Oof, this one gave me a bit of a fight, but I was finally able to finish it! I was going to wrap up editing yesterday but somewhere in the process I realized that I needed to add another scene, and therefore the update was delayed (again) until today. But it's done! I don't have to worry about it anymore! Also I don't hate this chapter, so that's always great.
As always, thanks for reading!
under the pale moonlight
chapter eight
under the frozen sky
He hadn't slept.
In his defense, he had tried. By the time night fell, he'd even been exhausted. His body still hadn't fully recovered from his time as a Galra prisoner, and the excitement of the day hadn't helped much. He would have liked nothing more than to fall asleep for a few hours, and dream of nothing.
Unfortunately, he hadn't.
Dreamt of nothing, that was.
Pulling the cloak one of the soldiers had generously given him tighter around him, Shiro tried to shake off the chill that had seeped into his bones. He couldn't actually remember the content of his nightmares- all he knew was that every time he tried to sleep, they were waiting for him.
He'd eventually just given up.
Instead, he'd settled for watching the princess' quarters most of the night, only relieving himself an hour before dawn. He doubted any danger would come to her here, but Sendak had left him uneasy. If there had been one disguised Galra here, who was to say there weren't more?
The expedition- well, now he knew how the Galra had found them.
Exhaling, he pushed open the door that lead to the inner wall. The pre-dawn chill caused him to shiver, but it was a relief from the self-induced chills of his night terrors. Stepping out onto the wall, he took in a deep breath of cold air, its scent clearing away some of his anxieties. There wasn't much he remembered from his time as a Galra prisoner, but the smell?
He remembered the smell.
"You're up early."
Shiro flinched, having fully expected to be alone on the wall. There were a few soldiers still patrolling, though they were mostly sticking to the outer wall. Most of the fort was asleep, trying to get whatever rest they could before what was sure to be a long day. There would be other refugees making their way here, seeking passage through the Lion's Mountains. According to Second Lieutenant Rizavi, those stationed here had decided to stay until they could be sure they'd gotten as many villagers through as possible.
Even if that meant being here when the barrier broke.
"Couldn't sleep." Shiro said truthfully. "What about you?"
Yorak narrowed his eyes, crossing his arms in front of him. His face was paler than yesterday, which was saying something.
"Yeah," he said, "-me too."
Shiro hummed, leaning against the rampart. He made sure to give Yorak his fair share of distance- he seemed like the type who valued his personal space.
"How's your leg?"
"Better," Yorak said, his hand darting down towards it in a way that made Shiro think it wasn't better at all, "-how's-?"
"My arm?" Shiro finished, lifting up the limb in question. It was the only part of him that wasn't cold. "It's been better."
He swore Yorak's lips twitched upwards, but he quickly ducked his head before he could confirm it. There was something almost oddly familiar about all this, but he bit back yesterday's question. He definitely would remember if he'd met someone like Yorak before. Northerners weren't exactly this common this far from the border.
"So," Shiro said instead, turning to look towards the Lion's Mountains, "-guess we're climbing those today, huh?"
"Guess so." Yorak said. "We should probably wake the others soon. The sooner we get started, the faster we can get that new barrier up."
"And you're positive this... moon maiden can do that?" Shiro asked.
Yorak nodded. "Positive."
"Good." Shiro nodded. "I don't need my memories of the past half year to know that the last thing we want is for the Galra to be able to roam freely over the kingdom."
Something in Yorak's gaze flickered, but it was gone before he could place it. He took a step back, keeping all of his weight on his right leg. "I should probably get ready."
Shiro frowned, wondering if he'd said something wrong. "Do you need help? I could-"
"I'm fine," Yorak cut him off, "-but... um, thanks."
"Alright," Shiro's frown only deepened, trying not to stare at his injured leg too hard, "-if you're sure."
"I'm sure." Yorak said. "It's not as bad as it looks."
He wasn't sure he believed that, but he sensed it was better not to argue. Yorak didn't look much older than Lance and Hunk, but something told him that he was a world away from the two of them in terms of experience. He wondered what kind of childhood he'd had- if he'd had any at all. He seemed pretty involved in all of this.
If the Galra had their way, a few missed childhoods would be the least of their problems.
"In that case, I'll-" Shiro began, only to abruptly cut himself off, realizing that he was talking to empty air. He hadn't even heard Yorak leave.
Huh.
Huffing slightly, Shiro turned his gaze back towards the mountains. He could just barely make out their silhouette in the darkness, distant and looming. Turning to look behind him, he tried to see the Deep Forest that he knew was behind them, but it was too far away for him to see.
He didn't need to see it, not when part of him swore he could feel it.
Turning away, Shiro closed his eyes, letting out a long breath. The chill was back, but something told him it wasn't the kind the morning sun would be able to chase away.
Dawn.
The sun had just crested above the horizon, causing the snowcapped mountains to glitter as if they were gems. And if it weren't so damn early, Lance might have actually appreciated it.
But it was, in fact, too damn early.
Even worse, the culprit who had dragged them all out of bed wasn't even here. There wasn't any sign of the paladin. The only people out here were him, Hunk, Pidge, and Shiro.
