Destiny & Dragons (Klance Fanfiction)

Across the Depths

A/N: finally, it's the moment we've all been freakin' waiting for.

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After chasing off Rolo, Lotor put the sword down and glanced at the sac in Zethrid's arms which was now starting to move- the boy was awake again. Lotor could tell that Narti still had her Mage Powers over him, but the look of strain on her face showed that she could not hold it for much longer.

"My Mage Powers can only go so far for a certain period of time," Natri spoke with Keith's voice, her eyes the colour of indigo to indicate that the sight was not her own, "Lotor, we should decide now what we are going to do with him."

Ezor and Zethrid did their best with holding down the writhing sac onto the ground, both grateful that he was not able to scream. Meanwhile, Lotor was thinking about Narti's question and his father, as well as the time his mother evaded his question on why it specifically had to be him doing this mission compared to any other Druid... Axca struggled with the shrieking red dragon clasped in her arms.

"What if this is what Zarkon wanted all along?" Lotor asked, aware that it was probably the wrong time to be asking that.

"Well, of course," Zethrid replied, reaching for the hilt of her sword just in case she needed to knock the boy out again, "you are Zarkon's heir, Lotor, he found you fit to take this into your own hands."

"They told me that Galra soldiers wanted to make it seem as if Altean guards killed him," Lotor spoke, "so why is it that now we have to kill him?"

Lotor subtly noticed the body pausing for a moment... It seemed the boy was now paying full attention to their conversation to understand why he was being attacked. Did Keith know that he was the heir to the Galran throne? Was he aware that he was the Galra's target all along? If he were to die anyway, was it safe for him to learn about his origins now?

"I think my father is going to frame me," Lotor admitted confidently so that the boy could hear him loud and clear, "for killing the true heir to the Galran throne."

The covered body went completely still and they all must have noticed that the boy was probably in shock for learning this new information. The heir to the throne?! he was probably thinking, Me? The King of the Galran Empire? These people must be insane! It was clear that this way probably the first time Keith had received any of his information- he must have been living his life as a normal blacksmith until he suddenly got attacked by Druids a few months ago.

However, if Keith did not know he was heir to the throne in the first place, why would the Galra soldiers still want to kill him? They could have just left him alone, never finding out his true identity. That would have been a safer and more reasonable option. Why could they not just leave him alone? Despite the entire 'heir to the throne' ordeal, Lotor and his Generals had unknowingly attacked an innocent Altean citizen.

Zarkon had always hated his son, no matter what Lotor tried to do to gain pride and trust. Now he was stuck in the predicament where he had to choose: spare the boy's life and take him to the Galra Empire where he will replace Zarkon... Or kill him and risk the punishment of being framed for something he was actually ordered to do.

"Zarkon would not hesitate to push me and others down in order to stay in power." He glanced at the sword beside him. "But at the same time, this is my chance to make him proud of me..."

"I say we take him to the Galra Empire either way," Ezor suggested, "If you decide to kill him on the route home, we'll stand beside you."

The sac started moving again, sitting up whilst arms reached out to Ezor behind the rough material. Unfortunately for the Generals, Keith could still listen to them and move his arms, not to mention his dragon was ready to attack. Mages are only able to use their powers if they are conscious and their soul mark is visible to their Dragon. As long as the red dragon did not see his master's mark, they had control over both Keith and his dragon.