Hi all!

Once again, all relative disclaimers apply.

Thank you all so much for your wonderful reviews, I really do appreciate the time you are putting into reading my story and reviewing, it means a lot to me.

The story is about to take a big turn ;-)

Enjoy,

Failte

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{{  "Why didn't you just tell her, Keith?"  Becca asked.

"Since we couldn't be together, I thought it would be for the best if we didn't even acknowledge it.  I honestly didn't think she felt anything for me, or at least I was able to convince myself she didn't."  He told her.  "Besides, I was here to lead the Voltron Force, not to hit on the Princess."

"You were being an idiot," Allura said sweetly.

"What else could I have done?"

"We could have talked about it, figured away to be together.  You have no idea how hard it was for me to have all these princes shoved my way, thinking I would have to settle for one of them because you could never love me."

"Can you imagine what it was like for me?"  He countered.  "I had to watch you with all those princes and know I could never be with you."

"And do you know what it was like for the rest of us to have to watch the two of you drool over each other and then you would each complain to me about your unrequited love," Lance added.

"Okay, okay, so it was hard all around," Hunk said with a smile.

"Yeah, Nanny only waited a month after Prince Kelton before she started inviting the princes back," Keith mumbled.

"It did suck," Lance agreed.  "There was more than once when we had to play babysitter for one of them."

"And then there were the times we were attacked when a prince was visiting.  Remember Prince Myler?  He actually cried when the castle was hit."  Pidge recalled.

"Yeah, there were a lot of wankers masquerading as princes," Lance said.

"Yeah, well, I remember one time Keith was acting like a wanker," Hunk added.

"What are you talking about?"  Keith asked.

"Remember that one prince Allura actually liked?  What was his name?  Donatello?"

"Donato."  Allura supplied.

"That's right, Prince Donato," Lance grinned.  "That was when Keith almost crashed Black into a mountain."

"Yeah, he caught sight of Allura and Donato walking through the garden," Pidge added.  "Donato picked one of the roses off a bush Keith had given her for her birthday and presented it to Allura."

Hunk chuckled, "Lance was able to get his attention at the last moment and Keith pulled up, scrapping Black on the mountain."

"It was a horrendous noise," Allura shivered.  "At first I thought he had crashed."

"Nope, just a bruised ego," Lance said.

"Okay, so you guys had to deal with all these princes, but how did you finally get together?  How did you find a way around the law?"  Becca asked.

 "It took some time," Pidge told her.  "We were at war and a lot got in the way…}}

Allura walked through her freshly planted garden, brushing her hand over the budding roses.  On the morning of her birthday, Keith had led her to the garden, her eyes closed, where he had surprised her with the bushes.  They had then spent a couple of hours with the guys deciding where to put them, digging the holes and then planting them.  Yellow roses blossomed on two of the bushes, while red, pink, and white roses grew on three others and the last bush was a hybrid flower that bloomed yellow with pink edges. 

She smiled as she remembered back on that morning.  Keith had said she reminded him of roses because of her perfume.  At first she hadn't understood what he meant, she didn't normally wear perfume.  What he was smelling was her shampoo, and the scent was derived from a moisturizing plant that grew on Arus, it was actually a rather ugly plant, but its scent was similar to roses.  The fact that he had even noticed brought a smile to her face.

When they finished planting the bushes, Nanny met them at the door with a picnic basket.  The rest of the afternoon was spent by the lake picnicking and swimming.  Lance had given her a camera so she could take her own pictures, Hunk had found a photo album for her to fill, and Pidge had given her a collection of Terran stories.  It was the best birthday she had ever had.

"Princess."

Allura looked up and gasped.   "Lotor."

He bowed deeply, "You look lovely today."

"What do you want?"  She asked as she slid her hand into her pocket.

He pointed a gun at her, "I want you to keep your hands where I can see them."

Allura slowly raised her hands and silently pleaded that Keith would come looking for her as he often did.

"I wanted to apologize for missing your birthday," Lotor smiled.

"That's alright, you weren't missed."

