A/N: I do not own Voltron, it's characters or settings. Anything new is mine. Thank you to the people who have reviewed this story. My computer is on the fritz and I'm having to use my roomie's instead.
It was the sound of Lance's voice that drew her from her slumber. Familiar and beloved, it followed her down into the darkness where her psyche rested. Though she had been gifted with incredible power, she was still mortal. Channeling such massive currents of psychic energy drained her, and the more energy she exerted, the more depleted she became. While this wasn't detrimental to her health, being quite necessary in truth, it was also rather inconvenient. Many times she had collapsed on the field of battle due to exhaustion, and it was at such times that she truly appreciated having a dragon for a Familiar. Not every White Rider had a dragon for a companion. Only the most powerful, and conversely the most vulnerable, of the Legion were ever given such a magnificent creature. Dragons were rare throughout the Universe, highly sought after and greatly feared. Exceptionally arrogant, they were very difficult to convince to serve as Familiars. But they were also naturally curious and given to wanderlust, and occasionally consented to serve as Familiars so that they might experience a side of life normally not available to them. Dragons were invaluable, and so the Legion made it a point to forge strong alliances with them whenever possible. Fire Storm had saved her life more then once, and he held a special place in her heart.
It was Lance who owned her heart completely though, and so when she heard his voice, Lissa began to fight her way through the darkness that engulfed her in a peaceful sleep, struggling to be near the source of that voice. This was no simple task, her body still being drained from her recent confrontation with the Roe Beast, but Lissa was willful and refused to succumb to the silent invitation of her regenerative slumber, being more concerned with reuniting with her beloved.
When she opened her eyes, it was to see Lance laughing with relief, speaking to strange man she'd never seen before. She felt parched, her body drained physically as well as mentally, and she patiently watched them for a moment, but when it became apparent they weren't aware of the fact that she'd awakened, she quietly asked for a drink of water.
Lance and the doctor whirled to face her, one man looking astonished, the other overjoyed, and for a moment Lissa's heart sped up as her eyes met Lance's, his concern for her very evident. Perhaps he cared for her after all. When they simply stood there gaping at her, she gave them a small, tired smile and said, "Who do I have to kill to get some water? Isn't a Roe Beast enough?"
Lance blinked as if waking from a dream and frowned, her words banishing his happiness and reminding him of his anger with her. "We'll talk about that later," he growled as he turned and left the room.
Lissa stared after him in bewilderment, wondering what he was angry about now, and the doctor startled her when he murmured, "How are you feeling?" as he began to check her pulse and breathing.
"I'm fine, just tired. Using my-"
"Here's your water," Lance interrupted her as he reentered the room, a warning look on his face. Obviously he didn't want people knowing about her powers for some reason, and even though this puzzled her, he was no longer frowning at her so she decided to let it pass, gratefully accepting the water and quickly drinking it down.
"How's she doing, doc?"
"She seems to be in perfect health. I just don't understand it. She went from a catatonic state to being bright eyed and bushy tailed in a matter of seconds. It's most remarkable."
"Yeah, well, consider the source," Lance replied, his eyes intense as he stared down at her, torn between anger and relief. "Since she seems to be recovering, would you mind clearing out so I can talk to her?"
The doctor hesitated, clearly considering arguing, but Lance fixed him with a piercing glare and the other man nodded curtly before leaving the room. Lance turned his sharp look down on Lissa and barked, "What the hell do you think you were doing charging after that Roe Beast by yourself?"
Lissa leaned away from him, stunned by his abrupt change in moods, and said, "Saving the lives of innocent people. I was hardly alone. Fire Storm is quite enough protection."
Lance leaned down, eyes narrowed. "It isn't your duty to protect the people of Arus. That happens to be the duty of the Voltron Force, and we've been keeping this planet safe for quite some time without your help."
Lissa had expected him to be angry, but at least thankful for her help. He didn't sound thankful at all, his voice so cold it chilled her to the core. "It's my duty to defend the innocent no matter where I may be. I'm sorry if I stole your thunder, but I can't see how it matters who killed the Roe Beast so long as it's dead."
Lance turned away from her, gritting his teeth in frustration. "You always do that! You always put yourself in danger for other people. Do you ever stop and think about yourself? Or the people who care about you? How they'd feel if you got hurt or killed?"
"No. I think about those who are not strong enough to protect themselves, those who need me to defend them," Lissa cried.
Lance whirled around to face her, a bitter smile on his face. "Ah yes, the nameless strangers. You've always cared about them more then anyone else, and I can see that's never going to change."
Lissa was confused by Lance's words. She didn't understand why he sounded so hurt, as if he resented the desire she felt to protect the weak. "I don't understand what you're saying."
"I'm afraid you never will," Lance sighed. He ran a hand through his hair and then said, "Look, you've been staying on Arus as a guest, but when you attacked that Roe Beast, you crossed the line. I know you were just trying to help, but like I said before that's Voltron's job, and the team has enough to deal with without having to worry about keeping an eye on you."
