"How long does the life support last?" Keith asked trying to control his breathing.
It had been a surprise attack. They'd been idiots to not take the red lion with them.
No. That wasn't quite accurate. HE was an idiot for not taking the red lion.
Allura had wanted to go shopping. She'd actually tried to sneak out on her own to do so. The fact that Keith had caught her was something of a trick of fate.
He'd almost reprimanded her for wanting to leave. Almost told her how silly it was to want to go out and go shopping like some regular everyday girl.
But then she'd looked at him. Given him that look that every young lady gives a father, or brother, or boyfriend when they asked why they insisted on working on their makeup before going out with friends.
It was a look that said, "Because I want to. Because it makes me feel good. Because I LIKE it."
And like every father, brother, and boyfriend before him; Keith had caved. But he'd made it a condition that he had to go with her.
There was no way he was letting Allura wander off on her own without protection. Zarkon, their main enemy, might be out of commission but that didn't mean there weren't threats lying in wait. Ready to prey on any young thing that may have happened to pass by.
Not that Allura couldn't take care of herself.
The fact that she had happily gone into Zarkon's domain with the Blade of Marmora to take on Haggar had proven that.
But Keith wouldn't have been able to live with himself if he had allowed her to go only to never see her again. Not after they'd finally gotten over their… issues.
Then the attack had happened. It didn't look like a Galra craft. If Keith had to hazard a guess then the attackers were likely pirates or bandits or something. The attack had thrown the vessel spiraling into a random direction.
And then they'd hit something.
Not a planet. Not some alien creature. Not an asteroid (thank god).
They hit a ship.
A battleship.
An old, decrepit, abandoned, Galra battleship.
The enemy ship didn't dare approach where they'd crashed. The way was made perilous with floating debris. But they were out there. Looking for some kind of opening to pick up their victims.
"It should last us awhile." Allura breathed trying to catch her breath. "But they aren't designed to work indefinitely."
"That figures."
The princess wouldn't meet his gaze.
Keith bit his tongue. He hadn't meant for that to sound so snappy.
"Red or one of the others should come for us soon." He eyed the opening in the hull they had come through fully expecting some kind of alien pirate to come swinging in. "But we'll need to move. We're sitting ducks here."
Allura didn't respond. Only allowing a small nod to give her ascent.
They made their way into the ship. The inner halls of the ship had managed to survive whatever destruction the ship had suffered. Making navigation somewhat easier. And Keith's jetpack helped with the most difficult sections.
Finally they'd reached the main control room.
"Can't believe this place is still intact." Keith muttered as he guided the princess inside. "Would've expected this place to be in shatters."
When more silence met him he continued.
"Wonder if we could get this place powered up and working. Even if we can't get this hunk of junk moving we could at least send out a signal to the others, close the doors, or activate some kind of security system. Keep those guys off our backs."
When Allura failed to reply to that, Keith turned to her and asked with concern, "princess are you alright?"
He could hear her taking a breath through the comm.
"Fine. I'm… I'm fine." She whispered. "I'm just… I'm sorry… That this happened."
"Not your fault." he sniffed.
"But it is." The princess insisted. "I wanted to go out and get things. Small trinkets and clothes. Like… Like I used to… I should have known better than to be so childish."
"It's… It's not childish." He tried to sound confidently reassuring.
"It IS. When I was a child the universe was at peace. I could go shopping with Coran to pick up supplies, and I'd get little trinkets and clothes. But… But this isn't the universe I grew up in anymore. Even with Zarkon gone… I-It's changed. Permanently changed. It'll never be the same again."
Keith didn't reply.
He'd heard of culture shock before. But he wasn't sure anyone had ever truly experienced time shock before. Or if they had, they certainly hadn't written a book about it.
"And so I go off in a pod, dragging YOU along with me, and what happens?"
She stared at Keith so intensely that he felt compelled to reply.
"We get attacked?" he offered.
