Hi all!
Wow, thanks for the great reviews, I really hope this story lives up to your expectations. You guys are awesome!By the way, I don't own Voltron or any of the characters you recognize from the TV show or comic book, I'm just having fun at their expense!
Enjoy
Failte
###################################################################################
Allura stood on the top step of the ballroom entrance and surveyed the crowd before her. With a shaky smile she announced, "Good evening, ladies and gentlemen and thank you for joining us on this exciting evening. It is with great pleasure, pride, and love that my husband, Commander Keith Whitaker, and myself, introduce to you all our daughter, Her Royal Highness, Princess Cadence Arianna Isabelle Whitaker!"
Applause broke out as Allura stepped aside and was joined by Cady, her hand tucked in her father's elbow. She smiled shyly and nodded to the people gathered before her.
Sky clapped loudly while the twins slipped their fingers between their lips and let out ear splitting whistles. Lance, Hunk, and Pidge all catcalled while the younger children cheered and jumped up and down.
Cady's shy smile grew as she noticed her friends and family there, supporting her and putting her at ease.
Keith and Allura led her down the steps and into the throng of people where they were swallowed whole. The string quartet set up at the far end of the room began to play light music, maids and butlers moved through the crowd with trays of drinks and appetizers. The sounds of chatter and music melded together into a buzzing sound.
Sky made her way through the crowd stopping now and then to talk to people. She caught sight of Cady speaking to a couple of young men looking relaxed and confident, but the she never did a shy away from the male attentions that were often sent her way.
"Excuse me."
Sky turned and found herself face to face with a handsome young man who was vaguely familiar. "Yes?"
"You're Sky Collier, aren't you?"
"Yes. I'm sorry, my memory isn't as good as yours."
He smiled, "Well, it has been a while. I'm John Russ, we used to go to school together."
"Oh, that's right! I'm sorry John, it has been a long time hasn't it?"
"About five years since our last class together. How are you?"
"Good, I'm doing great, thank you. And you?"
"Can't complain. I start my military training next month."
"So do I! Maybe we'll have some classes together."
His smile grew a little more, showing a crooked canine tooth, "Maybe you'll be able to help me with some of my classes."
"I'd be glad to."
"If you're free, maybe we can go get a cup of coffee sometime, compare schedules."
Sky nodded, "Sure, that sounds like fun."
"I'll give you a call some time."
Before Sky could respond she felt a hand rest on the back of her neck. She didn't have to turn around to see who it was, just having him near heightened every sense. Her skin burned where his hand touched and she could smell his cologne. Very slowly his hand slid down her neck and across her bare shoulder leaving a trail of fire in its wake as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, the material of his jacket brushing against her bare skin and sending shivers down her spine.
"Schuyler."
"Erik."
Erik looked at the man standing opposite them, his eyebrow raised in question.
"Uh, I'm John Russ, an old friend of Sky's.""Erik Johansson, an even older friend of Sky's." He offered John his hand, "A pleasure to meet you, John."
"Erik," he shook his hand quickly and nodded to Schuyler. "I'll see you around, Sky."
"Talk to you later, John."
She felt him lean close to her ear just before he whispered, "So, who's John?"
"An old friend," she shook his arm from her shoulders and stepped out of his reach.
Feeling a little uneasy, Erik slipped his hands into his pockets, "So, how're you doing?"
"Fine. You?"
"Pretty good. I've been trying to catch up with you for the past hour."
"Why?"
Her question surprised him. "Uh, because I was hoping to talk to you."
"What about?"
"Come on, Sky, what's with the attitude? We're friends here."
She sighed, "I don't have an attitude."
"Come on," he touched her elbow. "Let's go find a place to talk."
"We can talk here."
Erik raised an eyebrow, "Are you afraid to be alone with me?"
"No. Where do you want to go?"
Holding her by the elbow, Erik made his way through the crowd toward a set of doors that led out to one of six balconies that over looked the meadow and lake. The balcony was empty, but Sky could make out people standing on the other balconies and hear the low murmur of their voices or laughter as it was carried on the breeze. It was a beautiful evening. The sun was just starting to set and the was a slight breeze, hinting at the spring that was quickly coming. The chatter and music inside the ballroom were muted as Erik shut the tall double doors.
