Hi all!
Thank you so much for your great reviews and your patience. I'm sure you know about the stress and how busy the holiday season can be.
Lillehafrue - Thank you so much for your review! And I say go for it! Post your story! I know how nerve-wracking it can be: What if no one reviews? What if all I get are bad reviews? What if no one reads my story? But you'll never know unless you try. To be honest, I started fanfic writing to try and strengthen my writing and I think it has worked. When I look back on my first story, I actually get a little embarrassed (Absence Make The Heart Grow Fonder) and I've seriously considered pulling it from the site. But I think it it shows how I have grown as a writer. So go for it! You'll be glad you did.
RL2, C-Town Chica, Mrs. Son - Thank you so much for your reviews and support!
I have this story all planned out and barring any other computer problems I hope to have it done soon.
Enjoy!
Failte
Keith met the car when they arrived back at the castle.
Nicky clutched his bags to his chest and ran as fast as he could inside.
"Is he all right?" Keith asked, watching him go.
"Yeah, he's fine," Cady assured him. "He just doesn't want you to see what he bought."
"Why?"
"Don't ask questions so close to Christmas, Dad."
He rolled his eyes, "Okay. Sky, Gid, we're meeting in Castle Control. I want to know what you found."
"Dad," Cady stepped forward. "I'd like to be in on this meeting too."
He hesitated a moment before nodding, "Come on."
When they reached Castle Control, Erik, Declan, and Brina were standing by the main console talking quietly.
"Brills," Keith waved over a guard. "Keep an eye on the monitors, I need a word with the Force."
Brills saluted sharply and hurried over to the console.
Keith led the team and Cady over to the side. "All right, Sky, fill us in on what you saw."
"We were walking downtown when both Gideon and I noticed people, both male and female, with the same physical characteristics of the Bittors walking on the sidewalks. I counted about eight, not all together, a couple here and there. They kept to themselves and didn't seem to speak to anyone." She explained.
"Did they enter any stores?"
Sky shook her head, "Not that I saw."
Keith nodded, "So they are moving closer to the city, or at least visiting. Tomorrow I am going to go out to their settlement and speak with them. Erik and Sky, you will be coming with me, the rest of you will stay here in case we need to call for cover."
"Yes, sir," the five Force members intoned.
"All right, you're dismissed. I'm going to get the paperwork and roster together for tomorrow. Stay close and keep your communicators on."
"Dad," Cady reached out and grabbed his arm before he could leave.
"What?"
"I'd like to go with you tomorrow."
Keith looked around, watching as Erik returned to his post and the other Force members went their separate ways. "I don't think that's a good idea, Cady."
"Stop trying to shield me, Dad."
"It's not a matter of shielding you, it's a matter of safety. We don't know what we're going to find out there."
"But you're taking Erik and Sky and some guards."
"This is not up for discussion, Cadence, I explained to you before that knowing you are safe makes my job so much easier. You are not going tomorrow, that's final."
"Dad…"
"Argue with me and you won't be allowed to leave this castle for a month."
Cady nodded dejectedly and turned to leave the room.
"There you are, sweetheart," Allura smiled as she watched her eldest leave Castle Control.
"What's up, Mom?"
"I need your help wrapping presents."
"Can't Tess and Charlotte help you?"
"With their inability to keep their mouths shut? No."
Cady sighed, "All right."
"Oh come on, Cady," Allura threw an arm around her shoulders, steering her toward her room. "It'll be fun. We'll put on some music and wrap presents. I'll get you in the Christmas mood if it's the last thing I do."
"I'm in the Christmas mood."
"Yeah right."
"I am."
"Honey, no one in the Christmas mood mopes as much as you do," Allura quipped as she slid open the door to the suite of rooms she shared with her husband.
"Geez, Mom, how many presents did you buy this year?" Cady asked, staring at the mound of boxes and toys covering the bed.
"Well, I started in January and kept buying," she explained, pulling rolls of wrapping paper from a bag. "I forgot how much I had until I pulled it all out. Why don't you see if Sky wants to help us out?"
Cady picked up her mother's communicator and dialed up her friend. "Hey, Sky, what are you doing?"
"Nothing right now, what's up?"
"Wanna help Mom and I wrap presents?"
"Uh, sure. Where are you?"
"My parent's room."