"WE GET ATTACKED!" She repeated. "Attacked out of the blue. STRANDED on an abandoned Galra battleship. With some unknown enemy circling around outside like a bunch of-"
Allura didn't get a chance to finish the analogy because Keith pulled her down behind one of the panels. She nearly demanded that he explain his actions when she caught sight of his face.
His eyes had narrowed, and his mouth was slightly agape as he peered around the console panel. It was the kind of look a trapped animal had when the hunter had cornered it.
The princess looked past the panel herself to see the ship that had attacked them slowly and carefully passing by the window. Allura quickly ducked back behind the console as one of the ship's lights passed by bridge.
"Why are they looking for us?" She asked Keith worriedly.
"Who knows." Keith shrugged, unconcerned with the specifics. "There's no way they haven't found the ship by now. Which means we're probably trapped here."
"But what do they want?" The princess insisted. "I only brought a little spare money with me and it was all on the ship. If they have that, what more could they want."
The red paladin looked at Allura and opened his mouth to speak. But he stopped as her confused eyes met his. Keith pressed his lips together in concern.
She seriously hasn't thought of it. He thought worriedly. What they're after...
Keith's tightened his grip on Allura's hand.
"C'mon," he pulled her out from behind the console the second the ship had passed. "We have to find a less open hiding place."
Carefully, and quietly Keith guided the princess deeper into the ship. Away from all openings and windows.
It wouldn't be long before the pirates boarded the ship. They would scour every nook and cranny until they found what they were looking for.
Something rare and likely valuable.
Something rumors had been whispering about, if the blades words when they arrived on the castle were anything to go by.
Something that hadn't existed for 10,000 years.
Keith's heart tightened at the thought of it.
The pirates weren't after money, or a ship, or some valuable trinket or ore.
No.
They were after something much more rare and likely valuable. A one of a kind goldmine.
These pirates wanted Allura.
Allura allowed Keith to guide her through the darkened hallways of the abandoned ship. The dim glow of their suits being the only source of light to guide them.
Keith refused to use the headlight on his helmet out of fear of being seen by their pursuers. An argument the princess couldn't help but agree with. They didn't even dare speak over the comm much in case the pirates were hacking into the frequency. When they did speak they used hushed whispers.
Finally they came to a stop in front of a door that was slightly opened. Keith slipped his hands into the crack and pried it open. The inside proved to be a small storage space. Perhaps only a few square meters large.
The red paladin stared at it for a moment before turning to Allura.
"Princess, come here." Keith reached out and pulled the princess towards him.
"We can't hide here." she argued. "It's too small."
"No. You'll be able to fit just fine."
Allura looked at him, "What?"
Keith took the princess's shoulder and gently pushed her towards the opening.
"Hide here. I'm going to scout out the area and then come back."
"I am NOT going to hide by myself!" Allura struggled to keep her voice down. "We can find a place that's big enough for the both of us."
Keith hesitated.
He was almost positive that the pirate's goal was the princess. Or at least him. Why else would they bother with a tiny space pod?
If the pirates wanted Allura, the most obvious course of action was to hide her until the others came. If it was Keith they wanted then there was no way he would drag her into this. If they wanted them both then it was ideal to split up to ensure that at least one of them remained safe.
Either way the result was the same.
But how did he explain it to the princess? She clearly hadn't come to the conclusion that the pirates were after her. Even if she had Allura would never agree to being left behind with that kind of reasoning. She wasn't the type to hide and keep her head low when danger was about.
"It's…. Strategic." he offered. "It'll be harder for them to find us if we don't hide in the same place. And you'll fit much easier in here then I would."
"I suppose."
"Then please princess. Promise me you'll stay here until the other's arrive. If Red gets here first then I'll come get you."
The princess still hesitated.
"We could fight them off."
It was a weak argument.
Usually Keith was all for fighting his way out of this kind of situation. But not if it put Allura at risk.
"We don't know how many of them there are. We can't fight through them with just my bayard. It's best to stay low and wait for backup."
Over the comm Keith heard the princess sigh in defeat.
"Very well."
