Disclaimer: WEP owns Voltron and all its characters.
Beta: Thanks again to Dawn! I think she may be having second thoughts...
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.
Chapter Seven
The next morning, Keith made his way gingerly from the dining hall to the briefing room. He found it both touching and irritating that Lance had walked with him all the way. Lance had told him that they were just going in the same direction and it didn't mean anything, but Keith knew that it did. He was not moving at his normal pace ye,t and Lance was most likely just making sure he didn't pass out in the corridor again. Walking into the briefing room, Lance moved to take the last open seat on the side of the table while Keith moved to the head of the table.
Keith looked to Coran and Nanny and said, "Since the two of you know the most about the prophecy and the history involved, I'd like for the two of you to start. Everyone else, add in details that you may have found that adds to or validates what they say. When they're done, we'll move on to other discrepancies." Receiving nods all around, Keith sat down and picked up a data pad to take notes while Coran stood up to begin.
Three hours later, Keith sat in his office looking over his notes from the meeting.
Wesley, a member of Eagle House, fought against an outlander in the yearly games during the twenty-fifth year of King Olen's reign.
During the games, there had been a threat against Olen's wife, Rene, and fifteen year old daughter, Sophia.
The outlander restored honor to Lion House somehow during the games, perhaps by winning them.
No mention of what happened to Wesley or the outlander.
King Olen completed his reign without further incident and his daughter became queen after him, marrying a knight of Lion House.
Keith looked up from the data pad as the door chime sounded. "Enter." Lance. Giving his friend a slight smile, he was just getting ready to speak when the vision came. The office and castle disappeared from around him as a strong wind blew, leaving him standing outside a busy market area in what was either morning or evening light. People were coming and going down the small, but busy, street. Glancing down, he saw he was dressed in black pants with knee-high black riding boots, a long-sleeved black shirt, and a tan tunic with no emblem that came to mid-thigh. A sword was strapped across his back. As he reached back to feel for the hilt, his hand brushed his neck. His neck? He reached for his hair and found that it was now shoulder length. He stopped his investigation when he heard someone call his name and say that it was time to go back to the Hall. Keith started toward the voice and saw a teenage boy beckoning him to come. He went to follow the boy when the swirling winds took him away.
Lance had gone to Keith's office to get a better gauge of his friend's state of mind after the meeting. After all, they didn't have a lot to go on. When those spirits said that the historians had been vague, they weren't joking. He had just walked into Keith's office when he saw his friend's eyes turn complete black. There was no brown or white left. Rushing to his side, he felt for a pulse and found it strong and steady. Stepping back, he said softly, "It must be a vision. Damn it, they can't come this fast. He's not healed." Moving to the side, he propped himself against the wall where he could see Keith's eyes. Anger and frustration were in his words as he looked to the ceiling and called out, "Damn you spirits if you send him back now." Looking around the room as if the spirits would just appear because he wanted them to, he said louder, "Do you hear me? You can't send him!" Looking over to his friend, he closed his eyes in his own form of prayer as he softly said, "Please. Pleas,e not yet." Opening his eyes, he saw that Keith was still out; then he saw the white starting to return to his eyes.
Keith blinked rapidly several times and braced himself against the desk as he tried to regain his mental balance at the shift back to the present. Once his vision cleared, he looked to Lance and asked, "How long?"
Moving to a chair in front of the desk, he sat down and leaned back. "Not long, maybe three minutes. What did you see? Was it anything that will help?"
Keith closed his eyes and went back to the vision. "I was on a busy street outside a market area. I was dressed like everyone else, and I felt normal… except my hair was short. Then a teenage boy was telling me to come on and when I went to follow him, the vision ended." Opening his eyes, he looked at Lance. "You're not going to let me keep this secret are you?"
"Keith, why do you even want to?" Lance was irritated that his friend was reverting right back to his reclusive ways. Throwing up his arms in frustration, he said, "After what we've talked about for the last two days? How could you consider doing that?"
"I've had two visions in two days. I doubt that I'll have many more before I'm taken back." He leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes. "Allura… Allura's going to freak out. She knows how badly I was injured." Looking at his friend, he whispered, "It looks like they're going to send me back before I'm healed up."
"Keith, you're one of the best fighters I know, hurt or well." Crossing his arms over his chest, Lance looked at Keith and said, "Come with me. We're going to see Gorma. He's going to put those therapy bandages on your ribs now, whether he wants to or not."
Waving his hand in a dismissive gesture, Keith said, "I doubt a few days or even a week will make that much of a difference."
Moving over to tap a finger on Keith's desk, he said, "Do you want me to keep it a secret?"
Keith's full attention was on Lance now as he narrowed his eyes. "Are you blackmailing me, Lieutenant?"
"For your own good, Commander. So which is it? Do we go and tell Gorma everything and get you on the most aggressive form of therapy for all your injuries, or do I go now and tell Allura that you've had another vision?" Shrugging his shoulders, he said, "Your choice, Commander."
Wincing as he pushed back his chair, Keith stood. "Okay, Red, lead the way."
Smiling over his shoulder at his friend, Lance said, "You should listen to me more often, buddy. Lance is a wealth of knowledge and good ideas."
Unable to suppress a grin at his friend, Keith added, "A friend that speaks of himself in the third person and doesn't mind blackmailing his friends."
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After explaining the situation to the Doctor, Gorma put the therapy bandages at their highest setting. "Keith, these will actually be a little painful, but if you can wear it at this level during the day and turn it to setting 5 at night, your ribs will be as good as new in three weeks instead of the five. Since the ribs weren't broken, the healing time is a little faster. There's not much else I can do for your other injuries, but they are minor. As for your magical healing, internally you are at 85% and there's nothing I can do to speed it along."
"I understand, Doctor." Keith said as he squinted. He had never had the bandages set at such a high level. He would definitely have to turn them down in order to sleep.
Walking out of the med bay with his friend, he didn't notice the slight figure peeking around the corner.
Moving back out of sight, Allura thought to herself, What were the two of you doing in medical?
Later in the day, Allura cornered Lance in the gym. "I saw you two earlier come out of Dr. Gorma's office. What's up?"
Not breaking his form while doing chin-ups, Lance said, "It was just a follow-up."
"Are you sure that's all? The two of you aren't trying to hide anything from me?" Allura didn't sound convinced.
Dropping from the bar, he reached for a towel to dry off his hands. "There's nothing to hide about Keith's injuries. You know better than anybody but Gorma about Keith's injuries."
Cautiously nodding her agreement, Allura said, "That's true. I'm not surprised that he had a follow-up visit. It's just that Keith tries to protect me so much that I'm afraid that he had convinced you to keep something important secret." She watched him closely, but couldn't detect any deception from him.
Moving the towel to his damp hair, Lance smiled at her and said, "Give him a break, Princess. He's trying."
Sighing as she turned her gaze to the floor, she said, "Yeah, I know. It's just… well, I'm just worried about him."
Feeling guilty about his part in the deception, he patted her shoulder and said, "We're all worried about him, Princess."