Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron or any of its characters.I didn't want to own Nanny anyway.
Rating/Setting: Rating is M. Setting is DotU but is definitely AU – see challenge info below.
2nd Response to Cheetoy's KAEX Challenge "A Royal Twist." "What if Keith was the surviving Arusian Royal Prince and Allura was an Earth born hometown girl turned GA Starpilot? How will the prim and proper Prince deal with falling for a strong-willed GA pilot of no royal line? Sadly, Nanny and Coran insist on a Princess for our dear Kogane... But how shall they deal with the Drule Prince(ss)? Can they find their Happy Ever After?"
Author's Notes:
In this AU take on DotU, we are following the KAEX challenge that is listed above. However, you'll see that my writing of this Keith is much different than what I usually write and he isn't very prim and proper as mentioned in the original challenge. I hope you like my splurge. ;-)
Chapter Four
The delegation from Pollux had two more days before they left. Keith was struggling against what Romelle had told him. His feelings for Allura weren't love. He wanted to sleep with her, but that was just because she was beautiful, not because of love. He kept himself busy the next day with negotiations and meetings. That evening, Keith paid particular attention to one of Romelle's ladies in waiting, Adele.
Allura looked from Romelle to Keith and back. The princess had a secret smile that Allura couldn't understand. Keith was openly flirting with Adele much to Coran's dismay, while the king and Avok ignored Keith's behavior completely. If it wasn't bothering Romelle, then it wasn't bothering them.
When everyone went to retire, Keith watched Adele leave and then immediately took his leave of the group.
Romelle watched Keith leave and then moved over to Allura.
Lance was talking to her, trying to tell her not to take it personally.
"Excuse me," Romelle said. "Would you mind if I spoke to Allura alone?"
"Not at all, Princess," Lance said. He looked at Allura with a worried smile and whispered, "Remember what I said, nothing personal." He saw her nod and then moved to speak with a Polluxian beauty that had been his diversion for the length of the stay.
"I'd take it personal," Romelle said without preamble.
Allura's head snapped to look at Romelle. "What?"
"Keith. He's trying to convince himself of something and it's definitely personal."
"I… I don't know what you're talking about. What the prince chooses to do or who to do it with isn't my concern," Allura said without much conviction.
"Tell me then. Did Keith come to rescue you from Avok last night?" Romelle's tone was light.
"Why, yes. How did you know?" Allura looked at Romelle as she smiled. "You were the one who told him!"
"Yes. Avok let it slip that he was interested in you and I just told Keith. He couldn't leave me at my room fast enough to go to you."
"He was just concerned as a friend."
Eyes turned to the pair as Romelle let out a loud laugh. "If that's what you think that what he feels for you is friendship, then by all means, let him sleep with Adele." She smiled as Allura blushed, "But if you think that what he feels might be more… if what you feel might be more… don't let him make this mistake."
Allura took one look from Romelle to the door and back. "I think I'll retire early, please make my excuses."
"Certainly," Romelle said to Allura's back as she hurried away.
When Lance looked at Romelle, she elegantly shrugged her shoulders and smiled as she sipped her drink.
XXXXXXXXXXX
Keith was standing outside of his rooms. For some reason, he was hesitating taking Adele into the room. Then, irritated at himself, he keyed open the door and pulled Adele in. Immediately he wrapped her up in an embrace and began kissing her.
Allura stopped dead in the corridor. Keith had just pulled Adele into his room. She took a step forward and then spun on her heel and took several steps back the way she had come. Her breath came in short gasps as she clenched and relaxed her hands at her sides. Devil take it, she wouldn't just let him do this to spite his feelings for her. She spun back around and marched toward his door.
The zipper in the back of Adele's dress was giving Keith a fit as he tried unsuccessfully to put it down. Ding. Ding. Keith didn't pause, whoever it was would go away when he didn't answer. Ding. Ding.
"Shouldn't you get that, Prince?" Adele asked breathlessly. She didn't want him to stop but the incessant chiming was interfering. Ding. Ding.
Keith threw back his head and groaned. Who could it be? Then there was a pounding on the door.
"Keith! Keith!" Allura yelled at the door. She was beyond caring what Adele would think of her behavior.
The door opened and Keith's angry visage was in front of her. "What the hell do you want, Allura?"
Waving her hand toward his room, she asked, "Are you doing this to avoid admitting you have feelings for me?"
