Chapter Four - Explanations
Laughter wasn't in short supply that afternoon.
Allura wiped away the tear that fell from the corner of her eye. She hasn't laughed this hard in a long time. It was good to have Allan back.
They were at the castle gardens, seated side-by-side on one of the cement benches positioned under the thick foliage of the tree that stood behind them. The sun was still up, though the colors in the sky indicated that it was almost time for it to set.
"We've been out here for hours." Allan commented, noticing the sky. "I hadn't noticed."
"You never did have a good sense of time." Allura joked. "You've been gone for four years and I can't imagine why you never even..." she trailed-off, suddenly realizing what she was trying to say.
Allan smiled. "You haven't changed at all. Still the curious, inquisitive princess who wouldn't let-up until she got a straight answer." He said, cupping her chin in his hand and slowly moving it so that he could see her face and meet her eyes. He sobered, and for a few moments, he stared at her in silence before he dropped his hand, looked away and told her his story.
"By the time I got to Amaget four years ago, everything was ravished: the castle, the towns, and the forests. My people were at a loss; my parents were killed about a year before I arrived. They had no one to look up to. They had to live and hide in the caves and survive on the underground shrubs and bushes for food and the underground reservoir for water. Desperation almost drove them to insanity; thinking that the only way for them to survive was to turn themselves in to the forces of Doom and serve Zarkon."
He sighed, as the dark memory became clearer in his mind. "I managed to discourage them from doing so, bringing back hope within them in the process. We remained in the caves for a year, carefully planning and reverently hoping for a sign that we were to be successful. After that year, our sign came to us --- Zarkon decided that Amaget was no longer of any use to him, seeing that he had exhausted its resources, and thinking that its inhabitants were extinguished. He put his guard down, and left only a small portion of his armada to stay, just for others to know that he conquered Amaget and so that he can conquer other planets --- Arus being one of them."
Allan paused. "We started attacking the small bases first, those positioned far away from the main base, which was the castle. The main base no longer checked-up on them, so it made it easier for us. From these small attacks, we were able to accumulate ammunition. We did this for about a year, until we were ready to make our all-out assault on the castle. But, before we did, we made sure that their communication to the outside was completely out to prevent them from sending for reinforcements and alerting Zarkon of our presence. Then, we planted bombs on their fleet, to thwart their intentions of an air to land attack, which would be to their advantage. That's how they found out about us. But, it was too late for them. They weren't expecting us. A morning later, my people and I found ourselves free. Not one Drule soldier was left alive."
"That must've been pretty hard," Allura said.
"It was. But not as hard as rebuilding our world from scratch." Allan replied. "None of us knew how to fix the space crafts and the communication link, so asking for help or informing the outside world of our victory was not an option. We made the most out of what we had, and what the Drules left. We cleaned-up and rebuilt the towns. We planted flora and continued to care for the fauna that we managed to save. A year after that, some galaxy alliance explorers stumbled into our corner of the universe and landed on our planet. That was the only time the communications and the interstellar vessels were rebuilt and put back in line..."
"That was three years ago, Allan." Allura interrupted.
"I know. But I didn't want you to know. Not yet. I requested that the alliance keep our victory a secret. I didn't want you to find out. I wanted it to be a surprise." He grinned sheepishly. "All our lives it was always me who came here and visited you. Now, I want you to come and visit me. Amaget has been restored to its former grandeur --- with a lot of help from science and technology, our forests grew faster and the limited number of wildlife we managed to save was multiplied to hundreds in a matter of a year."
"You know I just can't leave."
"I'm not asking you to. What I was trying to say was, I didn't want to tell you how everything on Amaget was, until I myself was sure that everything was fine."
"You could have atleast given us the idea that you were alive."
"I told you. I wanted it to be a surprise. Besides, I wasn't sure that everything was all right here. After the fall of Voltron and King Alfor, I didn't know what to expect. Besides, I had my hands tied. Zarkon came back after he found out that Amaget's resources were replenished. It's a good thing the alliance gave us some weapons and trained us in those 2 years that they were on Amaget. They also sent us some back up, which made the fight easier. You could say that we put up one heck of a fight because eventually, Zarkon turned away, not wanting to exhaust his resources. I had a feeling he was saving it for Voltron."
Allura nodded. Rapidly understanding why her long time friend reappeared only after four years.
"Speaking of Voltron, I've been meaning to ask you, I've only met four pilots. I heard there are five."
It was Allura's turn to give him a sheepish grin. "Princess Allura. Replacement pilot of the blue lion."
"I should have known it was you who was flying the fifth lion," he said, looking at her, amused but shaking his head. "You mean, Nanny and Coran actually allowed you to?"
Allura giggled, remembering the times her beloved governess and her trusted advisor locked her up in her room just to dissuade her from even thinking about it.
He arched an eyebrow. "I take that as a 'no'?"
She gave him a mischievous grin. She straightened her back and raised her pointer finger in the air and shook it while saying, "It is unbecoming for someone of your standing to be in that infernal contraption and risking her life. As the Royal Princess of Arus, your duty is to keep yourself alive and out of harm's way," with an accent that was undeniably Nanny's.
