I make no claims to Voltron or any other WEP characters.

Enjoy Chapter 4

Mertz

Keith enters castle control to find Coran's face red with anger as he faces Prince Robert, "How dare you!"

Prince Robert faces Coran, insolence in his tone and his stance as he glares at Coran, "She is no longer pure. I require my bride to be a virgin on our wedding night. Princess Allura has been tainted by having sex with Prince Lotor and I will not degrade myself by associating with her."

Keith sees red and grabs Prince Robert by the throat as he throws him against the wall, "YOU SON OF A BITCH!" Prince Robert's body guard attempts to intervene only to have Keith knock him out before he grabs Prince Robert by the throat once more and holds him up against the wall, "You failed to protect her. It is because of you and your insistence that she would be perfectly safe with you that she was kidnapped by Lotor to begin with."

Prince Robert hits at Keith's arm trying to break his hold while his lips slowly turn blue from lack of oxygen as Keith continues, "Now that she has been raped, because of you, you no longer want her!"

Lance and Hunk finally run forward and grab Keith, pulling him away from Prince Robert. The prince stands holding his throat as he chokes. He glares at Keith before turning to Coran, "I demand…that you…arrest him."

Romelle puts an arm on Coran to stop him before she steps forward and punches Prince Robert in the nose. He howls in pain as Sven steps up behind her to ensure Prince Robert doesn't try to retaliate as Romelle speaks in a low dangerous tone, "You filthy, miserable excuse for a human being. I wouldn't let my cousin marry garbage such as you. Leave and never come back or you will find out exactly what the people of Arus and Pollux are capable of."

Romelle orders the guards to escort the prince and his body guard out before turning back to the men in the room. Keith stands there with his fists clenched, fury still evident as Romelle walks up to him, "Get out of here Keith and go calm down. She will need you later."

Keith nods and quickly leaves the room. She turns to Coran, "Do not say anything to Allura about this, when her memory returns I will tell her." Coran nods at Romelle as she takes Sven's arm and turns to leave the room.

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Later that night Keith sighs as he sits in a chair watching Allura sleep. He hears the door to the room open and watches as Lance carries in a tray. Lance smiles at him as he sets the tray down next to Keith, "You skipped dinner and I thought you might be hungry."

Keith smiles his thanks as Lance sits in the other chair in the room. He looks to the bed, studying Allura in her sleep before turning back to Keith, "How is she?"

Shrugging, Keith takes the lid off the tray to examine the contents, "She hasn't woken up since the control room earlier."

Lance shifts his gaze from Allura back to Keith. He watches as Keith takes a sandwich off the tray and begins eating it, refusing to meet Lance's gaze. Lance sighs, "What are you going to do now?"

Finishing the sandwich, Keith finally looks back up, "About what?"

Crossing his arms as he sits back in the chair, Lance raises an eyebrow at Keith, "Don't act stupid Keith…it isn't very becoming for you."

A staring contest begins, neither wanting to be the first to look away. Keith finally sighs and gives in as he turns his gaze away from Lance to look over at Allura, "What I should have done to begin with Lance. I am going to take care of her." A fierce look crosses his features as he turns back to Lance, "I will not allow anyone to ever hurt her again."

Before Lance can comment further a whimpering sound comes from the bed. Keith quickly stands and sits beside Allura as she begins thrashing around, "Allura, wake up sweetheart." He gently shakes her, "Wake up Allura…it is only a bad dream." She sits upright as a scream erupts from her.

Keith grabs her as she begins fighting him, "Allura, stop!" He wraps his arms around her and pulls her tight to his chest, "Your safe Allura…" Finally recognizing Keith, she allows her body to slump into his arms as she cries.

Lance watches her, his face white with suppressed rage at what Allura is going through. He stands and walks near the bed. Allura spots him and stiffens then begins whimpering. Keith looks around and sees Lance standing near them and sighs. He pulls Allura's chin up to face him, "It's alright Allura. He is your friend."

Taking the seat Keith had occupied, Lance watches as Keith continues to comfort her. Once she has calmed down, Keith pushes Allura back against her pillows and tries to rise only to have Allura grasp his hand. Keith gives in, sits with his back to the headboard and gathers Allura into his arms. As her body drapes over his, she slowly relaxes before closing her eyes and drifting back to sleep.

Watching from his seat, Lance whispers to Keith, "How can you stand it?"

