Keith awoke to a painful feeling like someone was jumping on his chest over and over again. It hurt, like when Father kicked him. Then, a warm sensation on his mouth as air painfully filled his lungs.
He tried to gasp, but ended up turning to his side, coughing. Water poured out of his mouth as his lungs felt like they were being torn from his chest. After all of the water was gone, his chest ablaze in pain, he retched and heaved, emptying his stomach. He just laid there, trying his best to breathe.
"Are you alright?" Someone said, above him.
He looked up at the person holding him in their arms. He had a slender face, white hair and pointed ears. "Brother?" Why was he here? How could he be? And why was he holding him? No!
Fear struck him as he tried to get away from Lotor. He couldn't let him take him back! He was going to take him to the castle and turn him back in to Zarkon! No, he couldn't go back. He had to escape, had to run away!
"Hey, it's okay, bud," he said, as the arms held him more tightly. "You're okay now, just rest." It didn't sound like Lotor's voice, but it must be some kind of trick!
"No! Let me go," Keith pleaded. His chest hurt with every word and the movement threatened to make him retch again. But he struggled to get away weakly, pushing his hands off of him.
"Just let go, Lance, it's okay."
Keith heard Shiro's voice nearby. "Shiro, help me!" He called to him. Shiro would help him!
The hands around him let go and he crawled away as quickly as he could. He sat a few feet away and hugged his knees, trembling. His heart beat too fast as he gasped for enough air and his head and coat were cold from the water.
"I'm sorry if I-" the strange voice said.
"No, it's okay, Lance," Shiro's said softly. Keith felt Shiro sitting close, but he didn't touch him. "Thank you for… saving him."
"Oh, no, it's... it's no trouble."
Lance? So it wasn't Lotor? Keith was wrong, then. Of course he was, why would Lotor be here? It was silly, now that he thought about it. And Shiro said thank you for.. saving him? Keith realized that this stranger had been the one to rescue him from drowning. Why would anyone do something like that? It didn't make any sense... But if Shiro was calm, then he must be okay. He was still a stranger though and couldn't be trusted.
"Shiro," Keith whispered uncertainly. A whisper was all he could manage. He coughed, his whole body thrashing as pain jolted through his lungs. He would have to try to talk as little as possible. "Who... who is he?"
Keith glanced over at the stranger suspiciously. He didn't recognize him. He had short white hair, pointed ears and golden brown skin. He was... sort of pretty. His eyes had a strange quality to them, unlike anything Keith had ever seen before. They were dark blue with a light gleam of pink in the centers. He was kind of beautiful... almost as beautiful as Lotor. Almost.
"That's right, you don't..."Shiro grimaced. He looked pale, like he was in pain. He held one arm to his side. Was he hurt? He looked exhausted.
"The name's Lance," the strange voice said, suddenly pitching his voice low. His smile was slanted and he raised one eyebrow, his eyes intensely staring at Keith. Why was he looking at him like that? He must have overheard Keith and was angry at him for talking about him. That must be why he was looking at him so fiercely. How dare he- "We met yesterday, at the spaceport when you fell asleep on my shoulder." He said it accusingly, like it should have been obvious. Yes, he was definitely very angry with Keith.
Keith shot a questioningly look at Shiro and he nodded his head slightly in response. So what this stranger said was true...
Keith became defensive. How dare he treat him with such disrespect? He talked as loudly as he could manage, his voice hoarse and his chest shooting with pain. "I don't remember. Must've not been very memorable."
"Keith!" Shiro scolded.
The stranger looked taken aback, his mouth hanging open. Then he put his hands on his hips and scoffed loudly, his chin high. "Yeah, well… at least I don't need someone I don't even remember to come rescue me from a puddle," he retorted.
Keith growled and tried to stand to face this… "Lance" idiot. But as he rose, his knees buckled underneath him, forcing him back to the ground. He glared up at the tall boy. "Yeah, well I didn't ask to be saved by you!" he growled at him.
"HA! I didn't see anyone else volunteering!"
Keith snarled, trying hard to push himself to his feet to confront this… this-
"STOP IT!" Shiro roared.
They both stopped and stared at him. Lance's mouth hung open, but Keith didn't look so stupidly shocked by the outburst, obviously. He closed his mouth quickly.
"You two sound like a bickering old married couple and I've had ENOUGH!"
Keith crossed his arms. "Like I'd ever marry HIM," he mumbled.
Keith glanced up and saw Shiro watching him, his eyes piercing. He looked angry. And disappointed. Keith looked down and didn't say anything.
"Good. Now, Lance, please apologize," he asked.
Lance looked completely taken aback. Princes weren't normally used to being yelled at by anyone. Much less, someone telling them to apologize for some terrible wrong they'd done, like yell at their superior. "What! Why do I have to apologize to HIM? He was the one who-"
"Lance," Shiro said. Keith didn't even have to look up to know that he was giving him the same look that Keith just received.
