Red Cub

By Kim Smuga

Feb 2017

I haven't written any fan fiction in a loooong time. Maybe it's because I adored the original Voltron cartoon as a kid, or perhaps it's the way they end each season on a cliff hanger, but I've been inspired. Hope you enjoy.

[Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Voltron characters]

Princess Allura's stood at the edge of the high terrace. Below her the Olkari moved about the teludav making final measurements. Even without a kingdom or subjects, she was every bit a ruler – awe inspiring and a bit terrifying. Shiro, the Black Paladin, supposed the latter feeling could be from the conversation he was about to initiate. He willed himself to walk towards her and she turned at the sound of his footsteps.

"Princess," he said, "I wanted to let you know Slov is, well I won't say satisfied, but mostly placated about his calculations. We'll be ready to take off in just a couple more quintiles."

The princess sounded alarmed, "that long?"

"Sorry, I meant, a few vargas."

Her forehead scrunched, "that short?"

Shiro gave a sheepish grin, "A few … dobashens?"

"Oh that's excellent," Allura's face lit up like a carefree teenager, "I'll go find Corin to make sure the castle is prepared to take off."

"Um, before that, I wanted to talk to you…" deep breath, "about Keith."

Her smile fell and posture stiffened, but she gestured for Shiro to join her by the balcony "You can trust him, Princess, you know that right?"

He waited for her to respond, watching conflicting emotions flit across her face. "I want to, I truly do. But I know the Galra, know what horrors they're capable of. When I look at the Red Paladin, I remember certain incidents, and I can't help see the stark differences between him and you humans."

"Princess, you've only met the five of us. There's a lot of variety to human behavior. Keith's aloofness, his direct approach, and," Shiro hesitated, "and that sometimes apparent lack of emotion, he isn't that way because of genetics. It comes from experience."

There was a Tae Kwon Do studio close to Galaxy Garrison and on Wednesday afternoons, the cadets would go to practice and try to impress the townies, preferably the twenty-somethings from the self-defense class in the practice room next to the main gym. In his second year, Shiro usually joined them although his black belts were in Karate and Jujitsu.

He wasn't sure what made him notice the small dark haired boy practicing with the afterschool club, perhaps it was his gi – its off white shade suggested it was way overdue for a washing.

The kid was having problems with his roundhouse kick. With each "Hai" he was over rotating and unable to return his foot to the proper stance. He wasn't the only one having problems. The two instructors were both tied up helping other students; one was literally belly flopping with each kick.

Shiro walked over, "The trick is to ground yourself first. Drop your center." Shiro demonstrated with an explosive kick higher than his head.

The kid gave him a long, skeptical look, like he had no use for a 17-year-old's advice. Clearly he wasn't impressed and Shiro was about to walk back to his friends when the kid repositioned his feet, widening his stance.

"Like this?" he asked.

"A little lower. There. Now kick."

It wasn't perfect, but the improvement was obvious to both of them. The boy got back to his stance and tried again, and again, his face scrunched up with concentration. Once he got it, the kick was lightning fast.

"I'm Takashi Shirogane, I go by Shiro." He held his hand out.

Again the boy gave him a measured look, "I go by Keith," and took Shiro's hand.

Shiro smiled and after a moment Keith smiled back awkwardly, like he needed to practice that too.

After the class ended, the head instructor, Chelsea, sauntered over. "Nice job with Keith," she said, "he can be prickly. You got younger siblings?"

"Nope, only child," Shiro admitted.

"You taught before?" she asked.

"Never formally." She looked him over, measuring him up.

"Care to try?"

"I'm a cadet at the base, I can't commit-"

Chelsea cut him off, "I see you here goofing off most Wednesdays. The after school program's only an hour. How about for every four classes we prorate you a month's membership?"

"So, that's how I started teaching," Shiro told Allura. She'd relaxed, curious about his alien world.

"It suited me. I ended coming extra days when I could. I got along with all the kids, but Keith was my favorite. At first I didn't understand what Chelsea meant by prickly because he was always eager to work with me. But watching him with the other kids, it was apparent he was keeping his distance.'

"He never sparred with the others before class started and didn't join in their games unless it was part of a class exercise. He always sat or stood at the far end of the line. Oddest thing was how he never fidgeted, whether he was sitting or standing, he was dead still. But when I looked carefully, I'd see his eyes darting about, taking everything in."

