HEYOOO I'M BACK AT IT AGAIN WITH A NEW KLANCE BOOK!

Okay, but this one should be interesting. I know I know, this book seems so typical - I mean, come on! There is maybe like a thousands more Klance books like this one, but trust me, I will try to make this as non-typical as possible. And we all need some Galtean Klance sometimes, am I right?

So, I thought I would try to make this a book that makes us realize how single we are, you know? This will be some romantic shit, y'all.

So, let's start this journey with the best bois:

Oh, and by the way, this book is a little bit different from my others because it focuses more on Lance (I think it will only be in his point of view, but I may change my mind later). You have probably figured out already that I'm a Keith stan, but I felt like it would fit more with having Lance as our main protagonist. I love both of them endlessly, tho.

Anyways, here is chapter one, and I hope you'll enjoy this book <3

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Altea was a welcoming planet. Every specie was allowed to live here, everything from Olkaries, Balmerans, Puigans and Taujeerians; Alteans treated them as their own. The planet of admission, is what everybody called it, and it was really the best thing us Alteans could have accomplished - to make our planet a kind of sanctuary for everyone, somewhere anyone could land on and call their place to stay on. That was by far the most marvelous of it all. The technology we created was nothing compared to our ingress.

That's how it used to be, at least. Not everyone was accepted into Altea anymore. There isn't one day were everyone isn't walking with caution. What was once so beautiful isn't anymore.

Everyone was accepted into Altea, except for the Galras.

The sound upon their names made everyone bitter, and everybody tried not to mention them, or think about them. They were banned from the planet, but also from everyone's mind, and it was best that way, my dad said.

I didn't know whether to agree or not.
It was frustrating, to have this kind of turmoil inside my head repeatedly. No matter how many bad things dad and Allura told me about them, no matter how many times I passed the renovating area in the castle after Zarkon's sudden outburst, no matter how many times my friends stated they hated them, I couldn't seem to fully agree with them. It was just that way with me; yes, it was easy to hate someone from long distance, but I knew that as soon as I thought more thoroughly, I couldn't bare to curse all of them. Zarkon was the problem here, but that didn't mean that every other Galra was too. Nobody seemed to think that way. Maybe I was the only one with rational thoughts.

"Go hide, Lance", Allura called from the end of the castles garden. I was already running, even before she started counting. This was kind of like a daily routine for us; it was childish, yes, but we didn't have anything better to do. Inside the castle, it would get so mundane and mature, especially when mom and dad was having meetings - so mature I couldn't even call them mom and dad, but mother and father although having two human best friends just did its part -, that's why me and Allura wanted to contain some greenness left inside us. Hide and seek was like a sport for us, it would get so intense that it often resulted into a few scratches and bruises, and a lecture afterwards.

Gravel crunched loudly under my footsteps as I ran away from the castle garden, and it was that quiznacking gravel that forced me to run so far ahead; the sound of it could be heard by the whole Altea. Allura's counting faded behind me, and a heat of wave corrupted my body as my heart started pumping my blood on hardcore. I started to pant, and the route I usually took wasn't an option for me this time. Me and Allura had this rule that we couldn't pass the Castle of Lions property, or else the searching could go on forever. We certainly didn't have forever, and not that much of an endurance either.

Hide and seek was hard for a start, but as we played it so often, both of us could predict where the other would hide, so it got shorter and shorter everyday. The sign that read Boundary of the Castle of Lions end here always tempted me to contravene its warning, but I never did.

Not until today, at least.

What was on the other side of the boundary was a complete mystery for me, and if it intimidated me, I didn't know. Behind those high "Maple trees" as Shiro would call them, there needed to be something more. Something more than anemones that undulated in the subdued wind, the rocky mountain above and the rustling leaves. The only thing that was a last warning for me was the walk through barrier that separated me from finding out.

I threw a distressed look over my shoulder, not sure to which number Allura had come up to. Maybe she was already searching.

Forgoing any kind of hesitation, I ran forward, and the barrier broadened around the form of my body as I ran through, but then went back to it's still and quiet mode. I stopped, as if to ensure myself this wouldn't end up badly for me. But how could I know how this would end?

With a sigh, I started running again, dodging any branch that tried to stab my face. I leaped over the rocks, perching precariously on the edges to elude the dank moss caused by the downpour from yesterday. I ran more than necessary; this far from the boundary was already enough to elongate Allura's searching, but something told me that further were better. But what I didn't want to admit to myself was that the hide and seek was forgotten to me now. This was a new place, and I wanted to delve into it. I had no limits in my head.

In my mind it felt like ten minutes of running, but I tried to keep it realistic. I couldn't be more than half a kilometer from the boundary. It was far away enough to not distinguish the barrier behind me. The thought of that should have scared me, but the bad thing was that it didn't. I trusted my orienteering skills enough to continue forward.

