I started this a while back (as in two years ago) and I'm finally going to try and get back to it. I'm thinking that this is going to have 9 pts (??). but we'll see how far I actually get.

Lethologica
Eth·o·log·i·ca
/ˌlēTHəˈläjəkə/
      (n.) the inability to remember a particular word or name.

She woke with a start. Her whole body ached, as if she had just ran a marathon, but she paid her aches no attention, only letting out a couple grunts and hisses of pain. She had more important things to worry about. She looked around the brightly lit room. Immediately recognizing the room as the castle's med bay. She suddenly realized how strange it was that she lay on the examination table instead of on the floor next to a pod where she should have been. She had no recollection of falling out of the pod. She was sure if she had she would remember having come out of a pod she knew it wasn't a feeling you didn't just forget.

She felt light headed as her feet touched the floor. She gripped the table she had just been on for support. She closed her eyes as she waited for the feeling to pass like she knew it would. Eventually the feeling did pass but she still leaned on the table for support. Her legs ached and she wasn't sure if she could walk just yet. Just exactly what had happened to leave her feeling as if she had been crammed in a tiny box for a couple Vargas?

After stretching her legs for a couple doboshes she felt like she might be able to walk. She began to make her way out of the med bay. She wandered the halls of the castle, not really sure what she was looking for or who she was looking for. Originally she thought she'd just go to the lounge and see if anyone was there but as she stepped outside the med bay something made her think otherwise. Then she thought that she'd go to the bridge, Pidge was always there and if not Pidge the maybe Coran would be, but, again, something told her not to go. She thought of many other places she could go but still none of them seemed like the place she needed to go. So she wandered the hall hoping she would happen upon where she was supposed to go.

She walked for a while but she was having no luck finding where she was supposed to go. Maybe she should have just waited for one of the paladins to come and check on her or maybe she should have just gone to the lounge or the bridge like she had originally thought. Allura let out a heavy sigh as she thought about how stupid it was of her to be wandering the halls when clearly she had gotten into some kind of trouble. The paladins were probably worried about her and trying to figure out where she was.

With another sigh she began to turn around but stopped when a door caught her eye. The door was just like every other but... She turned so her body was facing the door. She stared at it for a long time, almost expecting it to disappear. When it didn't disappear, she stepped forward, hesitantly, she raised her hand. She rested her hand on the cold metal of the door. Nothing felt strange about the door but she knew that something was supposed to be strange about it, because...

"This wasn't here before..."

Her voice echoed through the empty hallway. How had this door gotten here? Allura knew these halls. She knew where every door was and where they led to but this one... She had never seen this one before. She'd lived here her whole life and never ever had she seen this door. Never when she walked through the castle late at night, mourning the loss of Altea, had she seen this door, but it felt so right there. Like it had always been there. There was a welcoming feeling that radiated off the door as if the moment she opened it all her problems would disappear.

She stood there a while, her hand still resting on the cool metal of the door, debating whether or not she should open it. She desperately wanted to know what was inside, to know what was giving off such a welcoming feeling but something inside of her, something deep within her, told her not to open the door. That the door was dangerous that the feeling was just there to trick her, to lure her in. The part of her came from all her years fighting the Galra, learning how manipulative they could be and how they always seemed to know how to fool you straight into their hands.

In the end she didn't open the door. She knew she was just being paranoid but she decided she could always come back and open the door another time, it wasn't like it was going to disappear, it was just a piece of metal after all. Plus, the castle was huge. She had probably just forgotten about this room because she didn't use it often. She also knew that she had been gone too long and that everyone was probably worried about her. She didn't want to worry them any longer and she wanted to know what had happened, what she couldn't remember.

As she made her way to the lounge she couldn't help but think about the door. Just thinking about it made her heart fill with warmth. Just what was it that made that door so appealing to her? And why couldn't she remember ever seeing that door before?! The idea that maybe she had been out longer than she thought and things had been added to the castle crossed her mind but she decided that wasn't possible. She had, afterall, been lying on an examination floor and had most certainly not come out of a cryopod.

