The day had come to an uneventful close. It had been one of those “lucky” days when Zarkon and Lotor seemingly had better things to do than attack Arus. Keith was grateful that his team was enjoying a rest, but the lack of attention from Doom as of late was making him more anxious than usual.

In order to distract himself from a bought of shadow-jumping, he sat down at his desk and went about the business of looking over the data from that day’s lion practice. He scanned the statistics, smiling in satisfaction. The entire team was nearly perfect in shot accuracy and evasive maneuvers under fire. Even Allura’s numbers were near flawless. Her skills were unbelievable, seeing as she’d never had any formal training. If she weren’t a Princess, Keith would certainly push her to pursue a career as a Garrison officer.

Keith laughed out loud. ‘If she wasn’t a Princess…the story of my life.’

He finished the numbers, closed down his portable computer, stood and stretched. Suddenly finding that his body was more tired than he’d realized, he stumbled over to his bed. Without bothering to change, he pulled back the covers, laid down, and closed his weary eyes. Soon, the fog of sleep filled his head, and he began to drift off.

A loud, urgent knock pulled him from an almost-dream.

Lance was the only person who bothered him this time of night. Usually Keith didn’t mind the interruption, but he was tired and really didn’t feel like talking. Still, if it was an emergency…

“Go away,” he said just loud enough to be heard through the door. “I’m having sex with Lance’s mom.”

There was a brief pause before the door slid open, revealing a very amused castle guard. Luckily, he and Keith were good friends.

“Good evening, Captain Keith. Hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

“Very funny. What’s up?” he asked, forcing himself to sit up.

The guard handed over a large, nondescript envelope. “This was dropped off for you at the main gate. The messenger said that it was personal and that it should be given directly to you.”

Keith studied the package, being careful not to shake it. It looked harmless enough, but one could never be too careful.

“I’m sorry, Keith. The messenger said it was a matter of life or death. I ran it through scanners first; no metal or explosives inside so I figured it was safe.”

The guard tensed, now not really sure if he had done the right thing.

Keith saw no obvious signs of danger. The envelope was flat; nothing inside felt suspicious. In fact, the envelope could have been empty. Perhaps it was an urgent message from one of the nearby villages. Their only means of communication with the castle was via telegram, and if Arus was in danger, he would have to open it regardless of what might happen. Still, these messages usually went directly to the Princess.

“You were right in bringing it to me,” he said, carefully peeling back the envelope’s flap. A single, folded piece of yellowed paper was inside; nothing more. Keith retrieved it and began to read.

“Is everything alright, Commander? Shall I call the rest of the Voltron Force?”

“No,” he said after a moment. “That’s not necessary. It’s just, um, a letter from a sick friend in town. I’ll see to it, thanks.”

The guard raised a curious eyebrow but turned to leave anyway.

“Lieutenant, how long ago was this dropped off?”

“Twenty minutes, maybe thirty.”

Keith excused the guard and sat down to read and re-read the letter. It was no doubt that whoever had brought it was long gone by now. He studied the handwriting, searching the letter for any clue as to who might have sent it.

Commander Keith,

It deeply saddens me that I must be the barer of bad tidings, but the truth should be known.

It has recently come to my attention that you have been gravely misled concerning the disappearance of your parents some 17 years ago. There are those who have betrayed your trust in withholding specific, vital information regarding the actual events leading up to, and after the disappearance. Of course, I have proof of these allegations.

Unfortunately, due to the sensitive nature of this issue, I must meet with you in person to further explain the situation. It would be in your best interest to come to the village at dusk tomorrow. Wait in the market square. I don’t need to remind you that this is a very public place, so this could hardly be a trap.

I am putting myself at great risk to bring you this information. Please come alone. I do not wish to reveal my identity to anyone else at this time.

A Friend.

He tucked the letter away amongst his other files and sighed. So much for sleep.

The room, suddenly becoming incredibly small, forced him out into the hall before he knew it, and without realizing it, he was heading down the hall toward Lance’s chambers. Keith had no intention of discussing what he’d just read with Lance, but at least he could shoot the breeze for a while, maybe clear his head. Besides, what was there to talk about? The letter was a cruel joke. His parent’s disappearance was a tragedy, but for the most part, he was over it. They had probably passed on by now if they hadn’t long ago, and he could accept that. Death is a risk that all space explorers face on a daily basis. They were soldiers and died with honor in the name of the Galaxy Alliance, end of story. Or at least that’s what he had thought until tonight.

Keith pounded loudly on the door.

“Lance?” He heard some rustling from inside, but no one answered. “Is this a bad time?”

A slightly hesitant voice responded, “No, come in.”

Keith keyed the access code, activating the release for the metal door.

Lance was sitting at his desk, already having dressed for bed. The lights were dim but not off, indicating that he hadn’t yet gone to sleep.

Keith attempted a cheerful disposition. “What’s the deal? You got a girl in here or something?”

He took a step into the room but stopped short when he saw that Lance actually did have a girl in his room. Allura sat near the far wall in a large bowl-shaped chair, legs crossed, playing with one of her slippers. She was dressed for bed as well.

It was definitely not a sight that Keith cared for, but there was really nothing wrong with it. Nanny or Coran would have a fit, of course, but the team had always tried to maintain a casual relationship with Allura. There was nothing wrong with talking. But why did she have to be in her nightgown?

