~~~~Allura~~~~
I stood on the balcony watching the sun set with Coran. We stood there for a few doboshes, when our silence was cut by a voice from behind us.
"Allura." The voice said. We turned around and saw Saoirse standing behind us, "Can I talk to you for a minute?"
I looked over at Coran, who nodded and left us alone.
Saoirse walked up to my side and sighed.
"I'll get right to the point, Allura." She said, "Ever since Keith revealed that he was part Galra, you've been treating him differently. Do you hate him for being part Galra?"
I was surprised by her blunt question, and to be honest, I didn't know how to answer. But my anger boiled.
"The Galra have done so many awful things to this universe, and to thunk that Keith could keep that part of himself a secret for this long... I thought we were a team!" I shouted.
"We are a team!" Saoirse shouted back turning towards me with a glare in her eyes, "Keith didn't know he was half Galrs, none of us did. He went his entire life not knowing the truth of his heritage. He was just as shocked at this news as the rest of us."
"How could he not know about his Galra side? Surely his parents would've told him this!"
"His father is human, so his mother was Galra, and she wasn't there! So, no, he couldn't have known about that side of himself."
I was shocked by that news. Keith only had a father?
"That is no excuse! His father mustve talked about his mother at some point!"
She growled showing her teeth and her eyes shining in pure anger.
"What do you mean that's now excuse!? Not every father that doesn't have his wife anymore talks about her! He was hurting from her loss."
"And that makes Keith trustworthy? What if behind our backs he was sending information to Zarkon? He could have our plan information by now."
Saoirse stopped talking and grabbed me by my collar, almost choking me.
"How dare you think that way? No matter his blood, Keith is the same friend we've always had. He is Keith Kogane, Red Paladin of Voltron. He is our friend, our family, why can't you see past the blood and see him for who he is?"
I pushed her away, "You're just on his side because you've been with him for years, how do I know that you didn't know about his Galra blood? Have you been lying to me too?"
"I didn't know about Keith's bloodline before the Blade of Marmora! But thats not important, I want you to stop being so harsh to Keith! Stop looking at him so coldly and ignoring him, he didn't ask to be part Galra, we don't choose who we come from!"
"Hey, guys, is something wrong?" Another voice said from the entrance of the balcony. We turned towards the entrance and saw the rest of the Paladins and Coran standing there confused and surprised.
~~~~Keith~~~~
We were all walking back to the Castle when we heard screaming and shouting down the hall.
"... he didn't ask to be part Galra, we don't choose who we come from!"
I recognized the voice as Saoirse. All of us walked to the entrance to the balcony and saw Allura and Saoirse glaring at each other.
"Hey, guys, is something wrong?" I asked. The two looked at me and Allura sighed.
"No, we're just having a talk. Please leave us alone." Allura said.
"No, they need to hear this, too." Saoirse said, "They need to hear about your sour attitude towards Keith. You'll never see past his Galra heritage will you?"
Allura turned back to Saoirse, "I don't have to answer that!"
"Yes you do! You need to get off your high horse and see Keith for who he is now. Just because the Galran race has done terrible things doesn't mean that all Galra are bad. Take a look at the Blade of Marmora, they're Galra and yet they fight against the Empire."
"What do you understand about what the Galra has done to the universe?! To me! They've taken my planet, my people, Zarkon killed my father in cold blood all for power! You could never understand the pain and sorrow I feel."
"I understand that pain as well as you do-"
"No you don't! You've never had a family to raise you! You've never had a mother to hold you tightly or a father to tell you that everything is okay! You'll experience the loss of a family because you've never had one! YOU'LL NEVER UNDERSTAND THE PAIN OF LOSING SOMEONE BECAUSE YOU'VE NEVER HAD ANYONE!!!"
I was shocked by Allura's words. She had the nerve to say that to Saoirse? She had no idea about Saoirse's past.
I stomped towards Allura, but a wavering hand held me back by my wrist.
~~~~Saoirse~~~~
I stood frozen, my eyes wide and my mouth agape. Did she just say that? Did she really just say that to me?
I looked up at Allura, she finally registered what she had said and covered her mouth with her hands in shock, as if to stop herself from saying anything worse.
Keith stomped towards Allura, his face seething in rage, but I grabbed his wrist and stopped him from doing anything rash.
"Saoirse, what are you doing? Let me go!" He said, but I didn't let him go.
"Keith.... don't. She's right." I said quietly, "I'll never understand the pain she felt. Because I've felt a different pain."
Keith loosened up and I let go of his wrist, looking directly at Allura.
