"…and the Princess was all alone with the Captain!" Nanny exclaimed. "He was taking advantage of her at a vulnerable moment, I think he should be sent away, bring in a commander who knows his place!"
Lance stood just outside Koran's study. He had been on his way to the kitchen for breakfast when he heard Nanny's voice rise through the door, telling Koran what she had walked in on the night before.
"Calm down, Nanny," Koran sighed. "I'm sure you misunderstood. The Captain would never take advantage of the Princess."
"Yeah, Koran," Lance whispered. "You tell her."
"I know what I saw," Nanny retorted. "And I do not approve of it nor do I approve of her flying. What would King Alfor say? I'll tell you what he'd say, 'Are you out of your mind, Koran?' She is a child and untrained. This will be the death of her and it will be all on your head and that of the Captain's!"
Lance jumped back and hid in a corner when he heard the door slide open and Nanny stormed angrily out of the room. As soon as she turned down the other corridor, Lance left his hiding place and went straight to Castle Control. He knew Keith was on duty and he was determined to get to the bottom of what Nanny had been saying.
Keith stood over the main console, watching the radar. In the back of his mind, he replayed what had happened the night before. It had been wrong of him to even think he could touch the Princess. It had gotten entirely out of hand and he had to make sure it never happened again. But it wasn't going to be easy for him. The feel of her skin under his hand, how warm and soft she had felt. He couldn't help but wonder what she felt like under her nightgown. Whoa! Where had that come from? Keith shook his head, trying to remove any impure thought he had of the Princess.
"Practice went well this morning," Lance said, walking up behind him.
Keith jumped, startled from his thoughts.
Lance grinned. It was nearly impossible
to sneak up on the Captain, his mind was obviously elsewhere. "You okay, Keith?"
He nodded, "Yeah, Lance, what's up?"
"Just thought I would check in on you, see how you were doing."
Keith looked up at him, confused, "I'm fine, why?"
"Well, practice did go well this morning, but I couldn't help but notice a little tension between you and the Princess."
"I don't know what you're talking about," Keith mumbled.
"So," Lance leaned on the console and took in the dark expression on his commander's face. "What happened last night?"
Keith looked up, surprised, "What are you talking about?"
"I overheard Nanny telling Koran she saw you and the Princess last night and you were taking advantage of our fair young monarch."
Lance took a step back. For the first time in all the years he had known Keith, Lance was afraid of him.
"You don't know what you're talking about," Keith snarled.
"Hey," Lance held his hands up defensively. "I just wanted to say good for you, man. She is an amazing woman and I think it's about time. You guys are perfect for each other."
Keith slammed the log he had been holding down on the console and turned to face Lance completely. "Why can't you get it through your thick skull, Lieutenant? There is nothing between the Princess and me!" He sighed and lowered his voice in defeat, "She's royalty and I'm…well, I'm nobody."
"You're somebody, Keith, you're my best friend and the greatest commander I've ever known."
"I'm the only commander who can put up with you."
"Seriously, man, don't sell yourself short," Lance laid a hand on Keith's shoulder. "She doesn't care what you do for a living, she likes you for the great guy you are."
Keith shook his head, "But I'm not enough."
Lance rolled his eyes and threw his hands in the air, "You're an idiot is what you are, Keith."
"Watch it, Lieutenant."
"Oh, don't pull rank on me, Keith. I am talking to you now as your friend, not your second. Screw Nanny! Go for it or you will regret it the rest of your life!"
"You'll regret what?" Allura walked into the room. "And what are you doing to Nanny?"
"Nothing," Keith told her. "Lance is just being a moron."
"Yeah, well, this moron has to go, uh, find Hunk…or something." Lance bowed to the Princess and left Castle Control.
Keith suddenly found himself alone with Allura for the first time since the night before and he was finding it difficult to speak.
Using the pretence of checking the radar, she moved to stand next to him. Allura stood close enough to feel the heat coming from him and she could smell the clean scent of his soap. She couldn't place the exact smell, but she liked it and it was decidedly Keith. He stood stiffly beside her and made no move. Deep down, she hoped he would finish what they had started the night before, but she couldn't make the first step, it would be unladylike.
"How is everything going?" She asked quietly, gently laying her hand on his arm.
Keith felt warmth spread through him at her touch. Having her so close clouded his senses and made it hard for him to think, "Huh?"
"I asked how everything was going?"
He cleared his throat, "Uh, everything's been clear so far today."
"Good. I like hearing that," she smiled up at him.
"Look, Princess, about last night…"
Allura looked up at him expectantly.
"I was totally out of line, I'm sorry. It was late, I had a lot on my mind and I was tired. I'm sorry."
Allura nodded curtly, hoping her disappointment and hurt didn't show. "No need to apologize, Captain. I think we both got caught up in the moment."
Keith wanted to say something else, but he didn't know what. He opened his mouth but stopped when he noticed a blip on the radar's screen.
"What is it?" Allura asked.
"I don't know," he muttered, opening a line of communications. "You are entering Arusian airspace, state your name and business."
