Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

“We had a bonding moment! I cradled you in my arms!”

Two boys laughed as they began heading up the road towards Smythe Mortuary. The couple had returned from an evening spent out in the town. Watching movies, eating at their favourite diner and now they were just recalling some of their favourite things about the movie they just saw.

“You know?” The taller of the two spoke. “I could never forget a moment with you. That guy in the movie is clearly an idiot. How could anyone forget any moment with the most handsome guy in the universe?”

The other snorted at that. “Are you comparing our relationship to two oblivious but obviously in love idiots? Also, I think you just called yourself an idiot.”

“I never said I was an idiot!” he said offended. “I meant that guy was for forgetting what was clearly an intimate moment.”

The shorter boy shook his head and let out a chuckle. “You are an idiot, Lance Serrano. But you're my idiot.” he stopped on the first step of the porch and looked down into those deep blue eyes he'd fallen in love with. How could anyone leave that?

Lance smiled and brought his lips up to his boyfriend's. When he felt his fingers run through his hair when the kiss was returned he brought his own hand and wrapped them around the other's waist.

When they pulled apart, the two remained locked in each other's gaze for a moment before Lance broke the silence. “Good night, Keith.” he whispered.

“Good night, Lance.” Keith responded.

It was getting late and time for Lance to return to his own home. His car was parked down the road and it was a bit of a walk up and down the pathway to the mortuary Giving one last smile towards Keith, he turned around and shoved his hands into his jacket, heading back down the road.

Keith remained on the porch until he could no longer see Lance's silhouette in the night. He entered his home, an old victorian home that the town believed had been in his family for generations. Well, adoptive family.

Once the door was locked, he turned around to face the foyer and waved his arms above his head. The lights in the room flickered on. No use of a switch whatsoever. He then removed his coat and in one swift motion, it flew towards one of the empty coat hooks across the room. He doubted his family would be asleep at this hour, they always stayed up or didn't sleep at all. They did at least stop bugging him when he returned home from dates or hanging out with friends in general. Keith headed upstairs in the direction of his bedroom and once he slammed his door, the lights went out on their own.

October twenty-third was now only a week away. Keith stared at the date on the calendar app on his phone. His sixteenth birthday was fast approaching and he'd be expected to join and begin training with the Blade of Marmora.

The Blade of Marmora was one of the several witch covens out there. Another well known one was the Galra. The Galra Empire had wiped out many other covens, witches, magical beings and even mortals, in their fight to gain power. While still large, what stopped them from taking over completely were the few remaining covens, such as the Blade of Marmora. Keith had never met any Galra witches before, but according to his sister, Allura, she had stated that the Galra had been trying to convert witches into their coven and even force young uncovenated witches to join instead of their initial birthright coven. Keith was lucky to have a family that warded them off and wouldn't be able to get in any form of contact with him. Not that he would join them. He cared about mortals too much to ever think about overthrowing them and they didn't exactly approve of witch/mortal relationships. It was even odd they'd consider someone who was the result of a witch/mortal union.

Guess the more numbers the better or something.

But for as long as he could remember, Keith had been told that the Blade was where he belonged. The coven had been formed centuries ago as an attempt to overthrow the Galra empire. His mother had been apart of that and was one of their higher ups. So he had some legacy to live up to. And while they did not care as much on mixed relationships, in order to start his training Keith would have to leave his mortal life for an undisclosed amount of time. There was even a possibility that once he finished, most, if not all, his mortal friends would have grown old and died. That had been a downside to having unlimited power.

Having washed and gotten himself ready for school, Keith made his way downstairs to the kitchen where his family was already having their breakfast.

He wasn't exactly related by blood to them. Coran, was the one who owned the funeral home and also owned the house. He had settled here when the town was founded and due to witches' long life cycles had been here since. Of course he did have some sort of magic that made the townsfolk unaware of the fact he was unageing and they just believed it was his grandfather who had built the place and it would continue as long as he lived here. After his parents died, Coran had taken him in. He wasn't part of the Blade, but had been apart of the Altea coven. The Galra had taken the coven down centuries ago and him and Allura were the only ones left. While they could have joined other covens, they chose not to in respect of their coven. But they did alley themselves with the Blade and other covens. Which was part of why Coran had taken Keith in after his parents died. That and also the fact that he seemed to take in lost witches. Another he'd taken in was Takashi Shirogane, or Shiro for short. He was once part of the Galra coven, having been convinced to sign with them when he turned sixteen. But he eventually began to disagree with their ways and methods, that he left. Of course, having been part of the Galra Empire he had committed several acts frowned upon by most covens, including the Blade, he had been sentenced to house arrest for some time. So the border of their property was as far as he could go. Allura had been the daughter of the leader of Altea. She had been learning to take over when the Galra had attacked and destroyed all their records and history. Leaving her training incomplete. Coran had then been the one to teach her, but since he wasn't one of the higher ups, he couldn't teach her everything. This led to Allura to learn the ways of other covens and with their permission, use their practices. The three of them were all honorary members of the Blade of Marmora and were responsible for teaching Keith their ways. Didn't stop them from teaching him their other coven traditions. Many covens were starting to form larger covens together and some saw Keith being part of the change being raised by multiple covens. The main issues with combining covens were mostly traditions. They couldn't decide what to keep and what to remove. Hopefully someone who'd been raised with multiples could decide that.

A lot of pressure to put on a teenager.

Coran was known to be the their uncle and legal guardian and the other three saw themselves as siblings. While Keith was the only one who actually looked his age, the others had a couple of centuries on them and were definitely not the age they appeared. Shiro looked to be somewhere in his twenties, Allura appeared only slightly older than Keith but younger than Shiro and Coran looked somewhere in his forties, maybe fifty.

“Morning Keith, my boy!” Coran greeted, handing a bowl of whatever he's cooked up this morning. Looked like his usual green goo.

“Maybe I'll just grab a bite from Sal's.” Keith said, clenching his teeth at the food.

“Nonsense. You'll need your strength up for next Friday and this is highly nutritional for growing witches.” Coran brushed him off.

When he wasn't looking, Keith pointed his finger towards the bowl, but before he could try anything, Shiro spoke.

“Keith.” he crossed his arms and eyed him.

The teen frowned, sticking his lip out. “Oh come on, I was just gonna do a little teleporting spell to get rid of it.”

“We all know that because you're not sixteen yet you don't have full control of that. Last time you teleported green goo it ended up in the body I was performing an autopsy on.”

“You're not working on a body now.” Keith pointed out.

“Not the point. You eat what's in front of you.” Shiro pointed towards the bowl in front of him.

Keith sighed and picked his spoon up, mindlessly playing with his food. He then looked at his spoon and smirked towards Shiro, who raised an eyebrow at him. “So you want me to eat what's in front of me? So that means I should eat this spoon too and this napkin.” he gestured to the other items in front of him.

Shiro stared at him with confusion and shock. Allura was the one who chuckled at his antics. “You're such a little shit.” she shook her head, but was highly amused.

“I was just going by what brother dearest said. He wanted me to eat what was in front of me and so I was just making sure.”

“Is it too late to join a different family?” Shiro sighed.

“Probably. But thanks to your sentence, you're stuck with us until the covens decide you can go.” Allura said. She then faced Keith and went serious, causing the boy to stop laughing. “Food aside, I do believe there is a more pressing matter to discuss about your upcoming birthday.” She waved her hand and a book came flying towards her, landing in her hands. She then handed it towards Keith, who curiously took it and began skimming through the pages. What he saw were images of different animals.

“You'll need to start looking for a familiar. These are the one's registered with Marmora.”

Familiars were entities who usually took animal form and accompanied witches. Aiding them with their magic and providing a form of protection for their charge. Shiro had a black cat who had a similar tuft of white hair like him named Kuron. Keith thought it was cliché he even chose a cat or maybe he's the reason for the stereotype that witches had cats. He would've been old enough. Allura had a couple of mice for her familiars. Plachu, Chulatt, Chuchule and Platt. And Coran's familiar was an anteater named Yelmor. You'd know Coran was trying to communicate with it when he did what he said was the mating call. Made some alarm in the mornings. Didn't make sense why he did it though, since familiars had telepathic links with their charges.

Keith put the book down and looked back up at his family. “I was thinking I could just send out a want ad for a familiar.” he knew the idea wasn't unheard of, but he figured it'd be better to call for one as that way the familiar would choose him.

“Interesting idea.” Coran gave a nod, stroking his mustache.

“I'd rather you choose a registered one since they are more tamed, but as long as you have one by next week I see no problem.” Allura shrugged. She was definitely more traditional than the others. Keith understood. Her coven had been destroyed and many of their ways had been erased. It only made sense she'd want them to preserve their own coven's ways. Not that Keith knew all the rules. But he got the basics.

“I better get started on that summoning a familiar spell.” Keith announced and grabbed his things.

The three heard the door shut behind him. Shiro approached Keith's abandoned plate and frowned. “He didn't even eat the goo!”

The mortuary was built near the forest on the outskirts of Arus. The forest was large and it was believed by the townsfolk that it was never ending and if you ventured in too deep you'd never make it out. Some even said you'd see or hear strange things in the night. Keith knew better. It was because of witches. This was where they could perform their spells and rituals in private. Heck, this was where he was to have his ceremony to join Marmora. Not where he was standing in particular, but deeper into the forest. Right now, he was still able to see the house. But it wasn't like a lot of people came to their property unless they needed a funeral planned. So he was safe to perform where he was. He took a fallen branch and began drawing a pentagram.

“To those who seek a master,” Keith rang the bell in his hand once. “I, Keith Kogane, call upon thee,” he rang the bell once more. Now here was the part he could make up and bring in his terms. “to not only ask for a companion by my side, but for someone who seeks a partnership. One who will allow my help in exchange for their services. We will be not two seperate entities, but one.” And then a final ring.

That should do it. Now all he had to do was wait for a familiar to answer his call. These things took their time and the spell would remain until it was answered. Knowing if he didn't leave now, he'd be late for school. If he could turn back time, he would. But Allura had scolded him how time travel was advanced magic and that it shouldn't be messed with in the first place. Would a few minutes kill anyone?

She did not approve of that argument.

Well, hopefully by the end of the day he'd have a familiar. And even if he didn't, there was still a week to find one.

As he reached the road, Keith could see Lance already waiting in his car. When the boy caught sight of him, he leaned over towards the passenger side and opened the door for his boyfriend.

“Ever the gentleman.” Keith smirked and entered the car.

“My mamá did raise one.” Lance stated proudly.

Keith just rolled his eyes at him. “I can name a few occasions when you weren't. Like for starters, starting a rivalry with me in primary. It wasn't until year eight when I finally asked you out you put that dumb rivalry aside.”

“Okay. First, I was offended you didn't recognise me from our kindergarten class when we ended up in the same class again in year four. Which made me believe you thought you were way better than me. So I had to prove you wrong.” he started. “Second, by the time we were in high school, I realised you were actually kinda cool and wanted to wait for the right time to ask you out. Which, by the way, you beat me to it.”

“To be fair, we were like five when we supposedly met and you didn't really do anything to stick out for me.”

“Excuse me?! I specifically remember kissing you cause I thought you were a girl with your long hair. How does one forget that?!”

“How was I suppose to know that the same Lance from my year four class was the same Lance who kissed me in kindergarten. All I remember was crying and being freaked out that some weirdo kissed me. I didn't care much for who they were. Also, who kisses a random person in kindergarten?”

“I thought you were pretty. Even when I realised you were a guy.”

“Not really a valid excuse back then, but I'll take it now as your official boyfriend.”

“Who would've thought I'd end up dating the kid I kissed in kindergarten ten years later?”

If Keith were honest, he did remember the kiss, but not who gave it. Just that he avoided the kid for the rest of the year. It wasn't until they ended up in the same class again where Lance reminded him that he remembered. So he just tried to avoid him best he could. He had no luck since Lance announced they were rivals and tried to one up him every time. Not that it worked out for Lance. Keith was a natural at whatever he did (and no, he didn't use magic). So of course Keith came out on top which angered Lance. They did start hanging out during their final years of primary and got closer that their rivalry was now friendly competition. It didn't completely stop when they began dating.

Also hanging with Lance, also meant Keith would hang with his friends.The other two in their group were Pidge and Hunk. Hunk worked at Sal's and was probably the greatest cook ever. He was also very caring and protective. One minute, he could be a giant teddy bear. But the second someone threatened the people he cared about he'd be ready for a fight. So don't mess with Hunk or his friends. Pidge was a tech genius, but was also a conspiracy theorist. Both her and Keith hit it off because of that. She was mostly fascinated by Arus' history since it involved rumours of a cult that turned out to be witches. Not that there was any solid proof. Keith knew the truth, but he wasn't suppose to tell or even confirm it. So he usually just nodded and gave tidbits of information.

“I'm telling you! Witches are among us!” Pidge announced.

“If they've been around for hundreds of years, then why hasn't there been any confirmed witches?” Lance scoffed. “Can you believe her, Keith?” he asked.

“Just because you've never seen one, doesn't mean they don't exist.” he shrugged.

“Betrayed by the love of my life!” Lance made a motion of staking his heart and playing dead, leaning his head on Keith's shoulder.

“Knock it off.” he he pushed him off his shoulder.

“Could we just stop talking about witches.” Hunk shuddered, not really a fan of the subject.

“But it's part of our town's history.” Pidge stated.

“No. What the founders of Arus discovered was a cult.” Lance corrected. “It's only believed to be witches because it was during the times when people believed that anything weird meant witchcraft.”

“Then explain how after all these supposed cultists were burned that the town's suffering finally ended? The drought finally ended, sicknesses stopped and mysterious disappearances stopped happening.” Pidge challenged.

“It had been summer. It's always hot here during that time. Immune systems finally evolved and we made better medicine. And idiots stopped getting lost in the forest.”

“I still believe it was sorcery.”

“Admit defeat!” Lance turned to face her, holding his arms in the air and walking backwards. Failing to notice someone opening their locker behind him.

In one of the offices, a woman watched the group of friends walk past from the small window on the door. Her gaze remained on the dark-haired boy in red who was currently laughing at the taller boy stumbling into a locker.

“The Kogane boy is almost her spitting image.”

The woman turned towards the cat perched on top of one of the filing cabinets.

“Indeed.”

The woman was the school's history teacher, Ms. Honerva. At least, that was what they believed. Since Keith started at Arus' high, she had began teaching, even managing to become the boy's favourite teacher. Unbeknownst to him was that she was Haggar, sent by Lord Zarkon, leader of the Galra Empire, to convince the boy to join them. While she had managed to gain his trust, convincing him to join a rival coven without outing she was a witch herself was a little trickier. But with years of observation she came to realise that his mortal side was a weakness and could be used against him.

