A/N — Well, this started as an answer to the challenge about our favourite pair and how they react when the lights go out, during a snowstorm. What it turned into was another story in the "Beautiful" universe, as a loose sequel to the first fic. The time frame is in the VF universe, before the war is over and Black is taken. I thought that I'd incorporate one of my favourite holidays, but give it a more Arusian spin. I've also added my OC from a previous fic near the end, but I make no reference to it other than her. Hope you like my sequel, and enjoy!

Disclaimer — I don't own Voltron, just my imagination.

"Keith, have you found the box with the wreaths, yet?" Allura asked the commander of the Voltron force, as he leaned around a small pile of plastic boxes, looking at the writing stencilled on the sides of the containers.

The commander leaned back and rubbed the back of his neck in frustration. "I don't see anything written on these boxes that would indicate decorations of any kind – wreaths or otherwise. Allura, are you sure they are down here?" Keith motioned to the small alcove that they were currently in that contained boxes stacked in uniform rows. They clearly looked like they were meant to be in long-term storage.

Allura stared at the boxes with a frustrated look on her face. "I was sure that the boxes were brought here after the celebrations last year. I wonder where they went to?" She bit her lip absently, in annoyance.

The winter solstice on Arus was a time that traditionally called for decorations and lights, or "Sparks" as the Arusians called them, to be strung. It was a way for people to counteract the dark and welcome the return of the suns – and their warmer weather – to the land and into their homes. Allura had always loved the holiday, but it had been made even better since the boys arrived. That first year, Hunk had remarked that this time of the year was also celebrated on Earth with a holiday called Christmas. After hearing about it, Allura had done some research on the holiday and had become enraptured with all the traditions, decorations, and the general good spirits that were supposed to surround it.

From that first solstice, Allura had started to add some of the more festive parts of the Christmas traditions into the Castle's celebrations, partially to make the boys feel more at home, and partially to beautify the castle during what was admittedly a dreary and cold time of the year. They had all been touched by her efforts, and had thrown themselves into the spirit of the holiday full force, adding to it every year until Keith privately thought that the castle looked more like a sugary gingerbread castle than the palace of a planetary monarch. It was always beautiful, but last year, there was so many lights on the sides of the castle, he was sure that planet Doom could probably see them without a telescope. There was a term for it that had niggled in his brain until he remembered it later on that week.

The castle had been Griswolded.

The commander wasn't sure where the phrase had come from, but he was sure that it described all the Solstice decorations to a tee. Still, he would never try to dampen the Princess's fondness for the season or the enthusiasm she had. Allura was able to have fun so rarely, and this time of the year always gave her a great deal of joy. She could actually act her age for a change, and the delight that she got from the twinkling lights against the night sky – well, the men had made it their mission to see her face light up brighter than the castle, when she saw the decorations.

It was for this reason that Keith had allowed himself to be drafted for the job of getting out and bringing up some of the decorations that would end up in the great hall for the solstice celebration next week. Of course, the lights on the castle had been brought up and put on the castle over a month ago – courtesy of Green and Red Lion's fancy flying. The rest of the mountainous amounts of ornaments, wreaths, bunting and garland trim were currently residing in the deeper parts of the castle's stone foundation area, alongside old files, tapestries, artwork, and anything else that wasn't required in the living or working areas of the castle, but may be required for a future time. At least, that was the theory.

Looking at the containers, Keith couldn't imagine that any of these had been opened since before the war with Doom. They certainly didn't look like they held anything festive.

"Princess, are you sure that we're in the right alcove? I am not getting a very solstice-y vibe from these boxes." Keith supressed a little shudder. Truthfully, this place gave him the creeps. It felt more like a mausoleum or crypt – a place that was meant for dead, forgotten things, not for festive, life-affirming holiday decorations. The alcoves bubbled out around long corridors, thirty metres deep and five metres high. The entire underground complex was also a sealed, climate-controlled environment to protect the contents of the boxes from moisture and rot. He had to admit, it was a great storage facility – as long as you didn't have to listen to the unnatural quiet that made your own breathing sound like thunder in your ears.

Allura bit her lip in irritation and looked around the alcove again. "I don't know what to tell you, Keith. I didn't put the decorations back myself last year, but the computer readout said that they had been put into alcove twenty-one, corridor one. This is definitely alcove twenty-one. You're right though, there doesn't seem to be anything here for solstice."

"Could it have been misfiled?"

"I suppose so, but if that's the case, then we may never find the boxes. This place goes on forever." Allura huffed in frustration. The entire underground complex contained several corridors with multiple alcoves of various sizes – some being used while others were empty. There were literally over two hundred alcoves, and to visually inspect each of them, looking for random boxes in a warehouse full of boxes, would take a team of people hours, to say the least.

"Hey-" Keith came over to her and pulled her to himself in a reassuring hug. "Don't worry, we'll keep looking. I can't imagine that they were filed too far away from the entrance. They are being used annually, so you would want them to be accessible, right? Let's not give up just yet."

Allura smiled up at him and let her body mould against his own in comfort, which was the other reason that Keith had agreed to come down to the storage area with the Princess – the facility didn't have surveillance cameras. Oh, there were cameras in the lifts and in the main corridor to the entrance, but the facility itself wasn't heavily monitored. All the really valuable things were in the royal vault, so security in this area was limited to physical things – locks and doors and seals. As far as privacy was concerned, this was as good as they would ever get in the castle.

