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: Wrote Chapter 20 last night, so I shall post another chapter! Staying 10 chapters ahead! Still taking episode requests! Did I mention that I'm having fun writing this? Housework still suffering but I did make cookies yesterday and today. Priorities ladies, priorities!

Chapter Ten

Keith managed to put thoughts of Allura in the Voltron uniform to the side as the group sat down at a conference room located outside of Castle Control. They had changed and eaten and were now ready to go over the data from the earlier practice session. Everyone in the room was relaxed except for him, but then, he had more riding on this than any of them.

Looking around the table, he watched as Lance worked on a tablet that worked in conjunction with a large vid screen on the wall. When he received a nod from Lance that he was ready, Sven cleared his throat, effectively silencing the sidebars. "Because none of us have ever flown one of these machines before, we have nothing to compare it to but ourselves. So, we won't look immediately at individual data but show the results for all us on a graph for each component. We'll look at how we compare to each other." Here Sven stop and looked seriously around the room. "Just know that this was our first time and if someone is low, it doesn't mean that they won't improve."

Keith refrained from snorting at the comment though he did glance briefly at Coran. He was sure that Sven was talking about the Alliance pilots. He doubted that he would get such consideration being the outsider.

So the meeting began with Lance pulling up a series of graphs covering speed, response time, etc.

The prince sat forward, his place on the graph on each area was at or near the top. He noted that on the tests related to maneuvering quickly or avoiding obstacles, he was first. As he flew Black, he could sense things unrelated to his sensors. Was it the magic at work or just his connection to the Lion? Keith noticed that Lance just sat looking at the data on the screen. He made few comments and looked unemotional. The prince knew that the young pilot had to be severely disappointed.

Lance sat staring at the data showing that Keith had had the fastest reflexes of the group in maneuvering his Lion. Was there something to the mumbo jumbo about the Lion choosing him? That Lion had been encased in stone and there was no reason to think that Keith had ever flown one of the other Lions before. Could it be possible that the kid was just that good? What actually make him shake his head in disgust was the thought that none of the Lions wanted him. Why?

"Something wrong, Lance?" Sven asked.

"What? No nothing is wrong." Lance said with a somewhat defensive tone to his voice.

Sven gave the lieutenant a questioning look and then turned back to the group. "I suggest we go back out to the Lions and just spend the next few hours familiarizing ourselves with them. Tomorrow we'll work on forming Voltron and learning how the mecha moves when connected as to how he moves apart." Sven looked over at Keith. "Can you tell us about that process, Prince?"

Keith looked over at Sven. He hated to admit it, but he had been staring at Allura. He just kept thinking about her in that uniform. "What?"

Sven's eyes narrowed, "First Lance doesn't seem to know what's going on and now you, Prince." The commander glanced from one man to the other. "During meetings, I expect to be listened to. Is that understood?"

"Yes, Commander," both men said simultaneously.

"Now, Prince Keith, I asked if you could shed some light on the way the mechas work when combined as Voltron versus how they act individually." Sven sat back and crossed his arms. He was tired of playing.

The prince sensed he needed to focus and acted accordingly. "From what I have been shown and told, the Lions will retain much of their same firepower in Voltron as they do individually. As the Lion's pilot, you will be able to fire on your own." Then he was uneasy as he added, "I can also access your weapons as Black Lion's pilot."

Sven maintained his posture of crossed arms as he stared at the prince. "Can that control be turned over to another Lion?"

Keith shook his head no.

Lance looked incredulously from one man to the other. His façade of disinterest was beginning to crack. "What else will you control as Black Lion pilot?"

The animosity from McClain was coming off in waves. Obviously, he felt that his Commander was now being slighted even further by the prince. Keith, however, was only doing as the Lions instructed. "Individual pilots can control some movement of their Lions as is required to use the weapons; however, I will control the direction and movement of Voltron as a whole."

Silence filled the room.

"Anything else?" Sven asked evenly. His tone was calm, but his team knew that the Norwegian was seething underneath his calm exterior.

Coran watched and listened carefully as Keith continued talking. This was a precarious time. The Alliance team had been accepting so far, but now a breech seemed to be opening.

Keith closed his eyes and drew upon the brightest image given to him from Black Lion. Opening his eyes, he said, "Voltron's primary weapon is his blazing sword. While a team member can give the order to form it if needed and Red and Green Lions actually make the sword, it is I and I alone who wields it."

Sven turned to Lance. "While we're out practicing, I want you to check the database. See if you can find out about what the Prince says. Most importantly, see if you can find a way to transfer command from the Black Lion to the Red Lion." Looking around the room, Sven said, "The meeting is over, head to Castle Control. We'll practice the rest of the day."

And just like that, Sven dismissed them without acknowledging Keith again.

Keith sat looking at a far point on the wall across from him as he heard Coran move closer to him. "They'll never accept me," he said quietly. "I don't really blame them. I don't have any strategic training like they do."

"But you've studied, Keith-"

Snorting, Keith said, "Like reading about strategy and battles makes you a leader. You and I both know that's not how it works." Waving his hand in the direction of the door where the pilots exited, Keith continued, "They've had combat experience; I haven't." Leaning back and closing his eyes, insecurity swept over him. "What if Black was wrong?"

Sitting down beside the prince, Coran placed a hand on his shoulder. "Nothing in today's practice indicated that you are anything less than capable."

Keith smiled at his mentor. "Yeah, in a situation where no lives were on the line; I did great."

Coran sighed, "The Lions are made of a magic that we can't even guess the age of. I think that they would be pretty good at determining who is best to fly them. Trust them." Squeezing Keith's shoulder he stood. "See you in Control."

"I'll be there in just a few minutes," Keith said as he returned his attention to the wall. He heard Coran's steps echo down the hallway. Closing his eyes, he thought about what it would mean to be the one in control of Voltron. Could he do it? Black had said this is who he was meant to be. This is what he was meant to do. But doubts flickered into his conscious. Could he wield the sword that could cleave ships into pieces? Could he take lives like that, even if they were the ones attacking his planet? Could he fire weapons from the Lion that would take the lives of other pilots? It was something that he needed to think about now. In the heat of battle it would be too late. Too late for all of them.