It was times like these that I was grateful that my past self left my cape behind, and what remained of my attire was the blue little vest that reached just above my chest, a white, blue, long sleeved tunic held firmly in place by the hard golden belt - structured in a similar shape as the Voltron sign all the paladins wore with pride on the chest of their armor - and the black tights with the high white and golden boots that helped a lot with the running.

I pushed aside the last branch, and my breath caught in my throat. Before me was a cave, covered in the downwardly inclined trees like a second roof, limbs snaking up across the smooth, gray, rounded stone in a messy pattern. Inside the cave, it was completely dark.

I didn't realize that I was stumbling forward until the cave came closer to me, and suddenly I stepped inside. My only light source inside the dark dingy place was my own blue Alteans marks and the blue lights from my apparel. It didn't light up my way more than a meter though, so it was almost useless. Every breath I took echoed around me, and I flinched when the sound of a water droplet broke through the silence. It wouldn't be too late to run out; if my counting were right, Allura had maybe searched for me for about twelve minutes, and that was already a big win. Usually the searching went on for just about five minutes before one of us were found by the other. I should have ran back to minimalize the trouble I could stand in for later.

Instead I stepped further into the cave.

But something made me halt to a stop again. I listened very carefully for any indifferent sound that stood out from the other peaceful ones, but I didn't hear anything, but saw.

About four meters away from me, a pair of yellow glowing eyes stared back at me with a horrifying acrimony, and I froze in place, not able to move one inch, nor run away from what seemed like a clear danger. All my functions solidified, except my mouth.

"Wha..."

I closed my mouth shut as the eyes neared me in one too fast and swift movement, and the next thing I knew, I was being slammed durably against the cave wall, a wave of pain emerging form my spine and shooting through the rest of my body. My teeth rattled at the impact, and my vision became slurred for a second.

When my gaze settled into place again, the first thing I saw through the dim blue light was the polished knife being dangerously close to touching my throat. It looked like it could rip me apart with just one caress, and I gulped. Who owned the knife looked like he could kill me with just one look. The lights of my attire lit up his face in an eerie blue, and his face was too close to mine, and he growled, baring his obviously sharp and long fangs. His eyes glowed; purple irises against yellow scleras. I blinked, like I was making things up, but it disappointed me when I wasn't, and this was very much real.

So I straight up screamed.

"YOU HAVE A MULLET?!"

My voice shook the cave with vigor, and faded into a soft echo after. The boy that held the object that could end my life in less than a second lowered his knife just slightly, jaw hanging open in awe, and we both must have been taken by surprise by my eruption. But he was fast to compose himself and let just the tip of the shiny killer object to touch my throat. I stilled.

"I could kill you in just one move, and you're concerned with my hair?" the boy spat, face wrenched in dismay. His yellow eyes shone with inquisitiveness.

I grimaced, voice wobbly with fear and embarrassment. I tried to speak quietly, afraid that the knife could somehow stab me if my Adam's apple bobbed too much. "I k-know. I don't know what got into me, though. I should be screaming and running away now, right?"

His gaze darkened, and he growled again. "As if you could."

The choler in his tone was demoralizing me, but still not enough to fully agitate me.

"You don't scare me", I lied, and I almost squeaked when his facial features hardened, as if he was up to the challenge. "I b-bet that isn't even a real k-knife. Probably like made of plastic, or something..."

His mocking grin silenced me, and the silence that fell around us was killing me a thousand times every second.

"You want to test your limits?" he said in a soft murmur, a voice too tender for the situation itself.

"You won't kill me", I breathed out in a whisper, like I was afraid that if I spoke too loudly, he would snap and prove me completely wrong. Again, his knife lowered just slightly, and the movement granted me more words to utter. "I don't think you will."

His eyebrows flew up to his hairline before they knit together again. "Are you blind? Don't you see what I am?"

The eyes, the fangs, the ears, and the very bad temper... How could anyone not see? Of course, all of these things clicked instantly in my mind, and painted a whole picture, a picture that somehow confused me, because I didn't know what to think of it. His breathe was uneven, like he was confused too, and if you looked past all the asperity on his face, I could see that there was dither and abashment behind.

"You're a Galra", I said as steadily as I could, but I think both of us didn't miss the waver in my voice. My throat felt dry, and everytime I swallowed, it just got drier. Had I even drank this morning? Maybe I would just faint in front of him and he would pity me enough to dump me outside the cave. The plan didn't seem so bad, after all.

