Disclaimer: WEP owns Voltron and all its characters.

Beta: 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 20

A loud knock woke Keith the following morning. "Time to rise, Akira! The day of Lion House's restoration is at hand!"

Keith rolled over in the bed and said out loud to himself and to whatever spirits might be listening, "I know, I know. You don't have to beat me over the head with it." He turned his head to the side as he stretched his arm out into the empty space beside him. Allura... how were she and Doren doing? He felt the tension in his jaw as he thought of her being in danger. Working to relax his body, he knew that he had to trust her. But then it wasn't her that he didn't trust; it was that scum from Eagle House. Agh! He was already tensing up again. Best thing to do was to get up and moving. He wouldn't truly feel at ease until he saw her again, but that probably would not be for a few days.

After a hearty breakfast, the members of Lion House headed out to the arena for the start of the games. Keith looked at the stands that were almost overflowing, and then to the podium where Olen stood with Sophia. The king hid his concern quite well, although he often darted glances around the arena. Keith figured that he was hoping for Rene to appear.

At the sounding of a gong, Olen issued the proclamation to start the games. A crescendo of cheers assailed Keith's ears as the king turned to take his seat.

Lord Kurt had explained to him how the games would unfold. Today would be archery and staff. Tomorrow would be javelin and brawling, with the sword fighting competition on the final day. Each house could enter five members in each event competition, but you had to be entered in all five events in order to be eligible for the overall championship.

Keith breathed a sigh of relief as Doren came up beside him, slightly out of breath. Looking carefully at the youth, he asked, "Everything all right?"

Doren nodded. "We have been watching, but haven't spotted anything unusual." And then Doren grinned at Akira as he said, "Eleanor misses you." He laughed slightly as a smile flitted across Akira's face.

The smile stayed on Keith's face as he moved forward to listen to the pairings for the archery contest. The pairings were just to give the participants someone to compete against. Scoring for this event was based on your accuracy and not whether you beat the person you were paired against. He grimaced slightly, as he thought about his archery skills. They had improved over the last two months as Allura had continued to train him along with the other men, but he was still not at the level he wanted to be. However, he knew he was a perfectionist. He was hoping for a top ten finish out of the twenty-five competing. When he told Doren this, he was surprised when Doren laughed. "What? Is that too ambitious?"

Doren continued to chuckle as he patted the taller man on the back. "You are way too hard on yourself, Akira. I'm expecting you to be top five."

An hour later, Keith drew his arrow to shoot at his last target. It was a stationary target and he set his eyes on where he wanted the arrow to go. He drew the arrow back so that the bowstring was touching his cheek. He had tried his best to remember all that Allura had taught him – don't grip the bow… 45 degree angle… keep the arm straight but not rigid…. He released the arrow and kept his stance until it went true to the mark. He heard the cheers around him as he dropped his arms and soon felt Lord Kurt's hand on his back accompanied by, "Well done!"

After two and half hours this part of the games ended and Lion House had done well. Lord Kurt had placed at number 3, Keith at number 5 and Doren at number 6. Wesley had placed at number 4 just in front of Keith. The fight would be on for overall champion between them. Soon after the announcement of the standings, Doren left to rejoin Allura. Keith went with the others back to Lion House for lunch. The more grueling staff competition would begin right after lunch.

At lunch, Keith learned that Anton was one of the judges that helped to tally the points at the competitions. He felt a lot better knowing that Anton would be monitoring the process. He wouldn't put it past the other houses to cheat, and Anton would do his best to put a stop to it. Anton also told him that the betting pools had him favored in the staff event. When Keith had tried to indicate a possible exaggeration of his skills, Anton had outright laughed at him.

Walking up to the wall with the board displaying the match-ups outside the arena, Keith looked for his name first and then that of Wesley. They were on opposite sides of the brackets and would only meet in the final if they both made it.

Alfred came up behind him and looked at the board. Keith was the only member of Lion House that had a high ranking on the board. The other four from Lion House had made great improvements in their skills with Keith, but probably wouldn't break the top 10. "Akira, it doesn't matter how the boys place. I want you to know that they have made marked improvement under your tutelage. With continued practice, I know they will be contenders next year." Alfred was rewarded with a smile from Akira.

Keith turned with a smile and said, "I think Marcus may surprise you. He could be top 10."

Alfred turned to the board and saw his placement and said, "I'll be sure to watch him closely. Now, let's head to the stands and watch a few rounds before it's your turn."

Keith sat beside Alfred as he watched a man from Bruin House take on one from Caiman House. There were two ten minute rounds and points were made from landing blows and getting your opponent to yield. If you knocked your opponent out in the first ten minute round, they had the chance to compete in the second round if they were awake. If they were not, then they forfeited the round. Because there was a need for additional competitors for the staff, brawling and sword competitions, names were drawn. Those not chosen by their house to compete but who wanted a chance, could put their name in a hat in the hopes that they would be called to fill out the competition bracket. This meant that in the first round, there were a number of less skilled opponents.

