An hour later, Keith was sitting on the window curled up with his chin on his arms as he stared sadly at his sisters who lay sleeping. With a soft sigh, Keith turned to look outside the window and stare up at a family of seahorses that swam by. Keith frowned and remembered when his mother was still here.

"I remember," Keith sang softly as a single tear made its way down his cheek.

"He cannot hear my song

I feel I don't belong

He's closed his eyes

And locked in all the memories and feelings

All those feelings

I remember"

Shiro entered a room that had been closed off ever since his late husband had died years ago. The door struggled to open after being locked shut for some time but eventually did open. It used to be a garden that he and Adam took care of together. He remembered playing with his kids and husband in this garden when there were happier days in the kingdom.

Shiro slowly glanced up at the statue in the middle of the garden. The statue was a scene of him and Adam dancing together, smiles on both their faces. A tear slipped down his cheek as he gently placed a hand on Adam's cheek and stared sadly at the statue.

"Why can't he understand?

He gives no reason why

Can't he recall the melody of his sweet lullaby?"

Shiro let out a soft sigh and allowed his hand to slip from Adam's cheek. Shiro then turned and slowly lowered himself to sit in front of the statue. Memories of his husband flashing before him. Memories of when music was in the kingdom and how music reminded him of what he lost and so it was banned. But now, because of his mistake, he had damaged his relationship with Keith and pushed him away.

"But still, I know I will

I will find a way

To reach inside

Although he may hide"

Keith turned to the flowers which grew on the window sill and plucked one off of the branch. He remembered how much his mother loved these flowers and so he made it so the flowers grew there to remind his children of his love. Keith turned back to his sisters and sighed.

"I can't stay here," Keith whispered softly as he got off the window sill and lay the flower down on his pillow. Making sure his sisters were still sleeping, Keith swam past them and out of the bedroom.

"But I, I remember him

I remember music

Yes I remember

Him"

"We're one step closer to revenge," Lotor said as he brushed through his hair with a smile.

"You are one step closer," Rolo replied with a roll of his eyes as he started placing the tea set back onto his tray after Lotor had finished with it. "So now Slav is in jail and you have his job, what now?"

"Don't worry I have a plan."

"Which is?"

"I just have to wait until Shiro's guard is down and grab the trident when he least expects it," Lotor said with a smile tossing his brush down on his dresser. "Then I can take over the kingdom and free my mother from her banishment."

"And what makes you think that she is going to let you rule over her once she's free?" Rolo asked. "What if she decides she wants to rule and decides to take you out instead?"

"As long as I hold the trident, she won't dare cross me."

"And what's to stop Allura from stopping your plan? She is next in line for the throne after all."

"Easy, we just banish her and her sisters far away just like Shiro did with my mother," Lotor replied as he sat down on his bed.

"And what about Keith?"

"We'll banish them all, there an easy fix."

"Whatever you say."

Meanwhile, Nadia had been pacing back and forth trying to figure out a way to get out of the dungeon. James had given up trying to figure out a way and ended up tossing a ball between him and Ina who sat across from him. Pidge and Ryan were currently sitting against the wall accepting their fate while Hunk was watching James and Ina play with the ball.

"Okay, I got nothing," Nadia said with a sigh collapsing on the ground beside Ryan.

"It isn't so bad in here," Hunk said with a nervous smile.

"I beg to differ," James said with a sigh as he tossed the ball to Hunk.

"I second that, the acoustics in here are awful," Ina said as she cleared her throat. "Do, re, mi, fa, so, la, ti, do."

"This a lot worse than it actually looks," Slav said trying to lighten the mood up in the cell. "When the guards come around I'll ask for an audience with His Majesty and have this situation fixed, no problem."

"No offence Slav but you had 10 years to fix this," Ryan said with a roll of his eyes.

"And now we're in jail," Pidge said with a sigh.

"Wait guys!" Nadia exclaimed getting off the ground.

"What is it?" Ina asked turning to Nadia. Nadia ushered everyone to surround her. Slav watched as Nadia, James, Ryan, Ina, Hunk, and Pidge whispered softly to each other.

"We have an idea on how to get out of here," Hunk said as the group turned back to Slav.

"What?" Slav asked in confusion.

"Well, you're small," Nadia said with a smile.

"Small enough to slip between the bars," Ina added.

"And once you're out, you can pick the lock so we can get out," James added to which the group nodded.

"Absolutely not," Slav said with a shake of his head. "The minute we leave this cell we'll be considered fugitives."

"But-" Hunk started to say before Slav interrupted him.

"And what about Keith, huh?" Slav asked. "We're just gonna escape and leave him to deal with this mess we dragged him into?"