Soon enough she had made it to the lounge and didn't have any more time to think about the door before being bombarded with concerned questions. Something about the way the paladins talked to her in such a concerned tone made her sad, but she didn't know why.

"Paladins... please calm down, I would like to know what happened." Allura stated, her throat felt scratchy and raw.

All the paladin's mouths instantly shut at the request of the princess. Pidge was the first to speak.

"You mean... you don't remember?' Pidge sounded upset and let out a grumble of complaint as Allura looked on in confusion.

Coran, Allura's royal adviser and one of the only Altea's left, twirled his gorgeous mustache in between his fingers whilst his other arm lay lazily behind him. Raising one white finger, having been wearing gloves, like always, Coran began to speak in a knowledgeable tone.

"Perhaps the shock from events that have taken place have led to a momentary forgetfulness of said event!" Coran's voice was light and bubbly like it always seemed to be. Ever since Allura was little Coran had talked like this and as she grew she learned to feel comforted just by his voice.

"I shall perform a number of tests to determine the cause of your forgetfulness and if it can be cured!"." Coran's back straightened as his other arm shot backwards and joined his other arm behind his back.

Coran led Allura back to the med bay, where he asked her to sit on the table she had woken up on. Allura sat on the table and watched as Coran flittered throughout the room, picking things up as he went. Coran looked so at home in the med bay. He seemed to know where everything was and what everything was even though there seemed to be thousands of strange bits 'n bobs that Allura could never tell apart. Allura always loved to watch Coran move about the med bay. The way he moved without hesitation and handled everything within the med bay with practiced ease. But something about the way Coran moved seemed wrong. Alluras heart felt heavy as he watched Coran move. He looked so... alone. Like there should have been someone next to him. Helping him find what he was looking for all the while chatting in content tones about this and that. She almost thought she could see the shadow of this person. The relaxed way they would walk, the excited tone in which they would talk, and the warm smile that would be on there face.

"Princess? Are you okay?" Allura startled at Shiro's voice.

Allura looked away from Coran to Shiro, there resident black paladian and leader. Allura always has an immense feeling of respect for Shiro and the way he was able to handle his duties as leader of the paladins despite being thrust into the position unceremoniously. He had seemed a little unsure of himself the first few movements but he had slowly become more confident and had become the epitome of an amazing leader. It always seemed to Allura like Shiro was made for the position. He seemed to always be calm and in control of a situation no matter how strange and unusual it was. She was proud of his growth. Thinking of the way he was when they had first met the day she had woken from the cryopod after 10,000 years of sleep. Something about the memory made that feeling of wrongness return, like she had forgotten something important in her remembrance of the moment she had first met the paladins.

"Allura?" Shiro placed a hand on Allura's shoulder, "Are you with me? You spaced out for a second there?"

Allura nodded her head, half committing to a smile before dropping it entirely. "I'm fine, sorry. Just feeling a little... out of it." Shiro nodded his head with a reassuring smile.

"Of course. I get what it's like to have no idea how you got somewhere." The two shared a sad smile before Coran reappeared with a handful of supplies. Coran chipperly stated, "Now! Let's get started!"

Coran took a small screen and held it up to Alluras head. He pressed a button and proceeded to scan her from head to toe. Images started to pop up on his side of his screen where he considered each carefully, looking for any abnormalities. Pidge stood on her tiptoes trying to catch glimpses of what was coming up on the screen. Hunk stood behind here, scanning the screen.

"Whoa! It's like a tiny MRI!" Hunk exclaimed, glancing excitedly at Pidge.

"I'm not sure what this 'MRI' is but this machine scans a person and provides the user with information of the internal conditions of who has been scanned! It is quite a useful little thing." Coran happily provides.

"That is definitely a tiny MRI." Pidge states, pushing up there glasses, leaning onto Hunk.

Coran finished his examination of the screen and provides cheerfully, "There seems to be nothing wrong! Everything looks normal internally." Coran picks up a small device that he places on the inside of Alluras arm, right before the inner elbow. A number pops up on the screen of the device, "It seems as though your blood pressure is normal." Coran takes the device off of Alluras arm before adding, "It looks like you are completely healthy! It seems as though whatever is affecting your memory has no physical effects on your body."