"Are you sure this is where we were supposed to meet?" Hunk asked, shifting nervously on his feet. "Maybe he said somewhere else."
"I'm pretty sure he said to wait outside of the fort." Pidge said, even as he glanced behind him as if to double check.
"Yeah, but maybe he meant the other side?" Hunk asked.
"Why would he mean the other side?" Pidge asked, arching a brow. "The mountains are on this side, and that's kind of where we're headed."
"I'm sure he'll be here in a little while." Shiro said. "He did hurt his leg."
"Didn't stop him from dragging us all out of bed before dawn." Lance countered- even if, yeah, there was no denying that Yorak had been limping pretty badly at the time. He'd heard from Shiro that he'd injured his leg during the fight with... well, whatever those things had been, but he assumed it hadn't been that bad since he'd asked for no doctors. But judging from the way it had been splinted...
Nope. Nun-uh. He was not going to show concern for the jerk who had woken him up before dawn and denied him his last few hours with his family. He'd tried to go back to sleep, and he probably would still be asleep if it hadn't been for Shiro. While he would gladly ignore Yorak, Captain Shirogane was a different story.
At least he'd said all his goodbyes yesterday. His mother and Marco had woken briefly, awakened by all the noise, but he'd told them to go back to sleep. They had a long journey ahead of them too, and they needed to get all the rest they could get. He got the feeling that his mother really did want to get up and say her final goodbyes to him outside the fort, but the exhaustion of the previous day had eventually won out.
(Hunk's parents had briefly woken too, and they'd exchanged an embrace before reluctantly letting him go.
Pidge and Shiro had no one.)
"The earlier a start we get, the better." Shiro said, turning his gaze towards the mountains. "The last thing you want is to be caught on a mountain when night falls."
"Especially when there might be Galra around." Pidge added.
Lance shivered, pulling his cloak tighter. As much as he wanted to pretend that it was due to the early morning chill, he knew better.
Yesterday had been terrifying.
"You don't think there will be any, right?" Hunk asked. "Galra, I mean."
"You don't have to worry about that."
He definitely didn't jump at the sound of Yorak's voice. Turning on his heel, Lance glared at the paladin, his features once again obscured underneath an expressionless mask. He was still favoring his left leg, all his weight shifted onto his right.
Miss Lia was nowhere to be found.
"Are you sure about that?" Hunk asked. "I mean, I didn't even think there were any Galra before yesterday, and now-"
"Even if there are Galra on the mountain, they won't be able to follow us." Yorak explained. "Only those chosen by the lions of Voltron can reach the Castle of Lions."
"Okay, that's-"
"There may be bears, though," Yorak added.
"-good." Hunk finished. "Except for the bears. That's less good."
"Relax," Yorak limped past them, dragging his left leg behind him, "-we should get to the Castle before sunset."
"Are you sure you're fine to walk?" Shiro asked, his concern obvious on his face. "Your leg looks pretty bad."
"I'll be fine." Yorak shrugged off his concern. "I won't be walking anyways."
Frowning, Lance exchanged a glance with Hunk, who just shrugged.
"So how do you plan on getting there if you're not walking?" Pidge asked. "Fly?"
Yorak turned back to look at them- and somehow, he was almost positive he was smiling behind that mask. He wordlessly retrieved something from one of his belt pouches, before crouching closer to the earth. Leaning to one side so that he could get a better look at whatever it was, he just barely caught the shape of what appeared to be a dog figure. Tilting his mask slightly forward, Yorak blew on it before burying the figure in the earth.
"...and that did what, exactly?" Lance asked, arching a brow.
Yorak simply hummed, lowering his mask and taking a step back.
Exchanging a look with both Hunk and Pidge this time, they each simply shook their heads. Lance's frown deepened as he shifted on his feet, wondering what exactly they were supposed to be waiting for-
-and got his answer in the form of a wolf.
It didn't come from out of the trees, like one would normally expect. Instead it grew out of the earth, slowly taking shape. Its eyes glowed an eerie yellow, and its fur was so dark that it glinted almost blue in the early dawn sunlight. It stood taller than Yorak, almost as tall as Shiro, looming over the rest of them in a way that was, frankly, terrifying.
Yorak calmly pet its snout and called it a good boy.
"What," Lance said, "-is that?"
"It's a familiar."
Turning to look at Shiro, Lance frowned. "What's a familiar?"
"I used to hear rumors from the perimeter scouts about them." Shiro said, his eyes wide- almost in awe, Lance thought. "They said that Northern magicians could create animals from the earth. I just... didn't think it was true."
"They're not exactly made from the earth." Yorak remarked, turning to look their way. "They're just a manifestation of my magic given physical form."
"So uh, quick question," Hunk said, "-does this whole paladin thing mean we'll be able to summon one of those?"
"Pretty sure Shiro just said its Northern magic, not paladin stuff." Pidge said.
"No, I know." Hunk said. "But still-"
"I could teach you how to make one, if you want." Yorak offered. "But it takes a lot of magic power to do it. You should probably just focus on developing your own first."
"Wait, okay, hold up," Lance said, holding up his hands, "-what do you mean, our magic?"
