The White Lion Princess

The Land of Light

I stared at the crystal in my hand, watching in awe and happiness as its beautiful colors changed.

This stone showed me my people. It proved that there was hope for my planet. For my kingdom.

Luna purred in my lap, feeling my happiness.

I smiled down at her, "My people are alive, Luna." I said giggling at the thought, "There's hope for my kingdom."

I got up from my bed, walking over to the door with Luna by my side and heading down to the bridge.

"So, this magic rock is gonna guide us to a mysterious planet?" I heard Pidge ask Allura. I entered the room and saw Allura holding a glowing stone in her hands, ever so gently as if it was as fragile as glass.

"A land known as Oriande." Lotor clarified. Coran chuckled, as did I, because Oriande was just a folk tale.

"I'm afraid someone's been ruggling your wimble, Prince Lotor." Coran said, "Oriande is just an Altean folktale. It doesn't actually exist."

"That's what I thought, Coran." Allura said, "but now, I have a feeling it is quite real."

"It is the birthplace of all Altean alchemy. The place where King Alfor learned the secrets that helped him create Voltron and where Allura will master those same secrets so that my ships may enter the quintessence field."

"All I'm hearing is what you would gain from this trip to Oriande." I said.

"And what makes you the authority on crazy Altean nonsense?" Lance added pointing to Coran, "Coran knows more magic made-up gobbledygook than any one I've ever met."

"Thank you, Lance." Coran said, "And I can assure you, King Alfor never mentioned anything to me about traveling to Oriande."

"In all likelihood, he kept it a secret from everyone." Lotor said, "I've been researching Oriande for centuries, hoping to learn more about my Altean ancestry. Over time, I've managed to gather evidence from all over the universe that hinted at it's existence. Now, thanks to Princess Allura, I will finally gaze upon its magnificence with my own eyes."

"Uh, aren't you a little busy runnjng your empire to take a magical vacation?" Hunk suddenly asked, making Pidge sigh beside him.

"In order to transition the Galra Empire to a peaceful existence, I need to open up a pathway to the quintessence field. Once my people have access to unlimited energy, the old ways of the empire will be behind them."

I glared at Lotor, knowing that he wanted more than just a trip to Oriande. Something inside me was sending off danger signals throughout my body.

I turned my head towards Allura, who was staring down at the stone in her hands.

"If this voyage is successful, the universe will finally be on the path to peace." She said.

Lotor smiled at her response.

"Well, let's find out where we're going." Shiro said.

Allura activated the map across the bridge. The stone in her hands projected a thin blue bean into the air and moved the map to a swt of coordinates.

It was a small form in between three celestial bodies.

I recognized the system where they wanted to go, and for a moment, I was nervous.

"Wait a tick, that's the Patrulian Zone." Coran gasped.

"The what now?" Lance asked.

"The Patrulian Zone is a mysterious part of space where ships enter and are never heard from again." I explained.