Uncommon Vows
by Yoshi
SPOILERS.
A few Classic Voltron episodes are mentioned in passing. I have chosen, for the purpose of the storyline, to ignore a few choice scenes. For example, Allura has NEVER gone swimming with the boys. You'll find out why as the storyline unfolds…
There are no V3D spoilers. They don't show Voltron the 3rd Dimension where I live (*sniff*) even though they sell the toys already. This means that, for all intents and purposes, V3D never happened. There's nothing like sour grapes to drive a plot line! ;-b
RATING.
Let's rate this M to be safe. Earlier chapters may acceptable for younger audiences but it gets darker. . As an avid reader of romance novels though, I refuse to rate this for mushiness. Be warned.
DISCLAIMERS.
Standard disclaimers, whatever they are, apply. These characters aren't mine (although I wish they were) but belong to WEP. (May they live long and prosper.) I gain nothing but the personal satisfaction and a sense of closure. The legend lives on.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.
Before anything else, I'd like to thank my family and friends - most of whom know NOTHING about what I'm doing in front of a computer at all the hours of the night (and sometimes day too!)
The KAEX passengers - my cyber friends - Rachel, Rayne, CBJam, Rosemary, Melissa, Claire, Chani, Moe, Cynthia, Debbie, Kestrel, Gina, Alexis, and everyone else I may have forgotten to mention - you all get a hefty serving of my gratitude. Lionesse, the world would have less Voltron Fics if you hadn't started the train.
A large chunk of this work also belongs to Snoopy, my wonderful editor. Snoopy, I really appreciate everything you've done. Your thoughtful insights made a world of difference to the story!
Oh, and Indy? UVW too.
Prologue
"When the gods created humans, they were joined in pairs occupying one body. However, the humans displeased the gods, the gods decreed that as punishment, the pairs would be separated. They were condemned to spend eternity searching for the one person that made them complete."
Allura slammed her book shut. She pointedly ignored the disapproving frown on Coran's face and snorted in disgust at what she had just read. "Why do you make me read such rubbish, Coran? Can you imagine that—that a part of me is missing? If something was missing from me, I think I would know it!"
Coran stroked his mustache and prayed for patience, "Your Highness, myths explain concepts that would otherwise be unexplainable to more primitive cultures. This myth explains why men and women are on a constant quest for completion, to find the one person needed to make their lives complete."
Allura's brows arched skyward. "My life IS complete, Coran. I have you, Nanny, my parents and the Space Mice! What more do I need?"
Coran tried to hide the smile twitching on his lips. How demoralizing. While his titles of Duke of Wenselan and Special Advisor to His Majesty, Alfor of Arus were more than enough to impress most people, apparently, it meant nothing to the young princess. In her eyes, he was less important than her pet space mice.
"Well, once you get older and become Queen of Arus, you will need a husband to protect Arus from all harm," Coran explained, wishing the patience and fortitude of the saints for that man, whoever he may be.
"But I will NOT need a husband to protect Arus," Allura snapped back. "Aunt Orla is the Queen of Cador and she has protected it on her own without EVER having to marry. Why should I marry?"
Coran was at a loss for words. How could he explain how difficult the road Queen Orla had chosen to take? Sacrifice was a concept that Allura understood only vaguely. She had never had to make any real sacrifices over the course of her young years.
He welcomed the distraction of the door opening with great relief. Getting to his feet, he welcomed the Queen with a courtly bow as Juliana entered the schoolroom. While it was part of the Queen's normal routine to visit the schoolroom to check on the progress of her daughter, she normally came alone.
She was not alone today.
Juliana turned to her husband with dancing eyes and motioned towards the middle of the room where Allura was glaring at Coran. "Perhaps you should stop them before they come to blows. I wouldn't put it past YOUR daughter to do something like that."
"That's because she takes after her mother." Alfor smiled teasingly at Juliana, with deviltry shining in his hazel eyes but he scooped up his daughter in his arms, before she could begin to greet them with a curtsey.
"Father!" Allura squealed with delight as Alfor tossed her into the air. Always one to show her affection, she planted noisy kisses on the king's cheeks and settled down in his arms trustingly.
Alfor glanced at Coran; reading in his carefully controlled features the exasperation that the Duke of Wenselan was too well bred to display. The king looked back at his daughter. "I take it that you and Coran have had another polite disagreement?"
A relieved smile lit up Allura's face. She could always count on her father to provide a reasonable explanation to the all the questions she had. "Father, why do I need to marry? I don't need someone to take care of Arus, I can do that by myself!"
Alfor swallowed the burst of laughter that threatened to erupt, conscious of his daughter's prickly pride. "You can take care of Arus yourself, Little One, but who's going to take care of you?"
