Hades' Covenant

Chapter 1 - Pomegranate

"Do. Not. Move," his words were low and threatening as his lips brushed against her ear. A firm hand pressed over her mouth to silence her, his body tight against hers.

Allura could barely move beneath his iron vice of a body and the strength with which he covered her mouth nearly cut off her air supply. She couldn't squirm, scream, or fight back. 'Terrified' was an understatement.

Tears budded in the corners of her eyes in panic as she stared openly up at Lotor, his body wrapped around hers, pressing her against the wall in the dimly lit Drule corridor. She only struggled as fiercely against him as she did to tame her rising hysteria.

"I mean it," he hissed dangerously at her as footsteps approached from behind. His scent clouded her mind as thoroughly as his body dominated her field of view.

"Lotor, what the hell are you doing," Zarkon's voice drawled out lazily from behind his son. Lotor pinned the princess with one last warning look – or was it… pleading? – before raising his head to look over at his father. His body still pressed into hers, effectively concealing her.

"Having a bit of fun at the moment, Father," he called out loudly, glaring over at the king.

"Save some for me," the king laughed darkly. She would have dropped to the ground in a cold faint if he hadn't been supporting her body completely. His hand on her arm squeezed tighter in response to the king's words.

"There are plenty of others for you," he commented dangerously. Somewhere in her haze of fear, a single ray of comfort brushed her at the venom in the prince's voice. Realizing that he did not intend to let Zarkon near her was a small relief. The prince was terrifying enough on his own.

"I thought I told you to keep your harem activities contained to your chambers," the aging monarch grumbled. Lotor grew stiffer as the footsteps came closer. "Which one is this one, anyway? I haven't noticed you spending time with your girls since you started chasing after that princess."

All Allura could see was Lotor; she couldn't see what was happening in the background. The statement Zarkon made resonated surprise in the back of her mind, but there were far more serious matters in front of her to contemplate it at the moment. Several strained seconds ticked by in silence. Another footstep behind them urged Lotor to shift his body slightly. A low rumble resonated from his chest that sounded suspiciously like an animalistic growl.

"I-" Lotor fumbled with an answer, his word half-spoken, half-snarled.

"Sire. I have something that requires your attention immediately." Allura recognized Haggar's voice instantly.

"What is it, witch?" Zarkon sounded more irritable than usual.

"A robeast for you to inspect. It's in my laboratory," she continued.

"That's what you call immediate? Very well," the king grumbled. One set of retreating footsteps preceded an exhale of relief from the prince, but he still did not move.

"You'll crush her if you keep doing that, you know," Haggar said softly. "I won't tell him. I just need to go find a robeast to show him now," she muttered. Lotor stepped back from Allura, his hands still firmly on her upper arm and over her mouth. Allura felt the blood return to her forearms as he put a step between them. Her palms still rested on his chest from her attempts to push him away before he had bodily crushed into her.

"Good work, Haggar," he said as the crone ambled off in the direction Zarkon had taken. He looked pensively after her for a minute to be certain both were gone before fixing his gaze on the princess.

"If he knows you're here, we'll both end up in the Pit of Skulls. Is that clear?" He stared at her intensely as she tried to nod her head up and down under his grip. He sighed and took a second step back, releasing the hand over her mouth while still gripping her firmly by the arm. She let her palms drop to her sides and balled them into angry fists.

"What are you doing here, anyway?" He looked over the slip of a girl as she squirmed against his hold on her.

"Let go," she instructed softly while trying to wretch her arm free.

"No, my sweet. We are going somewhere more private and I am going to learn why you are here," he said darkly. With a tug, he was moving down a hallway, hauling the princess behind him. She thrashed and struggled, but did not cry out. Allura knew there was no one in earshot that could - or would - help her.

Lotor grunted slightly in frustration as she fought him the entire length of the corridor. He paused in front of a door to unlock it. With a low oath, he pulled the door open and heaved the frustrating princess into the room, shutting the door and locking it with a keypad. Then, and only then, did he release her arm.

She sprang away from him like lightning, backing to the center of the room. Her left hand cradled her right bicep and rubbed it gently, trying to discourage the bruise that would likely appear. After a second, her eyes glanced around the room he had brought them to and her skin paled a few shades. In the center of the far wall, an enormous four-poster bed dominated the room. A plush ebony comforter draped over steel blue satin sheets and pillows, reeking of luxury. Black marble tile graced the floor and matching marble walls rose up around, framing an elegant fireplace.

Lotor calmly walked past her to the fireplace and touched a switch nearby, causing flames to spring to life and illuminate the dark room. He watched the fire for a moment before turning and fixing his gaze on her.

