Repost...
I don't own Voltron...
Chapter Nine
On Lotor's ship…
"Good morning, Princess. It's time for you to see how your planet is doing without you." Haggar says as she instructs the two guards with her to place the viewing globe into the middle of the room. Allura just stares at them, her mind racing trying to figure out ways to try to get out of here before the situation with Lotor gets any worse. She remains in the far corner of the bed as they quickly set it up. The witch waves her staff over the globe and the misty cloud fills the space; images are slowly coming into view and Allura can't help but be drawn to it. This is the only means for her to have any kind of contact with the people she loves on Arus. The scene materializing in front of her shows her love holding her double in a passionate embrace; his lips molding onto hers. Her heart plummets as she notices the double leaning back into him, but she pulls away suddenly…lifting the real Allura's spirits.
"You see, for all your planning…you can't predict how SHE will act!" Haggar stiffens as she watches the princess laugh at the sights in front of her, but quickly cuts off when Lotor enters the room. She scrambles back to her corner and gives him a piercing glare. "I see you are in good spirits, my dear. What could have possibly made you so happy?" He leers back at her, "Is it too much to hope that I could bring on such feeling?"
"The only happiness you could give me is to let me go home."
He smiles and tsks her, "You are home…don't you know that?" Turning his attention to the witch, he observes the distraught expression on the haggard face. "What has happened, hag? Why do you look like that?"
"We may have a problem with our agent…"
His face falls and twists into a horrible mask. "What do you mean…a problem?"
Haggar hesitates a little, but Allura jumps in to fill him in on the events. "Your agent may be feeling bad about what she's doing…and the team will find her out!"
She barely had time to brace for the savage strike he gives her when he rushes back over to the bed and slaps her brutally in the face. A small stream of blood trickles out the corner of her mouth and she stares daggers back at him. Wiping her mouth and taking a deep breath, she hisses at him, "You will lose, Lotor…you always do."
Anger flashes in his eyes and he chooses, surprisingly, to turn away from her and face Haggar; the old hag now wishing that she was somewhere else. "Take the globe out of here and she's not to get it anymore!"
Hearing that, Allura stands and is about to protest when he spins back to her, "Now, you want me to do you a favor, my dear? Well, now you have to do one for me in return if you want the globe back."
"Never…" and she moves back to the bed and sits, warily watching him for any sudden movements. The slimy smile comes back as he whispers, "You won't be so haughty when you can't see your beloved Arus for a while. Haggar, have them take the globe…we'll leave her to her thoughts."
The two guards swiftly remove the globe and nearly run Haggar over trying to leave. The witch moves close to Lotor to say something in confidence. "My prince, I think we need to discuss what we are to do with our agent. The King will be inquiring about what is going on very soon and if we don't show that we have made some kind of progress, he'll send a force to bring us in…after all, we did drug him to come out here."
"She won't fail me, witch…she doesn't have the intelligence." He throws Allura a scathing look and then leaves the room. The princess sits and slowly rubs her jaw, hoping that a bruise won't form. There was more to this plan that meets the eye and the sooner she finds out what it is the better.
She has to get Katia to trust her…
In the Castle of Lions…
Brooding over the strange feelings that she is beginning to have for the Voltron Captain, Alira stands on the balcony overlooking the gardens. Her whole purpose was to distract the Voltron Force from looking for the Princess, while gathering information about the schemes and tactical movements of the lions. It was supposed to be easy and uninvolved…how wrong that was. She places her hands on the railing absorbing the fresh air. The atmosphere on Doom is stale and unforgiving and she had never had the pleasure of seeing a beautiful sunset, sunrise, or anything at all that deals with the sun. Memories of her home planet were so suppressed that she couldn't even imagine what the skies looked like there anymore.
"You look deep in thought…a penny for them?"
She spins quickly and looks into the face of the Red Lion pilot. Here was another obstacle…she remembers how worried he was at the time of the raid and what memories Haggar implanted only let her know that he was Allura's dearest friend. Letting her gaze run over him quickly, she realizes that her own feelings are telling her something else…and she better rein it in. She's supposed to be feeling this way for the Commander, not the second in command.
"Princess, are you okay? I wasn't bothering you, was I?" he asks as he moves over to where she's standing. Alira still doesn't talk, but has the decency to blush a little and look down, averting his steady gaze. Acting was second nature to her, but now…?
