Title: The Lion King

Rated: NC-17 some parts may be rated under that but the story over all is rated for mature readers.

Author: Nursie

Disclaimer: I don't own Voltron... WEP entertainment does...Only original characters and storyline are mine. That means Mena who appears in Part 4 or 5 is mine... Zejan has permission to use her, and if you ask nicely... you can too... just ask!

Characters: Keith, Lance, Princess Allura and the rest of the cast from the series.

Spoilers: Based on the Anime series Voltron from the early to mid eighties, also rerun on Cartoon Network in the late nineties. Any episodes and all episodes from the Lion Voltron series may be mentioned in storyline, so having watched any or all would definitely be helpful but not necessary.

Nursie Note: I just want to thank Lynne from ANML and KAEX mailing list for the wonderful beta job she did for the first few parts... I believe Parts 1-3 and the Interlude between them were carefully gone over by her skilled eye. This story would not be half as good if she had not put her artistic and creative thoughts into it. I am a huge fan of her work and for her to spend any amount of time beta reading my story... then I am truly honored. 

"The Lion King"

 A Volton: Defender of the Universe Fan Fic

BY:

NURSIE

Lieutenant Lance William Barton leaned back in his chair in Castle Control trying to catch a nap during his midnight shift on watch duty. His crystal blue eyes closed, his sandy brown hair tousled; he was dressed in boxers, a worn out Led Zeppelin t-shirt and a pair of pink fuzzy bunny slippers. He relaxed and had allowed himself to fall asleep. After all, nothing ever happened on the midnight shift and if it did, he’d be in his flight suit… this just made for easier access… and why not be comfortable?

Lance was like that… Always the character, he was the only one of the team with the gall to wear his underwear to work. He was witty, and arrogant almost to a fault but his heart seem to always make up for the fact that he was a little too crude at times. He was very good looking, and he knew it. About 5’10, great hair, colorful eyes, and a physique that would only be described as lean and muscular… if Lance spent more time on conditioning he’d be bigger, but Lance preferred to stay the way he was… he never had any problems in the love department… but he didn’t have any recent shoppers lately either. He was the definition of self-confidence, and never missed a beat to tease his friends, and alienate the princess’s guardians, Coran and Nanny. He would hide from Nanny often, not wanting to hear her constant bickering about his rugged appearance. He would at times tick off his friends… but would quickly redeem himself, by either saving the planet, saving Keith’s butt when he was protecting the princess, or by acting as a big brother to one of the orphan kids… he did get a lot of static about that… he got teased to no end ~Are you sure you’re a good influence on a boy of 10? ~

That was not Lance’s forte… it was Lieutenant Marcus Henry Harrison’s, or “Hunk” as he was nicknamed at the academy. He was now the pilot of the yellow lion, a big teddy bear of a man, with the most loving heart and way with children. His stature mirrored his teddy bear persona… he was rather large in his physical appearance… but it came with a heart twice as large. Sure Lance would teach the kid the basics of stuff like fake vomit and whoopee cushions, but he was smart enough to draw the line. As for Lance’s intellect, he was smarter than he let on, led by a forceful gut feeling, that sometimes saved everybody’s tail, Lance was very distant about that part of him. His gut feelings had been with him since birth, and had fueled him in his days at the academy… he was sure if not for that, he would not be on Arus today. Lance knew things… sensed things, even smelt them but you’d never catch him admitting it… but no matter how Lance tried to hide that part of him, it always appeared at the right moment… Lance knew he was not normal.

His piloting skills had won him many awards at the academy, which Lance immediately tried to sell to a freshman. He didn’t like awards, they made him feel like he was supposed to do something, or be somebody. And he had enough trouble just being what he was. He was a pilot and a damn good one at that. Lance flew the Red Lion and was second in command to Keith Joseph Matthews… on what was known for the last five years as The Voltron Force. There were five of them well four after Sven’s injury. Lance had run for help after Haggar the witch had trapped him and Sven had cut him loose. He was too late, and Sven nearly died. Lance tried for weeks to hide the guilt he felt. He blamed himself for the incident and still had problems thinking of it to this day. The only thing that redeems him is the fact that Sven is now very much alive and well… and happy. Once Sven was down they were a lion short, until The Princess of Arus, took to the controls of the blue lion.

Princess Allura… Now she was beautiful for lack of a better word. Her hair the color of sunshine, with golden highlights streaking through the long strands that fell down her shapely back. Her eyes were lined with long lashes that framed her sapphire eyes. Now the rest of her, could only be describe as perfect. Definitely the envy of women everywhere, Lance doubted there was a woman anywhere so lovely. When they first arrived, Lance had developed a small crush on the princess. She could always talk to him, and he flirted with her quite well… she often flirted back. They developed a friendship once she became a member of the team, and his crush for her evolved into love… in the plutonic sense… she became the sister he never had.

