Keith woke to a pounding against his skull. Groaning, he rolled over, taking half the covers with him. He lay still for a while longer, burying himself under a mountain of pillows and blankets, as if his headache would leave if he just hid from it.

When eventually, he decided it was useless and crept out into the open, the prince was grateful to find a glass of water and a couple aspirins waiting on his nightstand.

His memory was foggy; the only thing he could recall from the night before was that the guards had thrown a party, and he had drunk quite a lot. He could also vaguely remember a warmth against skin - another body, perhaps?

What the quiznack did he do last night?

What felt like hours later, the prince finally emerged into the world. Slowly, and with a fair amount of stumbling, he made his way into the dining room for breakfast.

Unfortunately, against his wildest hopes, his guards didn't spare a lick of sympathy for him. Though really, what did he expect?

"Morning, Sleeping Beauty," teased an obnoxiously cheery voice that sounded suspiciously like Adam. "Rough night, Your Highness?"

Keith shot him a half-assed glare as he plopped into his seat. "Wouldn't know," he mumbled bitterly.

"Cheer up, buttercup. We have good news," Matt spoke around a mouthful of toast.

Keith raised an eyebrow inquisitively.

With far too much energy than should have been legal, the guard jumped out if his seat, throwing open the nearby curtains. "Look, Your Highness! The storm's pretty much cleared!"

The light was like a flare, and burned Keith's eyes. He shielded himself with his arm, grunting out an unenthusiastic "Great. Now cut it out with the holy light, Angel."

Matt had the audacity to giggle. "Anything for you, honey."

Keith spluttered, pinching his brows into a scowl. "UGH Matt. That wasn't- I didn't-"

"Holt. Quit flirting with the prince, would you?" Shiro cut in, using his iconic Dad Voice™.

Though his smirk stayed firmly in place, Matt did as he was told, sinking down into his seat once more.

After a moment, the guards resumed their chatter, Acxa debating something with Shiro while Adam and Matt laughed away at some joke or another.

It was at that moment that Lance decided to make an entrance. Though not with his usual grandeur which Keith had come to expect at this point; Silently, the door crept open a crack and a very un-Lance-looking Lance stepped into the room. His movements were slow and groggy as he moved to the empty seat beside Keith and threw himself heavily into his seat, his facial features wrinkled in discomfort.

Curiously, when Lance looked up to greet his friends and met the prince's gaze, he stopped and stiffened, a hint of colour rushing to his cheeks.

"I'd say 'Good Morning', but it appears you aren't having one," Keith aimed a small grin at the guard in an attempt to lighten his mood.

Lance huffed. "I could say the same to you, Your Highness," he returned. Though Lance had relaxed again, the prince noted that he still had a slight tension in his muscles and a weariness behind his eyes.

"Lance, I didn't realise how much of a light-weight you are," Acxa laughed.

"He's not," Matt corrected her. "Loverboy here just had way more to drink than any of us. I saw him down like six shots after the prince left."

"It was four," Lance amended. "Don't make me look so bad in front of Shiro."

The man in question merely laughed. "Oh don't worry, Lance. You don't have to pretend with me; I already know how irresponsible you are."

Indignant, Lance slapped a hand over his chest. "You wound me, Sir," he gasped.

Breakfast proceeded as usual, though now with far more chatter and banter than previous times. When Shiro made the announcement that the weather had cleared enough for the Pods to operate safely, Keith nearly fell out of his chair in relief. He couldn't fucking wait to get out of this gods-forsaken castle.

As soon as he had finished eating, he dashed up to his room, and began packing. He had finished within ten minutes, a new personal best.

After loading his own luggage into his Pod, he had some spare time on his hands. The servants had all refused his help, so he found himself wandering the castle by his lonesome.

He was ambling down a dark hallway when he heard footsteps approach from behind him. Nerves on edge, Keith slowly reached towards the knife Archie had given him, which was now tucked into his tunic.

The footsteps stopped a few feet away.

"Hi guy," Lance greeted, sounding far chipper than he had at breakfast.

Startled, unamused, and a little confused, Keith whipped around to face him, his knife still hidden. "Excuse me?"

