I am overdue for an update. I have not worked on this in ages, but I have several chapters already written. Happy Easter! Thank you for continued follows and favorites. Keep the reviews coming.
A new OC is introduced in this chapter. Her name was chosen months ago. Any similarity to other characters in other fanfiction works is purely coincidental.
Disclaimer: WEP owns Voltron and its characters and locations. The story is mine. All other characters and locations are also mine. Please do not use without my permission.
Chapter 19
Artie stared at the unconscious princess as she lay on the ostentatiously appointed bed. Willing her to wake up, he anxiously fingered the diamond Lion brooch within his meaty hand. When the princess failed to move, the Arusian stood angrily and stomped into the adjacent sitting room, the pin still clutched in his hand. Finding Rallock lounging on the couch with his arm draped over the beautiful prostitute he hired to help take care of the princess, he gave an annoyed grunt. Both whore and Drule glanced up. With a toss of his head, Artie dismissed the young woman to see to the princess. She looked startled for a moment, and then immediately jumped to her feet and scurried from the room. Once she left, Artie moved to sit across from Rallock in an adjacent chaise lounge.
The Drule stared at him with an annoyed and menacing expression. "Can I ask why you interrupted me?" he snarled. "I was just getting comfortable with Isla."
"Isla is not here for you," Artie explained with a growl. "She is here to take care of the princess and to help justify us being here."
"Couldn't we also take advantage of the fact that she is a whore and use her for our own selfish pleasures?" Rallock questioned, an awkward, lustful smile quirking on his lips. "I have needs."
Shaking his head, Artie could not help but smile in amusement at the Drule. He was right. Isla was a whore, or a prostitute, as he preferred to call a woman who sold herself for money. Would it be so wrong for them to get some enjoyment out of the situation? Artie might allow it.
The kidnapping of the princess of Arus had occurred about twelve hours before. The extraction had gone flawlessly, and Rallock was confident that they had not been tracked or followed. Upon returning to Rydrax, the Drule met Artie outside the hangar bay, where he had ditched the disguised Drule fighter. Driving a used hover car that he had recently purchased, Artie immediately headed to their safe house.
Their safe house was a lesser known brothel located in a seedier section of town. Brothels were everywhere on Rydrax, existing to meet the needs of the planet's mostly male population. This particular brothel had come recommended by Artie's boss. He had said that "the girls were beautiful and willing, yet the location was secret and hidden." It sounded like the perfect place to hide the kidnapped princess.
When Artie came to the brothel, he requested the biggest and best room in the place. He also requested a girl who would mind her business and do what she was told. They had been assigned young Isla. About the same age as Allura, Isla was tall and lean, with long burgundy hair and bright green eyes. Artie remembered in amusement how the young woman greeted him with a seductive smile, but recoiled at first from the Drule. Expecting to be used in less than pleasurable ways, the young woman had been relieved when Artie informed her that he needed her to take care of the princess, not Rallock. Snickering menacingly, he wondered what her reaction would be once he told her that her role may have changed slightly.
Suddenly, a loud, blood-curdling scream erupted from the other room. Both Artie and Rallock were on their feet in an instant. With a shared glance, they bolted toward the bedroom. It seemed the princess was finally awake.
VVVVVVVVVVVV
As a gentle hand rubbed a cool, damp cloth across her forehead, Allura fought to regain consciousness. I must have dreamed it all, she thought. Opening her eyes, she expected to see Nanny hovering above her. Instead, a beautiful face that she didn't recognize hung over her. The face was not Arusian or Terran; she didn't recognize the humanoid species. Was she a new maid? Focusing her gaze from the beautiful face to the room around her, Allura gave a start. She was not in her bedroom. She was not in the Castle of Lions. All of a sudden, the events of the day before came rushing back and terror filled her heart. Unable to control herself, the princess let out a shriek of pure fright. Taken aback by the sudden reaction, the young woman backed away in shock and just stared at the screaming princess.
Pounding footsteps entered the room. Allura stopped screaming for a moment to see who had entered. At the sight of first Rallock, and then Artie, Allura could not help but scream again. Only when a lazon sword was held to her throat did she finally stop.
