Allura clutched her dark cloak about her as she crouched in the shadows of a pillar against the Castle wall, making sure that her head was tucked carefully out of sight. It wasn’t good for her plan that the moon was full and uncovered by clouds tonight. It bathed everything about her in ethereal silver light – everything, including herself. But she had to make do with what she had. She had never missed this monthly visit all these years, and she was not going to begin now.
The princess darted out of the shadows after she surreptitiously checked for other people who could be in the vicinity and found that there were none. As she ran the length from one pillar to another, the hood of her cloak fell, and moonlight glinted in the golden cascade of her hair, acting like a beacon to anyone who may have been watching.
And someone was watching.
Her lone audience stood on the other side of the Castle’s entrance arches, where he had hid as soon as he heard someone coming from inside. He had meant to take the intruder, if it was that, by surprise. He had just come from perimeter patrol and had just returned his horse to the stables when the slender figure shot past him and straight into the shadowed wall opposite his hiding place. His lips curled with reluctant amusement when he saw whom it was trying to sneak out of the Castle.
Someone really should take her in hand, Keith thought shaking his head at her sorry attempt to escape her guardians’ clutches. If she's going to keep doing this, she might as well do it right.
Considering how fresh the Blue Lion incident was in everyone’s memories, Keith thought she was pushing her luck by sneaking out of the Castle’s safety in the middle of the night. He hadn’t decided whether or not he would tell Coran about tonight, but either way she wasn't going to get away with this without receiving a warning from him.
With an exasperated sigh, he began to follow her. She had, however, piqued his curiosity, and he tailed her only quickly enough to keep her under his watchful eyes and be close enough to help her if she ran into any trouble.
He followed her clumsy trek to an open grassy area behind the Castle, resisting the urge to chuckle with reluctant amusement at her feeble attempts to hide in the shadows of the columns against the Castle walls – when she remembered to. She was oblivious to his presence just a few yards away, evidently too intent on getting to wherever she was going without getting caught to hear him. That was another thing he and the others should teach her as soon as possible. Keith filed a mental note away in his mind to ask Coran for permission to teach her the basics of stealth maneuvers as soon as possible for her own safety.
He carefully kept in the shadow of the Castle’s towering spires as he followed her trek up the bluff just behind the Castle and overlooking the lake. She finally stopped in front of a slightly elevated stone slab he could see from a distance, although he could not really distinguish what it was from where he was standing. He frowned thoughtfully as he watched her crouch in front of the slab and wipe it with the edge of her dark cloak. After a few moments of indecision, he quietly approached her.
Allura ran her fingers on the small brass plate just below the crest of the Royal House engraved on the stone slab. She bowed her head respectfully as she did so, and through her fingertips felt a semblance of peace course through her the same way it always did when she came here. She lay a thick white envelope on top of the slab, smiling as she did so. She had taken so much comfort from this years-long ritual through the years, and tonight was no exception.
“Do you really think sneaking out of the Castle at this time of night all by yourself is a very good idea?”
The male voice coming from behind her made the princess dart up quickly, tangling her billowing cloak around her legs. At the unexpected sight of the Captain of the Voltron Force grinning wryly at her, she took an involuntary step back only to lose her balance – and end up on her bottom on the moist grass.
Embarrassed and put immediately on the defensive by the mild reproach on his tone, she glared up at him belligerently as he approached. Since she knew she would only embarrass herself even more if she scrambled off the ground in an even more undignified fashion than the way she fell, she stayed where she was.
“And a good evening to you, too, Captain Keith,” she said, her voice tempered with mild sarcasm. To his credit, he hadn’t laughed at her ignominious spill. If anything, he looked sincerely contrite as he stopped right in front of her.
“I’m sorry if I startled you,” he said quietly, holding out his hand to her. She took it reluctantly and allowed him to pull her to her feet. “I saw you when I was on my way back inside the Castle from a perimeter check, and I didn’t think it would be a good idea for you to stay out here alone.”
