The New Order
Part Three
By Cheezey
Though the celebration of Lotor and Allura's marriage was not all that long by Doom's hedonistic standards, for Princess Allura it could not end soon enough. If she had been uncomfortable during the state meeting and ceremony itself, she was utterly miserable during the festivities that celebrated something she could not muster genuine enthusiasm about. Though she looked forward to the prospect of being at home in the Castle of Lions again, it was a bittersweet thought, knowing that of her friends, only Pidge would still be there and Coran and Nanny… well, it went without saying that they would not understand. That and her personal laments about friends she considered more like family were, in the grand scheme of things, trivial compared to the changes that were about to happen on her world.
Dressed in his usual battle attire again, Lotor led Allura, who had changed back into her flight suit, to Castle Doom's battleship bay. "We're leaving now," he said as he looked at her, with the same intense look it seemed to her he almost always did, the one that made her feel so uncertain. "That should please you."
Allura nodded subtly. "Yes. I don't feel very at home here."
"You will," Lotor informed her as they boarded the ship.
I hope not, she thought to herself, and glanced around the bay apprehensively before she climbed in the ship behind her husband.
"I've ordered the robots to set course close to Galaxy Garrison. There's an escape craft there," he gestured to a small and sleek vessel of the type commonly used as quick escapes from doomed battleships, "that you can fly into the base with. You should pick up the black lion before word of our little merger gets too widespread. They may try to steal it. Just leave the escape ship there—it's not worth returning for."
"The Galaxy Alliance aren't thieves," Allura said with a frown.
Lotor laughed hollowly. "Not to their friends, perhaps. Ask anyone of Drule alignment that and they'd beg to differ."
"The Drules have different views on a lot of things." Allura sat beside Lotor as he settled into the ship's command chair.
"You're one of us now; you should learn to accept them," Lotor replied as he waved to the robots to take off, and gave Allura a pointed look. "Or at least learn them."
Allura focused on the monitor, unable to refute what Lotor said and not quite as certain as she once was that the Alliance would not take liberties with the black lion if it was left with them. After all, they had betrayed her intentions as far as handling Lotor went when she had turned him over to them for trial. "I'll take care of the black lion," she said after her moment of introspection.
Soon they were in deep space en route to their destination. Their conversation came and went in spurts, ranging from strangely peaceful to mildly disconcerting, at least to Allura, and she was relieved when the time came for her to leave to retrieve the black lion. As it turned out, getting the lion was uneventful. Although news of her marriage to Lotor—still public enemy number one as far as the Galaxy Alliance was concerned—had spread through Alliance personnel like wildfire, when she approached alone in a Doom craft it was assumed that she came on her own from the dark planet to come home, perhaps in search of a way to sever the marriage tie since it was only logical that no sensible Alliance world ruler would willingly remain married to a bloodthirsty tyrant like Lotor. The common sentiment about Princess Allura was that she was a naïve and well-meaning girl blinded by sentiment, an extremist against a death penalty politically and at worst an annoyance to their operation—but not a danger. Arus was still a member of the Galaxy Alliance and had not perpetuated any acts of war against them or other Alliance worlds, hence Princess Allura, even as wife of escaped criminal Lotor of Doom, was regarded with little other than strange and curious looks from those at the base. She was not questioned or impeded in any way recovering the black lion.
When she approached the metal cat, its still eyes fixed in what looked like a gaze into the faraway sky, Allura felt a new surge of heartache. The looks upon her friends' faces when they had parted ways flashed through her mind again, Keith's lingering the longest as she stood outside of his lion. Maybe someday they'll forgive me… they'll understand. Her heart was heavy as she then thought about the past with her friends, flying the lions, about all they had done together as the Voltron Force, as a team, in those lions. Still lost in thought, Allura climbed into the black lion that had once been Keith's, and once again thought about her father and what he would think of all that had transpired.
He would want me to do the right thing… he wouldn't have wanted me to be the cold kind of person that would stand by and let someone who didn't deserve it, someone who saved my life, die…
Of course, Alfor would not have wanted Zarkon within a million light years of their planet, either, and that conflicting thought was enough to make Allura feel guilty all over again. As she sat down in the pilot's seat and placed the key, she closed her eyes and concentrated in the hope that the late King Alfor might send her some kind of message or sign. After a minute or two of pensive silence with no such contact, however, she resigned herself to the fact that she was indeed on her own. Maybe my father is angry with me after all and that's why he hasn't said anything.
"Well I can't dwell on that," Allura said aloud, even though she was alone, more to strengthen her own convictions than anything else. "Arus needs me more than ever, and I need to talk to Coran and Nanny myself before Lotor does." The princess then initiated contact with Lotor and confirmed that she had the black lion and would meet him there.
The remainder of the flight to Arus went quickly. Before long she saw the beautiful sphere of her home world vividly in her monitor, and then as she entered its atmosphere flying with Lotor's ship alongside the black lion, the welcome sight of the Castle of Lions standing proudly in the idyllic Arusian landscape greeted her. Heart pounding in her chest, she reached for the communicator to radio the castle control room. "Coran, this is Princess Allura," she said with just the slightest shake in her voice. "I'm coming home… I'm—I'm sure the others have already told you." She swallowed and blurted out the next part before anyone could answer. "The ship flying in with me along with the black lion is Lotor's. He's with me. He's…" She faltered for a moment, unable to finish her sentence, and then amended what she was going to say to, "please don't fire."
