A Royal Misdirection
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the Voltron Characters. This is for fun only.
Author's Notes:
This story was written as part of the KAEX Gift Exchange. I selected the Prompt: A story in which either Keith of Allura does something unexpected. This is the first part of the story. The second part is "An Officer's Response." This 'gift' was for Sapphire. :-)
Hmmm, my cute little rose paragraph divider doesn't seem to work in FFN. The "at" sign keeps disappearing. Oh, well. :-)
Setting: DotU. Rating is T.
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Allura's cheeks were bright and rosy as she entered the castle's kitchen and placed the pastel blue wicker basket on the counter. "Here they are, Nanny!" she called merrily and popped a few berries in her mouth.
Nanny bustled over to the basket saying, "Ooch, Princess, you know you shouldn't be out picking berries like a common kitchen maid. But if you do, you should wear a wide-brimmed bon-" Nanny's voice cut off dramatically as she snatched the basket from the counter and looked at the contents and then to the princess who was still chewing the berries she had popped in her mouth. Nanny flung the basket onto the counter spilling part of the contents. Grabbing Allura by the chin so that the princess' cheeks were pinched, she said, "Spit those out immediately and then rinse your mouth!"
Allura swatted the offending hand away and stepped back. "Nanny! What has come over you? I know I didn't wash them before I ate them; but they looked so yummy I couldn't wait!" Allura said after swallowing the berries.
"Princess, you didn't just pick silverberries. You picked tarnerberries as well!" Realizing the princess had already swallowed what was in her mouth, she said, "Quickly! Rinse your mouth!" She pulled Allura to the sink and grabbed a glass to pour some water into.
Allura did as she was told while Nanny continued talking.
"Princess, you know that tarnerberries cause people to behave irrationally. How many did you eat?"
Allura wiped her mouth with a napkin and laid it beside the sink. "I don't know. I ate maybe a handful of berries, but I'm sure they weren't all tarnerberries. It will be fine, Nanny. You know that other than a little out-of-character behavior tarnerberries don't cause any harm."
Wringing her apron in her hands, Nanny said, "No flying in the Blue Lion today. I don't want you having an accident because of those wild berries."
Taking the older woman's hands in hers, Allura smiled and said, "Don't worry. I promise I won't fly today."
"I'm going to call Coran right now and tell him," Nanny said with a nod of her head.
Still smiling, Allura responded, "Certainly, Nanny." She paused outside the open kitchen door as she heard Nanny at the communication unit. "Castle Control?"
"Yes, Nanny?"
"Keith, is Coran there?"
"I'm sorry, Nanny. I'm manning Control at the moment. Is there a problem?" Keith's voice came through loud and clear.
"Well, um, the princess has agreed not to fly her lion today and I wanted to be sure that Coran knew."
Keith's voice had an edge of concern as he responded, "What's wrong with the princess? Why shouldn't she fly?"
"She ate some berries that cause people to behave a little…"
"A little what, Nanny?" Keith's voice now sounded irritated at the slowness of Nanny's response.
"A little irrational," she finally said.
"Irrational? In what way?"
"They can do things they wouldn't normally do; things that could be dangerous." With a sigh she added, "And I suppose you could say they become more uninhibited."
This time the silence on both sides stretched until Keith said, "I'll put a lock on the chute for Blue Lion and I'll get the key from the princess so she can't fly the lion even if she walked out there."
Nanny let out a loud breath, "Thank you, Commander. I'll ready her room. She should probably spend the day in her chambers."
Allura walked away from the door with a smile. She didn't need to know anything else. Nanny would be occupied with her room and Keith would be coming to find her. Her smile broadened. Expect the unexpected, Keith.
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Keith rubbed a hand over his eyes as he closed the comm between Control and the kitchen. He knew hallucinogenic mushrooms and other plants on Earth could alter mood and behavior but he hadn't taken the time to familiarize himself with the native plants on Arus that might have medicinal… or other uses. Keying in the sequence that would prevent the dais for #4 rising, he sighed. He realized that getting the key from the princess wouldn't be so easy, even if she had agreed with Nanny about not flying.