There was three others that he regarded as family, Paul Michael Lawerance or “Pidge” as everyone called him… was now seventeen, having been twelve when they arrived, he grew up on Arus, Lance regarded and treated him like a little brother. He would probably never be viewed in his teammates eyes as grown up even when he was thirty… He accepted that, and used it to an advantage. Pidge was a wiz at computers… and often indulged in high tech computer games, he always knew what was wrong with the kitties WAY before the castle mechanics did. With the help of Hunk, together they would fix the lions and even tweak them into something better although there was only so much they could do. The lions seemed to have a spirit of their own. Pidge had grown quite a bit since their crash landing on Arus… he was now five foot eight with hazel eyes and reddish brown hair… he traded his glasses in for contacts, and his voice had changed. Now a full blooded teenager, Pidge was disheartened by his lack of dating skills and often relied on Lance to give him pointers as any good big brother would do.

Commander Sven Affleck was one of Lance’s best friends…He was the tallest of the team, being six one and a half, and having a powerful piercing gaze with his brilliant sky blue eyes. His hair was dark brown, almost black and somewhat frayed. He had an almost regal structure that commanded attention wherever he went. They roomed together in the academy along with Keith, and another Commander who now was leading the Vehicle Voltron Force, Jeff Thomas Noble… They were all the best of friends.

Sven was often serious, with a hint of humor that was only shown around his inner circle of friends… He was also moody to a fault at times, and very difficult to approach if you did not know him. He had taken the blow for Lance in the beginning, and was rushed to planet Ebb in a near death state. A few months later, he was found by the Princess Romelle… who was just a beautiful as Allura, but a bit more worldly. Her hair was a darker shade of blonde, almost a golden color, and her eyes were navy blue framed with lashes that would never see mascara for they needed none. Her attitude was a bit more informal than Allura’s, her planet having been a bit more laid back than Arus. She had also seen things and been forced to do things Allura had never experienced. For she had been a slave in Lotor’s harem. After he had had his way with her, abusing her both physically and mentally to no end, he grew bored with her. Once she refused to marry him he threw her in with the other slaves… into the Pit of Skulls.

In the Pit of Skull, Sven helped the Princess of Planet Pollux, Arus’ sister planet, escape. They formed a friendship; which turned out to be love in the end. After Sven rescued Romelle from Doom they vowed to free all of the slaves from Doom and months later returned… and did just that with the help of Voltron. When Sven did not return from his undercover duty as a Robeast, Romelle panicked… she knew then she was in love with the commander. Later, on planet Pollux, Sven admitted he did have feelings for Romelle… Which she in turn admitted. A love affair was born and ended in a marriage of two star-crossed lovers. Sven was injured in another accident on Doom, going after Lotor for what he had done to Romelle… not really caring what he had done to him. His peripheral vision was severely damaged when he fell to his impending death fighting Lotor. Unfortunately Lotor survived and escaped… but Sven also recovered from his physical injuries… but would have to endure a psychological one for a pilot… he could never fly in combat again.

As for the remaining member of the team, Lance’s absolute best friend was Captain Keith Joseph Matthews… a captain in deeds and in training, Keith was second to no one at the academy… coming first in his class and having been the valedictorian of the Space Academy that year. Keith, Sven and Lance always had a special bond and for the last ten years they had been almost inseparable. Lance referred to his captain as sorta a stick in the mud… and told him often. Keith was very duty driven, holding lion practice at six thirty am, and before that he himself was always up by four doing his own exercises such as Judo and Tai Kwon Do. Which gave Keith an amazing physique, Lance himself was a little jealous although he had not had any complaints… Keith was strong and muscular; his chest was nice and firm with a nice tight tummy to top it off. Keith was just as handsome as Lance, if not more so… He was a bit taller than Lance, perhaps by half an inch, at the height of 5’11. His hair was a jet black and no brush could tame it. His eyes were a dark chocolate brown… that couldn’t hide his emotions to save his life.