"Okay, I'll be there in a few minutes."
Cady snapped the communicator shut and turned to see her mother sorting through the packages, "Sky's on her way."
"Oh good," Allura smiled. "This will be fun. Put some music on."
When Sky arrived, she found Cady and Allura sitting on the massive bed, surrounded by paper, tape, scissors, packages and singing along with the CD playing on the stereo. "Wow," was all she could think to say.
"Schuyler, sweetie, shut the door and come help us."
"Where should I begin?" She asked walking around to the other side of the bed, hoping to find a free spot.
"That's Tess's pile there if you want to start wrapping. Use this; I picked out a different paper for everyone so it'll be easy to tell whose gift is whose."
"So, uh, where are my presents?" Cady asked, nonchalantly.
Allura smiled, "What presents? You're 20 now, you don't need Christmas presents."
"You're kidding right?"
"Of course I'm kidding. Would I really ask you to come help me and then leave your presents out for you to see? Really, Cady. Have you two finished your shopping?"
"I've been done for weeks," Cady said, haughtily.
"I'm still looking for something for Erik," Sky sighed. "Can you hand me the scissors?"
"Yeah, that first Christmas together can be hard," Allura said, sympathetically. "You don't want to do too much or too little."
"You've been friends for years," Cady pointed out. "I can't believe it's that hard."
Sky rolled her eyes, "It's different now, Cady. Aunt Allura, do you know what your daughter suggested I get him?"
"I was kidding," Cady muttered.
"And what did she suggest?" Allura asked, folding the paper over a sweater for Gideon.
"She suggested I get boudoir pictures."
Allura stared at the snowmen dancing across the paper and tried to figure out how to respond to that. She liked to think she was a cool mother, it wasn't like she was old or anything. At the age of forty-two, Allura still considered herself young and hip, but when she heard things like that, it was a quick reminder of how her children had grown.
"I was kidding, Mother," Cady insisted, glaring at her friend.
"What do you know about those pictures?" Allura asked carefully.
"Nothing, I just…she was whining about coming up with something for Erik and I was trying to be funny."
"You said that if I did it, you'd do it," Sky reminded her.
"I was kidding!"
Allura set aside the box she had just wrapped and asked carefully, "Uh huh, and what was it you sent to Tristan for Christmas?"
Cady snapped her head up, "What? No! I didn't…oh, geez, remind me to never kid around with you guys."
"You didn't sound like you were kidding," Sky teased.
"I am going to kill you."
"Right now, you are sending me to an early grave," Allura muttered. "Do we need to talk?"
"No! You are totally blowing this out of proportion!" Cady cried, smacking Sky upside the head with a roll of wrapping paper.
"All right, Cady, I know you're an adult now and I believe your father and I did a great job raising you. I trust you and the decisions you make. Just let me leave you with this bit of advice: you have two younger sisters who look up to you and want to be like you, keep that in mind before you make any…questionable decisions." Allura said seriously.
"Yes, Mom, I know."
"Now then," Allura picked up a soccer ball for Nicky. "Hand me that Santa paper, Sky, and we'll see if we can't come up with something for you to get Erik."
"What did you give Uncle Keith for your first Christmas together?" Sky asked.
"Let me see, our first Christmas together we had been going out about seven months. We didn't have as many options as you have now, we were still building Alforia, so there weren't really many stores. I wanted to give him something special, I wanted him to know how much he meant to me. So I gave him that," she pointed with the scissors to the mantle above the fireplace where a foot tall wooden lion reared up on its hind legs. "The hand carved lion belonged to my father. It had been given to him as a gift when I was a child."
Sky sighed, "I wish I could come up with something special like that. I am at a total loss."
"You must have some idea."
"All I can think of is that he wants the new PlayStation system."
"Then get it for him."
"It's not very romantic."
Allura smiled, "Well, honey, then come up with something else."
"No offense, Aunt Allura, but you're not really helping."
"Then get some boudoir photos."
"Mom!" Cady gasped.
"She's not my daughter, but if she did it, I would have to tell her mother and if Darcy knows, you know she would tell Lance and then, well, you can imagine his reaction."
Both girls stared openmouthed at the Queen.
Allura laughed, "I was kidding! Geez, I thought we covered that all ready."
Cady threw a bow at her mother, "Not funny."