Keith's gaze meets Lance's, barely suppressed rage flashing out of them as he strokes Allura's hair, "I can't…"

Both look up as the door to the room opens and Hunk and Pidge enter, carrying chairs. They set them down then sit in them before Pidge looks up at Keith, "We are going to stay as well."

Taking a deep breath and letting it out to calm himself, Keith nods to them before putting his head back and closing his eyes. Lance stretches himself out in his chair, crosses his arms and drops his chin to his chest. Hunk and Pidge follow suit.

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Romelle and Sven walk into MedTech. Sven stops them before entering Allura's room, gesturing to Romelle to look in the window. Romelle looks through the window then smiles at the sight of the four men sleeping in the room with Allura. She turns toward Sven, "They will watch over her tonight."

Sven nods as he watches through the window, "They are a team. What hurts one of them, hurts all of them."

The door to MedTech opens once more and Nanny walks in. She stops by the door exclaiming, "They cannot spend the night with the princess!" She goes to open the door only to have Romelle grab her hand to stop her. Nanny looks up at the fierce expression on Romelle's face, "Nanny, you will not interfere. Allura needs them in there almost as much as they need to be in there with her. Leave them alone."

Nanny nods wordlessly, then turns around and leaves the room.

Sven smiles at Romelle before taking her hand, "Come my love, let us find our own bed for the night." Sven wraps an arm around Romelle's waist before leading her out of MedTech.

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Sometime later Allura awakens, scared by the sounds of the men sleeping. Her fingers grip Keith's shirt tightly as she opens her eyes to see Lance in a chair asleep, across from the bed. She lifts her head to look at Keith, watching as he breathes deeply in sleep. She puts her head back down on his chest for a moment as she watches Lance sleep.

Hearing a soft snore coming from the other side of the room; Allura pushes herself up to turn her head to search for the source of the sound. She notices Hunk's head bobbing as he sucks air in then snores it out. Her eyes drift over Pidge's sleeping form, watching as his head finally slides over and lands on Hunk's shoulder.

Allura continues to look from one sleeping man to another, My guardians…as long as I have been with them they have always kept me safe…it is only when they are not there that bad things happen. She feels a hand on her arm and turns to see Keith watching her. She hears movement from her side and turns her head to find Lance sitting up in his chair, his gaze upon her.

The snoring from the other side of the room stops and she turns to see both Hunk and Pidge sitting up watching her. She looks from one man to the other before her gaze settles back on Keith. Tears fill her eyes and slide down her cheeks as Keith sits up and pulls her into his arms, "It's alright Allura…you are safe."

Allura puts her head on Keith's chest then turns her face toward Lance. She holds out a hand to him and Lance rises, crosses the room to sit on the bed and joins Keith in hugging Allura. Soon Hunk and Pidge leave their seats to wrap their arms around Allura as well.

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Dr. Gorma wearily walks down the hall to check on the Princess. He stops before the door and looks in to see the group hugging the princess. He smiles slightly at the sight, and then turns around to walk back down the hall, stopping by the nurse's station to inform the on duty nurse not to disturb the occupants in Allura's room.

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Romelle walks into Allura's room in MedTech the next day just as Dr. Gorma is about to walk out. He smiles at her, "The princess may leave at any time your Highness."

Romelle smiles her thanks and walks to Allura's bed, the smile still on her face, "Hey, I heard you have your memory back."

Allura looks up at Romelle briefly then looks away as the tears begin to form. Romelle sits down on the bed and pulls her into her arms, "It's alright honey…"

A sob escapes Allura as she hangs onto Romelle, "I feel…so…dirty, like I will never be clean again."

Stroking Allura's hair, Romelle sighs, "I know…I know exactly how you feel." She pulls back to look into Allura's face. She wipes the tears from Allura's cheeks as she gazes into her eyes, "It wasn't your fault Allura. Do not blame yourself for what that animal did to you."

Romelle pushes Allura's hair out of her face and back over her shoulders as Allura takes a deep shuddering breath. Allura chokes on a half sob and angrily wipes at her cheeks before she looks at Romelle again. She whispers, "How…" and stops, unable to continue.

Romelle pushes her hair aside again as she smiles understandingly at Allura, "How what honey?"

A tear escapes Allura's eye and runs down her cheek before she can continue, "How did you forget?"