For a second, Yorak didn't respond, instead whistling to his huge ass magic wolf, which responded by lowering itself to the ground. Yorak mounted it, which answered the question of how he planned on getting up a mountain with a broken leg while also highlighting just how terrifyingly large the wolf actually was. Only then did Yorak look back down at them, cocking his head slightly.
"Didn't I tell you?" Yorak asked. "Paladins can use magic."
"No!" Lance exclaimed. "You most definitely did not tell us that!"
"Oh," he could have sworn that Yorak frowned under his mask, "-is that a problem?"
"More like the opposite of a problem." Lance said, adjusting his pack with a newfound sparkle in his eye. "What are we doing waiting around here? We've got a castle to find!"
Yorak hummed, before shrugging. With a whistle, his wolf stood up, heading towards the beginning of the path that lead to the Lion's mountains. Lance followed behind him, everyone else slowly rousing out of their stupors to follow. Compared to how he had felt just a few minutes ago, now he was practically brimming with excitement.
Magic! Real, actual magic, not just potions and stuff! He'd be able to-
"Lance!"
"Hunk!"
Freezing in their tracks, he and Hunk met each others eyes, before turning to look behind them. There, gathered together on the wall of the fort, were their families, waving at them. Even his niece and nephew were there, still sleepy as their parents held them with one arm and waved with the other. Feeling a surge of emotion at the sight, Lance had to fight back his tears, instead lifting his hand to wave back. Hunk didn't even try, letting his tears fall freely as he waved frantically back towards his parents.
"We'll be waiting for you both at the capital!" Rachel called out. "Come and see us when you can!"
"We will!" Lance called back without thinking, not knowing if he'd even be able to fulfill that promise. "I promise!"
"Take care of yourselves!" Hunk's mother called out. "Be careful!"
"We will!" Hunk called back. "Tell Uncle Filo to have a big feast ready for us!"
Lance sniffed, only tearing his gaze away from his family when he felt a hand on his shoulder. There was an understanding expression on Shiro's face as he gave his shoulder a light squeeze, silently telling him that they had to go. Wiping the stray tear that had leaked out in spite of his efforts to hold them back, Lance took one last good look at his family, before he turned back towards the mountains.
They had to go.
He wasn't sure how long they stayed on that wall, watching them make their way towards the Lion's Mountains. Maybe they stayed until they were out of sight, and maybe for awhile after that still. He didn't dare look back to check- he knew that if he did, he'd change his mind for sure.
He had to go.
As they stepped onto the mountain path, Keith spared one last glance back towards the Southern Fort. He didn't need to search to find his mother- he could feel the pull of her magic, tracing it back to the roof of one of the fort's watchtowers. To anyone else, she would be little more than a black dot on the horizon, but while his eyes weren't as good as a full blooded Galra, they were still sharp.
She saluted him as a Blade.
He saluted back.
She watched until she couldn't see him anymore.
Closing her eyes, Krolia turned sharply on her heel. This was far from the first time that she had parted ways with her son, but one of the things that had surprised her so much about parenthood was that it never really got any easier. It had been bad enough when he'd been sent to infiltrate Zarkon's ranks on his own, but now he was off to face the destiny that had been his birthright since before he had even been born.
When he'd left before, she at least had the reassurance of his visions having not yet come to fruition, but now she did not even have that.
And she could not see the lions herself.
Making her way down the watchtower, she stepped out into the courtyard. Lance and Hunk's families hadn't moved from the outer wall, even though she knew they had lost sight of their children long before she had. She stared up at them for a long moment, before looking away, knowing that the fear they held in their hearts must be twice as great as hers. To them, their children were off to fight monsters out of legend- beings that they knew little about, other than myth and rumor.
It had to be terrifying.
The least she could do was make sure they got across the pass safely. She doubted that Haggar had any further traps at the ready, but caution was always prudent. Once they were across, and the barrier had been raised, she would part from these people and seek out her own. Kolivan was likely waiting for her report.
She didn't intend to keep him waiting much longer.
"So, just for the record," Lance began, "-you do actually know where you're going, right?"
"Yes."
Keith didn't even bother looking back in Lance's direction. Thus far he'd seemed intent on trying to get under his skin for once reason or another, but he refused to let him.
(Even if it was tempting.)
"Are you sure?" Lance asked. "Because I'm pretty sure we've been walking for like an hour, and all I can see is snow. There's no sign of any castles."
'Yes, I'm sure." Keith said, gritting his teeth. His familiar picked up on his irritation, but he quickly calmed the both of them. "I said we'd get there before sunset, not that we'd get there in an hour. We still have another four before we make it to the summit."
"Wha- four hours?!" Lance blurted out, as if he'd just now figured out this wasn't a casual little stroll. "Isn't there like a secret paladin path we can take or something?"
"This is the secret paladin path." Keith actually did peer over his shoulder this time, cocking a brow behind his mask. "But if you'd prefer, we could take the long route. It should only take us about eight hours from this point."
Lance visibly blanched, holding up his hand. "Nope. Four hours is fine, thanks."
"Actually," Hunk began, looking a little winded, "-is there any chance we could take a break? Catch our breath a little?"