Speaking of Keith. The group noticed Keith had grabbed a large rock off the ground and raised it above him. The sound of the lock breaking off snapped Slav out of his thoughts and turned to the Prince.

"Keith!" Hunk and Pidge exclaimed with smiles.

"Come on," Keith said as he opened the cell door open. "We're leaving Altea."

"Keith hold on," Slav said shaking his head as he swam in front of the group, stopping them from exiting the cell. "If we were to leave Altea, especially you, your father's heart would break entirely."

"We can't change his mind Slav," James said shaking his head. "Clearly he's already made up his mind."

"I know it would break my father's heart," Keith said with a frown. "But the longer I stay here, the more my own heart would break, I just can't stay here anymore."

"I agree with Keith," Nadia said with a nod of her head. "Let's get out of here while we have the chance."

"No!" Slav exclaimed grabbing the bars of the cell door and closing it. "I may have been responsible for allowing you into this mess but I will not be responsible for being the reason you left your family behind."

"Slav, I'm leaving Altea," Keith said opening the cell door once more. "With or without you."

"Nobody is leaving this cell!" Slav exclaimed yanking the door from Keith once more and slamming it shut. However, he didn't notice the momentum he gave and that it ended up with him outside of the cell.

"Guess you're an exception then," Pidge said with a smirk.

"Slav, I don't want to leave Altea as much as you don't," Keith said with a sigh. "But without the magic music brings, Altea just isn't home anymore."

"He's right you know," Ryan said as the rest exited the cell.

"Ever since the rule was put into place, without music Altea just isn't the same as it used to be," Hunk added. There was silence for a few moments before an idea came to Slav.

"You're right," Slav said turning back to the group.

"What do you mean?" Keith asked.

"Altea just doesn't feel like home," Slav repeated with a smile. "But I know a place which will feel like home."

Early that morning, Lotor had placed Rolo in charge of getting the teens up in the morning as his new job required him to be at the King's side. Rolo, of course, didn't mind as he quite liked the royal teens.

A smile graced his face seeing them all still asleep in his bed. He almost felt bad for having to wake them up, he hated early mornings as much as he did.

However, his smile faded upon seeing an empty bed by the window.

"Oh no," Rolo said as he recognized the bed as Keith's. Rolo quickly swam over to the bed and glanced around the room trying to find any trace of the Prince.

However, all he found was a flower on his pillow.

"Lotor's not gonna like this one," Rolo said before hurrying off to find Lotor, hopefully before he ran into the King and the secret spilled.

In the meantime, the group had managed to escape the dungeon and avoid the guards until they had escaped the palace. Slav had led them past the kelp forest and away from the palace. Out here, there was no one around.

"Hunk!" Slav called as Hunk seemed to be beatboxing to himself. "Knock it off!"

However, that didn't seem to stop Hunk as he kept singing.

"Hey!" James said stopping the group and turning to Hunk. "Look, I know you like music, we all do."

"But you need to keep quiet out here," Ryan added.

"Why?" Hunk asked in confusion.

"Because we escaped from jail and we're considered fugitives now," Pidge said with a frown thinking of her father and brother.

"And music is against the law remember?" Nadia added.

"I know that," Hunk said with a roll of his eyes. "But we're far from Altea, there's no one around."

"You know," Ina said with a smile. "He's got a point."

"We are outside the kingdom," Keith said. "The law can't affect us out here."

"Exactly, that is why we escaped, isn't it? To sing?" Hunk asked as he got back to singing. The group slowly joined in as they continued following Slav, smiles on their faces.

"Sha-na-na, na, na, na, na

Na, na, na, na, na, na

Shake, shake, shake, Senora

Shake your body line (Shake your body line)

Shake your body line

Shake, shake, shake, Senora

Shake it all the time (Shake it all the time)"

"There we go!" Hunk exclaimed with a smile as the whole group joined in.

"Work, work, work, Senora

Work your body line (Work your body)

Work, work, work, Senora

Work it all the time"

"Come on Ryan!" Hunk called out with a smile. "Let's break it down."

"Jump-J-J-Jump in the line

Rock your body on time"

"Get it Ryan!" Nadia called out with a smile as Ryan joined with Hunk.

"Jump-J-J-Jump in the line

Rock your body on time"

"We're in!" the group called out as they joined in as well.

"Jump-J-J-Jump

J- J-Jump Jump Whoo!"

"Alright everyone!" Slav called as he continued leading the group. "Let's continue!"

"So where are we going exactly?" Pidge asked swimming up beside Slav.

"You'll see," Slav replied as the group continued.

Meanwhile, back at the palace, Rolo had not yet managed to find Lotor.

