Hi all!

Thank you so much for your wonderful reviews!  I really do appreciate them! 

The story is being told as a flashback, but any segment you see in italics within brackets  {{ Like this}}  represent the gang interrupting the story.  I hope isn't confusing, it was the best way I could think to do it.

Enjoy!
Failte

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Flashback to nearly fifteen years earlier…

"She's beautiful," Pidge breathed.

They all watched as the golden haired young woman glided down the wrecked steps of the ruined castle.

Keith swallowed hard and for a moment forgot all the protocol he had had drilled into his mind over the years.  She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen, but he couldn't bring himself to repeat Pidge's words.  As she came closer, he saw her tired eyes and expression that made her appear older than she was, having been forced to endure more than anyone that young ever should.   He felt suddenly overcome with the urge to reach out and touch her, protect and soothe her.

"Your Highness," Keith bowed deeply and kissed the back of her hand.

"I'm so glad you've come, we are in desperate need of your help."  Her voice was tired and low.

Lance stepped forward with a smile on his face, "Anything for a beautiful lady like yourself."

Koran cleared his throat and Allura raised her gaze to his.



{{"Oh Lance, you didn't!" Darcy exclaimed.  "You step foot on a new planet and within seconds you're hitting on the first woman you meet?"

"Hey, I had just spent twenty eight hours on a cramped ship with four other men," he shrugged. 

"I was rather shocked," Allura admitted.  "I had never been spoken to in such an insolent manner before."

Keith chuckled, "I was ready to throttle him."

"Yeah, like you even noticed vhat he said, you vere so enraptured by de Princess you didn't hear a vord any of us said," Sven told him.

Lance nodded, "That's why we need to tell the story, so if you'll allow me to continue…"}}

Keith was able to keep his mind on his work for a while.  The Force was in the process of working with the Voltron Lions, learning to fly them properly and to form Voltron.  He was working with Koran and the Princess concerning the military, or rather lack thereof, and the threat from Doom.  It was a lot of hard work and research.  He had learned that through it all, Koran had kept a running log of everything they had, who they had, when Doom had attacked, and the damage they had done.  Allura was completely hands-on, knowing all that was going on on her planet and with her people.  She had taken Keith and the rest of the Force down to the caves, shown them where her people were currently staying.

Keith was in complete awe of Allura.  After having been forced into ruling her people at an early age, she had proven herself to be a great leader.  With Koran's help, she had been able to keep what was left of her people together and protect them from the constant threat of Doom.

One evening, about a week after they had arrived, Koran took Keith aside.

"I would like to talk to you, Captain," the older man said.

"Yes, sir," Keith followed him to a far corner of Castle Control.

"We've been attacked by Doom twice since you all have arrived."

Keith nodded.

"You're a smart man, Captain, and I know you have realized the common denominator of the attacks."

"Doom wants Arus."

"It goes deeper than that.  Zarkon's son, Lotor, wants the Princess."

Keith furrowed his brow, "What do you mean?"

"Lotor is a horrible man, Captain, and he…" Koran stopped, trying to figure out how to put it into words.  "He lusts after the Princess, he claims to love her, but that demon has no real concept of what love is.  He personally wants the Princess as his wife."

Keith nodded, "We will do everything in our power to make sure nothing happens to her."

"He is a sneaky creature with a witch and an army at his disposal.  He has ways of getting in, getting to her.  The finding of Voltron has angered Zarkon even more and he would love to see his son have the Princess, a sort of slap in the face, if you will, to the memory of King Alfor and everything he had stood for."

"I understand, sir."

"Just watch out for him," Koran warned.

Keith looked up to see Allura talking to Lance and Hunk.  Her eyes still reflected her exhaustion, but she wore a weak smile as she spoke with them.  He was jealous of Lance's easy way with people, particularly women.  And Hunk, the big teddy bear, could make anyone relax around him.  When they weren't discussing battle tactics or security measures, Keith wasn't sure what to say to her.  He wanted to make her smile, make her laugh.  He wanted to take away all the pain and the fear.  He wanted to cross the room, push Lance out of the way, and kiss her senseless.

