Disclaimer: WEP owns Voltron and all its characters.

Beta: Thanks again to Dawn!

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 16

The next three weeks went by in a blur as the men of Lion House really took to their training. Keith was pleased with their work ethic and their acceptance of Allura as an instructor. Watching her work on bow technique with the men made him proud. Catching her eye one day, he gave her a smile and a quick wink which brought a pretty blush to her cheeks. A commotion coming from the front of the Hall drew his eyes from the training session. A small group of people were making their way to the training area. Keith agilely dropped down to the ground from the platform that he had been standing on. Taking only a few steps in that direction, Keith stopped and his eyes grew wide. Lord Kurt was leading a group of men and one girl towards him. One of the men was none other than King Olen.

Allura came up to his side and whispered, "I'd say this version is about twenty years older than the Olen at our challenge."

Keith only nodded in agreement as he waited for the party to reach them. When they stopped in front of him, Keith dropped to one knee along with Allura and said, "My King."

Putting fists on his lean hips, Olen responded, "Actually, I don't think I am."

"What?" Keith asked puzzled.

"I don't think that I'm your king if you are from the southern province."

"Indeed, King Olen, I am from that region. However, I am in your kingdom now and plan to abide by your laws. As such, I see you as my king." Keith looked at the man who had saved his life in the Right of Challenge. He had a feeling that for much of the challenge, Olen did not know who he was, but at the end he did. It was ironic that the roles were reversed at this point.

Smiling broadly at the young man, Olen said, "Well said. Well said." The merriment left his eyes as he continued, "Lord Kurt has spoken highly of you, young man." Indicating that Keith and Allura should stand, he requested, "I'd like to speak privately with you, if that is all right."

Keith looked to Allura who nodded and moved toward the young girl that had accompanied Olen.

Olen saw the question in his eyes and said, "That is my daughter, Sophia. She requested to accompany me here as she wished to meet you and see you train."

"Me?" Honest surprise was in his voice.

Laughing, Olen said, "Yes, you. The countryside is full of whispers about how you defeated marauders on the road and can knock men off their feet with just a glance from your devil black eyes." Olen's laughter grew even louder at the widening of Keith's eyes upon hearing that.

"Your Highness, I don't-" Keith began only to be interrupted.

Clapping him on the back, Olen said, "I know young man. The stories grow the more they are told. But every tall tale begins with a bit of truth." Seeing Akira relax, he decided to have just a bit more fun with the young man before getting into the serious matters. "There is also much gossip among the women about you." He enjoyed watching the young man color up. "It seems that you are considered to be a prize catch."

Keith didn't say anything, but cleared his throat. "Is there something I can help you with, King Olen?"

Ah, back to business. Turning to Keith with a serious face, Olen said, "Someone is threatening the queen." Seeing the questions forming in Akira's eyes, he said, "Let me tell you everything before you ask." At Akira's nod, he continued, "Three weeks ago, I received an unsigned letter saying that I should favor the winner of the games for the hand of Sophia. It further stated that if I didn't favor the winner, that there could be unpleasant repercussions. A lock of the queen's hair was included in the letter."

"You're sure it was the queen's hair?"

"Yes, we found the place that it was cut from, and she has no recollection of it being taken." Olen's voice was filled with concern. "The letter appeared with our supplies from the market, and no one knows where it came from."

"Why are you telling me these things, King Olen?"

"Because Lord Kurt indicated that you wanted to participate in the games."

"King Olen, you can't think that I sent the letter. I have never even seen your daughter until today-"

Olen cut off Akira's words with a raised hand. "No, Akira. I don't believe you sent the letter." He glanced around Akira to look at Eleanor. "I think you already have a princess of your own."

Keith's eyes grew large as he breathed out, "She's not a … not a … princess."

A small smile played around Olen's lips as he said, "Maybe not, but I'm sure that she is one to you."

Letting out a breath and returning the smile, he continued with his question, "So why are you telling me?"

"If half of what I have heard is true about your skills, I believe you will win. This will make whoever wrote the note very unhappy. They may try to kill you before the games, or they may threaten the queen again. I have sent her to visit her sister in our neighboring city. I receive daily dispatches about her well-being."

