Sneakiness
During the time they were waiting to make the engagement official, Nanny went about preparing the staff of the Castle of Lions for the impeding change in very pragmatic and sneaky ways. The best way to ensure that the right people knew was to have the castle gossip fed with just enough facts and clues to come to the right conclusions. Displaying a very cheery and happy behaviour while doing her duties was the first part. Coran was the one in charge of Keith and Allura's studies into the things a king absolutely needed to know, so that part was covered. The switch needed to be done gradually though, at least in the perception of the people working inside the castle. They couldn't have it be known too early on after all, and she didn't want any of the nobles that might try to interfere plotting if she could prevent it. They had no rights to do so, but she knew their modus operandi too well to risk anything before nothing could be changed anymore.
And the maids, she knew that very well, as she had often needed to reprimand them about getting their jobs done in time, were the biggest gossips there were. And using gossip, well, she had much experience in that already, though so far it had been for other purposes. Like sending subtle warnings that she was onto certain things. Thus, she started her work with them.
"Alina, Jennifer and Primrose, I need to have an inventory of the silk linens that we have for the large sized beds inside the caste," Nanny told the three.
"All the linens?" Jennifer asked.
"Yes, we will need them soon and I want to be absolutely sure that everything is ready. I don't know how much time we have when the time comes, but right now we can do this without it interrupting the normal schedules. Oh, I'm so happy," Nanny gushed.
"Did something really good happen, Nanny?" Alina asked.
"Oh yes, but I can't tell you yet. Just be prepared for some really exciting news. And for once they are the really good kind. I'm going to have so much work to do. Oh, I need to see about the kitchen being ready. Get the inventory done, girls, and then do your normal duties for the day," Nanny instructed them and then walked off, a small grin playing around her lips. The seed was planted.
"What do you think that was about?" Primrose asked, "I don't think I have seen Nanny this happy ever before. Well, outside of when we found out that the Princess didn't really die, but that it was just a mean trick."
"It certainly is strange," Alina nodded along, while the three moved towards the storage for the good linens, "I would bet that it has something to do with the Princess. And something Nanny has waited for a long time for."
"Well, the silk linens are only used for nobility. We don't use them for the normal beds, as they are simply too expensive and the money can be used better in our current situation. And the large ones are only used in very few rooms. With the Princess's room, we change them once a week. Why would we need a full inventory for that? No other room currently has silk linens, not to mention a big enough bed," Jennifer pointed out.
"It could be possible that a ball of some kind was planned. I know that back when King Alfor was still alive, such balls happened at least once a year and the guests would of course get the best kind of service inside the castle," Primrose pointed out.
"Might be. Perhaps the princess has a new suitor? I mean, Nanny always went on about how she wished that Princess Allura married some nice Prince and became Queen of Arus," Alina suggested.
"I doubt that she would marry any prince she doesn't know. If some prince was wanting to court her, it wouldn't cause this kind of excitement. The last two times that Princess Allura had a prince courting her for a short time, Nanny may have been excited, but never this happy. She was hopeful that the prince met the expectations of the princess, but we all know it never happened, as the princes, excuse my blunt words, were jerks that didn't deserve her at all," Jennifer commented.
"Too true. They may have looked good, but they didn't care for her as a person. And that first fake one was even a spy sneaked in by the witch Haggar. Coran and Nanny have become much more careful about allowing just any suitor close to the princess. Not to mention the background scans Commander Keith always puts any kind of suitor through that even wants to meet the princess," Alina giggled.
"Oh yes, do you remember the stink that pompous idiot Prince Kane caused when Commander Keith refused to let his delegation enter the castle?" Primrose remembered fondly.
"Well, after the attempt to rape another woman on Planet Cios during a ball he had every right to ban Prince Kane from even coming close to the Princess," Alina declared.
"Very true. No matter how that prince threatened the commander, he stood his ground and tore the bastard apart verbally, all while the other male members of the Voltron Force covered his back. And Coran sent an official complaint to the Alliance about the prince and the stance of Planet Arus towards letting rapists get away without punishment," Jennifer summed it up.
"We are lucky that our princess has such a strong protector in the commander. I actually always thought that the two would make a dream couple," Alina mentioned.
