The night sky was awash with color. It seemed as though the earth and sky were uncertain whether to continue to cling to the darkness of the night or turn to face the brightness of the day.
Keith lounged in the balcony, with a mug of coffee in his hand, enjoying the way that the air was cool and sparkling clear. Leisurely mornings like these were rare on Arus. At home, he had four o'clock Lion Practice, followed by judo practice, all before breakfast.
To a certain extent, this trip to Terra was a vacation for him but instead of taking the opportunity to sleep in, he had promised himself this dawn — deliberately waking up early to map out a quiet, solitary time so that he could clear his mind of all distractions and think.
Of course, thinking had to be postponed for a few minutes while he tried to remember how to use the coffeemaker. His helplessness in the kitchen was proof positive that life on Arus had changed him. At home, all he had to do to get his caffeine fix was call the kitchen and ask them to send a fresh cup of coffee up to wherever he was.
Taking another sip of his steaming brew and leaning heavily against the railing with a wide smile on his face. For the first time in more years than he could remember — or at least more than he wanted to remember — he felt young and carefree.
It all came from spending time with Allura. She was so young. So open to the world. Her appetite for life was breathtaking. For her, the world was miraculous, inscrutable, mysterious and magical. It wasn't surprising that being with her brought the wonder back to his life.
The sheltered young princess knew him in a way that he couldn't even begin to understand. She somehow saw through the masks he routinely wore. In her eyes, he saw a clear, sweet empathy.
Allura knew the isolation and pain that rank and privilege could bring. She also knew the loneliness, fear and regret that were the heavy price of leadership. He looked at her and saw a mirror of himself.
He closed his eyes and indulged himself with thoughts of her. The memory of the softness of her skin and the touch of her lips on his gave him no peace. The ache in his gut sharpened.
A scream suddenly pierced the comfortable darkness that surrounded him.
Keith's head jerked up.
ALLURA!
Cursing himself for letting his guard down and not carrying a blaster with him, he quickly retraced his steps to the kitchen door, and turned the knob cautiously. After checking to make sure that the room was empty, he darted inside and checked out the rest of the ground floor.
While he was in the living room, he rummaged through a side table for the blaster that his grandfather kept hidden there. His finely honed senses were alive and tuned to any nuance of sound.
There. Upstairs. In Allura's bedroom.
His hand closed around the butt of the blaster and he inspected it with the expertise honed by years of training. The blaster was his grandfather's, but it still worked. Keith smiled grimly. It was better than nothing.
Feeling better now that he was armed, he crept up the stairs and threw himself against the wall of Allura's bedroom. He listened carefully, but the only sound he could hear was her terrified whimper.
He decided enough was enough and burst into the darkened room. The muzzle of his blaster moved from side to side as Keith moved to neutralize any possible threat to Allura's safety.
But to his surprise, there was no one in the room.
Allura was sitting up in bed, as still as a statue. Her eyes were wide-open, fixed and unseeing. She was utterly still and totally devoid of color.
"What's wrong? Were you having a nightmare?" Keith demanded, placing the blaster on night table beside the bed and lowering himself to the bed. He gently laid his hand on Allura's shoulder.
There was no response. Allura didn't even blink.
Keith began to panic. "Damn it, Allura! Wake up and answer me!" He picked her up and settled her onto his lap.
She made a little sound, almost like a whimper and her lashes fluttered closed, their sooty lengths the only splash of colour on her pale cheeks.
Keith forced himself to calm down and injected a stern note of command into his voice. "Princess. I want you to look at me. Do you hear me? Wake up and look at me."
His voice finally penetrated the dark fog surrounding Allura. She latched onto the familiar sound like a person clutching a life preserver and concentrated on it.
The swirling fog of darkness disappeared as reality seeped back. Allura forced her heavy eyelids to lift and found she staring into Keith's worried face.
She stared at him mutely for a long moment, not really sure that he was real, before whispering his name uncertainly, like a child in desperate need of reassurance, and throwing herself into his arms.
"Shh, it's all right," he murmured, smoothing back her hair and stroking her back. "Are you okay? You looked like you were having a doozy of a nightmare. Do you want to talk about it?"
Allura hid her face in his chest and clutched the blue pajama top he wore. "It wasn't a nightmare, Keith. I was there again, in the place I told you about. But, I felt more then vague impressions this time."
Keith felt a chill run down his spine as he heard her voice. It resonated with the terror that stalked her, even in her dreams. He frowned, remembering how frightened she had been on the balcony of the castle on their wedding day.
He made a mental note to discuss Allura's dreams with Coran when they got back to Arus and turned his attention to comforting his terrified princess.
"Have you had dreams like this before?" Keith asked in a soothing voice as he continued to rub Allura's back. He felt her nod against his chest. "When?"
Allura fought back a sob. "I've had them for a while. I guess they started when just before my mother died and they haven't stopped since. They've been getting more and more intense. Now, there are times that I dream even when I'm awake."
Moments passed in silence before Allura looked up at him. "Keith, stay with me, please? I don't want to be alone right now."
He felt his stomach lurch as he stared into tear-filled eyes. Their sapphire depths seemed even more bottomless than usual. "Of course, he said simply, lowering himself to the bed and enfolding her in his warm embrace.
No further words were spoken. They simply held each other tightly as the sun rose over horizon, marking the start of a new day.