Just a little warning that there is some cursing in this chapter. Reader beware! J
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"Allura! It's me, Keith…*crackle*…let that man out of your sight…*crackle*…"
Allura turned sharply around. Hunk now held Keith's arms behind his back preventing him from leaving.
"Lance, you and Sven go greet this ship. Take a few guards with you." Koran took over.
They left, quickly. Everyone else turned to the man held by Hunk.
"What is going on?" Allura asked again.
"I don't know. It sounds like someone is playing a trick." Keith said.
"No, something is going on and I want answers now!" Allura yelled at him.
"Princess, please, this is not going to get us anywhere," Koran said before turning to Keith. "Have a seat, Captain, you will not leave this room until everything is cleared up."
"I was just going to the bathroom," Keith mumbled as Hunk led him over to a chair.
They all jumped as Allura's transmitter beeped.
She flipped it open, "Yes?"
"Princess, you aren't going to believe this."
"What is it, Lance?"
"It's Keith."
"What about him?"
"No, it's Keith in the Doom ship. He's in pretty bad shape. You may want to get Dr. Gorma to meet us."
Everyone turned to the man sitting in the chair beside Hunk.
"We'll have Dr. Gorma waiting in Castle Control when you get here." Allura snapped the transmitter shut and turned to Koran. "Call Dr. Gorma and have more guards brought up here."
"Yes, Your Highness." The advisor bowed slightly and turned to do her bidding.
"Allura…" Keith spoke.
"No!" Allura shouted. "You will not speak. I don't know who you are, but I know you're not Keith. Until we have figured out what is going on you will not speak."
Romelle came to Allura. "Keep it together," she whispered.
They waited in an awkward silence. Dr. Gorma and one of his nurses arrived and were briefed by Koran. A dozen palace guards arrived and stood stoically around the room. Two armed men surrounded the man they thought was Keith as he sat quietly.
Everyone watched the door and waited. When it finally slid open Allura gasped at what she saw. Lance and Sven flanked a man wearing Keith's red flight suit, it was dirty and torn at the knee, but it was his flight suit. His hair was disheveled and knotted, his face covered by a few days growth of beard.
Allura slowly crossed to him. He looked up at her with tired eyes.
"Keith?" She whispered.
He nodded.
Allura reached up and brushed the hair from his eyes, "What happened?"
"I was attacked on my way back from Wit'ach," he began, his voice hoarse. "About half a dozen Doom ships. The ship I had wasn't equipped to fight off that many and I was captured. I was able to escape yesterday and steal a ship."
"If you're Keit, den who is dat?" Sven asked, gesturing to the man seated between two guards.
"I'm not sure. I know they took some hair and blood samples from me. Something about clone." Keith said.
Everyone turned to the man who was like Keith in every way, looks, voice, mannerisms.
"Who are you?" Allura demanded. "Are you some kind of clone?"
He smirked, "Well, not quite."
Allura gasped, the realization sinking in. Romelle was at her side, clutching her hand.
"This was one of Haggar's better schemes, it actually worked."
"Lotor." Pidge said.
"Very good, you must be the smart one." Lotor said, sarcastically.
Sven instinctively moved closer to Romelle, putting himself between his wife and her ex-tormentor.
Lotor saw this, "Don't worry, I'm not after your wife or your bastard child."
Keith reached out and put a hand on Sven's arm as he lunged, "Don't, Sven, he's not worth it."
"How long would you have stayed like this? Looking like Keith?" Pidge asked.
"As long as necessary."
"Why?" Allura cried. "Why can't you just leave me alone?"
"How can you marry a pilot?" Lotor spat at her. "You are a princess and you should be with a prince. We could rule this universe!"
"No! Why can't you understand I could never marry you? I don't love you."
"That's enough!" Koran announced. "Guards, take the prisoner down to the dungeons, we will be contacting the authorities."
The two guards pulled Lotor roughly to his feet, shackling his hands behind him.
"It makes no difference," Lotor said as he looked straight at Allura. "I got what I wanted."
Allura put a hand over her mouth, overcome with a feeling of sickness.
Romelle put her arm around her cousin, supporting her.
Keith
looked from Allura to Lotor and back to Allura. "What do you
mean?"
Lotor laughed, "You want to
know Captain? Well I fucked her!"
This time Sven reached out and stopped Keith from attacking Lotor. But no one stopped Lance as he lunged forward, his fist coming in contact with Lotor's face. Everyone flinched at the sound of bones breaking.