When it was time, Keith began moving to the staging area to ready himself. He was surprised at the varied skill levels in the competition. Most of the fighters he saw were very good, but some of those chosen by their house as well as those drawn to fill out the brackets, only had basic skills. He was pleased that all three of the four Lion House participants had already advanced to the next round. The only one not to make it had faced Wesley, last year's winner. It had given Keith a chance to see his skills in action. He was good, but he was not unbeatable.

As Keith went out to face his opponent, a hush fell over the crowd. While the members of Lion House were familiar with his skills and some of the villagers had ventured out to see him practice, the majority had only heard rumors and gossip. Catching a glimpse of Wesley in the stands, he knew that the Eagle House nobleman would be checking out his skills just as he had done earlier. Well, he would show him some things, but not everything unless he was pushed. The more that he was able to catch Wesley off-guard, the better it would be.

Keith's opponent was from Bruin House. While his skills were adequate, Keith felt that he was definitely the weakest of those entered for the Bruins. But then, that would be why he was paired with Keith as round one usually pitted weaker against stronger to weed out those less skilled. Midway through the first round, Keith countered a down strike and landed a blow against his opponent's head. The man went down quickly. Keith waited while he was attended to and while the man did regain consciousness, he didn't have his wits about him to engage in round 2 and had to forfeit. Well, that's one way to keep from showing Wesley too much, Keith thought to himself as he accepted congratulations from other Lion House members.

Making his way back to the stands, Keith looks for Lord Kurt and worked his way over to where he sat. It was time to watch more of his possible competition.

Lord Kurt spoke briefly to Akira, and then was quiet. He could see that the young man mentally appraised his possible competition. Kurt doubted that even Wesley would be able to hold his own against the young man from the Karta province. And with those last thoughts, he turned back to watch the competition.

In the second round, Keith's opponent was from Caiman House. While he went the full two rounds with Keith, he didn't score many points. Halfway through the second time period, he made rash moves in vain attempts to knock Keith out. At the end of the round, the disgruntled man refused to congratulate Keith and left the arena muttering to himself about outlanders.

Following the same routine as the previous round, Keith found Lord Kurt who ran interference for him. Kurt easily engaged well-wishers in conversation, so that Keith could watch the competitors. Keith noticed that Wesley counted on making a big move and scoring on a few big hits which sent his scores higher. However, he was sloppy with the basic moves and allowed a number of hits that could have been avoided in an attempt to lull his opponents into an expected move.

Moving to prep for round 3, Keith met his opponent in the staging area and wished him well. Keith was just sad that he was facing Marcus. However, even if Keith beat him, he had already broken into the top ten. Marcus actually did a better job than Keith's other two opponents. But then, he and Marcus had been sparring almost daily for weeks. At the end of the two rounds, both men gave each other a congratulatory hug. Keith had emerged victorious as expected, but Marcus had acquitted himself well. Keith knew that in a couple of years, he had the potential to win the event.

By now it was early evening with only two rounds to go. After a short fifteen minute break, Keith would be taking on a member of Eagle House named Gaius, and Wesley would take on a member of Caiman House. The winners of these two matches would meet in the final. Keith knew that he didn't need to be thinking about the possible match with Wesley, or he'd risk stupid errors due to overconfidence. He especially needed to pay attention, because Gaius was from Eagle House. Keith wouldn't put it past him to try a dirty move.

Since there were only two matches in this round, they would be done one at a time so that everyone could watch both matches. Since Keith was the newcomer, he would fight in the second match. This gave Wesley a longer time to rest between rounds. But Keith was all right with this as it made sense as he didn't have any standing in the games except for the name he was making for himself right now.

Keith watched Wesley's match closely. The man from Caiman House was definitely skilled in the staff and the point advantage shifted back and forth between them with Wesley managing to win by a small margin. Keith was glad to see him winded at the end of the second round as that would only help him if he had to face him in the finals.

Nodding to Lord Kurt, Keith stood and went to the staging area for his match. Gaius didn't even acknowledge his presence as they waited, giving Keith a disapproving glance. Keith thought he heard him mutter, "outlander rubbish," before they were introduced. The derogatory comments meant nothing to Keith as he spun his staff around.

As soon as the gong sounded, Gais was on the offensive with a downstrike and thrust. Keith blocked them and then made a thrust of his own which scored a point by glancing Gaius' side. This did nothing to improve the mood of the surly man. The first ten minute round was almost even with Keith edging out Gaius. When the second round started, it seemed that Gaius had grown impatient. In all of his previous matches, he had been in the lead at the end of the first round and beat his opponents fairly easily. Being behind to someone he considered trash, did not sit well with him. So when he made a rash decision that left his back unprotected, Keith took advantage of it with several strikes which left the man on his hands and knees. Using his staff, Keith pushed Gaius over and forced him to yield.

