~ by Amanda Pizzolatto
[All characters from Voltron: Legendary Defender]
The door of a quaint little house opened, and a teen entered, his mouth covered with a scarf and a hood over his head to protect himself from the elements. He closed the door, put down the bag he had been shouldering, pulled down the scarf and glanced at a picture on the mantle of him as a young boy with his father.
“Well, I’m back, Dad. Don’t worry, I didn’t destroy anything today. Yesterday was just an accident. You know I wouldn’t get mad at the dig; I lose myself out there, like, every other thought leaves my mind except for the dig and….” A knock at the door interrupted him. He blinked. “Now who could that be?” He went to open it.
“Keith!” shouted a figure at the door before toppling Keith to the ground in a bear hug.
“P-princess!”
“Allura.”
“Say, say what?”
“Stop saying princess and say my name! Allura!” she enunciated. “Come on! You’re basically my only friend, you of all people should be allowed to call me by my name.”
“Alright, how about we make a deal? I’ll call you Allura if you stop tackling me to the ground,” muttered Keith.
Allura blinked before letting out a little squeal and bounced off of Keith. “I’m sorry, I’m just so excited that you’re back! It gets so lonely up at the castle. I mean, yes, I have Father and Coran, but it’s not the same without my best friend,” she replied with a pout.
Keith let out a chuckle as he rose from the ground. “It’s alright, I missed you too.”
“Alright!” she cheered as she jumped up and gave Keith a big hug.
“Maybe we need to cut back on the hugs, too – you’re kind of squeezing me too tightly.”
“Oh, sorry,” muttered Allura as she took a step back.
“I mean, I don’t mind it when you hug me, just don’t hug me too tightly, alright? I’d like to be able to finish this dig. Oh, speaking of. That’s why I’m back; I need to get a few supplies and head out there.”
“You have to go back so soon?” asked Allura, following him around the house as he picked up another bag and some coins before heading out the door.
“Yeah, I have to,” he said as he closed the door behind her. “It’s almost done. I think I’ll be able to give your dad some answers either tomorrow or the day after, as long as there’s no more sandstorms to interfere.” The two began walking into the city, aiming for the market stalls.
“Not fun. You need to stay in the city sometimes.”
“I’ll try, but I’m so close to finding out what it was used for! I can feel it!”
“And after that?”
“And after that… well, I haven’t exactly given it much thought. Maybe go to another dig?” he replied before pausing to purchase some bread.
“No, after that, you’re coming to the castle to stay with us,” blurted Allura as he placed the purchase in his bag. He straightened up and glanced at her questioningly.
“Now, why would I do that?”
“Oh, because there might be another position opening up, and I think you’ll be interested,” she said with a smirk.
“What are you getting at… Allura?”
She turned and began walking backward as she shot him a mischievous grin. “Now, what’s with that tone of yours? That won’t work for this new position.”
“Well, if your tone of voice was any indication, you put your father up to it,” he said before heading towards the next stall and purchasing some cheese.
“I think he wanted to do it. See, he came to talk to me about it and asked if I thought that you would be interested.”
Keith placed the cheese in his bag as he said, “Oh, he did, did he? So then, why won’t you tell me more about this new position?”
“Because I think Father wanted to talk to you specifically about it,” she said as they moved on to the next stall. Allura’s favorite fruit, pink-tinged, golden peaches, were on display.
“Oh, really? Then I guess I shall just have to talk to him about it, won’t I?” he asked as he paid for three peaches and gave her one while putting the other two in his bag.
“Definitely, you see . . .”
“There she is!” someone shouted. “Princess! Princess!”
Allura gasped. “The guards! They found me!”
“If your father has no problem with me, then why do you sneak out to see me?”
“Because those guards are nosy. Run!” She grabbed his hand and began to run.
“Allura!” yelped Keith as his legs obeyed her command. They zigged and zagged throughout the town, eventually losing the guards and making it outside the city limits before falling on their backs in the meadow, panting.
“Well, we lost them,” Keith said between gulps of air.
“Oh good, they really were nosy,” replied Allura, out of breath. The two glanced at each other and burst out laughing. “But boy, that was fun!” she exclaimed.
She raised her hand, and the two paused. They didn’t realize that they had been holding hands the entire time. The two yelped and jumped away from each other, feeling rather embarrassed, Allura, in particular, was blushing.
“S-s-sorry about that,” stuttered Keith.
“Oh, no, no, no, no, you’re…you’re fine!” stuttered Allura with a smile as she glanced at him. She plucked a juniberry and planted it in her hair. “Keith, do you prefer the meadow or the desert?”
“Um, maybe the meadow? No sand getting in everything. Allura?” he asked when he noticed her fidgeting with her hair. He moved closer, just as she turned around with a sigh and glanced at him.
“Actually,” she said, “there was something that I wanted to tell you – the main reason, actually, why I wanted to lose the guards.”
He felt her hand touch his, but he only got closer, her blue eyes pulling him in like a magnet. “Wh-what’s that?” he asked softly when she didn’t continue right away.
She glanced away for a second, her blush turning redder than the juniberry in her hair. She let out a breath and composed herself before glancing at Keith. They were so close now that they could kiss, and Keith right at that moment wanted to, she looked so pretty. But then again, he’d never known her to be anything less beautiful than she was now.
“Keith, I-I… I lo… Aaagh!” The two yelped and jumped in surprise when a bell echoed across the valley. “Ugh! I hate that bell! I swear it’s the bane of my existence!” Allura growled as she rose and began to stomp off. “And now I have to head back! We’re having dinner with some neighboring country’s diplomats!”
“Allura, wait!”
Allura paused. “Listen, what I was going to say earlier, what I’ve been wanting to say for a while now, it’s… I’ll tell you at my birthday party, alright? You will be there and not the dig?” She turned and glanced at him, hopefully.
Keith smiled. “I’ll be there, I promise.”
“Alright, and I’ll hold you to that promise, or I’ll march out to the dig and drag you to the castle by your hair if I have to.”
Keith snorted. “Right, good luck with that. But have no fear, I shall be there, as always.”
Allura smiled. “Good, because I really, really want to tell you. See you later, Keith!” She waved to him, then dashed off across the meadow back towards the city. Keith waved back before lowering his arm and just watching her leave. He had something he wanted to tell her something he needed to tell her.
“I love you, Allura,” he whispered into the breeze before turning and walking towards the desert.
Meanwhile, a purple-skinned figure, clad in black, sat alone in a room across from a large mirror. A woman entered the room.
“It’s almost time, Zarkon; the boy has nearly uncovered the whole ruins. It will soon be time to awaken the princess’ quintessence and send it across the realities,” she said, glancing at the mirror. The mirror was just playing the scene between Keith and Allura.
“Good, soon I will have my hands on Voltron and the princess’ quintessence, and there’s nothing Alfor can do to stop me,” said Zarkon as he glanced into an adjacent room with the door ajar. There was a glass tube, and a young man’s body floating in the liquids within it, still very much alive. “Yes, very soon, I shall have my wish, Voltron will be mine.”