Chapter Two

"Princess, are you sure you don't want one of us to come with you?" Coran asked as the castle neared Lotor's ship. Allura turned to look at him.

"I'll be perfectly fine on my own, Coran. Do you not trust me with diplomacy?" Allura asked, raising an eyebrow at him. Coran looked at the huge, ominous space ship that served as the galran castle.

"It's not really a matter of diplomacy, Princess. He's… I don't know if I entirely trust him," Coran admitted quietly. Allura narrowed her eyes. As the ship began to dock she let go of the controls.

"Why not?" She asked, not entirely happy and yet not entirely aggressive. Coran sighed.

"He is the leader of the galra empire. I think we will likely run into some conflicting views," Coran said, trying to explain himself.

"He's our ally. Sometimes we have conflicting views with our allies. That's fine. Besides, we haven't disagreed on anything yet," the Princess pointed out. Coran hummed in response.

"I'm weary of what the future holds with him. And to be honest I don't think his plan will work."

"You don't know that. I think it will help, Coran. He's right – it would create a complete paradigm shift. The galra wouldn't have something to fight over quintessence anymore," Allura explained.

"Except territory - and power," Coran rebuked. The ship was almost done docking into the port, and Allura stepped down from the control panel.

"He's trying something. What do you expect him to do? There's his people… do you have a better idea for how to solve tensions with the galra?" Allura was becoming more argumentative. Coran knit his brows, sighed, and dropped his shoulders.

"No. I just hope that this alignment isn't a mistake," he mumbled, looking at the floor. Allura put her hand on his shoulder.

"He saved us from Haggar, he killed Zarkon, and he led me into Oriande. He's proven himself useful and a strong ally. Our strongest. I have to believe that he can help us, Coran. We won't be able to do it on our own. Without this alliance all hope is lost. I will not allow us to sabotage this and risk falling back into warfare. There are too many lives at stake." Coran's eyes widened.

"Princess, I didn't mean to suggest that we end the alliance! I just mean that you should… proceed with caution, my dear. He's very intelligent."

"I know that," Allura said confidently, "so was my father. Lots of people are intelligent, and not all of them are evil." Coran huffed and followed her as she walked towards the ramp.

"I don't think he is evil, Princess Allura. I just – never mind. I'll come back to pick you up in ten vargas." Allura nodded, stepping onto the bridge without looking back. She knew that this was the most influential alliance the coalition had and under no circumstance could she mess it up. The castle's door closed behind her just as she entered Lotor's main hall. This time he was not flanked by a battalion of sentries, but rather stood alone near the entrance, ready to receive her, just as he said he would. Allura locked eyes with the emperor and instantly she felt better because he was smiling gently, his gaze kind and appreciative.

"Hello, Princess." His voice had an undercurrent of warmth running through it. He walked over to her.

"Hello, your majesty," Allura said. She was almost teasing him with the formality in retribution for him using her title. Lotor only chuckled lightly and looked her over. She was wearing her gown today and not paladin armor, for once.

"You look lovely," he whispered, not wanting the guards to hear him. Allura smiled again, looking up at him. She supposed he had never seen her in a dress.

"Thank you," she said, a warmth spreading throughout her body, despite the chill of the room. She reminded herself that he was a charismatic man. He probably said that to women all the time.

"I'll show you to the labs," Lotor offered, his hands held behind his back. As they made their way across the ship to the quintessence lab she would pepper him with questions about the ship and what the different rooms were. Of course he answered each question eagerly and politely, smiling at her from time to time. Allura was glad to see him somewhat happy. He had been so miserable before, when he killed Zarkon. She couldn't blame him. She would have been sad too if she had to kill Zarkon herself, not because he was a good man, but simply because it is sad to have to end the life of any person at all. And his own father, at that. Allura felt bad for him, having to grow up with Zarkon as a father. She couldn't even imagine it.

"Where are your rooms, Lotor? I noticed we haven't passed them yet."

"Oh, they're on another floor. I can take you there later," He offered, and it seemed strangely personal, somehow, like he was offering up some vulnerable part of himself. He shook off the idea. It was just a few rooms.

"They're not your father's old rooms?" She asked lightly, hesitant to bring up such a sore subject but desperately curious at the same time. Lotor didn't turn to look at her.

"No. I'm tearing those rooms down," Lotor said, a bit brusquely. Allura knew he wouldn't want to dwell on such a subject, so she let it go.

"Are your rooms the same ones you grew up in?" She asked. He barely talked about his childhood, although it is understandable that he didn't given that he grew up ten thousand years ago. He found her question a bit odd, but he tried not to show that.

"No, this is a different ship, not the one I grew up in." Allura hummed in response.

"Should I not have asked that? I'm sorry," she said, hoping she hadn't offended him. Lotor turned to look at her then.

"No, you haven't offended me. It's fine," he said, pressing a button on the elevator. Finally, they approached the lab. It truly was a large ship.

"Here we are," he said, but Allura could barely hear him. She was too busy staring in wonderment at the awe-inspiring scene before her. The whole layout of the lab was spectacularly modern. The vast space was filled with equipment, controls, data pads, and various tables and machinery upon them. Quintessence of many different variations was stored in assorted tubes on the walls, giving the room a soft glow.

"It's… amazing!" She said, her voice giddy like it was when she was a little girl. Lotor smirked and watched her expression, glad that he could inspire such happiness.

"I'm glad you think so. I had it redone to fit my experiments," he said. Allura turned back around to him. It was only the two of them in the lab, and it was nice being one on one with him again. His presence was so intense. He was magnetic, electric. His gaze pierced her and held her.

"Are you ready to begin?"

A/N: I hope you enjoy this chapter! Allura and Lotor are going to be working together a lot now. Who knows what might happen... Please leave me a review!