Hi All!

Sorry for the delay, but with the holidays coming and the various visitors who are coming and the visits I will be making, I don't have as much time to write as I would like.  But I am working on this story and I will continue to post as often as possible.

Thank you so much for your reviews, I really do appreciate them and I take all of your suggestions into consideration.

Enjoy,
Failte

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The next morning, Sven made his way to the gym.  Practice had been uneventful but clean.  They all seemed to have bonded with their lions, making flight easy and natural.

The door to the gym slid open and Sven saw Keith working the weight machine.  He didn't know how long the Captain had been there, but dark Vs of sweat marked his chest and back and his hair hung limp and damply around his face.

"How's it going, Keit?"  Sven asked as he crossed to the mats to start stretching.

"Fine," Keith puffed.

"Practice vent vell."

"Uh huh."

"The Princess seemed happy."

"Uh huh."

"I overheard her telling Lance she tought you had a cute butt."

"Uh huh…what?"  Keith stopped and looked at his friend.

"Just making sure you vere listening," Sven grinned. 

"You guys are idiots."

"Ve're idiots?  You're de von who von't go for it."

Keith stood and angrily turned to Sven, "What is with you guys?  There is nothing, I repeat, nothing between the Princess and me.  We need to work together.  Yeah, she's pretty and smart, but I don't have feelings for her."

"Vhat if she has feelings for you?"

"She doesn't."

"Are you sure about dat?"

"Sven, this is really starting to piss me off.  Why do you and Lance seem to think the Princess and I should hook up?  It can never be.  So just drop it before I have you both reassigned to the far end of Hoth."

"I'm Norwegian, de cold doesn't bother me dat much."

Keith snarled and grabbed his towel, heading for the showers.

The hot water pounded down on Keith as he tried to wash away his irritation.  The stress of the job was getting to him and he had been taking it out on the Princess.  She didn't deserve that and regardless of what his feelings might be, he owed it to her to be more respectful of her and her feelings.  He had been acting immature and irrational, it had to stop.  He was Captain Keith Whitaker, leader of the Voltron Force and it was about time he behaved like it.

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Allura sat in her study, the report Koran had given her about the current state of Arus and the people in the caves sat unread on her desk.  She was sitting back in her chair watching the wind whip the tree tops of the woods through the large window behind her desk.  Dark clouds had been moving in all morning, but no rain had fallen.  Nanny had been complaining that her knee was stiff, a sure sign of impending rain. 

With a sigh, Allura whirled her chair around to face her desk again and the file in front of her.  As hard as she tried to concentrate on the work at hand, her mind kept wandering to a certain dark haired commander.  More than anything, she wanted to know why he didn't like her, why he seemed so miserable about being on Arus.  Maybe she should talk to Koran and see about getting him replaced, this obviously wasn't working out.

She jumped slightly at the knock on her door.  Grabbing her communicator she called out, "Who's there?"

"It's Captain Whitaker, Your Highness."

Surprised, she granted him entrance and slipped her communicator back into the pocket of her skirt.  "Please, sit down," she indicated the chair opposite her desk.

Keith sat on the edge of the chair, his back ramrod straight, and he stared directly into her brilliant blue eyes.  All thought escaped him.

"What can I do for you, Captain?"  Allura folded her hands on top of her desk and leaned forward.

"I, uh, I wanted to apologize, Princess, for my behavior yesterday.  I was short tempered and rude."

She nodded, "Apology accepted, Captain.  We are all under a great deal of stress right now."

"And I was thinking about what you said."

Allura raised her eyebrows and waited for him to continue.

"About us…being friends, that is.  You're right.  We are under a lot of stress but I think we will all be able to handle it better if we handle it together."

She smiled, "I couldn't have said it better myself, Captain."

"Yeah, I've been thinking about that," Keith said.  "You aren't one of my men, I would like it if you called me Keith, there's no need to be that formal."

"Alright, Keith," she tried out his name, enjoying the way if felt.  "As long as you extend the same courtesy to me."

He nodded, "Sounds good, Allura."