"Princess, it's you?" Coran's voice sounded on the other end with a measure of relief in it. "You're all right? Not harmed?"
"I'm fine, Coran. We're landing now. We—we have a lot to talk about."
"Prepare a royal welcome," Lotor's voice interjected over the airwaves with an air of superiority. "Your soon-to-be-queen and the king that will be at her side are to be crowned as soon as possible."
Allura frowned in her seat piloting the lion. "I'll handle this, Lotor. Please, let's wait until we're inside."
"Very well, as you wish, my dear," Lotor said, it evident from his tone that he was only deferring as a favor to her.
"We're relieved to see that you're all right, Princess," Coran said quietly. "We've been quite concerned about you."
"I understand. I'll see you soon Coran." She then ended the connection and guided the black lion to its resting place upon the statue bed outside the castle. Lotor landed his ship in the courtyard beside it, and Allura climbed out of the black lion for what she imagined would be the last time, at least if things under the new regime she had consigned her world to happened as they were supposed to. Once she disembarked, she looked up at the silent metal cat thoughtfully, only to be jolted out of her thoughts a moment or so later when she felt a strong hand on her shoulder.
"Come, Allura. Our people are waiting for us."
Eyes still fixed upon the black lion, sitting in a regal position with its gaze turned upward toward the clear Arusian sky, Allura wished one last time for some sign, a glimmer of reassurance from her father's spirit, the keeper of the lion ships, that he understood her decisions. But just as it had not at Galaxy Garrison, no such answer came either from the wind around her or the black lion itself as it reverted to its inactive statuesque form. The disappointed Allura prayed that it was not because her father was so angry he no longer wanted anything to do with her, but even searching her heart deeply she could not say for certain she knew it not to be true.
Allura nodded to Lotor, who then linked his arm through hers, and the two of them walked into the Castle of Lions for the first time as husband and wife. As they made their way to the control room, castle guards and staff gawked and gasped—ironically not all that differently than the crowd on Doom had—but none of them said a word to her. She supposed Coran had told them all what happened, and she wondered as they walked through the corridors how he had taken the news. Had he been angry? Had he lost his temper and yelled, a rare occasion for the mature diplomat, or had he only shaken his head in disappointment akin to the way she feared her father's reaction to it on the astral world was? Had Coran blamed her friends, the rest of the Voltron Force, for what she had done? Allura could see no evidence that the Voltron Force was still present in the castle. A part of her was relieved by that knowing that Lotor had orders to forcibly evict them all but Pidge, but at the same time she also longed to see their faces once again.
Finally they reached the control room, where a stern-faced Coran, a distressed-looking Nanny, and a wistful Pidge greeted them.
"Princess!" Nanny exclaimed upon seeing Allura and rushed over, throwing her arms around the princess. "Oh, my poor baby! Are you all right? I was so worried… oh, did they hurt you?"
Allura felt tears of emotion threaten to spring to the surface as she returned her childhood guardian's hug. "I'm fine Nanny."
"Of course she's not hurt," Lotor said arrogantly and fixed a warning look upon the woman, who eyed him back with clear distrust.
Bowing his head only subtly, Coran acknowledged Doom's prince. "Prince Lotor." He turned to Allura. "So, Princess, what they said is true. You did indeed marry Prince Lotor."
Lotor frowned, his already thin patience steadily growing thinner. "Yes, she did. Allura is now my wife, as she was always meant to be, and we are your rulers, as it should have been ever since my father defeated King Alfor."
"Lotor, please." Allura was agitated but firm. She gently released herself from Nanny's embrace and faced Coran. Even in that situation, with her as a grown adult, undisputed ruler of her world, and now a married woman, she still felt like a child facing a reprimand as she took in her former guardian's disapproving look. "I had to save his life, Coran. I couldn't let them kill him. I never would have signed the rights if I'd known—"
"As you've said," Coran cut her off with exasperation, and shook his head with a sigh. "You should have come to us first, Princess. You should have trusted us. To do something like this, to sign documents binding your empire to Lotor's…"
"Allura knew exactly what she was doing," Lotor snapped harshly at the diplomat. "And you would do well not to question your queen's judgment."
Coran's eyes darkened. "I don't know the exact protocol of it on Doom, but Allura will not be queen until she is crowned such, as you will not be our king, Prince Consort Lotor."
Lotor's hand fell to the blade on his belt. "Are you threatening to keep Allura from her birth right?"
Nanny's eyes widened in alarm. "Of course he isn't!" She looked to Allura in a panic, and the princess stepped between Lotor and Coran.
"You always told me I would be crowned when I got married. Well I got married." Allura exhaled a tired breath, suddenly feeling much older than her mere teen years. "It's not how I ever imagined it'd be, but it's how it is, and I need to be queen to make sure Arus survives as part of the Drule Empire. It needs a strong queen more than ever, not a child princess who has others making decisions for her."
"And you will be crowned, your highness." Disappointment remained evident in Coran's eyes even though his spoken tone was neutral. "You're right, Princess, Arus does need a strong ruler. So I trust, then, that you thought of everything that can and probably will happen to this world in light of your marriage? How your people will react to being told they're Drule citizens, that the tyrants they've been fighting that have taken their families, spouses, and children as slaves and killed their sons and daughters, fathers and mothers, brothers and sisters are now controlling their government, and that the Voltron Force has been exiled and the Galaxy Alliance snubbed when they need them most?"
