Reviewer K...to answer your question, I believe there are 41 chapters total...there, now you know.

Mertz

I make no claims to Voltron or any WEP characters.

Origins: A Legend Unfolds: Chapter 25

The next morning, Sven opens his eyes to find his commander sitting on the chair next to his bed. His friend is trying to recline in the stiff, backed chair, his arms crossed in front of him as he smiles, "Good morning."

"Morning," Sven manages to reply then glances down to find Romelle still asleep alongside of him. He runs a hand gently down her hair then glances back at his friend, "Thank you for saving her."

"You did most of the work Sven, I just finished it," he replies then gestures to his shoulder, "How does it feel?"

"I don't know. They have a morphine drip on me still, so I am not feeling much of anything yet." He runs his hand down Romelle's hair again, enjoying the silky feel.

Keith watches his friend shift to put his head against the princess' and sighs as he remembers the feel of a different princess in his arms the night before. The thought of her brings back the need for the visit. Clearing his throat to gain Sven's attention, he says, "I had a request from Princess Allura."

His friend looks at him curiously as the commander sighs and states, "She would like to be trained to fly the lions to help protect Arus during your recovery and help fill any future needs."

"Well, it makes sense to have someone trained," Sven starts to agree, "But the princess?"

"It is her planet," Keith starts to say then runs his hand through his hair. "She demanded it be her. I also know that if we train Princess Allura, we will also be training Princess Maia. She will demand it as well."

"Yes, given her temperament, I would have to agree with that assessment." Sven returns to stroking Romelle's hair as he states, "They have a passion to protect the people and what is left of their kingdoms." He looks back at Keith, "I wouldn't deny them the right to protect what is theirs."

"No, I don't think we could even if we tried," Keith agrees then smiles, "I have no doubt Maia would make good on her threat to use a fireball against me."

Sven smiles as well then states, "Do you realize we've been here a week already?"

"Busy week," sighs the commander as he slouches in his chair slightly.

"Yeah, imagine what the next six months will be like."

Sven chuckles as the commander groans then turns his attention back to the woman next to him as she murmurs in her sleep. He moves his hand from her hair to her back, caressing her softly.

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Walking into the dining room, Allura glances around to find only Maia in the room. She sips from a cup slowly, her eyes closed. Sitting down across from her, Allura asks, "How did it go last night?"

Opening her eyes, Maia looks tiredly over at the other princess as she responds, "It went fine. Romelle woke at one point and went to Sven's room. She was still sleeping next to him when I left MedTech this morning."

"Did you sleep at all?" asks Allura as she accepts a plate from a servant.

"Some, I thought I would have breakfast with you then return to Fire Kingdom to rest." She yawns delicately as a plate is placed in front of her as well. Looking down at it, Maia sighs, closes her eyes once more then goes back to sipping from her cup of coffee.

Allura watches her then smiles, "Perhaps you should just return to Fire Kingdom now and sleep."

The other princess smiles with her eyes still closed and takes another sip. She finally sets the cup down and opens her eyes, "I will soon enough. Too often my meals have been solitary or eaten quickly so I can return to my duties."

Swallowing a sip of tea, Allura nods, "I have found that since the men have arrived, I enjoy meal time much more."

"They are a lively lot, are they not?" replies Maia then sighs as she hears voices coming from down the hall. Soon Pidge and Lance walk into the room and take their places. Lance smiles at them as he says, "Good morning ladies."

Maia nods to him then goes back to her coffee. Refusing to be ignored, Lance tries again, "How is Sven this morning?" Sighing, Maia looks back at him, "He was still asleep when I left MedTech."

"Where is Keith?" Allura suddenly asks, breaking into the conversation.

Shrugging, Lance replies, "After our drills, he mentioned seeing Sven then coming down for breakfast later."

"Why did no one wake me for drills?" The princess looks highly irritated as she glares at the lieutenant.

Lance glances over to find an amused look on Maia's face then turns back to Allura to answer, "When you didn't show up, Keith decided to let you sleep. He said that after everything that happened yesterday, you had earned the right to sleep in for one day."

Finding the conversation highly entertaining, Maia looks away from Lance to Allura. The other princess stares at the lieutenant closely before she suddenly rises, "I am going to go check on Romelle and Sven."

They watch her leave the room then Lance sighs, "So, how much trouble is Keith in for not waking her?"

"I do not know," replies Maia, "I think she was torn between gratitude for the extra sleep and irritation because now she has not had training for two days." She rises from her chair, "I should go with her."

Lance stands as well and Maia looks at him sharply. He smiles at her as he says, "Think I will escort you."

The princess stares at him a moment longer then shrugs almost imperceptibly before heading for the door, leaving Lance to hurry after her. Pidge glances over at them and shakes his head then turns his attention back to his breakfast.

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Breathing in deeply then releasing it, Romelle feels a hard body next to hers as she slowly awakens. It does not frighten her however, even though her half-asleep mind cannot remember why. She feels a hand on her back, rubbing gently and lets out a little sleepy moan. Her eyes slip open to find the man that saved her from Lotor studying her closely as he whispers, "Good morning."

