Thanks to CMS for editing and catching my mistakes. Thanks to Wade Wells for pushing on me to get a move on so I'll finish the story sometime this year…I hope… ;)

Thanks for all of the reviews I've received so far…it helps to know that people are enjoying the story or what they would like to see happen.

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

Enjoy Chapter 5

Mertz

As they enter Allura's bedroom, Keith pauses inside the door to pull Allura in front of him. He watches her eyes intently before speaking softly to her, "Are you alright Princess?"

Wringing her hands together, Allura watches Keith's eyes for a moment before nodding and looking away. Keith smiles at her and touches her cheek to get her to look at him again. As her eyes rise, Keith moves his hand to push her hair off her shoulder. He smiles warmly at her once more before sighing. He steps away from her, "I'll leave you to bathe and dress Princess. I'll see you at breakfast."

The door opens behind them and a quiet Nanny enters the room. Keith watches her a moment as Nanny goes about the room, beginning to straighten things. He smiles at Allura once more then turns around and leaves the room.

Allura turns apprehensively around to face Nanny. Nanny looks up after making Allura's bed and watches her for a moment before placing a small smile on her face, "I shall draw your bath Princess." She turns away to walk into the bathroom.

Closing her eyes, Allura pulls Keith's robe closer around her body and inhales his scent before opening her eyes and walking toward the bathroom.

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As breakfast ends, Coran enters the room, "Princess." Allura looks up from her place at the table as Coran smiles at her, "If you are feeling up to it there are several things we need to go over for the reconstruction of the local village's new school."

Keith watches closely as Allura nods, rises and follows Coran out of the room. He sighs deeply as Romelle turns toward him, "So what was the yelling about this morning Keith?"

Gritting his teeth slightly, Keith takes a sip of his coffee before answering, "A difference of opinion between Coran, Nanny and myself over Princess' care Romelle, nothing more."

Sven tries to keep the smile off his face as Romelle looks from him, frowning, back to Keith, "Must have been some "difference of opinion" Keith…I could hear Nanny's initial yelling from my room."

Refusing to answer anymore; Keith smiles at her and then turns to the men, "Let's get out there for practice." Romelle glares at Keith's back as he rises and leaves the room. Sven finally releases a chuckle, kisses Romelle on top of the head and follows the men out of the room.

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That evening Keith escorts Allura back to her room after dinner. He pauses in front of her door and takes something out of his pocket. Taking Allura's hand, Keith places the comm. unit on her palm before raising his eyes to her, "Princess, if you need me hit the call button. This unit is programmed to call mine."

Allura watches his eyes closely before looking down at the comm. unit in her hand. Keith touches her cheek, "I don't want you to wander around the hallways at night Princess. If you need me, press that button and I will come to you, no matter the hour."

A small smile crosses Allura's lips as she finally speaks softly, "Thank you Keith."

Keith nods at her as she turns away to press the button to open the door to her room, "Good night Allura."

Allura steps through the open door before looking back, "Good night Keith." She presses the button and the door closes. Keith sighs as he turns away to walk to his own room.

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Allura lies in bed, hours later, still unable to sleep. She turns over onto her side and reaches for the comm. unit given to her earlier. Pressing the button she sighs as Keith's sleepy voice is heard, "Princess, do you need me?"

Holding the unit closer to her, she presses the button to speak, "No…but I can't sleep."

She hears him sigh and then the sound of him moving around in his bed before he asks, "Why not?"

"I keep seeing things in my head…" She closes her eyes, "Things I don't want to see."

There is silence on the other end for a moment before his soft comforting voice is heard once more, "Are you sure you don't want me to come to you?"

Wanting him to, but yet not wanting to start any more fights between him and Coran, Allura sighs, "No, but talk to me until I fall asleep.

Another deep sigh is heard, "What do you want me to talk to you about?"

She searches her mind before saying, "I don't know…tell me a story about your days at the academy."

