The next few days inside the Castle of Lions were relatively uneventful, save for all the activity in preparation for the planned “celebration ball.” The Voltron Force had been carrying on as usual. Meals were spent together in the dining hall, lion practice was every morning, and they spent most of their time talking and reading in the rec room. It was eerily normal, albeit with a little less laughter than usual.

It was the morning of the celebration, and Keith had called an early meeting of “Voltron Force members only.” He made his way down the hall towards the rec room, head down and deep in thought. Over the past few days, it was hard not to notice the gloom and doom that had settled over the castle. They were leaving, but it was definitely more than that. It was almost as if the air smelled different…or the people looked different. Who could tell exactly what it was? But there was no denying that the tide was changing, whether they wanted it to or not.

Keith couldn’t help but feel a little responsible for letting this go on for so long. He had always made an effort to pay attention to team moral and give it a boost when necessary. Even though he knew nothing would change the present situation, he had to at least try something. It was their last day on Arus, and he wanted it to be a pleasant one for everybody. His team had more than earned this ball in their honor, and it would be a shame if the opportunity were missed to enjoy it. He didn’t wanted the Princess’ last memories of them together to be sad ones. ‘She deserves better. She opened her home and planet to us. The least we can do is put on happy faces to show some gratitude.’

As he approached the door, he could hear the moans and groans that usually accompanied early morning meetings. Keith couldn’t help but smile. He was going to miss making his team miserable. The comments halted abruptly as Keith entered the room. Keith copped a grin in Hunk’s direction. “Sorry. After tomorrow, you can sleep all day long if you want.” Keith was usually careful when he teased the members of his team. Everyone always took him so literally, so he was careful not to offend. ‘I wonder why everybody takes me so seriously,’ he wondered, taking his usual place in the corner of the sofa.

“Sorry I’m late guys!” exclaimed Allura, bursting through the door. “Nanny had to do some last minute alterations on my dress.”

Lance slid over to give her a seat next to him. “No prob, Princess. Nanny’s doing my dress later. She probably has to get yours done first.”

Allura mouthed the word “dork” so that only Lance could see it and took the seat next to him.

“Well, now that everyone’s here…” Keith always had a way of announcing things so profoundly. Not by yelling or raising his voice – he simply commanded attention. Lance had always marveled at the way Keith could be your best friend one minute - laughing and joking around, and your superior the next – barking orders like a German Commandant.

Lance and Keith had known each other since early childhood. Although each had a very distinct, and very opposite personality, they were friends. They had spent the years at the academy as roommates, and after Keith was left to be on his own, they spent holidays together too. They were brothers, in every sense of the word. The partnership was odd, but it seemed to balance out. Lance made sure that they had fun, and Keith made sure they got their work done. After being assigned to the same team, and Keith was put in charge, things changed only a little. It was difficult at times to take orders from a friend, especially when there was disagreement, but this was rare. As a whole, the two functioned better when they commanded as a unit, and they respected one another’s opinions…usually.

But Lance couldn’t blame Keith for going off on him occasionally. After all, he should know better than to take a certain tone or say the wrong thing in front of the others - it disrupted team harmony and set a bad example. Lance was able to say whatever he wanted, as long as it wasn’t in front of the others. Sometimes….he just forgot. But at the heart of everything, they were friends. Lance was the only person who Keith would regularly confide in, and it was during those talks that Keith would open up.

Lance thought it a bit strange that Keith was barely mentioning Allura in their recent conversations. But then again, Keith usually held onto the things that bothered him most. For one reason or another, their private conversations often led in her direction, but not lately, and Lance wasn’t going to be the first to bring it up. It was none of his business, he kept telling himself.

“Planet Lance, Come in Planet Lance!”

“It’s not good to interrupt someone who’s daydreaming, you know.”

Keith rolled his eyes, mirth hidden in the expression. “Well, now that everyone’s paying attention, we have a couple of issues to address,” Keith began, acting as if it were any other day. “First of all,” he paused briefly, avoiding everyone’s heavy stare, “GG has confirmed that our transport back to Earth will be arriving tomorrow morning at 6 sharp, so finish packing tonight.” Just like that, an uneasy silence sliced through the air.