Keith frowned, glancing back at Hunk. He wasn't the only one who looked out of breath- Pidge looked pretty winded too. Shiro was faring better, but it was still obvious that he hadn't completely recovered from the effects of his imprisonment. Lance, in spite of all of his bluster, looked pretty worn out too.
Right. These were humans. He'd spent so much time with Galra lately, that he'd forgotten what they were like.
Heaving a sigh, he gave a low whistle to his familiar, asking him to stop. "Fifteen minutes. Then we're back to walking."
"Not that you're doing any actual walking," he caught Lance mutter underneath his breath. He chose to ignore it. If it weren't for his leg, he would be.
Still, the group seemed to otherwise relax at his words. Hunk wasted no time in brushing snow off a nearby rock, groaning as he took a seat. Pidge flopped next to him, squeezing into the extra space he'd left, totally missing the faint way Lance frowned at her. He half expected him to make a fuss, but instead he just brushed the snow off a nearby log and took a seat himself. Shiro remained standing, leaning against a tree. He relaxed a little, but Keith could tell he was still keeping a wary eye out.
Huffing slightly, he settled for staying back, lightly rubbing one of his wolf's ears. It was better for him to put some distance between himself and the humans. He hadn't exactly come here to be friends with them.
(He wasn't sure if he even could.)
"Oh yeah," Hunk said, "-that's better."
"Tell me about it." Pidge said, taking off her pack and setting it aside. "I'm pretty used to walking at this point, but going up a mountain is hard."
"Walk?" Shiro blinked. "You didn't take a horse when you left?"
"I did," Pidge frowned, "-but it ran off after getting spooked during a storm and I couldn't find it afterwards. I didn't want to attract attention by buying a new one, so I've mostly just been walking or hitching rides on wagons ever since."
Shiro frowned, looking visibly displeased by this information. "I don't know if your mother would approve of you hitching rides."
"I don't think she'd approve of me running away either." Pidge pointed out. "Besides, what she doesn't know can't hurt her."
"Still-"
"I'm not stupid, Shiro." Pidge rolled her eyes. "I didn't travel with just anyone. Just people who looked trustworthy."
He didn't miss the faint way her gaze flickered in his direction as she said that. He bit his lip, digging a hand into his familiar's fur. He wasn't naive enough to believe that he hadn't done anything to earn suspicion, but he hadn't expected it to be from the princess.
Then again, she wasn't exactly shaping up like he'd expected.
"I know you're not stupid," Shiro said, "-but appearances-"
"-can be deceiving?" Pidge finished, her hand hovering over something hidden inside of her cloak. "That's why I kept the dagger."
Yeah. This princess was definitely different than his expectations.
"So," Lance cut in, breaking what was otherwise a tense silence, "-how is it that you and Captain Shirogane know each other again?"
Pidge flinched, abruptly realizing that she'd probably given too much away. Apparently she was keeping the whole princess thing a secret, which- fine by him. He wasn't about to lecture anyone for being close lipped.
"Like I said," Pidge began, "-my family works with the royal guard sometimes."
Shiro frowned, clearly disapproving, but he didn't say anything to the contrary.
"So you're what?" Lance asked. "A noble? Some merchant's son? No way you're a village kid like me and Hunk."
"What makes you think I'm not?" Pidge asked.
"You mean aside your family working with the royal guard?" Lance asked.
"...yeah," Pidge said, seemingly realizing her mistake, "-aside from that."
"Your clothes." Lance gestured to her shirt. "The material's way too fine."
Pidge frowned, picking at her shirt. "Really? I thought this was normal."
"I wish that were normal." Lance said. "I would kill for a shirt like that."
Pidge hummed, before once more glancing in his direction. He instinctively tensed, silently watching as her gaze tracked over his dragon scale armor.
"Speaking of unusual materials," she began, "-what's with that armor?"
He'd liked it better when he hadn't been a part of this conversation, he quickly decided.
"Yeah, and what's with that weird mask?" Lance asked. "You wear it like all the time."
Turning his head away, he stared at the ground. "It's complicated."
He knew that he'd eventually have to tell them the truth, but he wanted to at least get to the Castle first. He might have seen all of them gathered there in his vision, but that didn't necessarily mean that future was set in stone. His gift could be erratic, as expected as one taken from borrowed blood.
If they learned he was part Galra...
"See, that just sounds suspicious." Lance said.
"I'm sure Yorak has a good reason," Shiro interjected, "-just like I'm also sure our break is almost over."
"Aw, already?" Lance whined, the prospect of more walking blessedly seeming to distract him from his suspicions. "Can't we relax for like, five more minutes?"
"Yeah, I'm good with that." Hunk said.
"No," Keith said curtly, "-we need to get to the Castle as soon as possible."
"Yorak's right." Shiro said. "The sooner we get to this Castle, the sooner we can have the moon maiden put up the second barrier."
There was some grumbling about that, but one by one, everyone got back on their feet. Keith glanced over towards Shiro, vaguely relieved. He'd been worried when he learned he'd lost any memories related to his imprisonment, but even if he'd forgotten him, the person he'd gotten to know hadn't changed. Just knowing that he was one of the paladins was a huge weight off his back.
