First Voltron story. Ever since I saw fanart of Lance as an Altean I've been kind of obsessed with the idea. Since there are not enough stories like this, I had to write my own. This takes place in season 2, after the depths episode.
Summary: Allura has been hiding a secret from the Paladins, something painful from her past forced her to remain quiet. However that all changes when she finds a beloved object of someone she held dear. A simple pendant that hangs around the Blue Paladin's neck. Altean!Lance
Chapter One
It had only been a couple of minutes since all the paladins and their lions were on board and unharmed, but it was a welcomed relief to them all. Shiro had refused to get into the healing pod until Lance and Hunk were found, he intended to help in whatever way he could or at least be awake when they arrived so he could know they were alright. As soon as Hunk and Lance were brought back on board the castle did he finally enter the healing pod to the relief of his paladins.
Shiro has been out of the pod for the past hour. He and Allura were currently sitting in the common room of the castle, Lance and Keith were sitting on the couch opposite of them with Pidge at their feet. Hunk was sitting by Coran on the couch with their backs to the doors. After the high stakes and intense pressure of the incidents from before, they all needed a little bit of time to decompress.
They were all dressed in their sleep wear, Shiro and Keith in simple black shirts, but differing black and white pants. Lance wore pale blue pants and short sleeve shirt, Hunk in a forest green shirt and black basketball shorts while Pidge was dressed in a large green t shirt and black leggings. Allura was in a nightgown, though it looked too nice to the paladins to be considered pajamas. A good ten minute argument over whether or not her dress was actually a nightgown had gone on. Coran wore the same pants he always did, but a white button up long sleeve loose fitting shirt. All in all, the group was relaxing and enjoying the peace.
Allura and Coran seemed to be handling the aftermath of their predicament well, the same could not be entirely said for the paladins. Pidge hated being alone out there, with no one with her to keep her on task or to keep her any form of company. The idea of dying out there, of never being found and never continuing her search for her family sent chills down her spine. She played it off well enough though and knew she would be fine. Lance and Hunk, despite their nonchalance and joking attitude towards the mermaid civilization they encountered, were spooked. The mind control aspect of the endeavor had left them uneasy. There was no telling who else out there could accomplish something like that, who could control anyone just like that. Neither of them wanted to come into contact with any other underwater city again.
Keith was surprised with himself, he had felt so sure that he and Shiro would be okay, yet at the same time he was terrified that he could be wrong. That the two of them wouldn't make it, or worse Shiro wouldn't make it and Keith would be alone out there waiting. He forced the thoughts aside though, he had to focus on what was in front of him and not on the what if's.
Conversation had flowed fairly easily between them, Allura and Hunk had even started to make some treats and drinks for them all. Everything was nice. It wasn't until Lance started to tug at the necklace he constantly wore that things took a sharp turn. Allura had set the tray of snacks down on the table in the center and about to place the pitcher of drink Hunk had put together when she noticed Lance fiddling with something around his neck.
Curiously, she asked, "What do you have there Lance?"
The teen stopped his side conversation to answer the princess, "It's just a necklace my parents gave me when I was younger."
Pidge looked up at Lance, "That's sweet. Do you always wear it?"
Lance nodded, "I never take it off."
Shiro commented, "And you haven't lost it."
Lance grinned, "I know right. Guess I'm just lucky that way."
Keith scoffed at that, but made no verbal remark.
"Can I see it," Allura asked, pointing to his hand hiding the pendant.
"Sure," Lance said.
He turned his hand around allowing Allura and Pidge a clear view of the pendant. Keith was pretending to be focused on Hunk and Coran's conversation, but he was looking at the necklace with curiosity. Shiro would have stood up to see the necklace, but his side was still aching making movement difficult. He would see it after Lance had showed the others.
Connected to a leather string with blue and silver beads was a pendant shaped similar to an arrowhead, but a bit wider and stretched out. The pendant itself was ocean blue and it would shimmer like waves if turned at various angles. A carving of a silver carving of a dolphin could be seen, its body curled around a the gold outline of a crown in the center. On the back part were random gold lines that Lance never paid much attention to, his focus was usually on the front side. His parents never told him where they got the necklace from, only that it was his and no one else's. He usually never questioned it, after all it was his and that was all that mattered to him.