"You have developed quite an attitude.  We must separate you from those uncouth boys you've been spending so much time with."

"If you leave now, Lotor, you will be allowed to get back to Doom alive."

He chuckled, "I love your optimism, Princess."

With her heart racing, she asked again, "What do you want?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when her communicator went off.


"If I don't answer, they're going to know something is wrong."

Lotor smiled and leaned closer, tracing his finger down her cheek, "I wanted you to know that I can get to you whenever I want to."

The beeping stopped and Allura watched him, her mouth open.

His grin grew and he winked at her before disappearing into the woods.

"Princess!"

Allura shook her head and looked around at the sound of Hunk calling her.

"Princess!"

"Uh, yeah, Hunk, I'm here," she turned and hurried over to him.

"Are you okay?"  Hunk took in her pale face.  "We just tried to page you and you didn't answer.  Is your communicator broken?  Let me see it."

"Uh, no, come on, let's go inside."

"What happened, Princess?"

"Lotor was here.  I want to get inside, I'll explain then."

Hunk quickly scanned the area while wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling his blaster from his holster.

"Is everything alright?"  Keith asked as they joined him and Koran in Castle Control.

Allura looked around and nodded.

Keith called Lance and Pidge back from where ever they had gone to look for her before turning to the Princess.  "Is your communicator broken?"

"No.  Keith…"

"Then why didn't you answer?"  He asked angrily.  "I don't care where you are or what you are doing, you stop and answer when you are paged."

"Keith, calm down," Hunk said.

"Captain, you will not talk to the Princess like that," Koran warned.

Keith took a deep breath and asked in a calmer tone, "What happened?"

"Lotor was here," she whispered.

He took a step closer, "Where is he?  What happened?"

Lance and Pidge both walked into the room, asking what was going on.

"Lotor was here," Allura repeated.  "He sneaked up on me in the garden.  He told me he wanted me to know that he could get to me whenever he wanted to."

Keith felt a chill race through him and fought the urge to shiver.  He turned to the console to call in some guards.  After instructing them to do a full sweep of the area and shot any Doom soldier they see on sight, he turned to Koran and asked him to fetch Nanny.

"What are you doing, Keith?"  Lance asked.

The Captain didn't answer.  He stood silently in front of the console, his feet spread, his arms crossed over his chest, and his lips pursed.

"This had better be important," Nanny said as she hurried into the room.  "I'm busy planning for Prince Petrian's visit."

"Allura just told us," Keith said.  "That Lotor was just here.  We were lucky this time, but he has found the obvious holes in our security and we cannot allow it to happen again.  As of right now, we are halting the Prince visits until further notice."

"Captain, I must…" Nanny started but was stopped with one look from Keith.

"Let's be honest here, Nanny, Allura is not interested and nothing is coming from all this other than having us entertain annoying young men while we're supposed to be fighting a war and rebuilding the planet.  We need to crack down on security.  Princess," he turned to the young woman beside him.  "You are not to go anywhere without a guard or one of us, that includes the garden."

"Come on, Keith, I can handle myself," she told him.

"What did you do today?"

She looked away, knowing that if her communicator hadn't gone off or if Hunk hadn't shown up, she didn't know what she would have done.

"At night I want at least one guard outside her bedroom door and we have three female guards with us right now and they will rotate staying in her room."

"Oh, come on, Keith," Allura muttered.

"Your suite has a small parlor, we can set up a cot in there," he said.  "We are cracking down on security and it starts today.  I will put together a new schedule."

"Yes, sir," Hunk, Pidge, and Lance all intoned. 

Nanny's face was bright red, but she didn't respond.

"That sounds good," Koran said.  "I, personally, will compose the letters to the Princes who had been invited and explain the situation."

"Don't give away too much," Keith warned.

"I won't."

"You want me take over for you so you can get started on the schedule?"  Lance asked Keith.


"Yeah, man, thanks."  He turned to the Princess.  "What are your plans now, Allura?"

She stood quietly, still going over all that Keith had just said in her mind.  Was she really about to become a prisoner in her house?  Damn Lotor!  How did he get on the planet without them knowing?  It had to have been with his witch. 