Relief washed over the red paladin as he pushed the princess into the small room. But before sliding the door into place a thought occurred to Keith. Reaching behind him he pulled out his galra blade and handed it to the princess.
"Here." Allura stared at the blade in surprise. "Just in case something happens."
The princess hesitantly took the blade and drew it towards her.
"You promise you'll be back?"
Keith smiled. "I promise."
With that he slid the door closed, leaving it open a crack.
Before moving away he whispered to himself, "Stay safe."
Allura didn't know how long she waited.
It had likely only been an hour at most but it felt like eternity.
An eternity of sitting alone in the dark with only the sound of her own breathing and Keith's blade to keep her company. As the ticks passed by the princess grew more and more anxious.
Why hadn't Keith returned to her yet? Or at least updated her on his position?
A quick scouting trip wouldn't take this long and surely he would have updated her over the comm if he had found a hiding place.
Allura's grip on the knife's hilt tightened as she fought the temptation to pry the door open and search for her paladin. She had told him she'd remain hidden while he was away. What would she do if she left only for Keith to arrive moments later?
Returning, only to find her hiding place empty, would throw the red paladin into a frenzy looking for her. Likely making their already precarious position downright dire.
But… if something had happened to him…
Static erupted in the princess's ears.
She jolted in surprise before managing to make out words through the static.
"Prin-zzzt-ss?" Allura focused desperately on the voice coming over the comm.
"Keith?" she asked speaking into her mic.
Why was it so staticy? If Keith was still nearby it should have been clear.
"Keith? Keith?! Are you there?!"
As the static dissipated the voice on the other end became crisp and clear.
"Ahh, Princess Allura." The princess's blood turned cold. "So happy to finally hear from you."
The smooth flowy voice did not belong to her paladin.
"Who are you?! Where is Keith?!"
"Now now, don't strain that pretty voice of yours."
Allura scowled at the teasing tone. "WHERE. IS. HE?!"
"If you mean your little boyfriend, we've got him sittin riiiight here. We ran into each other, played a little game of cat and mouse, and he tried to take my head off. Fun guy."
"If you've harmed him-"
"Now do you really think you're in the position to take that tone with me sweetheart?" The voices tone turned threatening. "I mean, it'd be pretty awful if you ended up single cause your boyfriend suffered from a tragic blaster accident."
Allura's breath hitched and her teeth clenched. Trampling down the anger, she focused her mind.
Letting her rage get the better of her would only place Keith in danger. She needed to remain calm, and get as much information as possible.
"Let me speak to him."
"What's the magic word?"
Her hands tightened around the galra blade as her teeth clenched.
Swallowing her pride she spat out, "Let me speak to him… please."
"Much better darling."
Sounds of muffled voices, one commanding, one angry, drifted into her ears. After some clear struggling the sound of hard breathing came over the comm.
"...A-Allura?"
"KEITH!" She pushed the comm closer to her ear in desperation. Treating that ever familiar voice like a lifeline. Relief flowing into her voice she asked. "Are you alright? Did they hurt you?!"
"I...I'm fine…" The way his voice shook tore her heart apart.
"Where are you?"
"It doesn't… It'd doesn't matter!"
"Yes it does! Tell me where you are, and I'll come rescue you!"
"Stay where you are!" Allura flinched at the sheer volume in her ear. "Forget about me and stay hidden! Just forget about me!"
"I can't do that!"
"You have to! Focus on getting away from here! Focus on escap-" His voice was ripped from the comm. Ripped from her.
"Keith? Keith?!" Allura called desperately as static once more filled her ears. "Keith, answer me please!"
Hugging the marmoran blade to her chest, the princess curled in on herself trying to keep herself from falling apart.
And then HE came back.
"Helloooo princess~"
"You…" she snarled.
"Yes, ME." he chuckled. "I hope you two had a good conversation."
"What do you want?" she demanded.
"Ah, I like a woman who can get straight to business."
"Tell me what you want from us!"
He laughed.
