A million decaphebes after leaving the crash site, Allura finally called a halt for the day, having spotted a leeward depression in an outcropping not too far off route. It wouldn't keep the wind out completely, but it was better than sleeping in a drift all night. And her energy stores were greatly depleted by her continued transformation. She needed shelter so she could relax her body back into her natural form.

"We should take advantage of the good weather," Prince Lotor said. "We may not have it as easy tomorrow."

"You call this easy?"

"By comparison, yes. Snowstorms are common on this side of the planet. We are lucky that we crashed here during summer."

"We can't predict what will happen with the weather. We can predict that without proper rest, we will not be able to protect ourselves or adequately restock our energy reserves. We can also appreciate that shelter is rare here, and may not be available when we run out of energy half a varga from now. I vote for sleep."

"Fair enough assessment, I suppose." And he altered his route to follow hers toward the outcropping.

At first, Allura tried to use her paws to dig to the bare ground, but once Prince Lotor caught on to her plan, he stopped her.

"We need a wider depression, not a deeper one. You won't reach rock digging by hand. There are far too many fathoms of snow between us and this mountain."

From another hidden compartment in his suit, he pulled out two reflective squares that when unfolded became self-warming blankets. He handed one to Allura, and she took it with chagrin. She and the other paladins were scantily equipped for emergencies. She made a mental note to ask Coran and Hunk to modify their suits. Water reservoirs were not enough to survive every situation.

Lotor also pulled out another co'l packet, which he'd used earlier to melt snow for drinking water. On top of the small circle of rocks she'd clawed from the outcropping, he dumped the contents of the packet, igniting a pitifully small but still very much welcome fire.

"I continue to be amazed at how prepared your suit is for our circumstances," Allura said, pressing her hands as close to the blue flame as she could tolerate. "It is almost as if it predicted this would happen."

Prince Lotor smiled. "As I continue to be amazed that the pilots of the most fearsome weapon in the universe fail to equip themselves for a single hostile condition of any kind. It's a miracle you have all survived this long."

"Well, you are not wrong. This is a lesson learned, I assure you."

Allura wrapped the foil blanket around herself and shrunk back into her normal form. The heat generated from the transformation immediately suffused her cocoon with warmth, and she settled in as best she could.

She already missed the fur on her face. The foil wrap did not reach the top of her head, nor did it seal around her throat, so puffs of snow still struck her skin and trickled down as ice water into the under layer of her suit. Not that she was complaining. She'd rather have the wrap than all the treasure in her father's castle at the moment.

Allura glanced up and caught the prince carefully not assessing her. She could sense his attention on her, but his eyes were continuously directed elsewhere—the fire, the outcropping, some vague point on the darkened horizon. She recognized it instantly for what it was: a burning question going unanswered.

"It's better if you just ask," Allura said finally, too exhausted by the events of the day to draw it out of him gently. "Trust me, I was born under an inquisitive star."

"I had noticed that, Princess. But I am not accustomed to indulging in irrelevant curiosity."

"But how can you know it will always be irrelevant? Can you tell the future? If so, can you show me how?" The last she said in a whisper to tease him into smiling again.

She liked being able to make him smile. It seemed like a sort of victory over him, because he smiled so seldom on his own. It was as if he'd intentionally trained himself to scowl instead, and every smile was a mission failed.

She enjoyed the small sip of power it gave her, because until now, he'd been the one providing supplies and could therefore direct their progress. She didn't like the power dynamic that entailed, especially since the last time they'd met, the power differential had been the opposite.

Allura was rewarded with a small smile and a tilt of the head, an acknowledgement of a point won.

"Perhaps you are right. But I hesitate because I do not wish to appear rude."

He didn't wish to appear rude? Allura blinked. Since when? sat heavy on her tongue, but she swallowed it. Far be it from her to incite rudeness if he had determined not to use it, for the moment at least. She held no illusions that he would restrain himself in the future.

"It is far too late now," she said instead. "Ask, and I promise not to be offended."

He sighed but yielded the argument.

"How do you…change?" he said finally.

"Is that all?" Allura said, chuckling. "It is simple biology. Alteans have a special layer of cells just below the epithelial layer called the iridophorial layer. The iridophore cells contain nanocrystals of different shapes, sizes, and organizations that—"

"No, I mean, how do you make it happen?"

"Oh, um…I'm not sure, actually. It's like asking someone how they make themselves blink. I just think about it, and then it happens."

"Can you take any shape you want?"

"Yes and no. There are limits. I cannot change size or shape too radically from my normal form. Colors are easier than growing fur, for example. To give you an idea, I was attempting to mimic the shape of a wyvryn from Ga'm-5, which, as you know, has an extra set of arms and fur that grows a span or more in length. My body could only roughly estimate that."

