Today

The sounds of blades clashing filled the courtyard of the Castle of Lions as the men in the Blade of Marmora sparred to keep their skills sharp, no pun intended. They were all masters at dueling, but none could wield a blade quite like Keith; he was the pride and joy of the Altean guard. Keith grinned as he beat yet another one of his peers in a match. He went to get some water and rest while he waited for the next bout of courage from his peers as Shiro walked over to him.

"You've really improved, Keith. I'm proud of you." Shiro mused. "I remember the stubborn little kid that would get frustrated when his blade would slip of of his hands and the kid that miraculously survived that ship wreck. Where'd the time go?"

Keith smirked. "That was years ago. Now I'm leading my own crew and the top guard. Didn't think I'd get this far, did you?"

Shiro shook his head and began to walk away. "Whatever you say, Keith." He chuckled to himself.

Keith had healed since the wreck he experienced as a child and was now leading his own division of the Blade of Marmora. Keith could not be doing more well than he was now. Now, he and Shiro were equals under the Princess and Keith had caught hundreds and hundreds of scoundrels that would have robbed Altea blind. Every now and again, he'd head back to the beach that he had luckily washed upon after the storm. He was very lucky to be alive, there was now denying that, but he could not get the idea of that strange creature he had seen diving back down into the depths as Shiro carried him back to the town seven years ago.

Speaking of that strange creature, Lance was coming of age in his village and was a key to a period of peace between two rival groups. Today would be the day he'd marry the two together, quite literally. Lance was to be wed to Queen Luxia, the leader of a band of manipulative merpeople. The boy was adorned in gorgeous shells and jewels in preparation for the ceremony. He was in his room playing with the pearl he had engraved as a child and found himself smiling when he looked it over. There was a knock at his door, and he quickly hid the pearl.

"Y-Yes?" He said in a panicked tone. Hunk and Pidge entered his quarters with huge grins upon their faces.

"Hey, man! It's the big day! You get married and become a hero for joining the two enemies!" Hunk said a bit too cheerfully.

Lance seemed to turn away as Pidge went and settled down next to him. "It isn't all that bad. They could make you a slave rather than having you become one of their political leaders." She said nonchalantly.

"Yeah… Sure. Sounds fantastic." Lance said in response. "I've got a lot on my mind. I'm getting married to a woman I hardly know, I'll have to move to her village, and I never found out anything else about that boy we saved…" He huffed.

"This again, Lance? It's no use to keep dwelling on it. That kid's probably moved on from that by now. It has been seven years." Hunk offered.

"Maybe you're right… but I can't help but feel like it was destined for us to at least meet, Hunk." Lance looked miserable.

"C'mon, Lance… you met, remember? We saved him." Pidge looked at Lance with a look of disbelief.

"You know that's not what I meant!" Lance shouted at Pidge as he darted out of his room and out into the open ocean.

"Where are you going?!" Hunk and Pidge both exclaimed.

"To find him!"

"But you're supposed to get married in just a few hours, Lance! You can't just swim off like that! What about Luxia?!" Hunk yelled at the soon-to-be-prince.

"I'll be back in time! Don't worry!"

And with that, Lance was fiercely treading the waters to make his way to Altea and meet the mystery boy from the Sky land.