Hi all!
Thanks for the great reviews!
I guess you've been romanced out, huh? :-) I'll try and keep it to a minimum in this story.
I can't really answer any of your questions without giving too much away, I guess you'll just have to read it and see what happens!
Enjoy,
Failte
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"Schuyler Grace Collier! You have two seconds to get down here or we will leave without you!" Darcy yelled from the bottom of the steps.
"No you won't!" Sky called back.
"Oh yes we will! And we'll call Nanny to come sit with you!"
The sound of little feet running followed by a door slamming was her response.
"Do you really need your cape?" Darcy asked her as the little girl ran down the steps, a red cape flying out behind her.
"Uh huh, in case I fall off da elly-fant."
"Sky, we don't know if they let people ride the elephants."
"Dey will."
Darcy looked up and saw Lance standing in the doorway to the kitchen. He shrugged. They had tried to stop Sky from getting her hopes up, but she insisted that she would be allowed to ride an elephant.
"I'm hungry," Sky whined as she held Darcy's hand and waited for Lance to lock the door.
"Just wait until we get to the circus," Lance promised her. "There will be cotton candy and candy apples and ice cream and popcorn and milkshakes and corndogs and anything else you could possibly imagine."
"I don't like corn, Daddy."
"No, no, no, my little girl," he swept her up onto his shoulders. "There is no corn in corndogs. I promise you, Gracie, you will not eat one healthy thing tonight."
"I wanna eat peanuts, dats what elly-fants eat."
"Then we will get you peanuts," Darcy told her. "But you have to promise me you'll have some ice cream too, it's important you get your dairy."
She giggled, "'Kay, Mommy."
"Now, Sky, I want to tell you something important before we get to the circus. Are you listening to me?"
"Yes, Mommy."
"There are going to be a lot of people at the circus, so I want you to be holding hands with either Daddy or me all the time, okay?"
"'Kay."
"What did I just say?"
"I hafta hold your hand or Daddy's."
Darcy patted her leg, "Good girl, Sky."
As they drew closer to town, the number of people greatly increased. The boisterous crowd moved as one, heading to the large field behind the University. Loud, playful music wafted toward them, mixed with the excited voices of children, the shouts of barkers, and various animal sounds.
As the colorful tents came into view, Sky gripped Lance's hair in her hands and bounced excitedly on his shoulders.
"Careful there, Sky," Lance reached up and pried her fingers from his hair. "Daddy isn't ready to go bald yet."
"Where are da elly-fants!" She shouted
"I thought you were hungry, don't you want to get some food first?" Darcy asked her.
"I wanna get some peanuts so I can share wif da elly-fants!""They might not let you feed the animals, sweetie."
"Dey will. I saw it in da book."
Lance glanced at his wife, "See what happens when you buy her books."
"What? She gets smart?"
Riding Lance's shoulders and with a bag of peanuts in one hand and a huge cone of blue cotton candy in the other, Schuyler tried to take everything in at once. The people, the noise, the colors, the animals. It was loud and bright and exciting. Her heart raced and her eyes tried to keep up with everything that passed her as she tried to point it all out to her parents, making sure they didn't miss a thing. She got a taste of Mommy's ice cream cone and Daddy's corndog. Because it was a special night Mommy even let her have her own soda and a milkshake. Then Daddy threw three balls and knocked three clown heads off a shelf and won her a stuffed elephant, but it was too big for her to carry, so Daddy carried it while she held Mommy's hand. Then he knocked over three bottles and won her a stuffed tiger. Then Mommy shot three plastic ducks with a toy gun and won a teddy bear and then she popped three balloons with darts and won a stuffed frog. But the best part was when Sky threw a plastic ball into fishbowl and, much to Mommy's chagrin, won her very own goldfish.
Hopped up on sugar and caffeine, Sky was having the time of her life. Still clutching her bag of peanuts, she skipped along, her fingers curled around Darcy's as they approached the big tent to see the main show. Sitting between her parents with her new elephant, who she named Lucy, beside her, she watched the acrobats swing across the sky and perform death-defying flips. An excited scream flew from her mouth as watched a lady in a gold, sparkly leotard seemingly fall ten feet before being caught by a man in a silver sparkly jumpsuit who was hanging upside down on a bar.
