Mud Witch

Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron or any of its characters.

This fanfiction is in response to a 2013 KAEX Challenge related to Halloween. I was not a part of the group when it was issued, so it may not meet all the criteria.

Setting/Rating: Setting is DotU and Rating is T, though it's probably K+.

A/N: Okay, so I actually wrote this back in March and I think my writing has improved a lot since then. I've gone back and 'fixed' some things but if you've ever written and then gone back and tried to 'fix' things, well, it can be a little difficult. Anyway, suffer through it if you can. It is fun and fluffy.

Allura was having second thoughts about this night.

She had been so excited when Hunk told her about a holiday on Earth called Halloween. Hunk's talk of masquerade balls, dressing up in costumes, playing tricks, and telling scary stories around a campfire had sent her imagination into overdrive. Today was Halloween, so it was too late to plan a costume ball; therefore, she planned a late night trip to an old house located about 100 kilometers from the castle. She had packed a picnic supper and brought blankets to wrap up in around the campfire. The dilapidated house was the perfect backdrop as they had their meal.

It was just her and the team. Nanny hadn't been excited about that, but they would not be spending the night. They would be back by 1:00 a.m.

Supper was great and now with a full stomach and the heat from the fire, things were perfect. The stories the boys told were exciting and suspenseful. She knew her story wasn't as good as the guys, but when your father is a ghost, well, you don't see them as very scary anymore. The story that Pidge told about a witch on Balto caused her to slide over so that she was right next to Keith. Stories about witches were much more realistic than evil ghosts to her. After all, they lived with the threat of a real witch every day and she was very scary.

It was getting late and Allura began to regret that second glass of cider that she had. Fidgeting slightly on the log, she was unable to get comfortable. The question of restroom facilities had not been a topic on her mind when she packed up the supplies. The team definitely hadn't thought about it, because… well, they're guys and peeing in the woods is no big deal to them.

So now here she was, traipsing through a very dark wood with a small flashlight. Trying to get far enough away so that she would have some privacy, but close enough to find her way back was proving to be a challenge. The moon was full, so it was a big help to her little light. Stopping at a quiet spot, she looked around and deemed it adequate. After taking care of business, she began her return trip, quietly cursing in an unladylike way as she stumbled over roots that seemed to reach for her. Allura said to herself, "You're just being silly- Ahhhhh!"

Pushing herself up to a sitting position, Allura looked around, brushing leaves from her jacket. Her flashlight lay close by so she reached for it. As she stretched out her hand to grasp it, she let out a small cry of pain. Feeling an uncomfortable twinge in her ankle, she sat back up. She tried to pull the ankle up to her but it was caught on something. Leaning back over, she made an extra effort and reached the flashlight. Now with the light in her hand, she turned the small beam on her ankle and her imagination kicked in again. Her foot was caught in a root. Not just any root, but a root that looked like a gnarled blackened hand. Like… Haggar's hand. Allura closed her eyes and reopened them. No, just a root. But the thought had taken hold. Haggar was capable of doing such things.

With a little work, grunting and mild curses, Allura freed her ankle and stood up. It was time to get back to the group and cease these silly thoughts. Five minutes later she stopped and called out, "Guys? Where are you? Can you hear me?" There wasn't any answer but the light breeze rustling the leaves around her feet. She watched a particularly large leaf blow across her boot and then shined the light around again. She had to admit it, she was lost. But that was no big deal, she reached for the com unit clipped to her belt. Her hand felt nothing but the denim pants and the leather belt she was wearing. It must have fallen off when she took that tumble earlier. She hadn't thought to check for- Allura's head snapped up. She shined the light towards a clump of bushes and a boulder about twenty yards in front of her. "Hello? Is anyone there?" She knew she heard something. The boulder and bushes were large enough that someone could be concealed there. Was it one of the guys playing a trick on her? Allura had taken about five steps toward the area when she stopped cold and her eyes grew very round. She drew in a deep breath. Hunk had told a story similar to this one where someone heard a noise and instead of running, they went to investigate. She gulped. That story had ended with a slit throat. A branch cracked behind her. Ohhhhhhh! This was like Pidge's story!

Fear took over and Allura went crashing through the dry autumn leaves, heedless of the noise she was making or the direction she was going. She just had to get away… "Ahhhhhhhh!" Allura screamed as she fell about two feet down into a mud bog. She came up sputtering, covered in a thick dark mud. Allura stood up and saw that she was covered head to toe with the mud. She had been lucky that the bog was about three feet deep or she could have done some real damage when she fell. For the moment, it was just her ego and her sore ankle that were bruised. She spit some more mud from her mouth and wiped at her eyes and brow trying to keep the substance from blurring her vision further. Looking around and found a spot where she could get herself out easily. As she crawled on the bank leaves started sticking to the mud. "Great, just great. The guys are going to have a field day with this." How had she let this happen?