The smile leaves Romelle's face as she sighs, "I haven't." She touches Allura's face as she sniffles, "But you can work on moving on with your life."

Tears continue down Allura's cheeks, "How?"

Romelle sits back and sighs, "Now is not a good time to tell you this…" She grasps Allura's hand, "Prince Robert has broken the engagement and is gone."

Allura nods, knowing the reason why. Romelle squeezes her hand, "I punched him in the nose for you Allura…the self centered bastard."

A half sob, half laugh escapes Allura as Romelle continues, "Allura…you need to find someone who loves you for you and not for your title. That is how you move on with your life."

Allura pulls her hand away from Romelle to hug herself, "Who would want me now?"

Romelle touches her cheek, "Allura, the man that loves you won't be bothered by it." Allura attempts to look away, Romelle pulls her chin up to force her to look at her, "Sven loves me Allura. He loves me and does not blame me for what happened to me. He helped me to move past the pain when I thought I was unworthy of anyone after I was raped."

Allura wipes her face as she looks away, "I have no one…"

Smiling at her once more Romelle touches her cheek, "You have your friends Allura. Don't be afraid to let Keith and the others help you. They want to."

After Allura nods Romelle stands and picks up her bathrobe, "Come on Allura. Let's get you to your room. You have enough time for a long soak in the tub before dressing for dinner."

Romelle helps Allura put on her bathrobe and they leave MedTech together.

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Standing near the windows talking to Lance, Keith's attention reverts to the door as Allura walks in for dinner that evening with Romelle. While dressed in her favorite pink dress, she didn't look comfortable as her eyes dart around the room as if searching for someone. When they settle on him, Keith smiles at her, excuses himself from Lance to walk across the room to meet her, "Good evening Allura."

Keith searches her troubled blue eyes as she looks up at him then looks away before mumbling, "Good evening." He looks away from Allura to Romelle, who smiles and tilts her head slightly toward Allura. He nods then offers his arm to Allura, "May I escort you to the table Princess?"

Allura looks back up at Keith as she hesitantly places her fingers on his arm and he turns to guide her to a place at the table between himself and Romelle. Allura gazes across the table to find Lance watching her. He smiles warmly at her before asking, "Feeling a little better?"

Allura attempts to smile back at him before nodding. She places her gaze onto her plate and waits for the meal to be served. Lance shifts his gaze from Allura to Keith who lightly shakes his head before looking out the corner of his eye at Allura to study her.

As the meal progresses Allura suddenly feels cold as her body begins to tremble. Speeding up her breathing, she fists her hands into her dress and closes her eyes. She feels a hand on hers and opens her eyes to look toward Keith, who seems so very far away from her. She feels the room begin to spin as her chest begins to hurt.

Keith swears drawing the attention around the table to him as he turns in his seat toward Allura, "Breathe Allura…" Lance stands up and asks, "What's going on?" as he begins to walk around the table. Keith holds onto Allura's shoulders as she tilts her head forward while making gagging noises. Keith grabs Allura's chin trying to get her attention, "Breathe Allura, you need to slow your breathing."

Romelle raises her voice, "Keith…what's going on?"

Keith glances up at Romelle, "Panic attack" before returning his attention to Allura who sounds like an asthmatic while sucking in air. "Shit…she is starting to hyperventilate." Keith stands and pulls Allura up into his arms, "I'm taking her to MedTech."

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Keith sits in a chair in the waiting room with everyone else, waiting for Dr. Gorma to come out. He sighs, wishing the doctor hadn't thrown him out of the room when he brought Allura in. He looks up to watch Coran make another round of the waiting room as he continues his pacing.

The door to the exam room finally opens a half hour later and Dr. Gorma walks out. He faces the group and holds up his hand to ward off any questions, "Princess Allura is fine. She had a panic attack but has recovered and is resting comfortably."

Coran steps in front of the doctor, "A panic attack? Will she have more of them?"

Dr. Gorma shrugs, "I don't know Coran. These are things that can occur after the trauma she has been through. If they continue to occur, we will treat them."

Romelle stands, "Dr. Gorma, does she need to spend the night?"

He shakes his head, "No, Princess may leave at any time."

Romelle nods at him, "Good." She turns to Sven, "Let's get her to her room to rest. I think it will be better if she spends the night in her own bed."

Nanny stands, "I will help you Princess Romelle and I will spend the night watching over her."

