"Everbody has to get their hands on gold, and I want uncharted." - Sara Bareilles, "Uncharted"

"It knocks my equilibrium off," she complained as she lifted the three-years-too-small foot up onto the mechanic's table. "Do you have any replacements of a more fitting size?"

The mechanic eyed her and wondered why she didn't have one already. She was, after all, the most praised mechanic in New Beijing. And a cyborg one, at that! "Depends on your budget."

Cinder sighed, knowing that her savings would be completely depleted after today. She managed to start saving under her controlling guardian's nose by taking customers on the side, fixing hovers for cheaper than other shops, keeping the univs stashed for herself. It would be worth it. She pulled up the bank account in her retinal display. Cinder calculated quickly how much she would need for a simple dress, a decent pair of boots to cover her cyborg leg, and a wearable pair of dress gloves. Oh, and a ride on a hover. Certainly Adri would never allow her to be seen with them. Every cent of her savings was split up over her retinal display and she sent the account away. "Seven hundred univs."

"Tch," the mechanic muttered under his breath. "I think I have one. It's used and not that great, but it'll help your equilibrium. Or whatever. It's 650."

Perfect. She could maybe buy a few nice hair products at the store and have Iko do her hair for the ball. "Great!"

She watched him sit up from his bench and move to the back of the store. She slipped her boot back on and dropped her heavy foot to the ground and looked around again. The walls were lined with all kinds of cyborg body parts (could they even be called bodyparts?) and replacement parts for hovers. Cinder rocked back on her heels and sighed to herself. One day she would be allowed to leave her pathetic excuse for a family and have her own hover and her own home. She planned, of course, to take Iko with her and have Peony visit often. One day, she promised herself.

The mechanic entered the front of the store again and dropped the metal foot onto the table. Aluminum, Cinder assumed. It would have to do. "Is this a good size?" He asked her in a gruff voice.

She picked it up and studied it from every angle, making sure it would be compatible with her leg and nervous system, before nodding. "It's perfect, thank you."

"650 univs, please."

She swiped her wrist under the scanner to pay for it and bowed to him before leaving to return to her booth to attach it.

Iko was waiting for her when she returned. The small android, pale and oval with a wonderful personality chip, squealed upon seeing Cinder come in, cyborg foot tucked under her arm. "You found one, you found one! I can't believe you're going to the ball, Cinder! Oh, oh. If you dance with Prince Kai, please tell him all about me!"

Cinder grunted and sat on her chair, pulling her boot off and lifting her foot to rest on her knee while she picked out a fitting screwdriver that would work on the nearly-stripped screw. "Don't be ridiculous, Iko. Even if no one can tell I'm a pathetic cyborg, I have no curves fitting of a woman my age and, besides, my overall features are a bit underwhelming, but I appreciate the thought."

Iko's fans began to whir loudly. She was upset. Cinder ignored them and focused instead on what she was doing, and the smell of cinnamon rolls wafting from the bakery across the way. The one that didn't serve Cyborgs. One of the only shops at the market where the owner knewshe was a cyborg. "Don't say that! You're the prettiest of them all, Cinder!"

"Thanks, I guess."

Cinder grabbed the new foot and began to attach all of the wires to make it a part of her, placing brand new screws in their rightful places. After only a few minutes, she extended her leg and wiggled her mechanical toes. "Perfect fit!"

"Are we closing now? You promised we would close early so we can go shopping!"

Cinder tugged at the hems of her gloves and glanced at the android. "Of course we are. Let's go!"

She locked the door behind them as they left, making their way towards the dress boutique down the way. With only three hundred univs to spare on a cute dress, eighty on boots, and fifty on gloves, with sixty set aside for the hover ride there and back, Cinder's hopes weren't too high. But they had to have something.

Iko's fan began to whir once again as they neared the boutique, only as a sign of excitement this time rather than anger. "I think cerulean would look great with your skin color, Cinder! We should ask someone for help!"

Cinder bit her cheek. She really didn't want to draw attention. If she asked, then they'd want to help her in the fitting room. Most people were very off put by the whole metal limbs thing. "That's an oddly specific color, Iko. Let's keep our options open." Iko's response was an obviously disappointed beep.