She suppressed a shiver as he said her name.  He had some kind of an accent, she wasn't sure what it was, but she knew he was from somewhere Lance had called upstate New York and she loved listening to him.  "I'm so glad you came to speak to me about this, I have to admit it has been a bit awkward."

"Yeah, sorry about that, I, uh, I don't always know how to handle my feelings."

"Your feelings?"  Allura asked.

"Yes, I hope you don't think I'm being to forward Prin…Allura, but I have to tell you how much I love you, I want you, I need you."  As he spoke, Keith stood and leaned across the desk.

Allura rose to her feet and leaned forward to meet him, "Oh, I love you too, Keith, so much."

He grabbed her by the shoulders and threw her down on the desk, kissing her passionately…

{{  "LANCE!"  Keith hissed.

"What?" He asked, innocently.

"If you're going to tell the story, tell it right," Keith said.

"How much of that was true?"  Becca asked.

"Oh, up until the part where we agreed to be friends and drop our titles," Allura told her.

"Okay, I tink it's time I took over," Sven spoke up. 

Keith shifted Cady on his lap so her head rested more comfortable on his shoulder, "Please do."

"Vell, dis started a friendship between de two of dem and de whole atmosphere of de castle changed…"  }}

"Do you really think this is safe, Your Highness?"  Nanny asked, nervously.

"Yes, I do," Allura watched as the Voltron Force and a handful of guards loaded baskets of fruit and other foods onto a cart.  "We haven't had an attack in nearly a week and the Force will be with me as guards.  We'll still be close enough to the castle that if anything happens, we'll be here immediately."

Nanny shook her head, "I still don't think you should leave."

"I need to be in touch with my people, Nanny, show them that we are finally starting to succeed in our battle against Doom.  I need them to know the Voltron Force as we do, as hardworking, good men here to protect us."

Keith jogged over to the Princess, an easy smile on his lips, "We're all packed and ready to head out, Allura."

Nanny sniffed disapprovingly.  She did not like the way the members of the Force were so familiar with the Princess.

"Great, Keith," Allura smiled back.  "We'll head out then.  I would like to be back before nightfall."

Keith offered her his arm and she gently laid her hand in the crook of his elbow.

"It's a beautiful day to meet with the townspeople," Keith said, conversationally as they walked toward the cart.

"It is," she agreed.  "I am so excited, I can't tell you the last time I went to visit them without bad news, but rather to share something good with them."

She had a spring in her step that served to widen Keith's smile.  There were two sides to Princess Allura.  She was an intelligent, powerful leader with wisdom beyond her years.  But she was also a young woman with a naiveté that made him want to shield her from all the horrors of war and life.  "You look very nice today," he whispered as he helped her unto the cart.

Allura blushed slightly at his compliment and brushed at the skirt of her best pink dress.  "Thank you."

Lance grinned at Sven.  The entire Force had watched as their Captain and the Princess grew closer.  To everyone around them, their feelings were obvious.  The guys thought it was great, but Koran and Nanny did not seem to approve of their friendship.

"Here, Cap," Hunk held the reins to the horses out to Keith.  "Why don't you steer this ship."

With a shrug, Keith hoisted himself up on the bench beside Allura.  "Everyone ready?"  He called over his shoulder.

Pidge and Lance hopped onto the cart while Hunk and Sven walked along side.  It was a short trip to the caves where the people of Arus continued to live.  A message had been sent ahead a few days earlier so they knew their Princess and the Voltron Force were coming.  Two guards stood at the cave opening and as soon as they saw the cart approaching, one of the guards entered to announce the arrival.


Keith couldn't help but notice how Allura kept tugging and smoothing her skirt, like she couldn't stop moving her hands.

"Are you okay?"  He whispered out of the corner of his mouth.

"Yes," she breathed, barely audible.

"We're here with you."

Allura smiled softly at his reassurance, "Thank you."

Lance hopped off the back of the cart and raced ahead, "Ladies and gentlemen!  We come bearing food and good news!"

Allura giggled, "He's crazy."

