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 Twelve

~Day Four in the Mirror-verse

Keith awakened feeling slightly better than he did the day before, but he knew that his health and situation could turn on a dime. Hearing no sound from the other side of the bed, he decided to get up and get ready before his captor awoke. As soon as his feet hit the floor, he felt the tingle in his arm. He didn't move, and the tingle increased to the point of pain. Releasing a frustrating breath of air, he lay back down in the bed and stared at the ceiling. Keith didn't want to tick her off, but he decided to give his opinion anyway.

"Is this what it will be like every day?" he asked as he continued to look at the ceiling.

"Until you learn your place."

Keith rolled to his side to look her in the face as she lay beside him. "My place is what you say, but I think what you would have is a slave with a broken spirit." Reaching out to move a curl off her shoulder so it fell behind her, he continued, "The things you… admire about me are the very things that putting me 'in my place' will destroy." His voice dropped. "Is that what you want?"

As Allura Alt looked at him, she knew that he was right. She also knew that he had no intentions of staying with her. Looking into his deep brown eyes, she carefully answered, "What I want, and what you will willing give me are two different things, Keith. If I knew you'd stay with me willingly, I wouldn't have any need to teach you your place."

For just a moment, Keith saw a glimpse of his Allura, but then it was gone. For too long, this version of Allura had lived a life of self-gain and blood-lust. He always believed that most people could change, but there were those exceptions who refused to change. Allura Alt was one of them.

Allura Alt continued to look into his eyes. This was the most intimate thing they had done since his return. She moved her eyes from his to his bare chest and ran a finger down the center. Keith rolled on to his back to escape her touch, but they both knew he couldn't escape if she didn't want him to. Right now she didn't want him to. Moving closer to his side, she reached to brush the long bangs off his forehead. Her body was pressed to his side, but he did nothing. It both irritated and frustrated her.

"Tonight, Keith," Allura Alt said with irritation as she moved off the bed and headed for the bath. She didn't even see if he acknowledged her comment. It didn't matter if he acknowledged or not, he would only get a reprieve if her double contacted her before it happened.

Keith watched her enter the bath and then closed his eyes. While he prayed that Allura would contact the Queen, he also dreaded it. Her contact meant the fight would be drawing near and there was nothing he could do to stop it.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Allura and Lance took one last look at the shuttle before they entered the castle proper once again. The shuttle was in great shape and should handle the trip well. The cargo inside was just the type that the now embattled empire would need, almost guaranteeing them entry to Ormond. They just needed to do a final coordination with the Resistance leaders, and they would be on their way.

Entering the conference room, they saw that all the leaders had assembled. "The shuttle is ready to go and so are we," Allura said to the group.

Orla nodded and gestured toward Lotor.

"Merla and I will be heading out as well. She will be commanding the fleet while I am piloting Black Lion."

Allura felt a twinge in her stomach at Lotor's words. Black was Keith's and only Keith's. Even though she knew this was an alternate universe, it still felt wrong and still caused bile to well up in her throat. "I wish you luck, Prince Lotor, in your quest to free your people."

Lotor inclined his head; he knew how difficult this had to be for her considering what Keith had told them of his counterpart. "And you as well, Eleanor. Together, we may bring an end to the death and destruction caused by Altea."

As the group went to file out of the room, Orla took Allura's arm for a moment, pulling her to the side. "Eleanor, if things do not go as you planned, we will work with Lancelot to free him. We won't leave him enslaved to her."

If things didn't go as planned, Allura knew she would be dead. And chances would be good that Lance would be as well. It wasn't something she wanted to think about, but it did give her some comfort that Orla wouldn't leave Keith at the mercy of Allura Alt. "Thank you, Orla."