"Well if you would be so kind as to come down to the ship's dock, we might be able to sort out a bit of a trade."
"What kind of trade?"
"We get you for the galra. And the red paladin gets to live." She could practically hear his smirk. "So, do we have a deal?"
Allura closed her eyes.
There it was. Their motive.
These pirates or bounty hunters or whatever. They wanted HER.
That was why they attacked their pod. Why they'd taken Keith hostage.
They had to have been tailing the castle for months, just waiting for an opening to attack.
And she'd given them one.
Now she was hiding in a broom closet on a ghost ship and Keith was in the hands of a group of intergalactic pirates whose numbers were an absolute mystery to her.
"Helloooo~" the voice called. "You still there sweetheart?"
"Yes. I'm still here."
"Do ya got an answer for me? Cause if we don't have a deal, then the kid kind of becomes a loose end. And I don't like a loose ends."
Allura swallowed hard.
"You swear… You swear you won't hurt him?"
"Scouts honor, princess."
She snorted. "I severely doubt you're a scout."
"Hey, I might be a pirate but I keep my promises. Especially promises made to beautiful young ladies."
Oh fantastic. He's an evil Lance.
Allura wasn't sure if she could trust a pirate's words.
But she was sure of one other thing.
"If you can guarantee his safety… then it's a deal."
"Excellent! Meet us at the ships old docking bay in one hour and-."
"It's a deal… under ONE condition!"
The pirate clicked his tongue in irritation. "What did I tell you about that tone?"
"I get to see Keith. You have to show me that he's alive before I hand myself over to you."
The other end was silent.
"Whats to stop me from saying no and just putting a laser between your boyfriends eyes?"
An opening. Allura pounced.
"I'd say whatever reward the galra are offering you should be reason enough."
A beat.
"Dammit. You've got a deal."
Keith fought against the cuffs holding him in place inside the pirate's ship.
"Allura, don't listen to him! Allura!"
"Quiet down, kid. She's disconnected." The captain shrugged as he turned to his prisoner. "Don't take offense if I say that it frankly shocks me that the Galra haven't killed any of you yet. I mean flying around in an unarmed pod through a vacant part of space? I was half expecting a trap or something. Come to find out that your both just stupid."
Keith snarled at the alien as he rolled his shoulders, trying to get a good look at the scratch the red paladin had managed to land on him in their fight.
"Will say you're one helluva fighter though. Guessin the lady is the brains of the outfit, hm?" He sighed. "Ya know rumor says the altean princess is a beauty like no other. You wouldn't happen to be able to confirm whether or not that's true would you? Cause if it is, it's gonna be a real shame to hand her over to the empire."
His glare at the captain only hardened.
"What do ya think is the punishment for leading a fight against the empire, hm? Crippling the emperor and leaving the whole universe sitting on the edge of it's seat? I mean, I've seen people get violently executed for far less." He seemed to consider the question seriously. "Old Haggar'll probably come up with a brand new kind of punishment. Just for her. If the stories I've heard about how sadistic the druids can be are true, then it'll probably involve a lot of pain and a lot of suffering. And not the kind you get when you stub your wuizzlequak against a table neither. Nah, its gonna last. The kinda suffering that destroys ya. Body and soul."
Keith could only clench his teeth and pull at his chains in response to the pirate's words.
Red, he called out desperately to his lion. God red, hurry up please. I'm begging you.
The captain sat back in his chair and rested his foot on the back of Keith's head.
"You should be more conversational kiddo. How do you expect to keep that girlfriend of yours if ya don't communicate, hm?" He laughed.
Hurry, Keith continued to call despite the taunt. For Allura's sake.
Allura poked the metal rod through the consoles opening. Carefully aligning it with the dim crystals that hung lifeless behind the dark metal.
Working with no equipment was hard enough. The lack of lighting made it almost impossible.
But if the princess had any hope of saving Keith, she'd have to get at least one of the bridges many consoles back online. And she'd have to do it in well under an hour.