Keith tried though, and it worked, sometimes… depending on whom he was trying to fool. Lance had known for a long time that Keith was in love with Princess Allura… and he made it abundantly clear every chance he could. For Lance could not understand why Keith didn’t pounce on the prospect. Heck Lance knew that Allura was a princess… and all that mumbo jumbo about her being a virgin til she wed… but who says that Keith couldn’t be the one she married. Lance knew Keith was looking at the bigger picture, the formalities and such… but he also sensed Keith was more than a little scared of being turned down. Lance knew better than that. If anyone of the two made it apparent it was the Princess Allura. She was new at the romantic stuff and was having trouble keeping it a secret. Lance knew, Hunk and Pidge knew… and he was pretty sure Romelle had told Sven. The only two that seemed to not know were the people that were really involved. Keith was very aloof, and hard to read at times. He had a hidden sense of humor that seemed to almost shut down when Allura was near, most of the time but not always. The two had become very close friends, but Lance figured that Keith kept somewhat of a distance just to keep himself sane. On the other hand, Keith was very smart, as smart as Pidge in certain things such as flying, aerodynamics, governmental issues, and diplomacy… Keith was royalty waiting to happen. He had a big heart and was good with kids, not as good as Hunk but he was also not raised with six brothers and seven sisters as he had been. Keith was also a lifer in the Galaxy Garrison… well unless magic was to happen and something did happen between Keith and Allura. He had become the youngest Captain in Garrison history, achieving the rank upon graduation and was the first man named to the mission on Arus.

It almost seemed that Galaxy Garrison had forgotten about the four men, having permanently reassigned Sven to Pollux for obvious reasons. They hardly heard from Garrison since the first year and a half. The last thing they heard was when they sent a general to look over the boys but soon learned that they could very well take care of themselves. At that point, they were assigned to Arus permanently, unless one of them requested to be relocated. There was a slight problem with Keith being assigned to Arus permanently, however, Keith soon made it clear that he would be useless anywhere else… even going as far to threaten not to reenlist when his service was up.

So… here they were, all of them alone with one Prime Minister, by the name of Coran, Allura’s most trusted advisor. Then there was Nanny, or Helene Ida Waetcher, who was Allura’s royal governess… And the boys were still having problems growing on her. Funny thing was, Pidge spoke a few languages, and had found out her surname meant warden in German. Lance got a kick out of that and had dubbed her with that nickname… instead of calling her Allura’s governess, or even Nanny… Lance preferred to refer to her as the castle warden. Nanny was none too happy about it but after three years of the ‘loving’ nickname, she knew Lance meant it with respect such as it was and even though you wouldn’t catch him admitting to it, he knew the castle would not be the same without her. It would be like losing one of the team if she were gone.

Lance could see them all so clearly, every one of them meaning something important to him. He loved them all. He couldn’t quite figure out why they were all encircling him… there was another, two others to be truthful one he saw plain as day… Long white hair blew around it’s body, eyes as red as blood… it held a staff and at the end of it was a sickle razor sharp… with a single ruby on top of the staff. The skin was a bluish green and scaly with a tail that ended in a arrow shape. He could tell she was a female… having the body of a human woman… she stood on two legs and had two arms with the hint that she had wings she retracted on her back. Then there were the ears as pointy as a dragon. In fact, if Lance thought about it… he’d swear she was part dragon. And then the other figure also female and human as far as he could tell he could not make her out… he did not see her face. The dragon lady stood in visible sight along with the rest of them… all looked frightened and beat… the human girl turned to run.

~Who are you? Identify yourself…~ He screamed…with that… a light from something in his own hand flickered … it was blue and a weird noise radiated from it…It grew louder…

A slight noise emitted from the castle computer, slowly increasing from quiet to loud and knocking Lance from his position at the console and interrupting a really strange dream. ~What a stupid dream? Why dream about the team? Where is my head…~ As he regained his composure the printer started spitting out papers, ‘You’ve got mail' chimed from the main computer. Lance had made a quick recovery; he had many premonitions before, in his dreams that often came to him… like his gut feeling. He shook off his dream chalking it up to being just a nightmare then started punching buttons furiously on the terminal to bring up Galaxy Garrison online. He clicked on the mail section and to read the contents of the email, then shrugged and cursed to himself when he realized he didn’t have security clearance to get into the file.

“Damn, busted.” He complained to the empty room, as he turned to the vid link to call his captain from slumber. He knew he was going to get a lecture for his dress, if not by Keith then from Nanny when she found out. Drawing in a deep breath, Lance nervously pushed the button to Keith’s communicator.

~No more dates for me til I get off weekend duty~ He thought.

As his sleeping Captain came up on the screen, Lance watched for a minute before waking him, wanting to laugh as he scanned the scene for any blackmail information that could be had. He pushed away guilt, reminding himself it was necessary because of the bunny slippers he was wearing. His absolute favorite shoe to wear, he’d had them since the academy, as well as the t-shirt… well, Keith had the t-shirt. Lance was just borrowing it.

“Pay backs a bitch…” Lance muttered, with relish. Keith definitely was unaware he was being watched. “KEITH!” Lance yelled, startling his commanding officer awake.

“What the…” Keith screamed.

“At least lil’ Keith knows how to greet an officer.” Lance joked an evil smile crossing his handsome features.