The boutique wasn't too overwhelming, fortunately. The dresses were first split up by size (Cinder decided she was probably a size four) and then by color. She did consider that, probably, a darker shade of blue would look good with her sun-kissed skin. Uncomfortable, Cinder hugged herself around her waist and entered the boutique completely, eliciting stares from customers and employees alike with her dirty khaki shorts, messy brown ponytail, and ratty black boots. She quirked a nervous smile and proceeded to the size 4, blue dress section.

Despite it being the day of the ball, the store wasn't too busy. Most people plan ahead, Cinder thought to herself. She wasn't the planning-ahead type when it came to most things.

Iko snatched a dress from the hanger before Cinder even had a chance to look through them. "Oh, Cinder! This would look great on you!" The small android held it up to the best of her ability, though she hardly reached Cinder's waist. The hem of the dress brushed the clean tile floor. "It's an empire style, which looks good on anyone," that probably wasn't true, "the pleated skirt twirls really well when you spin, and it's got short sleeves that aren't too overbearing and modified sweetheart necklines are soin this summer!"

Cinder grumbled and snatched the dress from Iko's hand, setting it on her arm for fitting. She didn't know what any of those words meant, but Iko seemed confident enough about it. Glancing down, the color seemed to make her skin shine. Maybe it was a good pick. She raked through the rest of the rack and found a few hopefuls, and rushed off to the private fitting rooms in the back of the store.

She slid on Iko's pick last. It was only ten univs over budget, but Cinder had some wiggle room anyway. The other's found their way to the "hell no" pile before they were even fully zipped up. But the last one, it fit like the happiest dream. It hugged the little curves that Cinder actually had and helped accentuate them, the empire style exaggerating her chest ever so slightly.

"Twirl!" Iko urged. Cinder did so, the skirt fanned around her and the cool air that hit her thighs made her feel alive.

"This is it, Iko. You're the best."

"Anything to get Prince Kai to notice you!"

Cinder rolled her eyes and slid the dress off, quickly getting dressed again, and exited the dressing room. "Now, for the boots and gloves."

"I think silver would be a good color with that one. Silver and azure. Oh I just loveit!" Iko gushed. She had a word for every shade of every major color, Cinder noticed.

A pair of thigh-high silver boots peeked out from the section in her size. Because of course they did. Today seemed to be going much, much better than planned. Iko was to them before Cinder could even lift her metal foot to follow her. Cinder bent down and took the boot off of her normal foot, sliding the silver boot onto it with ease. It fit perfectly. Yes, today was going toowell, but Cinder didn't let her hopes get too high.

"They're only sixty univs!" Iko celebrated with numerous beeps that drew looks of irritation. "They're under budget!"

Cinder grinned, "That leaves 110 for a nice pair of gloves." If she didn't mind her entire savings to be gone once she got on that hover, that is. Cinder couldn't help consider that maybe she didn't care.

"So silk is out," Iko said in her sad, only slightly robotic voice.

"But I don't have to stick with hideous linen gloves, so there's that."

The glove section was sparse, but most were one-size-fits-all, so they couldn't complain too much. Her eyes scraped by a pair of nice silver-colored velvet gloves. Frankly, for their 100 univs price, they were gorgeous. Cinder's hair wouldn't look fabulous that night, but she had a wonderful ensemble to make up for it.

"Going to the ball tonight?" The cashier asked with a smile, simply making casual conversation.

Cinder nodded quickly, "Yes, and I'm nervous. It's my first one."

"Well," the cashier was probably in her mid-twenties, Cinder thought, "I hear Prince Kai is looking for a potential wife. I saw you pick out this dress and knew it would look gorgeous on you. You might get lucky." She winked at her. She waited a beat, but no orange light appeared in her display to indicate it had been a lie. If Cinder could blush, she would be a very deep shade of red. At least Iko could give the color a name.

"O-oh, n-n-no. There are so m-many more worthy girls that'll be there."

"You might be surprised."

"Iko, you're pulling my hair!" Cinder reached back and scratched her neck where Iko had scraped it with the brush, just under her control panel.

