Don't Ask About My Demons

The Meeting

Keith moved his piece forward on the holographic checkerboard. "King me."

Matt blinked. "Keith, this is chess..."

Keith growled, his eyes glowing faintly. Matt scooted back in his chair.

Lance sighed. "Just king the man and be done with it." He slumped in his chair.

Keith swiped his arm across the hologram in a blind fury. Transparent blue pieces scattered before fading away. He stood up. "I don't know what's taking so long! We could just comm the other leaders! Why the quiznak do they have to show up! We don't have time to wait. This could decide everything!"

"...Keith... take it easy, man..." Matt's voice was soft but terrified. He looked to Lance and mouthed a cry for help.

"Okie dokie! Lance jumped into action and grabbed Keith by his shoulders, spinning him around to look at him.

Keith's eyes gleamed and he growled. Lance flicked his nose. Matt immediately ran for cover as Keith blinked in surprise, his eyes returning to normal. He shook his head as if to clear his thoughts. "What the quiznak, Lance!"

Lance nodded. "I'll take note of that."

"Take note of what exactly!"

"Um..."

"--Keith! Please report! The Galaxy leaders are here!" Allura' voice filled the room over the speakers.

Keith was just about to leave before Lance stopped him. "Hold on a tic." He adjusted Keith's jacket and fixed his hair. "Hm..." he took a step back to look at him, smiled softly and pecked him on the lips. "Go end this war, Mullet head."

Keith sighed and left the room. He wasn't sure what to expect from the meeting, but he could help but feel rising uneasiness in the pit of his stomach.

___________________________

Keith opened the door and stepped into the room. He swallowed his nerves and looked around. Almost every seat was taken except for one... Keith's and Lotor's gaze met and Keith could have sworn he saw the faintest smirk on Lotor's lips. He couldn't be sure, though, because it was gone in an instant.

"Glad you could join us, Keith."

Keith looked over at Shiro. Why couldn't he just sit next to him? He had no clue what to say or do. He wasn't the leader. He wasn't meant to be here. Somehow, Shiro convinced the rest to let him in on this.

Throughout the entire meeting, Keith found his gaze passing from person to person. He knew he should be paying attention, but he was distracted by the way a couple of the leaders were acting. They were fidgeting... as if they were waiting for something to happen. It could have been the tension between the smaller kingdoms and not the war as a whole... but still, it was strange to see a few of them exchange looks with Lotor, almost as if they shared a secret between them. Allura and Shiro did most of the talking and some of the others would interject every once in a while. But otherwise, everyone seemed to have their full attention on Shiro and Allura. That was... everyone except Lotor and the leaders who watched him. Keith kept his head up, facing Shiro, but his eyes darted to Lotor.

By the end, Keith's mind was reeling. He counted five of the twelve leaders at that table who seemed to look to Lotor for guidance. But that's to be expected, right? After all, he is the new emperor of the Galra. People are curious. They don't know how Lotor will rule. Lotor killed the tyrant before him... his own father. It had to be done with good intentions. Zarkon was a bad leader so Lotor did what had to be done. Besides, there couldn't possibly be anyone worse than Zarkon. Keith held that thought firmly in his mind long after the meeting dispersed.