"You and Mother, Coran and Nanny!"
"But we won't be around forever," Alfor explained to his puzzled daughter. "And if we aren't around, we want someone to care for you. You need someone to care for you because you're you, not because of your looks or because you're Princess Royal of Arus."
"Is it like that for you and Mother?" Allura asked her father. Her small forehead was furrowed in concentration and a golden eyebrow was arched skeptically.
"Yes, I fell in love with your mother when I first saw her," Alfor agreed, "I knew that she was the other half of my soul."
Coran bit his lip and allowed the brief sting of pain to prevent himself from laughing out loud. He could well remember how vehemently Alfor had refused to consider an arranged marriage to the very princess who was now the other half of his soul and how tumultuous the first year of their marriage had been.
The Queen was not as discreet. If he didn't know any better, Coran would have sworn that the sudden cough that escaped from Juliana's lips was an extremely earthy insult—had it not been for that fact that the Queen herself was the essence of graciousness and decorum.
"But Mother was a princess," Allura asked, pulling on her father's sleeve to catch his attention, "and you were a prince before you became the King. Will I have to marry a prince to become the Queen?"
Alfor reached out and captured his wife's hand with his own, pulling her into his embrace as well. "Maybe you should ask your mother that. Little One. SHE is the one who has the sight, you know."
Juliana arched her eyebrows regally and lifted her chin, from head to toe the image of a haughty young queen — an image that was dispelled by laughter in her sparkling eyes. "I am a Daughter of Cador, Alfor, not a carnival fortune teller, Alfor. My gift is not one that I can conjure up on demand."
"Really, Mother? Is that why I never see things like you do?" Allura's eyes lit up hopefully as she transferred to her mother's arms. "I only see red and black spots whenever I try to see things. I'm afraid I don't have talent like you and Father," she admitted with a defeated sigh.
Alfor smiled fondly at his daughter. He had known how special she was from the moment that he had first held her in his arms. Instead of squalling with displeasure, as most newborns would have, she had regarded him with otherworldly blue eyes.
Her birth marked the fulfillment of a prophecy that had been immortalized in legend, painting and song across the Far Universe. She had been born with the phoenix on her shoulder — the mark of the one who would cause the downfall of the Witch Haggar and end the death and destruction caused by her monstrous creations.
The little girl he held in his arms was destined to be greater than he could ever hope to be.
A dark shadow crossed his face as he thought of what Haggar would do if she found her. The prophecy was the only thing that the witch was afraid of and she would stop at nothing to protect her power...
Alfor didn't know whom to trust — so he chose to retire from the traditional whirl of social activity of Arussian court life — to raise his daughter in as much safety as he could provide.
He and Juliana surrounded their daughter with close and trusted friends and retainers, closely limiting her contact with the world outside the pale marble walls of the Castle of Lions and the watchful eyes of Haggar's magical informants.
Alfor smiled in grim satisfaction. Only two Arussians knew Allura's secret and they would die before letting the witch and the tyrant she served know that the child who they had sworn to kill was actually the pampered princess of Arus.
Rool Gorma had been Juliana's doctor during Allura's birth. The last of a long-line of healers and wise men, he knew the prophecy by heart, having learned of it at his grandfather's knee.
Coran was Alfor's most trusted advisor. The two men were actually distant cousins— as were most of the noble families of Arus—but there was there was a bond of friendship between them that went far beyond mere kinship.
Alfor knew that his wife's sister, Orla knew about Allura's birthmark. He didn't expect otherwise. The two sisters were twins and shared everything with each other.
Juliana had also added Betta to the cabal. The plump Cadorian woman had once been Juliana's handmaiden, but she now served as Allura's governess. It was a match made in heaven, Alfor mused. Betta was one of the only people who had enough personality to handle his spirited young daughter.
Feminine laughter penetrated his reverie and he smiled involuntarily. Despite his worry about the darkness of the times they lived in, his spirits lifted whenever he heard their musical laughter.
He regarded his daughter closely — trying to see a little bit of himself in her but he could not. Allura was the very image of her mother — she had Juliana's gentle smile, fragile blond beauty and amazing eyes.
He stifled a chuckle as he watched as his daughter practice the negotiation skills that she had perfected on him on her mother and winced guiltily, remembering all the times that he allowed Allura to have her way, even when he knew he ought not to.
Juliana often took him to task for encouraging Allura's headstrong behavior, but he couldn't help it — he could never resist his daughter when she approached him with her heart reflected in her eyes.
He discreetly hid a wide grin as he watched Juliana capitulate to their daughter's plea. He promised himself that he would tease his wife about it later, when they were alone in their chambers.