Darcy looked over Sky's head and met Lance's eye. He winked, smiling at their daughter's reaction to all the excitement around them. She laughed hysterically at the antics of the clowns and gasped when a man stuck his head in a lion's mouth.
"Where are da elly-fants?" Sky whispered.
"I'm sure they're coming up soon, honey," Darcy assured her.
A trumpet sounded and a single spotlight shone down on the main ring.
"Ladies and gentlemen!" The ringleader called from his spot in the middle of the ring. "May I now present to you, Lady Paliah and her practically perfect pachyderms!""Here they come," Darcy whispered into Sky's ear.
It seemed like the whole tent shook as an elephant trumpeted, announcing their arrival. Sky's mouth fell open as the five elephants walked in, all of them wearing tall, feathered caps. A beautiful woman with lavender hair and silver skin rode on the first elephant. All five circled around and stopped when the first one rose up on its hind legs, each one following suit and resting their front feet on the elephant in front of them, forming a circle. The crowd cheered and applauded, stomping their feet.
The woman, Paliah, clapped her hands and called out in a foreign language. One by one, the elephants lowered their legs and lined up, bending their front knees and lowering their heads as though they were bowing to the audience. Paliah slid off the back of her elephant and walked in front of them, her arms raised, as the crowd cheered. Schuyler was clapping the loudest and the hardest.
But the best part of the entire night was ten minutes after the show ended, the tents were opened so kids could come in and meet the animals. Most of the children were amazed by the lions and tigers, others liked the more exotic animals, like the floxins, animals resembling dogs with an eagle's head or the loopers, round three headed rabbit like creatures that jumped in circles. But a handful of kids made their way over to the elephants. Sky's eyes widened and her mouth fell open, she almost dropped the bag holding her goldfish, Frankie, on the ground.
"Do you have any questions about the elephants?" Paliah asked kindly, standing between her massive animals and the gathered crowd.
Questions came from all directions.
"Do they really eat peanuts?""Do they sleep standing up?"
"How much do they weigh?"
"How tall are they?"
"Do they eat people?"
Laughing a bell-like, tinkling laugh, Paliah answered all their questions to the best of her ability. Her eyes rested on a pretty little dark haired girl wearing a red cape and clutching a clear bag with a fish in it, holding her father's hand and staring up at the elephants in awe.
"What about you, little girl, do you have a question?"Lance squeezed Sky's hand, "Do you have a question, Sky?"
"Can…can I ride him?" She whispered.
"Yeah!" At least a dozen other children shouted in agreement.
"Well, my babies here don't like to have strangers ride them, but if you go out back, you can ride one of our other elephants for ten dollars."
Sky looked up at her father expectedly. Of course he couldn't deny her.
"Thank Paliah for answering your question," he said.
"Thank you, Pally, I really really really really like your elly-phants," Sky said solemnly.
"You're welcome, Sky," the lady replied.
Darcy smiled, "Thank you, Paliah."
Back behind the tent was a small crowd of people gathered around a platform that rose high above them, the same height as an elephant. Clowns ran around, entertaining the people who were waiting for their turn.
"Where is it?" Schuyler asked, standing on her toes.
"It's coming," Lance told her. "You get to ride it all around the field."
"I wanna see, Daddy," she held her arms up to him.
Lance handed Lucy to Darcy and picked his daughter up so she could see the massive animal over the tops of everyone's heads. The elephant was a little older than the ones Paliah worked with. A large, woven blanket covered its back with a big, box shaped seat with high sides on top.
A woman stood on the platform helping people onto and off of the elephant, another woman rode with the passengers and a man lead the elephant around the paddock.
"Excuse me."
Lance turned to see a man and his son standing beside him. "Yes?"
"I'm sorry to bother you, but aren't you Lt. Collier with the Voltron Force?"
"Uh, yeah, I am."
"Could I get my son's picture with you, please? He's a huge fan."
Turning to Darcy, Lance rolled his eyes and set Sky on the ground next to her. It wasn't that he minded when people recognized him or appreciated what he did. Lance dealt with his celebrity better than Pidge did, but not in the dignified manner Keith did or the laid back way Hunk did. But it was when he was out with his family that he didn't want to have to put up with autograph hounds. He and Darcy wanted Sky to have as normal a life as possible, but as the daughter of two Voltron pilots, one being the second-in-command, she sometimes found herself thrust into the limelight. She wasn't a shy girl, which was good, but she was also overly curious and fearless, which wasn't always a good thing.
