I make no claims to Voltron or any WEP characters.

Origins: A Legend Unfolds: Chapter 14

Having changed into her standard pantsuit, Allura makes her way to her office and finds her advisor already seated at the desk. Sitting down on the chair in front, she says, "Coran, I wish to know more about these men from Garrison." Her expression is stony as she adds, "Especially of the commander."

Arching an eyebrow at her, Coran sits back in the chair and steeples his fingers together, "What do you wish to know?"

"Who he is, where he is from, and how he grew up. I want to know as much as possible about the man that is now directly in charge of our defense," she pauses then adds, "and our lions."

Nodding, Coran responds, "I will try to contact Galaxy Garrison and request all of their backgrounds. Hopefully, the solar storm that has been disrupting our communications will have passed."

Allura rises, "Very well, have the other men returned yet?"

Shaking his head, the advisor informs her, "Not yet, as of the last update I had, they were still working with the lions out in the Vide Desert."

"Very well, I am going to the control room. Please notify me after you have contacted Garrison."

Coran sighs as she walks out of the room. Reaching for his monitor, he starts pressing buttons on the screen. When a young man dressed in a Garrison uniform appears, the advisor smiles, "I wish to speak with Admiral Graham please."

"Whom may I say is calling?"

"Coran Montrane, advisor to her Royal Highness, Princess Allura of Storm Kingdom on Planet Arus."

"Very well, one moment."

Sitting back in his chair, Coran waits for the man who can give him the answers the princess seeks.

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His eyes flutter open as Keith yawns while waking up three hours later. Turning over in the bed, he smiles as he reaches up to touch his temples. Feeling not an ounce of pain for the first time since arriving on Arus, he rises from the bed and makes his way to the bathroom. Thirty minutes later, shaved, hair combed back and fully dress, Keith leaves his room and makes his way to the dining room in time for dinner.

He pauses in the corridor outside the dining room and once again studies the portrait of King Alfor and his wife. Noticing the likenesses between the couple and their surviving daughter, he turns and finishes walking into the dining room.

"Hey, you must be feeling better."

Glancing over to the direction the statement came from, he finds Sven moving away from Coran and Lance to walk over to him. Nodding in reply, Keith's eyes move around the roomful of people until he finds the person he is looking for.

"So no headache?"

Turning back to his friend, the commander smiles as he replies, "No, I took a long nap this afternoon and that seemed to cure it."

"I'm glad my friend," Sven responds then notices the commander looking over at the princess. Clearing his throat, he states, "Don't let me keep you…" then walks away from him.

Keith glances at him as he walks away then turns back to his quarry. Walking over to the princess as she stands near a table pouring herself a glass of water, he whispers, "Thank you."

Surprised, Allura looks up to find the commander smiling down at her. She notes that with his face relaxed and smiling, he is even more handsome. She feels a flutter in her stomach when he bends closer to whisper into her ear, "I don't know what I would have done without you and your friend helping me out."

He steps back and Allura takes a deep breath of relief and silently releases it so he will not hear her. Putting a smile on her face, she glances up at him as she quietly replies, "You are welcome." Stepping away from the side table, the princess walks over to the table and sits down only to find Keith sitting down next to her. His expression is rueful as he says, "I also owe you an apology. You were right, I shouldn't have spoken to you the way I did while we were in the lions."

Releasing a sigh, Keith glances over to find the others still in deep conversation on the other side of the room. Looking back over at the princess to find her studying him, he smiles again, "Why do I feel that, for the duration of my stay, I will find myself apologizing to you constantly?"

Allura's gaze turns thoughtful as she replies, "Perhaps because we seem very good at irritating each other." She shrugs at him, "Maybe our personalities are simply incompatible." When he does not speak, she looks back to find his dark eyes probing her closely. He finally shakes his head at her, "I don't think we are incompatible…" a rueful smile once again slips across his face, "perhaps we are simply both stubborn asses and neither of us likes other people giving us orders."

Unable to help herself, Allura starts laughing. Her hand drifts over to lie on top of his as she states, "That could very well be true…"

Keith's eyes drift down to the hand lying on top of his and he feels a jolt of longing go through him. Looking back up into her eyes, he finds the smile sliding off her face as she starts to pull her hand away from him. Moving without thinking about it, Keith takes her hand between his. Realizing what he had done, he smiles quickly and says, "I promise to try and be more diplomatic when asking you to be quiet."