"What do they need the Voltron Force for, old man?" snarled an increasingly irate Lotor. "My father agreed to free the Arusian slaves, we're paying to rebuild this world and its cities, and believe me, that's an incredibly merciful deal for a planet that's balked us so many times. You and your people should consider yourselves lucky you're not dead or enslaved for defying us."
Nanny straightened beside Coran and glared at their new prince consort. "His name is Coran and he has served Arus' royal family along with me since probably before you were born," she declared hotly, too outraged in that brief moment to be afraid. "Princess, you would let this man you've taken for a husband talk to him with such disrespect?"
Outraged, Lotor straightened and drew back intending to strike her for her disrespect, but Allura moved in front of him before he had the chance. "No, Nanny," she said, trying hard to keep a handle on her churning emotions. She was angry with Lotor for being cruel to those she cared about and at the same time frustrated with them for thinking of her as a foolish child. It was then that her eyes fell on Pidge, oddly silent from where he stood behind the two of them, taking in the scene with an uncharacteristically somber look on his face. Allura's eyes locked with his only for a moment before she turned back to Lotor. "Lotor, please. Coran and Nanny are very important to me and I care for them very much. Coran has done so much for Arus, and I won't have you fighting with him. I know it's a lot to ask for the two of you to put your differences aside, but you must. Please. For the good of Arus."
"I will respect the prince consort's position, your highness," Coran said stiffly, but earnestly. "As I will your decisions—although I do not agree with them."
Lotor's eyes narrowed. "Just as long as you remember your place, Coran, we won't have a problem. After all, I wouldn't want to be forced to do anything that would cause my dear Allura pain."
Allura gave Lotor another a sharp look, but she did not say anything else about it, and instead returned her attention to Coran. "I know the people of Arus will have a hard time accepting this. I knew they would when I went into this. I'm still sorting through it myself." She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment. "It wasn't an easy decision, and I certainly never expected… well, I didn't know when I did it that Haggar was about to rescue Lotor from the prison. I never thought it would be like this. Lotor was supposed to stay here on Arus in my custody, and I thought we could keep Zarkon's and the Drule Empire's involvement to a minimum. I mean, if Zarkon didn't care enough to try to free him…"
Coran shook his head at Allura's naïveté. "Oh, my dear, things like this are never that simple."
Nanny patted her on the arm. "Child, I know your heart was in the right place, but…"
"But I still think we can make it work," Allura insisted on a hopeful note, and looked to her husband meaningfully. "Lotor's here with me, and yes Arus is politically tied to Doom and their empire, but that doesn't mean we have to turn our backs on the Alliance. Back on Doom we decided that I still get to make the decisions about Arus, as long as it operates within Drule Empire law. We have to let their citizens travel and trade peacefully on Arus, and we have to allow Zarkon's soldiers to be here—peacefully—so they can maintain order—"
"So they can spy, protect their interests, and report back to Zarkon." Coran did not bother to cloak his bluntness in diplomatic wording.
"You're so suspicious, Coran," Lotor sneered arrogantly. "If you've got nothing to hide and nothing treacherous planned, our soldiers won't be a problem. Of course, if your people are rebellious or treasonous to their rulers…"
Allura frowned. "We discussed this with Zarkon. I made him agree to let Arus and its people live in peace. He said he would." Coran and Nanny exchanged increasingly dubious looks between themselves and then with Pidge, who only shrugged, while Allura continued to attempt to convince them. "What Lotor said before is true—they are going to rebuild the cities and free our surviving people. I know it's not what we wanted exactly, but it ends the war. That's something, isn't it?" She searched their faces for any hint of understanding or acceptance.
When she was answered with a long and tense moment of silence, she went on to say, "He and Lotor both agreed they wouldn't attack any Alliance worlds from here. And as long as we don't help Alliance worlds work against the Drule Empire specifically, there's no reason Arus can't be on friendly terms with them, that we can't stay a part of the Galaxy Alliance and help its people in need. They haven't told you that Arus has been removed, have they? They let me into Galaxy Garrison to get the black lion without any problems…"
"Our standing in the Galaxy Alliance is still secure. For now." It was clear from Coran's expression that he did not have any confidence it would remain that way.
"What would cause that to change?" Lotor said with an antagonistic edge to his voice. "Don't tell me a mere diplomatic association with a Drule Empire world is enough to earn their contempt, even with Commander Hazar's and Merla's recent attempts at friendly negotiations?"
Coran scoffed. "The intentions of Queen Merla would be far less questionable had she not just wed herself to your father to gain more political strength for their kingdoms within the Drule Empire."
Lotor's eyebrow rose in surprise. "You know that?"
"Yeah, they know," the previously silent Pidge spoke up. "We told them."
"We?" Allura said, but Lotor cut her off before she could say anything else and strode over to where the youngest Voltron pilot stood.
"That's right. Where are the others of the Voltron Force, aside from the one that was permitted to stay?" He eyed Pidge suspiciously. "And I must say I'm surprised to see you stayed behind when your friends did not, for all your talk of loyalty."
Pidge straightened against Lotor's intimidating glower. "I'm full of surprises."
Lotor was not impressed. "Where did the others go? And where are the lions? I want the keys. You were to turn them over to us."
