Hell Hath No Fury
Disclaimer: I do not own Voltron or any of its characters nor any of its alternate universe personas. So sad, I could become fond of a Lotor with green eyes…
Part 5 of the Chivalry story arc: 1. Chivalry; 2. Lion House Restored (& 2A. LHR – Allura's POV); 3. Doomed Quest; 4. Alternate Choices; and 5. Hell Hath No Fury. While some of the stories can be read as stand alone, this one must be read AFTER Alternate Choices for it to make sense.
Rating/Setting: Rating is T, bordering M. There are some topics that could be triggers for some people; I will try to post warnings for those chapters. However, I'm never graphic or explicit in any of my writing. If you've read Alternate Choices, you should know what the trigger topics are. Setting is DotU in flavor.
Chapter 5
Lance sped back to the castle after dropping off Allura at the cottage. The unpaved path was just wide enough for the speeder and it took an experienced driver, or pilot, to travel the thoroughfare safely at this rate of speed. He was enjoying the feel of the wind in his hair and contemplating taking Naveena out to the lava flats via the speeder for a date sometime. His pondering of potential dating locales was forestalled by the calm but steely hail he received over the com.
"Lance, this is Allura, switch to secure channel."
"Acknowledged."
Making the quick change that he knew Allura was also making, he soon continued, "What is it, Allura?"
"She's got him, Lance." Allura was pleased that her voice didn't break, but it did sound shaky. "It's time to implement Plan Mirror."
"Acknowledged, my Queen. I'll contact Castle Control on my way back to pick you up." Lance could feel the blood rushing through him at a fever pitch. Allura Alt had come for him, just as Keith had said she would. Returning the com to regular channels, he said, "Castle Control, I need to speak to Coran."
"Acknowledged. We are patching you through to the First Minister's office."
Just a few seconds later, Coran was on the com. "Lieutenant McClain, this is Coran. Is there a problem?"
"I'm on my way to pick up the Queen; begin implementation of Plan Mirror." Lance could see the cottage coming into view and Allura standing outside.
"Of course, Lieutenant. I'll alert everyone and will meet you in the conference room." Coran managed to keep his voice calm and steady, neither of which he felt at the moment. The Prince Consort of Arus was gone, and in a matter of hours its Queen and the second in command would go in search of him. None of them were guaranteed to return.
"Acknowledged." It was only a couple of minutes before he stopped the speeder so that Allura could get back in. He took in her calm exterior and silent demeanor. Turning the speeder back toward the castle, he glanced at her hands and saw that she had a death grip on the bag in her lap. Her hands were starting to shake and her knuckles were white from the strain of trying to maintain her façade. Lance slowed the vehicle until it came to a stop. Allura said nothing.
Reaching over, Lance shook his friend. "Allura… Look at me."
Slowly, Allura turned to face the man currently in charge of the Voltron Force now that Keith was MIA. She didn't speak; she only looked him in the eye.
Lance scanned her face. There was a bit of shock there, but there was also a lot of determination. "If you need to have an emotional episode, my shoulder is free right now."
A ghost of a smile curved the lips of the beautiful monarch's face and then she snorted. "Thanks, Lance. I needed that. I don't think I'll have an 'emotional episode' as you call it. At least not right now. When… " Allura looked down for a moment and then back up to his face. "When we get to the other side, I might want to borrow that shoulder at some point."
Giving her shoulder a slight squeeze, Lance said, "Anytime." He saw her nod and then put the speeder back into motion. Nothing more was said on the thankfully uneventful trip to the castle. Both began their mental preparations for the inescapable changes and uncertainty that would be their life until the trio returned from the mirror-verse.
Arriving at the castle, Allura made her way to the royal apartments to change her clothing. She needed to hurry as she had an unscheduled trip she needed to make to the crypt. Lance meanwhile headed to his quarters. He had a date with Nanny before he could go on the trip.
Thirty minutes later, everyone involved in Plan Mirror was assembled in an out of the way conference room. Nothing would draw more attention to Keith's absence than this high profile group getting together without him. For now, they would do everything humanly possible to forestall questions as to the whereabouts of those in the mirror-verse.
Allura looked around the table. Everyone knew that her first choice was to take Naveena. Keith had spoken to her of his wishes, but in the end, he knew the decision would be hers to make. After all, he would not be around to debate the issue with her when the time came. As everyone sat down, eyes were inevitably drawn to Lance and his new, still slightly damp, look. She couldn't deny that it was a drastic change for the casual, laid-back, playboy. Nanny had lightened his chestnut colored hair to a dark blonde and cut it so it was two inches at its longest and close to a buzz at its shortest. In addition, he had put in blue contacts. His travel bag included some more of the hair-color and some spare contacts and saline solution. He had to be next to unrecognizable to Allura Alt's people. Allura gave a rueful smile. As far as she was concerned, they had succeeded in this area at least.