There was no response.
"Repeat! You are entering Arusian airspace, state your name and business!" Keith called louder.
More blips entered the screen. Without waiting for a response, Keith sounded the castle alarms. Moments later, Hunk, Pidge, Lance, and Koran all raced into Castle Control.
"Unidentified ships have entered our airspace." Keith explained. "We need to get up there and investigate. To your Lions, boys…and, uh, Princess."
Once they were in the air, Keith opened his line to Castle Control. "How many are there, Koran?"
"Looks to be about eight, they're all in formation," Koran told him.
The Doom fighters came into view, swooping toward the castle and opening fire. The five lions circled around and began returning fire, taking down three ships.
"Any signs of a coffin?" Lance asked.
"Not yet," Koran replied.
"Watch out Lance!" Hunk shouted.
A shot rocked Red, tossing Lance around a bit. "What the hell was that?"
"They have some new kind of weapon!" Pidge said.
A shot hit Black while another hit the castle.
"It's firing out of the front, try and get around the back of each fighter!" Keith instructed, taking down another ship.
Two of the fighters turned on Blue.
"Princess!" Hunk shouted, shooting down another ship.
Allura opened fire and skimmed the one fighter, she was still in training and had yet to perfect her targeting skills.
Lance was the closest, he flew in front of the two
Doom ships, taking two shots from the new guns.
Keith dove, catching Red by her tail before she crashed into the
lake. Hunk, Pidge,
and the Princess made short work of the last three ships and turned to land
their Lions by Red and Black.
{{ Darcy unconsciously slid closer to Lance, laying her head on his shoulder. She had heard about this attack, but it never failed to unnerve her whenever they talked about any injuries he sustained. Lance wrapped his arm around her shoulders and kissed the top of her head.
"Okay, I was pretty out of it at this point, I think someone else really needs to take over the story for now," he told them.
"I think I can fill in a few holes here," Hunk spoke up.
"But you have to tell it like it is," Sven said. "No sugarcoating."
Hunk sat up straighter, "I know, I know. So, Lance and Red were on the ground… }}
"Lance!" Keith called through his communicator as he unstrapped his belts. "Come on, Lance, answer me."
Hunk, Pidge, and Allura all climbed from their Lions and raced toward Red.
"Is he alright?" Allura asked Keith.
"He's not answering," Keith looked up at Red, noticing how a few bolts of electricity raced over Red.
"Do you think it's safe?" Allura whispered, stepping closer to Keith.
"Wait a second," Pidge said. "I think whatever that new weapon was involved some form of electricity, using the metal of the Lion as conductors." A couple of more electric currents shot over Red. "He took two big hits."
"We can't just leave him in there," Keith said angrily.
"Would you rather get electrocuted?"
"When can we go in?"
"When you notice the electricity is no longer coursing through."
"It looks clear," Hunk said a moment later.
Without hesitation, Keith stepped forward, but was stopped when Allura grabbed his arm.
"Are you sure it's safe?" She asked, nervously.
"We have to get him out of there."
She nodded, "Just…be careful."
Hunk and Pidge couldn't help but notice the look that passed between the Princess and their Captain and they suddenly felt as though they were intruding on something very private.
"Cap?" Hunk asked.
Keith ripped his gaze from Allura and looked at his men, "Come on, lets get him out of there."
Lance was unconscious when they opened the hatch. A thin trickle of blood ran from beneath his helmet and he was unresponsive.
"Princess, run inside and tell Dr. Gorma we're coming in with a patient!" Keith yelled down.
Without another word, she turned and raced into the castle while Keith and Hunk lifted Lance from the cockpit.
**************************************************************
A couple of hours later, Keith made his way to the hospital wing. He and Hunk had carried Lance to the hospital where they waited while Dr. Gorma examined him. Lance had a concussion and a sprained wrist. After learning that he would be fine, Keith went to oversee the return of the Lions to their hiding places and then to write up a report on the attack.
Hunk was on duty and Pidge was hanging with him while they discussed the new weapon Doom had and how they could fight back against it. Allura had spent the afternoon in Lance's hospital room and that was where Keith found her.
She was sitting beside his bed, holding his hand and speaking quietly, Keith watched silently, feeling a twinge of jealousy, well, more than a twinge, more like full blown punch in the stomach.
Allura looked up with tears in her eyes, "He went back to sleep about ten minutes ago."
Keith nodded curtly, "Dr. Gorma said he'll be fine."
She raised her eyebrows, surprised at his reaction. "What's wrong?"
He shrugged, "He'll be fine."
Allura bit her lip, wondering if she should tell him what was on her mind, "He, uh, he's here because of me."
"No he isn't. This was done by Doom, by Zarkon."
"If I was a better shot," she looked down at Lance. "He took those shots for me."
Keith laid a hand on her shoulder, "This isn't your fault, Allura. He's a soldier. He would have done the same for me or Hunk or Pidge. Do not blame yourself."
"I need more target practice."
"We can work on that if it makes you feel better, but make sure you're doing it for the right reasons, not because you feel guilty."
