I've been working on this one for awhile now and I'm excited to finally have gotten to publishing it. Just so you are aware, Lance is my favorite Voltron character, but he gets pretty abrasive towards Allura, so you may get squeamish or not agree with what is going on. I was inspired by when in the White Lion episode, Lance is trying to help Allura with her piloting skills and I've taken it a step further with her training. Please note, I'll be uploading a couple more chapters when I get the chance, so you'll be able to see how everything plays out.

I do not own Voltron or its characters, nor am do I make any monetary gains from my fanfiction.

Thanks for the beta reading Snyperlady.

Never give up

"I can't do it! It won't fire!" Allura cried out in frustration, her hands shaking as she struggled with the blaster. She was so determined to fire it at a set of targets of a bullseye and a life-sized portrait of Lotor that Keith and Lance had set outside against an old stone fort that had once been part of the castle. Allura was sweating so much that her pink jumpsuit clung to her skin and as she wiped her hand on her forehead, a few stray blonde locks slipped out of her bun. It was still morning, but the sun was already scorching hot adding more intensity to her already unpleasant training session.

Lance rolled his eyes at her and with a flick of his wrist, he tossed aside his leather jacket in the grass. He then grabbed the blaster from her, examined the internal fire mechanisms and then fired it off at the Lotor target. It made the familiar "shew, shew" noises as he made two perfect shots hitting the Lotor in the forehead.

"It's working fine Princess. You're not pressing hard enough," Lance said as he handed back the gun to her and picked up his own before firing shots right into the bullseye target. He was ecstatic about being a drill sargeant to her and seeing exactly what she was made of in terms of emotional and physical stability, but disappointed that she wasn't progressing fast enough in her skills.

Allura continued to try and shoot the gun, but it wouldn't go for her. Her agitation only mounted. She knew deep down, subconsciously, that she was nervous about using the gun and perhaps this is what was contributing to her difficulty. Her trembling wrists gave it away to Lance and his impatience only grew.

"Stop being a little girl and press harder on that trigger!" Lance scolded her. "Do you think the Drules are going to stop and wait for your gun to work when you want to shoot at them?"

Keith stood back with his arms crossed watching the two of them. He winced at Lance's biting words and arrogant demeanor. He knew the princess was getting more stressed the harder they pushed her. They couldn't possibly fit years of combat and galaxy alliance training into her in just a short amount of time before the next robeast attack. What she was getting was an intense crash course, but he wondered if it was a good idea given her overwhelmed state of mind.

"Princess, just remember you're on the safe side," he advised her. "The guy on the other side of your blaster, not safe."

Allura managed a weak smile at Keith, but thought hard about his words. They made so much sense. What did she have to be afraid of? She took them to heart, breathed deeply and fired another shot. The gun finally went off, but she missed her target completely. Lance had seen it and couldn't wait to open his mouth.

"Next time hit the target!" Lance yelled with sarcasm. She narrowed her eyes at him and shook her head.

"At least it fired!" she snapped back defiantely. She would have loved to have thrown her gun at him.

It wasn't the first time he had been hard on her. First it was in the lions during air practice. Then he had come down on her with the Lotor simulator and now firing a blaster. Lance's acid tongue and condescending attitude slowly chipped away at her self-worth. It took all of her mental strength to not lash back at him and cause a power struggle. She knew the tough training was part of what would make her a soldier and be able to handle things, but she couldn't get used to his smug attitude. It was hard especially since he had always been so charming, handsome and loved to tease her. Allura couldn't shake the feeling that ever since she had taken over the blue lion that somehow Lance was threatened by her flying skills which certainly left her other skills something more to be desired.

"You have a lot of work to do Princess." Lance reminded her stepping close to her and looking straight into her wide, blue eyes. "You better get some sleep. Tomorrow we do it all over again," he said with a cocky wink in his eye.

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Every muscle in Allura's body ached. She felt as if she had been thrown against a wall, then stomped on. She put her hands to her neck and massaged it. The tension was almost unbearable.

Standing in her bedroom, she reminisced about the events of the day and of the past week. Normally in the mornings she would sleep in and then have tea and toast with Nanny. They would discuss the day's plans and of any potential princes she could meet up with. Instead, she was running five miles at the crack of dawn, putting herself through tortuous training, all so she could prove to herself and the Voltron team that she was a worthy pilot and soldier taking Sven's place.

She decided on a good, warm bath to help her relax and fall asleep. Slipping out of her jumpsuit and underclothes, she stepped into the soothing water. She was so grateful to Nanny for having given her some lavender-scented epsom salts. Nanny always relied on them to help tight, stressed muscles. The day Nanny had found out about the princess becoming a member of the force, she did everything to discourage her voicing how dangerous and "unprincesslike" flying a lion in the sky was. Allura let out a sigh while settling in the the water and tilted her head back. Her neck muscles loosened slightly as she turned her head, but she still couldn't help thinking of the rough day and wondered what Nanny would think of what she was truly going through. Fighting back tears, she whispered over and over, "I won't cry, I won't cry."