Dinner Plans
His Majesty, King Bandor of Pollux made his way to the third floor of the Castle of Lions. His cousin had invited him to have dinner with her and Lance, and she had stressed that she only wanted him there. The tall, slight built king with auburn hair sighed internally, sure that the discussion was going to be about Sven and Romell.
Bandor did not want to have the discussion, and he was also upset that he had to miss dinner with Elena. Well, Elena and Fauk, since the prince kept his sister under a high level of chaperonage. Bandor found it irksome, considering some of what he'd heard about Fauk's private life. However, he knew that the rules were different for princesses, and his wedding was only six weeks away. Thinking about princesses made him think about his sister, and how the fact that she was a princess contributed to the situation she was in.
It was so long ago when his family had gone to Doom, where his older brother Avok had let the evil witch Haggar turn him into a robeast. Pollux was aligned with the Drule Empire, and King Coba wanted to bring down Voltron and conquer Arus for himself, while double crossing Lotor. In hind sight it was hard to say which idea was worse; his brother turning himself into a robeast, or his father trying to double cross the crown prince. When it was all over with, Romelle was Lotor's prisoner and Bandor had switched his loyalty to Voltron and the Alliance.
When Bandor had found out that Romelle was alive, and had managed to escape Lotor, along with the Pit of Skulls he took it to be a sign that Pollux would rise again. When she had come home, bringing Sven with her, an ex-Galaxy Alliance pilot, and member of the Voltron force he had been overjoyed. The attraction between the pair was very apparent, and Bandor had pushed Sven to declare his feelings.
He knew that his planet's defense forces would not have rebuilt so quickly if it had not been for Sven. He had taken the resources that Wade had given Pollux, in return for swearing loyalty to him and the Galaxy Alliance, and used those along with his knowledge to turn the Polluxian forces into a once again respected fighting team. Bandor and Romelle had rallied the people behind the restored royal house, while doing a great deal of groveling whenever Wade came to visit, which had been too often for their taste.
Four years after peace had been declared Sven was still on Pollux, and still 'courting' Romelle, while running the Defense Force for the planet. By that point Bandor had heard numerous comments on the relationship, and what was Sven's official position in the royal family. He remembered how he had previously had to force Sven to declare his interest in Romelle, and had decided that he would just have to step in again.
His decision to do so had caused more sleepless nights than he cared to remember, as the events had unfolded over the last year. Bandor felt guilty because his actions had put Romelle in the situation she was in, just like their father's actions had ultimately put her in the Pit of Skulls. In Bandor's opinion, at the end of the day none of the males of the Pollux royal family had done right by the princess, or protected her like they should have done. That was part of the reason why he respected Fauk for how he acted towards Elena, and went along with it.
Bandor pushed those thoughts out of his mind, as he arrived at the dining room on the third floor. Higgins the butler led him through the room, and out to the balcony, where Lance and Allura were sitting. They were already into cocktails, and offered him one, which he took gladly, hoping it would help the conversation. The next ten minutes were spent chatting about the wrap up from the wedding, and some good natured teasing about Bandor's upcoming nuptials.
"All I have to say is that you had better hope Elena doesn't have six names like my bride did! I was a nervous wreck trying to remember what order they were in." Lance observed with smile, as he took a final drag on his cigarette. Bandor replied that he didn't know how many names Elena had, which made Lance and Allura laugh. He realized it was good to be with his cousin and her husband, and liked how they understood him so well.
"I thought we could have dinner inside, but then come back out here for dessert, if the weather holds." Allura explained, rising from the table. Bandor had finished his drink, an earth cocktail known as a martini and was feeling a little happier than he had been before. They sat down at the table in the dining room that was done in greens and yellows, giving it a spring like feel. The light wood table was set with linen place mats, which showed off fine china, crystal, and silver. Higgins served their food and wine, before he left, closing the door behind him.
"Bandor, I think you know why we wanted to talk to you in private." Allura questioned him, after they had taken several bites of the dinner. He sighed audibly, and took a swallow of his wine as he looked up at her.
"It is about Romelle and Sven, right?" Bandor asked, as Lance and Allura nodded their heads.
"Have you talked to Sven at all?" Lance inquired, to see what, if anything, Bandor had done so far.
"Lately, I usually try to avoid talking to him because it goes nowhere. However, I am trying to avoid a major scandal before my wedding, so I read him the riot act after the reception. His behavior had not been good, and was only adding fuel to the rumors. I asked him to please make the effort to spend time with Romelle, and to treat her decently while we were all on Arus." Bandor paused, as he remembered the conversation "I finished my spiel by telling him that when the celebrations were over with he could take his fucking ass back to Crydor and freeze to death for all I cared. Probably not my best moment, but really, I'm at my wit's end!"
Lance looked at the young man with sympathy, as he thought about his conversation with Sven. He was willing to bet that once Bandor wasn't distracted with his wedding and honeymoon, he would give Sven his full concentration. Somehow he didn't think it would be a pretty outcome of the situation. Allura for her part wished Bandor had not told Sven what he had, but saw where the anger and frustration was coming from. Sven was like a rabid dog that was biting at everyone who wanted to help him.
"I was hopeful that my speech worked, because I saw him at the after party, sitting with you all, along with Fauk and Romelle, being social. It made the evening easier for me, because I didn't have to worry about Sven exploding and making a scene." Bandor divulged to them, but was taken aback when he saw the couple exchanging concerned looks.
Allura and Lance went on to tell him about the conversation at the table, and then their individual conversations with Sven and Romelle. By the time Lance was done, Bandor had completely lost his appetite. He pushed his plate away, but took his almost full wine glass and drained it in three large gulps.
