Disclaimer: WEP owns everything except the voices in my head.
I sit alone in my room with the lights out, hiding my face in my hands. I've really done it this time. I've made one too many promises and there is no way I can keep them all. I try to suppress the moan that attempts to escape my lips but am only partially successful. Flopping backwards onto my bed I fling my arms out at my sides, my hands fisted. It's time to make a choice; I have to decide which promise to keep and which to break. How was I supposed to know when I made each of those vows that they would end up on a collision course making them mutually exclusive?
I don't make promises lightly, my word means everything to me and now I risk losing the trust of someone important in my life. I hate having to make this choice, though I already know which way I am leaning. The bigger question is which person do I tell first? Sighing, I stand up and head to the bathroom. Turning on the cold water, I splash my face and get ready to face the look of disappointment that I know will accompany my confession. I take a mouthful of the chilly water and swish it around my parched tongue before spitting it into the sink. I face the mirror, look myself in the eye, take a deep breath and make my way from my room into the castle hallway.
Reaching the princess's door, I knock gently and nervously wait for her to answer. Fortunately, I don't have to wait long before the panel slides back and she is standing before me. "Keith! What brings you here? Did we have practice scheduled this afternoon that I forgot about?"
"Uh… No, nothing like that. I just wanted to talk for a few minutes. That is if you have some free time?"
"Sure. Is everything OK?" Her look of concern makes me more nervous about what I want to tell her.
"Yeah, I'm fine." I gulp and follow her into the room. I sit down on the sofa and stare at my feet. She sits sideways on the couch beside me, her leg tucked neatly beneath her.
"Keith, you're making me nervous. What's wrong?" I glance up and the look in her eyes nearly melts my resolve as I fight the urge to flee.
"Sorry, Princess. It's just that I've realized that I need to do something today that I have always done everything I could to avoid. I need to break a promise, and it's a big promise…" My heart is thundering in my chest so badly that I feel like my whole body must be shaking.
"Sometimes we all make promises that we find we can't keep. Is it a promise that you made to me?"
"No, but I have to break a promise to someone else because of a promise I made to you. I've realized that I can't keep them both."
"I don't understand, what do you mean?"
"Well, I promised you that I would never hurt you…"
She interrupts before I can finish my thought, "And you haven't. You never would." She reaches out and takes my hand, squeezing it gently. Pulling me towards her, she leans closer until I find myself wrapped in her arms. I reach up and return her tender embrace before placing a soft kiss on her lips. "And you know I would never hurt you either."
"Like I said, it's not the promise to you that's a problem. It's a promise that I made to Coran that I can't keep."
She looks at me curiously and I sigh before continuing. "I promised him that I would protect you from…" OK this is harder than I thought it would be. "from… well, from allowing anyone to…"
Her eyes grow wide and she puts her finger on my lips to silence me. "You didn't promise what I think you did, did you?"
My throat is tight and has a lump has formed, preventing any speech at all, so I merely nod my head as I look at my boots once more.
"How dare he ask you to make such a promise! It's not up to him to choose who I give my heart to. And you, how could you make such a promise to him?"
"I did it before I realized just how I felt for you, or that there was even a chance that you might feel the same for me. Just like I made the promise to never hurt you before I realized that there could be something between us. At the time when I made each of those vows, I could easily keep them both, but now… If I keep my word to him, I will have to break things off with you and hurt you. And I really don't want to do that. But if I follow my heart and allow things with you to continue, I am breaking my promise to him." I shake my head sadly and glance at her out of the corner of my eye.
"Oh, Keith. C'mon, we're going to go find him right now and explain why his promise needs to be broken."
She stands up and grabs my hand, pulling me to my feet and out the door with her. When we get to Coran's office, she knocks on the door, then opens it and marches in without waiting for a response. I am swept along helplessly in her wake.
"Coran, how dare you make Keith promise to uphold your agenda!"
"Princess, Commander, what's this all about?"
"I just found out that you made Keith promise to keep any potential suitors who weren't royalty away from me!"
"Well, yes… It's part of his job as the head of your security forces. What seems to be the problem here?"
"Coran, I need to break that promise to you. I should have never agreed to it, but when I did, I didn't know… I didn't let myself believe…" I break off as my voice fails me.
Coran looks from me to the princess and back again. "You? You have feelings for Princess Allura?"
I nod silently before swallowing. "I never meant for it to happen, and when I realized how I felt, I never dreamed that she would return those feelings. But somehow she does, and now I have to break my promise to you, because I want to uphold the one I made to her."
"And what promise did you make to Her Majesty?"
I feel her hand squeeze mine and realize that she has been holding it through this entire confrontation. "I promised that I would never hurt her. So I can either keep seeing her and live up to the vow I made to her, or I can keep my promise to you. I can't do both. I'm sorry, Coran. I make it a policy not to go back on my word, and I don't make promises lightly, but I have to break this one that I made to you. Can you ever forgive me and trust me again?"
He sighs heavily before speaking again. "I have to admit that I am not completely surprised, though I had hoped I was mistaken. I know that your word means a lot to you and I can see how much you are struggling with this. I believe I will be able to look past this broken promise to me on one condition."
I swallow, worried about what I am about to get myself into. "What would that be?"
"Don't you dare break your promise to her!" He waggles his finger at me in warning, but I can see the hint of a smile twinkling in his brown eyes.
A big grin spreads across my face. "You have my word on it!" This is one promise I would rather die than break!