Allura nods, "So, what exactly happened?"

The paladins look at eachother, trying to decide where to start, and who should start. Eventually Shiro begins to talk. "Well, we were hoping you would tell us." There was a moment of confused silence before Allura began, "What?"

"Well it seems like you are not the only one with momentary forgetfulness. It seems as though everyone within the castle has forgotten!" Coran explains, impossible chipper.

"Everyone?" Allura asks. "Everyone," Coran replies.

"But... How?" Allura questions.

"We're not entirely sure but we think it has something to do with the mission we were on." Shiro starts.

"Yes! We believe that you guys may have had a run in with Hagrid" Coran continues. Allura shivers involuntarily at the mention of the witch, half glad she couldn't remember the run in with her, if that is what had happened.

"We think that we may have discovered some plans she hadn't wanted us to know about so she cast some spell or something to make us forget what we saw." Keith states with a scowl, his arms folded tightly over his chest.

"And, I'm afraid that whichever spell she has cast is affecting me too." Coran adds. Allura shakes her head.

"Is there any way to reverse the effects? Anything that Hagrid is planning needs to be stopped and we'll need all the advantages we can get." Allura questions, already thinking of possible plans Hagrid could have been making and how they could stop them.

Coran shakes his head, "I'm afraid that without knowing what spell has been cast there's not much we can do."

Allura accepts this sourly. "Okay. We need to check and see if there is any possible way that Hagrid has any control over us." Coran smiles, "Considering you are even able to consider the possibility that Hagrid has control over you would suggest that she does not, in fact, have such control, but I will check nevertheless." Coran wanders off to find another device.

"Um, how exactly do you check for little Hagrids in your head?" Hunk questions, pointing at his head.

"With this my boy!" Hunk jumps at Corans sudden appearance next to him, placing a hand over his heart. Coran brandishes a helmet like device. "This will scan for any strange or dark quintessence like that of Hagrids inside your body! Spells such as mind control leave little pieces of the casters quintessence within the afflicted." Coran explains before quickly placing the helmet on Pidges head, earning an enraged squeak from said gremlin. "It works like so," Coran presses a button and the helmet starts to glow and make noises until it looks like Pidge is being picked up by a mini UFO. The noises stop and charts start to appear on Corans tablet.

"It seems as though number 4 is clean of any unwanted quintessence!" Coran takes the helmet off of Pidge. Pidge hisses at Coran and swats at his retreating hands, Coran making no signs that he has noticed Pidges antics. He reaches towards Hunk. Hunk glances at the helmet and then Pidge nervously before allowing Coran to place it on his head. Coran repeats the process with each of the paladins along with himself and Allura, all the results come back negative.

"It seems as though none of us have any unwanted people in our heads!"

"Phew! That's a relief! I don't know what I would do if I had a little evil voice in my head!" Hunk replies, shivering slightly at that thought of having someone in his head.

"Yeah, she'd probably make you wear those weird robe things." Pidge replies. Hunk makes a face at that.

"It seems that the only thing we can do is be extra vigilant. We'll keep an eye out for any hints at a plan but other than that there's not much we can do." Shiro states. Allura nods her head.

"I'll try and find a way to reverse whatever spell the witch has cast," Allura spits the word witch out with venom. "But for now all we can do is do what we always do. Protect the people." The paladins nod at the Princesses words. Everyone slowly starts to go there own way, all of them sweaty and sore from the mission they don't even remember being on. Allura chats ideally with Coran for a few dobashes before making her way to her own room, ready for a hot bath.

