Hello everyone! So it's my birthday today and everyone should celebrate and that means a WHOLE NEW CHAPTER BEFORE MY BIRTHDAY IS OFFICIALLY OVER!
As promised, this chapter puts our favorite gorgeous man in the spotlight! It was supposed to be a mini-chapter but... creative juices were flowing.
Why, out of all the Alteans available, was Coran placed in the sleeping pods with Allura?
There is no musical refrences for this chapter but there is a flashback so when it's in italics, read it in Allura's voice. There is no Altean equivalent to months so I just used the word months.
I don't own Voltron: Legendary Defenders.
Enjoy!
Chapter 7: Guardian
The team was wheezing, completely out of breath from the training exercise. For the first time, they passed the Altean warrior level team exercise and won against the gladiator robots with just minutes to spare. Due to his military background, Shiro was the only one who had a better chance at succeeding from the very start. But he was no fool: a chain is only as strong as its weakest link and if they were to one day defeat Zarkon, he had to make sure that they all got stronger as individuals and as a team.
"Great job Paladins!" Allura's voice shouted over the intercom as Coran walked in with some refreshments. "It took a little longer than I expected but you finally did it!"
"Does this mean that we're done for today?" Hunk asked as he massaged his legs to ease the pain.
Allura, who had made her way down to congratulate the team, stepped into the training deck.
"Yes Hunk. It also means that Coran lost his bet," she added while looking at the Altean. The Paladins turned to look at Coran whose eyes were shooting darts at the princess.
"Princess I don't think this is the best time to…"
"Wait what bet?" Lance interrupted.
"We placed a bet to see how long it would take for you to defeat the warrior level training as a team," Allura answered. "He bet 4 months and I bet 3. And since I won…"
"What does he have to do?" Shiro asked suspiciously.
"He has to go against the warrior level training on his own."
Everyone looked at Allura stunned.
"You can't be serious," Hunk started.
"This is a joke," Lance said half mockingly.
"Princess I would advise against it," Pidge added.
As the trio tried to reason with Princess Allura, Shiro noticed that Keith hadn't spoken. "Keith, you haven't said a word. What are you thinking about?"
"Well, " Keith answered, "if king Alfor froze Coran with Princess Allura….. isn't it because he knew that Coran would be able to protect her if needed?"
Shiro looked at Keith then at Coran. What the red Paladin said was true. It only made the situation scarier.
"Princess please…" Coran tried.
"Don't you princess please me, Coran. Besides, you're due for a little training yourself."
The Paladins and Allura soon found themselves in the observation room, looking at Coran who was standing in the middle of the training deck while holding a staff in his right hand no longer than his forearm.
"I'm not too sure about this," Hunk whispered.
"I understand," Allura told him kindly, "but Keith was absolutely right: my father wouldn't have chosen Coran to be placed in the pods alongside me if he wasn't able to protect me."
She pressed a button on the control pannel and five gladiator robots emerged from the ground, circling Coran. Their faces turned from worry to shock when they saw the staff turn into a double edge sword longer than he was. The first gladiator lunged towards Coran but he quickly dodged the attack and the gladiator was sliced in half before it even had the time to fight back.
One down, four to go.
The other gladiators started shooting at Coran but he started whirling his weapon in his hand so quickly that the shots were flying off him and into the walls. One of the gladiators decided to separate itself from the groups to attack him from behind while the others kept firing. Thinking that it could use the blind spot to attack the Altean was to no avail: Coran ducked, making the shots fired towards him hitting the gladiator behind him and fall to the ground.
Two down, three to go.
The gladiators were machines conceived to calculate moves in order to help the trainee work on its weaknesses. Seeing how the two other gladiators didn't make it because of Coran's speed and ability to calculate his opponents' movements, the gladiators changed approach by activating their swords and attacking him directly.
Up on the observation deck, nobody talked. Shiro looked at the other Paladins who were stunned into silence and then at Allura. Her face spoke of total joy. She was the only one who wasn't worried about Coran.
"Princess, I wish I was as relaxed as you are."
She switched her gaze from the training deck to the black Paladin.
"I do not know about fate, but I do believe that this time, the ancients must have conspired for our paths to cross."
Coran grew up in a modest family and it was his innovation that got the attention of the Altean High Education committee. He got a once in a lifetime opportunity to study in the royal Altean school. He met my father when he was still prince Alfor on the first day of class and they became inseparable. So it's not shocking that despite the fact that my father was always gone to fight or create alliances, he would leave his most trusted friend to keep an eye on me.