…………………………………………………………………………………………..
The sky was a thick gray, promising another round of snow before the day ended. Erik and Sky rode with Keith in a Jeep over the back roads on the other side of Alforia. Behind them two more Jeeps followed with more guards. They were heading to the spot where the Bittors had set up their settlement. It was about an hour and a half drive from the castle, closer than original estimates had been.
About two dozen ramshackle huts had been quickly built with tilted chimneys spewing light gray smoke. People moved quickly between the buildings, bundled up with their heads down against the biting wind. A handful of old cars were lined up along an uneven trail.
"They certainly move fast," Sky commented as Keith pulled the Jeep to a stop.
Erik glanced around, "It looks like they're planning to stay."
"Looks can be deceiving," Keith muttered as he cut the engine and checked his blaster.
"What's the plan?" Erik asked.
"I will do the speaking, you will be my backup. Just follow my lead." Keith popped open his door and hesitated a moment for them to follow him.
The three of them approached the cluster of homes with caution.
"Excuse me!" Keith called above the wind to a person scurrying toward a hut.
The man lifted his head and acknowledged them with a nod.
"Can I speak with you?"
The man looked around and then back at Keith, nodding again.
Keith moved slowly with Erik and Sky following him closely.
The man still had yet to speak a word as he stood, his arms wrapped tightly around him. He was an older gentleman with a pockmarked, dark rose colored face. An old black coat was wrapped tightly around him, the elbows worn almost all the way through and a green hat with ear flaps pulled down over his head.
"I am Commander Keith Whitaker, Prince Consort and leader of the Arusian military," Keith introduced himself. "I am here on behalf of Her Royal Highness, Queen Allura Whitaker. We would like to welcome you all to Arus and speak with you concerning you arrival and plans."
The man tilted his head and studied Keith, but did not respond.
"Is there someone I can speak with?"
The man nodded and tilted his head to the right before he started walking again.
Keith followed him to a building and waited as their guide knocked on a flimsy, wooden door. The door opened slowly and a young man stuck his head out, upon seeing the older gentleman, he swung the door inward.
As all this was going on, Sky continued to scan the area around them. She couldn't help but notice that there were no more people outside, everyone seemed to have disappeared into their homes. This whole situation left her feeling awkward. She looked up when she felt a hand on her arm. Keith had disappeared into the shack and Erik was trying to get her attention so they could follow.
The shack had one room. Along the wall opposite them was a small fireplace where they obviously prepared their meals as iron pots and a coffee pot sat along the makeshift hearth. Two beds were along the wall to the right and the rest of the room was furnished with a table, three chairs, and a small dresser. Beside the fireplace, the elderly gentleman was speaking quietly with another man and the young man who had answered the door.
After a moment, the elderly man nodded and then slipped quietly from the house.
"Limdel says you wish to speak to someone about our arrival on your planet," the older of the two men said to Keith.
Keith nodded and bowed slightly, "Allow me to introduce myself. I am Commander Keith Whitaker, Prince Consort and leader of the Arusian military. I am here on behalf of Her Royal Highness Queen Allura Whitaker. With me are Erik Johasson and Schuyler Collier, the first and second-in-commands of the Voltron Force. We are here to welcome you to Arus and speak with you concerning your arrival and future plans."
The man nodded, "I am Montry Joles and this is my son, Fentry. Please, have a seat, sir, and we'll talk."
Keith and Montry both sat at the table while Fentry, Sky, and Erik stood, eyeing each other.
"Thank you for your gracious welcome," Montry began. "I can understand your uneasiness of our arrival. I want you to understand that we had every intention of formally announcing our arrival and asking for clemency, but we had learned that we arrived at the time of an important holiday and were planning to save all this paperwork and meetings until after."
"I appreciate your thoughtfulness," Keith replied. "But the safety of our planet and people come first and as such, we cannot allow unknown people to settle on Arus."
"We wish you no harm, we are a people without a home, looking for a safe place to raise our children."
"Then we must go through the proper channels. We need a record of everyone here."
Montry nodded, "That should not be a problem. Would you like me to collect the information?"
"I will send some of my men to do that. I would like to start as soon as possible."
"Of course, sir."
"Why don't you tell me about yourself, Mr. Joles."