"I'm sorry I've been so withdrawn lately…I didn't expect that attack to have this effect on me. I hope that Keith understands I'm not trying to avoid him."
He places his hand on her shoulder and smiles, "I just had a talk with him. He's a little put off, but he'll get over it. He loves you, Allura and he's worried sick that you're not ok with what happened. Just talk to him…everything should be fine from there."
She smiles brightly and hugs him, completely taking him by surprise. "Thank you…you don't know what that means to me." This feels so good right now…
Lance shudders as a very disturbing thought crosses his warped mind. Suddenly Allura comes across as much more than the sisterly figure he has adopted for her Highness. His eyes had started to close, until common sense smacks him in his conscience. This is Keith's woman…why am I thinking these thoughts? Am I really that unscrupulous?
Lance has the good sense to pull back and tamper down those unwanted feelings, hoping that she wouldn't be too insulted with the way he held her. The last thing he needs right now is yet another confrontation with his fearless leader. He looks briefly into her eyes then takes his leave. Alira stares at his retreating back as he nearly runs off the balcony. A smile creeps across her lips at the warm feelings she was getting from being held in his arms…something that she had started to feel from the Voltron commander and never felt from her beloved prince.
Why now? Why do I feel these disturbing things now? After all of the training and instruction that Lotor and Haggar had given her, nothing prepared her for the onslaught of hidden feelings and desires that, while she was on Doom, were totally unneeded. Her life as a slave may have started out hard, but over time she had learned to accept it. Now, she has been presented with a new way of living; that is for the lack of a better word, real living. She frowns, knowing that when this mission was over, it would be extremely hard for her to go back to the lackluster life of a palace slave. Sighing, she takes herself back into the bedroom and flops down on the bed. Looking at the ceiling, she takes the small pleasure in knowing that, for the moment, this is her room and her clothes. No one to fight to keep what's hers and no one to forbid her from enjoying everything around her. A squeal of pleasure escapes from her as she rolls around on the luxurious bed that is hers for the time in being.
She's so absorbed in relaxing on the bed; she doesn't realize when Nanny enters the room. The governess stops in the doorway watching her charge act like a little girl. "Allura! This is unbecoming of a princess!" Alira jumps up at the yell and a bright flush covers her face. "I'm sorry……I didn't mean to…"
Nanny moves into the room and heads straight for the wardrobe, fussing over what gown Allura's going to wear to dinner. "We need to get you together for dinner and we should hurry."
As Nanny rummages through all the taffeta and chiffon, Alira spies a package that seems to have been hidden for a reason. She walks over and takes the bagged dress out and unzips the cover to see what it looks like. Nanny finally comes up for air and pulls out a very modest pink dress. Her jaw almost drops when she sees the forbidden dress that she has pulled out. "Oh, no Allura…you can NOT wear that! It is most unseemly!"
The hairs in the back of Alira's neck stand on end. She hasn't heard any instructions like that since…well, since she was on her home planet with her family. As she tries to focus in on what Nanny is screaming at her, she takes a deep breathy and returns fire. "Nanny, I just wanted to see what it looked like…nothing in what I did means I was going to wear it." Hoping that this would pacify her, she zips it back up and places it back in the wardrobe, but not in the hidden spot. Turning back to the red-faced female, the princess continues, "I promise I won't touch it again. Now, you were right…I need to get ready for dinner. Can you draw a bath for me? I would dearly love one right now."
Nanny chuckles and quickly moves into the bathroom, "Nice choice. I can hold dinner off for a few more minutes, you just relax. I'll lay out your clothes…you take your time."
Sighing, Alira goes into the bathroom and looks into the mirror again. It still is hard looking at a reflection that is not your own, but it is. The governess fusses around the tub, so Alira starts to remove her uniform. She has almost taken it off when she hears, "Oh my stars, what happened to you?!" The startled girl spins around quickly, trying to see what she's talking about.
