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He needed a trump card.
Making allies and conquering lands wasn’t enough to give him an advantage over his father, Lotor knew it well. If he wanted to dethrone his father and get revenge on him Lotor needed something stronger than even Zarkon the Destroyer. Lotor wasn’t the kind of man that attack without knowing he had an advantage on his enemies.
And Lotor just found this advantage.
His generals were convinced Lotor’d decided to conquer Altea because it was a wealthy country, but still weak after the last war. Those weren’t the real reasons, but Lotor was going to use them nevertheless. King Shirogane’s fame was well known and Lotor was sure he wouldn’t risk another war in his kingdom, not if he could avoid it.
So Lotor put in army around the siege of Altea and, for the first day, he waited. He wasn’t surprised when General Axca announced him King Shirogane wanted to meet him for negotiation. Lotor expected it. He hoped it.
He welcomed him in his tend, offered him wine and sweet. Shirogane stood still, his face like stone.
“I’m not giving up my kingdom, I won’t surrender,” he stated. “It’s either we find an agreement or we fight.”
Lotor smiled. “I agree. And I have an offer for you that might be generous for both of you.”
Shirogane frowned. “An offer?”
“I will leave, with my army, and I swear I won’t attack Altea in the future either, not even when I’ll become the king of Galra,” Lotor stated. “In exchanged, I want your mage at my service.”
“No.”
The answer caught Lotor by surprise. Of course, he didn’t expect Shirogane to accept easily, but at the same time he didn’t anticipate such a quick denial.
“I suggest you to think carefully,” he murmured. “I understand having such a powerful mage at your service is precious, and losing him sounds terrible, but not even him alone can protect an entire kingdom.”
“My answer is still no,” Shirogane replied. “Keith suffered too much by the hand of Galra. I won’t force him to work for one of them.”
“Is that your only reason?”
“It doesn’t matter. I won’t accept this deal. Make another one, or we agree this negotiation is over.”
“Are you really putting a man over an entire kingdom? Your kingdom, King Shirogane.” Lotor’d believed Shirogane was better than that. That he would put the life of his people over everything else. “I will destroy Altea until his very core.”
“That we will see on the battlefield.” But Shirogane’s voice wasn’t as certain as his expression.
Lotor watched his back as Shirogane left the tent, wondering where he did wrong. He was sure the safety of the kingdom would be enough leverage. Lotor didn’t even ask for a complete surrender, he just asked for a man.
Unless…
A smirk erupted from Lotor’s lips. There could be a reason, something he hadn’t think careful enough. It didn’t matter: it could be the advantage he needed to get the mage. If, hopefully, the mage had the same feelings of the king.
His theory turned out to be correct the day after, during the battle.
His soldiers were well trained and more prepared than Altea’s, still the result of the battle wasn’t predictable, since the kingdom was protected by strong magic. Lotor didn’t care, he wasn’t planning to win at the first fight. He moved forward, well defended by his generals, until he was closer enough to fight directly with Shirogane.
He was a worthy opponent. Unfortunately, not a strong as Lotor. Fortunately for him, Lotor wasn’t planning to kill him, for now at least. In the middle of the battle it could be difficult to control the slash, so when Lotor struck the sword into Shirogane’s body, he hoped the wound wouldn’t be fatal.
And then, the mage appeared at Shirogane’s side.
“Lance, retreat!”
That desperate scream and the hatred Lotor saw in the mage’s eyes told him everything he needed to know.
“First warning,” he said.
With a last satisfied smile, Lotor ordered the retreat. Now he knew for sure he got an advantage over both the king and the mage. The wound seemed deep enough to take down Shirogane for at least a day. Lotor hoped the time would be enough for the mage to realize what his words truly meant.
He wasn’t disappointed, and that was important. Having someone smart enough to get the situation quickly and acted accord was important. He didn’t expect the mage to be brave enough to walk in his camp with only his red horse with him. It increased his admiration for him, though.
“I am Keith Kogane, the last of my lineage and the Master of the Blade of Marmora,” he announced. The soldiers looked at him, no one dared to get near.
