I do not own Transformers. They belong to Hasbro (c). Mercury and my ocs belong to me.
The young prince rushed back to the Palace with his faithful friend Hound, one of the Royal servants before lunch. They snuck in the servants entrance and met a frantic Huffer in one of the back halls. "You're back! Thank Primus!" The panicky minibot cried running up to them. "I was sure you'd be late!"
"We were fine Huffer. Thanks for the cover." Mirage said politely, taking off the cloak. "And thanks for helping me out Hound."
The green mech smiled. "Anytime Raj."
"Oh why the disguise again? It's a bad idea Your Highness!" Huffer ranted.
"I needed a break. It was wonderful. No one treated me like a prince. It was such a relief." The prince said happily.
"But they are all at there wishing they could be you. Why are you so unhappy? You're rich, you live in a huge palace, you have beautiful femmes throwing themselves at your pedes! Is there something I'm not getting?!"
"I have no life of my own Huffer. Everything is decided for me, where I go, who I see and what I do."
Hound agreed with his friend. "He deserves a small taste of freedom here and there Huffer."
Huffer groaned. "This disappearing thing has got to stop! It's too hazardous!"
"We were fine Huffer."
"Not for you for me! I can't keep lying to you're creators Your Highness! There are laws against that!"
Mirage sighed and excused himself to go look for his creators.
Huffer sighed as Hound left as well. "If Mirage wants to kill me why does he not trample me with his carriage and get it over with?" He groaned.
Mirage walked to his creator's chambers, knowing they'd probably want to talk to him from the way he saw some maids talking earlier. "I wonder what's up." He thought to himself. He opened the door and saw his creators talking. They turned to him and smiled. His carrier, the Queen, spoke first.
"There you are Mirage. You're father and I were just talking about you." she said smiling and kissing his cheek.
The king got up next and pat his son's shoulder. "I did want to tell you one thing. There is going to be a ball soon." said the King.
The Queen sensed her son's apprehension and quickly cut in. "Nothing fancy. Just family and some close friends."
Mirage began relaxed but what the king said next made Mirage VERY annoyed. "...And all the eligible femmes in the kingdom."
"Father you can't be serious!" Mirage sputtered. "I don't want to bond! Let's drop the subject."
The King glared sternly. "Why must you be so stubborn? You have certain obligations since you are a Prince. One day you'll rule this kingdom. This means that soon you must choose a bride and produce an heir."
The Queen spoke up to try to prevent an all out argument. "But we want you to be happy as well son."
Mirage sighed. "I know I have certain duties but I want to fall in love my own way, by myself. I only want to be in love when I bond. Like you were." The King and Queen exchanged loving glaces at this. However the King kept pushing the idea of meeting femmes at the ball on the prince and Mirage left the room. Despite his son's refusal and his mate's reasoning, the King sent messengers throughout the land to say the Prince was giving a ball.
~3~
The news reached Mercury's home soon enough. Naturally the stepsisters were very excited. "We're gonna meet the prince!" gushed Tigerlily.
Silverscape swooned. Darklight caught her. "This is the perfect opportunity for one of you catch the Prince. We must begin preparing immediately. Only one of you must be chosen for us all to profit!"
Mercury wanted to go to the ball but her stepmother's wicked nature made her too frightened to ask. Plus, although she wouldn't admit it, it was amusing to see how her stepsisters reacted to the possibility of meeting the prince. They seemed so goofy to her, going crazy about a mech they hadn't even met before. She could imagine being excited by someone one had met, but not one one had never met.
Darklight seemed pleased but she only cared about raising her own status and getting one of her daughters married to the prince was a perfect way to do so. She immediately ordered Mercury to help them get ready. Mercury mixed their paint colors and got some buffers and polish for them all. She also helped paint the stepsisters and her stepmother the day of the ball.
When she the paint was dry Mercury buffed and polished them. None of the femmes even said thank you. Darklight smirked at how her daughters looked. "How beautiful girls! One of you is sure to capture the prince's spark."
Mercury finally spoke up. "Stepmother?"
Darklight rolled her optics. "What, is it?"
"There's some left over paint and polish, and I've done all my chores. May I go to the ball as well?"
The stepsisters burst out laughing. Darklight became extremely stern. "Certainly not! The Royal Ball is for ladies, not ragamuffins! Get back into the kitchen! And never forget your place again!" She swung out her arm as if to strike her but Mercury ducked out of the way and ran into the kitchen just as the three cruel femmes left. Mercury tried not to cry. "I will not cry, I will not cry. Good femmes don't feel sorry for themselves." She kept saying to herself, but some tears slid down her face anyway. Despite being used to being put down by her stepmother, the words still hurt. She had never asked for anything extra before and it hurt to be yelled at and almost struck for it. "I wish I could go to the ball." She whispered. "One more happy memory Primus. Please." she prayed.
Jazz had been waiting for her to say that as he stood outside the window. "Don't cry Mercury." he murmured. "You'll get to the ball." He was going to keep his promise to her mother and help Mercury.
To be continued...