“His birthday is almost upon us. How do you plan to convince him to join the Galra?”

“Mortals are more emotional then we are. Being half is no exception. He'll want to choose the option that allows him right to both worlds. We just have to convince that the Galra will give him that.” she turned to her familiar, Kova.

The witch conversation had been dropped after that morning and now the four friends were sitting at their table enjoying lunch. Although the topic of discussion could be changed. Once again, his three friends were bugging Keith about his birthday.

“I already told you my family has something planned and I can't miss it.”

“Come on, it's your sixteenth birthday and it happens to fall during a lunar eclipse. That is a sign you have to celebrate it.” Pidge said.

“It's not like I'm not celebrating it.” Keith stated. “I'll just be celebrating it with my family instead of you guys.”

“They can't let you out for a few hours?” Lance asked. “I don't know where it is, since you've failed to mention details aside from family gathering, but can't you just join us for like an hour and then leave?”

“My family's been planning this for years. Sixteenth Birthdays are a big deal for us. I can't just throw away years of planning like that?”

Keith was known to be very secretive. While he was more open to them, being his friends, and even more open with Lance, they still felt he was hiding something big from them. They knew he was adopted, but still had ties with his biological family. When they asked why he didn't stay with them, Keith said that they didn't really have time to raise a child and thought it'd be better he stayed in the town where his parents' grew up. So he was left to be raised by a family friend. They also never met that part of the family and had only seen Coran, Allura and Shiro from time to time. They've actually never really seen his house aside from the parts open to the public during a viewing when they attended.

“Fine.” Lance gave in. “We won't celebrate your special day on the actual day, but don't think we won't celebrate the second you come back. You deserve cake, balloons, presents and the whole she-bang.” he threw his arm around Keith and gave him a wet smooch on the cheek.

Keith laughed and wiped the drool of his face, punching Lance in the arm. But despite enjoying the moment, none of his friends noticed when his smile dropped because he knew that party was likely never going to happen.

“Trust me, Keith. It's going to be a birthday you'll never forget!” Lance yelled out. Keith could only force out a smile.

“And so these thirteen criminals were charged for the murders and left to be burned and hanged at Blackink tree. A tree named because after they were burned remained standing and the bark became the colour of ink.” Ms. Honerva went on. “To this day the tree still stands as a reminder to any future wrongdoers of what could be their fate and is also a reminder of the dark times ending that had plagued our town.” she finished. Most people knew the story since small towns always tended to make a big deal of big events that happened in history. It was also a scary story told to the younger kids to get them to behave. Lance remembered his older siblings teasing him about it. Didn't scare him as much now that he was older, but young Lance had been scared shitless.

“Since the anniversary of the burning will be in a few weeks, I ask all of you to research what your families did during the time these events occurred.” she walked towards Lance, who slowly brought his gaze up to her. “Do you know anything about your family's history?”

“I know I was related to the McClains who didn't found the town, but arrived during the town's early days and were present during the burning.” While he wasn't apart of the founding families like his friends, he still could find his maternal grandfather's name in the history books on the town. The other half of his family had migrated from Cuba decades ago. The actual founding families had been the Koganes, Garretts, Holts, Iversons, Griffins and the West family. All the other families arrived not long after and grew until they had the average population for a small town. Less than half the class could find their names in the history books. Others would have to look elsewhere.

“Have you ever wondered why your family came here?” She had a dark look in her eyes and Lance could've sworn her eyes went completely yellow for a second. He excused it to lighting and gulped before continuing to speak.

“Not really. Maybe they liked the scenery.” he shrugged.

“Well, I hope this assignment will give you more insight.” she drew back, but kept a sinister smile on her face. Remind him again why this was Keith's favourite teacher? Okay, he knew why. For some reason she favoured him and gave Lance a death glare. It actually started when he and Keith became friends. Worse when they started dating. Was she afraid he'd corrupt him or something? Keith was still Keith. Lance may have gotten him to loosen up, but he still focused on keeping grades up and knew where his priorities lied. So what was Honerva's deal?

He was relieved when the bell rang, signalling not only the end of class, but the end of the day too.

“Does anyone else get chills from her?” Lance said as the group left the classroom.

“It's just you. She's strict but she actually does teach and interact with her students. Unlike most teachers.” Pidge stated.

“I'm usually creeped out, but she has never really given me any weird vibes.” Hunk told him. Even the guy who usually agreed with him on weird feelings didn't see it.

“How about you Keith?” he turned to his boyfriend.

Keith just blinked at him and then shrugged. “I'll admit she's a little more involved with her students and focused on her work, but she''s never steered me in the wrong direction.”

“What was I thinking asking her favourite student?!” Lance exclaimed in an exaggerated tone.

“I'm not her favourite!” Keith denied.

“Dude, yes you are. The second you put your hand up to answer her question she'll pick you without fail and all her feedback on you is positive. She doesn't just praise your effort in school work, but your personality too. Most teachers say you need to socialise more and be more involved with group projects, but she doesn't say any of that. Honestly, I think she has a thing for you.”

“What?!” Keith looked shocked. “She's more than twice my age. She just sees the good in her students, even troubled ones.”

“Okay, maybe she just hates me.”

“You do tend to joke around a lot and not take things seriously.” Pidge pointed out.

“Hey!” Lance frowned.

“I better head to Sal's to start my shift. I'll see you guys later. Dinner is on me.” Hunk farewelled.

“One of Hunk's dishes! I'll definitely be there.” Pidge grinned excitedly. “I'll see you two lovebirds later.” she waved to the two and they were soon left alone.

“You in?” Lance took Keith's hand in his and began walking out of the school with him.

“Definitely.” Keith nodded.

Seeing as there was time to kill before meeting with their friends, the couple made their way to the forest surrounding the mortuary.

“I've always liked the forest. It's quiet. I've always felt at home here.”

Lance watched as Keith spoke. He definitely seemed at peace here.

“I've always been more of a beach person.” he admitted. But it was nice out here too. Despite the stories about the place. None have actually been proven true, but it added to the creep factor. Yet, seeing Keith looking comfortable and just being content here, Lance could forget all that and enjoy the beauty that was Keith Kogane.

He saw Keith give him a smile before turning and walking deeper into the forest, prompting Lance to follow. “I might not be coming back after my birthday.” his voice had fallen to a whisper, but Lance had heard it and he reacted by throwing questions towards Keith.

“WHAT?! What do you mean? How long have you known? Why are you telling me this now? And why in the woods? Does this mean you are breaking up with me?” He saw Keith's face and could see he was hurting.

“It's a school. My mum attended there and so did everyone on her side of the family. It's a big opportunity for me.” he explained.

Why was Keith only telling him now? “If you were afraid I'd be mad, you don't have to worry about that.” He knew the subject of Keith's parents was a touchy one. He would've understood if he wanted to be able to be close to them in some way. “Look, I'll admit it is a bit of a shock to hear you might suddenly be moving to a different school. But that doesn't mean we still can't be together. We can still talk and see each other outside of school.” he ran his fingers through his boyfriend's hair.

“Except it can't be like that.” Keith blurted out. “I won't be allowed outside contact and it's...” he looked like he was struggling to find the right word. “too far to get to.”

“I would swim oceans for you.” he grabbed both his shoulders. “I get you want to be able to be close to your mother, but why would you take an opportunity that basically strips you of your life here?”

Keith sighed and then looked around at where they were.

“You know this was where I was born.” he said, talking as if Lance wasn't there.

The subject change took him by surprise, but he figured he'd hear him out. Maybe Keith might reveal one of his secrets or at least explain why he'd just up and go right out of town without saying goodbye to him and their friends.

“Pretty sure most of us were born in Arus hospital.”

“No. I was born in this very spot.” he motioned to where he was now standing. Lance raised an eyebrow at him.

“I've been wanting to tell you since we started dating. I know you respect that I have secrets and will let me tell you when I'm ready. I was born here because dangerous people were after my parents and they needed a place where my mother could be kept safe while she gave birth to me.

I need you to be open minded here, Lance.” he eyed him waiting for confirmation.

Lance hesitantly nodded.

“I wasn't just born mortal. Because of my mother, I'm also half witch. I can do spells, perform magic by waving my hand. All sorts of stuff.”

“You're a what?” Lance's eyes widened. He knew Keith had secrets, but he was expecting he had a weird fetish or something. Not being a witch.

“When I turn sixteen I'm expected to become apart of a coven. Mainly the one my mother was apart of.”

This hadn't been the kind of secret he was expecting. Earlier they were joking about the idea that witches existed and then Keith just straight up admits that he's been one the whole time? He technically said he was half, but that was beside the point.

“You're messing with me?” he smiled in disbelief. Keith didn't look like he was. Which meant that he was telling the truth. That caused his smile to fall.

“Serious? You're a witch?! Oh my god!” he scrunched up his hair and shook his head. When Keith called his name and approached him, Lance hesitantly stepped back. “I need you to stay away from me while I figure things out.”

Keith looked hurt by that, but he refused to back down. “I know it's a lot to take in. But I need you to listen to me right now.”

“And if I don't you'll use a spell to make sure I do. How many spells have you casted on me? Did you cast a spell to make me love you?” he couldn't believe Keith would do that. Up until now he was sure his feelings had been real, but learning Keith's secret was making him jump to all these accusations. Before he could say anymore, Keith pulled him close and heard him whispering in his ear.

“Take back these words of regret. Make the one I love forget.”

Lance blinked a couple of times and found himself in the forest with Keith.

“How did we get here?” he asked confused.

“We were walking and I said I wanted to see the scenery.” Keith answered.

“Oh. Okay.” Lance slowly nodded. “I guess the scenery is nice here.” he shrugged.

“How about we go home and then meet up at Sal's later?”

“Sounds good to me.”

What was he thinking telling Lance?

Oh, maybe the fact that he was his boyfriend and had that much trust with in him. But seeing how he had reacted. Even accusing Keith of using magic to make him love him felt like a stab to the heart. It made him realise that mortals would never accept witches and what they did. His father must have been one in a million or maybe his mother did spell him. After all, he never knew them.

“You okay, Keith?”

Apparently he had tears forming in his eyes and Shiro had noticed. Keith quickly wiped them away.

“I told Lance.” he stated blankly.

“You told Lance?” Shiro raised an eyebrow.

“I told him I was a witch and then I erased his memory of it. You should've seen how he acted. He was freaking out and thought I made him love me and...I don't know.” he shook his head.

“Hey.” Shiro held him by the shoulders. “I'm sure Lance didn't mean it. He was probably scared and didn't know what to say. You also did throw a huge secret at him unexpectedly.”

“But if that's how he reacts, how could I ever tell him?” Keith looked up expectantly to his brother.

“I don't know what to tell you since I've never been in this position. But you need to have faith in him that he will eventually accept you for who you are.”

Keith gave him a smile, but the events from earlier still hurt. He had wanted Lance's opinion if he should sign over to the coven or stay here and live life as a mortal. But of course things took a bad turn. Even with the way he reacted, he still loved him and wanted to spend his life with him.

Why couldn't someone else be born a half-mortal, half-witch?

Making his way past Shiro and up to his room, Keith heard breaking glass. He quickly entered his room, clenching his hand, ready to summon whatever offensive spell he knew. Which was only a gust of wind at this point. It was suppose to be a fire, but since he hadn't signed onto a coven yet, it was all he could do. It'd be effective enough.

He carefully examined his room. His window was broken and would need fixing. He'd also have to clear up the glass. Great.

“Keith Kogane.”

A voice echoed in his head which made him jump and he quickly turned around. He could see a figure. Not a human, but some kind of animal. He gulped before speaking. “Yes.” he gave a nod.

“I am here to answer your call.”

A familiar.

Chapter Text

“Don't you think it's current form would be a bit intimidating?” Allura questioned taking a sip of her morning tea.

“He prefers this form.” Keith stated looking towards the wolf, who was staring back. “But they agreed when out in public they'll choose a more understanding form.”

As if to demonstrate, what once was a black wolf with blue fur lining, had morphed into a small wolf pup or maybe a small dog. It was much more convenient when walking out in town or when they had mortal guests.

When arranging their contract, the familiar stated they were stronger in wolf form and would've preferred to remain in that form, but understood that Keith did live in the mortal world and would need a familiar with a form that was much more accepted in the mortal realm. Keith did promise that they could remain in wolf form when it was just the family present, when he was alone with him and when mortals couldn't associate the wolf with him. Really, he only had to appear as a pup when he was with Keith in public.

“Does he have a name?” Coran asked.

“He'd tell me when he was ready.” Keith shrugged.

“We gotta call him something.” Shiro said.

Keith rolled his eyes, it wasn't like he hadn't asked about his name or just something to refer to him by. But the wolf remained silent. In fact, he hadn't talked to him much after discussing their terms. They were basically in a partnership. They agreed that when the other needed helped, they would give it. The wolf would protect him and Keith would do what he could for the wolf. So far, he hadn't asked for much aside from breakfast. Which was a piece of raw steak.

The business phone began ringing and Coran left to answer it. Looks like his family was going to be busy today. Keith rarely helped with the business. Sometimes he’d help book funerals and answer calls, but since he juggled both school work and witch work, his family said those were what he should be focusing on more.

While Coran conversed with possibly a client, Keith finished his breakfast (thankfully not goo) and left for school.

He’d have to face Lance again. Yesterday at Sal’s had been awkward. While Keith acted as if he were fine and enjoyed the evening with his friends, the events from earlier still plagued his mind.

Lance had looked so scared and lost. Unable to figure out what was real or not. Then he accused Keith of using witchcraft on him, which led to Lance questioning the state of their relationship. Keith did love Lance and never felt any need to use magic with him. Yesterday had been the only time he casted a spell on his boyfriend and it was to protect him. That’s what Keith told himself anyway.

As usual, Lance was waiting for him on the road. He could do this. Lance was still Lance and he certainly didn’t remember about Keith being a witch and would treat him like he always did.

The dream felt way more real than anything he dreamt up before. Lance had woken up early this morning from a strange dream.

He was in the forest with Keith, but his mouth was gone, yet he continued talking as if normal. It was like his subconscious didn’t want him to hear what Keith was saying. Then he felt himself getting scared and freaking out. Even freaking out when his boyfriend approached him. Keith had grabbed him and he could feel the wind blowing around him, Keith’s voice a faint whisper and also what sounded like TV static. It made it hard to hear what Keith was saying. He did manage to catch a few words.

“Take back…...regret. ….I love forget.”