"He would need to be a prince to be allowed to marry the princess. Even if I agree with your assessment," Jennifer nodded, "At least we would know that he would treat her like she deserves to be treated."
They reached the storage for the linens and set to work, Alina writing down the number of each kind of linens, while they were already searching for the special silk linens they could as well count the others as well and make sure that there was a simple and logical system to the storage room. They knew too well that Nanny would ask for this later anyway, and it would mean one job less to do.
"Well, we have about twenty-five silk linens for the large beds that can be used right now. A good thing we also checked for the state of all linens, as it seems that some of the older ones broke," Primrose commented.
"Yes. We can give Nanny the full list of things that need replacements and what can be used immediately. Though I really wonder why we would need these ones in large numbers. Even during a ball, we would at most need fifty for all guest rooms. The guests would come one day, then the ball would be held and the next day they would leave again," Jennifer said.
"And the beds normally are single ones in the rooms, with exception for six rooms, which are for married couples that come for visits. Anybody else has to accept that they have normal sized beds," Alina pointed out.
"I guess we will find out soon enough. Perhaps one of the others has an idea what this could be about," Primrose suggested.
The other two nodded and they set out to find Nanny to give her the list with all information.
They found the governess of the Princess talking to some maids that were tasked with cleaning the windows.
"That's it girls. The windows must gleam like never before. Oh, are you three done?" She turned when she spotted them.
"Yes, Nanny. We did a full inventory of all linens and have written down how many of each are ready to be used, as well as the number of ones that weren't in useable condition anymore. We put those into the side room to see what could be done with the useable parts of the material," Alina handed over the list.
"That's more than I asked for, girls, it's wonderful. This will be a great help when it happens," Nanny praised them.
"What is going to happen, Nanny? It seems to be big, if you have the extreme cleaning done. We never before did this," Primrose asked.
"Oh, I can't tell you yet, but it's very exciting. Don't worry, we will inform you all in time. Right now, last preparations for the big event are performed. Oh, and if you could kindly send Grace and Mary to me, I need them in an hour," Nanny asked them.
"Sure, we can do that," Jennifer nodded.
Nanny nodded with a big smile and walked away.
"She's behaving as if the Princess is getting engaged," Regina, one of the ones cleaning the windows commented.
"Well, she asked us to do an inventory of the big silk linens," Alina told her.
"It would match, but to whom? I mean, there are only a limited number of rooms inside the castle that have beds that size and fewer that we would need the silk linens for. But if she is preparing for an official engagement announcement, well, you all know that from that time on the princess would be allowed to sleep with her fiancé, going by the laws," Alice, the other maid cleaning windows threw into the conversation.
They all looked at each other. Could that really be true? The signs fit. Well, it was certainly going to be the hottest topic inside the castle.
The next piece of the puzzle appeared when Mary and Grace returned from the meeting with Nanny later that day.
"You won't believe what kind of task Mary and I just got," Grace told the assembled maids, which had sat down together in the kitchen that the employees at the castle used.
"Don't let us wait," Eleanor demanded.
"She wants to have all the guest rooms that are needed for a royal ball ready for use in one month," Grace informed the others.
"Wow, a ball. Any kind of occasion that we need to know of?" Rayne asked.
"Not sure yet, but I have the impression that it's a really big event," Mary stated.
"Yes, and the strange thing is, she also is very secretive about a task that would be given to us very soon as well, which she doesn't want to be spread. We had to promise her that we wouldn't tell anybody without her explicit approval," Grace continued.
"That really sounds like a big event. Very big. A normal ball never caused her to go into this kind of overdrive. I think the suspicions about the princess getting engaged might be true. She is far too happy for it being something below that level," Alina pointed out.
"But who could be the possible spouse? I just met the Voltron Force when they returned from their afternoon practice and there was no tension in Commander Keith, which always happens if we have guests of that kind. I think the only kind of guests he doesn't go crazy about in his security measures are Princess Romelle and Prince Bandor of Pollux," Eleanor mentioned.
"Well, that's because Sven is with them on Pollux and Commander Keith trusts him implicitly to have impeccable scans around Princess Romelle. He was part of the Voltron Force in the beginning after all," Ines threw into the conversation.
"We will have to continue collecting information. But this would be really big. I mean, if the princess was married, or at least engaged, then Prince Lotor wouldn't have any reason to chase her anymore. He can't expect her to marry him, if she's already married," Anna pondered.