Pidge was in awe of it, "Wow. That'-"
Pidge didn't get the chance to finish her sentence because the sound of shattering glass and a spray of liquid caused her to be quiet. Allura had dropped the pitcher onto the table, breaking the pitcher and soaking the treats. Before anyone could react, Allura had reached out and all but ripped the necklace off of Lance and stepped away from the mess.
Lance could only blink at her in surprise. No one touched his necklace, he would never let any of his sisters touch it. The only one who was allowed to do anything with his necklace was Lance himself. If anyone so much as breathed on his necklace the wrong way, then he would get angry. He didn't understand his strong attachment to the object, but he supposed it was because it was special.
"I'll get napkins," Hunk volunteered.
"I'll help," Shiro offered getting on his feet a bit shakily.
Pidge and Keith started to clean the glass, while Lance watched as Allura held his necklace. Lance stepped over the mess and moved over to Allura, who was cradling the necklace in her hands. Why she had taken it so suddenly was beyond Lance and the others were preoccupied cleaning the mess to really pay attention to what was going on between the blue paladin and princess. Allura only turned away from him, keeping the necklace out of his reach as she continued to stare at it. Lance narrowed his eyes at the princess as she stared at the necklace in her hands. It belonged to him, he saw no reason for her to take it off of him without warning and then refuse to give it back.
"Allura," Lance said, his voice torn between dark and concerned.
She barely glanced at him, but he could see her eyes were shimmering. He wondered if he was imagining that.
"Coran, come look at this," Allura said breathless, a look of awe and sorrow on her face as she continued to gingerly hold the necklace.
The royal advisor lifted his gaze to look at the princess across the way, her eyes still in her hands. He saw her tense up while talking with Lance and made no comment only to look away and suddenly glass is everywhere. He figured perhaps Lance had just startled her. Maybe there was more to it. Coran moved over to the princess to see what was in her hands.
"What do you have there," asked Coran as he stood beside her.
His own eyes widened at the sight of it, it had been many years since had last seen this necklace, even longer since he had seen the wearer of the trinket.
"I don't believe my eyes," Coran said, his eyes still focused on the necklace, "It- wow."
Pidge looked up at Coran while Keith continued to clean the glass off the floor and table while Hunk wiped up the liquid.
"It's a really nice necklace," Pidge said.
"Guess Allura liked it so much she dropped the pitcher," commented Keith as he put all the glass in a container Shiro brought over.
Lance shrugged, "I could have just shown Coran. You didn't have to take it, can I have it back now? Please."
Allura took a step back from him, the action did not go unnoticed by the other paladins. Their curiosity had peaked now, each of them with their own questions as to what was going on with the princess. Allura stood their, her eyes shining with unshed tears of anger and sorrow. It was not often that the princess was not in control of her emotions, to see her usual regal facade crack was a bit unnerving for the Paladins. Lance didn't understand why she was upset over the necklace, it wasn't like he took it from her. The other Paladins gathered around now, the mess forgotten.
"What's going on," Shiro questioned, confused and a bit concerned, "What happened?"
Lance shrugged, "Allura wanted to see my necklace and when I showed her she freaked out and took it. I'd still like it back."
Allura only stared at Lance for a few moments, unsure of how to proceed. Her fingers tightened around the pendant, the first clue to finding the one she loved most in this universe.
"Where did you get this necklace," Allura questioned, her voice becoming thick with emotion, "I demand to know."
Lance crossed his arms over his chest, he had no idea why she would ask that question or really demand it. Besides he already told her and the others where the necklace came from. Not to mention, the amount of emotion she was showing was beyond anything she had ever shown before. Sure they had seen her angry or upset, but not to this level.
His eyes narrowing further, "I told you, my parents have to me when I was little. It's mine."
Coran had been staring at Lance. If the others weren't mistaken, it was as if Coran was seeing Lance for the first time.
"Are you certain this necklace belongs to you," Coran asked softly.
Lance nodded sharply, "Yes. It's mine. I've had it for as long s I can remember. Why are you asking?"
"This is an Altean ceremonial necklace. It was bestowed upon the first born son of King Alfor and Queen Casserena," explained Coran somberly, "It belongs to the prince of Altea."
"It belongs—belonged to my brother, Casimir. My father sent him away shortly before I was in the cryo-pods…" Allura stopped in her tracks, her throat tightening.
