Chapter Thirty-Three:
"Princess?"
Allura turned to see Caelum at the entryway to the Cyropod hall.
"Yes?" Allura said.
"If you are done here… May I speak with you in private for a moment?" Caelum asked.
"Yes, of course." Allura said. She looked behind her to confirm with Coran, who was finishing up the cyrofreezing process, before leading Caelum to the lounge.
"I have some questions," Caelum said as he took a seat across from Allura.
"I will do my best to answer those questions," Allura said.
Caelum took a deep breath, then said, "Where did the Red Paladin get a Galra knife?"
Allura hesitated, but only for a moment. "I do not know how you will take this information to heart, so I shall preface it by saying that Keith is a good person, a good Paladin. He wants nothing more than to see Zarkon destroyed. He is a steadfast warrior, loyal to our cause, and the Red Lion would not have chosen him if he was anything but.
"However, in recent months, some of Keith's… past… has caught up to him. In ways he was completely ignorant to previously. The knife belonged to Keith's deceased mother, who was given the knife as a betrothal gift from a Galra warrior who spent a short period of time on planet Earth. For what reason, we do not know. But Keith is half human, half Galra as a result."
"I see," Caelum said, frowning some. "Actually, that is a lie. I don't see. He does not look Galra?"
"Not on a regular basis, no." Allura said. "However, when his temper is raised, he can take on some of the signature features of the Galra. His skin will become mottled purple, or change color completely. His eyes as well. Occasionally his ears will transform, and his fingers with shift to accommodate claws, and his canine teeth will become more pronounced." She paused. "Keith had no knowledge of his heritage prior to joining Voltron, and this bit of information came as a shock to him. I can't say that I did not have some doubts about him, but I trust Keith with my life. I ask that you do the same, though I understand—and I believe Keith will understand—if you cannot."
"I understand that the Red Lion would not just choose anyone to be her Paladin. I respect the Lions and their decisions. If that includes choosing one with Galra blood to be her pilot, then so be it." Caelum said. "However, I cannot speak for all of your people at the settlement. Therefore, I only request that we keep this matter as private as possible, and perhaps it would be advisable for the Red Paladin to keep his knife here during that time."
Allura nodded, though wincing internally at the thought of asking Keith to leave his knife on board the Castle. Then she immediately brushed the feelings of dread aside. That would be a Shiro-handled issue. Or perhaps Lance. Shiro and Lance. Yes. Both.
"I understand completely, and will make sure that the Paladins and the rest of the crew are aware," Allura said. She looked down at her hands in her lap. "Caelum… Do you think they'll like me? The Alteans in the settlement?"
"I imagine so," Caelum said. "So far, I cannot find a reason for them to dislike you."
"Still…" Allura said. "It has been ten thousand years… A lot has changed in that time. I don't know what my people think or want. Or even if they want to be considered 'my people'."
"I do, if it matters." Caelum said. "For many, you are the very last link to Altea. Our culture and heritage. So many of us were small children when Altea fell and the Galra Empire rose. Many, like myself, had only been to Altea a handful of blurry times, living on other planets with our diplomat parents. You and the Paladins now may just be what we need to bridge Old Altea and New Altea. Bring us back to our roots while continuing to grow in this new age."
Allura smiled at him. "Thank you, Caelum. I appreciate your sentiments. And I assume I'll know shortly what the future holds."
"I think it will be a bright one," Caelum said, returning her smile. "Our lost princess, new Paladins of Voltron, so many planets already having been freed… I am excited for what the future holds."
"You are relentlessly optimistic," Allura commented. "That is rather refreshing. Thank you."
"It is my honor," Caelum said, nodding his head. The speakers crackled behind them.
"Princess, we are ready to depart." Coran said.
"I'll be at the bridge in a moment," Allura responded, standing up. She turned to Caelum. "Will you join us?"
"I would love to," Caelum said, following her out of the lounge.
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"Hunk, you ever figure out what was in those crates?" Lance asked from his chair on the bridge.
"Yeah, dried fish. According to Coran it's some very important ingredient for a dish for some general's dinner table," Hunk answered.
"The Galran dish Johnomansh is very delicious," Coran added.