Sky took Lucy from her mother and tugged on her trunk, whispering secrets into her big ear while Darcy stood over her, cradling the loot they had won throughout the evening.
"What's your name?" Lance asked the young boy.
"Dentro," he told him, his eyes wide.
"Well, Dentro, it's nice to meet you, I'm Lance," he shook the boy's hand.
"I wanna fly when I get older," Dentro announced.
Lance sized him up, "Well, you do look like a strapping young man. How old are you?""I'm eight and a half."
"Then in ten years you come and see me and I'll see about getting you into the Arusian Air Brigade, okay?"
"Yes sir!"
Lance knelt beside the boy and allowed his father to snap a picture. After shaking hands and waving off the man's gratitude, he turned back to his wife and daughter. "Do you think if I grew a mustache, people would stop recognizing me?"
"Oh stop it," Darcy sighed. "You enjoy the attention and besides, if you grew a mustache, I wouldn't kiss you."
"Oh, like you could resist me."
"You are so full of yourself, you are the one who can't resist me."
Their playful flirting was interrupted by Sky tugging on Darcy's shirt and whimpering, "Mommy?"
Winking at Lance, she looked down, "What is it, sweetheart?"
Sky whimpered again and turned to bury her face in her mother's leg.
Lance looked up and saw what was frightening his daughter. He pried her off Darcy's leg and picked her up, "It's just a clown, Sky, see, he's funny."
She shook her head and buried her face in his shoulder.
"Sky," Darcy stroked her back. "I thought you liked clowns."
"Not too close," she whispered.
"Ah," Darcy smiled weakly at the clown who was still trying to get Sky's attention. "Thanks, but she's not a big fan of clowns."
The clown pretended to wipe a tear away, shook his head, waved cheerfully and did a cartwheel away.
"Next!"
"That's us," Lance whispered in Schuyler's ear. "Ready to ride the elephant?"
She lifted her head and wiped her nose, nodding.
"A child that young must ride with a parent," the woman on the platform said.
"I got it," Lance told Darcy, reaching into his pocket for his wallet.
The woman took his money and explained how they were to behave while riding the elephant. Lance climbed on first and then helped Sky up, sitting her in front of him.
Sky shrieked with excitement as the behemoth creature moved beneath her, "Mommy! I ridin' an elly-fant!"
A few people chuckled as Darcy waved at her, "I see you, Sky!"
Lance wrapped his arms around his daughter as she tried to stand. She clapped her hands and watched the elephant raise his trunk into the air. The ride itself only lasted about two minutes, but it was apparently the highlight of Schuyler's short life so far.
The sun had set and after spending over two hours at the circus, Lance and Darcy decided it was time to head home. Darcy held Schuyler, who lay limply against her, dozing off as the excitement of the night had worn down her sugar high. Lance was in charge of carrying home the zoo of animals they had accumulated.
"She's going to sleep like a log tonight," Darcy commented as Sky turned her head and sighed.
Lance wiggled his eyebrows at her, "So you think we might be able to have a little fun?"
"I don't know," she teased. "I am awfully tired after all we did tonight."
"You won't have to do much, you could just lie there."
She laughed, "You are nothing more than a depraved, wanton scoundrel."
"Oh you know it makes me hot when you use big words."
"Just my speaking makes you hot."
"It doesn't even take that much, baby," he leaned over and kissed her cheek.
………………………………………………………………………….
"Mommy?" Schuyler whispered sleepily as Darcy changed her into her pajamas.
"Yeah, sweetie?"
"I ride an elly-fant."
"Yes you did, I took a picture of you.""You did?"
"Yup. We'll get it developed and then we can go into town and you can pick out a special frame for it, okay?"
"'Kay."
Darcy kissed her forehead and tucked her into bed, "Sweet dreams, my Sky. Tomorrow we go to the castle and you can tell Cady and the boys all about it."
"Can I take Lucy?"
"Sure."
"Good night, Mommy."
"Good night." Darcy shut off the light, leaving the door open a crack she made her way downstairs.
"I thought we could use this until we get to the pet store," Lance told her as she walked into the kitchen. Sky's new fish, Frankie, was happily swimming in a vase.
"We shouldn't have let her win that."
"Why? What do you have against fish?" He asked, scratching Chewy's head.