His leader grabbed his blanket and covered himself quickly. “What is it? You interrupted a pleasant dream.” He mumbled blearily.

"Lemme guess… was it a wet one? Lance's whisper held false intrigue.

“Shut up.” Keith said shortly, trying to wake up.

“Did it include a rather hot blonde we both know?”

“Lance.” Keith responded angrily, “I won’t have you talking about a team member that way.”

“Yah well, I’m not the one sportin' a pup tent with my blanket, Mon Ami. And why do you assume I was referring to Allura? I was actually talking about Princess Romelle.” Lance lied nonchalantly.

“No, you’re sportin’ bunny slippers… Which I think are against regulations.” Keith teased, then quickly added, “and don’t let Sven hear you talk like that.”

Lance grimaced and decided to change his tune. He knew Sven and Keith could both kick his ass. “Ugh… mornin’ wood… it’s a killer…Now… go take a leak, Commander. You’re needed at the bridge. Lance out.”

“It’s not even morning…” Keith groaned, as he stumbled out of bed after Lance cut the communication.

Keith walked down the corridor with a head full of soaking wet hair, a simple pair of sweat pants and bare feet. Running his hand through his jet-black mop, he entered Castle Control.

Keith had to laugh at Lance’s attitude. He had been that way since the academy. And even spending the last five years on Arus, Lance was still the ladies man; he had had that rep on 3 planets before leaving Terra, and now it seemed he had achieved it here on Arus as well. A pang of jealousy went straight to Keith’s gut thinking about how easily and often Lance flirted with the princess.

“Did ya take care of lil' Keithy?” Lance questioned, noticing his Captain's drenched hair as he stood up to allow Keith room to get to the console.

“Love the bunny slippers Lance. And isn’t that my Led Zeppelin t-shirt?” Keith retorted, as he bent over and punched up the security access on the terminal, his dark eyes never wavering from the screen.

The email from Galaxy Garrison downloaded quickly. Keith read it silently while Lance stood sheepishly, half wanting to ask if he could go to bed, but his curiosity keeping him waiting until Keith was finished with reading the message.

“Well?” He questioned.

“Well what?” Keith replied seriously. "See for yourself!"

Lance’s jaw dropped as he finished reading and looked at Keith.

“I think we just got promoted.” Keith breathed in disbelief. He sat down in the chair. Lance stood in shock somewhat.

“Does this mean we are going back to Terra?” Lance said.

“I don’t know Lance. What am I gonna do about the princess. We can’t just leave her here. I mean sure… Hunk and Pidge can make the kittens purr but what happens if Lotor tries something?” A far off look glazed Keith’s eyes.

“Keith, I know… we ALL know… you love the girl but you can’t be thinking what I think you’re thinking… she’s not military… she's royalty. This is your honor.” Lance pleaded.

“Lance, are you gonna swear away your promotion…?” Keith questioned, almost, but not quite, teasing.

“Look, we wouldn’t have to deal with this problem if you’d just grow up and tell her how you feel.” Lance grumbled in return. “Are you telling me you are gonna decline a promotion from Galaxy Garrison because you don’t want to leave Allura? Come on, man… you are my best friend, you’ve been working for this all your life and now… you’re gonna let a little imaginary piece of tail…”

“Enough… just go to bed.” Keith said. It was useless to argue with Lance, especially when he was right. Keith yawned.

Lance looked like a kid in a candy store. “You mean it? I can go to bed? You aren’t gonna like tackle me once I turn my back and go towards the door- are you?”

“Just go, before I change my mind and write you up for those tacky boxer shorts!"

“Hey… these aren't tasteless… they’re relaxed and groovy.” Lance retorted, then sprinted out the door. He wasn’t going to take any chances that Keith might change his mind.

~Promotion~

He was getting a promotion. He didn’t expect it… Keith sure. Not him though. He wondered if it was because of the time he saved Arus from those damn deadly flowers, and smiled as the image of the Lady Farla crossed his mind. He indulged a quickie fantasy that also managed to bring one fact to light. Keith would pass his promotion up, because truth be told, the man would be happier being a captain as long as it meant he could stay and take care of Allura.

~Those two deserve each other. ~

Lance shrugged, threw off Keith’s t-shirt and flopped into bed face first.

Keith paced in front of the windows inside the observation room; watching the sunrise over the Arusian mountains. He caught his reflection in the glass and wanted to break it. What was he thinking?

~Six weeks on Terra ~

If it was only one of them, they could handle that… being only one lion down if there was an emergency. They had been there done that but two… that could get ugly. Sven could come and watch over things. Even though he was no longer able to fly. The damage that Hagar had done to his peripheral vision made it impossible for Sven to return to the force when he fell from a cliff fighting on planet Doom. Keith sighed. He saw no reason to pull Sven away from his post on Pollux. That meant he couldn’t go… that was all there was to it.

