Welcome to Chapter 11. Enjoy! Mertz, thank you! You're an awesome editor. I've learned a lot.
He that is not jealous is not in love.-Augustine, St.
Chapter 11: Succumbing to the Green Eyed Monster
The next time Keith awoke he found himself in a room at MedTech with Sven and Allura sitting on chairs across from him.
"Hello sunshine," Sven smiled standing up to greet him, "Nice to see you awake."
Allura, who stood behind Sven, smiled nervously at him, "I'm glad you're okay."
He nodded uneasily his thanks. She could tell that the feelings of hurt by their last encounter still lingered. "How long am I stuck here for?" Keith simply asked.
Sven picked up his friend's sudden willingness to leave and dismissal of Allura's words, "Well…" he studied his friend a little closer, "Gorma told me you are free to go after you woke up. Just take it easy for a day or two."
"Erin...how is Erin?" Keith asked as he began lifting himself off the bed.
"She's fine. Awake and talking to Lance and the general. Woke up about an hour after we arrived on Arus."
"I want to go and see her," Keith ordered.
From the corner of his eye, Sven saw how Allura's body go rigid. Dismissing it for the moment, he turned to Keith whose tone was harsh. His friend rarely displayed such tendencies. "Come on, I'll help you get there. I brought you some clothes from your room. You can change in the bathroom." he told him as both he and Allura helped him up.
VVVVVVVVVV
Sven knocked before they saw Lance open the door for them, "Well, look who is up! I've never known a stun shot would put someone out for four hours."
Keith looked shocked and turned to Sven and Allura, "Four hours!"
Allura shrugged, "Gorma was worried for a bit, but he thinks it was a combination of fatigue and getting shot that put you down."
About to reply, he was cut off by Lance, "Someone wants to see you." The three walked in. In bed, he saw the sandy hair young woman with a shining smile.
"Keith!" She beamed, "You're all right!"
He went to her and hugged her tightly, "I'm glad you're okay, too."
Hawkins went up to them, "I'm just happy all of you made it out safely." He patted Keith's back and then held his shoulder's tightly, "Thank you Keith."
Turning to face the general, he answered, "I didn't do much Sir. Sven and Lance did most of the work."
"Finally, credit!" Lance shouted.
"That's because you actually did something!" Erin answered brazenly.
"I see you are still a pain in the butt!" Lance snorted.
"Of course. Did you think different?" Erin cocked her head a bit to taunt him.
"Nope, but I'm glad you're still here."
The young woman smiled. "Thanks McClain."
Allura watched the interaction taking place. She became specially intrigued by how possessively Erin took Keith's hand. She held on to it as if afraid he'd leave her. The princess also watched Keith closely. With his other hand, he gently caressed Erin's cheek. And as she watched, something ignited in her and she started to feel a heat in the pit of her stomach and a tightening of the chest.
"Princess!" General Hawkins suddenly blinded her view. "Thank you so much for your help."
"Oh! Please don't mention it General. We were glad to help," she suddenly answered forcing a smile as she calmed her feelings. "Well, I'll let you all reminisce for a while." Allura then told the group, unable to stay there any longer, "I'll have Nanny notify all of you when dinner will be served."
About to turn, the princess suddenly heard Erin call her name and she turned around, "Princess, thank you so much for everything that you've done." She saw the young woman continued to hold Keith's hand, "You've helped me so much, I'll always be grateful to you." Keith smiled at Erin and squeezed her hand.
Nodding and managing to keep her composure, Allura smiled, "You are very welcome. Please rest. I'll see you at dinner."
The princess turned and left, her stomach feeling suddenly queasy.
VVVVVVVVVV
Lotor laid his head back on the rough surface of the cave wall. Every inch of his body ached. He thought night had hit the planet, but he wasn't sure. The prince felt hungry; lucky his new friend went to find food. He didn't know why the old man helped him so much. Although, his suspicions of him had not seized, he knew the old man wanted something. I'll play his little game and when I finally get what I want, I'll see what the old fool is playing me for.
He closed his eyes and tried to sleep, but the comforts of his new home did not allow him. He had to be careful. If he slept deeply, he feared he'd be greeted by one of his adversaries at knife point once he opened his eyes. For the past few nights, he ordered the old man to stay up while he slept, but that wasn't for too long. He didn't trust the old fool entirely either.
The cave, cold and wet, threw an air of malice. The entire pit housed an endless amount of angry souls that if they saw him…he cringed inwardly at the thought. He didn't know how the enslaved here survived. I guess everyone finds ways to live despite how harsh we make it for them.
Lotor wondered what occurred at the castle while away. His father, never possessing the characteristics of a simpleton, planned very well. He's not impulsive, the prince thought. Whatever he's planned, he has thought and brood over it for quite a while. This doesn't fit. Why get rid of me in the cave, why not just kill me? King Zarkon, characterized as a murderer, didn't have a heart; surely an answer remained as to why Lotor still lived. His brain began to drip with thoughts and theories, unfortunately his search stopped when the old man who returned with a bag full of food.
"Your highness, I was able to find some food from other caves where slaves have apparently made homes for themselves."
"You stole their food?" Lotor questioned.
Nodding a bit nervously, the old man answered, "Yes Sire. I had no choice."
Laughing a bit, Lotor shook his head, "That's all right old man. We'll eat and then we'll keep moving."
"Yes Sire. If we work through the night, we should reach the outskirts of the compound."
"How far to the castle after that?"
"It will still take some weeks." The old man answered. "But keep your spirits high, my Prince. We are at least closer than we were yesterday."
