Allura gripped my hand tighter when she saw my frown.

"It'll be fine, don't worry so much." Her head tilted to the side as she spoke. I wasn't sure if it was to cheer me up or make the situation seem more harmless. But it didn't help.

"This is dumb." I said giving her a sideways glance.

She huffed pulling me down the hall. "I know."

We were quiet the rest of the walk. We finally arrived at the ship and I stopped a good distance away from it.

Guards threw my few bags inside and double checked the ship for malfunctions. There were a few Galra soldiers walking around as well, they didn't speak to any of our Altean guards but rather exchanged nods.

"I don't want to go." I told Allura.

"I don't want you to go." She faced me with sad expression.

"I don't want to marry Lotor's stupid face." I crossed my arms.

"I'm sorry." Allura gave me a weak smile. "It can't be helped."

I pulled her into a tight hug. Who knows when I'll see my sister again. When I let her go, I quickly turned away ready to leave. If I look back, I may have to be dragged onto the ship.

Three guards, all Galra, approached me and bowed. "Excuse us Prince, But your father has requested you be off." The middle person spoke. He had fluffy ears, purple skin, and was far taller than me.

The one on the left had light skin and short dark hair, with a small white tuft in the front. He looked more similar to Altean than Galran, all he was missing were the marks. His suit was a fairly high ranking; nothing overly impressive. Although he isn't as tall as the middle man, he's still towering over me. The two were extremely muscular and I felt my eyes take a once over their arms.

Then my eyes fell on the boy to the right. He was shorter than I am. His hair is longer and black, but it's pulled back into a loose ponytail. While the boy is not as muscular as the men next to him, he still seemed well fit. He was pale, and like the man to the left, didn't look Galran.

I pursed my lips and cracked a smile. "Better be on my way then. Are you the guards sent to escort me?" I asked, trying to act like the arrangement didn't make me want to shatter windows and break everything in my path.

"Why, yes. Shiro will explain our plan, I must prepare for our departure." He bowed and left.

The man with the tuft of white hair stepped forward and bowed. "That would be me, prince."

"Alright," I smiled, "let's hear it." I felt my stomachs twist as the ships began to run.

"The commander and I are taking two smaller fighter pods to guard your ship. Keith here, will accompany you." He gestured to the guard next to him.

Keith, huh? The name somehow tied him together. The mullet, violet eyes, pale skin; Keith. He bowed and I flashed a weak smile before my eyes flicked away.

"Keith will escort you when you're prepared to leave." Shiro assured bowing out.

I felt chills go up my spine when I was left with Keith. "I promise I'll do everything in my power to safely get you to your fiancé."

I stayed silent and he bowed a final time. His eyes flicked up to see me rub a tear off my cheek. "You should just call him Lotor." I smiled and waved goodbye to my sister. We walked to the ship, Keith following close behind. When we entered, it was empty.

I ran and sat in the twirly pilot chair cracking my knuckles. "What do you say we go to planet Zelos? I heard it's lovely in the autumn." I flashed my usual dashing smile.

Keith smirked, "Not a chance."

I pouted. "Can I at least pilot?"

He gave me a look and I already knew the answer. "Princes shouldn't even know how to fly."

"Well, it's not exactly permitted we learn..." I wrung my hands guiltily.

"Why do I already get the feeling you'll be a handful?" He walked to the panel and began to flip a variety of switches and I surrendered the pilot chair to him.

Keith is like no guard I've had before. He is casually teasing me like a normal person. I leaned on the back of his chair watching as he flew us from the royal hangers.

After a while had passed, I began wandering about the ship. "Prince, would you mind staying where I can keep an eye on you?"

"Oh I see." I gave him a wink and his cheeks flushed. "Not a chance." I smiled walking out of sight.

"Prince!" I heard him call.

I poked my head back into the room. "My name isn't prince." I frowned and left again.

"You're- you- I cant..." he sighed. "Lance."

I walked back into the room. "See? Was that so hard?" I put a hand on my hip and smiled a handsome smile.

Keith rolled his eyes and I folded my arms. "What now? How much longer do we have left?" I asked.

"Seven hours." He said pressing a few buttons.

"Really? It's been like five hours..." I groaned.

"It's been twenty minutes."

"Oh. Well, we should just quit. Eight hours is too long. Let's just go to planet Mongail, it's mostly uninhabited but the weather is lovely. Supposedly the fruit that grows there is super sweet." I pondered on the thought.

Keith didn't respond at first. He stood up and pressed a few more buttons. "Not a chance."

I huffed and stood up. "I thought you had to pilot?"

"The path is clear for the next hour or two. The ship will alert us when I need to go back." He sat down.

