The Secret

"So, Root…" Allura stopped herself, unsure how to ask without being rude.

"Yes, Princess Allura?"

"Can I ask, well, your name. It's not your Olkari name, is it?"

Root smiled at the question. "No one's thought to ask me that for quite some time. Truth is I was given the nickname soon after arriving on Earth. After hearing about my people's use of nature in technology it just kind of happened."

"Will you keep it when you go home?"

"Depends on which place feels most like home, I suppose," she responded thoughtfully.

Allura hadn't thought about it, she just assumed that the Olkari would be excited to go to her place of birth once again. Chances are she still had family there who likely thought she had perished long ago. Maybe returning would be harder than staying away?

Luckily the trip to the castle was quick so the conversation ended there.

As she landed the White Lion in the empty hangar she realized that Keith had stayed behind her the whole way. His competitive nature always took a backseat to her safety so it shouldn't have surprised her when he arrived a minute after them. Still, by the time she exited the craft he was already waiting for her to disembark.

"Everything okay? Did the lion do anything to you?"

"Relax," she laughed. "Everything is fine, she flies even better than Red. But don't tell Red I said that, okay?"

Keith chuckled. Red had been through so many paladins he couldn't help but feel sorry for her. At least she and Nanny were getting along nicely.

Before leaving the hangar Allura looked back at the two lions and puzzled over what part the white lion played in Voltron. Its size was significantly smaller and didn't seem to have heavy armor or firepower. Hopefully it really could be useful in the fight against Zarkon.

They made their way to the control room to pinpoint the spot where they needed to be to catch Pidge and Matt in case Lance hadn't caught up with them yet. Soon the team was streaking across space, desperately hoping the two rogue pilots hadn't run into any Galra ships.

Once they exited the wormhole they were met with a large chunk of ice encasing the green lion; Blue was poised to shoot again should she break free. Coran called the two pilots up on the screen so they could talk.

Pidge's face was splotchy red and her eyes swollen from crying, Matt standing behind her with a frantic expression. Lance, however, had a look of fierce determination that was colored with both anger and fear. It was obvious that the siblings had ignored his pleas to wait for the rest of the crew.

"Pidge, you need to come back to the castle. We will ensure your father's safe return, but we're not going to do it by risking your life." Allura tried to sound firm but her voice was starting to crack.

The pilot of the Green Lion sat motionless, her hands tightly gripping the controls.

"Katie, please come back with me. I want to rescue your dad, too, but I'm sure he wouldn't be happy if he lost you in return for his freedom. And if I lost you…" Lance's thought dissolved into a sea of painful reality.

Everyone on the crew knew how deeply he'd fallen for Pidge, so much that he hadn't paid another woman any mind since the two had started dating. It was obvious he would do anything to protect her.

"He's right Pidge," Allura added, a realization settling in as she looked to her slightly rounded belly. "You know I'd give almost anything to have my father back. But now I understand what it is to put someone else first, to want more for your children than for yourself."

As the words left her lips she felt Keith's arm wrap around her waist, his hand resting where their son was growing. She knew he felt the same, about her and their baby.

"We'll agree to the trade," he offered.

The rest of the team looked at the Captain with confusion. Even Allura wondered if he had let his feelings corrupt his decision. She pulled him to the side to question his motives.

"Keith, what are you thinking? We can't just hand her over that easily!"

"Look, we don't yet know what the White Lion is capable of, nor do we know what the Earth Voltron can do for us. He only asked for Haggar, right? Maybe we can play that to our favor by letting Lotor know his father doesn't want him back."

"How much time do you think we can buy?"

"A few days at best. We need to find a neutral place to do the swap, and we need to do some tests to see what special powers White has. Did you see the bayard," Keith asked?

Allura shook her head. "I didn't see one, and Root made no mention of it. We'll have to search for it I guess."

"We can do that as soon as we have Pidge, Matt, and Lance back on board the ship. Last thing we need right now is for a Galra cruiser to come across them in that state."

Allura nodded her agreement and the two rejoined the rest of the crew, explaining their plan to the others in more detail. Once Pidge felt they were sincere in their offer to liberate her father she flew back to the castle, Lance staying near her lion until the bay doors closed behind her.

As soon as everyone reconvened in the control room Allura went through the introductions to acquaint Root with the rest of the team. She was a bit hesitant to tell Pidge about them being related and wondered if it were better to wait until later. However, Matt had a look of recognition and instead of shaking the Olkari's hand he lunged forward to hug her neck.

Pidge shot him a befuddled glance before demanding if he knew the stranger.

"Not technically, no. Dad told me about her shortly before the mission. He wasn't supposed to, but you know how bad he is with secrets and—"

"Matt, just tell me who she is!" At this point the Green Paladin's patience had clearly worn out.

Root stepped towards her and recounted the story from the time she arrived on Earth to the present. Pidge remained quiet while absorbing the new information. After a long silence she tearfully reached for a hug as well.

"Pidge, can you and Matt take Root to Black's hangar, there's something you need see," Keith instructed. "We'll meet you there in a bit, we just need to have a discussion with Coran first. Lance, you and Hunk should probably find Shiro and meet us there as well."

Once the control room had cleared of everyone but the three of them, Coran turned to Keith and Allura with a look of dreadful anticipation.

"I guess you want to know more about the White Lion, eh?"