"Allura?"

"Oh, uh, I'm going to the library."

"What are you doing there?"  He asked, curiously.

"I want to see if Father had any books on witches.  She must be the reason Lotor was able to get onto Arus."

Pidge appeared at her side, "I was just heading there, Princess, I can escort you."

"Is that really necessary?"  She asked.

"No, really I was going there, I'm finding, uh, some really good books there," he told her lamely.

Keith nodded to him.

Allura sighed, but followed the Green pilot from the room.

"She doesn't like this," Lance said.

"Too bad.  It's for her own good," Keith responded.

"You're always thinking of what's best for her, huh?"

"Well, somewhere along the line, our job description has come to include the Princess' security."

"Uh huh."

"Knock it off, Lance."

"Keith and Allura sittin' in a tree," Lance sang.

"Keep it up and I'm putting you on KP with Nanny."

"K-I-S-S-I-N-G…"

"First comes love," Hunk joined in.

"Then comes marriage, then comes little Keiths in a baby carriage."  They finished together.

"Would you two grow up?"  Keith asked, irritated.  "Hunk, I think Green needs a quick once over, why don't you go check her out.  She was pulling to the side in practice this morning."

"Yes sir," Hunk saluted and left, whistling softly.

Keith whirled on Lance, angry, "You have got to stop that!  You're going to start rumors."

"Oh, come on Keith!  Who do you think you're fooling?  Everyone knows how you feel."

"What are you talking about?"

"Why do you think Nanny is pushing Allura to marry?  To get her away from you."

Keith furrowed his brow, "Do you really think that?"

"Yes, but don't worry, we're working on it."

"What are you talking about, Lieutenant?"

"Nothing, I just don't want you to worry about it."

"Dammit, Lance, I don't want you getting involved."

"Too late man, I already am."

"What?"

"Huh?"

Keith shook his head, "I'll be back to relieve you later."

"Yeah, try not to make it too late, I have a date tonight."

"Oh yeah, who?"

Lance grinned, "A certain young lady by the name of Gallia."

"Allura's maid?"

"Yeah, I think she might be the one."

"You think every one might be the one."

"Hey, man, don't pick on me because I'm not afraid to go after the woman I want."

Keith sighed, "I'll be back when I'm finished."

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Keith was bent over his desk.  He had finished putting together new schedules and was planning on calling a meeting within the hour.  But first he wanted to go over their current security measures.  There was always room for improvement and since they wouldn't have to keep the skies open for all the princes, it would be easier to secure the airspace.

Maybe it was time they started air patrols.  And it wouldn't hurt to up the number of patrols around the castle grounds.  They had been able to hire more people and double the number of castle guards over the past year and a half, that was certainly helping.  Maybe they should contact the Garrison and see if they could send more soldiers to train as guards, particularly more females.

He pushed aside the papers in front of him and rubbed his hands over his face.  Why was this happening?  Why couldn't Lotor take a hint and leave her alone?  It was bad enough having to deal with the attacks and robeasts without having to worry about Lotor just appearing in the garden or, even worse, the castle.

Pushing back from the desk, Keith stood and gathered the schedules.  After posting them in Castle Control, he called together the guards to fill them in on what was going on.  He explained the new schedules and spoke to the three female guards about staying with the Princess.

By the time he finished with his meetings, it was time for dinner.  Feeling worn out, Keith made his way to the dining room.  They had long ago stopped waiting for Keith when it came to dinner, more often then not he worked straight through.

"How's it going, Cap?"  Hunk asked.

"Good, I met with all the guards and the new schedule is up."

"Koran is on duty now," Lance said.  "I told him one of us will take over for him after dinner."

"Yeah, I'll take over, thanks Lance."  Keith looked up at Allura, "Did you find anything in the library?"

"I found a few things on the history of witchcraft, but nothing real helpful.  I was thinking…" she trailed off.

"Thinking about what?"

"Well, I know this man, he was friends with my father.  A wizard.  I was thinking he might be able to help us."

