Meet Me at the Pyre (Langst)

Chapter One

If Lance knew that his flirtatious nature would get him killed one day, he would have stopped years ago. How was he supposed to know that it wasn't taken too kindly on a planet that was far out of their galaxy? Allura might have touched on the fact that the queen of Tyira wasn't as laid back as other leaders that they had come in contact with, but it didn't mean that she was immune to charm. It had helped them with alliances before, and they didn't think that it would be any different than all the other times.

As soon as he saw her, he knew that this would be a tougher case. She held her head high, and her face was stiff and emotionless. She didn't even move when they entered the throne room to begin the alliance meeting. Without prompt, Lance moved forward it was commonplace for Lance to make the first move to show that the paladins aren't completely formal and the aliens can be comfortable around them.

"Sorry your majesty, but do you have a map? Because I keep getting lost in your eyes," he said with a smile and a wink. Almost immediately the Queen screamed out and two guards tackled Lance into the ground. He grunted in shock when a fist flew across his face making his teeth rattle. Although his face was being crushed into the ground, he was able to look up and see the disgust that was on the Queen's face.

"Take him away," her advisor monotoned. The guards nodded their heads and began dragging him out of the throne room. He looked helplessly back at Allura and his team, who were straining against guards to try and get to them.

"I'm okay!" He yelled out to them before the doors closed behind him.

"You won't be," one of the guards said ominously. He looked up at the face, fear was beginning to creep up in his stomach. He gulped and stared ahead when they didn't reveal anything else to him. They dragged him into a cell and closed the door behind them before throwing him onto the ground.

"Hey! What are you doing?" He cried when they began ripping his armour off, leaving him in only his black undersuit. At the sound of his voice, one of them lashed out at him, punching him again in the cheek and making him fall to the ground in a heap. The taste of copper spread across his tongue and blood dripped from his nose onto the dirt.

"You have disrespected our Queen and it is time for you to pay," the guard sneered. Lance looked up at him with wide eyes. This wasn't supposed to happen, sure the other leaders might have politely asked him to stop if he was being too forward but they never tried to punish him for it. Without giving him a chance to explain himself either. It didn't make sense to him.

"I'm sorry," he breathed out staring up at them. Without hesitation one of them kicked him in the stomach making the oxygen rush out of his lungs. He curled into himself, holding his stomach as it spasmed in pain. Drool and tears dripped to the ground as he tried to take a breath of air in. He only relaxed when a small trickle of air streamed into his lungs and he was able to look up at them. They wore sadistic smirks on their faces as they glared down at him.

"You are far past apologizes," one said cruelly, picking him up by the nape of his neck and turning towards the other so he could deliver vicious blows to his body. With every hit, a shred of hope was replaced with fear. His team would be able to smooth the issue out soon though. Right?

The Queen didn't even acknowledge the blue paladin as he was dragged out of the room. She looked over to one of the soldiers standing guard and nodded her head. With that, they left. She turned to the rest of the paladins with a smile, which they hesitantly returned.

"I apologize for Lance's behaviour," Allura said. Although, she thought the Queen's reaction was extremely over the top. The Queen waved her off, a scowl appearing on her face again.

"Enough about that, I believe that it is time for dinner," she said instead. "I assume you will be dining with me?"

"Oh, of course," Allura agreed nodding her head. "But, the alliance-"