Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron or any of its characters.
Rating/Setting: Rating is T. Setting is DotU but is definitely AU – see challenge info below.
Response to Cheetoy's KAEX Challenge "A Royal Twist." "What if Keith was the surviving Arusian Royal Prince and Allura was an Earth born hometown girl turned GA Starpilot? How will the prim and proper Prince deal with falling for a strong-willed GA pilot of no royal line? Sadly, Nanny and Coran insist on a Princess for our dear Kogane... But how shall they deal with the Drule Prince(ss)? Can they find their Happy Ever After?"
Author's Notes: Ahhh, just because I can... I shall post another chapter! I think if I stay 10 chapters ahead of what is posted, I'm comfy. Well as comfy as a plotter can be posting when the work isn't completely finished. So, you can guess, that I am now working on chapter 20! Will post again when I finish that chapter. Oh! Still taking episode requests! Did I mention that I'm having fun writing this? I have hardly done any housework today. Sad. Very sad.
Chapter Nine
Lance waited impatiently at the bottom of the drop shaft. Once the prince radioed that he was safely in the Lion, he could head back up to the control center so that he could watch the action. Watch the action. He hated it. Gritting his teeth, he watched as Keith dropped into the last mini-ship. The lieutenant had watched with interest as the pilots had dropped one by one from the shaft. Their uniforms were primarily white, with colored accents on the helmets, shoulders, chest, and boots. After seeing that Sven had black accents and Pidge had green, he had begun to think that the colors indicated the Lion they should fly. With Sven having the black accents, he had just begun to have thoughts about confronting the prince when Allura dropped out of the shaft… with pink accents. Even though he was alone, he had said out loud, "Pink? She hates pink! And what the hell? There's no pink Lion." He had fumed for a bit and was furthered irritated when Hunk dropped down with accents that were orange. Lance couldn't even call them a yellowish-orange. They were undoubtedly orange. So when Keith dropped down with the red accents, he could only mutter about it being a shame that the accents didn't indicate the Lion. Now, as he heard Keith radio in his arrival in Black Lion, he hurried to the elevator.
The prince had only caught a glimpse of Lance as he dropped from the shaft. He knew that the lieutenant would be heading back up to control to assist Coran with any problems resulting from Black Lion shedding his stone covering. Patiently he waited for Coran to indicate that Lance was there and then he would insert the key. His breathing was a little rapid and if he weren't wearing gloves, he knew his hands would be sweaty. Wait. Gloves? How did the machine put gloves on my hands while I was holding the T-bar? He was snapped out of his questioning thoughts by Coran coming on the vid screen and indicating that Lance was in position.
"Acknowledged, Coran. I'm inserting the key now." Once the key was inserted, Keith watched the systems power up and come online. Blinking and making sounds, the systems that hadn't been activated in decades came back to life. Muffled cracking sounds came from outside of the cockpit. Keith couldn't image how loud the sounds had to be in the surrounding area if it was this loud inside the Lion. Soon the vid screens activated inside the Lion as the stone dropped away. Most feel harmlessly into the lake. Some fell to the bridge, but not in quantities or sizes that would be difficult to remove.
"Is everything all right, Prince Keith?" Coran was looking over the readouts in control for the Black Lion. Everything looked fine.
"Systems all seem to be online and ready. I'm taking off now."
"Let's see what you can do, pretty boy." Lance muttered under his breath as he looked at the large monitor.
Coran raised an eyebrow but didn't otherwise acknowledge that he heard the disgruntled pilot. Even though things were better last night and this morning between the two young men, Coran sensed fisticuffs were inevitable between them before long if Lt. McClain didn't learn how to control his tongue. And here he thought Keith was a bit rash. The lieutenant took it to another level. He prayed nothing happened to the Commander as the thought of Lance McClain leading the team wasn't to be considered. Coran stopped his musing as the eyes of Black Lion flared and a roar sounded forth as it bounded from the pedestal.