Whoa, he thought to himself.  Where had that come from?  She is the Princess of the planet I am sworn to protect.   Sure, she's pretty, but I can't afford to get tangled in a relationship right now, especially with her. 

Koran was speaking to him, "Captain? Are you alright?"

"What?  Oh, yes, Koran, I'm sorry."

"I just wanted to bring it to your attention, make sure you understood the depths of their hatred and what the Princess has to deal with."

"I swear to you, Koran, we will do everything in our power to protect her."

Koran studied the young man, it was no secret that all five of the space explorers had their heads turned by his charge.  Lieutenants Lance Collier and Sven Johansson both flirted with her a bit.  Lieutenant Hunk Landers treated her kindly, almost like a big brother while Lieutenant Pidge Audric looked up at her in a worshipful way.  Then there was the Captain.

More than once, Koran had caught Keith watching the Princess, not in a threatening or even lustful way, he appeared to be studying her, trying to figure her out.  There was something about him that Koran trusted, but when it came to the girl he thought of as his own daughter, Koran didn't really trust any young man.

"Doom has been surprisingly quiet the past couple of days," Hunk commented as Keith and Koran walked back over to them.

"We did some damage last time they tried anything, I think they're starting to realize just how serious we are," Lance said proudly.

Koran nodded, "I hope you're right."

Keith looked up from the log and found Allura watching him.  Her wide blue eyes met his.  Keith felt a blush rise to his face and that pissed him off.  It was really hard to be a good leader when you blushed at the sight of a woman.


"Is there something I can do for you, Princess?"  He asked, more sharply than he had intended.

Allura raised her eyebrows, her cheeks reddening.  "No, Captain."  She turned to Koran, "I am going to my study, Koran, if you need me for anything."

"Please, take a guard with you, Your Highness," Koran pleaded.

She waved her hand at him, dismissively, "That's not necessary."

"Please…"

"Really, it's not necessary," she repeated.  "I have my communicator on me and nothing is going to happen as long as these gentlemen are here."

Lance watched as Allura left, followed by Koran, before turning to Keith.  "What crawled up your butt, Cap?"

"Watch it, Lieutenant," Keith warned.

"With all due respect, Captain," Hunk spoke up.  "You were a little rude to the Princess."

Keith turned to the console, looking at the computers they were updating.  "We're working together," he muttered.  "That doesn't mean we have to be friends."

Lance looked at Hunk and grinned, "I think our fearless leader has a little crush."

"Shut it, Lance," Keith growled.

"She's an amazing woman.  Smart, sweet, funny, and absolutely gorgeous."

"I'm warning you Lance."

"You know," Lance stuffed his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels.  "I've noticed her looking at you a few times."

Keith tensed, but didn't say anything.


Hunk shook his head, "I'm going to go find Pidge."

"In all seriousness, Keith," Lance said when they were alone.  "I think you should go for it."

"Shut up, Lance."

"Come on, Keith, you like her and she seems interested…"

Keith whirled on him, "Lance, what part of 'shut up' don't you understand?  We are here to do a job, Lieutenant, which means no one, not you or me or Sven or Hunk tries to pursue the Princess."

"What about Pidge?"

Keith took a menacing step toward him, "I'm serious, Lieutenant."

Lance held his hands up defensively, "Alright, alright, hands off."

"Just make sure you keep it that way," Keith turned back to the computer.

{{ "Oh come on!"  Keith interrupted.  "I wasn't that bad."

"Yeah you were," Hunk told him.

"You vere very grouchy, Keit, a real bear."  Sven said.

Keith turned to his wife, "I wasn't that bad, was I?"

She shrugged, "I was terrified of you."

"What?"

"You were quiet and brooding, you snapped at me.  I wasn't really sure how to take you," Allura admitted.

Keith threw his hands up in the air, "I was trying to shape you morons into the most powerful force in the universe to protect and serve the people of Arus.  Sorry if I couldn't hold your hands and coddle you all."