"My apologies, Your Highness," Lance gave a sarcastic little bow, "I meant gey."

"What the qui-"

"Lance!" Shiro called from where he was passing with his arms leaden with luggage. "Quit messing with Prince Keith and come give us a hand, would you?" He scowled.

Lance was grinning ear-to-ear. "Aye-aye, Captain!" He called back before addressing the prince. "It appears my services are required, Your Highness. Please excuse me."

The little shit bowed again, and then he was gone, leaving Keith to stand there with a faint hue to his cheeks and several questions buzzing around his mind.

The next few visits went much better than the first. The other nobles were far more friendly and welcoming, not to mention respectful. It unnerved Keith to begin with, but when he realised they were being genuine, he relaxed, and even enjoyed meeting and discussing with the nobles.

His rebel missions were easier as well. Naturally, they all tried to kill him at first, but he soon learned to hand them the letter before revealing himself as the prince. He was also more prepared for sneaking back to his room unnoticed, and managed to avoid his guards - particularly Lance.

The leader of the second sector's rebel base was called Argenti. The base was located in a hidden cave in one of the area's tallest mountains. They were clearly surprised when a masked stranger showed up in their base, and had asked how the quiznak he'd found it. Keith had responded by handing them the letter, which they read hastily, eyeing him cautiously.

When they'd finished, they stepped purposefully towards Keith, not stopping until they were right in his personal space. Keith swallowed thickly, but kept his stance as Argenti's gruelling gaze scrutinised him.

Then, half an eternity later, they pulled Keith into a hug. "Welcome to the rebel family," they whispered, pulling back with a smile. "If you betray us, we will burn you and everything you love."

Sector three was fairly similar. Kolivan had advised Keith on how to get to the base, back when he gave him the letter. The entrance was in a sewer behind a bakery. The change from the sweet smell of fresh bread to the repulsive odour of the sewer was enough to make Keith's head spin, but he pushed on, following a path of symbols etched into the sides of the tunnel until the path was completely submerged. Keith grimaced as the water soaked him, but was relieved to find that it was fresh, not sewerage. As per the instructions, above his head was a mismatched patch of ceiling. He pushed on it, and came up into an open space - the base.

He was met with many pairs of eyes pointed at him, though surprisingly no weapons... yet. The rebels were all surrounding him, seated at tables with the chairs at random angles. They all stood as they saw him, though they didn't advance. But Keith could see their hands twitching towards their weapons.

A young man stepped forward. "State your business here," he commanded, fingers wound tensely around the hilt of his sword.

"I have a letter," Keith replied, retrieving it from his pocket where it had thankfully remained dry. "From Kolivan."

"Kolivan?" The man repeated, then without removing his eyes from Keith's, yelled over his shoulder: "Yo someone get Kirby!"

Another man emerged from a sideroom a moment later. He had short, ruffled hair and soft brown eyes. Although he was clearly an authoritive figure, he walked calmly and muttered a soft "Excuse me" everytime he squeezed between his fellow rebels.

When he finally got to them, he didn't hesitate before taking the letter and reading. He clearly wasn't one for hiding his emotions, as his face morphed into many expressions before he finally looked up.

"Ah, Prince Keaton," Kirby smiled, finally looking at the prince. "Welcome to our noble cause."

And although the use of his real name would usually set Keith on edge, the genuine warmth in Kirby's face seemed to calm him. "Please, call me Keith," he replied.

"Of course," Kirby nodded, then turned to intoduce the rebels to the prince.

To his surprise, only a handful of them threw fruit at him or drew their weapons, but Kirby quickly quelled their worries.

When Keith returned that night, his hopes were raised.

Only one to go, he promised himself.

~~~~~~

Heyo, Lucidame here!

I'm really sorry we didn't update last week. There was a lot going on with the end of school, travelling and then season 8 happened, and in the end it just slipped my mind. But hopefully I'll be back on track in the future 🙂

But anyways, I sincerely hope y'all are enjoying this story, and thank you for reading it! Comments and votes are welcome and appreciated!

Until next time!
-underappreciatedtree <3🌲