Shattered

By Shannon (AKA KittyShan, LancesKitten)

Originally Published 10/20/2015

Disclaimers: Voltron and all associated characters are owned and copyrighted by WEP. Original/new characters belong to the author.

Be Advised - This chapter contains violence, sexual situations, foul language.

Rating: M Violence, Sexual Situations

Chapter 9

Sven lunged forward and grabbed Lotor's sword. Once the weapon was freed from its scabbard, he brought it up, resting its tip against the delicate underside of the prince's chin.

"Let the woman go," Sven met Lotor's glare with one of his own.

"Ryou-"

Sven twisted his wrist and blood drizzled down the blue skin of the prince's throat. Reaching up, Lotor touched the hot liquid. He lifted his hand in front of his face and examined the scarlet color that now coated his fingers.

"You will regr-"

"If you do not release the woman, you will be dead."

Reluctantly, Lotor allowed Romelle to pull free of his grip. He spared her a quick glance before returning his attention to Sven. The fire burning behind Lotor's yellow eyes would be enough to terrify a lesser man, but Sven remained unimpressed.

"To me, Princess."

Romelle's eyes widened at Sven's words. This had to be a sign that he remembered something.

"Princess." Lotor spat the word out as if it soured his tongue. "She is no more than a whore."

Sven's body tensed and he twisted the blade a little deeper into Lotor's throat. He would end this piece of sh- A small hand placed on his arm stopped his train of thought.

"Please," Romelle plead, "we must escape this place."

Sven nodded his acknowledgement but never once removed his eyes from Lotor's face. "Call your man."

The Prince of Doom seemed to consider his options; it didn't take long for him to choose to save his own skin. "Guard."

As the Drule soldier stepped into the room, he couldn't believe his eyes! His Prince being held captive in his very own dungeon by one of those damned space explorers and a whore. He didn't know whether to draw his weapon, or laugh. Sven quickly remedied his indecision.

"Toss your weapons onto the floor and kick them away or I will slit Lotor's throat."

The guard's eyes widened and he looked askance at his mighty Prince.

"Just do as he says, you moron!" Lotor growled.

Once the weapons were stripped away from the Drules, Sven instructed the guard to stand by his prince.

"Miss, please bring me the ray gun."

Romelle did as asked. As she handed the weapon to Sven, he handed her Lotor's sword.

"Miss, please gather the other weapons and take them from the room. Wait there for me, outside the cell. I do not wish a lady such as yourself to see any more violence than you must."

"Of course," Romelle spoke the words in little more than a whisper. She felt a deep flush work its way across her cheeks and down her throat. It was incredulous that in such a place, under such circumstances, she could feel this way. Once more, she was struck by the deep connection she felt to this man. 'Perhaps it is his valor or that he is my savior?' Somewhere inside her heart, she knew that simply wasn't the truth. Somehow, the fates had brought them together.

Suddenly aware of Lotor's glare crawling over her skin, Romelle picked up the pace, grabbing the weapons and hurrying from the room. As she stepped through the doorway, she hesitated for just a moment as she considered looking back at the Prince of Doom just to be sure he was truly under Sven's control. But she decided against it, refusing to give the piece of scum the satisfaction.

"Now," Sven held the ray gun aimed at Lotor's head. "Both of you, remove your clothes and toss them over by the door."

"Are you mad? I am the Crown Prince of Doom!" Lotor bellowed.

"No, I am not mad, but I am growing impatient." Sven smirked. "And I do not care who you are, if I shoot you through the head, you will die."

"You wouldn't dar-"

Lotor's words were cut short as Sven fired a single shot through the guard's head. The sight of the man's brains splattered on the wall and floor surrounding them made Lotor's stomach turn.

"You were saying, Prince Lotor?"

Lotor quickly removed his clothing, now convinced that whatever Hagar had done to the Terran had addled his brains!

"His clothes too," Sven commanded, indicating the dead soldier.

"But-"

"NOW!" Sven's growing ire spurred Lotor into action and he quickly pulled the clothing from the guard's body. He tossed everything toward the door and started to stand but just as he did so, Sven brought the butt of the gun down hard, cracking it against the prince's skull. Lotor slumped to the ground.

