Once again, my humble thanks to Wade Wells for taking the time to do the Beta. I also want to acknowledge everyone who has left a review (take a look and you can see who!).
The saga will soon end. Please let me know what you think!
Without further ado. . .
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Nervously, the Princess smoothed the front of her dress. Inside the door sat the man who would decide her future. The council had informed her of the proclamation two days ago. The populace received notification before her, in accordance with tradition. This also dictated her absence from Keith for the last two days. Once the council had delivered the proclamation and offer, she must stay away from any contact with the declared Hero from one sunrise to the next. Tradition also forbear anyone from speaking to him about the request to give the Hero a chance to decide without any pressure. If no decision came after the first time period, he would receive a longer period for contemplation of three risings and settings of the sun. Since he had spent much of the first day unconscious, the council had asked her to wait until today.
Heart pounding, Allura raised her hand to the door chime. A few moments later a voice from within bade her enter. He sat on the floor, back against a chair, legs crossed in front of him by the window, face toward the sunlight, eyes closed against the light.
Delaying a moment, the young woman took the time to study the man she had loved for so long and saw the changes the last four years had brought. He wore his ebony hair in a practical, short style, more suited to a commander; or a king whispered her mind. Cheekbones stood out prominently in a face still too thin and dark circles rimmed his eyes. Even relaxed, lines around his mouth gave evidence to the pain he felt much of the time. Her eyes roamed the rest of him. He had dressed warmly in a thick sweater and yoga pants, even on this warm day. Dr. Gorma had told her the captain felt cool much of the time; he did not have the body mass to produce heat. The clothes looked too big on him, as a child playing dress-up; yet they looked much better than a few weeks before. Finally her eyes came to rest on the captain's hands. They rested on his knees, palms facing upward. Just looking at them, she could see the scars where the barbs had penetrated. The right palm look worse because he had ripped them out of his hand without regard to any damage in order to keep Voltron flying. Allura knew he had not yet gained the full use of his hands.
"I promise to drink the stuff, Peder," Keith's exasperated voice interrupted Allura's introspection.
She smiled, "I am not Peder. And do not stand up," she added as the captain's eyes flew open and his right hand went down beside his right leg.
Nodding he relaxed his legs back to a resting position, raising his right hand to use as a block against the light. Allura moved to lower a shade enough to block the sun from hitting Keith's face. He took the opportunity to study her as she stood in a three-quarter profile to him. She had dressed in a very formal white gown, the kind usually worn for state functions with high level guests. The gown left shoulders and neck bare and long sleeves covered her arms ending in points at the back of her hand. The bodice of the gown fitted closely and flared at the hips. The dress rose slightly, higher in the front, to a small six inch train in the back. The ivory colored silk suited the princess' coloring better than a brighter white. Her maid had dressed her hair by curling it in ringlets and then pinning the ringlets to the top of her head allowing some to flow down her back underneath a small veil. Her formal tiara nestled within her blond hair with a single diamond resting on her forehead. Diamonds sparkled in the sunshine from her ears; each boasted three diamonds hanging one below another on silver wire. The only other jewelry she wore surprised Keith; a simple silver locket Cady had picked out for her which held a photo of Cady and one of Allura's parents. Hidden under her skirt, she would have shoes dyed to match her dress, with a very small heel. With the sun behind her, Allura looked very bridal, mused Keith, and very nervous he added to himself as she fiddled with the shade raising and lowering it minutely.
"Allura," Keith began. His voice had the effect of stilling her hands even as she inhaled quickly. He saw her swallow before turning to face him fully, causing him to change his words even as he began to speak, "I missed seeing you yesterday."
Whirling back to face the window, she looked blindly outward. "Tradition dictated I could not visit."
Sighing, Keith slowly levered himself to a standing position, wincing at the protest in his legs. He took two steps to close the distance between the princess and himself. Hands warmed from the sun came to rest on her cool, bare shoulders and gently turned her to face him. Stubbornly she kept her gaze on his feet. With one finger under her chin, he raised her eyes to his. "Talk to me, Princess. My magic mind reading wand broke and the fairies cannot fix it." He gave a small smile at the old joke.
