This a warning beforehand: there will be a somewhat gory description in this chapter. If you continue to read this, you have accepted responsibility for what you read. If you are not okay with that, I advise against proceeding.
"Klara, this is a bad idea! What if he gets out? What if he escapes and brings back his forces to kill us all?"
"He won't, Torc. I promise."
"But he's a prince! What if his men come looking for him and find him here?"
"They won't. Widget has set up several decoys throughout the galaxy to keep them occupied. There's no way they can find him and us within a week, which is all the time that we need."
"But what if the queen-"
When Lotor started to stir, Klara and the newcomer, Torc, grew silent. Upon opening his eyes, the prince immediately realized that he had been blindfolded. Pursing his lips, he tilted his head this way and that way, listening for any sign of movement or life. As Torc drew in a shaky breath and placed his hand into his jacket to retrieve the dagger concealed within, an eerie grin spread across Lotor's lips.
"I can hear you. Why are you frightened? Have you started to regret how you treated me?" he purred in a sultry voice.
"Hardly." Came Klara's curt reply.
"Then we are not alone. What are you reaching for, trembling one? A weapon? I did not think many Lepidoptans carried such things."
"H-How did you know I was Lepidoptan?"
"I didn't but now I do."
Klara clenched her jaw and reached into her pocket for Lotor's gag as she quietly crept closer to him. However, Lotor heard her coming and swiped his legs out in front of him. Klara quickly leaped into the air to avoid being tripped, but when she tried to spread her wings, the close quarters of the room kept them from unfurling fully and she hit the ground with a thud.
"Hmm, you cannot fly so the space we are in must be relatively small-" Lotor began to coo when he suddenly felt the icy touch of a blade against his throat.
"How dare you taunt her highness like that! Say one more word and I'll slit your throat!" Torc growled, pressing his knife further against Lotor's skin.
"If you're going to do that then you should try using the sharp edge of the blade instead of the flat one." Lotor replied coyly, his demeanor completely unaffected by the blade's presence.
Torc's expression slackened for a moment before scrunching up into an even tighter mass of angry wrinkles as he flipped the blade around in his grasp. "Why you-!"
"Leave him be, Torc. He is just trying to aggravate you." Klara interjected icily, her eyes warily watching the prince's every move.
"But Prin-"
"Torc!"
"Interesting. You are royalty, so given Torc's helpful outburst, I can assume you are a princess, unless I have miscalculated and you are a male. However, that possibility is extremely unlikely so I stand by my conclusion that you are in fact a Lepidoptan female and a princess."
Silence gripped hold of the air as Torc stared back at Klara with eyes wide in horror. "Milady..."
Klara released a heavy sigh and motioned for her attendant to withdraw as she carefully approached Lotor, ready to jump back should he try to strike her again. This time, the Galra allowed her to come near, his smug grin taunting her as she knelt in front of him.
"Frightened now, your majesty?" he crowed. However, he stiffened slightly when he heard the clack of metal against metal and felt something heavy clamp onto his ankles.
Now it was Klara's turn to smile as she stepped out of Lotor's reach. "As I said before, I have no reason to be afraid of you, your majesty."
Lotor clenched his jaw and squirmed slightly against his bonds to test them. However, he froze when he heard the obnoxious knocking noise of someone's fist hitting wood followed by the screeching of hinges.
"Milady, it's your mother and the queen." Torc whispered in a hushed tone, though Lotor still heard him clear as day.
Klara mumbled a word Lotor had not heard before, likely a Lepidoptan cuss word, and briskly approached the door.
"Stay here and watch him. If he tries anything, use your communicator to call for Oli; he should be waiting somewhere nearby." She grunted before hurrying out the door and shutting it behind her.
Once she had gone, Lotor immediately placed his head between his bent knees and pushed the blindfold off, blinking as the bright light of day flooded his eyes. Torc tensed when he noticed Lotor had removed his blindfold and considered trying to put it back on him, but after a moment, he ruled against it since Lotor was obviously much smarter than he.
Glancing down at himself, Lotor observed his that his armor had been removed, leaving him clothed in only his black under armor; Klara had most likely taken it to sell like everything else. After adjust his posture so was sitting more comfortably, Lotor tossed back his head to get his now loose hair out of his face, causing a seed of jealousy to sprout in Torc's chest at the sight of the long, silky locks while he subconsciously reached up to caress his own dry, chin-length, deep violet hair remorsefully. Lotor took note of this and flashed Torc a knowing smile, causing Klara's attendant to bristle before promptly redirecting his gaze. Lotor continued to smirk as he scanned Torc from head to toe, making the Lepidoptan shudder. He was significantly shorter than most of the males of his kind, standing a few inches shorter than Klara, and his physical form was far from special. Despite the fierce gleam in his eye, there was also a hint of a dullness and lack of depth as well, leading Lotor to believe that while his intentions were noble but he was somewhat dimwitted. Klara couldn't have picked a worse person to watch over the cunning emperor pro tem of the Galra.