"It would be a risk if he found out," Grace warned, "We should make sure that the speculations don't leave the castle before the official announcement is made. He would attack immediately if he even thought somebody was impeaching into 'his territory'."
The maids looked at each other and then nodded. They would only discuss this inside the safety of the castle's walls.
For the next few days speculations about a possible engagement of the Princess travelled through all employees of the castle. The soldiers talked, the maids talked, the craftsmen joined in and the main question, after people heard all the clues that had led to the conclusion, was just who might be the possible fiancé. A week passed and more and more of the castle was cleaned up to the highest degree, more supplies for a huge feast ordered and repairs on parts of the castle that had so far been pushed back out of lesser priority were ordered done. The next huge event that surprised the workforce of the castle was when they were told that a ship with some high-ranking Alliance officers would be arriving in two days' time. Supposedly a general and a major would be arriving with their teams to talk about an Alliance base on Planet Arus.
It certainly excited many women inside the castle when they saw the male members of the Voltron Force wearing their official Alliance uniforms. But there was one symbol on the Commander's uniform that nobody could match to any of the others on the uniforms on the other three males. The riddle was discussed again and one worker that was good at drawing gave the others a sketch of it to ask somebody that had been around the military for a longer time than they did. And honestly, most weren't used to seeing the Voltron Force in any other uniform than the royal one of Arus, which they wore to please the princess ever since they had arrived on the planet.
When the one with the knowledge of symbols saw it, he was honestly surprised.
"Well, damn, I didn't think I would ever see that symbol again. I thought it was lost for good," He mumbled.
"Don't let us wait, what does the symbol mean?" Hugh, the one that had drawn the sketch, asked.
"It's a symbol from Fanos. It just doesn't make any sense. I know for a fact that the whole group of people that would have had any right to wear it was killed off by Zarkon, when he conquered the planet. It was over twenty years ago. My family lived on Fanos, you see, and all my older brothers served in the military there. The symbol was worn by the highest rank of military commanders, which were basically all the peerage of Fanos. I don't think any non-noble was ever allowed into those ranks. And you said Commander Keith Kogane wears it on his left shoulder?" Isaac asked.
"Yes, Isaac. We were surprised, as none of the other three have similar symbols. I mean, I know that Pidge has his dual planetary one, as Princess Allura made him an honourable citizen of Arus after Balto was destroyed by Doom, but the other two just have the symbols of their home planets. And I'm fairly sure that the last time they wore the Alliance uniforms, Commander Keith didn't have that symbol," Jennifer the maid commented.
"If this is that symbol, it is curious why the commander would wear it. I mean, even if he was from Fanos, and as far as I know, he was born on Earth, he definitely could never have been part of their military. He's too young," Hugh pointed out.
"True, he's twenty-three years old now," Primrose nodded, "He would have been a toddler when the planet was destroyed."
"I don't know if there was another meaning to it. I only ever saw it in that function," Isaac shrugged.
"Any idea why they sent a general in person? I mean, normally, just to set up a base, they could have used a long-distance call for the general agreement and sent a lower-ranking officer that would set it up," Alina asked.
"No idea. But normally somebody of the rank of commander would have been enough for that. Maybe this was just convenient and the general had some business that could be combined with the visit here to discuss the base and they didn't want to send another officer, while being busy with fights against people like Zarkon," Hugh suggested.
"Could very well be true," Isaac agreed.
Keith, Allura and Coran sat in the office with General Walters and Major Hopkins.
"Well, we have got your transfer papers to allow your switch in status to commence, Commander Kogane. And I personally want to congratulate you and your very charming bride to be," General Walters told them.
"Thank you, sir," Keith replied, "I'm very happy that circumstances allowed this to happen."
"Me too," Allura added, "And I'm very grateful that the Alliance assists us this much."
Keith and Allura exchanged a very fond smile with each other.