"My Arusian stars, Allura….what did you do to yourself?!" Screams Nanny as she runs over to her and traces a large scar that runs along her left shoulder blade. At first, Alira doesn't remember, but as the woman runs her fingers along the puckered mark, she flinches. Turning to face her, she tells the worried nanny, "It happened during one of the battles and I knew that you would have a fit, so I kept it from you. I'm sorry..." Alira stares into Nanny's eyes to express her remorse from not telling her, as well as trying to make sure that the woman doesn't inquire about it. Relief floods her when Nanny pats her cheek and says, "That is a nasty mark, but I know some herbs that can remove it. I'll bring some up before you go to bed…right now you need to get into that tub. Your favorite oils are already in it." Shuffling out the room, Nanny leaves Alira to sigh heavily and lean against the sink. She had completely forgotten about that horrible scar that Prince Lotor had given her during her first months of being a palace slave, and it was obvious that they didn't care too much about it when they had her in surgery for the transformation.
I must be careful…can't afford to make another slip like that again…
She removes the rest of her clothes and climbs in the steaming water. Luxuries like this are forbidden on Doom for anyone not royalty or military. A bath was usually a small pan of water thrown against her. She lets the bubbles cover her and she leans back to relax, closing her eyes. This was definitely something she could get used to…but her eyes pop back open at the twinge of guilt that hits her. This is not hers…this is Allura's and she can't get comfortable here.
A little voice speaks to her, Why not?
"Because I don't belong here, I belong to Lotor," she returns.
Why do you have to belong to anyone?
She has to stay silent. She cannot remember when she had her own free will and wouldn't know what to do with it if she had it. A small sob escapes her as a single tear rolls down her cheek. This was not part of the scheme! I was to just do the job and get out…she rails at herself and decides that she has done way too much thinking up until now. Sinking her body down into the tub, she relaxes again, trying to dredge up pictures of her beloved prince to soothe her.
Little does she know that the little incident in the bathroom really does have Nanny's mind racing. She let her charge believe that she accepted her excuse for the scar, but she has been her nanny all her life…she would have known if she were hurt that bad…the boys would have said something…Dr. Gorma would have said something…
This is not right… she thinks. The scar itself was enough to scare her with its viciousness and the story that Allura told her doesn't sit well with her at all. What is going on with her? She shuffles down the hall to Castle Control to talk to Coran. He would know what was going on…
Dinner can't come soon enough for the members of the Voltron Force. Most of the afternoon was spent doing hand to hand combat drills. Keith decided to run through some more martial arts drills to keep sharp with the improving tactics of the Doom soldiers.
"Can we quit now, or haven't you had enough fun kicking our collective asses?" grunts Lance, hunched over and trying to catch his breath. His eyes glance over the rest of the guys; Hunk sprawled out on his face, getting some coolness from the floor and Pidge, propped up against the wall, wiping his face with his shirt. His glance turns back to their fearless leader, who is packing up some of the weapons used in their play battles. His mind really isn't on the smart ass jibe his friend has just thrown at him. As he places a katana back on the rack with the others, he steadily ignores the rest of the room, thinking about the unusual encounter that he had with Allura that morning. She felt right in his arms, her lips felt as intoxicating as they had when he first touched them. But, something wasn't right….something was telling him that she was a little off and for the life of him, he can't explain why...
A heavy bag is swung his way and hits him square in the face. Sputtering and growling, he turns sharp yes on a grinning Lance. "Well, I think he finally heard us, boys!"
"You cocky, son of a…!"
Lance wags his finger at him, "Uh, uh, uh…now, what kind of language is that to display in front of the children?"
"What children, you jerk?" hollers Pidge and he grabs the same heavy bag and pushes it into the Red Lion pilot, knocking him back on the floor. Hunk, after regaining his strength, suddenly loses it again by laughing hysterically at the scene taking place in front of him.
"Shut up, you overgrown vacuum cleaner!" snarls Lance as he rubs his cheek. Looking at the serious gaze in the youngster's face, he reconsiders his retaliation and places a broad grin on his face instead. "Nice, never saw that coming…"
Just as that leaves his mouth, a medicine ball hits him in the gut on the floor, taking the wind out of his sails…Hunk falls over, convulsing in laughter. Lance recovers enough to see that his illustrious leader took this shot at him, and has the most aggravating smile on his face for it. "Next time you try that, make sure you cover all bases, Lieutenant."
He just nods in response, still not able to catch his breath. Hunk decides to take pity on him and while still giggling, he helps the chestnut haired explorer to his feet. "Hey, it happens to the best of us, buddy!" he says in strained voice and finishes by slapping him a little too hard on his back, almost putting him back on the floor. Pidge now falls over and Keith's smile is even bigger as Lance looks daggers at all of them. "Okay, it's make-Lance-the-joke of the hour, huh?"
