Chapter 1
"This is the story of how I DIEDDDD!"
"Pidge...what the fuck?"
"But i did DIEEEEE~"
"Well yeah but...TECHNICALLY...isn't this supposed to be MY story?"
"Myeh myeh myeh- 'isn't this supposed to be my story?' oh come on! Let me make it fun! It is still fun...And it is your story...BUT I DIEDDDD."
"PIDGEEEEEE!"
"BUAHAHAH!"
Once upon a time, a single drop of sunlight fell from the heavens. And from this small drop of sun, grew a magic, golden, flower. It had the ability to heal the sick, and injured. Well, centuries passed and a hop skip and a boat ride away there grew a kingdom. The kingdom was ruled by a beloved King and Queen. And the Queen, well she was about to have a baby, and she got sick, really, sick. She was running out of time. And that's when people usually start to look for a miracle. Or in this case, a magic golden flower. You see instead of sharing the Sun's gift, this woman, Mother Haggar, hoarded its healing power and used it to keep herself young for hundreds of years. And all she had to do was sing a special song. Flower gleam and glow, let your power shine. Make the clock reverse, bring back what once was mine, what once was mine. And with that song? She would turn back 'time' so to speak. But the Mother forgot one day to hide the flower, and so the guards found it. The magic of the golden flower, healed the queen. A healthy baby boy, a prince was born. With beautiful brown hair and dark skin just like his other family members. Lance McLain.
To celebrate her birth, the King and Queen launched a flying lantern into the sky. For that one moment, everything was perfect. And then that moment ended. The Mother wanted to cut a strand of the baby's hair. But as she sang and the hair started glowing, as soon as he cut it, it's magic wilted. The woman was shocked. But that left her no choice. The cries rang through the whole castle but it was too late. When the parents reached the baby's room? She was already gone. The Kingdom searched and searched, but they could not find the Prince. For deep within the forest, in a hidden tower, Haggar raised the child as her own. And here he was, raised in a tower, Haggar always coming 'home' and her 'son' patiently waiting for her. She'd sit down, brush his hair and they would sing the magic spell together, Haggar never aging again.
"What a bitch, if you ask me..."
"PIDGE!"
"OK OK! Sheesh..."
But the walls of that tower could not hide everything. Each year on his birthday, the King and Queen released thousands of lanterns into the sky in hope that one day, their lost Prince would return. And 21 years later...our story begins.
A small mouse with altean marks comes at the edge of the window and hides in a flower pot.
"HAH! Hmm, Well... I guess Platt's not hiding out here." Lance said as he opened the curtains. He started leaving from the window and Platt chuckled. He fooled him. But...he didn't. Lance's hair snatches his leg and he is suspended above the flower pot. The mouse squeeks then starts panting. Lance smirks.
"GOTCHA!!! That's twenty two for me. How about twenty three, out of forty five?" The mouse shakes his head.
"Okay, well, what do you want to do?" The mouse points outside. Lance stares at the scenery for a second. He can't lie that he always wanted to go outside...
"Yeah, I don't think so. I like it in here and so do you." Lance says. The mouse looks at Lance, unimpressed.
"Oh, come on Platt, it's not so bad in there." The boy says as he scoops the tiny rodent up.
"Oh no..."
"OH OH! I HAVE A SONG FOR THIS PART! 7a.m. the usual morning--"
"I may be small, Lance...But I can still kill you."
"...Yes ma'am..."
"Now shush! It's my part coming!"
As the Prince was 'living his life at the fullest' in the tower...Not too far away, at the Royal Castle of the Kingdom...Something was happening. Pidge, Sendak and Zarkon, three wanted bandits, were on the roof of the castle.
"Wow! I could get used to a view like this." Pidge said as she looked over the horizon. The two galrans were unimpressed.
"Pidge, come on!" Sendak ushered her.
"Hold on! Yep, I'm used to it. I want a castle." Zarkon face-paled and Sendak frowned.
"We do this job, you can buy your own castle." Pidge chuckled.
"Showtime, baby~" They tie her up with rope and drop her in, slowly. A guard was standing there, guarding something. That something, was the prince's crown. Why Pidge wanted it? Pfft- it wasn't as hypocritical as one may think. At first glance it seemed she ganged up with two wanted bandits...But Pidge wasn't a bandit. She stole a few things in her life but she returned it...THE ORIHINAL. What she was stealing now may have been the crown...But she wanted to inspect the jewels. It was an important step in her research as an alchemist. She was going to ditch the galrans, make her research and return the crown. After all...she hoped the prince one day will return as well. The guard sneezed. Perfect.