Allura stood abruptly and turned to face him, "Let' start now."
"Now?" He looked toward the window. It was still light out, but dusk was approaching.
"Why put it off?"
Keith glanced at his watch, technically he was off for the evening.
"I want to start now, Captain."
"Alright," he sighed.
"Meet me in Castle Control in ten minutes."
"What's going on, Captain?" Hunk asked Keith when he entered Castle Control.
"The Princess feels she needs more practice, so she and I are going out to the flatlands." Keith explained.
Hunk sat back in his chair and gave his commander a questioning look.
"You have something to say, Lieutenant?"
"Me?" Hunk asked innocently. "Nope."
"Alright, let's roll," Allura announced.
"We'll be at the flatlands Hunk, just call me on my communicator if anything comes up." Keith instructed.
"Will do, Cap."
"Alright, Allura, get into Blue and follow me."
She nodded and gave Hunk a small smile before following Keith to the Lions.
Keith opened up a line of communication with the Princess. "Alright, Allura, we're going to head over to the flatlands. We have a sort of target range set up over there and we can go through a few formations."
"Sounds good, Captain."
They spent over an hour working on her shooting and honing her flying skills. Keith had to admit he was impressed. She was hitting her targets with 85% accuracy, which was amazing considering she had only been at it for a few days.
"You're doing great, Princess," Keith told her over the com line. "Let's land over by the boulder and take a quick break."
Allura knew he was testing her landings. The first couple of times she had tried to return Blue to the lake had almost been disastrous. She watched as Keith glided in for a clean, gentle landing. Taking a deep breath, she started to descend.
Keith winced as she hit the ground a little roughly. Blue shuddered and then lowered her head so the Princess could climb out. It was going to take a little time for the Lion to accept Allura after she had become accustomed to Sven and it wasn't helping that Allura was still a little timid in the cockpit.
"Alright," Keith walked over to Blue's paw. "You're doing well with target practice for someone who has just started."
Allura nodded grimly, removing her helmet.
He lowered his tone gently, "Princess, when we take into consideration that you are not a trained pilot or soldier, you have made amazing progress."
"Thank you."
"If I thought you couldn't do this, if I thought you weren't able to handle battle, I wouldn't allow you in Blue."
She looked up at him, touched by his confidence in her, "I know."
"What happened to Lance wasn't your fault, but I also know that I can tell you that over and over and you will still feel guilty."
"I can't help it."
"He'll be fine."
"I know."
Keith leaned against Blue's massive paw. He wasn't good at this sort of thing. "Do you want to talk about it, Allura?"
"Talk about what, Keith?"
"Whatever's on your mind."
Whatever's on my mind, she thought. Let's see, where to begin? My planet is in constant danger, two of my friends have been injured in battle, and I want you to kiss me like you almost did the night before.
"Princess?" Keith whispered.
"It's getting late," she murmured.
He raised his gaze to the sky, taking in the beautiful Arusian sunset around them, "Yeah, I suppose it is."
But neither one of them made a move. It suddenly dawned on Keith just how alone they were and it made his heart race. There was no Nanny here to interrupt. But he knew he couldn't do anything about it. She was a Princess, way beyond him and for him to even think he could pursue her was an insult to Allura and her station.
Allura watched him, trying to read his thought. Keith's expression never changed, but there was a flicker in his eyes she couldn't seem to place. For a moment she thought he was going to say something and she hoped against hope that he would touch her again, a brush of his fingers, anything.
"We, uh, we should head in." He sounded strained when he spoke.
Allura pursed her lips, "Keith, we have a lot going on right now and we need to keep our minds on the task at hand."
He nodded.
"So I think that we should be able to talk about whatever is
on our minds."
Raising his eyebrows, he nodded again.
"What's going on, Keith?"
He was shocked at her forwardness, unprepared for the question or for any answer. "Like, uh, like you said, we have a lot going on."
She searched his face, looking and hoping for some sign that he felt something more, something deeper.
His eyes slowly closed while he gathered strength. If she continued to look at him like that, he wasn't going to be able to stop himself from just grabbing her and finishing what they started the night before.
"Keith?" Her
voice was barely audible.
With effort, he opened his eyes again, "Princess, I…we...I can't." He looked at her with an expression of utter defeat.
She nodded, biting her lip.
Cursing himself, Keith laid a hand on her shoulder, "I don't really know what I'm trying to say, you're an amazing person and I…admire you more than you could ever know."
Her eyes shined brightly with tears and emotion.
"I count you among my close friends, Allura."
Friend, she thought bitterly. Of course.
Keith sighed deeply when his communicator beeped. "Whitaker."
"Captain," Hunk sounded stressed. "You need to head back to the Castle."
"Are there ships coming?"
"No, sir."
Keith swallowed hard, "Is it Lance?"
"It's Sven, Keith."
Keith heard Allura gasp and he felt his chest tighten, "What is it Hunk?"
"Doom attacked Ebb, Keith. Please come back to the Castle."