"Coran, why haven't you told us about this before? We could have been looking for it." Allura was trying not to raise her voice to her advisor, as she was secretly hoping he'd have a very good reason for keeping them in the dark.

"Allura, what do you remember hearing about how your mother died?"

"I, well, I don't remember everything. Father told me her ship had been destroyed by Zarkon's fleet, but he never told me why she was on the ship in the first place. I always thought she was on a diplomatic mission. That's not true though, is it?"

Keith took her hand and directed her to sit next to him on the raised platform. He seemed to anticipate the toll this conversation was going to have on her and wanted to be as close to her as possible. She was thankful to have him there to lean on should she need it.

Coran knelt beside her as he continued to speak. "Your mother was returning from a meeting with the Olkari. She was there to inspect the construction of the new lion. On her way home, her ship was boarded by one of Zarkon's generals, a ruthless Galra who was known for his violent temper."

Allura squeezed Keith's fingers, slowly becoming aware that her mother's fate was far crueler than she'd previously imagined. He moved his free arm to her knee, his thumb sweeping her leg to soothe her.

"He hurt her, didn't he?" Now she could feel a knot forming in her stomach, fearful to learn the answer.

"When King Alfor found her on the ship she'd been tortured to the point that she was nearly unrecognizable. She died in his arms soon after. He didn't want you to see her like that, so he told you she died in such a way that you wouldn't ask to say goodbye to her physical form."

"Where is her body then? Where was she buried?"

Please don't say Altea. Anywhere but there.

"Your father had her cremated, her remains hidden within the castle along with the belongings from her ship. She had something with her that was miraculously kept from the Galra. It was the bayard for the new lion. If they'd found it they would have discovered its existence. She did well to keep it from them."

Allura knew he meant well by that. Her mother was a hero who died to protect her home. Still she had a young daughter who needed her, and it didn't seem that the White Lion was anything worth dying over.

Now her hands were shaking and the tears that she thought she'd long since expended were flowing down her cheeks and onto her shirt. She felt like she might vomit although she wasn't sure if there was anything to lose in the first place. Her knees reflexively folded up under her chin as if to keep her propped up.

Mother, I needed you. We needed you. For you to die like that…

Her head was swimming now so she leaned into her husband for balance. Keith quickly scooped her into his lap, his arms holding her tightly. Although she knew that he was trying to calm her, she was painfully aware that he was also feeling her father's pain.

"I love you so much, Allura. If it ever comes to that I will gladly trade my life for yours. Tell them whatever they need to know. Never, ever let them do that to you. Please."

Long ago she would have considered such sentiment foolish.

She turned to wrap her arms around him; she could feel his body tremble. They held each other until they'd both regained their composure, only letting go knowing that there were things that needed to be done to prepare for the next move.

"We need to find the bayard. Coran, any idea where it might be?"

"No Princess, your father never told me. Occasionally he would disappear for a while, presumably to visit her. But I could never figure out where he went."

At that moment, it felt like there was little chance of finding the bayard. Allura was starting to give up on the idea of using her mother's lion at all when a squeak got her attention.

She looked down as the four space mice scurried into her lap.

Of course, they had adored him.

"I forgot how much you loved following Father around the castle. Can you show us where the bayard is?"

The mice nodded happily and darted out of the control room, Allura and Keith right on their tails. They ran down corridors that were barely used, past doors that likely hadn't been opened since the castle was abandoned on Arus.

The tiny creatures finally stopped in front of a wall bearing the crest of the royal family. Not something terribly out of place in a castle, but not in a spot one might typically find it.

"What is it? There's nothing here," Allura wondered aloud. "Are you sure this is the right place?"

Chulatt, the smallest of the mice, disappeared into a small opening in the bottom of the wall. Soon there was a humming noise as it slid open to reveal a semi-darkened chamber.

The only source of light was a small blue flame rising from a small crypt on the far wall. As their eyes adjusted to the light they realized there was nothing else in the room therefore the weapon they sought must have been entombed with her ashes.

Keith slowly removed the cover, careful not to disturb the fire in doing so. He pulled a flashlight from his pocket to check for booby traps. Once cleared he moved to the side to allow the Princess access to the box.

Allura reached down into the tomb, her hand caressing the urn where her mother's remains were kept. She would have time to cry over it later, now that she knew it was there. The important thing was that the bayard was propped up beside it, as if it were waiting to be used again.

She reached for it tentatively, drawing her hand back for fear it may not respond to her touch. Her mother had been a Druid it seemed, and her powers were likely far greater than Allura's.

Sensing her hesitation, Keith guided her hand with his until she was grasping the bayard tightly.

"What do you think it's form will be," he asked, his tone light and slightly teasing. "I'm gonna guess it's a whip. Not that I'm hoping for that or anything."

Allura looked over her shoulder to shoot him a disapproving look. It broke too soon as she saw his playful wink.

"Now that I know what to buy you for your next birthday, let's see what this thing can really do."

Keith stepped away to allow room for her to draw the bayard out. Soon it was glowing as it transformed into something neither had expected.

"It's a bow," Allura muttered. She'd taken archery lessons as a child but could she manage this? As she drew back the string an arrow made of pure quintessence appeared.

"Seems so," Keith replied, his eyes reflecting its aura. "That's amazing."

"We should go show the others."

"Wait, so does that mean Voltron can shoot arrows now?"

"Only one way to find out, my love."