"Oh, Johnomansh!" Allura said. "I haven't had that since I was a girl…"
"What exactly is Johnomansh?" Shiro asked.
"It is a dish comprising of dried, spiced fish that is rehydrated using a special broth, and served on a bed of herbs and boiled grains." Coran said, a bit wistfully. "It's a bit of a delicacy to the Galra, as the spices only grow on the Galra planet in certain conditions and are only harvestable for a few hours. The fish are covered in the spices and dried to preserve the flavor and the broth enhances that flavor."
"Wow, we're really starting to hit the Galra Empire where it hurts, taking their fancy tuna," Pidge said dryly, grinning.
"Our next target is their alcohol," Lance said.
"Forget that, we need to go for their candy and junk food supply." Keith said.
"No, their coffee is what we need to take out." Tali said. "My grandpa used to say you can't run an army without coffee."
"You sound more evil than the Galra," Lani said teasingly.
"War changes you," Hunk said, mock solemnly.
"I think it's more evil to make sure that there are minor inconveniences in the lives of our enemies rather than send monsters and stuff to attack them." Pidge said.
"So, your next big stealth mission is going to be to replace the Galra Command center's hot water heater with a smaller one?" Tali said.
"Ooh, that's good, I was going to say put a virus on every single self-checkout at every Galra grocery store." Pidge said.
"Switch the signs on 'pull' doors to say 'push' and vice-versa." Shiro added.
"Is there a way to make sure that their socks are always wet?" Shinji asked.
"Dude… That's straight up evil…" Hunk said. "I mean, it sucks for us because we have regular skin, but they have fur… Wait, do Galra have fur on their feet? Keith, do Galra have fur on their feet?"
"How should I know?" Keith responded.
"Well, are your feet furry?" Hunk asked.
"Keith is a furry," Pidge said.
"No, Lance is." Shiro said, looking over his shoulder at Pidge, the two sharing a grin as Lance exclaimed 'Hey!'.
"You know, I don't think I've ever had my shoes off when I've gone Galra," Keith said, frowning. "So I really don't know."
"It'd be really impractical if you did. I mean, all over your feet." Tali added. "You can't get good traction if there's fur on the bottom of your feet. You'd have to wear shoes all the time so as to not slide all around."
"Coran, settle this for us or next time Keith goes Galra someone's going to tackle him and rip his boots off." Lance said.
"Galra have paw pads on the bottom of their feet," Coran said. "Though fur does grow between the toes often."
"Toe beans." Lani whispered reverently, grinning.
Allura cleared her throat. "Speaking of the Galra and Keith's Galra shifts… Caelum and I spoke last night and we believe that—for the time that we are at the Altean settlement—it would be in our best interest to not reveal Keith's alien heritage. If only because we cannot guarantee what the reaction would be."
"Is there a chance it would be a violent reaction?" Shiro asked with concern.
"I doubt it," Caelum said. "But I would prefer to be cautious."
"Makes sense," Hunk said.
Keith shrugged. "It's not like we were telling other planets we visit anyway for pretty much the same reason. We don't know how people will react knowing that one of the Voltron Paladins is part Galra."
"Yeah, but at the same time, one of the Paladins of Voltron is part-Galra," Pidge said, frowning. "Whether people like it or not, we're not starting a Galran genocide. We defeat Zarkon and all his cronies, but they're still going to live in this universe with the rest of us. Acknowledging that not all Galra are bad—and that one is a Paladin—would be a great place to start."
"I'm with Pidge, but starting with a race of beings that are essentially refugees that had their entire planet wiped out by the Galra isn't a great place to start." Lance said.
"I don't mean starting now, but we're going to have to address it at some time," Pidge said.
"I agree with you, too, Pidge," Allura said. "The question is, when? There won't be a guarantee of a 'good' time to start."
"Anything else we should know before we arrive at the settlement?" Shiro asked Caelum.
"Nothing comes to mind," Caelum said. He turned to Allura. "We are close enough that I can initiate a communication channel."
"Then by all means, be my guest." Allura said, moving aside so Caelum could get to the monitor.
