Outside the castle, the snow continued to fall unabated. The piles of frozen crystals grew inch by inch turning the landscape pristine once more. As the hours passed, the volume of snowfall increased until the very air itself appeared to be a mass of solid white. The winds picked up, creating swirling vortices of icy particles. Trees bowed under the weight of the snow piled on their branches. Suddenly the sound of a loud explosion broke the stillness of the winter night. Within seconds, the Castle of Lions stood dark and silent as the snow continued to fall and the structure's inhabitants slept on unaware.
Hunk awoke with a start, unsure of what had roused him. He was still curled up in the corner of his room, his knees tucked tightly to his chest. The remnants of his interrupted dream haunted him in the darkness of his bedroom. Rising slowly to his feet, he hugged the wall as he made his way to the light switch. Tapping the plate had no effect as the darkness persisted. He tried to open the door, but that too was inoperable. A feeling of panic began to grip the large man as he realized that temperature in the room was dropping. He pummeled the door with his fists, yelling at the top of his lungs. Finally exhausted from the effort, Hunk sank slowly to the floor, quiet sobs wracking his frame.
The young boy huddled in the darkness of the cavern. He no longer shivered as numbness replaced the chill in his bones. As weariness caused his eyes to drift shut, he thought he felt warmth begin to spread within him. Giving in to sleep, the boy dreamed of eating a huge feast before a crackling fire. A smile formed on his lips as his breathing slowed.
Allura curled up into the fetal position and shivered violently. She wrapped her arms even tighter across her chest, but the chill of the room continued to seep into her body. Keith woke to the feeling of something vibrating against his legs. Moving deliberately, he sat up, taking in the darkness of the room. He gently pulled his legs out from the trembling weight of the princess and stood up. He took the blanket that he had been covered with and draped it over her. Her quivering slowed slightly, but did not stop. Wrapping his arms across his chest, Keith absently began attempting to rub warmth into his own body. Squinting in the dimness of the room, he frowned in confusion. This room should never be this dark. Even if the lights were turned off, the emergency lights should have remained on. His frown deepened as he realized that the room was also colder than it should be. He swore quietly under his breath as he paced the room in frustration.
Turning at the sound of Allura's chattering teeth, he made his way back to the couch. She was awake now; sitting huddled under the thin pink blanket. "Keith?" she mumbled sleepily, "Why is it so dark and cold in here?"
He could hear a slight stutter in her speech, likely an effect of her shivering. "I'm not sure, Princess. It seems like the power is out for some reason. Unfortunately that means we're stuck in here with no way to communicate with the rest of the castle until the electricity is restored." He looked at her for a moment before hunkering down in front of the couch. "Allura, without heat, the temperature in here is going to reach near freezing before sunrise. Do you remember if there were any other blankets in here?"
"This is the only one, Keith." Her blue eyes looked up in fear as she realized how little protection they had against the rapidly dropping temperatures.
"Alright, we're going to have to conserve body heat then." He sat down in the corner of the couch, his back pressed firmly into the cushions. "C'mere, Princess." He shifted his legs apart, creating a space for her as he opened his arms.
Allura was thankful for the lack of light so that he wouldn't see her sudden fiery blush. She turned her back to him and slipped into his embrace. Once she was settled, he wrapped his limbs around her and held her securely against his body. She tucked the blanket over them both and allowed herself to relax into his warmth. She smiled and cuddled in further as she felt him tighten his grip, surrounding as much of her frame as possible with his own. He leaned forward and rested his chin on her shoulder.
Allura sighed softly and closed her eyes. She breathed in deeply, relishing the scent of his skin. Her body was on fire where his made contact with her. She was aware of his chest expanding and contracting against her back with every breath he took. She leaned her head against his cheek, her entire world consisting of the form wrapped around her.
Keith heard the princess sigh before nestling in even closer to him. His heart beat wildly in his chest as he tried to keep his emotions under control. When she rested her temple against his ear, her cheek against his, he closed his eyes and bit the inside of his lip, praying that his body wouldn't betray him.
They sat that way quietly for a few minutes, before Keith broke the silence by whispering to Allura. "Are you still cold, Princess?"