He wanted to though… badly. The promotion was all he ever wanted.

Keith sat down on the couch and put his head in his hands. Taking a quick glance at the wall clock to his left, he shook his head in disgust. There was a good hour until lion practice and it was obvious to him he wasn’t going to sleep.

~ Look, we wouldn’t have to deal with this problem if you’d just grow up and tell her how you feel. ~

Lance’s words went through his skull like a knife cutting through butter. That was something he just couldn’t do. Love was a luxury he could not afford. Not with a princess anyway.

More of Lance’s words crowded his head. They did a little more than anger him too. Yes, he and Lance had been through a lot together… but to call Allura a piece of tail… she sure wasn’t that. They were all friends. And she sure as hell wasn’t imaginary. His reality enforced that daily and his dreams; God... his dreams weren’t even suitable for Lance to see. Especially the one he had had tonight.

“Damn you, Lance.” Keith cursed again, thinking of how he had been awakened earlier. He wondered how long his friend had been watching him. He shuddered to think what would happen if Lance found out how many cold showers Keith had been taking lately…

With a large yawn, he placed his head back into his hand and closed his eyes, the weight of a kingdom clearly showing in his face. His eyes flew open as he heard a shuffle. Or at least he thought he heard a shuffle.

Jerking his head upward, his eyes came to rest on the entrance to the room, and a very sleepy eyed Allura still in her blue nightgown, standing in the open doorway. Her hair was the color of the sunshine that now was above the mountaintops to the east and her eyes the color of the sky just before it did so. His heart smiled as she moved towards him.

“Princess.” He greeted her. He stood as she closed the gap between them.

“Keith.” She nodded and sat down on the couch. He reseated himself.

Keith allowed himself one loving look then changed to his normal expression. “What are you doing up so early?” He asked. It wasn’t like she needed her beauty sleep… in fact if beauty truly relied on sleep, then Allura could stand to lose a few hours.

~More like a few months~

He pushed away his stupid thought. He stood and crossed over to a small coffee pot in the corner and poured himself a cup of the Arusian version. Allura watched him, then preceded to lie down on the couch.

Keith turned towards her, a coffee cup in each of his hands. He almost dropped them when he saw what she had done. “Allura?” He whispered.

“Hmmm?” She groaned, her eyes closed. “Five more minutes Nanny… just five more minutes.” She whined.

“Allura… it’s Keith, you came into the Observation room.” He said, in an almost- whisper as he crouched down next to her. He could smell her hair. “Why don’t you go lie back down?”

She stirred slightly, then propped herself onto her elbow. “Keith?” She turned to him, his face inches from her own. She blushed furiously, as she felt his breath on her cheek. “I had a bad dream. I thought I would come in here and get some coffee.” She explained, sitting up. Keith handed her the other cup of coffee he had in his hand.

“Your wish is my command.” He said with a smile.

“You have definitely made quite a few of my wishes come true.” She agreed, stifling a yawn. ~But there are still a few I wish you’d help me with ~ She thought, as she sipped her coffee. “What are you doing in here? I thought Lance had graveyard for tonight.”

“He did… but I took him off about an hour ago and now he’s on weekends.” Keith informed her.

“Weekends?” Allura quirked an eyebrow. “What did he do this time?” She cooed, a knowing look crossing her features.

“He wore his underwear to work.” Keith said with a small chuckle at the memory. Now that he thought about it, the underwear had definitely been way too big for Lance. “Actually, I think Nanny might have gotten Lance and Hunk’s boxers mixed up.”

“Oh I see.” Allura said, giggling until she noticed the troubled look on his face. “Something tells me this isn’t about Lance’s underwear though.”

“Whatever gave you that idea? It just so happens that this time, it does have something to do with Lance.” Keith stated, running his free hand through his hair.

Allura rubbed her arm. “Care to tell me about it? I’m a great listener. What did he do this time?”

“He got promoted.” Keith said wryly.

“How dare he do that! The gods forbid…” Allura teased. “Correct me if I am wrong Captain, but isn’t that a good thing?” She laughed. “That's so wonderful! Honestly, I didn’t know he had it in him.”

“He’s not the only one…”

“We got word from Terra and Galaxy Garrison tonight…”

~ Oh god…~

Allura started to panic and fought to stay calm.

~ What if they changed their minds and reassigned them…~

“Lance got promoted to Captain, and myself, I got bumped to Major.” Keith said, sounding unbelievably disinterested.