"I see," he said, hesitating only slightly this time before adding, "why did you change back just now? The night will only bring a drop in temperature."

"I can only assume a shape so long before depleting too much of my energy. I have never held a shape as long as I did today, and I engaged in some fairly rigorous activity with little food. I am about done in, as Pidge says." She yawned, her jaw creaking to make the point.

"Does it hurt to change back and forth?"

"Not at all. It is just a part of who I am. Who we are." She could see that her answer meant something but she couldn't tell what. "Why do you ask?"

Prince Lotor shrugged. "It just seems that everything worth having in this reality requires some amount of pain."

Allura stared at him, speechless. For the first time, she imagined what his life must have been like, growing up with a father whose sole concern was expanding his empire and decimating his enemies. Could a ruler so damaged by quintessence, so obsessed and corrupted by power, possibly show love and compassion to a child? And what of Honerva? Did she even remember she had a son?

"Not everything," she said quietly. "Some things are simply gifts."

He half smiled at that, as if amused by her naïveté. But her heart melted just a little, knowing that, in this at least, she had the greater knowledge.

"Sleep well, Princess."

"Actually, I would prefer to take the first watch."

"It is unnecessary. I am capable of going several quintants without sleep."

"How nice for you," Allura said sardonically. "I would still like to take the first watch."

He looked for a moment as if he might ask why, but finally he said, "as you wish, Princess," and rolled over in his foil blanket to face away from her.

She sighed and settled further into her own blanket, tucking the corners as tight as she could under her chin. She wished she could settle her internal conflict as easily.

She knew she couldn't trust the prince, but she empathized with him—or part of him, anyway—and that wasn't an easy thing for her to ignore. She was hardwired to hate Zarkon and to defend anyone hurt by his megalomaniacal pursuit of power. Figuring out where his son fit on that continuum was going to be harder than Allura thought.

She did have one more question. A question that had been burning a hole through her brain all day.

"Why did you destroy Honerva's ship and save us only to walk away from the alliance?"

"What?" he answered sleepily, rolling onto his back.

"The alliance. If you would help a rebel ship, proactively involve yourself in the battle of Naxzela for our benefit, then why did you not follow through? We were in the middle of negotiating, and you just disappeared."

Prince Lotor sighed, staring at the darkness above their heads.

"I am not a fool, Princess. I saw the Blade of Marmora gripping his knife, the council's guard positioned at the exits, the downcast eyes of the negotiator, all signaling a mere semblance of diplomacy. The only thing holding them in check was their respect for you and the black paladin, or more specifically, for their yearning to belong to the universe you envision, a fantasy of justice and redemption. They want what you symbolize, and deep down they know they cannot have it if you disapprove their actions."

Allura laughed, hard and brittle. He was a fool if he believed that.

"That's not even close to the truth. I have to beg them to see reason. We have to compromise all the time."

"It is true, Princess, though they barely realize it themselves."

"Regardless, that's not an answer. You had to expect the alliance wouldn't welcome you with open arms."

"You are right, of course."

"Then why did you leave? You couldn't have been afraid of a handful of guards, even if one of them was Marmora."

Prince Lotor added another co'l packet to the fire, the embers glowing blue for a moment as it ignited. He seemed unlikely to answer, which was fine she supposed. It was only curiosity that compelled her to ask in the first place. She didn't need to know why he'd left to know that he had and therefore shouldn't be trusted.

"It was a test," he said finally, surprising her. He seemed to be doing that a lot.

"Did we pass?" she asked, flatly.

He smiled. "Not that kind of test. I wanted to know what I was dealing with: what your strengths were, who your generals were. I was gathering intelligence that might prove useful."

"That's it? That's the reason you saved us at Naxzela? For a fact-finding opportunity?"

"No," he said, eyes still fixed at the sky. "The reason I saved you at Naxzela was to thwart my father. A thriving rebellion helps my plans, so I will help the rebellion when it makes sense for me to do so. The fact-finding mission was a side benefit."

Allura stared at him, horrified and a little impressed. It was as if he had no Altean in him at all. And yet, it seemed his pain was real. Did he honestly believe he lived in a universe of only enemies? Allura couldn't imagine what that must be like. He couldn't be right, could he? Maybe he did live in a universe where everyone wanted him dead.

When she spoke next, she was thinking of Blue. "The universe has a way of becoming exactly what we imagine it to be."

He didn't respond. They had been talking about the rebellion, after all. Perhaps her comment had seemed disconnected from the conversation. But it connected. It all did. That was the first lesson she'd ever learned from her father.

"Good night, Prince of Galra," she said and let it go.