Serenity marveled at the feel of Princess Allura's plush bed. The Altean's room was painted in a lavender coat and the moon princess couldn't help but agree that lavender fit the royal very well. The room she resided in was much larger than Shiro's room; the grandeur of it very fitting for royalty. The ceiling seemed to be miles high and a chandelier hung from the apex.
The Lunarian lifted her finger to let the small mice-like creatures smell her scent. Although animals were rare on the moon, her tutors would tell her many stories of creatures across the galaxy. Since Earth had been the closest to her satellite planet, she was most familiar with the animals there. How she longed to see those animals with her own eyes one day. For now though, she enjoyed the small squeaks of the mice next to her as she waited for Princess Allura.
Allura was standing in a closet paces away from the bed. She shuffled through the variety of dresses but could find nothing befitting of her Lunarian counterpart.
Growing slightly frustrated she said, "It seems none of my clothes will fit your smaller frame. It would not do well for you to trip over your own feet every time you tried to walk. I suppose I could have Coran tailor a dress here and there."
The blonde girl held up her hands in worry, "oh no! I would not want you to go through the trouble. I will simply wear anything offered to me. The kindness you have offered me has been more than enough."
An idea sprouted in Allura's mind and she clasped her hands in front of her in excitement. Running across the room to a door that Serenity had not yet noticed, Allura yelled, "How could I forget about that?!"
The doors open to allow the Altean royal to enter its dark chambers. The dark-skinned princess motioned for Serenity to follow her and the latter quickly acquiesced. Once she entered, the moon princess furrowed her brows in confusion at the sight of nothingness in the room. It was an all consuming darkness. Even while her eyes adjusted to the lack of light, she still could identify nothing in the room. Suddenly the door closed behind her and panic clawed at her throat. The nothingness reminded her too much of her time in the holding cell. Unfortunately, Allura could not sense the Lunarian's anxiety rising.
Not a moment too soon, a turquoise light grew in front of them. Now both princesses could see one another and the smaller of the two grew less nervous at the reassuring sight of her new friend.
The white-haired beauty gave the blonde occupant a big smile, "one of the benefits of being a princess, other than the lovely paperwork and the mindless council meetings, are the clothes." The girls chuckled in unison. Allura beamed; having another princess on board was even better than she thought.
The heir to the Altean castle continued, "this chamber can create anything you imagine. In layman's terms, it is the transfer of ideas from your mind to the space you exist in. It's a technology only the castle makers understood in its entirety, so I think Coran can explain it better than I can. Simply think of any dress you fancy and it will come into existence. But you have to be very detailed in your commands. Now, think about any outfits you have worn in the past or any you would have always love to wear."
Outfit ideas flooded the young princess's mind and she could not contain the smile spreading across her face as she closed her eyes. However, her eyebrows quickly furrowed in confusion. Now that she had the freedom to wear anything she could ever want, she was in a bit of a loss. Countless times she had perused Earthlings' magazines and marveled at the style her neighbors underneath had worn. Thinking back on it though, the styles might have been a bit outdated. There were many what the Earthline called "leopard-prints" clothing and pants that flared out at the ankles. Without meaning to, she wondered what Shiro might have thought about any Earth outfits she would choose. What if she embarrassed herself in front of him by wearing something ridiculous? At this point she didn't even know what was considered ridiculous or anachronistic.
Taking a few deep breaths to calm her overactive mind, she let her thoughts ponder to what she was familiar with: simply the Lunarian style. Although the everyday outfits for the moon citizens were more bland and even a bit constricting, the style still committed a sense of home. Her mind moved to the outfit she had to wear almost every day since she was little, the royal Lunarian princess garb. It was a soft white dress in which golden platelets hugged her chest and a line of pearls underlined the bottom of her breasts. From that point on, a long skirt with infinite ruffles fluttered just above her ankles. Behind her, a butterfly-like bow fluttered into existence. It was comfortable enough as an everyday dress, but elegant enough to befit her princess status.
It was a wonderful, familiar feeling to be in a dress she regularly donned back in her days on the moon kingdom. The familiarity of the cloth and the way it hugged her body washed her with a pleasant warmth that she had long forgotten.
As the light subsided, no longer stood a girl in a tattered dress. Once Allura opened her eyes, she was greeted with the true visage of Princess Serenity of the Lunarian Kingdom in all her glory. She was beautiful, framed by her golden silken hair in her flowing, impeccable white dress. Serenity, too, could only stare at her reflection in the mirror the room had provided. This was how she looked the last time her mother saw her. The last time any of the Lunar residents saw her. Once the two royals left the room, Princess Serenity drew Allura into a tight hug and thanked her with all her heart.
"Thank you! Thank you! This means so much to me. I will never forget your kindness for light years to come!" The Altean woman smiled and returned the embrace.