"If you would hold still, you'd be fine," the android replied.

The cyborg girl felt as her android companion began to twist her hair about, not facing a mirror and having no idea what she was doing. Her hair was fine and not even a nice shade of brown, so if it ended up looking okay, she would be surprised. "Oh, Cinder, your hair is so difficult. But it's starting to come together!"

Her fringe fell over her eyes and she wondered if the android had been practicing her sarcasm, but she was afraid to ask.

Finally, after a headache and a lot of lost strands of hair, Iko released her and rolled back. "Oh, it's so cute!" Cinder picked up the small hand mirror she had borrowed from Peony and studied it. Half of it was pulled back, the rest left down to cover the control panel, and the part that was pulled back was braided down the crown of her skull on either side, the separate braids held together with a clip at the base of her skull. It wasn't breathtaking and obviously not professionally done, but it still looked beautiful. Her fringe skirted around her left eye with precision.

Cinder smiled excitedly, "Oh, Iko. You're the absolute best."

"I know!"

In the stuffy basement where Cinder was supposed to be working while her "family" prepared for the pre-ball ceremony, the mostly unloved cyborg was preparing for the event of a lifetime. Even if it was anticlimactic, the whole point was that she was going to a ball and she was going to look beautiful doing it. Cinder didn't know what it was like to be beautiful, but something about it sounded nice.

She dressed down to her underwear and took a calming breath, her retinal display showing pre-warnings about adrenaline and other chemicals starting to be overproduced. Something about that sounded nice, too.

She slipped into the dress and had Iko help her zip it up. Next, she put on the boots. They climbed their way around her calves with obvious ease. The gloves were another story all together. Pulling one around her cyborg hand was a questionable difficulty in and of itself, for they were rather snug. Cinder cursed herself for not trying them on beforehand, but it ended up okay. It hid the unnatural metal hand well enough. She heard Peony shout "goodbye" from the top of the basement stairs before hearing her footsteps down the hall, and the front door open and closed. They were gone. Cinder heaved a sigh of relief and slid the other glove on.

"Iko, I think tonight is going to go much better than I originally thought."

"You're just now seeing that?"

Cinder rolled her eyes and walked back upstairs, using the full-length mirror in Peony and Pearl's shared room to check herself out.

She couldn't help but beam. Cinder didn't know if this was others would consider beautiful, but it felt close enough like it. She knew she was much too underdressed for the annual ball, but she felt confident. Things were certainly going to happen.

"Shall I call a hover," Iko asked, excitement whirring through her fans and the beeps of her modem.

"Please? I might chicken out if I do it."

Nerves were boiling in Cinder's stomach, but she took deep breaths to help slow her heart rate – mostly in order to make her retinal display shut up already.

Iko wheeled over to Cinder not a minute later, "The hover's on its way! Oh, Cinder. I so wish I could go with you! You look so beautiful and I'm so jealous!"

"Iko, you don't know how to feel jealousy," Cinder mused with a wink.

"Irrelevant," the android groaned.

Cinder listened for the giveaway whir of a hover's arrival and started towards the door when she heard it. "Well, wish me luck!"

"Good luck!"

The palace was decked to the nines in red and gold, the curtains draped across the windows with just the right amount of elegance. The air smelled of excitement and fancy hors d'oeuvres. She entered alone, and that warranted a few stares, but nothing she couldn't shake off.

She prayed not to trip down the stairs as she entered the ballroom, her new foot already well-adjusted to the rest of her body. The boots had heels on them that were wide enough for her to maintain her balance. She tried not to look for Prince Kaito, but her eyes couldn't help but wander over the wave of people before her as she stepped onto the marble floor.

Her entrance was highly anticlimactic, she noticed. But maybe it wasn't a bad thing. The less attention drawn to her, the less likely she was to be pointed out as that freak cyborg mechanic girl. She'd prefer to keep her second-class citizen status on a not-well-known level.

She grabbed a small square of chocolate from one of the trays being carried around, and a glass of sparkling water from another. Something to keep her hands occupied, to make it less awkward that she wasn't mingling or dancing with anyone.