The seer nodded her head and watched as the young monarch and her friend left the room. "Godspeed, Eleanor," she whispered.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Keith had been pleasantly surprised when Ari came to the dining hall after breakfast. It seemed that the Queen wanted him to become familiar with her battleships and tactical weapons. Ari had been tasked with providing Keith with the diagrams, layouts, and other needed information. Keith's eyes had lit up at the data he had. When he escaped, this information would be useful to the Resistance. Diving into his assignment, he had memorized key information. Now as they broke for lunch, he gazed upon his companion.

"Are you happy here, Ari?"

Ari looked at Keith in surprise. "Of course, Commander. It is an honor to serve at the fortress of Queen Allura."

"You don't have any concerns about her methods or tactics?" Keith asked as he moved some food around on his plate. He actually liked the soldier and didn't understand how he could follow along with the Queen's lethal methods.

The soldier put his fork down for a moment and contemplated the question and the man across from him. "No, Commander, I don't have any concerns. The Queen does what she needs to keep the populace in line."

Keith held his eyes as he said, "Even when the populace being subdued and punished are women and children?"

Ari's eyes hardened slightly. "If people would just follow orders and do as they are told, there wouldn't be the need for punishment."

Shifting his eyes from Ari to his bond-mate armband that was visible through the cut-outs in his light blue shift, he asked, "So people don't have the right to free choice about whom they will marry… or sleep with?" His eyes cut back to Ari's.

The soldier dropped his eyes to his food as he responded. "I'm sorry for the position." Here he stopped to grimace at his choice of words. "The position that you're in. But you are treated well, have food, shelter, and your rank. Most would say that it's a small price to pay to be the bond-mate of a beautiful Queen."

Keith pushed the plate away from in front of him, his appetite gone. The brain-washing and attitudes of those under the Queen's rule were hard to change. Looking at Ari from under his heavy brows, he said, "It's a price I'd willingly let someone else pay."

Ari popped a last bite into his mouth, the conversation ended, and said, "If you're done, Commander, we'll get back to work."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Allura Alt and Haggar stared at the view screen in the command center. Looking at the images showing the Voltron Lions in space along with a sizable portion of the Coalition fleet, the Queen spoke first, "Their course takes them to Ascension. It seems that Prince Lotor has decided that the time has come to free his planet."

Turning to face the Queen, Haggar said, "We can't let them retake the planet. My robeasts are there and we'll need them to bring your empire back. I need to go to Ascension as soon as possible. There won't be a need for many ships as part of the fleet is already there. But I will need to take the Artemis as it has the prototype robeast magnifier ray. If I can just get a few of the robeasts enlarged, Voltron may not even be a problem for us anymore."

The Queen continued to stare at the images. Why now? Why are they choosing to attack at this moment? Allura. Turning her intense gaze to the witch, she said, "You can't go. It's a scheme to lure you away when the Queen of Arus is ready to fight me. Without you here, if something happens to me, she will win. I will die." She turned to look at the images on the screen again. "I can't allow it."

Haggar was silent for a moment. If the queen died, she'd have to look for another with bloodlust to match her own. It was much easier to work with a known quantity than have to develop a new one. "What if I could protect you AND go to Ascension?"

"How?"

Looking around the command center, she said, "Not here. Let's go to my lab."

Nodding, Allura Alt followed her. The soldiers and staff watched the two as they traveled through the fortress. They were curious about what was going on, but no one would look too long or ask a question. Such behavior sometimes led to disappearances.

When carefully enclosed in the walls of the lab, Allura Alt said once again, "How?"

Inclining her head in deference to the Queen, Haggar responded, "I can cast a spell so that any major wounds you receive heal themselves and are not fatal. You would still bleed and sustain minor injuries. However, if you were to receive a stab wound or blast to the chest, you would appear dead and then rejuvenate."

A gleam lit the Queen's eye. "Thus giving me an advantage over her."

"Yes, my Queen."

"Cast your spell, witch. The Queen of Arus will never suspect."

With that, Haggar began her intonations of protection and renewal. Neither the witch, nor the Queen of Altea realized that Allura of Arus was more than a match for the both of them.