Deciding not to argue about who should spend the night with Allura, Romelle sighs and then walks into Allura's room with Nanny on her heels.

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Several hours later, Allura tosses her head back and forth as the nightmare continues. She finally sits upright managing to keep the scream within her. She looks about her wildly to see Nanny in a chair beside her bed, asleep. Tears run down her cheeks as she quietly pushes the covers back and gets out of bed. She walks quietly across the room, looks back at Nanny once more before opening the door and walking out of it.

Allura walks down the hall, jumping at shadows and sounds until she reaches the corridor where the force sleeps. She walks to a door and pushes the button, praying it would open. The door slides open and Allura quietly walks into the room.

The door closes behind her and she pauses as her eyes become adjusted to the darkness. She listens carefully and can hear the sounds from the sleeping man breathing in the bed to her right. She walks toward the bed and sits down on it just as the man sits up quickly and grasps her.

"Allura!" Keith gasps as he tries to slow his fast beating heart, "You scared the bejesus out of me."

He turns on the light beside his bed and finally gets a good look at her face, "What's wrong?"

Wiping at the tears on her face, Allura leans into Keith, who sighs, "Another nightmare?"

He feels Allura nod her head as he wraps his arms around her, holding her tight to him. Keith rubs her back and strokes her hair as she shivers in fear. After a time Keith looks at the clock beside his bed. He rubs her arms, "We should get you back to your room Allura."

Allura sobs out, "No…" She pulls her head up to gaze at Keith as the tears continue down her cheeks and whispers, "I want to stay with you…"

Letting out a deep sigh, Keith moves more to one side of his bed and holds up the covers for Allura to crawl under them. He leans over Allura to turn the light back off then lies back on the mattress. He feels Allura curl up against him and moves his arm around her so she can lay her head on his shoulder.

He listens as Allura's breathing evens out as she calms down and her body relaxes as she slowly falls back to sleep. Keith turns his head and kisses her forehead before he closes his eyes and drifts back to sleep.

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Nanny opens her eyes as she awakens and sits up in the chair trying to stretch the kinks out of her back. She finally looks to Allura's bed then panics when she finds it empty. Nanny runs toward the bathroom, finding it empty she hits the button for the alarm system.

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Keith sits upright in bed when he hears the alarms. He reaches over Allura for his comm. unit and hits the button for castle control, "This is Kogane, what's going on?"

He watches Allura as she sits up in the bed and wipes the sleep from her eyes. Pidge's worried voice comes across the comm., "Chief, Nanny hit the panic button in Princess' room. She is missing."

Grimacing, Keith hits the button to speak, "Cancel the alert. Princess is with me. Kogane out."

Keith climbs out from under his covers, stands and holds his hand out to Allura, "Come on Allura…we are about to get hit by a hurricane."

Keith picks up his bathrobe and puts it over Allura's shoulders. He takes her hand and begins walking toward the door when it opens and Hurricane Nanny walks in yelling, "WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS?" shortly followed by Coran.

Frightened Allura steps behind Keith to hide. Noticing this, Keith becomes furious, "Nanny…lower your voice, there is no reason to shout and frighten Allura."

Nanny opens her mouth to begin anew only to have Coran place a hand on her arm stopping her. Coran faces Keith and the fury is evident on his face, "Why was the Princess in your bed Commander?"

Keith feels Allura trembling as she digs her fingers into his waist and hides her face in his back. His gaze slams into Coran's, "Princess came to me during the night after she became frightened from a nightmare. She asked to stay with me and I allowed her to."

Coran glares at him, "You know very well that was improper Commander. You should have escorted her back to her room immediately."

His whole body stiffening with rage, Keith glares back at Coran. He reaches behind him to pull Allura around in front of him. He briefly looks in her eyes to see the fear shining in them and pulls her against his chest, holding her tight. His voice is full of fury when he finally looks back at Coran to answer, "I don't give a shit about what is proper Coran."

Nanny turns a bright shade of red as Coran sputters at him, "Excuse me?"

Keith continues to glare at him, "Princess has been through hell Coran. If she feels safer by coming to me and staying in my room then I will not deny her that small comfort, propriety be damned."

He turns his gaze to Nanny, "You will not yell at Allura or berate her in anyway if she wishes to come to me." Keith stares at both of them, "If either of you try to stop her from coming to me you will answer to me."

Keith wraps an arm around Allura's waist and escorts her out of the room.