Hi all!
Sorry for the delay, my computer crapped out on me…again.

I have a very good idea as to where this story is headed, like all my others, it took on a life of its own.  I hate to think of this story as coming to an end, I already know how it will end, I am just working on getting to it.  I can't give you a set number of chapters left, because I don't know.  I do know that I am loving writing this story, I love the characters, and I love the support and reviews I am getting from all of you.  Thank you so much!

Enjoy,

Failte

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Keith ran his hand through his hair.  "What do we know, Koran?"

"Just that Miss Remikade was supposed to be spending the night with Miss Rowena Zipner, but she never showed up.  Miss Zipner went to Mr. Remikade to ask after his daughter and they discovered she was missing.  After asking around, Mr. Remikade found that his daughter had last been seen several hours earlier with a man fighting the description of Lotor."  Koran explained.  "Mr. Remikade and Miss Zipner are on their way to the Castle now, they should be here momentarily."

"Alright," Keith turned to face his team, all still dressed in their various pajamas.  "I want everyone to go change into something more presentable and we will meet with Mr. Remikade and Rowena in the conference room in ten minutes."

"Yes, sir."

Nanny gripped Allura's arm tightly and pulled her from the room.

"So," Lance said quietly as they hurried from the room.  "The Princess was sleeping in your room?"


"None of your business, Lieutenant," Keith snapped.

"Well, at least we know she's safe at night now."

The Captain opened and closed his mouth.  He was about to reprimand Lance when he realized he was right.  "It isn't what you are all thinking."

"You don't have to explain to me, Cap."

"Just go get dressed."

Ten minutes later found the Force sitting around the large table in the Conference room, waiting.  Lance tapped out a beat on the tabletop with his fingers, Pidge rolled his head back, trying to stay awake, Hunk was taking apart and putting together his pen for the third time.  Allura sat at the head of the table, her hands clutched together while she stared at the wall opposite her.  Keith reached over, slowly, and laid his hand on top of hers.  Without a word, she unclasped her hands to enfold his.  They sat, unspeaking, waiting.

The door slid open and they all jumped to their feet as Koran entered, followed by Calren Remikade and Rowena Zipner.

"Calren, Rowena," Allura bowed slightly.  "Please, come in and sit.  We need to hear everything you know about this situation so we can properly plan a rescue mission."

"Well, my daughter had plans to stay the night with Rowena," Calren began, nervously.  "But when Euclida didn't arrive, Ro came to our home looking for her.  We spent the better part of the night looking for her, putting together a search party.  Early in the morning, we found a young woman who said she saw Euclida with a man resembling, uh, L-Lotor."

"Do you have any reason to believe she would go off willingly with Lotor?"  Keith asked.

Calren furrowed his brow and shook his head.

Rowena cleared her throat.

"Do you know something?"  Allura asked.

"Uh, well, I don't know if it means anything," she said quietly.

"You have no idea how useful the smallest detail can be," Keith told her.  "Tell us anything you know, please."

"Um, well, Euclida told me she had been having dreams, well, not really dreams, I don't know how to explain it.  It was like dreams when she was awake, like visions.  A really good-looking guy, with long white hair, she thought it might have been Lotor, but she said he was really sweet, not at all like she had heard about him."

"What were…these visions about?"  Allura asked.

Rowena blushed, embarrassed for her friend, "He, uh, he told her that she belonged with the Captain and that Your Highness belonged with him.  Euclida didn't believe it, she had come to terms with your relationship, but he kept coming to her, during the day and at night.  She was coming to stay with me tonight because she hoped he wouldn't visit her if there was someone else around."

"Why didn't I know about this?"  Calren asked.


"She was afraid to tell you."


Keith cleared his throat, "Lotor has a very powerful witch on his side.  It is totally feasible that he used Haggar to manipulate Euclida's mind."

"What are you going to do about getting her back?"  Her father asked.

"Koran has been attempting to contact Doom for a while now," Allura told him.  "Since they have been ignoring our attempts, we can only assume that Lotor does have her and that he is baiting us."

"What do we do?" Calren's voice rose slightly.

Keith pushed back his seat and stood, "We go to Doom."

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

Clouds were just beginning to move in as the Lions shot into the sky. 

"What's the plan, Cap?"  Hunk asked.

"We go to Doom and we get Euclida back, unharmed."

"What about Lotor?"

"Harm him all you want."

Pidge chuckled.

Keith opened a private line to Blue Lion.  "Allura?"

"Yes, sir?"

He smiled, "Are you okay with this?"