Keith called Allura on the communication network. "Princess Allura, please contact Castle Control."
"Yes, Keith?" Allura's voice came through the system a few moments later.
Boy she sounds happy, Keith thought as he listened to the sound of her voice. "Can you bring me the key to Blue Lion? Nanny told me what happened, and I think it would be best to have the key to Blue locked away until the berries are out of your system." Allura's lilting laughter came through the system clearly causing several of the Arusian guards to glance toward Keith. Seeing that he was now an object of interest, he switched the communication to a headset which he quickly put on. "Princess?"
"Keith, honey, the key is safe with me. Don't worry."
Keith's eyes widened. Honey?! Those berries must be stronger than Nanny realized. "Where are you, Allura?" he asked as he looked for the location of the unit she was using.
"I'm going to the lake."
"The lake?"
Allura giggled. "Are you going to repeat what I say? If so, I know what I want you to say-"
Frustrated, Keith broke in. "Princess, you're not going into the lake are you?"
"Not until I get my dress off."
Keith nearly knocked his chair over as he stood up. "Don't go in! Wait for me." He heard her giggle.
"Bring your suit." She giggled. "Or not." More giggling.
"I'll be there in a minute. Wait for me." He didn't wait for her response but tossed the headset to the console and called over to a soldier. "Conner, keep an eye on the radar for me. Contact myself and Coran if you see anything." He moved quickly to the exit muttering to himself about the uncanny timing of a certain Drule prince's attacks.
Keith practically ran through the castle saying rushed apologies as he hurried past maids and other staff in his effort to reach Allura before she did something irrational and definitely uninhibited. He hadn't wanted to send anyone else on the mission because he knew that if Allura was acting out of character she wouldn't want it on display to the staff. He skidded to a stop as he exited one of the castle's side doors that led to a pier on the lake. His eyes bulged wide as he watched Allura's dress fall from her shoulders to puddle around her feet. "Princess!" Keith shouted, shocked to see her standing there in a royal blue strapless bra and matching panties. His eyes narrowed for just a moment as the small clothing items looked more like a bikini than underwear.
Allura giggled and waved and then took off running down the pier.
Keith ran behind her calling for her to wait but she didn't seem to listen to him. Without even hesitating, Allura did a beautiful dive off the end of the pier. Keith knew that the princess could swim but would the berries cause her problems in the water? Keith peeled off his red top and pulled off his boots. He was getting ready to jump in when Allura broke the surface twenty-five yards from the pier.
Giggling some more, Allura raised her hand and waved at him. "Come on in, Keith! The water is wonderful!"
Closing his eyes, Keith drew a deep breath. The princess seemed to be fine even if she were acting a little different. Opening his eyes, Keith saw that Allura was now doing a slow backstroke and he could see the womanly curves of her body as she swam. Lord, but she's beautiful, he thought and then corrected himself for thinking about such things when the princess was obviously not acting like herself. "Come back to the pier, Princess," he called to her.
"No! You come out here!" She made no move to head in his direction.
"Princess!"
"NO! I'm not coming and you can't make me!" she laughing called back to him.
Keith closed his eyes again. He didn't want Allura to get into trouble with Nanny and if the matron came outside and saw Allura like this…. Opening his eyes, he said, "If I swim out to you, will you come back in with me?"
There was a moment's hesitation and then, "Yes!"
Keith grabbed his boots and shirt and took them to the shore where they would exit. He glanced down to his pants and then out to the princess. It would be easier to swim with them off, but swimming with the princess while they were in their underwear just wasn't appropriate. His thoughts were disrupted by the princess.
"Are you coming out?"
"Yes," Keith called as moved toward the pier once more.
"Take your pants off!" Allura yelled to him.
Keith stopped dead in his tracks and shook his head. Allura really wasn't herself. He started forward again.
"Take them off, Keith, or I'll take off my top!" Allura called out with a giggle.
As he saw her hands move behind her, he quickly moved his own hands to his waistband as he yelled back, "No! Don't do that! I'm taking them off!" Sheez! This was the most unusual conversation he had ever had with Allura. And he had to admit to himself, it was kinda fun, as long as they didn't get caught by Nanny. Keith dropped his pants with his other clothing and walked down the pier in his red boxers. Allura let out a wolf whistle and he had to laugh before he dove in.