‘Okay, Keith…do your stuff.’

“Guys, enough of this crap. We have a huge party tonight, and we’re the main attraction. For one, I’m going to enjoy myself.”

“Keith’s right, guys!” Lance jumped from his seat. “Let’s do this up right!”

Pidge and Hunk were quick to feel the enthusiasm. The chant began, “Toga…Toga.”

At that moment, a bit of relief breezed through the room. Allura could see what Keith was trying to do, and it brought an easy smile to her lips. Keith stood and walked over to a stack of large, elongated white boxes he had brought in earlier. “And what’s a party…without some serious threads?”

“You’re kidding?” Pidge said rhetorically. “Galaxy Garrison couldn’t spare a fleet to help us when we were up a creek, but now that we have a social to go to, their Golden Boys have to look good?! That is way, way funny.”

“No matter what the intention, it was a nice gesture,” said Keith, always quick to make the peace. “I haven’t seen them, but Garrison said they made some special alterations, whatever that means.”

Altogether, no one really seemed to mind. Their usual uniforms had definitely worn out their welcome, and Keith was pretty sure he never wanted to lay eyes on another pair of white boots for as long as he lived.

As they each began taking their respective boxes, Keith got his wits about him for one last announcement. “Uh, guys. There’s one last thing and then you can go.” And just like that, the captain’s mask went back up. “Queen Merla has been invited to the castle tonight…and she is coming.”

Lance started to protest, but Keith silenced him without a word. Lance reluctantly sat back. “Okay, but if she poisons the punch, don’t say that I didn’t warn ya.”

Allura chuckled under her breath.

Keith continued. “Hey, let’s give her some credit. In the past few months, she’s “done good” by a lot of people’s standards. She turned over her entire empire to the previous local governments. On top of that, she’s liquidated her entire worth just to help get things going. In fact, she’s been so generous that many planets have chosen to stay a part of her empire. I believe she’s proven herself and so does Allura. She is a guest of the Princess and the planet Arus so, please, try to be civil.” And then Keith’s expression lightened. “Oh, and uh, Lance? Please try not to hit on her. I know it’ll be rough, but she’s been through a lot lately so it’s not a good idea to…”

“Yeah, yeah, whatever,” as Lance headed for the door. “It’s always the same thing. You can look…but no action.” They could hear him mumbling to Hunk and Pidge all the way down the hall.

“I’m going to miss that sense of humor his,” she mused aloud.

“Then you can keep him.”

A brief, comfortable silence ensued.

“I guess we really don’t have any strategy to discuss today, do we Captain?”

“No…I guess not.” The thought made his heart ache. “There is one thing though,” as he made his way over to the remaining garment box. “This one’s for you,” he said, handing it over to her.

Allura was shocked. Official dress uniforms were only given to officers. “Can they…? But how…?”

“They thought it was…more than appropriate. You’re an officer, in every sense of the word. I told them that you would probably be wearing something a little more…something else, but they insisted you take it anyway.”

Maybe this had been a simple gesture from Galaxy Garrison, but it meant the absolute world to Allura. For so long, she had fought to be recognized as a pilot and a soldier, not just a princess. This little gesture, in some way, seemed to validate all that she’d ever worked for. At that moment, Allura absolutely glowed. She tried to hide it, but her pride was obvious. Keith would remember that expression for the rest of his life.

Allura stood to leave, but stopped in her tracks, turned, and smiled. “In a few hours, then?”

Keith stood and gave her a joking, but sincere salute.

“Oh, will you just stop!” She gave him a quick wink, and all but ran out the door to show Nanny. She smiled like she hadn’t in weeks. This was going to be a great party!

Keith sat back with satisfaction. He had fought the Galaxy Garrison tooth and nail for weeks to get Allura that uniform. They told him over and over that uniforms were for officers only, but he would have none of it. They only consented after Keith made it very clear that if she wasn’t issued one, they shouldn’t bother sending any uniforms at all. She earned it, plain as that.

Keith noticed that it was getting late, and he still had a few things to do. Time had somehow turned into the enemy. He tried not to think about it anymore, as a sickened feeling began rising up from deep in the pit of his stomach.