"I didn't realize that you'd know him for so long," said Allura.

Shiro shook his head, "Not really. Back then, I didn't know him at all."

Chelsea pulled Shiro over before class started.

"I wanted to give you a heads up. Today is Keith's last class. At least for a while."

"What?" Shiro looked out to Keith warming up on the mat. "Why?"

Chelsea sighed and looked guilty. "He's one of the scholarship kids and part of the deal is he has to maintain a B average. The guidance counselor called today, he's failing three classes."

"Failing? But he always pays attention here. And he's a smart kid."

"Well, maybe not coming here will motivate him to study more," her tone didn't sound confident, "I just wanted to let you know. I know you like working with him and it's obvious that you're his favorite teacher."

On the mat, Keith was doing sit ups. Next Friday he was scheduled to test for green belt. An idea popped into Keith's head.

"Hey, Chelsea, what if I paid for his lessons? Last I checked, you guys owed me five months. That way he won't fall behind the group."

She gave him a pained smile, "that's generous of you Shiro. But it doesn't solve the problem of his grades."

"Well ... Maybe I could tutor him, here, after class finishes."

Chelsea still looked apprehensive, so Shiro gave her his best smile. She relented. Shiro could cover Keith's next month, but by then Keith would need to get his grades up.

In their first session, it was Shiro who probably learned the most. He discovered that Keith was 12, nearly 13 – from his small size Shiro had always assumed he was still in elementary school. And the classes he was struggling with weren't math and science, which were Shiro's first guess, but English, history and some sort of self-esteem class called "Healthy Minds."

He had been right about Keith being smart. As they worked through his history and Healthy Minds assignments, just a few hints got Keith more or less on track. He really just needed a bit more guidance.

English was another story. The book was obviously above his reading level. And even when Shiro helped him through the four syllable words, their meaning escaped him.

"I don't get it," said Keith, obviously exasperated, "most of what they're saying to each other doesn't make any sense. Why did someone even send that Milo kid a car. And what's a tollbooth?"

"I think it's supposed to be funny," said Shiro. He wondered why Keith's teacher had assigned a century old book written by a New Yorker to kids growing up in the New Mexico desert. Maybe it was because there were pictures. Shiro suspected Keith would do much better with Jack London.

"It's no use, I'm just stupid."

"That's no way to talk –" Keith cut him off.

"It's my family, we're all stupid. My dad dropped out of high school, so did all his brothers." This was the first time Keith had mentioned his family.

"What about your mom?"

"I don't have one. I mean, I did, but she bailed on us when I was three."

"So it's just you and your dad?" Shiro knew he was prying, but he'd always assumed that Keith came from a standard, if somewhat poor, family.

"There's Mandy. She's dad's girlfriend, umm, fiancé, and Lily, Dad and Mandy's baby, she just turned one last month."

"He said it all so casually." Shiro told Allura. "It wasn't like I hadn't heard stories about those kinds of families, but that's all they were, stories from books or movies. I was a teenage boy from suburbia, raised by both my parents. I'd been at the academy for two years, enough to feel practically grown up.'

"But talking to Keith, I felt inexperienced, over my head. I didn't know how to respond.'

"I think I turned the conversation back to the assignment and said something about how learning takes time and practice, just like martial arts. I'm not sure if he bought it, but we tackled the first chapter of the book. Eventually read through the whole thing and Keith got a passing grade on the test. After a month, he was back on the scholarship. But I kept tutoring him, it was clear he wasn't getting any academic support at home.'

"Over time, he'd let details slip. His dad worked at the local quarry. Mandy got government checks. Towards the end of the month, there wasn't much to eat. For a while he talked about Mandy's wedding planning and how he was going to be the ring bearer with a fancy suit, then it was postponed, again. They lived a few miles outside of town and Keith rode a rusty bike back each night. Sometimes he let me take him out for dinner, but would always refuse to let me drive him home. I finally saw it about a year later, and then only because I was taking him to an open house at Garrison."

There was a beauty to the benign neglect of Keith's house and its isolation, but the sort that made for a good painting, not a home.

Keith opened the door before Shiro had even knocked.

"I'm ready," his shirt was too big for him, but otherwise Keith was dressed nicer than Shiro had ever seen him.

"Who's there?" came a female voice. A pretty but tired girl appeared behind Keith. She had a toddler hoisted on her hip. This must be Mandy, she wasn't much older than Shiro.