"Since I was young, I didn't remember anything about my past. But, ever since we came here and started this journey, I've been having strange dreams and weirder encounters with the Silver Lion. Later, I figured it all out. Those dreams are memories of my past."
Everyone was shocked.
"Saoirse, you've remembered?" Shiro asked.
I nodded, "I still have a lot to remember, but I remember enough." I walked towards Allurs until we were only a foot apart from each other.
"I remember my mother and father, how kind and loving they were to me. I remembered where I came from, and I was so afraid about how you all, especially you Allura, would react."
"Why? Why me especially?" Allura hesitantly asked.
I took a deep breath in and slowly let it out. I guess now or never. Time to show them all.
"Allura..." I said, "Do you happen to know a couple that worked in the Castle 10,000 years ago? Their names were Siofra and Cires?"
Allura's eyes widened at the mention of my parent's names.
"Siofra and Cires? How do you know those names?" She asked me.
"Wait a second, who are Siofra and Cires?" Lance asked.
"Cires was the commander of the Altea royal guard, and Siofra was the previous Silver Paladin. But, Saoirse, how do you know them?"
"Did they have a child?" I asked.
Allura nodded, "I believe they did. But that was months before Zarkon destroyed Altea. They must be gone." Allura stopped talking for a moment.
"Saoirse, where are you going with this?"
I looked straight into her eyes, "What if I were to tell you that Siofra, Cires and their child were still alive?"
Allura backed away in shock.
"That can't be possible. They've been destroyed with Altea." She denied.
I took a deep breath and reached up to my ponytail to let my hair down.
I felt my long black hair fall down my back in soft waves and finally.... I let my disguise down. I heard several gasps from my friends, but I didn't pay any mind to them. I just focused on revealing myself.
My long black hair turned blue, the marks on my arms swirled to life and the Altean markings appeared on my cheekbones, shining the bright rainbow colors I barely remembered from my childhood. And my eyes shine a brighter shade of sapphire blue than before.
Allura couldn't stop staring at me, much like the rest of my friends. They could hardly form the words to ask me about my transformation.
"Saoirse.... you're.... you're Altean?" Allura asked softly.
I nodded, "On my father's side. My mother is Teshirian, a race of angel-like beings from the planet Teshiria. That explains why others have been calling me Angel. Most Teshirans have my color of eyes."
"But how can this be?" Coran asked finally speaking.
"A Teshirian can remember everything from the moment they first open their eyes, so I remember what happened that day 10,000 years ago. My mother, father and I as a baby were with King Alfor after he placed you two in cryo-pods. He turned to my parents and said that he wanted us to stay with you, Allura."
"Why? Why weren't you and your parents there when I woke up months ago?" Allura asked.
"Something happened after we were put in cryostasis. Alfor placed us in extra cryo-pods not connected to the central Castle power system. Before Zarkon came to find Alfor, the Silver sensed that she had to save us, and without a second thought, she telephoned the pods we were in to her cargo hold, then flew away to the same planet where I found her. In that moment, she saved not only her previous Paladin, but me, her future Paladin."
"That's unbelieveable." Hunk said, I turned to my friends and saw their shocked faces.
It killed me to have kept this secret for so long, but it was better that I had told them all now, even though this isn't the way I want to show them.
"So, what happened after that?" Lance asked.
"We slept for almost 10,000 years, but eighteen years ago, we did wake up and we lived in that planet until I was five years old. My mother taught me how read Teshirian, how to use magic and control energy, and my father taught me how to read Altean and even showed me a few techniques for defending myself. We were so happy then. But then, it happened." I said.
"What happened?" Pidge asked.
I clenched my fists thinking back to the memory of my almost execution.
"Before I explain that, I need to explain he past." I said, "A while ago, I found my mother's journal in the library, and it told me more about her and her past. She came from the planet Teshiria, a beautiful ancient planet almost as old as the stars themselves. They lived peacefully and even traveled across the universe to help those in need. They specialized in energy manipulation and an ancient form of magic and that made them be seen as Angels, not only for their gifts, but for the white wings all Teshirians gain when they reach a certain age. The planet is split up into several clans, the highest and most powerful being the Teshiri clan. My mother's clan. Her clan is run by my grandfather, a ruthless man who cares only about power and money, believing that Teshirians are far superior than other races. Which meant that unlike other before my grandfather, he wouldn't allow Teshirians to marry others of different races. He even banished his own daughter, my mother, after she dared to stand up against him, calling her a traitor to her family and people.. He found us all those years ago and took us back to Teshiria to be put through a harsh and unfair trial."
"But how is that possible?" Keith asked, "You said that your mom was born over 10,000 years ago. How could your grandfather still be alive?"
