Chapter seven is here! I guess I'm a little depressed that the last chapter didn't get any reviews, but it did get some comments on AO3 so I guess it sort of balances out. Don't be shy, though! Let me hear your thoughts and theories! That aside, I'm pretty pleased with how this chapter turned out! It was a super fun one to write, so hopefully it's just as fun to read.

See you next update!


long live the queen

chapter seven

as if from slumber


She was already starting to regret her choice of using the support beams.

It had sounded like a good idea at first. It was the one place that wouldn't be heavily guarded, since the palace didn't exactly have any vents she could use. It was only once she had gotten herself up on top of one, that she realized they were also the one place that wasn't cleaned. She was just grateful that she had chosen to wear the previous night's nightgown, rather than her Altean gown. While it wasn't exactly optimized for this sort of movement either, it was at least better than getting her own clothes dirty.

But at least her plan worked. Using the supports, she was able to make her way into the amabilia quarters without being detected by the guards. She had crept along inch by painful inch, all the while fearing that her pounding heart might give her away. It didn't, of course- she didn't know of a single race that had hearing that good.

Now it was all a matter of not getting caught.

Carefully descending into the amabilia's quarters, Allura shivered a bit as her bare feet touched cold stone. The lack of footwear might help muffle her footsteps, but she was starting to wish that the Queen was more invested in rugs.

Granted, there were no rugs in the Castle either, but she didn't exactly make it a habit to wander about it nearly barefoot. She briefly wondered how the amabilia managed, before she dismissed the thought- they likely weren't even aware the floors were cold.

Squinting in the darkness, Allura found herself almost wishing that she had the night vision of a Galra. As it was, she had to wait a few ticks to let her eyes adjust, before she was confident enough to creep a few steps forward, to where the amabilia lay sleeping. Just as she suspected, they shared the massive circular beds with one another, a tangle of bodies and fabric.

Allura fought the urge to groan. It would have been difficult to pick Keith out even in daylight- under the cover of darkness, it was next to impossible.

Still, she refused to give up. She had come this far, and she didn't know if she would get another shot at this. What Aurealin had said to her earlier still haunted her, even if the rest of the day had passed without event. She had dined again with the Queen and her nobles, making pointless small talk all throughout the meal as Keith hovered by her side, little more than a mute puppet. He'd perked up again on the way back to her quarters, smiling and wishing her goodnight, just as he had done the previous night.

She just wasn't sure how long that would last.

Creeping closer towards the great beds, she scanned them for any sign of Keith. She was nearly about to give up when she spotted a familiar head of dark hair. To her great relief, he was towards the edge of one of the beds, curled up against an amabilia that she recognized, but didn't know the name of. Drawing closer to him, she noted that his hair was braided, this time a simple, short braid, meant to keep his hair from getting too disorderly as he slept. The rest of the amabilia also had their hair braided in the same fashion, though theirs were much longer.

Crouching down next to Keith, she peered at him in the dark. Without the makeup, he looked a bit more like his usual self- although she suspected that the light and airy fabrics that made up the sleepwear of the amabilia was likely not to his taste.

Now came the hard part.

Peeking out over Keith, Allura frowned. In order for this to work, she needed to wake him up. She was just worried that once she did, she would wake up the rest of the amabilia. She had brought her bayard with her just in case she had to fight her way out, but she would rather avoid that if she could.

Drawing in a quiet breath, Allura gently placed a hand on Keith's shoulder. He didn't stir, and for a tick she wondered if she even could wake him up. What if the Queen's curfew meant that it would be impossible to wake him?

Thankfully, upon giving him a light shake, that proved not to be the case. His eyes slowly flickered open, his brow creasing as he tried to process what he was seeing.

"All-"

Pressing a finger against his lips, Allura shook her head, giving him a conspiratorial wink. Keith frowned, his brows still drawn together, but slowly nodded his head. Once she was certain he wouldn't make any noise, she drew her finger away, watching as he carefully untangled himself from the pair of amabilia that were wrapped around him.

For all her fears, they didn't stir, remaining soundly asleep. Good. That was one less thing to worry about.

Taking Keith's hands, she led him out of the bed, guiding him into the center lounge. Now that they were bare, she realized that his calluses had yet to fade, and found herself taking comfort in that fact. There was still some part of him that the delicacy that had overtaken him had yet to pervert.

