Allura picked up a fresh piece of stationery and continued with the exhausting task of signing notes of appreciation for the awesome number of wedding gifts that had been arriving in droves.
She was exhausted.
As Keith predicted, their plans for a simple wedding had been hastily quenched when Nanny found out about it. Citing royal tradition and the people's need to celebrate, Nanny had lobbied tirelessly for the chance to put together an event that would be the talk of the Far Universe— even if she had only two weeks to plan it.
Allura wished with all her heart that she had not given in to Nanny — at least that way, she wouldn't have to sign as many notes. She knew that she could have delegated that job to her secretaries, but she felt that it was the least she could do to show her— or rather their — appreciation.
And as if that wasn't enough, she and Keith had had almost two weeks of non-stop activity, ever since the formal announcement of the nuptials. They had scheduled public appearances in between the Lion Practices, leaving them with very little time to sleep or even rest.
It was a wonder that she had managed to find the time to think about how she wanted to have the twenty-room apartment that she was to share with Keith prepared. The demands on her time prevented her from conducting an ocular inspection of the suite, so instead, she gave instruction to Nanny, trusting that her former governess would carry out her responsibilities with the zeal and enthusiasm she was known for.
Shaking herself out of her reverie, Allura began to sign yet another note, noting with some dismay that despite having signed enough appreciation cards to make her hand hurt, the stack on her desk was around two inches tall.
She was so distracted that she didn't even hear the door swish open.
While waiting for the Princess to acknowledge his presence, Keith took the opportunity to watch her. She was seated at her writing desk, her honey-blonde hair twisted into an intricate arrangement of braids. Her head was bent slightly as she wrote and her flawless profile was turned towards him.
With the sunshine streaming through the window beside her, she looked so fragile and lovely that she seemed ethereal. It was a perfect setting for someone who radiated life and laughter and compassion.
He cleared his throat to catch her attention.
Allura looked up with a tired smile that brightened when she saw him.
"Keith," She raised a hand to invite him to join her and indicated the stacks of cards that she was supposed to sign. "Please tell me that you're going to offer to sign some of these."
He chuckled at the hopeful tone in her voice and retorted, "No. You wanted to do this. I decided not to waste my breath arguing with you. I knew I'd need all my patience for that video-conference with Garrison Command."
"It's not that I wanted to do this, but rather that protocol demands that I personally address the ones coming from other Heads of State." Allura stretched her arms in front of her with a tired sigh, "Besides, from what you tell me, if it comes to a choice between arguing with those generals and working with Nanny on all the preparations that need to be made, Nanny seems to be the lesser of the two evils."
Keith rolled his eyes and perched on the corner of Allura's desk. "I'll keep that in mind the next time. God, I hate having to listen to politicians and bureaucrats. Is it always like this?"
Allura smiled sympathetically, "Sometimes, but not always. The politicians and bureaucrats you hate so much are a nuisance but you'll see that they're a necessary evil. By the way, what did you talk about?"
Keith shrugged, "Well, Space Marshall Graham spent twenty-seven minutes lecturing me about my good fortune and then he ordered me to report to Terra so that we could discuss the closer ties between Galaxy Alliance and Arus."
"Closer ties? I don't think that the ties could get any closer. You'll be the only Prince Consort who serves as a Galaxy Garrison officer," Allura smiled.
"Tell me about it." Keith grimaced. "Space Marshall Graham is taking all the credit for getting us together. If he didn't send me to Arus, I would never have met you, etceteras, etceteras, etceteras."
Allura laughed lightly. "I'm sure Lance got a kick out of that."
Keith's eyes lightened briefly in amusement before turning solemn again. "He also ordered me to report to Terra for a meeting. He wants to discuss how to best take advantage of my new roles as Knight Defender of Arus and as a Garrison officer on active duty. "
Allura's brow furrowed in confusion. "What ever for?"
Keith sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets. "I've heard rumors that Galaxy Garrison is fractionalized now. Some of these factions have been pressuring the Space Marshal into realigning the role of the Arus into one that's more... active."
Allura stared at him with dawning horror. "You mean that they want to use Arus as a staging area for offensive operations against Zarkon, don't you?"
Keith's expression was as placid as ever, but he couldn't hide the worry that glinted in his eyes. "I don't have a very good feeling about this," he admitted. "It doesn't seem like Graham's style. Something's up."
Allura frowned thoughtfully, "I know what you mean. The Alliance has never interfered with the internal politics of the member planets. They've always respected our sovereignty, even it they didn't agree with our policies..."
Her voice trailed off as the alarm sirens began to fill the castle. Without another word, she picked up her skirts and followed Keith to Castle Control.