~~~~26~~~~

Keith blinked the Arus sun seemed too bright, Allura's skin seemed to glow before him; he couldn't keep up with her. He tried to follow her, as she took her bushel of apples, to the next door and knocked.

Another surprised family, another shout of "Oh my, the Princess at my door, what is this!" Allura smiled and said she was making sure everyone had enough fresh food. Keith held up the bags of fresh vegetables he held, the family was gracious, overwhelmed. Allura glowed seeing them take their share.

But then she was gone and he was facing a too bright sun again, it was hot and he couldn't catch up again. Allura was ahead of him, laughing, smile, looking back over her shoulder. "Keith, come on, keep up, there is so much to do, so much to accomplish for my people."

And they were in the lions. He was firing on her, having them all fire on her. Over and over again, until she figured it out, until she got evasion. Until she could handle it like a trained combat professional. He flinched as Lance went in and went full throttle on her, snarking at her through his com. Keith white knuckled it, forcing himself to not order Lance to back off.

"Come on Allura, show us what you're made of, hit us back," Lance said, after another volley, his voice different, his snark gone but too casual now, to low and not at all the way to talk to The Princess.

"I can, I can," Allura's mantra was, over and over, between small screams and cries of pain.

"Fire," Keith ordered and they all went another around, blasting at her.

And she rose out of the smoke and fired on them, surprising Keith more than anybody, filling him with pride and when she saw her later, her helmet off, flyaway hair out of her bun, she'd never looked more beautiful. But it'd been Lance who'd hugged her, Hunk who'd lifted her to his shoulder's and Pidge who had yelled. "Long live Princess Allura!"

Where was he? Keith slumped against a wall, it was rock, he lit a torch, he was in the tombs of the Castle of Lions. Allura stood before him, more beautiful than ever. "You are remembering things slightly wrong, you know? Lance never hugged me, he only snarked at me - it's his way sometimes. But yeah, you never did catch up."

"Allura?"

"No. But probably as close you can get, for awhile anyway. If I were to run would you run after me?"

"Of course?"

"Then why didn't you tell her, Keith?"

"She and I..."

"Right, you were going to be noble, grand, you were going to tell her what Coran wanted to hear and what she never wanted to hear."

Keith looked away from the woman that was not Allura.

"Coward. Maybe you should be braver, Commander. For someone who walks into fire, you are quite a fraud when it comes to bravery. You think she's slipping away, what if she has slipped away, completely. What if Allura got so far ahead of you, you can never catch up."

She started to fade away, Keith reached out, "No, Allura, no, don't go. Stay, tell me what I need to do, what do I say, I don't know how to fix the mistakes I made... If it's too late... Allura don't go. Allura!"

Keith felt slammed into his own body, and he found himself sitting up and reaching out to nothing but his head hurt, there was a burning sensation on his left leg and he was freezing. And staring right at him from a stool against the wall, was a man with perfectly round eyes and perfectly round face. The first thought Keith had was that Lance and Pidge's Xiosian intel had left out the fact their humanoid appearance wasn't exact to Earth humanoid. He'd never have passed for one of them, damn it.

"What's wrong with my leg?"

"It's healing, the herbs burn. Tia told me you might complain when you woke. Also why you're dreams were so vivid."

Keith felt his right arm, his voltcom was missing. "Where is the piece of machinery I had on my arm."

"You mean this," Xan stood up walked toward the bed and pulled it out from underneath it. "I couldn't figure it out."

Keith put it on and felt immediately better. "It's not a well known technology."

"Same as Voltron I'm assuming."

Keith eyed him. "Who are you?"

"Prince Xan, the rightful Prince of Xios. You?"

"I think you already know."

"If I can trust the young lady who gave me the intel, she'll be happy to see you are awake."

Keith forced himself out of the bed, he watched Prince Xan watch him. Xan had dark eyes, he was tall, he looked strong. Keith wondered at him not being cold, he was wearing only one layer of what looked like battle gear. "Where are my clothes?"