Clearing her throat, all eyes turned to the Queen. She told them exactly what she had walked into at Altea Hall and the fight that was before her in the mirror-verse. She spared nothing, telling them everything. To say that she had stunned them would have been mild. The only thing that she kept from them was what she had gotten from her father on her trip to the crypt. That side trip had made her the last to arrive at the conference room, but she could feel the dagger stuck in her boot. It gave her additional confidence in what was to come. Allura was drawn back to the situation at hand by the newest Force member.
Naveena's voice was calm. "You know Keith is right. She's not going to fight fair."
Allura's thoughts traveled back to the sight of Keith on his knees with that woman's fingers woven tightly in his hair, pulling his head back. Anger coursed through her again at the thought. Her voice was low and only slightly covered the intense anger she was feeling. "I know that and while I don't plan to cheat, I may bend the rules a little myself."
Her eyes traveled around the table, taking in the various states of emotion of her friends. There was anger, pain, concern, and in Nanny's eyes… despair. Since the challenge, the quests and then the last six months of their marriage, Nanny had become more and more the mother that Keith had lost at a young age. Now she saw the despair of a mother in Nanny's eyes. The former governess could easily lose both of the people she considered her children. Allura found it a testament to Nanny's courage and fortitude that she hadn't given in to her fear but kept it inside. She kept her eyes on those hazel despairing ones and said, "I'm coming back with him. She will not keep him." Allura saw Nanny's nod of understanding.
Looking to the rest of the group, she said, "I'm sure you were all surprised that I chose to take Lance instead of Naveena." Seeing their nods of curiosity, she continued, "I could see the fear in Keith's eyes before they disappeared. It wasn't fear for himself. It was fear for me. Since I don't-" her voice caught momentarily before she continued, "since I don't know what will happen in this fight, I felt that Keith might need his best friend." The silence at the table let her know that they all knew what she was implying. If she were killed or critically injured, he would need Lance there to get him focused on returning to Arus.
Lance turned to Coran. "You brought the amulet?" At Coran's nod, Lance stood and looked to Allura. There was no need to wait. There was nothing they could plan any further than they already had. Further plans would have to wait until they reached the other side and see where the amulet deposited them.
The Queen of Arus moved to stand beside the Red Lion pilot and then held her hand out to Coran.
The royal advisor gently, bypassed her outstretched hand and instead fastened the necklace around her neck. Once the clasp was secure, his hands moved to her shoulders and he leaned over to place a kiss tenderly on her brow. Stepping back, he said nothing. He didn't need to.
As Allura reached for the amulet and for Lance's hand, Naveena suddenly stood from the table. "Wait!" She moved quickly around the table to throw her arms around Lance's neck. She felt his arms envelope her as she whispered in his ear. "Come back to me, Lance. Don't make me watch their romance without you."
Crushing her to him, he closed his eyes and whispered in her ear. "I wouldn't dream of it." He wanted to kiss her, but didn't think it was quite appropriate considering what Allura was facing. Lance broke away from Naveena and turned to Allura only to be on the receiving end of a punch in the arm by the queen. "Hey!"
Staring into his unnatural blue eyes, Allura said, "You better kiss her. I know all too well how quickly things can change. Kiss her."
Lance looked at her. At first he thought she was trying to lighten the mood by joking, but then he saw that she was dead serious. He tilted his head slightly in acknowledgement of her command. The Red Lion aviator turned around to face his Lion's back-up pilot. Suddenly, she seemed to have become a little shyer. Perhaps it was because everyone was trying not to look at them as they said good-bye. Stepping closer to her, he wrapped his arms around her and pulled her closer.
Looking up into his altered eyes, Naveena said softly, "Don't kiss me because Allura said to."
A genuine and mischievous smile lit Lance's features as he replied, "I only kiss people that I want to kiss." With that he leaned in and met her lips as they moved toward his. He felt her fingers run through his very short hair, oh, how he missed his longer hair. He would miss the feel of her weaving her fingers through the longer length. Then he became lost in the kiss for a moment before he brought himself back to the task at hand. The unsavory thoughts of what Allura Alt could be doing to his best friend right now quickly dissipated the passion that had begun to build in his body. Breaking away, he placed a quick last kiss on Naveena's swollen lips. Lance looked at Allura with a raised brow. At her nod, he smirked. It was unusual, even for him, to satisfy two women with one kiss.
After making sure that their light travel bags were secure on their bodies, Allura took Lance's hand in her left and reached for the amulet with her right. Pressing the small inset stone, Allura thought they would have a moment of transition. She was wrong. Immediately upon pressing the stone, the scene before them blinked out of existence. Disoriented, they fell to the ground, their hands letting go. Breathing rapidly, Allura was the first to open her eyes. She breathed slowly as she looked into the barrel of laser rifle. Her eyes traveled up the barrel slowly to find herself looking into the green eyes of Lance McClain. She almost laughed as she thought, so much for trying to make contact carefully. Hearing a curse from beside her, she didn't so much as move. She would be shot quickly and without remorse if she were perceived as a threat.
"What the hell? Was that what the portal on the quest felt-" Lance stopped in mid-sentence as he gazed up at his alternate self.