She manages a soft smile before she notices a man sitting on a chair across from them. Gasping, she starts to pull away only to have Sven tighten his hold on her as he says, "Easy Romelle. This is Keith Kogane, my commanding officer and friend. He was on Pollux with me and he won't hurt you."

Looking from Sven back to the other man, she notices a look of anger in his eyes as he looks her over that disappears almost as most as fast as it had appeared as he smiles kindly at her then says, "Good morning Princess Romelle, how are you feeling?"

The door to the room opens before she can answer and Allura walks in. She looks at the men then at Romelle and manages a smile, "Morning, Maia said you came in here last night."

Tensing her body as she starts to panic, Romelle feels Sven tightening his grip on her in response as he says, "Easy Romelle, no one here will hurt you. You're safe here on Arus…remember?"

Disturbing memories come flooding back as Romelle looks away from the other two back to Sven, "What about Bandor?"

The door opens again to reveal Lance and Maia as Keith asks, "Who is Bandor?"

Ignoring the new arrivals, she replies, "My younger brother. He is only twelve years old! I cannot leave him there for my father to abuse!" Romelle looks back at Sven, "Please! Can you save him?"

Sven looks away from her over to Keith, "Have any ideas?"

"We had a hard enough time getting out the first time…" sighs Keith as he looks over at the princesses speculatively. "Perhaps, Princess Maia, since you have better knowledge of your powers than Princess Allura, would you be able to retrieve him?"

Shaking her head, Maia says, "Not from here. Space and time matter in magic, Commander. It is one thing to disappear from Storm Kingdom and arrive in Fire Kingdom, quite another to try to leave this planet and arrive on another."

"How close would you need to be?" the commander asks, his gaze inquisitive.

Maia throws her hands up in the air as she retorts, "How close can you get me?"

"What are you thinking of Keith?" Lance asks as he looks from Maia to the commander.

Sighing, Keith replies, "The moon on the far side of the planet. If we come up behind it in the lions and land there, I don't think they will see us coming. Maia could take us directly to the prince, we grab him then she can pull us out. Hopefully, without King Cova even noticing we've been there."

Shaking her head, Maia responds, "I do not think I could do it from that far. I need to be on the planet's surface."

"Damn…" Dropping his head, Keith thinks through several scenarios, discarding each in turn, he says, "We cannot declare open war on Pollux."

"We don't have to…"

The commander looks up at Lance as he says, "My lion is the fire lion right? So, what if we go in fast and hot…burning hot…like shooting star hot. They might mistake my lion for a meteor instead. We get to the surface of the planet and Maia can take us in from there."

Impressed despite herself, Maia nods as she looks back at the commander, "That might work…"

"Gee, thanks for the vote of confidence Princess," derides Lance as he glares at the Fire Kingdom princess.

She returns the glare but Keith stops her from saying anything by stating, "Enough you two." Standing up, he continues, "Here's the plan, Lance, you, Maia and I will go in Red lion…"

"I wish to go as well," interrupts Allura as she looks at the trio.

Shaking his head, Keith answers, "Too dangerous…"

"It is just as dangerous for Maia as it would be for me," she retorts, crossing her arms in front of her.

Feeling his irritation rising, Keith opens his mouth to respond only to be interrupted by Maia as she says, "He is right Allura. You do not have full control of your powers, I do. I can get us in and out, in no time."

Allura looks around the room, finding no support, she finally replies, "Very well…" then sits down on the chair next to Romelle's side of the bed. The Pollux princess turns to smile tentatively at her and reaches out with her hand. Taking it, Allura looks back at the others, "When are you going?"

"Now…"

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A flash of bright light inside Red lion leaves the trio standing in the cockpit. Lance releases his hold on Maia's shoulder, feeling a bit dazed as he sits down in the command chair mumbling, "I'll never get used to that shit." He hears the snort of derision behind him from Maia but ignores it as he leans forward to place the key in its slot.

Keith shoots a warning look at Maia then steps in behind the command chair, "You're sure of this Lance? We won't just implode on impact?"

"Trust me, I have Coran scanning Pollux's surface for an open lava pit. We will come in fast like I said and land in the lava. Even if they send scouts to check, they won't follow us into the lava. Maia will get us in and out with the little prince then we will take off and be away from Pollux before they even know we were there," Lance quickly explains as he grasps the controls of the lion and runs him out of his hidden cavern. Just as they reach the enclosed entrance, the doors open and Lance flies the Red lion up into the air.

They leave Arus airspace and quickly start to move through space. A bright smile crosses Lance's face as he exclaims, "I bet Garrison would love to get their hands on these machines. They don't have anything that can move through space as fast as these lions."

"They have no claim!" Princess Maia snarls out then feels Keith's hand on her arm, trying to calm her, "He didn't mean we would hand them over Princess, only that they have nothing like them."

