My Prince

Kral Zera

The large pile began to shift and stir, sitting up as they looked around blinking, remembering where they were at.

Lance was lying mostly on Lotor and leaned up to give him a kiss to remind him he was okay. They all felt well rested despite only sleeping for a few hours. It was amazing what a cuddle pile could do. They had slept on the uncomfortable floor with no blankets and yet they were all too happy to ignore that.

Ezor kissed Acxa who was still trying to wake up.

"Lotor, you smell." Lance blurted out causing the girls to snicker.

"I know, I know." Lotor let out a long sigh. "Shower?" He leered at Lance who immediately perked up, causing the girls to snicker more.

They separated from the group to head towards the showers, hand in hand. Once they were there, they began to strip and Lotor noticed the new scar on Lance's hip. He knelt down and pressed a kiss to the scarred flesh. "Beautiful," he murmured and Lance pulled him up for a kiss.

"Let's wash that hair, shall we?" Lance teased making Lotor roll his eyes.

—-

"Have fun?" Zethrid gave Lance a wink when they entered the control room an hour later. Lance rolled his eyes and punched Zethrid playfully on the arm.

"Lotor." Allura spoke up, getting their attention. "Who will take the throne now that Zarkon is dead?"

Lotor crossed his arms. "When an empress or emperor dies, a new one takes their place. Zarkon's most trusted commanders will take part in the Kral Zera."

"What exactly is a 'Kral Zera?' Will there be food? Sounds fancy," Hunk said and Lance snickered.

"It is a coronation ceremony for the new emperor or empress. It will be held at the first planet, we, the galra, have conquered," Lotor shifted uncomfortably and Lance walked over to slide his hand into Lotor's, providing comfort and support.

"Planet Fayiv, a sacred land."

"Lotor wants peace throughout the universe. Getting rid of the empire is not an option. There are those who hated the way Zarkon ruled and feared standing against him. Lotor will be the new emperor. Maybe the new empire will have Voltron as an ally." Lance suggested.

Shiro was considering their words, a thoughtful expression on his face. "With us as support, more people would be willing to side with you."

"How do we know Lotor hasn't been tricking us the entire time?" Allura stated, her expression hard.

"He isn't." Hunk spoke up. "This war was against Zarkon and he's dead now."

"No doubt there will be those against Lotor's rule and we will be there to crush any rebellions." Shiro told Allura. "The empire has controlled most of the universe and is the strongest. It would do more harm if we tried to eliminate the empire entirely. Not to forget that even the galra is under the protection of Voltron, as Lance has said."

"I agree with Shiro. With our help, this war will end much faster." Pidge said and Hunk nodded his agreement. Keith and Allura seemed to be the only ones reluctant to agree.

"I agree with both sides. Shiro has a point but so does Allura. Let's not forget that Lotor is Zarkon's son." Keith spoke up.

"Hold up. You yourself are part galra but you're not a bad person. You didn't even know you were galra until like two minutes ago!" Lance glared in annoyance. He understood their reluctance to trust Lotor but hasn't he proven himself by now?

"You don't know Prince Lotor like we do. He took us in from a refugee planet. We had been starving and he saved us, liberated us, took us in and put our talents to use. We have been fighting against Zarkon longer than you have. We had our doubts about him but he proved himself worthy of our trust. And then Lance joined and brought us together like a family." Acxa spoke up, defending her prince, her fellow comrades nodding their agreement.

"Okay, say we do help Lotor, how do we do it without starting a civil war?" Pidge asked.

"I will be bringing Voltron." Lotor stated.

Allura glared. "That's too risky."

"Allura," Shiro faced her. "When the galra lash out, the entire universe suffers. I understand your reservations, I really do, but if we can avoid a civil war, then we have to take that chance." Shiro ended the argument, clearly telling her that they were going to help out whether she liked it or not. He turned around and began to leave the room.

"I'll be right back," Lance said quietly to Lotor and ran to catch up to Shiro. "Shiro! Wait up."

Shiro stopped to face Lance and he saw that there was something wrong. "Are you alright? I noticed you've been different lately."

"I don't think so Lance..." Shiro's eyebrows were furrowed. "I-I don't feel like myself."

"What do you mean?" Lance tilted his head.

"My head is... I don't know... confused?" Shiro didn't sound like he was too sure and Lance frowned.

"It's all confusing." Shiro shook his head, as if that could clear it.

Lance wasn't sure how to help him. "It will all make sense soon. If you need to talk, come to me."

Shiro nodded and gave Lance a thankful smile before walking off, no doubt to collect his thoughts.

Lance watched him walk away in concern. Something was off but he didn't know what it was.

Lance let out a sigh and returned to the control room and walked right to Lotor, burying his face into his chest. Lotor wrapped his arms around him, giving him the comfort that Lance was seeking. "Stressed?" Lotor asked quietly so no one could overhear their conversation.

Lance nodded. "There's something going on with Shiro, but I don't know what it is." Lance whispered quietly.

"We will keep an eye on him. I'll let the girls know." Lotor reassured Lance who nodded in appreciation.

"I want this to all be over. I want us to get married and see my mama." Lance told him and stood on his toes to bury his face in Lotor's neck, inhaling his scent.

"Soon, mi amor." Lotor whispered fondly.

"Do you want to talk about Zarkon? I know you were blaming yourself." Lance offered, pulling away with his arms wrapped out Lotor's neck.

"No, Hunk reminded me that you will never blame me for getting injured, and that I shouldn't blame myself either." Lotor was glad he said those words because Lance beamed a bright, happy smile at him. "I'm lucky to have you Lance. I can't imagine my life without you and I never want to. You are the best thing to happen to me."

Lance blushed. "You and your sweet words, you big sap," Lance took Lotor's hand in his own hand and kissed his knuckles. "I will never leave you."

"And I you."