He followed her without protest, though he watched her curiously. The darkness masked how blank his eyes were somewhat, though only just barely. Guiding him to one of the couches, she sat him down, taking the seat next to him. Hopefully that same darkness would mask how filthy her nightgown was, though given Keith's Galra heritage, she somewhat doubted it.

She wished she could do this elsewhere, but it would be more difficult to get Keith to leave the room with her. She couldn't think of a single way to convince him to go with her, much less to take a route that didn't cross the paths of any guards, so she would simply have to do this here and hope for the best.

Keeping a wary eye on the still slumbering throng of amabilia, Allura gave Keith a strained smile. "I know the hour is late, but I need to speak with you."

Keith frowned, the expression slightly more suited to him than a placid, bubbly smile. "Could it not wait until morning? The Queen never calls on us this late."

"It cannot." Allura said resolutely. "And it will only be this one time, I promise."

Likely if she failed, she would not have another chance. She had a backup plan in place if it did, though not much of one- she would simply take Keith and attempt to flee. Though she had grown considerably less confident that putting some distance between him and the Queen would truly break the hold she had over him, it was at the very least better than simply leaving him here.

Or being caught herself, for that matter. She was loathe to find out what the Queen would have in store for her should she learn of her treachery. She imagined that she could resist to an extent, but eventually she would cave. There was only so much resistance one could manage against someone who had been alive longer than the whole of the Galra Empire. There was likely a reason that Zarkon had largely let her be for so long.

Keith nodded, still looking a tad uncertain. She could hardly blame him- she could only imagine how this looked from his- or rather, Kallium's- perspective.

"I think," Allura carefully began, already tasting the lie even before it passed through her lips, "-that I can help you. Have you ever heard of Altean alchemy?"

Keith shook his head no, even though she knew he did.

"Well," Allura began, "-I believe that I can use it to... smooth out your imperfections."

It was a lie, and a bold faced one at that. What she wanted to correct was not Kallium's imperfections in the eyes of the Queen, but rather the fact that Kallium existed at all. She felt the faintest stab of guilt at it- for all that his existence was a horror, she supposed it was not his fault. She knew that she shouldn't, since when it came down to it, he was nothing more than an artificially created bundle of memories, strung together by a false personality. There was nothing she could do to save him because there was no one to save.

But he didn't see through it. Instead, his face lit up, and Allura felt that twinge of guilt again, though this time for different reasons. She had begun to suspect that the intelligence of the amabilia was... limited, in places, and it felt an awful lot like she was tricking someone who simply did not and could not know better.

"Can you truly?" Keith asked.

Allura didn't dare to speak, just wordlessly nodded. He only grew more excited, though it never quite reached his eyes.

"Please." Keith said, going so far as to grab her hands in his excitement. "Please, Allura. It would make her majesty so happy."

Allura swallowed, her tongue suddenly feeling heavy in her throat. "That is why it must be tonight. I wanted it to be a surprise."

"Oh yes." Keith nodded sagely. "The Queen loves surprises."

Allura's brows shot up at that, wondering about that. She had a feeling that she would very much not like this surprise, even if she did truly enjoy surprises as was claimed. In which case... good. The longer she spent with the Queen, the more awful she became. She would be more than happy to deliver to her what she hoped would be the most awful surprise in her life.

And with any luck, her last.

"Then it is settled." Allura said, gently pulling her hands from Keith's grasp. He didn't use even a fragment of the grip strength she knew he possessed, likely because the Queen had convinced him he was actually quite weak. She hadn't seen the amabilia carry anything heavier than a partially filled decanter in the entire time she had been here. "Close your eyes. Relax."

Keith nodded, doing exactly as instructed. For once she was almost grateful for how compliant the false personality he'd been given was. It would make things much easier.

Drawing in a deep breath, Allura steadied herself. She wasn't sure if she could actually pull this off or not. She had no formal alchemist training, nor was there any precedence for this. But Lance had been right- nobody had trained her to save the Balmera, and yet she'd done just that- and more. Perhaps she did have the ability to pull this off after all.

And where she didn't, their bond as paladins of Voltron would bridge that gap.

