A large creature rose out of the lake.

“What is that?” Zarkon demanded.

“That is the Gombash,” Coran explained. “Don’t worry, he’s a peaceful creature. Unless of course he senses you having malicious intent in which case he will kill you where you stand.”

Zarkon looked at the Gombash with fear and uncertainty until Honerva gave him a reassuring pat on the arm.

“It’s fine dear.”

The three went to their seats. Lotor suddenly felt a light tugging on his hair. As he turned he saw a small Altean girl.

“Hi I’m Nadia,” The girl said brightly.

“Prince Lotor, it’s a pleasure to meet you,” Lotor replied.

“You have really nice hair.”

“Thank you.”

“Can I braid it for you?”

“Er….”

Lotor was thankfully spared having to give an answer when the Nadia was called back by her mother.

“Nadia! Get back here!”

“Ok, bye Prince Lotor.”

As the girl left Honerva commented. “I think you’d look good with a braid.”

Lotor could only give his mother a half-hearted glare.

Keith and Krolia sat nearby seat watching the everything going on.

“Thank you for bringing me along,” Krolia said to her son.

“The invitation allowed for a plus one,” Keith answered. “There’s no one else I’d want to bring.”

“True,” Krolia developed a sly grin. “Though you know, it might have been a good opportunity to bring a date.”

“Mom!”

“Just saying.”

As Alfor was at the Altar going over the notes of the ceremony Blaytz approached and gave the king a hearty pat on the back.

“Today’s the big day, and to think you’re now well on your way to having grandkids.”

“Blaytz, it’s my niece, not my daughter, getting married today.”

“Oh,” Blaytz replied. He then gave Alfor another hard pat on the back. “Well that means you’re well on your way to having grand nephews and nieces.”

“Indeed.”

In a nearby tent Lance was putting the final touches to his outfit. It was a suit of armour but far more impressive than his normal attire. Not only was it more intricately made and bore his family crest and the metal was gleaming. He attached his clock and gave himself a final look over as Hunk let out a whistle of approval.

“Not gonna lie buddy,” He said. “You’ve never looked better.”

“Come on Hunk, you know I look good in anything.”

“Really? How about that time you lost that bet and had to wear that Snargle herder outfit?”

“Alright,” Lance conceded. “I look good in most things.”

“Though Hunk’s not wrong little brother,” Luis said. “You’ve never looked better.”

Lance smiled as the men present nodded in agreement. It was no surprise that Hunk was chosen to be best man. Filling out the ranks of Groomsmen were his two brothers Luis and Marco as well as Matt.

“Alright you’re ready,” Hunk declare. “Now before go out there I want you to remember three things. I love you, I’m proud of you and if you screw this up I’ll never forgive.”

“Love you too,” Lance replied as they gave each other a hug.

“I hope I’m not interrupting.” Everyone turned and saw Shiro enter the tent. “Just wanted to make sure you were almost ready. We’re starting soon.”

“Shiro!” Lance exclaimed. “How do I look?”

“Really good. Though there is one thing missing.”

“Really? What?”

“This.” Shiro pulled out a small box. He opened it to reveal a medal.

“Is that…?”

“Lance McClain, You have served Altea and the Crown diligently and nobly. You have upheld the principles this world is found on and are an example for others to aspire to. As your Captain I could not be prouder. In recognition of your continued service and valor, It is my honour to present you with the Star of Mefral.”

Lance was dumbfounded as Shiro pinned the medal on to the breastplate of his armour.

“There will be a formal ceremony for it later on but I thought it would only be right that you get to wear it on your wedding day.”

“Wow, Shiro this is amazing, thank you,” Lance stated. “Though is it wrong to say this is only the second best thing to be happening to me today.”

Shiro smirked as he gave Lance a pat on the shoulder. “There’d be something wrong with you if that wasn’t your response. Now all of you finish up. The last thing we want is to make this man late for his own wedding.

Once they all were prepared they stepped out and headed to the altar. As Lance walked up aisle he got various hugs and handshakes (in the case of Blaytz a high five) from the people he walked passed. He lingered with his parents, hugging them tightly as they told him how proud they were.

As he made it to the Altar, he turned his attention towards the Gombash.

