A/N: You're probably tired of hearing me apologize for taking so long with these chapters, so hey, here's another one. Season 2 happened and I wrote about 14k of fic because I had to, haha. And there are like five more stories in my head fighting to get out.

I expect I'll finish this one soon, though. We're on the end run.

If you have psychological triggers, please see the end note. If you don't, please refrain. It's a spoiler.


Perhaps unsurprisingly, the Mirror Lake was in a secluded corner of the palace grounds. It took them a good fifteen minutes to walk there, not quite a mile by Keith's reckoning. They didn't see anyone else on the journey there, everyone apparently down for their naps or rests or whatever, or at least staying out of the midday sun.

On the way, Eforan told the history of the lake and why it was a particular pride to the Sylosians. Back in the ancient times, apparently, wide open bodies of water had been a dangerous place for their species, for while they were forced to go out on the water to catch fish or other small prey, their own predators could swoop on them from above and take them without warning. But now they had vanquished their predators and claimed dominance of the planet, and having a large body of water in the place where their rulers raised their children meant that they were utterly safe, utterly secure.

More, the lake wasn't even necessary for food anymore. Certainly, some royals enjoyed fishing here or doing other recreational activities (Eforan didn't go into what those were, but apparently the Sylosians were not great swimmers), but the greatest purpose the lake served was ornamental. It was decoration. A place of beauty.

And yeah, put like that, keeping a place that used to mean danger and death as the real estate equivalent of a trinket was pretty awesome, Keith had to admit to himself.

Once they arrived, the reason why the lake was considered both a planetary pride and a point of beauty became obvious. The lake was huge, spreading over tens of acres at least, and immensely still and placid. It was surrounded with large, beautiful trees, all reflected perfectly in the water as if it were, well, a mirror. Walkways made of something like concrete had been built out into the water, leading to a square platform where visitors could stand in the middle and be surrounded by water. That was where Eforan led them, after a brief pause to let them take it in.

Lance fell in love at first sight, that was obvious. Once the full lake came into view, he halted, eyes going wide and mouth dropping open. If he'd sparkled at the sight of that gun, he was sparkling ten times over now. And then he was gushing. "It's beautiful. Holy quiznak, it's gorgeous." Eforan was already moving toward the platform at that point, and Lance trotted to catch up, Keith at his side.

"Yeah, it's true that I've seen lots of cool stuff as a paladin of Voltron," Lance said. "Whole worlds made of water and ice, sure thing, and waterfalls that looked like rainbows and rivers that looked like oil slicks. But yeah, this is great, Prince Eforan, wow. Thank you so much for thinking of bringing me here."

"You are most welcome, Paladin Lance," Eforan said warmly. They had reached the platform out on the water, and he stood there gazing over the lake with puffed cheeks. "It was my pleasure to bring you here."

Lance pranced right to the edge of the platform and stared down at the water, eyes still wide, smile beaming. "Holy crow, this water is clear as glass. Look, Keith! You can see all the way to the bottom!" He looked at Eforan. "How deep is it?"

Eforan gave a measurement that didn't translate to either Altean or English. Lance frowned. "Okay, that wasn't helpful. Could, like, my lion fit in it without sticking out?"

Eforan laughed. "Yes, with room to spare."

"Okay, that's deep." Lance went back to staring down into the apparently crystal-clear depths. "Keith, there are fish!"

Keith approached much more slowly and reluctantly, despite Lance's hand waving for him to join him. Keith could hold his own in water, but he wasn't the strongest swimmer. Being surrounded by the stuff, apparently quite deep, was making him a little nervous. Not enough to regret coming, but enough to make him even more cautious.

Lance picked it up. He straightened and looked back at Keith, laughing. "What'samatter? Scared of a little water?"

"This isn't a little water," Keith grumbled. "This is a lot of water."

"Yeah, but it's really pretty water, man. Come look at the fish!"

Keith stood back several paces and shook his head. "I'm okay here."

"Oh, c'mon. I'm not gonna push you in. I mean, not gonna lie, if we were at a pool or something and planning on swimming I probably would. In good fun. But we're wearing our fancy Altean clothes and everything. No pranks, I promise."

"I believe you," Keith said primly. "I'd still rather not."

Lance pouted, but seemed content to look down at the water alone, occasionally exclaiming to himself about "all the fish" and "so clear, holy wow, it's like the water isn't even there."

Eforan let him have his fun for a while, then gently cleared his throat. "Ah, Paladin Lance, there is something in particular I wanted to show you."

"Oh, really?" Lance straightened up from his contemplation of the water and turned to face him, expression open and eager. "What is it?"

Eforan withdrew an object he had been hiding in the folds of his sleeves. "This."

Lance eyebrows bent, and he came a little closer, head tilting. "A wrist lock puzzle? Why did you want to show it to me here? You could have done that back at lunch."

"Because of this." Eforan moved like a striking snake. In one smooth motion he had surged forward and locked both of Lance's wrists into the puzzle before he could react. Then he pushed him into the lake.

