"So, uh, Romelle, um, what, exactly, is that going to be?" Lance asked, indicating her knitting.
He was relaxing in the rec room after morning practice. While Pidge sat on the couch reading, Romelle was having another knitting lesson with Nanny and Allura had gone to answer a call from Keith. Hunk was on duty in Castle Control.
Romelle held up the uneven patch of blue knitting and studied it for a moment, "Well, it was going to be a sweater, but then Nanny decided that for my first project I should try something simpler."
"And that is?"
"I think it'll end up being a blanket." She decided.
"It's a wonderful start," Nanny assured her.
"What did Keith have to say?" Pidge asked when Allura joined them in the rec room.
"He just called to say the breakfast meeting lasted longer than they expected, but he is leaving now. We can expect him around nine tonight." The Princess sank down on to the couch beside her cousin.
"Should I hold dinner for him?" Nanny asked.
"He said not to, but I think it would be nice to have something saved for him." Allura said.
"What are the plans for today?" Lance asked.
"Practice went well this morning, so when you're not on duty, you're free to do as you please. All I ask is that you don't stray too far from the castle." Allura dismissed him.
Lance jumped to his feet, "Great, I'm not on duty until eight tonight. I'm going to head down into town."
"Make sure you have your transmitter turned on this time!" Pidge called after him.
Nanny stood up from the chair she had occupied while educating Romelle on her knitting, "If you would like, Princess, we can discuss the flowers for the wedding."
"Of course, Nanny. Romelle would you like to join us." Allura rose.
"Yeah, Sven is resting and I don't think he'll be up for a while."
"Is all this practice too much for him?" Allura asked worriedly.
"He would never say if it was," Romelle shook her head. "To be honest, I hope you'll be able to find someone to replace him as a back-up."
"We're going to look for a few back-ups," Allura explained. "We will be hiring a couple of more pilots from the Garrison. After the wedding a new Blue pilot will be trained and I will be put on back-up status so I can concentrate on ruling as Queen and starting a family."
"I'm glad to hear that." Romelle placed a hand on her stomach. "He would kill me if he knew I was discussing this with you."
"Has he seen any more doctors?"
"Yes, but the damage to his back was extensive. He never got a chance to fully heal from the robeast attack before Lotor began to torture him and he was not able to receive medical attention in order for those wounds to heal. All the wounds healed improperly and there is really nothing that can be done about it. Massage sometimes helps to relieve the knots in his muscles, but pain killers can only do so much."
Nanny clucked her tongue, "That poor, poor boy."
Romelle smiled weakly, "Don't ever let him hear you say that. There is nothing he hates more than pity."
Allura put an arm around her cousin's shoulders as they made their way toward her study, "He is a good and strong man. I am so glad you two found each other."
"It seems like everything we went through, as horrible as it was, had a purpose. We found each other. I would never wish what Lotor did to us on my worst enemy, but if it hadn't happened, I never would have met Sven and I would never have known such happiness existed." Romelle said quietly.
"Everything happens for a reason." Nanny said, wisely.
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Lance returned from town just in time for his shift in Castle Control to begin. He had started the search for the perfect wedding present a week ago. He went back today to see if he could get any ideas. What he found was a cute shopkeeper named Iona. After dinner he realized just how late he was and he left her with the promise that he would call soon.
The sound of the door sliding open had Lance looking over his shoulder as the Princess of Arus entered.
"Hello, Princess."
She smiled, "Good evening, Lance. Did you have fun in town?"
He winked at her, "I always do."
Allura sat in the chair beside him, "What's her name?"
"Iona with long black hair, green eyes, and legs that go on forever."
Allura thought for a moment, "You mean the woman running the one gift shop? What's it called? Arusian Delights?"
"That's the one."
She erupted into laughter.
"What is it?" Lance asked.
"Have you met her brother?"
He shook his head.
"Huh, well, I'd be careful if I were you. I don't care if you are a trained soldier, if you hurt her, Elbert will break you in half."
