"Allura, this is little Lotor," Melenor said gently, leading the one-year-old girl to the cradle where the newborn boy was snoring sweetly. The little girl stared at the tiny creature. His purple hands and pointed ears twitched in his sleep. He suddenly stirred and sneezed, slightly startling not only Allura, but himself. In a tick came a deafening cry, and his mother, Honerva, with a smile, took him in her arms and began to rock him.

"What a cutie," said Melenor.

"The future Emperor," Zarkon said proudly.

Allura did not understand a word, she simply clung to the leg of her father, who was standing there, and looked at the boy.

"Hurry up, dear, the guests are already here!" came the voice over the castle loudspeaker.

"I'm coming, daddy!" five-year-old Allura exclaimed. She picked up the toy sword that had been given to her for her birthday and hurried into the living room, where her father, mother, uncle Zarkon and aunt Honerva were already sitting in chairs. Lotor was sitting by an artificial fireplace arranging an army of soldiers that had been given to him for his fourth birthday.

"Hello!" Allura called cheerfully, and sat down opposite him.

"P'incess," he greeted her. The boy looked up at her with large purple eyes. Then he noticed the sword in her hands. "Whoa! May I?"

"Of course!" Allura handed him the sword, and Lotor looked at it from all sides. He jumped up and, imitating dad, made a few awkward movements.

"When I g'ow up, I'll be the best wa'ior in the entire Empire!" stated the boy.

"It will be," Zarkon said confidently. He looked lovingly at his beautiful son. He might be more like his mother in build, but he had more than enough spirit to become a great heir.

"And I'll be the best alchemist on Altea!" Allura said.

Alfor, hearing her words, nodded contentedly and said, not without pride, to the guests:

"She's already showing an aspiration for science."

"Allura! Allura, where are you?" A teenage boy was running through the Castle's passageways.

"Lotor!" The Princess ran out to meet him. "Where are you coming from? I thought you weren't coming back for another day."

She gave him an impulsive hug. When Allura drew back, her eyes shone with the joy of seeing him. There was so much she wanted to tell him. About how dad was teaching her how to handle the quintessence, about how dad was building space lions, and that one day she would be a pilot for one of those lions.

"Yes, we were supposed to arrive later, but I insisted that my father let me go…"

Allura's eyes, already large, widened.

"Let you go? So you came alone?" she couldn't believe it.

"Yes, I passed the pilot's test successfully," Lotor replied with obvious pride.

Allura threw her arms around him again.

"Congratulations!"

"Do you want to fly?"

"Oh, can we?" the Princess almost jumped with delight. "I'll have to ask my dad -"

Lotor took her hand and led her toward the elevator that led to the shuttle bay.

"I have already spoken to King Alfor. He let you go before dinner."

"I can't believe it!" Allura cried, her cheekbones glistening with the marks of the chosen, which were just beginning to gain strength.

"Trust me," Lotor said smugly, leading her to his shuttle. Allura admired the smooth, dark gray covering with purple accents. "Please, come aboard, your Highness."

Lotor bowed playfully, inviting the Princess to board the ship. Allura made a curtsy.

"Thank you, brave knight," and with a laugh she ran up the companionway.

"Do you like it here?" Allura asked Lotor.

They lay in the grass in the middle of a huge meadow far beyond the walls of the capital of Altea. Above them stretched the blue-pink sky, in the green grass were visible red spots of Juniberry flowers. The air smelled warm and sweet. The young man and girl laid on their backs, their hands under their heads, and stared at the clouds. Allura turned eighteen today. Lotor will be seventeen in a week.

"Extremely," — he answered and added in his mind "my Princess".

"What will you do now that your training is almost over?" Allura asked, trying to hide her sadness behind a matter-of-fact tone. Lotor had completed his training at the military Academy, and now he had his own way to go.

"My father wants me to go to Ethera. The people there are wild and uneducated. He wants me to negotiate and invite them to join the Empire. And if they agree, I will stay on this planet for a couple of decafibs to help it reach a new level of development and prosperity."

Lotor fell silent. He did not look at Allura, because he was afraid that if he did, he would have to admit from his heart that he was ready to give up everything if she told him to. The Prince knew that his destiny was to inherit the throne of the Empire. He also knew that Allura had her own Kingdom and Altea. But he could not suppress the hope that his childhood friend would one day sit next to him on the throne.

"Lotor?" Allura turned her head to her friend, and he looked into her eyes for the first time in the past varga, as they lay there talking.

"What, Princess?"

"I... I -" she stopped and turned away, closing her eyes.

"You'll miss me?" Lotor helped her.

"With all my heart," she whispered.

The Prince paused for a moment, then raised himself resolutely on one elbow and looked directly at Allura.

"You don't have to miss me or be sad about me. You can come with me! Let's go! There is a lot of work for alchemists there. Together we can enlighten a planet that is lagging behind our own. What do you say? Will you come?"

"Do you really want me to do this? To be there with you?" Allura raised herself on one elbow too and looked hopefully into Lotor's eyes.

"More than anything," he said quietly. The marks of the chosen glittered on his cheekbones, and Allura reached out and stroked them with her finger.

Lotor plucked one of the flowers and stared at it for a long time.

"They're my favorite," Allura said. He looked up at her and reached out to put a flower in her hair. The Princess smiled at him shyly, embarrassed by his touch.

Lotor looked at her again and moved to her. Allura leaned forward timidly. The ticks ticked inexorably, and the distance between them became less and less. Until at last Lotor covered Allura's lips with his own, kissing her for the first time.