She could have attempted to negotiate for more time, but it had been a risk just to convince the captain to agree to take Keith from wherever he was being held (presumably the pirate's ship) and out into the open. The fact that he had agreed with so little a fight had been suggestive.
One option was simply that the captain had no intention of upholding his end of the deal. Only agreeing to get the princess out of hiding so that his men could capture her.
But in that case posing any kind of deal would have been pointless. A simple sweep of the ship would have uncovered her hiding place. But since she didn't run into any miscreants on the way to the bridge, the pirates weren't scouring the ship for the princess.
The second, and what Allura considered the most likely, option was that Keith was more valuable to the pirates alive than dead. Whatever bounty they were getting for Allura also applied to the paladins.
Turning in not only an Altean princess, but the red paladin of Voltron would likely set the pirates for life. Chances were they would get a higher reward if they turned Allura and Keith into the galra empire alive. Hence why they hadn't killed Keith immediately, and agreed to Allura's demands.
This gave her some comfort. There was no way the captain would sacrifice a portion of his potential reward just to get to Allura. At least… she hoped he wouldn't.
Biting her lower lip, the princess concentrated on pushing the crystals into alignment.
Even if Keith was temporarily safe from any harm, that didn't change the fact that he was being held hostage. The pirates may not kill him, but that didn't mean they wouldn't harm him. Should the princess's plan fail, both of them would be left at the mercy of the pirates.
However, Allura had one advantage.
These thieves were greedy.
And Allura fully intended to take advantage of the fact.
The rod bumped the last crystal into place and made the whole set given an otherworldly purple glow.
Smiling, the princess activated the console and immediately took in as much information as she could. If she was going to save her paladin, she was going to have to know this old abandoned battleship inside and out.
First rule of espionage. Knowledge is power.
That would teach that rude, condescending, sorry excuse for a pirate captain.
"Sweetheart, indeed." Allura scoffed as she shut off the console.
Having some stranger put his helmet on for him felt wrong to Keith.
The way the headgear uncomfortably brushed against his ears. It's skewed position on his head, the utter wrongness of the whole gesture. If it had been Shiro, Allura, hell even Lance; things would have been different. It would still have been awkward bt also personal in a way.
Course he had no way of putting the helmet on himself given his hands were tied. Which only made Keith angrier with himself for getting captured.
The pirates had taken his helmet to contact allura in the hopes they'd be able to trace the frequency to her location. Thankfully, ancient Altean tech seemed to be just complicated enough to foil their efforts and leave the captain with no other choice but to follow through with the princess's demands. For now anyway.
Keith had little doubt that his captors wouldn't hesitate to rip his helmet off and leave him to die in the vacuum of space if he proved to be too much trouble. And while Keith normally wouldn't hesitate to risk everything to escape (preferably taking a few of his kidnappers out in the process) the inclusion of allura in the equation gave him reason to pause. If he tried to escape and got taken out it would leave the princess alone to take on the brigands.
The Altean princess had surprised him many times but he doubted even she would be able to face down a small crew of space pirates on her own. At least not without planning for a solid week in advance.
One of the pirates shoved Keith towards the ship's airlock.
"Move it."
He was about to tell the alien where he could shove it when he felt the hard metal of their blaster poke into the back of his neck. So Keith bit his tongue and stifled the comment and allowed himself to be led out of the ship.
The bay doors closed behind them as the captain checked some kind of device on his wrist. Probably some kind of time keeping device, if Keith was any judge. From what he could see it was mere minutes (ticks?) from the agreed upon time.
He scanned the decrepit old docking bay and tried to find some avenue of escape that didn't involve drifting out into space.
Unfortunately, every potential opening first required him to escape the grasp of the massive pirate thug currently holding him in place with his huge hand. As well as the blaster that was being dug into the back of the neck in the other. Keith wasn't sure if these aliens knew a shot to the back of the neck could be a killing shot, but he did and that was enough for him to be cautious.
His thoughts flew to his jetpack which the pirates, thankfully, hadn't gotten a chance to see. If he could angle himself just right and activate it, Keith could blast himself straight into the huge aliens chin and probably release his grasp.