"Please, call me Montry. I was a mechanic when Vinn rose to power on Bittor where I grew up and lived with my wife and our two sons. I was forced into working for Vinn, repairing planes and ships. I lost my wife, Lorilei, and then my youngest son, Clanur, to illness. Under Vinn's rule, Bittor went from a lush, beautiful planet to a barren wasteland. All his time and the planet's money was spent on battles and trying to conquer other planets. Trying to get Voltron."
"Excuse me," Erik spoke up. "But why was he allowed to do this?"
Montry turned to him, "He had used promises and elaborate ideas to win us all over. We genuinely thought he cared out Bittor and its people. He promised us wealth and prosperity, safety and freedom. As you know he didn't deliver, but he had created quite a following. After he secured his role as leader, he used torture and murder to make people follow him."
"He killed people who tried to stand up to him?" Sky asked.
"Worse," Fentry said. "He killed the loved ones of those who tried to stand up to him."
"That is how I lost my wife," Montry added quietly. "I tried to stand up to him and fight back, so he killed my Lorilei, right in front of us."
"I'm sorry to hear that," Keith said sympathetically.
"When Vinn was finally defeated," he continued. "We tried to recreate what we once had on Bittor, but it was too late. The crops were ruined, our economy gone, we had nothing. So I convinced a large group of people to follow me to other planets, friendly planets to try and have a better life."
Keith nodded and stood, "Well, I welcome you and Fentry to Arus and I would like to offer my assistance as needed. Tomorrow I will send some of my people up here to start collecting names and vital information. We will get through the necessary paperwork as quickly as possible and help you all settle in."
"Thank you," Montry stood and escorted them to the door. "I appreciate you kindness."
"He seemed nice," Sky said as they returned to the Jeep.
"Yes, he did," Keith agreed as he backed up. "But first impressions can be deceiving. I am sending the Force down tomorrow to collect the information, we'll be meeting this afternoon to go over what you will need to do. I will be running all the names through the Garrison and Intergalactic Policing Agency's systems and see if any red flags appear, assuming the names we're given are their real names. If what he said is true, then they are welcome to stay and we will help them find work. If I so much as think they are a threat to us, they will be closely monitored and asked to leave at the first sign of trouble."
……………………………………………………………………………….
Cady was slowly going insane. Or at least it felt that way. Her freedom was greatly limited, unable to leave the castle without a guard. Tristan had been reassigned to the Planet Lenol as part of a peace-keeping mission. He had told her it was rather boring, but his access to a computer was restricted, so they had only spoken three times in the past week. Her best friend was working with the rest of the Force to gather information on the new people who had settled on the planet.
Christmas was only a few days away and all of her presents were bought and wrapped. As someone who loved to shop, Cady never waited to the last minute to get her holiday shopping done. And every day she raced to Castle Control to check and see if something had arrived from Tristan.
He sure likes to wait to the last minute, doesn't he? She thought as she wandered into the rec room, once again empty handed.
From the window, Cady looked down to see Nicky, Tess, Charlotte, Tori, Luke, Natalia, Casey, and Mykel all playing in the snow under the watchful eyes of two guards and Uncle Hunk. She felt the sudden urge to grab her coat and run outside, joining them in their snowball fight.
"There you are," Allura swept into the room. "I need your help, darling."
"What is it, Mother?"
"The plans for the New Years party are almost ready. It's going to be small this time, only family and friends and a few associates. So I was thinking that we could make it more intimate, casual really. Rather than elaborate eight course meals and the such, we would do a sandwich and snack type party with drinks and finger deserts. No gowns or tuxes, but simpler dresses and suits. What do you think?"
"I like the sound of that, Mom."
"Good, you can back me up when I bring this idea up to Nanny."
Cady giggled softly, "All right."
Allura slid her arm through Cady's as they left the room, "I like the idea of a more casual atmosphere, I think it'll be fun. We just have to convince Nanny that it isn't unseemly."
"If worse comes to worse, we'll get the twins, they always seem to charm Nanny."
Her mother laughed, "Yes, they certainly do. They are as handsome as your father, but they lack his self-restraint and proper manners. Where did we go wrong?"
"Um…giving birth to them?"
"Oh really, Cadence."
"Oh come on Sky! You have got to be kidding me! You're being silly!"
Cady and Allura moved aside quickly as Sky stormed past with Erik on her heels.
