Betrothed


Chapter Two

...

No, no, no! How could this be? How could he know? Allura despaired. How easily the Galra prince had laid waste to her resolve! Her confidence shattered, her hopes decimated, and wildest fears awakened, all with one simple word: Princess.

Now she was presented with the dilemma of determining just how to answer to her captor's bold greeting. Should she feign denial? Ignorance? Terror? Which was her best tactic? Mentally, she wavered, caught at the crossroads of these possibilities. Lotor stalked forward to the table, and with each step, Allura felt her doom crushing down upon her.

"I see I have rendered you speechless," Lotor proceeded, a wicked amusement glinting in his amber eyes. "If I may, allow me to properly introduce myself."

Allura hardly felt that was necessary, but she offered no protest when the prince approached the table and bowed before her.

"I am Lotor, son of Zarkon, Prince of the Galra Empire and your honored host."

Ah, playing the honored host, are we? Very well then.

"And I am Allura, daughter of King Alfor, and Paladin to the Blue Lion. I make no claim to the title of princess any longer, as I have neither a people or a planet to call my own," she declared, chin lifted and eyes as cold as steel.

"A horrible misfortune," Lotor replied calmly, taking his seat.

Does he dare to mock me? Allura's temper flared.

"A misfortune in which I have you to thank for!" she burst, overwhelmed with sudden anger. Lotor appeared genuinely affronted.

"Me you say?"

"Yes, you! Have you so quickly forgotten it was the Galra who are responsible for destroying my homeworld of Altea?!" Allura exploded. Lotor inclined a silver brow.

"Interesting."

"What is?" Allura demanded.

"You refer to my Galra heritage as reason enough to accuse me of being responsible for your home world's decimation. As if it was I who had in fact been there, when we both know I'd not yet even been born," Lotor answered evenly, leaning comfortably back into his chair. "Is it your belief then, that all living, breathing Galra are bloodthirsty conquerors? If so, I imagine such assumptions make it quite reasonable to go on hating me and my kind as you do," he mused.

"As a collective species, domination by way of violence seems to be a strongly recurring theme with the Galra," Allura snipped.

"Ah, so you prefer to view us as a collective, instead of as individuals with our own unique thoughts and aspirations? How convenient." Lotor returned, his accusing eyes blazing into her. Yet, Allura sat proudly and met his gaze full on. He left her no choice but to retaliate. She would not let him play the victim.

"I see no point in discussing the views of nonspecific individuals when it is the majority of said individuals whose joint actions speak for themselves," she spat, returning ire with ire.

"Well, princess, you may change your mind when you hear what this specific individual in particular has to say about his thoughts and aspirations," Lotor countered.

"Oh, will I?" Allura scoffed, wondering why she was so affected by his impudence. This was the Galra prince after all. His misplaced sense of entitlement shouldn't have come as such a surprise.

Just then, the cell door opened once more and two servants entered with their hands full of silver platers. They waited for Lotor's nod of approval before setting the plates down on the table and removing the lids. Once the hot steam had dissipated, Allura's senses were apprehended by the sight and smell of the delicious sultry meats and rare vegetables before her. Scarcely had she taken it all in before a third Galra servant entered, carrying with him a bottle of wine. He uncorked the fresh beverage and poured the perfect amount into two empty glasses before standing back in line with the other servers, awaiting further orders.

Lotor wasted no time in sampling his meal. He carved off a small portion of meat and forked it, depositing it carefully into his mouth. Allura watched, mesmerized as the prince chewed thoughtfully, closing his eyes and appearing to fall into some sort of concentrated trance. The servants stood stiff with suspense as the moment dragged on. Then, Lotor swallowed, and the servants all seemed to relax with relief. At last, Lotor's eyes reopened.

"Superb. You are dismissed until further notice," he announced. In unison, all three servants exited the cell. Allura's mouth was already watering, but she forced herself to refrain from picking up her silverware. She was not about to partake of these delicacies when she'd still no idea of Lotor's true intentions behind this formal supper. Lotor noticed her hesitation immediately.

"Ah, please, allow me," he offered, not waiting for her permission before sliding her plate over and commencing to cut her meat into edible sized pieces for her. Allura just glared at him.

"And now I suppose you expect me to say thank you."

"It would be the politically correct thing to do. But then, I've never had much interest in political correctness. I prefer political directness."

"Is that what this is? Your way of being direct with me?" Allura challenged. This caused a small upturn in the corner of Lotor's lips.

"Would you be confused if I said yes?"

"I'm already confused," Allura admitted, watching him warily as he slid her plate back over to her.

"Indeed?"

"Can you blame me? It is not every day a dangerous enemy of the Galra Empire is welcomed into their first night of imprisonment with a supper fit for a prince, and joined by one too. Or is it?" Allura commented, eyeing the food before her hungrily. The scent wafting to her nostrils was so tantalizing, she could no longer restrain herself. Throwing suspicion aside, Allura lifted her first bite tentatively to her mouth. The flavor that flooded her tastebuds was absolutely divine.

"I assure you, this certainly is not our standard procedure," Lotor replied, taking another bite from his own plate.

"Well then, there you have it. I'm thoroughly puzzled. I suppose it is probable you are trying to poison me so that you can have the Blue Lion to pilot yourself. But then, why go through the trouble of making my demise so incredibly delicious?" Allura commented, just before taking another eager bite.

"Poison you?" Lotor looked positively offended. "What a notion. I'm afraid I must ask your forgiveness to have put such a strange fear into your head," Lotor chuckled. "I for one, thought I was making my advances towards you quite clear," he shrugged, "Then again, I'll readily admit, it has been awhile since I've made any real attempts at courtship."

Suddenly, the meat Allura had been in the process of swallowing, became lodged in her throat.

Courtship? Did he just say courtship?! I must have misheard.

However, her gag reflexes promptly kicked in, launching Allura into a most unflattering coughing spell. Lotor watched on impassively until she finally regained some control of herself. Mechanically, he lifted her wine glass and held it out to her. Allura accepted it and drank heavily.

What's this taste? she reflected. Some incredible fusion of sweet and sour. I'm sure I've had this wine before.

Whatever it was, she thought it quite pleasant. She emptied half her glass before setting it back down in favor of snatching up her napkin to her lips. The prince watched on, his blank expression entirely unreadable.

"I beg your pardon," Allura blushed, entirely mortified, "For a moment there, I thought I had heard you say-"

"-Courtship. You heard correctly."

Allura's eyes darted up to meet Lotor's in alarm, finding herself completely overthrown by the power of those vast yellow pools.

"W-what?" she stuttered. Lotor shifted forward in his chair, resting his elbows upon the table to lace his fingers just beneath his chin.

"I'll spare you any further formalities and speak plainly. It is my full intention to court you, princess, with the hopes that one day soon you will consent to be my wife."

A cold sweat began to break out over Allura's forehead and a strange blackness was beginning to creep into her field of vision. She blinked several times, but the invading darkness only continued to cloud her sight. She remained motionless, barely breathing, until nothing but black was left, and then... nothing at all.

...


A/N

Just wanted to say a quick thank you to those of you who have reviewed and followed/favorited my fic after only reading the first chapter! Your interest and support is much appreciated. I only hope my silly little concoction of a story can meet with your expectations. Stay tuned!

-2Tame A River