Galran Paladin

Family and Foes

Lance sat up and groaned, his arms sore from his bonds. He slowly opened his eyes, adjusting to his surroundings which weren't very much. The boy soon realised his was on a ship with none other than the Galran, Keith. Lance looked at Keith, confusion in his stare as he waited for an explanation.
"You wanted me to stay. This is the alternative." Keith said bluntly while driving the the ship.
"I didn't mean kidnap me." Lance retorted.
Keith sighed and shook his head.
"Listen, my family are still with Zarkon. Whether I believe you or not, I have to get back to my family." Keith said before glancing at Lance and continuing.
"And of course if you want me to stay, that means you have to come with me. Meaning you, Lance, are now my prisoner." Keith said with a serious tone, driving straight ahead towards the upcoming Galran ship.
. . .
Keith was fully prepared to keep Lance with him, after all he was the first person he somewhat felt was different. Though, when he heard the words on the castle, he knew he had to leave. Yet, leaving Lance for some reason. . . hurt. Maybe it was because he was moved on how Lance stood up for him. Maybe it was because Lance spared his life on that planet. Even if Lance said that he was "useful" to the him and the Paladins, Keith could tell he actually wanted to save him. Whether it was because he spared Lance first, but the fact of the matter is that Lance chose to save him regardless. Keith, moved by all of Lance's actions and his apology, felt compelled to take Lance back with him.
Now, Keith was helping Lance get out of the ship and safely on the ground. Lance looked at Keith and slowly back down as if he didn't know what to say.
"Don't act like I'm evil. You know I did this because I actually like hanging out with you." Keith mumbled though audible enough.
Lance blushed and looked back up at him.
"Really? With me?"
Keith turned around and huffed.
"Well. . . hopefully hanging out now will be us not in restraints anymore." Keith chuckled and removed Lance's cuffs, which caused the Paladin to rub his sore wrists.
"I'm sorry. I didn't want to risk you attacking or something." Keith said nonchalantly as he walked carefully with Lance.
Somehow, Keith thought the idea of Lance wanting to escape being a bad thing-- yet, since he kidnapped the Paladin, it would a logical response. Keith carefully checked around the area by looking in all directions before advancing. The Galran knew if someone would see Lance not only would he get in trouble, but Lance would most likely be locked up. After a while of sneaking around, Lance and the Galran were face to face with a nice-looking house. After all, it looked like they landed on a pretty peaceful planet. There were grassy areas all around, and bright light that shined down on them; yet it appeared less bright than the sun back on Earth. The house wasn't your normal bricks or wood, this house seemed to be made out of a metallic-like structure. But at the same time, the house just look like a glossy version of wood. Actually, it looked like a Galran ship taken apart and made into a house-- and now that Lance was looking, almost every house was different on the block, yet the same material. Keith looked at Lance and sighed before speaking.
"Look. . . my family is in there, okay? For some reason, I trust you enough to be around them. Until I can figure out the truth for myself if the Galra is evil, I will be staying here." Keith's purple ears shook a little as if he heard something.
"Okay. . . but Keith, I can't just stay here. For one, I'm fighting Zarkon and his Galra, not all of them. And secondly, I am one of four lions. I have to provide the team backup." Lance said while he stared back at the taller male.
Keith wanted to respond but was interrupted since the previous noise he heard were footsteps approaching. He saw that it was his mom, exiting the house with a perplexed look on her face.
"Welcome home, Keith. . . um. . . who is this?" Keith's mom questioned.
Lance was about to introduce himself when he was cut off by Keith speaking first.
"This is a friend I made on my travels. He was alone on the planet I was visiting and I decided to show him around here." Keith said while stuttering here and there, trying to maintain his lie.
Lance looked at the woman more intently and realized she was familiar-- She was the one who Shiro knocked out when they captured Keith. Lance also remembers that Keith shouted "mom" when the fight broke out. . . . If this is Keith's mom, how come she doesn't recognize Lance?
The Galran mother just smiled and motioned for Lance to come in.
"Well, welcome! The Kogane family is always accepting to all." She spoke before entering in the house and awaiting the two boys.
Lance turned to Keith and sent him a mental message declaring, "what the hell is going on!?"
"I knew that hit Shiro delivered would make her forget the events of that night. At least, I figured it obviously did since she didn't know you when she saw you. I guess the reason I remembered the incident, and was very aware of where I was when you captured me, was because you are a weak hitter." Keith mumbled the explanation to Lance with speed as he walked towards his mom.
Lance frowned and gave a pouty face to try and show anger towards Keith's statement, but really he was so relived that Mrs. Kogane didn't recognize him. Once the Paladin entered, he was greeted by a wolf-like creature who sniffed and licked at Lance's hand, causing him to laugh and slightly back up in surprise.
"Down, Cosmo!" Keith said sternly to the black and blue wolf, who soon followed the orders he was given.
Lance looked at Keith and then back at the now calm animal.
"Can I pet him?" Lance inquired which Keith shook his head in agreement.