“So you decided to follow me to where I was going instead of pointing out that what I was doing was wrong,” she said coolly. “I suppose you didn’t think that perhaps the reason I was ‘sneaking out’ was because I wanted to be alone?”
Keith stiffened at the cool reproach in her tone.
“I’m sorry, your Highness,” he said quietly, his suddenly face wiped of
all expression. “However, I still don’t think it's safe for you to remain
out here on your own. In deference to your wish to be alone, I’ll just
move lower down the bluff just close enough to keep an eye on you while
you do what you will. Will that arrangement be satisfactory to you?”
Allura’s conscience gave a twinge when she heard
the note of cool formality running through his words, and she felt slightly
ashamed of her sarcastic comments. “I… I suppose it will be,” she stammered.
With that, Keith gave her a curt nod of acknowledgement and turned to go. He paused when he felt the Princess' restraining hand on his sleeve.
"Please... wait."
Allura knew she wasn't obliged to explain anything to him, but she also didn't want to compound her sin with being so snappish because he had followed her out of concern for her safety.
“There's really nothing unusual about what I'm doing here, Keith. In fact, I do this all the time,” she explained quietly. She gestured to the stone slab behind them, directing his attention to it. “You see, I…I like to visit with my mother in the night time. This was our special place.”
Keith glanced at the stone, his eyes glinting with curiosity, and then silently turned to her for permission. At her nod, he crouched down and read the small brass plaque below the crest in silence. As she had done, he traced the letters engraved in it with his fingers.
Cailia. Beloved. Wife. Mother. Queen.
He looked up at her, his expression both sheepish and sympathetic.
“I’m sorry, Princess, I didn’t mean to intrude,” he apologized quietly. He stood up and faced her squarely. “It’s just that with all that’s going on, I didn’t think it was wise for you to be left here on your own especially after… what happened to Sven. It’s not safe out here.”
Allura smiled, touched by his concern. “So Coran has told me a million times,” she said with a sigh. “I understand what you’re saying, and I understand your concern, but I… this is one thing that I simply can’t give up.”
“I understand, Princess. And we’re not asking you to give it up, just to be a little more cautious.” Keith nodded in understanding, part of his reproach delivered and the rest tucked away for a more appropriate time. Besides, he had anapology of his own to make. He grinned and raked a hand through his hair. “It was wrong of me to tail you instead of asking you properly if I could escort you to wherever you were going, but…” He trailed off, apparently reluctant to tell her the reason why he had followed her.
“But…” She pinned him with her clear blue gaze and gave him an encouraging smile.
He cleared his throat self-consciously before answering. “But... um... aside from being curious about where you were going, I was also curious about how you would try to evade detection by the Castle guards,” he explained. He grinned wryly. “I think it’s safe to say that one of the first things the rest of us are going to teach you will be some serious stealth movement techniques.”
She took his dry critique of her methods good-naturedly. “I always had the feeling that the only reason I get out here without being bothered by the guards is because they knew how important this is to me,” she said, returning his grin with one of her own. “Now I know I was right!”
At the Princess’ droll comment, both of them broke out in quiet laughter. After a few moments, he sobered, taking a glance at the stone slab once more.
“I think it’s about time I left you alone,” he said, nodding slightly towards the queen’s marker. “If it’s alright with you, though, it would really ease my mind greatly if you’d allow me to wait for you and escort you back to the Castle. I’ll just stand a little away to leave you some privacy now.” He bowed formally towards her then and proceeded to walk away.
After a few moments’ hesitation as she stared at his retreating back, she called out, “Keith, no… wait!”
He turned back, his eyebrow quirked at her in question, puzzled about why she had asked him to stay a second time.
Allura flushed slightly at her uncharacteristic outburst, but she met his dark gaze head on. “I’d really rather that you stay,” she offered shyly. She frowned thoughtfully. “That is, if you don't mind. I don’t mind the company.” She bit her lip nervously before going on, “And I… I was really meaning to talk to you tomorrow morning – so I suppose tonight is a good as time as any.”
He walked back towards her, frowning in slight confusion. “Talk to me, Your Highness? What about?”