Lance rolled his eyes, "Don't be so dramatic, Keith, we all knew you were behaving like that because you were in love with Allura and you were too stupid to admit it.  Anyway, Allura had disappeared for most of the afternoon, so I went looking for her after dinner…" }}

"Princess?"

Allura looked over her shoulder to see Lance enter the Observation Deck.  "Yes, Lance?"

"Haven't seen you since dinner, are you okay?"

She smiled at him.  Since their landing on Arus, she and Lance had become good friends.  He was nice and charming and she found it easy to talk to him.  "Can I ask you something, Lance?"

"Of course," he fell back onto a chair and watched as she paced in front of the windows. 

"Why does the Captain not like me?"

Her question surprised him.  "He likes you."

"No, he doesn't.  He hardly ever talks to me, at least not like the rest of you guys do.  And, well, he was snappy today."

Lance grinned at her, "You're just not used to him yet.  Keith is very career oriented.  He is here to protect your planet and he takes that very seriously.  Once he settles in here a little better he'll relax.  As a matter of fact he likes you very much."

Allura nodded slowly, "I want to help.  This is my planet and they are my people, I want to work with him, I need to work with him, but he is not making it easy for me."

"I can have a word with him," Lance stood.                                                                         

"Thank you, Lance, but no.  I'll talk to him.  Where is he?"

"I, uh, I believe he's in his room right now."

"Thank you," with a quick nod, she took hold of her skirt and lifted it enough to scurry from the room.

Lance let out a breath, "You're in trouble, Cap."

"Who is it?"  Keith as when there was a knock on his door.


"Princess Allura, Captain."

Surprised, Keith quickly crossed the room and opened the door.  "Are you okay?  What's wrong?"

"I wanted to speak with you.  May I come in?"

"Oh, uh, of course," he stepped aside and tried to ignore the smell of roses that wafted around her.  She had ways of invading his senses when he didn't want her to.

Allura couldn't help but notice how clean and bare his room was.  The bed was made, there were no clothes thrown over the desk chair and there were no pictures or knickknacks anywhere in sight.

Keith left the door open, knowing it was totally inappropriate for her to be in his room unsupervised.  "Please have a seat," he indicated his desk chair.  "What can I do for you, Your Highness?"

Gathering her wits and nerve, Allura sat on the edge of the chair and looked up at him, "We have to work together, Captain, and I think it's important we try to get along."

Surprised, Keith nodded.

"And…and I think we should…"  Allura broke off when the castle alarms sounded.

Keith jumped to his feet, "Come on."  Without thinking, he grabbed her hand and ran from his room.

"Unidentified ships haf entered Arusian airspace," Sven announced as the rest of the Force entered Castle Control.

Lance noticed Keith dropping Allura's hand as they ran in and decided to say something later.

"Any communications?"  Keith asked.

"No, sir."

"Alright, boys, to your Lions."  Keith raced toward the entrance to Black.

"Good luck and be careful!"  Allura shouted after them as she joined Koran beside the main console, trying to ignore the warmth that remained where he had clutched her hand.

"It is Doom," Koran said unnecessarily as the Lion shot into the air.

"How many ships?"  Allura asked, her eye glued to the screen that showed the five pilots.

"It looks like six ships and one huge coffin," Koran sighed.

**********************************************************

Keith watched as the half dozen Doom fighters came into view.  Those were not what worried him, it was the huge coffin that was gliding into view and heading toward the land beside the lake.

"Keep them away from the castle," he told his men as the fighters opened fire. 

"What about the robeast?"  Hunk asked.

"It hasn't been released yet," Keith replied as he shot down a fighter.  "We'll cross that bridge when we get to it."

The castle shook as it was hit twice.  Lance swore as four more fighter ships entered Arusian airspace.  Green was hit before sending a shot across the front of a fighter.  Three more Doom fighters were shot down just as the coffin ship began to shake and open.  A huge, monstrous creature slowly stood.  It was a half robot half beetle looking creature that rose to be as tall as the castle.

"We need Voltron!"  Keith yelled.

"But vhat about de fighters?"  Sven asked.

"Right now, the castle is in immediate danger from the robeast!"

