"Why Lance?"
    "Because Pidge and Hunk are too busy with upgrades, Sven is trying to help Romelle with the rebellion and Coran and I are busy with Arus's army.  Besides Lance is one of the best when it comes to hand-to-hand combat and no one comes close to him when it comes to weapons knowledge.  And Coran won't accept any more delays in your training; neither will I."
    "But Keith..."
    "No Allura, as the Commander of Voltron Force I need to know that every member of my team can handle themselves in any situation that may present itself.  I'm just not willing to have your life put in jeopardy if there's any way to prevent it."
    "Keith, if I didn't know better I'd say you're worried about me."
    "Allura... Look, it's just for a few weeks, an hour a day.  If you find it so terrible think about your people and how much they need you.  Lance is a good guy and if you two would just try, I'm sure you'd be able to get along."
    She sighed, "I'll do my best Keith, for you and Coran but I can't promise you anything."
    "That's all I ask Princess and thank-you."
.........................
    Lance just stared at Keith as his so-called friend gave him his new orders.  "You want me to what?"
    "I've told you five times already Lance, I'm not repeating it again."
    "Well I just keep hopeing you'll regain your senses if I get you to say it enough."
    "Lance."
    "No Keith.  Look I can be more useful elsewhere.  I'm second-in-command for crying out loud and I don't help out anywhere most of the time.  I usually end up on my butt in front of a vid-screen or something worse."
    "This is important Lance.  She's the next in line for Arus's thrown, without her Arus will collapse.  This world and it's people are strong because she is but strength won't help her if she can't defend herself.  And I wouldn't entrust this to just anyone.  The only ones I would are all busy, except you and the only reason I wouldn't have thought of you first is that you and Allura don't always get along.  Both of you rub the each other the wrong way but I'm asking you to do your job; all you have to do is give her enough training to keep her alive.  Is that too much for you to handle?"
    Lance grit his teeth.  "No SIR it isn't.  Have her report to the gym on the second level after morning flight practice tomorrow and inform her Highness that that will be non-negoitable for the next four weeks."  Without waiting to see if Keith would have anything to say he twisted on his heel and left.
    It wasn't that he didn't like Allura, it was more a combination of things then any one in particular.  First there was the fact that both Coran and Allura thought he was too wild and that he'd get someone killed because of it.  Then there was Keith and (on occasion) Sven's protectiveness that was suffocating him.  On top of that his Uncle was on his case again.  So training a princess who usually wore pink and lace dressess and who was the love interest of his best friend (who continued to deny it), no matter what way he looked at it it was a loosing situation.  Too hard - Allura and Coran wouldn't like it.  Too easy - Keith and Sven would think he was incompetent.  Sometimes he really didn't like his life.
.......................................
    Flight practice, even at five in the morning, was usually the highlight of Lance's day.  He couldn't get enough of it.  But this time he didn't enjoy it.  Mainly because of what he was expecting his next hour to be like.
    Lance got to the gym, dressed in sweats and a t-shirt only seconds before Allura arrived in similar attire, to his great relief there wasn't a scrape of pink in sight.
    "Ready?"
    Allura gave him a cool nod and he started into streatches, impressed when she followed without complaint.
    He used each stretch to test her flexibility, endurance and strength.  She turned out to be more flexible then Keith, and she had as much endurance and strength as Pidge.  It gave him a general idea of how to start her training.
    "Okay, general defense.  We'll start with ways to break out of holds and we'll work on it unti lyou do it without thinking.  Than tonight at seven we'll go over working with a knife and type S-17 laser gun."
    "What do you mean seven?  This is only for an hour a day."
    "No, defense and hand-to-hand is for an hour a day.  Weapons training requires another hour a day and that isn't including the extra time you should be putting in on your own.  If you can't hack it Princess, talk to Akira, otherwise deal with it."
    She didn't back down.  "Let's start shall we."
...................................
    The hand-to-hand went better then he'd expected, but the weapons went worse.