Casting a last wary eye towards the sleeping amabilia, Allura exhaled. Gently placing her hands on either side of Keith's head, she closed her eyes, for a moment simply feeling the quintessence around her. For the first time she noticed just how constrained Keith's seemed, the once raging fire compressed until it was nothing more than the flickering flame of a candle.

All at once, she realized what her first step would be.

With great care, she fanned the tiny flame, encouraging it to grow. She felt it hesitate, as if it were afraid to do so, but eventually it flickered and grew brighter. She continued to stoke it, with equal parts care and patience, letting it grow each time. She was unsure how long it took her- she had lost track of time.

Cracking an eye open, Allura was relieved to find the room still dark, and the amabilia still sleeping. Drawing in a breath, she turned her focus back on Keith, having stoked the fire of his quintessence as much as she could, though it still paled in comparison to its usual raging inferno- more of a steady bonfire, really. Something was preventing her from letting it grow even further- likely the Queen's influence.

It would have to do.

Keith himself hadn't stirred, likely drawn into something close to a trance. She prayed it remained that way, for now came the truly difficult part- dragging the real Keith out to the forefront, and banishing- or at the very least suppressing- Kallium.

Using the paladin bond as a link, Allura dove into the hive mind herself, shuddering a little at the sudden influx of thoughts. Thankfully they quickly slipped away from her, as she was not directly connected to it herself. Somewhere buried deep within the mass of consciousness was Keith's consciousness- she had to find him and draw him out. Their shared bond created something of a thread, one which she followed, deeper and deeper into the hive mind, praying that no one noticed her presence there. But with all the chaos going on around her, she somehow doubted anyone would.

She found him, at the end of the thread, thankfully not as deep as she feared. He didn't seem aware of her- at least, not at first. He stirred as she reached out to him, becoming rapidly more aware as she dragged him out from the depths, back up the thread, back the way she had come. It wasn't until she found herself taking a sharp gasp of breath that she realized she had made it all the way back, her eyes flying open.

Keith shuddered underneath her touch, his brows knit together as if in struggle. She could feel the two consciousness clashing within him, Kallium being the stronger of the two. On his own, it was a battle that Keith would lose- but he was not alone, not this time. Her bayard glowed as she once again tapped into the paladin bond, and she drew from that energy to imbue Keith with power, hoping to turn the tide of the mental battle.

It nearly didn't work. It might not have, if she hadn't sensed the presence of yet another energy source from somewhere deeper in the palace. After a tick, she realized it was Keith's Marmora blade, likely hidden somewhere. She tried to pinpoint its exact location, but her senses weren't that specific. Still, it gave her something more to go off of- an extra push to tip the balance of power in Keith's favor.

She felt Kallium slip away with a shudder. Biting down on her lip, Allura told herself that this was how it had to be. She couldn't afford to show any weakness.

Suddenly overcome with exhaustion, Allura let her hands drop from Keith's temples. She used one to steady herself, grasping the couch so that she didn't simply topple over into Keith's lap. His eyes were still closed, though his expression was considerably less tense than it had been. She held her breath and waited, for a tick fearful that she had failed after all.

Then his eyes fluttered open, and even in the dark, they seemed full of life.

"Allura...?"

"I'm here." Allura told him, keeping her voice hushed. "Did it... did it work?"

Keith didn't reply, just drew in a deep, unsteady breath. He ducked his head, staring down at his hands, curling his fingers into his palms. His mouth set itself in a familiar tight line, even as he reached up to touch his face- and then sharply pinched himself.

"Okay," he said, his tone so much more familiar now, a dryness to it that Kallium just hadn't been capable of, "-that hurt."

Allura blanched, taken aback by the sudden action. Perhaps she had done something wrong, broken him somehow. "Of course it did. You pinched yourself."

Keith- and it was Keith- looked up at her, a faint smile on his lips that was far more suited to him than the ones she had seen more recently. "It's an Earth thing. To check and see if something's a dream."

"Oh." Allura blinked. "I suppose that makes sense."

It didn't, not at all. But who was she to protest the customs of another people? And Keith had been through so much, that she figured he could pinch himself as much as he wished to, and she wouldn't stop him.