***********************************************************

Allura watched, holding her breath as the Lions joined to form Voltron.  Her heart raced and her head swirled as she watched the immense robot approach the robeast.  On the screen before her she watched the concentration on the faces of the five Voltron pilots.  Gone were the smartass remarks and wisecracks, replaced by their military training and teamwork.

The castle shook as another shot hit it.

"No, Your Highness," Koran said as she took a step away.  "Let the guards man the turret guns."

Keith had taken to training the guards on the turret guns after Allura had manned one herself a few days earlier.  She felt she was able to fight, but the leader of the Voltron Force seemed to disagree. 

"I can't just stand here and let them fire upon us!"

"Yes you can.  The guards are already at the turret guns."

Allura stamped her foot out of frustration.  This was her planet, her people and she could not just stand by and watch them under attack. 

The ground shuddered violently and Allura looked up to see the robeast on its back, rolling back and forth, trying to get its feet under it.  Voltron raised the blazing sword above its head, bringing it crashing down on the creature, destroying the robeast.  Voltron then turned to face the fighters who were left. 

"Yee-ha!"  Lance shouted. "Look at them turn tail and run!"

"Alright men," Keith announced. "Let's circle around and make sure they're gone."

The five lions broke formation and flew higher, circling, dipping, and swooping.  After twenty minutes, it was declared the sky was clear and there were no signs of unidentified ships.

"Dat vas amazing!"  Sven said as they entered Castle Control.

"I think it's actually getting easier," Lance replied.

"Let's not get too cocky, Lieutenant," Keith said.  "I think we're getting more comfortable with the lions and Voltron, but the robeasts are getting bigger and stronger."

"And we keep kicking their butts!"  Pidge threw a fist in the air.

Koran cleared his throat.

Pidge blushed slightly, "Sorry, Your Highness."

Allura smiled sweetly, "No, I totally agree Pidge, you did kick their, uh, butts."

Lance laughed, "Looks like we're corrupting the Princess."

"Not if Nanny has anything to say about that," Koran said.

"You guys did a great job," she told them.  "Thank you so much."  Her eyes came to rest upon Keith.  His hair disheveled and his face worried.  "What is it Captain?"

He shook his head, "The fighters left rather quickly."

"They saw what we did to the robeast and they did not want a piece of that," Lance told him.

"No," Keith shook his head again.  "Something's coming."

"What are you thinking, Cap?"  Hunk asked.

Keith shrugged, "Why don't you guys go find something to eat.  I'm on duty now."

Lance watched as the others filed out of the room before rounding back on Keith.  "So, Cap, how're you doing?"

"I'm fine, Lance, what's up?"

"Oh nothing," he leaned against the console and watched as Keith flipped through some files Koran had left him.  "I just couldn't help but notice you and the Princess running in here earlier…holding hands."

"What?"  Keith looked up, surprised.

"Oh, don't play dumb with me."

"Was I really holding her hand?"

Lance nodded, grinning.

"Oh, geez, tell me you're kidding!"  Keith ran hand through his hair.  "We were talking and then the alarms went off and I…I grabbed her hand and ran to Castle Control.  Oh man, I can't believe I did that.  I mean, I didn't mean to, I didn't mean to be that forward and, oh God, what does she think of me?"

"Calm down, she didn't seem too upset."

Keith scowled at him.

"Now I know you weren't quite the ladies man that Sven and I were in the Academy, but I think you…"

"Don't start Lance."

"Go for it, man."

"Aren't you hungry or something?"

"Yeah, I'm going to go get something to eat.  I just wanted to make sure you weren't going to pass up one of the best things that could ever happen to you."

Keith didn't respond.


A few moments later, Lance slipped from the room.

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After a battle, the guys rode high on adrenaline for a while.  Allura joined them in the room they had chosen to be the rec room.  They all talked and laughed, played games and ate.  She was swept right up into their comradeship.

"When you compare their fighter ships to the Lions, they have nothing," Pidge said.


"It's not really de fighters ve need to vorry about, its de robeasts," Sven pointed out.

