Betrothed


Chapter Seven

...

The clock had just ticked past midnight when Lotor was awoken from his sleep with the distinct beeping from his personal comlink. He answered and General Axca's voice came through on the line.

"Your highness, come quickly, the Paladins have arrived."

No further words needed to be said. Lotor was up from his bed, dressed, armed and walking to the bridge in the span of two minutes. The four female generals saluted as the doors to the bridge slid open and their prince marched through. Lotor paused only momentarily to look through the glass window at the four lions jetting through space towards them. Then, he strode to his command chair and settled into it with pleasure. This was the moment he had been eagerly anticipating. The moment where he could bring the Paladins to their knees with one simple bluff. Nothing would make the Paladins stand down and surrender, save perhaps the certainty that Allura would die should they refuse. It was all too easy.

Right on cue, the control console lit with an incoming transmission that read 'unidentified caller'. Lotor had to refrain from smiling as he let the line go on ringing for a good five seconds. He could just imagine the Paladins' waiting on the edge of their seats. Finally, his index finger traced the answering button thoughtfully before suddenly tapping it down.

"Paladins," The prince greeted, bracing his fingers together before the viewing screen. The lead Paladin, the one in black, blipped into view. Shiro.

"Your highness," Shiro replied. His tone and expression was calm, but the anger smoldering within his eyes betrayed the fragility of his emotional state. "I believe you have something of ours."

"Indeed. Make your offer," Lotor answered. Shiro's eyes widened fractionally. Apparently it wasn't hard to catch the Black Paladin off guard.

"My offer?" Shiro asked.

"Surely you came prepared to offer some sort of trade," Lotor insisted, arching a slim silver brow. Shiro's off guard expression caused Lotor to inwardly scoff as the paladin scrambled to come up with some smart answer. Had the paladins barreled into this fight without any forethought as to the numerous possible outcomes? How had Voltron managed to defeat the Galra so well thus far with such morons for pilots? Clearly the weapon itself was powerful enough to carry any imbecile to victory.

"What kind of an offer would you consider?" Shiro requested. Lotor sighed. This was all too easy.

"Surrender your lions to me, and you and your team are free to go," Lotor answered.

"All of our team?" Shiro persisted. Lotor nodded.

"The Princess as well." He was not above lying to someone's face.

"Was this your plan all along? To capture the lions? Have Voltron for yourself? The lions will never accept you as a paladin," Shiro reasoned.

"I have no interest in piloting Voltron. I simply need this weapon to cease being used to interfere with my affairs," Lotor replied. "It can sit in a storage unit for the rest of eternity for all I care." Lotor couldn't help but take some amusement from the affronted and horrified look on Shiro's face. Clearly these Paladins were far more emotionally attached to their tools than he previously suspected. Interesting.

"Let me discuss your terms with my team. Will you give us ten minutes to make a decision?" Shiro inquired. Lotor nodded.

"Ten minutes."

…

Allura's exhausted mind was roused from it's tired drifting by the sound of footsteps marching down the hall towards her cell door. It definitely wasn't Lotor. The footsteps were too heavy. A moment later the door burst open and one of Lotor's generals billowed into the doorway. Before Allura could demand what in the name of Altea was going on, she found herself being man-handled by the female's strong hands and muscled out of her cell.

"Hey! What is the meaning of this?" She demanded.

"No squealing, brat," the general grunted, digging one of her clawed fingers deeper into Allura's bicep. Allura winced and tried to jerk away with no success.

One step led to another and soon the bridge doors were swishing open and Allura found herself being shoved roughly down a few stairs to the prince's command chair. Lotor stood just in time to receive her into his waiting arms. She resisted his touch the moment she had recovered her feet, but he drew her back to his chest and refused to release her.

"How dare you!" Allura screamed in outrage. She was not used to being handled in such an abrupt fashion.

"You have two choices," Lotor spoke. His voice was like chilling ice in her ear. "You can do exactly as I say, and get to see your friends. Or you can act like a child, and get thrown back in your cell."

Allura swallowed and became still. She must not be robbed of the opportunity to see her friends. Lotor examined her quiet countenance and nodded.

"Wise choice." He took a seat in his command chair, coaxing Allura to him.

"Sit," he ordered, gesturing to his lap.

Allura's mouth fell open to protest, but then she saw the warning flash in Lotor's eyes and thought better of it. This was by far one of the most humiliating things she had ever had to do. Taking a deep breath, she sat on Lotor's lap, allowing him to situate her as he pleased. What was the point of this? Was she to be displayed as nothing more than a trophy? Yes. It occurred to her, just now, that's exactly what he was doing with her. Playing with her, like his toy. This was a display of his control over her, meant to intimidate and manipulate his opponents, the paladins. Allura's stomach churned with nausea.

"I don't suppose you've come to a decision about my offer yet," said Lotor, running an errant hand through her tousled white locks, smoothing them against her back. Allura shot him a sideways glare.

"Surely the idea of being with me isn't so repelling," he cooed.

"You have too high an opinion of yourself," Allura spat. Lotor laughed, his fingers tangling in her hair.

"Ahhh princess… How I do enjoy your playful banter," he smiled, tugging lightly at the hair in between his fingers. The tugs became firmer, until suddenly, he yanked her head to look at him. Allura gasped.

"But you will refrain before the paladins. Understand?"

Allura bit her lip and nodded. A red light on the console flashed, and Lotor released her hair, smoothing it back into place before casually pressing a button on his control panel. The face of Shiro flashed onto the display screen.

"Allura!" Shiro cried, seeing her.

"Is she ok?"

"Allura are you alright?"

"If that monster has lain one finger on you!"

All the voices of her friends filtered through the audio speakers and soon, their faces were with Shiro's on screen. Allura longed to answer freely, but she felt Lotor's finger tips digging into the small of her back. She held her tongue, waiting for the prince's permission. Pleased, he lifted a finger to stroke under her chin.

"You may answer," he said, at length. Allura glared daggers at him, but she forced herself to focus on her friends.

"I'm alright," she answered carefully, "More or less."

"Thank goodness," sighed Pidge and Hunk in unison.

"Take your hands off her you purple freak!" Lance shouted angrily at Lotor.

The Galra prince did not look amused.

"Have you made your decision then?" Lotor asked them, "Will you turn over the Lions in exchange for your lives and hers?"

Don't do it, Shiro. Don't do it, Allura prayed silently. But the team appeared to have their mind made up. Their expressions all became grim.

Allura held her breath.