Lance glances back at her, incredulity on his face, "Do you honestly think I would hand Red over to them? Hell no! He belongs to Arus and me!" The mark on his hand ignites as he grabs the controller and pushes it forward, causing the lion to burn with red sparks as it pushes through space.

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Stepping out of the still steaming bath water, Romelle wraps a thick towel around her battered body then picks up another one to start wiping the water out of her hair. She sits down on the chair left in the bathroom for her then glances in the mirror. The sight of the bruises on her forehead and cheek make her grimace. She turns when she hears a soft knock at the door then her cousin's voice, "Romelle? Are you covered? Can I come in?"

Wiping at her face with the towel, she takes a deep breath then calls out, "Yes."

The door opens to reveal the Princess of Storm Kingdom. She smiles at Romelle as she says, "I brought you something more comfortable to wear besides these medical gowns."

Romelle glances at the clothing in Allura's hands and murmurs, "Thanks."

"They are similar to what I wear at night, but a little more concealing perhaps?" Allura sets the clothing down on the counter then looks at her. The bruising had turned a dark purple around the gash on her forehead. The bruise on her cheek was close to the same color. She watches her cousin finish toweling her hair then tries reaching for the brush on the counter.

"Here, let me help you."

Picking up the hairbrush, Allura gently pulls it through Romelle's hair as she asks, "How are you?" She looks over into the mirror to find Romelle looking back at her before she looks back down and whispers, "I do not know."

She watches Romelle shift uncomfortably on the chair and goes back to brushing her hair. "The princess of Earth Kingdom, Kaya is here as well. She would like to meet you and introduce you to her son, Audric."

"I…I do not know…" Romelle pauses to think as she feels the tears sliding down her cheeks once more. "I wish to return to Sven." She feels Allura pause with the brush and a hand squeezes her shoulder in understanding. The brushing continues as Allura works on a snarl gently then pulls the brush through the long length again.

Romelle soon feels herself relaxing under the ministrations as Allura says, "My mother used to brush my hair every night before I went to bed. She would brush it while telling me stories until I was almost asleep…it was so comforting. To this day, I think that is what I miss most about her, our times together at night as she brushed my hair."

Sighing sadly, Romelle tells her, "I miss my mother as well. When she died, my father…changed. He used to smile and was kind. I remember he would walk into the room and she would stop what she was doing to smile at him, to kiss him upon his cheek. He became abusive and uncaring after she died giving birth to my youngest brother." She wipes at the tears running down her cheeks, "When mother was alive, my father would have never consented to giving me to…Prince…Lo…" she stops, unable to say the name. A deep sob escapes her as Allura wraps her arms around her, hugging her tightly.

She feels a kiss on top of her head then Allura whispers, "You need to meet Kaya. She will be able to help you."

"How?" asks Romelle as she releases a deep shuddering breath.

"You shall see. Let's get you dressed."

She feels Allura's fingers in her hair, quickly braiding the mass. Her cousin steps around her a moment later and smiles, "I will leave you to dress. Kaya, Audric and I will be waiting in your room." Romelle looks up to argue only for Allura to walk out of the room. Glancing over at the clothing, she slowly rises and drops the towel.

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A few minutes later, Romelle runs her hand over the soft fabric of the shirt then picks up the robe waiting for her. She wraps the belt around herself then slowly makes her way to the bathroom door. Pausing just outside of it, she finds Princess Allura speaking to another woman. They stop when they see her and Allura smiles. "Romelle, come meet Princess Kaya of Earth Kingdom."

Romelle's eyes move over the other woman, noting the regal bearing and the soft smile offered as she steps toward her. "My son will be back soon. Like most young boys, he has a problem sitting still for any amount of time. He went to see Hunk, who is visiting Sven at the moment."

Moving closer to the Polluxian princess, Kaya looks over the bruises on her face and sighs before managing another smile, "I know where you are emotionally right now. It will pass and you will become stronger for having survived it."

Tears run down the Polluxian princess' face as she whispers, "How?"

The door to the room opens and a young boy with pale blue skin hastens into the room, "Mother, Hunk promised to take me out to Yellow lion and show me the insides, where the me…chan…ics are," he finishes with a slight stutter.

Romelle's eyes grow wide looking at the boy then she looks back at Kaya. The other princess smiles at her then pulls her son in front of her, "Audric, say hello to Princess Romelle."

The young boy puts his hands over his mother's and smiles charmingly at her as he says, "Hello Princess Romelle."

Sitting down on her bed, Romelle looks away from the boy back to Kaya, who smiles with understanding, "I know exactly where you are and what you are feeling. We can talk anytime."

"Talk about what Mother?" Audric asks as he looks up at her.

Kaya bends down and kisses him on the forehead, "Adult things, my son. You can go visit Hunk and Sven again if you wish." The prince smiles brightly, waves at Romelle, "Bye" then runs out of the room. Turning back to Romelle, Kaya sits down on the bed beside her and waits.