Keith rubbed his chin and sat back, "I don't know about this."

"He's a respectable man, Keith, Koran can vouch for him."

"What do you think he'll be able to do?"

"He can probably offer some advice, maybe help us come up with a better way to protect the castle."

"What's his name?"

"Kadmus," she told him.  "He and my father were friends, I haven't seen him in years.  Every so often he does send me a note saying that he keeps an eye on me and that if I ever need help I can just send a message to his home planet and they will know how to get him."

"He keeps an eye on you?"  Keith asked.

"He's a good man, Keith, I've known him my whole life."

He nodded, "Alright, we'll see what we can do about getting in touch with him."

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

Allura was quiet for the rest of dinner, pushing her food around her plate and answering any questions with monosyllabic responses.  Keith watched her, worried that she was taking all of this too hard.  She was already under so many restrictions, now it was worse.  She was, essentially a prisoner in her own castle.

"If you'll excuse me, I'm going to find Koran," Allura pushed her chair back and stood.

Keith got to his feet, "I'll escort you."

"That's not necessary, Keith."

"I would like to speak with you."

Her gaze met his and she relented, nodding her consent.

"I know this is hard for you," Keith started as the door closed behind them.  "But it's for your own good."

"Yeah, well, I'm sick of everything being done for my own good," she mumbled.

"Allura, as long as Lotor can get past our security, we have to strengthen our measures.  It may be inconvenient for a while…"

"Oh, so now I'm an inconvenience?"

"That's not what I meant, Allura, don't put words in my mouth.  We have a job to do and it…"

"That's right, a job.  That's all this is to you, a job!"

Keith threw his hands in the air, "What is wrong?  I'm trying to make you understand..."

"Understand what, Keith?  That I'm a bothersome job to you?  Why are you still on Arus?  I'm sure there are more desirable positions for you out there."  Allura knew she was being ridiculous, but this had been building up within her for a while.

"What are you talking about?"  He asked angrily.  "You are not a bothersome job to me!  You are my friend, I care about you. I...you mean a lot to me and if anything were to happen to you, especially while I'm supposed to be protecting you, well, that would be the end of me!"

Allura looked at him, her mouth open.  "Keith…"

"Dammit Allura, this is hard for all of us.  I know you want your freedom and I want you to have it, but as long as there is a threat I will do everything in my power to protect you."

At a loss for words, Allura threw her arms around his neck and her lips pressed to his.  His arms moved on their own as they wrapped around her waist and pulled her tightly to him, pressing their bodies as close together as they could get. 

After a moment, Keith raised his head, "We can't do this."

"Why not?"  She whispered.

"It's not right, Allura, we can't."

"I don't understand."

Keith dropped his arms and paced in front of her, "Because we can never be.  You're a Princess, the last in your linage.  I am a pilot, a commoner."

"I don't care, Keith."

"You might not, but Koran does, and Nanny and your people…"

"But this is my life.  What about what I want?"

He ran a shaky hand through his hair.  "Allura, I know you don't understand…"

"Don't talk to me like I'm a child."

"I'm not.  I just need you to understand that this is for your own good."

She bit her lip, tears threatening her eyes, "You obviously don't know what's for my own good."  She whirled on her heel and stormed down the hall.

"Allura!"  Keith called.  "Wait, please!"

He was answered by her scream.  Grabbing his communicator in one hand and his blaster in the other, he ran down the hall.  Somewhere in the back of his mind, Keith heard the dining room door open and the sound of the guys' boots running behind him.

Allura was struggling against Lotor's grip.  He had one hand over her mouth and the other was forcing her arms behind her.  Haggar waved a hand in front of her and Allura went limp in his arms.

"Did you harm her?"  Lotor hissed.

"No, I just stopped her struggling."

"Stop!"  Keith shouted, aiming his weapon at them.  "Let her go!"

With a flash, Lotor, Haggar, and Allura all disappeared.  The castle alarms sounded and Keith's communicator went off.

"What happened?"  Lance asked, rounded the corner with the others.

"Allura's gone.  To Castle Control, everyone now!"