"I told you," Keith said, his back to her, "it's Shiro. He's taking me to see the base."

Mandy stared at Shiro, slightly bewildered. Keith had promised Shiro that he'd cleared this outing with his family. "Keith said you were Asian, Chinese?" Shiro let it pass, "I thought you'd be shorter." She ran her hand through her hair and shifted the baby.

"It's okay with you that I'm taking him out for a few hours, ma'am?" asked Shiro.

Mandy frowned at his last word, "Yeah, it's okay. Have him for as long as you want. Behave yourself, Keith."

The first few moments in the car, Keith was quiet, his body tense. But as the miles passed, he relaxed and by the time they reached base, he was genuinely excited.

Seeing Galaxy Garrison through Keith's eyes was a neat experience. At the sign-in, they gave him a bag of swag and he put on the free baseball cap immediately. He was constantly looking around him as if he feared to miss something and when they passed a line of saluting cadets, Keith saluted right back. But the biggest hit was the flight simulator.

The technicians had programmed in a simplified set of controls and interface making it not much more difficult than a video game. The first time Keith tried it, he crashed on the runway. He got right back in line, quizzing Shiro about where he'd gone wrong. On his second go, he got his simulated craft off the ground and soaring in the air.

"Ace pilot skills run in the family, right Shiro?" asked Commander Iverson. He was watching Keith's progress, "How old's your brother?"

"Oh, he's not my brother, Sir. Just a friend." Said Shiro quickly.

Keith managed a bumpy landing and let the next kid take his seat.

"Thinking about applying to the here, son?" asked Iverson.

Shiro expected Keith to bristle at the son comment, but a look of wonder spread across his features. He turned to Shiro, "I could come here? For real?"

"Well, if you keep your grades up, yeah, you could." Secretly, Shiro had been hoping to plant this idea in Keith's head. Kids could enroll at age 16 and once in, class supplies, room and board were paid for. Even better, Keith would have a job coming out. Shiro wasn't surprised that Keith had mastered the basic simulator, he'd been certain for some time that Keith would make a great pilot.

On the drive back, they strategized on ways that Keith could improve his applications and chance for admission.

"You know the best thing," said Keith, "We'd be classmates."

"Well, for one year," said Shiro. "But I'd be on the base, and who knows, after you graduated, we might serve on the same ship."

When they arrived at Keith's home, there was a large, dirty pickup truck parked in front of the house. A tall man was leaning against the porch post.

"Is that your father?" asked Shiro.

Beside him, Keith gave a curt nod. Shiro didn't see the resemblance. The man was broad and muscular, over six feet tall with sandy hair. His features were rough and chiseled, not fine and delicate like Keith's. He stepped down from the porch and slowly approached Shiro's side of the jeep.

"Keith," said the man, "you have a good time?" It wasn't an unkind voice, but beside him, Keith had turned serious.

"Yes, sir."

"Thank your friend and go help Mandy get dinner ready."

Another nod, "Thanks Shiro, it was fun."

"I had a good time too. See you on Wednesday?"

"Sure," and Keith left. His father stayed by the car.

"I'm Russel."

"Shiro." Russel held out his hand and gave Shiro a firm shake.

"Nice of you to do, taking him out today."

"Keith's a great kid. I hope it didn't cause any inconvenience."

"No, it was a good thing. I work a lot, got to pay the bills. And Mandy's busy with the baby. Can't spend much time with him. But I'm a good dad."

"I'm sure you-" Russel cut him off.

"His mom skipped out when he was young, don't know if he told you. One day I came home, Keith was still asleep and there was this note, apologizing, and saying not to go looking for her. Never saw her again. Keith was only three. I could have walked away too, you know. But we managed, hard as it was. Just wanted you to know, what I've done for that boy."

"That's the only conversation I ever had with Keith's father." Allura looked quizzical, waiting for the next part of the story. It wasn't Shiro's to tell.

But the fate of the universe was on the line in less than a varga and even if they took out Zarkon, Quiznet only knew who'd make it through alive. Shiro pushed on.

"A few months later, just before his birthday, Keith didn't show up for class. He wasn't on the bus with the rest of the kids, so Chelsea called up his school. And they said he was in the hospital."

The nurse wouldn't let him in because he wasn't family but Shiro caught a look through the door's window before he was escorted to the waiting room.