Dismissing Torc for the moment, Lotor took the liberty of inspect his lodgings. The building was a small, single-room hut with a low ceiling, a lone wooden door, and a single window just beyond his reach, as he had envisioned while blindfolded. His arms were wrapped around a sturdy pole behind him and cuffed together so he couldn't use them and his ankles were now chained together thanks to Klara. Everything in the room seemed to have been made from naturally occurring materials, which did not surprise him since he recalled hearing once that the Lepidoptans were not as technologically advanced as many species.
Growing bored now, Lotor decided to close his eyes again and listen attentively to his surroundings in hopes of overhearing what was going on outside. To his luck, the voices of Klara and two others, her mother and the queen, slowly grew clearer and clearer as he focused on them, the rest of his surroundings fading into obscurity.
"Klara, this isn't good! He's probably dangerous!" A shrill voice shrieked. There was a slight tremble to it, as if the speaker was quite frightened.
"He immobilized, mother, and my attendant is watching him to make sure he behaves." Klara replied coolly,
"Torc? Ha! That boy can barely walk without tripping over his own two wings! What reassurance is he?! I say we toss this criminal out now before he can cause trouble and let the Zephihilds eat him!"
"We can't do that, mother. He belongs to one of our allies from the I.P.A and they want him back alive. To dishonor their wishes would be to break our alliance." Klara insisted, her tone still calm and even.
"But he's a Galra, Klara! Our allies are likely to put him to death anyways so why can't we just kill him now-"
"Enough!" a slightly raspy voice firmly interjected. "I'm ashamed of you, Enoi. You think she doesn't wish to kill him? We are not the only ones who lost something the day our husbands fell. She probably feels the same way you do, but she is keeping herself in check because she knows our alliances are more important than revenge."
"But Mother-"
"The criminal stays for now. However, he is your responsibility, Klara. Should anything happen to him or should he cause any trouble, you will be held accountable. Do you understand and accept this?"
"Yes, my queen."
"But Mother, Klara can't even fight!"
"Her attendant will handle anything regarding physical contact."
"But-"
"I have made up my mind, Enoi. This is how things will be. You may return to your duties, Klara."
"Thank you, my queen."
As the door to the hut swung open once more, Lotor's eyes fluttered open and he immediately shot the princess a smug grin that made her stomach churn.
"What are you so cheeky about?" she growled.
"I'm just amused by how truly out of touch your people are with their fellow galaxies to not realize who I am. An intergalactic criminal? Such a story is quite laughable." he chirped in reply.
"What you think of it does not matter. Even if someone did learn who you are, it would hardly matter."
"True indeed; your people seem to have a great distaste for mine." Lotor mused, his eyes glittering like stars. Klara didn't like it one bit.
Turning to Torc, Klara parted her lips, ready to speak, but what Lotor said next made her tongue go slack in her mouth.
"So, how did your father and grandfather die? Were they pirates as well?"
The air in the room turned frigid as Klara stood stiff as a board while Torc looked on with an expression of shock and a hint of panic. Suddenly, in one fluid motion that took even Lotor offguard, Klara rushed the Galra prince and slammed him against the pole behind him, his neck grasped tightly in her trembling but firm hand.
"Don't you ever talk about them! My grandfather and father were men of peace and you barbarians slaughtered them for sport out of boredom and bloodlust!" She spat bitterly, her eyes darkened with hate.
"How could you know something like that-"
"Because I was there!"
Lotor immediately grew silent, his expression deepening as his smile disappeared. "How could you have been there? Surely you yourself would have been killed had you been present."
"My father had multiple secret compartments throughout the ship's control room. When the Galra began to board our ship, he stuffed me into one of them and told me to stay there until he came to get me."
"Which he never did." Lotor thought aloud.
Klara's expression grew pained and distant, as if she was seeing something other than Lotor, something far off yet so close that the foggiest of details were still vivid enough to recognize.
"No, he did not. As he was preparing to depart from the control room, two Galra stormed in and ran him through with their blades." she continued in a quiet voice, a few tears now streaming down her cheeks. "My grandfather's lifeless body was draped over the second soldier's shoulder. I didn't think I could have witnessed anything worse but those...those...those heathens proved me wrong almost instantly. I overheard them mention something about a gift for someone, and the next thing I knew, my father was on his stomach with my grandfather's corpse face down beside him and the two barbarians had their blades pressed against the base of their wings. No sound came from my grandfather but my father screamed like I had never heard before as his wings were sawed off, his voice mixing with the amused laughter of the two soldiers. He eventually passed out from pain or blood loss, and after collecting their prizes, the Galra left."
Silence fell over the room as Klara trembled violently, her wobbly knees threatening to buckle underneath her as she held back choked sobs. Lotor made no effort to jest or poke fun at her and instead waited patiently for her to continue, a faint trace of concern in his eyes.
"Do you have any idea what it's like to try and drag the limp bodies of your loved ones to an escape pod? Do you have any concept of the scarring it leaves, especially when you have to leave them behind to avoid dying as well? Do know how many years I have laid awake at night, unable to close my eyes for fear that I would see their bloody corpses before me again while their screams echoed in my ears once more? Well, do you?!" Klara snapped, her grip on Lotor's throat tightening.