She flinched under the intensity of his look and self-consciously crossed her arms over her chest. Being around Lotor was discomforting. Being around him while alone was nerve-wracking. She had yet to come up with a word to describe the level of anxiety that being alone in his very bedchamber evoked from her. It was possible no such word existed.

He took the time to look over her closely for the first time since he crossed her path while she was infiltrating his castle. Allura had made it past two waves of guards, bypassed the throne room and had nearly made it to her target before she had the misfortune of being in the same hallway as he. Somehow, despite her sticking to the shadows and staying tucked out of sight, he had spotted her as if he had her pinned on radar. They had barely had a moment to exchange threats before he had covered her bodily. Protected, her mind corrected her. He had protected her from his father.

"What are you doing here?" His voice was calm but it was firm. He felt his temper swell when she just closed her eyes and tilted her chin up in response to his question. "Fine then," he drawled out dangerously. "Let's see if I can guess." He peeled off the wall near the fireplace and began pacing a slow, predatory circle around her.

Her eyes snapped open and she blushed brightly as he stalked her like a panther, slowly turning to maintain eye contact with him. His eyes roamed over her body shamelessly, drinking in every inch of her frame. Her muscles stiffened and her arms remained folded defiantly across her chest.

"I do like the outfit," he murmured appreciatively, commenting on her attire. Allura was not in her usual white and pink flight suit; she was dressed in combat fatigues consisting of black and grey. Baggy pants dwarfed her feminine figure, ending in a pair of black boots and a fitted black shirt. While she was unmistakable in his eyes, she was clearly attempting to dress for stealth.

When Allura continued to maintain silence, the prince's eyes narrowed dangerously. He paused in his stroll and stared openly at her. With the speed of a snake, he reached out and grasped hold of her wrist. Allura cried out in surprise as he shoved the long sleeves up her arm before reaching and doing the same with her other arm. Despite her struggling, Lotor pulled her in close and patted down her décolletage. She flushed red with embarrassment as he fondled her neckline before releasing her.

She sprung away, crossing her hands back over her chest in furious indignation.

"What in heaven-"

"You're not wearing any kind of communicator," he observed coldly. "You're dressed to hide within this place easily enough..." he trailed off, a sinister smirk on his lips. "I'd bet your team doesn't even know you're here, do they?"

"Of course they do! Keith is-"

"Keith would never let you do what you're doing. He's probably back on Arus, perhaps just now noticing that Blue Lion is even missing." He paused for effect, watching her skin pale slightly. "Am I wrong?"

Allura knew she hesitated a second too long. He was already smirking delightfully at her before she tried to deny his suspicion. She shook her head once, trying to convince the frightening prince that she had backup waiting in the wings.

"That still leaves one question unanswered," he continued, ignoring her insistence that the rest of the Voltron Force was nearby. "Why are you here?"

Again, she met his mounting frustration with silence to rival a martyr. He growled and moved toward her swiftly.

"No matter. I have what I want, I don't require anything else," he said. She backed away as he stalked toward her and it took only a matter of seconds before he caught her and she was falling onto her back on the soft bed, his body hovering over her.

"Uhg, get off of me!" She grunted at him, struggling to wretch her body free as he pinned her to the soft mattress.

"Why would I give up what I want?"

She cried out in frustration as he lowered his face toward hers. She turned away, grimacing at his proximity.

"All you want is my body?"

"I'll have your love, too," he commented coldly.

"Never," she hissed out. Lotor's jaw ticked and he paused, hovering a few inches above her. "And you don't have it, you're merely taking it by force," she commented darkly. She knew in the recesses of her soul that he was stronger than her and physically he could easily take anything he desired. Her words, however, seemed to startle him. The grasp on her wrists loosened and within a moment he had released her entirely, coming to stand again.

Allura sat up on the bed, a bit dazed by his change of tactic, watching him pace across the room in front of the fireplace. He paused and removed his helmet and set it on the mantel. She watched with fascination as he ran his fingers through his hair briefly before continuing to contemplate the situation.

"Keith doesn't know what you're doing. No one knows you're here. It can't be a war effort, you'd need backup." He stopped and turned to look at her. "I'm offering you a chance to tell me. I could get you to talk, you know. But I'd rather not resort to those methods…"

Her eyes widened slightly and she shook her head once. At her silence, Lotor stiffened.

"Very well. For each minute that you don't tell me what you want to know, I'll have a slave executed," he said.

