voltron-fanfiction

[voltron-fanfiction]

Hercules!Klance AU: Chapter 3

Read Ch. 1 Here!

Hunk flew Lance to a murky island compiled of rock outcrops and large pine forests. Fog shrouded the surrounding sea, making the island appear spookier than it actually was. However, Hunk didn’t quite understand this.

“Oh man,” he murmured as they circled the island a few times. “I’ve got a bad feeling about this. It does not look safe down there. Are we sure this is the right island?”

Lance stared at him incredulously. “I have no clue. You’re the one who brought us here! Let’s just touch down and look around a bit.” Hunk did so grudgingly, startling a couple of goats as they landed.

The fog was present there too, making it difficult to see more than a few feet ahead. As Lance and Hunk proceeded, two giant objects appeared on either side of them. When they got closer, Lance realized they were marble feet atop two pillars. The ankles looked like they had been broken off, leading Lance to believe a much larger, more complete statue had once stood here.

The farther they walked, the path steadily wound into a forest, but before they were completely encompassed by trees, a goat jumped out of the brush, scaring both Lance and Hunk. The former followed the path the goat took only to see it end where a giant statue of a head lay. The large blank eyes seemed to stare at Lance, sending a shiver down his spine.

“Hunk,” he said, turning to his friend. “I’m starting to think this might not be the right place.”

“I knew it, I knew it, I knew it,” Hunk grumbled. “Let’s just get out of here before something tries to eat us.”

But at that moment, Lance heard rustling from a nearby bush. Cautiously, he stepped forward, ignoring Hunk’s warnings, and peered through the foliage.

In front of him was a clearing, and to his surprise, the space was occupied by three nymphs! Lance’s lip quirked up at the corner as he stared at the beautiful creatures, but he got distracted when he heard the rustling noise again.

He followed the source of the sound to see a pair of goat legs sticking out from underneath the bush he was standing next to. Figuring it was one of the wild goats that roamed the island, Lance decided to help.

“What’s the matter, little guy?” Lance asked the goat legs. “You stuck?” Then with a swift motion, he pulled the goat out of the bushes. But instead of having a goat head…

“Hey!”

The goat smacked Lance with something, startling him. It took a moment for Lance’s vision to clear up, but it was then he noticed that the goat legs were connected to a human girl.

A very angry girl was staring at him, her wild hair filled with leaves and twigs, glasses sitting askew on her nose, and a book clutched in her hand. By the way Lance’s nose throbbed, he assumed that that was what he had been hit with. An intricately woven vest covered her torso, but her legs… Well, they were goat’s legs.

Their ruckus in the bushes had alerted the nymphs and they suddenly scattered, taking off in different directions.

“No, no, no! Come back!” the goat girl shouted, taking off after the nymphs. However, anytime she got close to one, they turned back into their natural forms. When the last one had transformed back into a tree, the girl turned angrily to Lance.

“Thanks a lot,” she grumbled. “I’ve been trying to study those nymphs for months for my records, and they were finally cooperating, until your blundering decided to scare them off!” The girl flipped open her book, pulled a pencil from the pages, and made a couple of notes.

It was then she noticed Lance and Hunk staring at her, mouth’s agape. “What?” she said, raising an eyebrow. “Have neither of you seen a satyr before?”

“Uh… No,” Lance replied, snapping out of his reverie. “Is there any way you can help us?”

“After the way you helped me? Depends on what it is?”

Lance took the opportunity. “We’re looking for someone called Katie Holt. Do you know where we could find her?”

The satyr sighed and rolled her eyes. “Don’t call me that. Call me Pidge.”

Lance’s eyes widened. “You’re her?! I’m so glad to meet you! I’m Lance, and this is Hunk!” In his excitement, he grabbed her hand to shake, but did so a little too vigorously. He loosened his grip when she cried out in pain.

Hunk waved from the sidelines as Pidge eyed the two that had basically just shown up on her doorstep. She pulled out her journal and jotted down a few notes. As she wrote, she began to walk towards the statue head. It was then that Lance noticed the door at the base of it.

Hunk and Lance followed the satyr, the latter speaking as they went, “I need your help. I want to become a hero. A true hero.”

Pidge glanced up from her notes for a moment to raise an eyebrow at the boy, but then turned her attention back to her notes. “Sorry,” she said, nonchalantly, “But I can’t help you.”

And that was all she said before she stepped inside and slammed the door shut to her statue home.

Lance, flabbergasted, shouted, “Wait!” and reached for the door, intending to pull it back open. However, his strength got away from him again, and he wound up pulling the door straight off its hinges. But the worst part was that Pidge was still holding on to the other handle, so Lance was just holding her and her door up in the air.

When Lance realized what he’d done, he cringed. “Sorry,” he apologized, but Pidge just shot him an annoyed look, dropped down, and began to walk inside again. Lance and Hunk followed.

“Why can’t you help me?” Lance asked.

“I’m retired. I don’t train heroes anymore,” she replied, taking the door from Lance and propping it back where it used to be.

As she did this, Lance continued to speak, “Look, I’ve got to do this. Haven’t you ever had a dream? Something you wanted so bad you’d do anything?”

This made Pidge pause and turn. She sighed, “Come inside. I want to show you something.”

Hunk and Lance followed her into her home. Inside the statue’s head, the ceiling arched high overhead. Heroic memorabilia lined the walls and were scattered across the floor. But one mighty figure appeared on almost every piece.

“Hey, who is this guy?” Lance asked, inspecting one of the vases closer.

Pidge glanced back at him and sighed, “That’s my brother, Matt Holt.”

Lance’s head shot up his eyes wide, but it was Hunk who spoke, “Matt Holt? Your brother is the Matt Holt? Like the famous hero?”

Pidge nodded, picking up a small, hand-painted portrait and gazed at it. “I taught him everything he knew about being a hero. He was unbeatable, no one had ever been able to take him down.  He never made mistakes. But the one time he did…”

She broke off, voice choking up, but she quickly regained her composure and continued, “Lotor claimed him for the Underworld. I trained countless heroes after Matt, all because they promised me they would grow strong enough to bring my brother back from the Underworld. And each one failed. That was my dream. To train the greatest hero there ever was that could save my brother and bring him back to me.”

She set the photo back down and sighed, “But dreams are for rookies. A girl can only take so much disappointment.”

Lance felt pity pull at his chest for the satyr, but he knew in his heart that this was his only chance. “But I’m different from those other heroes, Pidge!” he reasoned. “Come on, I wanna show you something.”

He grabbed Pidge’s arm and herded her back outside, with Hunk following. As he dragged her, Pidge grumbled, “You sure don’t give up, do you?”

Once they were outside, Lance scanned the horizon. His eyes locked on the hand of the broken statue laying a few feet away. He dragged Pidge over to the structure where he finally let go. “Watch this,” he said. Then with his godlike strength, he lifted the hand, spun around a few times to gain momentum, then launched the hand out over the sea. It flew in a perfect arc, until it vanished from sight.

When Lance turned back to Pidge her eyes were wide. “Holy Allura,” she whispered. For a second, her face seemed hopeful, but she quickly snapped out of it and shook her head. She began to march away, muttering to herself, “I’ve done this too many times to get mixed up in this stuff again.”

Lance matched her pace as she watched, still trying to capture her attention. “But if I don’t become a true hero, I’ll never be able to rejoin my father, Shiro.”

This made Pidge stop and raise an eyebrow. “Hold it!” she said. “Shiro is your father?” When Lance nodded vigorously, she broke into uncontrollable laughter. Lance got the lurking suspicion that she didn’t believe him.

“It’s the truth!” he tried to explain, but Pidge was laughing too hard to really listen.

Once she had calmed down, she wiped the tears from her eyes. “Look, I told you. I’m done training heroes. I’ve suffered too many disappointments to go through it again. So for the last time…”

A great flash of lightning and a boom of thunder interrupted Pidge’s sentence. The sound was so loud, it quite literally rocked the whole island, and the flash was so bright that everything turned white for a split second. Once it was over, Lance felt a wide grin spread across his face at Pidge’s startled and awestruck expression.

He laughed, “You heard my dad. So when do we start?”

——————————————————————————————

Pidge’s training regime was tough, and Lance wasn’t making it any easier for either of them. On his first couple of tries, he was clumsy, uncoordinated, and still not in control of his powers.

But he had enthusiasm, and he never gave up, which is what inspired Pidge to keep training him. But she had a set of rules she expected Lance to follow when it came to being a hero.

“Rule number six,” she shouted as Lance ran towards a burning dummy, “When rescuing a damsel, always handle with care!” Yet somehow, he still managed to rip her arm off.

During another session, while Lance was throwing swords at targets, Pidge explained, “Rule number 95, concentrate!” But when Lance threw the swords and one implanted itself in the tree right above Pidge’s head, she yelled in a panicky voice, “Rule number 96, aim!”

But still he persevered, and it wasn’t long before he could handle any challenge that Pidge threw at him. And during Pidge’s final obstacle course, he performed admirably, getting past every obstacle, and even saving the dummy damsel one final time.

Once he was finished, he whooped in celebration, jumping up in the air and high-fiving Hunk who had stayed with him through the whole training process. “Did you see that?” he shouted, his excitement getting to him. “Next stop, Olympus!”

Pidge laughed at his enthusiasm, and patted him on the shoulder. “Good job Lance, but take it easy.”

“But I’m ready!” he gazed at Pidge with wide blue eyes. “I want to get off this island. I want to see battles and monsters! Rescue some damsels, you know, heroic stuff.”

“Well…” Pidge looked hesitant.

“Pleasssseeeee,” Lance drew out the last syllable, and blinked his eyes at Pidge. Even Hunk looked pleading.

Finally, Pidge conceded. “Okay, okay. Let’s test out your heroic skills.” Her eyes brightened. "I’ve got somewhere we can go.”

They all cheered in celebration. This place in question was thankfully off Pidge’s island. Hunk was courteous enough to allow Pidge to fly on his back as well.

As they soared through the clouds, Lance asked, “So where are we going?”

“It’s a town called Thebes,” Pidge responded. “It’s got a lot of problems. It’s a dirty, tough town. It’ll be a good spot for you to make your mark as a hero.”

Pidge was about to say something else, when a shout from below captured all of their attentions. The satyr glanced down at the world below. “Sounds like someone’s in trouble,” Pidge commented.

“Well, we’ve got to go help. Hunk!” Lance shouted.

“Yup!” His friend called back and then dived towards the ground.

They landed near a waterfall where the group huddled down behind some bushes. The foliage blocked most of his view, but through the leaves, Lance could make out a large centaur, splashing about in the water. He had something in his hand that was wriggling immensely. It was a person! Lance could just make out long, unruly hair, and a red robe… It wasn’t just a person, it was a damsel in distress! This was his chance!

Lance couldn’t quite make out what was being said, but it sounded like the centaur was happy at the prospect of his new capture. Lance felt his blood boil a bit beneath the surface.

Pidge noticed and grew serious. “Now remember, Lance. First, analyze the situation. Don’t just barrel in there without thinking.” But before Pidge had even finished speaking, Lance was already marching across the river towards the centaur. Pidge threw her hands up and groaned.

Lance stopped in front of his foe and placed his hands on his hips in what he thought was a heroic stance. “Halt!” he shouted. Upon seeing his new adversary, the centaur haphazardly threw the damsel into the river. He marched forward until he towered over Lance.

“Step aside,” he growled.

“I’m sorry… Uh, sir. I’m going to ask you to have to release the poor damsel-“ But the centaur cut him off with a backhand that sent him flying. He crashed into the river, but quickly resurfaced.

Pidge was shouting something at him from the bank. It sounded like… “Sword! Get your sword!” Oh, yeah.

Lance unsheathed his sword and stood to face his opponent. The blade Pidge had found for him was an Altean broadsword. She had told him that in legends, his mother Allura’s father had wielded one just like it. Holding the sword now gave Lance confidence. But he was so distracted by his memories, that he didn’t notice the centaur until it had smacked him, once again sending him flying.

Hunk couldn’t bear to watch anymore. “I’ve to go help him,” he said. But as he began to march forward, Pidge stopped him. “Hold it,” she said, “He has to do this on his own.” She directed her voice towards Lance. “Come on! You’ve got to concentrate! Use your head!”

Lance’s eyes widened in realization. The cogs in his head whirred; he had an idea. Thinking his enemy had been defeated, the centaur had turned his attention back to the damsel. Using this to his advantage, Lance began to run at the centaur with all his might. In one astounding motion, Lance rammed his head into the centaur sending him smashing into the waterfall.

Pidge and Hunk gaped. “Uhh…” Pidge mumbled. “That’s not what I meant, but okay.”

But the centaur wasn’t done yet. He emerged from the water, fuming, but now Lance had his wits about him. He used his size and speed to his advantage and it wasn’t long before Lance landed the final blow that knocked the centaur out of consciousness.

Pidge and Hunk cheered as Lance headed back their way with a huge grin on his face. But Pidge detected movement behind Lance and the grin left her face. “Uh, Lance… Aren’t you forgetting something?”

A confused look passed over his face, but then he remembered. The damsel! He turned and frantically scrambled back to where the damsel was struggling in the water. “I’m so sorry, ma’am. Let me help you with that,” Lance apologized as he lifted her up bridal style and set her down on a nearby log. But when he took a step back to look at his damsel…

“What the hell are you calling me ma’am for? And what the hell do you think you’re doing!? I had the whole situation under control!” Lance almost passed out from the shock. What he thought had been long hair was really just an unruly mullet, and what he thought was a damsel was actually a dude! A dude who was currently glaring at him with purple-brown eyes.

“Y-You’re a guy?!” Lance finally managed to squeak out. “I-I thought you were a damsel!”

The man looked even more offended if that was even possible. “You thought I was a girl?!” he shouted.

Lance felt his temper getting to him. “It’s not my fault! Parading around with that… that mullet! And getting attacked by monsters, anyone would have thought you were a damsel! You should just be grateful I saved you!”

“I told you, I had it under control!” The argument probably would’ve continued longer if Pidge and Hunk hadn’t intervened.

“Hey, hey, hey!” Pidge stepped between the two. “Look,” she addressed the stranger. “He’s a first time hero, this was his first rescue; cut him some slack.” Lance had stuck out his tongue at the stranger as Pidge chastised him, but he quickly put it back in his mouth when the satyr turned her green eyes on him.

“We did butt in on the situation, and we apologize for that. Right, Lance?” Pidge's unwavering stare finally cracked him. “I’m sorry.” After a moment of hesitation, the stranger apologized as well. Once Pidge realized a fistfight wasn’t about to break out, she walked away, intent on making notes about the centaur in her notebook.

Left alone, the two stared awkwardly at each other. It was Lance who finally broke the silence. “So, uh, are you all right…?” The stranger understood his implied silence. “The name’s Keith.”

“Oh, well, I’m-I’m L-“ he tried to introduce himself, but he felt his tongue get tied up. Keith just raised an eyebrow at him as he struggled. “Are you always this articulate?” he asked sarcastically.

“Lance. My name is Lance,” he finally managed to squeak out. He stuck out his hand for Keith to shake, but the other boy just glanced at it and hopped off the log he had been sitting on.

Not really reading the situation, Lance followed. “So,” he asked, “How did you get mixed up with a river centaur?”

“Is it really any of your business?” Keith shot back, but when Lance continued to follow him, he groaned. “Consider it a business dispute,” he finally said.

Lance didn’t really understand what that meant, but it was then that they reached the tree-line of a forest.

Keith glanced at Lance over his shoulder. The blue-eyed boy balked under the former’s purple gaze, but quickly gestured to Hunk and Pidge behind him. “Uh… Can we give you a ride? To wherever it is you’re going?”

“Uh… Lance?” interjected Hunk. “I don’t mean to rain on your parade, but I can really only carry you and Pidge.”

“Oh,” Lance’s cheeks turned red as he looked back at Keith. The other boy had a slight smirk of amusement on his face. “I think I’ll survive,” Keith said. As he turned, a flash of light drew Lance’s attention to a blade that Keith had tucked into his belt.

“Well,” Keith gave a half wave in farewell, “I would say it’s been a pleasure, but…” He left his sentence unsaid with a shrug and then disappeared into the trees.

Once he was gone, Lance turned back to his companions a look of utter annoyance of his face. “Well, that guy was rude. We saved his mullet, and we didn’t even get so much as a thank you.”

“That’s something you’ll have to get used to,” explained Pidge. “Some people won’t always be grateful that you save them. Instead, they’ll just consider it a nuisance. But come on, it’s time we got to Thebes.”

——————————————————————————————

From the shadow of a tree, Keith watched the hero and his friends fly away, their shapes a dark contrast against the bright blue sky. Once they were out of sight, he turned and headed deeper into the forest.

As he walked, the trees around him began to change. Once healthy and covered with leaves, the ones he walked past now were rotting with not a leaf in sight.

A twig snapped behind him, and he whipped around, knife in hand. But there was nothing behind him. However, Keith knew better than that. He shoved the knife back in his belt and called out, “I know you’re there! You can stop stalking me!”

From out of the shadows came three figures. Keith snorted, “I thought I smelled some rats.”

Acxa ignored his snarky comment. “Is it done?” she asked. Ezor and Zefrid stared at the boy contemptuously.

Keith felt his face tinge pink as he remembered the events at the river. “Well, you see…” he stuttered, “About that…”

“What about it?” A fourth figure emerged from the trees and made his way over until he was right in front of Keith. Even though Keith was tall for his age, Lotor still stood a good three inches above him.

He stared down at Keith as he spoke, “Your job was to persuade the river guardian to join my team for the uprising, and yet… he is no where to be seen. How did this come to happen?”

“Look, it’s not my fault,” Keith shot back, defensive.  “He was pig-headed enough to begin with, and he made an offer I had to refuse.”

“Well,” Lotor’s calm demeanor was misleading, “Here’s an offer you can’t refuse. Instead of taking off two years off your sentence as previously promised, I’m going to add two.”

Keith was livid. “What?! You can’t do that!” He made to charge towards Lotor, but the god had a knife at his throat before he’d even take a step.

“Yes,” Lotor whispered, “I can.”