“I know who you are,” Lotor replied. “Did your king send you here?” He already knew the answer, but he wanted to hear that from Keith himself.
“No,” Keith admitted. “I am here to propose you a deal by myself. If that’s not a problem.”
“It depends. I want to hear your deal.”
“If I offer myself to you… as your personal mage… will you leave Altea forever?”
The warm of victory erupted from Lotor’s chest. He contained himself. He needed to make sure it was for real an advantageous deal for him. “I’m not sure. Altea is a kingdom I’d really want to conquer.”
“You want it more than having the only magic in the world that can nullify Zarkon’s immortality?”
Oh, so he knew. Lotor shouldn’t be surprised. Zarkon the Destroyer terrorized all the people of Earth from century now. It was immortal thanks to the magic of his personal witch, Haggar. The Blade of Marmora, the mages from the ancient kingdom of Daibazaal, had understood their only way to defeat Zarkon was to surpass Haggar’s spell. They were hunted down, but they managed to find a spell strong enough to turn Zarkon back in his human form. To make him weak.
And now, that magic is only possessed by the man in front of Lotor.
Keith was right: not even a wealthy country as Altea was worth more than the only advantages Lotor would have against Zarkon.
“How are the king’s wounds?”
“None of your concern.” Keith’s answer was almost a growl.
“You’re Altea’s only mage,” Lotor stated. “And the king doesn’t hide your preference for you.”
He waited for a second, to look carefully at the glint of surprise in Keith’s eyes. Lotor wondered if he’d realized how much Shirogane cared about him. Probably no, not yet. Lotor hoped he didn’t find out soon.
“Now Altea is weak because the recent war, but when they’ll recover… I don’t want them in my way, looking for you.” He hummed. “As a part of the deal, I want you to erase the memory of the entire kingdom. They won’t know you exist in the first place.”
Keith’s eyes widened. He swallowed. He waited a second before answered, with his eyes closed. “That’s fine by me. They won’t remember me, I’ll make sure of it.”
Words came out with difficulty. Keith knew what he would lose, and it was a lot worse than just leaving. Whatever relationship he had with the king, he would give up on it. Only to save him and his kingdom. In the same way, Shirogane would have made a similar sacrifice.
In some way, Lotor envied it. Such pure love was rare. But it was also dangerous.
Lotor nodded. He didn’t need to wait anymore, he knew enough of Keith’s weakness. “I, Prince Lotor of Galra, accept your deal,” he said.
As soon as Keith left, Lotor started to give orders to the army to prepare themselves for the departure. Some of the generals weren’t satisfied by the outcome, but Axca cut them out. She trusted Lotor enough, and so did his soldiers. They wouldn’t be disappointed once they would understand the importance of having Keith on their side.
Once everything was ready, Lotor took his horse, ready to move for the place where, by their agreement, Keith would wait for him. “Don’t you need an escort, your grace?” Axca asked.
“No,” Lotor replied. He was ready to fight Keith if the situation required it, but Lotor had the feeling – no, he knew for certain – that Keith wouldn’t risk a foolish action. Not if he could result in a danger for King Shirogane.
He reached the place: Keith was waiting for him, on his red horse. Lotor had sent a note to king Shirogane. It was a petty thing to do, gloating over the fact that Lotor had his mage now, but at the same time he gave him the certainty Shirogane lost his memory about Keith.
“I did not think you were really going to accept my deal,” he said. Not the deal of coming with him, but the deal of erasing everyone’s memories. Lotor feared Keith’s feeling would mistake him. Despite everything, they don’t.
“I'm a man of my word, Lotor. And I hope you are too."
“I am. My troops are packing up the camp and they will leave as soon as the fog dissipates. You don’t have to worry,” he replied with a smile.
“You…”
Keith didn’t end the sentence, and Lotor tilted his head. Was Keith just impressed by him? Did he really give himself up despite not being sure that it would save the kingdom, yet he did it nevertheless? Damn, Lotor underestimated Keith’s love for the king.