Cinder tucked herself into a corner of the ballroom, happy enough to just be watching the event happen. If someone asked her to dance, she would decide then if she wanted to dance. Of course, cyborg mechanics typically couldn't do such a thing. She sure would try. Her audio interface turned down the volume just a bit, making the music more bearable over the sound of the chatter. Cinder smiled to herself. Even though she was on the outside looking in, it was so nice to be there. That was enough.

She finished her glass of water and held it lazily in her metal hand, not bothering with walking forth to place it on the table.

She felt a tap on her shoulder. A soft, young voice. "You know, the entire point of a ball is that you dance."

Cinder expected it to be one of the waiters, or perhaps a palace guard. When she turned her head, her retinal display pulled up the young man's profile within seconds.

Prince Kaito. Future emperor of the Eastern Commonwealth.

Right there. Right in front of her. Paying attention to only her. She didn't even hear the announcement of his arrival, and no one else seemed to notice. A waiter stopped by as her heart rate spiked and took the glass from her. She appreciated that, since she was certain she probably would have dropped it.

She leaned into a bow as soon as she could reconnect with the rest of her body. "Y-Your Highness! My apologies! I came alone and am content with simply watching the ball."

"You don't dance, do you?" His voice held a light chuckle as the words streamed from his throat in smooth form.

"Not usually. M-mechanic, you know."

He bent down to make eye contact with her, "Stop bowing, please. It's a pleasure. I'm Prince Kaito, but you can call me Kai. And you are?"

Cinder's eyes widened ever so slightly, her heart racing, her retinal display flashing warnings. She sent the warnings away and knew she already had a lot to tell Iko when she returned home. "Cinder. Linh Cinder."

"Linh Cinder." Her name sounded so beautiful coming from him. "It's a true pleasure. Would you like a dance?"

Her heart toppled its way through her torso, finding a resting place at the bottom of her stomach. "B-but, I'll just step on you. I might break your toe or something."

Kai laughed, and it sounded genuine. Cinder half-wished she could blush just so she knew what he was doing to her. She always thought Peony and Iko's obsession with him was silly and childish, but she couldn't deny just how handsome the prince was. His skin was a shade darker than hers, his hair a darker shade of brown, maybe black. His deep eyes seemed to bore into the soul of anyone whose eyes they met. He was a few inches taller than her and thin and so, so, sohandsome. And kind! That, too, was important.

"Nonsense. You'll learn as we go." He stuck out his right hand. "Shall we?"

She feared that he would notice her cyborg hand, or that she would crush one or all of his toes with her aluminum foot. Sighing, she decided to do it. Dancing with the prince was literally a once-in-a-lifetime-if-ever event for girls everywhere and, dammit, she'd do it.

"If I hurt you in any way, I'm not liable for it," she said with a half-smile.

He nodded as she took his hand, "Don't even worry about it, Cinder."

Her stomach flipped and he led her to the center of the dance floor, for everyone to see. For Adri and Pearl to see. For Peony to see, though less because it would make her jealous and more because she would be so happy for her step-sister. For the worldto see. The ball was broadcast on various channels throughout the world, and she was surely being noticed by many.

She was definitely clumsy at first, warranting laughs from a few select couples that surrounded them. Fortunately, the more they danced, the better she got. His hand around her waist didn't help her nerves at all, and she continually sent aside the warnings on her retinal display, hoping he didn't notice. He was staring so intensely into her eyes. It was killingher, the way his gaze never faltered, never shifted. As if she was the only one in the room. The only one in the world.

Cinder knew it would end eventually, but she savored the moment as he twirled her in front of him, her pleated skirt fanning around her just as it did at the boutique.

"So, you didn't come with any friends?" He asked as the orchestra switched to a slower song. The surrounding groups were getting impatient, wondering when their daughters would have their turn to dance with the prince. He ignored them.

Cinder averted her eyes away from his, "I don't really have friends. There's Iko, but she's just an android we've had around for a while. She's got a great personality chip, but that's about it. One stepsister loves me, but my other stepsister and my guardian hate me, so it doesn't really matter, does it?" She laughed sadly and wondered why she was telling the prince that, of all people. "But it doesn't matter." She met his eyes again, happier. "I'm dancing with the future emperor and that's kind of exciting."