"They were to turn them over to me, Lotor," Allura corrected firmly. She grew increasingly frustrated with Lotor's behavior. Although he had agreed to not harm her friends, it was clear that he was going to test the limits of his word and what she would tolerate. That bothered her; for someone who professed to love her, it did not seem that he was very willing to consider her feelings before his. She supposed she should have expected that from a man as selfish as Lotor, but a part of her was more than a little disappointed, for she had hoped that the good part of Lotor she knew existed somewhere inside of him would emerge once she gave herself to him. Perhaps it would just take more time…
She pushed the thought aside and focused on the more pressing matter at hand. "Pidge," she said softly, meeting her young friend's eyes, "Where are the lions and the keys?"
He reached into his pocket and retrieved the lion keys in his possession, and handed them to Allura. They were still warm as she uncurled her fingers and looked down at the three keys he had given her, the golden metal in their crests glistening against the colors inlaid in the design under the lighting of the control room. She blinked as she stared at them. Something was not right…
"Only three?" Lotor growled suspiciously, eyeing the keys in her hands like a prize. "You have the key to the black lion, Allura, but there are four other lions. Does this mean the key to the blue lion was destroyed in its crash?"
It was then that Allura pieced together what was off. The three keys she held were to the green, yellow, and blue lions—it was the red one was missing. She rubbed her index finger against the coloring on the blue lion key and murmured, "But this is the blue lion key…"
"What?" It was only when Allura saw Lotor's eyes grow wide in outrage that she realized belatedly that she had just made a grave error in judgment musing that aloud where he could hear her. In a flash Lotor drew his light sword and held it against Pidge's throat. In that instant Nanny screamed and grasped Coran's arm while he in turn gasped in horror. Pidge himself went numb with fear as the deadly blade came at him and the ominous glow of its radiation tingled against his skin. He closed his eyes to brace himself for the inevitable…
"Lotor, no!" the horrified Allura shrieked.
Lotor's hand was stilled only because the shrill protest of his precious Allura gave him pause—for the moment. "We gave them the benefit of our trust, Allura; a day to leave the planet and turn over the keys. In return he tries to fool us by giving us a key to a lion that's destroyed while hiding one to a lion that isn't?" His voice snarled with unbridled contempt and accusation. "You have exactly one chance to explain yourself, space explorer, before I give you the only fit punishment for a traitorous rebel citizen." He enunciated the last word with enough sarcasm and venom that if it were tangible it would curdle milk.
"Lotor!" Allura's voice grew teary, and she faced Pidge with a pleading look that silently bade him to cooperate and tell Lotor what he wanted to hear. With each passing moment she had less faith that the sway of her affection could save her friend's life if Lotor was provoked into a rage, and it frightened her. If she would ever be able to bring out the goodness in Lotor, it was clear from that display that her work was cut out for her. "Pidge…"
The green lion pilot took a steadying breath and opened his eyes, facing the angry Doom prince holding him at sword point. "I don't have it," the shaken Pidge said, and pulled out his pockets to prove that they were empty. "If I had it I'd give it to you, Princess. You know that. But I don't. Lance took it with him."
Upon hearing that, Lotor let out an unintelligible growl of fury and swung his blade wildly, not at Pidge directly, although he still ducked out of the way and skittered back a few feet regardless. Lotor reined in his temper enough to stop him, however, and roughly grabbed Pidge by the arm. "Where is he?"
"Don't hurt him!" Allura pleaded, her eyes shining with tears of both frustration and fear. "Lotor, if you—"
"I won't kill him," Lotor seethed furiously, "but if he continues to lie and play games with me he'll wish he was dead." He stared Pidge down with a deadly glare. "For Allura, I'm sparing you, but don't test me. Tell me where the red lion is, now!"
"He left in the red lion and didn't come back," Pidge answered with angry honesty. "He didn't tell me or the others where he was going."
The furious Lotor tightened his grip dangerously, while Pidge's eyes darted in Allura's direction with renewed urgency.
"Lotor, please!" Allura insisted.
With an even angrier scowl, Lotor then threw the boy backward and glared at him with unmitigated hatred.
Allura ran to his side to help him back to his feet. "Pidge, where did they go? Just tell us what happened."
Thoroughly worn and disgusted, Pidge looked down. "Lance was upset, Princess; real upset." He sighed. "We all were. But Lance more so than the others. He lost his temper and took off in the red lion before any of us could stop him." He looked up again and met her gaze. "Keith and Hunk didn't want to break their word to you to leave the lions so they waited for a transport ship from Galaxy Garrison."
"How convenient," Lotor seethed. "If they're so honor-bound to their word, why didn't they try harder to stop the red lion pilot?"
"You've obviously never tried stopping Lance when he's got his mind set on something," Pidge snapped in Lotor's direction, emboldened with Allura's buffering presence and the fact that Lotor was no longer physically holding him in a death grip.
"Lance is very headstrong, Lotor," Allura said with a nod. "He was probably halfway down the chute before they even had a chance to react."
"They left in the Galaxy Garrison ship this morning," Pidge finished, and straightened out his sleeve before meeting Allura's gaze with renewed determination. It occurred to him that if that confrontation in the control room of the Castle of Lions was a taste of what Allura's marriage to Lotor had let Arus in for, Keith's decision to leave one of the team behind—even if he was that one—was a sound one. Coran, Nanny, all of Arus, and especially Allura herself, Pidge realized sadly, would need all the friends they could get. "You know Lance wouldn't steal from you, Princess. He's just angry."
