A/N: I finished the chapter just before the tragic events of this week occurred so I delayed posting it a bit longer. Please note there is an injury due to the battle so some may wish to postpone reading.
The Expectation
"Quiznak. The controls are not responding," she cursed as she pushed buttons frantically.
Allura knew it was a long-shot. She'd never flown Black before and wasn't sure she was close to ready.
It probably didn't help that she was close to panicking, which was a very alien concept to her.
Maybe it was the fact that the man she had just agreed to marry was going to risk it all for people he didn't even know. People who had refused to do what they were told in the first place. Reckless, foolish people.
Whoa, where are these thoughts coming from?
For now, she was going to blame her sudden coldness to the stress of the situation. Sure, a lot had happened and she hadn't had a chance to process it all yet. Still it didn't excuse her lack of empathy for the citizens trapped below.
"Allura, let me get her started, then you can jump in when we reach the outskirts of the village. That'll give you time to calm down a bit."
As much as she'd like to argue there simply wasn't time. She stood swiftly and moved to the rear of the cockpit to allow Keith access to the controls.
The lion sped toward New Altea and only slowed once they neared the surface. It would be a miracle to find any survivors with the fleet of fighter ships bearing down on them. The Princess tensed as her paranoia started to increase.
The decision was split second. Allura knew Keith needed to pilot Black to guarantee their success. She realized there was no other option but to take his place saving the villagers. As soon as Black touched down she made her move.
"I love you, so don't get yourself killed okay," she spoke softly as she opened the hatch.
"What the hell? Allura!"
Allura's eyes met with Keith's as she climbed out of the cockpit. Her stomach dropped at the sight; his expression was angry but also fearful.
That was pretty much how she'd felt about letting him go. She couldn't risk losing him, not that he'd have listened if she'd tried to explain herself.
Using her jetpack to land safely on the rocky ground she turned briefly to the Black Lion hovering just above her head. She placed her palm on her chest, wanting to convey what her heart had directed her to do.
A moment later she turned to run to the village, only glancing over her shoulder to make sure he hadn't jumped out himself to follow her.
Luckily, he knew her to well at this point, and had taken to the sky once again to join the rest of the team.
The fact that he left without a word chilled her though. He was only quiet when he was hurt, and she hated inflicting that on him.
Still she had a mission to do, so she dismissed her worries to the back of her mind. The people of New Altea were her priority for the time being.
Once she reached the town she began a door-to-door search for survivors. Calling out was useless due to the sounds of explosions drowning out her voice.
Piles of burning rubble, once homes and businesses, sent smoke into the air and created its own set of problems. Her suit's infrared camera had her looking in every direction, trying to find movement amongst the brighter hues.
Finally, she saw it. In one collapsed building, there was the slightest shuffling, a stirring so faint she almost missed it. Running to lift the wooden beams that crossed over the form she spotted a small hand.
A child.
She'd never moved so fast, her heart thumping as she coaxed the boards up and off the tiny form.
Gradually she cleared enough to pull the young girl from the wreckage. Her body was bruised and bloody but appeared to be lacking any fatal wounds. Allura breathed a sigh of relief as she scooped the little one up and made her way to the bunkers.
The Princess cursed her own body, which seemed stiff and resistant to running for long stretches now. She stopped inside a small building which had thus far escaped the bombing.
Just long enough to catch my breath.
Suddenly she realized she was not alone. Behind the counter in the far corner she spotted the top of a head. No, two. Or three.
"I am Princess Allura, and I'm here to take you to a safe location away from the fighting. Please show yourselves."
Upon hearing this several Alteans came from all directions, having hidden in whatever darkened corner they could find.
They were mostly covered in ash, which she could only assume meant that they'd not been in the building when the firing started. Well, apart from two men, who probably were the owners of the shop. They looked considerably less frazzled than the others.
Now the Princess had to get not only the young girl to safety, but also roughly twenty others as well.
Allura scanned the room for exits, trying to find one facing the underground shelter. It wasn't a long distance away but fighter ships were firing all around. She would need to create a distraction.
No, she would need to be the distraction.
Handing the injured child to one of the larger men in the group to carry, she instructed them to run two at a time to the bunker to not draw attention. On her signal, they started out the back door while she ran out the front.
Halfway to the town square she noticed the firing had stopped and the ships were starting to circle in the sky above her. Her best guess would be that they recognized her and had been instructed to keep her alive, but Galra weren't the kind to call a cease-fire just because they'd gotten what they wanted.