"Oh, hay fever?" She asks, leaning on the pedestal with the crown as she was inspecting it.
"Yeah." The guard says. He turns around and sees her but turns facing the door again. Pidge snorts and Sendak and Zarkon start lifting her up. The guard finally comes to his senses and turns around to see her escaping through the roof.
"Wait, what? Hey, wait!" The guard yelled after her. Pidge straightened her back on the roof and looked around.
"Can't you picture me in a castle of my own? I mean, I certainly can. Oh, the things we've seen and it's only eight in the morning. Gentlemen, this is a very big day!!" Pidge called as they started running.
Back in the woods, Lance was summoning his courage to do something STUPID! RECKLESS! LIFE THREATENING!....Ask his mom if he can go and see the lanterns.
This is it. This is a very big day, Platt. I'm finally going to do it. I'm going to ask her...I can do this..."
"LANCE! Let down your hair!" The voice, a bit horse, of a woman called. Lance gasped.
"It's time. I know, I know. Come on, don't let her see you." Lance said, picking the small mouse up and hiding him. He then rushed to the window.
"Lance! I'm not getting any younger down here." Lance chuckled.
"Coming, mother." Lance says. He casts down his seventy feet of hair. Mother Haggar, a woman with white hair and a cloak, with funny red marks on her skin, loosely ties it in a large loop and steps in it. Lance pulls her up.
"If i were you? I'd drop her..."
"PIDGE!"
"Yikes.."
"Hi, welcome home, mother." Lance greeted her with a smile. Haggar gave him a fake smile.
"Oh, Lance. How you manage to do that every single day without fail, it looks absolutely exhausting, darling!" Haggar says. Lance blushes a bit at the praise.
"Oh, it's nothing!" Lance says, smiling. Haggar smirks.
"Then I don't know why it takes so long." His face dropped immediately. The woman started laughing and patted his shoulder, since he was taller.
"Oh, darling. I'm just teasing~." The woman left, laughing. Lance inhaled, gathering courage.
"All right...so, mother. As you know, tomorrow is a very big day--" The woman pulled him next to her.
"Lance look at that mirror. You know what I see? I see a strong, confident, beautiful young person." She says, looking at her skin and wrinkles. Lance perks up.
"Oh look, you're here too! Hahahha! I'm just teasing, stop taking everything so seriously." She says, hitting his arm. He chuckles and rubs it. He frowns.
"Okay, so mother. As I was saying, tomorrow is--" Lance got interrupted as the woman scoffed, still looking in the mirror.
"Flower, mother's feeling a little run down. Would you sing for me, dear? Then we'll talk." Haggar said. Lance nodded and quickly started gathering the things.
"OH! Of course, mother." He pushes her down on a chair and gives her a brush. He then sits on a stool and starts singing very fast. The woman's eyes widen as she tries to keep up then- The magic happen, the golden lights spreading and blowing right in Haggar's face.
"LANCE!" She says, a bit annoyed, as she puts her hands on her hips. He turns around with a smile on his face like a little kid.
"Ok SO! Mother, earlier I was saying tomorrow’s a pretty big day, and you didn't really respond, So I'm just going to tell you. It's my birthday! TADA!" He said, wiggling his hands.
"No, no, no can't be. I distinctly remember. Your birthday was last year." Lance chuckled warily.
"That's the funny thing about birthdays. They're kind of an annual thing. Mother, I'm turning twenty-one. And I wanted to ask, what I really want for this birthday. Actually, what I’ve wanted for...quite a few birthdays now..." Lance said getting up, mumbling nervously.
"Lance please, stop with the mumbling. You know how I feel about the mumbling. Blah, blah, blah,...blah. It's very annoying. I'm just teasing, you're adorable I love you so much, darling." The woman says, patting his cheek. He frowns.
"Oh, I want to see the floating lights!" Lance says with bright eyes. The woman's hand drops.
"What?" She asks, surprised.
"Oh,... Well I was hoping you would take me to see the floating lights." The woman chuckles.
"You mean the stars." She says. Lance smiles.
"That's the thing I've charted stars and they're always constant. But these, they appear every year on my birthday, Mother. Only on my birthday. And I can't help but feel that they're, They're meant for me. I need see them, Mother. And not just from my window. In person. I have to know what they are." The woman panics as she realizes he's talking about the lanterns that really ARE for him.
"I'm laughing so hard...'i can't help but feel ThAt ThEy'Re MeAnT FoR mE!' BAUAHAHAHHA!"