Just as he pulled up beside her, she took a step towards the slab once more, her back to him. She took a deep breath for courage. There was a telling pause before she finally answered his question.
“I meant to talk to you about letting me fly the Blue Lion in Sven’s place.”
She turned to face him, her expression intent and earnest.
“I can do it, Keith. I know I can. There’s no need for you to call for a replacement pilot from Garrison when your replacement pilot is right here. You can train me, Keith. I’m more than willing to learn – and I have more of a stake in this than any of you have. Please let me try.”
He gazed at her, an inscrutable expression on his face. “It’s not quite as simple as that, Princess. The decision of allowing you to fly is not mine to make, you know that.”
Allura bristled. “No, you’re right, it’s not yours… it’s mine to make, only everyone else seems to be bent on making the decision for me!” she exclaimed, throwing up her hands in frustration. “I want to do it, Keith. Coran and Nanny both think that I’m just being contrary and that this is something I’ll forget about if they put their feet down on the matter, but it isn’t. I need to learn how to fly the Blue Lion. You and the others won’t be here forever, and when you go, I have to know how to defend my planet on my own.” She met his eyes, her eagerness shining in them. “Surely you understand that?”
Keith nodded reluctantly. “I understand your concern, Princess,” he began, “and I also understand that you do need to fly the Lions eventually. However, there’s a big difference between keeping you a pilot-in-training and putting you in the front lines of the battle – which is what you are actually asking for.” He shook his head. “It’s no game out there, Princess. You could be very well asking to get yourself killed, and none of us are about to let that happen. Your planet needs you.”
Allura glared at him. “If there’s anyone here who knows that war is no game, that person is me. I know all about death. My father was killed by this war, and many of my people have lost their lives and their homes because of it,” she said, her voice soft and low with its intensity. “You are here because my planet needs you - and every time you take those Lions to face Zarkon, you risk your life to do so. My planet needs me in that way now –how can any of you expect me to do any less?”
Her blue gaze leveled on him like a pair of twin lasers, clear, sharp, and just as deadly. “Or perhaps it’s that you do not trust me to do a good enough job to fly with your team? I know I’m not as good as Sven – and maybe I never will be, but I am willing to learn.”
Keith shook his head in exasperation. “Trust is not the issue here, Princess. I know you can learn to fly one of the Lions in good time – with that attitude, I’m sure you’ll be giving even Lance a run for his money in a few months,” he said wryly. “But as princess of your planet, you have a responsibility to keep safe and do your job – on the ground.”
“As princess of my planet, I have a responsibility to see to the well-being of my people and my planet – and I mean to do the job, on the ground... and in the air.”
“I see.” Keith looked at the determined expression
on her face and couldn’t quell a surge of admiration at her persistence
– and her sheer courage.
“No, I don’t think you do.”
Allura sighed and took a seat on the moist grass, patting the patch of grass beside her as a silent invitation for him to take a seat. He accepted the invitation and sat with his knees drawn towards him, his arms draped casually over them, his legs splayed open slightly.
The silence between them lengthened, as both of them groped for the right words to persuade the other that his or her side was right.
Her delicate profile and the graceful line of her neck drew his gaze as she leaned back on her arms and looked up at the clear night sky. Her golden hair cascaded down her back like gilded waterfall, and he couldn’t help but be a little awed at how beautiful she was, how fragile she appeared. He couldn’t blame Coran and Nanny for wanting to keep her safe – after all, it was a sentiment that the rest of the team shared… and it was what made all of them all the more reluctant to allow her to take the Blue Lion’s controls to replace Sven.
The thought of Sven brought unbidden images of Keith’s injured friend to the fore, and in his mind’s eye he saw the other space explorer’s bloodied form as he was when they found him after his encounter with Haggar. If Sven, who was a seasoned soldier, could be so vulnerable to the enemy, what more would the princess, who had never had a day of battle training in her entire life, be?