Lotor's eyes narrowed; he was not swayed by the green lion pilot's account. "But he has stolen from her. The Voltron lions are now her property, and that was made clear to all of you back on Doom."
"Do you know where they went, Pidge?" Allura asked. "Did they tell you?"
"Why did you stay anyway?" Lotor demanded suspiciously, and joined his wife's side.
"Because I could," Pidge retorted in a moment of glib defiance that would have made Lance proud had he been there to witness it. He softened his tone slightly and then added with a glance at Allura, "And because she's my friend, and because they are." He gestured to Coran and Nanny. "Arus is my home now, so I'm not going to leave it, even if you are sinking your paws into it."
The prince's lips curled into a superior sneer. "How very loyal of you." He stood over Pidge and stared him down, regarding him as an insect he would just as soon squash under his boot. "So long as you, like Coran and the others, remember your place, space explorer. I'm warning you just once—betray Allura's trust and you'll pay the price."
Pidge adjusted his glasses and glared back at the prince. "I'm not a two-faced liar," he said bluntly, and then added under his breath, "Hard a concept that is for you to get."
With each word out of the former green lion pilot's mouth, Lotor found his word to Allura that he would not kill Pidge increasingly cumbersome, although he still would not break it. Sheathing his light blade back in its hilt in frustration, Lotor glowered more intensely at the space explorer. "You know where they went," he challenged. "I don't believe for a minute that your Voltron Force friends would leave one of their own without a forwarding address." The Doom prince's accusatory look passed to Nanny and Coran, coming to a rest on the latter. "And you know too, don't you?"
Coran straightened staunchly and interlaced his fingers as he answered Arus' new prince consort. "Before Lance left, they had planned to go to Pollux. I assure you that we have no idea where Lance took the red lion, and we've put the word out to notify us if it's spotted. We want it back in the hands of its rightful owner on its home world as much as you do." He gestured to the console. "If you don't wish to take my word for it however, feel free to verify it with Galaxy Garrison yourself… though I would recommend you make the call, Princess, considering our Prince Consort is an escaped convict to them."
Allura shook her head. "That won't be necessary Coran."
"Pollux." Lotor's eyes lit up in pleasant anticipation of going to hunt down a rogue Voltron Force member somewhere he was not honor-bound by word to Allura to keep his temper in check. "Then that's where we'll look first." He started for the door, and Allura followed on his heels.
"Wait, Lotor. I'm going with you! I need to get that key," she asserted.
Lotor stopped, and smiled at her as she joined his side. Though he knew it would not be a pleasant mission for her to see him annihilate one of her former teammates, it was her decision and he respected her enough to allow her to accompany him if that was what she wanted. "Of course, my dear."
"I don't want you to hurt Lance. I want to talk to him myself. This has all been a misunderstanding."
At that Lotor could not help but scoff with laughter. "A misunderstanding. Yes, a misunderstanding that will be settled by any means necessary," he said, echoing Zarkon's words.
The reference was not lost on Allura, and determinedly she slid the other lion keys into her pocket. "It won't come to that, Lotor. I'm sure he'll give me the key."
"I hope for your sake, Allura, that you're right." His eyes burned with unspent cruel intent. "Because if he doesn't…"
"He will."
Right? A tiny voice inside the princess questioned.
But as she and Lotor walked out the door and back to the ship that they had left Doom together in, however, Allura was not so certain. Like so much else she had lost faith and trust in during recent times, she had the depressing thought that there was precious little she could be sure about anymore.
Before long Lotor and Allura were back amidst the stars in space, flying in the ship they had left Doom in together en route to Pollux. Allura was heartsick over all that had happened—the tense reception back in the Castle of Lions, the ugly confrontation between Lotor and Pidge, the fact that Lance was angry enough to fly off to who knew where in one of the lions putting Arus in an even more precarious position politically, and not knowing where the others had gone or what they were doing.
It seemed to Allura that everything that could have gone wrong did, and all she had wanted to do was save Lotor from death, just as he had done for her. It occurred to the princess that in a way she was being forced to endure her own trial, just as Lotor had when he had made the decision to save her from his robeast, except it was not her physical life at stake but seemingly everything else about her life as she knew it. And like Lotor, she had gambled it all for love… perhaps not the same obsessive and lustful feeling that had driven him, but for a love of what could and should be, a love rooted in kindness and compassion. Ironically, when she thought about it, in its way it was no less selfish an act than Lotor's in that it was the fact that she could not bear the guilt on her conscience that ultimately drove her to do what she had. That realization startled her, and widened the door for further self-doubt to creep in. Allura did not know what to think any longer. She longed for the days when what was right and wrong and who was good and evil were cut and dried. Dealing in ever-shifting shades of gray was confusing and distressing, and she hated it.
"Planet Pollux, there it is," Lotor said, bringing the image of the world's sphere into the viewscreen and interrupting her from her dejecting chain of thought. A cruel smile tugged at the edge of his lips. "And the energy signature of the red lion has been detected. We've found them."