After that it went black and when it was light again it was because he had woken up. While the dream seemed way out of the ordinary, it also felt like reliving a memory. But he didn’t recall Keith ever being lipless. He definitely knew his lips existed. They tasted like strawberry jam and peanut butter most times.

He still got ready and left to pick Keith up. Maybe he could ask him about it and have some insight on it. Before he left the house he caught sight of his grandfather eyeing him suspiciously. He’d always been close to grandpa McClain, but right now he was kinda freaking him out. He’d been giving him a weird look since he came home yesterday afternoon.

Mum had said because he’s always been a bit crazy. Making up stories about things that didn’t exist and some silly family legacy and curse.

“Those of us who carry the mark will live both a gifted and cursed life.”

The mark his grandfather was referring to was his birthmark, which coincidentally looked exactly like his grandfathers’. It was a small, strange looking ‘V’ shape on the back of his right shoulder. Lance figured it was just a crazy story. Nothing about him was gifted or curse. At least not in a weird out of ordinary way that his grandfather implied.

His mother also had the mark checked and found nothing wrong with it. Just that it was a birthmark. So, no reason to worry. Right?

What he needed to worry about was if his dream meant anything.

On the way to school Lance tried to bring it up with Keith. But what if it meant something bad was going to happen in their relationship and that was the last thing he wanted.

“You seem tense.” He heard Keith’s voice. Maybe he was leaning closer to the wheel more than usual and his grip on the wheel was tighter.

“Just had a rough night. Bad dream.” He replied.

“Wanna talk about it?” Keith tilted his head.

“Not really…” he bit his lip. “I’m scared of what it could mean.”

“I’m sure it’s nothing.” Keith gave him a reassuring smile.

“It probably is.” Lance returned the smile.

Lance parked in his usual spot and told Keith he had to go see his coach about something.

Keith went ahead to meet up with Hunk and Pidge. He found Hunk was by his locker, but there was a lack of Pidge by his side.

“Pidge here today?” He asked the larger male.

“Few of the football jocks made her spill her coffee so she went to the locker room to clean it.” Hunk informed him.

Keith heard laughter and saw a group of jocks walking from the direction of the locker room. He eyed them suspiciously, feeling as if what they were laughing about wasn’t anything good.

“I’ll be right back. There’s something I need to check on.” He excused himself and headed towards the locker room.

“Okay?” Hunk blinked confused as his friend walked away.

As he came past, he shot a glare at the jocks, who didn’t seem phased by it.

“Hey emo! If you’re ever looking for a new jock to get with, I’m all yours!”

Keith rolled his eyes and went into the locker room. No one seemed to be in there. The place smelled like sweat and some cheap brand of shampoo and soap. If he concentrated he could catch the smell of Lance’s deodorant. A nice ocean breeze. He then heard sobs coming from one of the rows. Following the sound, he found Pidge huddled on the floor leaning against one of the lockers. Her glasses were laying on the floor and Keith carefully picked it up and handed them to her. What he noted was that she was tightly clutching onto her shirt. She didn’t even have it on, she was just holding it to her chest. As if to cover herself.

“What did they do?” Keith demanded.

Pidge shook her head and let out a whine, wrapping her arms around him. “I was ch...changing. They came in...and…” her grip on him tightened and he could feel her tears on his shirt. Keith gently stroked her hair and a dark thought came to mind.

“They didn’t!”

“It’s not what you think. They were joking about it, but never did it.”

“I’m gonna go deal with this.” He promised her and then proceeded to head to the hallway. Sure enough, the jocks were still there.

“Come to take me up on my off-“ he was cut off when Keith punched him in the face.

“The fuck is wrong with you?!” The one he had punched was James Griffin and he did not look too happy about being punched. Not that most people enjoyed that, but James didn’t see any reason why he got punched.

“You hurt my friend!” Keith yelled out.

“We never did that. It was just a joke.” He scoffed, as if he had done nothing wrong.

“She didn’t think it was and neither do I.”

“Something wrong here?” Lance came up behind him and looked from his boyfriend to his teammate.

“Your boyfriend here is a psychopath. He just punched me for no reason!” James informed.

Lance frowned and glared at him. “I know Keith and he’d never attack someone for no reason. You clearly did something to piss him off.”

“You’re so whipped, Serrano. He probably has you under some spell.” While James didn’t mean it in that sense, both boys’ eyes widened for a second at his remark.

“They cornered Pidge while she was changing in the locker room.” Keith told him.

“But we didn’t do anything!”

Before anyone could continue Ms. Honerva came to defuse the fight. “If you didn’t do anything then there wouldn’t have been a problem, Mr. Griffin.” She said to the jock. “I suggest you head to Principal Iverson’s office before things escalate.”

Keith had completely forgot about the other students and teachers in the school and didn’t realise they had been the centre of attention. Probably should’ve realised that almost starting a fight would gather people’s attention.

“Mind explaining what that was about?” She brought her attention back to them. Mainly focusing on Keith.

“They tried to defile my friend.”

“How about we deal with this in my office.” She gave an encouraging smile. Leading him away before he could start a scene. Keith reluctantly followed.

Ms. Honerva’s office was quite dark, the only light coming from her windows. While he didn’t think there was something off with the woman, there was something definitely off in her office. Could be because he had never seen it before and it was pretty different from her classroom. That definitely had more lighting and felt more welcoming. Here, he felt like he was going to be interrogated.

“Now what’s this about defiling your friend?” She took a seat at her desk and motioned for Keith to sit on the chair in front.

Keith sat down with a thud. “Well, she didn’t say they did, but the fact they implied it doesn’t make those idiots safe around people.”

“Boys like James Griffin get away with such. As long as no physical harm comes to those they victimised, he gets to walk free.”

“But that’s not fair!” He exclaimed.

“No it’s not.” She agreed. “But being one of the school’s star players he’ll leave Iverson’s office with nothing more than a warning.”

It sucked that was how it was. He knew James was a dick and tended to piss people off. But for some reason everyone overlooked his bullying and his victims were left to suffer the consequences. When they were younger Keith had punched him after the boy brought his parents up and Keith had been the one who got detention.

“If you want him to pay, I know he has a huge fear of spiders.” Ms. Honerva stood up and began walking around her office.

That caught his attention. It was odd she told him that, but that was some interesting information. James never made his weaknesses obvious, so he came off like some undefeatable foe.

“A lot of people are afraid of spiders.” he shrugged. The fear was common enough.

“But fear could be used to teach someone a lesson. Like a child hearing a scary story about the boogieman taking them away if they don’t eat their vegetables.”

He doubted scaring James would work permanently, but it would keep him in check for a while and if he misbehaved again without consequence, then he could be punished again until he’d eventually learn his lesson..

As expected, James and his gang did get nothing but a warning. So Keith would have to take matters in his own hands.

“Unbelievable.” Hunk commented, frowning at the group sitting on the other side of the quad. “I’ve seen people get worse punishments from doing less. I’m gonna get them back somehow.”

“I doubt spitting on their order at Sal’s will teach them a lesson, Hunk.” Lance patted his friend’s back.

“But it’d be so satisfying.” Hunk rarely thought like that, but they deserved something bad for hurting Pidge like that.

“Guys.” Pidge sighed. “Can we just forget it?” all three boys looked toward her sympathetically. Out of all of them she had the right to be most mad. She had been the victim in all this.

“How can I forget it?!” Lance yelled. Not loud enough to attract any unwanted attention though.

“I’m just saying it could’ve been much worse.” she pointed out.

“Those guys have gotten away with everything since kindergarten and this time they crossed a very dangerous line.” There might have been exaggeration there, but Lance had a point. They could get away with murder and the town wouldn’t even bat an eye.

“Maybe we should forget about it?” Keith spoke up. All of them blinked in confusion at him.

“Were you not the one who punched James in the face because of it? And then got detention after school for it?” Lance reminded.

“Eventually, guys like him will get what they deserve. Things can work out for him now, but it’ll hit him like a truck in the future.” he then focused his attention on Pidge. “While I know you’re tough, they don’t. So next time, tell them off. We can’t always be there to fight your battles. Besides, I know you’ll hack their social media accounts and probably post nudes of them.” he gave a smirk.

“Now that is a much more satisfying punishment than spitting on their burger.” Pidge’s eyes gleamed with mischief. Fighting may not have been her strong suit, but she was a force not to be reckoned with when she had her laptop handy.

“That’d be my punishment for them.” Hunk pouted.

The group just laughed at that. All the while, Keith thought of what else he could do to get back at them. After all, witches did like balance and there was certainly no balance in justice here. That’d have to be fixed.

Detention hadn’t been too bad that afternoon. It did mean he’d miss hanging out at Sal’s after school and would have to make his own way home. Lance had offered to wait for him, but Keith assured he’d be fine. Besides, very little could scare a witch and he knew a few spells to keep douchebags away. Speaking of douchebags, he had a douchebag by the name of James Griffin to deal with.

He knew when placing hexes and such on someone, he’d need some piece of the victim. Since the school was empty, he could take a quick trip to James’ locker and retrieve some form of DNA. Most hexes required a witch’s full power, but the one he was thinking off was one he’d attempted several times before. If anything, it was a mere children’s prank. But despite, if he done it right, it’d be pretty effective.

Keith had thought about James’ group too. Mostly they just followed their leader and couldn’t be put entirely at fault, but they still went along better judgement and went with it. He’d give them a much less worse punishment or Pidge could depending on the dirt she’d find of them through hacking.

He snuck into the locker room and went to the one he knew was James’ locker. He grabbed the padlock, gave it a tight squeeze and suddenly it unlatched. Inside was a mirror ( typical ), spare jacket, some other clothes, probably for sport. He then saw his comb on the top shelf and it had a few strands of hair on it. Perfect. He pulled a few strands and then quickly left the locker room, making sure the boy’s locker was secure.

What he didn’t notice was Ms. Honerva watching nearby, an evil smirk slowly appearing on her face. This would bring him one step closer to joining the Galra Empire. Most covens rarely punished those who wronged them. But the Galra reveled in it. When other covens punished someone it was if they committed some crime by witch standards. Like betraying their coven for example. She knew when one of their champions betrayed them, before he could convert into another coven they sliced one of his arms off. He had probably casted a spell to regrow the limb, but it most certainly didn’t feel the same as the original and they would have left a permanent mark on him.

Even if what Keith was attempting a small act by their standards and what most covens did as harmless fun, she figured manipulating him to do small things at first would eventually lead to signing into the Galra.

Allura had been the one who answered the call from school saying Keith had received detention. Both Coran and Shiro were dealing with a new client who believed their son had been killed and didn’t attempt to take his life. She knew Keith was a good student, but was prone to getting into trouble at times. She also knew that his actions had reason, so he better have a good reason why he stayed after school.

She was ready to ask him when she saw him enter through the door. “So what did James Griffin do today?”

She didn’t need her powers to figure out what happened. Instead she had her mice that she sent out sometimes to keep an eye on him and they were quite talkative and held no secret from her.

“Bullied Pidge.” he answered. “So I figured I’d teach him a lesson.”

Allura perked up at this and gracefully glided down the stairs. “What did you have in mind?” if it was real bad, she’d shut it down. She was not going to let her baby brother fall into the path of evil. If it was harmless, she’d gladly assist. When she was younger she use to enjoy placing hexes on those who annoyed her. Mainly her nanny as a child who tended to tell her what to do and disagree with a lot of her actions.

“He’s scared of spiders.”

“Oh...so a scare them shitless spell?” a classic. “Got a piece of DNA?” Keith held up the strands of her he attained from his locker. “Good. I should still have a few voodoo dolls up in my room and Coran tends to keep spiders in his cabinet for potions.”

“I should question your eagerness to torture a mortal.”

“Oh, you love me and from what I’ve heard about this mortal, he needs someone to teach him respect.”

“Doubt it’s us since we’re probably going to bring back some childhood trauma of his.”

“No. But we get to have fun either way.”

Keith just laughed and headed to the kitchen to retrieve the spiders. Allura had taken the strand of  hair from him and went to find her voodoo dolls.

The trick with Coran’s potions cabinet was that it was also in a normal cabinet that held normal ingredients. One just needed to know the trick to unlock it. Couldn’t have any curious mortals accidentally finding it. He twisted the handle anti-clockwise three times and then pulled it open. He saw all sorts of potion ingredients. An assortment of insects, animal parts, magical foods. The usual stuff. Keith held one hand up and with his other, he wriggled his fingers up and down. The items in front began to clear away, forming a path and a jar came sliding up in the centre. The jar flung out and Keith clutched it into his hands. Usually a summoning spell would be needed to retrieve what they wanted in there. Now that he had what he needed, he closed the cupboard, retwisting the knob back in place, so it’d be back to more mortal appropriate contents.

He found Allura in her room, beginning to set the spell up. Her room was quite elegant. If it wasn’t for the spell being set up in the middle of the room, it could pass for a room fit for a princess. And maybe the fact that her room had magically concealed spaces that contained her magical items.

“You ready?”

She had used red string to create a pentagram. Several candles placed around it and each was lit. In the centre there was a small doll made of some kind of sack that had James’ hair glued onto it. If they had taken their time, they would’ve had a much more accurate looking doll, but there was no need to put that much effort right now. A pre-made doll did the trick and got things done anyway. Most witches did that for aesthetic anyway.

Once the jar was placed inside the circle, Keith and Allura sat crossed legged in front of each other and held hands.

“Remember to picture him clearly in your head.” Allura reminded.

“I know that. We did this to Shiro when he made us clean up after that viewing with the world’s messiest kids because he said he had a body to examine .”

“And what music it was to hear him scream when that body supposedly came to life.” Allura chuckled at the memory. After laughing at the memory, the two began to chant.

“Hear our plee! Summon their fear and make them flee!”

A gust of wind blew around them, making the candles’ flame flicker. The two broke their chain, but remained seated. Allura took hold of the doll and Keith took hold of the jar. He unscrewed the lid and left a small gap. Allura quickly threw the doll in and Keith screwed the lid back on before any spiders could escape. It was then placed back in the centre.

“Feel them crawl, See them on your wall. These spiders will teach you once and for all!” Keith finished the spell. The wind blew stronger around them and the candles went out. Looking at the jar, they could see the spiders crawling on the doll, the figure moving slightly as the spiders moved about.

“That should do the trick.” Allura clapped her hands together. “Spiders are definitely not a Barbie doll.” they had to use something that resembled a body to make Shiro hallucinate the moving corpse.

