Archive of Our Own ^beta

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Coran had been by King Alfor’s side for a very long time.

He was there when the king met the queen, and he was also there when Allura was born, showered with overflowing love from all parties: the king, the queen, their allies, and, most of all, the citizens of Altea.

Allura of Altea was a bundle of joy. A delight to have around even back then when the only sounds she could make were giggles and laughter, soft and loud depending on how she was feeling.

Having been one of the - if not the most - closest aides to the king, Coran spent quite a lot of time with the princess. Whenever Alfor had urgent matters to deal with, he would entrust the princess to Coran or other maids or teachers of the princess.

Although, Coran liked to think that the princess always had preferred him over anyone else.

The princess grew up well-mannered and polite, poised just as a princess should be, and intelligent just as the future ruler of Altea should be. Despite not being biologically related to the princess, the pride and joy Coran often felt in his chest whenever he saw how well the princess had grown felt almost similar to that of a parent’s.

King Alfor and the queen both considered Coran a part of their family, and, following that line of thought, Coran could safely say that, in a way, he was indeed a parent of some sort for the princess. An uncle, maybe. Her dearest and most handsome uncle.

It was because Coran held the royal family so dearly to his heart, and as if they were his own, did it felt so painful when King Alfor instructed him to ‘keep his daughter safe’.

Everything happened far too quickly; one moment Coran was looking at Altea which was crumbling and burning, and the next moment he was awakened by… odd-looking aliens.

They had legs, yes. And arms and hands, and a face - similarly to the Alteans’ anatomy. Although, Coran couldn’t help but internally agree with the princess when she pointed out how their ears were rather… peculiar-looking.

It took only exchanging a few words with these humans when both he and Allura realized that Altea was no longer anywhere, and, without even letting herself properly weep for the fall of her kingdom, the princess immediately brought up Voltron.

Truthfully, Coran was worried that she was moving too fast.

Grief was different for each individual, Coran knew. What he didn’t know, however, was how the princess would face her grief.

So, quietly, he observed.

Sometimes he approached the princess and reminded her to rest and take it easy. Sometimes she would listen, sometimes she would insist that every tick spent resting is a tick of the Galra Empire taking over the whole universe.

It was fortunate that Shiro, the elected human to pilot the Black Lion, was with them. After all, if Coran struggled to get his words through to the princess, then he could always count on the black paladin to persuade her to rest.

Shiro was an admirable human and leader. Unlike the other humans who apparently still have ‘a lot of growing up to do’, the black paladin had wisdom and experience that could always get through the princess’s head.

A few weeks into travelling with the new paladins of Voltron, Coran had come to learn the names and the habits of each one of them - somewhat. (‘Somewhat’ because, at first, the Altean simply called them by their assigned numbers.)

Number One: Shiro. Well, as mentioned and explained prior, he had Coran’s utmost respect. The black paladin was a born leader in the Altean’s eyes. The human’s respect for the princess and his impeccable mannerisms only further painted him as an overall respectable individual in Coran’s eyes.

Number Two: Hunk, the Yellow Paladin of Voltron. Aside from how the human clearly seemed to be attempting to replace him as the chef of the castle, Coran had no qualms with the human. It was harder for Coran to take his ‘opponent in the kitchen’ too seriously and give the paladin the ‘cold shoulder’ when Hunk was such a sweet and funny human, however. (While humans’ humor seemed to be slightly different than Altean’s, Coran simply appreciated the effort made by the yellow paladin to fill in the silence with pleasant chatter as the two of them agreed on a truce to work on meals.)

Number Three: Lance, the Blue Paladin. Coran had to admit: the human was both a headache and a walking reminder of himself. After all, back in his prime days, Coran, too, remembered himself as being someone who reeked of charisma and jokes that would make anyone in the near vicinity look his way. Although, no matter how charming or hilarious this human was, Coran was not giving his blessings if the human was to pursue Princess Allura seriously - at least when the human was clearly such a… ‘teenager’. It’s what Shiro called the other human paladins.