But would he be doing the right thing by keeping her from flying the Blue Lion – something that was her right to demand? And he knew, as she knew, that if she convinced him to side with her, Coran and Nanny wouldn’t be able to keep her on the ground for long. His nod would go a long way in convincing the rest of the team to letting her fly with them – and he knew that all of them were already leaning towards the idea of allowing her to be the fifth member of the team anyway. It was just his approval they were waiting for – after all he would be the one to train her.
“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” The Princess’ soft, musical voice broke into his thoughts. He raised his eyebrows at her inquiringly, and she gestured towards the sky with a graceful hand. “The sky. The stars. The silence.”
“Yes, it is.”
She smiled sadly, but she didn’t take her eyes off the stars. “It’s been a long time since we’ve had nights this clear on Arus. For many years when I’d visit here, all I can remember seeing in the sky were clouds of thick gray smoke and the sight of red fire burning in the distance. That and the glint of laser fire coming straight to the ground like lightning. Maybe it was imagination, but I could swear that I could hear the people screaming in the distance.
“I wanted to do something to help them, but there was nothing I could do. Father would go out there and try to protect the people by fighting Zarkon, and all I could do then was stay behind at the Castle and pray that he would come back from the battle alive. I felt so helpless to stop what was happening to my planet – it was being destroyed right before my eyes, and all I could do was watch.”
At that she turned her eyes towards him, and he could see the quiet suffering in them as he met her earnest gaze. “After Father died in the great battle of Zohar, I swore to myself that I would never allow myself to quietly watch what was happening to my planet from a distance ever again,” she said firmly. “I choose not to be helpless now. I choose to be part of this battle because that’s where I should be, not hiding in my Castle, but out defending my planet.
“Please help me do this, Keith. You know I can do it. Please trust me enough to let me try.”
Allura bit her lip as she ended her plea, nervous because she couldn’t quite read the expression on his face. For what seemed like a long time he studied her expression intently before he looked up at the stars himself, lost in his own thoughts once more.
The moments ticked by as the silence lengthened between them, and Allura closed her eyes and prayed that what she had said was enough to convince him to let her be a part of the team. In the few months he and the others had been here, she had watched him and the way he handled the team. He was good at everything he did, and he never demanded anything from the rest of them that he wasn’t willing to do himself. He was an exacting leader, but he was also fair. She could see that he would be a good teacher, and if he chose to let her, she could learn so much from him.
“From what I hear, Princess, you have some pretty big shoes to fill,” he said wryly. His voice made her eyes snap open, and she his gaze, his eyes thoughtful.
“’Shoes to fill?’”
“I’m sorry, Princess – I keep forgetting we haven’t been here long enough for you to understand all the expressions we use,” he chuckled softly, shaking his head in self-reproach. “I meant to say that it must be hard for you to follow high standards of those who came before you.”
“You mean Sven?” she asked.
“I mean your father.”
After a pause, she nodded. “Yes, it is hard. I may be young now, but he was almost as young as I was when he took the throne. And even if he were, he still managed to rule Arus wisely, build Voltron, and defend the planet for as long as he could.” She laughed, but it was a laugh tinged with self-mockery. “All I can seem to manage to do as my planet’s ruler so far is flounder through each day praying I do it an irreparable wrong.”
There was a telling pause before he commented, “I may not know much, Princess, but from where I’m sitting, it looks like you’ve been doing a pretty good job.” He gestured towards the sky, mimicking her earlier gesture. “Clear skies. Stars. Silence. A peaceful night.” He smiled at her. “That looks pretty good to me.”
She smiled back at him, warmed by the approval in his eyes. But she had to give credit where it was due. “It is good, but it’s a peace that we owe to you.”
Keith shook his head. “In the short time we’ve been here, we may have been the ones to send the bad guys on their way, Princess, but the hope and the courage your people have fed upon have always been yours,” he said simply. “They see you, and it is your spirit and your determination that inspire them to come out of their caves and rebuild their lives.”
She stared at him with wide eyes, startled by his vehement pronouncement. “I… I…” she blushed, touched and pleased. “Thank you.”
He grinned. “Don’t mention it, Princess.” He looked up at the moon and frowned thoughtfully. “It looks like it’s getting pretty late,” he said, rising from where he was seated in one lithe movement. “I think we better turn in pretty soon.”