Their poor victim was playing video games at home. His parents were out for the rest of the night, leaving him alone. He could hear his online friends talking to him on his headset about their latest win. Then suddenly the electricity started acting up. It was causing his connection to buffer and he couldn’t hear his friends through the static in his headset. Annoyed, he frustratingly threw the technology off and would have to continue playing offline. Except that wasn’t an option either. The TV screen became nothing but blue and his console switched off.

“What the hell?!” he shouted in anger.

James got up and went towards his entertainment unit, examining his console, checking if the wires were plugged, using his phone’s flashlight to see in the dark. Everything seemed fine. So what was the problem?

He then felt something crawling on him and flinched when he saw a small spider. James quickly flicked it off. But as soon as that one was gone, he felt more weird tingles on his body. Looking down on himself he saw more tiny spiders crawling on him. Screams escaped him as he stood up and began jumping around to shake them off. But no matter what he did, more just appeared. Even more started appearing all over the room and coming towards him.

James tripped and began crying out, fearing for his life. The spiders didn’t do anything but crawl around him, but it didn’t change the amount of fear consuming him.

When his parents came home a few hours later, they found their son huddled in a corner of his room going about spiders. Yet, they saw no sign of any in their house.

“I can tell you enjoyed that.” Allura noted as they packed up the items.

“So what if I did?”

“Nothing.” Allura shook her head. “Lately you’ve kinda been...lost?” she didn’t seem sure that was the right word. But she did notice Keith’s attitude the past few days. Keith was usually focused and task orientated. Able to crack a few jokes with them. But now he seem distracted. She had a feeling she knew why.

“It’s my birthday.” he said. “Everyone expects me to join the Blade of Marmora. Which I’m all for. But I don’t get why I have to leave everything here.”

“You won’t be gone forever. Once you finished your training, you’re free to come as much as you like.”

“But my friends won’t be here.”

Allura bit her lip, as if she wanted to say something but couldn’t. “Sometimes we have to make sacrifices we don’t want to make.”

“But why can’t I just do my training here? It’d be the same thing.”

“That’ll only add extra work for you. Do you think it’d be easy to balance being normal, school and witch training?”

“You get to stay here.”

“But I have no more training to complete.” it was a sad truth, but she didn’t have the same situation as Keith. He still had a coven whose practices were still alive. She had to hold on to all she had been taught before the Galra destroyed it.

“But you still have the choice to join another coven and yet, you chose not to.”

“That’s different.”

“How?” he looked at her and Allura knew she had to choose her words wisely.

“Because I am technically already part of a coven. There is no need for me to join another and learn their ways.”

“But you teach me your ways all the time and other clans have too. The Blade may be the one I know most about, but a lot of others have tried showing me their ways. Why can’t I just find one that gives me exactly what I want!”

“BECAUSE AS THE HEIR OF THE BLADE OF MARMORA IT IS YOUR BIRTHRIGHT!”

“What?!” Keith’s eyes were wide, like a deer with headlights.

His sister realised what she said and threw her hand over her mouth. She could feel the tears forming in her eyes. He wasn’t suppose to know until his birthday and she just blurted it out to him a few days before the actual date.

“Keith, I’m sorry.” she tried to reach out to him, but that seemed to snap him out his trance. He got up and ran out of her room, going past Coran and Shiro, who had come up to see what the commotion was.

When they heard the door to Keith’s room slam, the two men turned back to Allura, who had gotten up and looked like someone had ripped her heart out. This was her fault. Her and Keith had a troubled relationship at first because she use to blame other covens for doing nothing when her’s fell and he was suppose to be some saviour for their kind. But she had gotten over that when she realised it wasn’t his fault. He didn’t ask to be born the way he was. He didn’t ask to be born to be some kind of saviour. Now, it seemed clearer than ever. He never asked for this. It was just thrown onto him and everyone was asking him to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders.

They gave him the illusion that he had a choice, when in the end he never really had any and she took that illusion away from him. She hoped this wouldn’t affect their relationship. But it’d definitely be rough for a while.

“What have you done?” Coran looked toward her in disappointment. A look he rarely gave any of them. Which meant the situation was that serious.

“Something I wish I could take back.” she admitted and began to sob.

Chapter Text

The rest of the evening had been spent in the living. Keith remained locked up in his room, not making any indication of coming out any time soon. No one tried to bring him out. They understood he needed his space for the moment.

Allura had felt the most guilty. It was technically her fault for revealing the secret. While she may have been punishing herself, neither Coran nor Shiro made any attempt to scold her. She wished they did. Her little brother’s trust in the family may have been destroyed, all because she couldn’t keep her mouth shut.

“Are you going to say anything?” She asked the men in the room.

They were silent for a moment before Shiro unfolded his arms and sighed before speaking.

“There isn’t much to say.” He started. “We knew one day he’d find out and expected he wouldn’t take the news lightly.”

They figured the less he knew about his heritage, the less danger he’d been in. The Galra had wanted him because of the prophecy of the half-breed. So the Blade made it seem he was killed as an infant and made them all swear not to tell him until he was of age. That way, if the Galra did find him, they wouldn’t be able to know if he was the child or not.

Little did they know.

So far, they believed he was safe. Maybe him finding out close to his birthday wouldn’t be so bad. Of course they’d have to report to Kolivan. While he could be caring, he was also strict and didn’t have room for nonsense. Mission first.

….They were doomed.

“Kolivan won’t be happy.” Shiro said.

“I can deal with Kolivan. It’s Keith we need to worry about.” Coran motioned in the direction of the boy’s room.

Having sensed his charge’s distress, the wolf came towards him on the bed and ran his head under the boy’s fingers.

Keith gently scratched the top of his familiar’s head as he stared in front of him. Not really taking anything in. Just violet orbs staring into an abyss of nothing.

Since finding out, he’d been laying on his bed. His tears had been unshed, but they were there. He felt betrayed. Betrayed by his family. There was probably a reason why they hadn’t told him, but he didn’t want to hear it. Not now anyway.

The worst part was that it wasn’t that they kept who he was from him, but the fact they made him believe he always had a choice. That when his sixteenth birthday came he could choose which coven to sign to or to stay in the human realm. But in the end he would’ve had to choose signing into the Blade of Marmora and apparently be their King or whatever.

Having that title meant he wouldn’t be able to have his human life at all. That once he signed, there wouldn’t be time to spend with his friends or Lance. He wouldn’t even be able to see them when they became old cause he’d be an unaging witch too busy running the Blade.

Keith grabbed his phone and stared at his wallpaper once it was turned on. It was a picture of him and Lance where Keith was giving him a kiss on the cheek and Lance was jokingly making a disgusted face. If you looked closely, you could see Keith laughing while kissing his cheek. Lance always knew how to make him smile. He debated whether or not he should call him and ask for advice.

What would you tell him, Keith?

“Oh hey, Lance. So I found out my life is a lie and could use some advice. Turns out, this whole time I was some witchy Prince.”

Considering how last time he threw a secret at him Lance had freaked out and that resulted in Keith erasing his memory, maybe it wasn’t a good idea. And he didn’t want to use any more magic on him. He swore that would be the last and only time.

So he was alone in this.

“Do you plan on being mad at them forever?”

He looked toward the wolf when he heard his voice in his head.

“Yes. No. I don’t know.” He slumped into his pillow.

“These people are your family and despite the decision to keep this from you, you should know that even if it was the wrong thing to do, they did it because they care about you. You at least owe them to explain.”

He had a point. Keith just didn’t feel like talking or seeing them right now. Right now he needed to cool down.

A walk outside sounded tempting. Nothing like the cool night air to calm him down.

“Up for a stroll in the moonlight?” He got up and turned to his familiar, who gave a nod in response. Keith swore he saw his tail wagging.

And with the final stroke of his pencil, his sketch was complete.

His ebony hair in the outdated hairstyle that only he somehow made work, his unique eye colour that every time he stared into them it was like staring into a galaxy far away. But this drawing lacked one detail. His lips.

Lance’s dream had never left his mind that when he began drawing, all he could do was draw Keith from the dream. The mouthless Keith who seemed to be telling him something, but the message just didn’t come across.

Parts of the dream he recalled happened yesterday. Him and Keith walking into the woods. After that it was a blank. One minute he was walking into the woods and the next, Keith was pulling away from him.

It was only a few minutes gone and really shouldn’t bother him. Except, he felt that missing moment was important. So why did he forget it? His subconscious was trying to remember, but how to tap into that part of his brain.

“I think you’re missing a pair of lips.”

The voice startled him, that Lance nearly fell out of his chair. He turned to see the mischievous smirk of his older sister, Veronica.

“Maybe I did that on purpose.” He pouted.

“Weird art choice.” She examined the drawing. “Why though?”

“Weird dream.” He shrugged.

She raised an eyebrow at him. “Boyfriend troubles?”

“Not really.” Things seemed great with him and Keith so far. Lance let out a sign before continuing. “I know Keith  has secrets and he’ll tell me when he’s ready. But I’m afraid these secrets will tear us apart. It kinda feels like they already are.”

Veronica walked over to his bed and sat down. “Then talk to him about it. And whatever secret he’s keeping from you, you need to remember that he’s still the same Keith Kogane you’ve been dating for the past year or so. He’s also your first kiss at five years old.”

“Is anyone ever going to let me live that down?”

“What? It’s cute that you ended up with the kid you kissed in kindergarten.” She giggled, but then went serious. “I know you’re both still young for all the lovey dovey stuff, but you look at him the same way papá looks at mamá. You’re drawn to him and that led you to fall for him. So trust that whatever he’s keeping from you is not because he doesn’t trust you, but because he’s probably scared he’ll lose you. You gotta show him that you’re not going anywhere, no matter what.”

“But what if his secret is like he’s a bloodsucking vampire or something?” He knew he made some joke before that Keith was a vampire because of his pale skin and the way he dressed sometimes and how he preferred night over day. But it was just a joke and Keith had debunked a lot of his vampiric accusations. Like when he ate garlic knots when he was invited over for dinner. And he definitely had a reflection. Not to mention he did not sparkle like some angsty teen model who wished he was one of the cool vampires.

“Okay, I’ll humour you.” Veronica shook her head amused. “If he was a vampire, would you leave him?”

Lance knew that despite her playful tone, she was also being serious. She was testing him. “No.” He admitted.

“And why is that?”

“Because I fell in love with who Keith is. Not what he is.”

“Then you have nothing to worry about.” She winked and made her way out of his room.

“Thanks, Roni.” He smiled toward her.

He recalled her words in his head and she was right about him being drawn to Keith. Even before he knew his feelings, there was always something about Keith. It was like Keith was part of a bigger role in his destiny. Odd thought, but the feeling was there.

Well, one thing for sure. He was going to show Keith that he could trust him. That there was no need to keep secrets from the other.

Despite having many siblings, he was definitely closest to Veronica. He wasn’t even that close with his twin sister. Well, Roni understood him better than Rachel did. Wasn’t that she didn’t try, but Rachel liked to bring the fact that she was older than him by a few minutes and therefore was the superior twin. That annoyed Lance to no end and despite saying she was older, Lance was the one who seemed to act more mature. Which was saying something since Lance could be childish at times. But unlike his twin, he knew when to be a child and when to be mature. It took a lot more for Rachel to behave.

He may also be a bit salty to her after she agreed to go out with James after the whole Pidge thing.

“He’s one of the star players and he’s super hot.”

Weak excuse if you asked him. She was smart and would eventually figure out the guy was a prick.

Right now, he had his own relationship issues to fix.

There was always something about being in the the fresh air that got Keith to relax. It was also nice having his familiar with him. Even though he knew the forest near his home wasn’t dangerous and always felt safe, the wolf added more to that feeling of safety.

He was technically his protector in a way.

Eventually he was going to have to talk to his family. He dreaded the conversation. It would probably consist of apologies and some crazy explanation why they couldn’t tell him before.

As he strolled through the woods, he remained unaware of a pair of glowing yellow eyes watching him. Even his familiar wouldn’t be able to sense it.

The pair of eyes watching him had no irises and were just golden orbs. But with a blink, purple irises, slightly lighter than Keith’s, appeared in the centre and then with another blink, the yellow vanished and became normal white.

Krolia’s son had grown to be both handsome and beautiful. They could sense that human naivety in him. After so many years, there he was. Krolia may have slipped away and married a mortal, but her son wasn’t going to get away.

Of course, Haggar would need to make him sign into the Galra. Not that it mattered what coven he signed into. Because once Keith was theirs, they would rule all the covens together.

The tension was strong early the next morning at Smythe Mortuary. Aside from when Keith left last night for a walk and returned sometime after, none of them had seen him. Currently, the youngest member was getting ready for school. But he should be heading down right about now.

No one was sure if he’d stick to schedule or stall seeing them. If he didn’t come down soon, someone would have to go get him. And they weren’t sure which was worse. Actually going up to him to speak or he’d come down and they had to speak?

Finally, his bedroom door could be heard opening and his footsteps were heard heading towards the kitchen. Keith sat in his usual seat and made no eye contact. Shiro focused on the paper he was holding, while Allura nervously bit her lips and Coran just continued to cook.

What may have only been a few minutes, felt like hours as they sat in silence. It was Coran who broke the silence when he placed Keith’s breakfast in front of him and told him to eat up. But the silence returned after that.

Keith took a few bites of his breakfast before he sighed, placing his spoon down. He made no effort to look at them when he began to talk.

“So why did you hide I was the Prince?” He asked.

Allura and Shiro glanced at each other, but before either of them could speak, Coran answered first.

“Listen, my boy.” He waited for Keith to look up at him before continuing. “We wished we didn’t hide it from you. But we did it to protect you.”

“Protect me from what?”

“From those who wish to use you.”

Keith blinked at that statement, his eyes showing confusion. His eyes always did tell what he was feeling when the rest of him couldn’t.

“As a mortal/witch hybrid who also happens to be the heir to a powerful coven, there will be people after you. Dangerous people. It was believed the less you knew about your heritage the more protected you’d be. We were going to tell you on your birthday.” Coran had finished explaining.

So they were trying to protect him. Protect him by lying to him his whole life. Aside from the Galra, who else would be after him?

“Keith?” He glanced over to Allura, he could see the guilt on her face. “I’m sorry for my part. I’m sorry I told you last night and I’m even more sorry for keeping it from you all these years.”

“Look.” He slammed his hands on the table. “I get it. You were protecting me. But I hate that you lied to me about the fact that I always had a choice when that was never the case.” He glared at each of them. He felt a little glad when he got grief stricken looks from them. “Which is why, I decided I’m not signing the book on my birthday.”

That sure got a reaction from his family.

“Keith! You can’t deny your destiny!” Shiro said, unfolding his arms.