Number Four: Keith, the Red Paladin. Now, the red paladin was something.

Coran came to realise that he was somewhat similar to the princess. That was if the Altean put aside the paladin’s lacking social skills, beauty, princess-like manners, and intelligence. (No, Coran was absolutely not biased. How dare you accuse him of such things!) Both the red paladin and the princess had an unnervingly narrow-minded focus, and when they’re emotional, things could proceed quite unexpectedly. In summary: their determination once they latched onto something was a force to be reckoned with.

Last, but not least, Number Five: Pidge, the green paladin. If there was one aspect of the black paladin that Pidge was better at, it would be her intelligence. While Hunk was close behind in that regard, Coran could safely say that the green paladin was the smartest human inside the castle. Like Keith, she could be a little hard to comprehend sometimes, but more because she had far too much knowledge in her brain and less because she was purposely keeping people away and at an arm’s length.

With these paladins, Coran watched Allura handle them, and he couldn’t help the pride blooming in his chest.

Even though Coran had been in so many meetings of Allura telling the paladins what to do, he couldn’t help but suppress the proud tears that would automatically make themselves known in his eyes. It got to the point where the paladins wouldn’t question his glassy eyes and would wordlessly hand him some tissues. (Yes, even Keith.)

Just as King Alfor once did with him, Allura, too, ended up confiding in him when hesitation clouded her judgment. It was a true honour to be by the princess’s side to see her right what was wrong and uphold justice - just as her father would’ve done had he been here.

Yet it also weighed Coran down to see the princess so tense and rigid: always thinking about what’s best for the universe but never about what’s best for her.

She claimed that it was her duty to finish what was left unfinished, but when does a duty become a prison, Coran wondered.

Would Alfor have allowed his daughter to live like this? For the sole reason of saving the universe and not an ounce of care for her own wants and well-being?

While initially he had his own complaints about the humans they ended up having to work with, at some point, he couldn’t help but be glad that they were here - especially the blue paladin. (Yes; the same blue paladin that Coran had immediately ’attacked’ upon waking up.)

Lance was helping not just the princess, but almost everyone in his own way. It was in the way that he kept on checking up on everyone - including Coran himself - and it was during times like these that the Altean felt even more grateful that the humans had woken them up.

After deducing that Allura was around the human age by Altean’s standard, despite being far more exceptional in various things compared to these ‘teenagers’, Coran kept on hoping that they would grow closer with each other so the princess was at least allowed to experience what friendship felt like.

Fortunately, Coran’s wishes came true.

It took some time, but eventually the princess loosened up and relaxed enough around the paladins, and it eased Coran greatly that she seemed less weighed down by the burden she had to carry at such a young age.

Not because the burden was magically lifted - but because she knew and trusted the friends she made to be there to support her.

Truly, the joy of friendships.

Even when Alfor’s artificial intelligence no longer operated, even when they found out about the Blade of Marmora, even when Shiro went missing, and even when Allura became the Blue Paladin of Voltron, Coran looked over her.

He could see the frustration in her form as she struggled to adapt to the Blue Lion, but he could also see her determination to get better. Her determination to carry out her duties, and that this was merely a stepping stone to deliver.

As always, Coran was there to remind her not to overwork herself. Someone has to care for her well-being if she were to neglect herself - even if unconsciously.

The paladins all helped in that regard, reminding the princess to have plenty of rest and not skip meals - even though some of them tended to do the very same thing.

Still, Coran appreciated their effort.

Occasionally, one of the paladins would approach him and ask about the princess. They were worried, and they wanted to know how they could help. In that regard, Hunk had always been the one who approached him for this purpose most often - aside from Lance, possibly.

“I mean… a princess to a kingdom that’s no longer here? Just thinking about it… It’s one thing to keep on fighting for your duty, but fighting for a duty with no subjects to fight for, well…

It makes a guy wonder who she thinks about - who is she loyal to - when they’re no longer here…” Hunk had pondered aloud to Coran, a saddened and distraught look on his face just at the thought of it.