Lotor winced slightly but did not resist. "This tale of yours is troubling indeed..."
Klara's face bloomed bright red. "Is that all you can say?! Your people murdered my father and grandfather in cold blood! They tore my family to pieces; you tore my family to pieces and that's all you have to say?!"
In truth, Lotor did not know what to say. He knew Klara's story was not a unique one, but seeing the emotion in her eyes and hearing the pain in her voice firsthand had rather deeply disturbed him. How could he feel sympathy for a woman that had tormented him since the moment they met? As illogical as it was, Lotor couldn't help the guilt he felt tugging on his heart.
Irked by his silence, Klara released Lotor to drop to the floor and stormed over to Torc, who flinched and pressed his back against the wall.
"Watch him. I'll be back later." Klara grunted bluntly before exiting the hut again, leaving Torc and Lotor alone to suffocate from the awkward silence in the room.
Sighing, Lotor straightened his posture and turned his expectant gaze to Torc, who scowled at him in return.
"What?" He barked.
"I need to relieve myself." Lotor fibbed.
Torc narrowed his eyes then headed to the open window, reaching through it to grab something on the other side. When he pulled his arm back through the window, he held a fistful of leaves the length of his arm and the width of his chest, which he proceeded to toss at Lotor's feet. The prince raised an eyebrow.
"You're kidding right?"
"I'm not one for jests. You use those or you hold it. I don't care which." Torc hissed flatly, arms crossed.
Lotor sighed. "Could you at least turn around so I can have some privacy?"
"Do I look stupid to you?"
"Do you truly want me to answer that?"
Torc angrily clenched his fists as his wings opened and trembled, causing Lotor to smirk.
"Watch it, Galra. You're already on thin ice for making Klara cry. I will not tolerate any further misbehavior." the Lepidoptan growled, the hair on the back of his neck standing on end. Lotor only rolled his eyes.
"Are Lepidoptans always this hospitable?" he grumbled sarcastically
"No, but for Galra we make special exceptions." Torc replied curtly, his wings finally folding back to the way they were as his boiling anger cooled to an irritated simmering.
Growing bored with the yippy servant, Lotor leaned back against the pole behind him and allowed himself to become lost in thought, an activity that quickly started to bore him as well. Slowly, his gaze returned to Torc, who was now inspecting his nails, completely oblivious to Lotor's stare.
"I will not give up so easily. I simply need a more convincing distraction, a request that cannot be resisted."
"I need sustenance." He complained.
"There's still five varga till supper time."
"But I desire it now."
"Tough. You're not getting anything." Torc grunted.
"But what if I pass out from hunger? I need to be kept in the best condition till your 'allies' come to retrieve me, right?"
Torc's eyes narrowed suspiciously for a moment before he cautiously made his way to the window and called out to someone. As soon as Torc's eyes had left him, Lotor swung his legs in a wide arch, knocking Torc's legs out from beneath him. As his head hit the ground, Lotor hastily wrapped the chain connecting his ankles around Torc's neck and pulled it as tight as he could. However, to his surprise, Torc immediately reached up and pried the chain from around his neck before whirling around and socking Lotor in the jaw.
"It would appear that what he lacks mentally, he makes up for physically." The prince grimaced. "Perhaps I should try my other approach."
"You are strong." He stated, wincing as his jaw gave a sharp throb. "I could put that to good use."
"Do you ever shut up?" Torc groaned.
"Don't you ever get tired of dutifully serving your people and not getting the recognition you deserve? The queen's daughter thinks you are a fool." Lotor continued. "The Galra may not be perfect, but I assure you that dutiful soldiers are greatly rewarded. You would become a general within a few weeks."
"Kaltenecker crap! You're lying."
"Am I? Last I checked I'm the prince and emperor pro tem, meaning I make the rules." Lotor cooed coolly. "I would have to pull a few strings but I could make it happen; all you need to do is get me out of here."
Silence fell as Torc stared at Lotor, who smiled as if he had already won as the Lepidoptan lumbered toward him. However, instead of reaching for Lotor's cuffs, Torc proceeded to punch the prince in the gut, knocking the wind out of his lungs.
"The day I join the Galra is the day I abandon my dignity and spit in the face of my princess and my queen. Now shut up before I knock you out." he growled.
"You are making a mistake." Lotor muttered between pants.
"I've made no mistake."
Hearing commotion outside, Torc returned to the window to have a tray of bright fruit placed in his arms.
"Here you go. Don't eat it too quickly or you'll feel sick for days." The Lepidoptan said as he tossed the food into Lotor's lap.
"I assume I won't be allowed to eat with my hands again?" Lotor stated. Sighing, he bent down and bit into the first fruit only to immediately spit it out, disgusted by its bitter taste.
"Got a bad one, eh? Those are actually two different kinds of fruit. They may look the same, but one is bitter and the other is sour. Which one you get is all based on luck." Torc sneered.
Lotor shot him a glare. "And you call me the barbarian."
"Just be grateful we didn't throw in the poisonous ones as well."