She shivered gently at the feeling of his warm breath against her face. "Just a little. How about you, Keith?"
"Don't worry about me." He shifted slightly, looking for a way to accommodate more of her body within his embrace.
She turned to face him and found her lips dangerously close to his. She swallowed hard, her eyes on his mouth before looking up into the dark depths of his eyes. "But Keith, I don't want you to freeze either. We need to keep each other warm," she whispered, twisting around further until her legs were wrapped around his waist.
"Allura, this really isn't a good idea," he uttered so quietly that she had to strain to hear it even as he pulled her closer to him.
"Why not?" she asked, her voice the merest whisper in the air.
"Because…" His words were lost as his head dipped down slowly and his hand slid up into her hair. Their eyes met briefly before two sets of lids drifted closed and two sets of lips met. Her hands slid around on his back, caressing his well-toned muscles. He tightened his hold on her head as the kiss grew in urgency and passion. They both forgot about the darkness and the cold, concentrating only on the release of emotions that had been pent up for so long.
Hunk slumped to the floor, his sobs giving way to exhaustion as he drifted into oblivion in the cold darkness of his room. His breathing slowed as his mind drifted to a place of warmth and comfort.
In the castle's control room, Lance turned to Pidge and Coran. "So have we been able to figure out what happened to the castle's power supply yet? The external rooms are starting to get dangerously cold and we have no way of knowing how many of them are occupied."
"I checked and all the fuses and circuit breakers are intact. There has to be an external cause for the power outage. Someone's going to have to check the generators themselves." Pidge frowned as he spoke.
Lance sighed knowing who that someone was going to end up being. "Where's Keith when you need him? He should be the one getting to take on this job, not me," he grumbled. "Y'know what? I think this is a two man job…" He looked at Pidge with a smirk. "There might be places that need smaller hands and arms than mine."
Pidge groaned but followed Lance out of the room. They made their way to the front gate of the castle before stopping short. They looked at the frozen tableau before them and frowned. The snow was easily 4 feet high in places and there was no sign that it would stop falling anytime soon. Pidge looked at the snow then turned to Lance. "How are we gonna get there? Tunnel?"
Lance just shook his head and shrugged. "Good question. Without power, we can't even get to the Lions." The two Voltron pilots looked around for anything to help them make their way to the power generators. Spying the aircars that the team would occasionally use to visit the nearby villages, Lance gestured to Pidge. The two men boarded one of the vehicles and breathed out sighs of relief when it started up without hesitation. Lance manipulated the controls, smoothly guiding the craft out into the open air. They slowly made their way to the power station, fighting strong winds and near white-out conditions. After what seemed like hours in the bitter cold, they reached their destination. Exiting the car, Lance and Pidge trudged through the thick snow, huddled against the chill night air. Shivering, they huffed out warm breaths onto their gloved hands in an effort to keep their fingers from going numb. Finally, they were able to get close enough to see the damage to the structure.
Lance swore quietly as he surveyed the destruction evident on the side of the generator. An entire panel had been blown off; the circuits exposed by the opening were charred and blackened. Pidge reached in a rubbed his finger along the singed wires, whistling quietly as he did so.
"So, do you think we can fix it?" Lance asked, trying to keep the doubt from his voice.
"I'm not sure, let's see what spare parts are out here." Pidge turned and strode from the damaged generator to the small shed nearby. He tried to open the door, but the cold and snow had frozen the lock.
Seeing the trouble facing Pidge, Lance called to him and gestured for him to stand aside. Once he was sure the smaller man was clear of the area, the Red Lion pilot pulled out his laser pistol and took careful aim. Pulling the trigger, he fired directly into the locking mechanism. Almost as quickly as he fired, Lance released his hold on the trigger and motioned to Pidge once more. "Give it a try now," he called out.
Pidge yanked on the door once again and this time it opened reluctantly. Pulling a small flashlight from his belt, he switched it on and aimed the beam into the small room before him. Heaving a loud sigh, he turned back to Lance and smiled. "We're in luck. All the parts and tools we need are here."
Lance closed his eyes and breathed out in relief. He crossed the distance to the shed and helped Pidge gather together the needed supplies.