"You do not see things because you are trying to hard, Little One. Come, let us do this together. Close your eyes and concentrate, let the colors in your mind's eye swirl and allow the mist to lighten until you see clearly," Juliana explained patiently.
Allura closed her eyes and imitated her mother briefly before losing interest in the exercise. She opened her eyes and began a lively examination of the view visible from the schoolroom.
Oblivious to Allura's distraction, Juliana stood still for a long moment. When she finally opened her eyes, she hugged Allura close. "Choose your husband by his deeds, Little One. Always remember that there are princes of the blood and princes among men," she breathed quietly, looking over Allura's head, to meet her husband's hazel gaze.
Coran suddenly felt a jolt of alarm run through his body as he watched his queen— Juliana was deathly pale. He had known her long enough to know that she had seen something that disturbed her greatly.
He looked at Alfor and saw the same apprehension mirrored on his face for a brief moment before his friend immediately concealed it so as not to alarm the little princess in Juliana's arms.
Allura sighed and rolled her eyes in exasperation. "Mother, you didn't answer my question. The universe is full of people who are not princes. How will I know him when I meet him?"
Juliana tightened her grip on her daughter as Allura began to squirm and relished the warmth of the small body in her arms. "Your heart will know him. Besides, even if YOU don't know it, there will be others around you who will know him when they see him."
Allura nodded and began to fidget. For the moment at least, she had no further questions. She looked longingly at the door — the beauty of the day and the promise of adventures in the gardens with the Space Mice beckoned.
Alfor plucked Allura from Juliana's arms and caught Coran's eye, nodding towards the door. Coran nodded and cleared his throat to attract Allura's attention.
"Your Highness, I think we have done enough for the day. Now, I want you to continue reading your mythology book. Tomorrow, we will discuss the origins of the myths and how they satisfied curious minds like yours."
Allura's face lit up and her eyes sparkled in delight. This was perfect! She had been wondering how to convince Coran to set her free so that she could go outside and play hide and seek with the Space Mice. She squirmed in her father's arms until he set her down on the floor.
She was about to run from the room when Coran's disapproving frown reminded her of her manners. She smiled at him apologetically and curtsied prettily before her parents. "May I be excused, Your Majesties?"
Juliana nodded and gave her permission to leave, holding out her hand for Allura to kiss in the traditional Cadorian manner. She watched her daughter rise and skip out of the room, glad that Allura had not noticed her strange behaviour.
Alfor and Coran sprang into action as soon as the door closed behind the little princess. Coran grabbed a chair from the study table and ordered Juliana to sit on it, forcing her to do so when she ignored his command. Alfor knelt in front of her and tried to rub warmth into hands that had suddenly gone cold.
Juliana ignored their ministrations. She closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to regain control of herself before she was overwhelmed by the power of the vision that she had seen in her mind's eye.
Coran waited patiently, knowing that his queen was struggling to find words to describe what she had seen and that she would tell them what it was as soon as she made sense of it herself.
A chill ran down through his spine and he crossed himself instinctively as Juliana began to speak.
"Yellow eyes filled with lust The guardian castle reduced to dust Terror and despair rule supreme Nothing stops the tyrant's regime The Lion sounds, roaring out loud Calling five, standing tall and proud The phoenix flies to fill the breach Peace, once hopeless, now within reach A leader of men, a prince by blood A princess as fair as a rosebud Through death and life, they are entwined Their destiny defined by a cosmic mastermind"Alfor cursed under his breath, "So it has begun."
Juliana nodded sadly, "Ready your troops, husband. I feel something stirring. Haggar is marshalling her powers. We must prepare for the inevitable." Her voice trembled and broke as she spoke.
"Does she know about Allura?"
Juliana shook her head decisively. "No. She does this for Zarkon. Arus would be just another planet to add to his empire. "
Alfor sighed, "Then there is still hope."
"Yes, there is still hope..." Juliana agreed with a weak smile. She allowed herself the luxury of forgetting that she was a queen and a daughter of Cador and became an anxious mother, filled with fear for her child.
Alfor watched the terror flicker across his wife's expressive face and understood it immediately. He felt the same way himself. He took her in his arms and pressed a kiss to her golden head.
Coran cleared his throat uncomfortably and bowed low before them, "Your Majesties, with your permission, I will begin preparing the planetary defense system."
Alfor held up a hand, "Wait, my friend. Before you go, there is something I must ask of you... If anything happens to either of us, swear to us that you will care for our daughter as you would your own."
Coran paused, "Of course. Fiat, my lord. Thy will be done." He bowed before them once more and left the room, discreetly closing the door behind him.