Chapter Three

Being sent to the docking bay with the rest of the captives had enraged Keith because he did not want to be separated from Allura, but he realized that it had been a fortunate move. He was tossed in as if he were a common prisoner and quickly got lost within the small crowd of people. When news of the release of some prisoners reached their ears, he knew he needed to be one of them. It did not take much convincing to trade clothing with one of the kitchen cooks who had the same dark hair and eyes. The Lotorian guards, like all Drule soldiers, were not known for their intelligence, and the cook was the same height and weight, if not build, of the King so they did not even notice that Keith had gone missing. Still had not judging by the relative silence of the area.

Smelling the burning scent that he had long associated with battlefields, Keith wanted to reach for the nearest Drule and beat him to a bloody pulp. The razed homes, the scorched land...Arus was supposed to be safe for its people again. However, knowing that some of its own people had turned their backs on the planet and its leaders had him marching towards the waiting contingent in front of the base entrance engraged him even more. He recognized one of the faces very well.

"I never thought you a traitor, Cital," Keith said flatly, his dark eyes shooting lasers at her.

In the blink of an eye, Cital's shocked expression gave way to a smooth smile. He wanted to knock her flat, but showing an amazing amount of control, he stared back at her, not moving a muscle. Guards moved to either side of him and Keith was not sure whether they were showing solidarity towards him or making sure he did not do exactly what he wanted with Cital. She waved a hand at them and they took hold of his arms.

"It seems you've only bred more traitors," he said quietly, dangerously.

Keith glared at both the young men and was rewarded by pained expressions from both of them. There were few young men on Arus who did not admire the King and he hoped he shamed them enough to make sure they would help him later.

"I am not a traitor to Arus, Your Highness," Cital purred. "Merely, a dissident from a Royal House become too corrupt with its own unchecked power."

"Trust does not survive hardship, I see," he accused.

"I never trusted the Queen."

The look Cital gave him made Keith's blood run cold. It was not so much that she trusted him but wanted him...he wondered how much of that desire equated to Allura being a bad queen or merely someone who stood in the way of what Cital wanted. He stook a step towards her, his expression thunderous, so much so that Cital took a step back away from him. The hands at his arms did not try to hold him back as he went to stand directly in front of her, toe to toe. He leaned forward so that his mouth was near her ear.

"If your actions lead to the victory of the Lotorians or to more Arusian deaths, I will find you myself and make sure you pay in kind," he hissed. "If my wife loses her life to that monster who has taken over the Castle of Lions, there won't be enough left of you to bury."

No one heard his words except Cital but her eyes were wide in her face when he was yanked back by the two young soldiers.

"Take him to the Mayor," she said, her voice hoarse.

They escorted Keith down to the base and he tried not to cringe as he remembered the time he had spent down there. They took him far below and one of the soldiers waved the other away as he took out the keycard that would open the doors. He unholstered his gun as well.

"We're not all like her, Sire," the boy said, handing both items to Keith. "Please get us out of here as soon as you can. There are too many who agree with her."

"What's your name?" Keith asked.

"Miren."

"I won't forget this, Miren."

Link was shocked to see Keith walk into the small room in which she had been imprisoned. He looked gaunt and a full beard covered his jaw, but she could see the battle light in his eyes when he neared her. She got to her feet and threw her arms around him, relieved to see that he was alright.

"I can't stay long," he said. "Merla is going to find out that I'm gone and Cital would not hesitate to turn me in order to get in good with them. Where's Lance?"

"I wish I could tell you, Keith," Link answered. "I've been out of contact with everyone since this all started. The communication array was damaged during the battle and we just got it up recently. Unfortunately, Cital threw me into this cell the second it did."

Underneath his homespun brown cloak, Keith pulled out a key card and a gun.

"It's nice to know you have a few loyal subjects amongst the disenchanted ones," he said. "Where is the comm panel?"

"I'll take you to it."

She took the card from him and slid it into the lock. The doors opened and they moved quickly down the corridors to the communications room. It was not empty, but Keith dispatched the two soldiers there quickly. Link's fingers flew over the keys and Lance's familiar face gaped at her within seconds.

"Link!" he exclaimed. "Thank God you're alright."

"I can't talk long, but look who I have."

Keith moved into view and Lance gasped.

"How the hell...?"

