Walking along the main path heading into the small village of Cyprus, Keith mindlessly kicked a small stone with the toe of his scuffed, white boot. An onlooker might not have even recognized him, for he wasn’t moving with his usual air of intent and seriousness. In fact, his stroll was casual, almost carefree. It was unusual for him to relax, much less outside the castle walls, but today he couldn’t help but let himself be taken in by the glorious majesty that surrounded this perfect, Arusian day.

The noon sun shone down brightly, lending its assistance to the newly blossoming wildflowers that were just coming into season. Their glorious colors stretched as far as one could see, painting the usual barren countryside with a dazzling display of nature’s best. A soft scent filled the air with an intoxicating aroma, an effect that seemed to travel clear up to his brain. It was on days like this that he could almost forget that there was a war at all. Almost.

He subconsciously felt for the concealed blaster that was holstered behind his back and out of sight. One could never be too careful, especially when there was a price on your head larger than what most planets had in their treasuries. It was a daunting thought, but one that Keith had come to live with. After all, it wasn’t his life that he was worried about protecting.

Keith mentally kicked himself and tried to recapture the moment, but it was gone. He sighed and continued on his way. The village was just another kilometer or so, just over the bluff. It was hidden from his current vantage point but was quite visible from the castle hilltop.

Since Cyprus was the village nearest to the Castle of Lions, it suffered much from Zarkon’s attacks. In fact, the last attack had left almost the entire town in ruins. If not for the will of its people, it would have certainly perished. But as usual, the strong people of this small planet had again managed to pick up the pieces of their hearts and rebuild their lives. Keith felt a tightening in his chest at the thought. They’d sacrificed so much, yet their spirits remained so strong. The human will to live is instinctive, but to thrive despite constant heartache is a higher level that only the very few, and the very strong, achieve. It seemed to Keith that these people had been able to do just that amidst the bleakest of circumstances.

Keith quickened his pace. He promised the village children that the entire team would teach them the American game of football today. He sent Princess and the others ahead an hour earlier because he had a few reports due into Garrison Headquarters, and he didn’t want to hold up the entire event. After all, he knew how much the children were looking forward to it. In fact, the entire town would most likely turn out to watch the festivities. Keith knew what his team meant to the people of Cyprus, and to the other towns exactly like Cyprus.

Keith always held a silent pride at what his team had come to represent to the people of Arus. Their presence was a symbol of the new hope that spread even out to the farthest corners of the galaxy. To these people, they were heroes. The burden was immense, but he never allowed himself to dwell on the magnitude of the idea. It would only prove to be a distraction to the task at hand. Besides, he knew that Allura concerned herself with the people’s circumstance enough for the rest of them.

He worried about her that way. She took on everyone’s pain as her own, shouldering the guilt for every single life that Zarkon took. She lived with her heart on her sleeve when it came to her people, but Keith could see she pushed her own feelings aside at the expense of it all. In many ways, she reminded him a lot of himself. Maybe that was why they had become so close over the last two years. Keith smiled unknowingly, something he did often when his thoughts drifted to her. Then just as soon as his thoughts turned back to her, a recent memory triggered a more apprehensive feeling.

Earlier that morning, lion practice had taken a rather bad turn. Allura had been lagging behind for every single drill, and it finally culminated in him having to reprimand her in front of the entire team. It was not something he wanted to do, but he had to treat her just like the rest of them. And it wasn’t just that morning; her performance as pilot of Blue Lion had been steadily and subtly declining over the course of the past few months. Only recently had Keith figured out why.

Lately, Zarkon had taken to attacking Arus at all hours of the night. Some nights he would send out only a few squadrons of doom blasters if just to get them out of bed. His tactics were obvious, but effective. The entire team was fatigued, but everyone (save one) seemed to be handling it well. After all, it was the only job they had. Allura, however, still had to manage her royal affairs in addition to her defense duties. Without proper rest, the toll it was taking on her was obvious, now even physically. The circles under her eyes were getting darker every day, and he often saw her nodding off during the evening meal. As her Captain, he was concerned for the team, but as her close friend, he wanted nothing more than to give her the rest she needed.

Keith spent the entire morning searching for a remedy to a seemingly simple problem, but none were found. For as much as he would love to cancel lion practice on certain days to give his team a break, he just wasn’t allowed the luxury. Zarkon didn’t rest, so neither could they, and it wasn’t as if Allura would agree to take a break either.

Keith kicked at yet another stone and sighed.

