Disclaimer: WEP owns Voltron and all its characters.
Beta: Thanks again to Dawn! I think she may be having second thoughts...
This is the second installment in my "Chivalry" arc. 1. Chivalry, 2. Lion House Restored
Rating/Setting: Rating is T. Setting is DotU in flavor but is AU in some ways.
Chapter Nine
As a few days turned into a week, things once again returned to their regular pace and schedule for Keith. However, he had constant reminders of his impending quest: his short hair and the intensity level of his therapy bandages. His current consolation about the situation was that Doom had been quiet. Zarkon and his witch seemed to be reeling from the loss of Lotor and the uncertainty of when he would return. Overall, he was pleased with how things were going. Now, if he could just have another week. Dr. Gorma said that his ribs were 90% healed and that one more week would do it. His pace slowed as he started feeling light-headed… "Oh no," he whispered as he leaned against the cool wall of the castle corridor, and his eyes turned to midnight black as the swirling winds of the vision took him.
Opening his eyes in the vision, Keith saw that it was dark and he was lying on his side in a bed with a blanket over him. The room was cool, but not cold, and the framing of the room appeared to be wood and stone from what he could see in the candlelight. Pondering why he was being shown this in a vision, Keith suddenly realized he wasn't in the bed alone. His body became rigid as he heard a feminine sigh behind him and felt a body snuggle up behind him. An arm came around to rest against his chest. He was turning to see who this woman was when the swirling winds took him away.
Blinking rapidly, he continued to lean against the wall as he worked to return his breathing and thoughts to normal. Glancing down the hallway, he didn't see anyone. He would definitely keep this one a secret. There was no way he would tell anyone about this vision. Pushing off from the wall, he made his way to Lion practice.
During the practice, he wasn't 100%, as memories of the vision distracted him. Who was that in the bed with me? This was the thought occupying his mind, and he knew the question would be burnt into his mind until he discovered the answer on the quest. When he joined the group for breakfast, he could barely eat and just pushed his food around. More than once, his teammates had to say his name twice for him to realize that someone was speaking to him.
He had just finished his meal and was excusing himself, when he grabbed the table. He saw Lance immediately look at him. Desperation was in Keith's eyes as he gripped the table tightly and held on for whatever ride the vision took him on this time.
Allura looked from Keith to Lance and back to Keith. She watched his eyes turn black, and his body go rigid. "Keith? Keith!"
In a commanding tone, Lance said, "Everyone just hold on. He's having a vision. He should come out of it in a couple of minutes."
Allura's eyes narrowed as she looked with suspicion at Lance.
Pidge was staring intently at Keith as he asked, "How are you so sure that it's a vision?" When Lance didn't answer, Pidge turned questioning eyes to him. "Lance?"
With anger in her voice, Allura said, "He's sure because he's seen Keith have one of these before. Haven't you, Lance?"
Crossing his arms and turning to the princess, he calmly said, "Two weeks ago on the day of our group briefing."
She had never wanted to throw something at a person so much in her entire life. "He said he would tell us! Why didn't you tell us if you knew?"
Looking back at Keith he said, "Because the noble one needed to see Gorma for more aggressive treatment, and I told him I'd be silent if he went."
"Sounds like Keith." Hunk said. "For such a trustworthy guy, he's not very trustworthy about things that pertain to him."
Lance nodded in Keith's direction, "See, he's starting to come out of it already."
Every eye looked to the commander as his eyes turned slowly from black to white. In ten seconds, his eyes were back to normal, but he continued to clutch the edge of the table. Blinking rapidly, Keith looked to Lance and said, "How long?"
"About 2-3 minutes again."
At Lance's use of 'again,' Keith knew that the team had been informed of his previous vision. Well, it didn't matter now. This was his second vision in less than five hours. He didn't think he had a lot of time left to argue about what he had or had not told them. He simply asked Lance, "They know?"
"Yep."
In a tone that brooked no arguments, Keith sternly said, "I am not going to debate or argue about what I have or have not told you. I had two visions while I was still in the hospital, and I had one this morning before Lion practice. Since I've had two visions in less than five hours, my time here may be short." He briefed them on the vision from the hospital and told them about the vision from the morning, omitting the feminine presence.
"In this vision…" He paused as he looked down at the table gathering his thoughts. "I was in a large hall with lots of other men. They wore the Lion House tunic. One man was seated on a raised dais, and a younger man was talking to him and pointing at me. From the looks directed at me, I'd say I wasn't completely welcomed there."
"Do you think the visions are sequential?" Pidge asked. It was a question that made sense to his analytical mind.