Allura was selfless to a fault. It was her strongest strength yet biggest weakness.

Coran wasn’t sure when this foreboding feeling started to be registered in his heart: the foreboding feeling of knowing a certain impending doom.

Perhaps it was after they had defeated Lotor. Perhaps it was when he noticed how affected Allura was by Lotor’s betrayal and how she, for a period of time, seemed to always be drowning in her thoughts. Perhaps it was when she suggested the idea to use herself as bait to get to Honerva.

Nonetheless, Coran had felt it.

By the time he had started seeing King Alfor in Allura, it was too late.

Coran was very close to King Alfor. He knew what the king would look like when his mind was set on something - or when he was resigned to do something regardless of the cost.

It was what he saw in Allura when she proposed the idea.

It was too late; the damned thing was already a part of her by the time Coran had noticed the similarity of the daughter to her father.

Despite all his anguish, there was someone else who was as much, if not more, betrayed by the princess’s decision.

Lance.

That boy… Coran had always known the human loves far too much to be able to stop himself from causing his own tears.

Before the team headed out with Allura’s plan, Coran had found Lance at the lounge, the only light being on the one above him, flickering on and off as if it, too, knew that the person in the room was in great sadness.

The Altean had approached him and sat beside him, his own heart saddened and mourning.

It wasn’t like Allura’s end was set in stone - yet, somehow, Coran… knew.

This sureness; it gripped him and demanded him to acknowledge it. To acknowledge that he wouldn’t be able to keep his promise to Alfor that was to protect his only daughter.

‘When does a duty become a prison?’, Coran had wondered once.

As he sat beside Lance and wordlessly offered the quietly crying human a comforting hug, he had his answer.

It would become a prison once it was seen as a prison.

It was why it only made sense that Allura never once hated her duty or blamed it for her lack of ‘freedom’ to choose - because, even in her heart, never once had she seen her duty as anything but her ‘destiny’.

She was born as the princess of Altea. It was her duty as the princess to ‘avenge’ her kingdom and to continue her father’s legacy.

That was what she had believed in this entire time - even now.

When the time finally came for them to leave, Coran quietly stared at the princess of Altea, committing every feature of her to his memory.

She was never just the princess of Altea.

For so long, she, too, had been Coran’s daughter. The pride he felt as she continued to move forward and onward; there was no other way to describe and call it except as a parent’s pride.

For the longest time, he never really gave this much thought. He was just honoured to simply provide guidance for the princess.

Now, with her slipping away from his fingers, a rush of memories of caring for the princess was flashing in front of her eyes, and he remained silent.

It got to the point where Allura had to wave in front of his face to ask what was wrong, and by then, Coran’s vision was turning glassy, and all he could do was pull his daughter into a hug.

He hugged her tight, the tightest he had ever hugged her, and when she returned the hug, Coran knew she knew how this would all end.

She hugged him like it was her last opportunity to hug him.

No matter how much thinking Coran did, to find the right words to say to the princess, no words came to mind. If it was according to his wishes: he didn’t want to let her go.

But his wishes didn’t matter in the grand schemes of things.

When they parted, Coran looked into the princess’s eyes. He looked and looked - yet not an ounce of regret nor hesitation could be found in her eyes.

The team was all waiting for her, but Coran needed some time. Needed some time to process that this would be the last time he held the girl he had raised in his arms and to make sure his next words were the exact words she needed to hear at this very moment.

Then, with tears barely blinked away, Coran finally found his voice:

“Go make your father proud, Princess Allura.”

It surprised him when Allura suddenly hugged him again - although very briefly:

“Thank you…

…dad.”

All of a sudden, cruelly, she was out of his arms.

Cruelly, Coran couldn’t see her again.

Cruelly, she was gone.

Princess Allura of Altea had finished her duty - and now she was gone.

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