Author's Notes:
Thankyou for all the reviews. This is the last chapter for my KAEX Challenge reply for 'Royal Twist'
Just to let you know I've added a twist to one of Voltron's supporting characters.
Chapter Six.
[ Two days later ]
When Keith entered the medical viewing room, he palmed the speaker button and spoke to the bespectacled middle-aged woman in white coat on the other side of the viewing window. "How is she, Dr Gorma?"
The doctor bowed to the crown prince. "Your Highness, the medical regen process is complete. This is the first time we have used our technology with someone who is not Arusian."
"We're more alike than you think." Keith gave a knowing smile.
"Our medical database is limited to our quadrant, and she is the fìrst Earthling we've bio-scanned. Our fìndings showed that Earthlings and Arusians are surprisingly compatible. Though, it seems people from Earth have yet to evolve to harness their extra sensory ability." Dr Gorma raised a holo-screen and stared at Allura's bio-scan. Tapping her chin, Dr Gorma silently mused, I wonder if Commander Allura had told His Highness? Perhaps she would ask her patient on a later time.
"People from Earth are rather…empirical. Generally, they haven't used the full capabilities of their 'sixth sense' though there are exceptions. Will she heal completely?" Keith asked.
"Her ankle, from bones, muscles, tissues, and veins are all fully regenerated. She is one hundred percent healed."
"Thank you, Dr Gorma. But why is she still unconscious?"
"It's the concussion she had. We have also applied the regen tech on the bruise on her head. It is just a matter of time until she awakens. We will move her to the ward in a few minutes."
"Move the Commander to the hospital's royal suite. I intend to watch over her until she wakes up," he ordered.
"It shall be done, Your Highness," she replied, bowing to the prince.
xoxoxoxo
Keith had been watching Allura for almost two days now. Dr Gorma reassured him that she will wake up in her own time; it would just be a matter of days. Perhaps she is catching up from lost sleep? He never left her side.
When Allura's sleep became restless, she stirred; her eyes began moving behind her eyelids.
"Please wake up, Allura." Keith held her hand, gently stroking her fingers and palm. He whispered to her how much he loved her, how important she was to him. He stood up, kissed her forehead, and then brushed his lips against hers.
Then, he heard her mumble incoherent words, her voice soft and gentle, almost cooing. He heard a name: a name that was distinctly not his.
Keith stiffened. A sharp pain gripped his heart. He then ran his hands through his hair. Was Allura being aloof because she loved someone else? Did she have a boyfriend or even a lover back on Earth? Did he read her wrong? Allura meant the world to him. He even dropped everything so he could be here for her. He wanted to be at her side the moment she wakes up.
When will you wake up, Allura? l have so much to tell you...to ask you...
Slowly letting out a breath, Keith reminded himself that he needed to be patient.
xoxoxoxo
Her mind screamed at her. Tell him! You should've told him the day you arrived! Tell him already!
She was in and out of consciousness. Why was she having a terrible headache? She felt so warm and cold at the same time. Was she dreaming? She tried to open her eyes, but she was too sleepy and her eyelids were too heavy.
In her dream, she remembered her first kiss. It was from Keith. She felt his warm lips on hers. Did he just kiss her now?
Allura wanted to tell him something important, but she couldn't remember what it was. Then she heard crying, somewhere far away.
She called out his name.
Whispering soothing words to him, Please be okay, I'm here now, I'm holding you. Please don't cry. I love you so much.
Protect the heir of Arus.
She saw blurry images of messed-up black hair, and eyes that held the colour of dark chocolate. He looked worried, tired, and sad.
Her eyes hesitantly fluttered as she stared at an unfamiliar ceiling. She then felt a comfortable weight on her hand. Finding her bearings, she tried to recall her last memory.
Arus. Keith. Prince. Bomb exploding at her clamped foot. I just saved Keith from being killed!
Her eyes snapped wide open. Where am I? Her hand automatically went straight to her sternum, feeling for that familiar chain around her neck. Where's my chain necklace…where's my dog tag and pendant? She realised she was wearing a hospital gown and was no longer in her uniform.
"Welcome back, Allura."
Keith's deep, calm voice was music to Allura's ears. She stared at him, unblinking. She gulped a breath. The way he look at her made her heart jump. He still looked so handsome even with his dishevelled shirt and tousled hair like he raked it a thousand times. She noticed there were dark lines under his eyes. How long has he been sitting there? Was he watching her all this time? "Where are my…personal effects?"
Keith smiled at her, relief coursed through his face. "Did you mean the dog tag with a pendant? It's here on your bedside table." Keith gestured towards the table beside her. Without letting go of her hand, he pressed his comm. "She's awake," he said.