“THAT’S WONDERFUL!” She exclaimed. “If anyone deserves it… it’s you two!” She jumped up and flung her arms around Keith in a hug neither of them expected and that both of them found difficult to pull apart from.

“I’d have done it myself if I could have.” She added, as she backed away from him, trying to hide the blush in her cheeks.

“Thanks for the vote of confidence Princess.” Keith said, clearly embarrassed as well. Her skin had been so soft. He could have lost himself in her hair.

Allura collected her scattered composure. “Pardon me if I am wrong- but again, isn’t that a good thing… isn’t a promotion something that you would want?”

“Yes, it is something I have worked hard for since I was eleven.” Keith admitted. “It’s just that…” He almost stammered… He wanted to say it was just that he loved her and couldn’t bear to leave her for a moment.

“Why Keith- don’t tell me that the infamous Captain of the Voltron force is nervous?” She teased.

“No… Princess… that’s not it… it’s just…”

“Weeelll?” She prodded, as his voice trailed off.

Their eyes locked. He was trapped and he knew it- his eyes were always a mirror of his feelings and he had the feeling she could see his soul right then. “It’s just that… Princess, we have to return to Terra for the promotion.”

“You have to leave Arus?” She gulped, panic oozing from her words.

Just for the ceremony.” He assured her. “We would be coming back.” He added, detecting the fear in her words.

She sighed in relief. “Then where does the problem lie?”

“The problem is, that with the two of us gone, there is no one here to protect Arus…”

~Or you~

“Hunk and Pidge would be here.” Allura added. “They can handle themselves quite nicely.”

“I know that… it’s just with the last few attacks… the weather thing the witch pulled last time, when she poisoned the water then dried up the oceans… has me on edge. I can’t leave you here.” Keith said. He looked out the window again, sitting down his mug.

“Then I will come with you. Sven can come and visit. He can take command while we are gone.” She replied, her voice laced with the authority of a ruler of Arus and of someone who knew what she said always went when she was in that mode of thought.

“I already thought of that… but we both know Sven can’t fly the blue cat. Arus would be two lions down.” Keith shook his head.

“Yes… we know that… but Zarkon doesn’t.” She pointed out.

“What of Romelle then? She needs just as much protection from Lotor as you do.” He argued.

“She can come with him.” Allura said simply.

“What makes you think she would do that? She has her own planet to worry about.”

“Yes, but I think Bandor can take care of things on Pollux for such a short time.”

Keith shrugged. What Allura said made sense. Zarkon’s forces did not know Sven was that badly injured… and then there was the added advantage that Romelle looked a lot like Allura… in fact, the cousins were identical except for a birthmark Allura had on her collarbone.

~Her collarbone~

His mind wandered to the birthmark he had noticed when they had been swimming in the castle lake only to be dragged back inside by Nanny. He quickly hid the smile that danced across his lips from the Princess. “Nanny and Coran will never let you go.”

“Who's the princess around here?” She asked mischievously.

Keith caught the look in her eyes and he couldn’t help but grin… his battle to get permission to take her to Terra with them was already eighty percent won now. When Allura set her mind to something… there was no stopping her. They would have to give permission, or Allura would just go anyhow…

~ Can we say court marshal…~ “You’re gonna make me lose that promotion before I get the thing.” He teased.

She faked a hurt look. “Me? Never…” ~I care too much about you… I’m glad Galaxy Garrison finally got my memo requesting they promote you boys for your daily heroism...~“Arus will be fine, and you should be properly honored. When do we leave?” Allura stood, looking regal despite her tumbled hair and the fact that her nightgown was slipping off one shoulder. She walked over and placed her coffee mug onto the table it came from and then turned back to Keith. “I am going to go get ready for lion practice and think about what I am going to say to Nanny and Coran.” She smiled reassuringly at Keith. “You worry about contacting Sven and Romelle. Let me handle my guardians.”

She turned to leave. It took all of Keith’s discipline to let her walk away, when he so desperately wanted to pull her into his embrace so he could hold her close, smell her hair and kiss her lips. He wondered, as he watched her disappear from sight, if she had ever really been kissed, thinking that if not, he would kill to be the first person to do so. Her shoulders, so soft and round... her neck, so flawless....

The heat surged through his blood and rushed to his appendages, pulling him back to reality. Keith looked up a to find he was at the door of his own quarters- funny that he hadn’t noticed he had followed the princess out of the room until now. He looked down at himself. Embarrassed, he checked to make sure no one was watching him before swiping his entry key and walking into his room, mumbling, “great, Keith, this will be the second cold shower you've had this morning.”

Once inside, he pulled off his shirt and kicked his boots onto the floor. Crossing over to the bathroom attached to his bedroom, he dropped and stepped out of his sweat pants, and went to turn on the water.

