Hey, here’s part 3 of The Paladin Princess! Enjoy!
Two hours.
That’s how long it took for Allura to arrive at Oriande. She took a deep breath. The massive white hole churned and spun in front of her. She closed her eyes and concentrated.
“Oh, Great Guardian of Oriande,” she whispered, “I request your permission to–“
The White Lion roared. It shot a beam of light out of its mouth. That’s how Allura knew that she could enter.
She exited the Blue Lion and activated her jetpack. She flew out and into the white hole. She slowly closed her eyes.
When she opened her eyes, the beautiful realm of Oriande lay before her. She glided to the large temple which was in her sight.
She walked inside. Several statues were standing on each side of the room. The statues looked down at her.
“The Sages of Oriande,” she whispered, stunned. Two of the statues quickly lunged and placed their spears in front of her in an “X” position.
Allura kneeled. “Sages of Oriande, I mean no harm,” she said. “You must recognize me from my previous visit here.”
Allura stood and stared at the faces of the statues, who were all glaring at her.
The last time, I had an offering for them, she thought. But what could I possibly offer this time?
She tapped her foot, thinking about what she could give them. Then she got her idea.
She took off her gold circlet. She smiled. It was her last gift from her mother, Melenor. She held it out.
“Sages, please, accept my gift,” she pleaded. “Allow my safe passage through the temple.”
The Sages reluctantly backed up. With a flash of light, the circlet in her hand was gone. She looked up at the keepers and nodded. She walked past them, recalling her conversation with Lotor when they first arrived here.
She found herself in a room with two pillars that were about three feet tall each.
“Be prepared for anything,” Lotor had warned her. The White Lion was sitting behind the left pillar, growling at Allura.
Allura took a deep breath and cautiously stepped forward. The ceiling started to lower, as she expected it to. She ran to the pillars and placed her hands on both of them. She closed her eyes and the ceiling turned into a portal. As the ceiling lowered, she entered an alternate realm, where the White Lion stood before her.
—
Lance strolled the hallways of the IGF Atlas with Keith, stopping every now and then to argue.
“Hunk told me that when he went to deliver cookies to her, she was acting strange,” Lance muttered.
“I’m not surprised,” Keith said, rolling his eyes. “She hasn’t been herself lately.”
Lance stopped and locked eyes with Keith. “Keith, do you think…” Lance started, lowering his voice. “Do you think she’ll use the secrets of Oriande for her own gain?”
Keith rolled his eyes again. “Allura would never do that,” Keith said. “Um, I don’t think she would, anyway.”
Keith crossed his arms and looked away from Lance. He didn’t want to worry Lance. The truth was, he was unsure if Allura would really be that evil at Oriande.
Lance put a hand on Keith’s shoulder. “Do you think she’ll be okay?” asked Lance.
Keith nodded. “Yes,” he mumbled, “she’ll be fine. We’ll figure this out.” Keith didn’t like lying, but he knew there was certainly something amiss with Allura. She wasn’t being herself.
—
Back at Oriande, the white lion growled in front of Allura.
She raised her bayard and it quickly transformed into a sword.
Allura narrowed her eyes. She held her position. The White Lion casually walked toward her, one slow step at a time. The lion growled.
Allura lost her patience. She let out a battle cry and ran toward the lion, her sword raised.
The White Lion speeded up and leaped over Allura’s head. Allura ducked just in time, but the lion still scratched her face with its sharp claws. Blood dripped from Allura’s forehead. She touched her head and sighed. Allura raised her sword again and jumped toward the lion. She swung her sword, but the beast dodged just as she struck.
“YOU WILL REVEAL YOUR SECRETS!” she screamed. The lion leaped onto her and scratched her face again. With the hand that had the sword, she slashed at the lion, trying to hurt it. With her free hand, she rapidly shoved at the lion’s chest. Eventually, she pushed hard enough and the White Lion jumped off her. It was hurt, bleeding badly.
Allura raised her sword and screamed as the lion bit her leg. She then lowered her sword, striking the lion’s face. The lion immediately disappeared. She stood there, staring at the wound on her leg. Suddenly, the sky around her turned orange, and she was back in front of the temple.
“No!” she yelled. “No, no, no! I defeated the lion, so why didn’t I get my answers?” All of a sudden, the throbbing pain in her leg came back to her. She fell to her knees and gently touched her ankle. She carefully stood up, activated her jetpack, and flew out of the magical realm of Oriande.
—
About three hours later, Allura arrived at the IGF Atlas. Coran quickly greeted her with a hug and then started asking questions.
“Did you find an answer about your, eh, problems?” he questioned.
Allura’s face darkened. She shook her head. She stared at her ankle, which was now turning a purplish color. Coran followed her gaze and gasped.
“Oh, no, you’re hurt,” he said. “You should get some rest.” He escorted Allura to her room. He talked with her for a bit and then went back to the bridge of the Atlas to explain the situation.
All the Paladins gathered on the bridge (besides Allura, of course) to hear Allura’s story.
“…and she’s got this terrible wound on her ankle,” Coran was saying. The Paladins’ expressions became darker as they heard more of Allura’s journey.
Lance arched his eyebrows. “Wait a second,” he said, “this wasn’t how it was like on her last trip to Oriande. I think she kneeled in front of the White Lion and said something really boring like ‘I give you my own’ or whatever.”
“That’s right!” Pidge said. “Something is totally wrong with Allura.”
Keith sighed and crossed his arms. “I think we already know that.”
“We’ve got to ask Allura some questions,” Shiro said, narrowing his eyes.