Chill (Klance Warmth series Book 2 of +4)

13: Warmth of Family

A/N: Allura & Lance's family (aside from the King) listed from oldest to you gest:

Mother: Lakshmi
1) Aldrun (male)
2) Lauma (female)
3) Allura (female)
4) Lance (male)
5) Alwida (female)
6) Latif (male)

You'll start getting more sneak peeks of the royal family pre-Great War as the story continues. Their deaths will also be dealt with soon. However, I included some detail in this chapter.

There is some light gore in the beginning of this chapter followed by angst and cavity inducing fluff. If you don't know what muriatic acid is, feel free to either look it up or wait until it's explained in the story. There's no spoilers there, just a plot point.

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He stood watching the starbugs sparkling in the grass and rising to dart between the many colorful lanterns swaying in the breeze. Above them, Altea's sister planet Achlys moved across the sky towards the setting Daystar. Or, it wasn't called Achlys anymore, was it?

A starbug flashed in front of his face and he smiled watching the tiny bug fly against the mountain wind towards its brethren. Alteans of all walks of life stood in the Plain of Flowers to watch the Daystar set heralding the beginning of the annual Juniberry Festival. Pennants, ribbons, and woven flower chains fluttered in a particularly strong gust from the orient that almost knocked him off his feet.

He staggered only to be caught by a pair of strong, gentle hands. He blinked and looked down at the hands holding him. They were a light purple color with short, sharp nails. He followed the arms up to their owner's face and wasn't surprised to see Keith standing there.

Why wasn't he surprised?

Keith smiled and pressed a kiss to Lance's eye scale sending a shiver up the prince's spine. He closed his eyes and hummed, leaning back in Keith's arms and allowed himself to be supported.

When he opened his eyes, Allura was there handing him a cup of juniberry juice. The scent of the pungent berries wafted up to his nose. It was wonderful. He held the cup up to Keith who sniffed it and promptly wrinkled his nose at the strong smell, eyeing the drink suspiciously. Lance snickered and pulled the cup back down to a more comfortable position and looked back to the setting Daystar.

The juice smelled odd.

Voices he knew and some he didn't filled the air, dancing around the music like a perfectly woven tapestry. It warmed his heart. It wouldn't be long now before the festival began. Something tugged his shirt and he looked down to see Alwida staring up at him with her soulful eyes the same deep shade of blue as Lance's. She lifted her hands in a quiet plea to be held.

How could anyone resist those eyes? Lance obediently stepped free of Keith's hold and picked up his baby sister, propping her on his hip so she could see better. Squeals broke the atmosphere just as Latif, the youngest of the royal siblings of Altea, darted in front of Lance and Keith holding a frantically beeping and flashing hoverbot. Close on Latif's heels was a flailing Pidge and an endlessly put upon Aldrun, the eldest of the royal siblings.

Why was Pidge here?

Allura was doubled over, laughing heartily at the sight with her older sister Lauma by her side, supporting her. Granted, Lauma couldn't do much supporting, considering she was laughing just as hard as Allura. Many other Alteans joined in on the laughter and merrymaking until the traditional call for silence.