Written for Kristina for the Voltron Holiday Gift Exchange based on her prompt "What do you mean that's not what it means?"
"Great practice session, team. Let's head back to the castle," Keith announced over the communications channel shared by the lions.
"And just in time for lunch, too!" Hunk added gleefully.
"I'm starved. I wonder what Nanny's cooked up today," Lance mused.
"I hope it's space casserole surprise! That's one of my favorites."
"I thought all of Nanny's cooking was your favorite, Hunk," Allura said through a giggle.
Moments later, the lions were safely in their dens and their pilots were halfway to the dining room. They arrived to find Coran already seated at the table, a glass of water beaded with condensation before him.
Lunch may not have been space casserole surprise, but Hunk wasn't disappointed when it turned out to be cosmic stew instead.
"My favorite!" he gushed to Nanny as she served him and was rewarded with an extra ladleful.
The rest of the team rolled their eyes during the exchange and once everyone had bowls of the savory meal, they dug in with gusto.
A few hours later, Keith strolled into castle control and came to a halt behind Coran. The two men watched the monitor in companionable silence for a while before Keith started shifting his weight from foot to foot, anxiety beginning to show in his demeanor.
"Something wrong, Captain?" Coran questioned gently.
"Allura was supposed to meet me here about ten minutes ago for training in Black Lion. It's not like her to be late for something she wants so badly."
"All the lions are still in their hangars, so she must be in the castle somewhere. Perhaps Nanny had a task for her and she'll be here as soon as she's done."
"You're probably right, Coran. I think I'll go look for her. If she shows up before I get back, signal my communicator, okay?"
"Of course."
Thirty minutes later, Keith returned to Castle Control, his face clouded, a frown dragging down the corners of his mouth. "I've been through every inch of this castle and there was no sign of Allura."
"That's strange, Keith, because she hasn't been here either and none of the guards have reported seeing her leave the castle. I'll try her communicator and see if she has it with her."
The diplomat fiddled with some dials and pressed a few buttons before raising the microphone to his mouth and calling for the princess. When she didn't respond, he made some adjustments and tried again only to be met with continued silence. Coran passed the handset to Keith and the commander shouted Allura's name while the older man cycled through the different wavelengths.
Ten minutes later, they admitted defeat and turned off the radio. "Where could she be, Coran? I couldn't find her in the castle, no one saw her leave, her lion is still here, and she's not answering on her communicator. I'm worried."
"Me too, Keith, me too."
Allura opened her eyes and found herself lying on an unfamiliar canopy bed in an unfamiliar room. "Wh- where am I?" she muttered to the room at large as she sat up and looked around.
"You're in my bedchambers, my dear. Though I guess now I should start referring to this as our bedchambers."
Allura's eyes widened as she recognized the voice coming from somewhere slightly behind her. "Lotor!"
"Yes, my darling Allura," he said moving forward into her field of vision.
"What am I doing here?"
"Relaxing before our wedding, of course."
"Are you out of your mind, Lotor? We aren't getting married and this isn't going to be my bedroom," she stated, crossing her arms over her chest and lifting her chin in the air.
"But I love you, Allura. I'll make you a good husband, provide you with anything you want, jewels, slaves, entire planets, just name it."
"Lotor, you don't know the meaning of the word love. You think it's about owning a possession you want, but it's not. It's about caring for someone so much that you would do anything for them," she began.
"But I would do anything for you, Allura. Just tell me what you want me to do and I'll do it."
"Okay, then free all your slaves."
"Allura, you know that isn't an option. Without the slaves, who will wait on me?"
Allura rolled her eyes. "Lotor, I don't have slaves, I don't want slaves, and I don't need slaves. You shouldn't either. Besides you said you'd do anything for me because you love me, remember?"
Lotor sat beside her on the bed and attempted to wrap his arm around her shoulders. "Be reasonable, my dear. I want the slaves to care for us so I can spend all my time on you."
The princess flinched away from his touch and slid across the mattress until she was out of his reach. "Love is more than that, though Lotor. It's more than just words. When you love someone, you put their wellbeing above all else. You do things for them, not because you feel like you have to, but because you want to make them happy. You protect them…" her voice trailed off and her eyes lost focus for a moment. "You move heaven and earth if you have to in order to keep them safe and secure. You'd give your life if that's what it took to save theirs," she whispered.