"Later, Lance," Keith said. "Tell me where you are because I gotta get out of here."

"I'll have a troop meet you," Lance said, after giving him the coordinates. "Be careful, Keith. The surface is crawling with robots."

The look in Keith's eye was dangerous and he held up the gun he had.

"They better look out for me then, cause I'm about up to my limit with waiting. I'll see you soon, Lance."

He turned away and Link took one last look at her husband.

"Are the boys okay?" she asked.

"Yes. I love you, Link."

"I love you, too."

She closed the connection. Keith held out a hand to her while he kept an eye on the corridors.

"Let's go," he said.

"I can't. I have to stay here."

He glared at her.

"I don't have time for honor, Link. We gotta go."

"Listen to me. Someone's got to stand up for Allura's crown down here and I'm the best woman for the job. They may be unhappy with her but they still listen to me. I could be your only hope down here."

Keith nodded. He put an arm around her and kissed her cheek. Link clutched at him, closing her eyes against the surge of pain that washed over her.

"Be careful and watch your back with Cital. She's always hated Allura and she'll easily transfer those feelings to you."

"I know. Go, Keith. Go!"

She all but pushed him into the corridor, but moving with an agility and speed that belied his age, Keith was gone in seconds. Link pocketed the key card he gave her and willingly walked back to her cell.

Keith held the gun in a tight two-handed grip as he ran from tree to rock to house, an eye out for the next object he would use as cover. He had managed to avoid the robots so far, but he was not going to count on luck to get him out of this. Luck was not going to pull the trigger if it came to that and he would be damned if he let some Lotorian gadget end his life. His midnight black hair blew in his eyes as he ran but he ignored it, not wanting to lift his hands from his weapon for even a moment. Above his head, ro-beasts and fighters circled with enough frequency to have him heading for shaded areas.

By his rough calculations, he had a ten minute run ahead of him before he reached Lance's location. That was five minutes longer than he liked, but he had little choice in the matter. Carefully mapping out where he would run to for the next three stops, he took off in a dead run, eyes darting around for sentries. He barely felt the burn in his muscles or the stabbing pain in his side as he dug in his toes. He was almost to the endpoint when he saw the first robot. He fired at it, watched as the laserbeam glanced off the robot's hull. Keith's stomach bottomed out when he saw that, but he kept shooting though it did the robot no harm.

And it was rapidly gaining on him.

Suddenly, he heard a shot whistle past his ear. He saw the barrel of a rifle and the top of someone's head coming up from a dug trench and he jumped in the second he was close enough to do so. Landing in an ungracious heap, he struggled to catch his breath as he was hauled to his feet.

"You're getting old, pal," Lance said.

"Nice to see you too, Lance. How about we get out of here before we get teary eyed in the middle of a fight," Keith suggested.

"Let's go, Archent," Lance said, patting the shooter on the shoulder.

"I'll cover you, sir," Archent said. "On three. One...two..."

"...three," Lance and Keith said, as they leapt out of the trench and into the open entrance.

More soldiers were providing cover there and they made it unscathed. Archent was close at their heels. They lowered the entrance before the robots could score anymore hits. Keith could feel everyone's eyes on him, but he did not have the strength to do more than meet each soldier's gaze frankly and gratefully.

"That was fine shooting, Major," Keith said when his eyes fell on Archent. "Thank you."

"Hey, what about me?" Lance protested half-heartedly.

Keith pulled his old friend into a gruff hug. Lance patted his back as he did, feeling a little weight lift from his shoulders that they had at least one of Arus' leaders out of the Lotorian's clutches.

"Thanks," Keith said as they stepped away from each other.

"All part of the job," Lance said. "I can't say I like this new look too much though."

Then, something occurred to Keith.

"You're not surprised to not see Link," he said.

Lance's smile turned sad.

"After living with that woman for twenty years, I couldn't help learning a few things. She would never leave them."

"There's more to it than you think."

Before Lance could ask, Pidge pushed his way through the throng of assembled troops, stopping dead in his tracks when his eyes fell on Keith. He smiled knowingly, shook his head at Keith.

"I knew you'd make it out," he said.

Keith nodded and rubbed his eyes tiredly.

"Where are the Lions?" he asked.

"Waiting for you," Lance answered. "Come on. Bethie and Ethan are on pins and needles wanting to talk to you."