Juniberry Wishes

Chapter 3

A braided head peered over at her from behind a door. It was the youngest child, Nadia.

"Hey there," Pidge called to her, almost like she would have done to a wary, smaller alien creature.

"Hi," the creature replied, her braids swinging in the air as she waved. "I want to show you something."

Pidge blinked. "Me?"

'What could she possibly show me that'll be of interest to me?' Pidge asked in her mind, but stood up regardless. Maybe this was worth getting into.

..

...

..

Pidge found herself being led into the room. It was small, but not in the uncomfortable way. It fit the word, "cozy", perfectly.

"Is-Is this your room?" she asked, to which the girl shrugged at.

"Every year, we change rooms," Nadia explained. "This year, I share this one with Uncle Lance."

"Change rooms?" Pidge asked, looking around at the wooden interior.

"I already told you, didn't I?" the smaller girl asked with a small smirk. "I thought you were the smart one in Voltron."

"Hey!" Pidge exclaimed, muttering under her breath, "We were all plenty smart..."

Maybe she was a bit smarter when it came to technology and all that, but the others didn't fall behind. Far from that. Shiro was a great leader, and he excelled in everything. Keith was an expert pilot, and later turned out to be the team leader they never knew they needed. Hunk was an incredible cook, and he was just as great at being a mechanic. Allura was, well, Allura. She was strong, independent, and more than just a princess. And Lance... Well, Lance definitely was anything but dumb. In the craziest battles, he remained calm, quickly changing into an almost different person. Pidge always thought that he would've been the leader if Voltron continued on while Keith became busy with the Galra.

Truthfully, it sort of looked like she was the worst one in the group...

"Auntie Pidge!" Nadia's voice cut through her thoughts, making her flinch in response. She looked down to see the young girl offering her an old-looking book.

"What is it?" Pidge asked, weighing the plain covered book on her hands.

"A book, duh," the girl drawled on, rolling her round eyes. "You're really making out to be so different from my imaginations. You even looked different in my earlier memories."

Pidge let out a hollow laugh. "Why? I guess I'm not as sharp as I once was, but you're just being mean."

"No." The girl shook her head. "Before, you looked like a real heroine. But now... you just look like a normal girl."

Although Pidge did feel bad about her words, she also felt like it was the truth. She was no longer a paladin. It's been years since the end of the great war, but she still found herself twisting and turning at night, thinking about the end of the universe - the death of all knowledge. Now... She was just a powerless girl. True, she was everything she once wanted to be - working in the garrison, helping out the universe one invention at a time, but...

"Yeah, I'm just a normal girl," Pidge agreed, and then grinned at the younger one. "But I'm way older than you, so show some respect!"

Then, the ex-paladin jumped down on the girl and began to tickle her, making the child laugh incessantly, squirming around in retaliation. "Mama! Mama! Auntie P-Pidge is attacking me!"

Caught in mid-laughter, Pidge and Nadia froze together as the door flung open. Pidge was expecting the girl's mother. Instead, a tall silhouette stood there against the light - a figure Pidge was well-acquainted with.