"It was no problem. Just a favor from one friend to another." The moon princess started tearing up once more at the mention of friend. Other than Shura, she could not think of another friend from her kingdom. All the Lunar residents only considered her royalty and were daunted by her presence no matter how many times she tried to assure them that she was just like them.
Princess Allura drew back a bit and looked into the other girl's face. She could see the tears starting to form, daring to break free. Cautiously, she said, "now, please tell me your story."
With a withering breath, Serenity nodded and the Altean princess led her Lunar counterpart to sit on the bed. Immediately, the moon lady poured out her heart to Allura. She spoke of the peaceful days on the moon. What it had been like before her coronation. How blindsided they were of the Galra impending attack. How Serenity lost everything except Shura in a second, and how she lost her last protector in the next. She relayed her experience as a forgotten prisoner on the Galran ship, left to die of starvation, only able to wait for her suffering to end. It was frustrating to have to relive her pain, especially her helplessness in all this. She could only be a spectator in the tragedies afflicted on her.
Hesitating, she began her tale of her failed plan of attack against Shiro. Although she knew it was not the best way to get on the right foot with her rescuers, she profusely apologized as she had not known what truly happened on the battle arena with the then-Champion. At this point, she had drawn her gaze downwards to her hands, tangling her fingers in her dress, too ashamed to face the Altean princess. Lashes caught her tears before letting them fall once more. Before she knew it, the other princess drew her in to another comforting embrace. She could feel dampness growing on her shoulders where Allura placed her face.
"None of this was your fault. The Galra are the only culprits. Although you acted out in anger, I can see now that you had not meant to do any harm. I, along with Coran and the Paladins, will offer you protection from the Galra and avenge your kingdom as well as mine."
The two princesses sat there, comforted by the warmth of the other's embrace. It had been a long time for the both of them since they had felt the pleasantness and ease of a friendship such as this.
With quite a bit of time before the Paladins would finish their morning training, the two princesses shifted the mood by reminiscing of brighter days of both kingdoms. Hours passed without each girl's notice. For the first time since the Altean princess had awoken from her hibernation did she not feel that time was of the essence. It was the first time she could actually breathe and relish in the fact that she was alive once more after a seemingly endless ten millenia slumber.
"Once, when I was at my wits end because Coran would not stop trying to shove my nose into an astrology textbook, I put the hidden tracker that he did not think I knew about on a castle space mouse. I had Coran running up and down the castle looking for me," Allura paused to laugh," he even tore down one of the castle walls once the mouse ran to hide in there!"
The two princesses burst into guffaws. Serenity replied in between giggles, "that does not seem half as bad as the time I covered my hair and face in space dust and hid in one of the moon's crater. My plan backfired though when I found that I could not climb back up the crater's slope. And my camoflauge was a bit to good as none of our castle's aerial search personnel could find me! It wasn't until I started wailing that my cries reverberated in the crater and alerted the castle people of my whereabouts. Afterwards, my ears practically caved in on itself due to the tongue lashing I received from both my mother and Shura."
Allura laughed and after a bit paused to ask a question, "Oh, you could hear sounds on the moon? That's interesting. I thought since the moon did not have an atmosphere, sound could not travel."
The moon princess was just about to give a detailed explanation about how the anatomy of Lunarian's ears allowed them to be sensitive to sounds in space when Coran's voice interrupted her.
"Oooh, Princesses! The Paladins have finished their morning training! Lunch has been prepared. Please meet in the dining room." Coran's accented voice flowed through the speakers.
Both Princesses rose from the bed and smoothed out the wrinkles in their dresses. They made their way out of Allura's room and down the hall toward the dining room. Serenity quietly behind the heels of the other princess as she had not familiarized herself with the layout of the castle. When they reached the doorway, Allura turned around and held out a hand for the princess.
The princess accepted the gesture warmly and the two walked through the door hand-in-hand.
"Announcing the lovely Princess of the Moon Kingdom, Princess Serenity," Allura declared to the room. It was an introduction the Moon Princess was quite familiar with from her days at the castle. She took her hand from her new friend and grab the sides of her dress, and curtsied as gracefully, the movement practiced for years under the careful eye of Shura. Slowly, she rose and faced the room with her shoulders pulled back and her eyes strong and unyielding. Although she was a bit nervous, she would be a disgrace to the her mother and Shura if she showed it.
Shiro was knocked breathless by the sight of Serenity. No longer a girl in a tattered dress, she was like a being ascended from the heavens in her pristine white gown. A pink blush caressed her cream skin, making the pallid girl he found on the Galran shipwreck seem like another person. The upturned crescent moon proudly glinted under the castle lights.