Keith heaved a long sigh, before he glanced down at himself and made a small face. Picking at the fabrics that made up his sleepwear, he grimaced. In spite of herself, a faint laugh bubbled up from within, escaping her before she could stop it.

Keith shot her a glare. "When we get out of here, you're not saying a word about this."

"I promise." Allura assured him. "Not a word."

"Good." Keith nodded. "We don't think-"

He stopped abruptly mid-sentence and cringed, realizing what had just come out of his mouth. "Okay. Guess we're still doing that."

Allura frowned. "Are you still connected to the hive mind?"

Keith nodded, closing his eyes for just a tick. "Yeah. We thought-"

Keith cut himself off, letting out a low groan. It was all she could do to give him an awkward pat on the knee, trying to reassure him that it was alright. She was certain once he was fully free of the hive mind, his speech would become more regular.

"Just for the record," Keith whispered, "-that's super annoying."

"Record taken." Allura told him. "Now come on. We don't have much time."

Keith shook his head, looking up at her. "We- and we actually mean we this time- don't have any time. We," and with annoyance plainly visible on his face, he jerked a hand back towards the slumbering amabilia to indicate just what we he meant, "-wake in half an hour."

Alarmed, Allura looked towards the amabilia. She suspected that she had completely lost track of time, but she hadn't realized so much had passed. No wonder she was exhausted. "It's been a whole night? How can you be so sure?"

Keith looked at her with a deadpan expression, before pointing at his head. "Hive mind."

"Right." Allura said. "Of course."

"You need to get back to your quarters before anyone notices you're gone." Keith told her.

Allura frowned. "But what about you? Won't someone notice that you're-"

"Not completely brainless?" Keith finished.

"I wouldn't say brainless-"

Keith just snorted. "You can only say that because you didn't have to live inside Kallium's mind for over a month. We still feel kind of stupid."

Allura's frown deepened, briefly wondering if the Queen's limitations were still in effect to some degree. "Still-"

"Look, we don't know." Keith told her, apparently having already given up and resigning himself to his current speech pattern. "We'll manage. Somehow. But you have to go."

Keith's tone was urgent, if not very convincing. Eying the slumbering amabilia, and then the door, she knew he was probably right even so. She had hoped to sneak up on the Queen in her sleep, but with the palace beginning to wake up, she had effectively lost that chance. They could try their luck now and risk everything, or they could attempt to get through the day somehow, without anyone noticing their subterfuge and strike tonight.

The odds of the latter seemed better. She would rather avoid fighting the Queen if at all possible. Killing her while she slept wasn't exactly honorable, but there was hardly anything honorable about what the Queen was doing.

"Alright." Allura said. "But if you notice something is amiss, then we should at least try to escape."

Keith nodded. "Now go."

She didn't need him to tell her twice. Quickly scaling the support beam again, she hastily made her way back to the stairwell. Once she was certain she was out of the view of the guards, she dropped back down, hurriedly making her way back to her own quarters.

They had a chance. Now all they needed was to get through the day.

She paused mid-step, glancing back down the stairs. That was all well and good for her- she was a trained diplomat. But now that she stopped to think about it, the success of their entire plan now rested solely on Keith's ability to act as vapid and cheerful as possible.

Ancients, she thought. They might very well be doomed.


Once Allura left, Keith felt himself exhale.

It was strange, being back in control of his own body after what felt like so long without it. Staring down at his hands, he was half-tempted to pinch himself again, but decided against it. Instead he drew in another long breath, slowly exhaling as he savored the feeling of simply being able to do so- before he turned back towards the sleeping area with a grimace.

He'd tried to sound confident for Allura, but he didn't actually know if he could do this. He could still feel Kallium, the fake personality pushed back into a corner of his mind like he had once been. He briefly considered letting him out, but quickly decided against it- he didn't know if he'd be able to come back if he did that. Besides, he'd just gotten control of his body again- he wasn't about to just hand it over so easily.

That said...

Creeping through the dark room, Keith hovered over the bed. He huffed silently, before he slid back into the bed. He'd barely been back in it for two seconds before he found himself tangled back up in a mess of limbs again, and fought the urge to flinch. He didn't like being touched, but he just had to try and put up with it.

It was fine. It was just one day. He could manage. He would absolutely hate it, but he would manage. If it meant putting an end to this, then it would be worth it.