As freezing cold water sprayed forth from the showerhead, he hesitated a moment, his hand under the spray, the icy water pelting against the marble tile as he debated if, just once, it would really hurt to play out his fantasies.

Finally, he moved to change the water temperature to a warmer setting, and then entered the shower with his eyes closed, having made the decision to relieve his frustration by hand instead of with the piercing needles of freezing icicles against his skin. Once was enough for that morning… and he’d almost rather Lance catch him doing this than to have to endure ice water and the vision of Nanny in a thong. Leaning against the tiles, Keith slid down until his naked backside rested on the shower floor. He bit his bottom lip as one hand went to support his weight against the glass door and the other slowly but surely sank below his waistline.

A soft groan escaped Keith's lips as his hand wrapped around his gender, tightened its grip and began to move. Then and only then, did he allow his mind to go to the beautiful young woman he now imagined was next to him, and he could feel himself steadily growing larger as he focused on the blue eyes he so dearly loved. He bit back a moan as he finally achieved his full length, although he was still painfully conscious that it was his hand and not Allura’s, which touched his stomach with each vertical movement. His fevered thoughts quickly set about replacing his battle callused grip with one of the softest to ever touch him and he sighed with pleasure. Although Keith had known his share of a woman’s touch, this was different; he could almost feel Allura’s hot breath against his ear and her breasts pressing against him.

He forgot about the hot water running down his back and into the drain, and his strokes became more frantic as he envisioned the Princess leaning over him.

“Allura...” he groaned, in a low, throaty voice, as he timed his hand movements in a rhythmic motion that would aid in releasing his need. It had been a long time since he had resorted to this type of adolescent activity, but he just didn't care anymore. It wouldn't take much; already he could feel the anticipation growing in his groin as he touched himself. It was so close… he could taste it… could feel her tongue on his neck, and then on his chest… now on his belly...and then lower...

Squeezing his eyes tightly, Keith found he could barely breathe as his mind’s eye pictured his Princess touching the tip of him with her tongue, tasting him, her mouth upon him now, slowly, taking more and more of him into her. His mind was racing...wishing he was inside her, needing to feel her warmth and tightness around him… closer… closer. His sex flexed powerfully in his hand, steely with need, the only thing that bringing reality to him. He felt the orgasm coming forward… closer… He moaned, then bit his lower lip hard to stifle the sound, drawing blood that he could taste, but imagined was the taste of Allura’s innocence on the tip of his tongue, as he kissed her in places that he would kill another man for dreaming about. He tensed at the thought, feeling the beginning of the end...coming closer.... and closer....

A loud piercing noise filled the air. The lights began to flicker and Keith, so close to relieving his frustrations, was brutally forced to let go of his passion as his dazed mind scrambled to comprehend the interruption. After the briefest of moments he knew exactly what was going on… the castle alarm had sounded.

~Leave it to Lotor to interrupt. ~

Without further delay and feeling incredibly foolish, he stood and turned off the hot water… cold-water shot forth. After a few moments under the frigid spray he jumped out of the shower. He avoided his mirror as he dressed in record time and then dashed out of his quarters to head for Castle Control.

***END ***

Keith arrived in Castle Control just as Coran brought up the image of a Chimera type Robeast. It had three heads, one a lion, one a dragon and the other some sort of goat.

“Looks like Haggar’s been reading up on her ancient Terran Greek mythology.” Pidge commented. Hunk, Pidge, Lance, Allura stood around the console, and Coran was seated in his usual spot. Keith had been the last to get there. Lance turned to him.

“Whoa… you look…” The Red Lion pilot paused. “...Majorly pissed.” He finished impishly. One look from his captain told him to leave it alone.

“I didn’t even get to finish my muffin.” Hunk complained. “Keith didn’t even get one yet.”

“Somehow I doubt that’s the only thing he didn’t get.” Lance joked, flashing a smirk at his best friend, his eyebrow raised.

Keith ran a hand through his wet, unruly hair and the other over the front of his red flight suit, caught Lance’s stare and quickly averted his eyes. “What’s the damage?” He asked, in a commanding tone. Lance's grin widened as he noticed that Keith still would not look at the Princess… and that he hadn't made eye contact with her since his arrival, or even said good morning.

“Come on team,” Keith suddenly cried, breaking into Lance's speculations with the familiar battle cheer. “We know what to do.” With that, all five members of the Voltron Force ran and jumped into their launch tubes.

Keith placed his key in its place. The black lion sprung to life and let out a roar that reflected the emotions in its pilot. “Ok team… Let’s take care of business.”

The five lions gathered where the monster was attacking.