"If i knew i was the lost prince these were for, don't you think i wouldn't be there?! ALSO! HOW WAS I SUPPOSED TO KNOW WHAT A LANTERN IS??"
"BuT ThEY'Re MeAnT FoR MEeEeEe!"
"Just fuck you..."
"Fuck me indeed. HAHAHAH!"
"PIDGE!"
"You want to go outside? Oh, why LANCE. Look at you, as fragile as a flower. Still a little sapling, just a sprout. You know why we stay up in this tower?" Lance frowned. Weren't men supposed to be strong...??
"I know, but--" Lance tried to plead.
"That's right, to keep you safe, and sound, dear. Guess I always knew this day was coming. Knew that soon you'd want to leave the nest. Soon, but not yet...Shhh.. Trust me pet, Mother, knows best." Lance frowned.
"Ew...she sang you a song about this??"
"...No..?"
"BLEAGH! SKIP!"
"Rude..."
"...Still a no."
"DAMN IT!"
"All I have is one request...Lance?" He nods.
"Don't ever ask to leave this tower, again." Haggar said. Lance looked down.
"Yes, Mother." He says. Haggar sighs and comes to hug him.
"Ahh, I love you very much, dear." Haggar tells him. Lance smiles a bit.
"I love you more." Lance said.
"I love you most. Don't forget it. You'll regret it. Mother Knows best." Haggar said to him. And soon enough the woman was back on the road.
"I'll see you in a bit, my flower." The witch called out, waving at him. He waved back.
"I'll be here..." Platt rubbed his cheek on Lance's hand.
Meanwhile...Not far from the tower, Pidge, Sendak and Zarkon were running from the guards. That's when Pidge stopped, seeing some signs.
"No, no no. This is bad, this is very, very bad, This is really bad." She says as she picks the wanted poster. She frowns.
"They just can't get my nose right!" She says as she hits the paper with her palm, showing it to her so called 'companions'
"Who cares?" Sendak asks, annoyed. Pidge frowned.
"Well it's easy for you to say. You guys look amazing." She says, pointing at their posters. The two galrans roll their eyes and they all run towards a dead end. Pidge puts the poster in her satchel. They all stop as they see the rocky wall. Welp...shit.
"All right, okay. Give me a boost, and I'll pull you up." Pidge says to the two. The galrans frown.
"Give us the satchel first." They say. Pidge's eyes widen as she gasps.
"Wha..? I just... I can't believe, that after all we've been together, you don't trust me." They looked unimpressed. Pidge's face dropped to a neutral face.
"Ouch." She gave Sendak her satchel. They boosted her up as she climbed on them. Sendak was sitting on Zarkon's shoulders and helping her up. She accidently kicked Sendak who grunted.
"Now help us up, pretty boy." Zarkon said. Wait...BOY?! You little-
"Sorry, my hands are full." She says with a smug smile as she shows the satchel.
"What..?" Sendak says, in disbelief. She starts running, laughing at them.
"GUNDERSONNNNN!" Pidge starts laughing even harder, the ground rumbles. Oh no- Oh no no no-
"Retrieve that satchel with any force!" The guard captain calls. A man with bi colored hair by the name of Shiro.
"YES SIR!" His horse, which was actually a friend of his that was a shape-shifter, named Keith, told the horses what Shiro said. The horses agreed. Pidge kept running. Arrows flying after her. She hissed as one almost had her name on it. She saw a tree in the way and smirked. She jumped between it's branches. The troops stopped, apart from the captain and his horse.
"We got him now, Keith." Pidge didn't yet recognized the marks on the horses face. A shapeshifter. She jumped up, caught onto a vine and kicked Shiro off his horse. She got on instead.
"Go! Heyah!" Pidge said. The shape-shifter stopped. Pidge frowned.
"Come on! Forward!" The horse turned towards her and she realized she messed up. The horse looked at the satchel. Pidge's eyes widened.
"No. No, stop it!" Pidge said to Keith as he was running in circles after the satchel. They were now both pulling onto it. As she pulled with bigger force, Keith let go and the satchel flew on a branch, hanging at the edge of a cliff. Pidge's eyes widened and looked at the shape-shifter.
"NO YOU DON'T!" Pidge jumped off but the horse held her back. Keith started walking towards the branch but Pidge tripped him. It was like a children's game. Keith got on the branch first and Pidge tried to jump over him, landing on his head. Keith shook her off and she ended up clinging onto the branch upside down. The shape-shifter took advantage of the human's position and tried to hit her hands and feet with his hooves. Pidge was having none of that. She crawled as fast as she could to the end of the branch and picked the satchel up.