"Among other things," Keith muttered, feeling a tug of jealousy.  Whereas he and Allura had fallen into a comfortable friendship, he couldn't help but notice how she and Lance got along.  They had hit it off the second the guys had landed on Arus.  Lance could make her laugh and he flirted easily with her.  Keith had laid down the law and made it clear that none of them were allowed to romantically pursue the Princess, but there were times he wondered how far Lance was going to push it.

A large number of people poured out of the cave opening.  Men, women, children.  It was the children who were the most open, they walked right up to the members of the Force and the Princess, chattering.

Keith smiled as he handed a melon to a woman, cradling a baby in her arms.  Nearby, Allura crouched to eye level with a young girl in an old dress and handed her an apple.  Lance made a game of being chased by three little boys, teasing them with oranges while Hunk showed off, juggling some melons for a small gathering. 

Allura went to speak with the two men who served as elders.

"Excuse me."

Keith turned to see a young woman, "Yes, Ma'am?"

"You-You're the leader of Voltron, aren't you?"  She asked hesitantly.

"Yes, I'm Captain Whitaker and you are?"

"Euclida Remikad.  My father is an elder."  She was a lovely young woman with long red hair and big green eyes. 

Keith bowed, "It's an honor, Euclida."

Lance looked up and saw Keith talking to a rather attractive redhead.  He shifted his gaze to Allura and saw her looking back and forth between the men she was talking to and Keith.  A grin spread across his face as he noticed the flicker of jealousy in the Princess' eyes.  Shaking his head, Lance wandered over to the far side of where everyone was gathered.

Allura's attention was diverted as she watched Keith talk with the young woman, she was Calren Remikad's daughter, a very beautiful, smart woman.  She was known to turn many a man's head and now she was turning Keith's head.  Allura tried to ignore and deny the feelings of jealousy rising within her. 

"Your Highness?"

Allura snapped to attention and looked back at Calren, "Yes, I'm sorry, what did you say?"

"I was saying that we've decided that we want to start planning the rebuilding of our towns.  It seems, with the Voltron Force we have a fighting chance to finally move on.  Now our next step is too…"  He stopped when there was a sudden commotion.

Allura looked over to see Lance run over to Keith, soon joined by Pidge and Hunk.  Keith snapped into soldier mode and started to give orders before he and Lance raced off.

Hunk jogged over to Allura, "Princess, we have to go back to the castle now and everyone needs to return to the caves.  Lotor's witch was spotted and has attacked Sven."

"Is he alright?"  Allura asked, looking toward the direction of where Keith and Lance had just run.

"I don't know, but we need to go now!"  Hunk insisted, taking Allura's arm.

Pidge helped the elders usher everyone back into the caves while Hunk helped Allura onto the cart and snapped the reins.  Allura kept glancing over her shoulder, her heart in her throat.  She was worried about the three men.  They were her friends and the last great hope her planet had for survival.

{{   Sven stopped, unable to continue with the story and a heavy silence filled the room.  Romelle took his hand in hers, squeezing gently.

Keith cleared his throat, "I think it's a good place to stop for now and tuck little ones into bed."

"I wanna hear the rest of the story," Cady yawned.

"Some other time, sweetie," Allura told her, scooping Tess up into her arms.

Darcy ushered Declan and Gideon out of the room, followed by Lance who carried a sleeping Schuyler.  Erik and Delora followed quietly and sleepily, kissing their parents goodnight.  The girls were all excited at the prospect of having a sleepover while the boys were just tired.  Hunk helped Paton to her feet so she could take advantage of the pause in the story to make a trip to the bathroom.

Pidge stood and stretched, offering Becca a hand and pulling her to her feet, "Let's go grab a drink before we continue with the story."

Left alone for a moment, Romelle wrapped her arms around Sven and hugged his tense body.  His attack was the white elephant in the room.  It was always there, but they never discussed it.  He was left scarred, both physically and emotionally.  It had ended his career with the Garrison and had left him feeling helpless and worthless.

"I love you so much," she whispered.

"I'm fine," he whispered back.

"I know you are, I just want you to know how much I love you and we don't have to stay if you don't want to.  We can go to bed, they'll understand."

Sven shook his head, "No, really, I'm fine, love."

Romelle laid her head on his shoulder while he wrapped his arm around her and they waited for the others to return.  }}