"Oh," I sat next to him.

It was quiet a few moments and Keith was doing voltron knows what on a hologram projected from the forearm of his suit.

I shifted.
And shifted.

And shifted.

"Are you Okay?" Keith looked at me annoyed.

"Can I change? I know I'm technically not aloud to be seen in casual attire, but if I have wear this attire for the next eight hours, I will throw myself into space." I pleaded.

He nodded a little surprised.

I took off to a private room and changed. I walked out wearing striped pajamas. They were pants with a matching button up shirt. The floor was cold on my bare feet and I raced back into the room pulling my feet up onto the couch.

I glanced at Keith who was staring at me, he quickly turned away resuming what he was doing earlier and I saw him swallow. "Remember, this is between you and me. I could probably get in a lot of trouble for this." I said pulling at my shirt.

"And by you, you mean me." Keith sighed.

"Not even." I scowled at him.

"The most you would get is a slap on the wrist, isn't that right?" Keith gave me a look that made me want to be sick.

"You... you don't know anything about royals. There's a lot that goes on behind closed doors." I said sinking into the sofa and looked away.

"Like what?" Keith asked a little curious, but skeptical.

I rolled my eyes and folded my arms. "I'm not talking to you about this."

"Fine."

"Fine." I said with attitude.

It was quiet and I bit at my cheek awkwardly. "Want to play a game?"

"Allura and I used to play this all the time." I smile. "So one of us turns around and the other traces a word on the back of them. The person has to guess the word. I'll go first! Turn around!"

Keith sighed and sat criss-cross-applesauce faced away from me. I traced out the word 'mullet' on his back.

"M... milk?" Keith asked.

I laughed out a 'no'.

"M...-?" He thought. "Do it again."

I traced it out again.

"Mu... mull...," then he laughed. "Mullet?"

"Bingo!" I turned around. I heard Keith shift behind me.

This feels different than when Allura and I play. I felt his finger lightly touch my back and slowly begin tracing out letters, giving me goosebumps.

I caught the first letter, 'S'. A few were unidentifiable. 'I'. Then I felt an 'E' and another 'S'. "... stripes?" I asked looking down at my clothes.

"Yeah."

"That was too easy." I turned.

I stared for a moment at Keith's back. His suit was tight and dark. I could see the curve of his back and my finger slowly traced the indent of his spine. "Is... is that even a letter?"

"Oh, sorry, I was thinking of a word." I traced something on his back quickly.

"B... E... two L's... - what? R. T." He muttered.

I chuckled doing it again.

"Bell... i... is that a g?" He asked.

"I don't know, is it?" I said stubbornly.

I did it again and with a little more struggle, he gave up.

"Belligerent." I smiled.

"What? There's no way I would have guessed that." He frowned.

"That's the point." I turned around and sat up straight, flattening out my back. B..., dang I missed a bunch, T..., I missed more, L.

He did it again. B, E, ...., T, ......L.

"Again." I said still not getting it.

"Okay." He chuckled. He began to trace the letters again but we heard a loud metallic band. We both jumped and I leaned back against him. Keith pulled out a knife and stood up.

"What are you gonna do with that? Pick the intruder's teeth?" I stood up with him.

"Relax, it was probably nothing." He said walking to the source. I started to follow, but Keith motioned me to stay put. I frowned as he turned out of sight.

I wrung my hands nervously waiting for him to get back. I sat down on the couch thinking the worst scenarios. I heard some movements from where Keith had gone and I stood up nervously. What if he was fighting to the death right now? What if I was just sitting here while he risked his life to save me.

I stood up to go after him. That's when the collar of my shirt received a sharp yank and I stumbled back. A knife was held close to my throat and a hand held me securely by the shirt over my shoulder; my back against whoever the intruder is and I took a deep breath horrified.

Keith turned the corner, "I didn't see anyth- Lance!" He immediately got in a fighting stance.

"No worries," I glanced down at the knife, "I think I have this situation under control."

Keith didn't seem to find it funny at the moment. Personally, I think I'm hilarious. "What do you want?" Keith asked.

"Money. No less than 10,000." My captor spoke in a low gruff voice. His breath made my nostrils burn.

"Ew, dude." I cringed, "forget the money, you need a Tic Tac."

The knife drew closer and the grip on my shirt tightened.

"Lan- Prince, please cooperate." Keith begged. I could see him swallow nervously.

I rolled my eyes. "Well someone has to tell this poor man that he went through all that effort to sneak onto the ship for nothing."

"What is he talking about?" The man demanded addressing Keith. He shook me a little, but I mostly stood disinterested.

