Chapter Six

"Try to feel the energies around you. You're going to need to feel both of the energies in order to separate them," Allura explained, turning over her shoulder to face Lotor. They stood close together in front of a large storage tank of quintessence, stored specifically so Allura could manipulate it. Lotor was right behind her, trying his best to learn how to separate the energies himself. Lotor's piercing blue gaze locked on to hers.

"I'm not entirely sure I know how to do that," he admitted, quietly. He was so close to her he needed not talk much above a whisper. Allura reached down then and grabbed his hand - an idea was forming in her head.

"Here," she said, placing his purple hand on the glass. She covered his hand with hers then and Lotor inched closer to her so they were nearly touching. Allura breathed in slowly.

"Close your eyes and try to feel the energy," she said. Lotor did as he was told, trying his best to feel the energy she was emitting, but he couldn't concentrate. Allura was so close to him that he could smell her perfume in her hair. It was light and summery, and it fit her so well, he thought. He inhaled quietly, then, letting himself breathe her pretty scent for longer than he should have.

"Do you feel it?" Allura asked, and Lotor almost jumped out of his skin at the sound of her voice. Allura felt him shift under her palm and turned to look at him. He blinked quickly several times, trying to get ahold of himself.

"Yes, a little," he lied. He hadn't been paying attention. Allura was still looking at him, her face mere inches from him.

"Okay, then concentrate on the sensation. I'm going to take my hand away; I want you to try and feel the energies without it." Lotor closed his eyes and tried to concentrate again. He felt it, indeed, a low pulse coursing through him. Allura removed her hand, and the pulse faded out. Lotor scowled even with his eyes closed, trying to recover the pulse. He focused completely on the sensation, seeking it out, reaching for it, but he found nothing. After a few more ticks he gave up and dropped his hand from the glass.

"I didn't feel anything inside the quintessence," he sighed.

"Were you seeking it out?" Allura asked as she turned around fully to face him. Lotor nodded,

"Yes, I was trying to concentrate to feel the energies," he said, eyes locked on hers. Allura turned her head to the side, looking pensively at the glowing golden tank of quintessence.

"You shouldn't really be seeking out the energies. It's hard to explain. You need to listen, but if you concentrate too much on the energy, you won't be able to hear it. You're mind needs to be blank," Allura explained.

"I have to concentrate without concentrating?" Lotor asked humorously, the corner of his mouth tilting upwards in a smirk. Allura laughed.

"Kind of. It's complicated. It's… Try to imagine that you're sitting on the side of the road and hover cars are going past you, one after another. They're all moving by, maybe quickly, probably more slowly, and you're job is simply to sit by the side of the road and watch them all go by. You don't want to disturb the flow of traffic, however. If you saw one of the cars going by and got so excited that you chased it, and sought it out, you would get in the way of the other cars and cause a wreck. What you want to do instead is just sit patiently on the side of the road and watch all the cars go by." Lotor stood there for a moment, thinking.

"Do you understand?" Allura asked. Lotor breathed in slowly.

"Yes, I think so." Allura smiled.

"Let's try again."

A few days later Lotor came to the castle to work with the paladins on plans for the war effort. At the end of the day the majority of them sat in the common room, drinks in hand. Suddenly, Lotor stood up and proceeded to walk away.

"Where are you going?" Allura asked. Lotor turned.

"To train," he responded, turning back around. Allura's ears perked up a bit.

"Do you want a sparring partner?" She asked. Lance rolled his eyes as Lotor turned around completely. The galra raised an eyebrow at her.

"You?" He asked, not entirely condescendingly but still a bit disbelievingly. Allura huffed, sitting forward on the couch.

"What, you think I can't handle you or something?" Allura asked, a bit on the defensive. Lotor looked her over for a few moments and Lance noticed how his eyes trailed down her curves.

"I never said that," he retorted. Allura stood up from the couch and sauntered over towards him.

"You think a little princess can't take on a big, strong man like yourself?" She asked, the teasing tone in her voice almost sultry. Lotor loved when her voice did that. He smirked.

"I don't doubt that you can hold your own, Allura."

"We'll spar, then?" she asked. Lotor looked down at her, thinking.

"What weapon will you use?" He asked.