Just then she felt something jut into her back, right over her heart.
A blaster no doubt, poised to kill in an instant.
"Guess you'll be coming with me, Princess," said her attacker, his voice oozing with contempt.
She turned her head enough to see it was one of the two shopkeepers. That would explain why the building was still standing- he was the spy working for the Galra.
"You would do this to your own people to put a few GAC in your pocket?"
"Hey, a man's gotta make a living, right? And we're basically sitting ducks since Voltron isn't staying here where it belongs."
"We've got a universe to protect. We can't just stay in one place."
"Tell that to the people who died when Altea was destroyed. Voltron ran away then, too." His eyes darkened as he hurled the accusation at her, knowing his words would leave a mark on her soul.
Before Allura could answer a ship flew low overhead. It landed a short distance away in the town square and caused the smoke to retreat in a billowing circle to the smoldering ruins from which it came. The craft wasn't fighter class- it was sleek with a shiny silver body and Zarkon's crest adorning the wings- instead it looked like a transport for dignitaries.
The traitor pushed the Princess in the direction of the ship. As they approached the cargo hatch opened revealing two figures who looked frighteningly familiar.
"Haggar! Lotor! What do you want?"
Dammit, I can't call Keith. He can't leave the battle.
"Well well, Princess. It's been a while, have you missed me?"
"Not yet. Why don't you leave for now and try asking again in a few thousand years?"
"Allura, is that any way to speak to your future husband?"
"If you forced me to marry you, I'd be a widow in an hour."
"I'll need less than that to get what I want. You'll give me an heir that will grant me domain over all your allied planets. I don't care if you spend the time in a locked cell or not."
Allura felt a wave of disgust flow over her that could have drowned a weaker person. She knew, however, that she needed to figure out how she was going to get out of this situation. As strong as she was there would be a very slim chance of taking on the two of them with a gun at her back and ship lasers trained on her from all angles.
"Lotor, if you want her to give you a son I'll have to take care of something first," snarled Haggar.
"What is it you old witch?"
"She's already carrying a child. I can sense it, the next Altean prince."
"What?"
"What?"
"WHAT?"
Allura spoke first. Lotor second.
Keith was last. He must have heard through the coms.
I'm so sorry my love.
She hated that he found out this way. Hell, she hated that she found out this way.
Just then she heard the zap of a blaster. Instinctively she looked down expecting to see a blackened hole in her armor. Instead the body of the man holding the gun to her slumped sideways, bumping into her on the way to the ground.
Looking to the right she saw someone step from the shadow of the shop's doorway. This was her chance to escape. As she ran towards him she realized who it was.
"Nice to finally meet you, Princess. Name's Anton, and I'll be your rescuer today."
She could see why Coran had fallen for this guy, he was quite the charmer even when he was facing danger.
Just then a loud roar overhead indicated that the lions had arrived, quickly attacking the air units to give Allura and Anton cover.
"I'm going back. This fight is between Lotor and me. He's not getting away again!"
"Allura stay down!" Keith shouted through the coms.
"He needs to be stopped. I will not allow this to continue, for people to be hurt again and again."
"Please. I can't lose both of you," he begged, his voice cracking under the weight of his fear.
It was too late. She was in the open now, still a distance away yet an easy shot for Haggar's magic.
As the black lightning from the witch's staff arced towards her she froze.
Suddenly the only thing she cared about was the piece of Keith she carried inside her. Everything she wanted was about to be lost in an instant.
That instant never came.
The Red lion swooped down and blocked the charge as she felt two strong arms sweep her away from the debris it kicked up.
"It's okay Princess, I've got you."
Keith held her tightly against his chest, tremors running down his body. He flew her to the far side of the shop she'd just abandoned, setting her on her feet but not letting her free from his embrace. He dotted her face with relieved kisses before checking her for any injuries.
"I thought I was going to lose you." Keith finally broke down and it was destroying her. He'd never cried like that before; it wasn't long before her resolve broke as well.
"I'm so sorry. I didn't know, if I had known…" Allura sobbed, unable to finish her thought.
"Hey, you're okay," he sighed, moving his hand to her belly. "The baby- our baby- is okay too, right?"
She nodded slightly, still worried that Haggar may try to strike again. Then the realization hit.
"Nanny took a direct hit, we need to see if she's okay!"