A/N: I do not own Voltron, it's characters, etc., etc.
Lance was feeling utterly exhausted. Keith had gotten the team out of bed at the crack of dawn to run through an extensive series of drills, and while Lance knew Keith was only doing this for the good of the team, it still irritated him to no end. Rest was so hard to come by, between the constant Roe Beast attacks and countless sudden appearances of Prince Lotor in the Castle. Lance had learned to value his beauty sleep. So now he was stumbling to his room to take a nap in the middle of the day.
He passed by the dining room and heard Princess Allura's voice engaged with that of an unknown man. Doubtless it was another man from her endless string of suitors. Lance did not want to be wrangled into conversation with some pompous, brain dead peacock, so he tiptoed by the door with great stealth.
He was making his way down the hall when he heard Allura say, "And who is your lady friend?"
"Ah, she is my Guardian. My kingdom has been experiencing a number of civil wars, and she was sent to Alcon to keep me safe until these times of unrest pass," the man replied.
Lance blinked for a moment, sorely tempted to go back and see what this female bodyguard looked like. He'd never heard of a man being protected by a woman before. Perhaps it was sexist of him, but he found the idea absurd. The woman must be ugly as a troll and the size of a mountain. He debated whether or not seeing this beast woman was worth being trapped in hours of mindless chatter and decided that he wanted sleep more then he wanted to satisfy his curiosity.
Lance locked his bedroom door behind him and hurriedly undressed before collapsing onto his bed. He was asleep within moments.
Allura was doing her best to be friendly to Prince Ower, but the man was a nuisance. He was high handed, arrogant, and very narrow minded. He refused to talk about things of consequence with her, saying he did not wish to strain her delicate mind. For that reason alone she wanted to put her fist into his face. She was very surprised he'd agreed to having a female bodyguard, for he seemed to be the very definition of a male chauvinist.
But as she glanced at the other woman once more, she decided that it wasn't so hard to see why he tolerated her presence. The woman was positively ravishing. Allura had always been confident in her own beauty, but this woman was almost too lovely to be real. She was very tiny, yet exceptionally curved, and her legs were incredibly long. She had long flowing tresses that were the opposite of Allura's in color: a dark brown shot through with red. She was dressed completely in white. Her gown was a halter neck but somehow managed to conceal all of her ample cleavage. It split up the sides to her hips, and was belted at the waist by a silken rope. She wore knee length white boots, and despite the alarming height of the side slits on the dress, it somehow seemed to be very modest. Perhaps because the young woman wearing it had so very much to show off, yet chose not to.
Her face was exquisite, with a pert nose, flaring eyebrows, full lips and sharp cheekbones. Her silver eyes were enormous and slightly tilted at the ends, and framed by lashes Allura would have killed for. She was like some exotic creature out of a man's fantasy, and Allura found her presence to be almost challenging, though the other woman had not yet spoken to her. She wore a sword on her back, the hilt behind her left shoulder for easy access.
Allura privately thought that even if the Prince had been utterly charming, she still would have been less then interested in him, knowing he had a woman such as this one underfoot at all times.
"It was a pleasure to meet you, milord. I'm afraid I must be off, I have a few things to attend to. I will see you at dinner. And your…companion as well, of course."
Prince Ower frowned and said, "Lissa is my guardian, not my companion. She generally doesn't dine with me."
Allura maintained a calm façade, but inwardly she was seething. The man spoke of this Lissa as if she had no feelings, and yet the woman was risking her life to protect his. Allura felt an overwhelming need to upstage the man, to put him in his place. "I see, well, since you are a guest in my home, and she has accompanied you on your journey, I insist she join us for dinner."
Prince Ower looked as if he might argue the matter, but apparently he recalled he was a guest on her planet, and her will was law. He gave her a stiff smile and then bowed to her, but as Allura took her leave of the odious half wit, she noticed his body guard was wearing a pleased grin.
Lance woke feeling refreshed and ready to take on the Universe. He recalled the visiting Prince and his mysterious troll woman bodyguard the moment he woke up, for his curiosity was insatiable though the rest of the team was unaware of this fact. He tended to hide a great deal about himself from them, and only Keith knew of it. Lance had his share of past pain, none of which he felt like putting on parade for public knowledge, and so he hid behind a wall of sarcasm and jokes.
He was in the process of getting dressed when his stomach let out a massive growl, reminding him that he hadn't eaten all day. A glance at his clock told him dinner was just starting, and while he normally avoided the dining hall when Allura had a visiting suitor, tonight he was looking forward to the meal, if only to get a good look at this weakling's feminine bodyguard.
He quickly made his way to the dining room and strode in unannounced. Not surprisingly, no one else from the team was there. They all disliked dealing with Allura's suitors as much as Lance did. Allura was engaged in animated conversation with her admirer, although her expression was decidedly hostile. Coran was looking pale and drawn as he listened to their discussion. Lance glanced around the room, looking for the Royal Pain's guardian.
When he initially saw her, it was from the back. She was most definitely not a troll. Nor was she massive. In fact, she was so petite he knew he'd tower over her. She was approximately the same height as Pidge. He walked towards her as if in a trance, his eyes taking in the long legs, the well rounded backside, the tiny waist he could span with his hands. He couldn't help it, he had to see the rest of her. He circled around her, his eyes drinking in the sight of her graceful hands, her magnificent breasts, her luscious lips, her damascene eyes…
Lance blinked at that last realization, remembering another woman with eyes the color of steel, and it was then that he took in her face. Her achingly beautiful face. The one that had haunted him for a lifetime. The woman had noticed his rude appraisal of her, and had stiffened to glare at him, but as their gazes met, her eyes widened in shock.
"Lissa?" Lance whispered, his voice that of a man faced with a waking dream.
"Lance?" the woman questioned, her voice ringing out in dulcet tones that were as lovely as the woman herself.
"How do you know each other?" Allura asked, noting the stricken look on Lance's face.
"We were very close once, in another life," the woman replied, her musical voice echoing in the dining hall.
Bitter laughter escaped from Lance's lips before he could control himself. He was being battered by visions from the past, feelings and thoughts that had nearly destroyed him, yet he'd never once wished them to disappear, for they had been a part of his life that he never wanted to forget.
"Not as close as I wanted to be, though," Lance mockingly rejoined, stung that she had made their association sound so casual, when he had gone insane without her.
Lissa winced and looked away from him, unable to meet his gaze.
"This is all very touching, but you are ruining my dinner with the Princess. Lissa, you are excused. Go see to your…pet. I won't require your presence until the dawn," Prince Ower barked.
Lance rounded on the man in fury, his eyes blazing with an unholy light. "If you ever talk to her that way again, I will personally see to it that your pompous face gets rearranged!" he yelled, slamming his hands down on the table and causing Prince Ower to jump.
Allura's mouth fell open. Lance's eyes had turned almost black in their anger, and there was a hostility in them that would have frightened a rabid Roe Beast. She had never seen Lance in such a towering rage. Oh, he was impetuous, impatient, and quick tempered, but this anger he was displaying was no little thing. No flare of temper. It seemed to be soul consuming, as if it reached into the very matter of his being. Whoever this woman was, she meant a great deal to the arrogant pilot, and Allura found this intriguing. Lance had always been something of a flirt, but he'd repeatedly shied away from any attempts by women to draw him into serious relationships. Perhaps because his heart was not his to give.
Lance turned back to Lissa, but she was gone.