"My staff," she answered confidently. Lotor blinked.

"Alright."

"Alright!" she quipped, "I'll meet you in the training room, then." She was peering up at him with fierce, confident eyes. Lotor looked down at her face with a mirth in his gaze that he couldn't help. She was so cute with her face scrunched up that way, standing on her tiptoes to try and reach his gaze.

When Allura reached the training room Lotor was already there. He stood off in the corner, adjusting his training gloves. But that wasn't the thing that Allura noticed first. He was shirtless, and the lavender of his skin stuck out against the white of the training room. It was so striking to look at him like that. She had never seen him with anything less than his suit.

His body was lean and yet beautifully toned, and Allura took a second or two to admire the fine muscles of his arms and abdomen. It was a bit strange, if Allura would be perfectly honest, to see him like that. It was so obvious he was a hybrid. He didn't have the body of a galra, but then again he didn't really have the body of an Altean. She supposed his torso did look more Altean than Galran, however.

Suddenly Allura felt Lotor's gaze lingering on her and her eyes shot up to meet his. She was startled and embarrassed to have been caught staring at him. Lotor didn't seem to mind, however, and a twinge of manly pride appeared on his face as he noticed how her gaze seemed to linger on him. The corner of his mouth tilted upwards as Allura turned away and went for her staff.

"Well- are you ready, then?" Allura asked, cringing internally at her awkwardness. Lance, Pidge, and Hunk stepped in.

"Whenever you are, Princess." He casually picked up his sword and stepped towards the middle of the floor. Allura swung her staff around a couple of times, simultaneously trying to warm up and shake the thoughts from her head. Allura looked over at him, then, and was confused to see him standing so calmly. He was standing, turned a bit to her, his sword held down. He wasn't even in a ready position – his body was vulnerable to an attack. Allura scowled. He must not think she was anything of a threat.

She began suddenly, trying to take him off guard with a series of quick jabs and uneven movement. He barely moved at all, easily using his sword to deflect her attack. He didn't even look like he was concentrating. That made her angry. She was a good fighter.

Allura moved again, giving everything she had, trying to pinpoint his weaknesses and exploit them, just like her father had taught. Lotor barely moved from his spot on the floor, hardly even needing to turn or change positions.

"Get him, Allura," Lance cheered on from the side. Lotor was far too relaxed, his eyes resting on her as if they were having a conversation and not a sparring session. It was cocky, almost, his lack of effort.

She jabbed again, this time trying a different approach. She swung around with all her strength, a new attack aimed at his chest. That one caused him to have to take a jump back to avoid her. She was trying with all her might to knock him over but he wouldn't budge. When she looked up there was mirth in his gaze and his lips were raised slightly into a smirk.

"What?" She asked angrily, a definite hint of annoyance in her voice. He was still easily deflecting her staff with his sword. He knocked it away.

"You're learning," he said, even though he had knocked the staff from her hand like it was a toy. She was still angry. He could see the huff when she looked down at the staff on the ground and then back up at him. He stepped back.

"Don't be angry. Pick it up. Try again," he demanded, his eyes set a bit more seriously on her then before. That gave her a bit of confidence.

"Don't go so easy on me. It's arrogant," she refuted without really thinking about it. Lotor sighed a bit - his eyes steady on her.

"I don't want to hurt you, Allura," he said calmly. She set her mouth in determination and went at him again, this time fueled by her aggression. She exhorted a lot of energy, trying with every effort to pin him down. She couldn't get a single blow. He evaded every attack, dodged every stab, and blocked every swipe of her staff. Finally, after minutes of seemingly playing with her Allura was distressed and completely out of breath.

"Are you even going to try attacking me?" She growled. He hadn't swung his blade at her once. Lotor blinked, reading her expression.

"Get ready," he warned, pulling his blade upwards and readying himself. Allura took a deep breath and focused all her concentration. He took a swing, then, and Allura blocked his attempt, but then he spun around and quickly struck her other side, which she barely managed to block. His movements were so quick she barely had time to think. His force was intense, however, and her footing wasn't quite right when he struck the second time so he knocked her a bit off balance. When she was steading herself Lotor quickly swung his blade back at her from the other direction, stopping just in front of her neck. He could have sawed her head clean off if he hadn't stopped when he did. It made Allura's heart stop for a second. His ferocity could really be quite frightening. For a tick she thought about how lucky she was that Lotor was not her enemy.