It had been about six months since the incident that had led to Keith and Allura declaring their love for one another. It had been a wonderful revelation to the both of them, but the council had reacted with the typical amounts of horror and dismay that their beloved princess wasn't going to just jump at the chance to marry whatever prince they happened to throw her way. The Princess, however, hadn't backed down from her declaration that she would never, ever marry a prince, so a contest of wills was still currently being waged. Although Allura hadn't specifically mentioned Keith as the reason for her defection from protocol, the council had strong suspicions to that effect. It probably didn't help that the rest of the Force had threatened to leave Arus immediately if Keith was relieved of his command. Since the Lions were bonded to their pilots, replacements weren't a realistic option.

The Force was playing a bluff, and both Allura and Keith knew it. There was no way any of them would leave Arus unprotected, willingly. It was their home now. So, in order to keep things from coming to a head, Allura and Keith had been keeping their contact with one another publically professional, and privately discrete.

It was not a perfect solution, but Keith was willing to go along with it and see how it played out. He had loved Allura for years, and if he now got to hold her only sometimes, well that was better than it had been before. She knew how he felt, and that he wasn't going anywhere without her. He told her every chance he had. He wasn't letting her go – so if the council needed some time to get used to the idea that Allura had made her choice, then he was okay with her decision not to antagonize them.

Allura cuddled against Keith's strong chest for a moment, before reaching up and placing her hand on his cheek and a chaste kiss on his lips. He always made her feel better. Stronger. He was amazing that way.

The Princess straightened a little, putting her arm around the Commander's waist and took a deep breath, thinking about what Keith had said about the boxes being put close to the elevator so that they were easily accessible. That certainly made sense. She was just about to suggest they head closer to the exit, when a reflective glint caught her eye near the ceiling. A small, clear container sat at the top of a rack of bigger, paper-filled containers near the front of the alcove. She thought it was odd that the box seemed to be alone, but it certainly looked like the containers that were used for the solstice decorations. Allura nudged Keith and gestured to the box. Keith took one look at it and groaned.

"It would have to be at the very top, now wouldn't it?"

"I can get it, Keith. It's not too big, and there is a mini ladder right beside the stack." Allura offered, gesturing to the thin poll that had spikes sticking out on either side of it that was meant to allow access to the boxes.

Keith stared at her like she had lost her mind. "Absolutely not. I am not letting you get on that death trap of a mini ladder for the sake of a box. If you really want, I'll go up and read the tag to make sure that it's what you want. I can probably anti-grav it down using the Voltcom if we need it. Although, why it's the only box in here, I'll never know." Allura smiled at him and kissed him again, longer and deeper this time, which made up for the inconvenience, he thought, as he lost himself temporarily in the moment with her.

After a few seconds, Keith groaned and parted from her arms with a smile, going to the mini ladder to pull himself up. She really had too much power over him, he thought with grin, not really as worried as he probably should have been. He was enjoying himself far too much to worry.

Allura smirked, and then chuckled to herself as Keith reluctantly left her arms to climb the mini ladder. He really had too much power over her, she mused wryly. Anyone else telling her to stay put on the sidelines while they took the risk, no matter how slight – well, they would usually have met with serious problems from her. She was Blue Lion's pilot, for the god's sake! She could handle a mini ladder. With the Voltcom, even a controlled jump from the top of the containers wasn't a real problem. Still, one statement from him had her acquiescing without even a grumble.

Part of it was because of their stations, of course. He was her commander on the team and, as such, she was expected to obey his orders. On top of that, he was still her primary bodyguard in all things royal, so it was expected that she would yield to his directives in regards to her safety. The real reason she did, however, had really nothing to do with either of those reasons.

She did it because he loved her.

Of all the women in the universe he could have chosen, he had chosen her – a young naïve princess from a small, insignificant, war-torn world. It's not that she felt that she wasn't a good catch; it was just that someone as brave, kind, honourable, and drop dead sexy as he was, could have easily chosen someone with a lot less drama in her life. He had laughed when she had mentioned that to him months ago – and had then proceeded to show her just how much he did not mind his situation.

Still, if her beloved had any failings, it was that he was extremely protective of the things he cared about – almost to the point of suffocation, at times. She also knew that this life she had, and the job she helped him do, pushed every protective button that the man possessed. She did wonder if all the worry and protective instincts he supressed for her sake would give him a heart attack one day.

Allura loved Keith – body and soul, virtues and vices. If letting him take the ladder in order to spare her some small risk soothed his concerns, then she wouldn't grumble.

Allura watched as Keith climbed up the last few rungs with ease. Her heart did a little lurch as he repositioned himself on the ladder, reaching out at an awkward angle to see the writing on the inside portion of the container.

"Well, it looks like one of the mythical missing boxes, Allura." Keith grunted, holding his position using only his feet for bracing and his abdominals keeping him upright as he twisted the box precariously on it's perch. "I'm going to send it down to you once I get it enveloped in the anti-grav beam. Stay clear until it gets to the floor, okay?" Allura nodded and watched Keith move himself slightly again as his hand left it's perch to move over the Voltcom in mid-air.

Everything probably would have been fine, until all the lights went out in the vault, plunging the entire facility into absolute, terrifying darkness.