"I suggest that you stop screaming, Princess. I would hate to have to make you stop," Rallock threatened. As the princess leaned back against the pillows, no other sound came out. Rallock relaxed his grip on the lazon sword and reduced the pressure against the princess's neck. "There, there, lay back. Young Isla is only trying to help you."
Allura's azure eyes snapped from the Drule to Artie to the young woman named Isla. She stared at them as they stared at her, her eyes flitting from side to side. Finally finding her voice, she whispered, "Water, please?"
Nodding at Isla, Artie watched as the young princess struggled to sit up. His heart wrenched for a moment at her frightful state. Her hair was matted and tangled. Her makeup, once perfectly done, was streaked across her face, dark smudges of mascara indicating that she had been crying. Her beautiful dress was torn and wrinkled, and her bare feet were dirty and cut. She looked nothing like the beautiful monarch who ruled his home world and had almost ruled his heart. Remembering that she had chosen Kogane over him, he let his empathy for Allura slip away. Instead, he glared in satisfaction at her frightened and disheveled state.
The kind young girl quickly brought Allura the requested cup of water. As she gulped it down in several swallows, her head felt clearer. Struggling to sit up, she felt the girl's gentle arm come around her shoulders to brace her into a sitting position. After setting a silk pillow behind her back, the girl helped the princess lean gently back against the headboard. "Thank you," she managed to squeak out hoarsely from between dry, chapped lips. She offered a smile in gratitude. The young girl returned a small, gentle smile as she squeezed the young princess's shoulders in a sisterly hug.
"Enough," bellowed Artie from across the room. Isla jumped back from the princess at the sudden outburst. "You!" He pointed at the young girl. "Isla! Go with Rallock; the Drule is suddenly in need of your services." He turned to see Rallock eyeing the young beauty in lustful anticipation. Seeing her eyes suddenly bulge in terror, Artie laughed unsympathetically as he walked to where Isla stood next to the princess's bed. "Come now, my dear, isn't it what you get paid to do?"
Rallock walked over to where Isla stood next to Allura, frozen in shock and terror. Having been told she would have to care for the injured woman, she rested in the fact that her other services would not be needed. She was terrified of the Drule because of his mere size and the damage he could so easily inflict on her. Recoiling slightly as the Drule put his arm around her slight shoulders, she let her eyes meet Allura's, begging for the princess to intervene.
Opening her mouth to protest, Allura sat shell shocked when, from out of nowhere, she was backhanded by the Drule. "Don't say a word, princess. You are not in charge here; we are. Sit there, shut up, and no further harm will come to you. What Isla and I do is between us." Looking over at Artie, he saw the Arusian nod at him, giving him the signal that he was dismissed. "Now if you would please excuse us, Lord Arthur, Princess Allura. Isla and I have some business in the other room."
Isla turned in surprise back to the other woman in the bed. The woman meant nothing to Isla at first. The young prostitute had just assumed she was another whore, brought in for the personal use of the one called Mr. Leonard. Hearing her official title, Isla suddenly recognized the woman from the news program she had been watching earlier that day. It was Princess Allura of Planet Arus. The sound for the program had been turned off, so she wasn't entirely sure what the princess had been celebrating. Why was she here on Rydrax? A brothel was not a place you expected to find a person of royal background. The young princess looked bewildered and terrified. Isla gazed intently at Allura. I will try and help you, she tried to communicate to the princess before she left the room with Rallock.
Allura caught the intense look on Isla's face. She received the message from the other woman loud and clear. Just as the door swished shut, the princess felt Artie sit down next to her on the bed. As he moved closer to her, she fought the bile that threatened to rise in her throat. Turning away from him, she took deep breaths to try and control the sudden nausea that washed over her.
"Why hello, Princess?" Artie greeted her officially. "Welcome to Rydrax. I hope you find the accommodations acceptable?"