Allura takes her time. She lets the warm water run over her sore muscles as she lets her hair soak in her favorite shampoo. When Allura finally gets out it's almost been a varga. She gets dressed in one of her comfortable nightgowns and puts her hair into a braid. She's about to get into the bed when she catches a glimpse of her braid in the mirror. She had never been as good as her mother at braiding her hair and her brain was sloppy and loose in places. Seeing the braid started that feeling in her chest again along with the first sparks of anger. What could possibly be wrong with her braid!? She has braided her hair exactly like this ever since the first night out of the cryopod and she had never gotten this feeling before. Something about that rang false for her though. But it was right, she knew it was right. She had to braid her hair like this, herself, ever since she woke up, because her mother was no longer there to do it for her. Allura yanked that tie out of her hair and furiously started to unbraid her hair. She threw herself on her bed but she was no longer tired. She was just angry and sad.

She pushed herself off her bed, knowing she would never fall asleep feeling like this. She hoped a walk around the castle would help to calm her down, get her tired. She wandered the familiar halls aimlessly, trying not to think of anything. She passes familiar door after familiar door, remembering fond memories from the time before Zarkon. She remembered running through these halls playing hide and seek with all the other children. Running between the legs of the adults, giggling as she and her friends played. She remembered walking these halls with her parents just talking. Tears start to stream down her face as she thinks of all the people that used to fill the castle and how alive it used to be.

She slides her way down the wall and to the floor, her face in her hands. She curls into herself as she cries, mourning everything she lost. Her chest heaves with silent sobs as the memories over take her. She thinks she can cry forever but eventually her tears dry out and all that's left is a hollow feeling. She leans her head back, turning her check to the metal, relishing in the cool feeling of metal on her hot face. She sits like that for a few dobashes, her eyes closed and breathing slow. She's starting to get cold, the cool of the metal easily going through her thin nightdress. She opens her eyes hesitantly and starts to get up, not wanting to fall asleep on the hard cold floor.

She shivers as she makes her way to her feet. She looks around the hallway, trying to figure out where she has wandered to. She recognizes the hallway and starts to make her way to her room when she notices the door from earlier. She freezes, staring at the door. She's exhausted from crying and that warm feeling starts to come back, same as last time. She hesitantly heads to the door. Her fingers hover over the keypad beside the door. She momentarily considers just locking the door and walking away but she's not sure when she'll have the chance to come back here. She knows that things are going to start getting busy as they actively try to search for Hagraid. She decides it's better to just open the door now and if it happens to be a trap set by Hagraid then at least they know about it now. Better sooner than later.

Even after deciding that she's going to open the door she still just stands there for a minute, looking at the door, thinking of what could possibly be waiting behind it. She shakes her head before she pushes the button to open the door. The door opens with a swish. She expects the room to be dark when the door opens but instead she is greeted with a scattering of glowing stars. She reaches for the lights and they flash on. The room is a simple sleeping chamber, but the walls are scattered with cut out stars. She also notes a number of drawings of people, plants, and landscapes from various planets. She notices a little desk in the corner of the room that has a scattering of papers and various colored pencils across its top. She's too far away to see what's on the papers but she assumes it's more of the same drawings that are on the walls. A small self has been pushed to the wall on the desk, holding multiple books and notebooks. She starts to make her way to the desk but out of the corner of her eyes she sees a bright swash of color. She turns her head to the bed, tucked neatly into the wall. Folded neatly on the end of the bed is a knitted blanket. She changes course and heads to the bed. The blanket is a mix of different blues and seems to have been knitted. She reaches her hand to the blanket. It's very soft. She moves to pick it up and is surprised by how heavy it is.

She stares at the blanket for a while before making the decision to throw it around her shoulders. She's still cold from the hallway. The blanket is warm and soft and the extra weight of it is comforting. She glances about the room, contemplating searching for more of it, but ultimately decides that she's too tired to do anymore. She heads to the door, blanket still wrapped around her shoulders and eyes heavy. By the time she makes it to her room she's barely awake and as soon as her head hits the pillow she's out, clutching the blue blanket to her chest.

3617 words (not including boldened and underlined words)

This probably dosen't seem intesting by itself but I think that once I start with the other parts it'll start to make more sense (hopefully).

Do any of you guys have any guesses as to what you think this fic could be about?

Also, which paladians (or Coran) POV should I do next?

Anyways, I hope you have a wonderful morning, afternoon, or night and until next time you beautiful beans!

Bye!

-Dec. 02, 2023