Testing his binds once more, Keith found that they still held firm which only piled on another frustration on his escape attempt. With his arms bound like this there was no way to summon his bayard. So even if he could get away from the pirates, he'd be weaponless as well as having his hands literally tied behind his back.
And then there'd be Allura to worry about.
Even if she didn't end up cooperating with the pirates fully, they had no real means of escape. And unless the princess carried a pair of interstellar lock picks on her or some kind of knife that could cut through alien handcuffs, Keith had no way of protecting either of them. Oh sure he'd gain some satisfaction from trying to kick the captain in the face, but it'd be short lived if one of his men chose then to whip out a weapon and end it all right there.
They could try to retreat and avoid capture until the red lion arrived, but without a new hiding place on hand or any guaranteed way to avoid the pirates it was a huge gamble.
It was looking like the only chance Keith had was to wait for some kind of opening and let his instincts carry him the rest of the way. But the only chance that he had for his captors to get distracted was Allura's arrival, and that was a risk the red paladin wasn't fully willing to take.
The sound of a door being opened snapped Keith out of his thoughts.
Looking up he saw none other than Princess Allura pushing the door open and holding onto the doorway to keep herself from drifting off.
Worry mixed with anger as he shouted, "You idiot, why did you come here?!"
The captain reached over and grabbed Keith by the collar of his armor. He dragged the paladin in front of him and pinned his arm under his neck to hold him in place as a makeshift shield..
"Now, that ain't a very polite thing to say to a lady." He then addressed Allura and said. "How nice of you to grace us with your presence your highness."
Allura didn't reply to either comment, and instead kept her gaze fixated on the captain.
"As you can see I've kept my end of the bargain. Course if you don't believe me I can always rip off his helmet and let you see his face."
"There's no need for that." The princess moved herself into the room only slightly, her hand still pressed against the wall by the door. "I'm here aren't I? Come over and collect me."
Keith wanted to comment, but bit it back as the captains hold around his throat tightened.
"Yyyeah, I'm not doing that. No offense princess, but I can't trust you not to lure me in close so you can pull one of those double hostage situations with me. Or lure me into an enclosed space for a fight. Or grab yer boyfriend and close the door to make a run for it. Come to think of it there's A LOT of stuff I don't trust you not to do in a tight space so why don't you just push off that wall there and come floating on over to us eh?"
"How do I know you won't toss Keith out into space once you have me?"
"Oh you got me there princess. But no worries, the paladins worth almost as much as you are. And while I'm willing to send him to the Galra HQ missing an appendage or two, killing him doesn't make my pocket any deeper. Course that being said," the captain placed a strong amount of pressure onto Keith's neck, causing him gasp and choke for air.
Keith squeezed his eyes shut as his lungs begged for oxygen, and he kicked his legs in an attempt to loosen his captor's grip.
"STOP!" He could hear Allura's desperate pleading voice dimly through his ringing ears.
"I'm not afraid to lose a few million GAC in order to ensure the biggest half of the reward princess!" he loosened his grip on Keith's throat, sending the paladin into a coughing fit. "So how about we put a stop to these games, and bring an end to this whole affair? If you behave yourself I might even be tempted to break your pretty face out of whatever prison the galra put you in after I get the reward and keep you all to myself. I'll even bust your boyfriend out and dump him on some moon somewhere. Sure, it'll be in the middle of nowhere space but I'm sure you'll find that a better arrangement than me strangling him to death here and leaving his corpse to float through the infinite void of space."
In a raspy voice Keith couldn't help but comment, "Do you ever shut up?"
"I'll let that one slide on behalf of the lady, but you're on a short fuse kid." the captain spoke once more to the princess. "So tell me sweetheart. Do we have a deal?"
Allura's glare transcended the visor on her helmet and somehow managed to strike fullforce against the assembled man.
"Keith?"
The red paladin looked at her expectantly.