"You see, personally, I don't have any money. It's all under my father. Unfortunately for us both, he doesn't pay ransoms."

"I'm not leaving without my money." He growled. His hand was shaking and the knife was dangerously close to my skin.

"And I'm telling you he won't pay it." I snapped.

Keith watched silently, ready to move at any moment. His fingers opened and closed around the handle of his knife anxiously.

The alarm began to sound for Keith to return to the helm and we all jumped.

"What is that?! Shut it off!" He demanded looking around panicked.

I took the opportunity and ripped down on his arm, dropping my weight to the ground. I was worried he'd grab me by the shirt, but Keith had it covered. His knife formed into a sword and he attacked without mercy.

I flipped around and caught sight of the man. He was tall, older with grey streaked hair, and had a long beard. I now understood why his breath was so terrible. His teeth were yellow, black, and crooked.

Keith tripped stumbling back and landing on his butt. The trespasser pulled out a sword and they clashed together. He was slowly overpowering Keith.

I glanced around for anything of use. I grabbed a very large hard-cover book that I was sure belonged to Keith. The man grew impatient and made sucker shot, landing a blow on Keith. His nose began to bleed and I panicked.

I started a dead sprint and put all my weight into swinging the object into his head. The man fell to the ground limp and I dropped the book surprised. Keith's head fell back in relief and I wasn't entirely sure he didn't go unconscious.

The alarm sounded again and I ran, nearly falling into the pilot chair. I began flipping switches and I gripped the helm tightly. Ahead was an astroid, roughly a mile in diameter. I ripped at the helm and the ship began to lean. There was an incoming call from both Shiro and the commander, but I declined them. The astroid was finally no longer a threat and I began to redirect the ship to its original course.

I glanced back and put the ship on autopilot. Still in my striped pajamas. I used every last bit of my strength to drag the intruder to a closet. I cleared it out and drug him in, locking it from the outside. My job wasn't over yet.

I leaned down next to Keith. I slipped my arms under him and attempted to lift him. When it was clear that wasn't going to work, I drug him to the couch by his leg and pushed him up onto it. I sat for a moment trying to catch my breath.
(All this just reminds me of tangled)

His sword laid on the ground and when I picked it up it formed back into a knife. I marveled at it for a moment before setting it next to Keith.

Blood was smeared across his cheek and I grimaced running to the bathroom. I found a pearl white towel and dampened it with warm water. I got back and wiped his face gently.

Another incoming call from Shiro and the commander. I checked that Keith would be out of view and answered it.

"Prince Lance." They bowed looking both confused and like I had a booger hanging from my nose. That's when I looked down and realized I was in my pajamas.

"Gragh!! Don't look!" I quickly hung up. I ran and changed back into my formal clothes (mostly).

I called them and straightened out my clothes when they answered. Shiro cleared his throat embarrassedly.

"Excuse us, but we had a minor situation." I said trying to pretend that never happened.

"Situation? Where's Keith?" Shiro asked.

"Well there was an intruder on the ship, but Keith handled it. He's locked in a closet at the moment, and Keith went to clean the blood off his face. I told him he should not have blood on him in the presence of a prince." I tried to act a little snobbish to sell the story.

"Well thank you Prince. We greatly apologize and we promise it will not happen again." They bowed. I hung up a let out a breath. I looked down at my clothes. I was wearing my formal shirt, but I was still wearing my pajama pants. It was out of range on the camera so I got away with it.

"Thanks." I heard Keith say behind me.

I whirled around to see he was sitting on the couch. He gripped his head sorely.

"You should probably lay back down." I said walking over and sitting on the end.

"No, the alarm-"

"Was taken care of." I flashed a smile assuringly.

"But who... you wouldn't know..." he looked at me confused.

"I told you we're not permitted to learn. That doesn't mean I didn't in secret."

A smile spread across his lips and it must have been contagious because one formed on mine too.

Then he began to laugh. "What?" I asked, "What's so funny?"

"Look at you," he began to laugh again.

I pouted looking down at my outfit combination.

"Oh, and when you realized you answered the call in you pajamas!" He was holding his stomach nearly falling off the couch.

I folded my arms and scowled at him.

"You looked so surprised when you hit the guy in the head with a book." Keith was calming down now.

"I didn't think it would knock him out." I defended. "Stun him, maybe!"

"You hit him really hard, and in the back of the head nonetheless."

"I think the book did most of the work." I pointed out.

"No, you had fury in your eyes. If I didn't know he was your intended target, I might've been scared myself." Keith said.

I rolled my eyes. "As if."

"No, really."