He opened the channel and moments later, a female voice echoed throughout the room: "Vessel, identify yourself and all crew members."
"This is the Castle of Lions; I am Caelum Lyrason, but the commander of the Castle is Princess Allura Alforsdaughter of Altea, alongside Coran Arayason and the Paladins of Voltron—Takashi Shirogane, Keith Kwan, Lance Sanchez-Garcia, Pidge—"
"Wait, Caelum?" The female voice said. It was the same voice, but suddenly the professionalism in her voice was gone and she sounded a lot younger. "Is this really you?"
"Of course it is, who else would have put in my personal communication code?" Caelum said.
"And… I'm bringing up visual now. No… No way…" The girl said. "You're cleared for landing."
"And if you could ask my grandfather to meet us—" Caelum started to say.
"He has already been contacted," The girl said. "Welcome home, Caelum. And, Princess Allura, Paladins of Voltron? Welcome to New Altea."
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As the ramp of the Castle lowered, Allura felt herself stand up straighter.
There were so many people, all wide-eyed and curious as she descended, Coran on one side of her, Caelum on the other, the Paladins directly behind her. She heard whispers and saw little children point excitedly.
An elderly Altean man with gray-silver hair and green eyes leaning on a cane met them, surrounded by what appeared to be a few aides. Caelum surged forward, grinning as he embraced the man.
At Allura's side, Coran stiffened, just noticeable out of the corner of the princess's eye.
"Coran, is something the matter?" Allura whispered.
"Everything is fine, Princess." Coran assured her, but his face didn't convince her.
Caelum released the man and turned to his new friends. "Princess Allura Alforsdaughter of Altea, allow me to introduce you to my grandfather, Dei Avenason. Grandfather, this is Princess Allura, our lost princess."
"It is an honor, your highness," Dei said, dropping into a bow.
"The honor is mine," Allura said, curtsying. "I cannot believe I am standing here…" She glanced over her shoulder at the watching crowds. "Would it be alright if I addressed the crowd? I would like to introduce the new Paladins of Voltron to them."
"You are our Princess, you may do whatever you please." Dei said.
Allura raised her head and turned to the people, stepping forward. She curtsied to them as well.
"Greetings," She said. "I am Princess Allura. Before Altea fell, my father—King Alfor—placed me in a cyropod to protect me from the Galra. When I awoke on the planet Arus, ten thousand years had passed, and I learned of the fate of my father and our home. It would have been easy to give up hope; but I was fortunate, because not only had the Blue Lion of Voltron been located, the Lion had chosen a new Paladin, and brought not only her own Paladin, but all of the pilots of Voltron to Arus from the planet Earth.
"I am very proud to present to you the Paladins of Voltron: Lance, pilot of the Blue Lion; Hunk, pilot of the Yellow Lion; Pidge, pilot of the Green Lion; Keith, pilot of the Red Lion; and Shiro, the pilot of the Black Lion and head of Voltron. Together, we plan to end Zarkon's reign and prevent other species from knowing the loss of their homes."
At first the reaction was quiet, but then excitement grew amongst the crowd. The Alteans were cheering—cheering for her, for her Paladins, for Voltron.
Allura took a deep breath and smiled, her eyes filling with tears slightly.
She only wished her father was here to see this.
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There was a lot of hand-shaking and bowing and curtsying and introductions in the following hours. Allura opened up the Castle for the Alteans to see, especially for them to see the Lions. The smallest of the children were especially enthralled as they crawled all over the Lions paws and got incredibly excited when the Paladins let them enter the cockpits.
"This is the equivalent of a human child seeing a dinosaur or a unicorn," Lani said, grinning as she took a picture of an excited little Altean girl sitting in the seat of the Yellow Lion, the girl on her knees in order to reach forward to grab the controls.
The mice were also fawned over, especially by some of the older Alteans.
"Oh, I used to have a pet mouse just like this one when I was a little girl," One woman cooed as she pet Platt on the head.
"Everyone is so happy," Allura commented to Coran, grinning as she looked around. "Coran… This is much more than I could ever have hoped for…"
"You've been through a lot," Coran commented, smiling at her. "I don't think I've ever seen you this happy before."