(Though even if he did remember, he still probably wouldn't recognize him- he'd been wearing a different skin then.)
With a sharp whistle, his familiar rose to his feet. Lightly rubbing the base of his ears, Keith allowed himself a faint smile before he whistled again, asking it to walk forward. Glancing behind him, he confirmed that the other four were following, and that the break actually seemed to have done them some good.
And if Pidge eyed him with unmasked suspicion, then he chose to ignore it.
All he had to do was get them to the Castle. All he had to do was fulfill his destiny. He didn't need to be friends.
Complicated.
If it weren't for the rough terrain, she would have made sure to keep her eyes on Yorak the entire time. Shiro might have defended him, but she wasn't so sure she was ready to fully trust him yet. He was definitely hiding something from them- and she planned on finding out what.
If it made her a hypocrite, then so be it. She wasn't about to give out her trust so easily.
Look how her father's trust had turned out. Someone had to have betrayed him. It was the only explanation as to why the Galra had known where their expedition was really headed. And now that she knew the legends she'd heard about the Galra's blood magic were actually true...
...well, a little hypocrisy might be the only thing keeping her safe.
"So... does it have a name?"
Yorak didn't look back at them, but Hunk could tell he'd heard him. Since he spent so much time wearing a mask, he'd switched to using other indicators of how the paladin might be feeling- like, for this instance, a faint twitch of his fingers indicated that he'd definitely heard his question, even if he wasn't responding.
"...no," Yorak said finally, long after Hunk just assumed he wasn't going to answer.
"Oh," Hunk frowned, "-uh, why not?"
"Why do you care?" Yorak asked.
Hunk flinched. There wasn't anything actually accusatory in his tone, but even with all the other visual cues, the lack of facial expressions was throwing him off. Plus, if he was being honest... Yorak was kind of intimidating.
That just meant he had to get to know him better though, right?
"Geez, he was just asking a question." Lance said. "No need to snap at him."
"I wasn't-" Yorak began, before cutting himself off. "He just hasn't told me yet."
"Oh," Hunk frowned, "-um, I hope he tells you soon?"
There was a long pause, and again, Hunk thought that maybe Yorak was ignoring him.
"...thanks," he said so quietly, that he almost didn't hear him.
Huh. Maybe he wasn't that intimidating after all.
Shiro was the first one to spot the castle.
(It might have been Yorak, but who knew what that weirdo was thinking.)
Shiro stopped dead in his tracks, staring upwards. Lance barely avoided walking right into his back, only to be shoved into it anyways, since Hunk wasn't as lucky in avoiding him. He was just about to open his mouth to complain before he caught sight of one of the glimmering white spires himself, his jaw dropping open, expression mirroring that of Shiro's.
"That's-"
"-the Castle of Lions." Yorak finished. "We should reach it soon."
He barely heard the paladin, too enraptured by the sight before him. When he'd said castle, he'd envisioned something like the center of Garrison City, where the royal palace was located. And while certainly, the building that loomed before them was just as majestic, it was nothing like the palace.
In fact, it was nothing like anything he'd ever seen before. The castle was composed of four smaller spires set in a circle around a far more massive fifth spire, stretching up into the horizon. It was constructed of pure white stone, the likes of which he'd never seen, impossibly large gemstones set in each of the spires that reflected the blue of the sky. It almost blended into the background, and suddenly he understood why no one had ever noticed it before.
It was breathtaking.
"Oh man," Lance said, "-the royal palace has nothing on this place."
Behind him, Pidge grunted in agreement.
"I've never seen architecture like this." Shiro observed. "It must be thousands of years old."
"Did the moon people build it?" Hunk asked.
"They're not moon people, they're Alteans," Yorak began, "-and yes. The royal family used to live here before the war."
"Well excuse us for not being versed on ancient mythology." Lance rolled his eyes.
"It's not mythology." Yorak snapped.
"Okay, you two," Shiro interjected, holding up his hands, "-why don't we just focus on getting to this Castle? We can talk semantics after we get there."
Lance frowned, but huffed in acknowledgement. Yorak didn't even do that, just looking away and guiding his wolf forward. He was really starting to not like this guy.
Shiro just gave him a sympathetic smile, before he followed after Yorak. Heaving a sigh, Lance adjusted his pack, eager for a chance to just take the thing off and maybe sit down for like, several hours- maybe even take a nap, or at least relax with a nice juice or something. Anything but more mountain climbing.
At least their goal was in sight now.
(He wondered if his family was having as rough a time crossing the pass. He hoped not.)
"Do you think they'll have food?" Hunk asked. "Because all this mountain climbing has me dying for a hot meal."
"If the legends are true, then this castle's probably at least ten thousand years old," Pidge said, "-so I'm not sure I'd trust anything lying around in its kitchen."
"Yeah, but these moon people-"
"Alteans," Hunk lightly corrected.
"-right, Alteans," Lance corrected himself, "-could use some crazy magic, right? Maybe they have a way to preserve food for ten thousand years. I mean, their king obviously had a way to preserve people if his daughter's really locked away in there."
"Who knows, she could be a ten thousand year old hag." Pidge teased.