She held out a hand to him, and he helped her up for the second time that night. “Perhaps you’re right,” she said with a nod as she brushed off her cloak. Her eyes were wistful as she looked at the stone slab with her letter on top of it. “Should we go?”
The longing on her face wasn’t lost on Keith, and he shook his head. “I think I’ll give you your time alone with your mother now,” he said with a small smile. “I’ll wait for you at the bottom of the hill. Please come whenever you’re ready.”
She smiled back at him gratefully. “Thank you.”
He bowed towards her formally before walking away, his eyes holding an unmistakable twinkle. She stared at his receding back until she could no longer see him, then she turned back to where her mother was resting.
“Hello, Mother.” Allura half-knelt and half-sat facing the stone slab, running a loving hand over the brass plate where her mother’s name was engraved. She smiled as she settled down, hugging her knees to her chest. “It’s such a beautiful night. I wish you could be here to see it.”
The soft night breeze picked up and its gentle force ran through her hair in a caress much like her mother’s gentle fingers from so long ago.
“It’s almost like was before the war broke out,” she continued softly, looking at the stars. “The sky is so clear that I can almost count the stars.” She closed her eyes and let the wind wash over her, its cool blanket of comfort soothing her as it always did when she was up here. “It’s so quiet that I almost feel that I can almost hear you speaking to me.” She sighed. “I wish you and father were here to tell me what to do.” A tear fell on the long graceful fingers splayed on the stone slab. “I miss you both so very much.”
It was a long time before Allura silently came down from the bluff to meet Keith. Even in the dim light, Keith could see the traces of tears glistening on her cheeks, and he respected her reticence by not saying a word as he escorted her back to the Castle. It was only when they were safe within the Castle walls in the main hall that Keith broke the silence.
“Would you like me to walk you to your room?” he asked.
She met his concerned dark gaze and shook her head. It was a long way from her wing of the Castle to where he and the others were staying, and he must have had a long day. “I’ll be alright, Captain. Thank you for keeping me company tonight.”
He nodded. “It was my pleasure. Good night, Princess.” He bowed to her as he had earlier out by the bluff, and was startled when he heard her let out a husky chuckle. He rose to meet her mischief-filled blue eyes.
“If you do that often enough, Keith, you’re probably going to develop a bad back,” she said, covering her mouth to muffle her giggles. Impulsively, she continued, “Since we’re going to be teammates, and you’re going to be my instructor one way or the other, don’t you think you can find it in yourself to drop the bowing?”
He shot her a thoughtful frown that made her nervously wonder if she had inadvertently stepped out of line. “I don’t remember saying anything about your becoming a part of the team any time tonight,” he commented wryly.
"Oh." Her smile was a mix of mischief, determination, and pleading. “Wouldn’t you reconsider? I did say please.”
“I can’t make any promises, Princess. You know that I don’t have the final say in this matter.”
“Please?”
He laughed, shaking his head in amusement and exasperation. “Maybe.” In place of the bow, he gave her a snappy military salute that made her smile. “Good night, Princess.”
As Allura walked to her room, she realized that he had not really given her any sign that she had won him over to her way of thinking. But as she remembered the quiet understanding in his eyes as he had listened to her tonight, she suddenly grinned. True, she didn’t have his yes right now, but perhaps his tentative “maybe” was something she could pin her hopes upon.
Maybe.
The alarms signaling lion practice rang loud and early in the Castle wing where the remaining members of the Voltron Force were sleeping. The alarms in the Princess’ bedchambers also went off at the same time – a technical feat she was able to coerce Pidge into programming for her the last time he had been manning Castle Control.
Allura had been out so late the night before that it took every ounce of her determination to get out of bed and prepare for lion practice. Hastily tucking her hair into a functional bun and throwing on her jumpsuit, she barely made it to Castle Control before the rest of the boys went down their chutes to go to the Lions.
“Good morning, everyone,” she brightly greeted them, ignoring their stares at seeing her at Castle Control so early. “You weren’t going to leave without me, were you?”
