Author's Note: The royal ball took me longer than I thought it would. The couples did not care for how I had written it, feeling it shortchanged their stories. I have rewritten it to reflect their points of view, as well as the happenings at the ball. I am posting three chapters today, which represent the ball's prelude for each of the couples. The chapter with the ball happenings will be posted, I hope, mid-week.
Between you and me, reader, I think each lady wanted a chapter with just their dress in it. This is Eimear's chapter, and her dress reflects her personality. She is very elegant, cool, not a ruffles type of girl. The inspiration for her dress is the one Grace Kelly wore in 1955 to accept her Oscar for 'The Country Girl'.
The Royal Ball – Prelude One
Keith arrived at Eimear's townhouse at the time they had agreed on, in his formal dress uniform. He thought about the irony that the first time Eimear had seen him in it was at the memorial service for her late husband. He hoped that tonight would be a lot happier for her. He got out of the hover town car he had rented for the evening, and told the driver to wait. Keith had thought about a limousine, and then found out they were all rented out.
A man in a suit answered the door, and showed Keith into an elaborate but narrow front hall. The floor was black and white marble tile, while the staircase was done in white wood and black wrought iron. The man introduced himself as Phillips, the house manager, but Keith was reminded of Higgins, the butler at the Castle. He decided that he would have to ask Firth about the difference between a butler and a house manager.
"Do you really fly Black Lion? And are commander of the Voltron Force?" A high, young voice asked. Keith turned to see a young boy with blond hair and green eyes standing in the hall. He was in his pajamas, but had his feet apart with his hands on his hips. Keith smiled, figuring out who the boy was. He had his mother's hair, and he could see some of her in the boy's face too.
"Yes Your Grace, I am. Commander Keith Kogane." He said very seriously as he inclined his head. He wasn't sure what the protocol was for ten year old dukes, but decided to take no chances.
"Is that your Lion badge around your neck? Can I touch it?" The young boy asked his eyes wide. Keith smiled and said yes, bending down as he did so.
"Wow! It is so heavy! Neat! And you're really taking my Mum to the royal ball?" The young man was wide eyed, thinking of what his classmates would think of his story.
"I had planned on it, Your Grace, but I guess I should have consulted with you first. Is that all right?" Keith asked cautiously. He had never been out with a woman who had a child before, let alone one with a title.
"Oh, I think it is awesome! All my friends are going to be so jealous that I actually met you. Also, between us men, my Mum needs to get out more. She spends way too much time fussing about me, and the window treatments!" The boy sighed, giving Keith a knowing look. He smiled, remembering the conversations he and Eimear had had about her son.
"I'll give you some advice, man to man, Your Grace; women like the house to look nice and be comfortable. They are very concerned about that kind of thing." Keith told him, nodding his head. At that thought Sven and Romelle popped into his mind, but he pushed them out.
"I don't always mind, my Mum is awesome! When I finish school early she makes me these wonderful tomato, bacon, and cheese sandwiches. The cook here gets really annoyed when she does that, but back at home it didn't matter." The boy said with sigh.
"Do you miss not being in the country, Your Grace?" Keith asked, sure that everything had been a big adjustment for him.
"Sometimes I do, but I have lots of friends now to do stuff with. Speaking of friends, I met one of yours." The duke finished up proudly. Keith looked at him and asked him about that.
"The other day, Her Majesty and Commander McClain came to by school, for a military review. Her Majesty talked about flying Blue Lion, and forming Voltron to defeat the Drules. Commander McClain didn't give a formal speech, but we got to talk to him in groups, and he mentioned how incredible you are! He said that you are his best friend; is that true?" The boy said rapidly, amazed that he had already had so much one on one time with the Black Lion pilot.
"Yes, Commander McClain is my best friend! We met the first day at New West Point, and have been together ever since." Keith told the child very sincerely. He was touched that Lance had told the boys about him.
"Was Her Majesty a really good pilot? Some of the older boys said that she looked really hot, but I didn't know what that meant?" The young duke asked, hoping that the man in front of him could explain it. He knew that his friends who had fathers had access to all kinds of information that he didn't.
"Her Majesty was a top notch pilot. She knew her Kingdom needed her, and she worked really hard to be able to defeat the Drule Empire. Oh, and just so you know, when someone says a woman is hot, they mean she is very pretty, and very nice." Keith told the young man, recognizing the hunger in his eyes.
"I see, that explains it. No one really tells me anything around here!" The boy declared, and then furrowed his brows in thought.
"Do you think it is good that Commander McClain is going to marry Her Majesty?" The duke asked, thinking of some of the things he had heard from his schoolmates.
"Your Grace, I am going to tell you something that I have not told anyone else, ok?" Keith smiled at the young boy, and then he continued. "Her Majesty and Commander McClain are my two closest friends in the world, and I am glad that they are getting married. They will be so happy together." As he said it, he realized how true it was, and he felt his heart getting very light all of a sudden.
"Aiden, aren't you supposed to be in bed?" Keith heard Eimear's voice from the top of the stairs and he looked up, almost gasping when he saw her. She had a pale pink satin gown on that clung tightly to her body, and then swept back into a small train. The bodice stopped just above her breasts, and was held up by thin straps in the same pink silk. Her figure was amazing, Keith realized, and the pale pink was perfect with her alabaster skin, and pale blond hair.
Eimear had a necklace of pink pearls and intricate gold work that glowed against her pale skin as it circled her collarbone. It highlighted her swan like neck, and was complemented by matching earrings and a bracelet. Her pale gold hair was pulled back in an elegant twist, and offset by a tiara of the same pink pearls and gold work. The whole effect was of a warm pink glow against the paleness of her skin and hair, while highlighting her grey-blue eyes.