"Let's make this fast," Sky said, leaning against the railing and looking out over the lake. "This is Cady's night and I don't want to miss anything."
"We won't," he stood beside her, his hands clutching the railing. "You worry too much, Sunny."
She rolled her eyes at the use of his old nickname for her. When they were younger, he started calling her Sunny Sky and when she was angry or sad, he called her Rainy Sky. "I don't worry, we're just being rude."
"Sky," he sighed heavily. "I consider you one of my closest friends, you have been for a long, long time. I hate to think that my being unable to attend one of your birthday parties is enough to end that."
A flush quickly rose to her face. She suddenly felt foolish. It wasn't his fault that she couldn't be within ten feet of him without turning three shades of red. It wasn't his fault that she had developed a silly, childish crush. I do not have a crush on Erik! Sky screamed in her head. We tried it before and we found we were meant to just be friends!
"Sky?" He whispered.
"I'm sorry, Erik, I just have a lot on my mind. I understand how busy you've been with your training and everything." She turned and faced him, which she knew right away was a bad idea. In the waning light of the night his eyes appeared black. His thick dark honey blonde hair fell over his forehead and skimmed the collar of his suit jacket, framing his strong jaw.
"I haven't been that busy," he reached into his pocket and pulled out the small white box tied with a thin red ribbon. "I just haven't been able to get to Arus."
"Erik," her heart softened. "You didn't have to."
"Yes I did."
Taking the box from him, Sky felt her fingers brush his and a jolt shook her. "This…uh, this is a very small elephant," she teased.
"Maybe it's time we stopped that silly tradition."
"It's not a silly tradition, Erik," she replied, tugging at the ribbon.
"I thought you were running out of room for elephants."
"I always have room for an elephant from you," Sky told him, not realizing the effect her words had on him. "As a matter of fact I…oh, Erik, it's beautiful!" She had just pulled the lid off the box. Nestled on a bed of cotton was a silver necklace with a pendant in the shape of a triangle, a complicated knot in the center.
"It's a trinity knot," he explained quietly. "I found it from a traveling vendor. I immediately thought of you and when I asked about it, he told me it represented inner strength. I guess that's why I thought of you."
She raised her eyes to his, embarrassed that moisture had gathered there. "Thank you, Erik, I love it."
Rolling his eyes and sighing dramatically, he dipped his hand back into his pocket and pulled it out again. "All right, all right, I got you your damn elephant." He held, between his thumb and forefinger, an inch tall, bright orange, plastic elephant.
Sky threw her head back and laughed, forgetting the tears in her eyes.
Erik's heart stopped at the sound of her laugh, it had been so long since he had heard it and when she threw her head back like that, she exposed a long column of slim, white throat. His fingers itched to touch her. He cleared his throat, "I'm sorry if it seems as though I've been ignoring you, Sky…"
"I didn't think that," she assured him. "I guess I was a little hurt, but I know how busy you've been. I'm afraid we're growing apart."
"I won't let that happen."
Sky blushed and looked down at the tiny elephant in her hand.
"Well, you're going to see a lot more of me."
Her heart raced, "What, uh, what do you mean?"
Erik turned and looked back out over the lake, "I got a calling, Sky."
"What?"
"I got my calling, Sky, I have to start my training on Arus."
"Wait, what? I'm confused, I thought you were training on Pollux."
He shook his head, "Do you remember when you got your calling to Red?"
Sky smiled. For as long as she could remember, Red Lion had been a huge part of her life. When she was little she would ride with her father, when she had turned sixteen he let her fly Red, and just last year she had flown alone for the first time. It had been known since the day she was born that she was destined to fly Red Lion.
"I was six when I first started dreaming. Aunt Allura was the only one who took the dreams seriously, but I am the only one, besides my father, who Red has really taken to."
"Well, I got my first calling about six months ago."
"Blue Lion?"
He shook his head.
She furrowed her brow, "Green? Yellow?"
"It was Black, Sky." Nearly a full minute of silence had passed before he turned to see her mouth hanging open in surprise. "I know. I didn't think much of the dream at first. But the dreams came more often and I started having visions during the day. A couple of months ago I sat down and spoke to my father. We contacted Aunt Allura and Uncle Keith. She's convinced I am next in line to fly Black. I start my official training next month."