Leaning down, Sven felt for a pulse. When he found one, he considered finishing the monster off. 'One shot...' he thought. But a sound from the doorway caught his attention and he looked up to find a terrified pair of midnight blue eyes watching his every move.

"It is all right, my lady." Sven tried to sound as soothing as possible. "I will not allow this beast to hurt you any more." At her nod, he continued. "Please, I need you to bring me their belts so I can restrain Lotor before he wakes."

"He will live?" she whispered, handing him both of the Drule's discarded belts.

"Yes." Sven said as he set to work binding Lotor's hands, then feet. When he looked up, he saw the terror in Romelle's eyes.

"They murdered my family," tears began to slip unbidden down her cheeks.

"Do you want me to end his life?" Sven asked without emotion. Even though he did not remember, his instincts had taken over. The Galaxy Alliance had trained him as a specialist - a sniper, an assassin - and right now, that training had saved his life, whether he knew it or not.

He watched Romelle and when he looked at her, something tugged at his memory. He felt as if he knew her, and yet he had this feeling they had never met before. Sven examined her every feature; a slim but curvy figure, long blonde hair, eyes that glittered like sapphires. She had an adorable, slightly up-turned nose, and lips that were rosy and lush. Spirited. His pulse quickened and a fiery rage burned through his veins at the very thought of what the Prince of Doom may have done to her. In that moment, he knew he would do anything for this woman.

"No," Romelle's voice was soft and low. "I just want to leave this place."

"Of course," Sven said. "Please, step outside so I can change into the guard's clothing and then we will find a way out of this hell."

: )

: )

When Sven, now wearing a Drule soldier's uniform, stepped into the hallway, Romelle handed him a dagger along with Lotor's sword. He looked her up and down, and noted she had cut both the sleeves off her gown, as well as a considerable length off of the skirt. She had made use of the remnants by using them to strap a dagger around her thigh.

"The skirt would only slow me down and get in my way," Romelle explained, sensing his discomfort.

"Smart." Sven replied and he couldn't help but notice that the Polluxian Princess blushed prettily. He wanted to ask her a thousand questions, to spend hours with her, to get to know her. But he knew this wasn't the time or the place - he had to get them both to safety.

"Do you know how to get out of here?" he asked.

"I know how to get outside," Romelle began, "and I know which building houses the smaller airships, but I have people here - my ladies-in-waiting."

Sven seemed to consider this. "How many and where?"

"Three, and I don't know."

"And how long before a guard will come to relieve the one I killed?"

She winced at the memory of the dead man's body. "Three and a half, maybe four hours, at most."

"Then we had better start searching." Sven eyed her for a moment. "If we do not find them-"

"Then you can leave without me."

"I didn't mean-"

Romelle turned her back to him. "I will not leave my maids to suffer in this horrible place."

Sven sighed. He knew he wouldn't leave his people behind if he were in her place, either. Reaching out, he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Please, I will not abandon you, or your ladies here, but we must work quickly. We must leave this place as soon as we can."

Romelle turned back around and met his eyes. "I'm exhausted. I was over-reacting. I am sorry, Sven."

"Sven?" He looked at her, perplexed. Something about the name felt incredibly familiar.

"Yes, Sven." Romelle gave him a hopeful smile. "It is your real name."

"Do we know one another?"

Romelle felt a deep sadness at the excitement in his voice. "I'm sorry, but no. I only know who you are because you were close to my cousin, before..."

"Before what? And who is your cousin?"

"Wait, Sven," she laid a hand against his chest, her breath catching in her throat when he covered it with his own hand and held it against his heart. For a moment she couldn't remember what she was about to say.

"Go on...?"

"Sven, it is a long story and I promise I will tell you everything I can, but first we must leave this place!"

Although he looked disappointed, Sven nodded his understanding. "Will you at least tell me why I called you Princess?"

She gave him a bashful smile. "Because I look just like my cousin. The Princess Allura of Arus."

"Does that mean you are royalty, too?"

"Yes," she nodded. "I am the Princess of Pollux, Romelle."

"Romelle, what a beautiful name." He tried it out, but with his thick Norwegian accent, it sounded like he was saying, "Roma."