Okay, it was time to stop, think and evaluate the situation without all the hocus pocus and mumbo jumbo that the guys had been telling in their stories. She was in a survival situation now. Her com was gone and so was her flashlight. She looked wistfully at the bog that had taken her one tool away. She was wet, cold, and lost. Keith would tell her to stay in one spot so that they could find her. If she kept going, she could move herself further and further from the search party. There was a low flat rock nearby. She would wait there. As Allura stood, her ankle throbbed. "Ow! Ow! Ow!" It must have twisted further when she tumbled off that outcropping. Luckily ,there was a sturdy branch nearby that she used to hobble over to the rock. Propping it against the rock as she sat down, she drew her knees up to her chest. Allura shivered and turned her collar up to keep the muddy water from dripping down her neck. Hugging her knees close, a small puddle of muddy water began to surround her on the rock. Allura glanced around. She felt vulnerable, so she took her sturdy branch and held it close, along with her knees.

"Keith! Lance! Hunk! Pidge! Can you hear me?" No answer. She sighed. It would be a waiting game for her. Calling out every few minutes, she didn't get any response. However, she knew they had to be looking for by now.

Back at the fire, the guys were laughing and finishing off the food. Well, everyone but Keith who had been looking at the tree line for the last ten minutes. Lance saw Keith staring into the woods and said, "Hey, Captain! Maybe Hunk's baked beans didn't agree with the princess!"

"I take offense at that statement! My beans were done perfectly!"

"Yeah, they were good, but I'm not looking forward to riding back to the castle with you in that enclosed hovercraft!" Pidge ducked as Hunk picked up a pine cone and threw it at him.

"Yeah, how did Keith luck out to be the one to bring his Lion and the princess?" Lance walked over to his friend. "I guess that is one of the perks of being commander."

Keith gave Lance a quick but uneasy smile. "I don't know if it's her stomach or not, but she's been gone almost fifteen minutes." Pulling out his com unit, he said, "Come in Princess, this is Keith." He waited but there was no answer. Hunk and Pidge came over to join them. "Allura, are you there?" When silence answered again, Keith turned to the team. "Grab your blasters, flashlights, and scanners."

"Do you want to call Coran?" Pidge asked.

Keith thought for a moment. "We'll look for fifteen minutes on our own and then contact Coran. If it is Princess' stomach that is bothering her, I don't want to embarrass her."

"Everybody stop blaming my beans!" Hunk tried to lighten the mood, but there was too much concern for Princess.

Everyone set their scanner for thermal signatures and then fanned out to cover a section. They called as they walked and scanned. The timer was set and they would rendezvous back at the fire pit when it went off.

Keith had been walking and calling for about ten minutes when he heard her.

Allura lifted her head as she heard her name being called. She didn't know which direction it came from. "I'm over here! Here I am!" She tried to stand but the cold, wet, and mud didn't help and neither did her ankle. She hunched over against the cold and leaned heavily on the stick.

Keith was moving quickly but carefully. He had radioed the guys that he had found her and would bring her back to the campfire. Keith had the flashlight pointing at the ground so that he could avoid tripping over all the sticks and branches. He stopped to locate her again. "Allura! Where are you?"

"I'm here! I'm over here, Keith!" Her heart fluttered. It was Keith who had found her. Being alone with Keith in a dark woods would have been a wonderful thing except…. Allura looked down at herself and spoke out loud, "Just look at me, with all this mud, I look just like Haggar." Her eyes widen as they landed on the branch she was holding that looked like Haggar's staff. She didn't even have a chance to open her mouth before she was pinned to the ground under a heavy weight.

Keith smiled as he heard Allura's voice calling and he glanced ahead to where the sound emanated. His heart went cold as he quickly shut off his light and crouched to the ground. Just ahead was Haggar. Did she have Allura or was she just mimicking her voice? Well, he was going to find out in just a minute. She didn't seem to know where he was, so he would have to act fast. Vaulting over the log in front of him, Keith ran flat out toward the figure with his blaster drawn. His mind registered that this figure didn't fit all the parameters to be Haggar. However, it was too late to stop but he did turn his body slightly so that his entire weight didn't land on the small figure.

Allura felt all the air leave her lungs as she landed. She drew a deep breath as Keith rolled them over once they hit the ground. When they stopped moving, Allura discovered that she was lying on his chest. All she could do was gaze into the dark brown eyes that stared back at her in surprise.

Looking at the bright blue eyes peering at him from a mask of drying mud, he decided she was unhurt from the fall. He looked at her a little better and saw that her hair was full of mud and her normally bouncy curly hair hung like dreadlocks around her face. Except for her eyes, she brown all over. "Allura? I didn't know it was you. I thought you were Haggar!"

Allura propped herself up on her forearms so that she was gazing directly down into his eyes. They were only inches apart and her dirty stringy hair fell on either side of his face like a curtain surrounding him. She smiled, revealing white teeth. "I know, it's okay. I only realized that I looked like Haggar seconds before you hit me." She saw his worried frown. "And no, you didn't hurt me. You just knocked the wind out of me. I hurt my ankle earlier when I fell over a root that looked like Haggar's hand." In the pale light of the moon she saw his puzzled expression. "Don't worry, I'll explain later."

Keith continued looking at her. Even with the mud, he thought she was beautiful. His eyes widened as he realized that she had been lying on top of him as they talked. "Um, do you want me to help you up? I don't think that Coran or Nanny would approve of us staying in this position." He watched her face closely to see if she was embarrassed or not.

