Allura, princess of Arus, was restless. Oh, she was tired, yet the events of the last several hours still hovered over her. She had taken the Black Lion without permission, gone into battle unprepared, and came back injured. Everyone was furious with her, and each took it out on her in their own way. Keith's cold shoulder had been the worst. She even tried to plead with him, and his reply cut deep into her heart like a sword.
"Keith, please say something," she begged, hoping for some mercy.
"Good intentions or not,... Sven would never have done something like that!" Keith yelled, back still turned her way.
Now that Lotor had left Arus for the time being, everyone was on speaking terms with her again, Keith included. Allura had saved them, allowing for the fivesome to regroup and form VOLTRON, an effective way to make it up to her fellow team members. Upon return to the castle this time, everyone thanked her for her help. Keith's response was the best of them all.
"I no longer have the right to pilot the Blue Lion," she said, acknowledging her previous action.
"Are you kidding?... You're part of the team!" he had replied.
Even so, they hadn't really talked since the Lion switch incident, the very thing they needed to do.
"Hey! Where are you going, Princess?" VOLTRON's team commander called to her. Looking around her, Allura saw that she was in the corridor toward the lounge; she had been walking in a daze. Keith walked up to her, looking amused rather than annoyed.
"I'm sorry, Keith-- I didn't realize I had company," Allura snickered softly.
The young man, now walking beside her, smiled back. "That's all right," he answered, "I was actually hoping to talk with you, anyway." They were right in front of the lounge door, and Keith, gentleman to the core, said, "Shall we, Princess?"
Allura entered the room, Keith following, and sat down face to face on the couches; their eyes locked and never let go. For a few seconds, Keith tried to gather his bearings. He'd never been in this close a proximity to Allura, and he was understandably nervous.
Thank goodness for the monitors, he thought. Otherwise, Nanny and Coran might turn me over to Zarcon and company.
"Princess, when we got back after you took the Black Lion, I said some things I shouldn't have, and I yelled at you more than I needed to. I have no excuses for that," he said. "You scared me terribly, and I seriously overreacted by becoming angry with you. Will you please forgive me, Allura?"
Allura started back a little, surprised. "Wow, that's a first!" she marvelled.
"What? My apology?" Keith asked, worried.
She smiled softly at him and snickered a little. "No—this is the first time you've talked with me just using my name," she replied sweetly. "And yes, Keith—I forgive you. Do you forgive me for what I did?"
His eyes sparkled just for her. "Yeah—definitely, Allura." Then, he stood up and stretched. "Well, we've got Lion practice early in the morning, and there's only a few hours to go until then. I'm going to turn in for the night."
She copied his action and said, "Me, too. Good night, Keith," as she walked down the hall towards her room.
Watching her go, he smiled and whispered after her, "Yeah—good night, Allura."