It was late at night, well, it felt like night anyway; time was a strange concept in space. Most of the paladins were already asleep. Allura, curled up in the corner of her room, was staring off into the emptiness of the dark. The only form of light were the thousands of golden specks outside her window, glowing dimly in the vast expanse of the outside universe. Her blanket was lying at her feet.
Knick knacks were scattered around, all reminding her of Altea—that Altea was gone and lost forever. Thoughts and memories consuming her, Allura didn't hear the whoosh of her door open and then shut. Nor did she hear the soft, delicate footsteps coming closer until they stopped just behind her.
"Love," Pidge said softly, "Is everything ok?"
When Allura didn't come out of her daze, the young paladin sat down next to her. Wisps of the Altean's soft hair were tickling Pidge's nose. Pushing the silvery hair behind the princess' ear, Pidge asked her again,
"Are you ok, love?"
Pidge wasn't sure what caught her attention, but Allura finally realised that the young girl was there. Her voice soft and cracking, the Altean let out a slow, shaky breath.
"No, I'm not." A single tear slid down her cheek.
"I'm really not. There are too many battles I've lost. Everything's gone—everyone's gone."
Another tear. She watches as it hits her knee and disappears into the fabric of her dress. Her father, her friends, all the good times she had with them... They were all gone forever, lost, and it was all completely out of her control.
Her voice brittle, she whispered to Pidge, "I can't do this anymore. I feel like I've been broken and shattered, and ... and the pieces lost between 10,000 years ago and now."
Pidge rested her head on Allura's shoulder. Herself aching with Allura's pain, she wrapped her arm around her partner's waist and rubbed her thumb gently across the back of Allura's hand, hoping to smooth her despair away
"You are beautiful. You are a mosaic of every battle you have won, love." She snuggled closer to Allura. "I look at you and you are breathtaking. You cry, not because you are weak, but because you have stayed strong for so long. You are so strong and so loved. You are might be shattered, mio amore, but you are still beautiful. I love you."