"No…" Keith returns, "…but you asked for it."
"Yeah!" agrees Pidge, straightening his glasses as he moves over to the shower room. "As much fun as this was…Hunk and I have to get back to running diagnostics on the lions' hydraulics."
The Voltron commander gets back to collecting the forgotten weapons and calls back, "Good, we'll see you guys back in the dining room. I'm going to get my shower in my room." Tossing a bag to Lance he continues, "You can finish here…catch you later!"
Lance frowns at the smug look on his face as he runs out the gym…Hunk starts to giggle again when he gets hit with the very same bag. "Since you have been getting such a kick out of all this, YOU put this away…I need to relax!" The bag lands with a soft thud in the big guy's face, but it does not stop his chuckles as Lance stomps off to the sauna.
Keith enters his room and heads straight for the balcony overlooking the gardens. This is the only place he can really think about things before being bombarded with Garrison reports, Castle security schedules, and everyday hassles. Taking a deep soothing breath, he closes his eyes for a brief minute and leans his head back. A cool breeze flows over him and he starts to relax, when he detects a scent of Arusian lilies behind him. He lifts his head, but doesn't turn around.
"Hello, Princess."
She startles, not aware that he knew she was in the room. She doesn't know why she's here, but something about what she has been feeling draws her to the source. It has only been a day, but she can't deny a pull from the commander that has her more than curious as to why. All she has to go by is the few memories from Haggar and they didn't really explain it. Sure, he is handsome…very handsome for a Terran. He's tall and broad of shoulder, his pitch black hair falls below his shoulders; almost to the middle of his back. His hips are slim, but very well shaped and his legs appear powerful. A tingle runs through her veins at picturing what that well-muscled specimen looks like unwrapped; not that seeing him in the red shorts and tight-fitting t-shirt doesn't give her a good view already, but that's not how the Princess would act, so she just stares at him, thinking of a good reason to explain why she's there…
But, she forgot that he spoke… "Uh, hi. I was just wondering what you guys were up to?"
He turns slowly and she notices a deep emotion straining to be released in his eyes and a beautiful brown they are. Clearing her throat, she produces a shy smile and moves out on the balcony with him, gripping on the railing to control her rising curiosity of the captain. He raises an eyebrow at her and smiles, the looks making him appear even more devilish.
"And what is that look for, Captain? I can't inquire what you were doing?" she asks impishly.
He smiles and the ice erected in her heart cracks a little. "Of course you can…we headed to the gym for some martial arts training. We would've asked you, but I figured you wanted some time to yourself."
So, they really do train her like that? And she must like it, from the looks of it… "It's ok…the bath I took did wonders for me."
A sharp image of the princess relaxing in her tub, with bubbles surrounding her…her skin glistening from the warm water flowing over her beautiful breasts; little droplets trekking their way down that valley between them…
Hold it, Kogane….not now!
He takes a deep breath and keeps his fisted hands to his sides. If it wasn't for the mental training that he had to go through at the Academy, he would have completely lost it and this would go a direction that he's sure that she wouldn't be ready for. He trains his eyes on her, watching her move slowly down the railing. "Are you ok, Captain?" she asks impishly. She flashes a small smile at him and then she starts to walk toward him. "I'm sorry for the way I have been acting. I didn't think that it would bother me as much as it did. Nanny suggested that I relax in the bath and I took her up on it."
He had to ask, "Did it help?"
She smiles again and the implication from it fires his loins. "I've never felt better." Her eye expression changes…they begin to cloud and he quirks his eyebrow in question. Taking a quick glance at his entire body, she looks back into his face and smiles seductively.
I know I shouldn't be doing this, but I can't resist…
She slowly lets her hand drift along the neckline of her gown and his eyes are quickly drawn to what she's teasing at. Her fingers dip enticingly in the valley between her breasts and his mouth goes dry. What the hell is she doing? He looks into her face and sees that she is teasing and enjoying every minute of it. Smiling wolfishly, he decides to give it back to her. "If you would've asked, I could have probably helped some…I do know many techniques to help you relax." She starts a little at the response, but is more taken aback by the darkening of his eyes to almost black. The overwhelming need to continue this game with the handsome pilot was getting too dangerous to bear, so she coughs a bit and puts on the shy act once more. He notices the change in her demeanor and backs off, satisfied that he has won this round of flirting.