Darcy shook her head as she put water on to boil for tea, "Nothing. I just don't like circus fish. He's going to be dead within three days, then what? She's going to be devastated."
"Then we'll get her a new one. Can I be the one to tell your mother that Sky named her elephant after her?"
"Sky is a little girl, she doesn't know a lot of names. She named her elephant after her grandmother as a compliment, not an insult." She picked up her briefcase from beside the door. "I have to grade some tests, you don't have to wait up for me."
"Can't it wait?" He whined.
"No, I promised my students I would have it back to them tomorrow, I only have about seven more to do."
"Fine," Lance sighed dramatically. "I'm going upstairs, I'll try and stay awake, but I can't promise anything."
She kissed him, "Give me twenty minutes."
In reality, it had taken her thirty minutes. Darcy entered their bedroom to find Lance lying in bed watching the televiewer with Chewy sprawled out next to him.
"Chewy, get down," Darcy commanded as she dug in her dresser drawer for a nightshirt.
"You lost your chance," Lance told her. "You said twenty minutes, it took half an hour, so you lost your side of the bed to the dog."
She disappeared into the bathroom to wash her face and get ready for bed. When she reentered the bedroom, Chewy was still lying on the bed. Shaking her head, she walked over, grabbed him by his collar and pulled. The big, golden mutt didn't even budge. "Lance."
"Chewy, down," he said it almost lazily.
As slowly as he could, Chewy stood and stretched and shook before walking slowly to the foot of the bed and lying down.
"Lance."
"All the way down, Chewy."
With a thump, the dog jumped to the floor and walked over to his bed to curl up for the night.
"So you'd rather share the bed with the dog than me?" She asked, pulling the covers back.
He shrugged, "He was keeping me warm when you weren't here."
Darcy snuggled up to him, kissing his neck and stroking his chest, "In the same way I keep you warm?"
"Uh, no, not really," Lance's voice was a little higher.
She straddled his waist, "No one comes between me and my man."
He reached up and wove his fingers through her hair, bringing her mouth down to his. The rest of the world melted away as Lance rolled over and pinned her under him. "I love you," he murmured against her lips.
"I love you too," she gasped as his hands moved up beneath her nightshirt.
A scream tore through the air and they jumped apart.
"What was that?" Lance asked, sitting upright.
"Schuyler," Darcy replied as another scream sounded down the hall. She pushed the blankets off and got out of bed as Chewy ran to their door, scratching and barking.
The door had barely opened when Sky ran full force into the room, screaming and sobbing hysterically. She threw herself at her mother, wrapping her arms tightly around Darcy's neck, soaking her shoulder with her tears.
Chewy tore from the room, barking.
"Shh, shh, shh," Darcy rubbed her back. "Calm down, Sky. What happened? Did you have a bad dream?"
Sky shook her head.
"Stop crying, baby, and tell Mommy what happened."
"A cown!" She sobbed into Darcy's shoulder.
"A clown?"Sky nodded.
"You had a bad dream about a clown?"
"No! A cown, in da window!"
"You saw a clown in your window?"
Sky nodded again.
Darcy hugged her tightly, "Oh sweetie, there is no clown outside your window."
Sky sat back and glared at her mother with red, swollen eyes, "Yes dere was! It was lookin' in at me and den it smiled!"
"No clowns followed us home," Lance assured her, sitting down beside them on the bed.
"He's out dere!" She insisted.
Darcy looked at Lance and nodded toward the door. He rolled his eyes but stood and put his shoes on.
"Daddy is going to make sure there is no clown outside, okay?" Darcy said.Sky sniffed and nodded, laying her head on her mother's shoulder.
Lance first checked Sky's room. Her bright red, yellow, and blue comforter was thrown back in her haste to get out. Lucy lay on the floor. He crossed to the window opposite her bed and looked out. It was a clear night with one and a half of the three Arusian moons shining down and stars twinkling across the sky. A slight breeze ruffled the tree tops, but there was no other movement. He crossed to the other window and saw almost the same image, except that the Castle of Lions was visible from this side.When Lance had had this house built, he had taken every security caution possible. Including windows made of blaster proof glass, but could be opened in an emergency with the flick of a switch. The doors were double thick metal covered by a sheet of wood finished paneling so they didn't look like a fortress. A state of the art security system, including motion detector lights, combined with the knowledge that both he and his wife were trained soldiers, both of whom have served with Voltron Force, helped him sleep easy at night. It was nearly impossible to get into their home without their knowing or inviting you.