"HAHA!" She said, lifting the satchel in triumph. Suddenly a loud crack could be heard and they were falling. They both screamed and the branch hit a sharp rock, snapping into two, making the riders fall in different directions. As Keith landed and slid down, he immediately got up after. He took his position and started sniffing like a hound. He could become a hound if he wanted, but for now? He will converse his energy. Pidge was hiding behind a boulder in front of a wall of hanging plants that seemed to take her in a cave. She got closer to them and put her hand through, right as she heard the loud sound of a horse. She needed to move. NOW. She stepped in and plastered herself to the wall, holding onto the satchel for dear life. Keith passed the entrance but carried on. As the small bandit turned around she noticed something. An abandoned tower with a waterfall behind it.
"ABANDONED?! EXCUSE YOU--"
"TAKING CARE OF THE INSIDE DOESN'T MAKE THAT THING PRETTY ON THE OUTSIDE OK? IT WAS COVERED IN MOSS!! MOVING ONNNN-"
Pidge decided that her best chance was climbing the tower. She took two arrows that were sticking from her satchel and clothes and started climbing. She got to the tap, got in through a window and closed the window, panting. She took off the satchel and looked at the crown.
"Alone at last..." She said, relieved. A loud noise and a sharp pain then everything went blank for her. The sound of a pan ringing through the room. Lance shrieked and hid behind a mannequin he had lying around. The intruder was unconscious, face first into the ground.
"I regret that..."
"It hurt like a bitch..."
Lance slowly approached her. Careful. He poked her with the pan. He then used the handle to look at her teeth. They seemed normal. He then blew the hair out of her face. She looked....pretty...Just like her, a normal human. That's when she opened her eyes. He hit her again, shrieking. The next thing he knew, he was shoving her in a closet. He used a chair to prop the door-
"YOU PUT ME IN YOUR CLOSET?! BITCH WHAT?!"
"I PANICKED OK?!"
"YOU are an idiot."
"Okay, okay, I got a person in the closet. I got a person in the closet. I got a person in my closet! Too weak to handle myself out there, huh Mother? Well, Tell that to my frying pan!" He hit himself with the pan and he winced, rubbing his forehead. That's when he noticed the satchel and crown. He took it out and tried it. A ring? No. A bracelet? A necklace. Then suddenly...He put it on his head. It seemed so....right...
"LANCE! LET DOWN YOUR HAIR!" His mother called out. Lance's eyes widened. He rushed to the window.
"I have a big surprise!" His mother said. He laughed.
"Uh, I do too." Lance said, chuckling.
"Oh, I bet my surprise is bigger." His mother chided.
"I seriously doubt it!" Lance said, eyeing Platt. The mouse shrunk down.
"I brought back parsnips. I‘m going to make hazelnut soup for dinner, your favorite. Surprise!" Haggar said, smiling at him.
"Well mother, there's something I want to tell you..." Lance said, tapping his fingers together.
"Oh, Lance, you know I hate leaving you after a fight. Especially when I've done absolutely nothing wrong." Haggar said to him. Lance frowned a bit.
"Okay, I've been thinking a lot about what you said, earlier--" Now it was the woman's time to frown.
"I hope you're not still talking about the stars." The witch said.
"Floating lights, and, yes I'm leading up to that--"
"Because I really thought we dropped the issue, sweetheart--"
"No Mother, I'm just saying, you think I'm not strong enough to handle myself out there--"
"Oh darling, I know you're not strong enough to handle yourself out there--"
"But if you just--"
"Lance, we're done talking about this." The woman said firmly.
"But trust me, I--"
"Lance--"
"--know what I'm--"
"Lance--"
"Oh, come on!" He said, his hand lingering onto the chair.
"ENOUGH WITH THE LIGHTS, LANCE! YOU ARE NOT LEAVING THIS TOWER, EVER!" The woman yelled. Lance froze. His hand slipping off the chair.
"Oh, great. Now I'm the bad guy."
"All I was gonna say, mother, is that... I know what I want for my birthday, now..." Lance said, a plan forming in his head.
"And what is that?" He smiled.
"New paint. That paint made from the white shells you once brought me." The witch frowned.
"That is a very long trip! Almost three day's time." Lance shrugged, sadly.
"I just thought it was a better idea than, stars." And soon enough the woman gave in. She took her cloak, she got her basket and then looked at Lance.
"You sure you'll be all right, on your own? I'll be back in three days time. I love you very much, dear." Lance dropped the woman down, using his hair and then looked at the wardrobe.
"Let's do this..." He told himself, determined. He WILL see those lights.