From the other side of his comm, he heard in the background a burst of loud cheers, relieved sighs, and teary voices. Within seconds, there was a knock on the door, and when it opened, there was a crowd gathered outside the doorway.
Lady Hys, carrying a large bouquet of flowers, stepped inside the hospital royal suite. "You're quite the hero, Commander Allura."
Allura hitched her breath. She let go of Keith's hand and cringed from expected onslaught of spiteful tirade. She was surprised to see Lady Hys, with her eyes and nose both red. Had she been crying?
Lady Hys placed the bouquet in the empty vase on top of a side table. "Thank you for saving His Highness. You are so very brave, Commander. If there's anything we could do for you, just let us know." She grabbed a handkerchief from her front apron and dabbed her eyes. "We are so grateful, Allura. The whole of Arus is indebted to you."
"Lady Hys…" Allura began, shifting in her bed, trying to sit up. What was that all about?
Dame Hys checked her watch. "Oh, look at the time, I should be checking on dinner." She headed towards the doorway.
"Make sure you tell our chef to make Allura's favourite," Keith reminded his head-of-staff while handing Allura the button to adjust her bed.
When Lady Hys left the hospital suite, Dr Gorma arrived, happily greeting Allura. "How is my patient feeling today?"
"How long was I out?" Allura asked, slowly reclining her hospital bed.
"Almost a week," Keith replied, standing to give way to Dr Gorma.
Allura grabbed Keith's hand. "Please stay. I have so many questions."
Keith glanced at Dr Gorma for her nod of approval.
"I won't be long, Your Highness. Just a quick check," Dr Gorma replied. Lifting a handheld scanner, a beam of bluish-white light ran along Allura's body. She then glanced at a small holo-screen that popped out from the scanner. "All her vital signs are good. She's in perfect health and has completely recovered."
"My foot and ankle?"
"We have regen technology." Keith smiled.
Allura's eyes widened. Not even Earth, with all its advanced military technology, had fully developed their regenerative medical science.
"We may be far from Galaxy Alliance's headquarters for military assistance, but we have our advanced technology in medical science," Keith explained.
Looking at Dr Gorma, Allura asked, "When do I get out of here?"
"You will be under observation for the next twelve to twenty-four hours and if everything checks out, we'll discharge you tomorrow. If there are no questions, we'll serve dinner in an hour. In the meantime, enjoy your stay in the hospital's royal suite, Commander." Dr Gorma replied and left the hospital's royal suite.
Realising she was finally alone with Keith, Allura let out a cleansing breath. She reached over to the bedside table, grabbed and wore her dog tag and pendant. "The device you found, what happened to it?"
"It was a spy drone. The Drules had information about our planet, and a well-guarded secret."
"Is it related as to why Graham told me to protect the heir of Arus at all cost?"
"Yes. I will tell you about it in due time, but for now, I want you to rest."
"I feel rested, Keith. There are things I want to tell you...I need to tell you…I've been trying to tell you, but couldn't...yet.
"And there is something I need to ask you…and tell you…oh gods, I don't even know where to begin." Keith scrubbed his face with his hands. "How about you go first?"
"This regen technology you have, was my foot completely severed?"
Keith sat on the hospital bed, facing her. "Almost. And you had a concussion, which we also used regen tech to heal your bruise. Even though we have this medical technology, we have yet to figure out how to speed up the process or even replicate the technology in a portable device. It took at least two days to reattach and heal your foot and ankle."
Allura nodded as she listened to Keith.
He held her hand."And despite our medical technology, you had me worried. I thought I was going to lose you. We never tried regen on anyone else except Arusians. I ordered Dr Gorma to use the technology on you even if you were from Earth. I knew we were physically compatible, after you and I…we connected and joined together that night before I left the Academy."
"Keith…I…"
He placed his finger between her lips. "Wait. Hear me out, Allura. I need to tell you this." Keith let out a deep breath. "I don't care if you have a boyfriend or other lovers back on Earth. I love you. I loved you since our Academy days. That night we had, I never forgot, I never forgotten you. You plagued my dreams; my memory of you helped me survive my first year defending my planet. We didn't even have any communications with GA to ask for reinforcements. It was the strength of the Arusian people that prevailed, and only after the war did we find a way to re-establish communications beyond our quadrant."
Allura's eyes shimmered. Was that a heart-felt confession? "When you didn't show up on our graduation day, it scared me. I looked for you for days, weeks even. It was as if you never existed, like some figment of my imagination. But I couldn't forget you. You had my heart, you were my first kiss, my first...and only love. I was devastated for weeks. My aunt took me in for a few months, until I got back on track." Tears started falling from her eyes.