I scrunched up my face and stood up. "I just thought you needed a little help. Since you fell on your butt and all."

Keith sent a playful glare, "It was all a part of my plan."

"Oh really?" I smiled at him skeptically.

"Yup," he leaned back, "fall on my butt, you hit him in the head and knock him out. All planned."

"Oh, I see." I nodded. I grabbed my pajama shirt and slipped off the one I was wearing.

Keith glanced away with red cheeks. "Is something wrong?" I teased.

"Uh, no." He cleared his throat and glanced up at me. But his eyes locked onto my skin and his eyebrows knit together with concern. "What happened?"

I pulled my pajama shirt over my arms and began to button it up. Slowly the bruises and marks disappeared under the fabric. "All many long stories."

Keith glanced at his watch. "Is five hours enough?"

I flashed a half smile. "Okay," I sat down, "they're what goes on behind closed doors." I stood up and put my hands on my hips smiling. "Huh, guess it wasn't as long as I thought."

Keith didn't seem satisfied with my explanation. "Who?"

"Who what?"

"Who did it?" He asked, his jaw shifting angrily.

"Eh, my dad, tutors," I looked away for a moment, "probably soon to be Lotor."

Keith's face hardened. He stood up and walked to the helm without a word.

"Keith? What are you doing?" I asked a little more serious now.

"Getting you out of here." He said not breaking eye contact from what he was doing.

I rushed up to him and watched him flip switches and press at buttons. "Keith, I'm sorry, it doesn't work like that."

"Yes it does." He argued.

He reached out to continue but I put my hand over his. "It's fine Keith. I have an obligation to my fathers kingdom. I was born into a responsibility that I should fulfill."

"You don't owe those people anything." He was facing me now.

I pursed my lips and glanced down at his hand. I took it in my own and smiled. "Three hours."

"What?" He said a little confused.

"You've known me for three hours and you're willing to throw your life away to help me." I pulled him into a hug. "Thank you. But I really do have to do this."

It was silent in the ship for a long time. Keith was no longer intent on hiding me away on a rural planet and was now sitting and reading.

"Beautiful." I said abruptly.

"What?" He looked up.

"The word you chose, it was beautiful." I said.

"Yeah," he smiled. "I forgot about that."

"How long is left?" I asked.

"Three hours."

I yawned tiredly and leaned my head on his shoulder. I felt his body go rigid at my gesture before slowly relaxing. I dozed off a few times, my head sliding off his shoulder.

"Here." Keith said and turned. His body was in the corner of the couch but he was leaned back. I scooter closer and laid down, resting my head on his chest.

The alarm went off and I sat up startled. I wanted to lay back down but Keith was already up. I frowned at him and he chuckled.

"Sorry." He said steering the ship. A few moments later he was sitting on the couch again. "We have thirty more minutes."

My stomach turned and I suddenly thought I might throw up.

"Are you okay?" He asked.

"Peachy..." I said under my breath pulling my feet up onto the couch and tucking them under me.

He was silent for a moment and I stared at the ground fiddling with my hands. "I heard planet Zelos is lovely in the autumn." He suggested.

I smiled and scooted closer to Keith, laying my head on his shoulder. He craned his head to look at me and I returned his gaze exhaustedly.

Keith's lips are thin, pink, and rough looking. I realized I was staring at his lips and my eyes darted back to his. We both began to lean forward, our minds blank. They're so close... almost...-

'Incoming Call'

We jolted back in surprise and Keith quickly stood clearing his throat. I couldn't help but feel disappointed.

Keith answered the call and Shiro and the Commander appeared on the screen.

"Prepare to land. We have ten minutes and I fully intend we arrive on schedule." The commander ordered.

His face disappeared from the screen but Shiro remained. "Are you alright? You look flush."

"Uh, Yeah I'm fine." Keith panicked.

I stood up and sat closer to the panel without appearing on screen.

"Have you had any trouble?" Keith asked changing the subject.

I propped my elbow up on the panel and rested my cheek on my fist watching him.

"No, not really. There was a small pod a few delemets away, but when I tracked it down, it was just a few people passing by. They didn't have a clue." Shiro sighed.

"Well, beside the one intruder, we've been clear."

"Nice job with that by the way." Shiro smiled brightly.

"No, not nice. Lance was just being nice. I let my guard down and got us into the mess." Keith huffed.

I frowned. "That's not true!"

"Oh! Prince! I'm sorry I didn't see you." Shiro bowed quickly.

"That's okay, you don't have to do that." I tried to assure. That didn't stop him.

"Keith, please be more alert. Your protecting a prince." Shiro instructed sternly.