    In Blue Lion, Allura's aim was decent.  Outside of the Lion she couldn't hit the broad side of a barn.  He'd chosen the S-17 laser gun because it was light, easy to use and easy to conceal.  It's size was so small that it fit in the palm of his hand but it might as well have been a machine gun with ADD (attention deficit disorder) for all the trouble she had with it.
    And the knife, the thought alone still made him cringe and break out in a cold sweat.  If he'd been a second too late he'd have had to change his name permenantly to Laura - and he'd been in the OPPOSITE direction from the target.  If she didn't improve and soon he'd have to invest in full body armor.
..................................
    Allura sat in front of her mirror staring at the small gun and knife.  Lance had insisted that she wear them at all times to get used to them.  After the disaster during the weapons practice she would have thought he'd have gone to Keith saying she was hopeless.  Instead, he had told her to be ready to work hard and to wear the weapons all the time to get used to them.  He'd been calm and patient through both hours.  It'd been a shock to see him so serious and determined.  She knew there was more to it then what it seemed but what she wasn't sure.  She was doing it for Keith but...
    "That's it, we're both doing this for Keith.  Our usual differences don't apply because of that.  I wonder... does Lance realize that?"
.................................
    :"Allura don't be so stiff with it.  The gun won't bite you unless you do something stupid and I'm sure you won't so loosen up a little.  You have to feel comfortable with it."
    "It's a cold piece of metal Lance, how am I suppose to feel comfortable with it?"
    "How do you feel comfortable with your crown or Blue Lion Princess?"
    "That's different."
    "Is it?  The crown and the Blue are both made of cold metal."
    "Well yes, but Blue Lion is sentient, I'm sure of it, and the crown I'm used to, it's part of me."
    "Then get used to the gun and the knife, make them part of you like your crown.  They'll save your life one day or the life of someone you care about.  Think about it.  If Coran or Keith or one of your people were in danger and your skill with either of those weapons was the only thing that could save their life..."
    "That would never happen."
    "Are you willing to bet someone's life on that?"
    She didn't say a word as she forced her body to relax and aimed the gun at the target.  She was astonished when she hit the bullseye.
    Lance laughed.  "See.  All you have to do is treat the gun like a friend.  Give it a name if you want, it's going to be with you for quite a few years now."
    "Hotshot."
    "What?"
    Allura gave him a crooked smile and nodded to the gun.  "It's name.  I'll call it Hotshot."
    The expression on Lance's face was comical but she wasn't sure why he wore it.
    "What's wrong?"
    "Nothing Princess.  It's a good name for your gun but it's on that'll take a lot to live up to.  You sure you can handle it?" (NOTE: to those who haven't read my Academy Days series - Hotshot was Lance's code name at the Academy.  Allura doesn't know this.)
    "Of course.  Just watch me."
    And she turned back to the targets and shot five times in succession, hitting the center each time.
..........................................
    Lance sat in front of his computer doing a report on Allura's progress.  The reports were more for him then anything else but it never hurt to have a record of things.  That was one of the few things he agreed on with Keith.  It'd only been two weeks but Allura had proven to be a quick study.  She'd perfected the disarming moves he'd taught her as well as the holds and general defense and the throws were as good as anything Sven could do.  Her work with the gun had gotten to the point that she could nail most moving objects but the knife... He ran a hand through his hair and sighed.  She could take a knife from anyone but she couldn't throw it to save her life.  He had to admit that she at least threw it in the right direction but that wasn't so much an improvement as it was a god-send.
    He'd talked to Pidge and the younger boy had agreed to take over the morning combat lessons.  He knew Allura would be relieved and Keith would have his hide but he didn't see anything else he could do.  His style was a mix.  He knew moves from wrestling, Tai Kwan Do, Karate, Judo and countless others but Allura needed to know speed like it was second nature if she was going to have any chance in a fight.  Like it or not that was Pidge's expertise.