"But I'd do all that for you, Allura."
"No, Lotor, you wouldn't. You'd see me as a possession, a trophy from your latest conquest. You'd expect me to submit to you, do your bidding. If you love someone you don't try to change them, instead you encourage them to follow their dreams and help them to grow and reach those dreams even if those dreams aren't what you want them to do. If you loved me, really loved me, you'd treat me as an equal. You'd treat me the way Keith treats me," she finished, a note of surprise in her voice.
"Bah, what does that idiotic captain have that I don't? Can he offer you every luxury in the universe? Can he fulfill your every whim?"
"He may not have the material possessions you have, but he has qualities that are more valuable to me. Compassion, empathy, selflessness… Need I go on?"
Lotor growled and in one quick motion, slapped Allura across the face with the back of his hand as he rose from the bed. "How dare you speak to me in this manner! You'll marry me whether you want to or not and you'll serve me in every way I desire without putting up a fight. Do you understand me?"
"I'll never be yours, Lotor, NEVER!" she spat, "Keith will find me and save me because he loves me, truly loves me," she finished in a whisper, her eyes unfocused and searching the space before her.
"Then you'll both die!" he shouted, pulling his laser sword from its holster.
Before he could take a step forward, the door slammed open, the rest of the Voltron force framed in the entryway.
"If you harm one hair on her head, so help me…" Keith began.
"You'll what? Spout an annoying speech at me?"
Keith grunted and aimed his blaster at the prince. "Just try me, Lotor."
Before either man could make another move, Allura jumped to her feet and raced to Keith's side.
"Don't Keith. He's not worth it. Let's get out of here and go home."
Keith nodded, then gently guided the princess toward Lance. "Get her to Black Lion. I'll be right behind you," he ordered without turning his gaze from Lotor.
"C'mon, Princess, let's go," Lance coaxed as Allura looked back at Keith before turning and fleeing from the room.
Keith slowly backed through the doorway, keeping his blaster trained on the evil prince. Once he was safely in the hall, he turned and raced down the corridor, catching up to the rest of his team at the lions. He helped Allura board and made sure she was seated comfortably and securely before giving his team the order to lift off.
They flew in silence for a while, lost in thought. Finally, when they were well clear of Planet Doom, Keith adjusted a few controls and turned to face his passenger. "Are you all right Princess? Lotor didn't hurt you did he?" he asked, kneeling before her and looking for signs of injury. "You're bleeding," he said, noticing her split lip and reaching under the seat for the first aid kit.
"I'm all right, Keith. It's nothing, I'm fine." She swallowed, running her tongue over the cut. "How did you find me? How did you even know I was missing?"
"When you didn't show up for Black Lion training I knew something was wrong. You want to fly so badly, I knew you wouldn't miss it unless something happened. Coran and I searched the castle, questioned the guards, and tried to raise you on the radio. When none of that worked, our next thought was that Lotor somehow got his hands on you and here we are." He gently dabbed at her lip with a moist cloth as he spoke.
"Keith?" Allura asked timidly.
"Yes, Princess?"
"Why didn't you ever tell me?"
"Tell you what?"
"That you love me."
"I lo-what? Why would you ask me that?" he gulped, his face turning bright red.
"I realized it when I was trapped with Lotor. He kept claiming to love me, but when I tried to explain what love really looked like, I realized that I was describing the way you are with me."
"Oh," he whispered, "I didn't realize it was that obvious. I'm sorry. I didn't mean to put you in this position. I know you can't ever return those feelings for me and it's okay. I understand."
"But I do feel the same way for you, Keith."
"Even though I'm not royalty and we can't be together?"
"Where did you get that idea from?"
"Nanny made it pretty clear that you're supposed to marry a prince."
"That's her opinion. There's actually nothing in Arusian law that says that," she said, a small smile tugging at her lips.
"Really?"
"Really. Now about my lip…"
"What about it?"
"Shouldn't you kiss it and make it all better?"
And he proceeded to do just that.