Keith looked bad. His face was a mass of purple splotches and a stiched cut across his forehead. His eyes were closed and swollen and an IV was feeding into his arm.

"He's going to be okay," said the nurse as she left him, "He's very, very lucky."

That was all he could get out of anyone as he waited for nearly an hour. Twice he approached the nurse's station and twice he was turned away. He was about to go for round three when a stern faced woman walked in.

"Are you Shiro?" she looked him over intently.

"Yes, Keith, is he-"

"He's awake," Shiro tried to speak, but she cut him off. "How long have you been his martial arts instructor and tutor?"

"Instructor for a little more than a year, tutor for a little less."

"And you're a cadet at Galaxy Garrison?"

"Yes, ma'am," conditioning made him stand straighter.

A long second passed, and then the woman smiled and stretched out her hand. "I'm Kate, Keith's social worker."

"Is he alright?"

"Yes," she said with a certainty that untwisted Shiro's gut. "Amazingly, it's mostly cosmetic damage. Not a single broken bone He does have a concussion but the doctor who evaluated him said it's minor. Cognitively he's okay. And he's been asking for you."

"May I see him?"

"Under other circumstances, I'd say not until he was transferred out of intensive care. But he's been alone since they brought him in last night and he needs a familiar face."

"No visitors? But what about his father."

Another pause. "Keith's father is in jail. Who do you think did this to him?"

She turned away and Shiro followed. His mind was buzzing with questions he didn't have the nerve to ask.

In his hospital room, Keith was half sitting up in bed. They'd bandaged his cuts and a removed the IV.

"Shiro!" Keith's voice was raspy, but happy.

"Hey, Keith." Shiro tried to match tones, "How do you feel?"

"I hurt, but it's not too bad," he gave a weak shrug.

Shiro laid his hand gently on Keith's shoulder, "I'm glad you're okay."

"What happened to him? Did you find out?" asked Allura.

"Yeah, but not from Keith. He was still pretty small back then - didn't get his growth spurt until he was almost 16. The way he looked at me that day … When I was a kid, I idolized my Karate sensei, but he was just one person in my life. I had my parents, aunts and grandparents, a bunch of cousins, and a few close friends. At that moment, Keith had no one but me."

Allura said nothing, Shiro hoped that meant he was getting through.

"I didn't push him for the story, and he didn't offer it. We talked and joked for half an hour, it was all he was up for. Before I left, he asked me to go to his house. There was a box of things he wanted from his room and he was afraid they wouldn't let him retrieve it before they moved him to foster care."

The pickup truck backed up to the front porch and Mandy was outside, lifting a garbage bag of clothing into the back. She looked up, startled as Shiro pulled in.

"Keith's not here," she said as Shiro approached her. Mandy's lower lip was cut and puffy.

"I know," Shiro tried to keep his voice even. He saw Keith's half-sister buckled in a car seat in the truck. "I saw him at the hospital."

Mandy didn't meet his eyes. "He okay?"

"Yes," Shiro was a mix of confusion and anger. Things on the base were orderly. There was a code of conduct, a chain of command, and understanding of what one was responsible for. But that all seemed to break down in Keith's life. He needed some answers. "What happened, Mandy?"

She didn't answer.

Shiro dropped his voice, mimicking the menace of a drill sergeant, "Tell me." It worked.

"I couldn't do anything for him." Her voice went soft and she spoke quickly, "Russ, when he drinks, he gets mean. Mostly it's just shouting, but sometimes … it's more."

"How long has he been abusing Keith?"

"No, he didn't, not ever. Just discipline, you know. But he never took it out on the kids, not till last night. Things have been going bad at the mine. He'd started drinking before he'd got home. I thought he'd be gone all night, so I didn't save dinner. But, he came back hungry and started smashing stuff – the pretty plates my mom sent. I tried to stop him. I shouldn't have done that. He came at me, it wasn't like normal. I mean, maybe a shove, maybe a slap, but not this time." Her voice was barely above a whisper, "I've never been so scared."

She was gulping, shaking. Shiro remembered Russel's size and bearing. Mandy was like a bird.

"And then Keith was there, standing between us, telling Russ to leave. Russ just hit him away, sent him flying. If he'd just stayed down … But, quick as lightning, he was up in Russ's face again. Russ, he doesn't take with kids disrespecting their dads. That time he struck Keith down hard, hard enough that Keith wasn't going to get up. And, I thought, okay, that's all. But, but something inside Russ snapped, and he didn't stop, hitting, kicking, I don't know what exactly. I don't know how I did it, but I grabbed my baby, grabbed the keys and I got out of there. Drove. I had to get out, I had to. Soon as I got to the highway, I stopped, called 911."