"This is all because of me and my meddling that she is now in this position! I couldn't leave them alone; no I was just as bad as my father!" Bandor let loose a string of Polluxian curse words, and then added "The situation is worse than I thought it was. I'm almost tempted to cancel the wedding until everything stabilizes; but what if it doesn't? And honestly, Fauk would have my head and I love Elena! I want her with me on Pollux, and she has said she will support me in any decision I make about Romelle and Sven." Bandor finished up, looking sad, and very young.
Lance regarded Bandor, and then turned to look at Allura and thought it too bad that both cousins had been forced to deal with so much trauma and misery at a young age. He remembered Bandor as the little prince who they first met when they were breaking into the castle on Pollux. Now, the boy was a man, a man who was a king. Lance could also see that he was caring some guilt around with him. Not for the first time, Lance thought, the destruction the Drules caused in the galaxy was going to linger for a long time.
"Bandor, no don't cancel the wedding!" Allura declared in a horrified voice, not even wanting to think of the repercussions from that. "We have a plan that might help Sven, but we need to get your approval for it. Before I tell it to you, though, I want to ask you about Fauk. How much does he know about the situation, and if you don't mind telling me, what has he said about it and Romelle?" She was still worried about Lance's comment about Fauk causing mischief, as well as how Romelle had acted when she'd mentioned the prince's name to her cousin.
"Fauk thinks Romelle is a saint for what she is putting up with, and how she is trying to work with Sven." Bandor explained "At first Fauk didn't understand why I had not had Sven arrested and thrown in jail, but once I told him the story, and Sven's history he understood. He supports me completely in not wanting a scandal before the wedding. Fauk has even personally invited Sven to the wedding, to help keep the gossip in check." In fact Bandor had been relieved when Fauk had told him that, because he had felt the same way, but knew that Sven really didn't want to go to Odeos.
Allura pondered what Bandor had just told her, twitching her nose as she did so. Lance thought she looked adorable when she did it, but it meant she was deep in thought. In fact, she was trying to figure out Fauk's motives for his actions. On the surface it sounded like he just wanted to keep the peace and make sure that his sister's wedding wasn't spoiled. If he wanted to move in on Romelle, he certainly wouldn't want Sven there, Allura reasoned, wanting to believe what she was telling herself. What was stopping her though was Lance's warning, about what Fauk could do, if he set his mind to it. Her husband read people better than anyone else, and she had to give weight to his words.
"What is your idea for Sven?" Bandor waited expectantly, but without too much hope. He had already seen how the plan for Sven to stay on Crydor had not worked out. Privately, he almost wished he'd let the GA do what they had wanted to. He listened as Allura outlined what she, Lance, and Keith had talked about earlier that day. Bandor had to admit that it sounded like a good idea, and he was willing to go along with it since Keith had ok'd the whole thing. He did have to be reassured that Daniel and Vince could be trusted to keep their mouths shut though.
While Bandor was having his dinner upstairs, Elena and Fauk were having their own private meal in the sitting room of his state room. The McClain's had left early in the day, and Fauk had worked while Elena spent time with Romelle, helping her with the wedding gifts. It had been her brother's suggestion that she offer her services, and get some bonding time in.
"So your affianced is having a private meal with his cousin and her husband, right?" Fauk questioned, as they ate their food. He was curious as to what was going to be said, as well as what Elena had learned from Romelle.
"Bandor wasn't happy about it; he really wanted to eat with us. Plus, he said that the conversation would probably be about his brother-in-law. As you know, that is not his favorite topic." Elena replied to her brother, adding "He said depending on how late it is he will let me know what was said." In fact Bandor had wanted to come see her, but she knew her brother was not going to let that happen for propriety's sake. For all of his wild ways she knew that Fauk was very aware of the dignity of the royal house.
Fauk looked pleased with what she said "I will make sure I have breakfast with Bandor tomorrow morning. Also, of course I don't expect you to discuss your private conversations with me, but if there is anything critical you think I should know, please tell me ASAP, no matter how late it is." Fauk already knew that Bandor would tell him everything anyway, since he saw the older prince as support in dealing with the Sven matter.
"I understand brother dear! It is too bad that he has to deal with that unpleasant man; he has barely said hello to me. Whenever I've tried to talk to him, for family's sake, he brushes me off." Elena was not used to being put off by people, and she had not cared for the experience. "You know, Romelle is so sweet, and nice it is hard to see them as a couple." She commented, as she shook her head.
"Yes, that is right you spent time with Romelle today; what did she have to say?" Fauk was careful not to look too interested. He had been really tempted to stop by, under the guise of checking on his sister, to see Romelle. Being concerned about showing too much public attention to her, plus knowing there was no chance for mischief, he had decided not to.
"She really doesn't talk about the issue, Fauk, and I don't know if she would right now with me. Maybe down the road when I'm on Pollux and see more of it? Romelle comes across as a very private, very proud person. I did get her to talk about the days of rebuilding Pollux, and she mentioned how much work Sven had put in on the defense forces for her planet." Elena knew that her brother had been hoping for more information. She had seen right through his ploy about helping with the wedding gifts, but had gone along with his idea. There was nothing else to do, since Bandor had been busy with his old friends, and she wanted to see what kind of presents Larmina had received.
The golden haired prince smiled happily, which caused Elena to give him a questioning look. She had been expecting to be grilled on what the conversation had been. Fauk though was pleased because he liked how Romelle was behaving, especially with his sister. He admired how the woman never complained or whined about the circumstances she found herself in. It also showed that she knew how to keep her mouth shut, which would be important, Fauk thought. Romy so needed pleasure and fun in her life, he mused, and was looking forward to giving it to her.