Keith was frustrated, but he knew better than to argue. “Look,” he sighed, “It’s not my problem, some wonder boy named Lance swept in to attack the river guardian-“

“What was that name?” Lotor cut him off.

Ezor glanced nervously at Acxa. “Where have we heard that name before?” Acxa didn’t respond; instead, she just pursed her lips.

While the two generals were speaking, Lotor approached Keith until he stood over him. The latter had propped himself against a tree. “What was that name?” Lotor repeated.

“Lance,” Keith responded, not understanding the importance of that one name. “This kid thought that I was a damsel and considered that reason enough to take out the centaur. If you want to blame someone, blame him.”

But Lotor wasn’t listening anymore. His cold and malevolent gaze fell on his generals. He stalked forward to face them, his voice soft and dangerous. “You told me you took care of him. ‘The boy is dead.’ Weren’t those your exact words?”

“Lotor,” Acxa tried to explain, but the god cut her off.

“I’m about to rearrange the cosmos and the one boy who can foil my plan is waltzing around in the woods?!” He turned his back, furious.

“Lotor, the boy is still mortal,” Acxa tried to salvage the situation. “Any obstacle we throw at him now, he will surely perish.”

Lotor considered his general’s proposition then turned around, his mind made up. He addressed Keith and his generals, “Fortunately, for you all we still have time to correct this rather egregious oversight. And this time, no sympathy on the little brat.  Lance will not live to see my glorious plan come to fruition, or neither will you."

#voltron #voltron au #klance #klance au #hercules #hercules au

[voltron-fanfiction]

Hercules!Klance AU: Chapter 2

Read Ch. 1 Here!

18 years after he was abandoned, Lance had completely forgotten about his life as a god. He only knew the life that Nyma and Rollo had given him, which was overall, a good one.

One day, Rollo and Lance were headed to town. They came up over a hill… And startled nearly every living creature within a two mile radius. Rollo’s cart flew across the dirt road, the load of hay in the back swaying precariously with every fast turn that was made. Sat in the wagon’s only seat was Rollo and the donkey, Beezer. It was Lance who was pulling the cart to town at break-neck speed.

“Lance, slow down!” Rollo called, clutching the seat for dear life. Lance ignored the warning, and actually sped up, arriving at the town at the speed of light. He had to dig his heels into the ground in order to bring the cart to a screeching stop.

Rollo climbed shakily down from the cart. “Well, Lance, I guess I have to thank you. When Beezer twisted his ankle back there, I thought we were done for.”

“It was no problem,” Lance replied with a toothy grin. It had been thanks to his god-like strength that he had been able to pull the cart like he had. All because he hadn’t drank the last drop, he had remained as strong as ever. This strength proved to be one of his defining characteristics as he grabbed the whole stack of hay from the back of the cart with one hand and lifted it above his head, a job that would have most likely taken about 10 men.

Rollo rolled his eyes at the boy’s strength. “Don’t unload just yet,” he ordered. “First I have to finagle with Sal.”

“Ok.” Lance dropped the hay back into the cart hard enough to send Beezer shooting up into the air.

Lance winced, realizing his mistake. “Oops, sorry, Beezer!” he shouted.

“Hey, Lance,” Rollo called. He had the decency to look a little sheepish. “If for just this time, could you maybe…?”

Lance knew what he was going to say. Mostly because he had said it about a hundred times before. “I know, I know,” he replied, catching Beezer in his arms as the donkey fell back to Earth. “Stay by the cart,” he finished.

Rollo smiled, relieved. He ruffled Lance by the hair before he left. “Thanks, kid.”

Lance leaned against the cart, prepared to wait there until Rollo came back, but it was then that he noticed a man holding a very large vase, swaying back and forth precariously. Lance jumped up to help and caught the vase just as it was about to fall.

The man, still holding the other side of the vase, sighed in relief, “Why, thank you.” Lance poked his head out from the other side of the vase and replied, “No problem.”

Upon seeing just who had helped him, the man’s eyes widened in panic. “Why, Lance, it’s… It’s you!” The sudden nervousness in his voice was unmistakable.

But Lance was oblivious to it. He smiled and gestured with his head at the rest of the vases the man had to move. “Let me help you with all this.”

Before Lance could do anything more, the man turned, ripping the vase from Lance’s grip. “No, no, no, no, no,” he was adamant. “I got it. I’m fine, you just run along.” The man was clearly not fine, he had started wobbling again and a faint sheen of sweat had covered his forehead, but Lance wasn’t going to impose where he clearly wasn't wanted.

He decided to go back to the cart, but when he started to head in that direction, a metal frisbee disk landed at his feet. He picked it up, searching for its owner.

“Yo, give it here!” Lance turned at the sound of the noise and saw three other teenage boys running up to him. When the kids noticed who had caught their frisbee, they stopped abruptly and a small gasp went through the group.

“Hey!” Lance smiled and gestured at the frisbee he was still holding. “You need an extra guy?”

The one who appeared to be the leader stepped forward, but he did so shakily. “Uh, sorry, Lance. Uh, we already got five, and we want to keep it an even number.” The kid smiled, but it was obvious to anyone that it was fake.

Lance did the math in his head for just a moment, then knew something was off. “Hey, wait a second,” he interjected, “Five isn’t an even-“

But the kid didn’t even give him time to finish. He grabbed the disk from Lance’s hands and took off in the other direction with the other kids, shouting “See ya, Lance” as he went.

Lance turned away, but not before he heard the other boys make fun of him; calling him “geek” or “destructo boy”. His face fell as he went back to the cart.

But suddenly behind him, someone shouted, “Heads up!” It was the exact same group of kids with the frisbee, except they had launched it across the market square, and it was coming straight for Lance!

This was his chance to show those kids that he could be cool! “I, I got it!” Lance shouted as he stood in preparation to catch the frisbee. He ran backwards with it, then jumped, snatching the disk out of midair. However, in his excitement to catch the frisbee, he hadn’t paid attention to where he was running.

Lance’s eyes widened the instant before he smacked against one of the Grecian pillars supporting the market square. A rumble resembling that of an earthquake resulted from the collision as Lance crumpled to the ground beside the column.

Thankfully, due to his strength, Lance wasn’t badly hurt, but the same couldn’t be same for the pillar. Large fissures had appeared in the rock where Lance had landed, and the force of his crash had caused it to become unstable. It wobbled back and forth until it finally began to fall forwards.

In a panic, Lance scrambled to grab it before it caused any more damage, but when he grabbed it in an attempt to stop it, the top of the pillar tipped violently and knocked against the column adjacent to it. Then that column began to fall over, but Lance was still holding the original, so he just watched in horror as that pillar knocked into the next and the chain reaction began.

Lance, desperate to salvage the situation, dropped the first column to try and stop the first set from falling, but in doing so, managed to knock down the set on the other side as well.

With both sets of pillars collapsing like dominos, Lance scrambled back and forth, desperate to do something, anything to stop the chaos, but it was too late. As the final columns collapsed and the dust cleared, all that was left of the market was rubble. The entire structure had fallen to pieces. And there stood Lance in the middle, unscathed, staring at the damage he had caused.

At his feet, he noticed the frisbee that he had been so desperate to catch. To prove to his peers that he wasn’t a loser, that he wasn’t as dangerous as they all made him out to be. But look where that had gotten him.

He picked the frisbee up, only to have the boy from earlier stomp over and rip it from his grasp. “Nice catch,” the boy said scathingly with a sneer on his face as he turned and stormed away.

Lance bowed his head in shame, not daring to meet the eyes of anyone, even when Rollo came up behind him and placed a hand on his shoulder.

A shifting in the rubble diverted everyone’s attention for just a moment. It was the man who owned the vase store. In the accident, all of his merchandise had been reduced to shattered pieces of pottery. As he climbed from the carcass of what used to be his store, he stormed over to where Lance and Rollo were standing.

“This is the last straw, Rollo!” he shouted.

From the crowd came shouts and jeers directed towards Lance.

“That boy is a menace!”

“He’s too dangerous to be around normal people!”

Rollo pushed his way through the crowd and stood protectively in front of Lance. “Hey, hey, hey,” he interjected. “Calm down. He didn’t mean any harm, he’s just a kid. He can’t control his strength, but that’s not his fault.”

But the vase man didn’t care, nor did anyone from the market. “I am warning you,” the man got up in Rollo’s face. “You keep that… That freak away from here!”

Instead of saying anything, Rollo just raised an eyebrow, grabbed the finger that was being pointed in his face, and bent it backwards. When the vase man cried out in pain, Rollo let go and turned to the crowd. “If anyone has a problem with Lance, they can take it up with me!”

No one answered his decree. Instead, everyone slowly began to turn away and slink off, muttering curses under their breath. Once everyone had left, Rollo turned back to Lance. The boy was just standing there, his expression one of utter sadness. Rollo wrapped an arm around him. “Come on,” he said. “Let’s go home.

——————————————————————————————

Back at the cottage that Lance, Rollo, and Nyma called home, Lance had stormed off to the hillside that overlooked the valley and the ocean beyond. Rollo had followed him.

As Lance sat there, head in his hands, Rollo sat next to him and offered his soothing words of wisdom. “Lance, you shouldn’t let those things they said back there get to you.”

“But what if they’re right!?” Lance shouted, standing and turning to look at Rollo. “What if I am a freak? I try to fit in, I really do.” He sighed, turning to look back at the ocean. “But I just can’t.” He paused before he continued. “Sometimes, I feel like… Like I really don’t belong here. Like I’m supposed to be someplace else.”

As Lance had spoken, Rollo had warred with himself on whether he was going to tell the truth. Finally, he stood and approached Lance. “Lance-“ he tried to begin, but Lance thought he was just going to call him crazy.

Lance shrugged Rollo away and said, “I know it doesn’t make any sense.” Then he turned and sulked away. Rollo let him go this time. They both needed some time to think this through.

——————————————————————————————

Lance made his way down to the ocean; one of his favorite places to go to think. He picked up a stone and tossed it, watching it bounce across the sea once, twice, and countless more times till it vanished from sight.

Guilt from the earlier event in the market still plagued him, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that something else was different. Something was pulling him. Away from home, away from his mistakes, away from who he thought he was. But where was it pulling him to? And why? Lance couldn’t quite come up with the answer to those questions. But he knew deep down inside that he would do anything to feel like he belonged.

By the time he finally returned home, night had fallen. Nyma and Rollo were waiting for him. He was shocked to see the nervous expressions on their faces. Rollo was the first to speak, “Lance, there’s something Nyma and I have been meaning to tell you.”

——————————————————————————————

They had led Lane into the house, sat him down, and told him the whole story. When they were finally finished, Lance sat in stunned silence. When he finally gathered his thoughts, he asked, “But if you found me, then where did I come from? Why was I left here?”

From behind her, Nyma pulled out the medallion Lance had been wearing all those years ago. “This was around your neck when we found you,” she explained.

Lance’s eyes widened as he gazed at the medal. Engraved on the front was a lightning bolt shooting out of a swirling cloud. When he touched it, he got a strange sense of deja vu.

Nyma continued, “It’s the symbol of the gods.”

The longer he stared at the symbol, the stronger Lance’s feelings grew. He shot up from his seat, suddenly excited. “This is it!” he proclaimed. “Don’t you see? Maybe the gods have the answers! I’ll go to the temple of Shiro and…”

He trailed off as he noticed the bittersweet expressions on Nyma and Rollo’s faces. “You guys,” Lance felt the pull of his heart towards the two who had raised him. “Thank you so much for all you’ve done for me,” he continued, “But… I… I gotta know.”

“We understand Lance,” Rollo said. “We only want what’s best for you. And if that means searching for who you truly are, then we want you to go.”

——————————————————————————————

The next morning as dawn broke over the horizon, Lance had his cloak and a knapsack full of provisions ready to set out for the temple of Shiro. Before he left, he encompassed Rollo and Nyma in a giant hug. “Thank you so much,” he whispered for the final time. As he took off on his journey, he turned back and waved one final time. The sight of them waving goodbye was the last image of his adopted parents that Lance kept in his mind.

——————————————————————————————

Lance’s journey took him deep into valleys and canyons, across fields of flowers, through dark forests, in rain and shine, and up hills until he finally reached the temple of Shiro.

When he entered all was dark, except for the light of the moon that shone through the entrance. Massive stone pillars lined the walls, leading to the center piece of the monument. A giant carving of Shiro sat atop the throne of the Gods  placed in the center at the back of the monument. Lance approached it slowly, gazing around in awe, wondering if there was a sign he should have been looking for.

Once he reached the statue of Shiro, he pulled out the amulet and stared at its symbol. The exact same symbol was etched onto the stone Shiro’s robes. So it truly was the symbol of the gods.

Lance let his bag drop to the floor and fell to his knees beneath the statue. He awkwardly clasped his hands in front of him and began to speak, “Oh, mighty Shiro, please… Hear me and answer my prayer. I need to know: Who am I? Wh… Where do I belong?”

All of a sudden, a strong gust of wind swirled through the temple causing Lance’s cloak to billow up around him. The sound of thunder boomed overhead and a lightning bolt suddenly appeared, striking the statue of Shiro head on. The braziers surrounding the statue burst into flame, shedding brilliant light onto the once dark temple.

And suddenly to Lance’s amazement and horror, the stone statue of Shiro began to move! It smiled and leaned towards him. It was when it opened its mouth to speak that Lance really lost it. He screeched and dashed for the entrance, wondering what could have caused such a strong hallucination. But in his panic, he ran into one of the stone pillars, giving the Shiro statue enough time to pick him up in one of his giant stone hands.

“What’s your hurry?” the statue asked, humor in its tone. “After all these years, is this the kind of hello you give your father?”

Lance had been struggling in the stone grip the whole time, but he stopped once he had processed what Shiro had said. “Father?” he asked, wide eyed.

The statue lifted the boy up until they were eye level. Shiro chuckled, “Not every day you find out your father’s famous. Surprise!” The statue’s expression turned softer. Lance noted how lifelike the stone looked. “Look how you’ve grown,” Shiro said wistfully. “You’ve got your mother’s blue eyes.”

Lance was still trying to wrap his head around the whole situation. “I, I don’t understand,” he said. “If you’re my father, that would make me a…”

“A god,” Shiro finished his son’s sentence, a smile playing at the corner of his lips.

“A god?” Lance’s eyes grew even wider than they had before. He fell back in shock, trying to process that he was a god. Him? A god? He had always thought himself so average. Besides his strength at least.

“You wanted answers,” Shiro shrugged nonchalantly, “And you’re old enough now to know the truth.”

Lance shook his head, regained his composure, and stood again. “But why did you leave me on earth? Didn’t you want me?” he asked, slightly scared of what the answer could be.

But he breathed a silent sigh of relief as he noticed the sad expression that came over Shiro’s face. “Of course we did,” the god said. “Your mother and I loved you with all our hearts.” His brow furrowed as he continued, “But someone stole you from us and turned you mortal, and only gods can live on Mount Olympus.”

Lance looked down, pondering over what Shiro had just told him. Finally, he looked up and said, “And you can’t do a thing?”

Shiro shook his head sadly. “I can’t.” But suddenly, he appeared to get an idea and grew excited. “I can’t,” he said again, “But you can!”

“R-really?” Lance stuttered. How the hell could he do what a god can’t? But he hadn’t come this far to give up yet, so instead he said, “What is it? I- I’ll do anything.”

“Ok, if you can prove yourself a true hero on earth,” Shiro explained, “Your godhood will be restored!”

“A true hero,” Lance thought about it for a moment, but then nodded enthusiastically. “Great! I’ll do it! But um… Exactly how do you become a true hero?”

“First, you must seek out Katie Holt, the trainer of heroes. She’ll help you,” Shiro explained.

“Ok,” Lance nodded his head determinedly. “Seek out Katie Holt. Right.” He marched confidently towards the door, only to nearly fall off Shiro’s hand.

“Whoa! Slow down!” reprimanded Shiro, setting his son down gently on the ground below. “You won’t be able to walk to the island where Katie lives. You’ll need a bit of transportation. And a friend for the journey.” He placed his index and middle finger in his mouth and whistled loudly.

From seemingly out of nowhere, a pegasus appeared from above and flew around a bit before landing next to Lance. The boy could barely believe what he saw, but the pegasus had a human head and torso!

Shiro explained, “You probably don’t remember Hunk, but you two go way back.” Hunk approached Lance and before either could say a word, Hunk smacked his forehead against Lance. For a moment, Lance rubbed his forehead in pain, angry with Hunk, but as the pain dulled he got a strange sense of deja vu. Suddenly it clicked in his brain, and he remembered exactly who the pegasus centaur was.

“Hunk!” he shouted excitedly.

“Lance!”

The two hugged tightly, the heartwarming reunion reminding both of them of their first meeting so long ago.

“Hunk will help you go wherever you want,” said Shiro. “And hopefully he’ll keep you in line.”

Hunk stepped forward and saluted the god. “Yes, Shiro, sir, I will make sure Lance does not get into any serious trouble.”

Lance snorted, “Good luck with that!”

As everyone laughed, Lance climbed onto Hunk’s back and waved goodbye to his father. “I’ll find Katie and become a true hero! I won’t let you down!” he promised. And with that, Hunk took off, launching into the night sky.

As Lance and Hunk soared through the clouds, Lance finally felt like he had found his purpose. To become a true hero, rejoin the gods, and find where he truly belonged. The last words of his father echoed through his ears, filling him with hope.

“Good luck, Lance."

Read Ch. 3 Here!

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[voltron-fanfiction]

Hercules!Klance AU: Chapter 1

Long ago, in the faraway land of ancient Greece, there was a golden age of powerful gods and extraordinary heroes. And the greatest and strongest of all these heroes was the mighty Lance. But what is the measure of a true hero? Ah, that is what our story… But then again, this isn’t a Greek tragedy. Let’s lighten things up a bit.

Lance was a mighty hero, but our story actually begins long before Lance, many eons ago, back when the world was new. The planet Earth was down on its luck, and everywhere gigantic brutes called Titans raged across the land, sea, and sky. The world was a mess; chaos reigned. Earthquakes, volcanoes, you name it. It all rained down on the world.

