{{  It was nearly half an hour before Allura, Keith, Darcy, and Lance returned to the rec room.  Hunk and Paton and Pidge and Becca had all returned and were now laughing and talking.

"And den Keit actually tought Allura and Lance vere…" Sven cut off when he saw them enter the room.  "How'd it go?"

"Fine," Keith told him.  "Everyone is in bed under Nanny's  watchful eye.  What were you telling them before we came in?"

"Ve vere just reminiscing, telling Paton and Becca about de time Lance vas injured and…"

"No, no, no," Lance interrupted.  "You're jumping around the story now, we have to tell it in order."

"Den I take it you are going to pick up vhere I left off?"  Sven asked.

"I could," Lance flopped onto the couch.

"Only if you tell it right," Allura said.

Lance laid a hand over his heart, "I solemnly swear, Your Highness."

Darcy snorted as she sat down beside him.

"Hey, a little support here," he muttered, throwing his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him.

"Your reputation precedes you," Pidge said.

Darcy pushed Lance away, "Just stick to the truth, Lance, I haven't heard the whole story either and I want to."

"Okay, okay, I promise to stick to the story.  Besides, with the way Keith and Allura behaved, I really don't need to embellish.  So where were we?"  Lance rubbed his chin thoughtfully.  "Oh yeah, we were short a pilot and somewhere, Allura got the idea that she could fly…"

"Hey," Allura interrupted.  "I knew what I was doing."

Pidge snorted, Hunk stifled a laugh, and Keith looked everywhere but at her.

"Uh, yeah, sure, okay," Lance rolled his eyes.  "Anyway, Allura wanted to fly, but Nanny and Koran were against it, so they dragged Keith into the fray…  }}

Keith slouched in the chair opposite Koran's desk and watched as Allura argued with her advisor.

"You know this is what my father would want," Allura insisted.  "I can do this.  I have been working out with the Force and with some training I can fly Blue.  I have been around the Lions my entire life, I can do it and you know that!"

"We cannot allow you to put your life in danger like this, Your Higness."  Koran said calmly.

"Every day that we at war with Doom my life is in danger!  As well as the lives of my people and the Force!"

Koran sighed and rubbed his face with his hands before turning to the young man sitting across from him.

Keith tensed and sat upright, dreading what was about to come.

"Captain, what do you think?"  Koran asked.

Keith looked down at his hands, avoiding the gazes of both Koran and Allura.  On one hand he knew Allura could do it.  She was strong and intelligent and she seemed to know the Lions almost as well as they did.  If she could bond with Blue in the same way he and the others had bonded with their Lions, it might just work.  On the other hand, he didn't want her so out in the open and in such obvious danger.  He now considered her a friend and he was worried for her danger, more so than he would almost anyone else.

"Captain?"  Koran interrupted his thoughts.

Keith slowly looked up and took in the determined expression on the Princess' face and the exhausted look on Koran's.   "I think we should give her a try.  What could it hurt?  If we start training her and it works out, great.  If not, then she comes back to the castle."

Koran pursed his lips.  He knew there was something going on between the Princess and the Captain and he had hoped that would put Keith on his side, wanting to keep Allura safe.  "I don't agree.  The Princess is the last of the ruling family.  If anything were to happen to her, what would we do?"

Keith stood, "Then I guess we had better not let anything happen to her."  Allura smiled at him and Keith was sure his heart would burst right through his chest.

"Thank you, Captain," she said, graciously.  "I will do my best and I promise not to disappoint."

"I don't think you could, Your Highness."

Koran cleared his throat.  "If you are actually going to do this, I think you should start training as soon as possible.  We don't know when our next attack will be."

"Of course," Allura looked down at the pink gown she was wearing.  "I guess I should change out of this.  I'll meet you in Castle Control in ten minutes, Keith."

He nodded, "I'll gather the rest of the guys so we can all practice together."

"Captain?"  Koran stopped him before he could follow the Princess out of the room.


"Yes, Koran?"

"I want you to know that I do not approve of this."

"I know."

"If anything happens to the Princess, I will personally hold you responsible."

"I understand, Koran, but in all honesty, Allura wants to do this."

"I know the Princess," Koran put emphasis on her title, "thinks she wants to do this but she doesn't know what she is getting herself into."