"Under the cot," Xan said, sharp eyes watch Keith.

Keith tested his weight on his left leg, it was just the bandage and whatever was under it burning, he could put his weight on it, he tested it. "Your herbalist is good," he said, impressed.

"It is a weapon, right?" Xan asked, eyes slitting at the voltcom.

"Yes," Keith asked, pulling out his pants to put on and his sweater, from under the bed.

"Thank you for not lying."

"I came here to offer my help, lying wouldn't get me trusted."

"No, no it wouldn't," Xan said.

The door to the room opened and a woman walked in, as tall as Keith, short dark hair and the same battle wary expression as Xan on her face. She held small two way communication devise. "There is a ship landing, Xan."

"Kind of late to the party, isn't it?" Xan said.

"Yes. But Prince Xios has everyone who is anyone he invited out there to great it. Sky Marshall Wade, every Princess and Prince. All the Ambassadors from the moons and planets in the quadrant, plus the media. I thought we should see."

"Put it up, this is Keith. I'm trusting him, for now."

Keith nodded. Xan did know who he was then, he was just waiting for Keith to confirm it to an outside source who hadn't arrived yet. Keith watched as the woman put the small box up and brought up a fuzzy picture, then she hit the top of the box. "Come on."

"Our technology is usually stolen and refurbished, as you see."

Keith bent down and opened a back panel, he undid and redid a few connections really quickly and the picture came back more clearly. He saw an Arusian Shuttle Two. "Allura," he said.

"Your dream woman," Xan with a slight raise of his eyebrow.

Keith gave him a look but shook his head. "Princess Allura of Arus. Why would she be coming here?"

"She was probably invited. Prince Seth is having two week gala of fun before his big coronation, he's hoping to find his Queen before the end of the week. Xios King's traditionally are wed as soon as they crowned," the woman explained.

"The real question is why is she late," Xan asked. "Arus, that's a pretty important planet, Seth must not be happy she arrived a full week late."

"What is she doing here at all? Why the hell did Lance let her come? He told me the situation here was probably worth checking out," Keith muttered, watching the screen, forgetting about Xan and his soldier.

The doors to the shuttle slid open and Allura appeared, with Lance's arm around her waist. She was wearing long dress blue dress, Lance a tuxedo, both them in royal blue coats, Allura's fell to her waist, Lance was a long coat. The media started to shoot pictures, the other princesses on the sidelines were either 'ooohing,' or frowning at Allura.

Prince Seth walked up to Allura, grinning widely, Keith clenched his fists when he saw that Wade was right behind Prince Seth, standing there watching, nodding his head to Lance in a silent hello, that Lance had no choice but to give back cordially. But Keith saw the clench in Lance's jaw, he saw Alllura's hand go to the hand that was clutching her waist and touch him. "He hates you more than ever, Wade, what did you do now?" Keith wondered out loud, a bad habit he'd gotten into on his travels.

"I thought you and the rest of the Voltron Force - for lack of anything else to call them - were on the outs?"

Keith jumped, he lectured himself silently on forgetting he was with company - company he didn't even know if could trust. "It's complicated."

"Most things are. Wade there, his father before him, helped Seth's father King Ridos, for years, he was his - off planet Resource Man. They called it. He'd bring him money, from what I don't know. In return King Ridos would give him our planet's Falling Stones."

"Falling Stones?"

"Gemstones," the soldier said, she pulled a small bag out of her pocket. Opening it Keith saw many shimmering yellow stones, they were small, but they were bright. "There from the caverns, where most of travel happens on this planet, mined deep below. They are how we create energy, create weapons. Or how we used to. Now Seth and his kind, they keep a monolopy on it and sell it off world. To who or why, we don't know. They can be used for jewels, but they are more important than that, they could be giving this whole planet a life again."

"What is your name?"