"You left him?"

A hardness settled on Mandy's features, "He's not mine. I've got my baby to look after. I'm taking her away, going to keep her safe, not like Keith's-" Their talk must have awoken Lily and she started crying.

"I've got to go," said Mandy, she kept her eyes low, never making contact as she walked around the truck.

Shiro wanted to say something cruel, to twist the knife for Keith's sake, but the sight of Mandy, hunched over the steering wheel, trying to start the car while Lily howled made him think it wasn't worth it. On the fourth try, the engine kicked in and Mandy drove away.

The front door was open. Inside it was a mess, like a storm had blown through. Clothes, papers and children's toys lay scattered. Outside the kitchen alcove were the shards of plates with a green ivy pattern, and deep red, almost black stains in the worn out carpet. Shiro walked past and found a tiny bedroom in the back. Mandy had stripped it of everything save for the crib, a narrow bed and a beat up dresser.

The bottom drawer of the dresser was jammed shut. Following Keith's instructions, Shiro pushed it away from the wall to reveal a large hole. He reached in and pulled out a wooden box a bit longer than a shoe box. It was surprisingly heavy.

Shiro opened it. Inside were coins, crumpled dollar bills, some pretty rocks and a few sheets of paper. On top was the certificate Keith had gotten that day at the base for successfully landing the simulator. Underneath were several watercolors of flowers and one that looked like a panther painted in blue. There was something about the box's weight distribution and a quick comparison of the inside versus outside that made him suspect there was a hidden bottom. But he couldn't find a catch, only a wiggly, carved pattern.

He brought Keith the box the next day, along with get well cards and flowers from the dojo. They'd moved him out of intensive care and Keith had gotten his energy back. He didn't ask about the house, or Mandy and Lily, for which Shiro was grateful.

As he was leaving, Kate caught up with him and pushed a manila folder into his hands.

"Ever heard of Big Brothers, Big Sisters?" Shiro nodded, uncertain of where she was going with this, "That's the paperwork. Normally, they insist on doing matches with kids already in the system, but I explained Keith's situation and they're willing to bend the rules. You still need to fill out the paperwork and get one letter of recommendation, maybe an instructor or someone from the dojo. I'll handle the other recommendation."

Shiro looked at the thick stack of papers within the folder.

"I don't think I have time for a program like that," he said, "I'm his friend, how about I just keep being that."

Kate sighed, "You have no clue, do you?"

She looked both apologetic and exasperated. "Let me tell you what's going to happen. Keith's dad is being charged with assault on a minor. He may weasel out of the charges, but he's still losing custody. Keith doesn't have any relatives that are willing to take him. As soon as the court documents are signed, he becomes a ward of the state. He's 14-years-old and male so there's no way he's getting adopted and it's highly unlikely I'll find a foster home for him. The system's skewed towards younger kids. The older you get, the harder you are to place. Once Keith's discharged from the hospital, he'll be taken to a group home – no parents, just a rotating staff and at least nine other boys. Chances are that most of the boys were kicked out of at least one, if not more foster homes. For some of them, it was just bad luck, it happens. For others, there are good reasons. Keith's pretty small, he's quiet, not very social, and, while I don't believe he's a trouble maker, there's something about that frown his face falls into … I just don't see anyone taking him under their wing. I'll do my best, but I have 28 kids in my case load, six of who, believe it or not, actually need my attention more than Keith. He'll need someone to be there for him."

"I know, and I'll be that person," protested Shiro, "I'll see him at the dojo."

"The only group home accepting students right now is a 45 minute drive from here. They have 12 boys being managed by two staff. Keith won't be coming to your martial arts studio any more."

"Then I'll visit him there."

"You think they'll let you in? He's a vulnerable minor who's already been abused. You're a single, adult male who's neither a relative or a friend of the family." Kate gave him a kind, sad smile. "I know you're not a sexual predator. But the system will flag you as one unless we complete your background check."

It had been only a week ago when Shiro had last taught Keith at the dojo. They'd been practicing the forms Keith would need for the next belt testing. At the end of class, Shiro had assured Keith that barring some major catastrophe, he'd pass easily. Major catastrophe, that was what had happened. Kate's calm, matter-of-fact way of explaining made it horribly real.