Keith felt a lick of anger.  How dare Koran put Allura down.  She wasn't stupid, she was fully aware of what was going on.  "Don't worry Koran, she will be fine.  I swear I won't let anything happen to her."  With that, he turned on his heel and left the room.

"Are you serious?"  Lance asked, incredulously.

"Very," Keith sighed.  He had called the others into Castle Control and broken the news to them.

"But how can we replace Sven with the Princess?"  Hunk asked.

"Yeah, Sven is a trained pilot, the Princess has never even flown a Lion."  Pidge pointed out.

"Are you so sure about that?"

The four pilots turned to see Allura enter the room.  She had changed into a pink flightsuit, similar to the ones they wore, her hair was pulled back into a bun, and she had tucked a helmet under her arm.

"You've flown a Lion?"  Keith asked her.

"Well, I've been around the Lions my entire life," she crossed the room.  "I know their history better than any of you, I grew up hearing the stories and being taught to respect them.  I just have this feeling that I will be able to fly Blue as well as Sven before long."

Keith rubbed at the knot of tension gathering at the back of his neck, "Alright.  Well, I think someone should ride with you the first time."

"Who?"  Lance asked, raising an eyebrow.

"I was thinking Pidge," Keith told him.

"Sounds good, let's go," Allura dashed to the entrance tube to Blue.

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

Keith had to admit he was very impressed with the way Allura handled Blue.  In the beginning she was a little shaky, but they had all been the first time they had been in the Lions.  But within an hour, she was flying in formation and swooping around the meadow with Lance and Red.

"Way to go, Princess!"  Lance whooped as they entered Castle Control and swept her into his arms, dancing around the room.

"You were amazing," Hunk told her.

Keith took Pidge aside.  "We saw it from the monitors, Pidge, but how was she, really, in the cockpit?"

Pidge pushed his glasses up his nose, "Really?  She was great, Keith.  I mean, she was a little uneasy at first, but once she got a hold of the controls and Blue accepted the fact that she wasn't Sven, the Princess did a great job."

Keith nodded.

"I think she can do it," Pidge whispered.

"Alright," the Captain's voice cut through the talking.  "Princess, if you are going to be a member of the Voltron Force, you will need to partake in practice, starting every morning at 0600 sharp.  You will also be expected to take part in our daily workouts and target practice."

Allura stood upright and saluted, "Yes, sir."

A smile tugged at the corner of Keith's mouth, "You're all dismissed, Hunk you're on duty."

Allura walked over to Keith, "What are you going to do now?"

"I'm going to contact Planet Ebb, check on Sven's progress."

She nodded sympathetically, "Please keep me updated."

"I will."

"You did an amazing job, Allura," Lance appeared at their side.  "And I think that deserves something special."

"Like what?"  Allura smiled sweetly at him.


"I was thinking ice cream, interested?"

"Of course."  She took his arm and allowed him to lead her out of Castle Control. 

Keith watched, his jaw twitching.

"They're just friends."

Keith turned and looked at Hunk, "What?"

"They're just friends.  Lance sees her like one of his sisters."  Hunk told him.

"Whatever, I don't care."

The big man nodded, "Sure."

"I'm going to call Ebb."

"Let me know what they have to say."

"I will."

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

It was nearly one in the morning and Keith couldn't sleep.  With a deep sigh, he pushed back the covers and stood, stretching his arms above his head.  Feeling restless, he wandered from his room and down the hall, finding his way to the Observation Deck.  It was eerily quiet in the castle this late at night.  Every so often, he heard the click of boots on the polished floor as a guard passed by on his rounds.

It was a clear night.  Keith crossed to stand in front of the window.  The stars were visible and two of Arus' three moons could be seen.  He rested his forehead against the cool glass of the window and sighed.  Keith loved his job, he loved working with his team and leading them into battle.  But there were times he wished he could take a couple of days off, leave all of this behind.

The call to Planet Ebb earlier in the day had not been a good one.  Sven was slowly recovering, but he may never again have full use of his right arm and he was going to have nerve damage.  They had told him that they wouldn't know the true extent of Sven's injuries for a while yet, but it was looking less and less likely that he would be returning any time soon.

