must return."
"Return to what?"
"Return" the dragon spoke as it began to fade.
"I don't understand, return to what or whom?"
"Return…."
The mech felt the ground give way beneath him and fell into darkness hearing the same word over and over again. He hit the ground hard and barely felt something touching him, calling his name. "Novaton…Novaton…NOVATON?"
The white and blue mech awoke nearly smacking Optimus in the helm with his, venting hard. "Are you ok?"
Novaton didn't know how to answer, only hearing the echoed voice of the dragon from his dream in his helm. "Yeah, it was only a dream."
"Ok, I was just concerned since you kept mumbling something about 'Return' whatever that means?"
"I don't know, if it is ok I just want to go back to recharge."
"Alright, but if necessary I'll send for Ratchet to give you something if you can't."
"Fine by me."
Both mechs went back to recharge, but the lingering message from the dream still puzzled Novaton, 'what did that dragon mean by return?'