“Gommy! I’m glad you could make it.”

Gommy trilled happily as he leaned in to briefly nuzzle Lance.

“Alright then,” Lance declared. “Razzle Dazzle Time!”

[hr]

The under the shade of the Father Tree, the female party was set up in a tent doing the final preparations.

“There, finished,” Veronica stated as she put down the makeup brush. “Take a look.”

Pidge stood and looked at herself in the mirror. She wore an elegant flowing emerald dress. Atop her head was a tiara more detailed than her usual one.

“You look amazing,” Allura commented.

“She had better,” Veronica stated. “Lance would never let me hear the end of it if I got the makeup wrong.”

For the bridal party Allura was Maid of honour with the positions of bridesmaids going her cousin Mia as well as Lances sisters Veronica and Rachel. Pidge’s mother and father entered the tent.

“Pidge you look amazing,” Samuel stated.

“Thanks Dad.” Pidge replied.

“How do you feel?” Colleen asked.

“Good,” Pidge replied, when Colleen raised a skeptical eyebrow Pidge amended. “Absolutely terrified but I love Lance and want to be with him.”

Colleen smiled as she gave her daughter a hug.

Finally the bridal party was all prepared but before they left Pidge asked for a moment to do one last thing.

She walked up to Father Tree and placed a hand on the trunk. Her markings glowed as she connected with the ancient tree.  

“So what do you think old timer, am I doing the right thing?”

In reply there was a low rumble and the sensation of the ground shifting beneath her. Suddenly two roots shot out from either side of Pidge. The roots then ran along ground, creating a path that was clearly heading towards the lake. The flowers then burst out of the roots to decorate the path.

“Well,” Pidge commented. “I can’t argue with that.”

There were more than a few gasps of surprise as two roots grew out from the forest. The roots ran up the either side of the aisle, stopping just short of the altar before beautiful flowers burst out of the roots.

“You think this is Pidge’s handiwork?” Hunk asked.

“Actually I think it might be an old timer giving his blessing,” He bent down to give one the roots a pat. “Thanks Pappy.”

The root wrapped around Lances hand and squeezed lightly before releasing it. Lance stood back up and got into position as the music started. Everyone in the audience got their feet as the bridal party entered from forest.

Pidge lead the way, her flowing green dressing glowing with golden symbols. Allura carried the train as they exited the forest but released it as they got to the platform. The audience looked on in awe as Pidge walked up the aisle. Lance looked on in unbridled joyed.

The bride arrived at the altar and as she clasped hands with the groom the two became lost in each others eyes.

Hunk meanwhile had become misty-eyed and muttering to himself to “keep it together”.

Coran on the other hand was bawling his eyes out.

King Alfor allowed the couple a brief moment before he began the ceremony.

“Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the union of Lance and Katie in holy matrimony. which is an honorable estate. This is not an institution that they have decided to enter lightly but out of their love and devotion for each other.Ifany one can show just cause why they may not be lawfully joined together, let them speak now or forever hold their peace.”

At that moment the Gombash raised himself to his full height and glared down at the audience.

“Although you may have to answer to him,” King Alfor added dryly.

This earned a chuckle from the audience, some more nervous than the rest. When it was clear no one was going to object, the Gombash settled back down.

“The union two souls is a moment great joy and celebration. It is with great pleasure that I now ask you two take these vows.”

“Lance, do you take Katie as your wife? To love and cherish for as long as you both shall live?”

“I do.”

“Katie, do you take Lance as your husband? To love and cherish for as long as you both shall live?”

“I do.”

“Then it is my honour, as ruler of Altea, to now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride.”

“What is it dear?”

Lance took in a deep breath and summoned a shard of ice in his hand.

“Wow,” Lance’s mom said in amazement. “You’ve gotten good at that.”

Lance dropped the ice in shock.

“YOU KNEW!!!”

“I’m your mother, besides you’re not as good at keeping a secret as you think you are.”

“When? How?”

“The when was probably soon after you discovered your abilities,” his mom replied. “As for the how, I saw you freeze over a puddle and staring at it in amazement.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?”

“Well I was going to at the time but then Luis crashed the quad into a silo and we had that big mess to deal with.”