The boys were all looking at her with varying degrees of disbelief and confusion, with the exception of Keith, who met her nervous smile with a small wise one of his own.
Coran glowered at her. “We’ve talked about this, Princess, and I thought that I had made it perfectly clear that the only reason why you’ve been allowed to fly the Blue Lion during emergencies is because we have not yet contacted Galaxy Garrison nor trained anyone to be a replacement for Sven.”
Allura stood her ground as she faced Coran, hoping that she wasn’t wrong in thinking that she had an ally in the room. “I am the replacement pilot, Coran. I’m here to begin my training.”
“You are not! You’re the Crown Princess of Arus, and your flying the Blue Lion permanently is highly unacceptable.” Coran said firmly. “You are not qualified to fly that ship, and as soon as we’re able to train someone who is, you will not ever hold the key to any of the Lions again.”
“What would make me as qualified as that unknown person you insist on finding?” Allura fired back at him, frustrated by his narrow-mindedness. Maybe he was only trying to protect her, but this had gone on long enough.
“We would both be novice pilots, so what makes me less able to do the job? If I had been born a prince instead of a princess, would I be qualified? My father would have flown one of the Lions if he were alive.” Allura pinned her Chief Minister with her blazing blue gaze. She pushed her case on relentlessly. “This is something I must do as Princess of Arus, Coran. Let me train with them. You must let me go.”
Coran was stumped by the arguments she gave him, knowing that she was right. Still, he had to try. He turned to Keith for support, knowing that the younger man also had misgivings about letting Allura take on the position. “Captain Keith? What do you have to say about this?” he sputtered, taken off-guard by the Princess' vehemence.
Keith, his expression inscrutable, looked first from Coran and then to Allura, who was trying to read his mood warily. As he met her eyes, she saw a glimmer of a smile in his. What seemed like an eternity of silence stretched on for Allura as she waited for Keith’s reply.
“To be perfectly honest, Coran... it would be my honor to have the Princess on my team."
At Keith’s quiet announcement, gasps echoed through the room and all stunned eyes turned towards him. Even Coran was rendered speechless by the conviction in his erstwhile ally. Allura stared at Keith with a mixture of suspicion and hope. Meeting her gaze, he drew the operating key to the Blue Lion from his pocket and walked towards her, finally stopping in front of her and pressing the key into her hand.
"I thought long and hard before I came to this decision, and I also consulted the rest of the team. There is no one I would be willing to train to fly the Blue Lion more than the Princess Allura.”
“Keith? Do you mean it?” Allura looked up at him, her expression a comical cross between disbelief and happiness.
“I trust you, Princess.”
With firm but gentle fingers, Keith closed her frozen fingers around the key, a gesture that no one in the room missed.
“I trust that you will do as you promise and give your best to your training. More than this, I also trust you with my life.” He smiled solemnly at her. “If you become part of the team, we entrust with you the keeping of our lives. In turn, we will do our best to keep you safe as you fly with us.”
He stepped away and grinned at her, giving her a snappy military salute similar to the one he gave her the night before.
“Welcome to the team, Your Highness.”
At that pronouncement, Allura let out the most un-princess-like whoop of joy and threw her arms around Keith in an impulsive hug.
“Thank you, Keith. I promise you that you won’t regret this.”
Keith stiffened under her exuberant embrace for a moment before awkwardly returning her hug. “Don’t thank me yet, Princess. Lance and the others weren’t kidding when they called me a slave driver, and I’m not denying it.”
“Hey, don’t the rest of us deserve hugs, too? After all, we’re all going to be teammates all around,” Lance said hopefully from behind her. At his comment, Allura realized what her sudden surge of joy had made her do, and she quickly dropped her arms from around Keith, flushing prettily.
Hunk and Pidge were there grinning at her in welcome as well.
Allura beamed at all of them. “Just this once then!” With that she opened her arms and embraced all three of them in a group hug.
“Welcome to the team, Princess!” Hunk said, patting her on the back exuberantly. "This calls for some serious partying!"