"No way." Lance said. "I mean, she's a princess, right? She has to be beautiful. That's kind of their thing."
Up ahead, he swore Shiro snorted.
"You haven't met many princesses, have you?" Pidge asked, arching a brow.
"As a matter of fact, I have not." Lance said.
"Yeah, I thought not." Pidge grinned.
Frowning, Lance squinted at him, but the little imp said nothing further, only picking up the pace to catch up with Shiro. Glancing over towards Hunk, he shrugged his shoulders- while also suspiciously avoiding eye contact. If he knew his friend- and he did- that meant he knew something he didn't.
Hmm. Maybe Pidge really was dating the princess.
Well, good for him. At least someone around here had a love life. Forget being able to meet a cute girl at the harvest festival, there hadn't even been a harvest festival at all!
And now he just sounded like Rachel. Ugh, he'd been walking too long.
At least it wouldn't be for much longer now. He swore the closer they got, the more he could sense the Castle, but that was just ridiculous. You couldn't sense castles. It was probably just because it had more of a presence now that he could actually see it- not to mention the closer they got, the bigger it seemed. It really did seem like it could have once been home to a royal family of mystical moon people.
It also seemed lonely, somehow.
"So what do you think she's like?" Hunk asked.
"Huh?" Lance blinked, startled out of his reverie.
"The moon maiden," Hunk clarified, "-do you think she's nice? I hope she's nice."
"She's a princess, of course she's nice." Lance said. "I mean, that's how they always are in the plays, right? They're always kind, beautiful damsels in distress, waiting for a dashing knight to show up and save them."
"Yeah, I'm not so sure that's how it works in real life." Hunk deadpanned. "You're just hoping she'll take a shine to you, aren't you?"
Lance flushed. "And what's wrong with that?"
"Nothing, nothing." Hunk said. "Just... we don't know what these Alteans are even like."
"I mean, we have some idea." Pidge said. He'd quickly lost pace with Shiro, falling back towards where he and Hunk brought up the rear. "Seers are descended from them, so they have to at least be somewhat humanoid."
"Oh yeah," Hunk said, "-now that you mention it, I remember that."
"Wait, so does that mean Yorak has Altean blood?" Lance asked, arching a brow. "I mean, his mom's a Seer, right?"
Huh. Maybe that was why he got so snappy about the name thing. Which... okay, his bad. He'd admit it. Maybe not to Yorak's face, but he'd admit it.
"It's still so weird that Miss Lia's a Seer." Hunk remarked. "I thought they were always... you know, all pale and willowy and stuff. Miss Lia's stronger than most of the village men."
"It's not like we know much about Seers," Pidge shrugged, "-I've only ever met one once."
"Wait," Lance frowned, squinting at Pidge, "-you've met a Seer? Like a non-Miss Lia one? I thought they barely ever left their island!"
"I-" Pidge began, his eyes nervously darting away, "-that is-"
"We're here."
Pidge shut his mouth, looking visibly relieved to have been interrupted. Lance squinted at him in suspicion for a second longer, before he turned his attention towards the more pressing issue- the Castle.
And boy, was it ever a castle.
This close, it practically loomed overhead, seeming almost impossibly high. Just the gates alone were taller than all of them combined. He could understand why Yorak hadn't been able to get into the Castle the first time he'd come here- heck, he didn't see how they would open the gates now.
"So... how are we supposed to get in?" Hunk asked.
"I don't know," Yorak admitted, his wolf lowering him to the ground, "-I never saw that part."
"Well that's real helpful." Lance rolled his eyes. "I thought you were supposed to be a Seer."
"I'm only part Seer." Yorak said. "My gift doesn't work that way."
"I'm sure we can figure it out if we just put our heads together." Shiro said. "Pidge? Any ideas?"
Pidge frowned, tilting his head to the side as he observed the gates, before casting a look towards Yorak. "You said that the last time you came here, it wouldn't let you in, right?"
"Pretty much." Yorak said, idly stroking his wolf's neck. "All I know is that we need all five paladins to get in. I just... kind of thought it would open once we got here."
"Well, there's five of us here." Lance said. "Well, six, if you count the wolf."
"An astute observation." Yorak remarked.
"Maybe... maybe we're not the right group?" Hunk asked, shifting nervously on his feet. "I mean, I'm not really much of a warrior, so maybe- maybe you made a mistake."
Something churned in Lance's gut at the thought. If Hunk wasn't a warrior, then he wasn't either. Maybe he really wasn't-
"I know what I saw." Yorak said firmly.
"Yeah, have some more confidence, buddy." Lance said, nudging Hunk in the arm, trying to mask his own doubts. "I mean, you're a way better archer than I am."
"Aw, shucks." Hunk shuffled on his feet, shooting him a grateful smile. "Thanks, Lance. You're pretty good yourself."
"Well, I have been called a sharpshooter before." Lance remarked.
He swore he heard Yorak snort, but before he could turn to glare at him, the paladin had already turned around. Stroking his wolf's fur, he slowly exhaled. The wolf closed its eyes before abruptly dissolving, turning back into a stone figure. Yorak caught it, almost gently rubbing his fingers over the figure before he tucked it back away, turning to look back up at the gate. Reaching out, he placed a hand on it, irritatingly silent-
-and then he saw.