He watches her smile at him once more, this one not quite reaching her eyes. The princess pulls her hand away and nods to him as she replies, "I will try to listen to you more so you can teach me about strategy."

Across the room, Sven watches his friend talking to the princess. He smiles when she breaks out in laughter then his eyebrows go up when Keith takes her hand. Narrowing his eyes slightly in concentration, he pays attention to the looks they are giving each other before Allura pulls away from him then picks up her glass of water to drink from it, effectively ending the conversation.

"What are you watching so intently?"

Startled, Sven looks over to find Lance arching an eyebrow at him, "I asked you a question and you didn't even hear it."

Shrugging, the Norwegian walks away from him and moves over to the table. Sitting down next to Keith, he waits until the others have sat down as well and the princess begins speaking with her advisor then whispers out of the corner of his mouth, "Easy my friend…"

When the commander looks over at him in askance, Sven tells him, "Do not wear your heart on your sleeve."

Irritated, Keith turns to him and furiously whispers back, "What the hell do you mean by that?"

Sven glances around to make sure everyone else is busy with their own conversations then quietly replies, "She's vivacious, beautiful and intelligent…everything that is attractive to you in a woman. I know you too well my friend. Just be careful."

Refusing to answer him, Keith turns away and picks up his napkin instead. He places it on his lap as the servants come in and begin serving them. Using his fork, he begins picking at his food then finds himself looking sideways at the princess. She is talking animatedly to Coran and Lance and ignoring him completely. Feeling his earlier good mood diminishing, Keith turns back to his plate and begins to eat, ignoring everyone around him.

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As she eats her dinner, Allura can feel the change of attitude in the man sitting next to her. Sighing as she thinks, 'Now what is going on with him?' she turns toward Keith to ask, "Is something wrong?"

"No Princess, everything is fine," he replies shortly then takes a bite of his dinner as if dismissing her.

Getting tired of his fluid moods, Allura retorts, "Then stop acting like you are going to bite off the head of anyone that asks you a question and relax before you give yourself another headache!"

Keith sighs deeply then glances over at her. She arches an eyebrow at him and he feels his irritation waning under her regard. Nodding to her, he says, "Sorry…"

"Do not be sorry, just relax," the princess orders then goes back to her dinner.

Shaking his head, Keith looks across the table to find Lance giving him a knowing smile before he turns away to speak with Coran again. Picking up his fork once more, the commander turns his attention back to Sven, "How did the practice go?"

The lieutenant-commander smiles at him then wipes his mouth with his napkin, "Now you ask? I thought you would be grilling me the moment you walked into the dining room."

Refusing to admit that his mind had been on the princess and he had not even thought of the lions, Keith retorts, "I'm asking now…how did it go?"

"Well, some of the weapon systems are standard on the lions, missiles, shooting claws, ion knives. However, there are some weapon systems that apply only to a specific lion. We found that each lion could fire the natural element of its background. Like my lion, water can pour out of its mouth. Pidge can send a windstorm at missiles, throwing them off course. You get the idea…"

Keith nods to him and listens as Sven continues to give him the run down. At the end of it, the Norwegian sighs as he states, "Of course we don't know exactly what Black lion is capable of…"

"Or how the weapon systems change when Voltron is formed," Keith finishes for him. Looking down at his plate to find he had finished his dinner absentmindedly as Sven has spoken, he puts his fork down. His gaze moves around the table again to find Hunk and Pidge deep in discussion and Lance now flirting with the pretty servant that is picking up his empty plate. Shaking his head, he looks back at his second-in-command, "I'm taking Black lion out in the morning to learn the systems on him. After lunch, we will try to form Voltron."

Nodding, Sven states, "Pidge and Hunk did go into Black lion before dinner and mapped out the controls. There are obviously several more controls in that lion than in the rest. Guessing those pertain to Voltron. They can give you the map of the ones we know so you won't spend all of your time guessing…"

"Thanks." Pushing back his chair, he smiles as the members of his team suddenly look his way, "I'm going to work on an update for Garrison then get to bed. See you in the morning for drills." They grumble slightly at him as he rises. He meets the princess' gaze as he says, "Good night," then turns around and walks out of the room.