Keith looked over the controls. Everything seemed familiar. His hands traveled over controls like he had been doing this for years. Taking a position with the other Lions on the flats twenty miles from the castle, he hailed Sven. "What do we do now, Commander?"
Sven had the pilots take their Lions through a set series of maneuvers meant to test speed, maneuverability, and response time. They only did minor testing of weapons systems – primarily to make sure they worked. Sven didn't say it out loud, but Prince Keith was invaluable as some of the weapons systems such as the ion knife weren't known quantities to the Alliance pilots. However, Keith knew things about them and how they worked based on his 'discussions' with the Lions. When they returned to the castle, Sven knew he'd be asked to make a judgment on Keith's ability to be part of the team and pilot of Black Lion. As of the training today, Keith was more than adequate to be a pilot. Tomorrow they would form Voltron and he would evaluate the young man further. He knew that Lance wouldn't be happy with the evaluation so far, but if he was fair, he'd have to agree with Sven.
They had been practicing and testing for over five hours. Breakfast was a long time ago and it was time to park the Lions and go over the data after cleaning up. While the Lions were climate controlled, there had been some stressful moments and he was sure he wasn't the only one who had sweated a little.
"Okay, team, time to give the cats a rest. We'll take an hour to clean up and eat and then we'll go over what the data shows from our practice." Sven sent the word out on a broadcast to everyone.
Hunk added, "And let's see how we can get our real clothes back."
"What's wrong, Hunk, they didn't get you the right size?" Pidge asked.
"Well, let's just say it's uncomfortably tight in a few areas."
Chuckling sounded around.
Lance came over the system to give them some answers. "According to the database, you're clothes were transformed. An exact duplicate of the clothes you had on was stored in the system and as you return up the T-bar shaft, your clothes will transform back."
"How are we supposed to get back to that T-bar?" Hunk asked. "Pidge might be able to jump up there, but there's no way I'm going to."
"According to the database, the T-bars will lower so that you can grab them from the mini-ships. If for some reason, the T-bars are out of order, there is a small chamber set near the elevator and stairwell. If you go into that chamber if will reverse your clothes there." Coran's voice was matter-of-fact, as if this was a common occurrence. Then he chuckled as he added, "An added benefit is that it clears your clothes in the process. Both the ones you were wearing and your uniform."
"Yeah, well, I hope it didn't shrink my clothes any." Hunk's voice had true concern. "Do you know how uncomfortable a tight sweatband is on your forehead?"
"Not on my forehead, Hunk, but I've worn some hair bands that gave me headaches." Allura chuckled as Hunk grumbled.
"Well, let's wait and see the results together, shall we?" asked Sven. "When your ships get back to the hub, wait there before taking the T-bar. We'll all make the trip up together."
Allura frowned at that thought. It was bad enough that the team had seen part of the hideous pink outfit on their vid screens, but this would lead to even more teasing. At Garrison, she was well-known for abhorring things frilly and what she considered too "girly." She liked a nice dress and a sexy high-heel, but frumpy or overly feminine things were off her list. And she never wore pink.
As the ships docked at the hub, the pilots stood up on the seats to wait the arrival of the others. Keith and Allura were the first two to arrive as their Lions were closest to the castle. While the return system through the tubes was fast, flying the Lions closer to the castle made them faster and so they ended up alone in the hub.
Keith took off his helmet and shook his hair loose. Putting his helmet under his arm, he looked over to Allura. He had thought she was pretty when they met, but emotions had been running so high ever since, he hadn't had the chance to appreciate just what a beauty she was. She too, had taken off her helmet. His eyes raked over the form-fitting Voltron uniform and his breath caught in his throat. She was beautiful. He almost shook his head in exasperation at himself. He didn't have a lot of experience with women but he should have noticed her. Looking over to one of the other tunnels as he heard another shuttle approaching, he thought that Allura Altaire probably hadn't given him a second glance. She was older than he was and most likely had more experience with the opposite sex. Not a thought he liked, but it was most likely true. And then there was the simple fact that she was on the same team as Lance and Sven who were her age. If most of the guys at Garrison looked like Sven and Lance, well, he was sure she had experience. He couldn't help but scowl as one of the men he was just thinking about arrived. Sven stood up, looking every bit the hero in a woman's fantasy. Keith scowled even more thinking about it.