He just hoped it would be enough to fool the Queen- if that was even possible. He knew that she didn't know everything that went on in the city- what was contained within the hive mind was just too much information for any one person to process all at once, so even the Queen only did it selectively. Even he was only immediately linked up the other amabilia- though thinking of himself as such caused his nose to crinkle in disgust.

Of all the possible roles, it had to be this one. He didn't even get it- it wasn't like he was particularly attractive or anything like that. Maybe the Queen just had weird tastes, or maybe she just thought he was enough of a novelty to want to keep him close. Whatever her reasons, he hated it.

Part of him was half-glad it was Allura who had come here, and not any of the other paladins. Lance and Pidge would never let him live it down, Hunk would try to be considerate but just end up being weird about it, and Shiro...

...he didn't want Shiro to see him like this.

Closing his eyes, he tried not to think about the fact that Shiro hadn't come for him. Realistically he knew that none of them should have even bothered- the risk was too high, and the reward was too little. But there was still some small, selfish part of him that wanted his brother, wanted his soft reassurances that everything would be alright.

He pushed the thought aside, focusing instead on pretending to sleep. He must have been more exhausted than he thought, because instead of pretending, he actually did doze off. It wasn't until someone gently shook his shoulder that he realized he'd fallen asleep at all.

"You mustn't sleep for much longer, Kallium." Mene huffed, shaking him a bit more insistently. "You must go and wake our princess."

He nearly shot straight up, but caught himself at the last second. Instead he slowly sat up, nodding his head in a way that he hoped at least looked meek. He at least had some idea as to how not to attract attention to himself. Growing up as a foster kid, it had practically been a survival skill at times.

He never expected he'd have to draw on it this far out in space.

The nod was enough to satisfy Mene, who slipped away without another word. Blinking his eyes against the now brightly lit room, Keith internally groaned, even as he forced his expression to remain perfectly neutral. He still had to go about the routine of getting ready- which meant washing himself in a shared bath, putting on clothes he would never wear on his own, and makeup.

Even worse, he'd have to act happy about it.

Smashing himself to bits against Haggar's shield was sounding a lot more attractive by the second.


Keith practically shoved himself into her room the very tick she opened the door. She had to scramble to get out of the way in time, shutting the door behind him as Keith dragged her chair to the center of the room and flopped down on it, resting one leg across his knee, then propping his elbow up on that. To say that his posture didn't suit his attire was quite the understatement, Allura couldn't help but think.

"If it is any consolation," Allura began, "-it at least looks very nice on you."

Keith glared at her, yanking the deep blue veil out of the way. "It's not."

Right. Of course not. Crossing the room, she leaned against the bed, as Keith had taken her only chair. "How are you feeling?"

Keith gave her a deadpan look, gesturing at his own attire. It was a deep blue color today, with accents in a slightly lighter shade of blue. The gems were dark enough that they nearly looked black, until the light hit them, revealing that they were in fact a brilliant blue. All of the usual cosmetics were likewise that same shade of deep blue, so expertly applied that Allura knew without having to ask that Keith had still maintained the skills forced into him while he had been Kallium.

It was all very pretty, but uniquely unsuited to Keith- especially now that he was back in his right mind.

"Right." Allura said. "A silly question, I suppose. But I meant more in terms of how are you feeling in relation to the Queen."

"She's awake now." Keith resolutely stated. "But if she's noticed that anything's amiss, we haven't felt it."

Allura blinked, more surprised by the information than she should be. "You can sense her?"

Keith nodded. "We all can."

Allura's brows drew together, undeniably curious. "What does she feel like?"

Keith shook his head. "She feels exactly the way she would want to be felt. Gentle and benevolent. We," and he gestured at himself in an attempt to convey that he meant specifically him, and not anyone else connected to the hive mind, "-can feel something just beyond that, but we don't have the means to process it."

"Do you think she could deliberately me affecting your interpretation of her?" Allura asked. It would hardly be out of line with what she had gleaned of the Queen thus far.

Keith nodded, crossing his arms in front of him, grumbling when the translucent shawl all amabilia wore got in the way of where he wanted to put his hands. "She can make us see what she wants us to see. And what she wants us to see is a kind, benevolent queen who is loved by all."

Allura frowned a bit a that. "What of her appearance? How does she look to you?"