And that brought forth another issue.  Princess Allura and her flying Blue.  She had shown a true talent earlier in the day, but it was going to be a while before she was ready for battle.  Word had reached them that afternoon that Doom was active and an attack could be coming at any moment.  Could she really fight with Voltron?  What if something did happen to her?  She was the last in the line of Arusian rulers, the planet would be screwed.  And she was his…friend.  If anything happened to her, he didn't know what he would do.

Keith whirled around, ripped from his thoughts at a quiet rustling sound.  He instinctively reached for his blaster and silently cursed himself when he realized he didn't have it with him.

"I, uh, I didn't mean to bother you," Allura whispered.  She had slipped into the room, wearing a sheer white robe over a conservative white nightgown.  It covered her from throat to ankle and it caused Keith to momentarily stop breathing.

"You're not, you just startled me," he muttered, sounding crankier than he was.

"Sorry, I'll go."  She turned to leave.

"No, don't go."

Allura turned back and looked at him, surprise evident on her face.

"I mean, it's not safe for you to be up wandering the castle alone this late at night," he explained weakly.

She nodded, "What are you doing up?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing."

"Oh, I have a lot on my mind, can't really seem to sleep."

Keith gave her a half smile, "Me either.  Want to talk about it?"

Feeling silly, Allura crossed to stand beside him, looking out over the countryside of her beloved planet.  "Just a million things running through my mind.  Doom, Sven, flying Blue, Sven, Doom, you know, the usual.  What about you?"

He shrugged, "Doom, Sven, you flying Blue…the usual."

"Now you're mocking me."

"Never."

Allura unconsciously raised her hand to rest on the window, "Arus used to be so beautiful.  Before Doom.  I have so many memories of the rolling green hills, big beautiful trees, and my mother's garden.  It was right over there."  She pointed to a worn piece of land, it was brown with random clumps of grass and wildflowers growing between two large trees.

"We can replant it," Keith told her.  "Before you know it, Arus will be back to its former beauty."

She looked up at him with wet, tired eyes, "When you say it, I can almost believe it."

He studied her, wanting nothing more than to take her in his arms and soothe her fears and worries.  "Believe it, Allura," he whispered.

"I don't know what we would do if you hadn't shown up."

"You would have found a way to survive, you're the strongest person I've ever known."

The compliment brought a blush to her cheeks and she looked down.

Finding a form of courage he never knew he had, Keith reached up and cupped her chin, forcing her to look up at him.  "It will be alright."

A single tear fell from her eye and it startled Keith.  In the time he had been here, he had never seen her cry and it broke him a little.

"I'm sorry," she mumbled, embarrassed, wiping the back of her hand over her cheek.

"Don't be."  He was suddenly aware of how close she was.   How she was leaning toward him and she had yet to remove his hand from her face.  He let go of her chin and thought he heard her sigh disappointedly. 

"Are you going to visit Sven?"  Allura asked, trying to change the subject.

"As soon as we can.  We can't leave Arus unprotected right now."

She shook her head and looked up at him.  "I don't know how you do it, Keith.  You have so much pressure on you and yet you can handle it all so well and keep everyone together.  I think I would've cracked a long time ago."

"No you wouldn't have."  He assured her, locking his gaze with hers.

There was an electricity in the air and they both felt it, but neither had the nerve to act on it.  Keith knew he had no right to act on his feelings for her.  She was royalty and deserved the best. 

"Keith," she breathed his name.

He reached up and lightly brushed his fingertips over her cheek.  She shivered and he felt it pass through his body.  Allura leaned closer to him, anticipating and hoping for her first kiss.  Keith cupped her cheek, enjoying the feel of her warm soft skin against the roughness of his palm.  She felt so fragile and he was overtaken by the urge to sweep her away from all this and shield her from the war.

His body moved of its own accord as he leaned closer, watching as her eyes slowly closed.

"Princess!"

They jumped apart at the sound of Nanny's shrill voice.

"What are you doing?"  The older woman swept angrily into the room.  "It's late, you're up here alone with a man!  And for shame, Captain!  You know better!  I can't believe you were taking advantage of the Princess…"

"Nanny!"  Allura interrupted.  "No one was taking advantage of anyone."

Nanny took her roughly by the arm, "You're too young to understand how men behave.  Come along.  And if I ever catch you alone with the Captain or any other of those ruffians late at night, you will be in big trouble."

Allura looked over her shoulder at Keith as she was dragged from the room and flashed him a weak smile.