Lance was too startled even to yell, though Keith dearly hoped that he'd at least had a chance to draw a breath. He hit the water with a mighty splash and disappeared, and Keith barrelled to the edge of the platform and fell to his knees, staring terrified into the water and screaming at the top of his lungs. "Lance! Lance!"

The water was, indeed, crystal clear. Keith saw Lance with extreme clarity, struggling with the puzzle, wrapped in the flowing fabric of his impractical robes. He was sinking fast, and the bottom was far, far down. Keith jumped to his feet and faced Eforan, breathing hard. His bayard was in his hand and activated. He didn't remember doing that.

He pointed the tip of the blade at the prince's throat. "Why?" he roared. "Why did you do that?"

Eforan watched him coldly, eyes narrowed, face still. "To see what would happen."

Keith's mind reeled. This made no sense. He wanted to stab Eforan through the throat. He wanted to punch him into the water. Neither of those actions would bring Lance back.

He stared down into the lake again, blade unwavering at Eforan's neck. "Bring him back!"

"I do not swim," Eforan said. "If you want him, you'll have to get him yourself."

Keith stared at him, panting, eyes so wide they hurt. He'd never had lifeguard training. He could barely take care of himself in water, let alone someone else. But Eforan stood there, cool and calm and still, and Keith had no options.

They were too far away to call for help, too far for anyone else to come in time. Keith could hear the rumble of Blue's engine over the horizon, but even she… Lance loved the water, but he was afraid of not being able to breathe. He had a phobia, as a matter of fact. A perfectly reasonable, understandable phobia, considering what he'd been through, but it was not helpful to his well-being. Now, he'd been thrown into the water with no warning, no time to prepare, not even a few seconds to work up his courage. He was down there, trapped and struggling, and he was probably already panicking. If he was panicking, he was already breathing in water. He had seconds, not minutes. And only Keith could do anything about it.

Keith let out a strangled noise of frustration. He tossed his bayard aside and didn't even watch as it reverted. He stripped off the heavy formal jacket, leaving him in a light shirt and trousers. He didn't have time to pull off the tight, laced-up boots. He turned and dove into the water.

He could see Lance below him, no longer struggling. He was almost still in the water, and Keith couldn't see any bubbles or anything. Was he already...? Panic jammed Keith's throat, and he swam more frantically, propelling himself through the water with the most powerful strokes he could manage. A school of fish between he and Lance darted out of the way, and he noted abstractly that they were, indeed, very lovely. He should have looked at them when Lance asked.

He reached Lance and manuevered to face him, reaching out to grab his shoulders. Lance's eyes were closed, his expression almost serene, but at the touch his eyes flew open and some bubbles escaped his mouth. Fear flashed across his face, then disappeared when he recognized Keith. Movement caught Keith's eye, and he looked down and saw that Lance's hands were working on the wrist puzzle, much more calmly than Keith might have expected. It was hard to tell, but his hands might be shaking.

Keith pulled Lance closer and wove an arm around his chest, then started stroking for the surface. Lance kicked too, a bit feebly, his body almost limp in Keith's grasp. Keith couldn't tell if he was doing it on purpose or not, if he was able to control his body or if he'd completely checked out. At least he wasn't struggling, wasn't panicking so hard that he didn't understand that Keith was here to help.

It seemed to take forever, but they finally broke the surface. Keith gasped as his face rose into the air, as the sun hit his face, and he heard Lance suck in an enormous, wheezing breath, then immediately begin to cough. He brought them to the side of the platform, and Lance grabbed onto the edge with his bound hands, knuckles turning white. Keith hauled himself up onto the platform and completely ignored Eforan still standing there, watching creepily. As soon as he was back on something solid, he whirled back and gripped Lance's upper arms and dragged him in.

Lance let him, then knelt on the platform, bent over himself and breathing too fast, too hard, too loud. He was still coughing every few breaths, and he spat water out onto the already wet surface. Keith scrambled a few feet away on his hands and knees and retrieved his bayard, then brought it back and sliced through that stupid wrist puzzle. As soon as the pieces fell free, Lance fell flat on his palms, head down, his entire body shaking madly.

"Lance, Lance." Keith could barely talk. He got his hands on Lance's shoulders and tried to bend down far enough to look in his face. "Lance, are you panicking? You're panicking, aren't you."

Lance nodded shakily. "Yeah, I..." His voice was choked and broken.

"It's okay."

A great spout of water flew flew up in the air as if a bomb had gone off in the lake, and there was Blue, hovering over the surface with all jets on her paws firing to keep her in the air. The mirror surface was completely ruined by the rippling waves caused by the motion. Eforan fell to the ground with a thud Keith barely heard. He was looking up at Blue. She wasn't attacking, so she must think Lance was reasonably safe now.

"I've got this!" Keith yelled. "Thank you for coming!"

Blue's head dipped in acknowledgment, but she didn't leave. She flew to the edge of the lake and landed, flattening a good chunk of trees. Keith was already turning back to Lance. He was pretty sure he could handle this part, after everything.