"What do you mean?"

"You know what I mean."

"Above all else, she is an Arusian and her safety is our biggest concern."

"I love you, Allura."

She smiled, noticing the emphasis he had put on 'you'.  "Let's keep it professional, Captain."

"Yes, your highness."

Keith reopened to group channel, "Everything clear so far?"

"Yes, sir," Pidge replied.

"A little too quiet," Lance muttered.

"Keep in mind, he's using Euclida as bait," Keith said.  "I'm pretty sure this is going to be between him and me."

"No, it's him against us," Hunk corrected.

"Going by Lotor's m.o. and his need for theatrics, I would assume that he is sitting in wait for us.  He knows we are going to come, so we have to approach this carefully, don't do anything that could put Lida in danger."

Allura scowled at his use of the old nickname he had for Euclida. 

"I want Allura and Hunk to stay with the Lions," Keith continued.  "Lance, Pidge, you're with me."

"Why can't I…" Allura began.

"Allura," Keith interrupted warningly.  "You were injured yesterday.  We don't want to leave the Lions unattended.  If we need you, we'll call for you."  He opened a private line with the Princess again.  "Allura, I would really appreciate it if you would not question my decisions, particularly in front of the other guys.  I am the commander of this Force."

"I know that," she said tersely.  "It's just that you have a habit of not thinking I can handle things."

"I am fully aware of what you can handle.  Just don't question my orders and I won't question yours."

"Fine."  Allura closed the connection feeling annoyed and a little insulted.

Lance noticed that when both the Captain and the Princess returned to the main screens they seemed rather tense, but he knew better than to say anything.

Other than Keith calling out orders or Pidge reporting what he was seeing while monitoring the radar, it was a quiet trip.  They landed in the same clearing they had landed in when Lance, Hunk, and Pidge had rescued Allura and Dana.  The Lions sat side-by-side, ready to attack if needed.

Allura watched as Keith, Lance, and Pidge slipped into the woods.  It wasn't that she doubted his decisions.  Keith knew what he was doing and she trusted him.  But she didn't trust Euclida.  He loved her, she knew that, but there was that silly voice of doubt in the back of her mind.  That voice had gotten louder as they neared Doom and her mind was battling an internal war with itself.  Her common sense told her she was being silly while the doubt was telling her that Euclida had done this on purpose to get Keith's attention.  He is such a good man.  What if he buys into it?  What if he gets her out and they start to spend time together, as friends, but then they become more than friends.  What if this cost her Keith?  It would be Lotor's ultimate goal realized.

"Princess?"

She jumped at the sound of Hunk's voice.  They had exited their Lions and were keeping watch.  "Yes Hunk?"

"You alright?"

"I'm fine.  Just a little antsy.  If I can't be in on the action, I want it over so I know everyone is alright."

He nodded, "I know exactly how you feel."

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

Keith led the way as his two men followed him to the Doom Castle.  It was quiet.  Too quiet.  They had yet to come across any guards.  Lance found the hidden passageway Fforden had shown them when they had rescued Keith.  They kept to the wall, blasters drawn, crept past the cells and toward the stairway.

"Captain!  It's about time."

Stopping at the top of the stairs, the three men saw Lotor.  The ruler of Doom stood, hands on his hips, feet spread. 

"Lotor," Keith sighed.  "What do you say we get this done so we can go home."

"Anxious to get back to the Princess?"  Lotor sneered.

The Captain shrugged, his weapon still trained on his nemesis, "Yeah."

Lotor's face darkened, "Where is the Princess?"

"Where's Euclida?"


"Euclida," Lotor rolled her name of his tongue.  "Such an unusual name for such a beautiful woman.  Don't you agree, Captain?"


Keith didn't answer.

Lotor continued, "She has a gorgeous body.  Tight in the right spots and soft where it matters.  In your short liaison, were you able to get your hands on her firm breasts?  Her long, smooth legs?"

Keith pursed his lips, sickened at the thought of Lotor touching her.

"Enough of this," Lance spoke up.  "Where is she?"

Without another word, Lotor whirled on his heel and swept down the hall, his cloak billowing behind him.  Keith exchanged a look with his men, but then followed him down the hall.

"What is he playing at?"  Lance whispered.

"I wish I knew," Keith whispered back.

Lotor turned right.


The three members of the Force followed him.  Two large doors slammed shut behind them and Doom guards lined the walls and blocked the door.  They were trapped.

Euclida sat on a throne in the middle of the room.  Her wrists tied to the arms and her head dropped forward, her chin on her chest.