"I'm a Galra", he agreed, and his fang shone with a deadly promise as he spoke very lowly. "I'm a Galra, and I'm not even allowed to be in this planet." His face came closer, staring daggers into my eyes - the knife he held was nothing in comparison to his gaze. "Yet I'm here, and I'm holding a knife to your throat. That doesn't scare you?"

I hesitantly placed a quivering hand on his arm, in an attempt to push him slightly back, but he flinched, and I saw that he clenched his weapon harder, grunting as if to warn me. I didn't let go of his arm though, and he didn't kill me, so I counted is as a profit.

"You're not a bad person", I said slowly, and every possible emotion ran across his face, every one too fast for me to fully register. "At least you don't have to be. Being Galra doesn't make you a bad person."

His face was pained, like he really didn't agree with me, and that he found it ironic that I believed in what he saw as a lie.

"I'm a Galra", he repeated in a more substantial tone. "I'm probably the universe's most hated creature. I shouldn't be here, yet I am. I could rip you apart with my bare hands, and nobody would know who did it. I could end your life right here." His eyes were pleading now, clutching the knife so firmly that I feared he would crush it in his hand. "All of that... doesn't scare you?"

I straightened my back, kept my head high and held onto his arm a little harder. He grit his teeth, glanced at my hand, but did nothing to swat it away.

"You're not a bad person", I said again, and left it at that.

His face stilled, and for a second I thought that he would actually attack me, but then his face got further and further away from me, until he was gone completely. I exhaled loudly and bended slightly forward, like I just ran miles. I didn't realize that I was holding my breath all this time. My pulse pounded in my ears so loudly and strongly I feared my whole head would explode. I tried to swallow again and I found that it was much easier.

When I collected all the oxygen I needed, I straightened my back again, and held my hand over my heart, to test if it didn't go crazy. So far, it didn't. But then my mind wandered over to the boy - who's name I didn't even know - and where he went. Just when I was about to call after him, something sounded ahead of me, and I squeaked. The next think I knew, the cave bathed in a warm yellow light, coming from a little fire in the middle, and I blinked in the sudden brightness.

And there he stood, just beside, looking at it with his hands clenched at his sides, his countenance downbeat. I could see him clearly now; body slim but still muscular, wearing a mostly purple suit that looked like it belonged to an organisation, but what organisation it was I couldn't figure out. I could see clearly how his skin was a bright purple, and how two darker purple, sharp marks was running from his throat up to his cheeks. His eyes still shone brighter than the fire itself.
And then it was the objects around him; capsules and canisters - probably filled with necessary items -, more daggers and long swords, open cans and blankets sprawled across the cold cave floor. I eyed every item scrupulously, all of them leading my mind onto one thought:
He lived here.

"Are you going to run away now?" he asked in a defeated tone, he glanced up at me through his ridiculously long eyelashes, his hands balled into fists. "Now that I've stepped away from you? Are you going to tell King Alfor to get me killed?"

I exhaled again, clutching the fabric over my heart one last time before taking a very careful step forward, eyeing the boy the whole time, to make sure I wasn't doing something he didn't like. He got rigid, but nothing more than that. Maybe my gaze was convincing.

"Of course not..." I mumbled, taking another step forward, until the fire was the only thing in between us. He growled again, as if to prevent me from taking another step forward, but he didn't seem more bothered by my actions than that. "I won't tell him anything. Nothing at all. You're safe here."

He scoffed, his eyebrows wrenched into worry. "I have a hard time believing anything you said. It seems that I'm not as safe as I though here. You found me, after all." He looked at me meticulously. "How?"

"I played hide and seek with my sister", I blurted out. The boy lifted his eyebrow. "I didn't want her to find me so easily, so I crossed the castles borderline."

A very little derisive smile tugged at the corner of his mouth, and the movement must have surprised both of us.

"Hide and seek? Aren't you a little too old to be playing that?" he mocked.

"What's your name?" I spouted, and then I pegged, once again afraid that I was doing something impermissibly.

My words echoed around us, and then the only thing that was heard was the crackling from the fire under us. It was silent on words for what felt like forever but still no time at all, and the boy pinned me with a look so intense I could swear my eyes started to water. I bit my lip and waited for him to do anything, anything at all.

"Keith", he muttered so quietly I was starting to think I heard him wrong. Maybe it was the wind outside. But then he said: "My name is Keith."

"My name is Lance", I couldn't help but to say. His presence seemed to control my speaking function, and I couldn't stop from what was going out of my mouth. Maybe his eyes was just like a fishing rod, reeling my words out.

He made a derided sound from deep in his throat. "I know. You're the prince. Everyone needs to know your name."

I didn't know if I should've been offended by his tone or not, so I settled for nothing. "You don't treat me as a prince, though."

He bared his fangs as he glowered. "What? You want me to kneel before you? Kiss your feet? Praise your greatness?"

