The Gold Paladin

Chapter 6 - Visions

Night raced after Allura, who walked briskly down the hall. She was so confused.

What had happened?

She hoped Allura wasn't trying to kill her. Night's hand crept down her armor, summoning her bayard. She willed it not to transform, but instead, she held it, making herself feel a little more comfortable.

The duo reached a tall set of doors. Allura threw them open, her white hair flying out behind her. She pointed to a table flanked by two chairs.

"Sit." Her voice was icy, but Night could detect guilt, even pain, behind it.

Night gingerly sat in the chair on the right. She sat on her hands, which was a gesture of politeness on Kty'hipta. Allura perched on the chair on the left.

There was a tense silence.

Allura shattered it, her gentle words cutting the tension.

"I'm sorry, Night."

Night turned on Allura. "Sorry? That's all I get for you trying to kill me, almost succeeding, then hacking the system so Pidge had to decode things to find out it was you?"

Allura looked down at the table.

"There's something I have to explain."

Night glared at Allura, but let her continue.

"The reason I did that was to find out if you were on our side. I am not trusting of random people entering my castle. I sent the fighters to test you. If you had been a spy or a traitor, they would have been much harder on you. They also forced your weapon to turn into the true form it is."

"How?" Night was confused. "I had already used my bayard once. It turned into the same thing."

Allura looked surprised by this but quickly covered it up.

"In case your weapon is disguised, such as a bomb, the fighters force it into true form. It turns out you have been using the true form of your weapon, although, the fighter's data tells me it has more than one form."

Night blinked. "My weapon has more than one form?"

"Yes. In many cases, a paladin's bayard has more powers than they expect. Using the weapon more will unearth these forms. For example, today, you used your blade to summon lightning."

"Can the other paladins do that?"

Allura shook her head. "No, but Keith teleport his sword to his other hand if he needs to."

"Oh." Night stopped sitting on her hands. The hard surface of the chair made them hurt.

"If it's okay with you, can I see your weapon?"

Night held up her bayard. "Sure." It transformed into the two-ended sword that she had seen earlier.

Allura gasped. "I've seen that weapon before. It's called a... Mak'aitu."

Night shook her head. "A what?"

"Sorry. It's Altean. It means 'bladed pole', or 'saber'."

"Mak'aitu? Can I name my weapon?" Night looked at the blade in her hands.

Allura was confused. "Why would you want to do that?"

"In Kty'hiptan culture, it's tradition to name your weapon, as a tribute to it," Night explained. "The dagger I carried when I was a pilot was named Cygnus."

"Oh. You can name your weapon if you want." Allura smiled.

Night nodded. "I think I'll name it Mak'ai. That means warrior-queen in Kty'hiptan."