Prologue

Beads of sweat poured down Allura's face as she tossed and turned in her bed. Her eyes squinted harder as a small gasp escaped her mouth. "No…no…don't go…don't go…" She gasped in-between heavy breaths. "NO!"

Loud screaming sirens started blaring, and Allura popped up from her distressing sleep. Not realizing what was going on, she touched her face to see she was awake

The doors to the bedroom flew open. "Allura, get up! Doom is attacking again! Get up now!" Nanny ran straight to the bed and grabbed Allura's arm yanking her out of bed.

Allura looked out her window to the balcony. The huge skylights were searching the skies everywhere for Doom airships. In the horizon, huge flashes of explosions set off every few seconds.

"Allura, come on!" Nanny tugged harder. "We have to get you into the tunnels!"

"Alright, I'm coming." Allura got out of bed and followed behind Nanny out of the room. They ran down the long hallway and made a right turn at the end. After a few yards, they found themselves at a dead end. Nanny pulled back the painting on the wall to reveal a key pad. She punched in a code and a door opened up in the wall.

"Go, Princess!"

Allura looked down into the passage that led below the castle then looked back to Nanny. "I can't! I have to get to the Control Room!"

"No! Your duty is to hide from the attack!"

"I have to protect the people! I'll take the Blue Lion out!"

Nanny grabbed Allura's arm again. "No, Lance and the boys will take care of it! Go downstairs now!"

Allura paused for a moment as Nanny squeezed her bad arm. "Let go, please."

Nanny released Allura's left arm. "It still hurts doesn't it?"

Allura nodded sadly. She turned silently and headed down the dark stairwell. Nanny followed close behind with a small flashlight. The paused for a moment while the ground shook from a huge explosion.

"Hurry! Keep moving, Princess."

Allura headed down the stairs in silence as Nanny pushed up behind her back. She gently rubbed her right hand over her left forearm. It still hurt after a month despite the fact that it seemed like forever ago. Her thoughts shifted as she reached the bottom of the stairwell. There many of the castle's servants were gathered to hide from the attack. A small room with supplies was set up for times like these. The servants were happy to see their Princess, and the Princess greeted them with fake smiles then sat down quietly in the corner.

She had spent many nights over the past month in that corner. Doom had restlessly assaulted the Castle at least three or four times a week since it happened. She stopped her thoughts. She didn't want to think about it, but she couldn't stop it. Tears leaked from her eyes. It had been a month since Keith died.

"Blanket, Princess?" One of the servants asked.

Allura quickly wiped her tears. "No, thanks, I'm fine."

"Yes, your highness." The servant walked away.

Allura closed her eyes. She couldn't stop her thoughts. Everything from that day replayed in her head over and over again. No matter what people told her, she knew it was her fault: Voltron could not be formed, Arus was in danger, and Keith was dead all because of her. It was so painful to think about, but she couldn't stop the thoughts from bombarding her mind like the same bombs that were destroying the surface of the planet Arus. She leaned her head against the cave wall and wept throughout the entire night as she did most nights.

The next morning was quite. The bombs had stopped, the ships had left, and the sun rose up over the mountains. Three exhausted and beaten pilots trotted into the Control Room.

"Lance, Hunk, Pidge!" Allura ran over to the pilots and hugged them at the same time.

"Easy, Princess!" Lance snapped. He grabbed his side which was lightly bleeding.

"Lance!" Allura ran over to control panel and pushed a button. "Get him to the healing capsule."

Hunk and Pidge guided Lance into a small pod in the corner of the Control Room. They closed up the door behind him and turned the capsule on. White mist filled the pod and Lance could no longer be seen.

"What happened?" Allura looked to Hunk and Pidge.

Revealing his scruffy brown hair, Pidge took off his helmet and held it at his side. "The Red Lion took a bad hit. A piece of metal gouged into his side."

Allura noticed Coran standing in the doorway. "We'll have to get Red Lion fixed as soon as possible."

Coran stood silently thinking before he spoke. "We can't keep up at this pace. I don't know if Red Lion can be prepared before the next assault by Doom."

Allura shook her head. "Then what are we supposed to do? Hunk and Pidge can't go out alone! I'll have to take the Blue Lion"

"No!" Coran snapped. "You're still wounded."

Allura glanced down at her left arm. "We don't have another option!"

"We'll have to see if Lance is recovered before the next attack. He can pilot the Blue Lion," Pidge said.

"And what if he's not?" Allura asked.

"We'll just have to cross that bridge when we get there." Hunk took off his helmet.

Allura, clearly upset, collapsed into a chair. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

"Pidge. Hunk. Why don't you two go and get some rest?" Coran suggested.

Pidge nodded and headed out of the room with Hunk right behind him.

"What are we supposed to do?" Allura asked, choking on her emotions.

Coran looked at the control panel and stood silently.

"We can't take much more of this." Allura sniffed.

Coran looked over at her. "I know, Princess."

Allura gasped from her swelling throat. "I would do anything to save Arus. I have to save my people. I can't let them die. I can't let Zarkon have this planet."

"I will do everything in my power to save Arus, Princess."

Allura looked at Coran with tears in her eyes.

Coran stared in her eyes for a moment then glanced back to the screen of the control panel. "Why don't you get some rest, Princess?"

Allura stood up. She nodded to Coran and started toward the door. As she exited, Nanny walked into the Control Room?

"Princess?" Nanny asked, concerned.

Allura didn't reply and soon disappeared from sight.

"Coran?" Nanny walked over to the control panel and stood next to him. "What are we going to do?"

Coran ran his eyes over the screen. He stopped at a spot in the lower left corner of the sky-grid. He thought for a moment. "I think I have an idea."

Nanny looked over to him then glanced at what Coran was staring at. "What?"

Coran looked back to Nanny. "Perhaps there is hope afterall."

Allura laid back down in her bed. She stared straight up toward the ceiling. Two tears leaked from her eyes. Images flashed in her mind again. "Keith…" She whispered. "…I love you." More tears poured from her eyes. Out of all the horrible feelings, regret was the worst. After two years of knowing him, she never told him that she loved him.