"I'm being silly? I'm being silly!" Sky yelled back. "If I'm being silly then you're being stupid!"
With an exasperated sigh, Erik ran his hand through his hair, "Fine. Whatever, Schuyler. I'm being stupid. I must have been stupid to think we could make this work."
Sky whirled around and glared at him with a mixture of anger and hurt, "Do you really mean that?"
"No! No, I didn't mean that."
"But you said it."
"I need you to trust me! I'm so sick of you not believing me when I tell you…" Erik broke off, suddenly realizing they weren't alone. "Let's go somewhere private and talk, Sky."
"I don't want to talk to you right now," Sky said shakily. "And I mean it. Just leave me alone!" With that, she whirled around and hurried away from them.
Erik watched her helplessly, his hands clenched in tight fists.
Cady went to him, laying a gentle hand on his arm. "Let me talk to her, Erik."
"I didn't mean that, Cady."
"I know you didn't, she knows you didn't. You're just being a moron."
He looked down at her wryly, "Not helping, Cady."
She gave him a reassuring smile, "Just go, I'll calm her down and then you guys can talk rationally."
Erik nodded slowly and headed toward the gym, intending to work his frustrations out.
Cady knocked on Sky's door, but didn't wait for her to answer. "Okay, Sky, what happened?"
Her friend was angrily pacing the floor tossing a small football from hand to hand, "What happened? I was dating a complete jackass."
"You were dating a complete jackass?"
"You heard him, he was stupid to think this could work. We both were. It didn't work before, I shouldn't have agreed to go out with him again. I should have known he didn't mature." She threw her arms up and groaned loudly. "How could I be so stupid!"
Cady sat on the edge of the bed and watched Sky pace, "What happened?"
"We were finishing up our information gathering with the Bittors, right?"
Cady nodded.
"Your father went with us, so we were split up into three groups of two. I was matched with Gideon and Erik was matched with Brina while Declan went with your father. Well, after working for over an hour, Gid and I passed Erik and Brina. Well, while Brina was questioning a couple, our esteemed Black Lion pilot was flirting with their daughter!"
"Are you sure they were flirting?"
Sky scowled at her, "Of course I'm sure! We've been going out long enough that I can tell when he's flirting. He was leaning against the side of their house, his arms crossed and he had the smile on his face."
"The smile?"
"The one he used to reserve just for me. She was so pretty, Cady, with a light rose complexion and big violet eyes. They were standing close and she had her hands on his arms and she was laughing. It was too close, too intimate. They were flirting!"
"Come on, Sky, this is Erik. He was just being nice."
"Why are you defending him?"
"Because I don't want you to break up over this. You need to calm down and think this over before you and Erik both say things you'll regret later."
"Didn't you hear what he just said?" Sky asked, tears glistening in her eyes.
"You both said some not-so-nice things."
"Cady," Sky sat down beside her. "Do you think he's whipped?"
"What?"
"Do you think Erik's whipped?"
Cady furrowed her brow, "No. No, I don't think so. Why?"
Sky shrugged, "I don't know. It just seems too perfect. He's been wonderful too me, well, up until today. And the twins said…"
"There's your problem. You know better than to listen to the twins."
"I know, but he wasn't behaving as he should have been in the situation we were in."
"True," Cady agreed. "But are you sure you were seeing what you thought you were seeing?"
"What?"
"Maybe they were just talking."
Sky fell back on her bed and sighed, "I just don't know what I did to deserve him. He could do so much better than me."
Cady rolled her eyes, "Oh stop it. Erik isn't that great. And don't sell yourself short. You're being silly."
Sky was silent for a moment, her hands folded over her stomach as she stared at the ceiling. When she replied she mumbled, "You're calling me silly? Well, if that isn't the pot calling the kettle black."
Cady smacked her leg, "Punk."
"Brat."
"Are you going to talk to Erik?"
"I don't want to right now."
"Come on, Sky, it's Christmas, this is not the time to fight."
"I know."
Cady stood and kicked her friend's foot, "Get up, go talk to him."
"Leave me alone, Cady."
"You have no idea how lucky you are and you're behaving like a jerk! You have an amazing boyfriend and you get to be with him. I have an amazing boyfriend and I'm lucky if I get to talk to him every couple of days now. Why are you trying to ruin what you have?"