Said man was standing beside Shiro, only this time he was wearing a deep purple cape. His eyes never leaving the trident which Shiro held in his hands. If he could get his hands on it, he would be able to control the kingdom and bring his mother back from her banishment.

"As I was saying Your Majesty, thanks to the initiatives I have come up with, productivity in all 6 sectors has increased by a whole 25%."

However, as Lotor was explaining the work he had done, Shiro's mind seemed to be elsewhere.

"The squids are producing twice as much ink, the kelp producing more oxygen, and the coral is blooming beautifully," Lotor listed off as he tried to get Shiro's attention.

Rolo quietly swam up beside Lotor and tapped him gently on the shoulder.

"Lotor," Rolo whispered trying to get his attention.

"Bit busy here," Lotor said pushing Rolo away and turning back to Shiro.

"I think I may have been too hard on them," Shiro said with a sigh.

"What do you mean Your Majesty?" Lotor asked.

"Lotor," Rolo called out once again. "It's about Keith."

"Not now."

"I went too far, I lost control," Shiro said rubbing his forehead with a sigh.

"Too far? Your Majesty, if you hadn't done what you did, it-" Lotor was interrupted when Rolo pulled him aside. "Oh my god, what!?"

"Dad!" Allura called out as he swam into the throne room, she hadn't even bothered to do her hair as she had a panicked look on her face. Rolo noticed the flower in her hand and groaned.

"Here we go."

"Allura? What is it?" Shiro asked getting off the throne and swimming up to his eldest daughter.

"Keith has gone missing," Allura said as her sisters swam into the room behind her. Each looking dishevelled and having a concerned look on their face.

"What?"

"We woke up and he was gone," Shay added.

"We tried looking for him but we haven't been able to find him," Hira said with a frown.

"Why didn't you tell me?" Lotor hissed turning to Rolo with a glare. "This ruins everything."

"I tried to," Rolo snapped back with a glare.

"Don't worry," Shiro said with a soft smile to his daughter's. "We'll find her, get-"

"Your Majesty!" two guards called out as they entered the throne room. "The prisoners have escaped."

"What?" Lotor asked with wide eyes.

"What if Keith went with them?" Narti asked turning to Shiro.

"How else would they have gotten out of the palace?" Hira added.

"They would have needed someone on the inside," Acxa answered with a nod.

"Guards! Search everywhere in Altea for them," Shiro called out turning to his guards. "No one rests until they are found, all of them."

"Yes Your Majesty!" the guards said before rushing off to start the search.

"Allura, you and your sisters stay here in case Keith comes back," Shiro said turning back to Allura. "I'll be searching as well."

"Right."

"Your Majesty!" Lotor called trying to get Shiro's attention as everyone left the throne room. However, Shiro had already left and so had the Princesses.

"So what now 'Mister Man with a Plan'?" Rolo asked turning to Lotor.

"Are we there yet Slav?" Hunk asked.

"Yeah we've been going for a while now," Nadia piped in with a sigh.

"Not yet," Slav said with a shake of his head.

"How about now?" Pidge asked.

"Yes," Slav said as he stopped in place. "This is it."

"This? This is where you were taking us?" James asked glancing around at the area.

"Of course," Slav said with a nod. "Listen to this, do re mi fa so la ti do."

The group listened to the echoes of Slav's voice before they were shaken out of their thoughts.

"Well, it beats that cramped dungeon," Ina said with a shiver. "Where we just sat waiting for-"

"We know," Nadia said. The group agreed and spread themselves out, getting cozy in their new home.

"Slav," Keith called out landing on the sand beside the crab. "Are you sure this is the right place?"

"Of course, I wouldn't take you here if I wasn't sure this was the right place."

"Are you sure we're not lost? Maybe you took a wrong turn."

"Nope," Slav said shaking his head. "I'm sure this is the right place, you'll see."

Keith sighed as Slav crawled away and got settled in his own area. Keith glanced around at the area before he got settled in his own area. Maybe tomorrow Slav would explain himself.

Author's Note:

Okay, we're almost done! Probably 1 or 2 more chapters left.

Just a note for the song Keith sang in the video. I actually found a video of someone who created a reprise of "I Remember" and sang it. You can find the video by searching up I Remember Reprise Storyboard (work in progress) and the video is by Hannah McCarthy. It is a beautiful cover and I highly recommend giving it a listen.

Another note. I'm working on getting a Ko-fi set up for my Fanfiction. I'll let you guys know when it's set up and give y'all the link.

Same for the Discord server. I'm working on setting one up, the link will be provided when I'm finished.

Until the next update!

~Alchemygirl8