Keith glared at him. “Who were the ones that said I could choose between living a mortal life or living as a witch? Who said it was whatever I wanted? Who said no matter what you choose, we’ll be by your side?” He pointed at the three of them. “I’m sorry that I missed the fine print that says as long as you sign . I don’t want to be apart of something that lies to their friends and family. That forces me to keep secrets and makes me have to choose between two halves of who I am!”

“Come now, Keith.” Allura spoke. “We know you’re doing this to spite us. No reason to be irrational. There’s still time to think about this.”

“You made me believe I had a choice and that you’d support me no matter what. So I made my choice and you’re going to either support it or deal with it.” He summoned his school bag towards him and dashed out the door before anymore could be said. The door slamming shut behind him caused them to flinch.

“What do we do?” Shiro turned to Coran.

“We may need Kolivan to speak to him. But Keith is right.” He sighed. “In the end, it’s his choice and we need to support him.” Coran always had an inkling that Keith’s attachments to the mortal world were stronger than his attachments to magic. He may have grown up learning magic from them, but he spent more time on his mortal life. Coran hoped that whatever choice he’d make, Keith was also ready for the consequences of them.

Keith seemed pretty annoyed when he came into Lance’s truck. Okay, scratch that. He looked pissed. Lance decided that now wouldn’t be a good time to talk about what was on his mind. Keith was barely responsive when he was in one of his moods. But he still had to be a supportive boyfriend.

“Wanna talk about it?” It’d be dumb to ask if he was okay, because he clearly wasn’t.

“Not really.” His boyfriend mumbled.

“You know it’s me, right?”

Those purple orbs glanced up at him and Lance swore he looked hurt. Like while Keith knew he could tell Lance anything, it was like something was keeping him from telling his boyfriend anything.

“I just found out something about me. To do with my mum.” He admitted.

“And?”

“They lied to me, Lance! They had a reason obviously. But is that still an excuse to lie to me my whole life?”

Okay, that was something. He didn’t know what to say. Keith’s family seemed nice that Lance would never had expected them to lie to Keith about something so important. Keith may not have said what, but Lance could tell. Then again, everyone living there was secretive, so it shouldn’t be so surprising.

“That sucks. But every family has their secrets. I sometimes think my family is hiding secrets. Secrets to do with me.”

It sure felt like that. His grandfather gave him some all-knowing look and his mother refused to let the man say anything to her son. Or at least shut him up when mentioning a certain subject.

“I doubt they’d be as bad as mine.” Keith said. It managed to snap Lance from his thoughts.

“Hey.” He brushed some of Keith’s hair behind his ear. “That’s what families do. They do what they can to protect us, even if it’s the wrong choice. Just know they did it because they loved you. And whatever this secret is, it doesn’t change who you are. You’ll always be Keith Kogane. The samurai, emo, prodigy who has the worse social skills, but cares so much about his friends and family that he’d literally travel to the ends of the universe to save them Keith Kogane. No one is ever going to take that away from you.” With his hand still by the side of Keith’s head, he gently pulled his boyfriend toward him and laid his lips onto the others’. It was a quick kiss, but still had the same passion as all their other kisses. They kept their foreheads on each other and stared into each other’s eyes, while Lance stroked Keith’s cheek with his thumb.

“That was the cheesiest thing you ever said.” Keith said and then began laughing.

Lance pushed him away offended. It only caused Keith to laugh more. “Here I am pouring my heart out and trying to be a good boyfriend and you just laugh at me.” He pouted, crossing his arms. But he did manage to cheer Keith up. Hearing laugh and knowing he was the reason behind it caused his heart to leap. Keith’s laughter was so rare and Lance cherished every moment he heard it. He should consider recording that sound and making it his ringtone.

“Thanks Lance.” Keith managed to get in between giggles.

“Just doing my job.” He gave a nod and then started the car, ready for another long and agonizing day of school.

Chapter Text

“He loves that Serrano boy too much.” Haggar stated.

“From my observations, he’s much like his mother.” A voice that sounded like an icy chill running down your spine said. “What worked for her would most likely work on him.”

“She still chose a mortal over you.” the man frowned at that. But like he’d let history repeat itself. “ And you are aware of his lineage?” The woman reminded.

“Of course.” He smirked. “I’m counting on his lineage to tear them apart.”

He was sure that once the boy named Lance learned the family secret, he’d pull away from Keith. Either from love or hate. But the result was the same, Keith would be emotionally vulnerable and he’d be able to take him in and then take back his rightful place amongst the Galra.

“Just a matter of time.” He grinned, revealing sharpened white teeth.

October twenty-third was only two days away now. Keith was adamant on his decision to not sign into the Blade of Marmora. They can say he was doing it to spite them and well...part of the reason was that. So they wouldn’t be entirely wrong. But most of it had to do with him not wanting to leave Arus behind. He may not get access to stronger powers, but he was content with the powers he had now. Not like he really had a use for the more advanced spells. Maybe in the future when he needs a spell that gives him more time to do tasks like work he’d taken home, house work and also sorting out his plans for his and Lance’s wedding anniversary. He might regret it. But part of being mortal was the struggle. So he’d get over it and he still had his current magic, which would probably make that possible future task more bearable.

Well, it was time to meet Lance at the hay maze Arus set every year around the time of Halloween. It’d be a nice distraction from his upcoming birthday and everything to do with it. It was quality time with his boyfriend.

Downstairs, he saw Shiro was sitting on one of the armchairs in the living, sipping his coffee. Probably black. Keith preferred his sweet. Actually he was more of a hot chocolate guy.

“If you’re going to try and get me to change my mind, I’m not.” Keith glared at him.

“I wasn’t going to.” Shiro shook his head and stood up. “But maybe you should consider the Fruit of Knowledge?”

“What?” Keith blinked in confusion.

“It’s old magic and most believe it to be unreliable since the future isn’t set in stone. But it could help your decision.”

“Nothing will make me change my mind.”

“No. But you may be able to see what the consequences for your choices are.”

Keith rolled his eyes. He might as well hear his brother out. “Okay, what exactly is the Fruit of Knowledge and can you make it quick? Lance will be here in a few.”

“The older the roots are, the more accurate it’s fortune is.”

Keith thought about it and it seemed obvious what exactly the Fruit of Knowledge was and luckily, he was heading to the perfect spot to find one that could tell his future.

“Thanks, Shiro.” He gave a half smile and left.

Shiro watched after him. The older witch just hoped his little brother would make the best choice for him. It’s all he and the rest of them could do.

Little kids were running around playfully in the fields or maze. There were few teenagers (some not) making out. Most were hidden in some part of the maze. Which was frowned upon since you never know when you’d run into someone in the maze. Well, some kids did get creative and move hay bales to box themselves in and remained undisturbed. Well, until one of those who set it up realise when some poor kid got confused on their map.

“Tío Lancey Lance!” A young boy called and came running towards him. Lance held his arms out for the child and pulled him once they wrapped their arms around each other.

“Sylvio! My favourite nephew!” He exclaimed.

“I’m your only nephew.” The boy stated.

“Careful.” Keith said, coming up beside them. “Comments like that are going to make him grow up as self-centered as you are.” He teased.

“Excuse you.” Lance scoffed. “Just because I happen to care about how I look, it doesn’t mean I’m self-centred.”

Keith just giggled at him, but stopped when he felt a tug on his coat. He looked down to see Nadia, Lance’s niece and Sylvio’s twin sister, standing beside him.

“Tío Keef?” She asked shyly. Keith knew how she was and gave her a warm smile. He kneeled down to her height and leaned in so she could whisper in his ear. Lance watched as Keith nodded and picked her up. It was actually sweet that his niblings liked Keith enough to refer to him as their uncle in their native tongue. Nadia was also uncomfortable around most people, but trusted Keith enough to hold her. He loved that Keith was able to fit in with his family so easily. As if he was meant to be apart of it.

“Ready to go in the maze?” He asked her.

The girl looked to him, then the maze and then back to him. “It looks scary.” She buried her head into the crook of his neck.

“It's not scary, you baby.” Sylvio said.

“Hey!” Lance warned. “Don’t call your sister names.” He told his nephew.

Keith ignored them and brought his attention to the little girl in his arms.

“You know? When I was your age and scared, my Uncle Coran use to tell me to block out your fears and follow that what makes you cheer .” He then rubbed her back as a faint pink glow emitted from his hand. But it wasn’t noticeable to anyone unless they were really focusing on it. He wasn’t going to be careless when using his magic.

It was a simple spell his guardian used to use on them when they were scared. It’s purpose was to distract them from their fear and show an image of something that made them comfortable and almost forget what made them scared.

“What is that? A nursery rhyme? Cause it’s kinda lame.” Lance raised an eyebrow at his boyfriend. That weird rhyme did send some chill up his spine. It was as if there was more to Keith’s words and part of him was reacting to it. He wasn’t sure what the reaction was, but it sent strange vibes.

“It’s not lame.” Keith pouted. “And it did work.” He said, placing Nadia down. Lance placed Sylvio down at the same time and the twins dashed off into the maze.

“Whatever you say.” Lance held his hands up in surrender. He did find Keith pouting cute. “I’m sure if it worked for you, then it could work on Nadia.” The two boys then proceeded to follow the two children into the maze before either twin could get lost.

Shiro had called both Allura and Coran down to his autopsy room.

“What’s this about?” Allura asked.

Shiro motioned to the body and grabbed his arm where his wrists had been slit. “When I washed off the blood, this mark remained.” He showed them a red mark that resembled a hexagonal G. It looked like it was tattooed onto his skin. But they all knew it was dried up blood that would remain on his body until his skin finally decayed.

“The mark of the hunters.” Coran stated, twiddling his moustache.

“Isn’t that from the same ones who captured you before you left the Galra?” Allura asked.

Her older brother was silent and seemed elsewhere. She knew why. In his mind he was elsewhere. Relieving some of the horror before the Blade of Marmora rescued him. He blinked and then brought his attention back to his family.

“If you prefer, I could take over this autopsy?” Allura offered. They didn’t want him to have another episode. Being a prisoner of the hunters wasn’t as bad as his time with the Galra, but the hunters were the ones who’d taken more from him.

There were different kinds of hunters out there. Some only hunted specific kinds of creatures, others killed in the belief of ridding the world of evil . But these guys had weapons with magic. It was rather hypocritical. But they believed in fight fire with fire. Their weapons contained their mark and when used to kill their target would leave their mark on their body. A reminder on who ended this being’s life. A warning to those who came across their fallen brethren.

“No!” Shiro said firmly. “I...I can handle this.”

The two Altean witches exchanged a glance, but let him be for now.

“But what do you suppose it means? That we’ll be dealing with hunters?” Allura questioned.

“Let’s hope not anytime soon. Us witches already have a lot on our plate with Keith’s birthday coming up.” Coran said.

“But if I were a hunter, a gathering of witches would be the best time to strike. Especially if it’s a group of hunters.” Allura stated.

“But it would also be suicide for them. This isn’t just a gathering of one coven where the best tactic is to wipe out their main source of power. This is multiple covens with multiple sources of power.” Shiro stated. He then looked to the body. “I’ll see what I can get out of him and see if we need to worry about hunters anytime soon.”

The two left, leaving Shiro to his work.

“I’m sorry I couldn’t save you. But I hope you’re willing to save my family.” He said to the body of the man who once had been his lover.

The small sparkly ballerina motioned for Nadia to follow her. It left a trail of pink glitter floating in the air, allowing the child to keep track and follow her. The ballerina was made from an outline of pink glitter and was invisible to everyone else but the child. Keith’s spell was doing it’s job in making Nadia forget her worries about the maze. As intended.

Sylvio had gotten lost and Nadia had to steer from the exit in order to find him. Her uncles (because she saw Keith as an official uncle) had brought her to the end and went back into the maze to find her brother. But Nadia wanted to help. So her little ballerina friend had decided to help her and hopefully lead her to where her brother was.

The ballerina led her to a dead end where she found her brother crying and had a scratch on his arm.

“TÍO LANCE!” Nadia called. As she waited for her uncle to come, the ballerina threw some dust on her and instead of being scared, a wave of courage hit her and she helped Sylvio up and led him back to the exit. The little figure disappeared as soon as she passed the end of the maze. But Nadia didn’t mind. She had her brother to worry about.

Lance had come running when he heard Nadia call. He made his way back from where he came and towards the exit. The Cuban was surprised to see his niece and nephew already out. But was relieved they were okay. Until he got close enough to see his nephew had been hurt.

“What happened?” Lance asked as he approached them. Seeing Sylvio was bleeding.

“There was a cat...I tried to follow it...then it stopped and scratched me.” Sylvio sobbed. He examined the cut. They could disinfect it and bandage it up. Lance called for some first aid and someone answered, saying they will be returning in a minute. In the meantime, Lance took a look at it and when he held Sylvio’s injured hand, some dark wave washed over him. It felt like earlier when Keith told his rhyme, but this felt much darker and danger was around. That whatever hurt his nephew was something evil. Whatever it was, he felt the need to destroy so it wouldn’t hurt anyone ever again.

Lance blinked at the thought. That was a dark thought for him. Yes, his nephew got hurt and if it went Lance’s way, his niece and nephew should never know harm.

But the fact he had thought about killing a cat? It scared him that apart of him wanted to kill a living thing.

“I’ve got the first aid kit.”

“Huh?” Lance shook his head and saw the lady who went to get the first aid kit had returned with what was needed. “Oh thanks.” He gave a smile.

“Now, whose our little patient?” She smiled towards the twins.

The two look towards Lance unsure of what to do. He then realised the two wouldn’t speak to her because rule number one was don’t talk to strangers. He chuckled lightly at that. Glad to know they were smart.

“Don’t worry guys.” He came beside her. “She’s a friend. Look!” He held his hand towards her. “The names Lance!” He introduced himself.

The girl was surprised at first but then saw where he was going. “Oh. Yes, pleasure to meet you Lance.” She shook his hand a little too eagerly. “I’m Romelle.”

“See guys.” Lance said to the niblings. “We’re all friends now. So say hi to Romelle.”

“Hi.” Nadia waved. “I’m Nadia and this is my brother, Sylvio.”

“Very nice to meet you.” Romelle smiled. “Now, I’m just gonna patch up your brother here and he’ll be good as new.” With that, she set off to work.

“Where’s Keith?” Lance questioned, now realising the lack of mullet in red.

“Maybe he’s still thinks we’re looking for Sylvio.” Nadia shrugged.

Lance took out his phone and tried to call Keith, but he went straight to voicemail. Looks like he had to go back in the maze again.

“Could you watch them for a while, please.” He asked Romelle. “I can’t seem to reach my boyfriend.”