Lance smiled and gave the wolf a few pets which made him more than happy as his tail wagged. Keith stood behind Lance and watched him play with Cosmo, a small smile becoming visible on his features.
Lance is so. . .
The Galran shook his head and got the thought quickly out of his head. . .
thinking like that-- what is going on with me!
"So, Keith. You never did tell me how I'm going to get back to the castle."
Lance's voice snapped Keith out of his thoughts, bringing him back to the present. Cosmo was gone and Lance was now sitting on the chair near him; how long had Keith daydreamed!?
"W-well. . ." Keith pondered and tried to think of an answer.
The Paladin waited and looked at Keith with a puzzled stare.
"I can't stay here. It's nice but I have a responsibility as the Blue Lion Paladin." Lance said as he stood up, ready to leave without an answer from Keith.
Keith then sighed and hung his head, a defeated look on his face as he saw that the Paladin was not going to stay.
"I know. And the fact that I took you is wrong, I know. It's just. . . you are the first person I've gotten close to in a long time." Keith mumbled while looking down at the floor, his cheeks starting to heat up from the things he said.
Lance was blushing slightly as well, his lips curling into a small smile before he patted Keith's head.
"Come back with me then. I promise you, I swear, no one is using you or thinks of you as a pawn." Lance spoke softly.
The Galran's ears laid back once Lance touched his head, the sensation making Keith happy. Keith then looked up at Lance and frowned, unyielding to the other male's offer.
"Lance, my family is here. Unless there is a way they could come, I can't leave them here."
Lance rubbed his head as he tried to think of a plan, but Keith asked a question before the other could speak.
"Why did you grab me off that planet? How did you know I was there?"
Lance sweated nervously as he tried to think of what to say, trying to figure out if it was right to tell him yet.
"Keith, I saved you not only for who you are, but also because I didn't want you to die." Lance spoke vaguely which just caused Keith to sigh with exasperation.
"Well I appreciate that. But what do you mean, "what I am"? You mean me being Galra? Or something else. . . ? And it still doesn't explain on how you found me"
Keith wasn't giving this up, he put Lance in a corner with this one with no way out. Lance would have to tell Keith, he couldn't lie to him after all. Just as the Paladin was beginning to finally tell the Galran what he wanted, a group of Galran soldiers marched from the back of the house. Lance tensed and stood to ready himself for a fight, though he was clearly outnumbered. They must have been let in through the back door, but who would have alerted them?
"Right here, that's the Paladin that kidnapped my son." Mrs. Kogane spoke while glaring at Lance before standing beside Keith.
The young Galran was beyond puzzled and didn't know what was going on. . . He thought his mom forgot about Lance, was she faking it this whole time?
"Wait, Mom, Lance isn't--"
"Its okay, Keith" she spoke while cutting off Keith with a soothing voice, stepping in front of Keith.
Lance was in a fighting stance until he really looked at the 10 to 15 soldiers in the house, seeing he was unable to deal with all of them without a Lion. The Paladin put his hands up in defeat  as the soldiers handcuffed him and started to escort him out. Keith tried to follow them out but his mother gently held him back, her features indicating she was serious. Keith's ears laid back as he watched Lance get taken and placed in a ship by the Galran soldiers.
Lance struggled against the restraints, kicking his legs in frustration as he tried almost everything.
"Don't worry, you'll be out of those soon once you're in the cell." The soldier mumbled from behind the controls.
Lance growled, angry and confused all at once as he watched the ship pull away from the Kogane home. Mrs. Kogane obviously was the one who sent the soldiers, but what about Keith? Was he going to get in trouble for inviting an enemy to a Galran planet? Lance was now not just worried for himself, but now he was worried for Keith as well.
"Where are you taking me?" Lance huffed with exasperation.
The soldier gave Lance a malice yet amused smile before flying out of the atmosphere and towards a nearby, almost ramshackle planet. He chuckled before speaking with excitement.
"Somewhere we take all our enemies. . . ."
. . .
Back at the castle, the team was still running around frantically searching for their missing Paladin. Pidge and Allura were doing a search through the nearby planets. Coran and the others were trying to think of a strategy to recover Lance once they found him. Unfortunately, the team worked themselves to exhaustion and the only one still working was Pidge. She soon heard the tap of knocking coming from a lower level, sighing with frustration before standing and getting a plate of slop. She knew who it was and what they wanted, it just bothered her that she still didn't get what she wanted. All this time and he still hasn't told her what she wanted, what was the point? Pidge entered the containment area and shoved the plate in the little compartment below the particle cage.
"You Paladins love trapping Galra, huh?" His sarcastic rang with an echo through the containment room.
Pidge frowned and gave him a determined stare, determined in her efforts to get what she wanted.
"You said you were a guard of a Galran prison. . . now, where are my family? You said you knew they were there!" Pidge exclaimed with anger and irritation.
The Galran smirked and tapped his chin.
"Hmm. . . I'll tell you. . . but you have to do something for me in return." He said with an ominous and serious tone, causing the female to tense.
She soon regained her confidence and fixed her glasses upon her face.
"I'll do anything. Just tell me what you know, Riku. . . ."