"Kyla, Prince Xan is a good leader, but he's bad on the niceities."

"Shh," Xan said holding up a hand. "I want to hear what happens here?"

Keith turned, the press was with Prince Seth, Wade, Lance and Allura.

"Princess Allura, first I have to ask you the question the whole galaxy is buzzing with!"

"What would that be?" Allura asked, looking innocent, but Keith caught her tell, she knew was was coming, she'd stepped back into Lance for more shelter, but she'd stood taller, her chin was up and she was in her Queen stance. Whatever was coming up was a fight Allura had started.

"Is it true? Are you and Commander Larkin a romantic item? And did you really request just one room for the two of you here at Prince Seth's Castle? Traditionally, this is just something a Princess never does?"

"Well, traditionally Princess's don't fight in battle for her people's freedom and safety either, Finley. Yes, I am with Lance, yes we will be sharing a room."

"So, then it's true. You have broken the Arusian tradition, you are no longer a virgin?" Finley Granger asked.

"Now, Finley, those type of questions seem totally below you? Shouldn't you asking us something more becoming of you?" Lance said, suddenly, stepping forward a bit, tucking Allura in closer to him.

Keith wanted to hit him, hit him square on his jaw. "What the..."

"What question would that be Commander Larkin?"

"Like what I am wearing, and just how good I look in it?" he winked at the reporter.

Prince Seth cleared his throat. "Enough with this media, let us go into the dinner party, I have arranged for arrival Princess Allura," Prince Seth said, waving for Allura to follow him. Lance cleared his throat. "Uh, you too Commander, of course."

Keith watched Wade go to stand next to Lance, walking in beside him and Allura, but the camera's didn't pick up anything he said. He watched Lance and Allura until Finley Granger's smug appeared and he turned off the computer, remembering just before he kicked it dead that it was one of Xan's few working communications devices.

They were sleeping together. It wasn't just a ruse. It wasn't just Lance escorting her somewhere like usual. This was real. Lance was sleeping with Allura. Allura was sleeping with Lance. Keith formed the sword with his voltcom without even realizing, turned and ran through the thick tent fabric that made up Xan's home. "NO!"

Kyla pulled out her blaster. "Stand down!"

Prince Xan shook his head and put his arm between her and Keith. "We can fix it."

"Prince Xan, he's incensed. He's crazy, that thing forms a sword."

Xan shook his head. "It's passion. I can work with that. It's what brought us all here, isn't it, Kyla."

"Yes, sir."

"Have our people in the Castle, watch his 'it's complicated friends'. I want to know what Zora's impressions are specifically."

"Yes, sir."

Keith felt mortified, he was still seeing red in regards to Allura and Lance but he felt mortified as to what he'd just done. It'd be wrong and he'd owed Prince Xan for helping him, for being nothing if not nice to him - even if not totally trusting.

"You should have let her take me down," Keith said, closing the sword.

"You'd do me no good in my prison tent. And I doubt I could make the sword."

"Probably not," Keith said and he sighed. "So you know who I am. Want to tell me more about you, those stones, Wade, and Prince Seth?"

"I'm not sure yet. I need you to meet one person first."

"Who?"

"The person who told me you were the Commander of Voltron Force."

"Why?"

Xan shrugged and shook his head. "I want to see how you react to her."

Keith nodded. "Where is she?"

"She'll be here soon enough," he walked passed Keith and pulled a box from under the cot, Keith started to wonder just how much was under that bed. Xan pulled two large needles, and two large spools of thread. "While we wait, we fix your damage to my tent."

"By sewing?"

"Sewing is a handy skill," Xan said.

Keith stared at the thread and the needle, but sucked it up he'd made the hole, the wind coming in through it had to be near 50 degrees below zero. He should be fixing it on his own. "I can do on my own."

Prince Xan shook his head. "I don't let my people do what I can't. That includes guests with strange weapons."