A soft chuckle is heard, "You really do want me to put you to sleep." Silence for a moment then he begins to tell her about his first day at the academy as a teenager, meeting first Lance and then Sven. He continues with how Pidge and Hunk joined their little group when Hunk stepped into a fight Lance was in with 3 older boys, who were beating the snot out of him. Allura closes her eyes as his voice fills the room and makes her feel safe.

Keith sighs as he stops to listen for a moment, "Princess?"

When she doesn't speak, Keith smiles to himself, "Good night Princess." He turns off his comm. unit, rolls over and goes back to sleep.

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The next week follows a similar pattern with Allura trying to behave normally during the day but calling Keith at night and listening to him talk until she falls asleep. When she would wake in the middle of the night from a nightmare, Keith would quickly run down the hall to Allura's room. Pulling her into his arms, Keith would lay down in the bed with her, calming Allura until she would fall asleep again.

Nanny walks into Allura's room and her jaw tightens in anger when she spots Keith in bed with Allura, his arms around her as she sleeps. Keith opens his eyes and raises an eyebrow at Nanny in challenge. She says nothing as she turns away from the bed to gather the clothing Allura would need for dressing.

Keith shakes his head at her before gently pulling himself out of Allura's arms. He pauses from rising from the bed when she sighs in her sleep then walks across the room to touch Nanny's shoulder.

Nanny glares at him as he signals her to follow him out of the room. Once in the hallway Keith finally speaks, "She had a bad night Nanny." Nanny gasps and turns to walk back into the room. Keith stops her by grasping her arm. Turning back to him, Keith continues, "Let her sleep in Nanny, she needs it."

Nodding to him, Nanny turns around and walks down the hallway away from him. Keith sighs as he turns the other way to head for his room.

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Keith yawns at the table as he slowly sips his coffee and tries to wake up. Sven notices the yawns and smiles at him, "Rough night?"

Covering his mouth to smother another yawn, Keith mutters, "Fifth nightmare this week…" He wipes his face before turning his blurry eyes to Sven, "Two last night alone."

Sven grimaces as Romelle sits beside him. She studies Keith's tired face, "Is she alright?"

He swallows his sip of coffee before answering, "I think so…I told Nanny to let her sleep in this morning."

Romelle continues to study him, "Speaking of sleeping in…why aren't you in bed?"

Keith shakes his head at her as Lance jumps in on the conversation, "You look like shit Keith. Romelle's right, why don't you go back to bed?"

Before Keith can answer Hunk jumps in, "Yeah Cap…go back to bed. We can have practice later this afternoon."

Keith opens his mouth to respond only to be cut off by Pidge, "It would give Hunk and I time to finish upgrading the weapons systems in Yellow lion this morning so we could test them out during practice."

Sven chuckles as Keith looks from one team member to another before he adds, "You are outnumbered Keith, go back to bed for a while."

Giving up, Keith nods, rises and leaves the room. Romelle smiles at his retreating back, "He must be tired…he didn't argue half as much as I thought he would."

Sven chuckles as Hunk says, "We didn't give him time to argue Princess."

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Allura wakes an hour later to find Romelle sitting in a chair beside her bed. She smiles at her, "Good morning, feeling better?"

Rubbing her eyes, Allura sits up in bed while yawning, "A bit…I still feel so tired."

Romelle watches her for a moment, "Why don't I ring for a tray for you. Eat a bit Allura then go back to sleep for a while."

Shaking her head, Allura throws back the covers, "I have too much work to do Romelle."

She starts to rise only to have Romelle leave her seat and place a hand on her shoulder, pushing her back down in the bed, "It can wait Allura. You haven't been sleeping well and need to rest."

Allura shakes her head at her as Romelle sits beside her, "I know what you have been doing Allura." She touches her cheek, "You've been burying yourself in work so you don't have to think about it."

A tear forms in Allura's eye as she continues, "The nightmares at night are a result of you trying to push it away and act as if nothing happened. You need to work your way through it Allura."

Romelle wipes away the tear from her cheek, "Now as I was saying before, you need to take a day off and rest." She stands and presses the button for communication unit to the kitchen. She orders a tray for Allura and then sits back down on her bed.

Allura lies back against her pillows again as Romelle smiles at her, "You will feel better after some rest."