“Oh yeah,” Lance said, recalling that event.

“Then when that mess was dealt with I told your father and we realised you would have to be sent to a boarding school.”

“Dad knows?”

“Of course he does, I wouldn’t keep something like this from him. Also, don’t interrupt.”

Lance laughed affectionately. “Sorry.”

“I don’t know if you remembered but we tried to broach the topic with you about the boarding school. You flat out denied having magic and we didn’t push. You can be really stubborn if you want to be and we knew that trying to force you would just make you deny it harder. We tried to give you space and time for you to open up to the idea yourself. The problem is that we gave you too much time. When we realised that you were never going to come clean with us about it, you were already significantly older than what your classmates would be. We were afraid that people would think you were slow or something and we didn’t want to subject you to that.”

Lance’s mom sat down and ran a hand through her hair.

“I know I should have pushed harder when you were young but I didn’t want you to go either,” she continued. “I liked having you are home and the idea of sending you to some boarding school miles away was too much. So it was just convenient to keep this a secret. I know it probably makes me a bad parent for stopping you from reaching your full potential.”

“Hey!” Lance interjected. “You’re a great parent, thanks to you I was exactly what I was meant to be.”

The McClains hugged. As she pulled away she wiped a tear from her eye.

“Well now that it’s out in the open, how about you show me what you can do.”

Lance happily obliged, pulling water from a nearby sink. The water flowed the air, taking various shapes. Finally Lance gathered the water in his hands and froze it into a bouquet juniberry flowers.

“Amazing,” Lance’s mom said, in awe of how delicate the leaves and petals looked.

“Yeah that took a bit of practice,” Lance admitted. “Wanted to perfect that before showing Pidge.”

“Already bringing her flowers, thinks must be moving quickly.”

“Mom!”

“Huh, no out denials about her just being a friend,” she commented. “Any developments we should know about?”

Lance cursed under his breath, realising he really couldn’t keep a secret from her. “Well me and Pidge kissed.”

“Really? Tell me more.”

“Well it just kind of happened when we were in the forest about to be gunned so we are still feeling our way through this and taking it one step at a time.”

“Wait….gun downed?”

“Wow I really can’t keep a secret.”

Lance proceeded to tell his mom about everything that happened leading up to the kiss. By the end his mom was looking significantly shell shocked.

“Wow...that’s a lot to take in,” She finally managed out.

“Are you ok?” Lance asked.

“Yes...well no. I’m probably going to go scream into a pillow later over the fact that one of my children almost died twice today,” she admitted. “That said I’m glad to hear about you and Pidge.”

“Thank mom, like I said we’re taking this one step at a time. Feeling things out as we go.”

“So would you want to hold the wedding at farm?” She asked.

“Actually if we hold it near Lake Altea it means Gommy can attend.” Lance then realised what he had said. “That is getting incredibly ahead of ourselves.”

Though those that don’t know his skills as engineer probably know his skills as a cook. Hunk loves food, not  as a glutton but as a connoisseur. He loves food in all forms, be it one of those tiny gourmet portions on a large plate or an all you can breakfast buffet. When he’s not working he is often found in one of the castle kitchens creating something delectable. The cooks give him nearly unlimited access in exchange for being able to pick his brain on new recipes.

When asked why he didn’t become a cook if he likes cooking so much, he replies “If cooking was my job, what would I have to do in my spare time?”

As far as Hunk is aware, he hasn’t got any magical abilities and that suits him just fine. He has nothing against magic per se but it just seems more trouble than it’s worth. There have been a few incidents like when he fell of a cliff and landed safely on a ledge no one had noticed being there. The soil of his personal herb patch also seems to be far more fertile than the rest of royal vegetable garden for some reason. He’s sure that’s all coincidence though.

Allura

Princess Allura is the only child born to King Alfor and the future ruler of Altea. Since a young age her education has been based around molding her into the best possible ruler she can be. Whilst this has placed a lot of pressure on her, she honestly can not picture herself being anything else.

Since turning 16 Allura has being helping her father rule Altea. While her responsibilities started with minor administrative duties, her role grew until she placed as acting ruler when ever King Alfor is off world. Rumour has it that King Alfor may even intend to hand Allura the crown whilst he’s still alive rather than wait for his death. While this isn’t unheard of in the history of Altean succession, King Alfor is still expected to rule for many more years.