"You make me sound like a weakling."
"No, just a hindrance," he answered.
"A hindrance? Are you forgetting I killed the Roe Beast?"
Lance frowned. "No, not at all. I'm just saying that you're a distraction, and as long as you're running around taking on Roe Beasts, the team will be distracted and unable to function at maximum ability."
Lissa stared at him in silence, and Lance mentally berated himself for being so harsh with her, but for once he was in complete agreement with Keith. As long as Lissa was around, he would worry about her safety and, since she'd more or less admitted she would always be throwing herself into danger, he would be constantly distracted. He would be in no shape to pilot the Red Lion, and without him the team couldn't form Voltron. He needed to be sure she would be safe, that she would stop taking such risks.
"Do you understand?" he asked when her silence continued to stretch out.
Lissa understood only too well, and her heart constricted with the pain of truth. Lance wanted her gone, out of the way. She was nothing but an annoyance and a burden, and he obviously wanted her to leave. Well, she wouldn't beg him to stay, wouldn't let him hurt her again. She squared her shoulders, burying her pain deep within, and turned disdainful eyes up to him. "I understand."
Lance sighed with relief. "Good," he said with a smile, suddenly more amicable now that she'd agreed to his demands to stay out of trouble. "Why don't you go to your room and rest for a while. You must still be tired. That was one hell of a battle you fought against that Roe Beast."
Lissa stared after him as he left, completely confused. The man made no sense. He praised her after demanding she leave. She couldn't stand his duplicitous behavior another minute. She was taking Prince Ower and leaving Arus today. Her vow to remain on Arus was void since the man who'd extracted it from her wished for her to leave.
She reached out to Fire Storm and found the dragon almost immediately, on his way back to the castle. "Old friend, I have decided it's time to leave Arus. I will gather my belongings and the Prince, and then we shall leave."
She sensed the dragon was perplexed, though his response was neutral. "Do you not think you should rest a bit longer?"
"No, I feel fine. Besides, I wish to be gone from this place."
"May I ask why?" Fire Strom inquired, though he could sense it had something to do with Lance, and he was surprised, for he had seen with his own eyes the love that the man bore for Lissa, and was uncertain what had transpired between them to cause such strange behavior from her.
"No. I don't want to talk about it. We're leaving," she added with a vehemence that astonished him.
He was going to respond but she severed her contact with him, something she normally only did during heavy combat or to avoid psychic detection, further astounding him. What was going on at the castle? Determined to find out, Fire Storm increased the reach of his wings, rapidly accelerating, his thoughts in a quandary.
Lissa fleet a brief pang of guilt, knowing that Fire Storm would be concerned by her abrupt abandonment of the conversation, but her thoughts were whirling and she really didn't want to discuss Lance with him at the moment. She quickly made her way to her room and packed her belongings, strapped on her sword, and then wrote a note of farewell to the princess, who she had genuinely admired. She found Prince Ower in his chamber, sleeping, and she shook his shoulder roughly to wake him up.
The arrogant man sleepily opened his eyes and then leered up at her. "Finally decided to give in to temptation my beauty? I knew you couldn't resist me forever."
Lissa ignored his outrageous words, frowning in a way that was decidedly menacing. "Prince, it is time we left Arus."
Prince Ower immediately sat up in bed and crossed his arms over his chest, his lower lip protruding in an unseemly pout. "I don't want to go. I'm still pressing my suit with Princess Allura."
"I assure you that you're advances are not welcome," Lissa replied. When he opened his mouth to protest, she held up a hand to silence him. "Do not argue with me about the matter. It is my duty to keep you safe, and I have decided to take you to the Legion Haven on planet Tanor."
The Prince's expression cleared and he jumped from the bed, hurriedly calling out to his valet, George, who he had refused to leave behind, and dressing himself in his excitement to be gone. Tanor was a planet of paradise, its natural beauty surpassed only by the stunning looks of its natives. There would be scores of gorgeous women for the Prince to chase, rather then just one. Even though the planet did indeed have a Haven, Lissa had initially avoided going there because she hadn't wanted to expend energy following the Prince and extracting him from the complicated situations that always seemed to arise when he pursued women. Now such menial tasks were a welcome blessing to her.
Once Prince Ower was presentable and George had arranged all of the Prince's luggage, Lissa found Nanny and gave her the note she'd written for Allura. Fire Storm was just landing outside the Castle of Lions when Lissa led Prince Ower outside, George struggling to carry the numerous pieces of the prince's luggage simultaneously.
Fire Storm was relieved to see Lissa appeared unharmed, but her dark expression warned him against questioning her for the moment. He shrank down to his smaller snake form and then glided up onto her shoulders, noting her tenseness but refraining from commenting on it. Prince Ower's ship, which had been on standby since their arrival on Arus, landed beside them and the Prince, Lissa, Fire Storm and the heavily burdened George hastily boarded it. Lissa paused to glance back at the Castle of Lions with a wistful expression and then the loading door closed and the ship ascended into the sky.