"We also looked into the accounts that the Galactic Alliance held from the time Fanos was still around. Most of the assets could be transferred to heirs, but the accounts of the royal family were frozen, as nobody could access them until a period of fifty years had passed. The standard rule for planets that are lost to invaders, simply because it is much too common that the enemy is very thorough in killing off all members of the family that can pose a threat to their new claim. And nearly nobody can keep an eye on all side branches of those noble families. A distant cousin could, after proving a claim, demand those funds," Major Hopkins informed them, "As you have been proven to be the grandson of the last king by a DNA test, Commander, you will be able to access those funds. It's not overly much, compared to the planets that have huge external accounts, thanks to being blessed with valuable export goods, but it is nothing to scoff at."
He handed a file over to Keith, who immediately let Allura look into it as well.
"That will come in handy for the rebuilding of Arus," Keith said happily, "That's about the amount we were talking about to install the higher-grade security systems to have better warnings about new attacks from Doom. Not to mention that you can realise the school project you wanted to start, Allura."
"You are willing to just invest that money into this planet?" Major Hopkins asked surprised.
"Arus is my new home and I want the people here to be safe and happy. They have suffered too much already, thanks to Zarkon's terror. I never had much money, even if I got by well with what I earned as a soldier for the Alliance. Money on an account doesn't do anything good. Money that is invested into the betterment of people, to allow themselves to make a good life for themselves, that's money that does good things," Keith stated.
"Ha, I see you are already thinking the way a king needs to think, Keith," General Walters laughed, breaking the formerly strict address of Keith, "You are right of course. But you still should make sure to keep some reserves to have money for emergencies."
"Don't worry, Coran makes sure of that," Keith nodded.
The two officers looked at Coran.
"I have been the royal advisor for many years now, and, as King Alfor was too busy with taking measures to protect the planet, similar to what Keith has done ever since he arrived here, other duties that were normally for the king to perform were delegated to others that were trusted by the ruler of the planet. Managing the general finances falls into that category and the Princess has asked me to continue with it until she asks otherwise," Coran explained.
"Keith and I will be busy enough with all other kinds of things, especially as Doom and King Zarkon haven't been defeated yet. Until that time, there simply are other priorities to managing every aspect of being king and queen. We are still part of the Voltron Force, even if we want to have some backup pilots to replace us, should our other duties keep us from flying with the lions in a battle situation," Allura added.
"Yes, in that regard, we have brought two recent graduates from the academy. Private Tano and Sergeant Ohara have passed their tests a year ago and have collected some experience working alongside the Voltron Vehicle Force. Private Tano has advanced training in communication systems while Sergeant Ohara is a fully trained field medic. He also studies in online courses to gain a full medical licence," Major Hopkins told them.
"That's very useful. We can always use more trained medical experts, even if Dr Gorma is very good at what he does," Allura commented.
"I would have to see how they work as pilots to really know which way to continue their training," Keith commented.
"They are aware of that. They see this transfer as a great chance to get some real flying experience in, as there won't be any places opening up in the vehicle force in the foreseeable future. How far are you with training up Lieutenant McClain as your substitute, Commander?" Major Hopkirk asked.
"I've so far mainly put him through some general instruction on how to fly Black Lion compared to his red one. I was too busy for more than that, and it wasn't top priority, as he has the basic training needed already down. We plan on running some drills with switched positions tomorrow," Keith answered.
"That would work well with the general schedule you told us about. I suggest placing Sergeant Ohara into the medical wing as an assistant to your Dr Gorma, with the additional lessons taking place whenever you have the time for them. And Private Tano with whoever has the most contact with the communication systems to get familiar with them," General Walters suggested.
"That would be Pidge, I guess," Keith nodded.
"Well, she would certainly profit from his abilities with computers. The boy is a certified genius after all," Major Hopkins nodded, "Now another topic, the Alliance Command had finally got around to acting on your exceptional performance on this mission and I'm going to have to perform some promotions."
"That's great, the boys certainly deserve some kind of acknowledgement after three years of saving Planet Arus and helping others that needed support to be free from Zarkon," Allura commented.
"Well, it was a bit difficult to get things done with the distance between Planet Arus and Galaxy Garrison on Earth. Basically, we are promoting Lieutenant Lance McClain to the rank of Captain, Sergeants Darrell Stoker and Tsuyoshi Garrett are promoted to Lieutenant and, even if you are going to become King of Arus, Keith, you get promoted to Colonel compared to your previous rank of Commander," General Walters informed them.
"Thank you, General, this means a lot to me and the others," Keith said with a smile.
