The Lost Paladin (discontinued)

Invasion of the Castle of Lions

"Do I seriously have to wear this, I feel like I'm gonna trip over it." Pidge complained, not liking the cape Allura had recommended all paladins wearing.

"Say what you want Pidge, but I think it's dazzling." Lance said, trying to woo over Allura's heart...again, his voice seducingly deeper with a wide grin to match.

The Princess merely rolled her eyes. She and Coran put together a ball for the neighboring village on planet Arus.

The Arusians heard of Voltron's legend and happily gave their allegiance in the war against Zarkon. Though they may not look like much, being only 3 feet tall, but in large numbers they can do some damage. So to honor their loyalty, in addition to Voltron's gathering, the Princess thought it would be a good idea to have a ball to celebrate. However this included dressing for the occasion.

Coran polished the paladin's armor and attached a cape in their color to represent their element.

The paladin's of old wore very similar capes to show their warrior status, and that tradition was to still be held today.

"Sorry Pidge, but it's tradition. If it's any consolation, you all look fantastic."

"What are you all still doing here?" Coran said, peeking through the door. "The Arusians are waiting, now hurry along. Out you go."

The team calmly obeyed the pushy adviser and made their way to the ball room.

It was crowded with the alien species. Many dinning, chatting, and mingling. It didn't take long for the paladins to warm up to them, they were all so friendly and basically worshipped the defenders of the universe.

Shiro stood over by the stairs, taking in the sight and listening to the joyful music that played in the background. He was happy his brother let loose for once. He's never seen him smile like that in a long time. Maybe he should expose him to the Arusians more often. Though he guessed he should be thanking Lance for getting him onto the dance floor in the first place.

When Shiro noticed the Castle doors wide open, to let the citizens in, he got a bad feeling. Someone could just sneak in at any given moment. So he left to go stand guard, however, to his surprise, he found a certain small someone already standing patrol.

"Pidge? What are you doing out here?" Shiro asked, going by her side.

Coming out of her daze, she looked up at him and shrugged. "No reason. You know I've never been one for parties."

"Heh, I know that. Though would you do me the honor of having a dance?"

Shiro never meant to get himself distracted from his original reason for coming out, though he wanted to at least think someone isn't out to kill them for once.

The young girl just gave him an 'are you kidding me' face, as if implying that he should know she doesn't dance.

"Oh, come on. One dance won't hurt you." He said, holding out his hand. "You used to love dancing as a kid."

"Yeah, well I'm not a kid anymore. We're warriors now Shiro, we can't drop our guard now. You of all people should know that."

The man was shocked at her choice of words. But he put any other thoughts aside and stood tall, side by side with her, looking out beyond the forest. His hands neatly folded behind his back like a soldier. "You're right. Sorry."

After several quiet and awkwardly long seconds, a soft smile peered on Pidge's face. "But.. I guess today can be an acceptation."

The leader smiled back and took the girl's small hand into his, wrapping the other around her waist. They softly swayed to the music, noticing how the melody changed from joyful and upbeat to soft and lulling.