Silent Lover

Chapter 6

Slow footsteps leading away from the cell woke Lance up quickly, causing him to get up swiftly, scanning his surroundings. He slowly calmed down when he realized that no one was hurt, before turning to the front of the cell. He raised an eyebrow curiously when he saw a book with a note attached sitting on the floor in front of the cell. He walked forward and looked down the halls, searching for who may have left the book. Wie he saw no one, he grabbed them both before sitting back on his bed with a soft sigh. Taking off the note, he inspected the book, scanning the title. It was in another language, but roughly translated, it was somewhat like: 'The Sleeping Beauty'. Lance shrugged, placing the book under his bed. He had read it before, why read it again? Turning, he regarded the note.
It read:

Dearest Paladin,
I did not mean to frighten you, or make you uncomfortable. What I told you was true. You are truly beautiful. But, I will abide by your wishes, and leave you alone. I hope that we can talk in person soon.
Truly yours, Lotor

Lance tilted his head. His name was Lotor. He sounded pretty reserved for a Galra, the grammar and punctuation skills he possesed were much better than Lance had anticipated them to be. Lance scanned the letter over a second time, before placing it in between the pages of the book. Despite his words, Lance still didn't trust him, and that's how it would stay until he knew that Lotor truly wasn't a threat. Lance laid back down on his bed silently, waiting for Aezul to come back. As he was waiting, a thought entered his mind: If he didn't respond, who knows what the guy might do. Lance sighed and grabbed the book again, ripping out a piece of paper from the back of the book. He went to start writing before hitting another wall: He didn't have anything to write with. Lance huffed, tossing the book back on the ground. If he didn't respond soon, the creep might come back and talk to him again... He decided to wait until breakfast, then grab some kind of writing device.

And that's exactly what he did. After fighting again in the arena( he obtained three new teeth), and talking with Aezul and Mikah, Lance sat down to write to his stalker. He cracked a small smile at the odd thought. After some thinking, he decided to respond with:

Hello, Lotor.
I understand that you'd like to have a talk with me, but how can I trust you? You've been stalking me. Show me that I can trust you, then we can talk.
Lance

Lance smirked. Who would've thought? Him, a boy from the ghetto of Cuba, was in space, with an alien pining after him. He couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "What are you laughing at?" Lance turned to grin at Aezul, unable to wipe the smile from his face. "Just thinking." Aezul raised an eyebrow. "Ok, weirdo." Lance shrugged playfully, before getting up and calling one of the nearby guards over. "What do you need-" The guard suddenly stopped short, his rude remark dying on his lips. He slowly looked Lance up and down, eyes widening. "Ancient stars! Your Silent Killer! I'm such a big fan of yours-" The guard suddenly seemed to remember what his occupation was, and went back to being neutral. At least, as neutral as one could be while looking into the eyes of a legend. "I'm sorry, what do you need?"

Lance smirked coyly at him, eyes bright. "I was wondering if you could get this letter to a Lotor? I don't necessarily know what he does, or I would've given it to him myself." The guard looked at Lance in surprise. "You mean to tell me you don't know who he is?" Lance shook his head, slowly starting to feel uneasy. Just who was he sending this letter to? "What, is this guy a big deal or something?" The guard nodded vigorously. "Uh, yeah, he's the quiznacking prince of the Galran empire. You know, Zarkon's son?" Lance's eyes widened and he felt his stomach drop. "Seriously?" The guard nodded again. Lance stood in silence for a second, before sighing. "You know what, never mind. Thanks, man." The guard nodded for the last time, before walking back to his post.

Lance sighed again, running a hand through his hair as he plopped back down on his bed. The prince. The fucking prince of the Galran empire wanted his affection. Hell no. This guy already knew that he was a paladin, he had probably decided that this would be the best way to get information about Voltron. Lance ran a hand down his face, groaning. Being stuck in space-prison with a stalker was bad enough, but now the stalker just happened to be fucking royalty? And not just any royalty, but the royalty of the motherfucking prison he was stuck in? He sat in silence on his bed for a couple minutes, spurring back to life when Aezul returned to the cell.