He recovered after only a slight pause. “Am I interrupting a secret meeting or something?”

“Actually,” Lance replied, “Allura and I were just discussing how we could overthrow the leadership of this team and take control of Voltron ourselves.” He gave Allura a look of amusement to cover the previous one of unease.

Keith jumped onto the bed and tucked his hands behind his head. “The job is yours, but just to warn you, the people are really difficult to work with sometimes.”

“Okay, boys,” Allura interrupted. “That’s enough.”

“He started it.”

Allura shifted uneasily. In fact, she had been discussing something of a slightly secretive nature with Lance, but she was now realizing that maybe Keith should be in on it, too. Lance would tell him anyway, and it did have something to do with him.

“I was just telling Lance about a package that came for me today,” she started. “Continue,” Keith said after the long pause that ensued. “I opened it, thinking it was a quilt that one of the ladies in the village was sewing for me, but it wasn’t. It was from Lotor.”

Keith had been staring blankly at the ceiling, but he now turned to face her, every bit of humor having left his expression.

She continued, “It was a robe. You know, like a bathrobe? There was a note, too.”

Lance handed Keith the yellow slip of paper.

My darling Allura,

It concerns me that you are outside in the morning wearing only your evening attire. I would hate to see you catch cold because you weren’t properly covered. Please be certain to wear this in the future. It seems as though one of your teammates has become quite the “peeping Tom” as of late (or “peeping Keith” in this case). We wouldn’t want to give him a free show, would we?

‘Til later, my love.
Your Prince Lotor

Keith closed his eyes, but Allura could see that he was clenching his jaw, something he often did when trying to keep his cool.

“Do we know who dropped it off?” he asked.

“No,” Lance offered. “The guards found it at the back gate.”

Keith stated dryly, “Notify security that too much has been getting through to the castle. It shouldn’t be that easy to just walk up to the door and drop something off.”

“Sure, I’ll see to it right away.”

Lance stood and exited the room promptly, and when the door had closed, there was an awkward silence between the remaining two.

Keith knew that Allura would be upset that he had been spying, but he couldn’t let her think that it was because he was trying to compromise her dignity. The next time Keith had the opportunity to deal with Lotor, he would pay him back for this.

“Allura…about the letter…I just wanted to make sure that…you were safe. I never intended it to seem like I was spying. I’m sorry. I won’t do it again, but now that Lotor’s found a security breach, you shouldn’t be out by yourself. God, why didn’t I see him?! Would you even have told me about this if I hadn’t come in here?! Allura, you need to tell me these things right away.”

Allura had known for some time that Keith made it a habit of checking on her in the morning, but she hardly minded. Because he was there, she could relax and go about the business of picking flowers instead of watching her back. It was one of the only opportunities she had to completely let her guard down outside of the castle walls.

“Well, I really didn’t want to tell you,” she admitted, “but I probably would have. And about the whole ‘spying’ thing, don’t worry about it. I’m not mad. Besides, it’s only spying if I didn’t know you were there.”

She gave him a quick wink and stood to leave. “Goodnight, Keith.”

“Goodnight, Princess. Hey, Allura?”

“Yes?”

He slid out of bed and approached her. “I’ll escort you to your room if you don’t mind.”

She looked down to hide the smile that was trying to form. Of course he was only walking her to her chambers because it was “the gentlemanly thing to do,” but it pleased her none-the-less.

She took his arm, and they silently made their way down the main corridor. Allura knew that this incident was going to bother Keith for a long time. She tried to find the words to comfort him, but she knew they would fall on deaf ears. Keith was not the kind that allowed himself to be consoled. He was going to feel guilt over this, whether she said something about it or not. He would blame himself for not seeing Lotor in the garden, in spite of that fact that no consequence came of it. Keith tried too hard to be perfect. One can not see everything and be everywhere all of the time. It was impossible, especially with her putting herself out in the open all of the time. It probably drove Keith crazy just trying to keep up with her.

Allura thought about that for a moment. Somehow, the responsibility of her safety always seemed to fall directly into his lap. As if he didn’t already have enough to think about. In the future, she would just have to be more conscientious about how vulnerable she made herself.

They reached her chambers, and Keith keyed in the access code for the door.

“Goodnight, Allura.”

But before he could move away, she took both of his hands in his hands in her own.

“Keith, please don’t worry about this. Nothing happened. It’s my fault anyway; I should never have been outside in such plain view.”

“And you don’t deserve a little freedom? It’s not fair to lock you up in here like a prisoner in your own home, Allura.”

Not exactly what she expected him to say, but then again, he had been full of surprises lately.

“Keith, it’s temporary. And we can be careful without allowing them to scare us into staying locked up inside all the time. Freedom is what we’re fighting for, and we won’t let them take it away from us, but there are certain risks that can be done without. I’ll simply have to be more careful.”

Keith found it difficult to hide his admiration. Life had given her nothing to make her believe that things would get better, but somehow, she maintained hope. And if it was the last thing he did, he would bring that peace to her life.

Before he realized what he was doing, he leaned in close and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.

“I’ll see you in the morning?” she asked.

“In the garden,” he replied.

Keith headed back toward his chambers. He was tired, but sleep wouldn’t come easily tonight. Perhaps this day hadn’t been so lucky after all.