"Wake up sleepyhead, breakfast is ready," a voice spoke cheerfully. You couldn't exactly recognize it yet since you weren't fully awake.

"What?" you responded groggily.

"Time to get up, Allura wants to see your battle hand," the paladin spoke. You rolled over to see it was Pidge, who seemed a little too much like a morning person. "Woah, someone has a serious case of bedhead!"

"Okay, okay, tell her I'll be right there," you caught a whiff of your disgusting smell. "Right after I change."

"Okay, Hunk left your plate at the table for when you decide to come out, food goo doesn't really "get cold," so, take your time," she noted. Before she left the room, you stopped her.

"Hey, Pidge?"

"Yeah."

"Do you happen to have any clothes I can borrow for the time being, don't exactly have my clothes with me right now," you explained.

"Sure, don't know if my clothes will fit you, but we'll give it a shot," she announced. She left for a few moments before returning with what looked like a white shirt, gray cargo shorts, and white tennis shoes.

"Thanks," you smiled as she placed the small pile of clothes on the bed.

"I'll tell Allura that you're on your way," she stated as she closed the door to your room. You switched out of the blood-stained galra uniform you were forced to wear, into the clean, new clothes Pidge had given you. You were about the same size as Keith, so Pidge's clothes were fairly tight on you, but they were better than the same clothes you'd worn for at least half a year. You found some hairbands in one of the dresser drawers that sat against the wall of the room, so you tied your hair into a ponytail, and made your way to the dining hall.

"Morning (Y/N)," Hunk chirped. He was in the process of picking up the dirty plates left by the rest of the paladins.

"Morning," you added.

"You hungry, I left you a plate?" he offered.

"No, I'm good, thank you, I'm actually looking for the princess?" you asked.

"I believe she's in the training deck waiting for you," he addressed. You stood still, looking like an idiot as he continued to pick up the dishes. "You don't know where that is, do you," he laughed. You nodded quietly. He set down the dishes and began leading the way to the rest of the crew. You entered the room to see everyone in their suits of armor, holding different weapons.

"Ms. (Y/N), hello," Coran announced as he noticed you come in with the yellow paladin.

"Hey guys," you responded with your quieter voice.

"Are you ready to show us what you can do?" Shiro asked.

"I'm not exactly sure what I'm supposed to be showing?" you questioned.

"To keep it simple, we're seeing how you fight," Keith informed.

"What am I supposed to be fighting with exactly?" you huffed.

"When we looked up why you were in the prison, we also found your arrest records, which said that you were found with a dagger, so we managed to get our hands on a dagger to see how you work with it," Pidge explained. She showed you the knife, which she held by its black handle, facing its sharp edge towards you. She placed the dagger in your hands as delicately as possible, and all you could do was stare. A knife had not been in your hands in six months, and the last time you had used it, it was almost used to kill you.

"What are you expecting me to do with this?" you asked as you glared at the princess.

"You're going to demonstrate how you would fight someone in battle," she acknowledges.

"With a dummy?" you suggested.

"No, with Lance," she spoke.

"So yes, with a dummy," Keith laughed, which earned him and deadly glare from the blue paladin.

"Are you sure about this?" you inhaled. "You don't exactly know all of what I'm capable of."

"Exactly, we don't know what you're capable of, that's what we want you to show us," she proclaimed. You looked towards the Hispanic man, who's smile spread across his rose cheeks. You took the challenge the princess had given you. This was the way to prove to not only them, but yourself, that you could defend yourself, and protect others from Zarkon's harm in war.

"I'm sorry," you apologized to Lance.

"For what?" he asked.

"For whatever I do," you murmured. He pulled out his gun and you instantly knew, he wasn't going to play around. He was trying to help you prove yourself after last night, but you couldn't have wished harder that he could've helped you in another way.

"Doesn't she need armor?" Shiro worried to Allura.

"She won't need it, I told Lance not to shoot directly at her," she explained. You only heard bits and pieces of their conversation, if only you'd heard all of their words, you wouldn't have finished the test the way you did. 

When you started, the "battle" became a blur. You blacked out. The only thing you could see was Sendak, one of Zarkon's most trusted soldiers. He was one of the soldiers who would come into your cell, just to pummel you to near-death. You'd always attempt to fight him off, but he was too strong, and could keep you on the ground whenever he wanted. You could only imagine slashing Sendak, getting him back for every cruel thing he'd done to you before you were saved.

You heard yelling in the back of your mind, but you continued to ignore it. Suddenly, you felt someone pull you, before you fell to the floor.

"(Y/N)! What are you doing!" Coran yelled.

"What? What happened?" you panted.

"You nearly killed him! The knife was centimeters away from his throat!" Pidge roared.

"What was going through your head!" Allura added onto the screaming. You looked over to Lance as you were restrained on the floor by Shiro. He didn't look scared, or mad, or anything of how you would expect him to feel. He just looked at you, with no feeling. It looked like the ends of his lips curled upward, but you were too much of a shaking mess to tell. You began hyperventilating, to avoid being a mess anymore than you were in front of everyone else, you ran. You didn't know where else to go other than the front of the castle for a breath of fresh air.

You curled yourself into a ball against the steps, pulling your knees to your chest. You wheezed for air. You panted words between your gasps for breath. There was only one sentence that came out clear as day.

"I warned them, why didn't they stop?"