Nodding, Lotor grabbed the bag from the old man, opened it and took some of the food from it. Once done, he tossed it back to him, "We'll rest for an hour and then continue. You can have the rest."
Nodding the old man looks inside the bag, finding that what's left are obviously remains or the smaller portions of the food. With a sigh of acceptance, the old man took one of the meager portions and began eating. "Yes, sire. One hour." he finally answered him as they both ate silently.
VVVVVVVVVV
Drinking wine in his room, Zarkon relaxed in a large chair close to his Vidscreen. "Connect to Haggar." He stated out loud and immediately the screen lit up. Within moments, Haggar's face appeared.
"You summoned me, your Majesty?"
Taking a zip of his wine again, he nodded, "Yes. Have you been monitoring our esteemed commander?"
"Yes Sire. The implant is working well. We should begin seeing the first stage within a couple of hours."
"Were you able to study all of its functions before putting it in him? I don't want any surprises."
"At the moment, you may get none. From what I was able to gather, everything the good doctor told Starr is correct. I had no problem modifying the program to fit our needs."
Smiling, Zarkon continued his inquires, "So he will begin seeing our way of life soon."
"Within a couple of days." she replied. "I also added some suggestions for what he must do for you as soon as the transfer is complete."
"Excellent!" he shouted with much enthusiasm. "I can't wait to welcome him home."
Haggar's smirk was equally sickening, "Soon our new prince will arrive, your Majesty. And that little problem named Throk will be a thing of the past."
Nodding excitedly, Zarkon swallowed the last bit of wine from his cup. "Haggar, make sure to start the preparations for his arrival and have Starr ready to welcome her soon to be husband properly."
"As you wish sire."
VVVVVVVVVV
Nanny poured the last remainder of the coffee into Keith's cup. Dinner had been a pretty joyous affair with many jokes, reminiscing stories of the past and retelling of stories from the present.
Allura had a wonderful time, except for certain instances where Erin gazed at Keith with such delight that it made the queasiness in her stomach come back from time to time. She also noticed how the young woman always brought back the conversation to events and places where they went or spent time together alone.
"Keith, do you remember that time we all went to Owl's Point and played that paintball game?"
Oh good heavens! She thought as once again the young woman spoke.
Lance's eyes beamed, "Oh yeah! Oh that was an amazing night." Turning to Allura and Romelle he began telling the story, "We broke out in teams and we had these guns that shot paint. Oh, that was so much fun! We started competing to see which team brought the other down first. By the end of the night, all of us had paint all over our uniforms," he laughed.
"Well not all of us," Erin shook her head. "I know of a certain commander who only had two stains." She pointed at him with her finger.
Smiling, Keith softly answered. "I may not have had too much paint, but my uniform was covered with soil and grass stains from avoiding all of you."
Allura immediately noted his stare. His eyes were glassy and he seemed to be in pain, "Keith, what's wrong?"
Erin's face completely changed. She hadn't paid attention to his behavior quite as Allura had, but now began to see, "Yeah Keith, your eyes look tired."
Shaking his head, he took his cup and drank some coffee before answering, "I'm fine really. Just fighting this nasty headache."
"How long have you had it?" Romelle asked.
"Since I woke up," he answered, "but, I'll take something before going to bed tonight."
Looking rather concerned, Hunk suggested, "Keith, you should let Gorma know. I mean, maybe you hit your head harder than you thought when you took that shot."
"I'm fine Hunk, thanks," Keith shook his head. "But you did remind me of something." Turning to General Hawkins Keith asked, "Sir, have you heard from Zarkon or Lotor yet?"
"No…nothing. I've asked the Explorer to contact me immediately if either of them contacts us, but so far nothing."
Sighing in frustration, Keith began tapping the table loudly with one of his fingers. "We haven't heard a thing either. I don't understand what's going on. This isn't like either of them to do something without a purpose."
Watching his frustration beginning to rise, Allura interjected his thoughts, "I think you should rest tonight and pick this up tomorrow, when you feel better."
"Princess Allura is right Keith," The general suggested. "Why don't you go somewhere where you can relax? Coran and I can work in the Control Room and look over any details. We'll let you know if anything comes up."
Nodding in agreement, Allura replied, "Yes, we can all go to the Rec room and relax for a while."
"That would be great!" Erin stated excitedly, "Dad, when are leaving? I'll still have some time to see Arus right?"
"Sorry honey, the Explorer has to go back on duty starting tomorrow. Therefore, we'll need to leave early in morning. Besides, Garrison will want to start an investigation about why Zarkon took you in the first place. They'll want you to interrogate you."
Erin's face went from excitement to disappointment. "So I won't be able to see Arus?"
"Well, Erin. I can at least show you the castle tonight, if you want." Keith volunteered.
"Really?" her eyes now beamed.
"Sure," he replied with a small smile, trying to ignore the headache, "I apparently need to relax and if you don't mind walking around so..."
Shaking her head she replies, "No...not at all."
Hearing the events taking place, Allura couldn't help but to speak, "Keith, are you sure you are up to this? I mean, you don't look well and you really haven't slept much. Perhaps Lance or Pidge can show Erin around."
"No, I'm fine Princess," Keith answered with a soft smile, "Really...I'll be fine and we won't take that long. Erin, would you like to go now?"
"Yes definitely," she stood up and walked over to Keith's side, "Ready to escort me Commander?"
"My pleasure," he replied as he stood up. "Excuse us." He directed his attention to the rest of the group.
Allura noticed Erin's possession of Keith's arm as he led her out. She looked at the gesture and suddenly the burning sensation in her heart ignited once again. Erin, obviously smitten with Keith, took every opportunity to be with him. Allura did not like this. Not at all.