“Ahh, sure.” Romelle blinked, but didn’t mind the task. The two quickly exchanged numbers and then Lance dashed for the maze.

The dark feeling he felt earlier returned, but it was much much stronger. He wanted to pull away from it, but what if Keith was in trouble and that was the reason for this bad feeling? Without a second thought, Lance ran through the maze hoping to find a familiar mullet in there safe and sound.

On the search for Sylvio, Keith came across a scarecrow set against one of the maze walls. It was pointing into two directions.

“Hmm.” Keith thought. “ Hickery Pickery, Hickery Pickery, where shall this boy go? He’ll go east. He’ll go west. He’ll go to the Crow’s nest. Hickery Pickery. Hickery Pickery. ” He waved his finger from left to right as he sang the witches version of the mortal Eenie Meenie. When his finger/ landed at the end of the song, he followed that direction.

As soon as his back was turned, Keith had a strange feeling that someone was watching him. He looked back at the scarecrow and saw it still hanging from its post. He eyed it suspiciously before going back down his path.

When his uneasiness intensified, Keith quickened his pace.

This was ridiculous!

He was a witch for crying out loud. If something was after him then he could throw a spell at them. Well, there was the fact that he was the Prince of Marmora and apparently was worth something. Yesterday he wouldn’t have been as paranoid.

He heard a twig snap and quickly faced the direction where he was sure the sound came from.

Nothing.

Another sound was heard. It sounded like something was sliding shakily on the ground, but was making enough noise to sound like heavy footprints. Keith spun to one side and saw the scarecrow from earlier now alive and heading straight for him. With no time to lose Keith started running in any direction, not caring which way he was going, just as long as he got a way from that thing. As he ran as fast as he could, he tried thinking of a spell to stop that thing or slow it down at least.

A fire spell? No. It could set the whole maze on fire.

Left turn, then right. The scarecrow slid into the wall, but recovered quickly.

He could try a counter spell. But he wasn’t sure what the spell was that bought it to life. Still, he could make one up on the spot.

Another left and the scarecrow was picking up speed. Okay, he had to try now.

“ Reverse this spell! ” Keith started, panting heavily. He dared a look back and it was much closer than before. “ Reverse this spell! Return to when all was we- “ he tripped over a hay bale that was loose in the maze and was flung a few metres. Keith saw the scarecrow was about to pounce on him, giving him no time to recover or finish his counter spell. So this was it? He wouldn’t live to see his friends and family again. He wouldn’t make it to his sixteenth birthday and choose whether or not to sign into a coven. He had never been more scared in his life.

Suddenly, a large black and blue blur came hurtling towards the scarecrow and knocked it away from Keith and into the wall of hay. After getting over his shock, the boy got up and looked towards the new gap in the maze. The scarecrow was now in pieces and seemingly inanimate once again. On top of it was a familiar pup growling at it.

Keith smiled at his familiar thankfully. He was definitely a good one.

“Thanks buddy.” He said, scratching him behind the ears.

“ Keith. ” A whisper caused him to shoot his head up straight. It seems his adventure led him to where he needed to go.

Blackink Tree.

Slowly making his way towards it, Keith noted there were thirteen apples. Twelve green and one red. That was the one he needed. The Fruit of Knowledge. He pulled the apple from the tree and examined it. It looked fine, so it should be safe. He brought it towards his lips, almost kissing it.

“Show me the answers I seek. ” He whispered, closing his eyes and then took a bite out of it. With the sound of the crunch and the sour taste filling his mouth, the young witch opened his eyes.

No longer was the scenery the cloudy evening it was before. Now, the sky was a fiery orange and the smell of burning flesh filled the air. Keith took a couple of steps back and his back hit something. He turned around to see a body hanging. There was a rope around their neck and their flesh was slowly burning away. What freaked him out was that they looked exactly like him. He quickly ran off, but not before turning around and seeing Blackink holding thirteen bodies, each hanging where the apples had been. And the one where the red apple had had taken had been was where his look alike hung.

“ They’re coming. ” He said, having awaken, despite being dead.

“Who’s coming?” Keith asked. While the figure looked like him, he was sure it wasn’t exactly him. Almost like a past life. That was an uncomfortable thought knowing his past life died around the same age as he was now. Then again, witches did live long and could keep themselves as young as they wanted. Still, just seeing him look like no different than how he was now left an unsettling feeling in his stomach.

There was something in the centre of the tree. And it seemed to come closer with each beat of his heart that was getting louder and louder, like it wanted to come out of his chest.

It formed into a large shadowy figure. It’s size towering over Keith. It also had glowing yellow eyes. It’s arm reached for Keith’s, causing him to look down. The apple had gone rotten and worms were crawling from where he had bitten. Horrified, the witch dropped it and spat out the piece in his mouth, seeing maggots come out. He spat multiple times to get the feeling out of his mouth. He was gonna be sick.

Once again his back hit something and a strong pair of arms spun him around.

“Keith!” A familiar voice called out worriedly.

He opened his eyes and saw a pair of familiar and comforting blue eyes.

“Breathe.” Lance instructed and demonstrated, allowing Keith to follow his actions.

Once calm enough that his heart wasn’t forcing its way from his ribcage, Keith wrapped his arms tightly around Lance, who returned the gesture more gently.

“It’s okay. You’re safe now. I’m here.” He soothed, running his fingers through soft ebony locks.

He’d been so worried about Keith and kept following that uneasy feeling. It then suddenly stopped and a wolf howling was heard. That had caused Lance to dash towards it, because what if Keith was attacked by wolves. Instead he found a scarecrow left on the ground torn apart and a hole in the maze wall. Up ahead was Keith standing in front of Blackink Tree.

“I think we should take you home.” Lance said.

“Yeah.” Keith nodded.

“Must’ve been some day for you to agree with me without giving a fight.” He smirked even though he got a punch in the arm.

“I’m just tired, okay.”

“Okay.” He gave a nod. “We’ll get the twins and send them home. Then we’ll take you home.”

There was a small yap and both boys looked down to see a black puppy with blue lining at their feet. Lance couldn’t recall ever seeing a dog like that. Keith chuckled at the creature and lifted him up.

“Whose this little fella?” Lance asked, going in to pet it. When it didn’t react, Lance went to scratch his head. Good to know it was friendly.

“Ahh...he’s a stray I found and decided to take in.” Keith replied.

He looked down to his familiar who seemed to agree with that reason.

“He’s much more handsome in person.” The familiar’s voice said in his mind.

“And he knows it.” Keith rolled his eyes.

“Huh?” Lance looked at him with confusion.

“Don’t worry.” Keith waved it off. He forgot Lance wouldn’t be able to hear his familiar. The wolf, or in this moment a pup, would need to grant Lance permission to be able to communicate with him. It was a failsafe for when the witch the familiar was binded to was in danger and needed assistance from a trusted ally or such.

“Alright.” Lance still had a confused look. “Does the fella have a name?”

“Ahh...no.” Keith pouted. His familiar could give him something to call him. Unless he wanted to just be referred to as his familiar. He made sure he could hear his thought.

“How about we call him Kosmo?” Lance suggested.

“Kosmo?” He furrowed his eyebrows.

“Yeah. Cool name for a cool dog.” He smirked.

“I approve of that name.” The familiar said.

Well, if his familiar agreed with it and it meant he had something to call him by, then:

“Kosmo it is!” Keith grinned.

Her plan had failed to lead Keith away from the Fruit of Knowledge. It was made clear by the broken ragdoll full of hay lying on her floor. His familiar had been quite a surprise.

She wouldn’t be able to know what he saw unless he outright told her.

The chances of that happening were unlikely. Especially if magic was involved and he’d keep it secret under witch’s oath.

Maybe it was time to reveal herself. But it would have to be in a way where he could trust her completely. Knowing him, saying she had been a witch the whole time would destroy the trust she had worked to build these last few years. She couldn’t afford that with the date being so close.

He needed to be on their side soon, so the Galra could rise to full power and take over both the magic realm and mortal realm.

Instead of returning home straight after dropping Keith off to his home, Lance sat beside him on the front porch. The two boys were stargazing, a pastime they enjoyed and had spent countless nights doing.

Lance spotted his two favourite stars and pointed up at them. “Look. Red and Blue.” He said. “You and me.” He smiled and Keith gave one back, but it didn’t look completely happy.

“Hey, Lance?” Keith brought his knees up to his chest and looked up towards the sky, Lance seeing the stars reflect in his eyes. It was already a galaxy of stars without the night sky, but they were always more illuminating when it wasn’t.

“Say you’re a normal kid with a normal life.” Keith started. “And one day you run into a cave and this wizard living in the cave has the ability to grant you all these superpowers.”

“Superpowers? Like flying?” Keith glanced at him and smiled.

“Yeah. Like flying.” He gave a nod.

“Then I’d say yes.” Lance went to lay on his boyfriend’s shoulder.”

Keith wrapped his arm around him and looked back at the stars. The red and blue stars specifically.

“But in exchange for this powers, you’d have to give up everything else in your life. Your school, your friends, your…” Keith paused and Lance brought his head back up to look at Keith, who seemed unfazed by the movement. He then slowly lowered his gaze and turned his head to look Lance directly in the eyes. “boyfriend?”

“Then no. I wouldn’t take then.” Flying was cool and all, but his loved ones always came first. No matter what.

“You’d really give up the power to fly?”

He brought a tan hand to push some hair back and then rest on a pale cheek.

“There’s no flying in my life without you, Keith Kogane.” He smiled.

It took a moment, but Keith finally returned his smile and brought his hand up to where Lance’s was on his face. That was when Lance went in for a kiss that was happily returned.

Chapter Text

“He is Krolia’s son.” Kolivan had said.

Coran and Allura had arranged their meeting with Kolivan and he arrived on the morning the day before Keith’s birthday. The Alteans were surprised by his calm reaction. But shouldn’t have expected anything else. Yet, he was the one who made sure that Keith signed into the Blade of Marmora.

“You don’t seem surprised.” Allura tilted her head.

“Like his mother, he has that tendency to rebel. You should know that better than anyone, being his guardians. But we also know he is prophesied to be the one that links us all. The one who’ll not just bring all the covens together, but even the magical realm and mortal realm. But in order to do so, he needs to sign into a coven to unlock all that power. It is preferred as the heir to the Blade he sign into our coven. But just by signing another, he merges us into an alliance.”

“But he refuses to sign into any coven!” Allura stated.

“Then our best course of action is to tell him the truth. You say his decision is persuaded by the fact he feels lied to. Then have him ask questions and we will provide the best answers possible.”

“Isn’t that rather manipulative?” Coran questioned.

Kolivan just gave him an emotionless glare. “We all have our part to play in the future. Keith has the largest role. In order for him to fulfill his destiny, he must sign into a coven and we must do our part to make sure he does.” Kolivan said. “I will remain until I am able to speak with him myself and offer my input.” 

His birthday would arrive at midnight. Keith knew he still had to show up. They deserved that much. But his decision to not sign still stayed. He didn’t care if it was destiny or whatever. The vision he had at the hay maze still scared him. Another reason to step away from all that magic. A small part did think it was possible that happened because he didn’t sign. But one thing Keith Kogane was that he was stubborn as fuck and refused to believe that thought.

He had looked up the other covens and most required him to be away for some training. Clearly half-breeds weren’t as common and witches did tend to distance themselves from mortals. Those witches who did marry mortals or had affairs with them, their kids probably didn’t have to worry about being the heir to some coven.

So with that, his mind was made up. There would be no persuading him to sign and he was going to announce that tonight. There’d be no goodbyes to his friends. He was staying in Arus. That was that.

Until he came down and saw Kolivan in their living. Keith turned to his Altean guardians suspiciously, before focusing on the man from the coven he was supposedly the heir of.

“You have grown, young Prince.”

Keith flinched at the title but regained his posture. “Yeah, it happens when one grows up.” he replied sarcastically. He could see Allura and Coran cringe from the corner of his eye.

“I suppose that was called for considering the situation.” Kolivan nodded. He dealt with his mother, he can deal with her son.

“Why are you here anyway? If it’s to get me to sign, forget it.”

At that Kolivan glared at him. A woosh then sounded and Keith found himself magically pushed onto one of the armchairs and unable to get his ass off the seat. Great, this is what he called the lecture spell. Named because it had been used multiple times on him when he misbehaved and had to hear out the entire lecture. There was a different name, but it served the same basic purpose.

“This is not a matter we can simply forget. I only ask for a few minutes of your time.”

“I’ve got school. If I don’t leave now, I’m going to be late.”

“Nothing a simple time window can’t fix.” A powerful form of magic that allowed one to exist out of time. Basically, those inside the time window would move as if normal and the outside world would slow or pause, depending on who casted. Kolivan was strong enough to freeze time outside.

“From my understanding, you refuse to sign into the Blade or any other coven. That this is more an act of teenage rebellion and lack of understanding. You feel lied to, so now I’m here to offer the truth. I’m here to answer any of your questions.”

“Fine. I’ll bite.” he said. “Why make me believe I’ve always had a choice?”

“Because it is in fact, truth. We would prefer you sign into the Blade of Marmora, but signing into another coven would form a more willing alliance. All covens may be at a truce and willing to align against the Galra, but by forming an alliance we do create a stronger bond. Regardless, wherever you sign, your title remains as the Prince of Marmora, you are still a Blade in blood. You would just be learning magic differently.”

“Okay. They said you all kept my lineage a secret to protect me. Is that the only reason?”

“All I am allowed to say is you are part of something greater.” Kolivan stated. “Our enemies, such as the Galra, will come after you. This was the only way to allow you a mortal life.”

“Why even raise me among mortals?” They were making him leave it, so why even put him through the pain of saying goodbye?

“It was your parents’ request.” A surprised reaction came from Keith at the mention of his parents. “Knowing your destiny, they wanted you to have a sense of normalcy before your destiny began. As if it was their final gift to you before passing.”

At that moment, Keith felt mixed feelings for his parents. Kolivan described it as a gift, but it felt more like a curse. 

Like “Hey son! You’ve got this big as destiny, but live a mortal life that you’ll eventually have to leave. Like it or not?”

It was almost cruel. For sixteen years now, Arus had been his home. But if his parents had just allowed him to be raised strictly as a witch, then this wouldn’t be happening. There’d be no leaving his home and friends. He wouldn’t have to hurt so much.

“Is there a way I can still have my mortal life?” 

“Once you’ve completed your training you will be able to return to this realm as much as you please. You will have enough power to do as you please. I won’t lie, it will take time. But in the end, your power will be limitless.” With that, Kolivan unbinded Keith and he made a grunt once he was released. Even the time window was undone. 