"You wouldn't! You can't!" She reached her hand out toward him in blind panic, rising to her feet; the fear etched on her face gave away her weakness. He played his hand carefully and just shrugged, turning to the door to unlock it.

"It's Romelle!" Allura burst out into sobs behind him, covering her face in her hands. "I came to find her," she admitted, her shoulders sagging in defeat.

"Now that's more like it," he commented, turning back to face her.

"You're a monster," she accused, gathering herself back together and wiping her tears away with a sniffle. "They'll come for me, either way, you know."

He watched her with an eerie intensity. The silence that beat between felt like it lasted an eternity. Allura fidgeted restlessly, unable to stand still while he stared. His eyes were narrowed dangerously, and in the glimpses she tossed him over her shoulder, she could see the flashes of thought behind them as he contemplated something deeply.

"What," she muttered, unnerved at his silence. He exhaled slowly, but did not speak at first. He instead lowered himself languidly into an armchair, his eyes never leaving her.

"I'm going to make you an offer, Princess," he said slowly, carefully measuring his words as he spoke them. His voice strained slightly, as if he were taking great care in precisely what he said.

"I won't marry you," she snapped quickly.

"You haven't heard my terms yet," he said, one corner of his lips curling up as she jumped immediately to that conclusion.

"I can't imagine you would have anything that would ever make it agreeable," she said flatly. Her ice-blue eyes had returned to him and pinned him with the fire he relished.

"See," he began, pausing to lick his lips. He tore his eyes from hers for the first time and glanced down to watch his folded hands in his lap. "Nothing has been - or will be - announced formally until after the fact," Lotor continued. "But Zarkon will not be king much longer. And I seem to be in dire need of a queen."

The news stunned Allura so sharply that she sat backwards on the bed. Her fury melted from her face as surprise flooded her features. Lotor kept his face pointedly impassive as he looked back to her.

"Zarkon won't be king anymore?" Her uttered cadence was a breathy whisper.

"No. I will be. Which means I will have autonomous authority over the entirety of the Drule Empire," he explained. He articulated each word slower than usual, carefully measuring her reaction. He watched with satisfaction as Allura's eyes widened - she realized where he was going. "I'll give you Romelle." He paused for effect. "I'll free all the slaves." Another pause as she chewed her bottom lip. He felt a twinge of delight as she struggled to keep her face blank but failed miserably. "Arus will never be invaded again."

She shot him a glare, clearly torn over the carrot he was dangling.

"I don't believe you." Allura's blatant shock wore off and she stared at him dubiously. Lotor's carefully concealed expression broke and he grinned lethally at her.

"I mean it. All that, for you. What do you say, my dear?"

"Never."

"You would trade all of that peace you claim to champion for… simply because of pride?"

Allura scowled at him. Her cheeks bloomed crimson at the insinuation that it was her pride stopping her. Her eyes both enticed and frustrated him; they were honed like frosty daggers on him, befitting a warrior in combat. While he knew she was rapidly contemplating a variety of aspects and approaches to the situation, he couldn't see past the frigid shields his sweet warrior brought to their battlefield.

"And what of me, then? A prize on a shelf? Locked in a tower?" Lotor masked his delight that she was even entertaining his offer.

"Of course not. You'd be by my side - ruling an empire," he responded.

"And what of Arus?" Her gaze never wavered; only her words betrayed her line of thinking.

"Completely under your control and reign, if you prefer. You could come and go as you please. I fancy a queen, not a hostage." Lotor was ready with an answer to every question she could throw his way. He had played the scene over in his mind for years. The only missing leverage he needed was the authority of his father's throne. Until then, he only had pale attempts to snare her through other means.

"I could be on Arus?" Her eyes lit up at the mention of it, the first crack in her barrier.

"At least half your time would be spent in Castle Doom. You would be ruling over the Drule Empire as well, you know. But if you so chose, the other part of the time you could be on Arus. You could spend half a year there, half here... or come and go between the two as you saw fit." He didn't necessarily like the concessions he was making for her, as he was greedy and wanted all of her at all times, but he knew damn well his price would need to be high to even engage her in a conversation about it to begin with.

She drew her knees up to her chest and seriously contemplated the offer in front of her. Allura's heart raced and she felt bile rise in her throat at the prospect of wedding the evil prince. But if he were being truthful in all he promised...

"How do I know you will keep your word?" She glared at him.

"Have I ever lied to you?"

"Of course you have! All the time!"

