Rool Gorma was the product of two worlds. He was a scientist trained in the best and latest techniques that science had to offer and he was also the descendant of a long line of native Arussian healers and wise men.
His unique approach to healing blended the modern and the traditional into a unified, cohesive force. He was a firm believer in science but he was also knew that there were things that he would never understand.
Though we are physical beings, never forget that we are more their bodies, he often lectured his students. Not only do we have minds, we have minds, hearts and souls. Learn to harness their power to accelerate the healing process.
The decor of medical wing of the Castle of Lions mirrored Gorma's holistic philosophy. The rooms and suites in his little fiefdom were decorated in warm, peaceful colors that the doctor hoped would bring peace to the often-fragile minds and hearts of his patients.
Exchanging greetings with his staff as he made his way to the Royal Suite, Gorma knocked and waited to be admitted before entering the room. As he had expected, sunlight streamed through the sparkling windows of the room, filling the room with brilliant warmth.
Soothing music played softly in the background, the melodious notes mixing in with the heady scents of the flowers arranged in clusters around the bed where Allura sat, her frilly pink nightgown a splash of color against the pale cream bedcovers.
The doctor bit back a smile as the barely disguised exasperation on the Princess' face as the Prime Minister and the Princess' former Nanny surrounded the bed, hovering about her like the clucking mother hens she often likened them to.
"Your Highness," Gorma greeted them with a quick bow. "Nanny. Coran."
Allura returned his greeting with a gamine smile that took him back years. For a brief instant, she looked like the sprite who had ruled her nursery with her unique brand of winsome charm and Gorma couldn't resist the urge to chuck her under her chin.
The princess responded accordingly, the doctor's simple gesture bringing to mind half-forgotten memories of a childhood ritual. She leaned back against her pillows, closed her eyes, opened her mouth and stuck out her tongue.
"I should have known better." Gorma chuckled as he rooted around in the deep pockets of his white laboratory coat for one of the candies he always had on hand for his younger patients. He discovered a small piece of taffy, which he unwrapped and gingerly popped into the princess' mouth.
Delight shone in the Princess' eyes as she enjoyed the simple pleasure of chewing on her sweet. "Your taffy is as good as I remember it to be, Doctor. You used to give this to me whenever I got better after being sick."
"I'll reserve judgment on that," Gorma replied noncommittally. "I suppose you're feeling better then?" he asked as he pressed a button on a wall-mounted control-panel. The servomechanism hummed in response and the walls opened, revealing the state-of-the-art equipment that were the medical profession's stock-in-trade.
"Much better, thank you," Allura laughed. "I actually manage to stay awake now, you know." It had been almost a week since she had regained consciousness and she had spent the time since then sleeping and gathering her strength.
She cast a wistful glance at the sunlit gardens and shot the doctor a pleading smile. "And since I feel so much stronger now, perhaps you could see to my release? It's not that I don't appreciate everyone's care for me but being cooped up like this makes me cranky and irritable."
"So I've heard from the nurses," Gorma teased. He could easily imagine how Allura felt. Never one to sit still, he was a horrible patient himself. He understood why Allura chafed at the inactivity now that she felt stronger.
"That's why I asked Nanny and Coran to stay with you," he continued as he performed his examination. "You might get bored enough to go wandering, like you did when you were younger. We all still remember how you used to disappear from your bed to play hide-and-seek with the space mice.
Allura flushed guiltily and opened her mouth to defend herself, but any possible rejoinder she could have made was interrupted by the Prime Minister's wry voice as he waded into arena with his verbal fists raised.
"I doubt you will be able to cure our Princess of her need to wander, Rool. She continually does it, even though she has been explicitly told not to do so." Coran shook his head in exasperation. "I'm sure that you've heard the story of how she took the blue lion out without permission"
"But you have to admit though, it was a great first flight," a new voice broke into the conversation. "Much better than mine, in fact. I don't know how the Princess did it, but she managed to take the lion into the air AND land it safely too... before fainting, of course."
Gorma couldn't help but smile as he watched Allura glow with pleasure at the praise but his smile faded at the sight of Keith. Despite the seeming nonchalant expression on Keith's face, Gorma could sense that there was something weighing heavily on the Prince Consort's mind.
He shrugged off his strange sense of discomfort, dismissing it as ridiculous. From what he could gather from the hospital grapevine, Keith — together with Nanny and Coran — rarely left Allura's side since she awakened.
The strange triumvirate spent hours at the Princess's bedside, reading to her, teasing her and even watching over her while she slept. The results of their devotion were painfully obvious, even to Gorma's critical eye. Although the fact she couldn't remember anything since Haggar's appearance in Castle Control was cause for concern, Allura's recovery was remarkable.
Allura's return had changed the lives of those who surrounded her as well. Coran seemed healthier and more robust; Nanny less intense. But as for Keith... Gorma paused a moment as he studied the Prince Consort surreptitiously.
Although he was the physician of record to the Voltron Force, he had only a passing acquaintance with the Prince Consort and the other members of the Force. His duties to the people of Arus began when theirs had ended and, unless their paths crossed by chance, he only saw the Voltron Force when they were in need of medical attention.
"They're perfect together, aren't they?" Nanny's soft whisper startled the doctor out of his reverie. "Like two halves to a whole." She dabbed at her eyes with a corner of her ever-present apron. "Juliana would have been pleased. Keith is everything she had hoped for and more."
Gorma hid his reservations with a diplomatic grunt. Perhaps the two young people just needed some privacy to work out their feelings, he decided. God knows that they'll never get it with Nanny and Coran hovering around them like two old crows.
He decided that it was time to play matchmaker. After all, it was the least he could do. Bowing slightly, Gorma turned to Coran and gestured theatrically towards the door. "Perhaps you and Nanny would like to join me in my study."
"I have new blend of tea, made from herbs that grow on the slopes of the Polani mountains. Perhaps you have heard of it? It's supposed to a folk remedy for arthritis, you know." Gorma continued.
The reluctance on the two faces before him was almost comical. Neither Nanny nor Coran seemed inclined to accept his invitation, so Gorma decided to take matters into his own hands. With an unrepentant grin, the doctor shepherded his guests out of the room and allowed the vanadium doors to close behind their retreating backs.