Taking a moment to think, Keith carefully replied, "I think they are sequential, but in reverse order. I think that my first vision will be the last event."
"Are you sure Keith?" Hunk asked.
Giving him a rueful smile, Keith said, "Where these quests and visions are concerned, I'm not certain about anything."
"I don't think you should be alone anymore, Keith. That's two visions close together." Allura seemed to have gotten over her anger.
Pushing back from the table, he said, "I don't see the need. It won't change anything." Seeing that she was going to argue, he held up his hand. "But I understand if it will make all of you feel better to know when I'm gone and how the portal, or whatever it is, manifests itself." Looking around at the nods, he said, "So one of you will be with all the time. Satisfied?"
Allura answered, "For now."
XXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Lance followed him to his office and stayed there while Keith completed some paperwork. He would occasionally make comments about his friends just being concerned when Keith dropped the data pad on the table. Lance stared with concern as Keith folded his arms on the desk and dropped his head to rest on them.
Keith took a moment and raised his head, but still stared down at his arms. "I didn't tell you everything about the vision this morning." He paused, but Lance didn't say anything. "I wasn't alone in the bed. There was a woman with me, one who felt very comfortable pressing against me. I didn't see her face. But if I'm right and these later visions are the ones that will happen first, how do I end up in bed so soon with a woman I haven't known very long?"
Lance wanted to make a smart ass remark, but he knew that this was too important to Keith. He hadn't even done anything yet, and Lance already knew that he was feeling guilty about the vision. "Keith. It's a vision. They don't show you much, just enough to tease you. Now that you know, maybe you can change it."
"Maybe."
The tone of Keith's voice told Lance his friend didn't really believe it. Well, there was only so much he could do. Keith had to make his own decisions about how he would regard the visions. "Time for lunch, buddy."
They had just gotten to the door when Keith grabbed Lance's arm and said, "Please no…" That was all he got out before he was once again caught up in a vision.
When Keith came out of it this time, Lance didn't wait for the question, "Two minutes max."
Taking a moment to regain his composure, he said, "I'll tell everyone at once at lunch."
It was a long silent walk to the dining hall. This vision had come only four hours after the last one. It really could be any time now. When they entered the hall, the eyes of Coran and the team turned to them.
Allura looked to the door and was just about to call out a greeting when she saw the serious look on both of the men's faces. Hastily pushing back her chair to stand, Allura reached out to the table to steady herself as she asked, "Another one?"
Keith nodded and moved to his seat next to her. "Four hours since the last one. In this one, I was along some kind of roadway and there were bodies on the ground all around. Some were moaning, so I'm not sure if some were dead or not. I felt like I had been fighting and was breathing heavily. My focus turned to a young man with a Lion House tunic on. He was only slightly injured and was standing to the side. Then the vision ended."
Pidge tapped his finger on the table, "Okay, so there's a fight in a roadway. You're sleeping in a building. You are in a town with someone who knows you and you fight in an arena. Does that sum up the visions?"
Sighing, Keith said, "I'm afraid it does." His brow wrinkled as he said, "The person who called to me was the same as the boy at the road." He shook his head and said, "Right now, I don't know how any of that is supposed to help me."
"You need to eat. It could be any time now." Allura's voice was soft and full of concern.
Nodding his agreement, Keith did the best he could during the meal, but he was really having a hard time of it. Finally, he gave up. "I just can't eat anymore. I'm going to go hang out in the rec room for a bit."
Hunk moved to stand, but Princess blurted out, "No, Hunk, I'll go with Keith." She was so afraid he'd be gone without a chance for her to say goodbye. Then she thought about it. Maybe she didn't have to say goodbye. They had both gone through the portal to the world-in-between together because they were touching… maybe the same thing would work with this portal….
Hunk sat back down and Keith moved towards the door. The two of them were only halfway there, when a breeze blew through the dining hall. The wind scattered loose napkins and some papers on a table as it made its way around the room only to circle back and swirl around Keith. It was like he was being enveloped by a tornado from the feet up. As the wind encircled him, his clothing began to change in front of his eyes: black leather knee boots, fitted black pants, a shirt and a tan tunic.
Allura watched the transformation before her eyes. When should she try to jump in? Could she even do it or would she be thrown back? She had to try. As Keith's shirt was changing, Allura charged at him while Lance yelled at her to stop.
Keith was looking at his body, watching the clothing change before his eyes, when he felt something crash into him. His eyes widened in alarm as he saw Allura clinging tightly to him and saw that her clothing was also beginning to alter. Immediately, he tried to push her away. "No, Allura, no!" But her grip was too tight. Finally, he just held on to her and closed his eyes.