"Remember when I said that Teshirians could use an ancient form of magic?" Everyone nodded, "Well, my grandfather, after my mother left, used that magic to stop time in Teshiria's solar system. For 10,000 years, my mother's people have been stuck in time, never aging. Just frozen in their lives."
I stopped to catch my breath, thinking about what to say next.
"After my grandfather brought us back to Teshiria, I was put on trial first. My grandfather, in front of the entire planet, deemed my as the daughter of a traitor and the man, who was not of her race, to seduce and marry my mother. He said that he would never recognize me as blood and my punishment for just being alive...."
Everyone's breath stilled, they didn't know what to ask besides.
"What did he do?" Allura asked.
I placed my hand on my scar, "He sentenced me to death." Everyone gasped, "The scar around my neck was from his blade. I don't know how, but I managed to roll out of the way, and the blade slipped causing the blade to cut my shoulder and down my back. After that, I unlocked my wings and a special power not seen in Teshirians. Perhaps it's because I'm half Altean, but I unlocked my wings at a very early age. The youngest in Teshirian history. My parents told me to leave and find some place where I could live in peace away from my Grandfather, but I vowed to come back when I was strong enough to defeat him and free my mother's people. Then I flew away, and eventually found Earth. I knew that I would be in danger if I stayed in this form with all my knowledge of Teshiria and Altea, so I used my magic to seal away my memories and adopt a more human appearance. That's when you and your dad found me, Keith."
I stopped talking, letting what I said sink in for a few minutes.
Allura, who had started crying sometime during my story, tried to reach out her hand to touch me, but I backed away, glaring at Allura.
"Don't!" I shouted, "You hated Keith for keeping the secret of his Galra blood which he didn't know about, you should hate me for knowing about me being half Altean."
"But why? Why did you keep it a secret, Saoirse?" Allura asked.
"I was afraid of how you would react to this news. I was going to tell you after this whole battle with Zarkon is over, but seeing how uou reacted to Keith's new found blood secret, I was even more afraid of how you would react."
Allura fell to her knees crying, apologizing to me.
"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to." I said before leaving, letting my marks disappear and my hair turn black.
~~~~Keith~~~~
We stood there shocked as Saoirse ran away. This was a huge secret and she revealed to us like this. How did she keep it secret for so long?
"Wait a minute!" Pidge shouted, "It was her!"
"What are you talking about, Pidge?" Lance asked.
"Back when we defeated that killer cube and I unlocked my lion's vine ability, remember when Saoirse and I were shot down by one of the cubes?" She said, we all nodded not able to forget.
"Well, while I was trying connect with my lion, I saw someone with blue hair and white wings dressed in purple and gold. They came to me and spoke in a strange language, and instantly I felt some kind of strange energy flow through me."
"No way, you saw that person too?" Hunk asked, Pidge nodded, "I saw them too, when I was holding up the ark on Taujeer."
"And I saw that person as well." Shiro said, "When Zarkon tried to take over the Black Lion."
"So, that person... was Saoirse?" Lance asked.
We all stood even more shocked than before. I couldn't take it anymore. I went to go find Saoirse.
I went everywhere and eventually went back to the Castle to find her. I went to the library, the training deck, the kitchen and the bridge, but with no luck. Then I realized that she was in one other place.
I went to her room and knocked on the door, the door opened for me and I saw her sitting on her bed, staring at a holographic picture of a man, woman and a baby girl floating above a pendant.
"Are those your parents?" I asked. She nodded, not even looking at me.
I walked over to her bed and sat next to her. She leaned against my side and kept staring at the picture.
"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier. I was just worried about everything going on and didn't want to add this on top of it." She said.
The picture faded away and the pendant shone brightly.
I looked down at the pendant and saw the beautiful colors.
"It's a beautiful pendant." I said. She smiled and held it close to her chest, small tears falling down her cheeks from her now closed eyes.
"My mom and dad gave it to me before my grandfather took us away from home. My mom wrote in her journal that this type of pendant is called a Teshiri stone and all Teshirians have one. I found my mother's stone at the space mall. She gave it up to get fabric to make me a dress when I was little." Shs said, her smile faded and then the tears came down faster and harder.
I pulled her closer and let her cry. We didn't day anything else. We didn't do anything else. We just sat in each other's embrace, letting the rest of the world fade away.
Tha last thing I remember is hearing her soft breaths after she finished crying herself to sleep. And a single thought passed through my mind.
"No matter what happens to you, no matter what you are, human, Teshirian, Altean, whatever, Saoirse, I will always love you. I will always stay by your side. I will always be there when no else will. That is a promise I will never break."