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Keith walks into the dining room for lunch to find only Lance present, "Where is everyone else?"

Lance sighs as he finishes chewing his mouthful of food. He swallows before answering, "Romelle is with Allura. She is making her stay in bed and rest today. Hunk & Pidge were in here a half hour ago, they ate quick and rushed back out to the lions to finish their project and Sven went out to help them."

Keith nods and helps himself to the remaining dishes on the table, "Alright, let's eat quickly and get out in the lions."

Lance rolls his eyes at Keith and goes back to his lunch.

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Romelle rises from the chair and smiles down at Allura's sleeping form. It hadn't taken her long after eating to lie back down and fall asleep once more. Needing to move around for a while Romelle stands and leaves the room.

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Lotor's laughter fills her ears as Allura tosses her head back in forth in sleep as her nightmare continues.

"Come my pretty wife…I know you will like this…" Lotor turns Allura over and forces her to her knees as he pushes into her from behind. Allura hears herself cry out in pain at his entrance as he grabs her hair and pulls her head back, "Soon you will be begging for this…"

Allura sits upright in the bed as the scream leaves her throat. She looks around frantically for the comm. unit Keith had left her but is unable to find it. Sobbing, she tries to leave the bed but trips when the blanket wrapped around her legs makes her stumble. Picking herself up off the floor, Allura quickly leaves the room.

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A few minutes later Romelle enters Allura's room, shocked to find it empty. She hits the communication button and Coran's voice comes across, "This is control."

Romelle tries to keep the panic out of her voice, "Coran, Allura is missing."

Romelle can hear the strain in Coran's voice, "She must be in the castle Romelle, there have been no break-ins."

Romelle opens the doors to the closets and looks in the bathroom, "She isn't here Coran. Ask the men to return from practice please. I'll need their help to find her."

"Very well. Control out."

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Romelle looks in MedTech, the rec room and the gym before the others return. She meets them in the hallway wringing her hands as she faces Keith, "I can't find her anywhere."

Keith tries to keep calm as he turns to everyone, "Let's spread out and look for her, make sure you have your comm. unit on and call in if you find her."

Keith goes down to her father's tomb and begins working his way back up, beginning to panic when he checks in every five minutes to find no one has found Allura yet. Walking down a hallway he crosses paths with Romelle who looks at him questioningly before he silently shakes his head at her. Romelle wrings her hands again then her eyes grow wide, "Has anyone checked the bedrooms in your wing Keith?"

Keith shakes his head then walks quickly down the hall with Romelle following. Once he reaches the area where the force sleeps he opens each door looking inside before moving onto the next one. He finally reaches his own room and opens the door to find no one inside. Before he walks out he hears the sound of running water and turns toward the bathroom.

He opens the door to find Allura in his shower, scrubbing violently at herself. Keith inwardly flinches at the sight of the raw skin on Allura's chest and abdomen as she continues to rub herself raw. She stops as she turns toward him and begins crying when she sees Keith and sinks to the floor in the shower. Keith approaches her, turning off the water and grabbing a towel to wrap it around her.

He picks Allura up and turns toward the door, spotting Romelle. He tightens his grip on Allura as he walks toward her, "Romelle, please let everyone know we've found her, but keep them out of here, especially Nanny."

Romelle nods and leaves the room. Keith carries Allura into his bedroom and sits down on the bed with her in his arms, "Allura, what's wrong?"

Allura sobs as she twists her fingers into Keith's shirt while hiding her face in his neck. Keith sighs deeply and rubs her back before turning his face to kiss her forehead and whispers, "Talk to me Allura…"

Allura shudders in his arms and stutters quietly between sobs, "I can…still…feel him…touching me…" she sobs and gasps for breath, "I can't make it…stop… Please make it stop…" as she dissolves into tears and her body goes limp in his arms.

Keith gathers her close to him as a tear slides down his cheek, "I wish I could Allura…I wish I could."

