His Beautiful Nightmare 》Voltron [Voltron WA 2017]

Chapter 8

"You're an experiment.... like us", a little dark-haired girl whispered.

"Don't lose control, my little flower. Accept who you are", a young alien told her.

"You are the daughter of one of the highest commanders in Zarkon's army. You will destroy and conquer. It is in your veins", Haggar rasped in her ear.

"YOU WERE BORN A MONSTER, AND YOU WILL DIE A MONSTER!!", a human girl screamed.

Azalea jolted up.
She was breathing heavily.

It's just a dream, she reminded herself, only a dream.

But it was still all too real.

She dropped down from her sleeping spot on the ceiling. Her boots and gloves deactivated in her sleep, so being on the bed wasn't an option.

Stretching, she ran a hand through her loose hair, then down the left side of her neck. Her gloved fingers ran along the thick marbled scar.

Still just a dream.

The memories of her execution,  the horrific pain of it all, came flooding back the day before.
She lied and said that she needed to talk to Coran, when all she really wanted to do was go to her room.
The others bought it.
Except for Keith.
The red paladin was suspicious of her.
Azalea was afraid he was going to be the first one to figure out her secret.
That she suffered from PTSD and hallucinations due to her Gladiator fight.
The one of many things that keeps coming back to haunt her.
She killed someone.

Every day she struggles not to lose it. Just keep smiling, but it's getting harder.

She grabbed her turtleneck sweater and pulled it over her purple t-shirt,  then zipped up her jacket over her sweater. She adjusted the neck of the sweater to cover her scar.

She strode out of the room, pulling her hair back with a length of black cloth.

"Hey Azalea", a small voice said.

Azalea turned around and grinned at Pidge, ruffling his hair, "Hey Pidgey".

He smiled, "Where are you going?"

Azalea jerked a thumb down the hall, "Kitchen."

"Me too, I couldn't eat last night."

Pidge looked her in the eye.
"I heard you left all of a sudden yesterday. You alright?"

Azalea nodded, not daring to let her emotions show.
"Yeah, I'm fine. C'mon, I'm hungry!", she laughed.

She turned around and let Pidge hop onto her back. Then she took off running down the hall.

For her, running through the air was a lot like ice skating. Same movements, same technique. Azalea loved the feel of it.

They were at the kitchen in a mere few seconds.

"Thanks for the lift, Azalea", Pidge said laughing, hopping down.

"No problem my buddy", she replied, sweeping him up in a hug.

~~~~~~~~~~

Keith was up all night, trying to peice together all that he could about Azalea Korraine.

"A day full of smiles erases a year's worth of pain".

"What does that even mean?", he asked aloud.
Usually he doesn't meddle in other people's business, but Azalea was definitely hiding something.

There was something hidden in her black eyes. Loneliness?  Hatred? Something?

Why did she freak out when Pidge's laptop had a short circuit?