But then along came Shiro, the God of Thunder. He hurled his thunderbolt and locked the Titans in a vault, buried deep beneath the surface of the Earth. He stopped the chaos in its tracks all on his own, and all he lost was an arm. He ruled atop Mount Olympus where life was ideal. It was a fortress amongst the clouds, a paradise, home only to the Gods of this universe.

Behind the Golden Gates of Olympus, a while after the Titans had been defeated, the Gods had gathered for a celebration. This particular party was being held in honor of the birth of Shiro’s son, Lance.

Allura, the Lion Goddess, and also Shiro’s wife laughed as her son wiggled in her arms, attempting to play with the crown that sat atop her head. She conjured a cradle out of the clouds and placed her son in its comfort.

“Behave yourself,” she chastised, but it was said light-heartedly.

Shiro joined his wife and smiled down at his son. Then he turned his gaze to his wife. “He’s pretty cute, isn’t he?”

Lance was pretty cute. His smooth skin was the color of caramel and his eyes were the brightest blue of any that the Gods had seen. A mess of dark brown curls sat atop his head.

Shiro reached down into the cradle to smooth down his son’s unruly hair, but Lance had other plans. He grabbed his father’s finger, and then as if it took him no effort, he picked up his father by just his finger and held him over the cradle.

“Uh, wow,” Shiro was taken aback. “He’s strong!”

Allura laughed, “I guess he takes after his mother.”

It was at that moment that Coran, the God of Trade, Language, and Travel, arrived, a large bouquet of flowers in his arms. He was suspended a good two feet off the ground, thanks to his magical winged shoes.

“Why, Coran, they’re lovely,” Allura took the flowers gladly.

“Yes, you know I had Kolivan do the arrangement,” Coran stated. As Allura admired the bouquet, Coran turned to Shiro. “Wonderful party,” he commented. "You know, I have not seen this much love in a room since Blaytz discovered himself.”

While they were talking, Lance had managed to snag one of Shiro’s lightening bolts from his belt and had begun treating it as a toy.

Allura chastised her husband, “Shiro, keep those away from the baby.”

“Oh, yes.” He realized his mistake, but a little too late. Lance had decided to try and nibble on the end of the bolt, resulting a little shock that made his hair stand on end.

Shiro quickly removed the lightning as Allura took her son into her arms. Lance looked as if he were about to cry, then ultimately decided it was simply funny and began to giggle as an infant does. Once he realized his son was ok, Shiro turned his attention to the party’s guests.

“On behalf of my son,” he announced. “I want to thank you all for your wonderful gifts.”

“We haven’t given him our gift yet, Shiro,” Allura reminded her husband.

“Oh yes,” Shiro smiled and motioned to Coran. The messenger brought forward a small wicker basket. Inside was a heap of hay and buried underneath it…

Suddenly, a head popped up from underneath the hay. A child’s face, not much older than Lance, yet this one was darker and a tad bit chubbier. But then the rest of the baby appeared.

Only its top half was human; the other half was that of a horse with wings protruding at his side. His body was a dark brown almost black. Coran brought the basket close enough so that both children could inspect each other.

“His name is Hunk,” Shiro introduced the two. “He’s to be your companion.”

Hunk’s tiny wings carried him out of the basket and towards Lance. The tiny god was hesitant for only a moment, and then with a strong burst, he slammed his forehead against the centaur’s.

A gasp went through the crowd, but it quickly turned into laughs as Hunk took the head-butt as a sign of friendship. Lance giggled and pulled in his new best friend for a hug.

The party didn’t last much longer. After chewing the golden God medallion that hung around his neck for a while, Lance quickly grew sleepy, his eyes slipping shut as he lay in his father’s arms.

Shiro smiled affectionately down at his son. “My boy,” he murmured to himself. “My little Lance.”

“How sentimental.” A voice arose out of nowhere, startling all the guests and causing them to turn their heads to the source of the noise.

The statement had come from a shadow-like figure in the corner. Gray swirls of mist surrounded him, and the light caught on his long silver hair as he emerged from the dark.

“You know,” the stranger continued, “I haven’t been this choked up since I had a piece of juniper berry caught in my throat!” The guests simply glared. The man noticed the cold approach, but took it as a joke, saying, “So is this an audience or a mosaic?”

Shiro recognized the man who had so rudely interrupted his son’s party. However, he placed Lance in his crib, stepped forward, and cordially welcomed the guest anyways. “Lotor. Glad you could finally make it. How are things in the Underworld?”

“They’re just fine,” Lotor was cordial as well. “Slightly dark, slightly gloomy, but what else can you do when you’re surrounded by the dead?”

It was then that Lotor spotted Lance in the crib behind Shiro. He pushed past the God and inspected the baby. “So this is the little Sun Spot,” he commented. He conjured a deadly looking pacifier and went to give it to the baby. However, Lance seemed to think that Lotor’s finger the toy as that’s what he ended up grabbing and squeezing with all his might.

Lotor, unprepared for the baby’s strength, cried out in pain and quickly drew his hand back. He regained his composure, smoothing down his hair, and turning back to Shiro. He smiled, but it looked more like a grimace. “Power little thing, isn’t he?”

Shiro ignored the question and just smiled, motioning towards the party. “Please, feel free to join the celebration, Lotor. There’s plenty of food and drink to go around.”

Lotor simply stood up straighter and shook his head. “I’m honored by the invitation, but unlike you gods, lounging about up here, I regrettably have a full-time job that you, as a point of information, so charitably bestowed upon me. So, no, I cannot stay.”

“You ought to slow down, Lotor,” Shiro commented. “You’ll work yourself to death.” His lip quirked up at the corner due to his little joke, and the rest of the party guests quickly took up the laughter as well.

Lotor half-smiled, then turned and exited the party. Unbeknownst to the ears around him, he muttered, “If only…”

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Now if there is one god you don’t want to get steamed up, it’s Lotor. He was in charge of the Underworld, a dark and gloomy place, devoid of light and happiness. Lotor thought himself so much higher than the dead; claiming they were dull and uncouth. He was mean and ruthless and ruled atop an iron throne. He had an evil plan concocted, one that would place him at the head of the entire world, not just the gloomy depths below.

Lotor arrived back at the Underworld and called to his generals. “Acxa! Zefrid! Ezor!” The three female warriors were instantly by their master’s side.

“Reporting for duty, sir,” Acxa nodded her head curtly and the others quickly followed suit.

Lotor nodded back and prepared to walk away. He commanded, “Let me know the instant the Fates arrive. It’s imperative that I speak with them.”

“Actually,” Ezor spoke up. “They’re already here. They’re waiting upstairs.”

“What?!” Lotor whipped around, eyes wide. “Why wasn’t I informed immediately?!” He didn’t give his generals a chance to answer, instead, he turned back around and bounded up the staircase.

Inside Lotor’s command room stood three wizened old women. However, between the three of them, they only shared one eyeball. These women held the power of life and death in their hands. With the snap of the scissors, a mortal’s life could end in the blink of an eye. As Lotor entered the room, they were doing just that.

The one in the middle was holding the scissors and commanding the one on the left, “Hold that mortal’s thread of life good and tight.” The scissors snapped around the string, cutting it into two. From outside, a woman’s scream echoed throughout the Underworld. Another soul come to join the ranks of the dead.

Lotor approached them and bowed graciously. “Ladies. I apologize for having kept you waiting.”

“We knew you would be late,” spoke the Fate on the left. “We know everything. Past, present, and future.”

“Then let us get down to business.” Lotor moved across the room, so that he was standing in the center next to a large map of Ancient Greece. “Shiro,” he began, “Has now produced a spawn of his own, and I would like to know if this child is going to cause problems for me in the future.”

“You know fully well, Lotor, that we are not supposed to reveal the future,” the middle Fate chastised. But Lotor was a clever man. He knew that Fates weakness: flattery.  

“Ladies, my fate is in your lovely hands. I only wish to know if my plans will succeed. And only your knowing wisdom if what will allow me to reach this conclusion.”

His lovely words did just the trick. The middle Fate, cheeks slightly tinged pink conceded, “Oh, all right.”

She pulled the eyeball from her head and held it out in front of her. It began to glow and show the future as she narrated, “In 18 years precisely, the planets will align ever so nicely. The time to act will be at hand. Unleash the Titans, your monstrous band. Then the once strong Shiro will finally fall, and you, Lotor, will rule all!”

A smile spread across Lotor’s lips. He went to say something, but the Fates interrupted him, “A word of caution to this tale. Should Lance, son of Shiro, fight, you will fail.” And without another word, the Fates vanished, leaving Lotor alone in the room with his generals.

The God was silent for a moment as his brain processed this new piece of information. When he finally looked up, he motioned to his generals and moved from the room. As they walked, he spoke, “Acxa? How do you kill a god?”

She seemed perplexed by the question, but she answered anyways. “You can’t. They’re immortal.”

“Precisely.” They had entered a potion room. From the shelves, Lotor plucked a particularly evil looking vile. A magenta liquid sat inside and the lid of the bottle was in the shape of a skull. He gazed at it wickedly. “So first, you need to turn the little sun-spot mortal.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back on Olympus, night was falling. Lance and Hunk were happily asleep, curled up together in Lance’s cradle. Suddenly, three shadows loomed up over the cradle…

The sound of glass breaking awoke Shiro and Allura. At first, their eyes were heavy with sleep and they gazed around confused. It was only when they heard the sound again that their eyes widened and they shot out of bed. “The baby!” they both gasped.

They flew to Lance’s cradle, but the only thing they saw was Hunk wriggling his way out of a vase that he had been shoved in. The cradle was empty.

Allura fell to her knees. “Lance! No!” Shiro knelt down and took his wife in his arms as she grieved. Outside Olympus, thunder and lightning ran rampant as Shiro’s grief affected his powers.

The weather proved perilous for Acxa, Zefrid, and Ezor. As they headed towards the ground below, they had to be careful to dodge the lightning bolts that threatened to set them ablaze. “Are we really going to kill this kid?” Ezor asked. This didn’t really set right with her moral compass. Acxa stared straight forward, but answered, “Lotor commands it."

When they finally touched down, Lance began to cry. The time to act was now. Zefrid pulled the bottle from her belt and knelt down to feed the child the formula.

As he drank the potion, the god-like glow began to leave Lance’s body. The plan was working! “He’s changing!” Ezor commented. “When do we stop?”

“He has to drink the whole potion,” said Zefrid. “Every last drop.” The bottle was near empty now. But suddenly, from out of the darkness came a voice, “Who goes there?”

The generals were instantly on alert, melting into the shadows, leaving the crying baby in the open. In her haste, Zefrid had squeezed the bottle too tight, causing it to break under her immense strength. But what none of the generals saw was the last drop of the potion slide off one of the shards of glass and hit the ground.

A torch illuminated two figures as they came around the corner. “Nyma, over here,” the voice that had spoken earlier spoke again. It was a man and a woman. The latter gasped when she saw Lance on the ground.

“You poor thing,” she gasped, as she gathered the child into her arms. “Don’t cry,” she soothed.

“Is anybody there?” the man called, but the generals observing the two from the shadows said nothing.

When nobody answered his call, the man shrugged and said, “He must have been abandoned.”

“Rolo, what should we do?” Lance had calmed down now that he was being held.

Rolo was silent for a moment and inspected the medallion that the child wore around his neck. It read “Lance”. “Well, we can’t just leave him out here,” he finally said. “We’ll take him back with us until we find his parents.”

The two then disappeared the way they came. Once they were gone, the generals reemerged into the light.

“Do we need to go after them?” asked Zefrid. “The kid’s still alive.”

Ezor shook her head. “If we do go after them, we’ll have to deal with the two as well. And that makes three for the total body count.” She turned to Acxa. “What should we do?”

Acxa pondered for a moment, then shared her decision, “He drank the potion, which means he’s a mortal now. He’ll be too young to remember Olympus, which means he’ll be no threat to Lotor now. We can leave him be.”

“But Lotor will kill us when he finds out,” reasoned Ezor. But Acxa had the solution to that. She said, “You mean, if he finds out.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The loss of Lance was tragic. Shiro led all the gods on a frantic search. But by the time they found the baby, it was too late. Lance was mortal now, but since he didn’t drink the last drop he still retained his god-like strength.

Shiro and Allura wept for the child that was still alive, but couldn’t come home. No mortal was allowed to enter Olympus, condemning Lance to live out his life on the ground below.

When no one came to claim him, Nyma and Rollo chose to raise Lance on their own. Better them, then whoever had abandoned him. He grew stronger everyday, through all the years until his 18th birthday.

Lotor’s horrid plan was still underway. But this is where the story really gets going. And that… Is the gospel truth.

Read Ch. 2 Here!

#voltron #voltron au #klance #klance au #hercules #hercules au #shiro #takashi shirogane #princess allura #coran #lance mcclain #hunk garrett #lotor #ezor #acxa #zefrid #fanfiction

[voltron-fanfiction]

*drumroll*

Thanks to everyone who sent their votes in for the next AU! Leading by one vote, the next AU we’re going to do is.......

Hercules!Klance AU!

We’re so excited to write this and expect the first chapter soon!

Thanks again to everyone who sent their votes in!

#voltron #voltron au #klance #klance au #hercules #hercules au #fanfiction

[voltron-fanfiction]

Anastasia!Klance AU: Chapter 11

Read the Prologue here!

Even though the largest party of the century was going on, the Paris train station was still packed to the brim. Lance had been in line for almost 45 minutes, and only now was he finally one person away from the ticket booth.

He reached into his pocket in search of his wallet to pay for the ticket, but his hand brushed something foreign and soft instead. He drew it out, curious to see what it was.

It was a rose. But not just any rose. It was the rose Keith had given him at the Eiffel Tower. The loud train station melted away as Lance thought of everything the rose reminded him of. That night 10 years ago. The journey from St. Petersburg to Paris. Pidge. Hunk. And most importantly...

The person in front of him concluded his business, making it Lance’s turn, but he didn’t move. The gears in his head were whirring as he stared at this rose. This one rose that held so many implications. 

“Sir!”

Lance finally looked up as the ticket seller shouted at him. The rose was still in his hand. It was time to make a decision.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Keith silently cursed Pidge for being so fast as they wove around the maze. He was also beginning to wonder just how big this thing was; he felt like he had been running forever. But Keith had also begun to notice how creepy everything seemed. The dim light cast odd shadows across the maze walls, there was rustling at every turn, and Pidge’s urgency was only fueling Keith’s own anxiety.

Finally, Keith rounded a corner only to run smack dab into Pidge. But the latter didn’t even seem to notice. They were too busy staring at whatever it was they had been chasing. Keith saw now that it was a boy. One who looked shockingly like Pidge. That must be their brother, he realized. Matt. 

Matt had simply stopped and just stared at Pidge, but the moment Keith entered the picture, he turned around and began running again. This time, both Keith and Pidge gave pursuit. 

Matt only took a few more turns when Keith and Pidge emerged out onto a bridge. Keith looked around in amazement. He recognized this bridge, but it was quite a few blocks away from the palace. How had the maze brought them so far away? 

Matt had stopped again and turned to look at his pursuers. Pidge called their brother’s name, but he didn’t respond. Instead, his gaze turned to Keith. Suddenly, he bowed low.

“Kityl. Your Imperial Highness,” his oddly-deep voice dripped with sarcasm. Suddenly, Matt didn’t look like Matt. His face had begun to change. His body as well. Becoming malformed until it reshaped itself into that of a large, evil-looking man. Who was very obviously not Pidge’s brother.

“Who are you!?” Pidge shouted. “What have you done to my brother?” 

When the man didn’t answer, Pidge ran towards him, but with a simple twist of his wrist, Pidge was sent flying. He hadn’t even touched them. Pidge collapsed near the edge of the bridge, unconscious.

“Pidge!”

Keith tried to run towards them, but the man stepped in-between. 

“Look what ten years has done to us,” he said. “You; a handsome prince. Me; a rotting corpse.” With each word he spoke he took a step closer until he was feet from Keith. 

The closer he got, the more Keith’s sense of déjà vu heightened. This man... He had seen him before... But from where... That evil grin...

“That face...” The memories were flooding back to Keith.

The man grinned, wickedly. “Last seen at a party like this one.”

“A curse!” He knew this man! And he knew what he had done!

“Followed by a tragic night on the ice. Remember?”

Keith did remember. He remembered everything about the night ten years ago that had changed his life. And he remembered this man’s name. The name of the man who had ripped his entire family and his way of life away from him.

“Zarkon.”

Upon hearing his name, Zarkon laughed a deep, menacing laugh. “Then let’s relive that momentous night, shall we?”

As he spoke, he drew his reliquary out from underneath his cloak and used it to coat the entire bridge in ice. Keith fell to his knees, but quickly regained his footing.

“Yes,” Zarkon rumbled. “It is I. Destroyed by your despicable family, but what goes around comes around. And around and around and around and around...” He sent out demons that flew towards Keith and began to tear at his royal robes. One even knocked off his crown, sending it flying.

But Keith didn’t back down. He batted at the demons, until they all disappeared. He glared at Zarkon. “I’m not afraid of you!”

The monster didn’t seem fazed by Keith’s brave face. If anything, it made him cockier. “I can fix that,” he grinned. “Care for a little swim under the ice?”

He stepped back, then used his magic to crack off a huge section of the bridge.  It fell at an angle, but still remained attached to the rest of the bridge. Keith slid down, heading straight towards the water, but he managed to grab onto the uneven stones of the bridge and hang on. 

Zarkon stood above, watching his prey struggle. This would all be over soon. “Say your prayers, Kityl,” he gloated. “No one can save you now!”

“Wanna bet?”

Out of nowhere, a fist connected with Zarkon’s face sending him backwards. Keith’s jaw dropped as he realized who had just uppercutted his attacker. 

Lance slid down the bridge to where Keith was hanging. He grabbed Keith’s hands and began dragging him back up the bridge.

“Lance!” Keith’s voice was a mixture of breathless, relieved, and love-stricken. “If we live through this remind me to-”

But Lance cut him off with a smile on his face as he remembered where these words had last been said. “You can thank me later.”

Unfortunately, Lance’s punch had only startled Zarkon; it hadn’t caused any real damage. He had recovered quickly and was watching Keith and Lance make their way back up to solid ground. But he wasn’t going to let that happen.

“How enchanting,” his voice dripped with menace. “Together again for the last time! You’ll get a kick out of this.”