Moving back, Keith allowed Gaius to stand and regain his staff so they could continue the match. He could see that Gaius was furious. The rest of the match went completely in Keith's favor as Gaius couldn't make up the point difference. At the end of the match, he stormed out the arena to jeers from the crowd.

There was only the one match left now. The championship for the staff competition.

There was a lot of noise around during the short break between rounds but Keith tuned it out. He could see Wesley glaring at him from a group of Eagle House members across the arena. Gaius was beside him and telling him something. Perhaps Gaius thought he knew something about Keith's technique that Wesley could use. It didn't matter to Keith. Obviously, it couldn't be anything too useful as it hadn't helped Gaius any.

At the sounding of the gong, the two combatants faced each other in defensive stances. Keith could already tell that Wesley would not make the kind of rash decisions that Gaius had. In a quick move that caught Keith off-guard, Wesley landed a blow to Keith's ribs and back. Jumping back and blocking a move that would have hit him in the head, Keith eyed his opponent carefully.

Wesley laughed and said, "You're done with the amateurs now, Akira." He quickly launched another attack that Keith was able to successfully block this time and Keith tried several strikes of his own but Wesley blocked them. The match continued back and forth with few points being scored. At the end of the first round, Wesley was ahead of Keith by a point.

Keith took the short break between rounds to consider Wesley's moves so far. Most had been straightforward thrusts and down strikes with a few spinning moves. He had not done any moves that focused on Keith's legs. Keith started thinking, Wesley is a tall man and stoutly built… perhaps it's time for me to see how well he jumps. With a slight smile curving his lips, Keith went back into the marked space for the round and spun his staff.

Walking into the space with a swagger, Wesley said, "I don't see where you have much to smile about outlander. You're behind and I don't see you going ahead."

Keith let him talk and didn't answer but smiled all the more as it seemed to irritate the big man. In fact, Keith could almost see the anger building in him. Perhaps he'd be able to get him into a rash move and do a leg strike at the same time. A little baiting of the trap was in order… "I'm smiling because I'm planning on winning, Wesley. It just took me a round to figure you out, but you're fairly easy to decipher." Keith was rewarded by a lunge and a grunt from Wesley. Yes, indeed, just a little more bait. Circling Wesley, Keith asked, "Do you even try to help the others in your House or is your ego too large to allow for competition?" And just like that, something seemed to snap in Wesley and he did a hard down strike that Keith blocked hard to the side. While Wesley was slightly off balance Keith spun quickly and angled his staff behind Wesley's legs dropping him like a sack of flour. Kicking Wesley's staff to the side, Keith placed the tip of his staff on Wesley's throat and said in a low voice, "Yield."

Wesley looked up into the intense dark eyes of the outlander but didn't speak. He felt the pressure of the staff increase on his throat. Reaching up and grabbing the staff, he barked out, "Yield! I yield, damn it!"

Stepping to the side, Keith waited for Wesley to stand and catch his breath before squaring off. He wasn't one for taunting people and in his mind, what he had done was just make a few comments that were really observations.

Wesley looked at Akira with narrowed eyes. It would be hard to come back against this man. While Akira was only a few points ahead, there wasn't much time left and he had had problems scoring against him. Well, if Akira could make comments, so could he. Giving a quick glance to the stands, Wesley said, "So where's your wench, Akira? Has she left you?" He circled Akira. "It would be a shame if she has. We all thought it considerate of you to bring your own whore along instead of dirtying our women with your Karta filth." Wesley watch Akira closely and while something seemed to spark in those black eyes, he didn't strike out rashly. Perhaps a little more goading was needed. "You know I had my eye-"

Wesley didn't have a chance to finish. Noticing that Welsey was focusing greatly on Keith's face and not on his hands while talking, Keith tuned out the dribble that the man was spouting and launched a calculated attack.

Wesley had been expecting a rash move, not the precisely delivered thrust and slashes. He was caught off guard and it took all of his skill to block the moves but he couldn't block all of them and two landed, adding to Akira's lead. At the end of the series of moves, both men were breathing heavily and while he didn't concede defeat yet, Wesley knew it was inevitable.

Moving his hands back into defensive position on his staff, Keith said with a smile, "Don't get too caught up in your own fantasies, Wesley." A grunt was the only response he received.

Two minutes later, the match ended and Keith had placed first with Wesley second. Marcus had placed seventh and was ecstatic about his finish. It was a happy group that walked back to Lion House that night. The day had been their best in five years and it did seem that Lion House was on the way to being restored.

Wesley, Gaius, and several others from Eagle House watched the celebration of the Lion members with narrowed eyes and angry hearts.