Keith glanced back into the room. He didn't want to have a scene in front of Adele and he knew there would be a scene. Walking over to Adele, he went behind her and pulled up the zipper from where it had stuck. Moving in front of her, he said, "Sorry for the interruption. Perhaps another time?" He ignored the snort he heard from Allura behind him.
Giving a curious glance around the prince toward the door, she said, "Perhaps."
Allura crossed her arms and glared at the woman as she passed. Once she was several yards down the corridor, she stepped in and the door closed. When she turned and looked at Keith, part of the wind went out of her sails. He looked furious.
"What the hell was that, Allura?" Keith said in a low voice.
Trying to regain but of her swagger, she replied, "What? I'm not allowed to meddle in your love life, but you can meddle in mine?"
"I obviously didn't need saving," Keith said carefully.
"And if Avok had been in my room at my request, you would have just walked away?" The fire was still in her eyes. Then Keith did something unexpected.
Dropping his arms, he pushed one hand through his dark hair and said, "I don't know. I'd like to think I'd have left you alone, but I'm not sure. But that doesn't answer why you thought it was okay to interrupt my evening with Adele."
"Princess Romelle said-"
Keith threw back his head and said with exasperation, "Romelle." Looking back at Allura he sarcastically said, "What did she say, pray tell?"
Brows knitting together, she responded, "Romelle said… well, she said… she said that maybe our feelings were more than friendship." It wasn't exactly what Romelle said, but it was close enough. However, she saw Keith close off from her.
"More than friendship? Was she implying that you love me or perhaps that I might love you?" His tone was cool. He hated anyone meddling in his affairs and Romelle was definitely meddling. Love probably wasn't in the cards for him. He was destined to marry royalty and most royal marriages were more of alliances or in good cases, friendship. It was that way with his parents' marriage. He expected the same. While he might dally on the side, once he had a Queen and a family, he didn't plan on becoming emotionally involved with any of his mistresses. He realized now that he did have an emotional attachment to Allura. It wasn't healthy.
Allura blushed and buried her hands in the skirt of the dress she had worn for dinner per protocol. "I… I don't know, Keith."
He needed to cut the emotional ties and the best way to do that was to get Allura to dislike him. That should be easy. "Well, feelings like that aren't usually felt between a prince and his mistress." He almost felt guilty at the wounded look she shot him. Moving toward her, he reached out and ran his fingers along the neckline of her low-cut gown.
Allura smacked his hand away.
Keith chuckled and reached out to pull her to him. "Since you ran my fun for the evening away, I think it's only right that you should take her place." Before Allura could let out a stinging retort, Keith's lips crushed against hers.
He waited for her to push away, but she didn't. Her arms coiled up around his neck. Damn it! He thought. It's a hell of a time for her to decide to give in. When he felt her hand begin to fumble with the buttons on his shirt, he decided to give in as well. Picking her up he took her to his bed and began kissing her neck as his weight pushed her into the duvet. He reached behind her to unzip her dress and stopped dead as she spoke.
"I guess I just never expected my first time to be like this." Her words were breathless and nervous.
He propped himself up and looked down into her face and searched for the truth. "You're a virgin?"
Reaching up to fiddle with his collar, she said, "Yes. Just because I'm friends with Lance doesn't mean that I'm like him." And then with a quick look to his face she added, "Or you."
Keith rolled off of her and lay beside her on the bed. "Why didn't you say something before? Why say something now?"
"I didn't say anything before because it wasn't any of your business who I did or did not sleep with. I said something now because I'm nervous." Allura's tone was quieter as she finished.
Keith rolled on his side and propped himself on his arm so he could look at her face even though she wouldn't look at him. "Why did you decide to say yes tonight when you've always said no?" His tone was equally quiet.
"Because I do have feelings for you and if you needed to have companionship tonight, I'd rather it be me than some other woman." Her voice was hard to hear as she turned her head away from his prying eyes. "I wouldn't be able to look at you the same if you had slept with her."
Keith dropped back on the bed. She didn't say it, but it seemed that Allura had managed to fall in love with him. There was no way he would bed her tonight… or any night. She deserved better than to be a fling. Standing, Keith reached his hand down to her and helped her stand. Putting her hand on his arm, he walked her back to her room. At her door, he raised her hand to his lips and then turned and walked away.
She stood there in the doorway until well after Keith had gone out of sight. Then she walked into her room to sort out her confusing thoughts.