Noting how far they were from the planet's surface and that the ship's technology could still spot the lions startled Allura a bit. Doom's technology was more advanced than that of Arus—not by leaps and bounds, but definitely ahead even without the benefit of the ten years to improve they gained by destroying any centers of research and development on Arus during the war—but it occurred to her only then that a little bit could make a big difference. She thanked the divine for Voltron once more, for it was clear that without him they would have been at Zarkon's mercy long ago. She kept that thought to herself, however, along with the one that followed it—that it felt very odd to be at the side of the man who had led so many attacks on her, her friends, and her world from that same vantage point.
"Where?"
Lotor entered a short sequence on the console and brought up a closer image, an all-too-familiar one that made Allura's heart ache at the sight. It was Castle Pollux, standing proudly amidst the lush green fields against a peaceful blue sky. The first time I saw it they were our enemies and had been for generations. Then things changed and they became one of our strongest allies and best friends. Romelle and Bandor are like family, they are family distantly enough, Allura thought wistfully as her eyes grew misty again. She prayed that they still would be, but an inner voice of intuition warned her to not expect as friendly a welcome as she might have just a few days prior, especially not in Lotor's ship.
That point was driven home a moment later when a searing blast of laser fire erupted around them, blinding the viewscreen for a moment and filling the bridge with the sounds of battle. If Lotor was concerned about it, however, he did not show it and instead he laughed. "Fools. Do they think I'd fly onto their happy little world without my shields rasied?" He then returned the fire, targeting Castle Pollux.
"Lotor, please don't—"
"They fired first, Allura."
"I know," she replied with a frown, "but they don't know I'm here and why we're here. We need to open up communications and talk to them! They probably think you're just another slave ship."
Slavery is too good for the likes of Princess Romelle, Bandor, and their Voltron Force friends, Lotor thought viciously, but he left it unexpressed aside from a dark twinkle in his yellow eyes. "Very well." He gestured to the console. "Call them, my dear, and open up diplomatic relations."
Allura nodded and pressed the button. "Calling Castle Pollux. Come in Castle Pollux. Please—this is Princess Allura. Don't fire. We aren't here to cause trouble." The laser fire ceased, and Allura's hopes rose when the image of Prince Bandor came on screen. "Bandor! It's—"
"You've got a lot of nerve coming here, Princess Allura." Bandor's angry look and hostile tone caught the princess off guard. The last time I saw him look at me like that was when we first went to Pollux, when we were enemies…
"Bandor, Lotor and I—"
"Lotor," he said furiously, "How could you marry him, Allura? After all he did, all the people he hurt, what he did to our world, your own world, to Romelle, to Avok and my father!"
Allura felt a fresh surge of emotion. "I know you probably don't understand…"
Eyes burning, the young Polluxian prince stared at the Arusian princess incredulously. "You're damn right I don't understand!"
Allura was taken aback to hear the normally well-spoken Bandor curse, while Lotor found it amusing. "Tsk-tsk little boy, I don't think your governess would like to hear you speaking such a way to a princess."
"Shut up!" he hollered with a glower at Lotor before turning back to Allura. "How could you do it?" he asked again, a highly emotional note creeping into his angry words. "You turned your backs on us, Allura, for him? For the man who killed my father and brother, who raped my sister, who hurt Sven so bad he nearly lost his mind?"
"Your sister was lucky to be so much as touched by me, and a fool to reject me," Lotor sneered at the boy prince. "And Sven? Please. Mogor was the one who threw that wretch into the Pit of Skulls, and if he wasn't already dead, I'd have him shot for his incompetence in not finishing off a Voltron pilot when he had the chance."
Allura was too stunned at the hurtful words from Bandor to even realize that Lotor never denied doing something so heinous to Romelle or the implied vicious intent toward Voltron Force members. "Bandor, please," Allura said softly. "I know you're angry, and I don't blame you. But I promise I never turned my back on any of you."
"No?" Bandor challenged. "What do you call throwing Keith, Hunk, and Lance off of Arus? What do you call taking their lions?"
"Keeping them out of Zarkon's hands!" the frustrated Allura responded. "I kept the lions and made Zarkon promise not to use them. Lotor too!"
"Oh yeah, their promises are good for a lot, aren't they?" retorted the young prince. "Ask my father; ask Avok how good their word is! Oh yeah, you can't because one was driven out of his mind and one's dead! Because of them!" He sounded angrier than Allura had ever heard him, and as his young eyes blazed with that hatred directed at her it felt like a knife through her heart. "I guess it's as good as your word." He looked down, utterly disgusted. "Maybe our ancestors had the right idea about Arus and its people after all."
Tears spilled down Allura's cheeks. "You can't mean that, Bandor." When he said nothing and only glowered back at her with the same hateful resolve, she forced herself to regain composure. "I'm sorry you feel that way."
"Yeah," he said coldly, with more than a small measure of hurt in his young voice. "Me too."
He's young and impulsive, Allura tried to tell herself. Maybe Romelle will understand better… she's older…and we're much closer…
"May I speak with Romelle?"
At that Bandor's head whipped back up. "Romelle doesn't want to talk to a traitor like you any more than I or the others do. Maybe less. After all, what is there to say to a 'friend' who'd marry the monster that raped her, killed her family, and attacked her planet?"
Allura blinked with a fresh wave of shock at hearing Bandor call her such. "I care about you and Romelle very much, Bandor, whether you believe it or not!" she said hotly as new tears welled up in her eyes despite her best attempts at not crying. "It had nothing to do with you! I couldn't watch Lotor die!"
