Allura sighed as she brought her lion to rest in the hanger bay. The day was far from over, but things were starting to make sense now. That much was a huge relief.
She looked up from her pilot's seat and stretched her arms high, brushing Lotor's hands with her own. They had been through quite the ordeal and she was suddenly lightyears closer to the prince. The thought made her smile and that smile lit up when he quickly upturned his palms to lightly catch her grasp and give it a squeeze.
The warm, light feeling that the princess was growing so fond of came back. She sighed again and leaned forward. Emotions and all the reactions that had been previously quelled with adrenaline were piling upon her like tetris.
It was clear something similar was happening to him, because he moved beside her and leaned carefully on the armrest. His gold eyes stared off into the vast star-scape for a long time. Minutes rolled by but the princess was content. She cared not what the other paladins would think at her tarrying. Lotor's heavy presence was uncharacteristically calm. It was a rarity.
She thought back over to their time in the netherworld. She had never encountered anything like it before. And neither had Lotor.
She remembered the Altean mystic he had killed. She understood the reasoning behind the decision, yet it still tore at her heart. Now, in the clarity of hindsight, she was not even certain the mage had been real. Everyone is dead, she thought glumly. Still, there was an iota of hope.
That hope felt like a tether holding her back from forgiving him. The Altean was one of her people. He only held half the right… She sighed. The familiar pang of loneliness marred the silence.
A lingering memory tugged at her consciousness. Words clear yet unrecognisable echoed through her mind in the same manner they had during the fight with the wraith. You are weak.
He had heard them as well, though she doubted she could get him to admit it. Because she had witnessed the terror stir in his eyes when the words ripped through the wildness. Not only that, but she had sensed the despair recoil within him.
Another sting of pain shot through her. He is too far gone. How do you help someone, something so broken? It is folly.
On a whim, she reached out and rubbed his forearm. He still came in after you, she thought.
"Lotor," she started.
There. That fear came back into his eyes, but he buried the feelings so deeply the insight was only a flash. He met her gaze and she had no idea what she had meant to say. The words were gone now.
He smiled at her. The tense unsurety was back in his body language.
She was operating on quickly falling emotions. She wondered if she was taking advantage of this. How did it end up like this so fast? Allura tilted her head up, completing a kiss as he brushed so close. She wanted to breathe in his strength. She desperately wished she possessed its immense depth. She wanted him to crush her in a warm, sturdy embrace, wrapping her with his thick arms and enveloping her with his scent.
He tenderly broke the kiss after several long seconds. Allura instantly felt cold. Indeed, how did it come to this?
"Let us go," he said. "The paladins are waiting."
XxX
Shiro crossed his arms tightly. He did not remove his gaze from the prince as he spoke. "Let me get this straight. You and Lotor entered a magical realm, defeated an insane Altean who created all of this for the Galra war machine, and then teleported your physical body to Planet 1 from the Castle of Lions?" He finally broke the eye contact to look at the princess, whom he was addressing.
"Its Euro 1," Pidge corrected from the back.
"I just want to know how you escaped again," Lance said not hiding his contempt for Lotor.
Shiro sighed, as if he were about to reprimand the children he never had. "And what did we gain from this?" The question was totally rhetorical, so he did not expect an answer.
"I actually did learn something." Allura glanced at Lotor for a brief second before meeting each paladin's gaze. "When I was opening the wormhole during our escape, I saw the plans of the Altean. I was shown a vision. I know how the alchemist terraformed the planets. This knowledge could bring dead planets back to life. If we partnered the technology with that of a race like the olkari… I think we may be able to start healing the wounds we have caused."
"That's after we win the war," Lotor added. Pieces fell into place effortlessly as the stages for his revolution twined with this new information. "With such a hope, more peoples will be willing to sacrifice towards victory. The galra, once united with an unlimited source of energy and a hope for our planet's return…" He paused and met Allura's eyes. "Both of our planets… We will finally have peace and a reborn home."
The mention of the olkari immediately piqued Pidge's interest. "I'm sure the olkari would be interested."
"That doesn't solve our current issues concerning the Galra. Like what are we going to do with Commander Vos?" Coran hazarded. "At least now I believe Captain Yurn is done with us."
Allura bit her lip. Shiro responded. "We definitely need to get out of the sector. Yurn is starting to be a " –
Lotor interrupted. "Word of my father's demise must have spread quickly, far faster than I had anticipated. If we do not act quickly the generals will fall into civil war and we will be dealing with a fragmented empire of extreme independents. I must take the throne."
Lance sputtered, "Oh, I don't think so!"
"Uh yeah…" Pidge stiffened. "I'm with Lance on this one."
Hunk nodded agreement while Shiro's mouth wrenched into a supressed scowl and Coran's moustache ruffled.
Shiro's single word answer was a shot fired. "No." The man was starting to get a headache.
A burst of anger ignited, exacerbated by Allura's already strong personality. "We knew this was going to happen when we agreed to work with Lotor. He is our best option to step towards peace rather than annihilation of the Galra. I don't like it either but until an alternative presents itself, we only have this to work with."
Her words cut more deeply than Lotor had anticipated. After all that?! His ire sparked only briefly. To hell with this relationship. He quelled the voice with difficulty, keeping an impassive face. Watch and wait, he told himself.
"Allura, he is the son of Zarkon. He is literally the best candidate for next Galran dictator not saviour," Hunk said.
Allura sensed Lotor's presence nosedive. One moment, he was steady, firm, and deathly determined now a heavy block cut her off from his aura. She felt the ice she had experienced earlier in the Blue lion come to mind. His face remained stoic, as if carved from stone. Careful not to fall to a single side, she replied. "He is not full Galra." The prince's reaction was reasonable. "He is also Altean."
The statement affected Lance the most, as Allura had expected. She noticed the boy run the words through his mind. It made him hesitate before saying, "How do we know the Galra will even accept Lotor?"
Finally, Lotor intervened. The tension was thick. He regulated his voice well, but his words remained sharp. "I defeated Zarkon. My lineage is a hindrance, yes in their eyes, but not to me. Battle is the fire through which all Emperors are chosen." His eyes hardened with centuries of memory. "No one can match me in single combat. They will be forced to accept the strongest leader. Tradition and the law of combat demands it.
Annoyance peaked under Shiro's skin. A cold sweat wracked his body and he suddenly felt horrifically nauseated. The sensation scared him. He hated being afraid, so he took control of the situation. "I don't want to hear any more of this."
"When this started, you promised you would work towards peace," Lotor seethed. His patience was being tested. Being so exhausted from the netherworld he and Allura had just fought through did not help in the slightest. Silence. Patience. Wait for your time to come. She is playing both sides. Her support now bolstered his resolve.
Shiro ignored the Galra prince. "We need to leave this sector. Plot a course for Commander Vos' sector and help him secure it. Nothing is being decided now."
"You will not gain their trust with a false Emperor. I must validate myself."
Shiro stared into Lotor's eyes. The man's steel gaze was unsteady. Human sweat tinged the austere air of the castle. Lotor filed the information away.
Finally, the black paladin ordered, "You are dismissed, Lotor. We'll discuss this later."