The white teeth shown at him again and he heard mischief in her voice as she said, "Indeed they would not approve of the Princess Allura being in such a position, but tonight I'm not Princess Allura. I'm a Mud Witch from the Swamps of Oron."

Keith laughed at her, "You just made that up."

Allura pushed herself to a sitting position so that she was straddling Keith. "So what if I did? Don't you want to know what Mud Witches do to their victims?" She couldn't believe she was being so forward, it must be the mud.

Keith could hardly breathe and it wasn't due to her weight on his chest. He desperately wanted to know what Mud Witches did to their victims. He couldn't take his eyes from hers. He felt her hands slide up his chest as she leaned over.

"Hey! What's going on here?!" Lance called out.

Keith and Allura had been so caught up that they hadn't heard Lance as he walked up on them.

Practically knocking Allura off of him as he jumped up, Keith started brushing leaves and mud off himself. Then he quickly reached down to help up a laughing Allura.

Allura leaned against him since she didn't have her stick anymore. "Well, Keith thought I was Haggar and knocked me down. We were just getting up when you called out."

"Hmmm, that's not exactly what I saw." Lance scratched his head and pointed the flashlight at them, causing them to shield their eyes from the bright beam.

"Lieutenant!" The flashlight left Keith's eyes and was directed at the ground. "I think you better keep what you 'think' you saw to yourself."

"Aye, Captain." Lance gave them a mock salute and a large goofy grin. "I won't tell Coran and Nanny, but you can hardly expect me to keep this little nugget from Hunk and Pidge."

"I think that you and I are due a sparring match, Lance. Maybe tomorrow at…" Keith stopped as Allura leaned her weight against him. Belatedly, he remembered her ankle and swept her up in his arms.

Wrapping her arms around Keith's neck, Allura turned to look at Lance with appraising eye. "Keith, I think that may be a little harsh."

"Why thank you. Princess, I'm glad that you at least realize that it's all just in fun." Grinning at his commander, Lance was thinking that Allura was on his side.

"Oh no, Lance, I said, I thought that was a little harsh. I can think of some things much harsher." A gleam coming to her eyes as she looked at the suddenly apprehensive brash lieutenant.

"Um, Princess?" Lance looked at Keith holding Allura in his arms and thought of what he had interrupted. Allura had wanted this kind of opportunity for months, and he had just ruined it. Looking into her eyes, he thought he saw some laughter there, but it was being crowded out by irritation.

"Nanny wanted help moving some furniture from the east wing to the west wing. I think you will be her helper. You are to report to her immediately after Lion practice every morning this week and stay with her until lunch."

There was a slight petulant whine to Lance's voice that gave Allura a twinge of pleasure. "Princess? All week? I have to do it all morning?"

"Yes, Lance. All week. Every morning." Allura sounded almost happy when she said it. Usually, she didn't take such delight in causing pain to her friends, but Nanny did need a helper. Perhaps this would teach Lance to just walk away if he happened upon a similar scene in the future.

Lance turned and led the way back to camp muttering about his bad luck. She thought she heard something about being allergic to dust and allergic to Nanny.

Without turning around, Lance yelled back to them, "This is the last thing I'll say about it. We were here to tell scary stories to celebrate Halloween. Thanks to Princess, I'll have a great horror story to tell next Halloween about the Nanny from the Black Lagoon."

He would survive. Allura sighed and laid her head on Keith's shoulder. Who knew when she'd have that kind of opportunity again? The cold was starting to get to her again and she snuggled as much as she could against Keith.

Keith walked carefully with his precious burden, his thoughts in turmoil. He couldn't help but smile at how she had put Lance in his place. Yes, Lance would regret interrupting them. Glancing down briefly to the head on his shoulder, he thought about what had occurred. She had enjoyed what had happened between them and he was certain that she would have kissed him. His smile grew as held her closer.

They entered the clearing where the campfire had been. Pidge and Hunk had cleaned it up and everything was ready for the return trip to the castle. Lance spoke not a word about what he had seen. The boys loaded up in the hovercraft and Keith was ready to carry Allura into Black Lion.

"You guys head on back, it may take me a bit to get Allura settled with blankets and something to drink. We'll be at the castle soon." Keith gave the directions casually but he knew that Allura's eyes were on him. "Oh, and have Nanny draw a hot bath for the princess."

Watching as the hovercraft sped away, Keith gently lowered Allura until she was standing in his arms. Keith smiled. He wanted to put his fingers in her hair, but with the mud that was out of the question.

Allura was watching him, wondering what was making him smile. The question also arose as to why he put her down instead of carrying her in Black. "Keith?"

"I'll carry you into Black if you promise to finish showing me what Mud Witches of Oron do to their victims." He was smiling at her as he held her body close to his.

Allura's face broke into a large grin as she moved her hands up to encircle his neck. Pulling his head down so that he could feel her breath on his lips, she huskily said, "Oh, Keith, you don't have to wait. I'll be happy to show you right now."

As they kissed outside of Black Lion, they both thought that Halloween was the best holiday of them all.