Lotor scowled as he beheld Allura's distress, both because he genuinely did not like seeing her so unhappy and because he loathed the one who made her feel that way. In his mind, that was why he should have come without Allura and she should be at home on Doom or at least back in her own Castle of Lions, away from those who would cause her pain. It was also why he felt he should be allowed to eviscerate those who would put her in such a state. While it would hurt her temporarily, it would ensure they would never do so again. He walked over to his beloved and put an arm around her shoulders. "Love like Allura's is something rare and to be treasured. You're an even bigger fool to scorn it, and her."
"You said the others," Allura said numbly. "Do you mean Sven feels that way, or are Keith, Lance, and Hunk there too?"
Ignoring Lotor, Bandor replied flatly, "What do you think? I told the Voltron Force they're welcome here anytime, a place with real friends that won't turn their back on them."
"Good," Lotor cut in sternly, "Because we're here to take the red lion that Lance 'borrowed' back. Since clearly, someone so righteous and moral as a member of the Voltron force would not steal it from its rightful owner, Princess Allura."
Bandor scowled. "You won't land on this planet if it takes every last blast the castle has to keep you off of it."
Lotor's eyebrow rose and he reached for the console. "That could be arranged."
"No!"
"They've had their chance for peace, Allura. They're stealing it from you, reneging on their bargain, on terms you gave in good faith."
Allura rushed forward and slammed her hand down on the panel, wedging herself between it and Lotor. She faced the viewscreen desperately. "Bandor, please. We'll just take the lion and go. I'll come out alone, Lotor will stay here, and Lance can give me the key. Then we'll leave. You won't have to talk to us again if that's what you want, and we won't come back. I promise."
The Polluxian prince let out a hollow laugh. "Yeah. You promise. Lotor made promises too. I hope for your sake his to you are better than the ones he made to us."
Lotor drummed his finger impatiently. "It's your choice, Bandor. You can meet with Allura peacefully and give her the key to the red lion, or we can level Castle Pollux."
Bandor stiffened and his face darkened with renewed hatred. "Try it. You've got one ship, a small one, and we have the castle defenses, the backing of the Galaxy Alliance, and the red lion. You know how well a dinky ship like that will stand up to one of them."
"Please!" Allura pleaded desperately, trying in vain to appeal to both of them and keep things from escalating. "Bandor—"
"Enough lying, Allura!" Bandor slammed his hands down. "You might've fooled me in the past, or who knows, maybe you really do think Lotor's telling the truth—but either way, I know how Lotor operates and I'm not going to just hand him one of Voltron's lions. He's gotten enough help enslaving Alliance people with you selling out Arus and what's left of Voltron to him. Planet Pollux isn't going to be a party to that."
"Very well, little boy," Lotor said icily. "Have it your way."
"Better mine than yours," the young prince snapped in retort. "Now get off my planet!" He pressed a button on his own console and the screen went black, the communication terminated from his end. A moment later the sky around them lit up in a brilliant barrage of laser fire aimed directly at their ship.
Allura screamed as their ship's shields took several direct hits and the bridge shook with enough force to cause her to stumble and fall to the floor. Lotor also nearly lost his footing, but not enough to keep him from sending a volley of fire back at them.
"What are we going to do?" the distraught Allura cried out. She did not know what to think; something she had thought inconceivable—one of her trusted friends knowingly and deliberately opening fire on her—had just happened, and she was alone with Lotor wondering if they would survive it. How could this happen? Allura thought gloomily. How could Bandor, how could Romelle, how could Sven, Hunk, Lance, Keith… do that to her? Or was it just Bandor acting alone in the heat of anger? I can't believe my friends ever would…
Maybe they couldn't believe you would either, a cold and pragmatic inner voice inside her spoke up.
No! I won't believe that! My friends, Keith, they wouldn't! Allura's optimistic side argued vehemently.
While the princess inwardly debated with herself and pleaded for answers from the ethereal, Lotor checked the ship's defense readings. "The little twerp was right," he said with a scowl. "Castle Pollux has strengthened its defenses since we last made any moves here." He quickly keyed in a sequence, steadying himself against the console as they endured another vicious round of fire that decreased their shields by another twenty percent. "We have to retreat. But don't worry, we'll be back, and we'll get that lion." His voice took on an edge as sharp as a steel blade as he then added once again in his father's exact words, "By any means necessary."
Unsteadily getting back on her feet as their ship blasted out of Pollux's atmosphere and back into the safety of deep space, Allura said with a note of dread in her voice, "You don't mean…"
"Oh yes I do," Lotor said with a fierce determination Allura could tell instantly it would do her no good to argue with. It was the same way he had in the past spoken of how she would be his bride and would be at his side, whether she liked it or not, and how he had spoken to her when he had taken her captive against her will to achieve that goal. How ironic, she mused in a brief and woeful moment.
"Lotor…"
Doom's prince bent down and tenderly lifted his wife to her feet. "There's no choice, Allura. Bandor made his decision to perpetrate an act of war on us."
Allura sighed in Lotor's arms and looked down. "I know it looks that way, but—"
"But nothing." Lotor tipped her chin up to meet his eyes, burning with intensity. "They stole the lion from you. If they meant to give it back, they would have taken the chance you kindly gave them."