Keith rolled his eyes, and for a tick, she thought he might not answer. When he did, his tone was off- like he'd attempted biting sarcasm but somehow ended up with complete sincerity instead. "A radiant beauty."

Now it was Allura's turn to level a deadpan look towards him. "Really?"

"Really." Keith said firmly. "Do we look like we're joking?"

"I suppose not." Allura admitted. "So she doesn't look like a giant, four-armed monster to your eyes?"

"She does." Keith told her, looking as if he was struggling just to get the words out. Clearly speaking ill of the Queen was still difficult for him. "We just don't think of her as a monster."

Allura's frown deepened, a hand straying up to her chin. "So rather than making you see what she wants you to see, it's more like she's... making you think of her as she wants to be thought of."

Keith shrugged. "Guess you could put it that way. Haven't seen her today so we can't confirm one way or the other how we feel about her now. Why?"

"It just seems a little odd." Allura mused. "This whole royal farce of hers is odd, now that I think about it. According to what Lotor told me..."

Keith's expression darkened. "What who told you?"

"Lotor." Allura said, then heaved a sigh. "I'm not sure I care for having him around either, but he did provide us with invaluable intelligence in regards to the Queen. He's met her before, and came away to tell the tale."

Keith's narrowed his eyes, but apparently decided to leave the subject alone. "Fine. What did he tell you?"

"I am afraid the monster is of Altean origin." Allura apologized. "Though she is old, far older than either myself or the lions. I thought she was merely a story until Lotor told me otherwise."

"That... would explain why the layout of this place is so similar to the Castle." Keith noted, tilting his head.

Allura gave him a weak smile. "We do tend to lean towards a very classic architectural style."

Keith snorted. "Exactly how old is this monster of yours again?"

"Very." Allura said coolly, not entirely appreciating his insinuation. Altea had a multitude of different architectural styles, not just the one, thank you very much. "She would have been created just around the time we became a space faring race."

Keith blinked. "That's... pretty old. How is she even still alive?"

Allura shook her head. "I wish I knew. All I know is that in the time that she's been alive, her powers have expanded greatly. And that she comes from the same race as Lotor's general Narti, in a sense."

Keith's eyes narrowed, recognition crossing his features. "We thought she looked familiar."

"I can explain it all later." Allura told him. "Right now we need to focus on figuring out a way to deal with her."

"You mean kill her." Keith said flatly.

"If that is what it will take," Allura said, "-then yes."

There was a dangerous glint in Keith's eyes at her words, and for a tick, she couldn't help but wonder just what it was that the Blade of Marmora had him doing. She wasn't exactly privy to the contents of all of his missions- she hadn't even known he'd been sent on one until Kolivan had come to tell her he'd been lost, and a phoeb ago at that.

Even so, she was grateful to see some expression in his eyes after having to deal with them being so utterly blank for so long. They were still a bit dull- but then, he wasn't fully disconnected from the hive mind and the Queen. The latter made her a bit nervous, but there was nothing much she could do about it. Everything she could do, she'd already done- at this point, she just had to hope for the best, and be prepared for the worst.

That thought gave her pause. What exactly was the worst?

"Keith," Allura began, "-when we spoke before, in our shared dream, you said that the Queen did not intend to let me go that easily. What did you mean by that?"

Keith opened his mouth to respond, then snapped it shut, his brow furrowing. They tried again, only to grunt in frustration. Allura could only watch on in a mixture of apprehension and sympathy, as well as discomfort that even now, Keith still wasn't in complete control of himself.

"We know." He finally said. "We just can't tell you. Our speech isn't as free anymore."

Allura felt a shiver run up the length of her spine at his words. It was confirmation of what she had feared all along- that the Queen was humoring her just as much as she was her. She thought again of the gowns that she had been given, the ones that had matched the colors of the Queen's attire. She wasn't sure she liked where those thoughts led her.

"She never intended to let me leave, did she?" Allura finally asked.

Unable to say anything, Keith just shook his head. She supposed that likely meant that the pod she had flown here was no longer operational.

"Right." Allura said softly. "That was what I was afraid of."

"That's why we said you should have left while you still had the chance." Keith told her. "Now we're both trapped here."

