The Orange Paladin

Haunted Castle

Y/n's POV

After saving the Balmera from the Galra, we were back in the Castle. I was currently training, battling the Gladiator. I grunt as the Gladiator throws its staff into my stomach, pushing me back. I grab the staff, twist it out of the robot's grasp, and shove the staff into its chest. The Gladiator beeps once before disappearing. I wipe the sweat off my face and pick up my bayard, which I had dropped earlier.

"Nice kill." I look over to see Keith leaning against the door.

"Thanks." I say, activating my bayard. "Wanna do a round?"

"Why not?" Keith walks towards me, taking off his jacket and tossing it off to the side. I get in a fighting stance as he activates his bayard.

"Begin!" Keith rushes towards me. Not expecting him to come at me so fast, I jump slightly towards him and roll away on his left as he cuts the space I was just in. I roll to my knees and start firing blunted arrows at him. Keith blocks the first few, but one hits him in the shin, making him fall over. I rush up and pin him down with my bow. Keith somehow maneuvers out of my hold, pinning me on the ground. I groan, trying to push him off me, but he was too strong.

"You need to find ways to wiggle out. You're smaller, so use your size to your advantage." He mutters. I blush when I see our position. His lips were just inches away from my own. He finally notices as well and quickly gets up, blushing as well. After gaining his composure, Keith offers me his hand, which I accept. We look into each other's eyes for a moment before I break contact.

"I'm going to go see what Hunk's making." I mutter. I grab my bayard and hoodie and run out. Once outside, I lean against the wall, taking deep breaths.

'Oh my gosh, we were so close! AHHH!' I scream in my mind. 'Okay, Y/n. Take a breath. Hopefully he didn't notice it like I did.' I take a final breath before heading to the kitchen. I walk in only to be hit by food goo.

"AH!" I slip on more goo, falling over.

"Y/n!" I feel a pair of hands grab my arms and pull me. I wipe the goo out of my face to find Hunk and Pidge hiding behind a table, having dragged me over.

"What is going on in here?" I ask.

"The goo has us pinned down!" I peek over the table to see the food dispenser going crazy, shooting goo everywhere.

"Okay, we're going to have to flank the goo to shut it down." Pidge says, passing me a plate.

"Okay, wait. Wait!" I look at Hunk. "It's been a pleasure cooking with you." I laugh slightly at his salute.

"Go!" Following Pidge's command, I rush forward. Hunk pins it down while I slam the off button. The dispenser stops and Hunk drops it to the ground.

"Probably a malfunction?" Hunk asks.

"Yeah, yeah. Guess the kitchen system needs to be rebooted, too. Leave it for Coran?" Pidge asks. We both nod. I leave, heading to my room to clean up. I grab a shirt and a pair of shorts and head into the bathroom for a shower. As I look in the mirror, Keith pops up in my mind.

"There's no way he likes me." I say to myself. "Right?" I sigh. Just then, the shower suddenly turns on. Looking at it in confusion, I try to turn on the fan, but the switch wasn't working. I try to open the door, but it was now locked. "What the heck?"

"Hello? Is anyone out there? Let me out!" I say as the water was getting hotter. The steam was filling the room and I could barely breathe over the heat and lack of oxygen.

"Someone, please! Let me out!" I shout. I start to breathe heavily, sliding to the floor as my feet collapse beneath me. I weakly pound on the door.