Pidge walked down the street, glaring at her feet. Seriously?! Bloody diarrhea?! Pidge mentally scolded herself. She couldn't believe she actually said that. Oh wait. Yes, she could. Because she was socially awkward as heck. Before she could get too far sucked into the black hole of remembering embarrassing things she did three years ago, she shook her head and tried to focus on something else.

While glancing up, a view of a castle in the distance caught her eye. The royal guards' quarters should be near. She smiled and now walked with renewed vigor, not bothering to fight back the childish skip in her step, practically running now.

Pidge saw the palace's towers growing bigger and bigger. She skidded to a halt and gazed up at them with awe. Never had Pidge been to the city to see it herself, but she had gotten descriptions from Hunk's travels, which did not do the castle justice. It was large with many elaborate tiers and balconies, the Altean flag waving atop a few of the turrets. The stones it was crafted from took on a light purple hue. Somehow it managed to look both regal and inviting. Statues of lions seemed to guard the entrance, while the many windows let in sunshine, and the flowers of the beautiful front garden beamed at all who saw them.

Pidge reluctantly tore her eyes away from the magnificence before her to skim the area for the guards' quarters. To the castle's left side, she viewed a smaller building, with an emblem of the Altean flag with two swords across it engraved onto its side. That had to be the place, for a line of maybe ten other boys around her age– seventeen, stood in line by the door. She stepped in to the back of the line and waited with the rest.

At precisely noon, a man in a guard uniform, obviously high-ranking given the many pins and badges he wore, came out the door. He cleared his throat 'ah-hem' and all stood at attention. Pidge did not exactly understand this cue, however, and scrambled to copy the others. The man seemed not to notice her though, his attention busy with glaring at each person as he slowly walked down the line. He got each boy's name and age, scribbling it down on his clipboard. Every now and then, he would nudge a boy's arm into better form. All too soon, he came by Pidge.

"Pidge Gunderson. Eighteen"

The male narrowed his eyes and whispered "You've got a lot of nerve coming here and lying to me, kid". Pidge was really getting sick of being called that.

"I-I, umm-"

"-No way you're eighteen. A string-bean like you?" he snorted.

"I'm small for my age"

He eyed her warily and took a few seconds to make a decision. As much as he hated admitting to himself, a good royal guard wasn't all muscle… you needed nimbleness, dexterity. A lithe thing like him could come in handy. He shifted his eyes to her left-handed salute. "Wrong arm, Gunderson".

"Hello, Mrs. Holt" Hunk greeted with a warm smile as the front door opened. After all, the woman had been like a second mother to him since kindergarten when he and Lance first met Katie. They were an unbreakable team, the 'Three Musketeers'. They had been through thick and thin, seen each other in their awkward phases– a very tight-knit group. That is, until Katie lost her father and brother. From then on, Hunk and Lance saw less and less of her. They tried to help, but soon learned it's hard to give help to someone who doesn't want it.

"Why, hello, Hunk! I'm happy to see you finally, but umm… you know Katie isn't home, right?" said Collette, dropping her gaze to the floor as her eyes became watery.

"She sent letters to Lance and I about her acceptance into a boarding school. Madame… Valentine's, is it?"

Mrs. Holt simply nodded.

Hunk put a comforting hand on her shoulder. "But I'm actually here to see you. Lance would have come, but he had last-minute sibling-sitting duty".

Mrs. Holt looked into the boy's eyes and smiled, a tear running down her cheek. Partially from prior loneliness and worry, and now partially because the boy she saw as a son would care so much. "Well, you know you're always welcome here. Come on in" she said, moving out of Hunk's way.

The boy obliged and found a seat on the Holt's couch. His favorite spot, actually. That cushion was a bit sunken in from use, but Hunk liked to refer to it as 'well-loved'. He and the woman made light conversation as she made tea for the both of them. Hunk had said, like many times before, that she didn't need to, but she, like many times before, insisted upon it. Mrs. Holt was asking Hunk about his job– he worked as a general handy man, his specialty being mechanics– when Hunk saw a perfect opportunity.

"Oh, it's great! I was just working on Ms. Miller's stove actually. I lost my larger wrench, though, which kind of made it a pain, but it all worked out".

"You know, I think Katie may have one of those you could use. I doubt she would mind if you borrowed it for a while".

Hunk lit up like the idea hadn't even crossed his mind. He was always a good liar, which in turn, made him a good actor. He actually worried sometimes about his skill, for he knew it was wrong. Actually, his kind nature helped to make him an even better at these sort of things. Well, the image of innocence did, at least. But sometimes, even a 'ray of sunshine', as Lance would call him, needed to do what he had to in order to help his friends. "You don't think she'd mind?"

"Of course not. Go ahead. Pretty sure she still stores them in her room".

Hunk smiled warmly, radiating a sense of gratitude. "Thank you, Mrs. Holt". He casually walked out of the parlor and made his way to Katie's room. He wasn't surprised to find it covered in dust, but the sight still stung his heart a bit. Sighing, he got himself focused. If I was Katie's diary, where would I be? he thought as he skimmed the room.

After a few minutes, he started to lose hope. What if she brought it with her?! Hunk paced the room. He needed that thing. It was the best chance of a lead he had. Certainly she wouldn't bring it along if she were out doing something dangerous, though? And for Heaven's sake, I know she wouldn't go to a finishing school if she had any say in the matter! There has to be something going on! I can feel it! My gut hasn't been wrong yet, and it's- Hunk looked down to see that he had stepped in a dirty pile of socks. His toe nudged something harder underneath though…

He dug through the heap of discarded laundry until there it was… a little green book tied together with a matching green ribbon.

Hunk felt guilty invading his friend's privacy like this, but again: a ray of sunshine's gotta do what a ray of sunshine's gotta do. He quickly unraveled the bow ribbon and flicked through the pages until he reached the most recent entry. His eyes couldn't read the information fast enough as Hunk scarfed down every single word.

…

…

…

The book fell from the boy's hands, hitting the floor with a dull thud. Hunk forgot completely about the wrench and raced to the Holt's front door, spitting out a quick absentminded goodbye before running as fast as he could to the McClain residence.