Demons flew from his reliquary and grabbed Lance, picking him up and sending him flying away from Keith. Keith reached for him, but he was already too far. Zarkon’s demons deposited Lance atop a giant horse statue, which then came to life underneath him. The horse threw Lance around until he fell to the bridge below. It then proceeded to try and stomp on him.

But Lance could only think about saving Keith and that gave him the burst of adrenaline he needed. He managed to get on his feet and locate a large piece of twisted metal from the broken bridge. He swung at the horse, determined to gain some ground.

During Lance’s fight, Keith had managed to climb up a good portion of the bridge. He hooked his arms over the stable edge and went to pull himself up, but he froze at the sight of Lance in battle.

“Lance!” he shouted.

Upon hearing Keith’s voice, Lance glanced over. “Hold on!” he shouted, and took another swing at the horse.

However, Zarkon had also noticed that Keith was close to rescue. He quickly moved over and grabbed Keith by the mullet, dangling him over the edge of the bridge. As he did so, the broken piece of bridge finally broke off and plummeted to the ice river below. 

“Do svidaniya, your highness!” Then with a malicious laugh, he dropped Keith. But Keith wasn’t going down without a bigger fight then that. As he fell, he managed to grab onto the broken edge of the bridge again, but now he only had his upper arm strength to support him. His feet dangled precariously over the icy water below.

Zarkon didn’t seem too fazed by this. Instead, he triumphantly stated, “Finally, the last Kogane death.” But his glory was quickly interrupted by someone roundhouse kicking him in the shins. Pidge had regained concisouness and attacked him with a ferocity they never knew they had. 

Zarkon was becoming annoyed with all these interruptions. He sent out a demon from his reliquary that bound Pidge to where they stood. Lance was still fighting the horse, so Zarkon returned his attention to Keith.

But he was gone. Zarkon glanced over the edge to see a splash in the river below. If it was even possible, his grin became even more wicked.

Lance hearing the splash, turned in horror. “No! Keith!” he launched himself towards the edge, prepared to dive in the river and save the prince, but the horse statue blocked his way, forcing him back into their fight.

Zarkon held up his arms and basked in his glory. “Long live the Koganes!” he shouted to the heavens.

“Right!” A voice interrupted Zarkon’s celebration. “I couldn’t have said it better myself!”

It was Keith! While Zarkon had been distracted, Keith had managed to drag himself up over the edge of the bridge and moved out of Zarkon’s line of sight. But now that he had regained his breath, he was furious. This guy was going to pay.

He ran at full speed and slammed into Zarkon knocking them both to the ground. This attack knocked the reliquary out of his hand, which meant that the demons attacking Pidge vanished, leaving them to freely move about. 

As Keith and Zarkon struggled on the ground, Keith made a grab for the reliquary. Understanding Keith’s intentions, Zarkon kicked the prince off him with all his might and reached for his source of power. However, he wasn’t quick enough.

Just as he went to grab it, Pidge slid in and pulled it right from his grasp. Then quick as lightning, they tossed it to Keith who had stood up. The reliquary landed underneath his foot, and without a second thought, Keith stepped down on it. Hairline fissures in the glass appeared and Zarkon’s magic began to come undone. 

The horse statue attacking Lance collapsed to rubble, but not before one of the broken pieces hit Lance in the head, knocking him, unconscious, to the ground.

Keith stared in horror, but he knew he couldn’t help Lance just yet. Instead, he turned his angry gaze back to Zarkon.

“This is for Lance,” he declared. Then he stomped on the reliquary with all his might. It didn’t break, but the fissures grew wider. It wouldn’t be long before this thing broke. 

Zarkon was crawling towards Keith muttering, “Give it back! I’ll tear you to pieces!” Each stomp was weakening him.

But Keith didn’t relent. “This is for my family! And my friends!” He stomped again.

Zarkon had finally crawled to Keith’s feet and made a grab for the reliquary. He missed, grabbing Keith’s pants instead. “No!” he growled.

“And this-” Keith gave a rich smirk. “This is for you! Do svidaniya!” And with a final stomp of all his might, the reliquary shattered under Keith’s foot. The moment it burst, a bright purple light exploded from where the reliquary had once been. Demons swirled around the sky and their shrieks rattled the skulls of any who heard it. Keith and Pidge ran over to where Lance was and shielded each other with their bodies. 

It didn’t take long for the demons to find their prey. In the blink of an eye, they surrounded Zarkon. It was impossible to see what happened to him behind the whirl of purple bodies. Then suddenly, they vanished, disappearing as fast as they had appeared. All that was left of Zarkon were a few pieces of torn robe and a pile of dust. A gust of wind swept by, dispersing the ashes. The fight was finally over.

Keith desperately turned his attention to Lance. He had fallen face down, so Keith gently rolled him over and checked for a heartbeat or a breath. He couldn’t find anything.

“Is he ok?” Pidge’s voice sounded strange after everything that had just happened.

“No, no, no,” Keith cried softly, doting over Lance, desperate for it not to be true. But his heart told him what he already knew, and he turned away, not wanting to look at what he had caused. Lance was dead, and it was all his fault. 

Keith was wallowing in his own sadness, head still pressed to his knees, when he heard a groan behind him. Pidge hadn’t made that sound, so that meant...

“Lance!” Keith whirled around, needing to see for himself that Lance was alive and breathing. However, he hadn’t expected Lance to be sitting up, as when he whirled around, the backside of his hand connected with Lance’s face.

“Ouch!” he cried, staring eyes wide at Keith.

Keith couldn’t believe it. Lance was alive! He threw himself at Lance, wrapping his arms around him tightly.

However, Lance was still injured from his previous fight. So when Keith squeezed him, it shot lightning bolts of pain up his spine.

He sucked in a breath between his teeth. “Let go, let go, let go,” he gasped, the force of Keith’s hug knocking the breath from his lungs.

Keith seemed to realize what he’d done, let go, and sat back. “Sorry,” he apologized.

“Yeah, I know, I know,” Lance said, while moving to his knees. His voice was filled with pain, but he still had that mischievous glint in his eye. The corner of his mouth raised up in a smile, “I’m such a baby.”

Keith sat up on his knees as well so that he was eye-to-eye with Lance. He said, “I thought you were going to St. Peters-”

“I was,” Lance answered.

“You didn’t take the-”

“I couldn’t.”

“Why?” The passion in Keith’s eyes was unmistakable. 

“Because... I...” But Lance didn’t finish his sentence. He didn’t have to. Both of them already knew the answer. Keith put his hands on either side of Lance’s face... He pulled him closer... And then...

“Ahem.”

They split apart when they realized Pidge was still standing there. But they had a smile on their face and they rolled their eyes playfully. “I believe this is yours,” they said, then held up Keith’s crown.

Lance took it and they both stood, gazing at the royal jewel.

“They’re waiting for you,” he said, sadly, handing Keith his birthright.

Keith took it, but he stared at it contemplatively. He looked up at Pidge, then at Lance. Lance. He said the name in his head over and over again. Finally, he’d come to a decision.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The royal parlor was incredibly crowded. Pidge stood off to the side, surrounded by their family, who they had finally reunited with. They were telling the story of their great adventure. Hunk and Shay were together; discussing what to do now that Hunk was staying in Paris. The only other people in the room were Shiro and Allura. 

Shiro held the royal crown in one hand and the letter Keith had written him in the other. Pidge had brought both to him, without saying a word. They had said the letter would tell him enough.

He smiled as he read it to himself, then out loud to Allura.

“Dear Shiro, wish me luck. We’ll be together in Paris again soon. I’ll see you then.”

Allura smiled and took the letter. She wrapped her arms around Shiro’s waist as they gazed out the window at the Parisian skyline.

“They’ve eloped,” she laughed to herself. “Isn’t it romantic? It’s a perfect ending.”

“No,” Shiro hugged his wife closer to his side and smiled. “It’s a perfect beginning.”

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It didn’t take long for Keith and Lance to find a boat they could hop a ride on. As the ship moved down the Seine, a band on deck played a dance. Lance got a mischievous look on his face and bowed low to Keith, silently asking him to dance.

Keith smiled and took his hand. Sarcastically, he added, “I thought you didn’t dance?”

Lance laughed and twirled him around. “I don’t,” he laughed, bringing Keith back in. When they were face to face, he murmured, “But I would make the exception for you.”

Keith just couldn’t take it any longer. He placed his hands on either side of Lance’s face and pulled him into a kiss. Lance kissed him back, hardly believing that he could have fallen in love with the prince of Russia. He corrected himself; he hadn’t fallen in love with Kityl. He’d fallen in love with Keith. And Keith loved him back.

When they finally broke apart, they smiled wide grins at each other. Lance playfully picked Keith up and spun him around. When Keith was back on his feet, he kissed Lance again and again and again.

Everyone was happier than they’d been in a long time. Because after all, it was the start of a brand new chapter in all of their lives.

                                                          The End                   

#voltron #voltron au #klance #klance au #anastasia #anastasia au #lance mcclain #keith kogane #takashi shirogane #shiro #pidge gunderson #princess allura #zarkon #shay #hunk garrett #matt holt #sam holt #fanfiction

[voltron-fanfiction]

Get your votes in!

Hey guys!

The last chapter for the Anastasia AU will be out THIS WEEK!

So get those votes in for what AU you want to see next!

Remember: the two candidates are 

Beauty and the Beast!Klance AU 

or 

Hercules!Klance AU

Thanks so much to everyone who has voted so far!

#voltron #voltron au #klance #klance au #anastasia #anastasia au #beauty and the beast #beauty and the beast au #hercules #hercules au #fanfiction

[voltron-fanfiction]

Hey guys!

So I’m sad to say that there is only ONE MORE CHAPTER left of the Anastasia AU! 

Thank you so much to anyone who has stayed with the story since we started it over a year ago! 

We’ve had a lot of fun writing this, but now that it’s coming to an end we wanted to hear from you what you guys wanted to see next!

We have two new AU’s in mind:

Beauty and the Beast!Klance AU 

or

Hercules!Klance AU

Please leave a comment on this post or send us a message letting us know which one you’d like to see next!

Thanks again guys!

#voltron #voltron au #klance #klance au #anastasia #anastasia au #beauty and the beast #beauty and the beast au #hercules #hercules au #shiro #takashi shirogane #lance mcclain #keith kogane #hunk garrett #pidge gunderson #princess allura #coran #lotor #zarkon #shay #matt holt

[voltron-fanfiction]

Anastasia!Klance AU: Chapter 10

Read the Prologue here!

A midnight storm swept over the streets of Paris. Rain poured down, thunder rumbled the ground deep to its core, and lightning flashes illuminated the buildings every few moments. Most people were tucked away snuggly in their homes, but in one particular bell tower, an evil plan was brewing. Zarkon and Varkon, fresh out of the underworld, were plotting on how to deal with Kityl. 

“Varkon,” the master barked at his assistant. “Collect yourself. We’re going to a party.” He slapped a newspaper he had acquired down onto the table. The headline, in big, bold letters, read, 

                                             Royal Party Planned

                                            Kogane Prince Found

“A party in Paris?” Varkon was excited for all of the wrong reasons. He figured that since they were both free of limbo, him and his master should just try to enjoy themselves while they could. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“We’re going to let the Grand Duke Kityl have his moment,” Zarkon growled, beginning to pace the length of the bell tower. 

“Who cares?” 

“And then we’ll kill him.”

Varkon, on a different track of mind, agreed at first, but then quickly snapped back to his senses. “Kill him? Sir, what happened to the party idea?”

“That’s where we’ll kill him,” Zarkon grinned, triumphantly. “I will crush him at the height of his glory.” He grabbed the newspaper from the table, and ripped it to shreds.

Varkon felt a sense of dread in his gut. “Sir, I’m begging you, please- please forget about the boy. We’re free to do whatever we want! Let’s just go!”

“Oh, I’ll do whatever I want.” Varkon’s protests had fallen on deaf ears. “I will see to the eradication of the Kogane line once and for all!” Zarkon’s maniacal laughter was lost to the howling storm outside, but his threat held true.

——————————————————————————————-

After being reunited, Keith joined Shiro at his estate, where the Emperor was trying to help patch the gaps in Keith’s memory. Allura was thrilled to see her husband so happy again and welcomed Keith with open arms. She even helped them haul out all of Shiro’s old photo albums and boxes so that Keith could have a chance to go through them. They’d been at this task for a while now when Shiro pulled out a gilded portrait of both his family and Keith’s.

Keith took it gently, feeling the weight of his history in his hands. “I remember now…” he said softly, touching the face of his parents. “How much I loved them. How much they loved me.”

Shiro smiled wistfully at his cousin. “They wouldn’t want us to live in the past. Not now that we’ve found each other again.”

Keith nodded, placing the photo gently off to the side. 

“Oh, look at this!” Shiro’s exclamation drew Keith’s attention. “Isn’t this the drawing you gave me?” He handed it over for Keith to inspect. Keith remembered the day he had made this. He had become fascinated with the royal painter and his works and had decided that he was going to be just like him. His first task had been to draw Shiro atop his horse. The rest of the memory had Keith laughing.

“Yeah, I do remember,” he chuckled. “Thace made me so mad. He said it looked like a pig riding a donkey! Eh… He was right.” 

Shiro laughed along with him, the two of them fondly reliving the happier days of their youth. The Emperor felt a joy that he hadn’t felt in a long time. There was a particular box that he had noticed earlier, but purposefully avoided. He now pulled it closer and handed it to Keith. 

“A Kogane heirloom,” was his only explanation when Keith looked at him questionably.

Keith opened the box and gasped. Inside set a crown; a circlet of gold embedded with emeralds, rubies, and diamonds. It was a crown fit for a king. 

Shiro motioned for Keith to stand. He did so and his cousin led him to the side of the room that held a floor length mirror. Shiro took the box and set it off to the side, removed the crown, then placed it atop Keith’s head. They both turned to look at the younger of the two in the mirror.

The effect of the crown on Keith’s head was magical. Shiro felt it as well. He smiled at his cousin. He motioned towards an imaginary crowd. “I present to you, the Emperor of all Russia.”

——————————————————————————————-

The day of the party rolled around and Keith wanted to die. He’d been groomed and inspected until he had passed for what was considered “royally acceptable”. But he couldn’t deny one fact. He did look good. 

As the final touches were being placed on Keith downstairs, Shiro was up in his office with Lance whom he had summoned to his quarters. The Emperor could sense a change in the man. He was much more melancholy; he seemed… sad.

Lance bowed, respectfully. “You sent for me, your majesty?”

Shiro indicated to an open suitcase on his desk. “Ten million rubles. As promised, with my gratitude.”

Lance’s eyes didn’t even waver. His gaze was steady as he replied to the Emperor. “I accept your gratitude, your highness. But I- I don’t want the money.”

Shiro inspected Lance. He smiled a little to himself, as if laughing at a personal joke, then closed the suitcase with a dull thud. “What do you want then?” he asked.

Lance opened his mouth to speak, but he seemed to change his mind about what he was going to say. He settled for, “Unfortunately, nothing you can give.” He bowed again and prepared to leave the room, but Shiro stopped him.

“Where did you get the music box?” That made Lance stop in his tracks, his back still to Shiro. 

“You were the boy, weren’t you?” Shiro pressed. “The servant boy who saved us from the palace that night? You saved his life and mine, brought him back to me, and yet you want no reward.” As he spoke, the Emperor circled Lance trying to catch his gaze, but the latter’s eyes remained firmly on the floor. 

“Not anymore,” Lance responded, raising his head, but still not meeting Shiro’s gaze.

“Why the change of mind?”

Lance paused, but only to take a deep breath, as if resolving himself. “It was more a change of heart,” he finally said, bowing again, then stepping out of the room.

Left alone in his office, Shiro gazed at the spot where Lance had left. The faint ghost of a smile danced across his lips.

——————————————————————————————-

Lance couldn’t wait to get out of there. He did his best to not just sprint down the stairs, but instead, settled for keeping his gaze down and moving as fast as was socially acceptable. However, looking down prevented him from seeing who was coming up the stairs.

“Hello, Lance.”

Hearing his name wasn’t what stopped Lance in his tracks. It was the voice of the person speaking. His gaze shot up to see Keith in his suit and crown staring at him with a combination of anger and coldness. A lightning bolt of pain shot up both of their hearts, but neither of them would have dared to admit it.

“Hello.” Lance did his best to maintain his cool.

“Did you collect your reward?” Keith was blown back by Lance’s audacity to just walk in, gather his money and go. Keith had thought he meant more to Lance than that, but apparently not.

Lance considered telling Keith the truth, but ultimately decided against it. Keith had finally found where he belonged. He looked like true royalty standing there in his coronation outfit and crown. It wasn’t Lance’s place to take Keith away or distract him from that.

So he settled for saying, “My business is complete.”

He was about to move on when a voice from the bottom of the stairs distracted him.

The butler, whose orange mustache was particularly large, scolded Lance, “Young man, you will bow and address the Prince as ‘Your Highness’.”

Keith shook his head. “No, Coran, that’s not necessary.” But Lance waved his comment away.

“My apologies,” he said to Coran, then turned and bowed to Keith. “Your highness,” he rose, “I’m glad you found what you were looking for.”

Keith suppressed a shudder of anger. Was this all Lance was going to say? Is this all he had to say!? Coldly, Keith responded, “Yes. I’m glad you did too.”

“Well then. Goodbye, your highness.” He bowed low again, kept Keith’s gaze for just a second longer, and then he was gone, down the stairs and out the door. Keith thought about going after him, but he really wasn’t entirely sure what he would have said. So instead he stared at the place where Lance had vanished and very quietly said, “Goodbye.”

——————————————————————————————-

Hunk and Pidge had officially been perceived as famous, having been a part of the group who had rescued the lost prince. Pidge had used this as an opportunity to get word out to their family and could barely suppress their excitement when they had received word back. Their family was here! And they were invited to the royal party where Pidge would reunite with them again.

The two friends were in the process of readying themselves for the party. As they both stood in front of the mirror, straightening ties and adjusting coats, someone cleared their throat from behind.

“Well, if you’re ever in St. Petersburg again, look me up.”