"Elbert? I think I can handle someone named Elbert."
"He's about 6'6", weighing nearly 300 hundred pounds. I once saw him pick up a horse."
Lance paled slightly, "You're exaggerating."
Allura winked at him, "Well, it was a little horse."
"Maybe we should get him a job as a palace guard."
"Nah, he enjoys his job as a bounty hunter a little too much."
Lance decided to change the subject, "What did you do today, Allura?"
"We went over the floral arrangements for the wedding."
"What did you decide?"
"It'll be mostly roses from my garden. That's where Keith proposed." She explained.
"That's nice. I'm sure Keith will appreciate that. What're you going to do now?"
"I have no plans."
"So you're going to sit here and bug me until the Captain shows up?"
Allura smiled, "That sounds like a plan."
"I can call you when he arrives."
"I know. I'm just feeling a little antsy."
"Allura?"
They both turned to see Romelle standing the doorway.
"Yes, Romelle?"
"Can I talk to you for a second?"
"What is it?" Allura asked after following Romelle into the hallway.
"Do you know where I could get something for Sven? He's soaking in the tub right now, but he's in a lot of pain. I went to the infirmary, but I didn't see Dr. Gorma."
"He's probably in the library, he goes there when things are quiet in the hospital wing." Allura explained.
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A loud beeping brought Lance out of his thoughts as he tried to come up with an easy way to let Iona down and not upset her brother.
"This is Castle Control, you are entering Arusian airspace, please acknowledge." Lance announced to his visitor.
Keith's face filled the screen, "Hey, Lance."
"Keith! You're about half an hour early."
"I made
good time."
"The Princess will be
thrilled." Lance said as he gave Keith's
ship clearance to land.
"Don't tell her," Keith said. "I want to surprise her."
"Will do Captain."
"Keith signing out. See you in Castle Control, Lance."
Lance waited for the main entrance from the tarmac to open. It was about ten minutes before the door slid open.
"Hey man, how'd the meetings go?"
Keith looked around, distracted. "Where's Allura?"
"Oh, the meetings went alright, just boring. How are you doing, Lance?" Lance mimicked Keith.
Keith just looked at him, annoyed.
Lance continued his little one man show, "I'm doing well, Keith, met a new girl today. Ah yes, Lance and his infamous prowess with the women. Oh stop, Keith, I'm just lucky. Lucky at love. You're making me blush, Captain. I guess it's a good thing I learned from you, or else I never would've snagged the Princess…"
Keith cleared his throat, "That's enough, Lieutenant, I don't have time for this. Where is Allura?"
"Okay, I'll assume you're attitude is due to a lack of sleep and let it slide." Lance mumbled. "She just left with Romelle. You may want to check the library or her study."
"You might want to keep your attitude in check and show a little respect." Keith growled as he left Castle Control.
Lance rolled his eyes, "I always thought Keith enjoyed those boring meetings, I guess he got his fill."
Keith crept down the hall toward Allura's study. He heard Hunk and Pidge playing a video game as he passed by the rec room. Then there she was, her back to him head bent over something she held in her hand.
He stealthily moved up behind, slid his arms around her waist and put his mouth to her ear.
"Did you miss me?" He whispered.
Her body shook with quiet laughter before turning around in his arms, "Not really, but I bet Allura did."
Keith looked down at the woman in his arms, "You're not Allura."
"Very good, Keith," Romelle laughed. "It's very important for you to be able to recognize your bride before you marry her."
Keith allowed his gaze to slide down her body; she did look quite a bit like Allura. "I see you've put on some weight."
Romelle grinned and placed a hand on her stomach, "Yup, another one and a half pounds. Dr. Gorma said I'm progressing nicely, Nanny's cooking is contributing quite a bit, though."
"Hm, maybe you should lay off a little on the sweets." He mumbled.
Romelle shifted uncomfortably under his gaze. He still had his arms around her waist, making her feel awkward. "If, um, if you're looking for Allura she's in her study."