Cupping her face, Keith rubbed her tears with his thumbs and kissed her cheeks. "Allura, do you think you still have room in your heart to love me back?"
Mirroring his actions, Allura held his face and placed her forehead against his. "Keith Kogane, you are a silly man."
"Was that a yes?"
She shook her head. "Yes, of course, yes." She kissed him hard, pouring her heart to him.
After a few minutes, cuddled in each other's arms, Allura glided her fingers on Keith's hard chest. She tipped her head back and met his gaze. "Keith, I have to tell you something very important. Promise me, you won't get angry."
"After scaring me last week, thinking I might lose you, nothing you would say would make me upset." He kissed her forehead.
Allura took a deep breath, and the quietly spoke, "When I was invited to join the training for Special Forces, I poured all my heartache, hoping to forget you, but I couldn't. Especially after an incident when we were rescuing two royals from planet Pollux."
"Did you know those royals you saved are my cousins? I have spoken to them when they got back to Pollux. They told me about how you saved them."
"We only got to them by sheer miracle. There was something that helped us get through to you cousins." Allura paused, hesitant about what she would reveal. Would he believe her? There was only one way to find out. "Lions, Keith. One blue and one black lion appeared out of nowhere, each bearing the same crest I saw on your file that Graham gave me; the same crest that's on the castle's entrance."
"My family's coat of arms?" Keith rubbed his jaw. "Did you know Coran knew you were coming thanks to my father's spirit? You were called the 'Protector of the Heir of Arus'. And you just saved me from that bomb."
"I've heard those words before."
"Do you think it was your destiny that you would be sent here to protect me?"
"It's not just you."
Keith knotted his brows, confused.
Allura lifted her dog tag's chain, and showed Keith the heart-shaped pendant. Using her thumbmark as access key, the pendant beamed a holo-screen in front of them. Tapping the holo-screen, Allura opened a file of pictures.
"Keith…I would like you to meet your son...Kenneth."
xoxoxoxo
"Daaaaad, I ran out of popcorn."
Keith chuckled. He stretched his arm and gave his half-full bucket of popcorn to his son. Sitting up from his bean bag, he grab a glass of water beside the replicator and handed it to Kenneth. "You are having way too much fun over popcorn. And what will your m—"
Keith's comm beeped. "Yes, Captain?"
"Your Majesty, Space Station Uluru is within range."
"Thank you, Captain. We'll launch shortly." Keith hit the end-button. "C'mon, they're waiting."
Kenneth bounced up with excitement, tidying up his mess as fast as he could.
Both father and son ran towards the launch bay. Within a few minutes they were flying in Black Lion.
An incoming call flashed in Black's view screen.
"Hi boys!" The Queen of Arus' face appeared on screen, smiling. She was wearing her white-and-pink pilot uniform.
"Mom!" Kenneth beamed from Black's co-pilot seat. "I missed you, mom," he said, teary eyed. He rubbed his eyes with his shirt sleeve.
"I missed you too, Kenny. We both did." Allura gave his son a warm smile.
"I missed Anna too. Where is she, mom?"
"I'm here, big brother!" His seven-year-old sister waved on-screen. She was seated behind her mother. "Daddy, are we going to form Voltron?"
"Not today, Anna. Your Uncle Lance is still on vacation," Keith replied, smiling at his daughter. She looked like a little replica of her mother, with wavy cornflower yellow hair and bright blue eyes. "But, we can have one round around Arus."
"I guess that's okay." Anna nodded.
"Ready, Allura?" Keith asked.
"Ready, Keith. And welcome home, Your Majesty." Allura blew a kiss to her husband.
Both Black and Blue lions hit their thrusters and headed towards the planet below the orbiting the space station.
END / FINISH
(for now)
Endnotes:
- So many questions unanswered about Kenneth, #KeithandAllura, and most especially about Voltron: how did they discover the robot lions and form Voltron? How and when did the rest of the team went to Arus? The answers will be in the next story of this arc, on the next KAEX Challenge raised inside the KAEX Yahoogroup:
groups-dot-yahoo-dot-com /neo/groups/kaex/info
- Thankyou sunshineleo for the idea of kaex challenge story arc.
- Inspiration for Allura's character twist was from my favourite Sci-Fi Romance (SFR) Author Anna Hackett's latest book 'On a Cyborg Planet'
- inspiration for regenerative technology from the movie Fifth Element and Sci-Fi Romance (SFR) author Linnea Sinclair's book Finders Keepers.
Thank you for all your reviews. Your continued feedback is greatly appreciated.
cheers!