Allan burst-out laughing, in which Allura joined in. He reached-out and tucked a loose strand of hair that fell on her face, as he once again locked his gaze with hers.
"She's right, though."
"I can't believe you just said that." Allura said, looking away.
"Don't get me wrong, Allura, I just think that you ought to be a little more careful."
"I am capable of taking care of myself, Allan." She said, standing up.
"Allura, wait." He said, holding her arm. "I'm not saying that you should stop. I think defending your own kingdom is something worth dying for. But, that doesn't mean that you'll allow yourself to do so..."
Allura pulled her arm away and headed for the castle, not waiting for him to finish.
"Remember when we were sixteen, Allura?" Allan called from behind her. "Remember that promise you made to me on the day I left for Amaget? You promised me no unnecessary risks..."
"Flying the blue lion is a necessary risk."
"...UNLESS there were no other options available." He sighed. "Allura, there are a lot of qualified people who can fly the lion for you. You still have the alternative of keeping yourself alive. I had none. My people needed someone to lead them. I was the only one capable of doing so --- we didn't have Voltron nor a team to defend us, nor myself. I had no choice but to put my life on the line. If something happens to you, what will happen to your people?"
Allura stopped walking. An impression forming in her mind. "Is that why you're here? You came here to volunteer to replace me? Just like that?" her voice angry.
"No." He said quietly, slowly approaching her. "I came here to remind you of your promise." He put his hands on her shoulders and she turned to face him heeding the sincerity in his words and his eyes.
"And, to fulfill mine."
He brushed away the tear that fell on her cheek before wrapping his arms around her.
Allura closed her eyes and clung to him, sobbing uncontrollably; the same way she did four long years ago.
*-*-*-*-*
Everybody was waiting for them to arrive.
Hunk had his hands clasped together and his mouth hung open, drooling over the quantity of food set on the table.
Pidge, who was seated beside him, wasn't as obvious, but the stare he had on the roast was proof enough of his eagerness to start dinner.
Lance silently laughed at his two comrades as they tried to restrain themselves from diving onto the table. He looked around him, watching Nanny fuss over this and that, while Coran paced nervously back and forth in front of the dinning hall doors. Finally, he found himself staring at the person beside him.
He tried to read the expression on Keith's face. But, unlike that morning, Keith had his mask on --- hiding his true feelings behind it. For anyone else in that room, Keith would seem all right; serious and quiet Keith. But, to someone who's known him all his life, Keith is obviously keeping a front.
Like that morning, Lance had his gut feeling telling him that he knew what was bothering his normally callous comrade.
Keith sighed and closed his eyes. 'Everything about Prince Allan checks out', he thought, remembering the things that happened that afternoon.
Almost immediately after the 'meeting' at the docking bay, he and Coran contacted Amaget to find out what they can about their visitor. The planet's Prime Minister was the one who acknowledged the call, and it was apparent from Coran's expression that he knew the gray-haired, middle-aged man on the screen.
"A good, old friend," Coran had told him.
Prime Minister Siris told them of the war, the rebuilding of their planet, the role of the alliance and the reason for their secrecy. Keith excused himself after getting the needed information, to allow the two to do some catching-up. He went to the conference room and contacted Space Marshal Graham himself. The marshal's story matched that of Siris's.
'So why am I not the least bit relieved?'
Keith unconsciously rubbed the space between his eyebrows. He felt a headache coming. Suddenly, He felt a hand on his shoulder.
Looking to his right, he meets Lance's concerned face. But before either of them could say something, an ecstatic clamor from the other side of the hall caught their attention.
"Look at you! What a handsome young man you've become!" Nanny ranted, throwing her arms around the enthusiastic prince, suddenly forgetting about propriety.
A few moments later, the teary-eyed governess dropped her arms and stepped back, instantly recomposing herself. "And such a fine-looking man should never slouch and, Ach! Have wrinkles on his clothes!" she scolded, noting the creases on Allan's princely attire, which he changed into before presenting himself for dinner.
Allan grinned and tilted his head to his right, casting a side-glance at Allura who had her arm entwined with his. She was hiding a giggle behind her other hand, but he could clearly see the amusement in her eyes.
He slowly dropped his arm and bowed to the observant governess. "It is indeed a pleasure to see you again, Nanny." He said, a hint of warmth in his tone.
"And it's good to know that you didn't forget about your manners." She answered, suddenly reaching-out and taking his right ear between her thumb and her index finger. She pulled it towards her, until Allan's face was aligned with hers. "And you should know better than to have us worry like that!" she lectured, twisting her hold on his ear, making him squirm and angle his body to the opposite direction.
"Awww, Nanny, come on! Yeouch!"
Coran and Allura let out a peal of laughter.
Pidge, Hunk, and Lance soon followed suit. Not even Keith was able to hold back --- Nanny always did have a way of making them feel like kids again.
Nanny released her grip, and the laughter continued. Allan's ear was as red as a ripe tomato, his face a close second.
"Serves you right!" Allura burst out.
Coran cleared his throat, and composed himself, but the sparkle in his eyes said otherwise. "Come now, your majesties. Let us have dinner."