"Future emperor. Ugh." He twirled her again and Cinder wondered if she would get dizzy if he tried it another time. "And it's kind of exciting? Just kind of?"

"Maybe a bit more than that," she chuckled.

"That's what I thought."

Silence followed.

He dipped her.

Brought her back up, and her human hand was pressed against his chest. She could feel his heartbeat.

"I hear you're looking for a wife."

"Unfortunately I need to be married before I ascend the throne, or so my father believes. I'm not sure if it's that necessary."

Cinder momentarily lost her footing, caught herself again. "I can see where he's coming from. I can see where you're coming from, too."

"It's ridiculous for me to need to find a potential wife in just a night."

"Of course."

"But I've got an idea or two of candidates."

"Is that so?"

He leaned in closer to her, and she just noticed his cologne and the scent of fresh soap. Kai was perhaps too good to be true, even for a prince. "Are you free for a date tomorrow night?"

She half-thanked whatever god there was that she couldn't blush as she tried to think of a smooth reply. Her mind came up blank. "I might not be anymore, it seems." Cinder found it so simple to embarrass herself, and usually only when it counted.

"I hope not. I'll send a hover for you around 1900? It would be an honor for me to get to know you better."

Probably not, Cinder thought. If he knew who she was… whatshe was… She couldn't risk it.

"I… I can't." She broke the dance off and stepped back. Most of the guests had gone back to dancing until they noticed her pull away, all eyes on her. "I-I'm sorry, Prince Kai. I can't."

She rushed through the crowd, out of the ballroom and onto the terrace, hoping he wouldn't follow. Hoping he would forget her and move on.

Maybe she'd hoped for that bit too much.

"Cinder?" He was alone. He must have told the guards to hold everyone back and leave them alone. At least they wouldn't have an audience. "What's wrong?"

She froze and reluctantly tilted her head towards him, "I'm not fitting to be a wife, or anything to you at all, Prince Kai."

"Just Kai, please." He took a step towards her, "Please, tell me. Did I do something wrong?"

"At risk of sounding cliché, it's not you, it's me. Literally." She held her cyborg hand to her heart, protectively covered it with her normal hand.

He shook his head at her, "Cinder, you don't have to be afraid of me. It would only be a date. If you truly do not wish to go with me, that is fine. I would like to understand why, though, if that's all right."

Shaking, she turned to him. It was a tough decision for her to make in that moment, and she'd wished that the lack of audience would calm her down (it didn't). She reached for the hem of her glove and kept her eyes trained on him the entire time she tugged it off.

The metal gleamed in the light of the crescent moon that hung above them. She watched his expression change from momentary shock to soft again. He dropped his head. "I guess I do understand your reluctance, then."

He was handling this better than Cinder had expected. She pulled the glove back on again, praying that no prying eyes had seen her abnormalities. "If you take back your offer, I wouldn't blame you."

Kai lifted his head again and quickly covered the distance between them, grabbing her elbows with all of the gentleness of a true prince. "If anything, my desire for you to accompany me on a date has only increased."

Cinder gaped at him, surprised that a simple, two-and-a-half song long dance had had such an effect on him. "I'm not sure what to say, Kai."

He kissed her cheek and moved his lips to her ear. His hands trailed their way down her forearms and into her hands, intertwining their fingers. The feel of hot breath on her neck sent chills up and down her spine. "Say yes."

Shaking and way more nervous than she wanted to be, Cinder nodded slowly. "Yes. Yes, I'll go on a date with you, Prince Kai."

She had much to tell Iko and Peony, indeed.

Author's Note: I almost never write one shots in a few hours. But I kind of started writing this and didn't stop. I just finished Cress and I'm still reeling from feelings, so I had to write something. I only reread it a few times, so if there's mistakes or things that don't make sense then, um, sorry. So sorry. It was kind of dumb and a little shorter than I would've liked, and the ending is pretty 'eh', but I had fun writing it and that's always important, right? Right!