"What did you do?"  Keith asked.

"You are not in the position to ask questions," Lotor told him as guards disarmed the three men.

Lance, Pidge and Keith scanned the room, mentally trying to find a way out, a distraction.  Three minds whirred with ideas and plans. 

"This is what you deserve, Captain," Lotor put a finger under Euclida's chin and tipped her head back.  "Not the Princess."

"What?  You think you deserve Allura?"  Lance smirked.

Lotor glared at the second-in-command, "I am worthy of her, but the question is, is she worthy of me?  We will find out once I bed her."

Pidge reached out and laid a hand on Keith's arm to keep him from doing anything stupid.  He watched as his Commander's jaw twitched in anger.

"What is the point of all this?"  Lance asked.

"Alright," Keith spoke through clenched teeth.  "You have us here, unarmed.  What do you want with us?"

Lotor grabbed a handful of Euclida's red curls and yanked her head back.  With his other hand, he slapped her, hard.

Two guards stepped forward, putting themselves between the Force and the woman.

With a quiet whimper, Euclida's green eyes fluttered open.

"Since you didn't bring me what I want, we will just have to wait until she does come."  Lotor called over a couple of guards and gave them instructions.  The restraints were cut from Euclida's wrists and she was shoved to the floor.  A guard hauled her to her feet and pushed her at Keith, who caught her and held her trembling form to him.

Half a dozen guards flanked the four of them and prodded them in the back.   Keith kept an arm around Euclida as she leaned against him, sobbing, while they were marched, along with Lance and Pidge to the dungeons.  Lance and Pidge were pushed into one small cell while Keith and Euclida were shoved into another.

*********

"This better work," Lotor hissed to Haggar.

"It will," she assured him.  "As we speak, the Princess is already rethinking her relationship with the Captain."

"She better be more than just rethinking it."

"It won't happen right away, but things will change."

Lotor nodded his head and turned to leave the room, awaiting the arrival of the Princess.

*********

Keith looked down at the woman who clung to him.  She clutched his flightsuit in her hands while tears soaked his shoulder.  Euclida had yet to say a word to him, she just cried uncontrollably.  It made him wonder what had happened to her and deep, hot anger filled him.

"Lida," he said softly.  "Calm down, it'll be alright, we'll get out of here.  Come here, sit down while I see if I can find a way out."

She refused to give up her hold on him, crying even harder.

"Psst!  Keith!"

With Euclida still attached to him, he made his way to the door and looked out the small barred window to see Lance in the window across the hall.

"You find something?"  Keith asked.

"No.  But he knows Allura will come for us."

"Yeah, it's a trap and there is no way to get word to her and Hunk.  But she can handle herself."

Lance nodded, "How is, uh, how's she doing?"

"She'll be fine.  We have to find a way out of here.  It's ten more minutes before Allura and Hunk come after us."

*********

"I don't want to wait any longer," Allura told Hunk.

The big man shook his head, "We have our orders, Princess."

"Something happened, I know it did, Hunk."  Cold fear washed over Allura, she felt Keith slipping away from her.

He looked at his watch.  Seven more minutes until they were to go in search of Keith and the others.  "Five minutes and then we'll head toward the Castle."

*********

Keith was finally able to remove himself from Euclida's grasp, moving her to sit in a corner.  She pulled her knees up and hid her face as she cried even harder.

"Anything, Lance?"  Keith called across the hall.

"We're working on it," Lance replied.

Keith ran his hands over the walls.  His right hand rushed over a stone that felt different.  Moving his fingers over it, he felt it shift.  Pushing harder, the stone disappeared into the wall and a door slid open.  This is too easy, he thought to himself.  Sticking his head through the doorway, he looked left and then right.


"Euclida," he whispered to the girl, still crouching in the corner.

She lifted her head and saw him holding his hand out to her.

The doorway led to a short hallway, a door at the end.  Pushing gently on that door, it opened into the main hall, a few doors down from where Lance and Pidge were being held.  Moments later, the three Force members crept down the hall and found their way outside. 

"That was too easy," Lance whispered.  "Way too easy."

"I know," Keith held Euclida's hand in his own as they ran forward.  She stumbled and fell against him.  With a sigh, Keith swept her up and continued running, her arms around his neck and her face hidden in his shoulder.

"He has something planned," Pidge added.

"Let's just get home," Keith huffed.  "We'll figure it all out then."

Hunk and Allura had just started toward the Castle, meeting them at the tree line.

