The Dragon Paladin

Chapter 9

"Ellie."
I look up at Krolia from braiding ropes during a break in the day. She doesn't look very comfortable.
"There's a couple things you should know, if I want you to trust me." She sits down next to me, and I shuffle over to give her some space.
"I never said I don't trust you," I tell her. "But if you wanna tell me whatever it is that you're going to say, go ahead." I did not mean for it to come out like that, I swear. 

Krolia takes a breath. "There's a planet on the other side of this galaxy, called Earth. It looks exactly like  Doniira, except it's all humans." Yeah, I figured. Wait a minute, Lance didn't exactly smell 100% human. Neither did that barista. His sister, right? I miss Lance, he was fun.
"I was sent there to find and protect the Blue Lion of Voltron. It looks like your White Lion, but blue and a  lot bigger. I crashed my pod in a desert when I arrived. When I woke up, I was in a house. A human male was standing in the doorway." Texas? "He introduced himself as Texas." I knew it. "At first, I didn't know what to make of him. I'd never seen a human before. As time went on though, I started falling for him. We became mates, and found the Blue lion." Krolia's eyes are shining at the memory. She must really love Texas. "Shortly after, I found out I was pregnant. I had twins, a boy and a girl."

"You what?!" I realized I'd spoken out of turn, and Krolia glared at me. "I'm sorry, please continue."
She took a breath before carrying on. "My son looked more human, but my daughter had a more Galran appearance. I wanted to name my son Yorak, but Texas decided that a better name would be Keith. Since Keith's sister looked like a Galra, I knew I would eventually have to take her with me if I ever left Earth. So she was named Acxa. Both Acxa and Yorak are warrior names. Then one day, the empire found me and I had to leave. I was feeding the kids, when I noticed the mark on my blade glowing." She holds up her blade. "I don't have that blade with me, I left it with Texas to give to Keith. Kolivan gave me this one to replace it." She traced the Blade of Marmora mark just above the hilt. "These marks glow when there are either other Blades or Galra nearby. That night, there was a fight. The empire tried to take the lion. Texas and I managed to chase them off, but Texas got hurt. We had a talk the next morning, and agreed that it was too dangerous for me to stay with both of the kids. So I gave him my blade for Keith, took Acxa and left. Keith would be 17 now, and I haven't seen Acxa for years. When I told her about her father and brother, she was around 13. We had an argument, and she left. Since then, I've pretty much kept to myself." She wiped her eyes and looked at me. "You remind me of Acxa, in a way. Stubborn, and loyal." I can't believe it. This woman, a stranger, has just opened her heart to me. I almost cried at her story. She had to leave one child, and then the other left her! I couldn't imagine it. But what she says next, shocks me into silence.
"I imagine your parents are proud of you. You should probably think about getting back to them to explain your disappearance."
I cough, waving my hand. "I don't have parents."
Krolia cocks her head. "You're not from one of the dragon colonies?" I shake my head. "But...you're a dragon. Are you sure?"
I nod. "At least, no parents that I know of. This time 6 weeks ago, I was human. My first memory, is standing on a boulder overlooking a valley and thinking, 'I'm in an alternate reality.' I only learned I was half-dragon when my heat started."
Krolia blinks. She's in shock. I'm terrified. Is she gonna leave? Will she shun me as a freak? I've come to depend on her. She took care of me, and I have a yellow loyalty bond with her. I don't want to know what happens when bonds are broken. Her voice brings me back to reality.
"And you don't remember anything beyond that?"
I shake my head. "Nothing. Although, I'm confused as to why some things are familiar or how I already know some things and how to do them."
Krolia nods slowly. Then looks back at me with a soft smile. Oh dear.
"I'd like to show you something. But first, what happened when the lion taught you how to fly?"
My blood goes cold. "She wanted an excuse to visit her sister, Blue. She  didn't want to go without me, so I asked you if I could go flying." My throat is dry, and my heart is racing. "I made a friend on Earth, his name is Lance. I think he goes to the same school as your son."
Krolia grabs my shoulders and stares into my eyes.
"What did he look like? Is he alright? Does he have friends?" She's worried about him. "And most importantly, how did you know it was Keith?"
I remove Krolia's hands from my shoulder. "I didn't know, it was just a gut feeling. He looks almost exactly like you, but that wouldn't mean anything if he didn't smell like you. As far as I can tell, he's okay. He seems pretty close with two of the teachers."