"You must have very good reasons to offer yourself, Keith Kogane, last of your lineage and Master of the Blade of Marmora, the most powerful magician of all the Unified Kingdoms, as a sacrifice instead of a whole kingdom.”
Lotor wanted to hear it. He wanted to hear from Keith’s mouth how much he loved the king.
“I am not going to discuss my reasons with someone like you.”
No, apparently there was still some pride in Keith. It didn’t really matter. Not only Lotor knew already the truth, but they had all the time together from now on. Defeating Zarkon wouldn’t be easy, even with the magic of the Blade of Marmora.
“Of course, of course. You're right. I don’t need to know why,” Lotor shrugged, smiling. Still, he didn’t refrain himself to add, “But I think there’s a certain King involved…”
"Enough. Just do your part. I... I will obey you from now on. I'm at your service.”
The laughter raised from his chest naturally. He wasn’t laughing for him, or for his sadness. Lotor was just so satisfied, so happy. He waited so long to find the advantage against Zarkon, to get the revenge over him. And now this advantage was in front of him, completely and utterly at his service.
Lotor’s hand itched from the excitement of the incoming battle against Zarkon.
“That’s exactly what I wanted to hear. Let’s go.”
He pulled the rein as he ordered his black horse to return back on the path towards his army. He gestured at Keith, who moved forwards until he was at Lotor’s side. He didn’t look at him, his head was low and his eyes fixated on his horse’s mane.
Lotor turned to watch him carefully only when they saw his army appearing at the horizon. Until that moment, Lotor was too busy preparing his next move. Zarkon would get suspicious of him leaving Altea so easily. He would ask for a reason, and Lotor should hide Keith from the time being. So, he decided, they wouldn’t return to the capital for now.
There was another kingdom nearby, Pollux. They would conqueror that kingdom, and that would give Lotor enough time to elaborate a strategy that wouldn’t waste the advantage he just got. And the battle against Pollux would also allow him to see Keith’s abilities in person, at his service.
So he turned his head to look at Keith, and only then he noticed the bandages at his right wrist. He hadn’t had any wound when he’d come to negotiate. And the bandages looked intact, as they were made to hide something and not to protect.
“Why the bandages?” he asked.
Keith moved his arm to hide it over the sleeve of his tunic. “Nothing of your concern.”
Lotor grabbed the rein of the red horse and forced him to stop. “You said you’re at my service.” He looked at Keith straight in the eyes. “So show me what you’re hiding. That’s an order.”
Lotor was testing him, and, from the glint in his eyes, Keith understood it. Slowly, he took off the bandages and revealed a tattoo on his skin, a jasmine flower intertwined with wallflowers. It was beautiful, and definitely magic. No other tattoo could look like that, like they’re naturally part of the skin.
“Happy?” Keith commented.
Lotor released the rein. “I know what it is. It’s the seal of the soulmates.”
“How…?”
“I’m not a mage, but it would be stupid from me not being aware of magic,” Lotor replied. “You can’t defeat what you don’t know.”
“If you know what is it, you also know it’s not something dangerous for you.”
“Correct. I find it quite romantic, to be fair. It’s for the king, isn’t it?”
Keith didn’t answer. He didn’t need to. His eyes were lucid and there was a slight blush on his cheeks.
“About this kind of spell… legends say the seal remains forever, even in future reincarnations of the people that exchange it. This is your plan? To die and hope to meet the king again?”
“No.” Keith shook his head. “As long as I live, the seal will protect the king too.” And he looked at Lotor with a smirk. “You won’t have a problem with it.”
“Fine for me.”
And it really was. Keith would do everything to survive, if it meant protecting Shirogane too. Lotor couldn’t ask better.
But Lotor wasn’t a monster. He didn’t care about what Keith was going to do in his next reincarnation, as long as he helped Lotor to defeat Zarkon in this live. So he can hope, and he can be happy, in a sort of way, imagining that in the next life Keith and the king would be lucky enough to find each other again.
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