It seemed like the perfect solution to have Sven come to Arus for a few weeks, just until Allura was back to her usual self, but he already knew she wouldn’t have it. After all, the great Princess of Arus can take on anything! It was this part of her personality that Keith found most endearing and yet most annoying. The worst part about it was that she had even more say over such matters now that she had turned 18 years of age. It was when a ruler turned 18 that they assumed complete control over all royal and political decisions. Now Coran was simply just as his title indicated - an advisor. Allura still clung heavily to his input, but she always kept the last say for herself. Maybe if Keith talked to Coran about it, together they could persuade her to take a needed break. He would hate to do it the hard way and use his rank to go over her head.

His thoughts were so intrusive that he barely heard the faint cry in the distance. But he heard it again and instinctively drew his laser gun. He waited. After minutes of only the wind rustling the nearby trees, he heard the soft sound again. Without stopping to rationalize the situation, he took off running in the direction of the noise.

The grasslands that spread for miles around the castle were extremely hilly. The rough terrain was good for protecting the castle against Zarkon’s ground troops, but he was quickly finding that it was terrible if you had the misfortune of having to find something in it on foot.

Keith held his gun ready. It was most likely an crying animal, but he had to check it out in case someone needed help. As he drew near, he could hear the moans becoming distinctly human. Keith’s gut wrenched as he imagined an injured child, alone and afraid. He picked up his pace.

Reaching the top of a small hill overlooking a flattened area of grassland, he stopped and scanned the area. His heart pounding in his chest, he spotted the source of the cry and took off in its direction.

Upon approach, he observed the shape becoming distinctly human. Its form was small, but it didn’t appear to be a child. In fact, he was surprised to see that it was a young woman, and it appeared as if she had injured her leg. She was sitting on the grass favoring her right ankle.

It was obvious that she too became alerted to his presence as she turned to eye the quickly approaching figure.

Keith slowed his pace to fast walk, eventually stopping a few meters from the fallen maiden. He was about to offer assistance when a strange sensation paralyzed him from forming any words. For only the second time in his life, he found himself completely breathless. Without realizing it, his eyes traveled over her, taking in the picture that she made before him. She was a young girl, not much older than Allura, but she was smaller, more slight of form. The afternoon sun reflected off her long, thick hair, making a halo of the red and brown strands that blew around the frame of her face. Her porcelain complexion was only flawed by the tear tracks that ran down both cheeks. And then there was something about her eyes. They seemed familiar somehow…

“Well, are you just going to stand there all day, or are you going to give me a hand?”

“Huh?”

Keith gave himself a quick, mental kick for his Lance-like behavior and approached the young woman. He lowered himself on his haunches to inspect the injury; he was about to touch her ankle when she jumped abruptly. Sensing her apprehension, Keith quickly withdrew his hands.

“I’m sorry. Do you mind?”

She answered him with another question, not trying to hide the sarcasm in her tone. “So you’re a doctor?”

Finding her not as sweet as she looked, his response took on his more familiar, serious air. “No, but I do know a little something about fixing ankle, or would you rather I just head back to where I came from?”

She dropped her eyes to her injured foot and sighed. “Well, I guess I don’t have much of a choice but to let you help me.”

Keith carefully inspected the ankle, trying not to draw another moan. Ever since he was a boy, the sound of a woman crying made his heart break. Only after he met Allura did he realize just how much.

After a few minutes, he looked up into her pain-filled eyes. His voice softened. “That ankle looks broken.”

“But how am I supposed to get home? I live miles from here! I only came out here…”

He silenced her off by picking her up from the ground in one swift motion. She looked startled but bit her tongue when she found her face very close to his.

“I’m taking you the to castle. There is a doctor there who can help you.”

“The castle? Is that where you live?”

“Yes. I work for the Princess.” He began walking back up the way he’d come up over the hill. The team would just have to do without him today. Maybe this was even a blessing in disguise. He and Allura needed some time apart. He quickly shook that thought from his head. “What’s your name?”

“Allea.”

Another few minutes passed before he spoke again.

“Well, don’t you want to know mine?”

She giggled. “I already know who you are…Captain Keith.”

He cocked an eyebrow at her admonition. “How come - all of a sudden - you know my name?” He was forced to look down at the lively smile she was now favoring him with.

“Captain, I don’t think that there is a single Arusian woman who hasn’t at least heard of the dashing Voltron Force Captain who lives at the castle.”

“Just because I live at the castle doesn’t mean that…”

“Captain,” she interjected, dragging a slow finger along the chest of his uniform. “You’re wearing a Galaxy Garrison insignia.”

Keith smiled at his own absentmindedness. “Well, I guess I’ll buy that.”

They spent the rest of way in silence, but he couldn’t help but notice that the grip she had around his neck had tightened maybe just a bit.