"Do you remember when we were set adrift in space awhile ago? And when you infiltrated the galra base to bring down zarkon?"
She pulled her hand away from the wall and straddled the doorway. Keith just barely caught the glow of a blue handprint against the wall and the lights on the doors console dimly blinking to life.
"I think now would be a good time to remember both those experiences."
Dim light glowed above his head as comprehension slammed into his brain at full force.
He smiled. "Your wish is my command, princess."
"What the devil are you talkin abo-"
Keith kicked off the floor and angled himself against the captains chin. A bright flash of light shot from his back as his jet pack was activated and sent them both hurling backwards.
The big thug levied his weapon to fire, but a purple shot from the ceiling struck him in the back and sent him spinning through the gravitational space.
One after another the mounted security guns all along the docking bays ceiling hummed to life and took careful aim at the intruders.
Keith slammed both his boots into the captain's face, angled himself towards Allura and the door, and used one of his former captors as a springboard towards the exit with the booster carrying him the rest of the way.
Allura let go of the doorway and opened her arms to Keith. She wrapped her arms around him and let his momentum carry them both through the doorway as it slammed shut behind them and glowed a dark red.
"The security system's been activated, but the power won't last for long." Allura explained as she drew the marmoran knife to cut the binds on Keith's wrists.. "I was able to give it a boost to get it started but it'll work through what little power is left and then-"
Keith understood the implications of what she said. Once the limited power ran out, the door would open and they'd be rushed by a ruthless, and now angry, swarm of pirates.
"Where do we go now?"
"The-The observation deck." her breath was coming in short tired gasps. "The ship's security system has a lock in place that will seal even when the power goes out. I-In order to protect the key members of the crew in case of an attack."
He looked at her in concern.
"Are you alright? Y-you sound out of breath?"
"I-I'm fine just," Allura tightened her grip on Keith's arms. "Just… it took more power than I thought "to activate the security system. It might be awhile before I get all my bearings."
Keith nodded in understanding. "Alright. We can get to the deck faster if we use my booster pack. But stay awake. I'm going to need your directions to find my way there."
Blasting down the halls, Keith followed the princess's directions to the letter. All the while trying to ignore the slowly dimming lights around them.
Once at the observation deck, Allura placed her palm on the doors control panel and shut and locked it.
"There," she sighed as she allowed herself to drift aimlessly in the anti-gravity. "That should hold them. For a bit."
Keith took hold of her shoulders and held her in place, hoping to diminish the chance of her bumping her head against one of the walls.
"Is the red lion close?" she asked quietly.
Closing his eyes, Keith reached out and found his lion's location. It was close. And getting closer every moment.
"She's on her way. She should be here in just a few ticks."
"Good."
Allura's head tilted to one side and her eyelids flickered.
Keith's eyes widened as he gently shook her awake. "Don't fall asleep! I-If they get here before red does, you may need to run away!"
"What about you?" she asked weakly.
"I'll hold them off. In that time red should get here and you can-"
Allura's hands moved up Keith's arms and encircled themselves around his shoulders. He froze as the princess rested her weight against his and held on firmly.
"No. I'm not leaving you alone."
Keith's own hands rested on Allura's back.
"Princess, you have to. I promise I'll-"
"NO." she said firmly. "You already broke one promise. I won't let you break another."
A knot formed in Keith's stomach as his grip on Allura tightened. He could hear sounds coming from the hallway outside. Angry voices drifting through the halls beyond the locked door.
"Allura I can't let that guy touch you. If they get in here, you have to promise me you'll run."
"I won't."
They were just beyond the door now. Keith could hear them pounding against the metal. Keith drifted back away from it until his back was against the glass of the window, the princess still in his arms.
"Allura, please. I-I can't let anything happen to you."
He heard her chuckle. "As I recall… I was the one who saved you."
Keith couldn't help but blush at this comment.
"Y-you shouldn't have!" he argued. "I asked you to stay hidden!"
"I wasn't going to just hide while you were in danger. You should know me better than that by now."
He wanted to argue further, but found that there was none to make.