"Yes but maybe…"
Lotor's gaze intensified in challenge. "Maybe what? What was there to misunderstand, Allura? They opened fire. Your friends have turned their backs on you, violated your trust. They are unworthy, meaningless."
Allura found herself struggling not to cry again. "I never wanted it to be like this, Lotor! They're my friends! I don't want to hurt them."
He smoothed a gloved hand down her back. "And that is why you, my beauty, are superior to them. They don't deserve your compassion."
She choked out a rueful laugh through the tears that spilled down her cheeks. "That's what they all said about you."
Lotor smiled, a smug and victorious smile, and pulled her close. "And I thank the gods that you didn't listen to those inferior fools." He stroked her hair, pulled back into a bun, lightly with affection. "But you can trust that my love for you will never turn so easily. You know that when I say I'll die for you—I mean it."
As Allura stared back into his eyes and thought about the events that led her to be with Lotor in such a way, she supposed she could not argue with that. In his way, Lotor did love her that fiercely. If only that love had not come at such an awful price…
"I don't want you to kill them…" she whispered, locked in his gaze.
"You have my word that I'll do everything I can to avoid that… but war is unpredictable, Allura. That is the best promise I can make and keep." He pulled her body against his in an embrace.
She sighed against his muscular chest. "There's no other way?"
He broke apart from her and straightened, meeting her gaze with renewed seriousness. "Opening fire on us like that after making a peaceful offer to negotiate the return of property rightfully ours—yours," he amended quickly before she could object, "was an act of war. The Drule Empire will expect nothing less than full retaliation for such an insult. Especially in times they've made grudging concessions of peace to Alliance worlds. It's a blatant slap in the face to those of the council who have condoned the negotiations of individuals such as Hazar and," he added with a slight, almost imperceptible snarl as he said her name, "Merla."
Allura opened her mouth to speak, but Lotor put a finger to her lips. "I know you feel sorry for them, that you feel you were wrong, but that's how they want you to feel, Allura. Guilty. It eases their consciences to pass the blame to you. The simple fact is they took the red lion from you and they won't return it because they don't trust you. They have no faith or trust in you."
"I can't believe that Keith… that Lance and Hunk…"
"Perhaps not them, but Bandor? You saw it for yourself." As she started to turn away, he turned her head back to meet his eyes once more. "There is nothing else we can do but take it by force, Allura, and punish those responsible. I'm sorry."
"The innocent people of Pollux…"
Lotor patted her shoulder reassuringly. "You have my word that I will give orders to strike only military targets—no civilians."
"Just to get the lion back."
"The war council will decide the ultimate ending point," he said, leaving it unspoken that the council was his father, himself, and the upper echelon of the fleet such as Cossack and the high admirals, perhaps with some input from the Drule hierarchy if they wanted to get involved. "But you have my word that I will make your wishes well known and I will speak on your behalf."
Allura withdrew from Lotor's embrace and sat down in one of the seats, overwhelmed with emotion. "I believe you, Lotor, but…" Her voice trailed off as she collected her thoughts. "I just don't know anymore."
He put his hands on her shoulders. "Rest, my love. You've earned it. I'll take us home."
She looked up at him. "To Arus?"
"To Arus," he told her with a reassuring smile. "You will sleep in your bed tonight, secure and peaceful, with the friends that did remain loyal to you." Although Lotor had serious doubts as to whether the former green lion pilot could be trusted, he supposed that there was little harm he could do in a brief time frame and Allura would find his presence comforting. Besides, although Lotor did not like Coran or Nanny, he did believe that the two them and by corollary, the Castle of Lions staff, would remain loyal to Allura ultimately.
That time Allura did notice the subtle implication of Lotor's statement, namely that he did not include himself in it. "What about you?" she queried.
Lotor's eyes widened ever so slightly. "I will go back to Doom. Briefly," he emphasized, and then added, "I need to discuss this with my father personally, and gather the resources needed." He looked at her intently again. "Allura, I trust you will tell me if you hear any news of the red lion and keep me informed?"
She nodded, and Lotor leaned over to kiss her on the lips. "I won't leave you for long." His smile returned as they broke apart. "I want this over as quickly as you do… the sooner we settle things on Arus, the sooner we can begin our lives together the way we dream of."
This isn't what I ever dreamed of, Allura thought wistfully, although a part of her still imagined a pleasant fantasy where Lotor's deeply buried tenderness blossomed into that of a caring, devoted prince of a husband, one who stood beside her on Arus and watched their children play in its green fields. Lotor was not the man of her dreams, but he could be a decent man given the time and chance to distance himself from his father's ways to become one, she believed.
Lotor watched as a faint and hopeful smile tugged at Allura's lips and her tired eyes closed in the chair. "Rest, my dear," he murmured. As he stroked her cheek affectionately, he indulged in his own fantasy about the future with Allura—that of her at his side as the queen of Doom with him as the reigning king, his father and Merla both out of the picture, and his subjects falling at their feet in worshipful adoration wherever they went. Their children would be fine warriors and beautiful princesses, admired by all and feared by some and adored by others. Arus would thrive under Doom's crest, its people finally paying homage to its true rulers, him and Allura, and a haven for them to go to when the dark world of Doom became too much for his Arusian bride.
"All that is due us will come in time," Lotor finished with a self-satisfied smile. As he noted that Allura had already drifted off into sleep, that smile broadened into a bona fide grin. And anyone that stands in our way will live only long enough to regret it.
The End