"Everything's okay now," he said gently, voice audible now that Blue wasn't doing the VTOL thing right next to them. "You're out of the water. You can breathe. The air is fine. No one is going to do that again." He turned a glare to Eforan. "Cuz if he does, he's going to die."

Eforan said nothing, just stared back at him with raised eyebrows. He was still sitting on the platform where he'd fallen, and his expression was shockingly mild and unconcerned. Keith did not get him at all.

He dismissed it as unimportant for the moment and turned back to Lance. Lance was sitting up now, facing him, though his face was washed out and his eyes were still almost rolling with terror. "Okay," Keith said calmly. "You know the drill. There's no pneumonia. No one is putting pressure on your lungs. You're safe now, and you're going to stay safe, because me and Blue aren't gonna let it be any other way. Let's just breathe, okay? In and out. Yeah, like that. In... And out..."

They breathed together, slow and steady, breath by breath. Keith rubbed Lance's upper arms through his sodden jacket, careful and firm, almost a massage. Lance's shaking slowed, then stopped, and he let his eyes fall shut and slumped in Keith's grip. He pulled in a breath, mouth open wide, then pursed his lips like he was going to whistle and pushed the air out in a steady stream. Then he opened his eyes and nodded.

"Okay." Keith nodded back. He felt like crying, but he couldn't let Lance see him like that, not right now. He pulled Lance into a hug instead, fierce but still trying to leave some space in case Lance needed it. Lance wrapped his arms around Keith's back, fingers clenching in his shirt, and pulled him in tighter. Okay, no need for space then.

Keith rested his chin on Lance's shoulder and stared at Eforan, daring him to say anything, to do anything. Eforan sat there, meek as a mouse. Not one of Allura's mice, though. Those guys were anything but meek. Meek as an Earth mouse, then. Whatever. He wasn't moving, wasn't acting like he was going to attack them again, and that was all Keith cared about at the moment.

Lance's chest heaved against Keith's. He seemed calmer, though, more in control of himself. He wasn't shaking as hard anymore, just a light tremble that probably wouldn't go away for a couple of hours. He was okay. He was alive. He hadn't drowned. Again.

"Okay?" Keith asked after a long moment. If this was one of the usual panic attacks, back in the safety of the castle, he would be happy to sit here for as long as Lance needed him to. But they had business to attend to.

Lance nodded, then carefully pulled back. His hands seemed to unclench from Keith's shirt one finger at a time. Keith let him take his time. When he was done, he shuffled to the side and climbed to his feet, then reached down for Lance. Lance let him help him up, and Keith put an arm around his shoulders to make sure he would stay there.

He glared at Eforan, feeling Lance tremble against his side. "What the quiznak. Why would you do that, you complete scumbag? I don't get it. If you'd wanted to hurt or kill Lance, there were much more efficient ways. You had plenty of opportunity, too. And why would you attack Lance in the first place? I was the one who beat you at both dueling and piloting. Lance had nothing to do with it."

"Ah, there's a misapprehension there." Eforan climbed carefully to his feet, watching Keith the entire time as if making sure he wouldn't be attacked. Well, Keith wanted to, no mistake about that. But Lance was the one with the long-range weapon, and Keith wasn't about to let go of him so he could slice Eforan up with his sword.

"You bet there's a misapprehension," Lance said, voice still shaky, but he was coming back to himself. He sounded angry, as he darn well deserved to. "Neither of us understand what you just did. You could have killed me, you know. Is this how you treat diplomatic guests on Sylose?"

Eforan's eyes flashed, but he shook his head. He held his hands out, spread as if to placate them both. "My apologies. I should have been more clear." He looked to Keith. "This was not an act of revenge. You besting me at two of my main skills had nothing to do with it." He looked to Lance. "As for how we treat diplomatic guests... Yes, actually."

Lance opened his mouth, then closed it again. Keith shook his head. He was more confused than ever.

"Again, I apologize." Eforan bent down in a deep, sweeping bow. It was a bit spoiled by his dripping clothes, soaked by Blue's dramatic entrance and the waves that had lapped over the platform. Keith hoped all that finery was ruined now, he really did. Eforan straightened up and faced them again. "Please walk back to the palace with me, and all will be explained."

Keith and Lance looked at each other. Keith looked at the path that led back to the palace, felt the trembling of Lance's body in the circle of his arm. He looked to Eforan. "Yeah, screw walking. We'll take the blue lion."

"That is also acceptable."

Eforan turned around and started walking. Keith and Lance gave each other a weirded-out glance. Then Lance turned to look across the lake at Blue. He put his thumb and index finger in his mouth and made a piercing whistle. It was pure theatrics, since Keith knew he could ask Blue to come silently with their telepathic link. But Blue perked up, tail practically wagging, then flew across the lake to pick them up.

The Sylosians had better have a freaking good explanation for all of this.


A/N: Trigger warning for near drowning. Everything turns out okay in the end, but if you think it might bother you, please skip the section from "Lance was too startled even to yell, though Keith dearly hoped that he'd at least had a chance to draw a breath. " to "It seemed to take forever, but they finally broke the surface."