The Appointment of Guardianship is a small, intimate ceremony that involves a group of five candidates that have been selected by the royal couple to become a royal child's guardian until they either ascended on the throne, got married or completed the celebration on their age of maturity. Although the candidates are selected by the king and queen, the final choice belonged to the prince or princess. That day, the candidates, their families, the royal council and the royal family gathered in a small banquet hall to proceed with the ceremony. The five candidates lined up in front of the royal family, dressed in their best attires. Although they were all physically different, they had met every single requirement for this important and prestigious position.
My father had chosen quite a few qualified Alteans to become my guardian, but I had my heart set out for a particular one who was not among them.
"Father, none of these Alteans will do I'm afraid," a younger Allura said.
"Well Princess," King Alfor replied, somewhat surprised, "they all exceeded the requirements, have studied in the best institutions of Altea and come from respected families. Did you perhaps have a candidate in mind?"
"Yes. I want Coran Hieronymus Wimbleton Smythe to become my guardian."
The hall became quiet. All eyes turned towards the Altean in question who was standing, as always, to the right and a few steps behind the royal couple."
"Allura," The queen started, "would you explain to everyone why you chose Coran?"
"I will as soon as all the candidates answer my question." Allura looked at Coran and invited him to lineup with the others. He left his position behind the royal couple to join the other candidates, unable to avoid the whispers of disbelief and dissaproval. Everyone waited patiently to see what would come out of the princess' mouth.
"What would you do if I were to fall ill of the blues?"
Everyone laughed at the question. The blues was a very common illness amongst Altean and the answer seemed quite obvious. One by one the candidates answered that they would give Allura juneberry syrup. Then it was Coran's turn to answer.
"I wouldn't give the Princess juneberry syrup." The unexpected answer was enough to make everyone stop laughing. "Over the years that I've been at the royal family's side, I've noticed that most children, including Princess Allura, didn't respond positively to the syrup. It either made their quintessence unstable to the point where it's dangerous or they became extremely sleepy. But if you put two juneberry flower petals into a cup of warm water, the dose is strong enough to recreate all the benefits of the syrup without the negative side effects."
The entire crowd was stunned. For years, Alteans believed that the shift in bodily quintessence and the heavy sleeping were side effects of the blues that only affected children.
"Your highness," one of the members of the high council said, "we know you are very close to Coran but he is not one of the candidates. You must follow protocol."
"If you had done your research prior to the ceremony, you would know that there is absolutely no protocol breaching on my behalf. Coran knows the diplomacy, etiquette and needs related to a member of the royal family just as well as any of these candidates, if not better. All candidates are required to train in the royal army for an entire decaphoebe before officially beginning their duties. By answering correctly, Coran demonstrated his attention to detail and care in a way that no ammount of training could have prepared any of the candidates. He was the reason why everyone was at peace despite the fact that I had caught the worst case of the blues my parents had ever witnessed. He is the only one I could truly trust with my own life if something were to happen to father and mother."
Everyone was stunned, there was nothing more to say. My parents had no other choice but to accept my decision.
"Coran took the royal position, began to train up to the Altean warrior levels in order to fully accomplish his new duties and has been my guardian ever since," Allura said with a fond smile. "It's difficult to not have my father around but to be quite honest, if Coran wasn't here with me I don't know if I would have found the inner strength to fight against Zarkon."
Shiro, looked down at the Altean man who was now down to two… no one gladiator. Strength, agility, resourcefulness, all qualities that the Garrisson looked for. But this was at a level beyond his comprehension. There was something else in the way Coran attacked. Maybe it was because he was one of the only Alteans left. Maybe it was because he had sworn to protect the princess with his own life. Maybe it's because King Alfor trusted him and he wanted to be worthy of that trust.
The last gladiator fell to the ground, a clean diagonal cut from the left hip to its opposite shoulder. For a split second, no one said a word, they looked at him in complete awe. The moment he accepted to become Allura's guardian, he had chosen to accompany her through whatever life threw her way. He had seen and live the war first hand, he had probably gotten into the pod voluntarily and by doing so, made the greatest sacrifice imaginable: to stay by the side of his best friend's child and be wiling and ready to wake up into an uncertain future.
Look guys-gals-non-gender-conforming I am sorry this chapter ends like this because if I wrote one more word I don't think my heart would be ready to handle it.
Feel free to let me know what you think!