"I don't think I've ever felt this happy or relieved." Allura said. "We thought we were the last two Alteans for so long…" She smiled up at him. "Thank you, Coran."
"For what, Princess?" Coran asked.
"If not for you and your support and guidance, I think I would have given up a long time ago. I wouldn't have this moment right now. Thank you."
Coran wrapped his arm around her shoulder and pulled her into a hug. "I feel the same way about you, Allura. I would have given up a very long time ago if it weren't for you."
"Princess Allura! Coran!"
The two turned to see Caelum approaching, along with Dei. Allura felt Coran stiffen again, his arm around her tensing before he let it drop to his side. Allura wondered what kept bringing on that response, but instead greeted grandfather and grandson as they approached.
"Princess Allura, we cannot thank you enough for this opportunity," Dei said. "You have brought much hope to our people, and a promise of peace."
"That is what Voltron stands for," Allura said, smiling. "I am just happy that this message can be shared with other Alteans… I imagine you both understand how Coran and I felt when we awoke some months ago from cyropods, completely ignorant of what had happened to our home and people, what had become of the universe, the loss of our loved ones…"
"We do keenly know those emotions and more," Dei said. "Caelum has informed me that he has told you our story, and related much of yours." His eyes trailed over to Coran. "Though it has left me with many more questions."
"That is understandable," Allura said with a nod. "And I have many questions for you as well, regarding steps towards the future."
"But of course," Dei said. "I believe we should start by planning your coronation…"
"Oh," Allura said, surprised. "Oh, I didn't…"
"Allura is still too young to be crowned queen," Coran said, stepping in for her, which she was grateful for, unsure how to phrase her intentions. "She will be old enough within three years, however, to take the crown. And, more importantly, the universe should be in a more stable position for her to take up that mantle."
"I am very dedicated to freeing the universe from Zarkon," Allura added, finding her thoughts and voice again. "I worry that I will not be able to give my subjects the attention they deserve while traveling with Voltron and increasing the number of members in the Voltron Alliance."
"Very mature of you, Princess," Dei said, smiling at her. "And in the meantime? We will need a regent to rule here at the settlement…"
"At the moment I don't want to upset any system currently in place at the settlement regarding leadership; too much change too soon can be damaging," Allura said.
Dei's smile faltered some and he sighed. "Princess… I need to be honest with you. We need you, or if not you, a regent, over the settlement. Yes, our current government system is working fine… But you, you are our princess. You are our representative of hope. We need you here, with us. While your intentions to fight Zarkon are undoubtedly noble, we will suffer here. Some may wonder that your quick departure means that you are not interested in the people. Or fear that we will lose you once again over the course of war. No, it is better for you to stay here or to have some sort of rule over the settlement through the crown of Altea."
Allura felt her heart pounding in her chest. "But the Paladins… Voltron…"
"Can they not function without you?" Dei asked. "Voltron is formed by five pilots, and you are not one of them, Princess."
"Grandfather, the Princess is still a vital part of the team," Caelum said, looking uncomfortable with the situation.
"What's going on?" Shiro asked as he and the other Paladins approached.
Caelum ignored their arrival and continued, "She pilots the Castle, and is a great strategist and diplomat. She cannot simply leave Team Voltron and they find the same level of success that they have."
"What?" Lance exclaimed as the Paladins all looked at Allura with wide-eyes. "You're leaving?"
"Dei believes I should stay here," Allura said, composing herself.
"We are your people. Your duty is to Altea and what remains of our people." Dei said.
"You wish to make the Princess a figurehead of hope and promise, while hindering her from spreading that hope and promise to others," Coran said, eyes hard as he glared at Dei. "Allura knows her duty, and she does everything in her power to fulfil them. But she also knows her own heart and desires, and she knows when to follow those desires and do what she feels is ultimately for the best. Not necessarily for what is left of Altea, but for the entire universe."
Dei returned Coran's hard stare. "I had wondered if you had finally learned your place, Coran. It seems that I was mistaken." He turned to the stunned Allura, whose eyes were wide at Dei's words. "Perhaps we should continue this discussion at another time. Without interference from those who have delusions of grandeur beneath their stations in life."