Kolivan’s talk did give some insight. Yes, he’d be continuing on his mother’s legacy. But couldn’t they see he was torn between two worlds? He loved being a witch and liked the idea of all the powers he could have to help the people he cared about. But what was the point of them if the people he cared about weren’t going to be around?

There was a lot to think about. His parents wanted to protect him from the dangers as much as they could. But eventually, he would have to face them. So it almost made this all pointless. Yet, what he did gain had been all the more worth it.

Looking through the old family journals, Pidge found that her ancestors were very cryptid. They clearly didn’t want anyone to read what they wrote. Deciphering it would take a while. Hopefully, she’d be done in time or have a decent amount done by the assignment’s due date. 

What she discovered was that her ancestors assisted in escorting citizens out of town. Specifically a Darrell Gunderson. Wonder what made this specific ancestor and act so special?

*

“Only one more day!” Hunk announced once he sat down at their table.

“You act like sixteen’s a big deal.” Pidge rolled her eyes. 

“They don’t call it sweet for nothing.” Lance said.

“You just want to get in Keith’s sweet ass.” Pidge remarked, making both Lance and Keith blush.

“Can we just drop the birthday talk?” Keith said. He really didn’t want to think about the fact of choosing between two worlds. He wanted to enjoy his last days as a mortal with his friends. “I mean age is just a number. Not much different from fifteen.”

“Well, sixteen is two years off from being allowed to drink and you are qualified to drive legally.” Lance pointed out.

“Well, I don’t want to think about it.” Keith said stubbornly. “Can we just focus on now?” He looked expectantly at him.

“Sure. But you get stuck with overly, sappy, romantic Lance who's going to give you all the love and attention you deserve.” Lance smirked.

“Don’t make me regret myself?”

“If you were already regretful, you would’ve left me by now.”

“Sap.” he rolled his eyes.

“I’m your sap.” he wrapped his arms around him.

The foursome went about their day. Keith making the best of it, knowing it was possibly his last.

“Are you sure you can’t make it to the Halloween party tonight?” Lance asked. “You got tomorrow with your family. So just spend it with your friends. It’s not often these sorts of things happen.”

“I do want to go. But the arrangements have already been made.”

“Then we’ll just make the best of today.” He took his hand and spun him into a dip, making Keith blush.

“You two are disgustingly adorable.” Pidge commented.

“I heard adorable.” Lance sang, making her roll her eyes.

“Anyway... how're the assignments going?” Pidge asked.

“Apparently my ancestors worked for the Koganes, but the family were nice enough to see them as equals and so didn’t hesitate to fight for their names to be listed as founders.” Hunk informed.

“Guess that friendship transcended through generations.” Lance pointed out.

“Guess it did.” Hunk nodded.

“I’ve yet to find anything other than them arriving. They said they were travelers looking to settle. I think hunting was a thing for them too.” Lance shrugged.

“So you’re family are possibly responsible for Bambi?” Pidge stated.

“That joke is never funny you morbid freak.” Lance frowned.

“Embrace my morbid sense of humour.” She threw her hands in the air.

Lance just shook his head, rolling his eyes. “How about you Keith?” he asked, turning to his boyfriend.

“Aside from being a founding family, there isn’t much else that’s interesting.” he shrugged.

“What about your mum’s side?” Hunk asked.

“Mostly they were closed off. My mum leaned more on the rebellious side and it’s pretty much how they met.”

“Well, my family used to escort people out of town.”Pidge said. “I still have some digging to do, but I bet it’s interesting regardless.”

“Escorting people out, wonder why?” Lance thought aloud.

“It’s what I’m willing to find out. They just had everything in code so it’s going to take a lot of work from me to find out why and my assignment will burn yours all to the ground.”

“It’s not a competition, Pidge.” Lance rolled his eyes.

Hours later, Lance was busy getting his costume ready. It was just some old flannel shirt with a werewolf mask. Cliche, but oh well.

“Can you sense it?”

The teen looked up and saw his grandfather by his bedroom door. “What?”

“They’re gathering.”

“Who is?”

“The ones who follow the darkness. I can sense many are gathering.”

That was cryptic. Lance took his grandfather’s hand and led him back to his room. “Maybe you should take your pills and rest for the night.” he said, ignoring the stare as he left, making his way towards Keith’s place. The plan was to get him over to Hunk’s and celebrate his birthday. They weren’t taking no for an answer. His phone rang and he saw Hunk on the caller ID. 

“Hey.” he answered.

“Have you gotten Keith?”

“I’m just outside his place.”

“We’re almost set over here.”

“We’ll be there soon.”Lance hung up and made his way up towards the old house. Hopefully when he made his way towards Hunk’s house, he’d also have Keith with him. What was a few hours with friends? Surely his family understood that.

There was a white suit set up in his room and Keith blinked confused. It couldn’t be that suit. The suit he’d seen in so many photos before.

“We managed to dig out your father’s wedding suit.” Coran said.

“Wow.” He said in awe. It wasn’t much. Just a typical suit, but it had a red tie to give it a splash of colour. But it still looked good.

“I recall you wishing to have something of both your parents and I managed to dig this up and I found your mother’s flower to wear with it. It was a black dahlia. It seemed to compliment the suit.

“It’s beautiful, Coran. Thank you.” he smiled.

“Best put it on. I can sense you will need it sooner than later.” he informed.

Keith just shrugged. Once Coran left, he began to get ready. Tonight really was happening. Whether he liked it or not. Keith sighed as he put his outfit on. He never looked like his father, judging from the photos anyway. Maybe it was possible they looked alike when his father was younger. But he resembled his mother more. Keith looked in the mirror, biting his lip. He just had to make it through tonight.

Coran listened as Lance went on as to why Keith should spend the night with them. 

“I’m willing to allow him to come on the condition he arrives home with enough time before midnight.”

“So like a Cinderella deal?” Lance questioned.

“Cinderella had till the last ring of the bell, he needs to be home long before that my boy.” Coran stated.

“Right.”

Coran nodded, he then smiled, ”I think that’s him right now.”

The man stepped aside and at the top of the stairs was Keith and Lance was blown away. Keith had never looked so elegant. 

“Wow.” He said in awe once Keith was in front of him.

“Hey, Lance?” He blinked.

“Your uncle said you could spend the night with us.” He said.

“Be back in time alright.” Coran told him. 

“Uhh, yeah.” Keith nodded.

Lance made his way down the porch as he waited for Keith. Something crawled up his skin, making him shudder. “Can you feel that?” He asked Keith.

“Feel what?” He furrowed his eyebrows.

“Like...I don’t know. Feels like something is going to happen …” he remained silent for a moment before shaking his head. “I’m probably just blown away by how incredible you look.” He smiled.

“Sap.” Keith blushed, lightly shoving him. 

Hunk got the message from Lance letting him know Keith was on his way. So he got everyone to hide. His parents had been nice enough to take his siblings out and eat out so they could have their party. As long as no one destroyed anything and he cleaned up, everything would be fine. Besides, he’d get Lance and Pidge to help him out. Lance’s truck was heard outside and footsteps making their way to the door. Once it opened and Lance and Keith came in, everyone came out of their hiding places and the lights were turned on as people yelled surprised, shooting out confetti.

“Happy Birthday Keith!” Lance smiled.

“You didn’t have to.” Keith commented.

“But we wanted to.” Lance gave his lips a peck.

Despite Keith not having very many friends, heck, his friend group consisted of the four of them, there were quite a few people present. Some he’d had a few conversations with and others probably just heard there was a party and wanted an excuse to stay up and possibly get drunk or laid. Too bad they were at Hunk’s house. He was strict on the whole no alcohol policy and given his intimidating size, no one dared to risk it. Last time he threw Griffin out past the yard when him and his goons brought a keg over.

Still, everyone was having a good time and Hunk’s cooking was always the best. After dancing with Lance, Hunk brought the cake out and started singing Happy Birthday . Everyone then joined in. At the end of the song, Lance told Keith to make a wish and he blew it out.

The clock struck eleven and Keith knew that was his queue to go. His brain reminded me that this would also be his last time seeing his friends. Keith quickly shook that thought away. He wasn’t going to ruin a good moment with his negative thoughts.

“Sure you can’t stay longer?” Hunk asked.

“I promised I’d be back before midnight.” he said.

“Well, we’ll see you at school then.” he said, not noticing Keith’s saddened gaze.

“Yeah.” he quickly forced a smile.

“See you around, emo boy.” Pidge farewelled.

“Thanks for everything guys.” Keith told them. And he didn’t just mean for the party. He meant giving him a chance and letting him be their friend and helping him, even if he didn’t ask.

“Dude, we threw you a birthday party, no need to be all sappy.” Pidge said.

“Don’t worry, Lance will find a way to make this sappier.” he joked. “He’s the king of sap.”

“I resent that.” the one in question spoke.

“You know it’s true.”

“Fine. But I prefer the term romantic. And as the romantic I am, it would be my pleasure to take you home.” he bowed and held his hand out.
“What a gentleman.” Keith snickered as he took his hand and was led to Lance’s car.

“Before you go…” Lance started before Keith could get out of the car. “I wanted to be able to give you this when we were alone.” he held out a small velvet box.
“Lance, you’re not proposing. We’re still in high school.”

“What?!” his eyes widened. “No. It’s not a engagement ring and if it was, it’d be when we were older and in a totally more romantic setting.”

Keith looked at the box before opening it. Inside was a gold pendant shaped as a KL with a blue and red gem. Even the chain was gold.

“Wow.” he said in awe, taking it out and letting it dangle on the chain it was attached to. “It’s...beautiful.”

“I wanted to get you something that reminded you of us and that when you looked at it.”

“You really are a sap.” he smiled.

“I’m your sap.” he kissed him.

“Help me put it on?”

Lance nodded and Keith held his hair up as Lance placed it around his neck.

“How’s it look?” Keith asked.

“You look amazing.” Lance replied.

Keith blushed. “You sap.”

“Yeah. I’ll take sap if it means making you all flustered.”
“You are evil. But I still love you.”

“I love you too. You should get going before your family has my head.”

“Yeah.” he sighed. “We’ll always be together, right?”

“To infinity and always.” Lance assured. “See you tomorrow.” he said.

Keith smiled sadly as he got out. “Yeah.”

With that, Lance drove off. Again something was off. There was something nagging at him. Like a bad feeling. It seemed magnified now. 

“They’re everywhere. They’re here. Must put a stop to them.”

“Whose them?!” he yelled at no one in particular. No answer. 

Great, he was going crazy. Seriously, what was going on? 

Lance was going to find an explanation. He was past the point of ignoring this.

With Lance out of sight, Keith started walking into the forest. The moon shone above and as its light came over Keith, his suit went from snow white to blood red. Keith looked at it for a moment. It did seem to suit him more, but white was his father’s colour. Hopefully it will change back later.

The deeper he got into the forest, the darker it got, until he reached the centre that was lit and full of witches from all covens.

“The young Prince has arrived!” Kolivan announced and everyone turned to face him.

It almost felt like a wedding where he was walking down the aisle. Except the altar was in the centre so everyone could see him. Also all the covens were in their own groups. The Balmera coven, the Olkari and of course Marmora. Plus the two remaining Alteans that were his family. Even Kosmo was present, sitting at the foot of Allura.

Keith walked to the centre, where the book he’d sign away to laid closed. And each of the covens leaders stood.

“We gather here today to witness the birth of power onto a new witch. Keith Kogane, born from the Marmora coven, born from Marmora royalty, will now sign his name into our book and choose a coven. Whether it be to continue in our ways or unite us with another.” Kolivan said. He then held out a black feathered quill to Keith. Keith held out his finger and let Kolivan stab it with the tip, letting a few drops of his blood get absorbed into the pen, giving it ink. He then took the pen and watched as the book flipped through different pages, stopping as it reached each covens page. Even on the Galra coven’s page. As the book continued to go through all the covens, Keith thought. He was signing his life away. Yes, this was what everything had prepared him for. But then they let him create a life outside of that. A life that he’d have to leave behind if he signed this book. There was no going back. These people lied and kept secrets from him. Even if they did promise great power, it wouldn’t matter if he didn’t have all the people he cared about. The pages flicked through more rapidly and ke could feel the tension of everyone watching. Keith put the pen down and then slammed the book.

“MY NAME IS KEITH KOGANE AND I WILL NOT SIGN MY NAME AWAY!” he declared, yelling at everyone. There was a loud gasp from everyone present and then all the lights went out.

After the event had cleared, someone who seemed to be a part of the Marmora coven, slipped away and headed to a much more secluded part of the forest where a figure stood.

“Did he sign?”

“As you predicted, he did not.” the witch said.

“His mortal side won in our favour. Now we let things unfold and bring him over to the Galra.”

The figure swung his cloak and disappeared.

Chapter Text

The ceremony had been a bust. Kolivan had dismissed them and so Antok left the group to make his way back. He summoned his broom and readied to fly off. There was a snap of a twig and suddenly a gunshot went off.

Crows flew in the air and on the forest floor laid a decrepit old man, a bullet hole in his head with smoke coming out and bleeding black.

Lance awoke with a start. Covered in sweat and breathing heavily. First it was that feeling that kept him up last night and the same voice that kept telling him they’re here.

Who were they? 

The voice definitely wasn’t responsive. At least they stopped now. So whatever it was had passed. Although he suspected it would come back.

Now he has nightmares that keep making no sense. Keith being mouthless and now dead bodies in the woods? 

He could not deal with another night like this. His beauty care routine wouldn’t allow it and also he was cranky if he didn’t get a good night’s sleep. So today was going to be fun.

He showered and got dressed, heading down for breakfast. Downstairs, his grandfather sat in his usual chair and his eyes turned to him the second he was in his range of sight.

“You heard the voice, didn’t you?”

Lance could either deny it or see what his grandfather knew. He was sleep-deprived and wanted to know why.

“Not saying I did, but if I did… who did the voice belong to?”

“It’s a feeling. We follow it and then it will lead us to what we have to do.”

“So it's going to come back?” He groaned. Just what he needed.

“It never leaves. Once they call, they will keep calling.”

“Surely there has to be some way to stop it.”

“This is our curse. Our destiny. It will call until the task is done. But the task never ends. That is why it is a curse.”

“What is the task?” Lance asks.

“To kill.” 

Lance looked wide eyed at his grandfather. He wasn’t capable of that. No. The man was insane. Everything was in his head. And all these dreams were just some weird paranoia. Dreams have meaning right? Maybe he was thinking his relationship with Keith was dying. Not a great outcome. So he could just up the romance with his boyfriend and tell his brain that things are good between them and their relationship was not dying. It is totally alive!