Keith nodded. "So you just wanted to warn me?"

"I wanted to warn you because I am here to watch you earn your right to become a member of Lion House. As a member of the House, you can participate in the games. Do you still want to do so, given that your life could be in danger?"

Prophecy. The One. Keith looked to Allura. There wasn't an option for him besides to accept. After all, to say no would be denying his destiny, wouldn't it? Looking intensely at the king, Keith said, "I still want to fight."

Olen didn't know why the young man gave him such an intense look, but he accepted his answer. "All right. Then let's get the process under way."

Keith followed Olen back towards the growing crowd of men and women. It seemed that word had already spread before he had even said yes.

Reaching the crowd, the process was explained. Akira would have to face the best warrior of Lion House in each of the five disciplines. He didn't have to beat them, but he would be judged on his skill and the Lord of the House would determine in the end if he would present the warrior to the king for entrance into the House.

Doren stepped up beside Akira and said, "Would you like to know who you will be competing against, Akira?" At his nod, he smiled as he continued. "For the skills of archery and javelin you will be competing against Lord Kurt." He saw the surprise in Keith's eyes and said, "My father is quite skilled in these areas. I think he may be the only one to beat you today." Smiling at the thought, he moved on. "In the staff you will compete against Carlos, in the brawl you will compete against Lawrence, and finally, for the discipline of sword, you will compete against Alfred."

Keith's eyes widened. Alfred was the one he had fought with the staff and who had become a friend in the last few weeks. It seemed that Alfred had been holding out on him. Smiling, he said, "When do we start?" Feeling a hand on his back, he turned to find Lord Kurt.

"Right now, young man, right now!" With that, he let Keith over to the archery area.

Keith bested Lord Kurt in the stationary targets, but lost points in the moving targets. Lord Kurt beat him in scoring. For the javelin, however, Keith was able to edge out the lord. Keith knew that if he had faced the lord in his prime, he would have lost that skill as well. Keith's opponents for the staff and brawl looked none too happy to be facing him. Carlos and Lawrence were considered to be the best of Lion House at the skills. However, the ease of which Keith defeated them left sour grapes in their mouths and grumbling about upstarts.

Then it was finally time to face Alfred and the sword discipline.

As they circled each other with the wooden swords and bucklers, Keith called out, "You never told me that you were the best at the sword."

Feinting toward Keith, Alfred replied, "You never asked."

"You could help me with training." Keith eyed a possible opening and lunged forward, tagging Alfred on the side for a point.

"The young men don't listen to me and the skill trainer didn't want my help." There was a slight bitterness in his voice which seemed to fuel the flurry of slashes and lunges he then made. Both men scored some points on that series.

Slightly breathless, Keith responded, "Yeah? Well, I'm not the skill trainer, and I want your help." Keith then made a series of moves where he scored several points while Alfred only scored two.

The bell indicating the end of the match rang and the two men moved over to stand rather breathlessly before Lord Kurt who announced that Akira had outscored Alfred. Alfred moved over to throw an arm around Akira in congratulations. In an emotional voice, he said so that only Akira could hear, "I couldn't have lost to a better man." With that, he broke away as more men came up to congratulate Akira.

After a few minutes, Lord Kurt called Akira over to where he read the ritual words of acceptance into a noble house. King Olen made it official by handing Keith his Lion House tunic and presenting him to the House.

Calls for a celebration and ale were heard and the majority of the people moved toward the house.

Allura had told Keith that the king had thought he was a noble at the right of challenge. Now Keith realized why. To King Olen, Keith had been a noble for over a thousand years.

Keith walked over to where King Olen's guards prepared to leave. He asked Olen to let him know if he could help in any way.

Before Olen left, he reminded Akira, "Remember, you have a target on your back now. I have seen you fight. You WILL win if you compete."

Keith watched Olen move to his horse and looked to see where Sophia was. He was surprised when he saw Doren escorting the young princess to her steed. The way they looked at each other was familiar to him. Perhaps Doren was correct… their situations could be similar.