Five lions, asleep and waiting, all impossibly old. He could feel them, like a wave crashing over him, bringing a sharp chill to his bones.
And then it was gone.
"What," Lance blurted out, "-was that?"
"They're lions," Pidge said, "-the artifacts, they really are lions."
"Wait," Yorak tilted his head, "-you saw that too?"
"If by that, you mean five sleeping lions, then yes." Hunk said. "I totally just saw that."
"I did too." Shiro said. "What was that?"
"That's your proof." Yorak said. "The last time I was here, I only saw my own lion."
Proof. Placing his hand over his heart, Lance swore he could still feel the rush he'd gotten from the vision, though it felt more like a gentle rain now than it did a crashing wave. But that wave was all it had taken to wash away his doubts- and anything that lingered, the rain seemed to be taking care of.
He was a paladin.
This was real.
"Well, that's great and all, but the gate's still closed." Pidge observed. "I thought we were supposed to wake the moon maiden and get her to create a new barrier, not go after the artifacts-"
"-the lions," Hunk corrected.
"-the lions right away." Pidge finished.
"We are." Yorak said. "We just... need to figure out a way inside."
Lance shrugged, strolling up to the Castle gates. "Maybe we just need to knock?"
"That wouldn't-"
Ignoring him, Lance did exactly that anyways. Sure, he doubted it would work too, but it was the principle of the thing, okay? For someone who didn't even know how to open the damn gate, he was acting awfully-
-the gate budged.
Not remotely enough to qualify as being opened, but it had definitely reacted to his touch.
"Oh," Yorak said, "-maybe that does work."
"See?" Lance quickly masked his own surprise with a smug smile. "Maybe you should listen to me more."
"Why don't we all just try touching the gate at the same time?" Shiro suggested, not so subtly standing between the two of them. "But good thinking, Lance."
"Oh, uh- thanks." Lance said, desperately trying to control his heartbeat. He had only just been praised by his hero. No big deal or anything. Nope. Nun-uh. Totally cool.
(Totally.)
"Sounds as good an idea as any." Pidge remarked, stepping forward. "I'll just be happy when we can get out of the cold. Whose idea was it to do this in the fall?"
"Could be worse," Hunk stepped up, "-could be winter."
"Up here, I'm not sure there's much of a difference." Pidge said.
"It's not that cold." Yorak remarked.
"Yeah, I'm not sure I want to hear that from someone from the North." Pidge shot back.
Clearing his throat, Shiro drew their attention back towards him. Arching a brow, he lifted his human hand, hovering it just above the gate. Pidge flushed slightly, before he too lifted his hand, Yorak following suit. Exchanging a glance with Hunk, he smiled at his friend, lifting his hand in unison with him.
"On three," Shiro said, "-one-"
The gate hummed.
"-two-"
The gate pulsed.
"-three."
At their touch, the gate glowed.
Deep in the Castle, something stirred.
Four things, actually.
Their master was gone from this world, they sensed, but his final orders- his final magic- still remained in them. New paladins were here, needing to be guided. The princess and the advisor needed to be woken. Lions needed to be found.
They would be very, very busy.
(Maybe once they were done, then they could mourn.)
The gate came down with a crash, sinking into the earth without warning.
Lance was definitely going to pretend he hadn't jumped. But if he had... well hey, at least he hadn't been alone. Hunk and Pidge totally jumped too.
(Yorak and Shiro didn't even flinch. Somehow one was more annoying than the other.)
"Okay," Pidge managed, "-didn't see that coming."
"Yeah, I just thought it would open like, normally." Hunk said. "But hey, at least we got it open, right?"
"Let's just hurry up and get inside." Lance said, definitely not trying to smooth over his less than ideal reaction, since it hadn't happened, "-it's freezing out here."
(Although weirdly enough, he actually didn't feel as cold as he had before. Which probably was all the more reason to get inside.)
"Ugh," Pidge pulled his cloak closer to him, crinkling his nose, "-agreed."
Yorak was one step ahead of them, already in the Castle, though Shiro had lingered outside, waiting for them. He caught their eyes, offering them a smile that was strangely hard to read, before he followed Yorak inside. Pidge was a step behind him, and just like they had on the mountain, he and Hunk took up the rear. Inside, the Castle was dark, though the wind had stopped, causing Pidge to cling less fiercely to his cloak.
Then all of a sudden, the gate slammed shut behind them, throwing them into complete darkness.
This time, Lance wasn't even going to pretend that he hadn't yelped.
"Oh no, we're trapped!" Hunk exclaimed, clinging to his arm. "The Galra got here before us! We're-"
All at once, the light returned.
"-doom- oh." Hunk said, releasing his arm. "Nevermind, then."
Rubbing his freed arm, Lance studied the area. It looked like they had come into some kind of a main hall, or at least a really large reception area, with a grand staircase at the other end of it. The entire room looked as if it were carved out of the same strange white stone that the exterior of the Castle was made out of, and the light he'd mentioned?
Glowing orbs of blue fire.
Yeah, he definitely wasn't in his little village anymore.