"Name one time," he challenged her. Allura parted her lips to spout off the list of every deceptive act he committed, but she froze. Prince Lotor had been cruel, he had been conniving and manipulative, he had even been brutal and aggressive. But she could think of no moment he had ever been deceptive toward her. Though brutish and overbearing, he had never made any pretense of his intentions or desires. She shut her mouth, glaring at him in response. He just smiled sweetly at her, eliciting a shudder down her spine. In that moment, Allura decided his smile was more terrifying than his smirk.

"So what do you say, my dear? Will you be my bride and become the savior of the galaxy?"

She desperately wanted to tell him no. She wanted to scream and run away from the idea, but the prospect of not only ending the war against Arus but also having the platform to negotiate on behalf of other planets was too enticing to completely resist.

Seconds ticked into minutes, Allura's gaze locked on his. Neither flinched, neither wavered. She was challenging him to break - to admit it was a joke or that he would never keep his word. Her eyes devoured his as she searched for any hint of deception, any filament of dishonesty or betrayal.

She found none.

"You're serious." Her words belied more of her astonishment.

"I am. I've always been serious when it came to you."

Allura's heart raced as she ran the scenario through her head. Her eyes widened and her cheeks blushed.

"Romelle goes free."

"Done."

"So do all the slaves."

"Of course."

"Immediately. No twisting it to be twenty years from now-"

"They will be considered free-"

"-and safe from all harm," she added dangerously, her mind rushing to try and seal any loophole he could think of. Her words ran faster with impending anxiety the more she negotiated.

"-And safe from all harm," he repeated, his grin widening a little bit as she engaged him in negotiations. "-the moment we are wed."

"Arus is safe. No infiltration, it stays under my authority only. You will have no say in decisions made regarding its governance."

"Fine," he shrugged, continuing to watch her hungrily.

"No Voltron; it, too, stays under my control alone. The lions, their pilots, like the rest of my citizens, all safe from any harm."

"As long as they don't engage in any hostile acts or try and break our agreement by rescuing you or forcibly coming between us," he countered.

Allura stared at him thoughtfully, racking her brain for any way he could manipulate the situation to his advantage.

"Only marriage. That's all," she pinned him down.

"Well, it would be nice if you stopped slapping me every time you saw me," he muttered dryly. The length of detail that she was going to would have been irritating if she weren't on the verge of agreeing.

"I won't be locked in a tower or thrown in a dungeon."

"Too cliché," he said absentmindedly. When she continued to stare at him, he gave her the concrete answer she was digging for. "No. Free roam of the castle, planet, empire and galaxy - freedom to travel between Arus and Doom as you pleased, anywhere you like, as long as you spent roughly half the time in total here. I won't have you marrying me then running back to Arus to ignore your husband. Likewise, if you're on Arus, I have rights to visit," he pressed back.

Allura scowled.

"But you're not taking over my authority. My people need me to lead them-"

"Just to visit," he confirmed. "I can only go so long without seeing your smile," he replied lazily with a grin. Allura's lips only twitched in response and stayed taut. She finally broke the staring contest between them as she reached to pinch the bridge of her nose.

"Stars above, am I actually considering this," she muttered to herself.

He waited. Never before had the impulsive prince ever felt such a strong call to patience. The sensation was foreign to him, but never had it felt so critical. He simply watched her in fascination, reading the tension on her features as her mind warred with her heart.

"When I say no harm, I mean direct and indirect - you can't cause someone else to go start a war or enslave them, either!" Allura glanced up to glare at him.

"You're really focused on that," he commented, more to himself as he realized one of the quirks of the princess.

"Of course I am! Your concern is that I'll agree to this and then run off away from you - my concern is that I'll give up everything for noth-" She paused mid-sentence as he rose from the chair and strode toward her, stopping in front of her on the bed. Allura gasped as he did something he had never done to her before.

He kneeled.

"Allura. I swear on my life that no harm, direct or indirect, will come to your people - including your Voltron Force - nor any of the other planets. The Drule Empire will protect them if needed from other invaders. The slaves will be released, including your cousin. Arus stays in your control, along with Voltron. All in exchange for your wedding vows. Do we have an arrangement?"

The princess was unable to hold back the unfathomable shock any longer. Her lips parted and her eyes widened while he patiently stared into her eyes.

"I..." Even as she trailed off, at a loss for words, he still waited. Moments became minutes and his muscles grew stiff from the floor while the thoughts flew through her mind, calculating, planning and weighing. After a small eternity, she breathed an answer she never thought possible.

"Yes."

Lotor took her hand into his and pressed her fingertips to his lips to seal the agreement.

"Excellent."

New story! Yay! Thank you for reading it all the way through~ Feel free to leave feedback, even if you hate it. It helps me write better in the future! (Bonus points if you get the chapter name meaning. ;) )