Lotor roared with pain as his nose shattered.
It was a disturbing picture to all those in Caste Control. While they watched, a man, looking exactly like the captain of the Voltron Force, was marched from the room in shackles, blood pouring down his face.
"Just ask her! She wasn't any good! You are not the lucky man you think you are, Captain!" Lotor shouted as the guards pushed out of the room.
"Oh my God." Keith whispered.
Allura let out a cry and ran from the room, Romelle at her heels.
"Let Dr. Gorma check you out." Sven said, taking Keith by the arm.
"I want to see Allura."
"Not right now. Romelle is vith her. Get yourself cleaned up first."
Keith nodded and followed the doctor to the hospital wing.
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Romelle stood outside Allura's locked door.
"Allura, please, let me in."
There was no response.
"Please Allura. I know what you are going through, you aren't in this alone."
Keith walked by with Dr. Gorma. He stepped to the side of the door where he wouldn't be seen when it opened and punched in the access code to override the lock.
She gave him a reassuring smile and entered the room, the door sliding shut behind her.
Allura was curled up in the fetal position on her bed, clutching a pillow to her.
Romelle sat on the bed and stroked Allura's hair, "It'll be alright."
"I thought he was Keith." Allura whispered.
"We all did, he had us all fooled."
"I feel sick."
"I know exactly how you feel."
Allura turned over onto her back and looked at her cousin,
"I know you do, you're the only one who would."
Romelle
looked at the pillow she clutched, it was plan white,
not encased in the embroidered royal pillow case that matched the sheets on Allura's bed.
The princess smiled sheepishly, "It's Keith's. I took it from his room the night he left."
"And you've been sleeping with it since then."
"I should've known it wasn't him." A tear slid out of the corner of her eye and slid back into her hair.
"None of us knew."
"But I should have known."
"Allura, you can't beat yourself up over this."
"Romelle, how could I do that to Keith? He will never look at me the same again, I've been with another man. Worse yet, it was Lotor."
Romelle pulled her legs up and laid down beside Allura. It was easier to tell her this when she wasn't looking her directly in the face.
"For the longest time I wouldn't let Sven touch me. We would sometimes hold hands and it was quite a while before I would let him kiss me. For me sex had been a horrible, dirty, painful experience. But I was lucky. Sven loved me and he was patient. He knew and understood what I had been through but he didn't think any less of me. He told me once that if he could he would take away everything that had happened to me, but he would never change the strong, independent person I had become. When we married, I was terrified. Lotor had told me I was the worst in his harem and I didn't know how to please a man." Romelle stopped and closed her eyes. She had never told anyone this before, not even Sven. It was painful and humiliating.
Allura reached out and took her hand.
"Worst of all," Romelle continued. "I was afraid that when Sven made love with me he would remember what I had done with Lotor."
"It wasn't your fault." Allura whispered.
"What I experienced with Sven was totally different. I finally knew what the difference was between having sex and making love. I no longer associate Lotor with sex. He is a horrible memory that doesn't haunt my thoughts like he used to. When I do think of that time in my life it makes me appreciate what I have now even more." She laid a hand on her stomach.
"I wish I could be as strong as you." Allura whispered, wistfully.
"But you are," Romelle assured her. "Keith loves you, he won't let this change his feelings."
"I'm more afraid of my feelings." She admitted.
"What do you mean?"
"I thought he was Keith." Allura swallowed a sob. "I'm so afraid that I won't be able to be with him without thinking of what happened the other night."
"You saw Keith when he came in with Lance and Sven, you know it's him and you will be able to tell the difference. You'll see the difference in the way he behaves and the way he treats you."
Allura cried silently.
"It will be alright Allura, you and Keith will get through this."
"What if I'm pregnant?" Allura whispered, voicing her worst fear.
Romelle sat up and looked at her cousin, she was pale and trembling, tears sliding out of her eyes.
"I thought you said you had your period."
"I told him that so he would leave me alone."
"How long till your next cycle?"
Allura sat up, "That's part of the problem, I don't have a normal cycle. Dr. Gorma said it's caused by stress. Sometimes it comes regularly for months other times I miss a month or two."
"Do you want to go see Dr. Gorma now?" Romelle asked.
"Isn't it too early to tell anything?"
"No, I talked to my doctor when she told me about my baby. She said there is a new blood test that can tell within two days."
"I'm so afraid of what it will say."
"Anything you imagine is going to be far worse than knowing the truth."