Both companions glanced up to see Lance’s reflection in the mirror. Hunk turned and embraced his friend in a huge hug. Lance squeezed him back with just as much vigor. Once they parted, Lance gave him a wistful smile. “So long, Hunk.”

“Lance.” Hunk gently grabbed him by the shoulders. “You’re making a mistake.”

“Trust me.” Lance removed himself from his friend’s grip. “This is the one thing I’m doing right.”

He moved on to Pidge next, playfully punching them on the shoulder. “So long, pipsqueak.” Instead of throwing a fit, like they did every other time Lance called them short, Pidge wrapped their arms around Lance’s waist in a tight hug instead. 

“I knew you were stupid, but this is taking it to a whole other level,” Pidge murmured, releasing Lance from their hug. 

He gave that wistful smile again and ruffled Pidge’s hair. “I can’t stay. I don’t belong here. I’ll see you guys later.” He gave a last round of hugs, but then he left, leaving Hunk and Pidge staring after him sadly.

——————————————————————————————-

This party was going to be the party of all parties. Couples already swirled around the dance floor, lights twinkled all over the ballroom, and everyone was dressed to the nines. 

Keith loitered behind a curtain at the end of the room, waiting to make his grand entrance. But he couldn’t stop himself from peaking, gazing at the party-goers, hoping (although he’d never say it out loud) to see a glimpse of those familiar blue eyes.

Shiro approached his cousin from behind, noticing how his eyes feverishly raked the crowds. “He’s not there, you know?”

Keith jumped, but managed to keep his grip on the curtain. “I know he’s not there. He-” It was then that Keith seemed to realize his blunder, then tried to cover it up with saying, “Who’s not there, Shiro?”

He brought his gaze back to the party and Shiro joined him. “A remarkable young man… Who found a music box a long time ago.”

“No,” Keith shook his head. “He’s probably too busy spending his reward money as fast as he can.”

Shiro shot Keith a wise glance from the side that the latter didn’t see. The Emperor looked back at the party.

“Just look at them dance,” he murmured.

Keith did. Everyone was dancing in time; it was like everyone knew the exact sequence of steps to follow (everyone except for Pidge and Hunk, who were dancing to their own rhythm off to the side). But he could also spot Allura and Shay, gracefully twirling around the room. These people reeked of nobility. Nobility that Keith now belonged to.

Shiro continued, “You were born into this world of parties and jewels and fine titles, but I wonder… If this is what you really want.”

Keith looked shocked, but his words came out hesitant. “Of course! Of course it is! I found what I was looking for!” He allowed the curtain to close as he took a couple steps forward away from the party. “I found out who I am! I found you!”

“Yes,” Shiro followed him forwards. “You did find me. And you’ll always have me.” He placed a hand comfortingly on Keith’s shoulder. “But is it enough?”

Keith didn’t answer this time. He was too busy contemplating Shiro’s question.

Shiro sighed. “Keith,” he said, “He didn’t take the money.”

Keith’s head shot around at the mere mention of Lance. “He didn’t?”

But Shiro avoided Keith’s question and continued speaking, “Knowing that you’re alive and seeing the man you’ve become… It brings me a happiness I never thought I could feel again.” He pulled his cousin into a tight hug. Keith reciprocated it gratefully. “Whatever you choose,” he said, “We will always have each other.”

Keith’s gaze drifted off as he processed what Shiro was saying. Lance hadn’t taken the money? Why not? Was Shiro really telling him it was ok if he didn’t take the throne? Was he telling him he should go after Lance? There were too many questions to process. “Shiro, can’t you tell me the-” But when he turned to look at his cousin, he was gone. Keith was alone.

He drifted towards the curtain again. He made as if to brace himself and enter the party, but something held him back. If he stepped out there now, it would cement his decision. 

——————————————————————————————-

Pidge was having the time of their life dancing with Hunk while the stuck-up nobles seemed appalled at the manner in which they were acting. But Pidge didn’t care. They were having fun. 

However, during one particular song when they had decided to take a break, they noticed something in the crowd that made their breath catch in their throat.  A tuft of brown hair, a familiar gleam of golden brown eyes…

“Matt?” Pidge called, their brother’s name coming out as barely a whisper. Was that really him? He was here! But he was moving away from her, away from the crowd. Pidge’s heart beating frantically, desperate not to lose their brother again. 

“Matt! Matt!” They called out to him, but he kept moving away. In desperation, Pidge followed.

——————————————————————————————-

Keith was still conflicted upon what to do. Should he leave and go after Lance? Or claim his right to the throne? These thoughts raged in his head, but they were interrupted by the sound of Pidge shouting.

They were running towards the open doors that lead out to the gardens, shouting the name “Matt” over and over. 

“Pidge?” Keith called out, but his friend didn’t turn; they just kept running until they ran through the doors and disappeared from sight. Keith followed, worried for his friend from the beginning.

When Keith stepped outside, the first thing he registered was the giant hedge maze that spread out behind the manor. The second thing was Pidge descending the stairs and entering the maze, still chasing after… whoever... or whatever. Keith didn’t know. He pursued, not wanting to lose sight of his friend. 

He entered the maze, focused on keeping Pidge in sight. But what he didn’t notice was the entrance of the maze magically growing shut, trapping both him and Pidge inside.

Read the Final Chapter here!

#voltron #voltron au #klance #klance au #anastasia #anastasia au #lance mcclain #keith kogane #hunk garrett #pidge gunderson #takashi shirogane #shiro #princess allura #coran #varkon #zarkon #fanfiction

[voltron-fanfiction]

Anastasia!Klance AU: Chapter 9

Read the Prologue here!

Too embarrassed to go back inside, Lance waited out the rest of the ballet on the front steps of the opera house. Hunk and Pidge had found him afterwards inquisitive to how the meeting with the Emperor had gone, but Lance just shook off their questions and refused to answer. Hunk could see that his friend was in a bad state. He ushered Pidge away, but before he left himself, he silently handed Lance the jewelry box. 

Staring at the box, all of Lance’s earlier plans came flooding back, and he shook his head. How could he have been so stupid?

During this contemplation, the Emperor and his wife had exited the theatre and were heading towards their town car. Lance just happened to look up the moment they stepped past him, and in a split second, he had come up with a plan.

Shiro and Allura’s chauffeur opened the door for them. He saluted them both as first the Empress slid into the vehicle, then the Emperor right behind her. But as the driver shut the door and began walking towards his side of the car, Lance slid into the driver’s seat, threw the car into position, and sped off down the street, throwing the royal’s into the backs of their streets and leaving the chauffeur behind.

“Coran, slow down,” Allura ordered.

“I’m not Coran,” Lance turned so that they both could see his face. “And I won’t slow down until your husband listens.”

Shiro’s gaze hardened, and Lance was suddenly aware of how much stronger the Emperor probably was. 

“You!” the Emperor accused. “How dare you? Stop this car immediately!”

Despite Shiro’s protesting, Lance drove faster, silently thanking the heavens that the drive to the house was a short one. He drove through a red light, swerved around a corner, then screeched to a halt in front of the house they were staying in. Lance subconsciously made a note that Keith’s bedroom light was on.

Lance pushed his door open, stepped around the car, then opened Shiro’s door. The Emperor looked like he was about to launch himself from the vehicle, but Lance stood firmly in his way.

“You have to talk to him!” he said, trying to sound as firm as possible. “Just look at him, please.”

“I won’t be badgered by you a moment longer.” Shiro tried to push his way past his adversary, and Lance knew it was time to use his trump card. He pulled the jewelry box from his coat pocket. 

“Do you recognize this?”

It was like Shiro had been frozen in place. He gazed at the box, eyes wide, breath rapid. Gone was the man who probably could’ve knocked Lance down with one punch. He looked... He looked downright vulnerable, staring at that box.

“Where?” he gasped. “Where did you get this?” He sat back against the seat, and Allura took his hand, comfortingly.

“I know you’ve been hurt,” Lance made his voice as gentle and persuasive as he could. “But it’s just possible that he’s been as lost and alone as you.”

Shiro hadn’t torn his gaze away from the box, but there was a glimmer in his eye that hadn’t been there before.

“You’ll stop at nothing, will you?”

Lance’s lips quirked up at the corners. Finally, something had gone right. He chuckled, “I’m probably about as stubborn as you are.”

——————————————————————————————-

Keith had gone straight from the ballet to the house. He wanted to get as far away from everyone and everything as fast as possible. He hadn’t even bothered to change out of his suit; he was just throwing everything into a suitcase, then getting the hell out.

But as he was blindly grabbing his belongings, his hand brushed against something cool and smooth. He picked up the mysterious object. It was the rose Lance had given him at the Eiffel Tower.

His heart warmed for a split second at the tender memory, but then he remembered what had happened at the opera house. Without a second glance, he tossed the rose into the trash can and resumed his packing.

A knock on the door didn’t even distract him from his task.

“Go away, Lance,” he growled, not bothering to look up. The door opened anyways; Keith could tell from the change in atmosphere. He turned around in a huff about to shout at Lance to go away again, but he froze and his breath caught in his throat as he realized who had entered his room.

Shiro, the Emperor, stood in front of him. His speculative gaze swept over Keith and he suddenly felt self-conscious. 

“I-I’m sorry,” he stuttered out. “I thought you were-”

“I know very well who you thought I was,” Shiro interrupted him. “But who, exactly, are you?”

“I was hoping you could tell me.”

“What’s your name?”

“Keith.”

Shiro contemplated the name. “Keith, I’m getting older, and I’m tired of being conned and tricked.”

Keith’s eyebrows knitted together. “I don’t want to trick you.”

Shiro half-smiled at him, then took a step towards Keith’s open window and glanced out at the city. “And I suppose the money doesn’t interest you either?”

Keith shook his head and joined the man by the window. “Look,” he said. “I just want to know who I am and whether or not I belong to a family. Your family.”

Shiro gave him that odd half-smile again. “You’re a very good actor. Best yet, in fact. But… I’ve had enough.” He placed a hand on Keith’s shoulder, nodded, then made to leave the room. As he passed, Keith got a whiff of… What was that smell? And why had he recognized it instantly?

“Pine?” he said out loud. That was the smell.

Shiro stopped and glanced back.

“Yes, it’s my cologne.” 

“The same one your father used to wear?”

Shiro did a double take. Keith did as well. Where had he remembered that from? It was almost as if a picture were forming in his head, but he was only gradually gaining each piece of it. 

Keith continued, hesitantly, beginning to spin his ring round and round his finger as the memories came back. “I spilled a bottle once. The carpet was soaked… And it forever smelled of pine.”

Shiro remembered that carpet. He had loved the smell; it was partly the reason he wore the same cologne today. But also because it reminded him of Kityl… He sat down on a chaise next to the bed, intrigued.

Taking note of the fact that Shiro wasn’t leaving, Keith pressed on, “I would lie on the rug with… With my cousin… And when he would leave, I’d lie on that rug and wait for him to come back… To come back from Paris.”

Shiro was listening almost as intensely as Keith was concentrating. The Emperor motioned for the younger man to take a seat next to him, and it was then that he noticed Keith fidgeting with the ring on his finger. A ring that looked awfully similar to one he had seen long, long ago.

His eyes widened. “What is that?”

Keith noticed the Emperor’s attention was drawn to his ring. “This?” He held it up into the light. “I’ve always had it; ever since before I can remember.”

Shiro held his hand out. “May I?”

Keith’s first response was to say no, but he quickly thought better of it. He slid the ring off his finger and placed it in Shiro’s hand.

“It was a secret…” the Emperor murmured, mostly to himself. “Kityl’s and mine.” Without really thinking about it, he drew the box Lance had given his from his coat pocket.

Keith gasped, “The music box!”

A warm feeling was beginning to spread through Shiro’s chest. Keith could feel it to. He felt it as he took both the ring and music box from Shiro’s grasp.

“Yes,” Shiro’s smile had grown wider. “The music box.”

“This would sing me to sleep,” Keith said slowly, as if doing anything else would destroy the moment. “When you were in Paris.”

The song he had sung in the palace with Pidge came back to his memory. And along with it came more memories of his mother and father singing the same song, of himself humming it in his youth, and most importantly, memories of him singing it with his cousin, Shiro.

Out of completely pure instinct, Keith inserted his ring into the indention on the front of the music box. After a couple of twists, the box opened, revealing a dancing king and queen and music began to play. Keith sang along.

Here this song and remember

With tears in the corners of his eyes, Shiro joined in.

Soon you’ll be home with me

Once upon a December

The song ended and the box closed. But the two men were too busy staring at each other. Shiro felt the truth so deeply in his heart that he felt like he was going to burst. There was only one way that this man would know about the rug, about the ring, about the song, about everything.

Keith felt the exact same way. Once the realization had been made, the two men embraced. Shiro hugged his cousin as tightly as he could.

“It’s you,” he whispered. “Kityl. You’re Kityl.”

Keith let out a shaky laugh of happiness as tears rolled down his cheeks. He’d done it. He’d finally found his family. He knew where he belonged.

But what he didn’t see was Lance standing alone out on the sidewalk.

He had heard the whole exchange between Keith and Shiro from the open bedroom window. He had reunited the long lost Prince of Russia with his family. His job was done. He could leave Keith alone now, knowing that he had helped the boy find his family. 

He blew a final goodbye kiss to Keith, placed his hat atop his head, then walked down the street away from the house. Away from Keith.

Read Chapter 10 here!

#voltron #voltron au #klance #klance au #anastasia #anastasia au #lance mcclain #keith kogane #shiro #takashi shirogane #princess allura #coran #pidge gunderson #hunk garrett #fanfiction

[voltron-fanfiction]

Anastasia!Klance AU: Chapter 8

Read the Prologue here!

The night air was brisk and cool, the city lights reflected off the streets, and cars drove by on the nearby road, occasionally honking at one another. The ballet was being held at the Parisian opera house, and Shay had insisted that she prep Keith one final time before he met the Emperor. Pidge had gone along with them, and now Lance and Hunk were outside of the theater waiting for them. They had both changed into fancier tuxedos, and Lance had purposefully placed the rose Keith had given him back into his lapel. He was currently sitting on the steps of the opera house while Hunk paced nervously back and forth.

“We don’t have anything to worry about,” Lance consoled, yet with a glum tone of voice. “He’s the prince.”

Hunk turned and sat with his friend. “I know, I know,” he said, but Lance stood up in frustration just as Hunk made contact with the steps.

“No! No, no… You don’t know.” Lance ran his fingers through his hair and looked back at his friend with a sad expression. “Hunk, I was the boy in the palace. The one who opened the wall.” He leaned in closer and whispered, “He’s the real deal.”

Hunk could see in his best friend’s eyes that he was telling the truth. His expression widened as he came to the same realization Lance had. “That means Keith… Has found his family,” he finished, eyes wide.

He stood from his step so that he was eye-to-eye with Lance “We found the heir to the Russian throne!” Hunk placed a firm hand on Lance’s shoulder and opened his mouth to say something else, but suddenly hesitated. Lance raised his eyebrows as a sign for him to continue.

Hunk waited a moment, but finally he did. “And you-”

“Will walk out of his life forever.” Lance didn’t even let him finish. Those two words gave him too much to think about. He knew his place; there were no reasons for false hope. He brushed off his friend’s hand and took a few steps away from him.

Hunk wasn’t going to let up. He matched Lance’s steps and tried to intercede, but Lance just turned and shook his head. He gave Hunk a wistful smile. “Princes don’t marry kitchen boys, Hunk.” 

He turned away again, but Hunk still wasn’t done. “I know, but-”

Lance whirled around and faced his friend. “We’re going to go through with this as if nothing has changed.”

“But it has!” Hunk pushed. “You’ve got to tell him.”

“Tell me what?”

Keith’s voice shocked the two men out of their argument. Suddenly, Keith was all Lance could see. He was wearing a trench coat, hiding his ensemble underneath, but Shay had groomed his hair and left it stylishly tussled atop his head. He looked downright regal. 

Lance snapped out of his thoughts fast enough to come up with an excuse. “H-how handsome you look,” he managed to stutter out. He offered his arm towards Keith like a gentleman. Keith smiled and took it. “Well, thank you,” he said.

Pidge had arrived as well and joked to Hunk as they walked in, “Isn’t anyone going to compliment me?” 

But Hunk wasn’t paying attention. Shay had arrived as well, and she was suddenly the focus of Hunk’s attention. Pidge just rolled their eyes and made their way up the steps of the theater.

——————————————————————————————-

Once inside, Keith had given his coat to the attendant and already made his way up the grand staircase. Lance had been so distracted by his own coat and tipping the attendant that he was completely awestruck when he turned and caught sight of Keith at the top of the stairs.

Shay had dressed him in a sleek tuxedo with a red vest and black tie underneath. His ring shone brightly under the light from the chandelier. Lance felt his jaw drop slightly. He looked amazing. Lance could have stared at him forever.

It took him a moment to realize that Keith was waiting for him, but once he did, he all but sprinted up the stairs, bypassing all of the other couples to loop his arm through Keith’s. Lance didn’t let go until they found their seats on the first row of the first balcony. 

They all took their places and Lance pulled a pair of opera glasses from the coat of his jacket. He aimed his gaze towards the Emperor’s box… There he was! The Emperor with his wife and Shay. He leaned over to whisper in Keith’s ear, “Look! There he is!”

Keith greedily took the glasses and fixed his gaze on the Emperor Shiro. He felt a stir of recognition at the sight of what could be his family, and he desperately wished it wasn’t just his head playing tricks on him. “Please let him remember me,” he murmured to himself.

It was then that the lights in the theatre dimmed and the ballet began. The show was Cinderella, but no one in the company was actually paying attention to it. Within the first few minutes, Pidge and Hunk had fallen asleep, and Keith was too busy rotating between fidgeting with his ring and ripping his program to shreds to properly pay attention. Lance was distracted by Keith’s nerves, so he reached over and laced his fingers through Keith’s, forcing the boy to stop destroying his program.

“Everything’s gonna be fine,” he murmured, then placed a light kiss atop Keith’s ring. They didn’t let go until the end of the first act. The lights rose, and Lance turned to Keith. “Come on,” he said. “It’s time.”

——————————————————————————————-

Shay had told Lance beforehand where he could find the Emperor’s box and Lance was currently leading Keith towards it. But the latter was panicking. Big time.