Lance sighed. "I'm… sorry."
Keith tried to hide a victorious smile. Lance had to apologize to him. Well, he should, with the way he was insulting him, treating him as an equal. If they were back at the castle, Keith would have him-
"Now, Keith, apologize to Lance."
Keith twisted to face him, furious. How dare he suggest that he apologize to a mere subject like HIM! Did he forget who Keith WAS?
"Keith," Shiro said warningly. "He apologized to you."
Keith remembered when he had apologized to a servant once. He must have been no more than seven when he stumbled and spilled a glass all over a poor serving girls dress. 'I'm so sorry!' He had exclaimed without a thought.
Zarkon had heard him. He grabbed him by the arm and dragged him into another room where he taught Keith how to personally deal with anyone beneath him. 'Never apologize!' He screamed, punching Keith in the face. 'Never admit fault!' He yelled, kicking him until he fell to the ground. 'Never show weakness!' He roared, stomping his boot down on his head again and again and again... Keith fell unconscious soon after, his only relief from the pain.
He got the message. Father was telling him that Keith was so beneath him that he deserved to be stepped on. This was how Keith should treat everyone else too.
Father left him lying on the floor for days until Keith finally regained enough strength to crawl to the infirmary himself. The servants rushed past him in the hallways, refusing to even look at him, much less help him. He didn't want their help anyway! He even saw the girl he had spilled his drink on. He still remembered the panic and fear when she saw him. He reached for her to help him, but she jerked away, leaving him to fend for himself. He still hated them for that, all of them. But especially her.
That was the last time he had ever apologized. Not even to Shiro, who he considered as close to his equal as anyone. He was like a brother. Yet there was still a voice under the surface of his thoughts that whispered to him constantly when he talked to Shiro... 'He's just an arena rat... He's beneath you... He's nothing more than a servant, a disposable slave... Never show weakness to him... To anyone...' That voice sounded a lot like Father's...
No, he couldn't apologize. If Father ever found out somehow... "No." He crossed his arms and glared. He couldn't quite look at Shiro, but he glared in his general direction. He didn't think he could stand to see the look of disappointment in his eyes...
Lance scoffed. "Oh, wow. Real mature, mullet-head. I'd like to formally retract my apology," Lance said, crossing his arms and glaring in return. Mullet-head? What did that even mean? "Keith is a stupid nickname, by the way. I hope you're not the one that marries the Prince. I mean, seriously! Keith and Keith? That would have to be the absolute worse ship name possible... Me, on the other hand, if I won the tournament, our ship name would be SO COOL! Leith or Klance. Either way, it's awesome."
Keith had absolutely no idea what this maniac was talking about. Mullet-head, nicknames, ships? He shook his head. He could barely decipher any of it. Perhaps on his planet there was a tradition in which the married couple had a ship named after them... It was the only conclusion that made any sense.
"And, Shiro. Didn't he used to have red eyes?" Lance asked.
"What? I've never-" Keith started. Then he remembered. Oh no, he'd completely forgotten about his disguise.
"Oh, you didn't know?" Shiro laughed, clearly nervous. "People from, uh, Keith's species have changing eye colors… When he's, um… upset or anything, they're yellow. But when he's relaxed, they're red!" Shiro laughed again, scratching the back of his head.
Keith didn't think he'd ever seen a worse liar. He was experienced in dealing with Lotor, and he could barely ever tell whether he was lying or not. He made Shiro look like a child in comparison.
But Keith just nodded his head and grunted in agreement.
"Oh!" Lance looked surprised and looked at Keith more closely. Keith looked away, feeling his face heat up. In anger, of course! "My species has something similar, but that only happens if you come down with Zavlar's love sickness. After kissing someone you love for the first time, your ears turn bright red every time you see them!"
Keith stayed silent. It seemed like most of the time all that came out of this stranger's mouth was utter nonsense. He rubbed his temples as he felt his head pound.
They sat in awkward silence. Keith avoided both of their gazes and tried his best to dry off.
Finally, Shiro broke the silence. "Keith," he said, wincing. "I'm... It's all my fault. I'm so sorry..." Keith caught his eyes and saw them fill up with tears. He had deep bags under bloodshot eyes, his face was dirty and pale. Keith hadn't noticed how tired he looked before... How long has it been since he's slept?
"Wha-?" Was all Keith could manage before another coughing fit. His lungs felt like they were on fire from all the talking he'd done.
"It's my fault... I-I passed out while carrying you... I could've- I almost killed you!"
It took a moment for Keith to realize what he was talking about. But then he remembered the large mass pinning him to the ground, his head underwater... keeping him from coming up for air... He pushed down a feeling of panic that was beginning to rise and forced his mind on something else.