The pounding on the door grew louder and was mixed with the sound of metal bending in on itself.
"I-I-I know that! But I… I still can't just… I can't-"
Allura's hands moved and took hold of Keith helmet before pressing it against her own.
"I know." she smiled. "Trust me. I feel the same way."
The door gave and the captain emerged, his face suffused in rage, his weapon drawn and charging through the open space towards them.
Keith held Allura to his chest and summoned his bayard, ready to fight to the end.
But before the two could clash, the glass behind the paladin and princess exploded and they were both consumed by giant mechanical jaws.
Allura sat at her vanity and stared at her reflection in the mirror, lost in thought.
Upon the red lions return to the castle, everyone had immediately swarmed the two with a mix of concern, indignation, and curiosity. The red lions disappearance from the castle and the subsequent discovery that the two were missing had set the whole crew into red alert.
Needless to say after the two had given their account of the whole affair and the other's relief had passed Coran and the other paladins were… less than pleased.
While the others had no real authority over the princess, and were even rather impressed with how she'd rescued Keith, their clear disappointment in her and Keith's actions had been punishment enough. Made all the worse with the clear indication that, should she have asked, the others would have gladly allowed her to go where she pleased.
As a form of punishment she and Keith had been banished to their quarters for the entire rest of the day.
It was embarrassing.
The princess felt just like a misbehaved child who'd gotten too rowdy. Put away in some out of the way spot where she couldn't bother anyone.
It was certainly a suiting punishment considering her actions had almost cost Keith his life.
She wished she could have convinced the others to go easier on him. He'd only gone with her because she had stubbornly refused to stay, and when the pirates had shown up he'd risked his life to try and protect her. Even if in the end she had ended up saving him.
There was a knock at the door.
Allura gazed at it in surprise. She was supposed to be left alone. To "reflect on her mistakes" as Coran had so aptly put it.
Standing up, the princess crossed the room and opened the door expecting to find Coran.
Instead Keith stared back at her through the doorway, looking a little shamefaced.
Her eyes widened in surprise.
"Aren't you supposed to be-?"
"Sent to my room?" he asked dejectedly. "Yeah. I snuck out for a bit. I'll have to head back before too long."
"I-I see. But why are you here?"
"I… I wanted to-" Keith's cheeks reddened in embarrassment. "I-I mean back on that ship I didn't get a chance to, well… to thank you. For saving me that is."
"You don't have to do that."
"Yes I do. I should never have left you by yourself. I should've stayed with you until the red lion arrived. If I'd just waited, then you wouldn't have had to-"
Allura pressed a finger to Keith's lips with a knowing smile.
"I know. And I don't mind Keith. Really I don't." When he still looked unconvinced she went on. "You realized they were after me before I did, didn't you? That was why you left me to hide by myself."
The way his eyes widened proved her correct.
"So… don't thank me. You would have done the exact same thing for me."
Keith looked shyly down at his shoes.
"Allura… listen I-"
"Wait right here." she ordered suddenly before rushing back into her room and retrieving something from the vanity. Returning as quickly as she'd left, she held out the marmoran blade to him. "I didn't get a chance to give this back to you."
Tenderly, Keith took the knife in his hand and gaze at it for a long moment before returning it to its place at his hip.
"Thank you." he said simply.
"Consider that your reward for looking after me."
Keith smiled. "Is that so? In that case I should give you a reward for saving me from those pirates."
"It would be expected."
"I don't know what I could give you though. There's not a lot I could offer a princess."
"That's fine. I already know what I want."
"Uh, really? I-I mean if it's something I can get for you I'll be more than happy to-"
Allura took Keith's face gently in her hands, leaned forward, and placed a gentle kiss on the corner of the paladin's eye.
Drawing back she said slyly, "Consider that your reward."
With that she closed the door.
Keith stared at the metal of the door, his face flushed.
Touching the spot next to his eye, he couldn't prevent the goofy grin that broke out on his face and remained all the way back to his room and for a long while after.