“Relax,” Lance soothed. “You’re gonna do great.”

Keith nodded, but then changed his mind and tried to turn around, but Lance kept a firm grip on his and got him to keep walking.

“Hey! Take a deep breath. Everything’s gonna be fine.”

Finally, they stood in front of a large ornate wooden door; the entrance to the Emperor’s box. Lance came to a halt.

“Wait here for just a second,” he ordered. “I’ll go in and announce you properly.”

His hand was on the door, but Keith saying his name made him turn back around.

“Yes?” He was eager to here what Keith was about to say.

Keith was fidgeting with his ring yet again, but his gaze held Lance’s. “Look. We’ve been through a lot together.”

“Uh-huh.” Lance took a step closer.

“And I just wanted to…”

Another step. “Yes?”

“Well…”

Lance was now almost nose-to-nose with Keith. They locked eyes a moment longer… Before Keith dropped his gaze and said, “Thank you, I guess.” He glanced back up. “Yes, thank you for everything.”

Both boys turned away, thinking that was the end of the conversation, but Lance couldn’t stop the conflicting emotions within him.

In a boost of confidence, he looked back. “Keith, I-”

“Yes?” Keith all but spun around, desperate to hear what Lance was about to say.

“I’m… I… Uh…”

Keith took a step closer. “Yes?”

But any confidence Lance had just had vanished. “I want to wish you good luck, I guess.”

“Oh.” Keith’s features dropped in visual disappointment. 

In an attempt to salvage the situation, Lance stuck out his hand for Keith to shake. When Keith took it, Lance had a brief flashback back to the first time he had shaken this man’s hand in the St. Petersburg palace. Back to when Keith was just a raggedy old orphan. Now he was a prince.

He broke the handshake before he could think about what else had changed and said, “Good luck. Well, here it goes.”

He turned and entered the Emperor’s box, swinging the door shut behind him. But what he didn’t see was the force of his swing causing the door to rebound and pop back open a bit.

Shay was sitting in the parlor, awaiting his arrival. She nodded eagerly and Lance knew it was time. In the most professional voice he could muster, he boomed out, “Please inform his majesty the Emperor that I have found his cousin, the Grand Duke Kityl. He’s waiting to see him just outside the door.”

Shay put her hands up and played along. “I’m very sorry, sir. But the Emperor will see no one!” She stepped to the side to let him through.

But Shiro spoke up from his seat, “Please inform the impertinent young man that I have seen enough Grand Duke Kityl’s to last a lifetime.”

Shay could tell from his tone of voice that he meant what he said. Even Allura turned around and indicated that she should get rid of Lance. Sadly, she glanced at her friend. “You’d better go.”

But Lance was determined. “Please let me just-”

“If you’ll excuse me,” Shiro interrupted again. “I wish to live out the remainder of my life in peace with my wife.”

Shay lightly touched Lance’s arm. “I’ll see you to the door.” She turned and began heading in that direction. Lance followed her, but after a couple of steps he turned and stepped out onto the Emperor’s balcony.

“Your majesty,” He put his hands up in a gesture of surrender. “I intend you and your wife no harm.” He walked over and took a seat directly next to Shiro. “My name is Lance,” he introduced himself. “I used to work at the palace.” Shiro simply raised an eyebrow at him, then got up to leave. “Well, that’s one I haven’t heard yet.” Lance was right on his heels as the Emperor stepped into his parlor. Allura came soon after.

“Wait, please don’t go,” Lance begged. “If you’ll just hear me out.”

The Emperor turned back to Lance and pointed a finger accusingly at him. “I know what you’re after. I’ve seen it before. Men who train young boys in the royal ways.” He reached over and tugged a golden rope that hung from the ceiling.

Crap, Lance thought. He’s called for security. I need to get this done.

“But if your highness will just listen-”

“Haven’t you been listening? I’ve had enough! I don’t care how much you’ve fashioned this boy to look like him, sound like him, or act like him! In the end… It never is him.”

“But this time it is him!” Lance was growing frustrated. This was not going at all like he’d planned. And then it took a turn for the worse.

“You said your name was Lance…” Shiro contemplated this for a moment. “Yes. I’ve heard of you. You’re that con man from St. Petersburg who was holding auditions for a Kityl look-alike!”

Lance couldn’t acknowledge the truth. That would only send this already awful situation south. He had to bring this back somehow.

“But your grace,” he pleaded. “We’ve come all the way from Russia just to see-”

“And others have come from outer space,” Shiro shot back.

“It’s not that! It’s not what you think!”

But Shiro had finally reached his limit. “How much pain will you inflict upon me just for money!?” 

Allura finally stepped in, just as security burst in. 

“What seems to be the problem?”

“Please,” Allura gestured to Lance. “Remove him. He has upset my husband a great deal.”

The two burly guards grabbed Lance by each of his arms and began dragging him out of the room. Lance shouted the whole way out, “But he is Kityl! I’m telling you! He’s the Grand Duke! If you’ll only speak to him, you’ll see-” But Lance’s final statement was abruptly cut off as he was kicked out of the Emperor’s box.

The door slammed shut behind him, and he landed face first on the carpet of the theatre. Right at Keith’s feet. Lance felt a slight wave of relief wash over him; Keith would understand, even try and make him feel better. Lance’s gaze drifted up from Keith’s feet to his legs to his torso to his face- But instead of warm or concerned eyes staring down at him, Keith’s gaze was full of unbridled rage.

Because the door had swung open, Keith had been able to hear every single word that the Emperor and Lance had exchanged as clear as day. Particularly the parts about how Lance was a con man who had held auditions and that he was only doing this for money. Keith felt the betrayal like hunger; a deep, unavoidable pain in the pit of his stomach. But it only fueled his rage against Lance.

Before Lance could say anything, Keith spoke, the anger in his voice unmistakable, “It was all a lie. Wasn’t it?”

“No, no, no, no,” Lance protested attempting to get up fast enough, but Keith was already storming away from him. He finally made it to his feet, but Keith had sharply turned back, not quite done yelling at Lance.

“You used me,” Keith accused. “I was just a part of your con to get his money!”

“No, no!” Lance kept repeating, but he knew if there was any chance to salvage this situation, he needed to tell the truth. “Look, it may have started out that way-”

That was all Keith needed to hear. He stomped away, but Lance followed. “But everything’s different now!” he continued. “Because you really are Kityl!”

Keith physically bristled, stopping so abruptly that Lance nearly crashed into him. “Look, stop it!” Keith yelled, beginning to draw the attention of the other ballet-goers. “From the very beginning, you lied! And I not only believed you, I actually…” Instead of finishing his sentence, he simple groaned and tried to walk away again.

“Keith please!” Lance stepped in front of him, but Keith kept walking. Lance followed, keeping pace.

“When you spoke of the hidden door of the wall opening and the little boy. Listen to me, that was-” He didn’t get to finish his sentence, he had tried to take Keith’s hand, but the boy had ripped it away.

“No!” Keith shouted. “I don’t want to hear about anything that I said or remembered!” He tried to push past Lance, who grabbed him by the waist to hold him back, but Keith pushed him off with all the strength he had.

“Just leave me alone!” Lance tried to stop him one last time by grabbing his arm, but that was the final straw for Keith. He turned and punched Lance in the jaw. Lance reeled back, and Keith took that as his opportunity to get away from Lance. 

By the time Lance had recovered, Keith had disappeared in the crowd. “Keith please!” he shouted in a final attempt. “You have to know the truth!” But no one answered him. Lance’s jaw and heart ached. It was over. He had ruined his one chance.

Keith was gone.

Read Chapter 9 here!

#voltron #voltron au #klance #klance au #anastasia #anastasia au #lance mcclain #keith kogane #pidge gunderson #hunk garrett #princess allura #takashi shirogane #shiro #shay

[voltron-fanfiction]

Anastasia!Klance AU: Chapter 7

Read the Prologue Here!

“NOOOOOO!”

The sheer force of Zarkon’s cry of anger was enough to create fissures in the rock beneath them. He took his anger out on the stone formations; turning them to dust beneath his fists.

Varkon attempted to calm him down. “Easy now, Master. This is no time to lose your head; we can still get him.”

Surprisingly, his servant’s words did manage to satiate some of Zarkon’s anger, but he was still furious.

“You’re right,” he grumbled, beginning to pace, trying to think of his next move. Suddenly, he stopped and laid eyes on Varkon. “That’s it,” he mumbled. “I’ll have to kill him myself in person.”

“What? You mean… Physically?” Varkon was shocked.

“This is the only way.”

“But that means going back up there!” He pointed a finger in the general “up” direction. Varkon knew he should be in support of his master’s plan, but he couldn’t deny the uneasy feeling he had about the whole situation.

“Exactly. It’s time I killed the last of the Kogane’s with my own two hands. It’s time to go.” 

“But sir, you’re dead! And falling apart! How do you expect to get to Paris in one piece?!” But Varkon’s warnings fell on deaf ears. Zarkon grabbed his servant by the collar, and used the powers of the reliquary to launch himself out of limbo and up towards the real world above.

——————————————————————————————-

In France, the Emperor Shiro and the Empress Allura sat in Shay’s parlor listening to a young man that stood in front of them. Shay sat off to the side as the man presented himself as the lost prince Kityl.

“Yes,” the man said, tapping his chin as if in deep thought. “I remember it so well.” Then he began to list off names as if reciting straight from a textbook.  “Uncle Atya was from Moscow, Uncle Boris was from Odessa. And every spring-”

“We would take picnics by the shore on Sundays.” The interruption had come from Shiro himself. He pinched the bridge of his nose with his fingers, then fixed his gray stare on the imposter. “Don’t you have anything better to do? Than to parade around as my lost cousin.” He stood, turned his back, and fixed his gaze out the window.

The man was at a lost for words, and Shay quickly stood and ushered him out, apologizing the whole way.

“I can’t do this anymore,” Shiro muttered.

“I’m so sorry,” Shay apologized profusely to her cousin and the emperor. “I thought for sure that this one was real. I’ll try harder next time, I promise. Should I maybe ask harder questions?”

“No.” Shiro turned back to the group, but he had crossed his arms and was leaning against the windowsill. “I don’t think my heart can take it anymore.”

Allura stood and approached her husband. After so many years, the fall of Russia and the loss of his family had taken its toll on Shiro. A large patch of his hair had turned white, and the scar across his nose that he had received when escaping Russia had never quite healed. The memories of what happened that night was always there, reminding him of his loss.

“Shiro.” She placed a hand comfortingly on his arm. “There’s a very good chance that Kityl is still alive. Do not give up hope. That’s not the man I married. Would Kityl really want you to give up?”

She reached over and grabbed the photo of Kityl that sat on the table and handed it to Shiro. He stared at the photo for what felt like eternity. Finally, he tore his gaze away and looked sadly at his wife. “I’m sorry, Allura. I can’t do it anymore. And knowing my cousin, he would tell me to move on, to forget him and get on with my life. I won’t forget him. But I do think it’s time to move on.” And with that, he placed the photo face down on the table and left the room.

——————————————————————————————-

Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as they stepped off the boat. They were finally in Paris. Lance had arranged for a town car to take them straight to Shay’s house. Ever since that stormy night on the boat, Keith and Lance’s relationship had been… different. They were less at each other’s throats and more like genuine friends. Even though feelings of wanting more lingered beneath the surface.

As they drove through the streets of Paris, Lance was doing some last minute quizzing.

“Ok, where is Uncle Boris from?”

But Keith wasn’t paying attention.

“What if Shay doesn’t believe me?”

“She will,” Lance assured him. “You are Kityl.”

“It’s just that…”

“What?”

Keith silently gazed out the window at the passing view before answering, “Well, it’s just that less than a month ago, I didn’t have a past at all. And now, I’m trying to remember an entire lifetime! It’s just- it’s just a lot.”

Lance’s lip quirked up the end. “That’s why you’ve got me. Now, where was Uncle Boris from?”

——————————————————————————————-

The car deposited the companions outside of a grand manor. Hunk practically flew out of the car as soon as it had parked and was already knocking on the door by the time everyone else had disembarked. 

The woman who answered the door was incredibly lovely and as soon as Hunk saw her, he was completely lost.

“Shay!” “Hunk!” The woman was just as excited to see him. He picked her up and spun her around in a circle. Pidge pretended to vomit at the sight of the two lovebirds, and Keith and Lance couldn’t help but laugh.

“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Shay had just seemed to realize that Hunk had brought guests. “Where are my manners? Please come in, everyone.”

She led the way into her home; first Hunk, whose hand was locked with hers, then Keith and Lance with Pidge trailing behind. Lance tried to lock Pidge out, which only resulted in him getting his shin kicked by someone incredibly strong yet half his height. 

Shay stopped in her parlor where she began to pour everyone tea. “So Hunk, what brings you to Paris?”

Hunk reluctantly left his love’s side and led Keith into the middle of the room. Keith had put on the suit Lance had given him and had (unwillingly) wrestled his hair into a ponytail. 

Hunk cleared his throat, then bowed, gesturing towards Keith. “May I present his Imperial Highness, the Grand Duke, Kityl Kogane.”

Shay’s eyes surveyed Keith, but not in a suspicious way; her gaze was simply curious. “He certainly does look like Kityl,” she finally ascertained. “But so did many of the others. But still, I shall ask you the questions anyways. Now, where were you born?”

Keith suddenly felt his anxiety kick in. This was it. This was his time to prove who he was. So why was he suddenly forgetting everything? In a panic, his gaze flew to Lance’s. Lance, sensing Keith’s panic, just smiled at him and mouthed four words. You can do this.

With Lance’s words echoing in his mind, Keith took a deep breath, then turned back to Shay. “I was born at the Peterhoff palace.”

Shay smiled. “That’s right. How does Kityl like his tea?”

Keith’s answer came with no hesitation. “I’ve never liked tea. Just hot water and lemon.”

Shay’s smile grew wider. “Very good. What was the name of your very first horse?”

——————————————————————————————-

Hour after hour passed, and Shay’s continuous flow of questions never seemed to end. From what the group could tell, Keith was doing fantastic. He’d gotten every question right so far, and had even begun to relay memories instead of just spouting off answers. Lance couldn’t have been more proud.

The tea had long since vanished when Shay finally began to wrap things up. “Finally, you’ll probably find this an impertinent question, but just answer it the best you can. How did you and the Emperor escape during the siege of the palace?”

Oh no. Lance felt his stomach drop. Out of everything, everything he had taught Keith, he had forgotten to tell him how Kityl escaped the palace. Lance turned away, unable to bear the moment Keith got it wrong and they were accused as frauds. He ran his fingers through his hair. How could he have been so stupid?

But instead of floundering, Keith was simply quiet, a look of sincere concentration on his face. His fingers went straight to his ring, rolling it around his finger a couple of times. Finally he spoke hesitantly, “There was a boy… A boy who worked in the palace… A boy with blue eyes… He opened a wall…” He looked like he wanted to say more, but instead he just shook his head and laughed apologetically, “I’m sorry. That’s crazy. Walls opening.”

But Lance knew it wasn’t crazy. He turned back around, wide eyes locked on Keith. He was the boy. The one who worked in the palace. The one with blue eyes. The one who had opened the wall. He had never told Keith that. There was only one explanation for Keith knowing what had really happened that night.

He was the Prince Kityl.

Lance felt the realization like a wrecking ball. He had spent all this time grooming this unkempt, aggravating orphan, thinking there was no way he could actually be the real deal. But now here Keith was- no, Kityl- standing in front of him. Hesitantly smiling at him, hoping he had done well. Lance had danced with him on the boat. Saved him from throwing himself overboard. Taught him everything he knows. Begun to feel maybe something more…

The emotions were too much for him to handle. He left the room as Hunk turned expectantly to Shay. “So?” he asked. “Is he a Kogane?”

“Well,” Shay was slightly hesitant in her verdict. “He did answer every question.”

Hunk had already begun celebrating. “Did you hear that Keith? You did it!” Both him and Pidge stood up and hugged their friend. Keith couldn’t believe it. He had actually done it. All those long days of studying had served him well. But if he was being honest, it had really felt like he was answering the questions truthfully. But maybe that was just his mind playing tricks on him. But he was slightly hurt by the fact that Lance had left. Didn’t he want to see all his hard work pay off? 

After a bit of cheering, Hunk turned back to Shay. “So when do we go and see the Emperor?”

At this, Shay’s cheeks turned a light shade of red. “I’m sorry, Hunk. But I don’t think that's possible.”

“What do you mean?” Hunk was instantly consoling after seeing his love upset.

“The Emperor simply won’t allow it. He said he’s tired of being disappointed when each Kityl turns out to be a fake. I don’t know what I can do for you.”

“Come on, Shay.” Hunk had taken both of her hands and looked at her head-on. “You are one of the bravest and smartest people I know. If anyone can get us a brief interview with the Emperor, it’s you. Is there anything you can think of?”

“Well,” Shay thought for a moment. Suddenly, her eyes lit up. “Oh, I know! The Emperor and Empress always go to see the Russian ballet whenever it comes to town. And it’s performing tonight. They always give me a couple of extra tickets as well. You’re best chance of meeting the Emperor is then.”

Hunk swept her up into an embrace, wheeling her around the room. “Yes, yes! I knew you could do it!”

——————————————————————————————-

Lance had taken a seat on the steps in front of the house, his head in his hands. His quiet brooding was interrupted by Hunk, joining him. He sat next to his friend and slung an arm over his shoulder. “We did it, Lance! We’re going to see the Imperial Highness tonight! We’re going to get the ten million rubles! We’re going to be-”

“Hunk,” Lance cut him off. “He is the prince,” he said glumly.

But Hunk wasn’t really listening. “Keith was extraordinary. I almost believed him. And Shay-”

Hunk was cut off again, but this time it was by Pidge dragging an unwilling Keith out of the doorway. “Shay says she wants to take us all shopping for the ballet. Let’s go before Keith changes his mind about being a Duke.”

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Thanks to Shay’s keen eye (and large pocket book) the whole company was dressed to the nines. Everyone was in a fancy suit, besides Pidge, who had settled for a nice shirt and slacks. After shopping, Shay had decided to take them on a tour of the city and to treat them to dinner at her favorite restaurant before the show.