With that, Dei turned and left.
Caelum remained, looking a little mortified as he turned towards Coran, saying, "I apologize on—"
But it was too late, for Coran was walking off in the other direction.
"Um…" Lani said, approaching with Tali and Shinji. "What was that all about?"
A few minutes later, the Earth teens, Allura and Caelum were sitting on the bridge, Allura sitting on the floor looking at her lap.
"Allura, what's going on?" Keith asked. "What happened back there?"
"Do Coran and Dei know each other from before?" Shinji asked, leaning against the back of Shiro's chair.
"Not as far as I'm aware," Caelum said.
"I am also ignorant regarding their past interactions, if any," Allura said. She looked up, glancing at the Paladins. "You all came over as a group. Why?"
"Hunk got us and brought us over," Pidge said. "Said Coran was looking really tense."
"Yeah, it was really defensive stance," Hunk said. "He stuck his arm out slightly in front of you, like he was ready to push you aside in an attack or something."
Allura frowned. She hadn't noticed, but she didn't have the same vantage point the others had had.
"What did Dei mean about Coran not knowing his place?" Shiro asked.
Allura sat up straighter. This, at least, she could answer. "It's… It's a long story. My parents and Ryla made sure I knew it, though. It has a lot to do with the old social classes of Altea, however. I am not certain how much you know about the social classes, so I will do my best to summarize." Allura picked up a lock of her white hair. "I will use myself as an example. My family line—the line of the kings and queens of Altea—all had white hair as I do. As royalty, our powers are the strongest of the noble families."
"The lighter your hair color is, the stronger your powers are," Caelum added.
"Powers?" Tali repeated.
"Shape-shifting, predominately," Allura said. "By now, I'm sure you've noticed that Coran does not shape-shift?"
"Yeah, Coran does rely more heavily on clothing-based disguises," Hunk said. "First time we were on Shay's Balmera, he and I tried to sneak past Galra guards with him on my shoulders, a cloak and broken drone pieces."
"Wait, so Coran doesn't shapeshift or he can't?" Shiro asked.
"Can't," Allura said. "Those with dark hair and without powers are considered commoners, compared to the noble families and their lighter colored hair. And… I know it stepped on the toes of many members of the nobility when my father appointed Coran as his advisor, though I am certain that is not the event that Dei was alluding to.
"There is a tradition whenever a new King or Queen of Altea was crowned. All of the noble houses would swear loyalty to the new monarch. When my father was crowned king, the allegiances were sworn during the ceremony as usual. However, Coran—who was not my father's advisor at the time, only a childhood friend and comrade in arms—stepped forward and also swore fealty to my father. It was not necessary for him to do so, and it was an honest and sincere action, which I believe is what made my father appreciate it more. Many of the commoners were also appreciative of the action, as Coran was one of them despite an upbringing in the palace, and they finally had some sort of representation during this particular ceremony. The noble families, however, disapproved for a number of reasons: Coran wasn't noble-born, they believed it to be a planned action between my father and Coran, and they accused Coran of ladder climbing… Several of the commoners also believed this. It was quite a mess, and it appears that Coran still has not escaped the scrutiny that followed, especially after my father asked him to become an advisor, a role no commoner had ever occupied before."
"Geez." Pidge said. "From the sounds of it, Coran was more loyal than all of those families put together."
"Which is partially why Coran's actions increased their ire," Caelum said. "The implication that the noble families were only pledging loyalty out of tradition rather than sincerity was rather damaging."
"So. What happens now?" Lani asked.
"Now… I don't know." Allura said. "I can't stay here. I won't stay here… I want to be involved, but I will not abandon Voltron."
"Good. We need you." Keith said.
"Yeah, who else is going to boss us around and call us lazy lumps?" Lance said. "We all know that the worse Shiro will ever do is say he's disappointed in us…"
Shinji suddenly stood up straighter, eyes wide. "Wait a second… There's something else going on here, I think, between Dei and Coran."
"What do you mean?" Tali asked. "As in, you've figured out another reason why they don't like each other?"
"No, it's something else," Shinji said, shaking his head. "I think Dei may have been the original Blue Paladin."