“We need to keep it away from the village.” Pidge cried as he swooped past one of its heads and shot a round of his stingray missiles.

“What ever gave you that idea?” Lance shouted sarcastically.

The beast raised a claw and hit Pidge’s lion square in the jaw, sending the youngest member of the team and his ship sailing through the air.

"PIDGE!" Allura screamed, then turned to the monster. “That thing fights dirty!” She gritted, as she set off her blue claw.

Pidge recovered control of his lion just before hitting the ground and pulled his throttle as hard as he could. Green lion lunged forward, rejoining the others in the sky.

We gotta get this thing off the ground.” Lance observed tersely.

The dragon head of the Robeast snapped at Red Lion as it moved agilely through the air, its pilot's laughter dripping with self confidence as he formed his ion knife and flew in a risky formation to cut the beast. The slice only succeeding at angering their foe even more; it batted at the lions, finally knocking Allura to the ground.

Keith, although continuing to do his share of the fighting, pulled back when he saw the princess plummet to the ground. “Lance...what the fuck are you doing?” He cursed, not realizing he was doing so.

"I thought I was flying red lion and kicking the crap out of this royal ugly.”

Lance replied nonchalantly. He knew the princess would recover; she was a damn good pilot and his friend was just way too overprotective.

A moment later blue lion lifted off the ground and was beside them in an instant, as Lance knew it would. “See? You worry way too much, Mon ami.”

“And you don’t worry enough!” Keith shouted, glaring at Lance via his view screen.

“Hey!” The voice of reason came from Hunk. “Are we fighting each other or the bad guy?”

Keith sighed. Hunk was right, they sounded like two kids arguing over something trivial. “You’re right Hunk.” He quickly said trying to relieve the situation. He flashed a dirty look at a Lance via his view screen that told him this wasn’t over, and then turned his attention to the creature.

The five lions surrounded the monster, Green and Yellow lions taking the goat head end, Red and Blue taking the dragon head and the black lion positioning itself to stare down the huge lion head.

“That thing is too strong for just the lions… we need Voltron.” Pidge commented, staring into the eyes of the head that was in front of him.

“That’s right Pidge… Ok team…let’s do our thing… Ready to form Voltron…” Keith ordered. The lions took off in formation and began to transform. “Activate interlocks, dinotherms connected… infrocells up… Mega thrusters are go…”

“Lets go Voltron Force,” They all cried in unison. More out of habit than necessity. They’d been doing it for years… it wasn’t like Keith actually had to tell them to connect the dinotherms anymore.

With one swift swing of the sword, Voltron destroyed the Robeast that Cossack sent to Arus. Keith felt very uneasy, it was too easy. He sighed a sigh of relief though. It seemed to be a habit of that man to give them a bit of practice before the actual practice began.

“Let’s eat.” Hunk exclaimed. Pidge quickly agreed. Allura giggled. Lance and Keith were merely silent as they landed their lions in each of their respectful resting places. They all met at Castle Control moments later.

“Haggar is testing us…” Coran thought out loud as the team gathered.

“Yes… that was my feeling as well.” Keith agreed. Although he had to admit, if Zarkon kept throwing weak crap like that at them, Lance, Allura and he could slip off to Terra and be back before they were missed.

“I agree too, it seems to me, they are just going through the motions. Like they are somehow just attacking to let us know they are still out there.” Allura said furiously, hitting her fist with her hand.

Keith watched her hand hit the other and blushed uncontrollably and Lance caught the look on his friend's face. A groan stuck in Keith’s throat as he searched for a reason to excuse himself.

Lance turned to the group. “So… why don’t we just call that lion practice for the morning…” He suggested hopefully, kidding mostly.

“Ok.” Keith replied and briefly looking up at the four mockingly shocked faces staring back at him.

“Ok what?” Lance replied nervously.

"Ok, you're free to go. I have some paperwork to do." Keith walked past Lance, who, having seen the look, had already decided he to follow his leader wherever he went.

Keith then passed the Princess, who winked at him. Trying to hide his reddening face, he mumbled goodbye to everyone else and exited the room. He knew why she had winked of course- because of their earlier conversation. He also knew why he was the color of crimson-because of his actions after that conversation.

He needed to be alone. He strode down the corridors leading to the study where all his computer and records were stored, while apparently not noticing the figure following him. Or rather, not wanting to notice the figure following him. He stopped and ran his access key through the door to open it, pausing only to say knowingly, "Lance! Stay! Good boy." before entering his room and firmly closing the door.

Lance emerged from the shadows and stood outside the doorway, shocked. He had been so sure he hadn't been seen. With a hasty ‘hmph’ he stuck his tongue out at Keith's door in childish fashion, and then turned on his heel to return to his own quarters.