*****This story was previously known as Caverns of Fear.*****

*gulp* I am so sorry, everyone!

The past several years have just gotten away from me and, to be perfectly honest, I kinda forgot about this story. I got a review recently, though, and it reminded me that I left it at a bit of a cliffhanger - which I hate when I'm reading a story, so I thought I'd get my rear in gear and finish it off.

I've also taken the time to update & edit the chapters. For the sake of previous readers, I haven't combined chapters one and two, but chapters three and four are brand new.

So, without further ado, here is the NEW chapter four of About Time (New title - yay!). This is also the last of this story, though I might come back to this universe I've created.

For my previous readers, I hope you will still find this enjoyable & please re-read the first two chapters, as well as the new third chapter. For my new readers, welcome & please R&R!

Trekker

Disclaimer: I own no part of the series Voltron. I also do not own the Star Trek: The Next Generation episode 'Arsenal of Freedom,' which served as inspiration for this story.

~~KA~~KA~~KA~~KA~~KA~~

She was warm, which was odd, because the last thing she remembered was starting to become very cold. She also couldn't smell the bits of burnt metal and circuits that she last remembered, either. After a moment of enjoying the warmth, she opened her eyes.

Oh, she knew this place. Although she wasn't normally the one laying on the bed, Allura recognized the castle's infirmary almost immediately. Looking around, she realized that she wasn't alone.

Keith sat in a chair next to her bed, but he was slumped over, laying most of his upper body on the edge of her bed. Knowing from experience that he would regret the position he was in when he woke up, she reached down with her good arm and touched his shoulder. "Keith?" she whispered, her throat dry and scratchy - how long had she been out?

His eyes fluttered open and focused on her. "Princess!" he exclaimed, sitting upright quickly and cracking his neck. As he reached a hand up to rub the affected area, he spoke to her. "You're awake! How are you feeling?"

Allura shrugged and immediately winced as the movement pulled on her wounds and sore muscles. "Ah...I've been better, but not too bad, considering how I was when I last saw you. What happened?"

Keith explained that after he found the others, they wound their way back to her through the tunnels and managed to unbury Blue Lion - thanks largely to Hunk and Yellow Lion. Hunk also carried Blue Lion on the back of his own Lion until they could return to the surface, where he then towed the damaged Lion back to Arus with Lance's help.

The missiles that shot at the Lions were part of the planet's automated defense system. "That system was pretty advanced, but according to Pidge, it looked like it got out of control and destroyed it's own creators," Keith told her. "There was no sign of any intelligent life on that planet, unfortunately."

Allura let her head fall back to the bed and closed her eyes. "No allies, then."

Keith shook his head. "No." Allura looked to him again. "So how did I end up in here?"

Keith reached over and took her hand. "We got back here and you were unconscious. The doctors said that you had gone into shock and it was a good thing we got you back when we did. You lost a lot of blood...and gave us all quite a scare."

She turned her hand and squeezed his. "I bet Nanny and Coran weren't happy." Keith snorted. "Not happy is an understatement - they were furious. I had to sneak back in here after they went to bed - they practically banned the team from seeing you."

Allura frowned. "I'm sorry about them." He shrugged. "Eh, we're used to it by now."

"I know you all are, but you shouldn't have to be. I am the last of the Arusian royalty and the one in power on this planet, not them," Allura said. That was true, after all; she knew that to be a true ruler, one had to make her people happy, but the level of acquiescing that she had done to their wishes over the years was unacceptable.

"Nanny and Coran were necessary while I was younger and my father had just been killed. But now...now it's past time for them to see that this world can not be what it once was - I can't be who I once was, either. This world does not need the pageantry of old; we need something new - a ruler who is one of them and will fight with them, not someone to be kept in a tower and only brought out during times of peace."

Keith kept quiet and shifted his chair closer as Allura spoke, her words coming fast as she realized that she was long overdue to make this decision.

"Coran is slowly realizing this, but Nanny needs to see that I am a grown woman. I have put my blood, sweat, and tears into protecting my people. I have earned every scar I have and now I can add two more to the list." As she spoke her next words, Allura found that she couldn't meet Keith's gaze. Her face flushed slightly as she remembered his actions in the dark of the cavern.

"Nanny says that my scars will prevent me from finding a husband, and maybe they will. But I am long past being of age to take the throne as queen, with or without a husband. Don't get me wrong, I care for Nanny and Coran very much - they are as dear to me as my parents. But it's high time I began to take control of my own power and rule as I should."

Keith nodded. "I understand," he said. "And for what it's worth, the team will stand with you."

Allura smiled and turned back to him. "And what about you?" she asked, not daring to put more voice to the hopes she kept deep inside.

He caught her gaze and smiled in return. "I'll always be behind you, Princess."

"And if I want you beside me, not behind me?"

Keith hesitated. "I know you feel as I do, Keith," Allura said, wanting him to understand. "I also know Nanny has long insisted that any eventual husband of mine would need to be a prince or have some other title of nobility."

Keith started to release her hand, but she grasped his more firmly and continued. "However, as I said, I am through with her outdated ideas. Very few of our nobility are still alive and, quite frankly, I don't want to marry someone for political reasons only. I want someone in whom I can find a kindred spirit, who will love my people as I do, and who will see me as not just a princess or someone to be coddled and kept sheltered."

Allura looked Keith straight in the eye as she finished. "I want someone who will see me for me, as the woman I am, Allura - as someone to love. Do you know anyone like that?"

Keith smiled slowly. "I might," he said. Keith eased himself from the chair he was occupying to sit on the edge of Allura's bed. "You do know Nanny will have a fit when she finds out, right?"

She smiled in return and pulled him closer. "I told you - I'm tired of bending to her whims. Now are you going to kiss me properly or do I have to order you?"

Keith leaned in and captured her lips with his, a proper kiss this time - not just a peck on the forehead or a polite kiss on the hand. A true kiss of two people that had denied themselves for too long.

~KA~KA~KA~

And that was how Nanny and Coran found them moments later. Nanny fainted in shock, but Coran caught her and gently guided her out of the room. He smiled to himself as the door slid quietly shut behind them. He knew that his princess and the leader of Voltron had strong feelings for one another; Nanny would be quite upset that her 'little girl' was not so little anymore, but personally, Coran was surprised it had taken them this long to do something about it.

My princess, it's about time you did something to make yourself happy. King Alfor would be proud.

~~KA~~KA~~KA~~KA~~KA~~

So, there you have it - this thing took a life of it's own after I finally got my inspiration back for it. I hope you all liked it and please review!

Trekker