Lotor dropped his blade, and Allura simply stared at him, taking big, gasping breaths. He eyed her with concern, approaching her carefully.

"Are you alright?" He asked quietly. Allura looked down at the floor and scowled, stilling breathing heavily. Show grace in defeat, she thought to herself, trying her best to keep her father's wisdom in her mind. She exhaled, dropping her shoulders and forcing herself to release the tension.

"Yes, I'm alright," she looked over to where the paladins were sitting, "Keith, why don't you go?" Keith's purple eyes locked on to hers before he turned to Lotor. The emperor stood calmly, his hair still slicked back elegantly. His muscled chest hardly moved when he breathed, and he looked cool and collected as ever. Allura was an excellent fighter, and yet she was out of breath, her hair disheveled. A bead of sweat dripped down her temple. He stood up. He was going to try. He was one of the best swordsmen out there. He could give Lotor a fair fight, he was sure. Lotor looked down at him, towering over Keith's small body like a tree.

"You're going to spar now?" Lotor asked, almost a bit incredulous that this child-sized fighter was going to take him on. Keith reached for his sword.

"Yes, and I can do it with my shirt on," he taunted. Lance laughed. Lotor's gaze shifted a bit to something more calculating then before. He didn't feel that bad about asking now:

"Do you want me to go easy on you?" His voice was light and beautiful, the Altean accent making it almost sound like a song. Keith growled.

"Nope, not at all," he retorted. Both quickly got into a fighting position and it took no time for Keith to swing at the taller galra. Keith was a graceful fighter and very powerful for his size. He tried some of his more difficult moves on Lotor but all were deflected. Keith took a step back.

"You have good technique," he complimented, "but let's see your footwork." Lotor walked towards him, sword extended.

"If I move here," he began, turning his position, "You- very good." Keith sidestepped, moving along with him. Lotor was moving in a circle, changing the positioning of his feet and using several different techniques.

"Your basics are solid. But are you creative?" Only a second after he asked he exploded into a myriad of movement, not giving Keith a chance to answer, let alone react. Lotor was on the defensive now, striking, gliding, and moving effortlessly around him. Keith focused with all his might, fending himself against most all of his attacks. Lotor's blade came sharply, deftly, and with no premonition Keith had a difficult time keeping track of what Lotor was doing next. They both used speed to their advantage, however, fighting on their toes and dodging the other's attacks. It wasn't even a minute, however, before Lotor's blade found it's way to Keith's throat. He hadn't even distracted him first, that's what made Keith angry. He won fair and square. Keith growled a bit at the feeling of Lotor's cool blade against his neck. Lotor dropped his sword and Keith relaxed. He looked up at Lotor, waiting for him to say something, but then he realized he was probably waiting for Keith to catch his breath. He didn't really understand how fighting could take so little out of Lotor. He must have had the breath capacity of an Olympic diver.

"Fine. You win that one. Let's try again."

Keith and Lotor went on like that for a long while, and Keith lost again and again to Lotor. He was lasting longer than he was before, but he still couldn't get a good swing at the emperor. One time he thought he had Lotor for sure, but as he swung his blade down towards Lotor at the last second Lotor dipped down, swung his leg across Keith, and toppled him over. Lotor recovered easily, standing up and walking over to where Keith lay, exhausted, on the ground. Lotor had knocked the breath out of him. He extended his hand down to Keith, and for a moment Keith could only stare at the lavender skin of his palm. After a few ticks he did take Lotor's hand, however. He was too spent to pretend that he didn't need help getting up.

"You've done well," Lotor muttered. Keith raised an eyebrow.

"You won each time," Keith grumbled. Lotor laughed a little.

"I have ten thousand years of experience, Earthling. Your lack of experience is not your fault." Keith looked down at the floor.

"Yeah," he mumbled. Allura stood up and walked up to the both of them.

"Come on, let's get something to eat," the Princess offered.

A/N: This is kind of a filler chapter. But you need time before you can get to the more fun parts. I hope you still liked it. Review, please! Also, if anyone would like to beta read this story let me know!