Shiro must have been exhausted from carrying Keith countless miles across the marsh to have passed out like that... He fell on top of him, Keith's head falling into the water... What could he say? He didn't feel angry at Shiro, he just felt...
Keith was such an idiot! He was the one that was supposed to be strong and take care of his servant, not the other way around! He made Shiro carry him on his back, not even bothering to realize how exhausted he must be. Keith had been sleeping almost non-stop, and he couldn't even remember the last time Shiro had slept!
"It's my fault..." Shiro continued, squeezing his eyes shut. "I'm so sorry, Keith. We're going to lose because of me..." Shiro's voice cracked as he turned away from him. Keith had never seen him look so... broken.
Yet it was Keith's own fault.
It was his fault they were in this mess. He felt so... sorry. The guilt tore at his battered heart. He was sorry for leaving, for disobeying his Father... If he had just done as he was told, then things wouldn't be like this... If he hadn't of snuck out of the castle to go to the arena, then he never would have roped Shiro into this mess... If he hadn't of rushed into the throne room before thinking... If he hadn't of gone to see Lotor, asking him for help... If he hadn't of fallen asleep, forcing Shiro to watch over him... If, if, if... And now there was no way they could possibly make it to the finish line in time.
It was his fault that Shiro would be taken away and handed over to the druids, screaming... They would torture him, taking away everything that was himself, his arms, his legs, his mind... They would throw him into the arena again and again, forcing him to fight and kill... A living hell.
And Keith would be... all alone again. No one would talk to him... His tutors' were all scared of him, the servants terrified... Shiro was... all he had. He was all that kept him from just giving up after Father left him bloody and broken... He was the one that worried about him when Lotor took him and the one who comforted him after... Without him, Keith was...
Nothing.
Keith felt numb, like he was looking through someone else's eyes. He didn't care what happened to him, to any of them. He just wanted everything to be over. He wanted to fall asleep, never dreaming and never waking…
"Ahem…"
Keith looked up slowly at the sound. Who was interrupting?
Oh, just the so-called "Lance".
"Actually… um, you aren't too late."
What did he say? Keith couldn't quite comprehend it's meaning...
"What? Lance, what do you mean?" Shiro asked, his voice hoarse.
"I mean… look at the ground, just there. I probably should have mentioned it earlier, I just thought you guys already knew…"
Keith looked up and saw what the boy was pointing at. The ground was… moving. He felt a spark in his chest, an excitement that broke through the numbness.
He understood now. While walking, it had seemed like they had been going nowhere, like the ground was working against them, the mist keeping them from seeing any landmarks. They had been approaching the challenge as a test of endurance, when it had been an observation test the whole time!
Keith stood, ignoring the shooting pains all throughout his body and chest, choking down a rising cough. "Shiro," he said. "We can… still make it!"
"Yeah," Lance said. "That's what I've been trying-"
"Shut up," Keith replied, still looking at the moving ground. "Those are what I think they are, right?"
"Only if you think they're Gartaken Meteorite Water cre-"
"Animals!" Keith interrupted. "We can ride those!"
"THAT'S WHAT I'VE BEEN TRYI-"
"Come on, Shiro! I'm not sure how much time we have left!"
Shiro laughed, a pure, warm sound. "Yes, of course. And, Keith…" Keith looked over at him, puzzled. He made a quick gesture to his eyes.
What? What was he trying to say? Was it his- Oh. His contacts lenses! The finish line would have tons of people and cameras there. Before arriving, he needed to put back on his contacts. Good job, Shiro!
Keith turned his back on Lance as he was preparing the Gar... thaken- whatevers. He glimpsed the gigantic moss covered creatures as Lance drew them slowly out of the water, using some of the fresh water in his canteen as a lure. He seemed pretty smart… for an idiot.
Keith pulled the small white case from his pack on his hip, opening it to reveal the large red circles inside. As soon as he saw them, Lotor's face flashed in front of his eyes. He struggled for a moment, fear paralyzing him. He needed to run away, escape! He was going to die if he didn't, he was going to die!
He struggled to shove it down, but finally did. The contacts had just reminded him of Lotor… That was all.
Looking back at Lance quickly, he blinked the lenses into place, then turned back to them… Everything looked… so red. Just like…
Like Lotor's room.
Keith's headache eased. The pain in his chest lessened and he felt like everything… was going to be okay. Maybe even better than okay.
"Hey, Shiro?" he heard himself say. When had he opened his mouth? He wasn't quite sure. "I'd really like to go back home, I think… I miss Brother. Can we just… give up on the tournament?"
Keith wasn't really sure he knew what the words meant, he just knew that they were right. He closed his eyes… He was just so tired. He fell into something like sleep…