"So, if I want to stay his friend, I fill out the paper work?"

"You got it." Kate grinned at him, like his agreement made him a hero or something, "I'll do my best to speed it through, maybe get it down to three weeks. I'll okay phone calls in the meantime. It might not feel like a lot, but, trust me, it will matter for him. First impressions in a group home set the stage for future interactions. If he gets into a fight or runs away, he could spiral down a path that's even worse. Everything is going to change for him, except you. You're the lifeline."

"That's barbaric," said Allura, "you Earthlings do that to your children?"

"Not often, but..." even years later on the other side of the galaxy, the feeling of powerlessness gnawed at him, "It opened my eyes, seeing Keith in that place. Our dorms in the barracks were homey compared to the building Keith lived in. It was this long, white cinderblock building with bars on the windows. The staff weren't bad, but they were workers who clocked in and out each shift. Keith had a different roommate practically every time I visited. He'd tell me about cops being called because someone ran away or pulled a butter knife on the staff or overdosed on their meds. He got jumped by a 17-year-old the first week, had to climb up on the roof to get away, and he almost got put on suspension for it.

"Kate, his social worker, she did look out for him. Signed off for him to go with me to visit my parents on holiday breaks. My instructors at Garrison bent some rules too, let Keith sleep over some weekends. And I had this one drill sergeant who'd give him 'self-defense' lessons, that's where Keith really learned to fight.

"Even with all that, I don't think he would have lasted till he turned 18 – on Earth, that's when you're considered an adult and allowed to leave the foster care system. Luckily, Garrison cadets enroll at age 16. So that was his goal, to join me there. Academically he just squeaked through. Not that he wasn't smart, but the school they sent him to taught the bare minimum. Kate got him switched to an online program – which meant he spent the school day in front of a terminal and didn't interact with any kids outside of the group home. He spent two years living with strangers and keeping his distance.

"Unsurprisingly, when he arrived at Garrison, he didn't bond with his classmates. His first year was my last, so he hung out with me and my group of friends. That didn't endear him to any of the younger students so, after I graduated, he was pretty much a lone wolf. Because he turned out to be a hotshot pilot, he got away with it. When we'd hang out, I could tell he was just counting out the days until he earned his commission and we could serve together.

"What I'm trying to explain, Princess, is that I've never seen Keith more integrated, more part of a group, than he is here. He was born to pilot the red lion, to be a paladin with this team."

"You think I'd replace him?" Allura's shock was evident, "Even if I had the luxury of another potential pilot, there's no way. Keith and the red lion's connection is stronger than even my- than the original red paladin's. The red lion was held prisoner by the Galra for 10,000 years, perhaps, given Keith's own experiences, it's why they're so close."

"I'm relieved, Princess. Since we've partnered with the Blade of Marmora, you've been…" As he spoke, Shiro could see Allura visibly stiffen, so he backed off. "There's one more thing. I've told Keith this, and I need to tell you as well. If something were to happen to me, I want Keith to pilot the black lion, I want him to lead the team," before she could speak, Shiro rushed in, "I didn't tell you Keith's history to make you feel sorry for him or even explain the way he acts. I did it to show you why I trust him, why I know that he has what it takes to lead.

"You know how the Galra treat their prisoners. I was beaten unconscious so many times they just run together, but I remember thinking that if this was how bad it was for an adult, a trained solider, what must it have been like for a 14-year-old? And when I escaped and crash landed on Earth, I was so messed up, I didn't even remember who I was. But I opened my eyes, and there was Keith, come to rescue me. Kate, his social worker, told me once that success for a foster care kid like Keith was staying out of jail, staying off drugs, just getting a life that was stable and under their own control. Keith's done so much more than that, you can see that, right Allura?"

The princess had turned away from him. Shiro couldn't see her expression and her voice, when she spoke, was formal and stiff.

"I thank you for being honest with me, Shiro. I will carefully consider your words. We are facing our most dangerous mission yet and it is important for these things to be said."

Shiro wished the princess would meet his eyes so he could judge whether he'd gotten through. Even more, he wished he could have avoided the conversation completely. Instead he'd laid one more burden on the princess's already heavy shoulders.

"We will succeed princess. I give my word as a paladin." Although she wouldn't see it, he gave a small bow before leaving her to return to his team.