As they walked, Keith found himself falling into step beside Lance. “You really did it,” the Cuban conceded. “You did a great job.” Keith smiled at Lance so genuinely that Lance felt his heart break a little inside because of what he knew. “All thanks to you,” Keith said back. He paused for a second, but then shyly slipped his hand through Lance’s. Lance thought about pulling away, but decided against it. Keith would be gone soon. Might as well enjoy his time while it lasted.

Shay had slyly noticed the two boys join hands, and she turned to whisper to Hunk, “You know what they say! Paris holds the key to your heart!”

——————————————————————————————-

Shay’s favorite restaurant turned out to be both dinner and a show. Before the main course was served, many people whisked their partners out onto the dance floor. Hunk had jokingly taken Pidge, and out of politeness, Keith had offered Shay his hand. 

Lance had stayed at the table, watching Keith from afar. He still couldn’t wrap his head around this turn of events. Keith was Prince Kityl. The child Lance had always been jealous of. He used to sneak around the palace just to get glimpses of him. And now he had been traveling with him? Taught him how to be who he already was? Faced life and death with him? 

“I can’t believe I found you,” he muttered to himself. But then silently, he thought to himself, I can’t believe I’ve fallen in love with you.

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The last stop on Shay’s tour was the Eiffel Tower itself. At the base of the tower, a man was handing out roses. Pidge took a couple and passed them out to their friends. Lance took Keith’s and tucked it into his lapel. 

“There,” he said. “The last touch.”

A mischievous smirk crossed Keith’s face. He grabbed Lance’s rose and tucked his in as well. “Now we match,” he joked. But then Pidge was occupying his attention and pulling him away from Lance. Lance looked at the rose, gently brushing the petals with his fingertips. He knew then that this was the only piece of Keith he was going to keep. Keith had a family now. He was a prince. He wouldn’t need Lance after all this was over.

And that meant Lance had to let him go.

Read Chapter 8 here!

#klance #klance au #voltron #voltron au #anastasia #anastasia au #takashi shirogane #shiro #lance mcclain #keith kogane #hunk garrett #pidge gunderson #princess allura #shay #shunk #shallura #fanfiction

[voltron-fanfiction]

HOW CAN YOU BE SO GOOD AT WRITING?? YOUR ANASTASIA AU IS AMAZING!!!

Thank you so so much! I’m so glad you like it! :D

[voltron-fanfiction]

Anastasia!Klance AU: Chapter 6

Read Prologue here!

The boat glided smoothly over the water, and the company felt a weight lift off their shoulders knowing their next destination was Paris.  As the sun was setting on their first day out at sea, Lance approached Keith in their bunk, a bunch of fabric in his hands.

“Here.” He handed the bundle to Keith. “I bought you a suit.”  Keith picked it up and inspected it. It was nice, no doubt about that. The shirt was a button-down and was a nice soft blue color. The pants were straight legged khaki’s. But it was definitely not Keith’s style. 

“You bought me... a monkey suit...” he mused. Keith continued to stare at it while Pidge laughed at the exchange. 

Lance was mildly annoyed, and it seeped into his voice as he said, “What are you looking for?”

Keith snorted, “I’m trying to understand why you want me to dress like I’m joining the Russian circus?”

“Ugh, come on.” Lance tossed the suit at his companion. “Just put it on.” He turned, grumbling, and stomped up the stairs towards the main deck.

Once he was gone, Keith felt slightly bad for being mean. He glanced at the suit again. Ok, maybe it was really nice. 

“Go on,” Pidge encouraged. “Put it on. I want to see.” 

Keith smiled at his friend, then closed the door of the suite to get changed.

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While Keith was changing, Pidge joined Lance and Hunk on the main deck. The two lifelong friends were in the middle of a game of chess, but it wasn’t long until Hunk knocked down Lance’s queen with a firm, “Checkmate.”

Lance groaned and started replaying the game in his mind, trying to figure out where he went wrong. Hunk leaned back in satisfaction, but it was at that moment that Keith appeared, dressed in his new suit. 

Both Pidge and Hunk’s eyes widened. Now that he wasn’t dressed it rags, it wasn’t impossible to picture the orphan as royalty. 

“Hey, Keith!” Hunk laughed out of happiness. He got up and made his way over. “You clean up nice!”

Lance was pulled out of his thoughts by Hunk’s shouting, and when his eyes landed on Keith, his jaw dropped slightly. The suit fit him perfectly. It wasn’t skin-tight, but you could just make out Keith’s athletic build underneath... Lance shook his head. Now was not the time.

But Hunk had other ideas in mind. “Now that you look like you’re ready for a ball,” he said, “You’ll learn how to dance for one. Lance, come practice with Keith.”

Lance went as if to protest, but Pidge pushed him forward. He stumbled over to Hunk and Keith. “I’m... I’m not very good at it,” he managed to get out.

Keith jokingly raised an eyebrow. “The illustrious Lance isn’t good at something? That’s got to be a first.”

Lance felt himself relax. Something about Keith joking with him just made the whole situation easier. He joked back, “I’m gonna make you eat your words.”

But Lance’s cockiness suddenly vanished when he placed his hand in Keith’s and wrapped a hand around his waist. He felt the breath leave his body, and he was suddenly very preoccupied with how the floor looked.

Keith was no better. He felt his cheeks warm and hoped that it wasn’t noticeable. 

Hunk gave them a count off to a waltz, and they began to dance. But it was very obvious that something was wrong. Both were out of step and neither were looking at each other. 

“No, no, no,” interrupted Hunk. “You need to switch. Lance, let Keith lead. And quit acting like the other has the plague!” 

The two stepped apart, but when they came back together, it felt different. Keith placed his hand gently, but firmly on Lance’s waist, and this time, Lance took Keith’s hand confidently. 

Hunk gave the count off again, and this time, the two took off across the deck. Now that they’d gotten past some of their hesitation, the two moved together in harmony. Keith took command, but Lance was right there backing him up. Both boys were surprised that they were actually enjoying themselves.

As they danced, Lance tried to make conversation. “That, uh... Suit looks really good.”

Keith brought Lance out into a spin, then brought him back in. “Do you think so?” he asked.

“Yes,” Lance answered. “I mean it was nice on the hanger, but it looks even better on you. You- you should wear it.”

Keith chuckled slightly, “I am wearing it.”

“Oh right, of course. Of course you. I-I’m just trying to give you a... Uh...”

“A compliment?” Keith filled in the hole. He had to admit it was kind of cute watching Lance trip over his words for once. He was much more attractive when he wasn’t pulling the whole know-it-all act.

“Of course, yes,” Lance stuttered. After that, he decided to just stick to dancing, but him and Keith still floated gracefully across the boat.

From the sidelines, Pidge and Hunk had been observing the whole exchange.

“Keith’s really come into his own, hasn’t he?” said Hunk.

Pidge nodded. “I haven’t known him for that long, but he seems happier. More confident. I think that’s something he could definitely use.”

They watched the two dance for a moment longer before Pidge asked, “And Lance?”

“I’ve known Lance my whole life,” said Hunk. “I’ve seen him constantly flirt with women. Unsuccessfully, of course, but I know how he is. But I’ve never seen him look at someone the way he looks at Keith.”

The pair glanced back at their friends. To any passerby, Lance and Keith looked like lovers, dancing in the last light of the day.

“Hunk?” Pidge’s brow furrowed. “What happens if Keith is Prince Kityl? What would that mean for Lance and him?” 

Hunk’s face fell too as he thought about Pidge’s words. After a moment of hesitation, he turned to his friend and sighed, “We never should have let them dance.”

Night was beginning to creep up on the companions, and Keith and Lance’s dance was coming to a close. As they slowed, Keith’s gaze was locked on Lance’s. “I’m feeling a little dizzy,” he confessed. 

Lance’s lip quirked up at the corner. “Kind of light-headed,” he added.

“Yeah.”

They came to a complete stop, but continued to stare at each other.

“Me too.” Keith wasn’t that much taller, but Lance still had to look up a little at him. “It’s probably from all the spinning. Maybe we should stop.”

Keith’s grip barely tightened on his dance partner, but it felt like an electric shock to Lance.

“We have stopped,” Keith said softly, his purple eyes burning with everything he was leaving unsaid.

Lance couldn’t deny he felt the same. “Keith, I-” 

He stopped, but Keith pushed, “Yes?”

The two had steadily been moving closer and closer together. Keith let his eyes slip close. Lance’s breath caught in his throat. If he leaned forward, just slightly... Then he could...

ACHOO!

From behind, Pidge sneezed loud enough to startle everyone on board. The moment was gone. Lance moved away from Keith. “You’re doing fine,” was the last thing he said before he patted Keith on the shoulder, then disappeared into the bowels of the ship.

Keith gazed forlornly at the place where Lance had vanished. Even Pidge and Hunk were surprised at the turn the night had taken. But there was nothing they could do about it now.

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About halfway through the trip, the waters turned choppy and the sky turned grey. Night had fallen, and a nasty storm was rolling in. The four companions were cooped away in their bunk. Pidge, Keith, and Hunk sat on the floor while Lance was stretched out, fast asleep on the other side of the room.

The boat swayed as it crossed the roiling sea, and Hunk was beginning to turn a suspicious shade of green.

“Are you all right?” Keith asked him.

“Uhhhh... Maybe,” Hunk muttered. “I get really motion sick. I have ever since I wa- ughhhhhh!” His words were cut off as the ship hit a particularly rough patch. 

Pidge whispered in Keith’s ear, “We might need to get him a bucket.” Keith located a metal pail in the corner and passed it to his friend. Hunk took it graciously. He glared at Lance passed out on the floor.

“Look at him,” he grumbled, voice laced with jealousy. “He can sleep through anything.”

Pidge got a mischievous glint to their eyes. “Anything?” They raised an eyebrow. Then very conspicuously, they picked up Lance’s bag from the floor and began rifling through it. “What secrets could our dear Lance be keeping?”

As they searched, they pulled out things at random. The bit of money Lance had went straight into Pidge’s pocket. They pulled out a hand-held mirror; that went back in the bag once everyone had laughed at it. Finally, Pidge pulled out a small jade and gold box.

“What is Lance doing carrying around a jewelry box?” they chuckled. “A place to store his earrings?”

Keith laughed along, but there was something familiar about that box. “Can I see it?” he asked. Pidge nodded and tossed it to him. Keith held the box in the palm of his hand and stared at the intricate carvings. “Are you sure it’s a jewelry box?”

Pidge shrugged. “What else could it be?”

But the more Keith inspected it, the greater his sense of deja vu grew. He was reminded of the lullaby that he had randomly remembered in the palace. “Well... Something else,” he said. “Something... Special. Something to do with a secret.”

Pidge laughed again, “Maybe Lance is actually a jewel thief and the Kogane royal jewels are hidden in there.”

Keith looked back up at his friends, and the weird feeling started to fade. “I think it’s time for bed,” he muttered as he tossed the box back in Lance’s bag. 

Hunk climbed up into his top bunk while Keith and Pidge settled into the bottom bunk.

“Hunk?” Keith called when he couldn’t see the Samoan anymore.

“Yeah?” he heard in response.

“Do you think it’s really possible that I could be the Prince?”

Hunk poked his head over the side of the bed, so he could address Keith directly. “I think that anything’s possible. You taught Lance how to waltz didn’t you?”

Keith nodded, smiling at the memory. 

Hunk’s head disappeared, but not without a final, “Sleep well, your majesty.”

The bed creaked under the weight of all three of them, earning a sarcastic remark from Pidge. “What do you think will kill us first? This storm or the bed?” Keith laughed and ruffled their hair. “Sweet dreams, Pidge.”

“Goodnight, Keith.”

Keith sighed and closed his eyes. This whole trip was exhausting and the rock of the boat was lulling him into unconciousness. Within a few moments, he was fast asleep.

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Zarkon and Varkon both watched the sleeping Prince’s face through a portal Zarkon had conjured. 

“There he is, Master,” said Varkon. “Sound asleep in his bed.”

“Pleasant dreams to you, Prince,” Zarkon growled. “I’ll get inside your mind where you can’t escape me.”

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Back on the boat, dark purple smoke demons oozed their way under the door frame and began fanning out across the room. It wasn’t long before they found their target. The sleeping Prince Kogane.

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The sun was warm on Keith’s skin, and he found himself thinking that he could stay on this hillside forever. The sky was a brilliant shade of blue above him, and the field of daisies he was lying in swayed gently in the light breeze.

He sighed in contentment, but it was then that he heard someone calling his name. He sat up only to see Lance standing a few feet away from him. “Lance?” he asked, confused. The boy didn’t say anything else, he just smiled and shook his head. But then he motioned for Keith to follow him, turned, and disappeared down the hill. 

After a moments hesitation, Keith got up and followed him.

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Unbeknownst to Keith, every move he made in his dream translated into a move in real life. When he thought he was following Lance, he was actually climbing out of bed and exiting the cabin.

Pidge was disturbed by the movement, but only really snapped awake when they heard the door slam shut. They shot up, instantly noticing the Keith-sized pile of warmth that was missing from the bed. They jumped again as a huge crack of thunder sounded overhead. Just like on the train, Pidge had this awful feeling in their gut that something was horribly wrong. 

They got up and reached for the door, but no matter how hard they pulled or pushed, the door was locked tight. They had no chance of getting it open by themselves, so they turned to the next likely person to succeed.

But Hunk was dead asleep and still a sickly shade of green, so that left Pidge only one option. They began calling Lance’s name and shoving his shoulder, but he just rolled over and continued to snore. Pidge groaned, but kept trying.

The full severity of the storm couldn’t really be detected from underneath, but up on the deck, the wind and rain battered at the boat, instantly soaking Keith to the bone.  Thunder and lightning crashed almost simultaneously, and the boat rocked precariously over every single wave. Not that Keith had any clue.

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In his dream, it was still beautiful out, and he was still following Lance. Lance turned to make sure Keith was still following, then stopped at what looked like the edge of a cliff.

Hunk and Pidge suddenly appeared from no where, dressed in swimming suits, but Keith couldn’t have found anything off about the situation even if he had tried. He was in a fairly pleasant mood; to be honest, he was feeling pretty happy.

Pidge and Hunk waved excitedly at him, then turned and jumped over the edge of the cliff. A splash of water indicated there was a pool waiting just out of sight. Keith hurried to meet Lance and his friends.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Back in the cabin, Pidge was still desperately trying to wake Lance. Finally, Lance had had enough and he sat up angrily, pushing Pidge away.

“What? What, what what what what?” he grumbled, glaring sleepily at Pidge. “What is it, Pidge?”

The youngest companion was in full out panic mode, and the only word they could get out was, “Keith.”

Confusion washed over Lance’s face, but his eyes snapped open as he realized the mullet was missing and that the storm was still raging overhead. Lance instantly bolted up, all signs of exhaustion immediately gone. When he encountered the locked door, instead of pausing, he simply threw all his weight on it, causing it to come crashing down. Then he was taking off up the stairs, Pidge right on his heels.

Keith had now climbed up on one of the rails of the ship, eyes closed and smiling blissfully.

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 In the dream, he had finally caught up with Lance and glanced down into the pool below. Pidge and Hunk were there like he expected, but there was a third someone who was new to him.

He had black hair with a tuft of white at his forehead, and he had a long scar running across the bridge of his nose. The rational part of Keith knew he had no idea who this person was, but the dream part of Keith instantly felt comforted by this person’s presence. They were friends, he knew that much.

The moment the stranger laid eyes on Keith, a wide smile spread across his face. He waved excitedly. “Jump on in!” he shouted. Pidge and Hunk chorused his shouts, all motioning for Keith to jump in.

“Come on!” Keith turned as Lance spoke. Lance leaped into the air, formed a cannonball, then landed in the pool, creating a giant splash that soaked the other three. Keith laughed, making up his mind to jump into the pool. It just looked like so much fun!

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Up on the deck, Lance searched frantically, constantly shouting Keith’s name, but with the rain, lightning, and thunder, it was like trying to find a needle in a haystack. 

Just then a huge wave washed up over the side of the boat, almost taking Lance overboard. He gasped for air. Keith was going to die out here if he didn’t find him soon! Higher ground. He needed higher ground.

He began scaling one of the larger metal structures on deck. Lots of ropes hung off it, holding the sails upright. Up here Lance could see the whole deck. His eyes swept the surface. Keith wasn’t at the front of the boat, he wasn’t at the back of the boat... 

There! He was quite a few feet in front of Lance, balanced up on the railing of the boat, about to jump off!

“Keith, no!” Lance shouted, but Keith didn’t respond. Lance had to think fast; by the time he climbed back down and got over there it would be too late. His eyes landed on the ropes, particularly a loose rope draped over the side, but still attached to the rigging above.

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The air had turned sour. The hairs on the back of Keith’s neck had begun to stand up, and he could swear he heard someone calling his name. The moment Keith’s attention was diverted, the dream turned into a nightmare. The figures of his friends all turned into dark, winged demons, who began trying to grab at Keith.

“Jump!” they shouted. “The Kogane curse! Jump!”

Keith struggled as best as he could. But they were pulling from all angles. Even from behind him...

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Lance had grabbed the rope and literally swung to the rescue, grabbing Keith from behind and pulling him back to the safety of the boat. But Keith kept fighting him; squirming in his arms, trying to punch and kick him.

Lance turned him around and shook him, calling his friends name until Keith’s eyes snapped open.

Keith’s eyes flashed around the deck, trying to get a bearing of his surroundings. Not only was he soaked with rain and sea water, but he was also covered in sweat. 

“The... The Kogane curse...” he panted, still not completely back to normal.

“The Kogane what?” Lance couldn’t make sense of Keith’s ramblings.

“Curse, a curse...” Lance was surprised to see tears in Keith’s eyes. Whatever he had been through, it must have been bad.

“What are you talking about?” Lance asked gently.

Instead of answering, Keith just collapsed into Lance, wrapping his arms around him.

“I... I don’t know,” he murmured. 

Lance hesitated for a moment, but then securely put his arms around Keith as well.

“It was a nightmare,” he soothed, his hand coming up to stroke the back of Keith’s head. “It’s all right. You’re safe now.”

As Keith and Lance stood wrapped in each other’s embrace, the rain began to let up and the sky began to lighten. The storm was finally over.

