Allura arranged the flowers in her hair one more time before stepping out of her chamber and to her waiting escort. As captain of the Voltron Team, and her champion, it was Keith's duty to escort the Princess in the event that there was no one she would rather escort her. There wasn't because he was who she wanted.

"You look beautiful," he said, his eyes saying everything else that he dared not say.

Dressed in a blue gown the same shade as her eyes, the Princess was in perfect form for her party. Her hair was in a braid and wound about her head. Small white flowers were tucked into her hair for effect instead of a tiara. She smiled at him. He was dressed in his dress uniform, a white tunic with navy blue pants that had a red stripe down the side to represent his uniform. A conflagration of bars was on his chest, and many assorted other accessories that could fit on the front of the tunic. But what caught her eye was the fact that his hair was actually in order. She had never seen it like that before. He had pulled it back with a red ribbon, the small ponytail the only wildness left in his hair as it stuck out to the sides in all directions. He reminded her of an old fashioned gentleman.

"You look pretty dashing yourself," she flirted lightly.

"Thank you."

They walked to the ballroom where the others were waiting. Lance, Pidge, and Hunk were dressed the same way as their captain, the only difference was the color of the stripe on their pant legs. They bowed when the Princess entered, as did the hundreds of guests in the room.

"Welcome," she said, her voice echoing in the now silent ballroom. "I'd like to thank you all for coming. An enormous amount of food was prepared just for you, and the band is ready to play all night. Enjoy!"

They clapped and the band struck up a fast tune. The floor filled with moving bodies. Keith disengaged the Princess' arm from his and bowed.

"I'm going to do my rounds now, Allura," he said. "I'll see you later."

"Just be sure you'll be back in time for the last dance," she said.

"Wouldn't you rather save that for someone special?"

She smiled, putting a hand on his arm. "I am."

He smiled and turned away before she could see his blush. "I'll be back in time," he said in parting.

Lance caught up with him halfway down the corridor.

"You missed your chance," he hissed. "She was practically throwing herself at you and you walked away!"

Keith gave him a look. Lance rolled his eyes. He knew what was coming.

"Yeah, yeah, the whole honor/duty thing. Come on, Keith. That excuse is getting old."

:"It's isn't an excuse, it's a fact. Aren't you supposed to be somewhere?"

Lance sighed heavily. "Walking around the east wing, I know."

Keith watched his friend walk away, and sighed as well. Honor and duty were heavier words these days and he felt the weight of it every time he saw Allura. Sometimes he just wished…

Shaking his head, he rejected the thought. That was a dangerous line of thinking. He needed to focus on his duty or else something may go wrong. He walked on, his boots clicking in the empty corridor. Despite himself, his mind kept on wandering. So much so that he didn't even hear the footsteps coming close to him. He wasn't even aware that anyone had been following until a hand closed over his mouth and he fell a sharp pain on the back of his head. He fell to the ground, unconscious.