Noticing that Chewy wasn't with him, Lance walked out into the hall and heard a scratching noise. Jogging quietly down the steps, he quickly scanned the living room and dining room before sticking his head in the office he and Darcy shared. Not finding the dog, Lance walked into the last room on the first floor, their spacious kitchen. Chewy was standing with his nose pressed to the crack at the bottom of the door sniffing hard, stopping occasionally to scratch at the door.
For the most part, Chewy seemed to be a waste of space. He was an oversized, goofy load of long, golden fur who spent most of his time curled up on the floor, except for the two walks a day Lance and Sky took him on, or when he was eating all the food within his reach. He got along with everyone, friend or stranger. They had gotten him as a Christmas present from Keith and Allura when Sky was about ten months old, so the two of them were growing up together. Because of this, Chewy was fiercely protective of Sky and if he ever thought someone or something was threatening the little girl, that dog was the first to come to her aid. Even if it was Lance or Darcy trying to discipline her, that dog would stand between them."Someone out there, Chewy?" Lance asked.
The dog lifted his head and growled in response.
The hair on the back of Lance's neck rose. He went to the front closet and took down the lock box off the top shelf. Taking out his blaster and turning off the safety, he crept back to the kitchen and looked out the window. Not seeing any movement, he quietly unlocked the door and eased it open. A cool breeze swept over him and a chill, unrelated to the weather, raced down his spine. His trained eyes scanned the backyard, seeing nothing out of the ordinary, but sensing something.
Chewy stood on the back stoop and growled.
Lance stepped back and laid a hand on the dog's head, "What is it, boy?"
Very slowly, the dog stepped down onto the grass, his nose in the air, sniffing. After a moment, he turned back to Lance, his tail wagging and his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth.
"All clear, Chewy?"
In response, Chewy bounded up the stoop and into the kitchen, stopping by the cupboard that he knew held his treats.
With one last glance around the yard, Lance returned to the house, locking the door behind him. After rewarding Chewy with a treat, returning his weapon to its hiding place and making sure all the doors were locked and the alarm was on, he made his way up the stairs. Darcy was reclining back on their bed with Schuyler curled up next to her in the curve of her arm, her head on her mother's shoulder. They were both tucked under the covers as Darcy told Sky her favorite story of the time Winnie the Pooh ate too much honey and got stuck in Rabbit's hole.
Sky lifted her tired eyes when he entered the room, "Did you find it?"
Lance shook his head, "Nope, no clown, no one anywhere. It's all safe. You ready to go back to bed?"
The little girl whimpered and clung to Darcy's nightshirt, tears falling from her eyes.
"It's okay," Darcy kissed the top of her head. "You can stay here for now."
It was Lance who whimpered this time as he sat on the edge of the bed and pulled his shoes off.
"I nee mer bumels," Sky murmured into Darcy's shoulder.
"Daddy'll get him," her mother assured her."Daddy'll get who?" Lance asked.
"She needs Mr. Bumbles."
He rolled his eyes and stood, "Anything else?"
"My blankie," the little girl whispered.
When Lance returned to his bedroom with Sky's blanket and the stuffed mouse Darcy's parents had given her when she was born, he found that between his wife, his daughter, and the dog, there was very little room for him on the bed.
"Chewy, get down," he sighed.
"She's just about asleep," Darcy whispered, tucking Mr. Bumbles beside the little girl and laying her blanket over her.
"I can sneak her back into her room," he whispered back.
"Nooooo," Sky whimpered quietly, clutching her mouse.
Darcy smiled weakly at him.
Lance was tempted to tell her about the bad feeling he had had outside, but not in front of Sky. This was the first time he had ever seen his little girl scared. This was the child that they had to stop from walking up to strange dogs or picking up snakes in the woods. She had never wanted a nightlight in her room or been afraid of thunder, and when Cady told her the west tower of the castle was haunted, Sky had marched right up there in the excited hope of seeing a ghost. But now she was curled up between them, terrified to go back to her own bedroom. Something was going on, he just had to figure out what it was.
Realizing that the moment with his wife had passed and he wasn't going to get it back tonight, Lance stretched out beside them and tried to get some sleep.