Two rivers of gold cascaded along her back and almost touched the floor. How he wished to run his fingers through those silky locks. As Serenity slowly rose from her deep bow-a sign of respect for the Paladins, Shiro could admire her visage for all its worth. He did not know where to look as his eyes roamed her face to her chest, an area he would never admit aloud to, and the dress that flared out at her waist and now covered her silky legs that were previously exposed by her tattered dress. Her lips had an alluring glossy sheen to them and Shiro did all he could to clamp down on his urge to discover whether it was due to lipstick or her unconscious licking of her lips.
His pulsed quickened and now, more than ever, he could not deny the attraction that pulled him towards the moon princess. He could feel his mouth dry up at the sight of the girl. As he licked his lips to bring back moisture to the dry planes, his eyes caught Serenity's at that exact moment and he blushed, not knowing how to act now that he had been caught staring. They held each other's gaze for a second that had transformed into infinity between them.
He looked straight into her blue orbs. Once again, he was brought back to the oceans of blue of his planet. He wondered how it could be possible to see the exact cerulean hue halfway across the universe.
The lunar princess looked at Shiro with an unreadable expression. Perhaps this was the royal facade that she had learned as a princess. It made her allure that much more mysterious.
Without meaning to, he flashbacked to the precarious position he found himself in the morning. He remembered the feeling of her hair between his fingers, her soft skin underneath his, and her warmth encompassing him. She smelled so much like flowers and spring, like everything right in the world. Hell, she even felt like a sunny day. He wondered how he could ever go to sleep again, if he would be up all night searching for that warmth. It was a daunting future.
Takashi Shirogane was smitten. And he had no idea what to do. How does one court a princess from another planet? Was he even worthy of thinking such a thing?
Lance gave an appreciative whistle and Shiro resisted the urge to smack him upside the head. It was out of respect for the princess, not jealousy, the Black Paladin tried to convince himself. He glared at the Blue Warrior. He would get back at him at training.
Serenity, herself was too nervous to be able to gauge everyone's reaction, but based on everyone's aura, it seemed that they no longer saw her as a threat. Although the one moment where she had caught Shiro's gaze made her worry. His eyes were stormy, but with a different emotion from the chaotic tulmolt that she had felt last night. The princess could not explain the feeling but she desperately wanted to get lost in them. Reminding herself that she was in the presence of others and this was not the time for a princess to zone out, she brought herself back to the present moment.
Coran was setting the table and motioning for everyone to get to their seats. As she paced to her seat at the dining between Shiro and Allura, her heart began to race yet again at the thought of being in such close proximity with the black-and-white haired soldier. He graciously pulled out her chair for her and she could only manage to whisper a soft "thank you" as she tried to hide her blushing face.
The Altean castle extraordinaire saved everyone the trouble of starting the conversation.
"Well, Princess Serenity. That dress of yours is quite exquisite."
The aforementioned princess blushed at having the spotlight so early in the conversation. She fussed with the non-existent wrinkles in her dress and replied, "A-ah. Thank you. This is the outfit only the royal family of the Lunar Kingdom are allowed to wear. I have to say I was rendered speechless that the castle mechanisms could create something of exact likeness from my memory alone."
"Yes, I have to agree with Coran. The dress looks beautiful on you," Shiro said, not able to control his words even if he wanted to. He mentally kicked himself and hoped his compliment had not come out as creepy. From the accelerating amount of blood in the blonde's face, he couldn't help but chuckle for garnering such a reaction.
Serenity could feel the heat radiating from her tomato-colored face. She didn't even know she could blush this much. Would she faint at this point if all the blood flowed to her face, leaving none for the rest of her body? Unbeknownst to both the warrior and princess, Allura was watching the two from the corner of her eye with a wicked gleam in her eye.
Pidge, at the mention of another cool castle spec, could not contain her curiosity as she immediately started asking more questions about the mechanism. The Moon Dynasty heir described her experience in the machine with a cheery air. Serenity matched Pidge's enthusiasm by waving her arms around and allowing her voice to encapture the wonder and joy she discovered in the machine. With her nervousness dissipating from the princess, her light and joyful personality finally started showing. Other than Allura, who had already seen this side of her when they were chatting in the bedroom, the rest of the group immediately reformed their opinion of the demure princess they had first been introduced to.
As the conversation slowly picked up its pace, talking about the outcome of the morning's training and the plan for the afternoon, Serenity became lost in her thoughts. At something Lance said, she laughed a bit and almost covered her mouth. It was something unheard of for a person of her status to interact in such a way at the dinner table. She was expected to keep silent and only speak when her opinion was asked, which was unfortunately rare at the castle. But Lance continued his line and continued in drawing the laughter from the Princess. How long had it been since she had felt such mirth. With Allura and the Paladins, she felt more alive than she's felt. For the first time, she felt grateful for the beating heart inside chest, a pulsing reminder that she was alive.