She takes her duties seriously but like her father, she can at times be silly/mischevious to those who know her well.

While being loved by many and an incredibly likeable person, there are very few people she views as close enough to consider friends. She has her cousins, Mia, Matt and Pidge, as well as Coran and Shiro. In time she will view Lance and Hunk as friends as well. She also has her mice companions.

Allura had gained her mice companions on her first solo excursion into space. She had joined Coran and an expedition team to harvest crystals from a Balmera while King Alfor and the Queen remained on Altea.

While this had been intended to only be a short excursion, there had been an expected complication. The teleduv of the ship used had malfunctioned, causing the wormhole to send them to a remote part of the galaxy. Unable to open another wormhole, the ship was forced to send out a distress signal and try to conventionally travel to ally territory to get home. To save on power, air and food, any crew not essential to running the ship were placed in cryosleep. This included Allura.

It took 37 quintents for the ship to be found and returned to Altea. While to King Alfor and his Wife this was the 37 worse quintents of their lives, to Allura it had given her an unexpected gift.

Unknownst to everyone, a family of mice had made their home in Allura’s cryopod. Spending over a month frozen together caused Allura and the mice to bond. This bond create a psychic link between Allura and the mice as well as increasing their life span and intelligence.

The mice pretty much have free reign of the castle. While Allura hasn’t expressly told people to leave them unharmed, many know them as hers and leave them be while the mice themselves are now smart enough to avoid anything that would harm them. While they spend a lot of time eating and lazing about they also explore the castle often and return to Allura with their findings.

While Allura knows the importance of privacy and doesn’t want her subjects feeling like they are being watched, she also has an uncontrollable love of gossip. She reconciles this conflict of interests by promising herself that any of the juicy tidbits the mice bring her will stay with her, no matter how badly she wants to share it sometimes.

How Lance met the Gombash.

It all started during basic training. The recruits had been given their first day off. Rather than head to a nearby town, Lance had decided he wanted to check out Lake Altea. By that point he had been craving a decent swim and had heard incredible stories of the creatures that lived in and around the lake.

Heading to the lake, he stripped down to some shorts and dove right in.

The average Altean can hold their breath for about 5 dobashes. Lance can hold his for 18 dobashes. he uses this to go diving and exploring underwater. When ever Lance goes diving his markings light up. This is because lance is unintentionally using his magic to make the water around him more pliable. This means he can swim easier through it but it also causes much less of a disturbance in the water, often managing to get closer to water creatures.

Lance was in heaven, exploring the depths and swimming with the creatures. Emboldened, Lance swam further out into the open waters, took a deep breath and then dived down. He paused halfway down when he saw a large grey mass approaching him. The mass then let off a Teal glow.

It was the Gombash.

What Lance didn’t realise at the time is that his magic works through harmonising his internal energy with the energy of the water around him. This had the unexpected effect of putting his emotions on a loudspeaker for anything in the water that could sense it.

Fortunately for Lance, the emotions he was broadcasting were that of wonder and bliss. Not only did the Gombash not see this as a threat, he genuinely wanted to know what creature was broadcasting such wonderful emotions.

The two stared at each other in amazement.

The moment was then broken when Lance remembered he needed to go back up for air. Sensing this as well, the gombash grabbed hold of Lance and rushed him to the surface. Once at the surface, the gombash kept it’s hold on Lance, allowing the two to continue reading each others emotions.

Lance thought the Gombash was a magnificent creature. His fascination and amazement grew when he realised the Gombash was able to communicate.

The gombash meanwhile had met many Alteans before and yet he found Lance to be something entirely new. Most Alteans approach the gombash and his domain with either cautious awe, fearful respect or genuine terror. Lance meanwhile projected sincere, unfiltered, joy and intrigue.

Even when Lance figured out that it was the Gombash, his reaction was still “that is so cool”. After ‘introductions’ were done, the two went swimming. The Gombash was able to take Lance far deeper into the lake within a single breath than what Lance could do on his own. When they tired of that they played on the surface of the lake. Finally Lance realised he had to head back but he promised he would come back to visit.