Instantly, my hands flew up in a dismissive gesture, and the expeditious movement made him jerk backwards.

"NO! No... I like that you don't treat me as a prince." Wow, the talking was getting out of control. Sooner or later I would come off as completely crazy and Keith would have to kill me anyways. I tried to convince myself that the blush on my face was from the heat from the fire, but the lie was half hearted, even in my head.

"Hm." Keith lowered his gaze to his feet, bringing his hands in front of him to fiddle with them. "I didn't plan on treating you as one, either." He slowly sat down, resting his arms on top of his raised knees. The natural light source illuminated his face, and I could swear he was blushing too.

"Good", I said, and mimicked his gesture, sinking down to the cold surface in an agonizing slow movement that seemed to drag on his patience. He eyed me devotedly and carefully, keeping a wakeful posture, probably ready to attack if I did something unexpected.

When I was seated, he looked at me like he found the fact that I was still here very disturbing. His gaze was vigilant, his demeanor austere. He stapled his hand together in front of him and bore his neon eyes into mine.

"You shouldn't be here. Better go now before your sister gets worried." He looked away again.

I hated that his words were true, and I hated that I hated that they were. But nothing could convince me enough to stand up and depart, and I saw that Keith didn't want to prompt me either.

"No", I said again. "I don't want to go. Allura can search a little bit more. I have questions." I leaned forward, to get more access to look him in the eye. He didn't lift his gaze, though.

"What makes you think I will answer them?" he grouched, tracing the cracks in the cave floor with one of his hands.

That I didn't know. The only think I could do, really, was to hope he would give me answer. But that hope was not very strong to begin with, looking at the whole situation. He had no reason to answer my questions, so why would he?

"What are you doing here... in Altea? Is there more Galras hiding? Are you in an Galra organisation, or something? How long have you've been living here? Is there someone living with you...?"

"Lance", he muttered. "No questions." He played with one of the very many canisters beside him, unlocking and locking the big circle cap on top.

"Just answer one of them! Are you on a mission, or just like a rebel? Are there more Galras on their way here now? Would they kill me?"

"Lance..." he growled again, spinning the cap faster.

My words were revulsive, so the talking didn't stop. "Are they friendly. Maybe if I give them a present they would like me? Are you against or with Zarkon. If you were with him this would be a little awkward, just saying. But I think that you're not. I mean, you seem like a good guy, if you look past the rough edges, and the mullet of course. Is your family here? Will I meet them..."

"LANCE!" Everything happened so fast. The cap plopped open, and he shot his hand forward, the one holding the canister. What was inside spattered out and on to the fire, extinguishing it in less then a second. The darkness overwhelmed me, and flew up, backing slightly back, not sure where Keith went. But then I saw his eyes, too far away for my blue lights to reach him.

"Leave now!" he shouted, more angry than frantic. "You can't be here! Just go!"

My eyes widened, and my jaw hung loose. His roar echoed more in my head than around me, and the walls in my mind trembled. I tried to see something more than his piercing eyes, but I couldn't.

Allura will get worried. That was really the only reason I actually backed away, turned around, and ran out of the cave.

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"Lance!" Allura ran towards me as soon as I appeared from behind the bushes, my platinum hair messy from running, and the little crown laying askew on my forehead. I panted as I neared her, and her eyebrows were wrested in concern. "Where have you been? I searched everywhere for you!"

I tried to smirk, but it felt stern and forceful. "I told you I would hide well. You just missed me, that's all."

She frowned, obviously baffled, trying to remember a place the didn't search for. "What? I could swear that I looked at the usual places..."

"Maybe I was just very good at hiding in different places", I said with a wink.

She still looked muddled as she palmed her forehead, trying to squeeze out ideas of what was going on. Her gaze was disorganized.

"Come on, we need to return before mom and dad notices we're gone." I bended down to pick up my cape, attaching it to my shoulders, running my fingers through my hair to smoothen it down, and fixing the crown on my head, before starting to walk towards the castle. No scratches or bruises, that was good. Not physically, at least, but maybe some inside my head. But nobody would notice that, though.

"Mother and father, Lance", Allura corrected with a sigh behind me, and her footsteps came closer to me.

I bit my lip and sped up my walking, until I was half running. Mother and father, mom and dad; same thing. Stupid prince commissions.

I didn't plan on treating you as one, either. His words were like a painful offer, and I would have taken it, instantly, if it wasn't for how reality was settled.

Alteans and Galras weren't supposed to appear in the same sentence, but still it fit so well in my head.

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Soooo, that was the first chapter, y'all!

I feel like this will be a really fun book to write, and I have already planned out different scenes in my head, and I can't wait to write them down for you to read.

I hope to find you in the next chapter!