"Are you alright?"  Hunk asked, racing over to his teammates.

Lance nodded, "Yeah, let's get out of here.  They took our weapons and communicators."

"We'll talk once we're off this planet," Keith said.


Allura nodded, heat rising to her face as she saw the way Euclida clung to Keith.  The sharp punch of jealousy hit her square in the stomach. 

They raced to the Lions and got into the air.  Keith strapped Euclida into the fold down seat beside him, where she sat quietly.  He squeezed her hand reassuringly and opened lines of communication to the others.


"Alright," he started.  "Let's get as far away from here as possible.  This was just weird.  Lotor lured us here and then made it impossibly easy for us to get out.  He has something planned."

"But what could it be?"  Lance asked.

"Did he do anything, like plant something, on one of you guys?"  Hunk asked.

Pidge shook his head, "No."

Keith looked at Euclida, "Hey, Lida, are you okay?"

She lifted her head and nodded.

"Did he hurt you?"

She hesitated a moment and shook her head.

"You sure?"

Allura listened and watched as Keith spoke tenderly to Euclida, holding her hand.  That was how he had spoken to her, the way he had touched her.  What was going on?  If he treated another woman like that, what did it mean for her?  Was he acting out of obligation, guilt, rather than love?  She knew she was being irrational, but she was angry.  Reaching over, she closed the line of communication with the others, dropping the cabin of Blue into silence.

It was another ten minutes before the light beeped, indicating an incoming message.  Allura opened the line again and looked at Keith. 

"You alright, Allura?"

She nodded.  Why had it taken him so long to notice her absence?  To contact her?  Why?  Because he was busy with Euclida.

Keith sighed.  He knew Allura was upset, but now was not the time to discuss it.  They were almost to Arus and he had to make sure Euclida got home safely and examined by the doctor.  Whatever was upsetting her would have to wait for later.

Ideas were tossed back and forth while they tried to figure out why Lotor had acted in this way.  Euclida was of no help, still too shaken up to tell her story.  Keith was hoping that once she was home and with her father, she would be able to tell them all what had happened.

As they neared Arus, Keith called ahead and had Dr. Gorma standing by.  He met them at the door with a stretcher and Mr. Remikade.

The Force and Koran met in the conference room to discuss what had happened.  None of it made sense.  All in all, it had only taken them four hours to fly to Doom, get Euclida, and get back.  Keith was really worried about what would happen next.  He ordered a complete exam of Euclida to make sure nothing had been planted on her.  None of the Force members had been injured. For the most part, everyone was in good spirits.  Except for Allura.

"Alright, I will speak with Euclida and her father and Dr. Gorma.  We can only hope we'll get a clue from her."  Keith told them.  "I want everyone to stay close, this could mean a big battle coming.  Stay on alert."

The others stood to leave, but Keith stopped the Princess, "Allura, I want to talk to you."

Lance winked at her as they filed out of the room past her.

"What is it?"  She asked, tensely.  "I have things to do."

Keith walked around to lean on the large table in front of her, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine."

"No you're not.  What is it?"

"Nothing."

He sighed and ran a hand through his hair, "If you're upset, I wish you would tell me why.  We've got a lot going on and I don't need any tension between us.  Besides the obvious, we do have to work together."

She stuck her chin out defiantly, "I am so sorry to be such a burden to you."

"You aren't, what is with you?"

"Nothing.  How many times do I have to tell you that?"

His voice rose in frustration, "It really frustrates me when you behave like this Allura.  Does this have something to do with Euclida?"  When she didn't answer, he continued.  "Nothing is going on between us, you know that.  It was a rescue mission and she is shaken up."

"It didn't look like that to me," Allura muttered.

Keith swore under his breath, "Are you going to get angry every time I talk to another woman?  We're at war you know.  Am I not allowed to help any woman besides you?"

"I am fully aware of the fact that we are at war, Captain," Allura spoke in a low, angry voice.  "I don't need to be reminded of that.  Just as I don't need to be reminded that you and Lida have a history together."

He threw his hands in the air, "Oh, grow up, Allura!"

She stared at him a moment, angry and a little pain showing on her face.


"Fine," Allura reached out and took his hand, he felt her press something hard into it.  "Maybe I do need to grow up.  Maybe we both do.  Maybe we need some time apart to do that."  She turned on her heel and stormed from the room.

Keith looked down and saw that he was holding her engagement ring.

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

On Doom, a small smile crossed the face of an old witch.  "And so it begins," she whispered under the hood of her cloak.  "Lotor will be happy."