"Koran said the robeasts are created by Haggar, that explains the difficulty we have fighting them," Hunk said.  "They have a magical root."

Allura nodded, "Having a witch on their side has given them an edge over not only Arus, but many other planets as well."

"So you think ve should target de vitch?"  Sven asked.

"Well, we certainly need to look out for her.  She's pure evil and has a deep connection with Zarkon and Lotor."

"How long have they been a problem?"  Hunk asked.


Allura sighed, "Too long."

"Vhy didn't you contact de Garrison sooner?" 

"We did, Sven, but they thought we were too far gone, too unimportant.  They sent us young, inexperienced fighters, almost like this was more a training exercise than a battle.  It wasn't until they began to realize there might be some truth to the Voltron fable that they sent you guys."  Allura explained.

"Stupid bureaucrats," Lance mumbled.

"But things are starting to look up," Allura smiled at the men gathered around her.

"Yep," Lance grinned back at her.  "We're here now, so you have nothing to fear."

"Except Lance's flirting," Pidge pointed out.

Lance threw a cushion at his teammate, bouncing it off his head.

"Children, behave," Sven said lazily.

"I don't think its Lance she needs to worry about," Hunk whispered to Pidge.

Sven cleared his throat and glared at the two of them.

Allura stood, "I'm going to check with the Captain and then turn in for the night."

"Vould you like me to come vith you?"

"No, that's not necessary."

"Make sure you lock your door," Lance called as she left.

Keith sat in Castle Control, watching the monitors, following the radars.  So far it had been clear all night, but he still felt uneasy.  He turned when he heard the door slide open and jumped to his feet.  "Your Highness."

"Please, Captain, sit.  How is everything looking?"  Allura asked as she crossed the room.


"So far so good."

"But you still think they're up to something."

"Yeah."

Allura nodded and looked down at the console.  She had come to trust Keith's instincts.  "So, what?  Are you going to stay up all night?"

"Nah, I don't think that would be very productive.  I'm off in an hour, but we'll be out at practice at 0530."

Allura watched him, quietly.  He had his head bowed, flipping through the day's log.  A lock of raven hair fell across his forehead and she felt a strong urge to reach up and brush it aside.  What is with me?  She thought to herself.  Yeah, okay, so he is a smart, handsome man, but he obviously doesn't like me.  He is here to do a job and I have to think about my planet and my people, not some silly crush.  Crush?  What?  No, I do not have a crush on the Captain.  Oh, what is with me!? 

"Princess?"

Allura jumped and looked at Keith, "I'm sorry what?"

"Are you okay?  You look a little upset."

She felt the heat rise to her face and felt her temper rise with it.  "Of course I'm upset!  My planet is in danger, we are constantly under attack.  What?  Should I be dancing a jig?"  Grabbing her skirts, Allura whirled around and stormed from the room.

"I can't seem to do anything right where's she's concerned," Keith mumbled.

{{  "Oh now you're making me sound mean," Allura protested.

"Ah, but you could never be mean, my fair Queen," Lance responded.

Pidge snorted, "When did you turn into Dr. Seuss?"

"About ten minutes ago, around about the same time you hit puberty," Lance retorted.

"Hey now," Becca called out.

"Daddy," Schuyler yawned.  "What's puberty?"

Lance looked down, surprised.  Schuyler had crawled onto the couch between him and Darcy and had rested her head on Darcy's shoulder.  Lance had assumed she had fallen asleep.  He raised his gaze and looked at Darcy.  She grinned at him.

"Ja, Lance, vhat is puberty?"  Sven asked, innocently.

Lance gently chucked Schuyler under the chin, "Ask me again in four years, kiddo."

Keith coughed, but it sounded suspiciously like "Chicken."

"Puberty," Darcy whispered to her daughter.  "Is that time of life when Daddy doesn't let you play with the boys any more."

"Okay, okay," Romelle spoke up.  "Continue with the story."

"And stop making us sound like a couple of jerks," Keith added.

"I calls it as I sees it," Lance said.  "Anyway, Keith and Allura continued to ignore their feelings for each other, which meant they took their frustrations out on themselves and everyone else…  }}