Sky didn't respond.
"Fine," Cady threw her arms in the air. "I promised Mom I would help her with the New Year party. You lay there and be a moron." She punched in the code to open the door and walked smack into Erik. "Oh, good you're here. See if you can knock some sense into her."
"I'll do what I can," he muttered.
Erik stepped past Cady and waited for her to leave. He watched as Sky lay still on her bed, her eyes closed. She didn't move when he sat down beside her. And so they stayed like that, silently waiting for the other to speak first, for nearly five minutes.
"Sky, we have to talk."
"Okay," she whispered, still not opening her eyes.
He took a deep breath, "Schuyler, I love you, you have you know that. But for the life of me, I will never understand why you don't believe that. I have to keep reassuring you and that gets tiresome."
She slowly opened her eyes, "Then leave."
"You don't mean that."
Sky sat up and looked at him with tired eyes, "I don't want you to regret this later. I don't want you to look back and think you were whipped. I don't want you to miss out on having other opportunities."
"What the hell are you talking about?" His voice rose angrily. "I've never seen you like this. I am not whipped, you are just allowing the twins to get to you. I am with you because I love you and I will never, never regret what we have. Do you?"
She shook her head.
"Then what is it?"
"What were you doing with that girl today?"
Erik rolled his eyes, "She is the daughter of the couple we were speaking with. She said she wanted to talk to me and that she had some information. All she wanted to do was flirt, she thought I could get her out of the current situation she and her family are in."
Sky nodded slowly.
He sighed, "I don't understand why you're behaving like the jealous girlfriend, Schuyler."
"Because you are amazing, Erik, and you're too good to me. I'm not used to…to this. I mean, I love you, more than you could ever imagine. And, well, it scares me. I mean, I've never…"
"You never what?" He asked quietly.
"I'm a very independent person, Erik, I'm not used to…to wanting…needing someone as much as I need you." Her face blushed a brilliant red. "This…this is too good, Erik"
A small smile spread across his lips as he leaned closer to her, "My, my. Is my Sky unsure? Are you worried that this won't last forever? That I will get sick of this? Of you? That I will run into the arms of some young Bittor because I resent how whipped I am?"
Sky looked away, embarrassed and a little surprised at how well he could read her mind.
Erik cupped her cheek and turned her to him, speaking gently, "Knock it off, Schuyler. Just accept the fact that I love you and that's not going to change."
She nodded silently.
"But I am getting sick of reassuring you of that. Repeat after me…Erik loves me."
Sky rolled her eyes.
"Say. It."
"Erik loves me," she mumbled.
He leaned over and kissed her gently, "And only me."
"And only me," she whispered huskily.
He kissed again, with a little more passion, "Forever."
"Forever," she breathed.
Erik smiled softly, "So you'll stop with all this insecurity and jealousy crap?"
She nodded.
"And my Sky loves me."
She nodded again.
He leaned closer and forced her back on the bed beneath him, "But I have to say, you look so hot when you're angry."
"So you've said," she said, winding her arms around his neck.
"Hmmm," he breathed, lowering his head to kiss her neck. "That girl was pretty attractive."
Sky smacked his back lightly, "After all you just said, you're not going to make me angry right now."
Erik sighed and lifted his head to look down at her, "I guess it's a good thing you're beautiful any way."
"I guess so," she murmured, raking her nails up and down his back.
"So we've made up?"
"I think so."
He wiggled his eyebrows at her, "You know what making up usually leads to?"
Sky slid her hands up his back and around to cup his face, "I go on duty in half an hour."
"We'll make it fast."
"Later."
"Killjoy," he mumbled, rolling off her.
Sky cuddled up to him, laying her head on his chest, "I'm sorry, Erik."
"You should be," he replied lightly, stroking her back.
"Can I make it up to you? Maybe later tonight."
"Maybe," he kissed the top of her head.
Sky closed her eyes and allowed the steady rise and fall of his chest to lull her into a doze. But less than five minutes later, the sound of their communicators going off simultaneously brought her back to reality. Sitting up, she flipped open her communicator, but let Erik respond to his.
"Johansson."
"All right gang," Keith addressed the five pilots. "Meet me in Castle Control now."
"What is it?" Declan asked.
"One of the names raised a red flag. We have a former high ranking member of Vinn's coalition on Arus."