Disclaimer: WEP owns Voltron and all its characters.
Beta: Thanks again to Dawn! I haven't run her off… yet. ;-)
This is the second installment in my "Chivalry" arc. 1. Chivalry, 2. Lion House Restored
Rating/Setting: Rating is T. Setting is DotU in flavor but is AU in some ways. If you've read Chivalry, then you have a 'feel' for the setting. Hope you enjoy the story.
Chapter Three
Lance marched into Keith's office and went behind the desk. Sitting in Keith's chair, he put his feet up on the desk and glared at the princess' chief advisor and the monarch's governess. Never had he been in such a position before. He could feel unease radiating off of them as he barked at them, "Out. With. It." He saw the way they looked at each other as they sat cautiously on the edge of their chairs. "Don't even think about it. I want the truth. Where had you been and why did you go?"
Coran cleared his throat and said with as much authority as he could, "Lord Kogane doesn't want us to speak of it yet."
Lance dropped his feet to the floor with a loud thud as he leaned forward on the desk to glower at them as he retorted, "I don't give a rat's ass, what Lord Kogane wants. Right now, I'm in charge of the Voltron Force and I want answers as to why I just carried my unconscious commander and best friend from a remote part of the castle back to the medical wing." He paused for a moment and then waved his hand in the air as he loudly added, "And why the hell didn't Gorma yell at us as usual?" As if a light switch turned on in his mind, he dropped his hand to the desk as he breathed out, "He let you go… he knew what you were doing. That's it. I want all of it, and I want it now."
Coran looked to Nanny and nodded. Sighing heavily, Nanny said, "All right. But we may as well tell the whole team. And that includes Allura."
Giving Nanny a nervous glance, Coran said, "Are you sure that's wise, Nanny? Keith is going to be furious."
Looking from the advisor to Keith's best friend, she said, "We did so much on our own last time. I think this time we'll need all the help we can get, whether Keith wants it or not."
Smirking at her Lance said, "Finally, you're making sense." Turning to the com, he called for a team meeting in the briefing room in 15 minutes. Standing, he gestured toward the door. "After you." As they exited the office, he informed them that he was going to check on Keith before going to the meeting.
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Lance stood for a moment outside of Keith's room. They had gotten him changed, and Dr. Gorma himself was hooking up IVs again. Gathering himself for whatever Gorma would say, he entered the room.
The doctor only spared a glance at the lieutenant before turning back to his patient. Only after gently laying Keith's arm with the IVs on top of the sheet did he turn to speak to Lance. "I can't tell you anything about where the commander was or what he has told me."
Lance nodded. "I understand. However, as the acting leader of the Voltron Force while the commander is in the medical facility, I would like to know of his physical condition." He knew that Gorma would release this information. All the team members had given consent for their medical condition to be released in circumstances such as these.
"All right, Lance. His condition is pretty much the same as it was earlier. His body just wasn't up to moving around yet, and it fought back the only way it knew how. It knocked him out so he would rest. I expect him to sleep through the night, and if he doesn't, I will administer a mild sedative. You should be able to speak with him in the morning."
"Thank you, Doctor. That's all I needed." Looking at his friend one last time, he turned and left the room thinking, What are you hiding from me,bud?' It was time he found out.
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When Lance entered the conference room they used for briefings, he found everyone assembled. Allura was irritated as she kept asking Coran and Nanny what was going on.
"I'll tell you what's going on, Princess." All eyes turned to Lance as he moved to the head of the table and sat. "Our three friends are trying to hide something from us again. Earlier I got a call from Nanny that she and Coran needed help getting Keith back to his hospital room. They were several levels down near elevator bank 5." He waited while the team murmured over the obscure location. "When I got there, our irritatingly noble and loner commander was slumped against the wall, unconscious." Lance was ready and grabbed Allura's arm before she could jump up from the table. Looking at her, he said, "He's fine. I just came from Gorma. He's no worse than he was." Turning back to the group, he said, "Gorma never even raised his voice when I brought him in. He knew where they went and had allowed it." Turning now to Coran and Nanny, he said, "Okay, you wanted to share this with everyone. Everyone is here."
Coran took the lead. "First, let me say, we didn't expect things to move so quickly. Everyone would have been told-" as snorts came from several directions, Coran let that line of thought drop. "Keith came back from the challenge as a member of Lion House. There is a prophecy that involves the One that will restore the House to its former glory…." Coran told the team the information that Nanny had shared with Keith, except for the part about what would happen if the One denied his destiny. Coran looked to Nanny and nodded.
"We were going to wait and tell Keith after he was released from the medical facility, but I had a call from Dr. Gorma earlier this afternoon. He said that Keith wanted to speak to me. It seems that he had a vision of Arus' past and he was in it. When I told him everything that I told you, he became frantic. He said that he had to see King Alfor because of… because of the danger to the princess if he denied his destiny."
Allura looked confused as she asked, "What danger? I don't remember there being any danger to the monarch listed in the prophecy."
Nanny's voice softened as she said, "It's not because you are a princess, Allura; it's because of what you are to him."
Sounding exasperated, Lance said, "Enough riddles. We had enough of them at the challenge."
Sparing an irritated glance at Lance, Nanny turned back to Allura who was sitting incredibly still. "The prophecy says that the One is without family or wife. He will suffer through his quests, not knowing if he is victorious or vanquished." She paused here for a moment. "And if he refuses his destiny as the One, then the woman that he loves will die an agonizing death."
Silence filled the room as the importance of that statement hit each and every one of them.
Coran cut through the silence. "Keith was determined to speak to King Alfor as soon as possible. When the situation was explained, Dr. Gorma allowed us to go. King Alfor was waiting for us. Basically, he said that we are to search the histories of King Olen's reign, and we will find clues to guide Keith on his quest. The spirits didn't say when his quest would begin, but that the portal would be obvious."
While most of the team seemed to be at a loss for words, Hunk spoke up, "So we have no freaking idea when Keith is just gonna disappear?"
"Keith has had a vision of his quest. The spirits implied that he will have more. When the occurrences of the visions increase, it will indicate that the time for the quest is near." Coran understood the shock that the team was feeling. It was a lot to take in.
Lance was dumbfounded. It was now late evening. It was incredible that Keith and Allura had just returned this morning and now they were already thrown back into turmoil and uncertainty. Keith skirted death at the challenge. Can he do it three more times? Snapping out of his private concerns, he said, "Okay, here's the plan. I'm going to go sit in his room until he wakes up, and then I'll let him know that we know everything. Everyone else stay away." He stopped to point at Allura, "Especially you. You can all visit AFTER I've calmed him down, because you know that he's going to be ballistic that we know. Instead of visiting, Nanny and Coran will give everyone assignments on how to search the histories and archives. It's going to take ALL of us to bring his lordship home from this one. Take thirty minutes to eat and do whatever you need to, and then meet in the library."
Everyone nodded and filed out, leaving Lance alone. Well, almost alone. "I know you're still here, Princess." Standing and turning, she rushed into his arms.
"How did this all go so wrong so fast?" she whispered against his chest.
Holding her and stroking her hair, he whispered back, "I don't know sweetheart. I don't know."