"But…but I thought you were going to run the Polluxian military with your father or at least fly Blue."
"We were all surprised and, well, my father wasn't too happy, but he can't argue with my destiny."
"What about Declan?"
"Uncle Keith even admitted that Dec is a good pilot with the potential to be a great pilot. But he doesn't have it in him to be a leader, nor does he want to be a leader, he just wants to fly."
"Is this what you want?" Sky asked carefully.
"I never even thought about it before I got the calling, but, yeah, it is."
"You'll do a great job, Erik."
He turned and looked at her, touched by the obvious confidence in him he heard in her voice. "Thank you, Schuyler."
"Does, uh, does this mean the news we've been hearing is true?"
Erik nodded.
"But I thought we were safe here."
"We are safe here, Sky, as long as we have Voltron. But they are coming and it will be up to us to protect Arus.""What about the rest of the Lions?"
"According to Uncle Keith, they are going to work on filling those roles. Dec is most likely going to take over in Blue Lion, but Keith will have to break his own age rule to allow him to train. They know Tess is definitely interested, but it'll be another five years before she can officially start training, Cady has no interest whatsoever. They think Uncle Pidge is still young enough and in good enough shape to fly and fight again. Any way we look at it, Schuyler, it's going to be mainly up to you and me."
She shook her head, "You'll be an amazing leader, Erik, and I'll follow you into any battle."
Emotion welled up in Erik and he wasn't quite sure what to do with it. He reached out and gently caressed her cheek with the back of his fingers.
"No," she shook her head and stepped back.
"Sky…"
"Erik, we can't."
"Why not?"
Her throat felt raw as she blinked back tears, "We tried it and it didn't work. We're friends, let's not ruin that."
He stepped closer, forcing her back against the railing, "That was four years ago, Sky, we were children."
"We still are."
"I see a beautiful woman in front of me."
"It would be a mistake," her voice shook.
"Schuyler," he leaned closer. "My Sky."
Her mother used to call her that, but it held an entirely different meaning when he said it.
Noise closed in on them as the doors to the ballroom swept open and a crowd of people forced their way onto the balcony. Startled, Sky looked around and noticed people crowding out onto all the balconies, the chatter was suddenly deafening. Erik caged her in with an arm on either side of her, clutching the rail and blocking her from the crush of people.
"What's going on?" He asked.
"Fireworks!" A plump woman declared excitedly. "Lieutenants Landers and Audric set up a fireworks display in honor of the Princess."
Sky closed her eyes, too aware of how close Erik was. Her heart raced as she laid a hand on his hard chest and pushed gently. "Let me go, Erik," she whispered hoarsely.
"Schuyler…"
"Let me go," she insisted louder.
With a heavy sigh he lifted his arm and shifted to the side so she could push her way back into the ballroom. He crossed his arms over the rail and lowered his head. That did not go at all as he had hoped.
…………………………………………………………………………………………
Sky noticed the clock beside Cady's bed read 2:38. The party had ended just after midnight. Cady, Delora, and Sky had all turned in at one and chatted for over an hour. Now she was the only one still awake, curled up in a tight ball on the spare bed in Cady's room. Delora was passed out on a roll away bed while Cady slept in her big canopy bed. The two of them had had a wonderful time. Cady was flying high after all the male attention that had been paid to her all evening. Even Delora had been asked out by a few young men. But at the age of sixteen she was just starting to date and her father didn't like the idea of her seeing a boy who lived on Arus or even further away.
After her run-in with Erik, Sky had disappeared for a while. She had found her way to Red where she had sat in her cockpit trying to sort out her feelings. It was here that her mother had found her and called to her from Castle Control.
Sky just wanted to be alone. She dreaded returning to the ball and she wanted to go home. But Cady was her best friend and she needed to be with her. She had spent the rest of her night sticking close to her mother's side and avoiding Erik at all costs. Which had been easier than she had thought it would be since he appeared to be avoiding her as well.
Pursing her lips, Sky turned her back to the clock and tried to clear her mind enough to find some sleep.