Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron or any of its characters. Taralonans belong to me, but I'm not sure who else would want them…

All errors belong to me alone. ;-D

Sequel to "Saved from the Queen by the Princess." You don't have to read that one first, but events are referenced from the story.

Setting/Rating: Setting is DotU but none of the events took place. I just picture them as 80s DotU and none of the stuff from VF has occurred. Rating is T for kissing and mild violence in later chapters.

Chapter 10

Keith and Allura looked out over the undulating yellow and blue grass that stretched for miles. Standing atop a fifty foot cliff, it was obvious that this route would not be an escape for them. It would have been a beautiful sight with the rays of the setting sun making the colors glow as the grass billowed in the breeze. Looking up at Keith, Allura saw his hair was behaving like the grass by moving all around his face. She saw that he wasn't taking any note of the tendrils that snaked across his face.

Keith gazed intently across the open expanse. Climbing down the cliff wasn't an option while they had to hold hands and even if they weren't, Allura wasn't trained to do it. The tall grass would only show the path they took and provide little cover. Turning to Allura, he only said, "We'll search to the right tomorrow, let's head back." Still lost in thought, Keith headed them back towards the thermal feature. His mind called up the map of Armor; he believed that he had a firm grasp on where they were. Unfortunately, the mental image of the map told him that they didn't have much choice on where to go. They would head out to the right tomorrow. It contained a lot in the way of cover, but the thermal features were miles away in that direction. There were thermal features to the left, but that way led to hilly terrain that had little cover. He was brought out of his reflection by Allura's voice.

"Keith? You've been awfully quiet. Is something wrong?"

Stopping them, he said, "Allura, we don't have a lot of options in where we can go. I think our time at the hot spring has come to an end, at least until they have determined that we are somewhere else. I'm sure they'll be going to all the thermal features tomorrow. We need to head out before the dawn. If we don't find a good spot, we can circle back to the hot spot once it's been searched."

She saw the intensity in his look and his words, even though they were in the gathering shadows of the forest. What could she say? "I understand. We'll be on the move tomorrow."

Cupping her face in his hand for a moment, he looked into her eyes. His eyes conveyed what he didn't want to speak. Tomorrow he would do what he needed to keep her safe.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Allura felt a hand shaking her from sleep. Opening her eyes, she looked at Keith in the dim pre-dawn light and remembered the treachery of yesterday. They spoke little as they drank from the stream and Keith handed her a root to eat. He put a couple of the roots in his pocket for later, not knowing what food food would be available. Shortly after, he activated the bracelet and they set out in the direction that Keith had determined yesterday.

The terrain through the forested area was relatively flat and easy to navigate. Keith kept them moving for about an hour before they found a stream and carefully drank from it making sure to maintain body contact. Looking around, Keith didn't see anywhere to hide Allura. Now that they had left the hot spot, he was searching for a new place to keep her safe. He had lost his surety that the bracelet would hold out until the team arrived. Finding a place where she would be safe while he led the search party off was his primary goal but it wouldn't be the hardest thing he had to do. Convincing her to hide alone while he was a target, that would be his hardest task. The dawn light was just beginning to break through the trees when he pulled her up to continue. "Are you ready to go, Princess?" He was hoping that they would arrive at the only mountain in the area within an hour or two.

"Lead on, Commander." The phrase may have been joking but her tone was serious. They had a lot of hours to dodge and evade before the team would be here.

An hour later after trekking through the monotonous green of the forest they came upon the small foothills leading to the mountain. Glimpses of the towering peak could be seen through the canopy every once in awhile.

"Are we going up the mountain, Keith?" She asked the question even though she knew the answer. His quietness was concerning her and she just wanted to hear his voice.

Glancing at her and back up at the mountain, he nodded and said, "I'm hoping to find a small cave or perhaps a cleft in the rock face. It's not going to be easy going up the mountain holding hands and you'll definitely need to take off those heels." Looking back at her he said, "I was thinking about circling back around to our hot spot. We would have to be extremely careful as we may run into a search party. But if we were able to get there AFTER they had searched it, then they may not come back to that area for hours." Seeing the serious look on her face, he decided to see what her opinion on the matter was. "What do you think, Princess? Mountain or circle back?"

Pleased that he had asked her opinion, she took a moment to think it through. "I say we try the mountain first and give the searchers a chance to clear out. However, if the climb becomes steep we go ahead and switch to the hot spot. I don't think that trying a risky climb and breaking your connection to the dampening field would be worth. If that happened, we'd be on a mountain that's hard to climb and no hiding place."

Smiling at her with a pleased expression, Keith responded, "I agree. In addition, the mountainside probably won't offer any water. One way or another, I expect that we won't be here longer than a day." As soon as he said it, he wished he had phrased it differently as a shadow crossed Allura's face.

Allura turned away from him. 'One way or another' he had said. Either the team would rescue them or they would be in Lotor's control. She felt a tug at her hand.

"Let's give the mountain a try."

Managing only a wan smile, she nodded her agreement.