"Nothing more than you deserve. How far are you in terms of informing the staff of the upcoming engagement? We didn't let anybody outside of the direct command involved into the Voltron Force department know about it, like you requested in the coded message," Walters wanted to know.
"Nanny is busy strewing veiled hints. The castle gossip, according to Lance, is discussing a possible engagement already, just based on a number of jobs Nanny delegated that aren't the normal type here at the Castle of Lions," Allura giggled, "Not to mention that she freaks some maids out with her extremely cheery behaviour."
"I also have the communication out of the castle closely watched. Pidge created a program for us to make sure that only permitted calls go out. Nothing will get out before we want it to happen. But the gossiping without any solid base in this case only helps us. Though Lance also says that nobody caught onto the fact that I'm the one being engaged to her yet," Keith added.
"I don't doubt that this rumour will be added very soon. After all, you aren't in, what did Hunk call it again, ah yes, Alpha Lion Security Mode, this time around. Everybody has noticed how serious you always took your job to protect Princess Allura, even from threats that Nanny and I just didn't see, or were too naïve to see. I don't know if anybody will recognise or even notice the crest of the Fanos royal line that was added to your official Alliance uniform, but they will wonder why you aren't analysing the background of a possible fiancé," Coran commented.
Keith scratched the side of his cheek a bit in slight embarrassment. Well, he wouldn't ever apologise for being thorough in protecting the princess from attack via possible suitors for her, not after the mess that nearly cost them her and Blue Lion, had King Alfor's spirit not interfered. He had sworn after that event to not overlook anything when it came to her. And his drive had only become stronger, the more he fell in love with her. While he had thought that he could never have her, he loved her too much that the only thing he could do was ensuring that nobody that would hurt her could even get close to her. It was still like a dream to him that he actually could marry Allura.
The Voltron Force was part of the currently very small group that actually knew what was going on. They were all extremely happy that Keith and Allura would be marrying sometime in the not too far away future, even if, for the moment, they would be keeping it to an official engagement. All others would be told little by little, with the staff getting the official memo a week before the engagement ball would take place. The ball would until then be treated like a normal ball to allow a suitor the attempt to court the princess, like it had happened in the past. This should give the ball itself enough security to not expect a response from Lotor. He never really reacted to those balls, seemingly he knew too well that Allura didn't like the idea of having to marry anybody while her planet was still at war with Planet Doom.
Lance and Hunk had just come back from their recent patrol, Lance taking Black Lion for the patrol, simply to get some practice in piloting the largest of the Voltron lions, in case Keith couldn't do his normal job. General Walters had performed a small promotion ceremony for all Voltron members that were members of the official military of the Alliance, and they had had a nice party to celebrate their new ranks. While it wasn't the most important part for them, it was still a good feeling that their work was being acknowledged and their sacrifices for Arus seen by the higher ups. And the higher rank came with more salary as well. It certainly would help with future career prospects, even if the consensus among them was that they wanted to stay on Arus as the Voltron Force, designated as a specialist team for the Alliance.
They were back at the repair bay, simply to allow Hunk and Pidge to give the lions a thorough check, plus getting the backups used to how the lions worked. Eileen Tano and Brian Ohara had proven to be nice people and they easily got along with the experienced members of the Voltron Force. So far, the two hadn't been informed just why they had been requested to come to Arus, they just knew that it was for security precautions, as the number of attempts of taking out a lion pilot were too high to ignore the risk, and that right now the Alliance could send them reserve pilots without missing them on other battlefronts.
"I have to say, Black does have a totally different way of handling than Red," Lance told Hunk.
"I would expect so. It is a good deal bigger than the other four after all, not to mention all the controls for Voltron. How much more power does it have?" Hunk asked curiously, "I mean, I know all the technical data, but flying Black would be different than just knowing those facts."
"Very true. While Red is speedy and agile, Black has a whole lot of raw power on top of that. You need to consider that while flying him to get the speed manoeuvres that Keith loves doing so much performed properly. I have gained a whole new level of admiration for our fearless leader for making flying Black look so easy. No wonder that he insists on keeping up his physical training as much as he does though. You are dealing with different forces while flying Black," Lance explained.
"And, would you like taking it over permanently?" Hunk asked.