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The smile on Allura's face was huge as Keith dove into the water. She had heard him laugh at her whistle and knew that in his own way he was enjoying their banter. She was amazed at how much more at ease he seemed to be in talking with her at the moment. His commander persona was put to the side and they were more like Keith and Allura and not so much Commander and Princess. She sighed as she watched him surface and swim toward her. It was a shame that she'd had to concoct a ruse with the berries to get him to interact with her like this.
As he drew to a stop in front of her and began to tread water, she watched a rivulet of water run from his forehead down the side of his face. He's such a handsome-
"Princess?"
Startled out of her musings, Allura gave him a big smile. "Yes?"
"Let's go back to the castle."
Shaking her head, she said, "I don't want to go back yet."
Keith glanced over his shoulder at the castle. "Someone may come out at any time."
"So?"
Keith rolled his eyes. "You know Nanny will lock you in your room for a year if she finds us out here like this."
"Maybe," Allura said with a mischievous glance.
"Let's go back," Keith said while extending a hand to her through the water.
Thinking about it, Allura decided that being on the shore might be better after all. Reaching out, she took his hand for a moment before dropping it so they could both swim back.
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As they neared the shore, Keith stood up in the waist deep water and turned to assist Allura. As he did so, he drew in his breath at the beautiful picture she made as she pulled her wet hair around to cascade over her shoulder. The rivulet of water running from her hair split in two with one going down under her arm while the other went between her breasts. He couldn't take his eyes from the movement of the water until he felt her hand touch his face.
Looking into her eyes, he wasn't sure what he saw there but he knew that this was not behavior he should be engaging in with the Princess of Arus. Moving quickly, he scooped her up in his arms and moved toward the shore while the beautiful woman in his arms held tightly to him and… sighed? He was feeling slightly confused when he gently lowered her so her feet touched the sandy beach. His confusion didn't go away as she kept her body pressed tightly to his with her arms still around his neck. "Allura," he began to say as he tried to disengage her arms.
"Keith?"
He looked at her and saw clarity in her eyes.
"Kiss me," she whispered and closed her eyes as she lifted her face toward his.
Heaven help me, he thought as he surrendered to her request and his own wants. Moments later, they broke the kiss and rested their foreheads against each other. "We should get dressed," he said hoarsely and with some embarrassment. He wasn't sure what manner of luck had allowed him to kiss the princess without getting caught but he was sure it would run out soon.
Perhaps it was ungentlemanly to do so, but as Keith was getting dressed he watched Allura as she stood back to him and stepped into her dress. As he pulled his shirt on, he saw that she was unable to get the zipper all the way up the back of her dress and so he stepped over to assist.
His hand rested for a moment on her back once the zipper was up. He cleared his throat as she turned around. "Um, I'm sorry, Princess. We shouldn't- No, what I mean is I shouldn't-"
Allura put a finger to his lips which silenced him. When she removed it, she replaced it ever so briefly with her own lips in a feather-light kiss which left him just as breathless as the passionate one they had shared earlier. "Just because something was unexpected and perhaps in Nanny's words, uninhibited, doesn't mean it was unplanned or unwanted." With a wink she turned and headed toward the castle door.
Keith stood there for a moment as he processed what she said and then his smile grew. She had heard Nanny and that was a swimsuit she was wearing. None of this was because of tarnerberries. This was all Allura. Still smiling, he jogged to catch up with her. As they neared the door, he laughingly asked, "Did you even eat any of those berries?"
"Not the bad ones."
"Why?" he said as he gently reached to take her arm and pulled her to a stop. They both knew that he was asking about something much more important than the berries.
"Would any of that have happened otherwise?" She gestured back toward the lake.
He thought for only a moment and nodded in understanding. "So what happens now?"
Allura gave him a smile and replied, "I've done the unexpected. Your turn now, Commander."
As he watched her enter the castle he realized he had been given a special gift. Now he just needed to figure out how he could return it. With a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes, Keith entered the castle.
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