    It was a fact that in a fight against someone his or Keith's size that she'd loose if she wasn't faster.  Lance had sparred with Pidge more then once and it'd been a challenge to land a hit and avoid the ones that came at him.  Working with Pidge might teach her that speed.
    But weapons, he wasn't going to wish that on anyone.  Besides he was the best with a knife, no one could come close.  So if he couldn't teach her it was a lost cause.
................................
    He was waiting when Allura got to the target range.  She didn't look happy.  He'd avoided every one after flight practice and he'd left Pidge to explain everything to her afterwards.  He'd needed time to set up the new targets he'd thought up and he hadn't wanted to see how happy she'd been over his resigning.
    Whether he wanted to admit it to himself or not he'd come to like Allura, he'd even wanted to be more of a friend to her but he hadn't wanted to be told how worthless he was by yet another person so he hadn't said anything to her.
    Now though, she looked mad.
    "So you just gave up, huh Braddock.  I wasn't an ideal student so that was it, you send Pidge with an excuse about how he'll be able to teach me more then you can."
    Lance nearly fell off his stool.  "Allura...."
    "Don't lie to me Lance!"
    He felt his face go red.  "I'm not!  You need speed and I can't give you the training that'll get you there, Pidge can!  It's a case of knowing my own limitations Princess.  If I tried to continue teaching you I'd be holding you back!  And as for giving up, I'm still your weaponsmaster and I"ll continue to be so until I'm told different because no one can touch me in the area.  No one can throw a knife or shoot a gun better then I can.  I can even use a bow and arrow better than most people can dress themselves in the morning.  Keith assigned me to this and I'm doing my job the best way I can so if you don't like it take it up with Akira and leave me out of it!"  He hadn't meant to yell but he didn't like being accused of something he didn't do.
    It didn't help that Allura was standing there as if she'd had the wind knocked out of her.  "So you aren't giving up on me?"
    Lance could only blink, "Giving up on you?  What on Arus every made you thing that?  Keith would have my hid if I slacked off on your training.  I may be his best friend but I don't have shapely hips, long blonde hair and big blue eyes.  Next to you I might as well be a hunk of dead cow."
    Allura's cheeks flushed slightly, "He wouldn't..."
    He actually snorted, "Oh please!  I'm the thorn, you're the rose Princess.  Get used to it!  Now if you're done jumping to conclusions maybe we can get back to work."
    "Uh, right."
.............................
    Allura found Keith in castle control going over computer logs - he looked tired.
    "Why don't you let Lance take over some of you duties?"
    "But..."
    "But you worry about him.  He takes risks and puts himself in danger to help others.  But Keith, you're strangling him.  Lance has a lot of potential and he earned the right to be second-in-command.  You have to let him go or one of two things will happen.  One, he'll die or two, he'll break loose on his own, which could very well kill him.  You aren't doing him any favors."
    "I know but..."
    "He's not just your friend, he's your brother.  You still have to let him live his own life Keith.  Mother birds kick their babies out of the nest to teach them to fly and I doubt it's easy but once they learn to fly do you think those Mother birds could keep them in the nest?  No, they couldn't.  Lance knows how to fly Keith, you can't protect him forever."
    "I like to think I can... but I know you're right.  But since when did you become an advocate for Lance?"
    Allura smile slightly and shook her head slightly.  "He grew on me."
    "Funny, that's what happened to Sven and I."
    Allura squeezed his shoulder slightly.  "You'll make a wonderful father on day Keith."  And with that she left to finish her own work.
........................................
    Lance was organizing his desk for the twenty-third time when Keith stepped in the open door and dropped twenty compupads on the once clean desktop.
    "Hey what're you doing?"
    Keith just looked at him a second.  "You said you were bored and seeing as you're second-in-command it occured to me that I could off-load some of the work Coran gave me onto you.  Mind you it doesn't mean you can slack off on your other duties.  Think you can handle it?"
    Lance couldn't help but grin.  "Is there anything Lancelot Braddock CAN'T handle?"
    Keith just rolled his eyes, "We'll see, won't we?"