Allura watches him go then turns back to find her advisor giving her a probing look. Irritated with it, she rises as well, "I also should go get some work done…"

"Those files you asked for earlier are on your desk," interjects Coran while sitting back in his chair.

She thanks him then says good night to the others before leaving the room. As she walks down the hallway, Allura's mind is on the commander while thinking, 'How he can make me smile one moment then want to strangle him the next?'

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Reading through his report, Keith sighs as he makes notes of things he still needs to check on. Three days, they had only been there for three days, yet it felt like a month or more with everything that had been happening. Picking up his list of questions, the commander glances through them then rises. Walking out of his room, he stops a guard walking past in the hall to inquire where he may find the advisor.

"He may be in the office he shares with the princess."

"Thanks…" replies Keith then continues down the hallway. Reaching his destination, he knocks on the door then walks into the office when bidden to find Allura sitting behind the desk. Managing a smile of greeting, he walks across the room, "I was told I might find Coran in here."

Looking up from the file in her hands, Allura replies, "No, I am not sure where he went after dinner."

Keith nods then notices his name on the file in the princess' hands. Arching his eyebrows as he bends over the desk more to look at it, he asks, "What's that?"

His eyes fly to the princess' face to find her cheeks reddening as she closes the file and places it upside down on the desk, "Your file from Galaxy Garrison."

"My file…"

Allura finally looks up to meet his gaze, "I asked Coran to retrieve information on you and the others." She notices his face turning red and his eyes narrowing in anger, "I have every right to know more about the men in charge of my kingdom's defenses."

"Yes, you do," Keith spits out in a biting tone then adds, "But did it ever occur to you to simply ask me more about myself?" When she looks away from him, he snarls, "No…I didn't think so.

Feeling her cheeks reddening even more, the princess glares back at him as she retorts, "Would you have been willing to tell me?"

Standing upright, Keith stares down at her, his tone frosty as he says, "You will never know…will you, Princess?" then turns around and walks out of the room.

Closing her eyes as she blows air out of her mouth, Allura leans forward and places her head on her crossed arms on the desk.

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Sitting at the desk in his room, Keith stares at the report he started after dinner but does not see the words. Instead, his anger with the princess keeps coming to the forefront of his mind. Swearing, he shoves the data-pad away from himself and sits back in the chair. Running his hands through his hair, Keith stops when he hears a knock at the door.

Standing, he moves over to open the door then steps back as the princess stands in front of him, looking a little nervous, "May I come in?"

Managing a nod, Keith moves back into the room and watches as she glances around then takes his seat at the desk. Noticing the file folder in her hand, he stiffens slightly and makes his way over to his bed. Sitting down, he looks back over at her, "What do you want, Princess?"

She holds up the file and says, "You were right, I should have just asked you. I am sorry."

Keith nods in acceptance of the apology then sighs as he stands, "I shouldn't have blown up at you like that. You had every right to ask for our files. I'm tired, things haven't been going right on this mission and I know I overreacted. But if that's all you have to say, it is late and I should get to bed…"

"But it is not all…"

Surprised, he looks back down at her, "What…"

"I want to know more," Allura states as she holds the folder out toward him. "All this has is date of birth, height, weight…" She opens it up again, "Born in New York City, New York, USA but notes you were raised in Japan by your uncle." Her gaze is intense as she looks back at him, "What happened to your parents?"

Sighing as his anger drains away, Keith sits back down on his bed and stares at her for a moment. His tone is quiet as he asks, "How much do you really want to know?"

"Everything." When he arches an eyebrow at her, Allura shrugs, "Well, everything you will tell me." Sitting forward, she pleads with him, "I need to understand who you are in order to trust you with the security of Storm Kingdom. Please…"

Nodding in understanding, Keith gestures to the file, "May I see it?"

Standing, Allura walks over to the bed and hands him his file. She sits back down and watches as Keith quickly scans the contents then throws it down next to him on the bed, "There really isn't much in there…" He looks back over at the princess and says, "My parents were killed in a car accident when I was four years old."