She looked him in the eyes for a long moment, a trembling smile lifting one corner of her mouth. With a deep breath Allura took one small step back from him. With a graceful movement she took his right hand in both of hers and knelt on one knee before him. "I, Allura Joyeux of House Arella, heir to the throne and named Princess Elect, do present myself before you, Keith Kogane called Lieutenant Colonel by your people, named, Pilot of Black Lion, sworn as defender of Arus, named Commander of the defenders of the planet, and declared Hero in accordance with the dictates of my people and the traditions handed down from one generation of lore masters to the next and offer myself to you as your bride."
Keith looked down at the beautiful young woman kneeling at his feet. He had known she would come today. He had wrestled with the answer, and even after reaching a decision, questioned it. After the disaster yesterday and the visit with Black, he had spent the rest of the day here, meditating and pondering his choice. The doctor had kindly left him alone after receiving assurances he would try no yoga and could only do some minimal Tai Chi. Two monitors carefully attached underneath his sweater allowed the staff to monitor him. Keith had happily agreed as it meant he could truly spend the day alone without someone checking on him constantly.
For the first time since the battle with the porcupine, Keith could not only relax but immerse himself in deep meditation. At some point, someone had brought him a light lunch and more of the goop. He had forced himself to consume every drop of the goop and every bite of the lunch before returning to his contemplations. As he looked at the woman kneeling at his feet, heart in her eyes, he mentally sighed. He had made the correct decision, now both of them would have to live with it.
Taking a deep breath, Keith carefully dropped to one knee and reached for both of Allura's hands. Looking in her eyes, he saw both hope and trepidation. "Allura Joyeux, of House Arella, heir to the throne, and named Princess Elect, do I, Keith Kogane, called Lieutenant Colonel by my people, named Pilot of Black Lion, sworn as defender of Arus, named as Commander of the defenders of this planet and newly declared Hero, accept you as my bride in accordance with tradition and in accord with the dictates of your people."
"Oh!" Gasped Allura as a single tear escaped from eyes blazing with joy.
Smiling, Keith rose to both feet and pulled Allura to hers. Placing her hands on his chest, he cupped her face with his hands, brushing away the single tear with a thumb. Slowly, Keith leaned closer, keeping his eyes open and brushed his lips against Allura's. She sighed and her eyes drifted shut. Keeping his kisses gentle, Keith captured her lips in lingering caresses. He felt the princess begin to relax against him, her arms sliding up his chest and around his neck. Keith slid his hands slowly down her bare neck and shoulders his right coming to rest at the small of her back, his left making small circles on the bare skin of the back of her neck.
Drifting away from Allura's lips, the captain dotted her neck with small kisses up to her earlobe. Nipping it gently he quickly soothed with his tongue. Allura shuddered and her head fell sideways to give him better access. Keith lathed attention to her ear for long moments before retracing his journey back to her lips and across to give her other ear the same treatment.
Allura's hands moved restlessly over her hero and an errant thought crossed her mind. Reading trashy romance novels had nothing on the real thing! Her heart beat faster and the sensations washing over her wiped away any thought.
When Keith's mouth moved back to hers, he gently ran his tongue along her bottom lip, asking for entrance. Moaning softly, she granted it to him, and he deepened the kiss. His hands pulled her even closer until she felt herself pressed against him from chest to thigh. After several minutes, Keith pulled away from her, placing small kisses on her lips and forehead before leaning his forehead against hers.
Opening her eyes, Allura felt slightly tipsy and smiled at the visage of Keith. Moistening her lips, she pulled back slightly to look him in the eyes, "I love you."
With a smile, Keith quickly captured her lips and her mouth, occupying her for several minutes. When the door chimed, he pulled slowly away with a last kiss. "A moment, please," he called. Allura took several breaths and slowly withdrew from the circle of his arms. When she nodded, he put her hand on his arm in a formal pose and bade the caller to enter.