“So, Keith, does this mean we won’t be having Lion Practice today?” Pidge piped up as they all broke apart. He turned towards their team leader hopefully. “In honor of the Princess’ becoming part of the team?”
Keith quirked one sardonic brow at them before answering, “No.”
A chorus of groans went up from the three older members of the team, but they obediently ran towards their chutes. Keith was just about to enter his own chute, when he saw Allura hesitate. He quirked his eyebrow at her in question, and she smiled sheepishly in reply, inclining her head towards the still-stunned Coran almost imperceptibly.
Keith nodded his understanding. “See you there, Princess.”
Allura climbed the steps towards Coran, who had settled himself at the helm of Castle Control, his expression still dazed as he gazed at the four other Lions launching. She knelt beside him when she got there, covering his hand with hers, her blue eyes sober with understanding of what the older man must be going through.
“Please let me go, Coran,” she requested quietly. “I’m not your little girl anymore. Please tell me you understand that this is something I must do.”
His face was drawn, and he seemed older now than he had been before Keith had made his announcement, but he forced a smile. “So help me, Allura, I do,” he said, laying one of his hands on her shoulder. “I do understand.” He sighed. “I suppose there is nothing to be done then. Keith trusts you can do the job – and I trust his judgement in these matters.”
“Thank you, Coran.” She stood and gave her guardian a tight hug. “Thank you so much.” With that she flew down the stairs and ran to her own chute. Coran’s voice stopped her before she could enter the portal.”
“Promise me one thing before you go, Princess.”
She looked up at him. “What is it, Coran?”
“Try not to make us worry too much.”
“I promise I’ll try.” She grinned at him,
mimicking the jaunty salute that Keith had given her. “I better go now
before my flight instructor gives me a lecture for being late. See you
at lunch, Coran!” With that, she jumped into the portal and into her future.
Dear Mother,
It’s been nearly three weeks since Keith conceded to train me to fly Blue Lion. It has been by no means easy, but I must admit that I’ve loved every minute of it. Keith the teacher is hard to please, but he is an excellent instructor and I learn something new every day. It’s been a challenge to balance the academic work that I have with Coran with the training I have with the boys, but I think I’ve worked that out pretty well.
Nanny and Coran still worry too much about me, and I always get stinging lectures from them every time I try a new move in the air that they regard as dangerous (which is practically everything) – but I’ve gotten used to their hovering. The boys, on the other hand, have welcomed me into the team so warmly that I cannot imagine what it was like never having known them and never having been chosen to fly with them. They’re so open and fun to be with that flying with them is almost not work. I’m afraid, however, that my kind of flying is not what they were used to from Sven, and knowing this just gives me the extra energy to push myself harder for them.
I still wonder what it was that changed Keith’s mind about allowing me to fly the Blue Lion. I asked him about it once, a few days ago, and he only smiled and told me that he knew all about having big shoes to follow. Whatever he meant by that comment I may never know, but at the moment I’m just content that he took my side at all. You never do know with Keith. There are three things I know about him for certain that I like… first, that he has so much courage; second, that he has a deep sense of honor; and third, that he is a good and wise man. As for the rest of him – well, he is simply quite a fascinating enigma, but perhaps someday I’ll be able to understand more about my mysterious leader. And, yes, mother, he wasn’t lying when he admitted he was a slave driver.
Well, I better end this letter here – tonight, the rest of them are going to try to catch me as I go up to our special place as part of my stealth maneuvers training. The first one who does catch me will end up with my serving of dessert tomorrow night – and since tomorrow’s dessert is cheesecake, I refuse to give it up without a fight. If I get up there without anyone catching me, they have to give their share of cheesecake to each of my mice… so wish me luck!
I miss you and father so much. I wish you could see me fly the Blue Lion – Father would be so proud of me, I know it. And you would have been, too. I’m still not certain about a lot of things, but I AM certain about this… He would’ve wanted me to fly as a part of Voltron – and now I am.
Till my next letter!
I remain faithfully your loving daughter,
Allura