I looked down at the ground a little upset. Of course my presence changes everything. People can't even talk to one another if I'm around.

"Uhm, Prince." Shiro wouldn't look at the screen and I looked down letting out a dramatic sigh.

"What's the big deal about seeing a prince in his pajamas? It wouldn't matter if I wasn't a royal!" I huffed mostly ranting to myself.

Shiro had wide eyes, surprised by my outburst. Keith pursed his lips awkwardly. I looked like a raving lunatic!

"Um, I mean. My apologies for my informal attire. It's incredibly disrespectful of me and I will exit immediately." I sat on the couch out of view.

I felt the couch sink next to me and I looked up to catch Keith's sympathetic smile. He'd hung up the call because I ruined it. "Sorry." I muttered.

"For what?" He looked confused.

"You were talking with him- I ruined it." I pulled my legs up onto the couch sitting criss-cross-apple-sauce.

"You didn't ruin anything. He's my brother, I'll always have time to talk to him." Keith smiled.

"Oh my gosh, he's your brother?!" I jumped up.

"Yeah...? What's the big deal?" Keith tilted his head to the side.

My head fell into my hands. "I totally embarrassed myself in front of him."

"I don't think Shiro really cares ab-" Keith began chuckling.

"No, he's your brother! I want to have a good first impression! I totally screwed up the first, like..., five impressions!" I groaned plopping back down next to Keith.

"I don't see why you need my brothers approval." He laughed. "I know you're good company and a good person. Besides, I'm sure Shiro knows that too."

I frowned. "You don't get it."

"Don't get what?" Keith asked.

I didn't respond. Instead, I just rested my head on Keith's shoulder.

We sat like this for a while before Keith broke the silence. "I need to land the ship."

I lifted my head and he stood up reluctantly. As he began to walk away, I grabbed his wrist. "I don't want to do this. I changed my mind." I couldn't help but feel a painful twisting sensation in my stomach and my eyes began to pool with salty tears.

Keith looked speechless. His jaw opened and closed looking for words.

"What am I thinking?" I laughed swiping away at them. I sniffled and let go of Keith's arm.

Keith didn't move after I let him go. Instead, he knelt down and pulled me into a hug.

"Keith..." I said quietly. He let me go and our faces were extremely close. I could kiss him. I want to. I leaned forward and Keith almost seemed entranced following with me. He put his hand on my cheek caressing it with his thumb, then leaned forward and his lips pressed against mine.

It was awkward at first. The more we relaxed, the better it became. I expected his lips to be rough, but they were surprisingly soft. Keith moved his jaw and my stomach did flip flops at the feeling.

I wanted to protest when he pulled away, but I remembered the ship needed to be steered. Our eyes were locked and I smiled.

"You're really good at that." I said dazed.

"So are you." His lips curled at the corners, unable to contain his smile.

I followed him to the panels and he nearly sat down before looking at me. "Wanna fly?"

I jumped with excitement as I quickly plopped down on the chair. I giddily began to press at buttons and flip switches preparing to land. As I was steering, Keith's hand rested on my shoulder and I could feel myself leaning into it.

My happy feeling subsided when the ship finally landed in the hangers of the Galran ship. "C'mon, we should probably go outside." Keith's hand slid off my shoulder.

I reluctantly stood up dragging my weight to change quickly in the bathroom. When I walked out, Keith was waiting for me and two new guards were carrying my bags out. I paused watching them exit so it was just Keith and I.

My eyes stung and I wrapped my arms around him tightly. "Are you going to continue being my guard?"

I felt Keith's hand on the back of my head, the other resting on my back, "I don't know. I'm sure I'm receiving my orders soon."

"If...," I pulled away to look at him, "if you aren't, please don't go away."

"What?" Keith raised a hand cupping my cheek. I leaned into it and felt his thumb graze my cheekbone. When I didn't say anything else, he nodded. "I won't."

I pulled him into another embrace quickly, it ending as soon as I did it. I was about to leave but he gently grabbed my wrist. I turned around and Keith pulled me into a kiss.

We heard the ship door and quickly separated. In walked Shiro. "Prince." He bowed greeting me. "Lotor requests your presence immediately."

"Oh, um, thank... thank you." I said pursing my lips. "Thank you again for ensuring my safe trip here as well." I started off the ship, Keith and Shiro following close behind.

When I exited, there was a line up of 10 soldiers all standing in formation with their fists on their chests. I was led by them to the throne room. Upon entering, the room was excessively large and open. At the back of the room were two large thrones elevated from the rest of the floor. Sitting in the larger of the two chairs was a man; tall, Galran, and he had longer white hair.

I took a deep breath and bowed. "Lotor."