When she awoke to the news of her fallen planet and deceased father, she knew her brother was gone. She knew that she would never see him again, his twinkling eyes, bright smile or mischievous nature were lost forever. But maybe she was wrong.
"You never mentioned you had a younger brother," commented Pidge sadly.
Coran placed a hand on Allura's shoulder as she said, "I didn't want to think about it. If he wasn't here when I awoke, I knew he-he must be gone. I-I assumed after all this time I was searching for a story… but you have his necklace."
All eyes fell onto Lance who, for the first time, looked uncomfortable from the attention. He had no idea what to say about this or how to respond. All he wanted was to have his necklace back on him and out of the others sight.
"So what are you saying," Hunk questioned, even though they all knew what the alteans were getting at.
"That leaves only two possible explanations as to why you would have his necklace," Allura went on, her bottom lip trembling slightly, "Either Casimir died on your planet and the necklace came in your possession or…"
"It could very well be that Lance is Casimir, the lost prince of Altea," Coran finished for her.
A wave of shock washed over the paladins, Lance most of all.
"What," said Lance, slightly horrified by the idea.
"Lance, Altean," Keith said an eyebrow raised.
"Is that even possible," Pidge questioned, "I mean then he'd have to be over ten thousand years old."
"Unless he was sent to earth via one of the cryo-pods similar to the ones in the castle," Hunk commented softly.
Lance shook his head, he didn't like this at all. He wanted the conversation to end, he wanted to pretend this wasn't real. For all his talk of it being cool being an alien, he didn't actually want to be one.
"No," Lance said sharply, "no, I don't buy it. I'm not Altean, let alone the prince."
"Lance," Shiro started, but Lance cut him off.
"No, no, no, no, no, and no," Lance interrupted, "It's impossible. I'm not adopted, I'm a human who was born sixteen years ago. Not over ten thousand."
"Like Hunk said, it could be that you were sent away in a cryo pod," Coran replied thoughtfully.
"What about his appearance, he doesn't look Altean and has none of your markings," Keith pointed out.
"Either King Alfor altered his appearance with a spell or the dna from the people who found him entered the pod during the awakening process," supplied Coran.
Allura stared at Lance, "Those are the only two reasons. You have his necklace, he would never part with this necklace. It meant so much to him, he would never let anyone near it. Only himself."
Lance ignored the fact that he never let anyone near his necklaces. His usual carefree and goofy attitude was gone st this point. He looked frantic and aggravated as far as the paladins could tell. And none of them could blame him.
He snatched the necklace from Allura, "I'm not listening to this anymore. Scrap your second theory, it's wrong."
"Could either of you find out where his pod went to," Shiro asked the two confirmed alteans in the room.
Coran shook his head, "Afraid not. King Alfor erased all information on any pods he sent away, we have no way of knowing where he sent anything to."
"Maybe a blood test then," Pidge suggested.
Hunk asked, "Do you have any form of a blood or DNA test? Or a scan of some kind?"
"We don't need one," Lance said bitterly.
Coran answered, "We do have a form of one, it's quick and would give us a result in a couple of ticks."
"No," Lance all but growled out.
Seeing the usually laid back Paladin so angry was enough to give everyone pause. Lance was not pleased by this conversation in the least and wanted it to end now.
"I'm not doing this, I don't need some test to know you're wrong," Lance said coldly.
Keith spoke just as sharply, "Lance, just do the test."
Lance folded his arms, "No. I'm not entertaining this idea. If she's right, and she's not, that means everything I have ever known is a lie."
"One step at a time," Keith said simply, "The test, it's short and will give all of us an answer. The sooner we know you aren't the missing Altean, the sooner we can search elsewhere."
Lance didn't say anything. Everyone could tell he did not want to do this. The idea was starting to terrify Lance more than he cared to admit, but he was still firm in his belief it was mistake. Yet part of him wondered if Allura could be right.
"I've been wondering for so long what happened to him," Allura said a bit hoarsely, "Please Lance. If I can narrow my search for him at all, I have to do it. This will help me get closer to finding out what happened, so please."
Allura could not waste this chance, this was the closest she had come to finding any answers to what happened to Casimir. She had to know the truth, she had to find him or at least learn what happened to him. Lance stared at Allura for a moment. He knew he couldn't deny her this, she had already lost everything. If there was hope of finding her brother or giving her closure about what happened to him, he would help her. He had to.
He took a breath, "Fine. Let's get this over with."