Keith had thought she was like a black swan at the Chapter House, but now she reminded him of a white one. As she came down the stairs, he was given a better chance to examine her full, curvy figure. The black dresses he had seen her in before had concealed a great deal. In his wildest dreams he had never imagined himself with a woman like this.
"Commander Kogane, would my Mum be considered hot?" Aiden asked his idol, who smiled at him, and then looked at Eimear.
"Yes Your Grace, your Mother would be considered hot." Keith said in a conspiratorial voice, and added "She is very beautiful." He saw her smile him, and he noticed that her eyes looked happy. Just then an older woman came into the hall, looking for Aiden.
"I'm sorry Your Ladyship; he was supposed to be bed reading." The woman explained, as she walked over to the boy.
"I think he wanted to make sure his Mother was being properly escorted for the evening, right Your Grace?" Keith said, looking at the boy, and then added. "Listen, if it is all right with your Mother you can come by the Castle one day, and I will show you Black Lion." The boy's eyes got very round, and then he looked at his mother.
"That is very nice of the Commander to offer, and I will talk to him about a good day to do it. You can't miss school you know." Eimear said, as she gave her son a hug. Keith could see how much she loved the boy, and he liked the fact that she didn't care if her dress got wrinkled from him hugging her back. They said their goodbyes, and Keith escorted her out to the car.
"Thank you for coming with me Eimear, you look beautiful!" Keith told her sincerely, privately looking forward to Lance seeing her. He had been pumping Keith for information on his date, but Keith had not revealed anything. He had found it rather fun to thwart Lance for once.
"Keith, I am very flattered that you asked, and you look very handsome too." Eimear smiled and then got serious. "I overheard the conversation you and Aiden had, by the way. Thank you for talking to him like you did, man to man. He appreciated it, I know, but you can call him by his name."
"He is very smart, and doesn't miss anything I bet. Until he gives me permission to use his name though, I won't. I don't want to get in trouble with him." Keith told her, laughing. He watched Eimear get very serious and slowly smooth the satin of her skirt with one of her hands. He remembered her doing the same motion the first time they talked at the Chapter House.
"I didn't mean to listen, you understand. I was all set to come down, and then when I heard Aiden I knew he would enjoy the time with you. Can I ask you about something you said?" Eimear said, minutely examining the fabric of her dress. Keith tilted his head, wondering what was coming.
"Eimear, you may ask me anything you like. I would think you would know that by now." He told her, and then held his breath.
"Keith, did you really mean the comment you made, about being happy about Her Majesty getting married?" Eimear asked slowly, still looking at her skirt as her hand smoothed out imaginary wrinkles. He could see her furrowed brow, and knew that this was important to her. He reached over and put one of his hands over the one smoothing the fabric.
"Yes, Eimear I did mean it. My time at the Chapter House, along with Sir Roulf, really opened my eyes to so many things. I won't lie to you, I did love Allura, but it wasn't the real Allura that I loved. Our relationship was based on her being the lovely princess, while I was the knight who saved her castle. The first honest conversation we had was when she told me about Lance, and I handled it badly because I wasn't seeing who she really was." Keith told her, squeezing her hand as he did so. Eimear had stopped smoothing the fabric of her dress, and let her hand rest in his.
"In the short time I've known you I have been more open and honest with you than I ever was with Allura. I want to continue that, and I would like to get to know you better. I admire you a great deal, and will always respect the relationship you had with your late husband." Keith finished up, hoping that he hadn't pushed too fast.
"Oh Keith, I'd like to get to know you better too. If that is going to happen though, I need to be honest with you about my relationship with Percy." Eimear said to him with a sigh. He gave her a sympathetic smile, and indicated for her to go on.
"I was sixteen when I married Percy, and we spent a total of five weeks together the entire year we were married." She said slowly, and as she looked up her could see pain in her eyes. "War had been going on for several years, with no end it sight, so it was decided that court functions would stop. I was presented at the last debutante court, two years earlier than what I should have been. Percy and my brother had been roommates the Academy, and he was getting pressure to marry. His older brother had been paralyzed by then, so it was up to Percy to produce an heir."
"Was it an arranged marriage?" Keith asked, knowing that it was common on Arus. She shook her head, and explained how she and Percy liked each other, and married within a month of their first meeting. They had a two week honeymoon, before Percy went back to his squadron. Less than a year later he came home for a three week leave.
"Keith, it was like seeing a stranger! It was weird and uncomfortable being together. We didn't have any privacy, because all the family was there. I think he was almost glad to get back to fighting, quite frankly." Eimear said in a sad voice, and Keith felt bad for her. He was trying to imagine her as a seventeen year old girl, coping with all that.
"He was killed two months after that, and then I found out I was pregnant. Percy never even knew that he was going to be a father." She finished the story and looked sad. Keith was still holding her hand and he liked how warm and soft it felt.
"Eimear, thank you for telling me that, because you didn't have to. I think you are very brave, and I know that Percy would be very happy with how you are raising Aiden." Keith told, squeezing her hand again. He decided that she needed fun and laughter in her life, and it would start tonight.
"Keith, I wanted to, so you would understand what my relationship with Percy was. I want us to be honest with each other." Eimear said seriously. Keith brought her hand up to his mouth and kissed it lightly. He liked watching her smile, and told her that.
"I am planning on making you smile a great deal tonight Eimear." He added, and started telling her funny stories about some of the people she would meet tonight.