Keith continues to hold Allura while she cries. Soon she quiets down and Keith shifts her slightly to lay her down on the bed only to have Allura cry out, "NO!" and grip him tightly. Keith kisses her forehead, "I'll be right back Allura. It's cold in here…I'm going to give you my pajamas to put on."

Allura releases her hold on Keith as he lays her down then rises from the bed. She watches him as he steps into the bathroom for a moment then goes to his dresser, pulling out a pair of his pajamas. Keith turns back toward the bed and watches her as he sits down beside her. Allura looks down to see a bottle in his hand along with the pajamas, which he places near her. She turns her sapphire gaze to Keith as he studies her face. He finally sighs before speaking softly, "Can you do this yourself or do you want me to help you?"

Allura pushes the items back to Keith and he nods at her. He gently pulls the towel away from her, flinching inwardly at the sight of the red, raw skin. He takes the bottle and pours some lotion on his hands, rubbing them together to warm the lotion then gently applies it to her chest and abdomen. Allura trembles as he gently rubs the lotion in, her gaze never leaving Keith's face as he raises his eyes to meet hers from time to time.

Keith finishes with the lotion then takes his pajama top and helps Allura put her arms into it, then buttons it up for her. He performs a similar task with the bottoms and pulls the draw string on them tight for her small waist. He pulls his boots off then stands to pull the covers back on the bed, pulling them from underneath Allura then covers her with them before laying beside her and gathering her back into his arms, her head resting against his chest.

Keith sighs and rubs her back, then stiffens when she begins to speak, his fury building the entire time.

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After Allura falls asleep, Keith slowly pulls himself away from her and rises. He pulls his boots back on then opens the door to his room to find Romelle, Sven and Lance standing outside waiting. Managing to keep his voice calm, he asks Romelle to stay with Allura then heads down the hall. Lance and Sven look at each other curiously then follow.

Keith enters the rec room and unable to contain his rage any longer picks up a chair and hurls it across the room just missing Sven and Lance as they enter the room. Lance sidesteps yelling at Keith, "What the hell?"

Keith doesn't answer but grabs another chair and hurls it at the windows shattering them. Lance watches flabbergasted as Keith continues to destroy the room and turns his face to Sven, who has paled. Lance finally steps forward grabbing Keith's shoulders, "What the hell is going on Keith?" He releases Keith quickly, shocked by the fury in his gaze as Sven takes a step toward him, "She told you didn't she Keith…" Both Lance and Keith look at Sven as he continues, "Allura told you what that bastard did to her…"

Keith pulls away from both them, raking his hand through his hair before walking up to a wall and putting his fist through it. He finally stops and takes several deep breaths before he turns around and sinks to the floor with his back against the wall.

Lance swears as Sven crosses the room and kneels in front of Keith, "She told you…didn't she?"

Keith raises misery filled eyes to meet Sven's and nods without speaking. Lance walks over and kneels beside Sven as Keith finally wipes at the tears running down his cheeks. Lance turns his gaze away from Keith to ask Sven, "How did you know?"

Sven grimaces as he returns Lance's gaze, "I had a similar reaction when Romelle told me…"

Both turn back to Keith as he finally speaks furiously, "I'm going to hunt that son of a bitch down, cut off his balls and make him choke on them. He degraded her in every possible way."

Sven raises his eyebrows at him, "Once again…I had a similar reaction. The only thing that kept me from immediately going to Planet Doom was Romelle's need to have me near her." He reaches forward and grabs Keith's shoulder, "Allura has the same need Keith. She needs you to be here for her, to give her strength while she has none."

Keith watches Sven as his fury finally calms and logic returns then rubs his face and nods at him. Sven releases his shoulder and sits back away from Keith, "Just love her Keith. That is what she needs most right now, your unconditional love."

Keith's surprised gaze meets Sven's and he smiles at him, "I know you love her Keith…you aren't that good at keeping secrets my friend."

Lance smiles at Sven before looking at Keith, "Glad to see I am not the only one who's noticed."

Keith glares at the pair of them then slowly rises to his feet, "I better get back to her before she awakens and I'm not there. I promised her I would keep the nightmares away." Sven and Lance watch him as he slowly walks out of the room.