“I'm not buying.” He glared. “None of this is real. It’s obviously stress and I am known to be dramatic. That’s all this is.” He forcefully stood up and went to leave. He grabbed his shoes and noticed dried mud and grass on the bottom. From the woods? Closest he got was when he dropped Keith off last night. Surely it was nothing and he probably stepped on some puddle on the way home.

Things weren't any better on Keith’s end. After the ceremony, if one could call it that, there were whispers of what he did. Mostly of shock and disappointment. Kolivan had been the one to disband them all, telling them to head back to their homes.

The man didn't even say anything to Keith or his guardians as they left.

Now, they were back again with another awkward breakfast. Silence, aside from the chewing and occasional scraping of chairs against the floor or the cluttering of utensils.

“The covens will be expecting a statement.” Allura broke the silence. “We have to give them a reason why you chose not to sign.” She looked to Keith, who was angrily staring at his cereal.

“Tell them my mortality took over. That I think their rules are stupid.”

“Let's not start a war here, my boy.” Coran said. “You made your choice and now we are all stuck with whatever consequences will follow. I will relay the message, but will refrain from your creative language. But I doubt that won't be enough for everyone.”

“How so?” Shiro asked.

“Well, no one's never not signed and given how important Keith is, it's likely the other covens will try to recruit him until he signs.” Coran informed.

“So basically I'll just have witches chasing after me my whole life?” Keith growled.

“I can't say for sure. But many of us only want the greater good. You're prophesied to save us all. Not having your powers at full potential may lead to our downfall.”

“Or maybe it won’t.” Keith points out. “I don’t want things to end or whatever it is you’re all expecting to happen, but what’s the point of predicting the future if we can’t even see what causes it? All anyone seems to know is that I’m in the middle of it.”

He had a point. Even with all the power they were all still limited with what they could do. Was it possible this could all have been prevented or had certain events already put it in motion?

“Keith,” Allura speaks up. “I don’t know if it’s because you are young or half-mortal, but I understand this is a lot. No one should have to be burdened by carrying the world on their shoulders. I have seen you grow up into the man you are today. I think we leave this mess behind for now and you just enjoy the life you have now.”

Keith pondered at her words. No doubt trouble would be coming their way. That was inevitable. He was reckless. Trouble always came after him.

“Just enjoy your day and we will worry about everything later. Let the grown ups be grown ups.” She smiled.

No sooner had Keith left, Kolivan had arrived. Entering through their fireplace.

“Sir?” Shiro startled. He got up from his seat and posed as if he was a soldier. “Keith just left. I can go fetch him.”

“You are unable to leave the property.” He reminded. “While Keith is a reason for my visit, his presence isn’t necessary at this time. I actually expected him to refuse.”

“You did?” Allura blinked.

“He and his mother are much more alike than you think.”

“But Krolia did sign?” Allura recalled.

“Yes. But she was also reckless and did fall for a mortal. I do recall she said “Fuck all rules!””. 

Okay, that was true. There wasn’t anything necessarily wrong with their kind falling for mortals. It was more taboo.

“Then what brings you here?” Coran asked.

“Antok is dead.”

All three had a mix of shock and sadness on their faces. Antok was present last night at the ceremony. To hear he had died in the time they’ve seen him and now, how could that be?

“He was killed by a hunter.”

“There were hunters?” Allura gasped.

“By the time we found the body, whoever did it was long gone.”

Two witches dead by hunter. They had to be connected. Otherwise that’s some coincidence. Shiro still had the body in his autopsy room. He wondered if Kolivan would be willing to give Antok’s body for him to study.

“This is no ordinary hunter. Whatever weapon they used had a way of stripping him of all his magic. There’s not much of a body left. So I suggest we all be on guard. You three have the task of making sure Keith is safe. We may be dealing with more than just our average hunter.”

The man then left through the way he came, leaving three witches with a lot to think about. This was all too much.

“I think I will collect Keith and bring him home.” Allura said.

Coran nodded. “It is troubling to hear. I will work on some protection spells for the house and some for us.”

“I am going to interrogate my ex.” Shiro says. He had to know something. If there was a hunter who was a threat to their family, he needed to know so he could do what he can to protect his family.

Down in the morgue, Shiro has several lizards with him. The bigger the animal, the longer he could bring the dead back to life. There was no permanent solution to bringing a body back. If there was, there probably was a reason why no one knew it. But with the amount of lizars he had, he probably had a few minutes at best. Enough time to get answers.

He tied a black thread to the reptiles and then placed them in a jar, threading the string through a hole in the jar and sealing it to make sure they didn’t escape. Once he placed the jar down, he tied the other end onto the hand where the body’s pulse was. Shiro took a breath as he closed his eyes and began to chant.

“I trade this life so this heart can beat. Bring them forward so that body and life can once again meet.”

A tick. Two ticks…

The thread turned a glowing white then slowly starting from the lizards, which now laid dead, began to turn black once again. Moving as if it were a trail of gunpowder leading to the explosive.

His chest rose and he let out a breath as if he had just rose to the surface from being underwater. Adam looked around frantically for a moment before his eyes landed on Shiro.

“This isn’t just because you can say goodbye.” He said, a smile not quite reaching his eyes formed. Shiro just looked away.

“I know you. You wouldn’t be bringing me back just because you missed me.”

“Never could get anything past you.” Shiro smiled. “I am sorry I wasn’t there.” He looked sorrowfully.

“It’s been decades. And I know what you’re going to ask. The one who killed me is not the same as who killed Antok. In fact, I don’t believe they’re from the Garrison.”

“What do you mean?” Yes, there were other hunters out there, but the Garrison was one of their biggest threats. Who else would be capable of killing a witch and completely strip them of their magical essence?

“I’m afraid I don’t have the answer. I do know that before they killed me, they heard legends of a hunter given enhanced abilities to kill magical creatures. The more they killed, the stronger they were. The stronger their hate for magic would consume them.”

“Was that your mission?” Shiro asked.

Adam nodded. “Too many were being hunted. Someone had to find out and I knew very well it was suicide.”

“Why risk your life?”

“So no one else suffers mine and many others who were taken by the Garrison. You know as well as I do what they’re capable of.”

Shiro’s fingers on his right hand flexed. “There is just so much going on. We don’t need the threat of hunters as well.”

“It’s also the reason why they’d gather. But, I feel hunters are the least of your worries. I hear rumours of the Galra planning something.”

“The Galra?” 

“It's only rumours. And it's what I hear from the beyond. Make sure they can’t get to Keith.” He then pauses. “My time is almost up.” He looks to the thread, the glow nearly running out.

“I have so much I want to say. But I am sorry I wasn’t there and I do love you.”

“I love you too.” Adam smiled.

Shiro then bought his hands onto Adam’s cheeks and then pressed his lips onto Adam’s as the thread reached its final seconds. Adam returned the kiss before slumping deceased once again. Shiro held his face for a moment before placing his body back down. He removed the thread from his wrist and covered his body.

“Goodbye Adam.”

The group, minus Hunk who was working today behind the counter, had gathered at Sal’s. Pidge was engrossed in their research. They really were invested in their wole ancestor thing. Which was more than Lance was, given how all his research showed nothing more than the McClain’s owning a farm. And he wasn’t going to entertain his grandfather’s stories. Pidge had their laptop out, along with a notebook and what she said was her ancestor’s journal.

“So what does it say?” Lance asked.

“I’ve only translated half the journal.” They started. “A lot of it is about harbouring what may have been criminals at the time. But they were actually innocent.”

“What makes you say that?” Lance raised an eyebrow.

“For starters…” their gaze faced him through half lidded eyes and a glint shining through their glasses. “It’s what they wrote and the only thing these people have been doing was gathering herbs.”

“They could have been poisonous.” Keith shrugged.

“Doubt it. But back then, people were superstitious as fuck. I think there is more to it. I was able to translate the name Akira.” She looked over at Keith.

“It is a family name.” He said. “But I was given my name because I was named after my uncle who died long before I was born.”

“The same uncle?” Lance questioned.

“Yes, Lance. My uncle born over three hundred years ago.” Keith deadpanned.

“What scares me is I don’t actually know if you’re serious or not.”

“We will never know.” He smirked.

“I mean it’s impossible. It’s just…your tone and why do you make me doubt logic?”

“Because it’s fun.”

“Oh gods, you two are disgusting.” Pidge groaned.

“Then get ready to barf.” Lance grabbed Keith and pulled him into a kiss, which stunned the boy, his eyes going comically wide. He did love Lance’s kisses, but when he takes him by surprise and after saying barf…

“Get a room!” Pidge groaned.

Lance just laughed when he stopped kissing Keith. 

“While I don’t hate when you kiss me, warning next time.”

“I had to for the dramatic effect.” He throws his arm around his boyfriend’s shoulder and pulls him close. “You knew exactly what you were signing up for going out with me.”

“If there is a higher power, save me now.” Pidge prayed, looking up to the ceiling.

Hunk was rostered at the counter today, but would occasionally come into the kitchen to help cook if it was quiet enough. When it was busy, Sal would trust him in the kitchen. His knack for flavour and presentation had made the place more popular. That some days there was quite a rush. There was only so much traction you could get in a small town.

“Excuse me?” 

Hunk looks up and sees a girl that looked similar to his age, she had dark skin with short black hair and a widow’s peak. She also had large hoop earrings and a pale green sundress. There was something very earthly about her.

“Hello. I was looking for Keith Kogane.”

Interesting. Yes, Keith was secretive. He never mentioned knowing…well…Hunk found her quite stunning.

“Who is asking?” He tilts his head. She may look cute, but if she was a threat to his friend he wasn’t going to just tell her. Not that he believed she was a threat. But his friend’s came first.

“My name is Shay Eden. Keith and I are family friends. I must tell him something very important. It’s a matter of life and death.” Okay, her tone was very dramatic and ominous.

“Hunk? Shay?” Oh speaking of which. Keith looked between the two. “I was just going to get our table some drinks. Is something wrong?”

Before Hunk could say anything, Shay spoke over him. “I can feel the Earth shaking. I fear something big is happening.”

Keith looked to Hunk for a moment who looked confused. “I’ll meet you outside. This isn’t the place.”

Shay nods and heads out.

Turning back to Hunk, Keith places a few dollars on the table. “Just our usual and let them know I will be a few minutes.” 

“Su-sure.” Hunk takes the money and places in the order as Keith goes in the direction as the girl, Shay.

Another mystery to add to who is Keith Kogane.

The tone atmosphere was much quieter than inside Sal’s. Witches were good at keeping to themselves and blending into the mortal realm when necessary. So for Shay to speak so freely in front of Hunk, meant that their two worlds being separate didn’t matter.

“I sense your friend there has a good heart.” Shay said.

“Hunk is basically like a teddy bear. Unless you give him a reason to go grizzly.” 

“He can shift?” She asked stunned.

Keith snorted. “No. It’s an expression. It means he is a nice guy who will protect the people he loves.”

“Oh.” She never spent too much time with mortals. That much was obvious. Many witches didn’t really bother with those who carried no magic and stayed within the magical realm.

“I doubt you're here to just ask about Hunk.”

“The prophecy. I fear it is coming very soon. We can feel the Earth shaking with dark magic.” 

The Balmera Coven had a very strong connection to the Earth. For them it was like the Earth was no different than humans and had emotions. They were witches who were intuitive and empathetic, as they could read people’s emotions.

“They are scared.” Shay continues. “I know you won’t sign away, but I do hope you can stop this.”

“No pressure.”

“It’s a lot to put on someone.” She nods. “Are you alright?”

“I think you of all people would know how I feel.”

“It was why I didn’t offer you our Coven like I said I would and I know what our Coven promises won’t help you.”

So the covens already recruiting him has started. It probably wasn’t that much different from before. But he figured they’d be more up his ass now since he basically said screw you Blade. He still cared about them. Though they hadn’t attacked him yet. 

Okay, attack was a strong word. Lecture? He could hear Kolivan now scolding him about being reckless and dooming us all.

“Suppose you don’t have an idea which coven could help?” He tried.

Shay giggled. “It’s never that easy. My powers are of no help to you.”

“Worth a shot.”

“Speaking of shots…” she suddenly looked nervous. “Do you believe I may have a chance with your friend back there?”

“Hunk?” 

“Yes. I believe I will be able to trust him. You should too.”

“I do!”

“I mean with…”

“Oh.” He sighed.

“I can help you with that. He cares about you. He put aside his attraction to me when I mentioned you. He wants to protect you, so I believe he won’t think much different of you if he knew.”

He took in her words and nodded, giving a smile. “Thanks Shay. Come on, I’ll introduce you two more properly.

They entered inside and found Hunk at the booth with the others. “Hunk!” Keith called, alerting the boy.

“I was wondering, Shay is new to town and she needs someone to show her around. I was wondering if you could. I’m a bit busy.”

“Ahh…well my shift is almost done and I suppose I can after.” 

“I look forward to it.” She smiled and Hunk blushed.

He looked to his friends who all smirked. “Shut up.” He pouted.

Allura messaged Keith letting him know she was on her way. This hunter revelation had her on edge. It wasn’t often she went out. While nothing kept her bound like Shiro, there wasn’t a lot for her to really see in town. It seems she was wrong on that. The town was rather quaint. Perhaps she could add a daily walk once things were safe once again. There was actually a lot that interested her.

Were those juniberries?!

Surely there was time for a quick detour to smell and admire the flowers. There was no apparent threat she could sense.

She held a juniberry in her hand and gave a smell. The sweet aroma was heavenly to her. They were a favorite of hers from childhood. Before leaving her old home, they had many fields full of juniberries. She remembered running and playing around with her mother and father before…

Her face fell. It may have been countless years, but she missed her home. If only the teachings of her Coven weren’t lost. 

“An admirer of the flower?” A deep, yet soothing voice asked.

A man with long white hair, was it dyed? Back to the man, his hair was tied in a half ponytail, he had tanned skin and while looking slim, he also seemed built. Allura found him quite handsome.

“It’s one of my favourites.” She nods.

“Mine too. Perhaps you could help me. There is someone I fancy and I was wondering if you could help me with a bouquet?”

“They sound like a lucky person. But I’m afraid I have to find my little brother. Family emergency.” She smiles awkwardly.

“I understand. I hope everything is well.” He gives a kind smile.

He watched as she walked away. His kind smile turning sinister. 

“A bouquet of poppies.” He asked the store owner.

Once she had wrapped them and he paid, Lotor thanked her. As he left the flower shop, he saw Allura and Keith heading back to the Mortuary.