Read Chapter 7 Here!

#voltron #voltron au #klance #klance au #anastasia #anastasia au #lance mcclain #keith kogane #hunk garrett #pidge gunderson #shiro #takashi shirogane #fanfiction

[voltron-fanfiction]

Um so I read a headcanon somewhere that Galra! Keith's ears would be very *sensitive* (if you know what I mean). I know he looks human in the show, but maybe he transforms somewhere along the way. So maybe he and Lance are fighting and Lance just pets his ear or smth and Keith just melts? Idk if you've seen that post. I couldn't find any fics like this, but if there is one could you link it? Or write it yourself bc that's what this blog was made for? Thanks :3

Here you go! Sorry for the long wait! I hope you enjoy it!

https://voltron-fanfiction.tumblr.com/post/164973259268/ears

[voltron-fanfiction]

Ears

Requested by anonymous

Pairing: Galra!Keith and Lance

Finding out Keith was part Galra had rocked the team, but eventually everyone got used to it. He was still the Keith they all knew and loved (but Lance would never admit to that). But what came as even more of a shock was when Keith began changing. Not praising Zarkon and muttering “Vrepit sa” in his sleep kind of changes. More like... Physical changes...

He didn’t turn purple or anything, but he did become much more aware of his animal-like instincts. He grew taller (much to Lance’s dismay) and stronger, which Keith didn’t really mind. The most drastic change was probably Keith’s ears. Almost overnight, they elongated and grew fluffier, almost resembling a wolf’s. 

Keith had never been really bothered by his appearance before, but with the growth of these new ears, he suddenly felt very self-conscious. Of course the team was 100% supportive and gradually he came to not mind them. Especially so when he realized his hearing was heightened by 59.3% (according to Pidge).

Yes, Galra Keith was something no one even thought twice about anymore. Especially Lance, who, after a while, realized his feelings for Keith were a little more than platonic. Thankfully, Keith felt the same way and it wasn’t long before the two became a couple.

But old habits die hard and it was not at all uncommon to hear Keith and Lance bickering about something. Today, it was about whose Lion was faster.

“It’s Red!” shouted Keith. “When we first got our lions, Allura literally said that the Red lion was the fastest.”

“But,” Lance was quick with his comeback. “You weren’t there on the mermaid planet. Blue flew underwater. Way faster than the Red Lion could ever go. Ask Hunk. He was there.”

Keith scoffed, “Yeah sure. Even if that were true, it’s not like we’re constantly fighting in water. We’re fighting in space. No water there. So technically my lion is faster.”

The two continued bickering much to the annoyance of the only other person in the room, which was Pidge. They were about to get up and leave when they had a mischievous thought. 

“Hey,” they shouted to get the two pilots attention. “Since we can’t actually test whose Lion is faster at the moment, why don’t you just race yourselves? It’ll solve the dispute for now.”

Of course, since both boys being naturally competitive, they were instantly game. But then they started arguing about how to actually compete the race. Pidge groaned, got up, and left the room. The race would definitely be entertaining, but they had better things to do.

“Let’s just race from one side of the room to the other and back. Whoever gets there first wins,” reasoned Keith.

“Fine by me, but you have to actually touch the walls with your whole palm. No fingertip cheating,” Lance added. 

Keith rolled his eyes, but nodded anyways. Both boys put their hands on the wall and braced themselves for the start.

“Ok,” Keith said. “On one, two, thr-”

“Wait, wait!” Lance interrupted.

“What is it?” Keith groaned.

“Why do you get to count down? That gives you an unfair advantage.”

“How so?” 

“You’ll know exactly when you’re gonna say three, so you’ll be the first one to react.”

Keith widened his eyes. He loved Lance, but it was moments like these that he could be extremely ridiculous.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Keith grumbled. 

“I am not. I am not letting you cheat.” As he was saying this, he brought his hand up to playfully tug on Keith’s ear to let him know that he wasn’t being completely serious, but when Lance pulled gently, but firmly on Keith’s ear, a small, breathy moan slipped past the Galra’s lips.

Both of them froze as they processed what had just happened. Lance was the first to snap out of it, grinning devilishly. “No. Way,” he said. Before Keith could react, he did it again, this time letting his fingers trace lightly down the side of Keith’s ear.

Lance’s boyfriend shuddered at the feeling. He was mildly humiliated by this, but he couldn’t deny just how good it felt. 

Lance brought his other hand up and starting playing with both of Keith’s ears; gently tugging on the ends, rubbing his fingers along the backside of them, and tracing the outlines. Keith was trying his best, but it was impossible not to melt under the sensation.

He just about died when Lance leaned forward and started placing kisses along them. Keith let out a pleasurable sigh and moved closer to his boyfriend, not caring anymore about being embarrassed. Lance continued his assault while Keith crumbled beneath him.

After a moment, Lance chuckled under his breath. “Does this mean I win for now?”

Keith pulled back and playfully glared at his boyfriend. “Shut up,” he muttered, before pulling Lance down for a kiss.

#voltron #vld #keith kogane #lance mcclain #pidge gunderson #klance #galra keith #fanfiction

[voltron-fanfiction]

Anastasia!Klance AU: Chapter 5

Read the Prologue here!

“ARGHHHH!” The force of Zarkon’s cry shook the entire rock they stood upon. Varkon covered his ears and patiently waited for his master to stop. Once Zarkon’s shouts had turned into silent fuming, Varkon said, “Maybe you should take it easy, sir.”

Zarkon ignored his assistant and began pacing anxiously, trying to think up a new scheme. Varkon continued obliviously, “You know, sir. You should really watch your blood pressure; that’s a number one killer nowadays.”

Zarkon continued to pace, whipping around so quickly that body parts started to fly loose, not that he noticed. “How could they let him escape!?” he growled, striking his fist out to hit a stone pillar. It shattered under the weight.

Varkon had gathered all the loose body parts and returned them to their owner. As Zarkon put himself back together, Varkon picked up the reliquary and inspected it.

“You’re right; this is very upsetting, sir. I guess this reliquary’s broken.” He tossed it over his shoulder, over the edge of the rock island.

“NO! YOU IDIOT!” Zarkon’s scream was deafening. He took off after the artifact, catching it just before it was lost to the abyss below.

“Alright, sir.” Varkon didn’t seem to realize what he’d done. “Take it easy, remember what I said about stress. It-” His words got cut off as Zarkon got up in his face. “I sold my soul for this.” He paused to pick Varkon up by his collar. “My life- my very existence,” he continued, “Depends on it and you… ALMOST DESTROYED IT!”

“I get it, I get it,” whimpered Varkon. “You break it, you bought it!”

“See that you remember, you miserable rodent.” He tossed Varkon across the rock and resumed pacing.

Varkon landed right on his rump, but he didn’t appear to be seriously injured; just sore. “Sure, go ahead, blame the assistant,” he muttered to himself. “What the heck, we’re easy targets.”

“What are you muttering about over there?” Zarkon’s voice was dark and menacing.

Desperate to save his own skin, Varkon came up with a quick excuse. “Nothing, sir. Just saying that I wish I could get rid of Kityl for you. I’d put him to bed, and then he’d never wake up; if you know what I mean, sir.”

Zarkon hadn’t really been paying attention, but while Varkon was rambling, he got an idea. He stared at his reliquary, tracing a finger up and down the side. “Oh, I have something else in mind- something more enticing. Something really… cruel.”

——————————————————————————————-

The train had crashed in Poland, leaving the companions quite a ways away from Paris. They had found a quaint trail through the forest that would lead them to the nearest town. The train had been a minor setback, but Lance knew how to get to Paris from here. Keith on the other hand, did not.

“Are we walking to Paris?” he asked the man in charge.

“We’ll take a boat in Germany,” he answered.

“Oh, then we’re walking to Germany,” Keith retaliated. 

“No, your grace,” Lance said through gritted teeth.  “We’re taking a bus.”

“A bus,” Keith exclaimed sarcastically. “That’s nice.

The sense of companionship the two had shared on the train had all but evaporated with their long walk.

Soon, they reached a river with a bridge passing over it. Once they had crossed, everyone decided to stop for a break. Lance had brought a map and Keith and Pidge had sat down to examine it. Hunk had become very excited all of a sudden and began dancing around the trail.

“Shay, my dear!” he called down the path. “Hunky’s on his way!”

Keith looked up from the map. “Who’s Shay?”

Pidge glanced up as well. “Forget Shay. I want to know who Hunky is.”

Hunk turned back to them, suddenly serious, but still dancing. “Who is Shay?”

Lance’s expression turned into one of horror. He tried to motion Hunk to be quiet, but once he got started on Shay, he couldn’t stop.

“She’s a tender little morsel- a cup of hot chocolate after a long walk in the snow.” 

Hunk wasn’t picking up on Lance’s signals, so the Cuban went to his friends side. “Hunk, ix-nay on the ay-Shay,” he said in pig-latin. Hunk completely ignored his friend, but twirled him into his waltz. They danced around Keith and Pidge as Hunk continued, “She’s a decadent pastry filled with whipped cream and laughter!”

He dipped Lance, putting him face to face with Keith. From his side Pidge snorted, “Is this a person or a cream puff?”

Hunk picked Lance out of the bow and spun him out and around; too fast as Lance went flying into the bushes on the side of the path. “She is the Empress’ ravishing first cousin!”

Crap. Lance picked himself out of the brush, hoping to salvage the situation, but he could already see the truth dawning on Keith’s face. Time to improvise.

Keith glared at Lance accusingly. “I thought we were going to see the Emperor himself. Why are we going to see his wife’s cousin?”

Hunk seemed to realize what he’d done, so in a panic, he whisked Pidge into his waltz, leaving Lance to fend for himself. Lance glared at his friend, but Keith pressed him again. “Lance?”

“Well,” Lance’s apologetic tone made his voice go up an octave, “Nobody gets near the Emperor without convincing Shay first.”

Keith’s jaw dropped open out of shock. Then the words began slipping out. “Oh no. Not me. No. No. No! Nobody ever told me I had to prove I was the Grand Duke!”

“Look, I-” Lance tried to interject, but Keith kept going.

“Show up- yes. Look nice- fine. But lie?”

He was getting too close to the truth, which instantly made Lance defensive. “You don’t know it’s a lie,” he all but shouted. “What if it’s true?”

Keith went to argue back, but he realized Lance had a point, so he settled for crossing his arms and grumbling mutinously. 

“Ok,” Lance softened his tone, “So there’s one more stop on the road to finding out who you are.”

Keith didn’t want to hear any of Lance’s bullshit, so he turned to walk away, but Lance gently grabbed his arm, pulling him back.

“I just thought this was something you had to see through to the end no matter what,” Lance tried to reason.

Keith was doing his best to keep his temper together. “Look at me, Lance!” He gestured to his somewhat ratty shirt and gloves. “I am not exactly Grand Duke material here!”

He turned and stormed away, back towards the bridge, and this time Lance let him go. Hunk and Pidge had waltzed that way earlier, but they’d stopped when Hunk found a patch of wildflowers. He had plucked a few, but now him and Pidge were standing on the bridge. Keith approached them, sulkily. He draped himself over the railing and stared gloomily into the running water below.

Hunk handed him a flower, and gazed down as well at Keith’s reflection. “What do you see?” he asked Keith.

Keith contemplated the flower, then his reflection. “I see a skinny little nobody with no past. And no future.” He tossed the flower into the river and watched it be swept away by the current, as if to prove his point.

Hunk thought about Keith’s answer for a minute before he responded, “I see a headstrong and fearless guy who, on a number of occasions, has shown a knack for regal command, better to any royal in the world. And I have known my fair share of royalty.” Keith raised an eyebrow at his friend, not believing one word of it. 

“No, really,” Hunk defended himself. “My dad was a member of the Imperial Court. I’ve known royalty since the day I was born.”

That seemed to change Keith’s mind. He looked back at his reflection. Maybe if he combed his hair, stood up a little straighter… Maybe he could do this. His lip quirked up at the corner in a half smile.

However, the smile quickly left his face as Lance’s reflection joined the group. “So, are you ready to become the Grand Duke Kityl?” The good mood Hunk and Keith had shared on the bridge instantly evaporated. Keith left and started walking the opposite way, and Hunk shot Lance a look of annoyance. 

“What?” Lance shrugged his shoulder’s, unaware of the moment he had ruined.

Keith stared back down the path they had come, his inner conflict plain on his face. Do I go back and stay Keith-the orphan forever? Or do I go to Paris? But if I go to Paris, I have to start acting like a Grand Duke? Can I do it? But what will I do if I go back to Russia?

“There is nothing left for you back there,” Hunk said, almost as if he were answering Keith’s mental questions. 

“Everything’s in Paris,” Pidge encouraged by his side.

Keith shifted his gaze from the path back home to his three new friends. He let a smile creep onto his face. “Alright, gentlemen… And Pidge,” he said, “Start your teaching.”

——————————————————————————————-

As they walked, they started with the basics. Lance was listing them off, straight from memory, “You were born in a palace by the sea. You started horseback riding at a very young age; your favorite horse was Red- the white horse.”

Keith cut him off, “I had a white horse named Red? That doesn’t seem fitting.”

“You were a bit of a wild child,” Lance reasoned. “You would make faces at the cook. Scared him half to death. Nothing was worse than the terror that was the Prince Kityl.”

“But you would always behave as soon as your father entered the room,” said Hunk. “That’s why you never got into any trouble.”

“Hm.” Keith was hunched over, mentally taking notes, and trying to sort through his own memories. He guessed this stuff kind of felt familiar, but it could just be his imagination.

“Ugh!” Lance scoffed. “Look at your posture! You walk like a peasant! Try to walk like a Kogane!” He moved behind Keith and placed a hand between his shoulder blades. “Shoulders back, stand up tall,” he commanded.

Keith moved wherever Lance pushed. The Cuban stepped back to admire his work and he was shocked at how… regal Keith looked when he stood like that. He attempted to clear his thoughts by continuing the lesson. “No try not to walk, try to float.”

“To float?” Keith laughed incredulously. 

Lance moved closer, putting his hands on Keith’s hips. Both boys jumped at the contact, but Lance continued as if nothing had happened (though a slight flush did come to his cheeks). “Bow from the waist, and don’t forget to kiss the hand of every lady you encounter.”

With a mischievous glint in his eyes, Keith grabbed Lance’s hand and placed a light kiss to the back of it. “Like that?” he chuckled. Lance’s flush grew slightly more intense, but he just nodded profusely and mumbled, “Yeah, that’s great.”

——————————————————————————————-

They were soon picked up by a nice couple with a truck who allowed them to ride in the back. There were an assortment of pots and pans in the back as well, so Lance decided to practice table manners.

“Elbows in and sit up straight.”

“I can’t help that I slouch!” Keith complained. “It’s a bad habit.”

“Well, habits can be broken,” said Lance. He passed Keith a pot. “Now when eating stroganoff, always sip, never slurp.”

“But I don’t like stroganoff,” Keith whined, but Lance saw that as an opportunity.

“Say it a little more regally?” he suggested.

Keith thought about it, then politely handed the pot back to Lance. “I never cared for stroganoff much, but thank you.”

Lance smiled. Keith was getting the hang of this.

——————————————————————————————-

After the bus, the companions managed to acquire some horses, which they rode into the next town. Everyone was shocked by how naturally horseback riding came to Keith. It was almost like he had been doing it all his life. Hunk and Pidge managed to finish the ride in peace. Lance, however, had quite a few issues and may have ended up in the mud, once or twice.

——————————————————————————————-

In the next city, Lance found a family tree of the Kogane’s to help with the lessons. They also found a car that Pidge happily drove while Lance and Hunk taught Keith.

“You’re gonna have to memorize the names of the royalty,” Lance explained. He pointed to a picture on the tree. “This is Kropotkin. He shot Potemkin…” He pointed to another picture, “…Ah… In the bodkin.”

Hunk pointed out another one. “Uncle Vanya- the alcoholic. He loved his vodka.” 

After a while, they decided to test Keith. Lance and Hunk shouted out different questions.

“The Baron Pushkin was…”

“Short!”

“Count Anatoly had a…”

“Giant mole!”

“Count Sergei…”

“He would wear his feathered hat all the time. Plus he would always skip the meal and eat dessert, so he’s one of the larger family members. And… He had that yellow cat, Karenin,” Keith listed off.

Hunk raised an eyebrow at Lance. “Did we teach him all of that?”

Lance was gazing at Keith, his expression a bit awestruck. “I don’t think so, buddy.”

——————————————————————————————-

The car was soon traded in for a set of bicycles. Lance and Hunk rode behind Keith and Pidge. 

“Do you think I’m getting the hang of this?” Keith asked his shorter friend. 

“To be honest,” said Pidge. “You’re kind of a natural. You’re picking all this stuff up really quickly. Almost as if you’re remembering it, instead of learning it.”

“But there’s no way I could actually be Kityl? Right?”

Pidge’s gaze bored into him. “If you actually thought that, why did we come all this way?”

Keith didn’t have an answer to that.

——————————————————————————————-

When the group finally reached Germany, they traded in their bikes for a bus that took them right to the dockyards. As they disembarked, Keith gazed in wonder at the ship. He’d never been out of Russia, let alone been on a ship. He felt a burst of excitement run through his veins. He barely noticed Lance coming up behind him, until he began to speak.

“You’ve done a great job this past week, Keith. I’m really impressed by what you’ve done.”

Keith shifted his gaze from the boat to the man in front of him. Shyly, he said, “Thanks, Lance. I’m sorry for kind of being a little hot-headed at the beginning. But, thank you, really.”

Lance looked as if he wanted to say something more, but he appeared to change his mind, and just said, “Come on. Paris awaits.”

Read Chapter 6 Here!

#voltron #voltron au #anastasia #anastasia au #klance #klance au #takashi shirogane #shiro #lance mcclain #keith kogane #hunk garett #pidge gunderson #pidge #princess allura #coran #fanfiction

[voltron-fanfiction]

I was about to write a fic for this au and then I found this AMAZING fanfiction THIS IS SO GOOD. Thank u so much for doing this now I don't have to go through the struggle of writing

Thank you so much! We’re so glad you’ve enjoyed it and no problem! :D