"Honestly, I will be happy the longer Keith can fly Black. It's a huge responsibility to fly that lion," Lance admitted, "I like my position in Red much better. Less things I have to look out for. Even if he's pushing some more of his duties off onto me."
"Well, he has good reasons. I wouldn't want to have to study all those additional things they force him through," Hunk commented, "At least it will be worth it in the end. And as much as Coran and Nanny support the development, they are slave drivers. And you know that Keith has always been and will always be a perfectionist."
"Too true. Well, let's go and see how Pidge, Eileen and Brian did with the data we sent them from the patrol," Lance commented and the two left, not reacting to the obvious listening of the repair bay workers.
"Did you hear that as well?" Enrico, a technician asked his friend.
"Definitely. Something big is going on within the Voltron Force," Adam, said friend and fellow technician nodded, "I don't think Commander Keith has ever allowed or trained somebody else to fly his lion, beyond a few basic lessons for Princess Allura. The fact that Lance would take Black Lion on patrol and commenting on training to substitute in case something happened, there has to be a reason for that."
"And the studies that they mentioned the Colonel to be going through. What could they be for? I mean, while I could imagine that Colonel Keith, thanks to his recent promotion, for all the incredible things he has done for our planet, has to brush up on certain topics, why would Coran and Nanny be involved in those studies? Coran normally only trains the Princess," Enrico pondered.
"Uh, I have a far-fetched idea, but I don't know how much there might be to it. But, what if the possible engagement, which is the hottest topic in the castle gossip, is with Keith?" Adam voiced his thoughts.
"You know the Princess has to marry a prince. As much as I would wish it was different and the Commander of the Voltron Force was allowed to marry her. He would be the perfect choice for both her husband and our new king. I mean, it's due to him that we got back up from the state that Zarkon left us in. While the other pilots of Voltron certainly played a huge part as well, it was him that always created strategies, that motivated and trained them to be that good. And contrary to the Alliance, he actually did the work needed to help our people. We know that, except for the Voltron Force, until now there wasn't official support for us. We had to fight for everything we have now," Enrico said.
"Remember the symbol on his official uniform? The one from Fanos? What if they recently found out he was allowed to marry her? The discovery of hidden descendants of royal lines isn't unknown after all. Many families desperately tried to hide their children from the attacks of Drules. And all it would take would be a DNA test to find that part out. The ball that is going to take place in two weeks' time is, as far as popular suspicion around the castle goes, to announce the engagement of the princess. Just let us assume that this could be true, then I would bet my salary for the next six months that Keith would right now be researching any kind of file that he could get his hands onto about the future fiancé. And, with Pidge being a computer genius, he would have access to anything he wanted to get into his hands within a few hours. Pidge would come through for him. And still he is studying for something else, something that, according to what we just heard, will be worth it in the opinion of Hunk and Lance. What could be worth more than marrying Princess Allura?" Adam listed his arguments.
"If you put it like that, yes, there is some logic to it. Should the ball really be to announce an engagement, the commander would be doing double shifts to not only have security at the highest level he can achieve, he would also be making sure that the possible fiancé was what he appeared to be. The commander would never let anything get past him in concerns of the Princess's safety. And I did get the impression that he cared for her very much, but also that he would never try anything inappropriate with her, at least not in public. I mean, rumours about a possible relationship between the two have been going around for ages now, but nothing could ever be truly proven," Enrico nodded.
"Perhaps we can find out if there are more clues. If it is true, well, nothing better could happen to Arus. With Colonel Keith as king we would finally be safe," Adam stated.
"That's right. He would make a great king," Enrico agreed.
They then were called over to help with the repairs for the lions and set to work, but they would be telling their friends what they had overheard and their possible theory and, just like that, the rumours among the castle would be increasing again.
The castle was abuzz with the newest rumours, ones which Nanny was very excited to hear about, even if she kept to her prim and proper façade. The numerous small hints that she had let drop over the span of two and a half weeks, with some assistance of the Voltron Force, who had been included in the plan to have the staff aware without having to come out officially, had finally done their job. The most popular theory among the employees at the Castle of Lions was that Princess Allura would actually announce her engagement to Colonel Keith Kogane at the royal ball that would be taking place in just one and a half weeks. Everything had worked out perfectly and the preparations, assisted by the rumours, were going very smoothly. It was time to hammer in the last nail, the secret project that she had asked Grace and Mary, two of the most experienced maids in the castle, to be ready for.