"No, she's right here."
Keith dropped his arms and turned to face the voice behind him. Allura stood with her hands on her hips and an eyebrow raised.
"I know this isn't what it looks like." She teased them.
"He saw me from behind and thought I was you." Romelle explained.
"A likely excuse. How do I know you aren't trying to steal my man?"
"Hm, well, it looks like she's on to us Keith. We'll have to come up with another plan." Romelle slipped an arm through Keith's.
Allura laughed at the shocked look on Keith's face, "Maybe next time you should let Keith in on the plan."
"Alright, next time we'll figure this out better, but I need to get back to my man and see if these help," Romelle held up the bottle of pain relievers Allura had given her. "Good night guys and thanks again Allura."
"Good night, Romelle. Let me know if you need anything else." Allura turned to her fiancé and slipped her arms around his waist. "When did you get back? I told Lance to call me when you got in."
Keith smiled down at her, wrapping his arms around her, "I wanted to surprise you."
"But you surprised Romelle instead. It's a good thing I'm not a jealous woman."
Keith leaned down and drew her into hard, passionate kiss.
Allura lost herself in his taste.
"Will you two get a room." Pidge growled as he skulked by.
Allura broke the kiss and looked at Pidge's back as he made his way past them. "What's your problem?" She called after him.
"Hunk cheats!" He called back over his shoulder.
Allura giggled as Keith kissed her neck, "Did he win again?"
"Yes I did and I don't cheat." Hunk said as he hurried down the hall to try and make amends with his young friend. "Welcome back Keith!"
"Maybe we should get a room." Keith whispered into her ear.
"My, you're feeling rather amorous tonight, aren't you?" Allura took his hand and pulled him to her study.
"I missed you."
"I missed you too, but making out in the castle hallway is not acceptable behavior." Allura teased him as she shut the study door behind them.
Keith sat in the overstuffed chair beside her bookcase and pulled her down into his lap.
"How did the meetings go?" Allura asked, slipping her hand into his. She loved the way her engagement ring shone against their laced fingers.
"I'd rather not talk about it," he murmured as he used his other hand to brush her hair off her neck and pressed his lips to her soft flesh.
"Was it that bad? Did you get to talk to Jeff?" She continued.
He pulled back and looked at her, "I said I didn't want to talk about it."
Allura dropped his hand at his abrupt tone, "Did something happen?"
"No."
"Then why are you behaving like this?"
Keith closed his eyes and sighed, "I'm sorry, Allura, I'm just very tired and I missed you. The meetings were long and boring, nothing I'd want to bother you with. I would rather just hold you."
Allura studied him. There were circles under his eyes and he was very pale.
"Oh, Honey," Allura brushed his hair off his forehead. "Maybe you should go to bed now. We can talk in the morning."
He gave her a weak smile, "That sounds like a good idea. I just wanted to see you first."
"I'm glad you did, but we need you rested and alert. We still haven't heard from Lotor since the scouting mission."
Keith's eyes flew open, "I don't want to think about that right now."
"Neither do I, but, unfortunately, we have to think about it. At least until Lotor is captured." Allura stood and took both of Keith's hands. "Come on, let's get you to bed."
Allura walked Keith to his room, "Sleep well, my love." She whispered before placing a quick kiss on his lips.
Keith didn't let her go so easily, "I'd sleep better if you were with me."
She looked up at him, surprised. "I thought you said we should wait."
"These meetings brought to front the horror of everything that is going on in this war. We're mortal. We could die tomorrow. I want to make the most of my time, I want to be with you."
Allura studied him, "That is a beautiful sentiment. But I think we should wait."
He grabbed her roughly by the arms, "Time is not a luxury we have during this war. I want to be with you, don't deny me."
"Keith, I don't know what went on during these meetings but they obviously affected you. When you are able to talk about what happened we'll discuss taking our relationship to the next step. Get some sleep and we'll talk tomorrow." Allura pulled herself from his grip and turned on her heel. "Good night, Keith."