The princess of Arus took a moment to peruse this man who was once her friend and loyal subject. Artie had changed considerably since she last saw him before his trial. Gone was his protruding stomach, replaced with a much thinner, almost emaciated physique. His dirty blond hair, usually cropped close to his head, was much longer and shaggier, touching the bottom of his neck. A scraggly beard covered his cheeks and chin, giving him the appearance of a lumberjack. He looked like a completely different person. But there was no mistaking the malevolent and evil glint in his eye. This was definitely Arthur, the man who revealed his thirst for power and his need for control to the princess only a few months ago. And this Arthur was bent on revenge. Allura eyed him warily before she responded. "What do you want, Artie? Why am I here?" she asked. Scooting as far over as she could away from him, she hoped he wouldn't touch her. She was still too weak to fight him off.
"You are here, my princess, simply because of what you did to me, to my family. You have shamed me, gotten me exiled off Arus. I no longer control the Southern province, which was my birth right. You are here because I want revenge. I want back what's rightfully mine." Gripping the Lion brooch more tightly, he grimaced in pain as the pin bit into his hand.
Hearing the tone of his words, Allura sat frozen in terror. Her brain whirred with all the possibilities of what his plan could possibly include. Her mouth slowly formed words. "Are you going to kill me?" she whispered, terror evident in her voice.
Chuckling, Artie shook his head. "No, my dear, but I would be lying if I said the thought hadn't crossed my mind." When she let out a small sigh of relief, Artie continued, "Killing you would only get me in more trouble and not help me get my final objective."
He didn't hope to sire the next heir to the throne, did he? Knowing she would never let him take her willingly, Allura gasped at another disgusting and twisted possibility. "You're not going to rape me, are you?" Keith, she screamed in her mind. Oh Gods! Help me. Please.
"And what makes you think I would want you after you were tainted by that commoner? Please, Allura, I would never lower my morals that much." A look of disgust crossed Artie'S face at the thought.
Allura sighed in relief in spite of herself. She wouldn't be killed or raped, at least not at Artie's hand. But what about the Drule? "Will he hurt me?" she questioned, nodding toward the door Rallock and Isla exited moments before.
Losing his patience suddenly, Artie slammed his fist into the mattress. "Enough questions!" he bellowed. "No, he won't hurt you, unless I ask him, too. Now shut up!"
The princess stared at Artie in bemusement. She was utterly confused as to the reason for her abduction. If he didn't mean to kill her or rape her, then what did he plan to do with her? Despite his stern warning, the princess pressed on. "Artie," she said gently. "Why did you take me then? What do you intend to do with me?" A glint of silver in Artie's hand caught her eye. The brooch! Allura screamed to herself. The homing device! I have to get that back from Artie! Forgetting about Keith's safeguard earlier, the princess had been in and out of consciousness. Now that she was thinking more clearly, she suddenly remembered that Pidge had programmed a homing device into the back of the brooch. Allura watched as Artie fingered the trinket in his hand. Needing to gauge whether he was aware of the secondary purpose of the jewelry, Allura watched him quietly.
Narrowing his eyes, Artie saw Allura catch a glimpse of the priceless treasure. He could see her mind calculating on how to get the brooch back. He could not let that happen. The brooch was the key to getting the approval of the Arusian people; it represented the blessing of King Alfor. He would need it to win favor and make his claim legitimate. "Why don't you rest now, Princess? You have had enough excitement for one day. Your body is still recovering from your transport. As soon as Isla is available," he paused and smirked at the grimace that crossed Allura's face, "I will send her in and have her attend you. You are in need of some freshening up." Without another word, Artie left the room through a different door.
Accepting Artie's suggestion without protest, Allura simply nodded. She would need to rest in order to fully regain her strength. She would need time to be alone with Isla. Perhaps the girl would be able to help her get the brooch. She didn't need to steal the piece of jewelry; she simply needed to press the button on the back to activate the homing device. Then and only then would there be any possibility of Keith and the rest of the force finding her. Lying flat on her back, Allura closed her eyes. It wasn't long before her exhausted body once again fell into a fitful sleep, dreams of worried ebony eyes and dark, furrowed brows in her mind's eye.