Lance, barely even noticing his cellmate's presence, once again got out the pack of playing cards, hurling them at the wall so hard that some of them almost sunk all the way into the wall. Aezul huffed as he watched them fly. "Y'know, I'd appreciate it if maybe you didn't do that right now." Lance finally looked over to Aezul, eyebrow raised. "And why's that?" He glared at the brunette, crossing his arms. "Because, you always make me get out the ones that go too deep. My nails are suffering, asshole." Lance smirked at his whining, continuing to throw cards at the wall. "You act so big and tough, but deep down, you're just a big dramatic baby." Aezul glared at Lance, clearly unamused, as Mikah laughed in the cell over. Lance cracked a small smile, before laughing as well. As Lance slowly caught his breath, he looked up and caught Aezul staring. Lance smiled up at him softly, the butterflies he felt a well known feeling. His cellmate quickly looked away, a light blue blush on his face. Lance gave him a bewildered look before shrugging. Maybe he had a crush on Mikah, she was very attractive. So was her laugh. Lance had to admit, if she wasn't his friend, he'd probably have a crush on her as well.

Lance went silent again as he mulled over his situation with Lotor. He was definitely gonna come by now. After a couple seconds of thinking, the plan was obvious: Don't respond to him. Ignore him, and hopefully he would get the idea and leave Lance alone. "Hello, Paladin." Lance's eye twitched. Think of the devil, and he shall come, right? "Hello?" Lance stayed quiet, getting up to grab the cards out of the wall wordlessly. Lotor sighed. "I don't understand why you're making this difficult. I just wish to hold a conversation with you." Before Lance could do anything, Aezul responded for him. "Maybe he doesn't want to 'hold a conversation' with you." He snapped, glaring at the Galran. Lotor glared back at the reptilian before scoffing, turning on his heel, and leaving.

Lance gave Aezul a grateful look, one that was returned softly. "Thanks A." He nodded, before going back to relaxing on the bed, reading a book Lance had swiped for him. Lance immediately felt the mood shift. Something was bugging Aezul. "What's up with you?" The other continued reading his book, purposefully refusing to meet Lance's eyes. "Hm? I'm fine, why?" Lance sighed, raising an eyebrow warily. "A, I've known you for almost a year. You know I know when you're lying. Something's bothering you. What is it?" Aezul finally looked up from his book, flashing Lance a look that read: "Are we really doing this right now?" When Lance didn't budge, he sighed. "It's just that... Mayel's birthday is today." Lance felt his heart break a little when he heard the way Aezul's voice wavered at the end, as he fought back tears. Lance got up slowly and went to sit next to his friend, giving him a tight hug. "I understand." Aezul sobbed quietly as he hugged Lance back fiercely, clawing at him like he was a lifeline. "It's my fault." He whispered out. "I could've done more, I could've-" "Aezul." Lance pulled away, holding his gaze. He wound Aezul's and his hands together, giving him a reassuring squeeze. "There's nothing you can do now. I know this sounds harsh, but thinking about what you could've done isn't going to help you. You'll just dig yourself into a deeper hole." Aezul nodded softly, unable to stop the tears that rolled down his cheeks. "I know, but... I cared for him more than anyone in this world, in this universe, and now he's gone. I know that what happened wasn't truly my fault, but I still feel like I failed him in some way..." He couldn't get another word out as he was choked up by tears again. Lance fixed him with a sympathetic glance, before giving him another hug. The rest of the day, Lance stayed by his side as Aezul talked about the adventures they went on together. Once night came, Lance laid by his side, watching as he slept peacefully. As he watched Aezul's chest rise and fall, his features illuminated by the soft purple lights in the cell, he decided he would keep him safe.