At her confused look, he informs her, "Cars are mechanical vehicles that we use on Earth to get around."

She nods then says, "Must have been horrible for you."

Keith shrugs, "I don't remember too much from that time, or them really. Since I had no living relatives in the US anymore, I was sent to Japan to live with my dad's brother." He finally smiles, "Uncle Tyler is a commander for the US military and is stationed in Japan. He was a bit hard at times, but he raised me as his own son. I went to everything his children did, the same schools, the same Martial Arts classes, everything."

"What is Martial Arts?" Allura asks, once again looking confused.

"A way of fighting, where your body becomes a weapon. Though, I also learned how to fight with various types of weapons as well." He gestures with his hands as he states, "When I turned seventeen, and wanted to join the Space Academy, he backed my decision."

Nodding, Allura points to the folder again, "It said in there that your last commander had recommended you be promoted to commander." Standing up, she moves to sit next to him on the bed as she picks up the file again and reads from the recommendation, "Lieutenant-Commander Kogane has all the skills necessary to be an effective leader. He is highly skilled in defensive and battle strategy. He stays calm in pressure situations and is a creative problem solver." At Keith's sigh, she looks up again, "So is this your first mission as a commander?"

"I can do the job if that is what you are worried about," his tone comes out a bit stiff once more as his face reddens in embarrassment.

Allura smiles softly at him, "I have seen what you are capable of Commander. I was simply curious." Her eyes go back to the file and her eyebrows move together as she asks, "It mentions that on your last mission you were awarded a medal of valor, but not what you did to earn it. This also mentions that several men were killed, including your commander." She looks back at him, "What happened on that last mission?"

His eyes glaze over slightly as Keith looks down at the floor. At first Allura does not think he will answer her when suddenly he speaks quietly. "We were sent to Planet Shukra in the Bode's Galaxy to help them with Drule attacks. Commander Smith split our group in half and ordered me to stay with the group that was to remain back at camp. We were to keep the camp secure while he took the others on a scouting mission. When they had been gone two hours longer than they should have, we went after them." He stops speaking for a moment then looks over at her, his eyes slightly red, "When we found them, they were all dead. They had been attacked by a Drule patrol and they slaughtered them like animals."

Holding his gaze, Allura quietly asks, "What did you do?"

His eyes harden as he growls out, "Hunted every one of those bastards down and killed them."

Shocked, Allura gasps loudly at the suddenly ferocious looking man in front of her. His expression softens a moment later and he turns away from her, "Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you."

Shaking her head, Allura places a hand on his arm, "No, you did not…but…were you not injured as well?"

Keith nods then says, "But it was worth it to avenge our friends and teammates. The things that were done to them…" he stops then stands up and moves away from her.

Watching him, Allura notices the stiffness in his body slowly decrease then he sits down on the chair by the desk. He stares at her for a moment then asks, "Anything else you would like to know?"

Sighing, she shrugs indifferently as she inquires, "Do you have a significant other? The file only lists you as single…"

As she hoped for, Allura watches a smile slowly creep across his face and his eyes shine with humor as he inquires, "Why are you interested in that?"

Shrugging again and trying to appear nonchalant about the subject while looking back down at the file, the princess replies, "Just curious if you manage to have relationships despite your travels."

His eyes have a far too knowing look to them when she glances back as he answers, "Not currently, no. It is too difficult to have a girlfriend or wife when I am gone from Earth for months at a time. The locations we are sent to are always far too dangerous to bring someone like that along. It wouldn't be fair to leave her alone like that."

Nodding, Allura looks back at the folder and quietly asks, "But you have had one before?"

"Yes Princess, I'm not a monk."

Allura looks back at him in question, "A monk?"

He bursts out laughing then stands back up, "I think we need to be done, your Highness."

"But what is a monk?" she asks as Keith takes her hand to help her up and walks her over to the door. They stop beside it and Allura looks up into his eyes to find them still full of humor. He presses the button to open the door then says, "A monk is a holy man on Earth who lives by a vow of chastity." He guides her out of the door as her eyes widen slightly and her cheeks redden as she says, "Oh…"

Unable to help the laughter that bursts out of him, he says, "Good night Princess," then closes the door. With a smile still on his face, he moves across the room and starts getting ready for bed.