"Not trapped. There is still a way out." Allura told him. "We just have to kill the Queen."

Keith huffed. "You make it sound so simple."

"I imagine it isn't." Allura admitted. "That is precisely why we will slay her in her sleep. She will be at her most vulnerable then."

Keith frowned, casting a skeptical look up towards her. "Do you really think it'll work?"

"I do not know." Allura admitted. "All I know is that we will both be in a lot of trouble if it does not."

If they failed, Keith would likely be forced to return to a lifetime of servitude, and she... truthfully, she did not want to think too hard about what her own fate might be, though she certainly had her suspicions.

"Right." Keith said. "Guess we better make it work."

Rising to his feet with a fluidity that had to be left over from what had been programmed into him as Kallium, Keith's hand strayed behind his back. It was empty, devoid of his usual knife. "First we need to find my blade."

"Agreed." Allura said. "I brought my bayard with me, but it may not be enough."

Keith gave her a curt nod, then blinked, his eyes glazing over for a fearful tick. Then a shudder ran down the length of his spine, and he jerked his head away. Drawing in a slow breath, he peered at her from beneath his bangs, his brows drawn tightly in.

"The Queen wants to see you for breakfast."

Allura's mouth set itself in a grim line. "Then I suppose we have no choice but to go."

Keith nodded, hastily composing himself. He fixed his veil back in place, even as he grimaced at it. It served to mask the light in his eyes, so she found herself suddenly grateful for it.

"If it helps, I meant what I said." Allura told him. "Not a word."

"Thanks." Keith told her. "We should go."


"Ah-ha! I found it!"

"Found what, Coran?" Shiro asked, unable to keep his exasperation entirely out of his tone.

"Yeah, you just dragged us all in here and asked us to help you look for something without actually telling us what it is that we're looking for." Pidge said.

"Oh apologies, paladins!" Coran looked back towards them. "But I just remembered that we had something on the Castle that might be of use to us!"

Shiro exchanged an uncertain glance with the rest of the paladins. They had been in middle of a training session- trying to take their minds of the Keith and Allura situation- when Coran had burst in and had dragged them off to one of the lower floors of the Castle. He'd been pretty insistent about it, but hadn't told them anything other than that he needed help finding something.

"Is this about Keith and Allura?" Hunk asked.

"That it is, Number Two!" Coran told him, setting down what looked to be an odd looking mechanical block in the middle of the table. "I just remembered that we have the memories of every ruler of Altea all backed up and stored in the Castle's archives. I thought they might be able to shed a little light on our monstrous Queen!"

Shiro lit up at that. Ever since Allura left for the Reine system, he'd been worrying about the situation almost non-stop- hence the training sessions to try and distract both him, and the rest of the paladins. "That's great news, Coran."

"So do you like, have the memories of the king who this Mad Alchemist or whatever served?" Lance asked, peering at the cube.

"Afraid not, Number Three." Coran said. "We didn't have the technique to preserve memories back then like we do now. What we do have are the memories of the Altean queen just two generations past our good friend the Mad Alchemist."

Shiro frowned. Two generations sounded like a long time, especially for an Altean. But it was still better than what they had- a lot of hearsay and rumor, with their only reliable information coming from Lotor and a several thousand year old Blade report. And while he hadn't shown any signs of deceiving them yet, he still couldn't help but worry if taking the Galra prince at his word was such a good idea.

It didn't help that they'd had no contact with Allura since she had left for the Reine system three days ago. The monitor Pidge had installed in Allura's earrings indicated that they were still functioning properly, which hopefully meant she was safe, but the lack of contact was nerve racking, to say the least. Losing Keith was bad enough, he didn't want to lose Allura too.

"Sounds like a plan, Coran." Shiro told him. "Let's boot it up."

"Already way ahead of you, Number One!" Coran chirped.

He briefly wondered how he could sound so cheerful when Allura was taking such a huge risk, but then he noticed the bags under the Altean's eyes and realized that maybe he wasn't actually half as cheerful as he sounded. Looking around the archive room, he realized it was kind of a mess, so Coran must have been searching through it long before he'd come to fetch the four of them.

He just had to hope the memories of this queen would help them in dealing with the Queen. He had faith in Allura- but having multiple options never hurt.

He just hoped they wouldn't need them.