"This place is amazing." Pidge said, doing a full turn as he looked around in awe. "It almost looks like everything here was made out of a single stone."
"It is pretty neat." Lance admitted. "So what now? We find this princess or whatever?"
"Pretty much." Yorak said, removing his mask and hooking it on his belt, before pulling down his hood. In the weird blue lighting, his eyes looked even more purple than they had in Miss Lia's tavern. "She should be sleeping in one of the central chambers."
"Great!" Lance said. "Any chance you know where to find it?"
"I-"
"Guys, what are those?"
Squinting, Lance looked in the direction Hunk had pointed. Perched on top of the grand staircase were- wait, were those...?
"Are those mice?" Pidge asked.
"No," Yorak almost seemed to grin, "-they're familiars."
"How can you tell?" Shiro asked.
"Yeah, they just look like mice to me." Lance said, tilting his head and squinting at the creatures. There were four of them, brownish in color- or at least, in so far as he could tell from this distance. Two were normal sized mice, while the other two couldn't be more opposite of each other on the spectrum- one very large, and one very small.
And they were watching them.
Which... okay, yeah, that was pretty weird. He was pretty sure normal mice would have run away by now. Plus, he was pretty sure normal mice would be like, dead by now. It had been ten thousand years since this place had been sealed up, right? Maybe Yorak was on to something.
"It's how they feel." Yorak said. "They're radiating magical energy."
Lance arched a brow, turning his focus back towards the mice. He couldn't feel anything like that from them, but then before yesterday he'd never actually seen real magic before. He'd... just take his word for it.
The mice squeaked in unison, before turning in a circle and squeaking again. The largest one almost seemed to point in the direction of the hallway behind them, its whole body going rigid.
"I think maybe they want us to follow them?" Hunk said.
The mice squeaked again, presumably in agreement.
Glancing towards Shiro, the former Captain of the Guard just shrugged. "In that case, I say we follow them."
Right. Follow a bunch of magical mice through a magical castle. That totally made sense.
(It didn't, but apparently this was his life now.)
"I guess we're doing that, then." Pidge said.
The mice turned in a circle again, before scurrying towards the hall. They waited just outside, presumably so that they could catch up. Lance sighed, before trudging forward, following after Yorak and Shiro, the former using the guardrail to help him balance, his mouth set in a tight grimace as he tried to use his left leg as little as possible.
Lance looked away, feeling a twinge of guilt. Guess his leg was actually still bothering him. With his mask on, it had been easy to ignore.
"Are you sure you don't need a hand?" Shiro asked.
"I'm sure." Yorak said curtly.
Shiro frowned, almost looking like he wanted to push, before reluctantly letting it go. He still stayed a step behind Yorak, presumably to catch him if he slipped. Lance's lips twitched slightly upwards at the sight. Everything he'd seen thus far of Captain Shirogane only made it more clear that he was exactly the kind of man he thought he was.
It also made the fact that some people actually believed he'd betrayed the King's Expedition even more absurd.
Once they all got up the stairs, the mice raced forward into the hallway. They followed after, the darkened passage gradually illuminating with each step they took. The further they went into the Castle, the more grateful he was that they had some kind of guide. All of the hallways looked the same, and with all the twists and turns the mice were leading them through, he was positive they would have gotten lost on their own.
Finally the mice lead them to a massive chamber, almost as big if not bigger than the entrance hall they'd started out in. The chamber was circular, with massive columns arranged in a ring around a smaller inner ring, where several massive blue crystals almost seemed to float, suspended in midair.
No. Not just seemingly. They were actually floating.
"Is this," Hunk nervously looked around, staying half a step behind him, "-is this where the moon maiden is?"
"It should be." Yorak remarked, stepping into the inner circle. "I think-"
"Wait, are those people?"
Lance turned at Pidge's question, following his gaze towards a pair of the floating crystals. Unlike the others, these two seemed to contain darkened silhouettes, that upon closer examination...
...yeah. Those were people.
The mice gathered around one in particular. Their squeaks almost sounded expectant, but before anyone could ask what they needed to do next, the crystal began to glow. For a brief second, he swore he felt the presence of something, before the crystal began to slowly dissolve from the bottom up, revealing the person sealed inside.
The moon maiden.
She was even more beautiful than he could have imagined.
Long, flowing snow white hair served as a stark contrast against her dark skin. She looked almost human, save for the strange pink marks under her eyes and her pointed ears. Her gown shimmered in the light, the tiara set on her brow almost seeming to glow in the same fashion the crystal she'd emerged from had. For several seconds, she simply hung there, suspended in midair-
-and then her eyes snapped open, and she let out a gasp.
"Father!"
Whatever magic suspended her in the air broke, and before he could think about it, he found himself racing over, catching her before she fell. She felt surprisingly solid in his arms- part of him expected her to feel weightless, as if she were something otherworldly. She looked up, and the instant their eyes met, he was struck by just how blue her eyes were, a vision of the sea he'd never seen floating in his head.
"Maybe I'll meet a cute girl a the harvest festival or something."
Oh. Oh.
"Who are you?" She asked, her voice just as lovely as her face. "Where am I?"
"I'm Lance," he said, "-and you're right here in my arms."