Allura hadn't taken her eyes off of the dark-haired prince since they had stood up to await their teammates. She had felt flushed as she watched him take off his helmet and shake out that gloriously dark hair. Just put him on a beach with a surfboard and he'd look the part. The Voltron uniform definitely gave her an eyeful of the handsome prince. While he hadn't had Garrison training, he was certainly fit and could probably hold his own with the guys. Then he started scowling. She frowned herself; what had happened to put that look on his face? Then she heard the return of another mini-ship. Ah, he was probably concerned about Sven's evaluation. Looking over to her commander as he stood up, she thought he wouldn't have too many negative things to say about the prince's performance. By this time, Hunk and Pidge had also arrived.
The T-bars had lowered as the pilots had arrived and now all they had to do was grab them and to be pulled up. Easier said than done for Allura and Pidge. Well, Allura at least. Pidge jumped onto the back of the mini-ship and then leapt to catch the bar. Hunk didn't have to do anything but put his hands on it. Sven and Keith both looked to Allura.
Smiling, she climbed onto the back of the mini-ship and managed to grab the bar. Sven looked over to Keith, we'll have to see if they can lowered those bars further for Pidge and Allura. Then with a smile he glanced up, and maybe just a little for us as well? Keith smiled as he nodded. Both men only had to make a slight jump to grab the bar and then they were heading back up.
After Keith and Sven exited the dais, the raised platform lowered. Coran and Lance stepped away from the computers. "I suggest that you follow the Commander's suggestion and clean up. I'll head to the dining hall and ask for them to have a light repast prepared in half an hour." Coran suggested to the group.
Scratching his head, Hunk said, "Um, can you make that a 'heavy' repast? I'm afraid I worked up an appetite out there."
Coran chuckled. "Indeed Hunk. I'll make sure there is enough there to satisfy your hunger."
As the group turned to leave control, Lance called out, "Hey, Allura, did I see you in pink?"
Keith watched as Allura's delicate features scrunched up.
"Ugh! I don't know how that machine determined the colors, but it didn't get pink from my thoughts."
"But Allura, pink is such a feminine color," Sven said with a laugh.
"Yeah, well, you know me, I'm not THAT feminine." Allura said with a huff as she moved past the boys to lead the group out.
Then Lance couldn't help but add, "Well, you might not have liked the color, but you looked pretty hot in that uniform."
Keith stared at her as she walked briskly from the teasing group. 'Not that feminine?' She looked mighty feminine to him in that uniform. He saw now that her current outfit, while fitted, didn't draw the eye like the Voltron uniform. And if 'hot' meant that she looked incredible, then hot was an understatement. Then he blushed as he suddenly realized that his uniform had also been very fitted. What did she think of him in his uniform?
Coran watched as the Alliance team all went out together. Keith stood watching them go and then he blushed. Is he embarrassed that they didn't wait for him? Walking over to Keith, he put his hand on the young man's back. "It's okay, Keith, they'll accept you."
Turning a face full of confusion to Coran, Keith asked, "What? What are you talking about?"
This time it was Coran's turn to look confused. "I, um, I thought you were worried that the team had left you behind."
An even darker shade of red graced the cheeks of the Arusian prince. "Uh, yeah, sure, Coran. That was it." Turning quickly, Keith left so Coran couldn't ask him anything else. Talk about embarrassing.
Coran's brows knitted together as he watched the prince leave. Obviously, it wasn't the team leaving without him that turned his face red. What had they been talking about before they left? Oh, yes, Allura's outfit being pink and some comment about her being hot it in. Honestly, the uniforms were supposed to help keep body temperature regulated. His musings on the fabric stopped as he realized a different meeting could be applied to the comment. "Ah." Looking at the door where the prince had left, Coran merely nodded. "Hormones. I hope he doesn't let it distract him."