"I think we better get down to the dining room before Nanny sends the troops after us. You know how she gets when we're late!" And with that, she heads out of the room. Keith stands there, watching her leave. As arousing as that little conversation was, he still needs to remember that she is still very innocent about a lot of things that deal with what happens between a man and woman. The very thought of introducing her to the ways of lovemaking sends his body into another bout of hardening arousal. He remembers that he still has to take that shower, so he heads for the bathroom. Going over to it and flipping on the water, he quickly turns it to cold…Eventually, I'm gonna freeze the fucking thing off!
Alira had gotten a few meters down the hall when she remembered why she really came to him. Turning back around to head back, she has to see if he saw her speak to Lotor down in the launch pad area…can't have him keeping her under surveillance because of a bad feeling. Her schedule for speaking to her prince is not a set one and she has to be able to answer at any given moment…he hates to be kept waiting. As soon as she reaches the room, she enters cautiously, not seeing him on the balcony anymore. Entering, she hears the shower running and wonders if he's in there. That little devil that has been playing with her all this time rears his ugly head again and she heads to the bathroom, hoping to see what she has started to imagine…
She presses the button and the door slides open a little. Peering around the door, she sees a figure contentedly washing and what a figure it is! His back ripples with muscles and there isn't an ounce of extra fat. With his arms up to wash his hair, she can see that his back comes to a perfect V, tapering to a slim waist and firm buttocks. As the soap slides down his back, teasing her to wipe it off for him, her eyes travel down well sculptured legs and suddenly she wishes that he would turn around…
Someone was listening…
Her heart almost stops when he turns toward the door, still unaware that she's standing there. The water running down his body just emphasizes how wonderfully built he is, and she never thought she would think of that about ANYONE else other than her Lotor. His abdomen is chiseled…not a muscle out of place and the dip of that wonderful V in the front leads to a dark area that usually designed to hide the member resting there, but not his…the total opposite is achieved and she feels the liquid heat pooling in between her legs. That Allura doesn't know what she's missing…or does she?
She continues to stare at him, unaware that as he rinses his hair, he makes out her face through the shower door. How long has she been there…? he wonders and he's seriously tempted to say something, but the wolfish side of him wants to see if she can handle what he's about to do next…
Alira is startled by the lack of running water and finds that she can't run. The shower door opens and that gorgeous body emerges, water still sliding over his pectorals. She actually finds that she has to catch her breath, and desire that has been hidden deep in her psyche has burst forth. Nothing would please her more right now than to have the impressively endowed captain moving sensuously against her…his shaft plunging deep within her core…
She blinks and watches him move like a stalking panther to his towel. He picks it up and runs it over his hair before using it to cover himself. A sigh of disappointment escapes her and she quickly covers her mouth, praying he didn't hear it. Unfortunately for her, it was at that moment he turns to face the door and sees her eyes, open to the size of saucers. "Princess, you wanted me for something?"
The double entendre almost causes her to choke, but she's able to maintain her composure and ask her question. Pulling her head out of the door and leaning back against it she calls, "I just wanted to ask you if you remembered what it was you wanted to ask me in the launch bay."
He had forgotten about that…"No, I didn't. It probably wasn't important, so don't worry. Was there anything else?" The fact that she hid on the other side of the door confirms that she had been there for quite some time and he smiles. Alira clenches her fists and forces herself not to say something like, "I want you…" It wouldn't do…Allura is an innocent. There was no way she would be able to pretend about that, he would know that there was no barrier to be broken anymore and the mission would be over. Sighing, she looks at her wrist watch and notices that it is almost time to speak to Lotor again. Needing to have something to report, she moves over to his desk and quickly glances over some missives from Galaxy Garrison. It would have to do until she can find a way into Castle Control without too many eyes on her. She calls out to him, answering his question. "No, I'll leave now." And with that, she hurries out the room. By the time Keith gathers all the toiletries that he had taken into the bathroom and reenters the bedroom, she's long gone. He really hadn't wanted to scare her and he was afraid that he did. That bit of temptation he threw out there must have fascinated her enough to have had stood there as long as she did. He smiles broadly…his princess never ceases to amaze him. But, he really would've liked to see her reaction face to face, maybe see where it went…
Damn…