She entered the kitchen, causing the assembled service staff to go silent.
"Ah, Grace and Mary, good that I directly find you. I need you to come with me for the project we talked about. Bring all the cleaning supplies we talked about as well as three sets of the silk linens that I had the inventory taken about two weeks ago," Nanny instructed, "I want you to bring three differently coloured sets, I need to check which colour works best."
"Of course, Nanny," Mary agreed and she and Grace stood from their seats.
They got looks from the others, nodding at the implied question to tell them as much as possible later on. Mary went to get three sets of silk linens while Grace put together the needed cleaning supplies. Then they were met outside of the kitchen by Nanny, following her into the royal wing of the castle.
"Now, I chose you two for this job, as this information can't be getting into the wrong hands before it doesn't matter anymore," Nanny strictly told the two.
"Of course, but why the secrecy, Nanny?" Mary asked.
"Because I need you two to help me getting the royal master suite ready," Nanny told them.
"You mean; the princess is really going to be engaged?" Mary asked excitedly.
"Yes, she has accepted the proposal of a young prince, but we can't let the information get out too early on, as we don't want the ball, where the official announcement will take place, be attacked by Doom. You know how obsessed Prince Lotor is with making the princess his bride. And you know that by the traditions of Arus, engagement is formally binding, practically only just one step below what the people on earth consider a marriage, even if we will hold the wedding a good deal later, simply because the list of people that need to be invited doesn't allow for it at the current time. An engagement ceremony allows us to only invite our closest allies and friends, which is common for a normal suitor to be introduced, and has happened in the past many times," Nanny pointed out.
"Are the rumours true that it is Colonel Keith Kogane?" Grace asked.
"I can neither confirm nor deny that question. I'm obliged to keep the secrecy of the identity of the princess's fiancé at this time. But I can tell you that I consider the young man very worthy of our princess and have no doubt that he will make her very happy and will be a great king for our people," Nanny avoided giving a clear answer.
"Alright, we understand, Nanny. Then let's do our best to give the princess a new suite that is worthy of all she does for our people and planet," Mary declared, getting a proud smile from Nanny and an enthusiastic nod from Grace.
Mary and Grace returned from the job of preparing the royal master suite after four hours of intense work. There was a lot to be done to have it ready for the princess to move in there with her fiancé. The suite had only been cleaned once a month since the resurgence of the new Castle of Lions, and only in the most basic way, as nobody lived in it and it would have been a waste of resources to have everything in prim condition while other parts of the castle were lived in regularly. They had cleaned each part and then discussed which colours schemes for decoration would be working out the best. In the end, they decided to go with a royal blue for the linens and put some pictures of famous sights of Arus into the empty spots for paintings on the walls.
There were pictures of nature as well as monuments there. The carpet would be delivered the next day, as the old one wasn't one that the princess liked enough to keep it. As King Alfor and Queen Ariana had never inhabited the suite, there wasn't any sentimental value in keeping things in there, which meant that the princess would have the room the way she liked it. New curtains and towels for the bathroom were already prepared and would be put into the suite during their next shift in there. Nanny didn't think it was needed today, as the engagement would only be announced at the ball.
"And, what can you tell us?" Alina immediately asked.
"There are parts that we can't talk about, as we swore it to Nanny. I can confirm that the rumours aren't far off, that much I'm allowed to say, but Nanny didn't confirm the newest rumour, but also didn't deny it. Make of it what you want. She also told us that a week before the ball more instructions will be given out," Grace told the others.
That was a fairly clear statement. The rumours said the ball was for the engagement of the Princess, but the identity of the prince to marry her was still in doubt. Everything so far pointed at the Commander of the Voltron Force. If the two had done a job that confirmed the main rumours, meaning the engagement, then things would become very interesting very soon.
"Why the secrecy?" Jennifer asked.
"Security reasons. No communication is allowed outside of the castle right now, if it doesn't go through Pidge's new system. And voice calls have been cut totally, as you already noticed. This is really big and nobody wants Doom to interfere and ruin things again," Mary explained.
The information was simply taken as fact. They all suffered regularly under the constant attacks. It was logical that the princess's engagement would fall under the highest security precautions ever.